Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 4 of 26

Some housekeeping: Yesterday, I put my toe back in the blogging water (solely because I didn’t know I was going to be recovering from surgery when I signed up for that blog tour). I’m hoping to be fully back in action on Monday. We’ll see how that goes…I am surprisingly easy to tire out. Well, that part’s not so surprising. It’s probably surprising how easily I can delude myself into thinking I’m three decades younger than I am and can bounce back from stuff (like the removal of an organ).

Yes , it’s probably too soon to return to this, but it’s worth a try, I’m doing another round of Ask Me (just about) Anything for My Upcoming Blogiversary
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I didn’t read as much during my first post-surgery week as I expected to, messing around online was much better for my attention span. This week, I did read a good deal and spent far less time online. So this list is on the shorter side, but…eh. Might as well get on with things.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
These books offer breezy escapism. That doesn’t mean they’re silly —A look at the past and present of Beach Reads.
Ranking Science Fiction’s Most Dangerous Awards: A scientific survey of the relative heft, pointiness, and durability of SFF’s most sought-after trophies.—Reader, I snickered.
13 Weird, Fascinating Things I’ve Learned Researching Crime Novels—I’d love for more authors to do things like this. This is just great.
Humor in Mysteries and Thrillers Is No Joke
Books Are Dead! Long Live Books!
The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Fiction: 80+ Fantasy Subgenres Explained
I Can No Longer Read More than 1 Book at a Time and Other Bookish Habits that Changed for Me in the Last 13 Years
BBNYA 2024—Marie Sinadjan is putting together a Pinterest board for the BBNYA entries…wow, that’s an impressive-looking batch.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Ready Player One (Audiobook) by Ernest Cline, Wil Wheaton
And I mentioned the release of Hot Lead, Cold Iron by Ari Marmell
Also, I glimpsed at what’s coming up in the next week or two, and I’m really excited to revisit the posts for the end of May 2014. I remember really enjoying the books, and can’t wait to see what I said.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Blood Red Summer by Eryk Pruitt —This is the second book featuring the True Crime podcaster, Jess Keeler. The first book in this series is collecting e-dust on my e-Reader, and now I feel even more pressure to read it. They both look compelling as all get-out.
The Accidental Joe: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef by Tom Straw—A chance to see him put that piece (above) about Humor in Thrillers in action: “A maverick celebrity chef reluctantly agrees to let the CIA use his hugely popular international food, culture, and travel TV series as cover for a dangerous espionage mission.”

I’m alive and recovering (and not reading as much as I’d expected). I’ll have more to say about that soon-ish. I’ve got some fantastic guest posts lined up for next week–be sure to come back for them. Thanks for all the well-wishes over the last week. I’ll try to personally reply soon.

There seems to be a mood, or a tone, to a lot of these links this week–I want to stress that I wasn’t trying to doomscroll. I mean, we’ve all been in a place where that is what we’ve been looking for. But that’s not where I was this week–but you can’t tell that from what I marked for this post.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Inside libraries’ battle for better e-book access
Speaking of libraries, this is worth watching (if only for the running joke about a certain series of picture books) Libraries: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Against the objectification of books (or, some thoughts on The Discourse).—worth chewing on
Not Lost in a Book: Why the “decline by 9” in kids pleasure reading is getting more pronounced, year after year.—chilling
Bad Nostalgia: The book publishing industry is in crisis, so why is it so hard to talk about the labour that goes into making books?
Thriftbooks has some interesting lists of Books by State® 2023: Non-Fiction/Fiction and corresponding lists from 2013. The only one for Idaho that didn’t put a puzzled look on my face was the 2013 Non-Fiction pick. Do you have any thoughts on your state’s representatives?
Are You A Good Enough Friend To Hide a Dead Body?—Forget Enneagram types, political stances, Birth Signs, Hogwarts’ House, and so on–this is the ultimate personality test, right? (actually, not really the point of the piece, just my reaction to the title)
What Are the Rules for Lending Your Books to Friends?—Electric Literature talked to librarians for this piece. Who better?
10 Words Every Book Lover Should Know—I actually shared this back on 5/10/14, but still need to work these words into my everyday vocabulary. (and am a little shocked that the link from back then is still live)
To Write or Not to Write (In Your Books)
When Books Were Illustrious: Once upon a time, illustrations in books—all books—was standard practice.
Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons You DNF’d a Book—I don’t know how many posts about DNFing I’ve linked to over the years, but I’m pretty sure this format is a first.
Flowers or Books? Is the Special Woman in Your Life a Reader? 10 Book Recs for #MothersDay—This is a good list. And one I can actually see me using for next Mother’s Day (had already picked this year’s books when Carol posted this.) If any of my kids are looking for an idea, there’s a couple of things I can see working for their mom, incidentally.
20 Books of Summer is back—it can’t already be time to start compiling a list for this, is it??
Being a reader is so hard!—Luke Harkness speaks for many of us here.

