Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
Tag: Miscellany Page 5 of 175
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:
I don’t think I noticed last October when Southern Living named its 50 Books From The Past 50 Years Everyone Should Read At Least Once—an impressive and daunting list, to be sure. But I did notice that Books of Brilliance talked about that list this week: Southern Living’s 50 Best Books of the Past 50 Years: The Novels That Defined Modern Literature
Why Motive Matters Even More than Truth in Crime Fiction:
Nadine Matheson mulls how to create narrative satisfaction rather than random violence—Matheson nails this
Acclaimed crime fiction writer M. W. Craven on upcoming TV adaptation —a good interview about upcoming adaptations, his MG James Bond series, and more.
Popular Book Genres Seen as “Easy Reading”—a typically thoughtful post from Briana at Pages Unbound.
A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The Conversation with Nadine Matheson Coffee Break with Neil Lancaster: The Dark Heart—a fun chat.
In Person With Paul Neil Lancaster—a more serious and wide-ranging conversation (that includes several great recommendations)
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
I had a light posting week due to running around getting things like fingerprints and drug tests for a then new job. But I did mention the releases of Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs; Stop the Presses! by Robert Goldsborough; The Stone Bearer by Jacque Stevens
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Butterfly Effects by Seanan McGuire—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum I tried to express my enthusiasm for it earlier this week.
The Shadow Carver by Nadine Matheson—DI Henley is on the hunt for another grizly serial killer
The Dark Heart by Neil Lancaster—As you probably guessed from the above, Lancaster has a new book out. This time DS Craigie tangles with some spies.
The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love edited by Alice Hoffman—”Fourteen beloved authors celebrate the life-changing bond with their canine companions in this heartwarming essay collection.” Something tells me that a Kleenex or eight on-hand would be a good idea.
The Most Dangerous Pet Shop by Paul Regnier—”On the night of his thirteenth birthday, Tristin is pulled through an enchanted mirror into a medieval fantasy realm with no way home. Stranded in the magical town of Springhaven, the fate of his family’s otherworldly pet shop is in his hands. But dealing with snapping dragons, talking animals, and mischievous pixies is a lot to handle.”
This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum—”Best friends Benny and Joy like to say they’ve been saving each other’s lives since the moment they met. Until the day Joy disappears and Benny is suspected of murder . . .” Check out the review over at Before We Go Blog.
Nobody’s Baby by Olivia Waite—A cozy sci-fi mystery novella set on an interstellar passage liner. This is the second in a series, but looks so good I’m getting my hands on the first one!
Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett—”When a magical hotel appears smack-dab in the middle of the most unmagical of worlds, the last thing the residents expect is to fall in love.”
The First Step by Tao Wong—”In a spectacular world of immortals, spirit beasts, and mystical martial arts, the young farmer Wu Ying’s life will be changed forever when he is unexpectedly invited to join an elite school of cultivation.”
No post from me last week–I was probably asleep. I also took most of the week off from books, so I wouldn’t have had anything to say. But I’m over the flu now and 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?
 |
 |
| Black Bag by Luke Kennard |
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett, read by Katie Schorr |
Black Bag is very likely going to be the oddest book I read this year. It’s making me think a lot, too. So…don’t take odd as a criticism/complaint. I should finish this today and to say that I have no idea what the last 25 percent is going to hold is putting it mildly.
I forgot my headphones at home yesterday, so I didn’t get any time with Rabbit Cake, I’m looking forward to getting back to it today.
What did you recently finish reading?
 |
 |
| Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips |
Head Fake by Scott Gordon, read by Nick Mondelli |
I’ll hopefully have a full post about Phillips’ book up tomorrow–short version, this is a completely pleasant and warm mystery featuring a girl-dad, while not being at all cozy.
Head Fake is going to be one of those books I’m talking about at the end of the year. It’s a funny and heartwarming book filled with broken people.
What do you think you’ll read next?
 |
 |
| Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie |
The Cyclist by Tim Sullivan, read by John Heffernan |
After Kennard gets done messing with my head, I should benefit from running into some epic SF. Don’t let me down, Leckie!
I’m trying to keep my expectations in the right place for The Cyclist, but it’s hard after the way the first book in the series wowed me.
What’ve you been reading lately?
