Category: News/Misc. Page 199 of 238

Saturday Miscellany – 6/10/17

On June 10, 2017

I’ve been quiet over the last week, I know — I’ve discarded a couple of posts to try to get them in better shape. I have no illusions that I’m cranking out masterpieces every day or anything. Still, I want to do a decent job, especially with books/authors that I hope people will pay attention to. Hopefully I can either live up to my standards this week (or lower them).

Here are the 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:

How College Summer Reading Programs Are Failing Our Students – and Our Culture — I’m not endorsing the political stuff here, but the state of reading lists and how it changes the way readers are formed (in good and bad ways) will impact the way books are written (in good and bad ways)
‘There’s a reason women are buying more crime fiction’ — an interview with Paula Hawkins, who probably knows a thing or two about this
The Best Ways to Support Independent Publishers — some good ideas that I need to follow
The Data Disruption cover reveal — more Genrenauts!
12 Fictional Bookstores We Wish Were Real
21 signs You’re Addicted to READING!

She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper — an ex-con kidnaps his daughter from school to save her life. Listen to him do a better job describing it on the last Two Crime Writers and a Microphone episode.
Supreme Villainy A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Most (In)Famous Supervillain Memoir Never Published by King Oblivion, Matt D. Wilson — from the publisher’s site: “For eons, King Oblivion, Ph.D., was one of the most ruthless supervillains the world has ever known. As the CEO of the ISS (International Society of Supervillains) for half a century, he was personally responsible for numerous nefarious acts, including Nixon’s presidential election, stealing the country of Japan, Star Wars: Episode I–III, and Milli Vanilli, just to name a few.” This is his memoir. ‘Nuff said.
And I mentioned this last week, because I know that’s what I read somewhere, but as I realized when I went to buy it after hitting “Publish,” it came out yesterday (and I’m sure about this date — it’s on my Kindle: Pulped by Timothy Hallinan — Tip of the Hat to Jo Perry for letting me know about this — what happens to a fictional detective when is series goes out of print and he becomes self-aware?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to GEORGE SORIN VENETE and The Sound of One Man Laughing for following the blog this week.

Saturday Miscellany – 6/3/2017

By HCNewton

On June 3, 2017

In Books, Fiction, News/Misc.

Very busy week, was barely online for a couple of days, plus it was the end of the months — which results in not a lot to see. Still here are the 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 Weird World of Book Blurbs
Folk-inspired fantasy: Alex Bledsoe’s Tufa series is based on Appalachian songs — a nice, brief profile of Bledsoe
12 Novels About Writers… What More Could a Bookworm Want? — I’ve read 1/3 of these, good looking list
Killing Malmon Announcement — looks to be an interesting collecdtion
Those First Few Pages: 8 Hooks That Get Me

Pulped by Timothy Hallinan — Tip of the Hat to Jo Perry for letting me know about this — what happens to a fictional detective when is series goes out of print and he becomes self-aware?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to catskittiesandmore, saisuresh007 and perfectbingosites.co.uk for following the blog this week. And, a belated greeting and welcome to alexankarr1 for following last week (sorry I missed you).

May 2017 Report

By HCNewton

On June 1, 2017

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

22 books finished — not bad. Looking at this, I’m wondering if I gave out too many 4-Star ratings, but I can’t think of any of those that I’d change, so I guess I just had a really good month.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in May.

Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to:

Still Reading:

A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament

DNF:

Reviews Posted:

A Rare Book of Cunning Device (Audiobook) by Ben Aaronovitch, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
The Temptation of Dragons by Chrys Cymri
Eating Robots by Stephen Oram
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and Why Not Me? (Audiobooks) by Mindy Kaling
Startup by Doree Shafrir
The Defense by Steve Cavanagh
The Catch (Audiobook) by Taylor Stevens, Hilary Huber
Strip Jack by Ian Rankin
People of the Sun by Jason Parent
The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton
The Glamshack by Paul W. Cohen
Chalk by Paul Cornell
Hour Game (Audiobook) by David Baldacci, Scott Brick
The Hammer of Thor (Audiobook) by Rick Riordan, Kieran Culkin
Storm Front (Audiobook) by Jim Butcher, James Marsters
The Right Side by Spencer Quinn
The Question of the Absentee Father by E. J. Copperman, Jeff Cohen
The Christ of Wisdom by O. Palmer Robertson
On the Line by SJ Rozan
Fox Hunter by Zoë Sharp

How was your month?

