Category: Books Page 97 of 161

I really thought I had a decent list of things for the week, but when I opened my Pocket this morning, all I saw was stuff I posted last year, things I had no idea why I saved and…four other pieces. What did I spend all week doing?

Oh well, I’ll make this short and sweet and then go lock myself away for awhile to finish some in-progress posts and work on taxes. Fun day, eh?
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Fran Lebowitz’s One-Star Amazon Reviews—Lebowitz is one of my favorites, I love this lady’s humor and there are pieces by her I can read over and over. Now I see she spends time writing 1-Star Reviews for Amazon? I’m in danger of losing hours here…
The Future of Police Procedurals: What is the responsibility—and the path forward—for authors writing crime fiction about police?—Michael Kaufman describes the challenge of writing a police procedural after the Summer of 2020.
Is an Audible subscription still worth it?
I did my first Twitter poll this week, At what point do you decide to DNF a book of it’s not working for you?—the results are about what I’d predict. What about you?

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

Productivity came in fits and starts for me this week–and a couple of ambitious posts didn’t make their way out of the beginnings of a draft. I’m thinking of locking myself in my office for a few hours today to finish them. Some good reading this week, though, which makes up for it (and is partially to blame for unfinished posts). As is typical for the last week of the month, I didn’t find a lot of fodder for this list. But hopefully, you find something worth your while.

Thanks for dropping by!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Why is California such a great place to write murder mysteries?: Five writers confess why the state’s an ideal backdrop for making a killing
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link to a news story about a potential new Dragonlance book. Margaret Weis make it official—I’ve got to work in a re-read. Sure, I think I remember enough to dip back in, but I have children older than I was the last time I read the series. (H/T: W&SBOOKCLUB, my source for all things Dragonlance)
Alex Verus – The Future (After Book 12)—Benedict Jacka gives a peek at some of what’s next after the Verus series ends.
Unlucky Breaks: Famous Writers Who Suffered Slings, Arrows, And Misfortune
Why You Should Read The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss—This is a well-done video. And he’s right about the series, too.
How Do You Track Your Reading?—BookerTalk breaks down her methods and the comments are full of alternatives
Why I re-read books
Which Type of Reviewer Are You?—Apparently, I contain multitudes. In one week, I can be (and have been) all of these.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen—Chen’s take on Super-Heroes deals with memory, identity and friendship. Also, super-powered people do super-powered things. I had a few things to say about it recently.
Latent Damage by Ian Robinson—A pair of London detectives are on the hunt for a vigilante (which I just noticed is a paraphrase of the tag line on the cover, oops). Ian Robinson will be familiar to readers of this blog as Ian Patrick. Under that pen name, Robinson has a tendency to blow me away with his prose and his take on policing. I’ll probably have many good things to say about this soon.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to jenniereads and Bec @ bec&books who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Not that you can tell from my output here, but I have spent far more time reading and writing this week than I usually get to lately—which translates into a lot less of social media/blog-hopping (and even when I did, most people weren’t talking about books this week, apparently something major happened in the national news). So I don’t have a lot to share today.

And yeah, the post I intended to go up on Tuesday is only 40% finished (which isn’t to say it’s going to be long, if anything it’ll be on the shorter side). But it’s a good 40%, I’ve rewritten it about 6 times. (…and I thought it’d be a quick one to write—ha!). I’m putting it aside for a few days just so I don’t drive myself crazy, and so I can actually produce something this week.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
This new indie bookstore categorizes books by emotion.—ohhh, this just sounds exhausting, both for the staff having to organize and a shopper. (sure, I’d like to browse it once or twice, just to see…)
The Mystery Is Holmes: Why We Return to Conan Doyle’s Stories Over and Over Again—I think he’s on to something here, I’m not the biggest fan in the world, but I have a hard time not dipping my toe into Holmes every now and then. A bit of this can be applied to other things we re-read, not just Holmes (or mysteries in general), too, if Holmes isn’t your thing.
‘Funny, How?’ Why Comedy is Crucial in Crime Writing
What Are Your Reading Modi Operandi?—a fun post from Bookidote’s Lashaan, and some great comments. I haven’t chimed in because my M.O. seems to change by the month/week lately.
All the Positives with Negative Reviews—yup. The Orangutan Librarian’s latest take on the perennial post hits several nails on the head.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston—I’ve enthused over this (suitable for adults) MG Fantasy about a girl from Atlanta entering a Hogwarts-ish institution for a secret magical organization a couple of times already (my original post and in one of my Best-Of 2020s), and now it’s available for everyone to fall under its spell.
The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick—I’ve devoted hours to this book this week (with about one to go, before I have to spend a couple writing about it tonight) and I don’t know how to sum this up. It’s a fantasy about a con artist, and many, many, many other things. And unless the authors stumble in the last 11 percent, it’s a great read. Check out the authors talking about it on The Big Idea.

