Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 4 of 33

Well, I’ve been silent this week…it’s been one of those. All is good (now), but I haven’t had the energy to produce anything. Hopefully next week will allow me to play catchup (or at least to do stuff). But I did get to do some halfhearted scrolling on the socials, so at least I can do this.

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:
Let’s start with some good news: Judge approves $1.5 billion copyright settlement between AI company Anthropic and authors
The audiobook business is booming. But the bounty isn’t being shared by all
How Translations Sell: Three U.S. Eras of International Bestsellers—huh
Raymond Chandler’s Unseen Story Has Been Published At Last—ooooh!
The 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years—I’ve only read one of these from Slate’s list, but I’m willing to sign on to it being part of the list. This feels like a project for Grandpappy’s Corner!
Form, Function, and the Sentences We Collect—the latest from Molly Templeton
15th blogiversary: along the years, stats—Congrats to Words and Peace for hitting that landmark!
Monthly Manga Mania Featuring Firsty Duelist: One Piece (ARC 1)—it’s been a month since the last one??
Something is Rotten in the State of Publishing, according to the Orangutan Librarian, anyway. Thoughts?
Captivating Characters of September —This is an interesting pick.
People Just Want Dragons—A.J. Calvin has thoughts
Not The Friday Five: Happy Birthday To The Hobbit—Peat’s got some great links to check out!

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Author Adjacent Episode 47: Interview with JCM Berne: No Books Were Harmed—is on my to-be-watched list, but sure to be good
GSMC Book Review Podcast Where the Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski—is another one on it.
The Bookish Diaries Podcast Our Favorite Reads This Year—I stumbled onto this locally produced podcast this week. Our tastes really don’t overlap too much, but it was fun to listen to this episode.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Indexing: Reflections, Episode 4: Split Ends by Seanan McGuire
Yes, My Accent Is Real by Kunal Nayyar
Changeless by Gail Carriger
The Drafter by Kim Harrison—my favorite of all of Harrison’s works
And I noted the release of Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Anna Waterhouse

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama, Takami Nieda (Translator)—I enjoyed, but was underwhelmed by, Aoyama’s What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, but how do you not at least try something with a title like this?
Humanish: What Talking to Your Cat or Naming Your Car Reveals About the Uniquely Human Need to Humanize by Justin Gregg—I didn’t realize I needed to read about about anthropomorphism until I saw this book. Sign me up for this: “Delivered with a delightful mix of scientific insight and humor, Humanish is a groundbreaking exploration of one of the most powerful–but rarely talked about–cognitive biases influencing our behavior. “

Just for funzies, I included one blatant lie in my comments below. Let me know if you can spot it!

Meanwhile, John Scalzi will be giving a talk at a local library. In case anyone wondered what I was going to be up to tonight.

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 start this week with the sad news that Thomas Perry died.
Publishers Weekly’s The 2025 Freedom to Read Issue is out, highlighting the local work being done on the book banning/library defunding/etc. front.
Banned Books Week Read-In—Libro.fm and Silent Book Club have paired up with nearly 450 independent bookshops and libraries to protest
Librarians Are Being Asked to Find AI-Hallucinated Books—Sigh. Of course they are.
But what about works that actually do exist? The Great Stories Are Out There—But We Need To Connect Creators To Audiences —”Reinforcing why indie storytellers and audiences must forge a new creative ecosystem together.”
HarperCollins to Reissue 35 ‘American Classics’—”HarperCollins has announced plans to “commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence” with its new American Classics series, to be published next spring…the series will feature 35 special-edition trade paperbacks of some of the most influential titles HC has put out since its 1817 founding.” You can see the list here. And, no, I will not be buying new copies of anything just because of the covers.
Horror Books to Read This Halloween Season—I won’t be reading any of these (no offense, Books of Brilliance), but I know some of you get into this kind of thing.
Thriller tropes: What are my favorites—a good overview of some big tropes

