Tag: Saturday Miscellany Page 8 of 62

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924!—While the list of some of the more prominent titles is interesting, it’s a good piece on copyright, public domain, and even some of people behind the works
Support an indie author by leaving reviews—An Evergreen Reminder
New You? Or Old Books? Here’s a resolution: Craft a personal canon
20 Years of Old Man’s War—Scalzi looks back at the publication of OMW, the book that changed his life
Robert Crais: A Crime Reader’s Guide to the Classics—You read this, and you never have to read another word about Robert Crais again. It’s just that good. (the last section is a must read)
Reading Ladies’ Carol has a few 2024 Blog Reflections to kick off 2025
She also posted: Best of the Best: 2015 to 2024—a nigh-Herculean task
Lashaan’s A Year in Review — 2024 at Roars and Echoes. I’m so tempted by just about everything mentioned in this wrap up (except for the very tiny amount of things I’ve already read/watched)
State of [Pete Long’s] Delirium 2025
Fictionophile’s SEVEN Bookish Resolutions 2025—some good, SMART, goals.
Politics in SFF: Yes or No? Book Berne-ing 18!—Berne delivers what will be come to known as the definitive take on the subject for years to come. (okay, probably not, but it should be a contender if such a thing were possible)

It’s the Time of Year for Best of Lists like these to embiggen your 2025 TBRs (or to give you fodder to think about). I’ve made purchases/planned purchases/placed library books on hold from these. One title in particular keeps showing up on these lists (including what I’ve posted the last few weeks). It’s going to be on my list, too. Which just makes me feel better about including it–I knew what I was doing. 🙂
Biblionerd Reflections’ My Favorite Backlist Reads of 2024 and My Favorite Books of 2024
The Fantasy Hive 2024 Year-End Awards—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
2024 Book RoundUp —The Voracious Reader has some great taste.
2024, A Year in Reading: Best Books of the Year—from Asking the Wrong Questions. The third sentence is one of the most relatable things I’ve read in the last few months.
Spells and Spaceships’ My Books of the Year 2024.
The Shaggy Shepherd’s Most Memorable Reads of 2024
Top 10 Books Read in 2024—from Pete Long. My TBR can’t handle this kind of pressure.
Stephen Writes continues to put out good lists (and make me feel better about all the year-end lists I have planned)
The Best Settings I Read In 2024
Top 10 Books I Read In 2024
MIke Finn’s My 12 Favourite Reads of 2024
746 Books has three lists to tempt you:
My Favourite Books of the Year: Part One – The 746!
My Favourite Books of the Year: Part Two – The Irish!
My Favourite Books of 2024: Part Three – New to Me!
reader@work’s Books of the year: 2024 edition—made me reconsider a book I’d previously decided against
My Top Ten Books for 2024!—from The Orangutan Librarian
Dillon Michael White’s Top Books of 2024 is a quick watch well worth your time

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Endsinger by Jay Kristoff—the disturbing, yet satisfying, (as I recall) conclusion to the Lotus War trilogy
Broadchurch: A Novel by Erin Kelly—I cannot get enough of Broadchurch‘s first series in any format (I will not comment on the rest).
Broken Soul by Faith Hunter
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes with Joe Layden—I should revisit this one
And I mentioned the release of Low Midnight by Carrie Vaughn.

It’s that magic time of year when I find myself being very strategic in what books I choose to pick up–not in a stats-padding way–but in a “can I reasonably expect to finish this by Tuesday night” sort of way (which turns out to look and act like stats-padding), so I can enter 2025 with a clean slate.

Oh, it’s also magic because of all the time I get to spend with family, the general bonhomie in the air, the wonder in my grandchild’s eyes, and all that other stuff, too.

