Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
Be sure to read Ben Folds’ Substack post about this performance.
Tag: Miscellany Page 11 of 172
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Down & Out Books Announces their Closure—They were one of my favoite indie presses, it’s a real shame.
I appreciated Nick Kolakowski‘s thread about it, both good and the bad
How I Managed to Write a Book without Going (Too) Broke—”A grant, a small advance, a supportive spouse, and the $100 I found outside the library”
What Fictional Violence Teaches Us About the Real Thing (and Vice Versa)
My Latest BookBub Featured Deal—AJ Calvin gives a quick peak behind the curtain
There Comes a Time in Every Reader’s Life When You Have to Move the Books—Molly Templeton manages to have a thoughtful take on even the most dreaded part of moving—packing books!
Read Dangerously: Banned Books Week 2025—Jodie gets to the heart of this week
Self Published Fantasy Releases – October 2025—Rob J. Hayes has a ready-made shopping list for the month
Why do I love Horror?—I don’t know that I’d have tagged Cathy as a Horror-lover, but I’d clearly have been wrong. Glad there are people like her out there (to make up for horror-averse readers like me)
Spooktober Recommendations From the Blogger Community—Mehsi gathered some recommendations from bloggers for those who want to dabble (at least) in the spooky season
YA books with a male lead… That Boys Will Actually Enjoy!—so strange that this is a post that’s needed.
Rachel Skye makes a great case against reading challenges
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Devil Wins by Reed Farrel Coleman
How to Write a Novel by Melanie Sumner—I should stress that this is a novel in case you’re looking for a how-to
Cursed Moon by Jaye Wells
Indexing: Reflections, Episode 5: Sleeping Beauty by Seanan McGuire
And I talked about the releases of: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan; The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson; A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin; and Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong —only took me 9 years and 10 months to read it.
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (next week’s list will be much longer, start saving your pennies):
Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow—”The once-glorious internet was colonized by platforms that made all-but-magical promises to their users—and, at least initially, seemed to deliver on them. But once users were locked in, the platforms turned on them to make their business customers happy. Then the platforms turned to abusing their business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. In the end, the platforms die…[Doctorow] shows us the specific decisions that led us here, who made them, and—most important—how they can be undone.”
The weather around here has caught up with the calendar, and it’s finally chilly. Talking about the weather is a dull way to start this, but honestly–it’s the most interesting thing I’ve got to go with. Which says a lot about me 🙂 Before I get more cliché, dull, or rambling let’s just get to the meat of the post, okay?
Oh, hey…anyone know of a decent (preferably quick–possibly MG or YA) book with an insect on the cover? Asking for a frenemy.
This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:
What are you currently reading?
 |
 |
| The Epic of Marindel: Chosen by Nathan Keys |
Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon, read by Kate McKinnon & Emily Lynne |
I’m about at the 2/3 mark in Chosen, I’m having some issues with the theology Keys is presenting (the perils of Christian Fantasy), but am enjoying the story.
So, I put off listening to Son of a Liche, because Lilly delivered a few holds to me, and then the work I was doing couldn’t be done while listening to audiobooks–so I’m in a bit of a crunch now. (more information than you wanted, I know). Anyway, I’m thoroughly enjoying the second in The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science series. It’s just ridiculously fun.
What did you recently finish reading?
 |
 |
| The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai |
Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland by Martha Barnette |
My goal is to have a full post about The Cat Who Saved Books up tomorrow, so I’ll be quick here–I really enjoyed it.
Friends with Words, meanwhile, is something that held my attention just enough for me not to be annoyed by starting it. That’s about it. Rats–I loved the title
What do you think you’ll read next?
 |
 |
| Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree |
Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger, read by David Chandler |
I listened to Legends & Lattes a couple of years ago, and am going to give it a quick read to brush up for a book club discussion. (and to be ready for book 3 next month)
I’ve been assured that I’ll enjoy Krueger’s Cork O’Connor books, and that lighter fare than his others. (not that I have a problem with his others, but I’m not going to listen to them while working/driving). Am used to David Chandler’s voice, his work on the Joe Pickett books is solid. Should be a good time.
Do you have anything good to work through while adjusting to the weather?
(assuming your local weather has shifted recently)
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
It’s that time of year when I get a little sappy (well, one of them, probably). Mrs. Irresponsible and I said our “I do”s 29 years ago this week, so…why not play the closest thing we have to “our song”?
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
This has been covered by everyone and their brother, but it’s so fun: Reading Rainbow is Coming Back, with the best host (short of bringing back Burton)
Merriam-Webster’s NEW Large Language Model is coming next month. I’m more interested in this than I would’ve thought.
How to Build a Dictionary: On the Hard Art of Popular Lexicography
‘Buffalo Fluffalo’ Adds to the Herd—another story I’m suprisingly excited for.
As per usual, Jo Linsdell’s September 2025 Book Blogger Posts Round Up—has some good reads
Book Recommendations for Each US State—Book Girls’ Guide has completed their list of books per state. Looks like some good choices, too.
I appreciated @Linfootwrites’ Self-Pub Appreciation post
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Hexomancy by Michael R. Underwood
As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson
Make Me by Lee Child
And I talked about the release of The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher—which was really the only thing I remember caring about that week
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Silver and Lead by Seanan McGuire—Toby et al. adjust to the new normal following the events of the last three books. This is (unsprisingly) good–and I was supposed to have my post finished last week. tldr; version: Go get it.
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman—I have no idea what it’s about (some sort of fortune, I guess), all I know is that The Thursday Murder Club are back.
Death Dance by Michael Michel—the sequel to the prequel novella, War Song. But still a prequel to the Dreams of Dust and Steel series.
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas—four Texan librarians have to band together to solve some murders.
