Category: News/Misc. Page 198 of 229

Second week in a row that I’m late with this…blame my wife insisting that I should interact with people in this “Real World” she keeps going on about. Oh, and sleep — my chief foe (and welcoming friend).

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• NPR asks: Can Serialized Fiction Convert Binge Watchers Into Binge Readers?
• Jeff Noon Signs with Angry Robot for Two Book Deal — it was ’95 I think that I read Noon’s Vurt, and there are parts of it I still remember. I’ve intended to, but haven’t gotten around to reading anything else by him. But I will read these.
• The Man Who Invented Fiction review – what we owe to Cervantes — has anyone out there actually read Cervantes? Is there a translation I should try for my umpteenth attempt?
• The Way Into Audio — Connolly’s wonderful The Way Into fantasy series is coming to Audiobooks, which means the one person I was most sure would like it will be more likely to give it a shot (and many others will be exposed, too). I haven’t encountered the Narrator before, but looking at his credits, he’s no slouch.
• ‘Iron Druid’ Author Kevin Hearne-on-his Comic Book and New Fantasy Series — squee
• 18 Terrible Book Characters I Will Always Hate — don’t think I can disagree with any of this list.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel — I’ve gushed enough about this already, but it’s officially out now — get reading!
• How did I miss Outfoxed by David R last week? Seriously, what’s wrong with me? Andy Carpenter, a dog on the cover, with crime and jokes inside — a recipe for fun.
• Nevernight by Jay Kristoff — after The Lotus War I’ve gotta give whatever he puts out a shot. Doesn’t hurt that this looks really good.
• GUN by The Gun Collective — an experimental, collaborative novel put out my the mavericks over at Fahrenheit Press.
• City of Wolves by Willow Palecek — A “gaslamp fantasy noir” — I’m not really sure what that means (but I have a pretty good idea), but it looks like a fun read.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Grace Crandall for following the blog this week. Thanks to ThemisAthena for all the encouraging likes and to Bookstooge for catching my BookLikes goof.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Hemingway’s Tough-Love Letter of Advice to F. Scott Fitzgerald on Writing and Turning Suffering into Creative Fuel — Interesting feedback on Fitzgerald’s 2nd best book, IMHO. I loved the line where Hemingway stops himself and says, “It’s a lot better than I say.” I’ve found myself in that place frequently. That’s about as close to Heminway-esque as I’ll achieve.
• What If I’m Actually a Character in a Larry McMurtry Novel? — It’s been decades since I’ve read McMurtry (it was the last century, come to think of it), but this reminded me why I should
• 7 sidekicks that improve anything by A. Lee Martinez — A. Lee Martinez brings us the first of this week’s lists.
• The Guardian gives us the second: Big Dumb Objects: science fiction’s most mysterious MacGuffins
• Five Books About Policing the Supernatural — I’ve actually read at lest one thing from each of these — I think that’s a first. I’ll have to take her word about the Hughes’ series, not sure I’m willing to try that one again.
• Bringing Literary Love Into Your Relationships
• 10 Authors with Tattoos Inspired by Their Own Books — oh, wait, there’s another list, some good ink, too.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Nightshades by Melissa F. Olson — Crime Fighting and Vampires — sounds like a good idea from someone (see above) who knows their way around Policing the Supernatural.
• The Dragon Lords: Fool’s Gold by Jon Hollins — the tag line definitely grabs your attention: Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Hobbit in this rollicking fantasy adventure.” And the description makes it sound like it’d be worthwhile seeing if the book is nearly as good.
• Flying by Carrie Jones — looks like I might enjoy spending an afternoon with this, and it could be a new obsession for my Doctor Who loving daughter.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to wanderlustexplored, ThemisAthena and kittensandhumans for following the blog this week.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• The Revival of Print Books Continues — no runaway blockbuster this year (yet?), but better sales over 2015
• The Reading Rules We Would Never Follow as Adult Readers — I have to admit, I’ve been guilty of holding my kids to some of these.
• Winnie-the-Pooh beats Harry Potter in best-loved book character poll — A survey in the UK says ol’ Pooh-Bear is the favorite kids’ book character.
• Is ‘devouring’ books a sign of superficiality in a reader? — I think there’s some good points made here, but I think there’s some fundamental problems.
• How audiobook narrators master their craft — I’ve been really enjoying Scott Brick’s audio work lately, so it was nice to see this piece. Also, enjoyed getting to know a bit more about the industry.
• More Than “Strong”: Why Men Need to Write More Complex Female Characters — A. Lee Martinez, who has written strong females, complex females, and strange females sounds off on the topic.
• His name is ‘Ove,’ he’s cranky, and readers love him — Loved Backman’s second novel, haven’t had the time for this one yet.
• In Praise of Humor in Fantasy and Science Fiction — Martinez is also on this list, with some other notable books.
• Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned from Reading Science Fiction
• ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ Would Be Very Different If It Were Written In 2016 — *chuckle*

