Tag: Saturday Miscellany Page 28 of 62

We got a lot of snow dumped on us yesterday—this weekend could possibly bring more snow to the area than we’ve seen in four years (and I really don’t want to talk about what happened then). I slept through most of it, and then was distracted by work for the rest. But this morning, I can watch it fall through the window I’m sitting across from. It’s oddly relaxing. I’m not the kind of guy who sits and watches anything outside my window, but today it’s working for me.

Until, that is, I have to let a dog out. Then the snow will be the source of a wet, furry, mess. I’d better stock up on the relaxation while I can, right?

Anyway…
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
19 Tips For Reading More This Year—This is far different (and yet not) from the typical posts like this I share, it’s built from reader feedback about how the Pandemic/Lockdows/etc have changed reading habits.
Indie Bookstores Embrace E-Commerce… and It Pays Off
Lecter’s Fangs: Why the Ending of ‘Hannibal’ is a Secret Masterpiece—Friend of the Blog, Nick Kolakowski, attempts to defend and laud (fairly successfully, I begrudgling admit) the ending of Hannibal. He very well may be right. He probably is. I still don’t like it.
‘I think I’ve written more Sherlock Holmes than even Conan Doyle’: the ongoing fight to reimagine Holmes—I’ll confess to not reading all of Doyle’s Holmes (have owned a complete set since junior high), have never read one by anyone else. I’m fascinated by all the variety. Am I missing out on some good ones?
How a Former LAPD Detective Became the ‘Godfather’ to L.A. Crime Writers—I love reading things like this
One Word Book Reviews: Because I’m Lazy Like That—Given the graphics involved, I’m not sure “lazy” is the right word. I love this idea. And clearly, could never pull it off.

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Author Stories Podcast Episode 1051: Mike Chen Returns With We Could Be Heroes—Garner and Chen talk about the new book, which is good. The highlight for me was the discussion of Chen’s pandemic book being released a few weeks before the world went upside down last year, and his thoughts about the COVID-inspired books coming in a few years.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Dreyer’s English (Adapted for Young Readers): Good Advice for Good Writing by Benjamin Dreyer—I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on this one since I heard about it. I loved the “adult” version and want to see how he translates that into advice for kids (also, I can see this being easier to pass on to non-language nerd friends/family who need the help)

I really thought I had a decent list of things for the week, but when I opened my Pocket this morning, all I saw was stuff I posted last year, things I had no idea why I saved and…four other pieces. What did I spend all week doing?

Oh well, I’ll make this short and sweet and then go lock myself away for awhile to finish some in-progress posts and work on taxes. Fun day, eh?
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Fran Lebowitz’s One-Star Amazon Reviews—Lebowitz is one of my favorites, I love this lady’s humor and there are pieces by her I can read over and over. Now I see she spends time writing 1-Star Reviews for Amazon? I’m in danger of losing hours here…
The Future of Police Procedurals: What is the responsibility—and the path forward—for authors writing crime fiction about police?—Michael Kaufman describes the challenge of writing a police procedural after the Summer of 2020.
Is an Audible subscription still worth it?
I did my first Twitter poll this week, At what point do you decide to DNF a book of it’s not working for you?—the results are about what I’d predict. What about you?

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

Productivity came in fits and starts for me this week–and a couple of ambitious posts didn’t make their way out of the beginnings of a draft. I’m thinking of locking myself in my office for a few hours today to finish them. Some good reading this week, though, which makes up for it (and is partially to blame for unfinished posts). As is typical for the last week of the month, I didn’t find a lot of fodder for this list. But hopefully, you find something worth your while.

