Tag: Saturday Miscellany Page 52 of 61

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:

• Lighting It Up with Fahrenheit Press — I haven’t read as many of Fahrenheit Press’ books as I want to, but I really dig their approach to marketing, publishing, and their zeal for their books. Even more than that, I like the books of theirs that I’ve read. Good piece about them.
• Julian Fellowes’s BELGRAVIA: Why the Serialized Novel is More Relevant Than Ever
• Judy Blume, Bookseller — because she needs another career, I guess. Shame the writing thing didn’t work out for her 😉
• Delilah Dawson shares some important tips: How to have the most impact helping authors
• Johann Hari: ‘The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety – it’s connection’ — The Guardian talks to an author of a book we talked about last year — that I can’t stop thinking about — about the book, his writing of it, and what’s happened to him since.
• Blowing my Own Trumpet — Friend of IR, S. C. Flynn, announces his upcoming book. You’ll be seeing more about this.
• Top 10 fictional towns in children’s books
• The most famous book set in every state — A different (but with similar results) approach than the one we’re using for the <a href="http://125pages.com/united-state-of-books/ " target="_blank" United States of Books project .
• Ten Celebrity Books We Do NOT Need in Our Lives — the worst is, I could see some of these being printed
• 9 Websites For Readers Who Think About Books All Day, Every Day — I’m sure we would’ve made the list if there’s been 10. . .

This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon, odd that there’s only one, but it’s bound to be a good one:
• Strike by Delilah S. Dawson — Sequel to Hit, which is enough to get me stoked. But when she tweets about it, saying that it includes “A villain based on Boyd Crowder” – I’s amazing that I haven’t read it three times already this week.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Stormy Vixen 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:

• Beverly Cleary’s Birthday Party of the Century — yeah, already talked about the event in this space, but this is big enough to warrant another article (at least one) — this is about her publisher gearing up to celebrate it. Kate DiCamillo writing a The Mouse and the Motorcycle introduction? Sounds perfect.
• J.K. Rowling’s chair sells for $394K — You have got to be kidding me. . .
• The Case for Very Short Novels — I’d never heard of Cynan Jones, but I like what he has to say here.
• This week, Harry Connolly wrapped up his Kickstarter campaign with the update, The Greatest (Final-est) Update of All!, which included word of a new Twenty Palaces novella. Oh yeah! (read that in the Kool-Aid Man’s voice)
• Friend of the blog, S.C. Flynn, was featured in this week’s Mind Meld from SF Signal: Books We Want to Re-Read Like it Was the First Time — which would be worth reading even without Flynn’s contribution, but it’s better with it.
• Songs by Metallica Inspired by Literature — I pretty much included this one for my son’s sake, but I did enjoy it.
• 7 Different Kinds of Readers: A Parks and Rec Edition — I like to think I’m a Leslie Knope (or, better a Joan Callamezzo), but I’m probably just a Ben Wyatt.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Burned by Benedict Jacka — Alex Verus #7 finds Alex sentenced to death? Something tells me he finds away to stop that, but it won’t be easy . . .
• Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire — the buzz around this one is practically deafening, it’s sitting just a few inches way and I really want to open it up. Actually, so is Burned. The temptation is strong here.
• Waylaid by Kim Harrison — I blogged about this yesterday, you might want to check it out.
• There Will Always Be a Max by Michael R. Underwood — a new Genrenauts story set in the Post-Apocalyptic region of of Action world.
• Shadow Rites by Faith Hunter — Jane Yellowrock #10

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Got My Book for following the blog this week.

Huh, this week was busier than I thought it was, I only found two odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading . You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Harper Lee letters – in which author complains about the invasion of her privacy – to be put up for auction — because irony?
• Children’s author Beverly Cleary on turning 100 — wow. 100? Couldn’t happen to a nicer writer. Who hasn’t been charmed by at least one Cleary novel?

Hey, wow, it’s the end of the month — only one New Release of Note (to me, anyway). But it’s a doozy:
• Javelin Rain by Myke Cole — the sequel to Gemini Cell, and precursor to the Shadow Ops series. Military, SF-ish/Fantasy-ish, and intense. Can’t wait to get my hands on it! Oh, and — here’s The Big Idea about it.

