Tag: Saturday Miscellany Page 31 of 54

Sure, local/state governments had problems, small businesses were hurt, 911 centers weren’t able to operate, but the real victim of the CenturyLink outage was my blogging plans for the week. Well, okay, maybe not. But it sure seemed terribly inconvenient at the time. While it was a slow posting week, I did get a lot of reading done — I should wrap up work on my last reading challenge for 2018 today (knocked off another one yesterday), and nailed down a lot of plans for the next few weeks (I somehow have found myself committed to 8 books in January. Which isn’t that many, really, but it seems daunting). Hope your [insert preferred holiday name] week was good in whatever way you spent it.

Here’s the smattering of odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Instagram is helping save the indie bookstore
• Best Reads of 2018: Speculative Fiction — the third (and final, I think) installment of Paul’s Picks Best of 2018 — added one from this to my TBR pile (maybe will come back for more).
• Favorite Crime Fiction of 2018 — The Rap Sheet’s produced (and tracked) a few lists — I think I’ve link one of these, but I’m not sure. Here’s a link to them all for your browsing pleasure.
• 14 Books for Grammar Nerds — I started one of these (and wish I hadn’t run out of time to finish) and have another on my shelves. Those numbers should rise by the end of 2019.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to february87 and Ontheminds for following the blog this week.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Bookstore Sales Increased 7.2% in October — doesn’t sound like much, but up is up, right?
• Guess what’s anchoring many small downtowns?: Even in the age of online shopping, the answer is: bookstores
• The ‘Future Book’ Is Here, but It’s Not What We Expected — this Wired piece is worth the read
• How Indie Presses Are Elevating the Publishing World: Three independent publishers discuss their mission — 7.13 Books is featured in this nice offering from Electric Lit (nothing against the other groups featured, I just don’t know them)
• Some Thoughts on my Forthcoming Novel ‘Not Famous’ — I’m a little annoyed because I’m about half done with my post about this book and Hanover covers everything I talked about here. Now I’m going to sound like I’m taking talking points from him 🙂
• Thinking of Rex Stout & Nero Wolfe — you know me, I never pass up a chance to proselytize about Stout and Wolfe.
• Crime Fiction Superlatives: The Best and Most of 2018: Yearbook Superlatives For the Crime and Mystery World — I should’ve done something like this, but I’m not that clever.
• A few more Best Ofs:
  • Best Nonfiction of 2018 — according to Paul’s Picks
  • 19 authors pick the best crime novels of 2018 — from Dead Good
  • The Best Crime and Mystery Debuts of 2018: 15 New Voices To Watch — from Crime Reads, I’ve read one of these and wanted to get to a few others
  • Crime Reads also named The Best Noir Fiction of 2018: Celebrating the Year in PIs, Procedurals, Noir and Hard-Boiled
  • The Fantasy Inn’s Best of 2018 — I agree with a lot of these, and added a couple of other things to my TBR
• Because we can’t just look back:
  • 2019 Preview: 25 Thrillers to Watch for Next Year — I’m carving out time on my calendar already for some of these
  • Most Anticipated 2019 books! — from Grimdark Dad. Some great looking things here.
• Tom Gauld on the author’s ultimate goal is the cartoon we wrap things up with.

Book-ish Related Podcast Episodes you might want to give a listen to, both from Hank Garner’s Author Stories:
• Episode 527 | Craig Johnson Returns To Talk Depth Of Winter And Writing A Long Running SeriesI meant to post this last week, but, better late than never. Good chat in general — but the bits we got about the 2019 novel absolutely make it worth it.
• Episode 531 with Luke Daniels, Rhett Bruno, and Jaime Castle
  I like Bruno, Castle seems like someone I can appreciate — but Luke bleepin’ Daniels? Loved listening to him.

This Week’s only had One New Release that Caught my eye:
• The Disasters by M. K. England — “The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy” ’nuff said.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Russell Deasley for following the blog this week.

