- Was out of town this past weekend, so I wrote my Saturday Miscellany post a day early and then scheduled the posting. You’d have thought that I’d be clever enough to schedule something containing “1/17/2015” in the title on 1/17/2015, wouldn’t you? Well, you would be wrong.
- While out of town, had some extra reading time — which means I’m even more behind on reviews now. Hope to chip away at that soon.
- Part of that reading was Harry Connolly‘s A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark — I’ll spoil my review here: if you like Urban Fantasy, particularly a-typical Urban Fantasy, read this book. Releases on March 3. You can order it from Amazon or Kobo here.
- I’ve noticed that I’m far less forgiving of typos/proofreading flubs in e-books (particularly those that are self-published) than I am of those in hardcover/paperback. Is it just me? (no, there’s no link between the last two items)
Category: Books Page 158 of 167
Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye (a strangely short list compared to the last few weeks). You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
- E-Books Are Damaging Your Health: Why We Should All Start Reading Paper Books Again — over at Medical Daily, Lecia Bushak goes on a rant about the health benefits of dead-tree books over e-books. Maybe it’s just me, but this seems to needs to be read with a salt lick nearby.
- Is there an ideal age to write a masterpiece? — Blinkbox Books put together an infographic showing when authors wrote their most famous works
- Kitty Saves the World & an announcement — Carrie Vaughn announces that she’s wrapping things up in the next book. I figured this was coming, but I thought it’d take a few more books. Wanted a few more books first. It’s time, but going to be sad to see this one go.
- Ernest Cline writing 2nd Ready Player One novel — words fail me. I don’t know if I’ve ever been as tempted to use that “Shut up and take my money!” line.
- This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
- Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh — a worthy, and entertaining, successor to last year’s Shovel Ready
- The Way Into Magic by Harry Connolly — Book 2 in Connolly’s Epic Fantasy series, hearing nothing but good about this series. Need to get to it, soon. It’s on my Kindle, but I’m no longer sure I should use it after reading that Bushak piece 😉
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to whatshesreadingnow, Crossroads Reviews, and Curlydaz for following the blog this week. Thanks especially to whatshesreadingnow for the very kind description of this blog that she gave to her readers.
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:
- I’m sure you heard that Mark Zuckerberg Aims to Start World’s Largest Bookclub on Facebook — which sounds interesting as all get out, and apparently, When Mark Zuckerberg Likes a Book, Sales Soar and by “soar,” they apparently mean “skyrocket”
- Mark Twain’s grave robbed of bronze plaque — Oh, c’mon people!
- Popular TV Series and Movies Maintain Relevance as Novels — The NYTimes talks tie-in novels
- 10 Books You Should Finally Read in 2015 — The B&N Book Blog makes a good case for this, but . . . yeah, just not going to happen.
- The Problem With Reading Competitively — Claire Fallon makes some really, really good points here about reading goals, etc.
- Interview: Myke Cole, Creator of Shadow Ops — a good interview with Myke Cole. His fourth novel Gemini Cell is one of the books I’m most looking forward to.
- The Joy of Book Blogging — This is a heckuva piece.
- 23 Words For Book Lovers That Really Should Exist — a bit of fun to start off your Saturday
- Our Favorite Fictional Characters Share Their New Year’s Resolutions — from the B&N editors — a grin or to can be found here.
- After a few s-l-o-o-w weeks, I’m really looking forward to this batch of: This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
- Golden Son by Pierce Brown — #2 in The Red Rising Trilogy. Cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on this one.
- Firefight by Brandon Sanderson — The Reckoners #2 is also out — nowhere near as good as The Red Rising Trilogy, but this is a fun series.
- Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch — I’m almost halfway done with this latest adventure of apprentice wizard/London Constable Peter Grant, and am digging it. Perfect change of pace after the game-changing events of the last book.
- The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson — I’ve enjoyed Benson’s work in the past, and while I’m not convinced that I’m part of this book’s audience, I want to give it a shot.
- As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley — Flavia de Luce gets up to more misadventure — and probably murder solving while she’s at it
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to 1 SIGFRIDSSON, emily kitta, Dioniso Punk, Maz Halima, and pmitsuing for following the blog this week. Thanks to theeditorsjournal for the interaction.
