Citizen Reader

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary; a bit truncated again this week (sorry) as I get used to my new old-lady reading and computer glasses. Aging blows.

From the "no shit, Sherlock" files: Amazon distribution centers aren't actually that good for a region's economy.

And yes, yes, I know we all shop at Amazon, but sometimes please make sure and try to visit an independent bookseller too, okay?

Diversifying your readalike lists.

Ron Charles on the joys of reading aloud.

Ursula Le Guin talks writing and her readers.

Have I aged right out of Dave Eggers? I just don't feel like reading anything he writes anymore.

George R.R. Martin has funded a scholarship for SFF writers.

Author Kwame Alexander is launching his own publishing imprint.

A National Book Award for translated literature is being created.

Looking forward to the HBO adaptation of Fahrenheit 451?

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

A new book about Thomas Jefferson's daughters...white and black.

A new biography by Lucy Worsley, about Queen Victoria, is planned.

Writer-on-reading extraordinaire Alberto Manguel has a new book out (titled Packing My Library).

A new book on the "uses and abuses of civil rights history," which looks really interesting.

Finally, an antidote for Hillbilly Elegy: a new book titled What You Are Getting Wrong about Appalachia.

A new book about depression and how to treat it.

I can't say I've really ever wanted to read a book about Calcutta...but I kind of want to read this new book about Calcutta.

Oprah Winfrey's new book of spiritual advice will drop its section written by Russell Simmons.

The New York Times: two new books about technology (one by Jaron Lanier, who is an interesting case); on the plight of working women; a review of Rose McGowan's new memoir Brave; an argument "that culture and humanism are the best weapons against modern anti-liberal trend"; on China as a "country in profound transition".

BOOK LISTS

Christian Science Monitor: Read these books in 2018.

Booklist: Best new books the week of Jan. 29.

Celebrate Black History Month every month with these picture books.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

Gaiman has a new co-showrunner on American Gods.

I'm so sorry that there is no list of reading news links today. Eye wonkiness in the form of more eye strain* has made an ugly re-appearance, so scrolling through hundreds of links in my Feedly service was not in the cards this past week. I feel like a complete wienie, seeing as how Jenny over there at Reading the End is blogging with a broken neck (no fooling--somebody hit her with a car, is that ridiculous? Feel better soon, Jenny) but there you have it. I am a wienie.

There is, of course, one big (and sad) news story: Ursula Le Guin died last week, at the age of 88. Can you believe I've never read one single solitary book by her? Anyone, please make a suggestion for where I should start. My goal for 2018 is to read a Le Guin, in homage.

Another author who passed on last week was Jack Ketchum, who wrote horror books.

I may have eye strain, but I'm not so strained that I can't say a big WOOHOO! and let you know that I got another article published at The Millions: this one was titled Why I Read True Crime. It's super cheerful, as you might expect. Mr. CR has pretty much completely given up on the idea of me ever bringing home and/or reading a happy book.

Speaking of depressing books, here's a list of the "18 juiciest political books" expected in 2018. Bleah.

If you need more book news, don't forget Neal Wyatt over at Library Journal, sharing all the book news that's fit to print at Book Pulse.

And of course, it's just not a weekly post without your obligatory Neil Gaiman link. Here he is, writing about Ursula Le Guin.

*Yes, yes, I am buying computer glasses and reading glasses; I've had enough of this bullshit. Getting old blows.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

What books did President Trump tweet about in 2017?

A new Harry Potter mobile game is coming.

2018 Edgar Awards: Nominees.

Using nonfiction in book clubs for teens.

Encouraging middle-schoolers to choose books.

Guiding readers by interests, not levels.

Children's book author Julius Lester: has died.

Peter Mayle: Obituary.

Author Elena Ferrante will write a weekly column for The Guardian.

Jumanji is doing well at the box office.

TNT's adaptation of Caleb Carr's The Alienist premieres tonight (Monday, 1/22).

Paul Rudd's latest movie, based on a true story, is not doing well, and that makes me sad, because I LOVE PAUL RUDD. The word at Sundance about an adaptation of a Nick Hornby novel, Juliet, Naked, however, is good.

PBS will be showing a new multi-part documentary about the role of reading in American culture.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Fire and Fury sold over 190,000 copies in one week. (You want the digested read? See Matt Taibbi.) And, Jesus, we're watching this book in REAL LIFE. Do we really need to see the TV movie version?

This book looks quite interesting: Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, The Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence. Although the scariest part of that article is that there were 650 homicides in Chicago last year? And that was an improvement? Fuck, man.

Hot trend in kids' publishing: biographies of women.

Melba Pattillo Beals was just on NPR; her memoir Warriors Don't Cry is an awesome read, if you haven't read it yet.

"How democracies die."

I MUST get this new book about the dangers of implanted medical devices, even though I'm pretty sure it's going to totally freak me out.

Daniel Pink has a new book out: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.

New York Times: The story of a woman abducted by Islamic militants; on the lives of child prodigies. Hmmm. Either I missed some NYTimes links this week or they didn't review much nonfiction.

BOOK LISTS

Booklist: Best new books the week of Jan. 15.

The Week: 21 books to read in 2018.

33 titles to jump-start Black History Month.

Forbes: 3 books to help develop your self-awareness.

Paste Magazine: Best YA books of January.

Bad Feeling Magazine: Favorite Pop Culture books of 2017.

MY READING NOTES

My Reading Year 2018 continues to be Blahsville. I'm dipping in and out of some finance and parenting books, most of which tell me what I already know: make more money and be a better parent. (Sigh. Both of those things sound like a lot of work.) I am not in the mood for anything. I am instead pounding episodes of the British mystery classics A Touch of Frost and Midsomer Murders. Both of those series are excellent for taking your mind off January weather, January blahs, and a new year already filled with not keeping any new resolutions. Yay British TV, helping me avoid reality since at least 1999.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK*

Neil Gaiman reads Edgar Allan Poe.

*Many thanks to one of my favorite readers (you know who you are) for sending this in.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

Becky at RA for All cautions, don't get caught up in 2018 reading resolutions until you assess your 2017 reading.

Emerging trend for 2018: More "resistance books"?

Could you use a reading vacation? Yes, yes, I do. Me, a pile of books, an empty room, save for a comfy chair and a lamp and a cuddly blanket? Oh my God that would be SO GOOD.

15 tips and tricks to read more books in 2018.

A new app to help you organize your online reading.

Why are more comedians writing books?

Love self-help books? Try this podcast!

Penguin Random House has bought Rodale Books.

"What history and fiction teach us about women and power."

Okay, I promise to stop posting Milo Yiannopoulos stories, but I just loved this headline: "Perfection: Mil Yiannopoulos Will Represent Himself in Simon & Schuster Lawsuit."

This "backward-books-on-shelves" trend makes me want to hit someone. At least it's bugging other people as well.

Select literary obituaries of 2017.

The GOP is wooing Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance for a Senate run. Ugh. I weary of J.D. Vance.

PEN Literary Service Award winner: Stephen King.

Walters Dean Myers award: Winners.

26 books that are being made into movies and TV shows in 2018.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Both the author and the publisher of Fire and Fury (the book about Trump) are standing by it. (Related: how much money is the author of the book making? 7.4 million?)

Daniel Ellsberg on his newest book, The Doomsday Machine.

