Tag: Miscellany Page 89 of 181

Weeks (like this one) where I don’t have a lot of fodder for this post always make me wonder: Did I have an off week? Was it just one of those weeks where everyone was thinking about other things? Does it matter—it takes three things to make a list, as long as I have that…
I tend to lean toward the last one, my streak of these is long enough that as long as I’ve got those three…

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:
29 Works of Nonfiction You Need to Read This Summer—I will not be reading any of these this summer (which goes for all of LitHub’s summer lists), but most of these look interesting a couple might find their way to the Fall list.
Constable signs three more titles from Craven in six-figure deal—The lines there about “global brand” and “North American rights” warm my heart. The idea of not having to put up with the cost/time (mostly time) involved in getting Craven from the UK makes me very happy.
When Will Novels Fix Society Already?—I dunno…tell me the U.S. hasn’t been “fixed” into a dystopian/cyberpunk prequel? We just need to pick better books (see also: less pretentious works than this piece talks about)
Peat Long posted a couple of good ones this week (well more than a couple, but I’m sharing two): Secondary Belief vs Suspension of Disbelief—Secondary Belief is a term I’ve been grasping after for months. Good stuff…
As much as I enjoyed that post, and will be reacting to it (not that anyone but me will likely be able to tell) for a while, On Objectivity as a Reviewer is better.
10 Quick Takes on Common Bookish Controversies—Sure, I’d co-sign 80% of this (likely 90%, if pushed, but my reflex is to shudder at the upscaling idea). If I disagreed, it’d still be a fun post to read.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Trouble with the Cursed by Kim Harrison—the latest Hollows novel dropped this week, it looks like Rachel has some cleaning up to do/keep doing after last year’s novel.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Shristy Singh, who followed the blog this week.

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:
‘People should be able to read the books that they want’: Nampa coffee shop holds Banned Books Giveaway—A couple of weeks back, I mentioned how a local School District “permanently banned” 20+ books while ignoring their own stated review policy (this week, they said their circumvention was because their policy was “too complicated”). Some local businesses and many local individuals responded thusly. NPR’s All Things Considered also covered it.
Harry Potter and the missing sketches: JK Rowling’s first drawings of boy wizard—The material about the initial cover design and what the designer has to say about his work now is great.
The Ever-Shifting Challenge of Promoting Literature in Translation
The Transformations of Pinocchio: How Carlo Collodi’s puppet took on a life of his own.
Crime Reads posted a couple good pieces on Crime Fiction and humor this week:
Murder Isn’t Funny. But Gallows Humor Is!—Karp’s The Rabbit Factory (not to be confused with any recent Finnish work) made me laugh harder than any police procedural that I can think of, he knows what he’s talking about.
Why Some of the Best Thrillers Are Also Hilarious—is also worth the read, but Byrne loses a few points for flubbing the citation of Fletch’s Fortune
How about some great news from Scott Lynch on Twitter a couple of days ago!
Joe Pike, Two Bullies, and a Stolen Car—Jeffrey B. Burton details many of the ways he isn’t Joe Pike. This is great (and a reminder that I have an ARC of his to get to soon)
Is Genre Defined by Content or Worldview?
Mood Reader!—Rabhya Maini discusses the whys and hows of mood reading
i read the 5 highest rated books on my physical tbr…in a reading slump—That’s a great way to get yourself out of a slump.
The Problem with Mood Reading—Kopratic details the many ways they’re not a mood reader.
Like This Game? Read This Book: 11 Book Recommendations for Gamers by M.J. Kuhn—given the utter lack of TriPeaks or Angry Birds on this list, I can’t say anything about how accurate the recommendations are, but it’s a fun idea.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Page Break with Brian McClellan Ep 41 – John Scalzi – Science Fiction Author—am a couple of weeks behind in getting to this episode, but I thought this chat with Scalzi was notably entertaining.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Geekomancy by Michael R. Underwood—not technically a new release, but a new edition. I loved this series, and am oddly excited to get it in paperback for the first time. This UF basically bases its magic system on the power of Fandom (horribly reductionistic, but I try to keep this bit brief). Hoping this reissue helps this series find its audience.
The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston—Fantasy, Card Sharps, and Con Artists—and a dash of magic. What else do you want? I posted about this last month, and am glad to see it in the wild.
Noodle and the No Bones Day by Jonathan Graziano, Dan Tavis (Illustrator)—the story behind the Internet craze in picture book form is as cute as you’d expect, as I said a couple of days ago.

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:
As libraries drop late fees, long-overdue books return — as do former patrons: Minnesota libraries went fine-free, then waited to see: Would patrons hoard all the books?—Most libraries around here went fine-free a couple of years ago. I wonder if their results were similar.
How Amazon surrendered in its war on bookshops
How the Publishing World Is Muscling In on Hollywood Deals: For Authors, “The Future Is Multihyphenate”
Why are crime writers so weird?: As well as entertaining, the best detective stories deal with life and death, good and evil and the quest for truth
What Makes a Great, or Terrible, Audiobook Performance? The case for doing less.
Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub gets to my favorite in their 2022 looks at Fantasy Sub-genres Fantasy Focus: Urban Fantasy with great interviews featuring:
Matthew Samuels
C. Thomas Lafollette
Peter Hartog
Satyros Phil Brucato
Jamie Jackson
Speaking of Interviews, Beth Tabler also had a great Interview with Author Rachel Aaron this week.
INDIE PUBLISHERS, INDIE AUTHORS, INDIE BOOKSHOP, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE?—Jackie’s Reading Corner talks about a couple of indie presses near and dear to her heart (I’ve spent a little money on both presses, I understand her devotion)
What I’ve learnt in over 10 years of book blogging—Jo Linsdell shares some wisom acuumlated over a decade. Much of which I should appropriate.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Botanist by M. W. Craven—I’m going to go into this one blind, the only reason I know the title is so that I could make sure I ordered the right book. So I can’t tell you anything beyond the fact that one of the best Crime Novels of 2022 came out this week.
The Balance Of Guilt by Simon Hall—Somehow Hall’s intrepid reporter exposes a scandal while being sedated in a hospital bed. Can’t wait to find out how that happened.