Tag: Miscellany Page 110 of 175

Another short one, guess that’s where my attention span is lately. I didn’t get a lot posted this week, either—but I got some good sleep in (not always intentionally), and honestly, I didn’t like a single one of those posts. They felt lifeless to me, but that’s what I was capable of, and I didn’t think that a few more days of percolating was going to improve things, either. Hopefully next week will be better.

In the meantime—all of these below are worth your clicks.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
I tried to write a Norton Juster tribute after I heard about his death on this week, but it just didn’t work out. But it’s one of those deaths that hit me. The Phantom Tollbooth was formative for me in many ways, and I could (and have) pick it up and be completely satisified at point in my life. It’s like one of those movies you see flipping through the channels and you have to stop and watch.
Obituary: Norton Juster—from Publisher’s Weekly
Berkeley Breathed’s Tribute—I should’ve realized the links between Tollbooth and Bloom County
My favourite book as a kid: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster—was written last Spring, but it works really well this week.
The Phantom Tollbooth: Beyond Expectations—a nice little documentary about the book, Juster and Jules Feiffer. (I contributed to the Kickstarter years back)
What Are Cozy Mysteries?—Ramona Mead’s overview of the sub-genre
Must be something in the water, because this popped up on a feed this week, too: Murder, but gentler: ‘Cozy’ mysteries a pandemic-era balm—worth it just for the first few paragraphs.
50 Very Bad Book Covers for Literary Classics—Wow. “Very bad” hardly begins to describe it. I was going to name a highlight (lowlight?) or two, but I wouldn’t have known where to stop. (thanks—kind of?—Themis Athena for drawing my attention to it)
“We Didn’t Start the Thriller”—Robert Crais has posted a link to this silly and fun parody a couple of times this week, I can see why.
Goodreads vs. The StoryGraph – The New Dilemma of Reading Trackers and the Book Community—I’m with Bec & Books on this. I’ve been dabbling with The Story Graph for a few months, but it feels like I’m shouting (mumbling?) into the wind. Is there anyone actually out there?

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to josbees who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger!

I’ve had slow weeks for this post before, but this seems like one of the slowest. Looking over the links I gathered for the week, I can’t help but wonder what I read online this week—was I even online? I almost skipped this week, but I do have a couple of things to share, and it’s been years since I missed a week, and I’d hate to break the only consistent streak in my life…

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The 15 Best Book Covers of February: So Many Covers, So Little Time—There’s only one on this list I’m halfway interested in reading, but I doubt I’d want to buy it. But had I the money, I’d buy at least 14 of these for the cover.
Matthew Yglesias (a name I see here and there on twitter, but know almost nothing about) set a small fire this week about books entering public domain—with a pretty dumb take, in my opinion, but I don’t know that much about it. Several people took issue with him (most of whom know a lot more about this than I do), including:
Christopher Moore
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Scott Lynch
‘Bosch’ Spinoff a Go at Amazon’s IMDb TV—this is good news in general. But also it plays into the above—The Black Echo is just shy of 30. Thinking that Connelly should lose control of that work next year is mind-boggling.
I want to talk to you about Seraphina’s Lament—Sarah Chorn talks about what derailed her first series. Authors have to deal with this kind of thing regularly—I imagine female authors in Speculative Fiction get it worse—how anyone can write with this kind of thing in their head boggles my mind. Some of what this person objected to is what made Seraphina’s Lament one of my favorite novels of the year, by the way. (her follow up post on Gaslighting is also worth a read)

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A War of Wizards by Layton Green—The Blackwood Saga concludes here in Book 5. I’d say I’d dive in next week, but, I still haven’t read book four. Maybe I can squeeze that in next week..hmm….

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to mybookishbliss, who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Been a good week here—read a lot, wrote almost enough to satisfy me, and got enough new books that I’ve ruined whatever TBR progress I’d made this month (1 ebook, 2 audiobooks, 2 hardcovers, and 2 paperbacks…I have a problem).

I’d intended on 2 more posts this week than I got—which is pretty good. I don’t know if it’s the weather, work, or just one of those things, but each night this week I felt like I was fighting sleep for the last couple of hours (and never had the good sense to do the responsible thing and go to bed). I fell asleep within minutes of posting my Fridays with the Foundling last night—so quickly that my first thought this morning was “were those last paragraphs even in English?” (thankfully, yes)

I think I had a point when I started that, but I don’t remember what it is. It’s one of those days, I guess. Let’s get on with things…

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Get a free audiobook!—When you spend at least $15 at your local bookstore on April 24th, you can get a free select audiobook from Libro.fm. Independent Bookstore Day is a couple of months off, but might as well start planning for it, right?
Is It Time to Kill the Book Blurb?—”The pre-publication endorsements—’dazzling!’ ‘a masterwork!’—that litter book covers have long been a staple of publishing. Are they of any value or mere relics that deserve to go?” I somehow didn’t even have to work around a paywall for this WSJ piece.
‘Books saved my mental health,’ says online reviewer—BBC.com profiles a book blogger
Announcing the Newest Release From Rick Riordan — Daughter of the Deep—After I tapped out during The Trials of Apollo I figured I was done with Riordan, unless he got back to his Texas noir stuff. But…this looks promising (and a good excuse to revisit Hugo)
Rooms of Their Own: Where Some of the Best Women Writers Created Art—worth the click if only to see the desk (a generous word) that Austen used.
Favorite Things About Book Formats
Friday at the Folly – Rivers of London—Fi’s Bibliofiles starts a re-read through the Rivers of London UF series. This is one of my favorite series and I’m looking forward to revisiting it through these blog posts.
And Men There Were None: Where Are The Male Readers?—On the one hand, I feel like I should drop some links in the comments to show him where we are. Snark aside—overall, he’s right.
What is a Good Ending?—a fitting way to wrap up this week’s list (actually, it was totally inadevertent…but I’m running with it).

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Cover Blown by Ian Robinson—The second book in this new procedural series is a heckuva read. This time, the homicide investigation overlaps with a small undercover job that DI Nash has on the side. I hope to get posts up about both books early next week—in the meantime, just go buy them!
Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire—the latest InCryptid book kicks off shortly after that cliffhanger from last year. I started this yesterday, and it’s strange, even by InCryptid standards.
Smoke by Joe Ide—The new IQ novel is a good one—even if I think it could’ve used more IQ, as I said recently.
Junkyard Bargain by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator)—the second novella-length SF from Faith Hunter. I’m excited to dip back into this strange world of aliens, cyborgs and psychic (?) cats.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to mybookishbliss and Masha who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?