Between a couple of books that just took me longer to read than I expected, a library due date that snuck up on me–and me forgetting how long February actually is, I didn’t get three of my books from last month read. Hopefully I can do better this month (although taking a week off from writing didn’t help). Some of these books are things I’ve been waiting to get to for months, so at least I’ll be satisfied by that. This is not going to be an exhaustive list—I’ll probably read other things, too, and may not get to all of these. But as of today, this is my plan.
Nav’Aria: The Marked Heir
by K.J. Backer
Orphan.
Outsider.
Freak.
Labels and questions swirl in Darion's troubled mind.
Why did his birthparents abandon him?
Why is he haunted by visions of mythical beasts, a captive, and her torturer?
And why is his birthmark glowing?
Discovering his true-identity may cost Darion everything, as he is suddenly confronted with a war-ravaged Realm and the answers he has always sought.
Rav'Arians wreak havoc at the command of a sadistic usurper who led a grisly coup against the Marked Royals.
Unicorn, Centaur, Nymph, and man have joined forces to face the oncoming threat of evil, yet their forces are slipping, and hope seems lost.
Three generations interwoven throughout Nav'Arian history will reach as far as rural Oregon, to see the Kingdom unified once more.
The only question is, will the return of the Marked Heir help or hinder in the fight for Nav'Aria?
I’ve had a couple of fun conversations with Backer over the last year, and I’m looking forward to getting into her fiction. If only so I can see her unicorns at work. These aren’t dainty, pretty things who mean business when it comes to the pointy thing on their head.
The Lost Daughter of Sparta
by Felicia Day, illustrated by Rowan MacColl
Helen of Troy. Clytemnestra. Timandra.
Three sisters, infamously cursed by the goddess Aphrodite to betray their husbands, are known the world over. But few know about the fourth sister: Philonoe. Lost to historical record, ancient texts say she had a different fate than her sisters. But why and how did this happen?
New York Times bestselling author Felicia Day and illustrator Rowan MacColl bring Philonoe to vivid life at last, in The Lost Daughter of Sparta.
A magnificent hero's journey with a feminist twist, The Lost Daughter of Sparta fills in history's missing pieces with sparkling wit and pathos, thrilling adventure, and an empowering love story that won't soon be forgotten.
I’m sure the time will come when one of Day’s endeavors doesn’t do much for me. I doubt it’ll be with this
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier
An award-winning celebration of an American hero
Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban Carrick Hill's elegantly simple text and award-winning artist Bryan Collier's resplendent, earth-toned illustrations tell Dave's story, a story rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty.
This looks pretty heavy for the audience. But given the raves and awards, I’m guessing Hill pulls it off. I’m eager to see how.
Black Bag
by Luke Kennard
In Luke Kennard’s audacious new novel, a penniless and out-of-work actor picks up a job working for Dr. Blend, a university professor who is conducting a psychological experiment. How will Dr. Blend’s students react to someone zipped into an oversized bag, sitting at the back of the lecture hall over a series of Fall lectures? The role, eagerly accepted, soon has unexpected consequences. A professor of post-humanism develops research questions of her own—in particular, can you love someone secreted away inside a black bag?—and the actor’s childhood friend forms a vision for monetizing this new situation . . .
A warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity, and an off-kilter love story, Black Bag is a firework of a novel: blazingly funny and profoundly humane.
I was supposed to read this last month, and am about one-third into it now. I do not envy future me trying to write about it. But before I worry about that, I get to enjoy this. That last sentence in the blurb? That’s so spot-on.
Ancillary Justice
by Ann Leckie
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
Once, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.
I’ve heard a lot of hype for this book/trilogy, but I don’t think I’ve paid attention to it. But a lot of the folks at the SF book club are excited to read/reread this, I assume they’re onto something.
True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color–from Azure to Zinc Pink
by Kory Stamper
begonia (n.): 3 -s : a deep pink that is bluer, lighter, and stronger than average coral (see coral 3b), bluer than fiesta, and bluer and stronger than sweet william — called also gaiety
What could "bluer than fiesta" possibly mean? While editing dictionaries for Merriam-Webster, Kory Stamper found herself drawn again and again to the whimsical color definitions in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary—especially when compared to the dry and impersonal entries that filled the rest of the volume. Stamper couldn’t help but wonder: Who was the voice behind these peculiar definitions?