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
SFF Addicts The Shifting Landscape of Epic Fantasy—Recorded live at WorldCon, this panel features George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, Rebecca Roanhorse and Ryan Cahill. I haven’t made it all the way through yet, but I’m really loving this discussion.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Covenant’s End by Ari Marmell
Last Words by Michael Koryta
Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
And I mentioned the release of three books I remember having fun with: Hexomancy by Michael R. Underwood, The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, and Yes, My Accent Is Real And Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You by Kunal Nayyar

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A Particularly Nasty Case by Adam Kay—a debut mystery from the doctor turned author. Looks promising.
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi by Angie Thomas—Been wondering when we get this sequel. Looking forward to dipping back into this MG world.
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach—”explores the remarkable advances and difficult questions prompted by the human body’s failings”
The Summer War by Naomi Novik—”a young witch who has inadvertently cursed her brother to live a life without love must find a way to undo her spell.”
I Killed the King by Rebecca Mix, Andrea Hannah—YA Knives Out in a fantasy setting. Should be fun.

This lil’ feature is getting harder to find material for—hard to take a quick spin through my social media feeds for things without being distracted by/inundated with/overwhelmed by politics, events, news, etc. and really awful takes on politics, events, news, etc. You’ve probably all encountered similar things in your day-to-day websurfing/social media scrolling. As the philosopher asked, “My world’s on fire, how bout yours?” (or at least it seems to be).

I’m not sure I have a point there…just had to ramble a bit this morning, I guess. How about we get down to biz-ness?

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:
What To Do When You’re in a Reading Slump—some tips from a local bookseller
Retiring from Novels—I get his thinking, but hope this retirement is short-lived. If not, I hope his next endeavors succeed.
Fiscal Funny Business: Susan Grossey talks to Crime Time—a nice little piece from one of the niche-est writers I follow.
(It’s Not) The Death of Criticism (Again)—Molly Templeton explores the nature of, reasoning behind, and the current conversation(s) around criticism
8 Times Authors Took Revenge in Their Fiction—a fun listicle
Misconceptions, Mishaps and CrAzY Stories From Working in Libraries! What is it REALLY like?—I do wonder what the non-PG version would contain…but I think I’m better off not knowing
Mental Health and Fantasy—an updated version of a great post

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Dear Dr. Fantasy: episode 80, with Joe (JCM Berne)—Haven’t found/made the time for this yet, but it looks really good.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Fraud by Brad Parks
Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell—interesting timing for this to come up if you look down below
Indexing: Reflections, Episode 3: Brotherly Love by Seanan McGuire
A Red-Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire
Who Let The Dog Out? by David Rosenfelt
It was a good release week, I mentioned the following: Robert B. Parker’s The Devil Wins by Reed Farrel Coleman; Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell; Make Me by Lee Child; All In by Joel Goldman and Lisa Klink; and A Guide To Being A Dog, by Seamus Wheaton by Wil Wheaton

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Gnomes of Lychford by Paul Cornell—”Gnomes, witches, and podcasters clash for the future of the village of Lychford in this delightful conclusion to the Witches of Lychford series.” (I thought the series had already ended…oops. Glad to be proven wrong, if only for 160 pages)
Reacher: The Stories Behind the Stories by Lee Child—”These are the origin tales of all of the Reacher novels written solely by Lee Child, chock full of colorful anecdotes and intriguing inspirations. One by one, they expand upon each novel and place it in the context not only of the author’s life, but of the world outside the books.”
Crooks: A Novel About Crime and Family by Lou Berney—A fascinating-looking book that “follows a uniquely American crime family on an unforgettable journey across four decades.” This review over at The Hard Word sold me.

Yes, I am still blogging, not that you can prove that lately. I have 5 draft posts that were supposed to go up this week (including a book tour!!). But energy/initiative didn’t seem to be my thing this week. Let’s see if things improve over the next 7, shall we?

