Tag: Saturday Miscellany Page 1 of 64

It’s still Saturday in the Mountain Daylight Saving Zone…

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:
Which Big Fall Book Should You Read?—a handy, dandy flowchart
One Staff Member, One Budget, One Community: How Rural Libraries Really Build Diverse Collections—by The Association for Rural & Small Libraries Staff and Members
The 6 Best Crime Books Released Since 2010, Ranked
There’s too much violence in fantasy.—something to chew on
Grand Theft Automaton: Ur A Slave 4 Me—Cat Valente has a nice rant on AI
On the Difficulties of Bookish Influencers Becoming Authors
Michael Vadney has a list of D&D books “for the next time your adventuring party gets wiped out by the most powerful boss in all of TTRPGs: Scheduling.”
Behind the Book: When One Story Becomes Four with Patricia Furstenberg—the latest in Gina Rae Mitchell’s series
Details to Add Realism in Fantasy—I didn’t have time (or ideas) enough for this week’s Fantasy with Friends, but this post and the other participants’, are worth your time.
Florence: Captivating Characters of September 2026—another good one from Reading Ladies Book Club

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Fiction Fans Fool by K.R. Lockhaven—Fiction Fans follow up their chat last week with Lockhaven by discussing the book in question. Some really good stuff here (especially in teh spoiler section)

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“They’d been in there. They were fast, obviously, and the room was in chaos. Papers were strewn across the floor. His desk chair was upended, and it seemed like half of the books on the shelves had been pulled down and now lay like dead birds, their wings open among the other debris on the floor.”— The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glen Dixon

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Ascent by M. T. Miller
Catch & Neutralize by Chris Grams
The Heart of Henry Quantum by Pepper Harding
Biblical Authority after Babel by Kevin J. Vanhoozer
As Wings Unfurl by Arthur M. Doweyko
Children of the Different by S.C. Flynn
And I mentioned the releases of: Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d by Alan Bradley; The Family Plot by Cherie Priest; and Hungry Heart by Jennifer Weiner

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing by soandso—A tale of assistants, sidekicks, and familiars trying to get a little respect (and preventing the world from ending). This was a lot of fun and just sweet enough, which I tried to convey earlier this week.
Actually, Nevermind by Taylor Tomlinson—”As she approaches thirty-four—the same age her mother, Angela, was at her death—Tomlinson grapples with fear and ambition, identity and doubt, and all the ways her mind has changed since the day her mom died.”
Die Famous by Michael Koryta—”follows a remarkable family as they race toward an impossible reunion–and asks us to consider where our own loyalties lie when ambition, devotion, and truth mean something different to each person telling the story.”

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:
Every Novel Is Boring—Until It Isn’t—Really liked this essay
Brandon Sanderson Defends George R.R. Martin, Wouldn’t Finish ASOIAF
Misunderstanding the Genius of Jules Verne — And Why It Matters to Science Fiction
AnnaBookBel comes of age!—Anabel hits a great milestone!
ScifiMonth 2026—is coming in November—check out the announcement posts from There’s Always Room for One More, Dear Geek Place, A Dance with Books, and Bookforager—and be sure to stop by for the fun in a month and a half

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Fiction Fans Bonus Author Interview: Fool by K.R. Lockhaven—a nice chat with Lockhaven about his new book