Traveled a lot this week — something odd for me. Much reading was accomplished — almost no writing (many notes taken however), but also limited internet time. So…not a lot to talk about here. Sorry!

I did find 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:

• The Author of The Martian Wrote Ready Player One Fan Fiction, and Now It’s Canon — This I gotta read
• Elijah Wood To Star In ‘Dirk Gently’ BBC America Series From Max Landis — I liked (didn’t love) the last try at a Dirk Gently TV show, this one looks a little more promising.
• Peri Reed Chronicles book two cover release — Sooo looking forward to this one.
• The Best Book Nerd Tweets of the Week — from B&N Reads
• 17 Tumblr Posts All Book Lovers Will Feel In Their Soul

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye — a satirical, violent take on Jane Eyre. Why not?
• Got Luck by Michael Darling — one more time, I’m telling you that this is good. Go get it.
• Transgalactic by James Gunn — just go read the summary, not even going to try.

Getting a little more adjusted to the new schedule (but not so much that I’ve been able to watch a single episode of Bosch Season 2), I’ve got 3 posts ready for next week — and 2 more about there. We’re getting close to restoring normalcy here.

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

• The latest news on ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ shows how big corporations control copyright law — this gives me a headache . . .
• Winslow to Co-Author First Novel from Michael Mann Books — Huh. That seems like a pretty good match. Also a good reminder that I was going to read a lot more Winslow this year than I have so far.
• Against the “Serious Reader” — As an Irresponsible Reader, I have to agree with this BookRiot post. “I would like to set fire to the term “serious reader” and throw its ashes into the sea. That is my thesis here. Into. The. Sea.”
• Harry Potter’s female readers now driving the boom in ‘grip lit’ — I’d never heard of “Grip Lit” until this article — not sure I’m crazy about it, but whatever. Glad to see that the Potter boom is still having an impact.
• Lloyd Alexander’s Utterly Brilliant Prydain Books Are Getting a Second Chance as Movies — I’m somewhere between excited and apprehensive by this idea. Can we keep Peter Jackson and everyone associated with the Narnia films far away from these?
• The news got this updated (and got me to see it): The Chronicles of Prydain, which just got bought by Disney, is the greatest fantasy series ever written. I’d add an “Amen” to almost every word.
• The Fascinating Origin Stories of 7 Famous Novels — a couple of these I knew…a couple I didn’t.
• Genrenauts update — Michael R. Underwood gives some vital updates on one of my favorite new series — including word of an upcoming Kickstarter campaign. Time for me to save my pennies.
• O&F Podcast, Ep. 115: Michael Underwood — IR fave Michael R. Underwood on IR fave The Once and Future Podcast. Hard to ask for more.
• 9 Things about Mercy Thompson
• Elementary US Broadcast Approaching! — Paul Cornell — novelist, comic book writer, TV writer, podcaster — another IR fave — wrote the next episode of Elementary. Should be interesting.
• A History of the Tea-Creating Machine in Fact and Fiction — The B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog has this vital story (wish I’d thought of it)

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• The Watcher in the Wall by Owen Laukkanen — Stevens. Windermere. Nuff said.
• An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel — “A darkly comic urban fantasy of ancient horrors in suburban cities.” works for me.Read a few promising reviews, too.
• Snakewood by Adrian Selby — a fantasy novel I’ll fall head-over-heels for or hate. Pretty sure it’s not a “find a middle ground” kind of book.

Lastly, I’d like to say thanks for the audiobook suggestions (via email, Facebook, here, or BookLIkes), I’m enjoying the suggestions — keep ’em coming!

I didn’t think this new job would have quite as big of an impact on the blog as it has. Next week should be better.

Still, I was able to track down 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:

• Yes, You Can Still Teach Kids To Love Books — this is encouraging.
• New Navigation Bar on Goodreads — I’m sure you’ve all seen this — which of you isn’t on Goodreads? (serious question, if any of you aren’t — leave a comment, tell me why)
• How Following Authors on Twitter Enhances My Reading.
• Spencer Quinn interview – Woof — a quick interview with the author of Woof and the Chet and Bernie books.
• The 23 Things We Think Upon Entering a Bookstore — B&N Reads put this out, but I think it applies to non-B&N stores, too.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs — no clue what it’s about, honestly. Who cares? New Mercy Thompson, ’nuff said.
• Stop the Presses! by Robert Goldsborough — The only reason I haven’t read the last one yet is because the library didn’t get a copy, hopefully they get this one, so I can read it and hate myself.
• The Stone Bearer by Jacque Stevens — a great looking fantasy — on sale for the next few days!