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:
Banned Books Week gives us a chance to reflect on censorship—some thoughts ahead of the UK’s BBW in October
“Weird, but Fantastic”: Devoney Looser on Those Who Love Jane Austen—Looser is making the rounds on the internet this week about her upcoming book. I’m not an Austen fan, but I’m tempted by this book.
It’s Okay to Hate The House of Mirth: Carlo Rotella on Reading (and Learning) from Books We Dislike—I don’t know enough (or anything) about this book or Wharton to have an opinion on that, but I appreciated the lessons of this.
The Longest Long Words List: Don’t read this if you have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (fear of long words).—Some fun from Merriam-Webster
Why AI Narrators Will Never Be Able to Tell a Real Human Story: Adam Verner Explores the Uncanny Valley of Automated Audiobooks—this seems like it sound be entirely too many words for an easy topic, but…End-Stage Capitalism, or whatever it is we’re in shows us otherwise
The Future of Technology Makes It Harder to Solve Fictional Crimes
Quiz: Can You Match the Literary Fart Joke to its Source?—I’m not sure if I should be relieved or embarassed at how badly I failed this one.
August 2025 Book Blogger Posts Round Up—Jo Linsdell has a great collection of recent reads
Wombling Along—as does the Wombler
Why Bunnies? Jumping into the Role of Rabbits in Children’s Literature—I’ve wondered this a time or two, but never actually gave it any thought. Thanks for prompting actual musing, Orangutan Librarian!

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Provoke Not The Children by Michael W. Anderson
Underground by Kat Richardson
Indexing: Reflections, Episode 2: Broken Glass by Seanan McGuire
The Van by Roddy Doyle
And I mentioned the releases of: (so many bangers that week) A Red-Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire; The Drafter by Kim Harrison; Jillian Cade: (Fake) Paranormal Investigator by Jen Klein; Is Fat Bob Dead Yet? by Stephen Dobyns; Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart; Updraft by Fran Wilde; The Dragon Engine by Andy Remic; andThe Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Hansel and Gretel by Stephen King, Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)—I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago—how does one pass up this team-up?
Making History by K. J. Parker—a tyrant assembles a group of historians to create a false justification for starting a war. In Parker’s hands, this is going to be wickedly good.

Running late (again), a lot of people-ing. Started with the Boise Library’s Comic Arts Fest (more about that later), and then ran into some family time. Sorry about that.

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:
My students resisted reading books. I found an unexpected solution.—One Middle School teacher makes a breakthrough by remembering what had worked when he was a student
One of my favorite novelists, Matthew Norman seeks a (bad) Answer to one of the 20th Century’s Biggest Literary Questions
Petty Revenges to Wish Upon Your Booksich Arch Nemesis—Some of these are Cru-EL. (so bad you have to pronounce it that way).
Monthly Manga Mania Featuring Firsty Duelist: Kamen Rider by Shotaro Ishinomori
I’m Currently Disillusioned with New Releases—Brianna has broken free from the Tyranny of the New. (sorta jealous, really)
10 Urban Fantasy Books That Blend Magic and Mayhem—Anca Antoci features some really solid choices, and a few I’m going to have to sample
On Setting Expectations For Writers—Peat Long drops some wisdom
There is a Season…Turn, Turn Turn—a great post on Witty & Sarcastic Book Club about the importance of beginner books to parents (particularly as the kids get older)

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson—In retrospect, I want to quibble with my rating from back then. I just don’t get it.
Hostile Takeover by Shane Kuhn—I wish he were still producing work (if he is, it’s under a different name, and I’d like someone to clue me in)
And I talked about the releases of: X by Sue Grafton; Randoms by David Liss; and Koko the Mighty by Kieran Shea

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Art of Legend by Wesley Chu—The trilogy concludes, and I can’t wait to see how.
Katabasis by R. F Kuang—A Dark Academia take on Dante’s Inferno.

I really should’ve saved a couple of things from last week’s list for today…oh well, it’ll be faster for both of us this way.