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“It doesn’t even matter what the General says in his speeches. Those who have abandoned their own truths just stop thinking altogether. They sink into a childlike delusion that some great general oozing with confidence will solve everything for them. There’s nothing more comfortable than dozing off without a care in the world in the back seat of a car being driven by your father. They don’t even consider that there will come a time when they’ll have to take the wheel themselves. Many adults, no matter how old they get, remain children at heart.”—The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Audiobook) by Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle
Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope by Berkeley Breathed
The Corruption of Chastity by Frank Westworth
Shadowed by Karen E. Olson
The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
And I mentioned the releases of: Robert B. Parker’s Debt to Pay by Reed Farrel Coleman; An Obvious Face by Craig Johnson; and The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Fool by K. R. Lockhaven—A group of revolutionaries kidnapps the son of the King’s Fool to force him to uncover the King’s biggest secrets. You don’t want to miss this one–as I said here, and am pretty sure I expressed when I chatted with Lockhaven recently.
We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman—This promises to be fun. “At sunrise, high in the Italian hills, a body is found on the steps of a beautiful private villa. On the body is a threatening note, signed by a mystery man. Back at We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie, and Steve leap at the chance to take on their first proper case. So what if their new client seems to have his own reasons for avoiding the police? All they need to do is uncover who left the note, and then find them. Simple.”
War by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Rigano—”A powerfully moving graphic novel that explores the affects of war on children.”
Never Say Die by Ke Huy Quan—”In this stunning and compulsively readable memoir, the Oscar-winning star of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan, tells the story of his journey from Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history.”
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel—”a breathtaking novel of doubles, shadow worlds, and fractured timelines as a man disappears from a glittering Los Angeles party, and a woman—a gunrunner, an art collector, an operative of the State—searches for answers.”
I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends by Jessica Tarlov—”The outspoken liberal voice on the Fox News show The Five shows us how to stay true to our values, find common ground, and communicate with confidence when engaging across political and social divides.”

source: Bookstr on Facebook

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:
What Do Booksellers Make Of “The End Of Reading”?—Defector’s piece is a good counter-point to all the doomsaying about the state of reading.
In Praise of “Wordy, Old Prose.” (Or, F*ck Your AI Reading Buddy)—from LitHub
Is There a Wrong Way To Chase Your Dreams? Some Thoughts Post WorldCon.—Micaiah Johnson has some things to say, this is written for up-and-coming authors, but I think it applies to a lot of spaces.
How to Be the Most Annoying Person at Worldcon, 2026 Edition—John Scalzi has some similar ideas
https://peterhartog.com/2026/09/05/where-the-deuce-have-you-been/—Peter Hartog/Peter David gives an update about his writing, and shares an incredibly relatable tale of heartbreak along the way.
The Indie Author Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror New Release List: September 2026—A.J. Calvin’s latest list of new Indie titles

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Granite Moth by Erica Wright
Timothy Other: The Boy Who Climbed Marzipan Mountain by L. Sydney Abel
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by David Rosenfelt—I didn’t realize that Rosenfelt had been doing Christmas novels this long!
Outfoxed by David Rosenfelt
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
And I mentioned the releases of: The Kingdom of Speech by Tom Wolfe; Curioddity by Paul Jenkins; and The Key to the Coward’s Spell by Alex Bledsoe

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Unbearable by A. Lee Martinez—It’s been too long since Martinez put out a new book, I really didn’t care what it was about, it was going on my list. But then I read: “Ortiz is a man without grand ambition or talent. He survives by being mildly useful and eminently disposable, destined to end up in a shallow grave. But on the day he’s digging that grave, he discovers a magic sword. Not just any magic sword, but the magic sword: A weapon that keeps away the apocalypse in the form of an all-devouring dragon.” Now I care about what it’s about.

image source: @Reading_Addicts on Twitter

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:
Long Live Dolly Parton, Giver of Books—There’ve been so many tributes to Parton this week, many talking about this aspect of her legacy and work, but this is one of the few that focus on it. (incidentally, I cannot tell you how bothered I am that it’s not available in Idaho)
The Most Famous “Odyssey” Translation Is Inaccurate: On the shortcomings of Emily Wilson’s translation—I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I thought this was interesting. Even if you don’t want to get into “things Wilson got wrong” of it all, the discussion of translation is well worth the read
Million selling Crime Author M. W. Craven on the Story Behind the First Official Poe & Tilly Merch—in case anyone was wanting to buy me a gift
Narratess Indie August Sale—Narratess’ back batch o’ temptation is back with a lot to browse. (it’s also a great reminder for me to look back on my past purchases from the sale next time I’m making a TBR)
A Local’s Guide to Gaining Five Pounds Eating and Drinking at Worldcon 2026—MD Presley’s piece is a fun read, even if you’re not heading to Worldcon or the Anaheim area. (it’d do some damage to my shirt size if I were)
Book’d Out is 16!—no small achievement.
Interviews as a Reader—from Armed with a Book
Interview with the Legendary Margaret Weis—over at the epicenter of Dragonlance fandom, Witty and Sarcastic Book Club.
Why I Re-Read Books—from Bookstooge’s Reviews on the Road
Monthly Manga Mania Featuring Firsty Duelist: Akira Failing in Love by Shinta Harekawa—Firsty wades into the world of Rom-Com!