A Book-ish Related Podcast-type thing episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Cocktails with Cav Show Ep. 32 Hollywood Grocery Clerks & a Hot Case! Great interview with Crime Fiction Author Andrew Miller!—I haven’t finished it yet, but what I have is pretty good.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh—there’s no way that I’d write about this book in 5 paragraphs today (or if I did, I’d feel guilty about it). I also think that giving this 3.5 stars says something about how my ratings have become more inflated in the last few years. Still, it was fun to look back on this one.
I also mentioned the publication of Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins —Atkins’ third Spenser novel.

Not much to say today as an intro. (“Phew!” is the collective response, I’m sure).

The next couple of weeks are going to be very interesting, I think, here. I’ll talk about it Monday—but I’m telling you now, reader, you’re going to want to stop by a lot (or just a couple of times, I guess—but it should read it all).
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
We’re All Reading Wrong: To access the full benefits of literature, you have to share it out loud.—hmmmmm….
But Why a Penguin?—Who among us hasn’t wondered?
I missed the provocative essay No One Buys Books last week, where Elle Griffin dove into the data from the recent Penguin vs. DOJ case to look at what it says about book sales.
This week, there were two (at least) responses to that: The Puzzle of Publishing and Yes, People Still Buy Books: How a viral post got some key statistics wrong.—between the three of these pieces, there’s a heckuva education into the business side of book publishing.
M.W Craven up for Theakston Old Peculier Crime award for 3rd year—a quick catch-up with Craven
The Edgar Awards were this week, which means it’s time for Crime Reads’ annual nominee roundtable on The State of the Crime Novel. Part 1: Writing Life and Part 2: The Future of Crime Writing
How Fiction Became Edible: A new genre of cookbooks is reverse engineering the foods of all your favorite pieces of pop culture. Now your stomach can travel to Westeros, Tatooine, the Shire, and more.
The Author as Protagonist: Why are so many fictional writers solving crimes in detective novels?
A few good books about too-good-to-be-true tech (to read after your Tesla explodes).—a fun listicle
Andrew Miller: Namaste Mart Confidential—A quick Q&A with Miller (and a website I need to spend more time with, you will likely enjoy it, too)
Historical Fiction Pros & Cons—Reading Ladies Book Club looks at the genre
Why I No Longer Request ARCs—I absolutely get this (and agree with almost every part of it). But my stack-o’-ARCS suggests I may need to consider Krysta’s words more closely soon.
Speaking of things I need to think more about: How Negative Am I? Posing the Question of Negativity on the Internet
7 Reasons Adults Should Read Children’s Books—#1 & #3 are the big ones for me. With #4 gaining steadily, as the Grandcritter ages, I expect it’ll take first place.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
<bOutlander by Diana Gabaldon—left me utterly unimpressed
In Defense of the Descent by Daniel R. Hyde—a short and compelling book about the controversial line in the Apostle’s Creed. I still refer to this book.
Dawn’s Early Light by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris—steampunky fun in the U.S. of A.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Namaste Mart Confidential by Andrew Miller—A pair of unlicensed PIs/Grocery Store Clerks search for a missing (possibly kidnapped) woman in the L.A. of 2013. I rambled about it a little earlier this week
Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green—a collection of short stories from (mostly) contemporary Japan. I posted about it recently and managed not to make a single joke about one of the world’s least appealing (to me) types of food. That’s personal growth right there.
Crimson Arches by Rebecca Carey Lyles—in this follow-up to Shadow Ranch, Kasenia somehow finds herself in a tense situation with another polygamous bunch.
What’s Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park—a YA look at cooking competitions and dealing with parental expectations.
The Vanishing Station by Ana Ellickson —”a lyrical and bold YA debut about an underground magic system in San Francisco—and the lengths one girl is willing to go to protect the ones she loves.” Intriguing setup and world.