Inspired by other sites, I thought I’d look to 2015 and compile a quick list what I’m really looking forward to, but that list is pretty much just the next installments my favorite series (The Dresden Files, Spenser, Jesse Stone, Mercy Thompson/Alpha and Omega, The Iron Druid Chronicles, Elvis Cole/Joe Pike, Rachel Morgan’s farewell, the new thing in Myke Cole’s world, Red Rising trilogy, Kitty Norville, Carter Ross Mysteries, etc., etc. ), new series/work from guys I really like (Butcher’s Cinder Spires leaps to mind), and a bunch of stuff that’s not even on my radar at all (like Pierce Brown and Wes Chu were at this point last year). That last batch is the most exciting, the big unknown.
Outside of that, the book I’m most looking forward to is:
Armada
by Ernest Cline
I’m pretty sure this is coming out in 2015 (thought 2014, but these things happen), and I will drop just about anything else I’m reading to jump in when it comes out.
On the other hand, the book I know I’m going to read that I’m least looking forward to is:
Archie in the Crosshairs
by Robert Goldsborough
My Review
Not to keep beating up on the guy, because I realize I’m becoming (have become?) one of the jerks from The Missing Chapter — but from the title to the expected execution of the novel, this is just painful.
But I will read every word at the earliest possibility.
I don’t want to do this kind of thing — but as I was looking over the books I read this year, I was either angry at the book or really disappointed with myself for wasting time with these three — so I figured I’d say something. Here are my Worst Novels/Biggest Disappointments of 2014 (in alphabetical order):
Poison Fruit
by Jacqueline Carey
My Review
This one just disappointed me so much, I’ll spare the rant. It could’ve been really, really good and it turned into a wreck.
Murder in the Ball Park
by Robert Goldsborough
My Review
It’s just wrong. Goldsborough had 1.5-2 strong Nero Wolfe novels in him, and it started to go downhill. But his last two are a whole new level of rotten. He needs to move on.
The Diner: Why is Church Important?
by Shane Sowers
My Review is forthcoming
The bits of this that are theological dialogues like The Pearl of Christian Comfort or Easy Chairs, Hard Words, are really good — sometimes great. But when it tries to develop (or show) character, when it tries humor? It’s bad. When it tries for plot? It’s just horrible.
The Day of Lists continues:
Here are the books I wanted to include on my best of, but something kept me from it.
Honorable Mentions should go to (in alphabetical order):
He Drank, and Saw the Spider
by Alex Bledsoe
My Review
You could substitute Wake of the Bloody Angel here. This series has long-surpassed the gimmick of a hard-boiled detective novel in a generic fantasy setting. Pigeon-hole it however you want, it’s just a good book.
The Lives of Tao
by Wesley Chu
My Review
Despite the buzz around this, I wasn’t sure I was terribly interested — nor did I really know what to expect. So, so glad I took the chance. A barrel full of exciting, gun-blazing, snarky fun.
Bad Little Girls Die Horrible Deaths and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy
My Review
I’m not normally a short story reader, but more collections like this might make me one. Different types of fantasy, all well written, even in the stories that aren’t my cup of tea I found something to enjoy.
The Severed Streets
by Paul Cornell
My Review
Audible.com has provided a sample of the audio book version. Give it a shot, I’m betting 30 minutes won’t be enough.
I was impressed by the first in this series, London Falling, but this kicked it into a different gear. It’s about London as an entity as much as it is about these characters and their opponents — it’s dark, twisted and a little hopeful. Some fine writing here.
The Intern’s Handbook: A Thriller
by Shane Kuhn
My Review
Hyper-violent, comic commentary on corporate cultures with heart. Or something like that.
The Humans
by Matt Haig
My Review
Haig’s got this gift for making us look at ourselves with the oddest type of outsider. Ultimately, I realize I’ve read and watched this story before, but I was either finished or nearly finished before I had that insight. Either way, didn’t care, because no one had told it like this.
