Tag: Saturday Miscellany Page 24 of 61

A short list this week, but a pretty diverse one. Should be something for just about everyone here—maybe 2-3 somethings.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Why Noir and Science Fiction Are Still a Perfect Pairing
A New Book and a New Press—Sara Gran describes the launching of her new press and some of what got her to this point—for those who like behind-the-scenes publishing talk
Five Mystery Novels to Read If You Love Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building—No, I am not linking to this just for an excuse to talk about how much I’m enjoying the show (but seriously, if you have the means..watch it). This list of books is promising—one I’ve read, one I’m waiting for from the library…and the rest? Hmm……
The Don Winslow Book Club September 21 Edition—good lookin’ stuff.
The Music of The Band by Nicholas Eames—a look at how Eames used the music of different eras to create his dynamite fantasy world (and a couple of nice Spotify playlists to boot)
Here’s Why I’m Ditching Goodreads And Switching To Storygraph — And Why You Should Too—I’m less impressed with Storygraph, but I do see the appeal. What about you? (yes, you)
My Favourite Authors By Category—this is an inventive way to frame the discussion (one that would cripple me were I to try it, but I love seeing others pull this kind of thing off)
Why do I read so much?—well, yeah. I’d add (at least), because it’s there.
Blogging Struggles: How Do Bloggers Stay Motivated?
Do Hype, Book Buzz, and High Expectations Affect Your Reading Experience?—they have to, at least a little, right? Carol takes a deep dive into this question.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson—the novel that last year’s so clearly indicated was coming is now here. Walt looks into death threats against a High School Athlete. I should be picking up my copy this afternoon, and I may set aside my current read for a day or two for it.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Inspired who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-books—This feels like a problem…
30 cool indie bookstores across the country that you’ll want to check out—You know those people who tour the US to visit every MLB Ballpark or something? Lists like this make me want to try my version of that. If only I had the time, means, and willingness to leave my house that much…
Mystery in the Mountains: 10 Novels Set in the High Country of the American West—On the other hand, I have almost zero desire to visit any of the locations mentioned here outside the pages of a novel (which is a shame, because it’d be pretty easy for me).
I really wasn’t trying to turn these posts into Tori Eldridge-fests, but she’s clearly doing what she can to get her name–and the name of her new book out there–and doing so with interesting articles, so…
Stories Behind Our Names
Binge-Worthy Characters in Books and on the Screen
Robert Crais shared a pic of the first draft of his next book—fans will be happy to see this, people interested in writers’ process should check it out to see his revision notes, etc.
10 Memorable Roald Dahl Quotes to Live By—Dahl’s 103 birthday was this week, Bookstr noted the day with this fun collection
What makes a good book?—HiuGregg shares some musings
5 SFF Books Featuring Middle-Aged or Elderly Heroines Who Still Kick Ass
One Key Reason to Read the Book Before the Movie—Yes. (also, some good reasons to watch first…but they pale in comparison)

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
When Sorrows Come by Seanan McGuire—The 15th (!) Toby Daye novel sees her get married, find a coup, and thinking about her future more than we’re used to. I will post something gushy about it soon. Loved it.
True Dead by Faith Hunter—Jane goes back to New Orleans for reasons personal and regal in her 14th (!) novel. I talked more about it not that long ago
The Ninja Betrayed by Tori Eldridge—Lily visits Hong Kong, where I expect things will get a little hairy.
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach—Roach’s books always look interesting, but I haven’t gotten around to trying one. This one could change that.
The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the Kingby J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator)—New audiobook editions of The Trilogy were released this week with Serkis narrating. I’ve been kicking myself for a couple of years for not carving out time to re-read these books. I’m going to spend some Libro.fm credits to fix that.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Tarahaddasa and Inspired who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

