This book comes out next week, and I’ll hopefully have a post up here tomorrow about it — and a Q&A with the author. Think about getting your hands on the book soon. In the meantime, enjoy this trailer.
Category: News/Misc. Page 211 of 242
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 having one of those weeks, apparently. Since Monday, I’ve been working on two posts that I can’t finish. I don’t like what I have — I’ve deleted several paragraphs on both of them, and I have no idea when I’m going to get something done I like. I work on one until I’m frustrated, work on the other for a bit until I get frustrated and then back and forth, just hoping one will cancel out the other.
In the meantime, let me just say that The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner is superb (shock!) and that Faith Hunter’s upcoming Blood of the Earth is top-notch.
Also, I should say thanks for your patience, and I’ll try to get something real up here soon. Hopefully I’ll be back to normal next week.
I’m guessing the 4th 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.
So, here’s what happened here in June, 2016.
Books Read:
Still Reading:
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Reviews Posted:
- The CleanSweep Conspiracy by Chuck Waldron
- A Change of Heart by Mark Benjamin
- Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder
- The Ghost Rebellion by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
- The Highwayman by Craig Johnson
- Cheap Shot (Audiobook) by Ace Atkins, Joe Mantegna
- Steel Victory by J. L. Gribble
- NYPD Red by James Patterson, Marshall Karp, Edoardo Ballerini, Jay Snyder
- Unshakable by K. Scott Oliphint and Rod Mays
- So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish by Douglas Adams
- We’re All Damaged by Matthew Norman
- Yes, Please (Audiobook) by Amy Poehler
- Hexed (Audiobook) by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels
- Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder
- The Quest for Merlin: Magimakía by Rafael Lovato
How was your month?
If you like page 69, buy it
Danny knew Omar was right; he was about to black out. He could sense the sun setting, even though it was the middle of the day. And he could hear Harvey singing the last verses of “Danny Boy.”
And if you come, and all the flowers are dying, If I am dead, as dead I well may be, I pray you’ll find the place where I am lying, And kneel and say an Ave there for me,”
I’m going now, Danny thought, but something happened split seconds before he lost consciousness, something he knew was important in spite of the singing dwarf and the giant choking the air out of him. It was the thing that was wrong with the room, the odd thing, the offbeat and out-of-tune thing.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me, And all my grave will warm and sweeter be, And then you’ll kneel and whisper that you love me, And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.”
It was the fern on the bamboo coffee table, the dehydrated-dry-and-shriveled-brown dead fern that Jenny Stone had taken in her hands and breathed on. He was looking straight down right at it. Alive, he said in his head, it’s alive. And then everything went black.
—
Note: I love this Page 69 Challenge idea — thanks so much, Laugh Riot, for introducing me to this.
Donald the Dentist
It was Wednesday noon. Donald the Dentist only worked a half-day (one to five), which was a good thing because he had been up all night doing cocaine in his office after Detective Shuler had handed over the garbage bag holding his dead dog. He couldn’t bear going to bed and listening to Carol cry herself to sleep.
He had finally dozed off somewhere around six and was awakened by the sound of music—literally; The Sound of Music was blasting in the living room—Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and all the various Von Trapps singing “So Long, Farewell” as they slipped into the night and across the border.
He rubbed his index finger through the white dust on the mirror on the coffee table, ran the finger across his gums, got out of the armchair, picked up the garbage bag that held Chachi’s carcass, and walked out of his office. He went down the hall, intending to grab a shovel from the garage so he could dig a hole in the backyard behind the trees beyond the pool and bury the bag, but he arrived at the large living room just in time to see his wife kick the chair away from her feet—the chair she was standing on, so she could hang herself with the rope she had looped over the rafters that spanned the room beneath the twenty-foot, tongue-in-groove, cathedral ceiling painted Dr. Seuss red.
Meet Jenny Stone
“I’m Danny Miller,” he said, taking the chair next to her, “President of Miller Talent Agency.” There was a bamboo reception desk, a wicker loveseat, the two chairs, the big mirror, and a fan that made a dying animal noise. There was no receptionist.
She was sitting, but Danny thought she might be five foot five or so. She had straight-as-string brown hair that was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her skin was smooth and clear and white, as if she never went out into the Southern California sunshine. She wore zero makeup. No gloss, no eye shadow, no blush. She wore thick black glasses. She was thin, he thought, but he couldn’t really tell what was happening under her blousy blue shirt and gray Catholic-school skirt. She wore knee socks and sensible shoes. She had brown eyes that made him think of coffee. She was younger than him, late twenties. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. She was unadorned in every regard. It was as if she were trying not to be here—or anywhere—trying to be unnoticed by any and all. There was no guessing what kind of talent she thought she had.
“I’m Jenny Stone,” she said in soft voice void of confidence, a voice that in and of itself was trying to be unnoticed. “What do you do, Jenny Stone?” Danny said, putting his hand out.
She shook his hand and said, “I bring dead people back to life.”
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:
- Pulp Friction: If Barnes & Noble goes out of business, it’ll be a disaster for book lovers. — well, this is depressing
- Library Of Congress Collection Of “Profoundly Influential” American Books Is Eclectic, But Not All That Diverse — very interesting list, even if you’re not ga-ga over the post’s take on it.
- Women Are Writing the Best Crime Novels: They don’t seem to believe in heroes as much as their male counterparts, which in some ways makes their storytelling a better fit for the times. — huh
- 11 Great Publisher Names and Where they Came From — another piece this week where the title says it all, what am I supposed to do with these?
- 7 Geeky Love Stories That Prove Nerd Love Is The Best Love — basically, a shopping list for my daughter.
- Cover Reveal: Children of the Different — Friend of the Blog, S. C. Flynn, is one step closer to releasing his first novel by revealing his cover. I don’t know what I expected it to look like, but it wasn’t this — this is so much better.
- The Ultimate Reader’s Guide to Whiskey — infographic for the week. Very handy.
- This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
- The Pursuit by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg — The 5th installment in the Fox and O’Hare series. It’s one of the most entertaining series going, and I can’t imagine that this is anything but good.
- Play Nice by Michael Guillebeau — how do you not want to read something described as “an Elmore Leonard-style Nancy Drew story”?
- Waypoint Kangaroo by Curtis C. Chen — a thriller with SF elements and a sense of humor. Sounds Perfect.
- New Pompeii by Daniel Godfrey — killer concept.
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and thanks to bensbitterblog and Karen for the feedback — I really appreciate that.