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to the Defined Introvert (overdue, actually) and mpatraiko 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:

• Ebook pricing Storify and the Cult of the Debut — Michael Underwood gives some thoughtful perspective on a couple of stories I’ve mentioned lately and some related topics. Interesting food for thought for those interested in the business end of publishing.
• B&N to Close Nook UK Store on 15 March — Not great news for Nook fans — Harry Connolly has a bit of sage advice for the affected users.
• Why Barnes & Noble Isn’t Going Away Yet — The NY Times has some reassuring words on B&N.
• Kids’ Books Have Gotten Longer Thanks to the ‘Harry Potter Effect’ — ” recent survey of books aimed at kids in grades three through eight found that the average page length has increased by 115 percent in the last 10 years.”
• How Not to Worry About Teenagers Reading
• Let This Hidden Manifesto Inspire You to Read More — It’s an older piece, but I saw it this week and wanted to share.
• The Power of Pleasure Reading
• 20 Magical Fairy Tale Retellings for Adult Readers
• Interview with Pierce Brown — from Sci-Fi Bulletin, a great interview.
• Kim Harrison’s newsletter had some great tidbits, most (all?) of which are here, including a cover for the mass market of The Drafter (which I think is probably a better fit for the material), and news about a novella that will bring Peri Reed into contact with Rachel Morgan??
• Michael Connelly and Season Two of “Bosch” — Nice little interview. Been rewatching Season One just to prime my pump. Can’t wait.
• Chapter 1 of the new Alex Verus, Burned, is up. Honestly, I’m not one for reading samples like that — just drives me crazy not being able to turn the page. But glad to see that the release date is nigh.
• 16 Hilarious Signs That Prove Libraries Are the Greatest — these really made me chortle.
• 16 Reasons To Be Proud Of Being A Book Hoarder — same for these

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• The Passenger by Lisa Lutz — I’m hearing good things about this, and the description sold me even without hearing anything. I just messed up and got my dates wrong, so I didn’t have this ordered. Hoping to get my hands on this soon.
• Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire
• Borderline by Mishell Baker — A little bit of Genrenauts, a little bit of Fringe, a little…I don’t know what. Just go read the description I linked. If nothing else, the Seanan McGuire blurb at the bottom of this page should be enough to convince you if you’re on the fence.
• East Of The City by Grant Sutherland — I’ve been wanting to get to the previous novel for a couple of months, if Fahrenheit Press would just slow down a minute so I can catch up, that’d really help.
• Who Wants To Be The Prince Of Darkness? by Michael Boatman — a reality show to find Lucifer’s replacement? Should be good for a laugh or three.
• The Courier by Gerald Brandt — a little SF, a little thriller . . . looks like a lot of fun.
• Arkwright by Allen Steele — this looks like the most realistic SF novel since . . . Clarke or Crichton, maybe?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Fernando Ortiz, Jr. and ebookbump for following the blog this week.

If you haven’t had time to weigh-in on Wednesday’s post about books that left you a wreck , take a second and do so, would you? I’m enjoying what you all have come up with.

I was on the road last week when I got the news about Harper Lee’s death, so I couldn’t add anything to the scheduled post for Saturday. But it’s no secret that I loved her stuff, and the news saddened me. Sure, we all knew that we weren’t going to get anything new from her, and that she was in declining health. But, to hear that she’s gone, just seems wrong. I tried to come up with something on my own, but my words were inadequate. Here’s a small sample of the tributes that were worth reading and resonated most with me:

• Bye, Boo: My Love to Harper Lee.
• Harper Lee was my David Bowie: How ‘Mockingbird’ changed one writer’s life.
• Courage and Mourning the Loss of Harper Lee.