I feel a little weird posting this today, but maybe some of you will want a break from all the anniversary coverage. And if you don’t? Well, this will be here later.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The Book Biz Tries to Avoid Supply Chain Disruptions—this is only going to get worse for a while…
Publishers, Amazon Move to Dismiss Booksellers’ Antitrust Suit
The third Lily Wong novel comes out next week, so Tori Eldridge is getting a little publicity going, for example:
Tori Eldridge: Going to Hong Kong—how a recent trip inspired the setting for the third novel.
Things Get Personal for Lily Wong—a good interview with Eldridge
Michael Connelly Can’t Stop Chasing Leads—a niece piece on the master
Richard Osman: ‘No one’s born a crime writer. I write crime because I read it’—an interview with the man behind The Thursday Murder Club (and several other things)
The American Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Nick Rennison on the early days of American detective fiction and the sleuths who competed with Sherlock Holmes for mystery readers.—I’d maybe heard of one of these before, but I think I’m conflating him with someone else (and later). I’m willing to bet most of you would say something similar, which says something about how the rivalries went.
This One’s Too Large, This One’s Too Small: Is There a Perfect Shape for Books?—I really feel like I’m starting to mention too many Molly Templeton pieces lately. But I really don’t see myself stopping. This is one of those things I wish I’d written.
The Best 4 Apps to Keep Track of the Books You Own—huh. Have you heard of any of these? Used one?
What determines reading speed?—I don’t remember seeing this one on Paul’s Picks (and I thought I’d at least glanced at everything there), so I’m glad it was spotlighted this week by The Write Reads.
The D&D Connection: Authors and TTRPGs- What You May Have Missed—I talked about this series last week, here’s a nice wrap-up post with the links to them all.
The NetGalley Shelf app – Grrrrrrr—I suspected NetGalley’s app wouldn’t be that great, Fictionophile kindly confirmed that.

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Blood Brothers Episode 66 with Janice Hallet and Miranda Jewess—a fun discussion with the author of The Appeal (a book I’m really looking forward to being available over here) and her publisher.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Robert B. Parker’s Stone’s Throw by Mike Lupica—Jesse Stone returns in a sold entry for the series, I talked about it recently.
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes—One of the more pleasant surprises of 2020 to me was how much I enjoyed The Inheritance Games, I’m excited to see how this sequel carries on.
Miss Kopp Investigates by soandso—The Seventh Kopp Sisters novel finds them post-WWI and me two behind.

There was a point this morning I really wondered if I’d be able to post this today–I had so many problems–my password manager, browser, and then operating system all had strange glitches–consecutively, mind you. I felt like a Pakled, I just wanted someone to “Make it go.” It literally took me an hour to get to the point I could start assembling the post.

Remember when computers were going to make our lives easier?

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Writers notes: the record label remixing novels into music—This is such a weird idea, but I’m curious about it—has anyone out there listened to something like this?
The Brilliant History of Books, From Egyptian Scrolls to E-Readers—yeah, this is sort of a “history of books in 2 minutes” approach, but it’s a good summary
Picking up a book for fun positively affects verbal abilities—I almost just put “duh” here, but that seemed to counter the premise. Most readers of this post know this, but it’s always nice to get some confirmation, right? I know when I’d have a major paper in college/grad school, I’d crack open a Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin novel before writing—it always got my mind cranking in the right way.
The Only Way Out Is Through: On Reading Slumps—I think there’s actually a new-to-me recommendation in the last paragraph (and one I should implement)
What Makes a Book ‘Appropriate’ for School?
What to do when you run out of bookshelf space
Why William Gibson Is a Literary Genius—well, yeah.
A Reacher Relay Race: PW Talks with Lee and Andrew Child
Fran Lebowitz: ‘If people disagree with me, so what?’—a good interview with Lebowitz. I wish she’d find a way through the block, I could use something fresher than the Reader (not that I don’t occasionally re-read a piece or two from that to this day)
I Stopped Writing My Series Years Ago. But Something Kept Calling Me Back.—I’ve never heard of the series in question, and I don’t think I’ve heard of the author, but I love his story…and am tempted to dip a toe in the water of the series.
The Dragonlance Books Launched My Lifelong Love of Fantasy
The D&D Connection: Authors and TTRPGs—Witty & Sarcastic Book Club had a great series this week on D&D and the effect it had (or didn’t have) on various authors.
This Gentlemen Bastards Quote Thread! (Non-Spoiler) from @BookMeanderings almost made me abandon my books for the week to reread The Lies of Locke Lamora
How to create a reading routine that works?—Frankly, I preferred it when Nonfictionality produced articles rather than videos, but this is worth the time.
Embracing the DNF: 3 Reasons It’s Okay to Read Something Else
Announcement: Novels & Waffles is Moving to Bibliosmile.com—While I’m going to miss Novels & Waffles, I’m glad she found a way to stick with blogging in a way that works for her, and am looking forward to seeing what happens with it.