Saturday Miscellany – 5/27/2017

By HCNewton

On May 27, 2017

In Books, News/Misc.

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:

When tweeters attack: why do readers send authors their bad reviews? — I try not to do this, but I’ve seen it done plenty — I just don’t get it.
The Lion and the Mouse: The battle that reshaped children’s literature. — a fascinating look behind the scenes of Stuart Little and 20th Century Children’s Literature.
The Dangers of Reading in Bed — No, really. Amusing, interesting, and a little bit problematic (for me). Still, mostly interesting.
Man the lifeboats…. — How Fahrenheit Press is helping out some authors hurt by recent indie publishing house closings.
http://ew.com/books/2017/05/23/how-jack-reacher-characters-got-names/

I ididn’t see any New Releases that were up my alley this week — which means I probably missed some — and next week doesn’t look much better. You guys see anything?

The Mail I Get . . .

By HCNewton

On May 26, 2017

In News/Misc.

(with apologies to Lee Goldberg for stealing his title for blog posts to describe the strange, the obnoxious, the puzzling emails that he gets.)

Have myself a nasty case of eyestrain today — which makes this whole thing interesting — I got about half of a post written, but I can’t read it, so who knows how good it is. Thankfully, I can still make out graphics enough to black out revealing information, so I can tell a little story and still get a post up today. My eldest assures me that I got the graphics right — and he even fixed a typo that I couldn’t see.

Last year I got this email:

I responded (I seem to have sent several emails that day, most of which were overdue, so I didn’t realize that this one wasn’t):

I got the book, didn’t like it at all, posted about it, and then a couple of weeks later, I got this email:

I chose not to reply.

Fast-forward to this week, when I got this from the same author:

Believe it or not, I said I’d be happy to read it — I think there’s a really good chance that I’ll like this one. I really hope I do — I prefer liking things to any alternatives. (and, yeah, it’d be a better ending to the story).

Towel Day ’17: Some of my favorite Adams lines . . .

By HCNewton

On May 25, 2017

In Books, News/Misc., Quotations, Science Fiction

There’s a great temptation here for me to go crazy. I’ll refrain from that and just list some of his best lines . . .

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.”

This must be Thursday. . . I never could get the hang of Thursdays.”

“You’d better be prepared for the jump into hyperspace. It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.”
“What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?”
“You ask a glass of water.”
(I’m not sure why, but this has always made me chuckle, if not actually laugh out loud. It’s just never not funny)

He had found a Nutri-Matic machine which had provided im with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.

In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centuari. And all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before . . .

“Look,” said Arthur, “would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?”

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

It is a curious fact, and one to which no one knows quite how much importance to attach, that something like 85 percent of all known worlds in the Galaxy, be they primitive or highly advanced, have invented a drink called jynnan tonnyx, or gee-N-N-T’Nix, or jinond-o-nicks, or any one of a thousand or more variations on the same phonetic theme. The drinks themselves are not the same, and vary between the Sivolvian “chinanto/mnigs” which is ordinary water served at slightly above room temperature, and the Gagrakackan “tzjin-anthony-ks” which kills cows at a hundred paces; and in fact the one common factor between all of them, beyond the fact that the names sound the same, is that they were all invented and named before the worlds concerned made contact with any other worlds.

Life, the Universe, and Everything

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of flying.

There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying.

The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

(It goes on for quite a while after this — and I love every bit of it.)

“One of the interesting things about space,” Arthur heard Slartibartfast saying . . . “is how dull it is?”

“Dull?” . . .

“Yes,” said Slartibartfast, “staggeringly dull. Bewilderingly so. You see, there’s so much of it and so little in it.”

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Of course, one never has the slightest notion what size or shape different species are going to turn out to be, but if you were to take the findings of the latest Mid-Galactic Census report as any kind of accurate guide to statistical averages you would probably guess that the craft would hold about six people, and you would be right.