One more thing before I forget–anyone have any recommendations for a decent reading tracker spreadsheet going into the year? Trying to shake things up and trying something new (and I’m not so sure my usual source is going to put one out). I’m thinking of just making my own (again), but I’m also kind of lazy.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The Charles Dickens Illustrated Gallery—A treasure trove of “over 2000 illustrations taken from the most important (and interesting) illustrated editions of Charles Dickens’s works from 1836 to 1912 (the centenary of Dickens’s birth).”
A Critic on Swearing in Fantasy—been too long since I had a good Peat Long rant here. (FWIW, I agree with it. Except the bit about “kids” I hadn’t noticed that before, but I probabaly will now)
The 2025 Fantasy/SF Badge Collection—Spells & Spaceships makes the coolest looking virtual badges.
A Huge Round Up of 2025 Year Long Reading Challenges—a near-overwhelming collection of 2025 Challenges to help plan your year.
Oh Come All Ye Fantasy—Santa Womble brings has a bag-full of fantasy recs.
Ten Recommended Superhero Novels—I keep meaning to do a list along these lines, until I do, I’ll point people at this one.
Quotables: Words that Stuck with Me in 2024—A post I look forward to every year on Witty and Sarcastic Book Blog

It’s the Time of Year for Best of Lists like these to embiggen your 2025 TBRs (or to give you fodder to think about). I’ve made purchases/placed library books on hold from these.
I’ve only read one book from CrimeReads lists (and some of the runner-ups for Best of the Year), but am very inpired to pick up a lot of these:
The Best Debut Crime Novels of 2024
The Best Speculative Crime Fiction of 2024
https://crimereads.com/the-best-crime-novels-of-2024/
Reads of the year for the HIP (Harried Intellectual Parent): 2024—(just in case there are any reading this)
A Fictional Escapists Top 5 Reads of 2024!
Worlds Unlike Our Own’s Best of 2024
Novel Deelights’ Favourite Series of 2024
A few more lists from FanFiAddict:
Tom Bookbeard’s Top Indie Sci Fi and Fantasy Reads of 2024
Matt’s Top Reads of 2024
Harry’s Top 10 Reads of 2024
@LordTBR_FFA ‘s Top 15 Reads of 2024
My Top Ten Reads of 2024—from Hooked from Page One
Books of the year: 2024 edition—from reader @ work
Coe’s Oddly Specific Book Awards
Top Five Memorable Endings I Read In 2024

No trip down memory lane this week—I posted nothing 10 years ago. A move I can appreciate (and almost replicated).

The first link I have to share has nothing to do with books or reading, but was so interesting that I’m sharing it anway:
A List of 1,065 Medieval Dog Names: Nosewise, Garlik, Havegoodday & More—I strongly encourage clicking the links within the short post and the Related Content.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled focus.
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Hartford high school graduate who claims she can’t read sues board of education
Every AI Copyright Lawsuit in the US, Visualized—For those who have lost track of them all (like me)
Snap! Criticism: De Marcken and Kramnick—literary criticism and the idea of “quality”
Interview with M. W. Craven about the Ben Koenig series
Speaking of Craven, he showed up on CrimeReads this week with An Englishman in New York—as one who frequently complains about British authors flubbing Americanisms, I appreciate this.
Nice Place to Visit, But…: Johnny D. Boggs’ Bloody Newton—I had to take a second look at this review. (the title of the book could also be what some British authors call me when I comlain about their flubbed Americanisms)
The Art of Buying Books for Other People—some very good advice (especially about keeping lists)
Bookstr put together this handy The Best Book Deals as We Say Goodbye to 2024
Let Children Read What They Want—please
Out with the Old, In With the New – End of Year Review—A Little Book Problem takes a look at 2024 and looks toward 2025
A Year Spent Rereading – Some Highlights and Lowlights—The Orangutan Librarian looks back