It’s still technically Saturday. Especially in my time zone…. Nothing wrong, just one of those days. So, here’s a few odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• World’s Highest-Paid Authors 2018: Michael Wolff Joins List Thanks To ‘Fire And Fury’ — no shockers on this list — but the numbers separating the top 3 from each other (not to mention from the rest of the list), are eyebrow raising. Also, I wasn’t aware that the two tied for 8 were still producing. Also, I love the associations for those tied for tenth and fifth.
• Billy Connolly: ‘Going to the library changed my life. It may even have saved it’ — I prefer funny Billy Connolly to elder statesman Billy Connolly (or whatever label you wanna throw on his more thoughtful stage), but this is a good read.
• 8 Things I Learned Behind the Circulation Desk — I worked in a library in high school, and can endorse all of these, 3 & 6 in particular (although I had a different reason for #6 — chaos rules that section, no matter how hard you work).
• Crime Beat: The mystery community is infested with drummers. — there are more crime writing drummers out there than you might have guessed (if you ever considered the question, that is)
• Cover Reveal of HEART OF BARKNESS — There are few books I’m anticipating more than this one in 2019. Seeing the cover doesn’t help much.
• Jeeves and the King of Clubs by Ben Schott review – bang-on Bertie Wooster reboot — I really don’t care about this, really just posting this to give Bookstooge something to comment about.
• The 20 Best Crime Novels of 2018: The Year’s Best in Crime and Mystery Fiction — from CrimeReads
• Best Reads of 2018: Fiction — The first of Paul’s Picks 2019 lists.
• The Most Scathing Reviews of 2018: “It’s physically impossible to dunk on a novel that is already dunking on itself so hard” — featuring a very different look at one book on Paul’s list.
• Why I love doing book reviews
• So, what is it about the series then? — a very nice post from the It’s an Indie Book Blog about the place of series in the hearts of readers and writers.

I actually didn’t see any new releases this week that made me sit up and take notice. I probably missed some good ones.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Jenniely, Pinklotus76 and Word Hunter for following the blog this week.

I started a new job this week, which is what I’m blaming my relative silence on — I did almost complete a few posts, to be honest (and a little self-justifying). Just nothing I’m quite ready to push “publish” on. But I have an ambitious schedule for December, so I need to get busy (and I have a little bit of November to finish with, too — oops). Here’s hoping next week is busy around here.

Anyway, here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Reasons for Blogging Slumps. — The Tattooed Book Geek’s post seemed an appropriate place to start with (although I’m not technically in a slump, I don’t think). Also, it’s a good one.
• The joy of not finishing books: if you don’t like it, don’t read it — James Colley’s piece is entertaining and wise — worth it for the last ‘graph alone.
• Why We (Still) Love Crime and Comic Book Heroes: On the Flawed Heroes and Superheroes of Modern Genre Fiction — I started this week off with a post about Meghan Scott Molin’s debut novel. Seems fitting to end it pointing to this from Crime Reads.
• Behind the Scenes: The Making of ‘Storm Cursed’ — I’m a fan of Dan Dos Santos’ work (and looking through his portfolio this week, I realized much of what I’d previously liked I had realized was his). This is a cool look into his process in designing the upcoming Mercy Thompson cover.
• It’s that time of year — best of lists. TBR pile fodder abounds. Here’s a few that I liked:
  • The Real Book Spy’s Best Thrillers of 2018
  • Guardian best books of 2018: across fiction, politics, food and more
  • Lit Hub’s Favorite Books of 2018: 59 Books That You Should Probably Read Some Time in 2019
  • Michael Connelly’s Favorite Reads of 2018 — blah
  • Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Graphic Novels of 2018 — from Powell’s Books’ Staff
• Who Is The Most Instagrammed Writer Of All Time? — huh
• ‘P Is for Pterodactyl’ alphabet book teaches kids some anomalies of the English language — this just looks like a lot of fun

