Category: Books Page 86 of 160

I was on the cusp of establishing a new reading/writing schedule that would work for me and I just threw it out the window–my last day for my employer of 5+ years was yesterday. For the next few weeks, my commute to my new gig promises to be a giant pain in the tuchus (I hope I’m not too Protestant to use that word), but I think that I’ll have a longer lunch break. What this means for my reading/audiobook listening is up in the air.

But that’s something to tackle over the next couple of weeks. For now, let’s dive into this very miscellaneous miscellany:

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
A Brief History of Summer Reading: We rarely talk about spring books or winter reading. What is it about summer that inspired a whole genre of its own?—If you subscribe, haven’t read your free article for the month, or use enough browsers to dodge the paywall, this is a great way to spend a couple of minutes (and, yes, you shouldn’t dodge…I shouldn’t, either)
Maybe You Can Have Too Many Books in Your TBR Pile
Typos, tricks and misprints: Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology—in a different world, where I followed up on a scholarly whim or two from college, I’d be producing things like this. Instead, I get to geek out over those who do.
The Silver Age of Essay—excerpted from the Introduction to a collection that I’ll aspire to—but probably won’t get around to—reading.
SA Cosby: ‘The holy trinity of southern fiction is race, class and sex’—great interview with Cosby. I’m ready to order his work-in-progress right now.
7 Music Novels to Shape Your Summer Soundtrack—I don’t understand music novels…I just don’t. The two art forms shouldn’t work. But I’ll read and reread and reread a good one. What about you? Anyone read anything off this list? (I haven’t yet)
In the New Era of Social Distancing, It’s Time to Revisit the Genius of Monk: Who’s overreacting now?—sure, this is about the TV show. But Monk’s great enough that I don’t care. And the novels by Lee Goldberg fit what’s said here, and I’ve now turned this bullet point into something about reading, so the uptight voice in my head can shut up.
This Is Why I Love J.R.R. Tolkien – And You Should Too—I appreciate Tolkien, but nowhere as much as Strasser does. But maybe I should.
Books That Made Me Cry Like A Lil’ Baby—I wouldn’t have expected to find any of these books on this list (although, I (inexplicably) haven’t read Bloody Rose, but I can see Eames doing that to me), but I get what Chilcottharry is saying.
Words Have Power — Neurodivergence in Fiction—I’ve linked to a couple of the early pieces in the Neurodivergence in Fiction series (and I feel awkward about dropping the Monk link above given what they said about the show), and you should read them all. But I wanted to call attention to this new entry by Friend of the Blog, Jodie from Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub.
What is Grimdark to Me? by Clayton W. Snyder—Snyder’s post makes me want to read more Grimdark.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Bodacious Creed and the Jade Lake by Jonathan Fesmire—in this sequel to the very odd Western-Zombie-Steampunk novel, Creed goes to Chinatown to investigate what (I think) we’d call sexual exploitation aided by technology. Even if I got the wrong idea from the synopsis, this is sure to be a good read.
Grenade Bouquets by Lee Matthew Goldberg—the sequel to the 90’s grunge tribute/coming-of-age novel Runaway Train, tells the continuing story of Nico as she tours with a band over the summer. I should have had the foresight to put this on my 20 Books of Summer list, so I could dive in.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Angela, Cristina Monica @ Hit or Miss Books, Amy and Anketsu who followed the blog this week. Don’t be strangers—introduce yourselves in the comments below, maybe pick up another reader?