The Westing Game
by Ellen Raskin
My Review is forthcoming
I’ve sat down to write the review of this one I don’t know how many times. I read this dozens upon dozens of times as a kid — loving the characters, the story, the strange little puzzle. And then walked away from it for decades. Reading it this summer was a wonderful blast from the past, and although I felt like I could recite the thing en toto I couldn’t, it still filled me with joy. Not just for nostalgia’s sake, either. This was probably one of my 3 favorite reads of the year, but it felt like cheating to put it on the main list, so here it is.
Landline
by Rainbow Rowell
My Review
A marriage on the rocks, a career on the brink, a magic telephone and Rainbow Rowell’s charm and heart. What more can I say?
Where’d You Go, Bernadette
by Maria Semple
My Review is forthcoming
First book I finished in 2014, and it’s stuck with me the whole year — even as I struggle to write a review. A strange, impossibly strange and entirely believable world, populated with people I’m convinced could exist — and maybe do. I don’t know what else I can say about this (probably explains the year delay). It’s good. Funny, heartfelt, tragic.
I somehow failed at this exercise last year, but I managed to pull it off for 2014. Phew, starting the year off with one in the Win column! Before we get to The Best of, if you’re really curious, here’s a list of every book I read in 2014.
While compiling the best, I started with what I’d rated 5 stars — just 11 novels. I could take just the best 10 of those — piece of cake, right? Wrong. There were titles I expected to see there that weren’t, and a couple that I was surprised to see listed. So I looked at the 4 and 4½ books — and had a similar reaction.
Now, I stand by my initial ratings — for honesty’s sake as much as laziness. But I did put some of my lower rated books in the best, knocking some 5-star books out. They might have been impressive workds, doing everything I wanted — but some of these others stuck with me in ways the 5’s didn’t — emotional impact, remembering details/stories in more vivid detail, that sort of thing.
Eh, it’s all subjective anyway, so why not? I did try to account for recency bias in this — and pretty sure I succeeded, but I may owe an apology or two.
Later today, I’ll post the Honorable Mentions list and the Worst of List — as well as what I’m looking forward to most in 2015. The Day of Lists, apparently. With one exception, I limited these lists to things I hadn’t read before (it shows up in the Honorable Mention post). Enough jibber-jabber, on to the Best Novels I read in 2014:
(in alphabetical order)
Red Rising
by Pierce Brown
My Review
This was exciting, compelling, devastating, thrilling, and occasionally revolting. I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve recommended this one to this year.
Skin Game
by Jim Butcher
My Review
It almost feels like a cheat to put this on the list, but I don’t know if any of the books since Changes would’ve made a year end list, so it’s not like Butcher/Dresden owns a spot here. I laughed, I got pretty darn misty a time or two, I’m pretty sure I audibly reacted to a victory also. Best of this series in awhile.
The Girl With All the Gifts
by M.R. Carey
My Review
This probably would’ve gotten 5-star rating from me if it hadn’t had to overcome genre/subject prejudice. Still, freakishly good.
Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot
by Reed Farrel Coleman
My Review
Coleman knocked this one out of the park, erasing the bad taste that his predecessor had left, and making me look forward to reading this series in a way I hadn’t for years. As good as (better in some ways, worse in others) Parker at his best.
Those Who Wish Me Dead
My Review
Not the best Koryta book I’ve ever read, but something about this one has stuck with me since I finished it. Solid suspense, exciting stuff.
Endsinger
by Jay Kristoff
My Review
I knew going in that this was going to be a. well-written, b. brutal and c. a good conclusion to the series (well, I expected that last one, expected tinged with hope.). It didn’t let me down. I admit, I shed a tear or two, felt like I got punched in the gut a couple of times and didn’t breathe as often as I should’ve while reading. Such a great series.
The Republic of Thieves
by Scott Lynch
My Review is forthcoming
Can’t believe I haven’t finished this review yet — it’s 80% done, I just can’t figure out how to tie the paragraphs together in a way to make it coherent and (I hope) interesting. A lot of this book is a prequel to The Lies of Locke Lamora and yet there was genuine suspense about those parts. Lynch had a big challenge introducing us to a character here that had achieved near-mythic status, and she ended up living up to expectations. Just a gem of a book.
