Category: Books Page 94 of 161

1. It’s weird to look off to the right there and not see History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding listed there.
2. My ISP went down for a day-and-a-half this week, making it a real challenge to get anything posted, but it did help me catch up on reading. But I’m super-behind on blog-hopping, commenting, and everything. I’m looking forward to catching up and seeing all the fun stuff I missed this week.
3. I’m apparently in a list-making mood today.
4. I came across a thing I did for a bit on an old blog and then Facebook years ago, and decided I’d try to resurrect it on these posts. If you still see it in a month, I guess we’ll call it a success.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
In honor of today being the 124th Anniversary of the play, LitHub posted Watch Spalding Gray perform Our Town’s legendary opening monologue.—First off, Our Town is my favorite play, full stop. I’ve read better, but none affect me the at it does. I cannot make it through the third act dry-eyed (I’ve seen high school drama departments stumble through it, ditto for college and amateur troupes, several filmed versions—and in print). I also loved the part of Gray’s monologue, Monster in a Box this post mentions about his role and the reaction to it. I’m rambling now—just read and watch.
Lauren Hough Vs The World—For the 4% of you that didn’t watch this trainwreck live, this is a good summary.
Turns Out It’s Pretty Good: Reading First Thing in the Morning
How Would the Publishing World Respond to Lolita Today?: Jenny Minton Quigley on the Novel Her Father Published
Rare book burial brings a little-known Jewish custom to Naples (Hat tip: Jo Perry)
10 of the worst sentences found in literature—Thoughts: I don’t know how they ever settled on one from The Da Vinci Code; the New Moon selection as great; and I don’t know how I managed to read the rest of The Killing Floor (much less the 25 following novels) after that sentence.
What makes you pick up a book?
Amanda’s Book Format Battle
My first reads!—this was a fun read and sent me down a fun trip down memory lane.
@HiuGregg gives some handy advice in this thread

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Okay, I’ve got nothing for this. Which is happening a lot lately—have I gotten that picky?

(that I can’t imagine finding a use for)
At least 80% of all cars in Afghanistan are various years of Toyota Corollas, mostly brought into the country used.
Daniel Boone didn’t like flat coonskin caps, but preferred high-crown felt hats so he’d look taller. (yeah, I know I mentioned this in my post about the book, but it was so ingrained my mind from childhood on that I have to mention it again). Also, I’m taller than Daniel Boone was, and I’m not tall, definitely not “tall as a mountain.”
The American custom of having race tracks constructed to run widdershins comes from a “rabid revolutionary,” William Whitleywho built one of the first horse tracks in Kentucky, who deliberately wanted to do so contrary to the British custom.
My new word for the week is, “Funt” which looks like a misprint when you come across it in a book. But after a quick internet search, you find out that it’s not and kind of wish that you didn’t know what you now do.
Sources: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King (verified because it made me curious); Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier by Bob Drury, Tom Clavin (for the next two items); Robert B. Parker’s Payback by Mike Lupica.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to bookish_renee who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?
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Spring is on the verge of springing here and the birds are chirping like crazy and one of the canines in residence really wants to go out and play with them (sadly, they have no desire to play with her). Hope the pollen isn’t getting to you all too much.

Short list this week—I’ve clearly been busy this week (not that you can prove it from my posting)—but there are some gems.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The Joy and Privilege of Growing Up in an Indie Bookstore
I Work in a Bookstore. Why Am I Still Shelving “Mein Kampf”?—I don’t think Abdalla convinced me here, but I almost wish she did.
The Best Spy Novels Written by Spies, According to a Spy—I’m tempted to take the next two weeks off from everything and read this list.
Why Murder Mysteries Are a Lot Like Science, According to a Neuroscientist and Novelist—I didn’t set out to post two pieces by Erik Hoel (someone is clearly trying to promote his new book), but I liked them both—and this isn’t anything like his growing up in a bookstore, so it’s not redundant.
The Myth of Accurate Representation – Neurodivergence in Fiction—this is good.
Dragonlance Week: A Celebration—This week, Witty and Sarcastic Book Club took a break from working in Dragonlance references to 63.2% of their posts and devoted an entire week to focusing on the series. It kicked off with that piece, but you can find them all here. This series is second only to Lloyd Alexander in making me a fantasy reader, nice to read all these pieces and remember why.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt—The second book in the Andy Carpenter spin-off series is another solid read. I talked about it a bit recently.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to deardailydiary81, Operation X, Siddharth menon, Hannah , and Ccoutreach who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Library E-Book Bill Advancing in Maryland—am not sure this is the best way to address the issue (not sure it isn’t, either)
Douglas Adams’ note to self reveals author found writing torture—Good piece about Adams, but an absolute garbage headline. Anyone who knows anything about Adams doesn’t need that revealed. Tantamount to headlines like, “George RR Martin Procrastinates,” “Don Winslow Has a Thing or Two to Say About the Drug Trade,” or “David Rosenfelt Features a Dog in his Next Book.”
How Hank the Cowdog Made John R. Erickson the King of the Canine Canon: He wanted to become a serious literary novelist, like Faulkner or Hemingway. Fortunately for millions of Hank the Cowdog fans, he failed.—I never understood the appeal, but I know many who got it. Interesting feature about Erickson (who I did not realize was still publishing).
Why are there so many book summary apps?—Something else I’ve never understood the appeal of (even if I drew the same conclusions as this post). Worth it for the last paragraph.
Why Do So Many Novels Feature Golden Retrievers?
To wait, or to buy. A look at the impact those who wait to buy and binge-read series can have on the book writing business.—Great post.
So, You Want to Start a Book Blog…—FanFiAddict’s David W. has some good thoughts for people thinking of diving in
The Expectations We Put On Ourselves as Book Bloggers—she wrote this so I didn’t have to. I’m not sure if it was just the encouragement I needed this week or if it served as the excuse I could use to produce so little 🙂

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to josbees andrtslaywood who followed the blog this week.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
March 25 was not a good day for the literary world, with the deaths of Beverly Cleary and Larry McMurtry. HarperCollins posted this about Cleary and the Washington Post had the first non-paywall McMurtry obituary that I found. I went through a McMurtry phase in college (while avoiding the much-hyped Lonesome Dove, which was probably stupid of me). And Cleary? Come on…who among us didn’t live vicariously through Ralph S. Mouse and his antics? She’s probably the author who taught me you could feel things other than thrills or laughs through books, actually.
12 Ways to Get Out of a Reading Slump: What to do when you just can’t seem to work up the motivation to read.
How to Know When it’s Time to Quit a Book
In Defense of Kvothe: A Candid Look at a Divisive Character—it’s odd that such a beloved character needs a defense, but, I think even the most ardent fans would admit that he’s a problematic character (like all of us). Here’s a good apologetic for the Kingkiller.
ruminations on my first year of blogging—pretty sure it took me several years to learn what this blogger picked up in one.
Making a Monster—Spells and Spaceships kicked off their Fantasy Monster Week with this post. This series of posts could do some real damage to your book buying budget, I should warn you.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Genrenauts: The Wasteland War by Michael R. Underwood—The Genrenauts are back and as grim as things looked at the end of the last novella, they’re worse now. I read this yesterday, it was so good to be back in this world. If you haven’t come across the Genrenauts yet, here’s my post about the Season One collection.
The Bounty by Janet Evanovich and Steve Hamilton—Fox and O’Hare “race against time to uncover a buried train filled with Nazi gold” with the help of Fox’s father. This is probably my make-it-or-break-it book with this series. The fact that Steve Hamilton is on board gives me some hope.