Thanks for dropping by!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Why is California such a great place to write murder mysteries?: Five writers confess why the state’s an ideal backdrop for making a killing
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link to a news story about a potential new Dragonlance book. Margaret Weis make it official—I’ve got to work in a re-read. Sure, I think I remember enough to dip back in, but I have children older than I was the last time I read the series. (H/T: W&SBOOKCLUB, my source for all things Dragonlance)
Alex Verus – The Future (After Book 12)—Benedict Jacka gives a peek at some of what’s next after the Verus series ends.
Unlucky Breaks: Famous Writers Who Suffered Slings, Arrows, And Misfortune
Why You Should Read The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss—This is a well-done video. And he’s right about the series, too.
How Do You Track Your Reading?—BookerTalk breaks down her methods and the comments are full of alternatives
Why I re-read books
Which Type of Reviewer Are You?—Apparently, I contain multitudes. In one week, I can be (and have been) all of these.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen—Chen’s take on Super-Heroes deals with memory, identity and friendship. Also, super-powered people do super-powered things. I had a few things to say about it recently.
Latent Damage by Ian Robinson—A pair of London detectives are on the hunt for a vigilante (which I just noticed is a paraphrase of the tag line on the cover, oops). Ian Robinson will be familiar to readers of this blog as Ian Patrick. Under that pen name, Robinson has a tendency to blow me away with his prose and his take on policing. I’ll probably have many good things to say about this soon.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to jenniereads and Bec @ bec&books who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Not that you can tell from my output here, but I have spent far more time reading and writing this week than I usually get to lately—which translates into a lot less of social media/blog-hopping (and even when I did, most people weren’t talking about books this week, apparently something major happened in the national news). So I don’t have a lot to share today.

And yeah, the post I intended to go up on Tuesday is only 40% finished (which isn’t to say it’s going to be long, if anything it’ll be on the shorter side). But it’s a good 40%, I’ve rewritten it about 6 times. (…and I thought it’d be a quick one to write—ha!). I’m putting it aside for a few days just so I don’t drive myself crazy, and so I can actually produce something this week.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
This new indie bookstore categorizes books by emotion.—ohhh, this just sounds exhausting, both for the staff having to organize and a shopper. (sure, I’d like to browse it once or twice, just to see…)
The Mystery Is Holmes: Why We Return to Conan Doyle’s Stories Over and Over Again—I think he’s on to something here, I’m not the biggest fan in the world, but I have a hard time not dipping my toe into Holmes every now and then. A bit of this can be applied to other things we re-read, not just Holmes (or mysteries in general), too, if Holmes isn’t your thing.
‘Funny, How?’ Why Comedy is Crucial in Crime Writing
What Are Your Reading Modi Operandi?—a fun post from Bookidote’s Lashaan, and some great comments. I haven’t chimed in because my M.O. seems to change by the month/week lately.
All the Positives with Negative Reviews—yup. The Orangutan Librarian’s latest take on the perennial post hits several nails on the head.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston—I’ve enthused over this (suitable for adults) MG Fantasy about a girl from Atlanta entering a Hogwarts-ish institution for a secret magical organization a couple of times already (my original post and in one of my Best-Of 2020s), and now it’s available for everyone to fall under its spell.
The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick—I’ve devoted hours to this book this week (with about one to go, before I have to spend a couple writing about it tonight) and I don’t know how to sum this up. It’s a fantasy about a con artist, and many, many, many other things. And unless the authors stumble in the last 11 percent, it’s a great read. Check out the authors talking about it on The Big Idea.

