Category: Books Page 76 of 161

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:
Brandon Sanderson’s record-breaking Kickstarter campaign ends with $41.7 million—ruminate on that number for a bit, will ya?
Your Guide to Independent Alternatives for Books, Audiobooks, eBooks, and Beyond—libro.fm has put together a handy list of bookish resources without a tie to “The River.”
Everything You Want To Know About Requesting Books on NetGalley—This is too much effort for me, NetGalley approvals aren’t a huge priority (but I could easily let it become one), but this is another handy resource for those who want to get more approvals.
Witty and Sarcastic Book Blog brought us a new Fantasy Focus this week, this focus is on Grimdark—a sub-genre I appreciate, even if I’m vague on understanding it (some of these posts have been very educational for me). Check it out.
Why is Literature so Important?, asks Booksh Brews
What I learned from my self-imposed three-month book-buying ban.—an impressive feat. Not one I think I could pull off.
How Kindle Has Changed My Reading Experience!

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Blood Brothers Podcast Episode 85 with Steph Broadribb—Broadribb talks about her Retired Detectives Club and a slew of other topics

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus—Broaddus has given us his spin on Arthurian tales and steampunk, and now turns to Space Opera,
Monarch by Candice Wuehle—The cryptic worlds of Hanna and Stranger Things mingle with the dark humor of Dare Me in this debut novel about a teen beauty queen who discovers she’s been a sleeper agent in a deep state government program, and whose love for a fellow pageant girl sparks an underworld journey to the truth of her being.” After reading this post on Crime Reads, I had to put this on my list.

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:
What Counts as Reading?—a bookseller weighs in on this evergreen topic
Creating Harry Bosch and Renée Ballard—a couple of nuggets I don’t think I’ve read before in this interview with Connelly
Our readers recommend these mystery novels that are also funny—Seattle Times readers weigh in on crime fiction that made them laugh out loud. (most of the recommendations are spot-on, but a couple make me worry about the readers who nominated them)
Revealing Dead Man’s Hand, the Debut Novel From James J. Butcher—hard enough to launch an UF series, but the weight of expectations on this debut? Oof.
Spotify Playlist Recommendations For Every Bookish Mood—a couple of these look like they could be worth a try
“After I Read It, It Took Me Two Weeks To Fully Recover”: People Are Sharing Books That Have Genuinely Changed Their Lives—yeah, like most buzzfeed lists, it’s too long. But I had fun going through this.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Payback is Forever by Nick Kolakowski—A thief goes into hiding after a heist goes wrong, and things get worse from there
Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor—I’ve been seeing nothing but positive buzz about this book for months now. High School Football and Southern Noir—a powerful combination.

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 It Felt to Have My Novel Stolen—Peter C. Baker talks about being the victim of a manuscript thief
How to write an audiobook—Rob Parker discusses his approach to writing for an audio-first format.
The best books for people who love sweet old dogs—because I needed more books about dogs in my life? I think I’m going to have to get all of these…(Hat-tip: David Rosenfelt)
Hardcover.app—is a new Goodreads competitor, anyone else try it?
Booktuber, Shelf Centered, provides a through, in-depth, and definitive answer to the question: Do Audiobooks COUNT as Reading?—hopefully the debate is over now.
I’ve been enjoying this series on Before We Go Blog, The Books That Made Us, this week had a couple of entries that really resonated with me: Time of the Twins (Dragonlance Legends) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and As I lay Dying by William Faulkner.
New is Not Always Better- Hollywood’s Butchery of Good Stories
How to Read More—Kopratic shares some tips that you probably haven’t seen before

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
TFTB Ep.34: A Conversation with John Scalzi

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi—”Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.” He’s not told that the animals are Kaiju, and, well…trouble ensues
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd—is one of those that I can’t think of a way to compress the synopsis into a sentence or two. Just click the link, looks like a lot of fun.
Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian—a strange, locked-room style mystery
Blessed Are the Bank Robbers: The True Adventures of an Evangelical Outlaw by Chas Smith—the true story of a bank robber reared and enmeshed in Southern California’s Evangelical subculture.

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:
What is the best age to learn to read?—there’s a lot of info here, and a great conclusion
Is It Possible to Read Without Expectations?
The Books That Made Us – Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman—Over on Before We Go Blog, Jodie Crum talks about The Dragonlance Chronicles (because what else is she going to talk about?).
How to get over a book hangover—some handy advice from Kopratic at The Fantasy Inn
Owl! at the Library tweeted a good point about kids books vs. adult fiction

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Constance Verity Destroys the Universe by A. Lee Martinez—The end of the Constance Verity Trilogy sees Constance fighting her biggest foe yet. I’ve been waiting for this since 2018, can’t wait to dive in.
One for All by Lillie Lainoff—A young French woman in a Three Musketeers-esque adventure. I talked about it the other day

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to mariakonnel who followed the blog this week.