For U.S.-types, Happy Independent Bookstore Day!! Be sure to venture forth and take advantage of the fun in your area. I actually have 3 choices to go to today (and, yes, I’m tempted to hit all three, but time and money prevent that). This month has not been good for my To Be Read mountain, and I don’t think today will help a lot.

(non-U.S.-types should go and visit your local indie shop, too.)

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
A novel experience: Why small bookstores are thriving in Canada—this seems to be a good day to celebrate those stores north of the border, too.
There’s a revolution happening in children’s publishing—you can thank the book bans—the Law of Unintended Consequences has teeth
Yes, It’s Okay to Throw Away a Book: We love acquiring, hoarding, and displaying books even more than we love reading them—That subtitle is a bit much, but the rest of the piece is worth a read. Unconvincing, I think.
The literary romantic holiday that should replace Valentine’s Day.—this one also seems like a bit of a stretch, but I’m inclined to be swayed.
Shakespeare and Fanfiction: Despite an enduring slice of audience that treats his work as precious and mythic, most Shakespeare fans have rarely met an adaptive concept they didn’t like.
The Unexpected Resurrection of Harlan Ellison
The Heyday of Pulp Fiction: Keith Roysdon on the heroes and villains of American pop culture, introduced to millions of readers in cheap magazines.
Encyclopedia Brown: A Story for My Brother, Philip Seymour Hoffman
How to Read More—Armed With a Book brings a fresh idea or two to this perennial topic.
Brian Bilston is “fed up with people pointing out all the mistakes in my poetry” and responds with Pedants—absolutely worth the read.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
It looks like whatever was distracting me from blogging in April 2014 started to wane, and I managed to note the publication of a few books that looked promising (I read at least 3 of them—all 3 winners)
The Dragon Business by Kevin J. Anderson
Attack The Geek: A Ree Reyes Side-Quest by Michael R. Underwood
The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
Heaven’s Queen by Rachel Bach
Dawn’s Early Light by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Next of Kin by Samantha Jayne Allen—Annie McIntyre’s third adventure finds her looking into a client’s family history and stirring up dust that causes problems for her and the client in the present. Looking forward to diving into this one.

The worst day of the year to work in an Adolescent Drug Rehab facility is April 20. It’s been years since I left and I still tense up with I write the date.

I had so many plans this week for the blog, and I don’t think I accomplished any of them (but boy, oh, boy do I have several drafts in some stage of incompletion). I have a Tour Stop on Monday for a strong read. Let’s hope I can put something together for that at least. Stay tuned.

I can tell you that May is going to be a great month around here, thanks to some very generous authors, bloggers, etc. (see this post for details). Hopefully, I can keep things interesting enough until then.

In the meantime, here’s a quick Saturday Miscellany.