A book about trying to find a way to erase things on the Internet.

Novelist J.M. Coetzee has written a new book of essays about other writers.

There's a new biography of Mary Shelley out (to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein).

New York Times: a new history of the Civil War from the points of view of "ordinary people"; what does it take to overcome adversity?; on several new memoirs. (I must get the last of the memoirs in that last link, the Heating and Cooling one, it sounds so awesome.)

BOOK LISTS

Free ebook editions of books that inspired Martin Luther King, Jr.

I love, love, LOVE the big book previews at The Millions. Here is their preview for 2018.

Library Journal: Best Audiobooks 2017

Booklist: Editors' choice, 2017.

February 2018 Library Reads list. It's getting old to write "snore" as commentary for this list, but you know I'm thinking it.

Vulture: 10 of the most exciting books of 2018.

Books most borrowed, January 2018.

USA Today: 10 big books to kick off 2018.

February's IndieNext list. That The Line Becomes a River book is showing up on all the new books to read in 2018 lists.

6 books to read with your kids that celebrate diversity.

MY READING NOTES

I had a spectacular finish to 2017, but 2018 has been slow. I feel like I am doing everything, reading included, while mired in syrup. Or something like that. On the other hand, I am beside myself because I found a book all about the cultures and habits of English people: Kate Fox's Watching the English. Her intro is slow, because anthropologists can't help themselves when it comes to belaboring points, but I still think it's going to be a fun read.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN POST

"Neil Gaiman will be a major part of American Gods season 2."

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

Major CPU security flaw: What libraries need to know.

Children's publishing "reckons with sexual harassment in its ranks."

Are fiction sales falling because we're all busy with television?

Like cheesy horror from the 1980s? You're going to love We Read Dead People.

Costa Awards: Winners.

Aharon Appelfeld: Obituary.

Fred Bass, the owner of Strand Books, in NYC, has died.

Elizabeth Gilbert's (author of Eat, Pray, Love) partner, Rayya Elias, has died.

There's a new book club in town, co-sponsored by the New York Times and PBS NewsHour.

Golden Globes 2018: Winners list.

Game of Thrones will return to HBO in 2019. (Related: A different George R.R. Martin book, Nightflyers, will be adapted by the SyFy network.)

"Our favorite children's books made into movies."

Ten books to read before they become movies in 2018.

"It's still white and male behind the cameras."

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Go figure: The new "anti-Trump book" (Fire and Fury) has been really popular.

Oh God, can I handle reading another book on the "toxic bro culture" of Silicon Valley?

Lots of great books by women, about women, are on the way in 2018.

Should we all do parenting the way Germans do? (And here's an article about free-range children by the author of this book as well. Normally I want to support free-range parenting, although I'm crap at doing it myself. But lately I've noticed that two little girls are walking home by themselves from the same school where the junior CRjr and I are walking the elder CRjr back from school, and these girls are giving me a heart attack. The other day one of them was walking backwards and continued that way into the road, without looking, where a car had to stop for her. I yelled at her to get back to the sidewalk, and her older sister then informed me, "The cars always stop." Jesus. If you're going to send your small children out alone PLEASE teach them how to look for traffic first.)

On being an independent single woman in the 1930s.

All things medical mostly make my skin crawl, but I find the subject of anesthesia fascinating. Lucky for me there's a new book out that's all about it!

New York Times: two new books about Istanbul; from the "here's a surprise" files, this author doesn't hold out a lot of hope for any kind of resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue; how has literature shaped the human experience?; a history of Texas, from an author whose family has lived there a LONG time; another political book about an election, only this one is about the election in 1968.

BOOK LISTS

Booklist: Best new books the week of Jan. 1.

Forbes: Best Tech Books of 2017.

USA Today's list of 2017's 100 best-sellers. Also from USA Today: Five books you won't want to miss this week.

LitReactor: 15 most anticipated horror books of 2018.

The AV Club: 10 books we can't wait to read in 2018.

2018 Carnegie Medal Read-alikes.

February Buzz Books Monthly.

A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM THE SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION FILES

I posted about this on Friday, but I am still so pumped that I had an essay published at Parent Co. that I am linking to it again here: The Tiny Blue Stocking I Pack Away Each Holiday Season.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

In sad news, the woman whose appearance inspired Gaiman's "Death" character in his Sandman series, has died.

This was the year I totally dispensed with trying to act like I enjoy computers or understand Excel. As such, from the start of 2017 I simply recorded what I read in one of my favorite pieces of technology ever: the notebook.

Not only was it easy to keep up with, it was a total joy to leaf back through the pages and review my year in reading. In addition to titles, authors, and quick descriptions, I also recorded any little asides I wanted, like how the books made me feel and favorite quotes. In addition to recording titles, the notebook also made it easier to track books that I got from the library and either started, didn't like, and didn't need to get back, or books that I got, didn't have time to read, but I really want to read at some point in the future. What that told me was how many times in the year I was simply "not in the mood" to read certain titles. In addition to my eye wonkiness, there were several rough patches where I clearly didn't feel like reading books I normally would have loved. I noted these books by writing down their titles, noting "not in the mood" (and sometimes why I wasn't in the mood: "I may actually be done reading parenting books now."), and then circling them and writing "GET BACK" if I thought I would want to read them sometime in the future.

Let's face it. For me it's just more fun to flip through paper than to scan a spreadsheet. I know they're important and all but I hate spreadsheets. All that organization and tiny little cells trying poorly to hold more information than they can show. Bah!

So I don't have real scientific tallies for you, and I certainly don't have Excel-generated graphs. And you've already seen my Best Books of 2017 lists. So here's the big picture*:

I read 69 nonfiction books. 36 of them were by women. 3 of them were by "writers of color."

I read 15 novels, about half of which I hate-read (I'm still recovering from expending a lot of energy on hating Who Is Rich?).

I looked at and decided I didn't want to read or wasn't in the mood for an additional 15 nonfiction books.

I wrote down the titles of 41 nonfiction books that I didn't have time to read, but that I would like to "get back" from the library. This constitutes a partial TBR list, about which I can only say, "oof." This indicates to me that, as much time as I spend reading, I'd still be happy to spend MORE time reading!

I don't know what any of this means, and refuse to draw any conclusions from a half-assed notebook. You want big sweeping conclusions, you go talk to someone who has their act sufficiently together to make a spreadsheet.

Just kidding. My conclusion is this: I would be so lonely without books. And I would be very lonely without you, dear readers. Thanks for reading and thanks for spending some of your time in 2017 with me. I do so hope you will continue to honor me by visiting here as we all sail along into 2018.

*Which actually does not include the reading I did in December; I wrote this post in November. Fuck it. Close enough! There's my mantra for 2018, which is no big change, since that's been my mantra, basically, since graduating from high school.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

First things first: Happy New Year! And also, so sorry today's list is rather lackluster. Is it a bad sign that I'm starting the new year already feeling lackluster? Probably. Anyway. Onward!

Think you know what your kids are doing online? Think again.

I'm always happy when book reviewers get a little love. Here Library Journal names their "Reviewers of the Year."

How one school library doubled their circulation.

How to encourage reluctant readers.

Call for murder stories set in libraries!

2017 Book trends.

Book news from my state: the bookstore chain Book World is closing. There isn't a Book World in my town, but there was one in my husband's home town, and I was always glad to see it when we visited. This story has depressed me beyond all reason.