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:
ChatGPT Shaming Is Making Our Writing So Much Worse: In the age of A.I. paranoia, people are cutting em dashes, skipping metaphors, and leaving in typos to prove their human.—If it’s a choice of defending my writing as human generated or cutting an em-dash, I’ll go to the gibbet! Leaving in typos? Stuff of nightmares.
Convince Audible to revise it’s New Royalty Model—I’m not going to tell you if you should sign this or not. Or if this should alter your audiobook practices (but there is a libro.fm link in my sidebar and I get a little something from it if you subscribe). But you should give this a read just to understand what Audible is doing.
Linda Castillo on Keeping Her Kate Burkholder Series Fresh and Frightening After 17 Books—I’m way behind in that series and I’m not so sure she’s pulling it off. But maybe I’m in a middling-time for her and things will freshen up. Still, it was interesting to read.
Andy Peloquin and some fellow authors clearly had some fun at WorldCon as seen in Let’s ask random authors some questions…Part One!!
SFF books featuring Characters with Disabilties – Top Ten Tuesday!—2 solid picks here and 8 that probably are, too. Feed your TBR!
Speaking of feeding your TBR, it’s time for Narratess Indie August Sale. My TBR is embiggened!

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Book Off! Season 14, Ep. 13 JD Kirk and MW Craven—I haven’t listened to a Book Off! in ages, this was a good one to get back into it with. Loads of fun.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
212 by Alafair Burke
Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Veiled by Benedict Jacka
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Lastly, I mentioned the releases of: Hallow Point by Ari Marmell; Zero World by Jason Hough; Last Words by Michael Koryta; Zeroes by Chuck Wendig; and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A Mother’s Guide to the Apocalypse by Hollie Overton—”a post-apocalyptic mystery exploring the unshakeable bond between mothers and daughters and the sacrifices we make for the people we love.” This looks intense and riveting

Hate to let the streak end (although it was for a worthy cause), especially because I had the biggest list I’d come up with in a few weeks.

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 authors who make millions through self-publishing: Three British writers reveal how they built successful careers without agents or conventional publishers
C.S. Lewis in the Age of Bleakness: Awe, Wonder and the Power of Enchantment
Our Golden Age of Reading (Online)
Review Bomber Review Bombed—hate to see it (no, not really)
Book Review: ‘Mississippi Blue 42’ takes readers into excesses and corruption in big-time college athletics—some review, some profile, generally good stuff about Cranor and his latest
We All Miss Mass Market Paperbacks: It’s partly nostalgia, but there really is something special about those books…—Templeton makes it hard for me to finish the post I’ve been playing with about Mass Market Paperbacks
5 Fun Tips and Tricks To Focus on Your Physical TBR: Feeling overwhelmed by your physical TBR piling up all around you? Here are fun tips and tricks to dwindle your physical TBR.
How I Read Star Ratings—some good thoughts from Pages Unbound’s Krysta
Blogiversary #8—Carol’s Reading Ladies Book Club hit a milestone last week. Congrats!
When Fiction Meets Reality: I Guessed the Inspiration for a Book and Now It’s Living Rent Free in My Mind
Dungeons and Dragons Romance Books—I can think of a few people who’d like these

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
How I Library Episode 20: Penn Jillette—Fun in general, and Jillette offers one of my favorite anti-book ban arguments

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Indexing: Reflections, Episode 1: Forbidden Doors by Seanan McGuire
Spell or High Water by Scott Meyer
The Redeemers by Ace Atkins
Hidden by Benedict Jacka
The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire
And I mentioned the releases of: Indexing: Reflections by Seanan McGuire; You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day; Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner; and The End of All Things by John Scalzi

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Final Vow by M.W. Craven—If there’s a book I’ve been looking forward to more this year, I can’t think of it. Just waiting on international shipping. Oh, right, about the book—Poe and Tilly are on the hunt for a sniper who is on a spree of random shootings.
The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford—Ford tries his hand at epic fantasy, “a wild band known as the Bone Raiders harness the power of gigantic, fire-breathing lizards to defend their homeland.”
The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown—”a trio of seemingly everyday people are members of a secret society tasked with finding and protecting hidden magical objects—ordinary items with extraordinary properties. “

Image credit: Grammarly

Happy Book Lover’s Day, everyone!

Got a short list this week–I don’t know if I’m just missing posts (very likely), or if everyone’s got the August blahs (even liklier), or a societal collapse ennui (incredibly understandable)–but I did find a few things that I wanted to be sure to share.