Oh, wait…one more thing: Jo Linsdell is trying to start up a new Weekend Link Up Party. Drop by, leave a link, and follow a few.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Who doesn’t look to Forbes magazine for their literary news? They recently released their list of The 30 Greatest Book Series Of All Time—(it’s actually a pretty good list) “rankings are based on specific factors, including critical acclaim, commercial success, mass appeal, and cultural impact among readers of all ages over the years.” The box set they use for the Narnia image is the one I grew up with.
In honor of the 637th Anniversary of The Canterbury Tales on Wednesday (who knew?), Lit Hub asks: What if Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales came out today?
On Writing a Book When The World is On Fire: Sara Koffi on turning to thrillers when justice is missing.
“Bad” Books, and the Readers That Love Them
On Narrative Weight and Moral Arguments
A Guide to Blog Commenting —A good post on the subtle art of blog commenting from Jo Lindsdell (for people who aren’t trolls or spammers). I’m pretty sure I should’ve read until the end of this one before I left a comment on her latest post. Oops. Will try to do better!
Addictive tropes in books — Found Family—a good look at Found Families
Why is Sherlock Holmes so Popular? It’s Elementary (Updated)—from Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub
Love And The Male Redemption Arc: A Ramble Through Fantasy Literature—on a week where I struggle to finish anything, Peat Long puts up a post as good as this one and the one about Moral Arguments (above). Show off.
What to expect from Wyrd & Wonder
The Joy of Book Blogging from an Introvert’s Perspective—I can identify with a lot of this (shock!)
Yeah, it’s a little mean—and maybe even a little lazy—but you’re going to chuckle if you click this link for at least a moment
A cute little song with a message that needs to be heard

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman—I dunno what this is about, I stopped reading at “Abbi Waxman.” Seriously, it’s about an antisocial scientist dealing with the media spotlight, family drama, and possible romance. I’m certain Waxman can do a lot with those elements.
Bad Actors by Mark Pepper—the taxi driver you do not want to cross is back in action in L.A. of all places. Not surprisingly, it appears that he brought his personal brand of chaos with him. I cannot wait to get to this.
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz—Horowitz and Hawthorne are back in action.

A new local bookstore opened pretty close to me this week. I stopped in last night and it won’t be the last time I do that (and not just because they’re holding a book for me). Welcome to the world, Shared Stories!

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Lynne Reid Banks obituary—The Indian in the Cupboard was one of those books I returned to over and over and over again (and somehow, I don’t think I’ve ever talked about the book).
One of the Best Things We Can Do for Ourselves as We Age: This will help feed your soul and boost your overall health.—betcha can’t guess what “this”  is
Books are trash too: Remember to throw them away during spring cleaning—I endorse almost none of this. But it’s something to consider. (I suppose)
Autistic Literature Will Flourish When We Stop Insisting That Writers Qualify Their Autism: Wouldn’t it be a relief if we could stop asking authors to meet a specific set of diagnostic criteria? —Especially in Autism Acceptance Month, a good read
Sherlock’s Double: At William Gillette’s Castle—barely qualifies for this list, but I don’t care
Inheritance of Magic – Six Month Mark—Benedict Jacka talks about the sales numbers for his new series—and what those numbers likely mean for its future (spoiler: good news all around). I appreciate when authors can be this open (but understand when they don’t, I doubt I’d be able to).
The new book, health, and a few other updates—a similarly open update from Harry Connolly
Hello, my name is D I Jolly—a nice intro to this author who keeps popping up on the blog (and hopefully continues to do so)
Can a Book Really Be For Everyone?: What makes a book for everyone? Is it the presence of universal themes? Approachable prose?—Templeton’s latest is reliably good.
Chet and Bernie Tribute—a fan-made Spotify playlist. And yes, I will be listening to this when I dip into the upcoming Chet and Bernie book.
Considering the cosy turn in SFF: who gets to be comforted?
Booktok And Consumerism: For The Filthy Book Buying Capitalists Out There…
Seven books that I reviewed when this blog started thirteen years ago—A cool way to look back on an anniversary (happy 13th, Mike Finn!)
Good Books With Disappointing Endings—this was supposed to go up last week. Ooops. Great idea for a list.
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub got on her Twitter soapbox about policing reviews and was absolutely correct