In praise of strange books.

"Looking at U.S. history through a different lens."

Mystery author Sue Grafton has died, at age 77. Once when I worked at a library supervising students, I was working a shift with a lovely young woman and an equally lovely, although sometimes a bit superior-acting, young man. The young man saw the young woman was reading a Grafton mystery and said: "Sue Grafton. H is for Hack." To her credit, the young woman looked up at him, didn't bat an eyelash, then looked back down, and simply turned the page and continued to read. It was a hilarious moment all around. Good old Sue Grafton.

2018 will bring a new Zora Neale Hurston book.

Clifford Irving, hoaxster: Obituary.

Liberal author Marcus Ruskin: Obituary.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Well, you didn't have to read the Milo Yiannopoulos book (he self-published it in July, but here's hoping you didn't have to read it), but perhaps you'd like to see the notes the editor made on it?

I don't know anything about the artist Renoir, but still. This new biography of him looks interesting.

A new history of World War II. I wonder if the World War II publishing juggernaut will ever slow down.

I've actually never read any fiction by Ursula Le Guin, but I want to see this new book of blog posts/essays by her.

Here's a review of Fahrenheit 451 that does it justice.

New York Times: Simon Schama's Belonging: 1492-1900; on the quest for immortality; some guy built his own coffin and got a book deal out of it; scouring biblical history for clues about faith; on earthquakes; on woolly mammoths; best business books; have "waves of destruction" struck Japan?; three books on diseases, drugs, and the world they made; really, we're not destroying the natural world; this memoir about Maude Julien's childhood lived under the control of her cruel father might be more than I can handle.

true crime https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/books/review/crime-christmas.html

BOOK LISTS    

The Atlantic: Best books we missed in 2017.

LitHub: 40 booksellers on their best books of 2017.

Best kids' books 2017.

IndieReader: Best nonfiction of 2017.

National Review: The year in books.

CNBC: 8 books to help you become wealthier in 2018. I'll bet you I could read all 8 and somehow wind up poorer. It's a special skill I have.

Just saying the word "bitcoin" makes me bored, but here are six books to help you understand it.

Here come the 2018 book lists!

NPR: Books to look forward to in 2018.

EW.com: 50 most anticipated books of 2018.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINNK

Neil Gaiman tells you, in a podcast, how he feels about the Rudyard Kipling story "the Gardener."

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

The New Yorker's "Most read fiction [short stories] of 2017."

The latest Booklist: Starred reviews 2017.

"Some thoughts on celebrity book clubs."

On "the graphic novel's dilemma."

Great Britain is experiencing a "crisis in literary fiction." (Are they really?)

What's at stake if we lose net neutrality? (Oops, too late, it's gone.)

School libraries are "evolving and expanding" with ebooks.

Spy and author Aline Griffith: Obituary.

Where did J.K. Rowling first write down her ideas for the Hogwarts house names?

The Ayn Rand Institute: now giving away its four millionth book.

Former Facebook executive says "his kids aren't allowed to use that s**t" (meaning Facebook). I'm sure he'll be giving away all the money he made at Facebook to atone for helping unleash Facebook.

Filmmaker and author Morgan Spurlock confesses "he is part of the problem."

Market chain Eataly has pulled all of Mario Batali's cookbooks.

A lot of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's archive is now freely available online.

Have you heard of the "Irish Bridget Jones"?

"Here's the full list of goofy-ass Golden Globe nominations."

13 book to screen titles to look for in 2018.

I didn't know they were making a movie based on the forger's memoir Can You Ever Forgive Me? I was not a fan.

"A Prairie Home Companion" has become "Live from Here."

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

A nonfiction author on how to "rethink fidelity." I happened to catch most of this interview and it was REALLY interesting. I might give the book a try.

A new collection of Sylvia Plath's letters has been published.

The New York Times has a new nonfiction book critic.

A new book about "Americans on the move."

A new history about the tumultuous year of 1968.

An interview with Tina Brown about her new book.

Tina Turner is writing a second memoir.

New York Times: a memoir by illustrator Cullen Murphy;on John Hodgman's Vacationland; two new books on wildfires; on the importance of government; a former hostage has written a book about captive negotiations; on bloodshed (and horse racing) in the continuing war on drugs.

BOOK LISTS    

Booklist: Best new books week of Dec. 11.

USA Today: 5 books you won't want to miss this week, including one by Pope Francis. I MUST get the Queen Victoria's Matchmaking book.

Vox magazine: Best books of 2017. This is a VERY interesting nonfiction list.

Minnesota Public Radio: Best nonfiction 2017. Another interesting list.

Sports Illustrated: Best sports books of 2017.

Maureen Corrigan's best of 2017.

Booklist Reader: 2017's most excellent YA nonfiction.

Staff book recommendations at MobyLives.

LibraryReads: January 2018. New year, same old boring list.

Ten books about "women, work, and power."

6 book suggestions for the "young and weird at heart."

10 best documentaries of 2017.

The Mary Sue: 10 books everyone will want to read in 2018.

14 pop culture podcasts from diverse perspectives.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

Derek Jacobi has joined Neil Gaiman's Good Omens.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

How the Internet changed the way we write. I fully expected to be depressed by this story, but it wasn't so bad.

"What is reading fatigue?" Go read this article, so you understand one of my favorite quotes from it: "And that, I've found, is really the key to keeping reading fatigue at bay: ignoring the way our brains have been trained to read in this new social world, and just, well, do what we want."

Asian American writing's "new generation."

The NPR Book Concierge is back!

10 crafty and bookish library displays. LOVE THIS. I want to make that top book tree in my house.

Booklist and AASL: announce the Schools In Need giveaway program.

William Gass: Obituary.

Wow, E.L. James is still dominating the bestseller lists.

A new Kate Atkinson novel is expected next year.

Jacqueline Woodson has a contract for two new books.

It's not getting as much publicity as the Matt Lauer and Al Franken news, but Lorin Stein, the editor of the Paris Review, has also resigned after an internal investigation into his behavior toward female employees and writers.

YALSA 2018 Excellence in Nonfiction award: Finalists.

John Leonard Prize (for a first book): Finalists.

The Albertine Prize (for the best Francophone fiction translated into English): Shortlist.

Ferdinand (the kids' classic): is now an animated film. I love Ferdinand.

J.K. Rowling defends the casting of Johnny Depp in the next Fantastic Beasts film.

Reese Witherspoon has been sued by a writer who claims the movie (and the book) Gone Girl ripped off her work.

NONFICTION BOOKS

The Christian Science Monitor has reviewed Matt Taibbi's new book I Can't Breathe, about Eric Garner.

A new memoir by a woman whose parents' goal was to treat her so badly that she could eventually survive anything.

A new book about why we were seduced by the movie The Graduate.

New York Times: On Oliver Sacks's last book; a new history of the Ku Klux Klan; a review of Scott Kelly's memoir about his year spent on the International Space Station; on language in the digital age, by the BuzzFeed copy chief; on Bill McKibben's new book titled Radio Free Vermont.

BOOK LISTS

Remember that Largehearted Boy is once again compiling the Master List of Best Books Lists for 2017.

Nylon: Best Nonfiction of 2017. An interesting list. I didn't really agree with their liking of the memoir Priestdaddy, but they followed it up by listing After the Eclipse. So yes. An interesting list.

