Category: Books Page 114 of 160

So I saw a pretty decent bump in traffic this week thanks to The Write Reads featuring one of my posts as their Review of the Day, if you’re reading this because of them–hi! Thanks for stopping by. I’ve been meaning to say this for a few weeks now, but I keep forgetting—if you’re not following The Write Reads feeds on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram, you really should be. Their Post/Review of the Days are some of the best reading you’ll see from Book Bloggers out there. Sure, you’ll end up having too much to read (either posts or the books they talk about), but it’s worth it.

Anyway, here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them (especially if you follow The Write Reads), but just in case:

• Every Child Can Become a Lover of Books: Michelle Martin, a professor at the University of Washington, helps librarians create spaces that are welcoming to kids of all backgrounds
• 7 Author Pseudonyms That Were Cracked—and 6 That Haven’t Been (Yet)—Who doesn’t love a good pseudonym?
• Beowulf: Epic Adventure or Tale of Loss?—I just love the fact that there are people blogging about Beowulf.
• All the *WARNINGS*!!!—The Oranguatan Librarian sounds off on Trigger Warnings. As per the usual, it’s a good read.
• Fearless, free and feminist: the enduring appeal of Jack Reacher—Lest any reader be put off by the title (yeah, I’m talking about you), there’s very little feminism in this piece (I expected more, anyway). What there’s a lot of is good analysis of the series, the character and why so many like them.
• The Evolution of Dragons in Western Literature: A History—Hic sunt dracones, do you need me to say anything more to get you to click?
• We Need Noir—Because the Truth Is Dark, Messy, and Sometimes Ugly
• Fantasy: A Plethora of Choices—The Witty & Sarcastic Blog takes a look at types of Fantasy Novels (particularly handy for those not sure where to wade into the genre).
• 5 of the Most Useful Animal Sidekicks in Fiction—I’m only familiar with one of the 5, and there’s a part of me that wants to respond with a much longer list. But…how do you not recommend anything that talks about Falcor? Quick poll: how many of you have read the book The Neverending Story? Without getting into the merits of it, were you better off just watching the first movie?
• Judging a book by it’s cover…—I love stories about cover design (as long-time readers know and maybe regret), here’s some gorgeous examples of what a cover can be.
• How Do You Read Series?—I think I would go insane if I lived like this reader (that’s not a criticism, it’s a bit of “how do you manage that?” said with incredulity tinged with awe). What about you?
• Book Blogger Spreadsheet Template—my own spreadsheet is getting unwieldy and overly-complicated (it’s still a lot better than it was!), I think I might abandon mine next year for this one. It’s a work of art.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon — or, if I had more time, I’d get to (the last four of these fit into this category. I can’t see finding the time for them, but I bet it’d be worth it):
• Famous in Cedarville by Erica Wright—a small-town mystery that leads to Hollywood in all it’s glory and vice. My post about the book.
• The Night Fire by Michael Connelly—Bosch. Ballard. Haller. ‘Nuff said. I have 2.6 books to go before I get to this one. Yeah, I’m counting down already.
• The Girl with No Face by M. H. Boroson—an Urban Fantasy set in 19th Century San Francisco’s Chinatown? Fantastic idea.
• Ghoster by Jason Arnop—I’ve seen this title a lot this week, this social media satire/thriller looks like a good way to spend some time.
• From Hell to Breakfast by Meghan Tifft—I’m not even going to try to summarize this one—click the link read more and get as tempted as I am.
• Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters by Emily Roberson—Percy Jackson meets Reality TV?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Anthony Day Grandin, Donald Wilson, lisasbooksgemsandtarot (say that five times fast), Adrianna and Scarlett Backus for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• One for the books: the unlikely renaissance of libraries in the digital age—Obviously, things for us Yanks are a little different than the Sydney Morning Herald’s audience, but there’s some good overlap
• Who Decides Which Books Are “Great?”: The concept of “Great Books,” the historian Tim Lacy explains, developed in the late nineteenth century as an attempt to foster a “democratic culture.”
• Along those lines, here’s a nice little post from The Orangutan Librarian that I somehow overlooked last month: In defence of classics- again!
• Michael Connelly reveals how ‘Bosch’ was born and other tales of his humble rise to fame
• The 15 most iconic Harry Bosch haunts across L.A.—I’m not one for traveling, really, but I would gladly organize a vacation to L.A. around this.
• Removing the Mystery From Mystery Writing: 13 Tricks Used by Acclaimed Novelists—geared more toward the writer, but there’s some interesting behind-the-scenes nuggets for readers.
• The 40 Best Novels of the 2010s—Paste magazine compiled a list of their editors’ favorites.
• The Ultimate Print On Demand Guide for Nonfiction Authors—another one pointed at the writers in the audience (or would-be writers). I find this kind of thing interesting even as a reader, tho.
• The 21 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Series Ever—at least according to Thrillist. Hard to argue against these though (as much as one might want to argue for others)
• A Book Bloggers Guide to Book Blogging – A Resource Guide—A very handy little “guide to help with some of the confusing things found in book blogging” from Before We Go Blog
• 4 Things About Blogging That Seem Scary, But Really Aren’t That Bad
• DNFing Books – A Discussion—I’m Fully Booked weighs in on the practice
• Top Ten Tuesday – Character Traits I Love—Caffinated Fae provides a nice little list.
• STET! Dreyer’s English: A Game for Language Lovers, Grammar Geeks, and Bibliophiles—This has been out for awhile, but I just saw a link for it this week. I’d love playing this (although I’m afraid I’d be wrong too often for my ego)

This Week’s New Release I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (I probably missed a few, but…):
• Ghosts of You by Cathy Ulrich—this flash fiction collection is compelling, haunting, and thought-provoking (and includes some really good reading, too). My post about it describes the book better.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to kbbookreviewer, _forbookssake, thelostwoman, amanja and Steven Colborne /a> for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Yeah, I’ve been quiet this week, I’ve been running on fumes for most of it, I’m not sure why. Given the number of Book Tour Stops I’ve got scheduled for next week, I’ll be a little noisier (or, I’ll have a few tour organizers and authors not speaking to me).