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Bridge to Bat City by Ernest Cline—”a mostly true tall tale about an unexpected friendship between a young girl and a music-loving colony of bats.” A departure from Cline’s usual, but something tells me this is going to work really well.
Status Drift by Ian Robinson—the second in the re-issued Sam Batford series is not to be missed.
Rain Falls Hard by David Nolan—to commemorate the news about the TV adaptation, Farenheit Press is issuing Nolan’s Manc Noir trilogy in one handy (and cheap) volume. If you missed buying (and reading) these separately, now’s your chance to remedy that.
The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann—true stories of “the superheroes of reading”

Not a lot of things to post about this week–incidentally, I took most of April 2014 off, so my flashbacks are going to be sparse until May. But, a new week is on the horizon, I have many plans to fill it, annnnd I get to go to the 2nd Annual Treasure Valley Book Fair in a couple of hours. That should re-energize me.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Why I wrote an AI transparency statement for my book, and think other authors should too
A Garden of Verses: As commonplace books evolved into anthologies, they developed reputations as canonical works, their editors curating tomes as vibrant as the loveliest bouquets.
Don Winslow Reflects on Writing His Final Novel: Winslow discusses ‘City in Ruins,’ crime in Las Vegas, and how to write an epic trilogy.—Friend of the Blog, Nick Kowlakowski, talks with Winslow. It’s a doozy (as should be expected)
Speaking of Winslow, earlier this week, he tweeted his Five Must Read Books—I should move on a couple of these
The Big Bang! Prize Anthology—I don’t know when this was announced, but I saw it for the first time yesterday. This should be fun.
Oups, I Spend Way Too Long Writing Reviews
Tough Questions with Bookstgram—Bookstgram gets to be on the business end of the tough questions this week.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The Thriller Zone Episode 175, Season 6: Don Winslow, New York Times Bestselling Author of City In Ruins —a fun and insightful discussion with the great one.
Speaking of Mysteries Episode 257: Don Winslow—another good interview with Winslow. (although, if you’re only going to listen to one…make it the previous one)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
City in Ruins by Don Winslow—The last book in the Danny Ryan trilogy (a modern-day take on the Trojan War and The Aeneid) and the last book Winslow is publishing before retiring. A bittersweet release to be sure.
The World Entire by Jo Perry—follows up Perry’s Pure (which was possibly her best book yet), “Ascher returns in a fast-moving, intense, and layered mystery about a dog accused of murder and a violent group who are targeting the man Ascher loves.” Cannot wait to get my grubby hands on this.
The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword/ by Dewey Conway & Bill Adams—A Champion-in-Training, her Chronicler-in-Training, and a sword-yielding rooster (with a prosthetic leg) take on an Epic Quest in this fun MG fantasy with some great art to boot. I’ve written a little bit about it (but I feel like I should’ve written more).
Rites of Passage by M.D. Presley—kicks off a new UF series about a dowser on the run from the law, hired for a difficult challenge, but equipped with “his trusty dowsing rod, a defaced 50-cent piece, and enchanted iPod.” I asked Presley a Few Quick Questions about it earlier this week.
An Inconvenient Wife by Karen E. Olson—A crime novel inspired by the intrigue of the Tudor-era features Kate Parker, the sixth wife of billionaire Hank Tudor, dealing with the discovery of a headless corpse near his property and two of Hank’s exes (with suspiciously familiar names). Mrs. Irresponsible Reader and I have been fans of Olson for a long time, this looks like it could be a lot of fun.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Laurent de Brunhoff, author of Babar children’s books, dies at 98—”Babar author Laurent de Brunhoff, who revived his father’s popular picture-book series about an elephant-king and presided over its rise to a global multimedia franchise, has died at the age of 98.
For Book Recommendations, People Are Always Better Than Algorithms: Maris Kreizman Reveals Some Tricks of the Trade for the Semi-Professional Book Recommender—good post, and some great recommendations, too.
With Melville in Pittsfield—an interesting piece about a reader, Melville, and somehow Frank Castle/The Punisher is involved, too.
How Comic Book Fans Mistakenly Claimed the Term ‘Trade Paperback’ as Theirs: Unfamiliarity with book terms led comic book fans to adopt a standard book term, “trade paperback,” as a comic book term—huh. Kinda always wondered about this.
On Letting Go of the Idea of “Keeping Up”: “So, what have you read lately?” It sounds like an innocent question, but it came with a pile of expectations.—Molly Templeton’s being her regular thought-provoking self, and ends up sounding pretty healthy
Behold The Music—among the many, many good things I read on Tolkien Reading Day (which I once again forgot about until the day), was this guest post from Pages Unbound
How much does it cost to start a book blog in 2024? || 3 months of blogging—Laure’s looking at what she’s learned in 3 months of book blogging and asks some questions I should probably think about myself.
Why I Love Buying Books!—I think we all can relate
My Problem with “The Problem with Classics”
Tanis Half-Elven was a deeper character than I thought (warning: SA, CA discussion)—excellent points. (although I’m a bit biased, always thought Tanis deserved more fan attention)
Thinking About Stories: Appreciation Bottlenecks—Pete’s being insightful again…and I’m stealing/appropriating the term “Appreciation Bottleneck”
Nerd Church – Should We Judge Older Books By Modern Standards? —good stuff
March 2024 Book Blog Wrap-Up—Celeste’s monthly recap of the best posts you’ve missed
The Best Books I Have Read Published in Each Year of My Life—Fantastic idea.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The Conversation with Nadine Matheson 2.60 Neil Lancaster: True Detective and New Chapters
Libro.fm Podcast EP 27 Interview with S.A. Cosby (Author of All the Sinners Bleed & Razorblade Tears)—another good Cosby interview