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• The Frame-Up by Meghan Scott Molin — a comic writer/artist consults with the LAPD in a hunt for a real-world costumed vigilante in one of the most enjoyable debuts of the year. I talked a bit about it Monday
• Blood of Ten Kings by Edward Lazellari — The third volume of the Guardians of Aandor — an Epic Fantasy/Urban Fantasy hybrid of sorts — hit the stores this week. Listening to Lazellari describe the books on the latest Once & Future Podcast sold me on volume one.
• King of the Road by R. S. Belcher — I missed the first novel in this UF series last year, but a group of Truckers descended from the Knights Templar who defends the roads of the US from supernatural threats — and a biker gang, apparently — has got to be worth a read.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to awesomeyou (nice blog, but I can’t read that side bar — as pretty as it is), whinney, Di Salvo Cambiamento (I assume the blog is nice, but I can’t read that language), Arganise Campbell (a very busy young woman) and Shalini for following the blog this week.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• We Need to Destroy the Blurbing Industrial Complex — let’s start with something non-controversial this week, shall we?
• The Cranky Bookseller’s Guide To Holiday Shopping — handy tips
• Here are the Biggest Fiction Bestsellers of the Last 100 Years (And What Everyone Read Instead) — an interesting follow up to Emily Temple’s Books That Defined the Decades series
• Jonathan Franzen was mocked for sharing his writing tips. Me? I’m all ears — Hadley Freeman pours some cold water on the snark towards Franzen last week. Not much, and probably not entirely convincingly, but I appreciated her point
• Celebrating Indie Publishing with @IPatrick_Author @fahrenheitpress — The Quiet Knitter interviews Ian Patrick
• ROBERT B. PARKER’S BLOOD FEUD: Five Questions with Mike Lupica — The Real Book Spy has some questions for Lupica
• The best mystery novels of 2018 — Oline Cogdill, mystery reviewer extraordinaire, names her top 16 for the year.
• Top Ten of 2018 — from Liz Loves Books

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:
• Author Michael Connelly on Cops, Crime Reporting, and Classic Noir Probably the most extensive interview I’ve heard with Connelly. I think I’ve heard 98% of this before, but maybe not in as much depth. A good listen either way.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Robert B. Parker’s Blood Feud by Mike Lupica — Sunny Randall’s back (the last of Parker’s series’ protagonists), and was pretty entertaining, as I recently noted.
• The Wraith by Jeffery H. Haskell — set in his Arsenal universe, Haskell introduces a darker hero.

Naturally, after a big week last week — a small list. But I quite like the list of odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Small bookstores are booming after nearly being wiped out — In honor of Small Business Saturday which once again falls on Tight Budget Saturday for me, so I won’t be participating — but I’ll make up for it.
• I’ve already suggested that you check out damppebbles’ #R3COMM3ND3D2018, but I’m going to remind you a couple of times to do so. I’ve already got a good chunk of January planned thanks to it. I, personally, appreciated Friday the 23rd’s installment (if only so I could remember two of the books I picked)
• 40 Wag-Worthy Dog Books You’ll Want to Get Your Paws On — some of these I heartily endorse, most of them I wish I could find time for.
• Lies Sleeping and the Challenge of Crafting an Intersectional Narrator for the Rivers of London Series — how Peter Grant came to be.
• Crime Reads asks the vital question: Who Should Play Jack Reacher Now that Tom Cruise Is Out? — While I think Jason Segal is an inspired choice (and if he wanted to, I think he could pull it off — but I can’t imagine he wants to), most of the rest of this list is a bit better. Honestly, the first choice “More Realistic, Solid Candidates” is the best on the list, with the last in that category a close 2nd (with one significant problem).

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:
• Recommended: Jane Mount and Oyinkan Braithwaite I don’t listen to every episode of this podcast, honestly. Usually only if there’s a guest like/want to hear from or at least one book I want to hear someone talk about. This episode features people less-than-3’ing The Phantom Tollbooth and Jane Eyre — Braithwaite charmed me, I was very pleased when I realized she was the author of My Sister the Serial Killer, which I’d just checked out from the library.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch — the gloves are off and the Folly (and the rest of the Metropolitan Police) are giving everything they have to take down the Faceless Man. Best of the series, a href=”https://wp.me/p3z9AH-3Ah” target=”_blank”>as I said recently.
• My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite — Not only does Braithwaite had great taste in books (see above), she’s written a witty and dark tale of a Nurse who finds her self trying to protect a sister with a knack for killing her boyfriends.
• August by Jim Lusby — A dark crime story involving child abuse, the drug trade, populist politicians and more in Ireland. Bought it instantly, and trying to find a spot in my calendar for it.
• Big Damn Hero by James Lovegrove — The first Firefly novel — a job for Badger goes wrong. Whoda thunk it?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Moonlight Snow, Fashion-Creative thinking and jennifertarheelreader for following the blog this week.

If there are problems with any of the links/etc in this post, I apologize. My 27 lb. Pug/Beagle mix decided to jump onto my lap while I was finishing this post — I saved the laptop by milliseconds — and I’m typing this with my laptop laying ridiculously high on my chest (my beard is covering the touchpad and space bar). Awkward to say the least.