But that’s for another day (at least Tuesday). For now, here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Diary of a small town sensation: how the Wimpy Kid author built his dream bookshop—I’ve linked to stories about this before, but (no matter what you think of Kinney), this is a cool story to revisit.
• Books are good for your brain. These techniques will help you read more.: Turn yourself into a bookworm.—I”m sure none of you need this, but maybe you know someone who does
• Fascinated to Presume: In Defense of Fiction—a nice piece by Zadie Smith
• 10 of the Best-Selling Authors of All Time—from Mental Floss
• Philip Pullman on Children’s Literature and the Critics Who Disdain It: Don’t Let Anyone Tell You What You Should or Should Not Be Reading—am not a fan of Pullman, but there’s good stuff here
• Further Thoughts on Smell in Literature, or The Dog as Watson—focuses on one of our favorite Watsons: Chet.
• Celebrating Elmore Leonard’s “Rules for Writing”: The master craftsman gave us more than just the 10 rules—and they’re all good ones.—In honor of what would’ve been his 94th birthday, Crime Reads gives us this — the “official” list and some other good ones.
• 5 Authors Who Loved Their Screen Adaptations (And 5 Who Loathed Them)
• Extra special bumper cover reveal(!!) with Steph Broadribb & Orenda Books—the cover of the new Lori Anderson is revealed, plus new versions of the previous 3. Which are almost enough to convince me to buy new copies. Almost.
• Defining Terms: “At Times…”—a new entry in Paul’s Picks’ series, and something I employ, too.
• Books I Had To Read In Secondary School And College—I wonder if I could compile a similar list…
• Modern Fantasy Trending Away From Fictitious Races by Ross Hughes
• The Library Of Life and why I prefer physical books.
• Battle of the Book Covers…Who Wore It Best?—great idea for a post
• Bookworm Memes That Are Too Relatable—from the good people at Bookidote
• My Top 5: Bookish Pet Peeves—yup
• No book lover has all three—I don’t have any of them

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:
• Once & Future Podcast, Ep. 200: Felicia Day—Anton Strout celebrates his 200th episode with this great chat with Felicia Day (I’ve got to make time for this book)

This Week’s New Releases include one book I’ve already read and three that sound like they’d be up my alley, but I don’t know if I’ll manage to get to (make sure you click the links to get the full blurbs on these):
• The Princess Beard by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson—high seas adventure, hijinks, many jokes, many elf butts and personal growth are featured in this concluding Tale of Pell. My original post is here.
• Look Both Ways:
  A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jayson Reynolds—a novel told in ten stories about what happens after the school bell rings and people walk home. There’s also a bus falling from the sky that no one notices.
• How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason—a mix of Fairy-Tale and Space Opera
• Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia—a dying billionaire sends one woman and a cast of dreamers and rivals on a treasure hunt.

Lastly, yesterday I posted a couple of things with a new bullet style (in case you’re one of the 2% that noticed), today, I’m back to ol’ reliable. What do you think—are those others too much for a post like this? Would it just make things too noisy?

A brief one this week—but such is the joy of being miscellaneous, right? Here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Growing Number of U.S. Adults Just Don’t Read Books—Really, I’m not sure this is news. But those numbers are depressing.
• The Authoritarian’s Worst Fear? A Book: Governments are spending a remarkable amount of resources attacking books — because their supposed limitations are beginning to look like ageless strengths.—making the previous piece look even worse
• Everybody Loves to Hate a Dirty Cop: 10 Books of Corruption and Greed—Adrian McKinty assembled a pretty impressive list here. Yes, it’s from 2017, but I don’t think I saw it then.
• Fiction Ghostwriting Is Bigger Than Ever—huh.
• What is your #1 Priority when Choosing a Book to Read?: There are a lot of things that could influence why you choose a specific book to read…
• After picking a book, you may need this: The Art of Abandoning Books—wisdom I need to apply more
• and if it’s still not one you like, this could come in handy: Why I Write “Negative” Reviews (And Why You Don’t Have To)—(one of the better of this type of post)
• A Bookworm’s Guide to Removing Stubborn Stickers—I think we all have had a few more of these than we want.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• A Time Traveler’s Theory of Relativity by Nicole Valentine—A nice Time Travel Story for the young and young at heart. Here’s my post about it
• Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day—a promising looking book to help spark (or reignite) your creativity
• Murder in Montague Falls by Russ Colchamiro, Sawney Hatton, and Patrick Thomas—a shared universe collection of short stories. I’ve been seeing Colchamiro talk about this coming for months now, looking forward to dipping into it.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Mohit Malviya, jackiesreadingcorner, and Patrick Lynn for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?