Meet I. H. Godlove, an erratic but brilliant up-and-coming scientist who was one of the experts Merriam-Webster hired in 1930 to help revise the dictionary to reflect a rapidly modernizing world. His fascinating life mirrors the wild and winding journey that color science, color psychology, and color production took through the twentieth century. Stamper tracks these industries as they move into the atomic age and intertwine in strange and surprising ways, spanning two world wars and involving chemical explosions, an unexpected suicide, dramatic office politics, and an extraordinary love story.
Filled with captivating facts about color words and colors themselves—did you know that the word “puke” used to refer to a fashionable shade of reddish-brown before it was associated with vomit?—and fueled by Stamper’s inexhaustible curiosity, True Color will transform the way you see the world, from black-and-white to Technicolor.
I enjoyed Stampers last work, and think it’d be interesting to see her tackle this idea. Also…I am just so bad with colors that it’s embarrassing. I’m hoping I learn enough from this to not cause my wife to cringe when I try to talk about color/hue/etc.
It probably won’t happen. But it’d be nice.
The Cyclist
by Tim Sullivan, read by John Heffernan
DS George Cross can be rude, difficult, and awkward with people. But his unfailing logic and relentless pursuit of justice means his conviction rate is the best on the force. So when a ravaged body is found in a local demolition site, it's up to Cross to piece together the truth from whatever fragments he can find. The demolition began at dawn. Walls knocked over. Twisted pipes uprooted. Window frames smashed. A dead body unearthed... DS Cross has little to go on, but from the faint tan lines on the body, and strange scars on his forearms, an identity gradually emerges: a young man; an amateur cyclist; a supply of performance enhancing drugs. But what led this man to his death? Soon, Cross has mounted an investigation that will uncover jealousy, ambition and a family tearing itself apart... An investigation that could cost him his career.
I’m trying to keep my expectations in the right place for this, but it’s hard after the way the first book in the series wowed me.
Press Here
by Herve Tullet
Hervé Tullet's delightful sensory books have sold millions of copies around the world. Here is his beloved Press Here in a beautiful hardcover edition just right for toddlers, preschoolers, and early readers.
Press the yellow dot on the cover of this interactive children's book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising touch book instructs the reader to push the button, shake it up, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next!
I don’t see the appeal of this one, I have to say. Which means I’m a few short pages away from understanding how mistaken I was.
Hey, Al
by Arthur Yorinks, illustrated by Richard Egielski
Al, a janitor, and his faithful dog, Eddie, live in a single room on the West Side. They eat together, they work together, they do everything together. So what's the problem?
Thier room is crowded and cramped; their life is an endless struggle. Al and Eddie are practically at each others throats when a large and mysterious bird offers them a new life in paradise. After some debate, they decide to accept.
Transported to a gorgeous island in the sky, Al and Eddie are soon living a life of ease and luxury. But they come to find that the grass can be a little too green on the other side. After a dramatic, nearly tragic escape from their paradise prison, both man and dog agree: there really is no place like home.
This came from a recommendation in a recent comment by aquavenatus. Looks like a fun book!
(Image by DaModernDaVinci from Pixabay)
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
I’ve been sick most of this week, and spent so little time with my eyes open it’s a wonder they still function (reading online posts really didn’t happen–nor did reading anything longer). Somehow I’m getting this post up, and I might be able to get some things up next week, too.
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:
Ageless Literature (@agelessliterature) posted some provocative slides “What happens when a society stops reading”
I get that almost none of you can take advantage of this program at a local bookstore, but it’s such a good idea, you should give it a look. Shared Stories is starting a Junior Booksellers series in March—where you casn “Meet neighborhood kiddos who are passionate about reading & hear all about their favorite books so you can love them too!” Like Hans today.
Can the Dictionary Keep Up?—an in-depth look at Stefan Fatsis’ Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat To) the Modern Dictionary
What We Lose When We Gamify Reading: Marissa Levien Makes the Case for Slowing Down—It may seem like hypocrisy for someone like me to like this kind of thing. But honestly, this is how I think–I just think like this while reading a lot. Both can be true (because the number is really never my goal, it’s just a game).
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
No Problem, Mr. Walt by Walt Hackman—still up there as one of my favorites.