Things I learned from reading this week (that I can’t imagine finding a use for):
Grated cheese predates The Republic—Plato talks about it—and it apparently was used to treat injuries? (an idea Plato did not endorse, I hasten to add). I don’t know why I assumed grating it was only a few hundred years old, but it seems I did. Source: Great Minds on Small Things by Matthew Qvortrup
Speaking of Plato, I think I’d encountered the fact that he’d been a wrestler in his youth (a successful competitor in the Isthmian Games), but I didn’t know that his actual name was Aristocles—and that Plato might be a nickname from the Greek for “the broad-shouldered one.” Sure, Macho Man or The Rock are catchier, but that’s a pretty good (and on the nose) wrestling name. Source: Great Minds on Small Things by Matthew Qvortrup

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke—the third, and best to date (as I recently opined), Record Shop Mystery. Junie doesn’t find the body this time, but she’s looking for the killer, for sure.
The Devil You Know by Neil Lancaster—the 5th Max Craigie book finds the team working with Davie Hardie of all people to close a cold case. This is also a reminder that I should write about book 4.
Poetry Comics by Grant Snider—”These poems explore everything you never thought to write a poem about, and they’re so fun to read you’ll want to write one yourself. Not to worry, there’s a poem for that, too!”
You’d Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace—this is a black comedy about a part-time serial killer dealing with the grief over her father’s death and a blackmailer.
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin—”about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate…. Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer.”
One in the Chamber by Robin Peguero—a political satire/thriller about Senate aids working with/against each other during the confirmation hearings for the first Black chief justice.
Bunyan and Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny by Mark Cecil—a dark re-imagining of the folk heroes.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Why Ban Books When You Can Ban Book Awards?: Suburban Illinois District Cancels Caudill Awards—The Caudill Awards of all things?
A Letter to the Editors of Literary Magazines—I’ve seen variations of this idea before, it never fails to make me smile. Here, a writer offers some critiques of the rejection letters she’s received.
Reimagining Nonfiction—a local library here will be closed for two days (shudder) to reorganize their Adult Nonfiction section, getting rid of Dewey Decimal. On the one hand, I like the concept. But it feels sacrilegious to monkey with Dewey Decimals, right?
Speaking of the Nampa Public Library, their Treasure Valley Book Fair is just around the corner! There are some familiar names on their list, but many that aren’t. I’m looking forward to meeting some new people—and hopefully featuring some of them soon.
The Weirdness of Ambrose Bierce: From “Owl Creek Bridge” to Horror and Satire—I’m always happy to read about Ambrose Bierce, and this is a good piece on him. It’s also a good reminder that I should open the new copy of The Devil’s Dictionary that I recently picked up.
P.L.’s TOP 25 INDIE SFF AUTHORS—P.L. Stuart, who knows a thing or two about Indie SFF, lists his top 25.
Books I’ve Read With Animals In The Title—a good list (and a good list idea for those who need one)
Tough Questions with A Literary Escape—W&S Bookclub puts a favorite under the harsh lights.
My Wife Reacts to My Favorite Books—author Dave Lawson gives his wife’s impressions of some covers. Fun idea.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Fiction Fans Interview: Translations with Nevena Andrić—questions I’ve always wanted to ask a translator