Christian Science Monitor: Best Books of 2017.

LitReactor: Best books of 2017.

Publishers Weekly: Top Authors Pick Their Favorite Books of 2017.

The Root: The 16 Best Books of the Year by Black Authors.

Booklist Reader: Best books the week of Dec. 4.

Daily Beast: My Favorite Books by Women in 2017.

School Library Journal: Top 10 audiobooks 2017.

EW.com: Best Books of 2017.

The Economist: Best Books of 2017.

HuffPost: Best Picture Books 2017.

Goodreads Choice Awards: Best books 2017. LibraryReads and GoodReads win my awards this year for "Consistently Most Boring Book Lists."

New York Times: Readers recommend their favorite books of 2017.

USA Today: "Ten books our critics loved reading this year."

"9 sports books for holiday reading and giving."

Top 10 DVDS, 2017.

"Your kid just learned to read": what books should you offer?

4 cozy (and mildly scary) audio mysteries.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

Neil Gaiman's "Wolves in the Walls" VR experience set to premiere at Sundance.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

First things first: this post marks my last for a while. I am taking the month of November off to write, read for fun, and generally look at the Internet less. (I made the mistake of looking at some comments attached to an article about Harvey Weinstein the other day. SHUDDER.) I will still be posting at The Great British TV Site, so please do consider visiting me there.

I also leave you in great nonfiction hands: do check out the group book-blogger effort that is Nonfiction November!

As ever: thanks for reading, and I very much look forward to being back with you, post-December 1.

Library Journal offers a new way to keep up with book news, written by Neal Wyatt: Book Pulse! It looks to be a great new resource, and thanks, Neal, for the shout-out to (our sadly now defunct) Reader's Advisor Online.

Best Books of the Year season begins!

Journalist Mark Halperin is facing accusations of sexual harassment. (Penguin Press has canceled his forthcoming book.)

Bill O'Reilly has also been dropped by his literary agent.

Roy Price (former head of Amazon Studios) has left Amazon due to harassment allegations.

The state of sexual harassment in the library.

8 ways to make your (school) library more visible right now.

Kirkus Reviews and the "plight of the 'problematic' book review." That's not an eye-catching headline, really, but this is an interesting article about what all goes on behind the scenes of book reviews.

Amazon's new Kindle app is "inspired by books."

When British authors write American dialogue, or "try to."

Literary life outside London.

Donald Bain (who wrote a LOT of Murder, She Wrote novels): Obituary.

"Checking in on J.D. Salinger's unpublished works."

A whole bunch of Marcel Proust's letters are about to be published online.

Must an author's wishes be honored after death?

Hurston/Wright Literary Fiction Award winner: Colson Whitehead.

Jane Addams Awards: Winners.

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence: Shortlists.

My Friend Dahmer (based on the graphic novel with the same title): Film clip.

Dora the Explorer: Now a live-action film!

Warner Bros. is bringing its recent release of Stephen King's It back to theaters for Halloween. (Wow. Was it gone already? Movies come and go in a blink these days, don't they?)

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

"Stellar nonfiction featuring women."

Matt Taibbi has a new book out about police brutality.

A new book about rising water levels (that I happen to be reading right now!). It's good. Scary, but good.

There's a new biography out about Joni Mitchell.

Have you seen this new career guide for misfits?

Looking for a guide to how to train your kitty? (Excuse me while I go laugh about the very idea of training your kitty.)

New York Times: the best new true crime; here's the Times's review of Sarah Perry's After the Eclipse; Calvin Klein's new 400+-page coffee table book; a closer look at "our cheating hearts"'; about a photographer of ghosts, by Peter Manseau; the Caitlin Doughty book on death rituals worldwide; the story of a man wrongfully accused of a crime (and who served prison time for it).

BOOK LISTS

5 new books you don't want to miss this week.

GQ: Best Books of October.

Brightly: Best Grown-Up Reads of November.

HarpersBazaar: 8 new books to read in November.

Spiritual and self-help books of 2017-2018.

The Week Magazine: 10 terrifying horror books you've never read.

Adult Books 4 Teens: 7 nightmarish reads.

3 books on monsters, ghosts, and fear.

Teen books about anxiety.

MY READING NOTES

I am in the middle of Jeff Goodell's The Water Will Come, about sea-level rise, and am finding it about as horrifying as you would guess someone who can't swim would find it.

The eldest CRjr continues to consume football books at an alarming pace. Football is interesting, and all, but I must say I do kind of miss the shark fixation.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

Have you ever heard of "impostor syndrome"? Evidently Neil Gaiman has struggled with it.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

VIDA has published its annual study of how well women are represented in literature.

Here's how diversity in publishing might actually work. Disclaimer: I didn't actually read this one yet (ran short of time this week), and I know "diversity" can set off some, ahem, discussions. But I do still want to read it, so I thought I'd include it here.

I had no idea The Guardian has a romance books blog. Did you?

Hearst to acquire Rodale.

"Little Rock says 'no' to Amazon. Other cities should follow suit." (Related: God love the Australians. They're not falling all over themselves to welcome Amazon.)

Rolling Stone magazine pioneer Jann Wenner has fallen out with his biographer.

John Green on his new YA novel and on his own struggles with OCD.

Dan Brown has a new novel out. Are people still reading Dan Brown?

Sam Shepard's last work of fiction to be published posthumously.

People were very excited about Philip Pullman's first new work in 17 years. (Wow, it's been 17 years since Pullman wrote a book? The His Dark Materials series was first published in the 1990s? Time is getting on.)

How did SF writers of the 1960s pave the way for today's SF authors?

Irish author Roddy Doyle has a new novel out.

Becky at RA for All reminds you about Electric Literature.

Look out! All the Magic Tree Houses have been renumbered!

Booklist is publishing a "starred reviews" edition.

New York City libraries are offering fines amnesty for those under 17.

How's the Librarian of Congress doing, one year in to her job?

A new program from public librarians, called "Take back your digital footprint." (Although the part of this article that talk about Google also "tackling digital citizenship," with a program called "Be Internet Awesome," makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit. Like Google cares at all about your digital citizenship other than stealing and monetizing every last piece of your personal information online. Don't Be Evil my ass.)

Related: The Library Freedom project aims to teach librarians the basics of digital surveillance.

Poet Richard Wilbur: Obituary.

George Saunders has won the 2017 Man Booker Prize.

A Nancy Drew television reboot is planned.

EarlyWord provides an update on planned literary adaptations.

(TV headline, not books, but still interesting.) This is how we watch TV now: "binge racing."

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

I absolutely must read this history of surgery titled The Butchering Art.

A review of Walter Isaacson's new book about Leonardo da Vinci.

John McCain will publish a new memoir next April.

Have you heard of this? Smog and poisonous gases combined over London in 1952 (and caused more than 12,000 deaths)?

I must see this book about modern one-room schoolhouses across Montana.

Actor Gabrielle Union has a new memoir out. So does novelist Amy Tan.

The father of microfinance has a plan to "fix capitalism."

New York Times: A review of Anne Applebaum's new book about Russia; a graphic novelist's "majestic portrait" of New York City (I must have it); a prison memoir by one of the members of the Russian band Pussy Riot; on the second volume of a massive Stalin biography; and here's a biography of Lenin; the military father who spoke against Trump at the 2016 Democratic convention has written a memoir.