This is the third week in a row that when I get to compiling this post that I wonder just what I did all week…and I honestly don’t know. Still, some good stuff here.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Building an antilibrary: the power of unread books—food for thought (even if a lot of what is said about personal libraries is odd). The footnote made me audibly chuckle.
Playing Favorites With Favorites, or, What We Talk About When We Talk About Our Favorite Books—second week in a row with a piece by Templeton about reading. Not quite as quotable, but just as good.
Rain City Rediscovered: Why Crime Novelists Are Drawn to Seattle—I think I’ve only read one Seattle-based series, and given it’s relative proximity to me, I do have to wonder why. (it doesn’t make this list, so I know the number is bigger than this piece suggests…IOW, I have no reason not to read more)
Where Do You Like To Read? – The Art of Creating Your Perfect Book Nook—A place I can ignore outside noises (semi-politely) and feel not-uncomfortable for a few minutes is all I really need, a perfect reading spot seems like a luxurious indulgence, but after reading this
My Blogging Journey || experiences, trials & regrets—she definitely takes this more seriously than me…I still can probably learn a bit from this.
This tweet contains either the very best 2 sentence To Kill a Mockingbird review (if it’s satire) or the absolute worst.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Pure by Jo Perry—”Caught in a pincer movement between the sudden death of Evelyn (her favourite aunt) and the Corona virus, Ascher Lieb finds herself unexpectedly locked down in her aunt’s retirement community with only Evelyn’s grief-stricken dog Freddie for company.” I’m trying hard to find a way to cram this in to my August reading. If any of my co-workers read this post and I happen to call in sick this week it’s absolutely a coincidence.
A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones—” Sunny’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior.” And, there’s a racoon that seems to be outsmarting the entire Sherriff’s Department. And Sunny’s quest to uncover the (probably urban legend of a) secret society that runs the town…It’s just a whole lot of fun, tried to describe recently.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to evidencemutumbu, wallacepublishing , and pranjal Narayan who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Man…I accomplished so little here this week. Those SPAAW posts were supposed to be what I ran alongside new posts about individual books, not the sum total of what I produced this week. I don’t mind, really, except my “to write about” list is now at the despair-inducing length. I did have a good time going down memory lane with some of those books, though.

Part of my lack of production has to do with re-establishing a routine that includes being in the office. I’m not doing well with that, and don’t understand how I worked there for so long and was a productive reader/blogger. I’ll figure it out, I trust. I’m glad to take any tips you have, though.

But you’re not here for that, you’re here for these (I assume):
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
A Guide to Developing a Deep Reading Habit: 7 principles to help you read more and read better—I don’t know why I keep posting pieces along these lines, it’s hard to imagine anyone reading my posts who need them. But you never know… Also, I enjoy reading them.
There’s No Wrong Way to Read a Book—this gets posted despite the idea of bacon as a bookmark, because it’s so quotable.
Our Woke Book Burners: Books are not violence—I would not use many of the words in this piece (or headline), as I don’t think they actually help communicate to those who disagree. But the ideas are important to wrangle with in our cultural moment.
When Writers Cave to Social Media Scolds—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar does a better job talking about related ideas.
Kempt, Couth, Ruth: On the Disappearing Antonyms of “Grumpy” Words: Arika Okrent Wonders Why Negative Descriptors Tend to Outlast Their Positive Counterparts—I love this kind of thing. I was just talking to someone that I took a class along these lines in college—I loved the results of the research but had no affinity for/interest in the work.
We Need More Victim-Focused Narratives—absolutely. Every time I read something that could be described along these lines, it feels like such a breath of fresh air and needed.
Bibliophiles Are Sharing The Most Annoying Book Tropes And I’m 100% On The Same Page As Them—I’m with all of these. However, with the exception of #18, I’ll buy into any of them if the author does something interesting with it.
Self-published Authors Appreciation Week—Witty and Sarcastic Book Club threw a little celebration of Self-Pubbed authors this week, here’s a list of (nearly?) every post that was part of it—I’m still working through the list myself—some really good stuff here, check it out.
For example: Ways You Can Support Self-Published Authors
On a related note, Gabino Iglesias tweeted about the benefits of the various modes of publishing (although his last point needs a little nuance—not that tweets have room for nuance)
Books That Ought to Come with a Box of Tissues—Fun idea for a post.