Okay, I think I’ve got the whole reading and listening adjustment to the new job handled, now I’ve got to figure in blogging—which, as you may have noticed, isn’t going as well as it has in the past. Am sure I’ll figure something out, but that “to write about” pile is growing. If anyone knows of an app that allows me to just think about a post rather than having to sit and type, please mention it in the comments!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Barnes & Noble Climbs Back
Is failure the new literary success?—this is an interesting little trend.
André 3000 Joins Cast of ‘White Noise’ Adaptation—Wait, what? Someone’s adapting White Noise? I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around that—it feels like the moment has passed for it to feel relevant to movie audiences, but I’m hopefully wrong (still, Noah Baumbach’s probably a good guy to do it).
The ‘Twilight’ romance no one talks about: Bella fell for Forks and its forests. That fantasy transformed the town’s reality.—I can’t believe I’m linking to something about Twilight, but it’s not often you can see so clearly the impact of a book on something.
The Most Translated Books From Every Country in the World—huh. The U.S. entry on this list is embarrassing, but this is an interesting list.
Psychological Thriller Book Covers: What Makes A Good Thriller Cover?—Matt Witten summarizes the research he did while working on the cover for his psychological thriller. As I (almost always) say about this kind of piece: I find this stuff fascinating.
In Stephen Mack Jones’ novel ‘Dead of Winter,’ August Snow and Detroit star—a nice profile of Jones, probably my favorite new-to-me writer in 2021.
Decisions Are Hard: Picking What to Read Next—I think we’ve all been there
What are the Best Audiobook Apps in 2021?—This is a great overview of the better available apps. ‘Tho I’d quibble with the description of Chirp’s app as being “stable” is a bit pie-in-the-sky (or maybe that’s iPhone vs Android).
Why Libraries Matter
This week’s Let’s Talk Bookish prompt was a good thought-provoker about Blogger Identity Crises (and, as usual, it was too much thought for me to find time to actually do something like writing about it), these posts in response caught my eye:
Blogging Insecurity from Thoughts Stained With Ink
A Blogger Identity Crisis
Reasons Why I Love Reading

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Not Awkward by Matthew Hanover—right before his wedding, Scott ends up stuck at his ex’s house while her family sits shiva for her dad. I blogged about it recently and asked Hanover a few questions about it, too.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Mahmoud Dualeh who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Putting down my phone and picking up a book has saved my sleep
How to Remember What You Read
What Do Fiction Writers Owe Their IRL Inspiration?
Red Herrings in Contemporary Crime Literature: Celebrating the 21st century masters of misdirection.—I love a good red herring (especially when they frustrate me and make me feel dumb). How about you?
Interview with Author Kevin Hearne—Beth Tabler had a great Q&A with Hearne
Percy Jackson’s Most Iconic Moments—Percy’s birthday was this week, this is a fun way to commemorate it (I didn’t do the math on how hold it would make him, I’m sure I’d be depressed)
Between A Clock And A Hard Place: How To Prioritize Reading—This Dad Reads has some good tips
6 SFF Reads under 200 pages—If you’re pinched for time, this list from Spells & Spaceships might come in handy
Escapist Fantasy: 5 Series To Turn Off Your Brain and Have Some Fun—is another handy list
How Book Synopses Set Reader Expectations and Why That Matters
A Little List of Songs Book Lovers May Appreciate!

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
No Stupid Questions Episode 64—the second question this week was dealing with “should you feel guilty if you don’t read books?” the discussion of which should interest readers of this post (nothing against the first question, it’s just not that germane).

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
In Ten Years by Ian Shane—a When Harry Met Sally-esque take on two friends who make pact to marry at 40 if they’re both single. In case you missed the four posts here about it recently—here’s my take.
How to Be Fearless: In 7 Simple Steps by Jessica Hagy—I’ve been reading Hagy’s daily webcomic of Venn diagrams for years, here she combines them with encouragement to “shake off worry and get to work.”

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Marilynn Champion who followed the blog recently.

This is a book-blogger-heavy collection this week—which I love doing (hey, this is the end of Book Blogger Appreciation Week—a nice coincidence). Hope you find something you enjoy!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
How Extortion Scams and Review Bombing Trolls Turned Goodreads Into Many Authors’ Worst Nightmare—I know there are many other problems with Goodreads, but to get Time to cover the site? This has got to be really damaging.
A Dorothy Parker Quip for Every Occasion—I’m pretty sure I’ve linked to this a time or two before, but the Pocket app suggested this to me again this week, and who am I to argue with algorithm? Always a good time for some Parker lines.
While on LitHub, I also saw: 10 Literary Classics We (Not So) Secretly Hate—I’m sure many of you can relate to at least one of these
12 Favorite Books: Happy #NationalBookLoversDay—I’ve never done a National Book Lover’s Day post—which is weird, it seems natural around here (or, really, anywhere). My wife literally buys me a gift for it (this year a nice little “It’s Not Hoarding if It’s Books” print and a Book necktie). I’m glad to see at least someone else notes the day.
Let’s Talk About Audiobooks
I Know Science Fiction and Fantasy Can be Daunting—Bath Tabler, not at all surprisingly, knocked it out of the park with this post.
If she inspired you to stick a toe in the Fantasy water, why not grab something off one of these handy lists? Here There Be Dragons Part One—12 Books starring a beloved fantasy favorite that comes in all shapes and sizes: Dragons and Dragon Shifters and Here There Be Dragons Part Two—Round Two: Here are 12 TBR books featuring dragons that I can’t wait get my hands on!
Reviewing the Practice of Reviewing Books
Why You Should Re-Read An Old Favourite Book
How I Rate & Review DNFs
Disappointing Read & Replacement Recommendations—I like this idea: I don’t want to recommend X, but maybe this would scratch the same itch, and do it better?