BOOK LISTS

IndieBound: Bestselling books the week of Oct. 19.

USA Today: 5 books you won't want to miss this week.

Paste magazine: 10 Best New Young Adult Books for October.

Thirteen Halloween themed anthologies.

What are some of the best books about the Beatles?

MY READING NOTES

For some reason, I thought it would be funny to re-read Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and see if I hated it as much as I did when I read it first as a kid. Begging God for her period? Yeah, I hated it."Please help me grow God. You know where." HA HA HA HA.

I read some of Jeanne Marie Laskas's Growing Girls: The Mother of All Adventures, because I love Jeanne Marie Laskas, and I'm always interested in what it's like to raise girls (since the CRjrs are both boys). I'm not in the mood right now, but I'm going to get it back.

It's that time of year! "So there they go, Jim running slower to stay with Will, Will running faster to stay with Jim, Jim breaking two windows in a haunted house because Will's along, Will breaking one window instead of none, because Jim's watching. God, how we get our fingers in each other's clay. That's friendship, each playing the potter to see what shapes we can make of the other." Something Wicked This Way Comes time!

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

Gaiman appears in his second Simpsons Treehouse of Horror.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

Sisters in Crime turns 30.

Do romance novels have a diversity problem?

On the "allure of self-help books."

And...here's the next installment of the Fifty Shades novels, as told from Christian Grey's point of view.

Gordon Burn Prize winner: Denise Mina.

"OverDrive is enabling Google to display library ebooks prominently in open web search results."

"Let's commit to making library webinars better." If you do any web presenting at all, do check this article out; it's very straightforward and helpful.

The Weinstein Company's publishing imprint has been shut down.

Huh...they're still publishing Jeeves and Wooster novels (new ones). Not sure how I feel about that.

The New York Times lists some of the latest crime novels.

OOOoooh...now there's a 90-minute documentary about Joan Didion out, directed by Griffin Dunne (her nephew by marriage).

New trailers are out for a whole bunch of adaptations!

Stephen King's Castle Rock: Trailer.

Ooh, here's balm for my nerdy librarian soul: there's a new documentary out about the New York Public Library, "Ex Libris."

This year's MacArthur's "genius grant" winners.

Whiting Creative Nonfiction grant winners. I am so excited to see Philip Gourevitch and George Packer on this list, and that Gourevitch title? You Hide That You Hate Me And I Hide That I Know? I can't WAIT for that book.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Hey, Victoria Sweet (author of the fantastic God's Hotel) has a new book out, about "slow medicine."

Mortician/author Caitlin Doughty "explores cultures' many paths" toward death rituals.

A new history of medical "quackery."

What was it like to be Che Guevara's kid brother?

Heard about this book on the radio: The Year I was Peter the Great.

Roz Chast has a new graphic novel/nonfiction book out...on New York City!

This book just in from a Fox News host: Women, use your good looks to your advantage!

New York Times: A new biography of Ulysses S. Grant, written by Ron Chernow, and reviewed by Bill Clinton; is globalization bringing us together or driving us apart?; where do the super-rich go to play?; a history of Biltmore House; on the importance of sleep; a history of New York City in the first days of the twentieth century; here's the Times review of the memoir Cuz (an NPR story about which I linked to a while back).

BOOK LISTS

IndieBound: Bestselling books the week of Oct. 12.

LibraryReads November 2017. Thank God, there's a nonfiction title on it, in addition to the regular Elizabeth Bergesque fare. And the nonfiction title is about Laura Ingalls Wilder. Double score!

Bustle: 11 new essay collections for fall. Here's that Tales of Two Americas book again.

25 terrifying horror novels for kids and teens.

How to be lonely: a booklist.

Wisconsin Public Radio: New Fall Books (audio).

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

"Eight unusual books to read before Halloween." Neil Gaiman is all over this list.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

November/December Book Buzz Monthly.

Yes, a lot of great authors were published in Playboy. I still think Hefner was a pig.

Great Book Group Reads 2017.

What eras are dominating in historical fiction?

"An ode to reading on public transit."

Romance readers are not in love with the New York Times. Please note: alert CR reader Lynne told us about the Times's sloppy genre reporting last week in the comments. It's such a pleasure to know people who really know their genres!

Actress and author Anne Wiazemsky: Obituary.

Bill O'Reilly isn't selling quite as many books as he used to!

The New York Times takes a closer look at fantasy author Needi Okorafor, and diversity in the SF/Fantasy genre. (Related: How is SF evolving?)

A one-day "choose your own RA adventure"!

At a Library Writer's Blog: 2017 Best book proposal contest for the Beta Phi Mu Scholars series.

The Nobel Prize for Literature winner: Kazuo Ishiguro.

Dayton Literary Peace Prize: Winners.

Thurber Prize Winner: Trevor Noah.

National Book Award: Finalists.

Food memoir Sweetbitter being adapted for television.

Okay, this has nothing to do with books, but did you know another season of the X-Files is coming? Of course Gillian Anderson is still beautiful, but geez, I wish she would just let her hair be its natural color, even if it is grey by now. I think she would be even more beautiful.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Are you a fan of Muhammad Ali? There's a new biography of him out.

Russell Brand has a new book out (about our addictions)! I'm a total sucker for Russell Brand so I will probably have to look at that.

Leonard Cohen will publish a new book (of poetry, song lyrics, illustrations, etc.) in 2018. Well, "will publish, posthumously," I should say.

“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski announced that she “can’t go forward” with her three-book deal with The Weinstein Company unless Harvey Weinstein resigns.

Ta-Nehesi Coates has a new book out.

Tech veteran Ellen Ullman: "There's no hope for gender equality."

The lessons of a botched book review? https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/sexual-assault-on-campus-and-the-lessons-of-a-botched-book-review

Oh good Lord, so now we have to keep hearing about Milo Yiannopoulos and his ongoing lawsuit against Simon & Schuster.

New York Times: Yet another book about being a doctor; three books on guns in America (including Sue Klebold's memoir A Mother's Reckoning); the year that set the course for US-China relationships (1949); learning about women by examining the foods they ate; what's it really like living in post-Communist Russia?; the book source for the new movie Victoria and Abdul; a new cultural history of Adam and Eve and the book of Genesis, by Stephen Greenblatt; a memoir of the author's book club experience (The Futilitarians, which I started, but was not in the mood for at the time); a memoir by a survivor of Auschwitz.

BOOK LISTS

IndieBound: Bestselling books the week of Oct. 5.

Paste Magazine: 10 most anticipated books of October.

Amazon: Best Books of October.

PopCrush: 10 most anticipated YA books of October.

13 new nonfiction titles for kids and teens.

Top 10 human-animal relationships in literature.

MY READING NOTES

I finished Michael Lewis's Boomerang (thanks, Vivian, excellent choice) and was both confused and amused by it. More to come.

Am in the middle of Rachel Pearson's memoir of becoming a doctor, No Apparent Distress, and it is very interesting, although I can't quite decide how I feel about it so far. I hate doctors, and I don't think I hate her, so that's an odd sensation.

I just requested a chapter book titled Raccoon Rampage to read to the CRjrs, and with a title like that, I think it's going to be awesome.