It’s the Time of Year for Best of Lists like these. Your TBR will grow, I should warn you.
The Ultimate Best Books of 2024 List—I really appreciate Emily Temple’s annual List of Lists
The Empty Bookshelf’s Top 10 Novels of 2024—I’ve only read one of these (his top pick), but the rest look pretty appetizing
Pages Unbound’s Krysta gave her
Favorite Books Read in 2024
Top Twelve Graphic Novels Read in 2024
FanFiAddict posted:
C. J. Daley’s Top Reads of 2024
Anna’s Favorite Reads of 2024—many of these will appeal to people who aren’t me, but I can see why horror readers would dig them.
Ryan’s Favorite Reads of 2024
I’ve Read 26 Bookish Books in 2024—not really a Best Of, but it’s a good list, so it fit here better than above.
A.J.’s Completely Random Book Awards: 2024—Were I more creative, this is the approach I’d to take. But I’m not, so I’ll just enjoy people like A.J. Calvin who are.
Along those lines, I really enjoy the way that Steven Writes breaks down his lists:
Top Five Powerful Books I Read In 2024
Top Five Most Dramatic Twists I Read In 2024
Top Five Character-Driven Books I Read In 2024
Top Five Beautiful Covers I Held In 2024

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
SFF Addicts Ep. 135: Our Favorite Reads of 2024 LIVE (with Greta Kelly, The FTF Podcast & OWWR Pod)—this was fun and TBR embiggening.
Crime Time FM Alison Gaylin In Person With Paul—I really enjoyed this chat with Gaylin and hearing her take on Sunny Randall

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Suppression of Powers by JCM Berne—Turn Six of the Hybrid Helix looks like it’ll put Rohan through the wringer (shock) as the second arc of the kicks off.

So I can be afk for a couple of days, I’m putting this together a couple of days early, so if you’re wondering why I skipped over the tremendous/scandalous/tremdendously scandalous/scandaldoulys tremendos bookish news that came out over the previous 48 hours…well, I’ll cover it next week (assuming we all remember).

But for now, let’s move on to:
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Call to acknowledge all writers behind celebrity books—The UK’s trade union for writers, illustrators and translators calls “for celebrities, publishers and agents to acknowledge the writers behind celebrity books, particularly for children.”
Brandon Sanderson’s Materialist Fantasies—I don’t know enough about Sanderson to really appreciate this, but contrasting his approach to the genre/magic to Lewis and Tolkein was pretty interesting (I’d like to hear what others say about this)
Small Press SFF Might Sometimes Be Harder to Find — But It’s More Than Worth the Effort—Molly Templeton makes the case for putting in the effort to get Small Press SFF
Do You Enjoy When Your Library Receipt Says How Much Money You Saved?—I did enjoy when my library gave me this number, sadly they haven’t for a year or so (but I’d love to see it again)

It’s the Time of Year for Gift Guides/Best of Lists like these:
These gifts are the way to a book lover’s heart – part 2—Never Judge a Book by its Cover has a great list
The CrimeReads 2024 Holiday Gift Guide
The 167 Best Book Covers of 2024—This list from LitHub is always one of my favorites
Reviewers’ Choice: The Best Books of 2024—from Reactor Magazine
The best books of 2024 – recommended by Ian Rankin, Mick Herron, Mary Beard and others—The UK’s best writers name their best of the year. There some great choices here, and some that look great, too.
Top Five Books of 2024—from the Staff at LibraryThing
The Best Crime Novels of 2024—according to CrimeReads
Chasing Destino’s Favorite Books in 2024
P.L.’s Top Indie & Trad Pub Books for 2024—over at Before We Go Blog

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
(It was a really quiet week a decade ago, so I only have one thing share)
Hostile Witness by William Lashner

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Ghosts Stations by M.D. Presley—This is a strong second novel in the Inner Circle series (at least the beginning of it is). Corbin finds himself in New York on the hunt for a drug designed for magicians.

This week’s offering seems a bit more hodge-podgey than the last few, which I appreciate. It also feels a little LitHub heavy, but, eh. I’m not sure I care.

