Tag: Miscellany Page 36 of 173

Wow, I’m running behind today.
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:
Why you should buy physical copies of your favorite books—Odd territory (if you ask me) for Popular Science, but hey…
Florida’s Commissioner of Education thinks Jane Austen was an American.—one of those stories that short circuits the brain as you read it. To be fair, we all make mistakes like this from time to time, and it feels mean to draw attention to it. But when I do something like this, I don’t have a staff checking over my material or posting it. Surely, someone could’ve caught this.
At My High School, the Library Is for Everything but Books: The administration has rebranded our library as a communal space for doing almost everything except reading.
Why don’t straight men read novels?—beyond the headline which threatened to tell me things about myself that were news to me, there’s some good stuff in this piece.
Defining Grimdark Fantasy and SF: Moving to an Inclusive Future
Free George R. R. Martin from The Winds of Winter—there’s something to this, a lot to it, really.
Maximize Your Reading Budget: 5 Tips for Free Reading—none of these include piracy, which is nice
Speak your damn mind – or why you should write opinionated book reviews
Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week 2024 wraps up today (frequent visitors to this site may not have realized it was going on this week, oops). If you, like me, are really behind on the posts—what better time to catch up?
“Toss a Coin To Your Bard” by Bjørn Larssen—One of my favorite pieces from the week was this guest post on Sue’s Musings.
Tough Questions Featuring Joel C. Flanagan-Grannemann—Joel C. Flanagan-Grannemann felt the pressure in the latest of Witty & Sarcastic Book Clubs’ series
After Narnia: Books That Will Remind You of C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles (your results may vary)
Blogiversary #7—Reading Ladies Book Club turned the big 0-7 yesterday!
The Problem of the Unpunished Protagonist—as you read this post, you’re going to start compling your own list of this type of protagonist

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta—a fantastic stand-alone thriller by Koryta
The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman—”a lovely little book I can’t really talk about without over explaining”
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith—Cormoron Strike’s second outing
And I mentioned the release of two installments in favorite series: Hounded by David Rosenfeldt and The Forsaken by Ace Atkins

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham—Detective Miller is back, and might have just been given the leverage he needs over his wife’s suspected killer. But of course, it’s not that easy, especially once you “Sprinkle in a Midsomer Murders-obsessed hitman, a psychotic welder, and a woman driven over the edge by a wayward Crème Egg.”
Domestication by Shannon Knight—anything I say about this book without reading it will be wrong. But for a creepy-looking time, this will fit the bill.
The Recruiter by Gregg Podolski—”When bad guys need good help, they call Rick Carter.” After spending a decade helping Europe’s worst criminals get things done, Carter has to play the hero to save his family.
The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu—The author of Moxie makes her adult fiction debut with a look behind the scenes at a Texas High School.

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:
How Much Time Do Americans Spend Reading Per Day?—Let’s start on a depressing note, shall we?
“This Generation’s Homer”: How Penguin Has Changed Marvel Comics
I couldn’t put a boring book down. Now I take pleasure in saying enough is enough—an argument for DNFing
100 of the Greatest Posters of Celebrities Urging You to Read—Is some of the snark too heavy (and forced)? Yes. Otherwise this is fun to read. Even better, just look at the posters and enjoy the nostalgia.
What Happens After the World Gets Saved?—yes, it’d be good to have more books like this (and Templeton gives some good books to start with if you want to read this type)
How NOT to market your self published book… from a book reviewer.—yes
How Did You Get Into Reading?—who doesn’t like a good reader origin story?
Let’s Talk About Book Genres | Are There 5 or 5,000 Different Genres?
FBC’s Critically Underrated Reads—Fantasy Book Critic created a new section on their site “for standalone titles & series. We love these books & believe that they don’t get the exposure & fanfare they should.” So many good looking things here. Some of which I’ve read (and am glad to see here), some I’ve meant to (and appreciate the reminder), and some new temptations…
7 Unconventional Magic Systems—I have nothing but love for the conventional systems, but stepping outside the norm is fodder for fun, too.
On Fantasy, Its Racist Roots, and Transformation
Amazon Prime Day Has Become Too Commercialized by Maggie Phenicie—it’s a little late, but too good to pass up. “When I think about Amazon Prime Day, it saddens me to see how the holiday has become so cheapened. It’s all about getting the best deals, and no one stops to think about the true reason for the season: absolutely destroying independent bookstores.”

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner—a novel that also fell down
Shield and Crocus by Michael R. Underwood—need more fantasy like this in my life
Shattered by Kevin Hearne—the seventh in the Iron Druid Chronicles wasn’t my favorite, but it had some great moments
I noted the publication of Half a King by Joe Abercrombie, Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell, MindWar by Andrew Klavan, and The Outsorcerer’s Apprentice (and haven’t read any of these somehow)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos—more excitement in the Nevada high desert with Porter Beck. I talked about it recently, and am getting impatient for the third book (to be released next year, so I’m trying to fix that)
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman—trying to recapture the magic of Camelot after Arthur’s death. I really, really wish I’d planned my summer reading better so I could dive in now.
The Bang-Bang Sisters by Rio Youers—a pulpy thriller about a touring rock band who happen to be vigilantes when they’re not on-stage. Right there, that’s enough to get me to read. But throw in a vengeful mobster pitting them against each other, and you’ve added an extra layer of fun.
Bottled Secrets of Rosewood by Mary Kendall—contemporary Southern Gothis Thriller, what there doesn’t entice?