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
None. It was an entirely dead week here except for a Monday Miscellany because my schedule was just that messed up. I did note the release of Night Broken by Patricia Briggs, and a couple of news-y or silly items that are pretty much dead links now. Fun week around here, eh?

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Girl in the Dark by Zoë Sharp—Blake & Bryon team up again to look into the murder of someone who saved Blake’s life.
A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian—this release snuck up on me, I should’ve been waiting for it instead of hearing about it days later. Tempest Raj suspects that her family’s business is being framed, and it’s up to her to beat the killer at their own game.
The Best Way to Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale—based on the title, this is a book I will obviously keep from my wife. Based on the description, this sounds like a dark comedy with a lot of heart.
Kill For Me, Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh—Swapping murders for revenge, in a straight-out-of-Hitchcock move, but with a Cavanagh twist. I’m far behind on my Cavanagh reading, this looks like it might be enough to force me to catch up.
The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic by Daniel de Visé—a look at the Ackroyd and Belushi from childhood, to SNL, to the creation of the band and then the beloved movie. How can I resist this? Why would I try?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Laure, who subscribed to the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Is It A Betrayal To Publish Dead Writers’ Books?: Inside the ethically thorny world of posthumous publishing.
I didn’t get the credit for my bestselling book: the secret life of the celebrity ghost writer—Liam Pieper describes the reality that’s close to what I expected, but is nice to see confirmed.
Not Just Covers, But Every Page: Why Writers Should Talk About Book Design Early On: Debbie Berne on the Intricacies of Literary Interior Design
Why Are These 90s Young Adult Books So Irresistible?—For readers of a certain age, this is a fun collection of posts/articles from Pocket.
Famous Works of Irish Literature as Limericks—what better way to note St. Patrick’s Day than with Amanda Lehr’s latest post to McSweeny’s?
Bookish Death Cleaning: On What We Keep, and What It Means
Page Turners vs. Screen Scribes: The Endless Debate of Physical Books vs. Ebooks—nothing revolutionary here, but that’s not neccesarily a bad thing.
Breaking into the indie market with the Break-Ins! —Over at Before We Go Blog, The Fictional Escapist has a great interview about a great idea.
Bookmark Chat: Guess Who’s Back…—The McBooknerd is back!
A Voracious Reader was under the pressure of handling Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub’s Tough Questions this week (I really need to get on my answers)
Thoughts From A Grumpy Year Of Reading—2024 isn’t treating our pal Peat too well…

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The Conversation with Nadine Matheson 2.58 S.A. Cosby: We Tell Lies To Tell The Truth

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Red Rising by Pierce Brown—the beginning of a beautiful book friendship for me…
And on the other end of the tonal spectrum…Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Ballad of Sprikit The Bard (And Company) by Sean O’Boyle—I’ve seen this described as “A ‘Discworld’ meets ‘Lies of Locke Lamora’ Adventure.” Which is enough for me. Hearing a lot of good about it, too.
Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet—a “darkly comic” book about a Pitbull imitator (the rapper, not a canine) teaming up with a magical orca to become a real-life Tony Montana with shades of Moby Dick. The novel sounds so strange that it just might work.
Black Wolf by Juan Gómez-Jurado—This thriller looks so good that I’m getting the first in the series from the Library today. Click the link, I’m not going to try to summarize it.