Category: Books Page 73 of 160

On Monday, I hit a little landmark:

A few years ago, I’d struggle to get 4 posts a week–so it came as a surprise when WP let me know last year that I’d gone 30-40 days in a row ( the details are fuzzy). Then I turned it into a personal challenge–could I hit 100? It was unexpectedly easy. Then I decided to try for a year. I will admit I struggled a bit, but I managed to pull it off. A few months back, I thought about taking the day after the one-year mark off, but I forgot to. Now, I’m not shooting for 2 years, but I have no intention of taking a break or going back to my early/very sporadic days. I like the discipline–but if I happen to miss a day, I’m not going to sweat it.*

Much.

Anyway, you didn’t come here for my own horn-tooting, on with the miscellany:
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:
I’m a High School Junior. Let’s Talk About ‘Huckleberry Finn’ and ‘Mockingbird.’—worth a read if you can evade the paywall
A preview clip from CBS Saturday Morning (the whole thing just aired, I guess) where Don Winslow announces his retirement—from writing, anyway. Hate to see him set down the pen, but at least I now have a chance to catch up on the backlog.
There’s more Winslow to come on this list, he does have a book releasing next week, and I’m excited for it.
Murder, revenge, power: Don Winslow reveals classical inspirations for crime novel ‘City On Fire’—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Author Don Winslow Reveals Why We’re Obsessed With the Mafia and What’s To Love About His New England Mafia Book City on Fire
He also tweeted this video from his Polish publisher showing the book printed—I could watch this kind of thing all day
Neil Gaiman on book bans and the secret to a good book-to-film adaptation—anytime is a good time for a Gaiman interview
A Veterinarian’s Perspective on Writing Animals—I’d already put this vet’s book on my list when I read this piece on CrimeReads. Now I’ve moved it a little higher on the list.
Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien Portray a Lush ‘Lord of the Rings’ Landscape—ooh…
Ben Aaronovitch Celebrates 11 Years of ‘RIVERS OF LONDON’—haven’t had a chance to watch this yet, but looking foward to it.
8 Reasons Why Reading Is Better Than Sleeping—in case there was any doubt
Do You Annotate? Pros and Cons
Are Readers Patient?—a question I’d never have thought to ask
Alternatives to Goodreads: Literal—I’d never heard of this Goodreads Alternative.
It’s okay to collect books—yup
The books that shaped me as a reader – The Early Years!—I love reading things like this
The Problem With “Problematic” | The Book Community’s Perpetual Witch Hunt—I wouldn’t co-sign every jot and tittle of this, but most of them….

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen—a small Texas town is rocked by the murder of a waitress. Which is a lousy way to pitch this, but in a sentence, that’s as good as I can do. Why don’t you just read my post about it?
King Of The Crows Anniversary Edition by Russell Day—This was one of my (possibly the) favorites of 2020, the anniversary edition looks gorgeous. Get it while you can.
Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild—A woman fights to clear her name after being falsely accused of murdering her husband. But she has killed three other people…
The Sweet Goodbye by Ron Corbett—An FBI agent looks into small-town corruption in northern Maine.
Fifty-Four Pigs by Philipp Schott—A Canadian veterinarian investigates a murder to save a friend

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Sarah Tavanello, who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger!

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:
How to make reading a regular habit—I’d say this is a shorter version of the usual thing written on this topic, but it is from Reader’s Digest, so I guess it’s about standard. Also, Reader’s Digest is still a thing?
The Summer of Ree!—Michael R. Underwood is re-releasing the series that started it all for him this summer—including in paperback this time! A great time to pick up this fun UF series.
The Art of the Book Recommendation
8 Types of Audiobook Listeners—I’m the last 3–okay, I’ve become too lazy to be all 3, I’m the last 2 types. But I should be the last 3.
Starting a Home Lending Library Has Made Me a Better Friend
Interview with Literature & Lofi and Announcement—Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week will be back this year, read here to see what Literature and LoFi and Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub have to say about it.
Against Sub-Genres—this comes so close to what I’ve been thinking lately, it’s kind of creepy.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch—I finished this new Rivers of London book yesterday, and it’s so good!
The Cutting Season by M.W. Craven—This quick Poe & Tilly novella pulls no punches.
Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir by Wil Wheaton—Wheaton’s put out a new edition of his memoir, with added material–including annotations on his original material, casting whole new lights on it. Sounds like a great idea.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Brothers Campfire , who followed the blog this week. Check out their blog, folks.

I don’t look at these posts on my phone–almost ever. But something led me to an old one yesterday, and ugh. These Saturday Miscellany posts just do not look right on them–I made a small tweak today that should help. If you read this on your phone/tablet, will you let me know if this looks better than usual? Also, my apologies.

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:
Congress Investigates Book Banning in Schools—Oh good. Congress is getting involved. That’ll help.
ALA Releases Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021—I don’t know much about the majority of this list, but I’ve read a couple of these and the noted complaints about them are pretty baseless. Can only imagine the rest of the list is similarly meritless.
Will George R.R. Martin Ever Finish A Song of Ice and Fire? (And Does It Matter Anymore If He Doesn’t?)—The penultimate paragraph is pretty much were I am.
Treasuring the Books No One Else Seems to Love—I think most of us can find ourselves in this
How to Read More Books! 7 Tried and True Tips—Shelf Centered weighs in on this evergreen topic. Some handy tips.
Buying Secondhand Books
My Top 36 Fantasy Series/Books—As I demonstrated yesterday, I don’t think I could pull off a list like this. My hat’s off to Peat Long for doing so. Also, I’m coming back to this next time I’m in the mood for a fantasy read.
Why I Love To Read… Middle Grade
The 10 types of book reviewer!—Do you see yourself in one/more of these?
PSA: Honesty and Book Reviewing—I may have linked to this last time Bookstooge posted this. I probably did. Still, it’s worth reading again.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Blood Brothers Episode 87 with Ben Aaronovitch—a discussion with Aaronovitch on the eve of the next Rivers of London book. Aaronovitch was on his game here, very fun podcast.
Fiction Fans Storm Front (Dresden Files) with Literature & Lofi—Ben from Literature & Lofi and the hosts talk about Butcher’s Storm Front, I’d quibble with some of the discussion, but on the whole, it was a decent look at the book/teaser for the series.

This week, there were no New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon. So I won’t be tempting you (or be tempted myself). Time to catch up on what you already decided to read!