What a week . . . Stan Lee’s death — while we’ve been aware it was coming some day — shook me as much as it did other fans who appreciated his work (if not always his personal ethics) and his legacy. But the news of William Goldman’s death yesterday? I was stunned — which is strange, it’s not like he’d produced anything lately that grabbed me, but between his movies (The Right Stuff in particular — a fantastic adaptation) and his novels, he really affected the way Middle/High School me thought about the written word. The fact that the same mind produced The Princess Bride and Marathon Man/Brothers??? I think I was a sophomore when I read the latter two — pretty much up to that point everyone I read wrote in the same genre, focusing on the same kind of stories. But Goldman permanently changed the way I thought about the range an author could have — as well as trips to the dentist. One other note — did you see this tweet from Jonny Geller about the opening to the Butch Cassidy screenplay? If not, give it a read — that’s writing. The idea that we don’t have the man who can do that kind of writing in this world any more is tragic.

Anyway, I’ve got a good crop of odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Pretentious, impenetrable, hard work … better? Why we need difficult books — I like a lot of what Sam Leith has to say here.
• Speaking of pretentious and impenetrable, Jonathan Franzen blew up the Internet this week (which I know he cares so much about) with his 10 Rules for Novelists. Reactions ranged from Jo Perry’s” I broke one rule, then I broke another.” to Matthew Hanover’s response to one particular rule to Chuck Wendig’s multi-tweet attack (which is actually much shorter than I expected) — as Brad Parks said, it’s “the best thing on the Internet right now.” (also, check out the range of authors I cited there — I could’ve gone on, too. I didn’t see anyone defending the list).
• ‘Book Series Recaps’ Helps Readers Catch Up on Their Faves — I love the idea of this
• A schoolgirl has written a book to explain autism — Great idea — and the fact that someone thought it was helpful enough to send to every primary school in the UK suggests that it’s a pretty good book (and that this girl shouldn’t have to worry about paying for higher education).
• The One Direction Fan-Fiction Novel That Became a Literary Sensation — Wow. I’m sorta surprised that I’d never heard of Anna Todd or her books before — if for no other reason than my daughter still thinks of herself as a One Direction fan — I can’t imagine these are books for me, but what a great story for her.
• Viewpoint: Overused Phrases in Book Blogging — I think I’m innocent of almost all of these — and my infractions are rare. Still, a fun little read.
• The Time Raymond Chandler and Ian Fleming Got Together To Talk About Thrillers — need I say more? There’s some good stuff here.
• George RR Martin: ‘When I began A Game of Thrones I thought it might be a short story’ — a good interview with Martin about the new book and his struggles with the book we all are waiting for.
• An Introduction to the Rivers of London Series — just in time for the release of Lies Sleeping
• 16 Books and Movies That Make You Want to Be an Engineer — 1. It’s a good list and 2. It gives you enough of a taste of Jenn Stroud Rossmann, author of The Place You’re Supposed to Laugh
• 70+ Hilarious Book Puns To Make You Laugh and Groan — I don’t know if these are bad or good, but you should read them.
• 11 Public Libraries Invaluable to World History — this is a fascinating (and attractive) infographic and I wish I had time to go read more about every one of these places right now. Thanks to Sarah Archer, one of the creators, for dropping by and giving me the link.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Harley Quinn: Mad Love by Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan — You had me at Paul Dini. Cadigan’s an added bonus. The two of them telling Harley’s origin? Gotta grab it.
• The Place You’re Supposed to Laugh by Jenn Stroud Rossmann — a nice novel about 2002 Silicon Valley that I talked about here.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to pinnaclemotivation, wittysarcasticbookclub, AlbertHolmes, and The Sunday Feeling for following the blog in some form this week.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Why a Book Tour Is More Brutal Than a Political Campaign
• Jack Reacher Still Won’t Quit, 23 Books Later — The Atlantic talks Past Tense and all things Reacher.
• Crime, thrillers & mystery — Some guy named Lee Child guest edits penguin.co.uk’s Crime, Thrillers & Mystery selection, pointing out some of his favorites from this year.
• 8 Essential Rex Stout Mystery Books: Discover the works of one of the genre’s most influential writers. — I’d quibble over 2 of the 8, but this is a good starting point for Rex Stout books.
• 7 Sci-Fi Books For People Who Don’t Like Science Fiction, Or So They Think — maybe too Scalzi-heavy. But then again, Scalzi’s good gateway SF. Overall, a good list.
• Reading Sci-Fi as a Scientist — by Linh Anh Cat, “a scientist who loves reading so much she does it for work and fun.”
• Where the Adventure Begins… — a nice post looking at one of my all-time favorites, The Dragonlance Chronicles.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Past Tense by Lee Child — I stopped reading the blurb’s for Reacher books years ago, but I read this one for some reason — I’m already hooked, and I’m still 12 library patrons away from getting my hands on this one. Reacher tries to visit where his dad grew up and things go really bad from there.
• They Promised Me The Gun Wasn’t Loaded by James Alan Gardner — the follow-up to the comedic-ish take on super-heroes, All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault picks up shortly after the first one and looks like it’ll continue the fun.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to The Godly Chic Diaries and littleliteraturekc for following the blog this week.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• How Aladdin’s story was forged in Aleppo and Versailles
• Why you should spend more time in bookstores
• Browsing the Stacks: A Photo Appreciation of Libraries — thanks to loyal reader, Paul N., for the link.
• #R3COMM3ND3D2018 — Over at damppebbles book blog, they’ve kicked off their 2nd annual #R3COMM3ND3D posts — book bloggers suggesting 3 must-reads from this past year. Three days into these posts, I’m already seeing somethings I need to add to my TBR. Check it out.
• Why Isn’t There More Crime Fiction from The Bronx?: Angel Luis Colón on Searching for Noir from His Home Borough — I didn’t realize there was a shortage, but now that I think about it — yeah, most NYC crime books that I’ve read aren’t set there.
• The Book Cover Evolution of ‘Not Famous’ — Over on his website (with a spiffy new design), Matthew Hanover has been chronicling the process of getting his first novel ready for the world. I enjoyed reading this piece on cover design and the thinking an indie author has to put into it.
• Over at Mom Loves Best, Jenny Silverstone has assembled The Ultimate Reading Guide For Your Child — a handy collection of resources. This Infographic is a great summary.

