Category: Books Page 30 of 158

As is typical of a holiday week, this is a short post. Less to distract you from your Saturday reading, right?

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:
This is Why Book Marketing Doesn’t Work
‘Really I just want to stay home and make art about my dog’: An interview with Sara Varon—I’m pretty sure I’ve never run across Varon before, but this interview makes me interested in checking out her stuff.
7 Thrillers With Shocking Twists
10 Must-Read Authors for Fans of First-Person Adult Urban Fantasy—This is a very narrow category…but can’t argue with most of this picks.
Tough Questions with Left on the Shelf—the latest in the Tough Questions series

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week? (not much, really)
Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff: A Libertarian Manifesto by Matt Kibbe
I noted the release of Premonitions by Jamie Schultz and Artful by Peter David

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Broiler by Eli Cranor—I dunno…it’s by Cranor, isn’t that enough? It’s about revenge, power, economic disparity in the most American of places—a chicken processing plant.
Dog Day Afternoon by David Rosenfelt—Marcus asks Andy for a favor and gets him to represent a suspected mass-shooter. I really enjoyed this one, as I said recently.
Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel by Lisa Jewell—Jessica Jones travels to England to investigate some teens who are too-perfect. It’s hard to explain in a phrase or two…but these are creepy kids and something has to be making them that way.
Boise Longpig Hunting Club by Nick Kolakowski—the new edition of this explosive thriller
The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song—a new retelling of the story of Mulan.
Junkyard Roadhouse by Faith Hunter—Shining Smith is neck-deep in trouble—that’s nothing new, sure, but it’s a different kind of trouble.

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:
Kinky Friedman, Alt-Country Musician and Celebrated Humorist, Dies at 79—from his mysteries to his music and beyond, Friedman was a unique voice (that should’ve been heard by more)
How the ‘Owner’s Guide’ Became a Rare Book
How to Tell a Great Campfire Story
The Literary Power of Hobbits: How JRR Tolkien Shaped Modern Fantasy
Rob Hart on ‘Assassins Anonymous’ and the Dark Appeal of the Assassin Genre—Nick Kolakowski chats with Hart about his latest book, the genre, and the sequel (squee!!!!)
The Joy of Reading Books You Don’t Entirely Understand: It really should be acceptable and normal to say “I don’t entirely understand what I just read, but I loved it.”—There’s a few books I’ve read in the last few years that fall under this category. Glad to see I’m not alone (and I know that I really should read more things like this, but do enjoy the comfort of understanding things)
Traditional publishing vs. Self-publishing: Should There Be A Conflict?—I haven’t finished this yet, but there’s some good stuff to chew on in this conversation
2000th Post and 6 Years Blogiversary Q&A—Sifa Elizabeth Reads celebrates two landmarks with a Q&A (and some decent advice)
Bookmark Chat: Organization
Idle Thoughts on Fantasy Stereotypes: The Big Man—a good follow up to the Idle Thoughts on The Mentor

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Little Tiny Teeth by Aaron Elkins—Gideon Oliver and John Lau enjoy an Amazon River cruise (until the obligatory dead body shows up)
The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle by Christopher Healy—the second in this very fun MG Fantasy series
Dead Connection by Alafair Burke—I remember really liking this first Ellie Hatcher book (and, sadly, almost nothing else about it).
I also noted the release of The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Don’t Let the Devil Ride by Ace Atkins—”A Memphis woman hires a PI to find her missing husband, only to discover that he is involved in a dangerous web of international intrigue–and she and her children are now at risk.” I think the promo line, “S.A. Cosby meets Don Winslow,” is a bit odd (kinda seems like using too many words to say “Ace Atkins”), but eh…it is catchy.
The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buehlman—Galva’s backstory in “set during the war-torn, goblin-infested years just before The Blacktongue Thief.” The prequel nature of this really doesn’t intereste me. But I do like the concept, I really enjoyed my first exposure to Buehlman early this year, and that podcast I featured last week did pique my curiouslty. Which is me using too many words to explain why I’ll be listening to this soon (probably explaining to myself more than anyone…)
Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell—”An aimless young woman starts writing to an accused serial killer while he awaits trial and then, once he’s acquitted, decides to move in with him and take the investigation into her own hands.” If this wasn’t described as a black comedy, I’d stay far away from it (while understanding why others race to it). But I gotta admit, I’m intrigued…

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:
Tom Gauld on the human-AI collaborative novel Robot Apocalypse 2030—let’s start off this week with a quick Gauld cartoon, shall we?
94-Year-Old Grandmother Kept Meticulous Book Log for 80 Years—I’m both impressed and jealous
An Update About Disappointing Things, and Things That Did Not Disappoint—Harry Connolly’s latest update
Do You Love YA Paranormal Books, too?
Four Books That Are Gateways to Science Fiction Sub-Genres—Beth Tabler surveys the sub-genres: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction Humor, Hard Science Fiction, and Space Opera; and gives some great recommendations
When Is An Author “Milking” Their World?
Idle Thoughts on Fantasy Archetypes: The Mentor

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
SFF Addicts Ep. 109: Christopher Buehlman talks The Daughter’s War, Atmosphere, Voice & More—a great convo

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Severed Streets by Paul Cornell—the 2nd of the Shadow Police Novels (if only there were several more)
I talked about the release of Shattered by Kevin Hearne, All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner, Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich, and Heirs of Grace by Tim Pratt.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs—Mercy, Adam, and Mercy’s brother are in Montana hopefully not destroying the world.
The Last Decade of Cinema 25 Films from the Nineties by Scott Ryan—Ryan writes about 25 of the most iconic films of the 90s.