Amazon discontinued the ability to create images using their SiteStripe feature and in their infinite wisdom broke all previously created images on 12/31/23. Many blogs used this feature, including this one. Expect my archives to be a hot mess of broken book cover images until I can slowly comb through 20 years of archives to make corrections.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Book Hype, Baseball Chatter and Jack Reacher

I seem to be incapable of taking one topic and stringing it into one blog post these days.  I'm not sure what this means.  Maybe I'm getting too long in the tooth for this blogging thang?  Or maybe I'm just getting lazier in my old age?  You decide.  In the meantime, here's a bunch of stuff I think I think.

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I'm thinking of adding a new subtitle to this blog.  The Misadventures of Super Librarian: A Shadowfever Free Zone.  What do you think? I think it's catchy as hell.  The problem with this plan is that I'll have to change the subtitle for the next book that comes along that I get sick of hearing/reading about.  Everywhere.  All over of the damn place.

And anyone else notice how it always seems to be a paranormal and/or urban fantasy title?  What's up with that?  (OK, I'm probably not being fair here.  I can think of two category romance authors and one recent historical that have gotten mountains of attention as well.  I'm just picking on paranormal because I'm obviously PMS-ing....)

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I know you've probably all enjoyed the Detroit Tigers baseball reprieve around the Bat Cave these last several months, but with Spring Training right around the corner, that reprieve is just about over.  In news I'm not happy about mostly because I think he's a competent #5 starter and he looks damn good in a suit, Cutie Patootie Armando Galarraga (He Of The Almost Perfect Game fame) has been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Sigh.  So long Armando.  I shall miss ye.

Another one of our former pitchers, Mike Maroth has announced his retirement.  Maroth's claim to infamy is that way back in 2003 (when my Tigers sucked more than an army of vacuum cleaners) he was thrown to the wolves and lost 21 games.  He stuck around in Detroit a couple more years, pitched half-way decent, and was eventually traded to St. Louis.  Injuries led to set-backs, a couple of stints in the minors, and now Maroth is bidding adieu to the game.  By all accounts a stand-up guy, a great person.  It's always sad when one of the "good guys" leaves the game behind.  However, I have no doubt Maroth will do just fine on "the outside."

In happier news, Tigers catcher Alex Avila got married during the office season.  Here's a blog post about it from Tommy Lasorda.  Yes, that Tommy Lasorda.  There's also a very lovely photo.  His new bride looks so happy....and skinny.  Wearing a dress I'd give up a kidney for if only I'd look half as good wearing it.

I think I might hate that bitch.

(Joking, I'm joking!  I'm sure she's a lovely girl).

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In reading news, I just started the audio book of Killing Floor by Lee Child.  This is the first Jack Reacher book.  So far?  It's OK.  I think I'm about 5 chapters in.  Jury is still out if I'll lurve it enough to keep going on the series, but it's been a pleasant commute listen thus far.

As for my actual reading-reading (you know, not listening) - I was going great guns earlier in the month, but have read a whopping 40 pages of my current read in 4 days.  Not the book's fault.  Chalk it up to Real Life.  Stupid Real Life.  Always getting in the way of my reading.....

14 comments:

lynneconnolly said...

I haven't yet cracked the covers of "The Iron Duke." All that hype put me off.
It's reflecting the way a very few books are getting all the sales, because of the concentration in the superstores and the decline of bookstores.

Leslie said...

I was one of those looking forward to Shadowfever. I've had it since last Friday - haven't cracked it open yet. Yes, afraid it won't live up to the hype.

Funny Lynne mentioned The Iron Duke. I've had that one for weeks(months?). Again, lots of hype but there is sits.

It's probably more common in PNR/UF because of the numerous series & authors love to leave us with cliffhangers. :)

Buriedbybooks said...

LOL I think part of the reason paranormal/UF seems to be so often hyped is because that genre attracts more "fans" than readers. People who love an author even if his or her book is crap.

Although I have seen quite a few YA books *cough*Mockingjay*cough* that are everywhere, too.

I've also noticed that the hype gets really out of control at the end of a popular series.

JamiSings said...

As a KMM fan - well, let's just say I have SF in my TBR pile. But right now I'm trying to read the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

Wendy said...

Lynne: I'm immediately suspicious of any book that EVERYONE seems to love. Chalk it up to me being a librarian who reads book reviews for a living. No book is universally loved. Someone, somewhere hates it.

Leslie: I think the series thing does have a lot to do with it. You see a lot of salivating over mystery/suspense for that reason as well.

Buried: There's a lot of "hero worship" in romance as well. I think that feeds into part of it. My eyes begin to glaze over when I see a lot of O.M.G!!!!!! I WANT TO HAVE SEXY VAMPIRE HERO'S BABIEZZZZZ!!!!!!!!

Jami: LOL - I think I'm annoyed because I'm behind on the series. I've read the first two. Liked them. Have books 3 & 4 sitting in the TBR. At the rate I'm going SF will be out in pb by the time I get to it....or else I'll just borrow a copy from work :)

BeretBrenckman said...

Wendy - I think you'd love Lee Child and Jack if you read out of order...or skipped some of the earlier books and started at "Bad Luck & Trouble" and went on from there. That's what I did and I got total JACK fever!!!

Carrie said...

Well, I generally don't like hyped books, but I read The Iron Duke before it was all the rage and I list it as my #1 book of 2010. In 2010, I gave only 9 books out of 270 read a 5 star rating, and The Iron Duke was one of them.

I'm the first one to admit that my reading tastes run toward romantic suspense, sci-fi rom and fantasy, so that may be why this steampuck/sci-fi book is so appealing to me. I don't actually read many PNR books, and haven't read any of the Fever series for that reason.

Sometimes books get hyped for a good reason. ;-)

JamiSings said...

Heh. Well, I happen to be a bit biased because KMM sent me a slew of her books autographed. I won them in a contest but I think she was a bit biased because of a fan e-mail I sent.

She's really nice. So's Gail Carriger for that matter.

nath said...

LOL about Shadowfever!! Me too :) You know what? We should do a widget or something where all we'd have to do is change the cover :P

I second on The Iron Duke ^_^; And that's after I search high and low and ended up being it in NYC. Double ^_^;

Wendy said...

Beret: Killing Floor is picking up for me. It might be the fact that I'm listening to the audio (and not reading the book), but the beginning lacked "urgency" for me. The story is rolling along now though....

Carrie: Everyone in my circle loved it as well. Steampunk can work for me, but I'm so burnt out on anything "otherworldly" at the moment that I'll probably save TID for when the burn out is "over." I had to do that with a lot of well-received Regency books several years back. Saved them for "sometime later" until my burn out on that historical era had passed....

Jami: Looking forward to meeting Gail! She's doing Literary Orange this year!

Nath: OMG, that widget idea is GENIUS!

nath said...

LOL, Wendy, now we only need to find someone who's html savvy :P

JamiSings said...

She IS? I'll have to see if I can manage to go then. I'd love to annoy her in person! LOL

Carrie said...

Wendy~ I understand burnout on a genre. Do save The Iron Duke for post-burnout. It will be worth it in the long run. I'm saving the entire "fever" series for post-hype. I'm kinda feeling the burnout on all things paranormal....... and contemporaries with "quirky" extended families or friends. I love dogs, but getting tired of them as the foil for contemporary romances. ;-)

Hilcia said...

Oh LOL! A Shadowfever free-zone! You don't know how funny that is, Wendy. And hmm... not everyone loved it. *g*

My condolences on losing Armando. And, hope you enjoy Lee Child's series. My favorite Richer book? One Shot. :D