Dinner at the Night Library by Hika Harada, translated by Philip Gabriel—a group works to save a very particular kind of library: “The hours are from seven o’clock to midnight. The library exclusively stores books by deceased authors, and none of them can be checked out – instead, they’re put on public display to be revered and celebrated by the library’s visitors, making it akin to a book museum.”
Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa—”a revelatory novel about loneliness, love, labor, and class, an intimate and sharply written book following a nail salon owner [a retired boxer, no less] as she toils away for the privileged clients who don’t even know her true name.”
Part of being AFK last week meant that there was no WWW Wednesday, and I’m sure you all missed it. I heard the wails, “What’s HC reading??” Sorry about that. It must’ve been hard on you all. Never fear, it’s back.
This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:
What are you currently reading?
|
|
| The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai |
Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland by Martha Barnette |
I needed a work translated into X languages for a reading challenge, and didn’t want to rely on Backman (although I have a handful of his to catch up on), so I thought I’d give this Japanese work a shot.
Barnette’s subtitle sold me–I honestly have no idea what I’m getting into.
What did you recently finish reading?
 |
 |
| Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury |
The Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home by Stephen Starring Grant |
This book by Bradbury was not my cup of tea, but…man, I’m glad I read it. I’m not sure that makes sense, but it’s true.
I figured The Mailman would be a breezy, fun listen. And it was–but it also had a lot of good things to say and think about beyond the mail service (but honestly, even that was inspiring). I did not expect what it delivered. (pun unintended, but warmly embraced)
The books I would’ve talked about last week, if I’d been around:
 |
 |
| Old Man’s War by John Scalzi |
The Grimdwarf: Cursed by JCM Berne |
 |
 |
| Rightous Trash by Nick Kolakowski |
Bounty Inc. by Adam Holcombe |
What do you think you’ll read next?
|
 |
| The Epic of Marindel: Chosen by Nathan Keys |
Son of a Liche by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale, Jr. |
I bought the first volume of Keys’ Fantasy trilogy in Spring of 2024, and I’m tired of running into him without having read it. I know I’ll see him early next month, so I want to be sure to have this finished by then, if only for the guilt. But also, I’ve been curious about it for a year and a half.
I’m looking forward to stepping back into The Dark Profit trilogy, it’s a fun kind of Fantasy.
What have you been reading lately? (after you wake Green Day, obviously)
Yes, two in one day, I have to do some catch up. This week’s Top 5 topic is Top 5 classic retellings.
I honestly could only think of six retellings at all–which annoys me, and makes me pretty sure that I forgot about a dozen that I’ll regret in a day or two. But I really like some of these selections (and think the others are great takes on the source material).
In lieu of spending time formatting a post and hemming and hawing about this and that, I just turned on the camera, hit record, and blathered on a bit.
Let me know what you think!
Yes, two in one day, I have to do some catch up. This week’s Top 5 topic is Top 5 classics I didn’t like.
I resist cheating twice in this video to come up with my five, part of me wishes I didn’t, just for my own amusement. Instead I settled on an honest list.
In lieu of spending time formatting a post and hemming and hawing about this and that, I just turned on the camera, hit record, and blathered on a bit.
Let me know what you think!
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
Well, I’ve been silent this week…it’s been one of those. All is good (now), but I haven’t had the energy to produce anything. Hopefully next week will allow me to play catchup (or at least to do stuff). But I did get to do some halfhearted scrolling on the socials, so at least I can do this.
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Let’s start with some good news: Judge approves $1.5 billion copyright settlement between AI company Anthropic and authors
The audiobook business is booming. But the bounty isn’t being shared by all
How Translations Sell: Three U.S. Eras of International Bestsellers—huh
Raymond Chandler’s Unseen Story Has Been Published At Last—ooooh!
The 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years—I’ve only read one of these from Slate’s list, but I’m willing to sign on to it being part of the list. This feels like a project for Grandpappy’s Corner!
Form, Function, and the Sentences We Collect—the latest from Molly Templeton
15th blogiversary: along the years, stats—Congrats to Words and Peace for hitting that landmark!
Monthly Manga Mania Featuring Firsty Duelist: One Piece (ARC 1)—it’s been a month since the last one??
Something is Rotten in the State of Publishing, according to the Orangutan Librarian, anyway. Thoughts?
Captivating Characters of September —This is an interesting pick.
People Just Want Dragons—A.J. Calvin has thoughts
Not The Friday Five: Happy Birthday To The Hobbit—Peat’s got some great links to check out!
A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Author Adjacent Episode 47: Interview with JCM Berne: No Books Were Harmed—is on my to-be-watched list, but sure to be good
GSMC Book Review Podcast Where the Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski—is another one on it.
The Bookish Diaries Podcast Our Favorite Reads This Year—I stumbled onto this locally produced podcast this week. Our tastes really don’t overlap too much, but it was fun to listen to this episode.
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Indexing: Reflections, Episode 4: Split Ends by Seanan McGuire
Yes, My Accent Is Real by Kunal Nayyar
Changeless by Gail Carriger
The Drafter by Kim Harrison—my favorite of all of Harrison’s works
And I noted the release of Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Anna Waterhouse
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama, Takami Nieda (Translator)—I enjoyed, but was underwhelmed by, Aoyama’s What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, but how do you not at least try something with a title like this?
Humanish: What Talking to Your Cat or Naming Your Car Reveals About the Uniquely Human Need to Humanize by Justin Gregg—I didn’t realize I needed to read about about anthropomorphism until I saw this book. Sign me up for this: “Delivered with a delightful mix of scientific insight and humor, Humanish is a groundbreaking exploration of one of the most powerful–but rarely talked about–cognitive biases influencing our behavior. “