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Christians Reading ClassicsCrossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, with Matt Stewart—If I keep hearing Stewart talk about Stegner, I just might read him one day. As Stewart’s an elder in my church, there’s a good chance I’ll get the opportunity. It should be an interesting conversation for people who don’t know him, too.

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
If Cumbria was a week-old slice of bread, Carlisle would be the big green splat of mould in the middle. The kind that made you question the whole loaf. The antibiotic breakthrough waiting to happen. Surrounding the big green stinky splat would be the lesser moulds. The spores, the bluey-green spots with white edges. Some the size of pinheads, others the size of mouse turds. You wouldn’t throw away the loaf because of the mouse-turd spores, but you’d definitely pick them off. You might sniff the slice and say, ‘Maybe we should toast this?’
—The Killer’s Mark by M.W. Craven

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Trampling in the Land of Woe by William Galaini
Debt to Pay by Reed Farrel Coleman
An Obvious Fact by Craig Johnson
I mentioned the releases of The Barista’s Guide To Espionage by Dave Sinclair and Repo Madness by W. Bruce Cameron

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Any More Questions for the Corpse? by Jack Unthank—”When a young necromancer investigates a string of deaths in the hidden magical capital of England, the dead come back to haunt him—in more ways than one.”
The Demon Overlord’s Retirement Plan by M.H. Foster—”The Demon Overlord retires to farm turnips in peace, only to find life in a small village far more chaotic than he ever could have anticipated in this laugh-out-loud debut cozy fantasy with teeth.”

source: Because All the Books

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:
Secondhand book sales are booming. Is it because of AI?
Tracking the Tide of Language Change—I’m not sure I completely follow this (need more detail), but this is pretty cool. Part 1 of the interview with Bryan A. Garner, Are You an Informed Prescriptivist? is also worth the time.
“POP!” It’s the funniest crime novel of the year. And maybe the most bitter.—Nick Kolakowski gives a one paragraph review that concinves me to pick up the book and then posts an interview with the author, Angel Luis Colón, that solidifies that idea.
Standup Comedian imagines a conversation between William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy.
Indie Features: Science Fiction—Cozy with Books kicks off new series of posts.
Omaha Public Library’s Museum of Forgotten Bookmarks is just great.
Nearby Garden City library brings you a Private tour of Garden City Public Library with James Patterson!

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“None of this made sense, but we were alive, for now at least, and we had each other, and that was something.”—The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
One of the Few by Jason B. Ladd
Chasing Freedom by Marina Fontaine
The Phantom Tollbooth (Audiobook) by Norton Juster, Norman Dietz
Hammered (Audiobook) by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels
And I mentioned the releases of: Rise the Dark by Michael Koryta; Dead to Rites by Ari Marmell; The Eternity Fund by Liz Monument; and Invasive by Chuck Wendig

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Pop! by Angel Luis Colón—”a deliciously dark and funny organized crime thriller for every assistant who’s wished they could take out their incompetent boss”

image source: @becs_a_bookworm on Instagram

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:
Rakuten Kobo Returns to U.S. Retail as Sales Double —worth the read even if you don’t care about Kobo just for the commentary on e-book sales.
Ebooks are coming to Libro—the audiobook store that supports local bookstores is adding eBooks to the app next year.
How Readers Find Books—a new project from Debbie Ridpath Ohi to help with new ways to discover books. Readers of this post may want to look into contributing
Interview With an Author: Lee Goldberg—from the LA Public Library
Perhaps We Could Find Some New Book Topics to Argue About—Molly Templeton calls for finding new evergreen topics to argue about. (while giving her $.02 about some of the current crop)