You’d probably guessed that anyway. The Census report, like most such surveys, had cost an awful lot of money and told nobody anything they didn’t already know — except that every single person in the Galaxy had 2.4 legs and owned a hyena. Since this was clearly not true the whole thing eventually had to be scrapped.

Here was something that Ford felt he could speak about with authority.

“Life,” he said, “is like a grapefruit.”

“Er, how so?”

Well, it’s sort of orangy-yellow and dimpled on the outside, wet and squidgy the middle. It’s got pips inside, too. Oh, and some people have half a one for breakfast.”

“Is there anyone else out there I can talk to?”

Arthur had a swordfish steak and said it made him angry. He grabbed a passing waitress by the arm and berated her.

“Why’s this fish so bloody good?” he demanded, angrily.

“Please excuse my friend,” said Fenchurch to the startled waitress. “I think he’s having a nice day at last.”

Mostly Harmless

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Let’s think the unthinkable, let’s do the undoable. Let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.

(I’ve often been tempted to get a tattoo of this)

The Last Chance to See

“So what do we do if we get bitten by something deadly?” I asked.

He looked at me as if I were stupid.

“You die, of course. That’s what deadly means.”

I’ve never understood all this fuss people make about the dawn. I’ve seen a few and they’re never as good as the photographs, which have the additional advantage of being things you can look at when you’re in the right frame of mind, which is usually around lunchtime.

I have the instinctive reaction of a Western man when confronted with sublimely incomprehensible. I grab my camera and start to photograph it.

And a couple of lines I’ve seen in assorted places, articles, books and whatnot

I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.

A learning experience is one of those things that says, “You know that thing you just did? Don’t do that.”

Towel Day ’17: Do You Know Where Your Towel Is?

By HCNewton

On May 25, 2017

In A-B, Authors, Calendar Items, Douglas Adams, Fiction, News/Misc., Science Fiction, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels.

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost”. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in “Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.” (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)

One of my long-delayed goals is to write up a good all-purpose Tribute to Douglas Adams post, and another Towel Day has come without me doing so. Belgium.

Next year . . . or later.

Adams is one of those handful of authors that I can’t imagine I’d be the same without having encountered/read/re-read/re-re-re-re-read, and so I do my best to pay a little tribute to him each year, even if it’s just carrying around a towel (I’ve only been able to get one of my sons into Adams, he’s the taller, thinner one in the picture from a couple of years ago below).

TowelDay.org is the best collection of resources on the day, recently posted this pretty cool video, shot on the ISS by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

Even better — Here’s an appearance by Douglas Adams himself from the old Letterman show — so glad someone preserved this:

Love the anecdote (Also, I want this tie.)

Saturday Miscellany – 5/20/17

By HCNewton

On May 20, 2017

In Blog Series, Books, News/Misc.

Things might go better if I stop trying to post this first thing in the morning — this time my tardiness can be blamed on my 2nd son’s high school graduation last night (congrats, my boy) and our new dog being . . . well, a wonderful distraction.

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:

‘Show me the money!’: the self-published authors being snapped up by Hollywood — blah
The True Story Behind Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Her Mixed-Up Files — don’t know how many times I read this book as a kid. Very happy to read this.
How Having a Local Bookstore Has Changed My Reading
Why We Stick with Recurring Characters in Fiction — Ace Atkins — fan, creator, maintainer of — recurring characters knows a thing or two about the subject.
A Thriller for Every Week of Summer 2017 — Shopping list/Checklist/Calendar, a handy resource. Also, the news that Grafton’s Y is for is around the corner is great — I didn’t expect it this year.

Exit Strategy by Steve Hamilton — Nick Mason is back and things look pretty dicey.
The End of Magic by Amber Benson– the end of her Echo Park Coven trilogy is here. I finished it last night, and like every other book in this trilogy, it’s not what I expected — and better. Post coming soon — I think.
No Middle Name by Lee Child — a collection of short stories and a novella.
Behind the Mask: An Anthology of Heroic Proportions edited by Tricia Reeks & Kyle Richardson — some of my favorite authors are included in this look at the lives of super-heroes and super-villains
The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis–and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance by Ben Sasse — I’m not sure I’ll agree with large portions of this, but I like the concept and look forward to thinking about it.

