Category: Books Page 19 of 159

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 Best Villains in Literature Bracket: Ides of March Madness—LitHub is about to crown the ultimate Villain in Lit. Vote now (if you can choose…some of these are brutal choices)
Inside a Collection of ‘Imaginary’ Books
The Digital Packrat Manifesto—the case for building your own digital library (and choosing your digital storefronts with care)
From the Gut: A Literary History of Indigestion—Oddly fascinating piece (and you must read the footnotes)
Harper To Publish New Collection of Stories and Essays by Harper Lee—Huh. Well, might as well, I guess. Probably will be better than that last published book with her name on it
Turns Out, There’s a Sequel to The Westing Game—this is, no doubt, the item from this list that I’m most invested in. It’s possibly the single piece of writing I’m most invested in this month.
Thomas Trang’s “Dark Neon & Dirt”: A Gritty, Twisty Riff on L.A. Noir—Nick Kolakowski talks to Thomas Trang about Tran’s upcoming book (which looks great, incidentally)
Speaking of Nick Kolakowski, The Writer’s Dossier 3/3/2025 – The Nick Kolakowski interview—Kolakowski talks about things like his latest novel (which you really should read), evolving as a writer, and his experience with Craig Ferguson
Tolkien Against the Grain: The Lord of the Rings is a book obsessed with ruins, bloodlines, and the divine right of aristocrats. Why are so many on the left able to love it?—pretty sure I’d have never thought about considering this
A New Harper Lee Book is Being Published: Why Is There No Controversy This Time?—Brianna asks a good question
Three Years of Roars and Echoes—Congrats to Lashaan! The man responsible for at least 70% of the comics/graphic novels I’ve read in the last decade, and almost all of the Tolkien from that period, too.
Carol’s Captivating Character of February Link-Up—a good pick (and a good reminder for me to finalize my choice)
bedsidebibliophile succinctly nails the thinking behind a 5 star rating
If you don’t “awwww” at this bookstore’s story, there’s something broken in you

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Stone Quarry by S. J. Rozan
Pin Action: Small-Time Gangsters, High-Stakes Gambling, and the Teenage Hustler Who Became a Bowling Champion by Gianmarc Manzione (I’d forgotten about this one, not sure I’m glad to be reminded)
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
I talked about the release of: A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark by Harry Connolly; Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs; Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire; Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne; and Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster): Life Lessons and Other Ravings from Dave Barry by Dave Barry

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp—Domestic thriller, a look at grieving and preparation for death, and a rollicking good time. I raved about it recently (and will do so again at the drop of a hat)
Cold Iron Task by James J. Butcher—I have no idea what this third Unorthox Chronicle is about, because I can’t let myself be tempted, I just have too much to do. I’ve even loaned it to a friend just to get it out of the house so I can focus on some other things.
Guard in the Garden by Z. S. Diamanti—A cozy fantasy about an injured Dwarven soldier finding his second act. If this is half as charming as it looks, you’ll be in for a good time
Thaumaturgic Tapas by Tao Wong—you have to give this a second look for the title alone, right? The Nameless Restaurant struggles with success
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano—My patience for Finlay’s antics is waning, but these are still guaranteed good times. Bringing in her nosy neighbor? Yeah, this should be fun.
Kills Well With Others by Deanna Rayburn—These senior assassins are called back into action.
I’m a Dumbo Octopus! by Anne Lambelet—this kid-level introduction to cephalopods looks adorable
See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon—A “young man who learns the devastating truth behind his friend’s death, propelling him on an odyssey of discovery into the nature of grief in the digital age, the limits of memory, and the meaning of friendship.”