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:
Jane Austen was a satirist – why isn’t she treated like one?—This is a great question. Maybe if I’m prodded into re-reading her, I’ll focus on that part. (and it would take something like John Cena shouting in my ear while shoving the collected works into my chest to prod enough). Would love to read comments by Austen-appreciators about this piece
What happens when Stephen King and Maurice Sendak join forces? Joe Hill has some thoughts.—I’ve had this book on my radar, and was already planning on actually purchasing a Stephen King book (something I haven’t done since the 90s!), but I enjoyed this video enough to save it for today. Also, Mina Moo Bozic’s comment should make you smile.
“Reading,” a Poem by Emily Skillings

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Fiction Fans The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald feat. Krystle Matar—”Your hosts are joined by Krystle Matar to discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. They wonder why no one talks about Gatsby being a crime lord, throw around wild F. Scott conspiracy theories, and rank the characters from least shitty to most shitty. (It’s all of them. They’re all the most shitty)” I haven’t had a chance to listen to this yet, but I’m looking forward to it, I just have to make the time. Although, “no one” talking about Gatsby being a crime lord is a bit of an exaggeration. It’s not terribly suprising that podcast hosts that focus on SF/F don’t read Crime Reads (or similar places) regularly, as shown in one example or two regularly.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Long Black Curl by Alex Bledsoe—One of the best Tufa novels (which is saying something)
Thank You, Goodnight by Andy Abramowitz—another absolute banger of a novel
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
I mentioned the release of a handful of books: Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn; Veiled by Benedict Jacka; Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat by Anastacia Marx de Salcedo — This book looks great, but man…I tell you, I’m not sure I want to learn what she has to say.; School for Sidekicks by Kelly McCullough; Con Academy by Joe Schreiber; Whirligig by Magnus Macintyre; and A Better Way to Die: The Collected Short Stories by Paul Cornell

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Bones & Betrayals: Silence of the Dead by by Andi Ewington/Erica Marks—a buddy PI novel in a fantasy world. Worked for me on several levels, it’s one of those books I’m telling everyone about—along the lines I did here
Mississippi Blue 42 by Eli Cranor—this is a “series debut starring a rookie FBI agent who finds herself caught in the tangled web of a college football empire—and the bloody greed that fuels it.” I’m halfway through this now…and I’m vaguley annoyed I have to do anything else until I’m done.
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz—1. Fantastic cover. 2. “You don’t have to eat food to know the way to a city’s heart is through its stomach. So when a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen, they decide to make their own way doing what they know: making food—the tastiest hand-pulled noodles around—for the humans of San Francisco, who are recovering from a devastating war.” Then there’s some sort of pushback. Mike Finn argues against this being classified as “cozy” and makes me more interested than I already was.
That Christmas and Other Stories by Richard Curtis (yes, that Richard Curtis), Rebecca Cobb (Illustrator)—I really enjoyed the movie based on these stories and was curious what they looked like in their original form–now I can (but I’ll probably wait until December to do more than skim it).

Much peopleing was done today (at least by my standards), so I’m running behind. Hope no one tries to set your watch by when this thing posts (it’s erratic enough that no one likely does, but you never know)

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:
Twenty Literary Would-You-Rathers by Julianne Neely—There are some tough calls to make in this new McSweeney’s piece
Why New Generations of Readers Are Still Discovering & Reading Agatha Christie—And one day, I’ll be one of them
Florida Man Writes Novel: Joe Pan on Philosopher-Bikers, Poetry, and Korean Horror Films—how do you pass up a combo like that?
Marketing Experiments and Learning What Works—AJ Calvin talks about various marketing strategies that she’s tried
Jordan Harper on the Bittersweetness of Adapting His Own Novel into a Hollywood Film—Nick Kolakowski talks about that, and more about the writing of the novel She Rides Shotgun (one of the best novels I’ve read, and I’m so nervous about the adaptation. Both for what this article says and because of an irrational dislike for Egerton).
While we’re on the subject, it’s worth taking a glance at Films that influenced Jordan Harper’s ‘She Rides Shotgun’
Instagram’s andr3wsky has some hard truths for people who only read and don’t listen to audiobooks.