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Paper & Blood by Kevin Hearne—the second adventure of Al MacBharrais features a great postscript to the Iron Druid Chronicles–and is a pretty bonkers book, too. I talked about it a little recently.
Meadowlark: A Coming-of-Age Crime Story by Ethan Hawke, Greg Ruth—why, what do you know, I found a graphic novel I’m interested in without needing Lashaan to recommend it first! A father-son crime novel traces the course of one dramatic day. What little I’ve seen of the art looks great (up to the “casting” of Hawke as the father)

I was on the cusp of establishing a new reading/writing schedule that would work for me and I just threw it out the window–my last day for my employer of 5+ years was yesterday. For the next few weeks, my commute to my new gig promises to be a giant pain in the tuchus (I hope I’m not too Protestant to use that word), but I think that I’ll have a longer lunch break. What this means for my reading/audiobook listening is up in the air.

But that’s something to tackle over the next couple of weeks. For now, let’s dive into this very miscellaneous miscellany:

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
A Brief History of Summer Reading: We rarely talk about spring books or winter reading. What is it about summer that inspired a whole genre of its own?—If you subscribe, haven’t read your free article for the month, or use enough browsers to dodge the paywall, this is a great way to spend a couple of minutes (and, yes, you shouldn’t dodge…I shouldn’t, either)
Maybe You Can Have Too Many Books in Your TBR Pile
Typos, tricks and misprints: Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology—in a different world, where I followed up on a scholarly whim or two from college, I’d be producing things like this. Instead, I get to geek out over those who do.
The Silver Age of Essay—excerpted from the Introduction to a collection that I’ll aspire to—but probably won’t get around to—reading.
SA Cosby: ‘The holy trinity of southern fiction is race, class and sex’—great interview with Cosby. I’m ready to order his work-in-progress right now.
7 Music Novels to Shape Your Summer Soundtrack—I don’t understand music novels…I just don’t. The two art forms shouldn’t work. But I’ll read and reread and reread a good one. What about you? Anyone read anything off this list? (I haven’t yet)
In the New Era of Social Distancing, It’s Time to Revisit the Genius of Monk: Who’s overreacting now?—sure, this is about the TV show. But Monk’s great enough that I don’t care. And the novels by Lee Goldberg fit what’s said here, and I’ve now turned this bullet point into something about reading, so the uptight voice in my head can shut up.
This Is Why I Love J.R.R. Tolkien – And You Should Too—I appreciate Tolkien, but nowhere as much as Strasser does. But maybe I should.
Books That Made Me Cry Like A Lil’ Baby—I wouldn’t have expected to find any of these books on this list (although, I (inexplicably) haven’t read Bloody Rose, but I can see Eames doing that to me), but I get what Chilcottharry is saying.
Words Have Power — Neurodivergence in Fiction—I’ve linked to a couple of the early pieces in the Neurodivergence in Fiction series (and I feel awkward about dropping the Monk link above given what they said about the show), and you should read them all. But I wanted to call attention to this new entry by Friend of the Blog, Jodie from Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub.
What is Grimdark to Me? by Clayton W. Snyder—Snyder’s post makes me want to read more Grimdark.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Bodacious Creed and the Jade Lake by Jonathan Fesmire—in this sequel to the very odd Western-Zombie-Steampunk novel, Creed goes to Chinatown to investigate what (I think) we’d call sexual exploitation aided by technology. Even if I got the wrong idea from the synopsis, this is sure to be a good read.
Grenade Bouquets by Lee Matthew Goldberg—the sequel to the 90’s grunge tribute/coming-of-age novel Runaway Train, tells the continuing story of Nico as she tours with a band over the summer. I should have had the foresight to put this on my 20 Books of Summer list, so I could dive in.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Angela, Cristina Monica @ Hit or Miss Books, Amy and Anketsu who followed the blog this week. Don’t be strangers—introduce yourselves in the comments below, maybe pick up another reader?