I’ve barely been online this week, so I’m very glad that A Literary Escape and Pages Unbound posted some highlights from the month for me to glean from—I’d have enjoyed their posts regardless, but they helped bulk up 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 Ascendance of the Book Ladder: The history of a totally necessary invention—We all want one, why not learn a little about them?
Little Free Library Study Reveals Benefits for Book-Impoverished Communities —No one will be (should be) walking away from this study saying, “Who’d have imagined this?” But it’s good to see someone finding evidence.
Face Value: Translating Divergence—”Clare Richards underscores the significance of D/deaf, disabled, and/or neurodivergent writers and translators presenting their community on their own terms.” (as interesting as they are, I need to stop reading pieces from this site, it’s doing unhealthy things for my TBR)
When Books Invade (But Make It Friendly)—This is one many of us can relate to, I expect. Particularly the first paragraph under “Why Read?.” Just from reading her historical book last year, I had the idea that Nadya Williams and I belonged to the same tribe. This is one more bit of proof.
Taking the “Shoulds” Out of Reading—I really don’t auto-post everything Molly Templeton writes, it just feels like it. Worth the read for the last ‘graph alone (but the prior ones are good, too)
Psychological Thrillers Are Finally Giving Middle-Aged Women Their Due—”[N]o one is pushed to the brink like a menopausal woman. And no one can fight for her life like her either.”
Embrace Graphic Novels
The Health Benefits of Reading Every Day
About Community and the Future of the Narratess Indie Sale
How to break up with Amazon as a Book Lover—It ain’t easy, so here’s some help
If you’re not ready to do that yet, What Are Kindle Points & How Do You Use Them?
The Classics: Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen in Verona, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Romeo and Juliet

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
I didn’t post about any books, but I talked about the releases of: Dorothy Parker Drank Here by Ellen Meister and Canary by Duane Swierczynski

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
His Truth Her Truth by Noelle Holten—Unreliable narrators in a domestic psycholigical thriller from one of this reader’s favorites. My March is pretty much planned already, but I’m going to squeeze this one in somehow.
title by soandso—”a podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating—but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love?” I don’t know that this would’ve popped up on my radar if Alan Sepinwall hadn’t been talking about it, but If he vouches for it, that’s good enough for me.
The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton—”Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle, The Fourth Consort asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?” Go read the link for the whole blurb

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:
10 Book Displays I’d Love to See at the Public Library—I’ve honestly never stopped to think about this kind of thing (don’t think I’m going to start, either, but I’m glad someone does)
Golden Rules of Reading—Mind Your Manners in the Bookish World—somehow slipped by me last month
This follow-up/expansion on a point is also worth your time: Don’t Yuck My Yum—Why We Need to Stop Shaming People’s Tastes (also, I’m just enjoying saying “don’t yuck my yum”)
Love Story or Romance: Is There a Difference?
Toxic Love Affairs in Literature—I’ve only read two of these, and (unusually for me) am very glad that’s the case. Good writing really does get us to accept some lousy/creepy/skeevy behavior, doesn’t it? (as if Humbert Humbert alone wasn’t proof of that).
A Few of My Childhood Favorites—A nice stroll down memory lane. I didn’t discover Caddie Woodlawn until my kids read it, but it’s nice to see it getting some love. I’m pretty sure I’d have read that one more than anything about the Ingalls clan if I found it at the right age.
(Some) Indie Book Recommendations—Rebecca Crunden has put together a good-looking list here
The 10 Best Self-Published Books I’ve Ever Read—Seplls and Spaceships has featured a lot of Self-Pub books.
Genre Focus: LitRPG—Witty and Sarcastic Book Club is back with another focus on a Fantasy Sub-Genre, this time, it’s all about LitRPG. I probably know less about this one than any other type of Fantasy, so I really need this.
…Featuring Justin Marks
…Featuring David Dalglish
…Featuring BardLyre
…Featuring SerasStreams
…Featuring CT Phipps
February Reading Challenge: Dive into the World of Thrillers with “This or That”—ew…tough choices

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Firefight by Brandon Sanderson
Gemini Cell by Myke Cole
Plus One by Christopher Noxon—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
And I noted the releases of: Half the World by Joe Abercrombie; Department 19: Zero Hour by Will Hill; and Shoot This One by Javier Grillo-Marxuach. Three books I never got around to buying or reading. oops.

This (or last) Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Not Marriage Material: Not a Romance Anthology edited by Sue Bavey—”In this non-fiction anthology, twenty authors and poets celebrate the ones who got away and the ones they were lucky enough to get away from. These relationships may not have ended in marriage, but they have provided us with entertaining stories.” I can’t believe I forgot to mention this last week, especially as I helped spread the word when she was looking for submissions. It does look like a fun way to spend some time.
Picks and Shovels by Cory Doctorow—”The year is 1986. The city is San Francisco. Here, Martin Hench will invent the forensic accountant–what a bounty hunter is to people, he is to money–but for now he’s an MIT dropout odd-jobbing his way around a city still reeling from the invention of a revolutionary new technology that will change everything about crime forever,” the PC. I really need to start reading Doctorow, he says for (at least) the 13th year running.