A Book-ish Related Podcast/Video episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to/watch:
Libro.fm Podcast Episode 51: Cory Doctorow on Divesting from Amazon’s Audible and the Fight for Digital Rights—great stuff.
SFF Addicts Ep. 165: Self-Publishing as a Career with Tao Wong, Shami Stovall & Michael Michel—a great episode, and touches on a lot of things I want to explore in the future myself
Why The Silver Chair Is the Most Underrated Narnia Book | A Deep Dive Review—okay, I haven’t watched this yet. But suspect that Fantasy is for the Ages is onto something here. If only because I certainly rate it pretty low–always have (I’ve even skipped it a few times in my youth).

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Scents and Sensibility by Spencer Quinn
Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
I mentioned the releases of Crooked by Austin Grossman and Half a War by Joe Abercrombie

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
There’s a voice in the back of my head that tells me I’m forgetting something major here. ¯_ (ツ)_/¯ You may see an amendment next week when I remember the blantantly obvious.
Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons by Jaleigh Johnson—This is apparently a sequel, so I have two books to get now. This paragraph from the blurb is enough for me: “When the day is threatened by tyrannical foes or monstrous fiends, the people of Faerûn place their trust in the realm’s mighty heroes. When the mighty heroes don’t show up, they get the Fallbacks.”
An Oral History of Atlantis by Ed Park—In these short stories, “characters bemoan their fleeting youth, focus on their breathing, meet cute, break up, write book reviews, translate ancient glyphs, bid on stuff online, whale watch, and once in a while find solace in the sublime. Throughout, Park deploys his trademark wit to create a world both strikingly recognizable and delightfully other. Spanning a quarter century, these sixteen stories tell the absurd truth about our lives. They capture the moment when the present becomes the past.”

I really don’t have much for today, almost an inexcusably short amount. In my defense, I was a little busy this week.

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 Refuge From Censorship: Why Independent Bookstores Will Save Us—The headline might be overly optimistic, but it’s good to dream, right? “Kate Broad on the Invaluable Civic and Cultural Role of Booksellers Across the Country”
Captivating Characters of July—Yesterday was the last Friday of July? Eeep. Time for another installment in this meme that needs to get more steam. (he says, having contributed once this year)
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re about to wrap up Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week 2025. Be sure to check out Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week 2025 Hub to see most (possibly all) of the posts associated with it. A few things that I want to highlight:
#selfpublishedauthorsappreciationweek and/or #SPAAW on Bluesky have a lot of goodies to see (I didn’t see much action over on not-Twitter).
Read Indie Fantasy‘s contributions threatened to break my bank
You’ve gotta enter the Giveaway for Bones and Betrayals: Silence of the Dead by Erica Marks and Andi Ewington, not only is it a great read. But the entertainment possibilities in the responses are high. I want to read more of them (a reason for you, and a reason for me—we both benefit!)
There’s also a Giveway from Your Paper Quest Subscription Box—one of the best ideas that I’ve seen this year
Lastly, Seán reminded us all of the “need to actively support unorthodox writing projects that would struggle to exist in the modern trad pub industry but would flourish” online, like their flash fiction Substack, Shadows & Sorcery and “all the fantasy encyclopedias, bestiaries, and in-universe texts I’ve been told people want to write but ‘don’t have an audience.’ I, for one, would like some recommendations for the latter.
I shared this link 10 years ago, I just re-read it and thought I’d share. 20 Surprisingly Profound Quotes From Fantasy & SciFi. Some real gems.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
I refuse to believe it’s been ten years since these.
Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn
Re Jane by Patricia Park
And I mentioned the releases of: The Redeemers by Ace Atkins; Who Let the Dog Out by David Rosenfelt; and Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog also by David Rosenfelt

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
(it was unintentional, but I’m embracing the coincidence that these are all self-published works)
Shield of The Mothership by JCM Berne—The greatest mystery in my life is why I’m not caught up on this series. But more importantly–new JCM Berne, folks! Get on it!!
You’ll Never Walk Alone by Troy Lambert—a creepy-looking short story
Jumping Judiciary Corruption by E. N. Crane—another series that I’m inexplicably behind on. Cyn and Winnie look into the death of a sequestered juror.