Also, I’m not going to bother talking about the Goodreads Reader’s Choice results…I can’t bother finding the energy (if I stumble on something interesting by someone next week, I’ll post it, but I’m not going looking). If anyone has a hot (or room-temperature) take on them, sound off in the comments.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
A Refuge for the Soul: How to Build a Library, According to Montaigne—maybe not achievable/practical, but some great ideas
How Gen Z Came to See Books as a Waste of Time
Does Teaching Literature and Writing Have a Future?—”The prospects are a little grim, but they aren’t nonexistent.”
Olympus Agonistes: When, if ever, did people stop believing in the Greek gods?
I Don’t Want to Read Anymore: Am I the Literary A**hole? —I rarely post links to these, but I enjoy every one of these columns I read. I thought the 2nd and 3rd letters were worth sharing.
“The very worst of human nature is often hidden in plain sight”—Rob Parker talks about his upcoming release (that I’m hoping to find a US release date for)
Speaking of upcoming releases…So I wrote another book… —Noelle Holten has some good news (even for us Yankees)
Wayward Children Vol. 1 – Illustrated Deluxe Omnibus—Kickstarter launched this week. It’s too rich for my blood, but it looks gorgeous for those who have the means.
Quiz: Can You Identify These Detectives’ Thoughts on Christmas?—I was 1 for 5 on this (and didn’t get the 1 I should’ve)
W Series I – Jordan Loyal Short – Dragon Reich—1. This looks like a cool book. 2. I wished I’d come up with this series idea.
Are You an Author Completionist?—I’m almost one. But I do get a little picky when it comes to some genres.
Books Inspired by Narnia! Portal Fantasies, Allegories and Coming of Age Stories!—who doesn’t like a Narnia-ish read?

It’s the Time of Year for Gift Guides/Best of Lists like these:
The Atlantic 10—The books that made us think the most this year
AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2024
Lit Hub’s 38 Favorite Books of 2024—I have one of these on my shelves waiting.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Dripping Bucket In The Business of Grimdark – with guest Beth Tabler—I haven’t watched this yet, but it looks like a good ‘un.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
And I mentioned the release of Bryant and May and the Bleeding Heart by Christopher Fowler, a series I really intended on sticking with, but lost my way on.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Nobody’s Hero by M. W. Craven—Ben Koenig’s back and is dealing with a team of assassins, a worst-case scenario that might be playing out, and one of the cleverest schemes he’s come across. I tried to express my excitement about this recently.
Little Love Songs by Sandra Boynton—sounds cute as all get out, I’m a little worried about the psycholoical torture that the “push button to hear music” feature can bring on adults living with a child (or older siblings). Still, probably worth the risk.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Forget drop-shipping—America’s new favorite side hustle is … republishing classic literature?
Murderbot, She Wrote—Wired’s got a great feature on Martha Wells
The Power of Your Words: Leaving a Review Matters
How Can We Create a Reading Culture?—Pages Unbound’s Krysta lays out the problem with children and reading in Part One and suggests some solutions in Part Two
Indie Black Friday Sale—James Lloyd Dulin’s hosting this sale from Nov. 29-Dec. 1. You’ve spent a year making good progress on your TBR stack, might as well wipe it out in one fell swoop.

It’s the Time of Year for Gift Guides/Best of Lists like these:
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: The 2024 Adult Books Edition—Witty and Sarcastic Book Club’s Annual list has some great picks
Holiday Gift Giving Guide—This Dad Reads has a gift guide for young and old (particularly if they like Star Wars)
The New York Public Library Announces the Best Books of 2024 for Kids, Teens, and Adults
NPR’s Best Books of 2024—is another extensive list
Top Five Science Fiction Novels of 2024—from John Mauro at Before We Go Blog
Top Five Fantasy Novels of 2024—from John Mauro at Before We Go Blog

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
CrimeTimeFM Christmas Debate 2024—some of the UK’s best Crime Fiction reviewers sound off on their favorite reads of the year and on some controversial topics. As usual, it’s a fun listen that adds too many things to my lists.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Reluctant Warrior by Ty Patterson
and I mentioned the release of Endsinger by Jay Kristoff, Book 3 of The Lotus War