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

Huh. I thought I had stuff to talk about today, but now that I’ve got to this part of the post, I’m coming up empty. So, I’ll simply say thank you for stopping by, hope you’re doing well and are reading a good book or five. Enjoy these links!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Lapsed bookworm? How you can get back into the habit of reading
The Perils of Downsizing: Be careful you don’t discard something you can’t live without — like books—I really liked this.
Please Stop Comparing Things to “1984”—Yes, please. Although the “Left” needs to stop just as much as the “Right.”
The ‘Great Gatsby’ Glut—NYTimes, so you may have to get creative to work around the registration. Now that Gatsby is in the public domain, we’re going to see a lot of writers and publishers taking advantage of it. Seeing it already, but after reading this, I know it’s going to get worse.
Every Mystery Writer Knows, You Can Kill Anyone
But The Dog: Sulari Gentill on crime fiction’s most unbreakable rule—I’ve heard writer after writer talk about this–from all parts of the world, from all types of Crime Fiction. They all recoil from the idea (not necessarily because they think it’d be out of place, but because the way readers react). Gentill gives a pretty good explanation for the roots of the “rule.”
And as soon as that started making the rounds on social media this week, Jo Perry reminded readers of her post from last year: Kill the Dog—her series would be nothing without having killed the dog.
The Thrill of Researching Your Crime Novel
D&D: New Dragonlance Novel Coming In July!—I haven’t read/reread a Dragonlance novel this century, but the first two trilogies (and a handful of the early standalones) were so monumental for Middle School/High School me that this news excites me.
Not Famous… Two Years Later—Two years ago yesterday, Matthew Hanover’s first novel was released. He reflects on those years a little here.
The End—Benedict Jacka has turned in the final revisions to his last Alex Verus book. That’s got to be a strange feeling for an author.
Speaking of endings, Michael Connelly says goodbye to Amazon’s ‘Bosch,’ hello to Netflix’s ‘Lincoln Lawyer’”—Netflix is a better fit than CBS, the original destination for The Lincoln Lawyer. HitFix’s Brian Grubb points out a fascinating possibility because of this. (you’ll have to scroll a bit to get to it).
What is Magical Realism?—a quick primer from Ramona Mead.
Desert Island Children’s Books—a great idea for a personal challenge–and how have I not thought about The Borrowers in decades? Why didn’t I introduce my kids to them?
Why exactly do we read book reviews?—pretty much sums it up
Want a Review? Here’s Five Things to Avoid—I should probably put this link on the top of my request page.
5 Tips On How To Write A Good Book Blogger Review Request For Your Book—I also saw this one this week. There’s a lot of wisdom here. I know that I’ve read books that I might not have primarily because of the way the author wrote the request.
On the theme of reviews, the Tweet of the Week goes to: Well Read Beard—I’d buy the single now.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Robert B. Parker’s Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins—I have less than 100 pages to go in this one and am loving it! Mattie Sullivan returns to the series, bringing a deadly case of child exploitation with her.
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire—The next Wayward Children novella has to do with a world filled of centaurs and unicorns, and who really cares what else is involved in the premise. It’s going to be good. Poor time management is going to keep me from this for at least a week, and I’m pretty annoyed with myself over it.
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas—I didn’t walk away from The Hate U Give saying, “I have a burning desire to learn more about Maverick Carter’s backstory.” But now that it’s here…I have to admit, my curiosity is piqued.

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

I started the week pretty strong on the reading and production front…and then Wednesday happened. I was glued to the news–I tried (inspired by a fellow book blogger) to pull myself away for a bit, and only managed for about 25 minutes. And even when I tried to force myself to write something, I kept asking “who’s going to want to read something as inconsequential as my stuff this week?” I tried to get something posted by Friday, but I was so physically (and mentally) exhausted after all the news-binging that I couldn’t finish a thought, much less read for more than a page or two at a time. I expect I’m not alone. This probably explains the scanty nature of this week’s post.

Let’s see if I do better next week, eh?

Meanwhile, I hope you and yours are safe and well.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Want to read more books in 2021? Here’s how to stick to your goal—I think I’ve only seen one piece like this in 2021, which is a little odd. I like the advice in this one.
Comics are a ‘gateway drug to novels and storytelling’—Rankin on early reading and writing.
Perry Mason and the Case of the Wildly Successful, Perpetually Restless Author—When I was in High School (and before, I think), I was a Perry Mason junkie. Haven’t really read him since then, for some reason. I’ve seen a couple of bloggers talk about him lately, and when you add this in, I’m jonesing for some more.
Literature-Map: The Tourist Map of Literature—a neat idea. I’m not sure how best to describe it. Just click on it and try.
Picking the 2021 Goodreads Challenge Colour—A fun little video
New year, new review system.—Very impressive, just makes me feel like I should rebrand as the Indolent Reader.
This quip from Nicholas Kaufmann—the best (non-political) tweet I’ve read all year.

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Speaking of Mysteries Episode 208: Lee Goldberg—While any interview with Goldberg is worth a listen, I thought his discussion of writing about COVID (or not writing about it) was particularly interesting.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg—Eve Ronin’s second adventure is as good as the first—the recent wildfire leads to the discovery of some human remains, which leads Eve to open a cold case and get her in all sorts of career trouble. I had some nice things to say about it recently.

