Tag: Miscellany Page 149 of 175

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 Grimm Brothers’ Other Great Project Was Writing a Giant German Dictionary
• Cover Story: ‘How to Fall in Love with Anyone’ — not a book I’m really interested in, but I almost always find these process stories fascinating. How do you design a cover for this book?
• Men in Small Rooms: In Search of Dad Lit — really enjoyed this essay.
• C.S. Lewis’s Greatest Fiction Was Convincing American Kids That They Would Like Turkish Delight — nice Lewis-esque title to accompany this great piece. Some great lines in this: ” It was like looking into Harry Potter’s Mirror of Erised, but for desserts: When you think of a treat worth betraying your family for, what do you see? Turkish Delight is our collective candy id.”
• Two Decades of Reading Beside the Woman I Love: They Met at a Bookstore and Have Been Reading Together Ever Since — even before the blurb at the end said he got his MFA at my alma mater, I enjoyed this essay by Matthew Sullivan
• On Tibbehah — Ace Atkins describes how he created Tibbehah County for his Quinn Colson series
• Luke Daniels reads from Beseiged — probably my favorite Audiobook narrator, Luke Daniels, gives a taste of the upcoming Kevin Hearne book.
• 5 Lessons Picture Books Teach Us That are (Sadly) Inaccurate — (the first comment is good, too)

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen:
• A Stab In The Dark kicks off its second season with my chatting with Ian Rankin. I’m adding this one to the regular rotation (and listening to some back episodes)

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire — McGuire’s follow-up to the wonderful Every Heart a Doorway is almost as good — this one tells the story of Jack and Jill (the sisters, not the hill-climbers) before they found their door and of the adventures they found on the other side, all leading up to having to go toe Eleanor West’s Home. I tried to post about this yesterday, but sleep won out.
• The Data Disruption by Michael R. Underwood — Speaking of prequels, here’s the “lost pilot” to the Genrenauats series. The price is right — free. Check out the link for details.
• Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan — yes, the gentleman I referred to above. Glad I saw that essay, because it lead me to this: “When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind.” That’s got the makings of a good one.

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

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!

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• 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.

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?

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

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• 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.

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?

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen:
• The Once and Future Podcast Ep. 152: Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant was very interesting — two of my faves on one episode.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• 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.