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property by Mike Lupica—Rita Fiore is in danger—it’s up to Spenser and Hawk to stop whoever is after her. I have a book and a half to get through before I can dive in. They’d better be worth it.
Chez Usher by Vicki Hendricks—a retelling of Poe in Florida. Farenheit Press’ latest looks like a winner.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Literacy Statistics 2022-2023—We are going to kick things off this week on an incredibly down notes. If you’re prone to despondancy, you might want to avoid this.
Why We Need Fairy Tales—this will help you recover from those numbers
How Does the Writer Say Etcetera?—”Sumana Roy ponders the linguistic and aesthetic significance of ‘etceterization.'”
10 of the Most Original Murders in Mystery—This is a good list–even without the inclusion of Some Buried Ceasar. But that helps.
Matthew Hanover has put out New/Refreshed Covers for his novels—There are better reasons to pick them up (for example, the contents), but this is a good excuse if you haven’t gotten around to it.
It’s a Really Good Time to Get Loud About the Books You Love: Some ideas to help keep literature and the book community alive.—I try to do these already, but like Templeton, it seems like it’s needed more now (and I need the kick in the pants).
Why I Love to Read Reviews – A Defence of the Blogosphere, Blogging and Reviewers—hear, hear.
What Makes a Good Children’s Book?—another good ‘un

Not Really Book-Related, but I want to talk about it anyway:
Animaleague Baseball Batter Up! Board Game—One of my favorite local authors–who does great picture books (and has provided some of the images here), Jeremy Billups, has realseased his first board game! I got to sample an early version a couple of years ago, and am eager to get my hands on one of the final versions! Go give it a look-see (and, even better, pick one or three up for yourself!)

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Us by David Nicholls
I talked about the releases ofAgatha H. and the Voice of the Castle by Kaja Foglio and Phil Foglio, The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, and Superheroes Anonymous by Lexie Dunne.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson—after he leaves the Corps, Walt needs a job. Why not try Alaska, a state that can make Wyoming look crowded?
The World According to Cunk by Philomena Cunk—just in time for the holidays, a history book that might include an actual fact or two, but does contain several laughs, as I wrote recently.
King Arthur & The Ladies of The Lake by Vincent Pompetti—I really enjoyed this graphic novel retelling of Arthurian legends.
An Icelandic Adventure: One Family’s Mostly Successful Quest for Puffins, Pleasure, and Perfect Pizza by S. Bavey—I’m pretty sure the subtitle tells you what you’re going to find. (but perfect pizza in Iceland seems like a stretch, but what do I know?)

A small list this week–between be so tired after work this week that I didn’t have the energy to do much online, I seemed to have spent most of my social media time following new people on Bluesky rather than actually, you know, seeing what anyone was saying. The X-odus is real (and “Hi!!!” to anyone who’s here for the first time because of it.)

But I do know that miscellanies are going to get long soon, one post from Pages Unbound has pointed out to me that we’re about to enter the Season of Lists–which is both fun and overwhelming. (and budget straining). I’m pretty much looking forward to it, while also feeling daunted about having to come up with my own soon.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ can be imported in India after court is told 1988 ban order can’t be found—Dogs still eat homework, eh?
Maximizing Time for Reading: Why reading—and reading widely—is more important than ever, and how to go about creating habits and practices to allow yourself the space and time
Florida’s Education Dept. releases a list of over 700 books removed in K-12 schools —I can understand (if not agree with) why some of these were removed from schools…but you gotta shake your head at a lot of these
Gifts for Babies and Toddlers (Board Book Edition) 2024—it’s that time of year again, isn’t it?
5 years of Spells & Spaceships: the journey so far and my 10 favourite books.—only 5? I thought I’d been reading this longer. And picking a top 10 from that period? No small feat.
I’m Okay with Books Being Perceived and Sold as Products (Rather Than Art)—I get this. I may have a knee-jerk reaction against the premise, but I see Krysta’s point.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Under the Radar SFF Podcast Blogger Interview with Jodie from W&S Blog—to discuss authors, favorite stories, and Jodie’s love for Dragonlance. Haven’t listened to it yet, but am looking forward to it.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Poison Fruit by Jacqueline Carey
Personal by Lee Child
The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
Pickles and Ponies: A Fairy-Tale by Laura May