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

It’s January 2nd, which means I’m inducing anxiety with my 2020 Best-Ofs list (too many good things…). Hope you’re all enjoying the last little drips of this holiday season as we all gear up for a return to Regular Life (COVID Edition) on Monday.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Thursday came with grim news about the death of Anton Strout, author and podcaster. He was on my short-list of authors I really wanted to meet in RL. I’ve read almost everything he wrote (everything I could get my hands on, for sure), and interacted a little with him online. I’m pretty sure his podcast was the first one I listened to, too, now that I think of it. Anyway, he seemed like a great guy—supportive of other authors (both in his day job and personal life) and was always super-friendly to this fan (and all others I saw him interact with). More importantly, he was a devoted family man and leaves a wife and seven-year-old twins, a GoFundMe has been set up to help them out, if you’re in the position to chip in.
On a similar note, Literary Hub has compiled Notable Literary Deaths in 2020: An Incomplete List of the Writers, Editors, and Great Literary Minds We Lost This Year
Book sales are up, but is that helping independent sellers?
2021 Ultimate Book Blogger / Reader Spreadsheet Template—Last year, I abandoned the home-brewed Spreadsheet I’ve been honing since 2010 or so in favor of Kal’s far superior one. This one looks a smidgen better. I highly recommend it.
Favorite Things About Book Formats—Cozy with Books breaks down the best of each format.
2021 Reading Challenge for backlogged books—If I hadn’t forced myself into abstaining from almost every challenge this year, I’d be diving into this Challenge from Entertainingly Nerdy. Looks like a great way to force yourself out of a rut or three.
What Makes a Good Coming-of-Age Story—for some reason, it’d been a while since I dropped by The Bookwyrm’s Den, missing out on posts like this one. Who doesn’t love a coming-of-age story?
#R3COMM3ND3D2020—For weeks, I have left reminders for myself to link to this series from the great Emma at damppebbles, and ignored them all. It’s a place for “authors, book bloggers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, only three) books they love” published in 2020. There are some great reads here—and the books they link to aren’t shabby, either.
Favorite The Write Reads Tour Books of 2020—I’ve done a few tours with The Write Reads last year (and have one scheduled for this new one), and while I didn’t participate in this poll, I’d have been pulling for 3 out of the 4 listed here. Also want to echo the compliments about The Write Reads in the post.
2020 Recap – A Year in Blogging—I really liked Way Too Fantasy’s approach to the Year-End Wrap-Up post.
Ditto for Bookstooge Reviews 2020
This post would be freakishly long if I didn’t exercise some restraint here, but how’s about some Best-Of 2020 Posts?
My Favorite Reads of 2020—we’ll kick things off with this one from Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub
The damppebbles Top Ten (sort of!) of 2020—(also a nice Wrap Up, but not even Emma gets listed twice for the same post)
My Top Ten Novels of 2020—Char’s too horror-centric for me to really get into their recs, but when our reads overlap, we’re usually on the same page. So if you’re looking for a horror read, here’s some doozies.
Raven’s Yearly Round Up 2020 and Top 10 Books—anyone else worried about their bank balance after these lists? I think Raven could push me over the limit.
Top 20 for 2020!—The Orangutan Librarian won’t be limited by an arbitrary 10!
Top Twelve Books of 2020—neither will A Little Book Problem
My 2020 Notable Book List—from the Fantasy Book Nerd
Favorite Reads of 2020 by Month (Ft. More Than 12 Books Because Choosing is Hard)—Bookwyrm’s Den tries an approach that would drive me to all sorts of anxiety in a particularly good month.
Best Books of 2020—Books, Bones & Buffy does in one post what it’ll take me four or so to accomplish

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Black Canary: Breaking Silence by Alexandra Monir—the latest in the DC Icons finally moves away from the Big 3 (Catwoman’s still Batman-adjacent, so she doesn’t count), and I’m eager to see how they deal with Dinah Lance.

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

Hope you all are doing okay as we approach the last few days of this unusual year, and that your planning for 2021 and look-backs at 2020 are going well.

So little to say this week, and not much to link to. But I enjoyed these, and hope you do, too.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
This Christmas, read a story aloud – you’ll be surprised by the joy it brings—Thinking back on when I used to do this regularly with my kids, this is a decent idea for other times of the year, too.
I appreciated this thread from Ethan M. Aldridge on how libraries benefit authors
Who wore it better? US book covers vs. their UK counterparts.—a fun look at the differences in covers from Lit Hub
The Worst Literary Adaptations of the Century (So Far)—I’ve only seen half of this list, can’t argue with them.
<a href=”https://www.tor.com/2020/12/17/the-only-right-and-proper-way-to-read-the-chronicles-of-narnia/ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>The Only Right and Proper Way To Read The Chronicles of Narnia—Am pretty sure I’ve posted this before, but it bears repeating.
I’ve seen some really good creative approaches to the Year’s Best theme this year, like:
Top Five Backlist Reads of 2020—from Realms of My Mind
Steven Writes posted both Top Five Memorable Endings I Read In 2020 and Top Five Most Dramatic Twists I Read In 2020—excellent ideas, both
TBR Tackle Challenge Announcement—yeah, I know last week I said something about cutting back on challenges. This one could be helpful, though. I’m considering it, you might benefit from it, too.

