Friday Links: Thoughts for a Reading Weekend

Last weekend I indulged in some reading time. Normally it would have been the weekend of the 24 in 48 Readathon, which I adore, but the ladies who run the event were taking some much needed time off, so I went solo. This meant no social media posts accounting for my reading progress, or even really keeping track of time read. But it was nice to settle in with a couple of titles that had nothing to do with work. I miss actually relaxing over a book somedays.

This weekend, I’m back in work mode, which means settling down with a stack of manuscripts. But that doesn’t mean you all can’t go read something purely entertaining, and so I plan to live vicariously. Anyone in the middle of a fabulous read? I’d love to hear what’s pushing your buttons at the moment.

As a result, today’s offerings fall more in the reading recommendations category than anything else. But they fit my mood, and I hope you find something interesting and/or inspiring in the lot. Happy reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

This Week’s Links:

The Books All Jane Austen Superfans Should Read. – A fun list combining old and new, fiction and nonfiction. I’ve missed a couple of these and look forward to checking them out.

Imaginary Bookshop. – A new-to-me storefront offering fun combinations of themed gifts and curated titles, with a quarterly subscription on offer.

10 Outstanding Short Stories to Read in 2020. – Sometimes a short read is just what you need (or have time for).

High School Transforms Hallways into Iconic Book Covers. – I love how clever and inspiring this art work is.

J.M. Barrie’s Handwritten Manuscript of Peter Pan. – A peek at the original of this classic story.

Jo Walton’s Reading List: December 2019. – The author shares her thoughts about various of her end-of-year reads.

11 Indie Literary Magazines You Should Be Reading. – A nice assortment for anyone looking to mix up their reading list.

Friday Links

TGIF!! I hope you had a great week and that your plans for the weekend are even better. For those of you who haven’t heard, there’s a “Make Time to Read” Readathon taking place tomorrow, January 24th, in an effort to raise money for various educational programs through the National Book Foundation, encouraging children to read. People have been setting up to fundraise as individuals or teams for the past several weeks, but you can also make a straight-up donation if you wish, and of course all participants are welcome to read from noon to 4pm tomorrow for the official Readathon. It’s a wonderful cause, so please consider donating a few dollars if you can.

Now on to Friday Links! I’ve got a nice assortment this week, so I hope they inspire you to do a little reading and writing of your own. Enjoy!

Words You Didn’t Realize Come from Books – A fun collection of words and their literary origins.

How to Create a Killer Opening for Your Science Fiction Short Story – If you look carefully, you’ll see you can apply much of this to other types of stories as well.

The Bestselling Books of 2014 – By the numbers. Curious as to how many copies some of the most popular books have moved? This rundown will give you some perspective on the industry.

Cleaning the Dust from the Window – An interesting look at the history of poetry in Russia.

What Makes Jo Walton So Great? – In honor of the release of Walton’s latest book, a compilation of her reviews/literary musings from Tor.com, editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden discusses Walton and her approach to discussing books. A really great analysis of what makes for an intriguing, open ended literary conversation.

10 New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Read – A good assortment of stand-alone works that won’t hook you into yet another series.