I continue to try and (re-learn) Spanish, so I keep checking out kids' books in Spanish, and every week my tutor tells me, "Um, yeah, I think you need to get an easier one." I'm in picture books now so let's see what she has to say about that!

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

A beetle species has been named after Neil Gaiman.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

October is National Reading Group Month!

Happy 10th Birthday, Goodreads, although I have no use for you personally, and know you are just an Amazon stooge.

Shocker: reading online still just isn't like reading a book. But: Are ebooks better for babies?

"People are reading 2016 campaign books like crazy." You'll notice I'm not commenting on this one this time.

Why writing nonfiction demands "a certain vulnerability."

Booklist: Spotlight on food and series nonfiction.

Illustrated books were the most challenged in 2016.

A shout out this week to Maphead, not only because he said nice things about me, but also because he's going to try and start providing some links to bookish stories as well. (I loved his last link to the story about "Silent Book Groups.") His list of Ten Great Sites for Book Lovers was good too. My favorite thing about Maphead is that he reads almost entirely different nonfiction and fiction than I do, so I can read his reviews and feel caught up without reading the books. I mean, I WANT to read the books, but one only has so much time.

Ask a Librarian: How does library presenting work?

A lot of people aren't happy that a librarian returned a book donation that was sent by Melania Trump, but the whole story is kind of amusing. God help me, but I enjoy people who return free stuff in exchange for a chance to say "screw you."

Hemingway's first short story found in Key West.

Has anyone here read Karl Ove Knausgaard? Should I bother? Because his book Autumn sounds kind of interesting.

Kate Millett and her feminist literary criticism.

Author Kit Reed: Obituary.

Conde Nast powerhouse SI Newhouse, Jr., has died.

Digby Diehl (who co-wrote a lot of celebrity memoirs): Obituary.

War correspondent Richard Pyle: Obituary.

Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy, has died. I'm not crying. I find it hilariously appropriate that he started his magazine with photos of Marilyn Monroe that he used without her permission. Sounds a lot like Mark Zuckerberg starting Facebook by hacking his way into Harvard's computers and stealing women's "facebook" photos. I enjoyed this article: "Hugh Hefner damaged countless women's lives: Let's not pretend otherwise." If you don't have time to read it I can provide a quote from the end to nutshell it for you: "Hugh Hefner was a gross, powerful, white man who was bad for women."

"The Mind of John McPhee."

The National Book Foundation has announced its annual "5 under 35" authors list.

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Fiction and Nonfiction: Longlists.

"Honoring Christian fiction's best."

Are there more Stephen King adaptations in the works?

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Six new books exploring "a new European narrative."

Excerpt from a new book called Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism.

A new book about the Vietnam War Memorial, which I'd love to read. When I visited Washington D.C. the city didn't do much for me (shocker, I know) but that memorial is awesome. Quiet, simple, stark, sad. The Korean War monument is pretty cool too.

A new book on Shakespeare...in pop-up form!

New York Times: a new book about having those "hard conversations"; a new guide to "graveside tourism"; tracking the "hyper-gentrification" of New York City; Vivian Gornick reviews a New York memoir by Adam Gopnik; on the "transcontinental life of an 18th-century woman of letters," Lady Anne Barnard; like dogs? You're going to love these memoirs.

BOOK LISTS

IndieBound: Bestselling books the week of Sept. 28.

18 must-read books for fall 2017. This is actually a very interesting list, and from a Toronto publication, so it's nicely Canada-centric. I really should have been born a Canadian.

Entertainment Tonight: Fall's most buzzworthy books.

Paste Magazine: The Best Audiobooks of 2017 (so far).

A roundup of the season's romance novels.

Town and Country: The 6 books you need to read this October.

Fifteen spooky Halloween titles for young readers.

"Education experts" share the best books they've read about teaching.

13 books becoming movies in 2018.

Looking for a good podcast about the history of art? Here's 14 options for you!

MY READING NOTES

So get this story; I just remembered it when I got ready to take Sue Klebold's memoir A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy (about the Columbine shootings) to the library. When I had first picked the book up, the CRjrs were both with me. What we tend to do at the library is pick up our holds, and then we proceed to the kids' nonfiction, where they browse and read and I loiter nearby, pawing through the books I've put on hold and will be checking out. On that day I was paging through the Klebold memoir (looking for pictures--always the first thing I do with biographies and memoirs) when I heard this shouting from the kids' computers play area: "Hey, shoot shoot shoot, you've got to kill them there." "Oh, you missed, you're a terrible shot." "Kill 'em!" "Oh geez, move over and let me try, you're a terrible shot." When I looked over I saw four tweeny little boys playing what must have been some multi-player video game, although no gore was showing up on screen. It was just so weird. What were the chances I'd be hearing young boys yelling "shoot 'em!" WHILE I read the memoir of the mother of a murderer? It was surreal.

I am giving up on Sarah Menkedick's Homing Instincts: Early Motherhood on a Midwestern Farm. I want to like it, she seems like a good writer, but all the same. I am not in the mood. Yes, yes, you're a world traveler, you actually run for exercise WHILE you're pregnant, then you had a baby (with a midwife and a birth story that is neatly told in a few pages), your baby was naturally a pretty good breast-feeder, now you're a published memoirist. She's doing everything I want to do only better. Who wouldn't be jealous?

Re-reading Stacy's Horn's The Restless Sleep gave me an urge to also re-read her earlier memoir Waiting for My Cats to Die. Totally satisfying even on the second read. I do so love Stacy Horn. The bit about where she's invited to give a talk at a media conference, tells the organizer she's going to talk about her midlife crisis, the organizer begs her not to, and Stacy ends up...talking about her midlife crisis? So good.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN POST

"Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett superfans, prepare to be unbelievably excited."

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

It's Banned Books Week; here's School Library Journal's pinterest board on the subject.

A round-up of Becky's (of RA for All) podcast appearances. Very handy.

How to motivate a middle-school reader.

What's hot in audiobooks?

Reporter Lillian Ross: Obituary.

Is conservative author Laura Ingraham really "the world's most powerful woman"?

So of course you know that Bill Clinton and James Patterson are writing a thriller together. But did you also know that Showtime is set to adapt it for television?

Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day images will be on new Forever stamps.

Like the show Black Mirror? Consider this new series of "Black Mirror fiction" books.

National Book Awards: Longlists.

Canada's Giller Prize: Longlist.

FT Business Book Award: Nominees.

Murder on the Orient Express: Trailer.

Goodbye, Christopher Robin: Review and trailer.

Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck, now a movie: Trailer.

Another prequel to Game of Thrones is in the works. I am officially sick to death of Game of Thrones.

Stephen King's It is on track to become the highest grossing horror film of all time.

The best romance films of all time.

5 must-see literary web series.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Hillary Clinton's What Happened sells more copies in hardcover than any other book since 2012. This article explains at least part of the reason why I am no Clinton fan, and will not be reading her book.

I don't own any jewels (for reals; I wear a white gold wedding band and that's the sum total of my jewelry), but I LOVE jewels, and reading books about them, like: Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond.

Looking for Cold War true adventure? Look no further.

I listened to a bit of this program on the radio, and it sounds like it good be an interesting book: Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A.

Buzzfeed science reporter Tom Chivers has a book deal for a book about artificial intelligence.

3 books on Latinos in the United States (for Hispanic Heritage Month).