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

Huh. I thought I had stuff to talk about today, but now that I’ve got to this part of the post, I’m coming up empty. So, I’ll simply say thank you for stopping by, hope you’re doing well and are reading a good book or five. Enjoy these links!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Lapsed bookworm? How you can get back into the habit of reading
The Perils of Downsizing: Be careful you don’t discard something you can’t live without — like books—I really liked this.
Please Stop Comparing Things to “1984”—Yes, please. Although the “Left” needs to stop just as much as the “Right.”
The ‘Great Gatsby’ Glut—NYTimes, so you may have to get creative to work around the registration. Now that Gatsby is in the public domain, we’re going to see a lot of writers and publishers taking advantage of it. Seeing it already, but after reading this, I know it’s going to get worse.
Every Mystery Writer Knows, You Can Kill Anyone
But The Dog: Sulari Gentill on crime fiction’s most unbreakable rule—I’ve heard writer after writer talk about this–from all parts of the world, from all types of Crime Fiction. They all recoil from the idea (not necessarily because they think it’d be out of place, but because the way readers react). Gentill gives a pretty good explanation for the roots of the “rule.”
And as soon as that started making the rounds on social media this week, Jo Perry reminded readers of her post from last year: Kill the Dog—her series would be nothing without having killed the dog.
The Thrill of Researching Your Crime Novel
D&D: New Dragonlance Novel Coming In July!—I haven’t read/reread a Dragonlance novel this century, but the first two trilogies (and a handful of the early standalones) were so monumental for Middle School/High School me that this news excites me.
Not Famous… Two Years Later—Two years ago yesterday, Matthew Hanover’s first novel was released. He reflects on those years a little here.
The End—Benedict Jacka has turned in the final revisions to his last Alex Verus book. That’s got to be a strange feeling for an author.
Speaking of endings, Michael Connelly says goodbye to Amazon’s ‘Bosch,’ hello to Netflix’s ‘Lincoln Lawyer’”—Netflix is a better fit than CBS, the original destination for The Lincoln Lawyer. HitFix’s Brian Grubb points out a fascinating possibility because of this. (you’ll have to scroll a bit to get to it).
What is Magical Realism?—a quick primer from Ramona Mead.
Desert Island Children’s Books—a great idea for a personal challenge–and how have I not thought about The Borrowers in decades? Why didn’t I introduce my kids to them?
Why exactly do we read book reviews?—pretty much sums it up
Want a Review? Here’s Five Things to Avoid—I should probably put this link on the top of my request page.
5 Tips On How To Write A Good Book Blogger Review Request For Your Book—I also saw this one this week. There’s a lot of wisdom here. I know that I’ve read books that I might not have primarily because of the way the author wrote the request.
On the theme of reviews, the Tweet of the Week goes to: Well Read Beard—I’d buy the single now.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Robert B. Parker’s Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins—I have less than 100 pages to go in this one and am loving it! Mattie Sullivan returns to the series, bringing a deadly case of child exploitation with her.
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire—The next Wayward Children novella has to do with a world filled of centaurs and unicorns, and who really cares what else is involved in the premise. It’s going to be good. Poor time management is going to keep me from this for at least a week, and I’m pretty annoyed with myself over it.
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas—I didn’t walk away from The Hate U Give saying, “I have a burning desire to learn more about Maverick Carter’s backstory.” But now that it’s here…I have to admit, my curiosity is piqued.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Leigh Hecking and Dark Corners who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?