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

Saturday Miscellany – 5/13/2017

By HCNewton

On May 13, 2017

In Books, News/Misc.

Man, I don’t know why I’ve been so quiet lately. I’ve been trying to finish posts this week, but haven’t managed to get anything ready to publish. Which is bad, because I have a backlog of things that I’m very excited to talk about, and I can only do so much at a time.

In the meantime, I did manage to cobble together a list of 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 American Writers Museum — opens in Chicago next week. Sounds pretty cool
Um, what? Bill Clinton And James Patterson Collaborate On A Novel — would’ve loved to have been watching that one being pitched: “Patterson’s got another co-writer? Like he needs another . . . wait, what? Who?”
Last week, Gibson talked about his upcoming book about her winning in 2016, and this week the headline is: Curtis Sittenfeld is writing a novel about Hillary Rodham not marrying Bill Clinton.
Here’s What Andy Weir’s New Book ARTEMIS is All About (Exclusive) — Nerdist.com has all the details on Weir’s follow up. Can’t imagine the pressure he’s feeling to try to match the success of The Martian.
Speaking of high expectation: Presenting Beneath the Sugar Sky, the Third Book of Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children Series — before #2 is released, we get the announcement of #3.
{Aside} Rating On Goodreads Before You’ve Read It. — hear, hear.
Why You Should Buy A Book Right Now

Nearly Nero: The Adventures of Claudius Lyon, the Man Who Would Be Wolfe by Loren D. Estleman — a fun, and quirky tribute to Nero Wolfe — and some interesting stories, even without the Wolfe. See my complete thoughts here
Girling Up: How to Be Strong, Smart and Spectacular by Mayim Bialik — Okay, I probably won’t read this one, but my daughter might. It could be an interesting (and problematic) take on things.
The Vinyl Detective – The Run-Out Groove by Andrew Cartmel — this looks quirky enough that I should probably grab it and it’s predecessor. Also, if Ben Aaronovitch recommends it . . .
Blackwater by GJ Moffat — the latest from Fahrenheit Press looks like a winner.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Abinotronix, martyn james, and Jeyran Main for following the blog this week.

Saturday Miscellany – 5/6/2017

By HCNewton

On May 6, 2017

In Books, News/Misc.

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:

Ebooks undermine your freedom and privacy — some thoughts on the problems and disadvantages of ebooks, some I shrugged at, others . . .
Why you like the smell of old books — “the odors of the past are part of our ‘cultural heritage,’ as important to our understanding and connection with history — and as worthy of preservation — as the relics we can see and touch.” The number of articles on the smell of books I’ve read in the last couple of years is truly mind-boggling, and yet I keep finding them interesting.
2 startup founders quietly created the new ‘Oprah’s Book Club’ for millennials — and the publishing industry is obsessed
Colts Andrew Luck has started a podcast – to talk about books — I know precious little about Luck (except for his appearances on Parks and Recreation), but this sounds pretty cool.
Brontë Essentials: Six Modern Books Inspired by ‘Jane Eyre’ — This left off a couple (including my favorite — although Jane Steel is on my shelf, so who knows, I may have a new favorite).
Dennis Lehane Can Relate to His Restless Characters — a nice little profile just before the new book hits shelves.
9 Ways Reading Is Good For Your Mental Health — blah
How Long Did it Take Authors to Write Your Favorite Book?

The Once and Future Podcast Ep. 152: Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant was very interesting — two of my faves on one episode.

Robert B. Parker’s Little White Lies by Ace Atkins — one of Atkins’ best Spenser novels, my blog post on it
Cold Reign by Faith Hunter — Jane Yellowrock’s latest really rocked. Read my take on it.
The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan — the 2nd installment of the Apollo’s search for redemption.
The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion — I had serious problems with this one, as you can read here, but there’s no denying that Simsion can write a compelling character (or two).
Tune Up by Joe Klinger — Klinger was the 2nd author I interviewed, and his answers remain one of my favorites. I’ve had the predecessor to this sitting on my Kindle for over a year. Hopefully having this one on the Kindle, too, will get me moving.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to J. A. Allen for following the blog this week.