New York Times: Supposedly this book is about how some world leaders agreed to end war in the 1920s (but to me it seems they weren't very successful); a biography of food writer Patience Gray; Alice Waters has published an autobiography; when "corruption and venality" were the hallmarks of America (and hint: the time period in question is not now); on "the education of Ellen Pao" (a Silicon Valley memoir); a "true tale of drug cartels, money laundering, and horse racing".

BOOK LISTS

IndieBound: Bestselling books the week of Sep. 21.

Library Journal: Cooking best sellers in September.

USA Today: Great new books for fall.

Washington Post: Best new short story collections for fall.

New York Daily News: 9 of fall's most anticipated books.

The 7 best books of the year so far, as chosen by Amazon. As I am with most things Amazon these days, I am underwhelmed by this list.

Paste Magazine: Best YA books of September.

Great books (for kids) for fall.

The "worst required reading."

20 exceptional books about music for kids.

"20 must-read music books of fall 2017."

50 books by celebrities that are actually worth your time. I'd take the Lena Dunham book off this list, and replace it with Burt Reynolds's But Enough About Me or Patricia Neal's autobiography As I Am, but this is actually an interesting list.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN POST

Neil Gaiman to voice mystery character in the next Simpsons Treehouse of Horror.

I'm doing that thing again where I take a week off from the Internet, because, well, you sort of have to sometimes, don't you? Just so you can keep your sanity. So have a nice week, everyone. Go outside, have a cup of coffee, touch some leaves or something.

But I do feel I should pass this along: the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize is out. And the longlists for the National Book Award have been announced as well.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

Ever get that question at the reference desk where parents are searching for books for their kids who are reading above their grade levels? Now lists are available to help you find books for advanced readers!

Advice on suggesting graphic novels to format novices.

New resources for Banned Books Week.

Publishers Lunch: October Buzz Books Monthly.

Abebooks.com (a source for used and rare books, it is owned by Amazon) was down a couple of days last week, stressing out indie booksellers.

Conservative publisher Regnery has severed its ties with the New York Times, claiming its bestseller lists are biased.

Like baking? Like mysteries? You're going to love these books.

What's going to be the hot thriller of 2018?

Feminist author Kate Millett: Obituary.

Science fiction author Jerry Pournelle: Obituary.

Novelist Susan Vreeland: Has died, at age 71.

Len Wein, "legendary comics writer and editor": has died.

I'll give him this, James Patterson does give a lot of money to reading causes/libraries.

John le Carre's new novel: an excerpt.

British comedian Graham Norton: has written a novel!

The Christian Science Monitor reviews Nancy Pearl's new novel.

"Books being made into movies we're dying to see."

Game of Thrones was pirated 1 billion times this past summer.

There will be a TV adaptation of the comic The Boys.

Fifty Shades Freed: Teaser trailer.

Dayton Literary Peace Prize: Finalists.

Why awards for writers under 40 suck.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

Chef Alice Waters has a new memoir out.

Interested in video games? I am not, but you might be. Here's a new book about them called Blood, Sweat, and Pixels.

A new Middle Eastern memoir, in graphic novel form: Poppies of Iraq.

"He wanted to be a soldier but become a bank robber": audio interview with the author of Ranger Games.

Musician Loudon Wainwright III (father of my beloved Rufus Wainwright) has written a memoir.

"Addiction is a family affair" in this new memoir.

An examination of "America's cheery national facade." As a decidedly non-cheerful person I must get this title.

Nonfiction about the 1970s (in honor of the new HBO series The Deuce).

A new title about campus rape, and how young women are "re-negotiating the rules for consensual sex."

New York Times: A journalist offers yet another heartbreaking look at life in Syria; a book about "fake news" and how long it's really been around; here's the Times's review of the Blurred Lines title, about campus rape, mentioned above; what Greek myths teach us about anger; on the history of "black Detroit"; a new biography of Mikhail Gorbachev; a collection of essays about what TV shows influenced writers; a biography of the man whose "cabinet of curios" became the basis of the British Museum.

BOOK LISTS

IndieBound: Bestselling books the week of Sep. 7.

Washington Post: Best science fiction and fantasy of September.

Christian Science Monitor: Best books of September.

Picture books featuring bibliophiles.

16 novels with tween appeal.

Books about money you may or may not like, and why. A very handy list for helping steer readers to the appropriate book about money management.

Ten books you've probably never read, but should.

New nonfiction for the grade school set.

MY READING NOTES

Last week I read Columbine, by Dave Cullen, and then followed it up with Sue Klebold's memoir A Mother's Reckoning, about trying to understand her son's part in the massacre. As Mr. CR said, "Okay, are you just trying now to make yourself depressed?" They were interesting reads, although very, very sad, of course.

We're also reading a lot of chapter books with the CRjrs, and the youngest CRjr has become a fiend for books about the human body. I would SO love to have some sort of medical professional in the family (to go along to appointments and translate for me, since I hate doctors and feel I interact poorly with them) so you better believe I am finding him all the body books I can.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN POST

Lucifer season 3: Promo.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

Happy Labor Day! On Wednesday I'll post all the labor-related books I read last year.

"How I became a reader of books."

What are the options for "remote librarianship"?

13 tips for plowing through long books.

Choosing nonfiction for developing readers.

From the ALA: Here's how you can help Texas libraries.

Self-help author/mogul Louise Hay has died, at age 90.

Poet John Ashbery: has died.

Novelist Elaine Ford: Obituary.

Bernard Pomerance (author of The Elephant Man): has died.

What did British author Terry Pratchett dictate be done with his unfinished books after he died? That they be steamrolled, of course.

This is for all you J.R.R. Tolkien lovers out there: 15 Fantastic J.R.R. Tolkienisms to Live By.

Here's a handy list of books that became movies in 2017.

The Wrap: Fall Movie Preview.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

I must see this new collection, titled Tales of Two Americas. Although I'm not sure how I feel about this review. It hits all the right notes--"does this book about sometimes marginalized voices include any truly marginalized voices?"--but offers little in the way of concrete suggestions for the anthology's editors to FIND such writers.

How do men recover from war?

This article at MobyLives is about Joel Osteen refusing to open up his shiny huge church in Houston to refugees, but it references a book I'd like to check out: Chris Lehmann's The Money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream.

New York Times: A new book all about Nora Ephron's rom-coms; two new books about Walt Whitman; on the "erotic pull of rock n' roll"; a journalist reports on American power worldwide; a new history of Warner Brothers (both the family and the studio).

BOOK LISTS

Indiebound: Bestselling books the week of Aug. 31.

The Autumn Book Lists are coming in! USA Today offers 10 cool books for fall and the fall's best political books.

Bustle: Best Novels for Fall; Best Nonfiction for Fall. Their fiction list doesn't do anything at all for me, but the first book on the nonfiction list is Tales of Two Americas. It might be shaping up to be the "it" title of the fall; I'll have to look at it.

Library Journal's Editors' Fall Picks. This is a great list, with a lot of nonfiction, but sadly...I'm not finding a whole lot there I want to read. You?

Today.com: "6 must-read books for fall."

9 nonfiction series for back-to-school reading.

8 fantasy novels to read while you wait for the next season of "Game of Thrones."

Some great YA historical fiction choices.

Three "compelling" science books.

MY READING NOTES

I continue to re-read True Crime books, which is starting to freak Mr. CR out, I think.