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
From Great Heights by Bryan McBee—SF and Magic. Very curious to see what McBee does with this.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Who’s Really Writing Celebrity Novels? The writers and agents working behind the scenes tell us how it actually works.
Ranking 40 Popular Books That Are Actually Badly Written—this click-baity list is something largely to read to scoff at or argue with.
The Book News is Generally… Good?—after those two stories and all the ick of the last couple of weeks, who couldn’t use a little bit of good news (no matter what you may think of Tuesday’s results, it’s hard to deny that things have been rather nasty lately).
Dorothy Parker and the Art of the Literary Takedown: Her reviews are not contemptuous, a common pitfall for her imitators. They are simply unbridled in their dislike.—Okay, fine, if you’re going to be negative, do it like the Master. (I read so many people today that need to do this)
The Novel and the Dictator: On the Man Who Criticized Stalin Yet Lived—I’m really glad that I discovered Nadya Williams this year.
IYKYK: When Novels Speak a Language Only Part of the Internet Gets
Out of This World: Books to Read When You Need an Escape—Just in case anyone is interested in that sort of thing…
Comfort Reads: Feel-good Fiction for Rough Days—continuining the theme, Jodie has some great choices
Let’s Talk About Book Boyfriends—a.k.a. Fictophilia (my weakness is for Book Dogs/Pets, but I get it…)
September & October 2024 Community Posts!—Dini has collected some great posts can be found here.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution by Keith R.A. DeCandido
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly, So, Anyway… by John Cleese, Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison! by Harry Harrison, and Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg. (it’s been that long for the Ortberg?)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo (Illustrator)—My only real gripe with this series is the release timetable, so I’m really eager to dive in to see their take on Kory Anders.

Whoo-hoo! Tonight’s the night where we get a bonus hour of reading!! (which makes up for the one in the spring where they steal one). At least that’s the case for us in the U.S. of A., the rest of you already got that bonus, right?

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
How To Find Comfort in Your Bookish Community in Stressful Times—Stressful times? What stressful times? Oh…right. Now. Silly me. (feel free to substitute the name of your local Indie Bookstore for “Rediscovered Books”)
Have you purchased a weirdly low-quality paperback book lately? This may be why.—that’d explain it
The Longest Long Words List: Don’t read this if you have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (fear of long words).—try to work some of these into conversation this week.
If You Like…by Olivia Blacke, author of A New Lease on Death—The TV shows that inspired the new book
Grief Is the Thing Worth Feeling: On Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story
Putting the Fangs into Fantasy: Why I Wrote my Book—Ed Crocker describes why he put Vampires and Werewolves into his Epid Fantasy…and probably convinced me to add it to Mt. TBR
The Most Iconic Speculative Fiction Books of the 21st Century—from Reactor Mag
I’m Not Sure I Miss All the Bookish Hype
Using Someone Else’s Tools: The Ethics of Playing in Another Creative’s Playground—Peat Long takes both sides in an argument and convinces me with each
The Magic-Wielding Characters Bracket Challenge Hub Page—If, like me, you’re trying to catch up on these posts, here’s a handy-dandy list.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu
And the release of: The Peripheral by William Gibson; The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss; and Drawn Blades by Kelly McCullough

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke—dark comedy, a ghost, a twentysomething fish-out-of-water, and amatuer detectvies stumbling through a murder mystery. What’s not to like? I rather enjoyed it.
The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson—The PI, DC Smith, looks into a death and finds more than anyone expects (or so I guess)
What If… Marc Spector Was A Host To Venom? by Mike Chen—I’ve never really gotten into Venom the way that everyone else has seemed to, and Moon Knight isn’t my favorite either. Combining the two sounds like it could be interesting, and if anyone can convince me to jump on the train, it’s Mike Chen
The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn—is probably worth a look for the magic system alone, but the story, character, and setting make this look even better
Grave Talk by Nick Spalding—this is a novel about grieving with the help of an unlikely friend, bound by coincidence and geography
Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture–And the Magic That Makes It Work by Jesse David Fox—out now in paperback. Which is great, because I hadn’t heard of it in hardcover. It “tackles everything you need to know about comedy, an art form that has been under-considered throughout its history, even as it has ascended as a cultural force.”