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“If I am wrong about this, then there is no sense in listening to anything else I might say, because it would reflect a misunderstanding so profound as to necessitate my retirement from sharing my thoughts with other people.”—The Wizard Who Kept Himself Suspicious by Scott Lynch

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Purloined Poodle by Kevin Hearne
Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
And I mentioned the releases of: How to Party With an Infant by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Nevernight by Jay Kristoff; and Killer Instincts by Linden Chase

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Killer’s Mark by M.W. Craven—not in the US, we have to wait for October (or cough be willing pay a lot for interational shipping cough), but I’m still counting it. “When a teenage girl walks into their office, looking for the mother she long believed to be dead, they agree to take the case. As Poe and Tilly investigate the girl’s claims, they find themselves drawn into a murky world of trafficking, pornography and prostitution.”
Killing A Perfect Beast by Thomas Trang—Trang wraps up this summer’s trilogy about crime and politics mixing on Mars.
The Tailor by Tim Sullivan—DC Cross’ 8th adventure puts him into “the world of spies and state secrets.” I have a few to go before I get to this, but I’m looking forward to it
Under the Falls by Richard Russo—”at once a propulsive thriller, a gut-wrenching portrait of a tight-knit rural community undone by the sins of its past, and an unflinchingly honest depiction of how porous the line between right and wrong, good versus evil, can become.” Honestly, of all the books that didn’t need a sequel, Empire Falls is near the top of my list. But I’m not sure I can resist the pull.
The Dungeon Book by Gareth Hanrahan—”A young girl is left to die in a wizard’s dungeon but finds a new home with the monsters around her in this humorous and heartfelt standalone epic fantasy.” Since I read Witty & Sarcastic Book Club’s review in June, I’ve been jonesing for this release.
Don’t Cross Mo Ellery by Birdie Horne—”A laugh-out-loud mystery following the indomitable hot mess Mo Ellery, whose job as a school crossing guard pulls her into an unhinged murder investigation.”
You’ll Love It Here by Natalie Sue—”One day is all it takes for Mona’s life to implode. After years of climbing at her marketing firm, she was supposed to be getting promoted and finally moving out of her crumbling apartment building. Instead, she’s jobless, aimless, and still stuck in a space barely big enough for a yoga mat. Then her eccentric landlady takes a tumble and asks Mona to step in as the building’s reluctant super. The deal is simple: help prep the place for sale, and she can secure the upgrade she’s been chasing. But that’s easier said than done when the neighbors treat ‘boundaries’ as optional.”
The Wandering Inn by pirateaba—The indie book makes it’s trad debut, it’s the first volume in a LitRPG “a dangerous world where magic is real and people can level up and gain classes, Erin Solstice must battle somewhat evil Goblins, deadly Rock Crabs, and hungry [Necromancers]. She is no warrior, no mage. Erin Solstice runs an inn. She’s an [Innkeeper].”

image source: The Goodwill Librarian

Okay, it’s not Saturday anymore for most of you. Sorry about that. Was a day in the hospital for a member of my family–all is good. Just needed a little TLC for a few hours. But it did put me several hours behind schedule.

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:
Abolish the Top Ten Books List—I don’t see myself stopping the practice, but I get the point and agree with is.
Jules Verne’s Empty Dream of Spaceflight: In “From the Earth to the Moon,” scientific advancement is treated as destiny — but no one quite asks why.
Book 4 Delayed to March 2027—Benedict Jacka has some sad news for his fans, but some good news for a croweded Fall TBR for me. (mostly sad for me, but…3 days of breathing room)
A.J. Calvin’s The Indie Author Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror New Release List: August 2026
Behind the Book: The Forest Exiles Saga by Mark J. Engels

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
TBRCon 2026/SFF Addicts PodcastInterview with Sarah Beth Durst—this was just a lot of fun–really appreciated her descriptions of Cozy Fantasy

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“Genevieve Durand was one of those put-together people who looked as if she’d never, ever dripped marinara sauce on her shirt.”—The Wednesday Witches Book Club by Sarah Beth Durst