The CRjrs and I took back all their books to the public library, as the eldest goes back to school this week and I wanted to start things off in a tidy way. I know he needs his education and all but we will miss him.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN POST

The TV adaptation of Gaiman's "Likely Stories" is now available on something called Shudder. I don't actually understand any part of that sentence, I'm just passing along the news to you.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

In case you doubted the depth of my love for all things Poldark, I'd like to present to you...a guest article I wrote for Anglotopia about all things Poldark.

Podcast alert: here's one on the "history of literature."

Keep an eye on Becky's RA for All blog...she's been offering some great webinars for which you can see the slides anytime.

So when is a bestseller really not a bestseller?

Did you  know there's a New Yorker Radio Hour? Here's some clips from it on various topics, including why men should read romance novels.

On "the promise and potential of fan fiction."

Science fiction author Brian Aldiss: Obituary.

Ian Rankin has announced a new Rebus novel.

British actor Jim Broadbent has written a graphic novel.

All Saints: Trailer. (It's based on a memoir titled All Saints: The Surprising True Story of How Refugees from Burma Brought Life to a Dying Church.)

EarlyWord Update: Books to movies.

Ten predictions for the Game of Thrones season finale. (Related: "Chill out, Internet, George RR Martin does watch Game of Thrones.")

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

A new book about a wrongful conviction for rape: Ghost of the Innocent Man. Supposedly it starts with a description of the initial rape crime. I just don't know if I can handle it right now.

A new book explores the impact of the smartphone on today's teenagers.

I must get this one: a new book titled Mean Men: The Perversion of America's Self-Made Man.

How did the British TV series Dr. Who make its way into the hearts of Americans?

More books about books: The Futilitarians.

New York Times: What do colleges need to do to adjust to this new age?; a neuroscientist writes about finding signs of consciousness in vegetative patients; a new book about what education at the college level really looks like, titled Campus Confidential: How College Works, or Doesn't, for Professors, Parents, and Students; here's a review of two books trying to tell liberal arts majors that it's okay, the tech industry wants you too (personally, I think we should all find ways to tell the tech industry we don't want them); a new biography of African American novelist Chester B. Himes; a firsthand account of China's educational system; here's a review of one of those books on books, Bruce Handy's Wild Things; what's the view from med school these days?

BOOK LISTS

IndieBound: Bestselling books the week of Aug. 24.

USA Today: The hottest books on sale this week.

Top 10 books about tyrants.

Overcoming summer fears with picture books.

15 celebrities you never knew wrote comic books.

Eleven historical novels for fans of John Boyd's hot novel The Heart's Invisible Furies.

MY READING NOTES

The CRjrs are running out of free, unfettered time before the eldest has to go back to school, so I am just letting them wrestle as much as they want, read nothing but Scooby Doo and sports books, and watch TV. We are also eating a lot of cookies. I find that a bit of a good debauch before we all have to re-submit to The Institution's schedule is the only way to cope.

Trying to re-learn Spanish is kicking my ass. Currently I am trying to read the kids' book Nate the Great in Espanol, and the only phrase I have understood is "No tengo ni idea." (I have no idea.) That's how I'm going to answer for the rest of the year if anyone asks me about anything.

I wasted a lot of my life last week on fiction, most notably Matthew Klam's novel Who Is Rich? I will be going back to nonfiction now.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

Neil Gaiman's How to Talk to Girls at Parties: First trailer.

A weekly selection of reading and book news, sometimes with completely inappropriate commentary.

It's official: Millennials love libraries.

What's behind the "dramatic spike in swearing in books"?

Did you see this link about an automatic generator of romance book titles? Pretty hilarious stuff. (Thanks to Jenny at Reading the End for that one!)

Wait a second...Blake Lively also writes spy thrillers? She's gorgeous, she's an actor, she's married to Ryan Reynolds, she has two gorgeous daughters, and now she's a writer too? God how I hate her.

The author of The Rosie Project (and his wife) have a new book deal.

Mystery writer Sue Grafton is finally running out of letters. I don't actually mind Sue Grafton, but I can never hear her name without laughing. One day while working as a supervisor to two college students on our library circulation desk, the young woman was reading a Sue Grafton, and her co-worker, a rather superior (but nice; just very young) young man, saw the book and said, "Sue Grafton: H is for Hack." I laughed, because it was funny, but the young woman just said "Uh-huh" without hearing him and went right on reading. I thought that was the perfect response. Then I sent the young man out to shelve so she could read in peace.

Chinese novelist Liu Yongbiao: arrested for murder?

Check out author Hanya Yanagihara's apartment...and 12,000 books.

2017 Hugo Awards: Winners.

2017 German Book Prize: Longlist.

James Tait Black prize (UK): Winners.

This is unrelated to reading, but as a lover of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, I had to include it. Joss Whedon, if he is indeed a husband who cheated, should probably not be hailed as a feminist. This hurts me, but what hurts me even more is that I'm not particularly surprised (and by that I mean I'm not surprised at all; sigh) to read this story.

Salon: Fall Movie Preview.

NONFICTION BOOK NEWS

I do so love actor Bruce Campbell. Now he's back with a "memoir of middle age" titled Hail to the Chin.

Books on books: Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult.

A new book is out on the history and importance of American pop music.

Earthquakes: They're not just for the West Coast anymore.

This new book From Holmes to Sherlock looks good.

The New York Times: how the political radical right played the long game--and won; an "intellectual historian" wants the liberal left to find some kind of unity; a new biographer of Sigmund Freud wonders why he still has so much influence; there's a new memoir by a woman coder, Ellen Ullman; a family memoir about living with a child who has autism; can surfing help answer existential questions?; the story of the Russian Revolution as an "epic family tragedy"; Svetlana Alexievich offers a new oral history on "the unwomanly face of war" during World War II. I don't generally read books on WWII but Alexievich produces excellent oral histories.

BOOK LISTS

IndieBound: Bestselling books the week of Aug. 17.

Nonfiction to read along with the solar eclipse.

"Five books to shed light on America's problem of white supremacy."

School Library Journal: August 2017 Picks.

Three romances for your August escape.

"Memoirs that reckon with death." I'll overlook the Randy Pausch title, which was one of the worst books I've ever read.

The most iconic books set in 150 countries around the globe.

MY READING NOTES

I started reading Edan Lepucki's novel Woman No. 17, and it is okay. They seem to be trying to market it as a thriller, but I don't know that that's going to work. It is, though, suspenseful, and quite interesting. All the same I may not finish it; I'm just not in the mood. However, the author did just write this hilarious essay (about her wishes for this book) at The Millions.

I'm re-reading some True Crime books that blew my mind when I first read them, and learning it is almost impossible to re-read True Crime. When you know what's coming it's almost just too hard to read it again.

We are currently reading the CRjrs a series of books about a cat called Supercat, by Jeanne Willis. A few nights ago they wanted to finish the one we were on, but I said we had to wait until the next night for the exciting conclusion. So the next night one of them said, "Can we please have the exciting conclusion now?" Sure, the house is a mess and nobody's very good at tying their shoes. But, by damn, we are learning all the necessary book/story vocabulary.

AND NOW, YOUR OBLIGATORY NEIL GAIMAN LINK

Amazon has cast the leads for the adaptation of Gaiman's and Terry Pratchett's book Good Omens.