A Week in the Books – Links from the Week of 4/27/18
Links I loved from other book bloggers and in book-related news from the week of April 27, 2018.
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It was an exciting week for book lovers at my daughter’s elementary school: the Scholastic Book Fair! You know what I’m talking about.
The nerdy kid inside of me couldn’t wait to go with my own kids (but the mom in me hates the plethora of junky toys and trinkets sold alongside–and sometimes attached to–the books).
We had a great time and my kids each got to pick out a couple of books. I added some must-read middle grade books to our library as well. I know I’m not supposed to be buying books, but it doesn’t count if they’re also for my kids, right? Plus, you know, it’s a good cause! I basically had no choice.
Anyway, here are just some of the bookish links and news I enjoyed this week.
Book Lists and Reviews
Copy Cat Covers: Tigers in Red Weather – Hopewell’s Public Library of Life
I enjoyed this variation on the week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt (Frequently Used Words In [Insert Genre/Age Group] Titles) to instead focus on copycat covers. The ones in the post all look very similar and now I’m curious to find other copycats out there!
50 Staff-Picked Books for Readers of All Ages – Parnassus Musing
I love the blog from Parnassus Books, the bookstore that Ann Patchett co-owns. Patchett sometimes weighs in on the blog, and the employees all know and love books–and they always have a few to recommend that I haven’t heard of.
Redefining “Classics” for the Modern Reader – The Novel Endeavor
I loved this post on Lori’s blog about redefining the classics to be inclusive of more voices than just white Europeans. Her friend, Kara, brings us a list of eight classics about the black experience in America. A couple of these are on my reading bucket list, but I definitely need to check out more of them.
News and Articles
Behind the Scenes of a Book Blogger – Sarah’s Book Shelves
I liked Sarah’s look into some of what goes into book blogging. A term that was new to me: Free Range Reading! I had only read a few book blogs myself when I started mine, but I liked the idea of connecting with other people who love the same things I do. I didn’t really realize what I was getting into–it’s a lot of work! But it’s also something I really enjoy.
The hardest part for me? Promotion and social media, especially Twitter. It’s a loud place for me, and I don’t really like to go there. I tend to use it in bursts–I’ll go and promote a bunch of posts I liked (usually from other bloggers) and then I forget about it for a few weeks. Sarah’s been doing this for longer than me and has thought a lot about some of the issues that come up when you’re blogging about books–check out her post.
The Golden State Killer and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark
On Wednesday, police arrested a suspect in the Golden State Killer case, detailed in Michelle McNamara’s recent investigative nonfiction book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. I have not read the book (I’m usually an evening/nighttime reader and I’m not sure I could handle it), nor am I very familiar with the case. However, many other bloggers have raved about McNamara’s obsessively detailed look at the 40-year-old case.
Tragically, Michelle McNamara died before the book was completed. She was married to Patton Oswald, and the excitement on his Twitter feed about the arrest was contagious. What a victory for Michelle McNamara, the victim’s families, and everyone connected to this case (though I believe the police are saying the book didn’t contribute to the arrests, I have to believe the renewed public interest played some part). Hoping for peace and justice for all affected by these horrific crimes.
I hope you got him, Michelle.
I hope THEY got him. #IllBeGoneInTheDark #MichelleMcNamara #stepintothelight https://t.co/ewq3NyCz56
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 25, 2018
America’s 100 Most-Loved Books – PBS’s Great American Read
PBS conducted what it calls “a demographically and statistically representative survey asking Americans to name their most-loved novel” to come up with this list of America’s 100 most-loved novels. The Great American Read will be an eight-part series exploring the impact of stories in America. Viewers will have the opportunity to vote for the country’s best-loved novel, until the finale in October.
How many of these have you read and which would you pick? I think I’ve read about 40 of them, and I would probably vote for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or To Kill a Mockingbird. (Some of the picks are pretty questionable though: Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight, and Flowers in the Attic all made the list. It definitely represents an array of reading tastes!)
Have a wonderful weekend!