The Winter Long
by Seanan McGuire
My Review is forthcoming
Again, I’m not sure how I haven’t finished this review yet. McGuire takes a lot of what Toby’s “known” since we met her (all of which is what we’ve “known,” too) and turns it upside down and shakes the truth out. Every other book in the series has been affected by these revelations — which is just so cool. There’s also some nice warm fuzzies in this book, which isn’t that typical for the series. McGuire’s outdone herself.
Wonder
by R. J. Palacio
My Review
Heart-breaking, inspiring, saved from being cliché by the interesting narrative choices Palacio made. Yeah, it’s After School Special-y. So what? Really well done. I have no shame saying this kids’ book made me tear up (even thinking about it know, I’m getting bit misty-eyed).
The Martian
by Andy Weir
My Review
Very science-y (but you don’t have to understand it to enjoy the book); very exciting; very, very funny. Only book I’ve recommended to more people than Red Rising — I think I’ve made everyone over 12 in my house read it (to universal acclaim). Not sure why I haven’t made my 12-year old, yet.
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:
- Pulp’s Big Moment: How Emily Brontë met Mickey Spillane. — The Birth and Early History of Pocket Books (paperbacks).
- Phew, only 2 more Best of 2014 lists to post here — I’m working on mine, wanted to have it up yesterday, but . . .hopefully Monday (and by saying that, I’ve doomed it ’til Friday)
- My Top 10 Favorite Books of 2014 — Hadn’t even heard of most of these — and honestly, our tastes rarely overlap. But I keep coming back to this blog.
- The Epic Best Books of 2014 List — Bookworm Blues has a really good SF/F list
- How to Write a Book Review — Author J. S. Morin provides some handy (and pain-free) guidelines
- 31 New Year’s Resolutions for Book Nerds — I really liked — even admired — some of these resolutions from the B&N editors — some I thought were just wrong.
- Speaking of resolutions, How To Read More — A Lot More — Ryan Holiday has some really helpful advice if this is one of your goals. There’s a thing or two here I should incorporate. (I may have posted this one already, but I’m too lazy — and have too much to read — to go check).
- How to read more — Austin Kleon was inspired by Holiday’s list and has some other useful suggestions.
- In an odd coincidence, the other day I came across another reference to Kleon’s blog — a post he put up in 2009 about Nancy Pearl’s “The Rule of 50”, which is so good that in addition to the link, I’m just going to copy here:
Believe me, nobody is going to get any points in heaven by slogging their way through a book they aren’t enjoying but think they ought to read. I live by what I call ‘the rule of fifty,’ which acknowledges that time is short and the world of books is immense. If you’re fifty years old or younger, give every book about fifty pages before you decide to commit yourself to reading it, or give it up. If you’re over fifty, which is when time gets even shorter, subtract your age from 100. The result is the number of pages you should read before deciding.
from Book Lust
- Only 1 New Release I’m Excited About this week — but it’s a great way to close out 2014. January’s new releases just might kill me, but we’ll get to that next week:
- Low Midnight by Carrie Vaughn — Cormac takes over! Well, at least for one book. Psyched to read this one.
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Manny Rutinel for following the blog this week. 
Two whole weeks with nothing reviewed. Was two paragraphs away from having one up yesterday. Actually, I’m about two – four paragraphs away from having a bunch go up. Need to buckle down and finish those.
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, but just in case:
- Down Mean Streets a Writer Went to Create a Hard-Boiled Character — The NYT gives us a peak at a new book about Raymond Chandler.
- title — And The NYT has a fun interview with Janet Evanovich.
- A Writer’s Worst Moment. — Paul Cornell collects the worst moments in a few author’s careers.
- Ebook growth is stagnating — the infographic sums the state of the industry up pretty well, who’d have thought this would happen so soon?
- Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover: Tech-Savvy Teens Remain Fans of Print Books — Nielsen reports that teens lag far behind adults in the ebook market. It’s counter-intuitive, sure, but for those who equate ebooks with the fall of civilization, this has to give a measure of hope.
- 10 Authors That Deserve More Buzz — The BiblioSanctum provides a pretty nice list.
- Why I AM Participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge in 2015 — Last week, we looked at the why not. This week, it’s the why. Put me down for a ditto to this.