I don’t know everything that’s going on during Self-Published Author Appreciation Week (July 21st-27th), but from what I’ve seen/heard from Witty & Sarcastic Book Club and Sue Bavey–and what I’ve got in store–you’re going to want to make some room on your TBRs, folks. Mine has already grown just in preparation.

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:
Where Is All the Sad Boy Literature?—”‘Sad girl lit’ is everywhere, but young men are glaringly absent from the contemporary canon of popular authors writing about sex and intimacy. Could that be about to change?”
How to pick the perfect book to read on a plane—There’s some really solid advice here (I hate flying enough that I only focus on the first one, but well-adjusted readers might appreciate the rest)
The Second Coming of the Sports Novel—never been a sportsball kind of guy, but a good sports novel has always clicked with me.
History’s Footnotes—in case you were interested in the practice…(really a lot more interesting than you’d think at first blush)
The Rise of Cozy Fantasy
Die Laughing: Humor in Serial Killer Novels
IF JACK REACHER COULD SING trailer—a trailer for the upcoming documentary for the Jack Reacher-inspired album from a couple of years ago. Really looking forward to this.
American dream turns to nightmare in new, Springdale-set crime thrillertitle—a quick interview with Eli Cranor about his new book.
Open Book: Justin Taylor—I don’t think I’d heard of Justin Taylor or his latest book before, but after stumbling across this interview, I’m anticipating getting to know the both of them
Lev Grossman Takes His Time—I’d been eager to get my hands on Grossman’s take on Arthur already, but this profile has amped that eagerness up.
M.W. Craven gives a brief account of his recent brush with AI-generated fiction
If you haven’t seen it this week, there’s some new (renewed) discourse on indie publishing numbers. Some people—like Michael Roberti, Krystle Matar and C.M. Caplan—have been sharing their numbers to show. Check— out the replies and others doing that, too. Some fascinating reading.
One more dip back into the morass of Twitter where, Marie Sinadjan kicked off a thread of books with original songs/soundtracks
Are you reading right?
Summer’s One Must Read Book 2024—Carol, from Reading Ladies, has come up with a great list of Summer Reading recommendations from 20 bloggers (19 of them are worth listening to, and the other accidentally had a good recommendation)
Guest Book Review from a Teen Reader: Hamlet—I always enjoy reading this particular Teen Reader’s take on his reading. This time, he’s got a great post on a play you just might have heard of.
Bookshop.org’s Social Media poster (who is the best (only?) reason to check Threads) had a great Movie Pitch for a You’ve Got Mail remake. I’d chip for the Kickstarter…

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
The Girl with the Windup Heart by Kady Cross
Skin Game by Jim Butcher—the opening paragraph contains the phrase, “You’ve got about a year ’til Peace Talks comes out.” Excuse me while I go laugh myself into unconsciousness for a minute…
The Martian by Andy Weir—talking about The Martian and Skin Game in the same week? I was having fun…
I also mentioned the releases of Tail of Vengeance by Spencer Quinn, The Competition by Marcia Clark, and Landline by Rainbow Rowell

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Itching Against Ignorance by E.N. Crane—Cyn and Winnie are back for more madcap mystery fun in their 8th novel. (I’m only 6 behind!)
All This and More by Peng Shepherd—there’s sort of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure vibe to this novel about a Reality Show Contestant who gets to use Quantum Technology to rewrite her life’s mistakes. This is going to be a good one

As is typical of a holiday week, this is a short post. Less to distract you from your Saturday reading, right?

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 is Why Book Marketing Doesn’t Work
‘Really I just want to stay home and make art about my dog’: An interview with Sara Varon—I’m pretty sure I’ve never run across Varon before, but this interview makes me interested in checking out her stuff.
7 Thrillers With Shocking Twists
10 Must-Read Authors for Fans of First-Person Adult Urban Fantasy—This is a very narrow category…but can’t argue with most of this picks.
Tough Questions with Left on the Shelf—the latest in the Tough Questions series

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week? (not much, really)
Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff: A Libertarian Manifesto by Matt Kibbe
I noted the release of Premonitions by Jamie Schultz and Artful by Peter David

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Broiler by Eli Cranor—I dunno…it’s by Cranor, isn’t that enough? It’s about revenge, power, economic disparity in the most American of places—a chicken processing plant.
Dog Day Afternoon by David Rosenfelt—Marcus asks Andy for a favor and gets him to represent a suspected mass-shooter. I really enjoyed this one, as I said recently.
Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel by Lisa Jewell—Jessica Jones travels to England to investigate some teens who are too-perfect. It’s hard to explain in a phrase or two…but these are creepy kids and something has to be making them that way.
Boise Longpig Hunting Club by Nick Kolakowski—the new edition of this explosive thriller
The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song—a new retelling of the story of Mulan.
Junkyard Roadhouse by Faith Hunter—Shining Smith is neck-deep in trouble—that’s nothing new, sure, but it’s a different kind of trouble.