Category: News/Misc. Page 130 of 229

Record high temps and an AC system that’s not holding its own sum up most of the week for me. Thankfully, I read a few books that were good enough I could ignore how much I was perspiring. I truly hope you’re faring better in your corner of the world than the Northwest US is.

Also, have you all seen this site: BlogOverview.com? It looks like a great resource to find blogs on all sorts of topics, researched and curated by people, not an algorithm (and I’m not just saying that because I really dug the way they described this site, I’ve picked up a few to follow)

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Douglas Coupland on Generation X at 30: ‘Generational trashing is eternal’—Sure, this is more of an advertisement for his new book, but the fact that the novel Generation X is 30 should be noted.
On the Road to Bridget Jones: five books that define each generation—Fun lists to go along with that Coupland piece
Bosch Season 7 Preview: In a Changed World, How Should We Feel About Police Shows?—applies to the book version of Bosch, too.
Ditto for this one: title—Michael Connelly Says Bosch Is Just Like Batman – Without ‘the Cape and Mask and Stuff’
Books and Bias: Rediscovering the writing and ideologies in Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novels—I’d quibble with some of the details sure, but great piece.
Lessons of a self-published writer: independent bookstores are good, Amazon not so much.
Coffee and Condolences: One Year Later—Some thoughts from Wesley Parker about the genesis of his book.
Deadpool Creator Fabian Nicieza on (Finally) Finishing His Novel: It only took 35 years of writing comics to learn that 35 years of writing comics would help him write his debut mystery.—this reads a lot like something written by Deadpool’s creator should. Interesting look at the process of getting to his debut.
Why I Like To Reread Books
Why I am NOT telling you my book number… (But I will shout about books I love.)—I get this argument. I like it. I don’t think I’m going to stop mentioning my number and judging myself by it in my monthly posts, but…maybe?
The Pros and Cons of Historical Fiction
Reading during the pandemic—I think many of us can identify with this.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Questland by Carrie Vaughn—Jurassic Park, but for D&D types.
Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza—Click the link for the whole blurb, but “a hilariously entertaining debut featuring two unlikely and unforgettable amateur sleuths. An engrossing and entertaining murder mystery full of skewering social commentary, Suburban Dicks examines the racial tensions exposed in a New Jersey suburb after the murder of a gas station attendant.”

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to tubasarwat, Elias Graves, and jakeschubert7 who all took the time to hit the follow button this week.
I wish I knew who to attribute this to, I saw it on the feed for The Shaggy Shepherd Book Reviews and had to share:

Some of these miscellanies lately have felt extra miscellany, but maybe that’s just me. Hope you all are finding something worth your time here, I enjoyed all of these.

Also, in the States this weekend we observe Father’s Day, “the most sacred of the b******t Hallmark holidays” (as a href=”https://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2015/06/happy-fathers-day.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>the great Ken Levine has dubbed it). If you are blessed enough to be a father, I hope you have a good day.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Legible Launches Browser-Based Reading and Publishing Platform—I like this idea. Won’t be jumping on right away due to time/money constraints, but hope they’re around long enough for me to give this a shot.
On My Most Embarrassing Literary Encounters (So Far): Matthew Norman Doesn’t Always Play It Cool With Famous Authors
20+ Best Audiobooks for Family Road Trips—This is a really good list.
What is a Cozy Mystery?—a handy infographic
Book Covers Are in A Rut—yup. Which makes the good ones all the better.
Dos and Don’ts for Reading Outside—For those in less oppressively hot areas.
Music and Song in Books!—from Before We Go Blog, a nice look at some of the better uses of Music/Song in Fantasy.
Comfort Reads!—a comfy little post from Lizby’s Nerdy World
I came across a reference to when I shared this link a few years ago, and thought it deserved a repeat for the title alone: C.S. Lewis’s Greatest Fiction Was Convincing American Kids That They Would Like Turkish Delight—nice Lewis-esque title to accompany this great piece. Some great lines in this: “It was like looking into Harry Potter’s Mirror of Erised, but for desserts: When you think of a treat worth betraying your family for, what do you see? Turkish Delight is our collective candy id.”

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Blood Brothers Episode 60 with TJ Newman—Newman’s book is going to be one of the biggest of 2021, and this was a fun discussion. Worth listening to if only to hear this American trying to describe the wonder of S’Mores.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Shots Fired by Ian Robinson—DI Nash and DC Moretti return for their third book, this one focusing on the hunt for a weapon tied to killings in Scotland and Northern Ireland in addition to London.
All Together Now by Matthew Norman—”A dying man brings his oldest friends together for one last beach blowout.”
A Good Kill by John McMahon—A School Shooting leads a Georgia detective to investigating a local conspiracy. I really dug this one.
Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison—Harrison’s revived Rachel Morgan/Hollows series is as strong as the series ever was. I had a bit more to say about it recently.
title by soandso—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
title by soandso—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Bethany Waller, who followed the blog this week, hope your fledgling blog does well!

This feels a bit more hodge-podge-y than usual, but hey, just one of those weeks, I guess. Hope you’re having a good weekend!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
New exhibition shows Peanuts creator Charles M Schulz’s take on grown-ups—I would enjoy seeing this exhibition, while the one strip the article shows demonstrates that Schulz needed to develop things a bit more.
Telegraph columnist wrongly claims literacy at the lowest level in UK history.
Those Descriptions on the Inside of Book Covers Are Full of It: They’ve become meaningless mush—but they don’t have to be.—I think Farwell’s critiques are problematic, but I like the look at developing the descriptions for a book.
How TV Shows Use Books as Props: From SCHITT’S CREEK to MAD MEN
Shop Talk: Ace Atkins Writes on a 40-Year Old Keyboard and Doesn’t Believe in Word Counts—an interview with Atkins about his process—even if you’re not a fan of Atkins (which just means you haven’t read him yet), it’s worth a read. I love seeing how different authors go about things.
FPTV: Ben Aaronovich & Andrew Cartmel introduce Rivers of London: Body Work (Deluxe Writer’s Edition)—I haven’t found time to watch this yet, but it looks good. Also, I need to get my hands on the that edition.
Some Thoughts and a Problem—Many of us can identify with Bookforager here.
Dear Authors – This Reader Wants More Courage, Complexity and Atmosphere—BookerTalk has a wishlist for authors/publishers.
Pros and Cons of Audiobooks: My Experience So Far—FanFiAddict’s David S. discusses audiobook listening
Musings on Mood Reading
Lie About Your Age, Not About Reading Books—some good stuff about lying about reading and related ideas over at The Bookwyrm’s Den

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Meat is Murder by Chris McDonald—the third Stonebridge Mystery finds the amateur sleuths investigating a death at an abattoir (not the routine kind, it should be stressed). I’ll be talking about it next week, hint: it was fun.
Darling at the Campsite by Andy Abramowitz—an “adrift thirty-three-year-old” returns to his hometown for the funeral for his estranged brother and has to deal with baggage from his past.