Now for 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:

• Douglas Adams’ mother did this week
• Check out the Kickstarter for Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling Anthology — some of my faves are in here — and, overall, the tropes in question should prove pretty interesting to see inverted.
• 7 Great Stories About Stories — Michael Underwood, promoting the new Genrenauts novella, has a great list.
• New Novel Announcement: Bannerless — Finally, we start learning what Carrie Vaughn will do post-Kitty Norville
• How Books Influence Authors — Some clever things to think about here.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• The Absconded Ambassador by Michael R. Underwood — the 2^nd Genrenauts novel. I dug it and I think you will, too.
• Out of the Blues by Trudy Nan Boyce — An Atlanta Police Dept. vet turns mystery author. This will bleed authenticity. Looks like a good novel, too.
• The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan — this detective novel looks as thoughtful and moving as one of one of his movies.
• The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury — an intriguing looking YA-take on Aladdin.
• Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky — The title’s enough, right? When being a Super-fan goes awry.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Bibliophage and greenlanddiary 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 Had First Gain in Eight Years in 2015 — Yahoo!
• 5 Reasons to Start a Family Book Club (and 10 Recommendations to Get You Started) — Should’ve thought of this already.
• Why Reading Comics Makes You Smarter — I used to love stuff like this when I was a young comic book geek — even if my father was never as impressed as he should’ve been. Still, thanks to Geek & Sundry for giving kids today more ammo.
• How Honest Should You Be When You Review Self-published Books? — BookRiot-er A.J. O’Connell asks a question I’ve been pondering the last couple of weeks as I’m reading a lot more self/indie-published books this year. Some very helpful comments.
• Announcing THE DAYS OF TAO by Wesley Chu — Subterranean Press is putting out a new Tao story, looking forward to that.
• Kevin Hearns has some sage words for writers (that readers might enjoy)
• 15 Books with More Characters than You Can Keep Track Of — a great infographic
• 7 Signals That It’s Time To Give Up On A Book — huh. Bustle having decent advice instead of a goofy list. Had to happen, eh?

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Switcheroo by Aaron J. Elkins — A trip to Britain’s Channel Islands with Dr. Oliver? Don’t mind if I do.
• Calamity by Brandon Sanderson — the final book in the Reckoners series. This should be great.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to JAH and raulconde001 for following the blog this week. Thanks to Brenton Dickieson for the interaction.

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:

• William Gibson: how I wrote Neuromancer
• The Truth: A Three-Star Review Is Not a Bad Review — I think I missed this when it was first published last year, and I know I did when they re-posted it in January. But for some reason, I saw it twice on my social media feeds this week — which is both good and bad, I was in the middle of writing my own version of this at the time and I stopped because this got into my head and mine would’ve subconsciously ripped bits off (or sounded like I had, even if I’d written them before I read it). But hey, I got to write/read other things, so yay!
• Terry Pratchett’s name lives on in ‘the clacks’ with hidden web code — As much as I wanted to be, was never a Pratchett guy, but this is cool.
• Placing Literature Maps Out Real Places You’ve Read About in Books — Warning: you could lose many hours here
• Crime Novelist ACE ATKINS Comes To Comic Books with NICK TRAVERS: LAST FAIR DEAL GONE DOWN — I read the first Travers book, and it was nice, but I wasn’t compelled to grab the next one, still, glad to see Atkins leaving his mark on the world — this looks like the kind of comic Travers belongs in.
• 10 Bookish Feelings We Need English Words For ASAP — Sharanya Sharma nails this one.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Morning Star by Pierce Brown — the trilogy comes to a conclusion — and something tells me there’s a lot of death, destruction, and twists along the way. I’m hearing very good things about this.
• Dead Is Better by Jo Perry — A ghost solving his own murder with a ghost dog by his side — okay, my paraphrase doesn’t sound nearly as good the description on Fahrenheit Press’ site, click the link and it’ll convince you.
• Atlanta Burns: The Hunt by Chuck Wendig — Atlanta Burns’ senior year looks like it’ll be tough and violent and twisted — basically, like the rest of her life.
• As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley — A new Flavia de Luce novel means I’m even further behind.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Fictionophile and Aidan Reid for following the blog this week. Thanks to S. C. Flynn and Jayme the Scribbler for the interaction (and the reblog!).