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• The Innocents by Ace Atkins — Quinn Colson’s back on the job, and there’s a Girl on Fire who isn’t Katniss Everdeen. Sounds like trouble.
• Time Siege by Wesley Chu — a couple of new Chu’s this week — the sequel to and a son. Not that he’ll ever read this, but ‘gratz to him on both counts. Looking forward to devouring the former, and wish the latter well.
• Salvation Lake by G. M. Ford — Leo Watterman is back to remind me that I didn’t get to the last one yet. Oh, I’m sure there’s a good mystery here, too — it’s not all about me 🙂 It seems to involve Leo’s dad, which means things are going to get dark and twisted.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Deniz Yalım and bluecloverdust for following the blog this week.

(I got this from Geek & Sundry’s FB page, not sure the exact source)

I’m guessing the 4^th is responsible for the fact that I only gathered 2 links for the Odds ‘n ends bit this week about books and reading. Still, I liked ’em, maybe you will, too:

• Larry Correia had a great post about writers’ extra-curricular activities — in short, Larry Correia, George R. R. Martin, and their colleagues, are not your bitches.
• 17 Things That Will Take Reading To The Next Level — I could use some of these, for sure

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Sacrifices by Jamie Schultz — I’ve been waiting for this one since about 10 minutes after I finished last year’s Splintered.
• The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez — Martinez is a long-time fave around these parts, and for him to kick off an actual series is cause for joy. (cool looking book, too)
• Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn — if you haven’t heard the buzz about this one, I’m astounded. Good job, you. But man, the concept and the buzz make me want to read it.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Neil Gaiman Delves Deep Into Norse Myths for New Book
• Why I still love actual paper books — Alexis Boncy nails it.
• Reading should be about pleasure, not points or prizes
• The Evolution of the Book, Animated –Brain Pickings bring us a nifty TED-Ed video, and many other interesting links.
• A Brief History of the Audiobook — and more educational material — I learned something here.
• Confessions of a Reader: The Classics I’ve Never Read — “Life’s too short to be ashamed of the books you haven’t read.”
• Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned From Reading Fantasy — yeah, sure, almost every lesson here is horribly wrong — but it’s a fun list 🙂
• How To Tell If You Are In A J.R.R. Tolkien Book — Just in case you’ve ever wondered
• Bookish insults — Short and to the point, funny
• Hard-Core Bookish Insults — BookLikes thought this was a good post, and then made it better. Or, at the very least, longer.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• A Hundred Thousand Worlds by Bob Proehl — where geekdom and literature collide, apparently. It sounds pretty cool to me, for more, listen to this Once & Future Podcast episode and/or read this Big Idea post. I’m hoping to post about this soon. Y’know, once I read the thing.
• Granted by Michelle Merrill — blah
• Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder — a very strong and strange black comedy, you might have noticed the 200 posts here the other day about it. Give it a shot.
• The Quest for Merlin: Magimakía by Rafael Lovato — the first installment in a new YA trilogy
• In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch — a Big Chill-esque novel that’ll be charming, thoughtful, semi-depressing, and tinged with hope. Or so I guess, that seems to be Allison Winn Scotch’s thing.