- The Book Riot 2015 Read Harder Challenge — In the last few years, I’ve had reading projects — from the serious to the silly. Didn’t really have much of one this year, at least not until late in the year. Might try this one in 2015 — it’ll be a stretch in many ways, but I think I can pull it off.
- But before we can start 2015, we’ve got some more 2014 Best of Lists to look at (mine should be ready early in 2015).
- There Are Way Too Many ‘Best Of 2014′ Lists — yup.
- My Long List: Best Books of 2014 — I like Ivory Owl’s categories
- The Best Books of 2014, According to WSJ Readers — huh.
- The Top 25 Best Fantasy Books of 2014 — Haven’t read a lot of what’s on this list (want to, tho’), but I’ve read enough to know I agree with a lot of Snow’s take (but not all)
- Not too surprisingly, very, very little was released this week — and nothing that caught my eye. There’s at least one thing I know will come out next week (I ordered it months ago, and will hopefully get to read it this year).
Hey, remember when I reviewed things here? Posted fairly frequently, too. Honestly can’t tell you why this month or so has been so dry. I promise, I’m trying. Spent a part of each of the last few weeks thinking I was going to get ahead of the game, and each one has found me further behind.
Anyway, I did get a really big list of 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:
- The Most-Recommended Novel Of All Time Is… — After reading the HuffPo thing, go play with the interactive graphic. Really interesting.
- The Gorgeous, 75-Year Evolution of ‘The Hobbit’ Covers/ — some of these are really cool
- What Lee Child Has Learned from Writing the Jack Reacher Books –a conversation with Esquire mag. I think I agree with his pick for the one he’d submit to a prize committee.
- Neal Stephenson signs on as tech company’s ‘chief futurist’ — Sure. Why not? I’d feel better about this if I hadn’t read some of his visions of the future. Naturally, I don’t think he wants to create The Diamond Age, but, you can never tell….
- 25 Genre Novels That Should be Classics
- Will Warren Hammond and Carrie Vaughn Go Where No Local Sci Fi Writers Have Gone Before? — a nice look at a couple of Colorado SF writers.
- Novelists Adam Sternbergh and Lev Grossman on Genre Fiction and Theories of Nerd-dom — Loved books by both of them this year, very interesting stuff here.
- Why I’m Not Participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge in 2015 — I totally get everything Pryde says here — and agree with most of it. I’m 20+ behind at the moment (hoping to get up to 18 behind by the end of the year), and it’s driving me crazy. Which is stupid. But I’ll probably do it again next year. Maybe.
- 2014 in Review — a nice recap/glance forward, etc. from Bookworm Blues. I want to be a blogger like her someday.
- What Amazon’s Bestsellers Say About American Culture in 2014 — huh. Maybe.
- And still more best of 2014 lists. Which again, are great fodder for TBR Lists:
- David L. Ulin’s best books of 2014 — The LA TimeS Book Critic gives us a list of books I’ve never heard of.
- Here’s the Ultimate List — BookBub aggregates 23 different lists. Wow, so helpful.
- 11 Books Strand’s Booksellers Loved Most In 2014
- Books That Deserved the Hype
- The Year In Great Sentences — not just good books (etc.) but great on the micro level.
- Our favourite books of 2014 — Edmonton Journal writers share their choices for best reading. I’ve said almost the exact same thing more than once about Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe (rest of the list is alright, too, but not as right)
- Our Favorite Book Covers of 2014 — nothing against other lists, but I think I agree with BookRiot’s more
- Some of the Best Lit Tweets of Some of the Year — Possibly the most entertaining of these lists I’ve linked to this month
- title — blah
- My best reads o’ the year — Kevin Hearne (on his nice looking new site) gives us his favorite 3.
- Top 5 Urban Fantasy Novels I Read in 2014 — from Bibliotropic
- Best Military Fiction of 2014 — from The Book Plank. I totally agree with his take on Cole’s Control Point
- MIND MELD: Best Books of 2014 — Speaking of Myke Cole, he and other writers combined for this list for SF Signal.
- Embiggening English: The Simpsons and changing language
- A big, fat goose egg with New Releases this week — there’s at least one next week to close out the year.