This is the third week in a row that when I get to compiling this post that I wonder just what I did all week…and I honestly don’t know. Still, some good stuff here.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Building an antilibrary: the power of unread books—food for thought (even if a lot of what is said about personal libraries is odd). The footnote made me audibly chuckle.
Playing Favorites With Favorites, or, What We Talk About When We Talk About Our Favorite Books—second week in a row with a piece by Templeton about reading. Not quite as quotable, but just as good.
Rain City Rediscovered: Why Crime Novelists Are Drawn to Seattle—I think I’ve only read one Seattle-based series, and given it’s relative proximity to me, I do have to wonder why. (it doesn’t make this list, so I know the number is bigger than this piece suggests…IOW, I have no reason not to read more)
Where Do You Like To Read? – The Art of Creating Your Perfect Book Nook—A place I can ignore outside noises (semi-politely) and feel not-uncomfortable for a few minutes is all I really need, a perfect reading spot seems like a luxurious indulgence, but after reading this
My Blogging Journey || experiences, trials & regrets—she definitely takes this more seriously than me…I still can probably learn a bit from this.
This tweet contains either the very best 2 sentence To Kill a Mockingbird review (if it’s satire) or the absolute worst.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Pure by Jo Perry—”Caught in a pincer movement between the sudden death of Evelyn (her favourite aunt) and the Corona virus, Ascher Lieb finds herself unexpectedly locked down in her aunt’s retirement community with only Evelyn’s grief-stricken dog Freddie for company.” I’m trying hard to find a way to cram this in to my August reading. If any of my co-workers read this post and I happen to call in sick this week it’s absolutely a coincidence.
A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones—” Sunny’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior.” And, there’s a racoon that seems to be outsmarting the entire Sherriff’s Department. And Sunny’s quest to uncover the (probably urban legend of a) secret society that runs the town…It’s just a whole lot of fun, tried to describe recently.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to evidencemutumbu, wallacepublishing , and pranjal Narayan who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Man…I accomplished so little here this week. Those SPAAW posts were supposed to be what I ran alongside new posts about individual books, not the sum total of what I produced this week. I don’t mind, really, except my “to write about” list is now at the despair-inducing length. I did have a good time going down memory lane with some of those books, though.

Part of my lack of production has to do with re-establishing a routine that includes being in the office. I’m not doing well with that, and don’t understand how I worked there for so long and was a productive reader/blogger. I’ll figure it out, I trust. I’m glad to take any tips you have, though.

But you’re not here for that, you’re here for these (I assume):
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
A Guide to Developing a Deep Reading Habit: 7 principles to help you read more and read better—I don’t know why I keep posting pieces along these lines, it’s hard to imagine anyone reading my posts who need them. But you never know… Also, I enjoy reading them.
There’s No Wrong Way to Read a Book—this gets posted despite the idea of bacon as a bookmark, because it’s so quotable.
Our Woke Book Burners: Books are not violence—I would not use many of the words in this piece (or headline), as I don’t think they actually help communicate to those who disagree. But the ideas are important to wrangle with in our cultural moment.
When Writers Cave to Social Media Scolds—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar does a better job talking about related ideas.
Kempt, Couth, Ruth: On the Disappearing Antonyms of “Grumpy” Words: Arika Okrent Wonders Why Negative Descriptors Tend to Outlast Their Positive Counterparts—I love this kind of thing. I was just talking to someone that I took a class along these lines in college—I loved the results of the research but had no affinity for/interest in the work.
We Need More Victim-Focused Narratives—absolutely. Every time I read something that could be described along these lines, it feels like such a breath of fresh air and needed.
Bibliophiles Are Sharing The Most Annoying Book Tropes And I’m 100% On The Same Page As Them—I’m with all of these. However, with the exception of #18, I’ll buy into any of them if the author does something interesting with it.
Self-published Authors Appreciation Week—Witty and Sarcastic Book Club threw a little celebration of Self-Pubbed authors this week, here’s a list of (nearly?) every post that was part of it—I’m still working through the list myself—some really good stuff here, check it out.
For example: Ways You Can Support Self-Published Authors
On a related note, Gabino Iglesias tweeted about the benefits of the various modes of publishing (although his last point needs a little nuance—not that tweets have room for nuance)
Books That Ought to Come with a Box of Tissues—Fun idea for a post.