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Dicing with the Gods by Sean McKenzie
The Innocents by Ace Atkins</a
Full of Briars by Seanan McGuire
Meeting of the Mustangs by Cathy Kennedy
Deep Down (Audiobook) by Lee Child, Dick Hill</a
Forever We Play by David Belisle
And I mentioned the releases of: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Official Script Book of the Original West End Production Special Rehearsal Edition by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany; Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter; Repo Madness by W. Bruce Cameron; Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia; Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky; Amaryllis and Other Stories by Carrie Vaughn; The Hike by Drew Magary; The Bad Decisions Playlist by Michael Rubens; and The Coaster by Erich Wurster

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett—The best in this fantastic series (so far), as I tried to articulate the other day.
Teen Titans Together by Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo—The Wolfman/Perez purist in me is bothered by a lot of this series, but the rest of me has been having a blast with them–I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.
Marvel: What If…The Multiverse Was Doomed? by DaVaun Sanders—this has been an up-and-down series for me, but I’m very curious about this installment regardless.
Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst—”a cozy fantasy romance about finding your crew, your family, and moreover, finding yourself.”
One-Fifth Dragon by Shami Stovall—The tag-line on the cover is “John Wick Meets High Fantasy.” Which sounds good. The blurg on bookshop.org starts: “Dragons, Assassins, and Ninjas!” That pretty much seals it.
(Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall—”A debut slow-burn work-nemesis romance set in a world where cryptids and monsters are a part of life . . . and someone has to do the paperwork.” Okay, I’m not intersted in the “slow-burn work-nemesis romance,” but the rest of the premise looks pretty cool.
Dragonlance: War Wizard by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman—”the story of an unlikely friendship that would one day change the world.” This features a young Huma. Which might be enough to reactivate my Dragonlance-fandom.
Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty—”Anna, Teddy, and Jade leap headlong into time, hurtling on a crash course toward one another. At turns entertaining and illuminating, Time Travel for Beginners explores the moments, big and small, that shape our destiny.”

image source: @saras.booked on Threads

It’s been a strange week here–as my eldest put it on Tuesday, “today has certainly been a crazy week” (and the day got stranger!). The rest of the week was a little calmer, but let’s stress “little.” So, I didn’t get much book readin’ done. And less online reading done. So…scant things here this week. And a lot is from Witty & Sarcastic Book Club, so much so I feel I owe her a cut. Scratch that, I do owe her a cut. Jodie, you get 30% of every penny I make off this 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:
Libraries Expand Multilingual Offerings: Public libraries are augmenting their world language collections and bringing patrons to the international stacks—cool.
To commemorate the 72nd anniversary of it’s publication, Literary Hub posted W. H. Auden’s 1954 review of The Fellowship of the Ring.
My Life in the Closet…With My Imaginary Friends—a little piece by the legendary George Guidall about his very strange career
‘Neuromancer’ and the Long, Slow Grind of Cyberpunk: We’ve caught up to the future. Unfortunately.—Nick Kolakowski muses Neuromancer, Gibson, Cyberpunk, and society.
Celebrating Human Artists—Rather than another anti-AI tirade (as fun as those can be), A.J. Calvin goes pro-Human Artists.
Monthly Manga Mania Featuring Firsty Duelist: Case Closed! by Gosho Aoyama—Not only does the Firsty Duelist make his regular post, he explains why that kid shows up on the covers (I’ve always thought that looked out of place when I’ve seen it in bookstores, like every bookstore/library puts it on the wrong shelf)
The Specific Bliss of Just Not Having an Opinion (Sometimes)—Molly Templeton talks about something that doesn’t seem possible any more.
Interview with Dana, Owner of Happy Medium Books Café
There were a few more Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week posts that came out since last week’s Miscellany, like:
Interview with Julian M. Miles
An Interview with the Narratess Indie Sale—a person responsible for saving me a lot of money on books I’ve largely left unread. (the former is something I’m grateful for, the latter is my failing)
Jonathan Nevair Shouts About a Favorite Author

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Spies, Lies and Private Eyes Ep. 183 Tori Eldridge—a good chat about her new book, her background, and more.