Morning Star by Pierce Brown—remember back in our innocence when we thought that Brown was going to have mercy on us and end it as a trilogy? Good times–harrowing times, but good times. (we all know I’m not complaining here, I’m just saying)
I noted the releases of: The Passenger by Lisa Lutz; Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire; Borderline by Mishell Baker; East Of The City by Grant Sutherland; Who Wants To Be The Prince Of Darkness? by Michael Boatman; The Courier by Gerald Brandt; and Arkwright by Allen Steele
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Politician by Tim Sullivan—The fourth DC George Cross mystery had it’s American re-release this week. I’m assuming the victim was a politician of some sort. I’m resisting the urge to read the description until I catch up.
We Interrupt This Program by Randee Dawn—”Welcome to Seaview Haven. A delightful village of charming humans, quaint homes – and cozy mysteries! Fortunately, there’s silver-haired author-turned-sleuth Winnie Arrowmaker on hand to solve them all.
But things aren’t exactly as they seem. Seaview Haven is one of the Seelie Court Network’s many invented TROPE towns, and the “mysteries” are scripted and streamed for the entertainment of enchanted creatures across the Veil. Or, rather, they were…”
Flour & Forge by Herman Steuernagel—”A weary warrior. A restless baker. A magical side quest neither of them asked for, but both might need…perfect for anyone who believes that while pastry might not save the world, it can help make it a world worth saving.”
Hemingway talked about writing drunk and editing sober. I wrote and edited this sober, and then revised and added to it feverish and sleep-deprived. I think Hemingway’s strategy was better. I hope this is coherent.
Book Blogger Hop
This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:
If you had to, would you pass your book collection on to someone special? If not, what would you prefer your family or friends do with your books after you’re gone?
So I had this drafted last week, and then the minister at church reminded us all during the sermon that we are going to die. And it felt a little strange to have this scheduled to go given the tone of this post and that reminder. Humans have a tendency to form outsized attachments to possessions. I am fully aware that my books are just ink, paper, and glue (with a little stitching and leather thrown in for good measure). Yes, I can admit that my attachments to them are frequently outsized–and I (almost) as frequently realize that.
Still, I can have some fun with it.
I’ve ended up getting many books from family members after they’re gone (mostly before that happened). For example, I received many Nero Wolfe books from the aunt who’d introduced them to me in Middle School. Sure, most were duplicates of books I got for myself–but a lot of these were the first copies I read, and that’s kind of special. So I get the impulse behind that passing them on–and appreciate it.
There are individual books that I’d like to pass on to friends/family. I can’t imagine anyone would like them all. I wish they would. I mean, I like to think my children picked up on my impeccable taste, but sadly, they insist on possessing their own (potentially peccable) taste. Still, Son #2 will likely get my Adams collection. My daughter and Son #1 will get parts of my graphic novels/manga collections, and so on. Most likely only ones that I think they’d appreciate having (but I might sneak some posthumous recommendations/nagging in, too–I’m not giving away my last shot).
Assuming she survives me, I’ll leave the bulk of my library to my beloved spouse—with the strict instruction that she is not to dispose of them in a manner I’d find untoward. Primarily by finding them a loving home. I’m not entirely sure she’ll follow that instruction—I know she’s not into library maintenance. But I (have to) assume what she’ll do with them is right.
Maybe she can send them to a farm upstate, where they’ll have room to run around and have fun with other beloved books…
At the same time…I can’t help but think of this meme I saw at the Goodwill Librarian’s page:
or this bit of gold from Jonathan Edward Durham (although I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do with that reading/lending paperback in his scenario…maybe that’s the one that my wife had to deal with)
Have you started making plans?
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
Fantasy with Friends is a weekly meme hosted by the good people over at Pages Unbound. Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works.
This week’s prompt is:
Do you enjoy books about schools of magic, or do you think they are overdone? Do you have any favorite magical schools or magical school books?
On the one hand, I feel like I’ve read a million of these, but I’m having trouble coming up with actual names:
- There’s Hogwarts, of course, that’s going to be pretty much everyone’s first thought, right? (as much as many of us don’t want it to be, for variety of reasons)
- Of course, you’ve got Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy, which is both cooler, and freakier than that.
