Tag: Saturday Miscellany Page 53 of 62

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:

• Amazon Unintentionally Paying Scammers To Hand You 1000 Pages Of Crap You Don’t Read — huh
• Don DeLillo’s New Novel Isn’t Even Out Yet, But the TV Show Is Already in the Works — DeLillo doesn’t seem like the kind of writer that would translate to TV, but — sure, I’ll give it a shot.
• The Perils of Choose Your Own Adventure Books — interesting, not sure that it’s convincing, but it’s interesting.
• Lyndsay Faye on Jane Eyre, Murder, and more — The author of Jane Steele on a pretty interesting episode of Beaks and Geeks. Man, I’ve got to find time for this book.
• Interview with Jo Perry — By the Letter Book Reviews has a nice little interview with Jo Perry, the author of Dead is Better and Dead is Best (which has been sitting unread on my Kindle for far, far, too long).

We’re apparently exposing my Inner Child with This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Arf by Spencer Quinn — The sequel to last year’s Woof by the author of the Chet and Bernie Mysteries. Woof was loads of fun, I bet this will be, too.
• The Worst Night Ever by Dave Barry — the sequel to last year’s The Worst Class Trip Ever should be a hoot if it’s 2/3 as good as the first.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Vijayalakshmi Harish and allysonyj 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:

• Authors Guild denied appeal to stop Google scanning books — humbug
• Tak: A Beautiful Game — Rothfuss is Kickstarting a version of Tak? I’ve gotta go diving in the couch for change.
• The Secret Life of Novelizations — gotta listen to this.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• The Drafter by Kim Harrison is in Paperback — Harrison’s best, if you haven’t read it yet.
• Dead is Best by Jo Perry — Charlie & Rose are back in this sequel
• Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Brewslaw
• Almost Infamous by Matt Carter — a superpowered teen becomes a super villain to avoid the paperwork involved in becoming a super-hero.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Bijoux Alisoa 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:

• 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.