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
I’ve realized is that I really like reading, I haven’t noticed the other kids reading, and I’m not surprised, because the books on the shelf are old and ratty-looking, I wasn’t drawn to them at first, and I only picked one up because I hoped it would help me fall asleep. But I started getting really into the stories, and I think I actually like them for the same reason as I like history class: you start off thinking that its good versus evil, or that the main character is the good guy, but most of the time, it ends up being more complicated than that.—Detained by David Esperanza and Gerardo Iván Morales

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Coaster by Erich Wurster
Friends of the Wigwam by John William Huelskamp
The Wizard’s Heir by Devri Walls
And I mentioned the releases of: The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel; Outfoxed by David Rosenfelt; Nevernight by Jay Kristoff; GUN by The Gun Collective; and City of Wolves by Willow Palecek

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst—”the third magical adventure in the Spellshop series” focusing on Marin, the supply runner we met in The Enchanted Greenshouse–along with the sea serpent and Ree the shrub.
Magic & Mystery Collection curated by John Joseph Adams—”In these genre-blending short stories, acclaimed fantasy authors work their magic on puzzle-box plots. Whether set in realities far-flung or familiar, these mysteries leave an irresistible trail of clues.”

image source: lewis_workshop on Threads

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:
The rise of the ‘hot literati’: how reading became sexy—believe it or not, The Guardian doesn’t have me in mind
How owning books became everybody’s business: The number of books you have, and the way you shelve them, invites judgment
The Other Asimov: Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics have influenced AI’s development, but to what end?
Inside the Selection Process—how does the Folio Society decide which books to put out for us to drool over (and, I assume, possibly buy)
A Brutally Honest Field Guide to Horror Author Headshots—from The Ginger Nuts of Horror
Fantasy-Faction brings a fresh Scott Lynch Interview – The Thorn of Emberlain —take the Emberlain material with a grain of salt, if you insist. But the rest of this is more than worth your time.
Making Things and Having Fun: The Mad Scientists’ Club by Bertrand R. Brinley—I had to have read this book at least 30 times in my (far) younger days. I’m so glad someone reminded me of its existence.
Finding the Right Covers—Matthew Hanover describes the journey his covers have taken
Which leads us nicely into this: As you’ve probably noticed here, it’s Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week here are some of my favorite posts:
Awesome Author Alert: Jonathan Nevair at Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Awesome Author Alert: Rebecca Crunden at Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Awesome Author Alert: Tessa Hastjarjanto at Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Complex PTSD and the Creative Life by Sarah Chorn and Ken Scholes at Read Indie Fantasy
Guest Post: We Live Here by Zig Zag Claybourne at Read Indie Fantasy
Interview with Christiane Knight by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Interview with Richard Moon by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Interview with Scott A. Clark by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
 Interview with Shelby Hailstone Law by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Interview with Simon Brading by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Guest Post: How Reading More Helped Cure My Indie-Author Burnout by Angela Boord at Read Indie Fantasy
Tough Questions with Namita Kumari by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Some Favorite Indie Reads by Fantasy Book Nerd
2026’s Big, Long List of Super Self-Published Books a monumental list compiled by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
5 simple steps to reduce you TBR pile—there is something deeply wrong with this post

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The Four Beardsmen of the BookpocalypseBeth Tabler and the beards! —I haven’t found time for this (been busy this week), but it’s sure to be a great episode

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it.”—from the Author’s Note in The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Second Son (Audiobook) by Lee Child, Dick Hill
Small Wars (Audiobook) by Lee Child, Dick Hill
The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel—one of the best books ever discussed on this here blog.
Bravo and Elphie by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron
Trumped! by Peter Davidson—and to even things out, possibly the absolute worst books ever discussed on this here blog
Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter
And I mentioned the releases of: Nightshades by Melissa F. Olson; The Dragon Lords: Fool’s Gold by Jon Hollins; and Flying by Carrie Jones

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Deadly Does It by Abbi Waxman—”Mason, a Gen Z adrenaline junkie, and Mann, an ex-con, ex-actress, and lawyer turned sleuth, have already solved one murder together. United by their commitment to sarcasm and general disappointment with the human race, they now face a second crime that’s way too close to home.” This had me at “Waxman,” and sealed the deal by bringing back Mason and Mann.

image source: Jonathan Edward Durham on Facebook