The unboxening has wrapped up, now I just have to organize all the books. This is going to be rough. I picked up a nice little corner shelf to help alleviate some of the overcrowding I know is impending. Well, it has enough room for the As (I alphabetize by author), with a little left over. Although, if Ace Atkins and Ben Aaronovitch keep up their pace, that won’t be true by Spring 2022* at the latest. I think I’m in trouble.

* It just feels wrong to be thinking about Spring 2022 as just around the corner.

But anyway, on with the miscellany:
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Publishing saw upheaval in 2020, but ‘books are resilient’—AP’s summary of the year in publishing. Best line: “‘A lot of what has happened this year — if it were a novel, I would say that it had a little too much plot,’ said Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp.”
How to Plan for Your 2021 Reading Challenge—whatever that challenge may be.
Walter Mosley on Devil in a Blue Dress, Thirty Years Later—I didn’t like this as much as I expected to years ago, I think I need to give it another shot.
Roddy Doyle on writing The Commitments: ‘Whenever I needed a name, I used the phonebook’—A little look back at the creation of one of my all-time favorit desert island novels.
Reacher, Prospero, and Child: The links connecting two writers—William Shakespeare and Lee Child—run deeper than you might think.—Child biographer, Heather Martin, dives deep with this one.
Audible Alternative Libro.fm: Audiobooks from Indie Bookstores—A great post about Libro.fm and why you should give it a shot.
Why I’m (mostly) Giving Up Reading Challenges For 2021—Yeah, me, too.
That said, I think this is going to be one of the exceptions: The 2021 SFF Badge Collection—How do you not want to collect those badges?
Books I want to read but don’t want to read—a great tag post from The Orangutan Librarian
The LibraryThing Tag—as is this one from the Bookstooge

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Vigilante Game by Meghan Scott Molin—really curious to see how Molin wraps up the Golden Arrow Mystery trilogy.
The Fey and the Furious by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, Lee Sullivan, Mariano Laclaustra—the eighth collection of the Rivers of London comics delivers a lot of fun.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome toAnjana, Dr. Ndubuisi E. Ojo, and Miss Katherine White who followed the blog this week (a formal sounding group this week, eh?). Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

I’m still not quite at the production level I want to be at around here, but I’m getting there (especially on those nights when I sit in an uncomfortable chair…there’s a lesson or two for me to take away from that). As we stumble through the last month of 2020, that’s good enough for me. Hope you all are having a decent month and are reading plenty of good things.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Saving Bookstores: How Independent Shops Cope Against COVID And E-Commerce Giants—Yeah, I’ve been posting a lot about this in 2020, why? See below.
Powell’s permanently closes its Home & Garden store on Hawthorne
Little Free Libraries Are A Good Idea That’s Taken On New Meaning Now
The Bigger the Publishers, the Blander the Books—”The Penguin Random House–Simon & Schuster deal threatens the values that the book business champion”
Bad sex award cancelled as public exposed to ‘too many bad things in 2020’—Oh, come on now. Haven’t we suffered enough in 2020? Reading the candidates is one of the most painful/hilarious things I do each year.
How to Read More Books in 2021 [and other topics], With The Root’s Danielle Belton and Maiysha Kai
It Isn’t Genre That Matters—It’s Story.: Characters, writing, and tension make or break a book. You can step over the genre fence and still appeal to your readers.—Yes, yes, and yes.
Quotes About Books That Truly Speak to Bibliophiles
As I delay thinking about my Top Lists for the year, it’s time for me to share other people’s lists, like My top 10 reads of the year—from M. W. Craven (who will almost certainly end up on mine), there are some great looking ones here.
The Reasons One Should Still Review Backlist Books—I didn’t realize this was a question, but yeah, these are (at least some) of the reasons why people should

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Crime Fiction Friday with Emily Webb’s From probation officer to crime author: Noelle Holten

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