- I remember liking The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages from Sarah Gailey’s Magic for Liars, but don’t ask me anything about it.
- I’ve never gotten around to reading about Novik’s Scholomance (I don’t even know the full name), but I’ve heard a lot of good, bad, and meh about it. So I don’t know if I actually will get around to it.
- I’ve also never gotten around to reading Rowell’s books about the Watford School of Magicks (and I really only skimmed the bits from Fanboy about it, too).
- Annnd…that’s it. That’s all I can remember.
This suggests that I haven’t read as many as I think I have, or that my memory is garbage. I’m ready to believe either.
The Summer Program at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs kind of counts, but not really. Ditto for Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter. Drew Hayes’ Trestlevend University comes close, too. But all of these are really for parahuman/supernatural beings, not quite magic schools.
So, do I think they’re overdone? Maybe, but I clearly haven’t over-read from them. But also, anything can be “overdone” until it’s not. It’s all about the execution, not the elements that make it up. Sure, many things could scream “Hogwarts Knockoff,” but it could be written in such a distinct, clever, and engrossing way that we’ll all start saying that “Hogwarts walked so [insert name] could run.” Any trope, theme, setting, or character type can be overdone, tired, or used enough to be a cliche. But if the right author comes along and deals with them in their own particular way, we just won’t care.
Do I enjoy these? Sure–if everything else is compelling. That’s kind of the core, really–I liked the silly escapism of Hogwarts, and the almost complete lack of silliness to Brakebills. I can’t tell you why I enjoyed Osthorne, but I think it was just a step or two away from a typical American High School depiction, just with that magic flair. It’s really not the school–it’s the depiction of it and the world it’s in.
Basically, if you throw a bunch of mages (or whatever you want to call them) of various skill levels in a building together, and insert some sort of outside complication or inside conflict, something entertaining is bound to happen. Kids with adults, rookie adults with experienced adults? Doctorates and grad students mixing together? Whatever. All of those can be a source of whimsy, comedy, horror, drama, trauma, adventure, and so many other things. So yeah, bring ’em on.
I’m sure some of the other posts in response to this prompt will be more thoughtful. I’m looking forward to reading them. Do you have responses to this? (either for the comment section below or from your own post)
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:
Libro.fm has a neat deal–donate $15 to a library, and get a free audiobook—this campaign ends today, but there’s still time! Also, apparently today is the end of National Library Week, which is totally a thing I knew about before now.
New book collects the weirdest forgotten stories of printing history—Okay, this article is just a thinly-disguised advertisement for a Kickstarter, but it’s still a fun read
My New Take on Whether We Should Remove “Old” Books from School Classrooms
Monthly Manga Mania Featuring Firsty Duelist Blue Exorcist by Kazue Kato—It’s the time of the month for Firsty Duelist to educate people like me about Manga
It’s also time for the Captivating Characters of the Month Linkup
A couple of month-end link wrap-ups to check out are: 10 Interesting Posts from the Book Blogosphere You May Have Missed in Feb. 2026 from Pages Unbound and February 2026 Book Blog Wrap-Up from A Literary Escape
A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Crime Time FM‘s NADINE MATHESON In Person With Paul—was a lot of fun to listen to
My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“The questions we have for the dead haunt us like unfinished dreams.”
—Head Fake by Scott Gordon
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Story of Lucius Cane: Book One by Vanya Ferreira—(I’d completely forgotten about the existence of this book)
Steal the Sky by Megan E. O’Keefe
Freedom’s Child by Jax Miller—that was 10 years ago??
I mentioned the releases of: The Absconded Ambassador by Michael R. Underwood; Out of the Blues by Trudy Nan Boyce; The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan; The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury; Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (and one I forgot last week):
Prey of Angels by JCM Berne—the latest in The Hybrid Helix looks great!
The Book of Spores—the ebook for this anthology is available now, “Collecting fungal tales from across countless universes, this FanFiAddict anthology spotlights the best of fantasy, science fiction, and horror.”
After the Fall by Edward Ashton—”Part alien invasion story, part buddy comedy, and part workplace satire, After The Fall… asks an important question: would humans really make great pets?”
Amari and the Metalwork Menace by B. B. Alston—huh. I thought this was a trilogy, but the publication of the fourth book reminds me to not assume so often.
(full credit to @jasonroygaston)