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:
• Reed Farrell Coleman – Robert B Parker’s Colorblind — I think this Stephen Usery interview is the fourth podcast interview I’ve heard with Coleman about this book, and I still learned something new. A good listen, as usual.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon is a short list this week — but it’s a good one:
• Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly — Bosch and Ballard team up. ‘Nuff said. Well, okay, a little more — this is the best thing Connelly’s done in years, I’m hoping to post on it early next week, but there’s the super-quick version.
• Just the Clothes on My Back by Naked Blue — an album of songs about Jack Reacher, made in collaboration with Lee Child. I’ve got my (signed) CD sitting next to me. Just need some time to listen to it.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to mithilamohan0123 and Redeemed Three for following the blog this week.

Not much this week — which is typical for the end of the month, but there were a few dds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Michael Connelly’s crime fiction career honoured with Diamond Dagger — Couldn’t happen to a better guy. Two Crime Writer’s and a Microphone‘s Steve Cavanagh also picked up the Gold Dagger for The Liar — which I’m hoping to read soon, myself. Eddie Flynn and Mickey Haller would be a fun team-up, I’ve gotta say.
• What does Elon Musk’s “Name of the Wind, A tinker’s debt” deleted tweet mean? — huh
• Unexpected Investigators: 9 Mysteries That Challenge Our Expectations for Crime Fighters — Erica Wright (of the Kat Stone novels) has a diverse list of atypical investigators.
• A Century of Reading: The 10 Books That Defined the 1980s — I mentioned this series last week — but I have to draw attention to this decade’s list. Great stuff.
• These Book Covers Are So Terrible You Won’t Believe They’re Real — what were they thinking?
• How Should We Rate Books? — I’m not crazy about the 5 star system (but haven’t found a better alternative), this is an interesting approach.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog by Dave Barry — America’s Funniest Human Tries to Learn a Few New Tricks from an Old Dog. I really liked this.
• Along those lines: Be the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are by C.J. Frick, Liza Donnelly looks promising.
• The Writer’s Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands edited by Huw Lewis-Jones — see what Paul had to say about it at Paul’s Picks, this looks like a great way to spend some time.
• Broken Dreams by Nick Quantrill — Fahrenheit Press is republishing this series, and the first one looks pretty good. It’s sitting not-so-patiently on my Kindle, waiting for me.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to SindrElf for following the blog this week.