Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 4 of 25

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.

Running late today…no interesting story behind it (which is good and bad), just a thing that happened. But I do have a few things to share for whenever you see 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:
The Loss of Things I Took for Granted: Ten years into my college teaching career, students stopped being able to read effectively.—this is disturbing
Can We Please Put an End to Overperformed Audiobooks?
20 Modern Whodunits to Read if You Love Golden Age Mysteries —this is a pretty good listicle from The Real Book Spy
Coming to Terms With “Cozy” Fiction: Categories and genres are weird things. Sometimes they make perfect sense; sometimes they feel like mental sandpaper.
Why is there an obsession with rehabilitating villains??—while I wouldn’t want to argue against rehabilitating anyone in real life, I think the Orangutaton Librarian hits on something here when it comes to fiction.
The Various Things Ratings Can Mean—Peat Long drops some wisdom
Books with Relationships for People who Don’t Love Love: 2024 Edition—the atypical Valentine’s Day list is back with some good recommendations.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells
Hide by Lisa Gardner
And I mentioned the release of Grimm: The Chopping Block by John Passarella—the Grimm tie-in novel that I never got around to tracking down.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown—a strange world of magic, time travel, and books. I quite enjoyed it.
The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond—magically-enhanced con artists? Count me in.
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar—this is one of those books that I’m not going to pretend to be able to describe in a sentence without reading, but it looks promising.