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Our editor, Emily, has made it through a lot these past five years, and hopes you will enjoy this deeply heartfelt and personal collection of her unpublished writing during that time.

Quiet, Quirky, Queer — and now on #NetGalley.

https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/733665

Book review up on my #blog on @travisbaldree.bsky.social new book "Brigands and Breadknives." Thanks @netgalley.bsky.social! Read my thoughts on it here: justinthestacks.com/book-review-... #cozyfantasy #LegendsandLattes #books #reading #reviews #fantasy #librarian #NetGalley #100DaysToOffload

Book Review: Bookshops and Bon...

Book review up on my #blog on @travisbaldree new book "Brigands and Breadknives."

Thank you @NetGalley, Travis Baldree, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook prior to publication.

Read my thoughts on it here: https://justinthestacks.com/book-review-bookshops-and-bonedust/

#cozyfantasy #LegendsandLattes #books #reading #reviews #fantasy #librarian #NetGalley #100DaysToOffload

Another great spellbinder from #JDKirk in new novel #TheWomanDownstairs. Grab this book, block out your evening and settle in for an amazing story. #NetGalley #Bookouture #Mystery #Thriller #PsychologicalThriller #BookReview

https://rellebellereads.com/read/the-woman-downstairs/

I just listened to a really compelling history of a notorious slave ship called The Zorg. This much-anticipated story reveals that what happened on the ship led to abolition movement. Review--> #Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #BookReview #TheZorg #StMartinsPress #MacMillanAudio #NETGalley #ARC

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/05/%f0%9f%8e%a7%f0%9f%93%9athe-zorg-a-tale-of-greed-and-murder-that-inspired-the-abolition-of-slavery-bookreview-stmartinspress-macmillanaudio-arcreview-history/

Elton John is not only "still standing," he is the ultimate record-breaking, award-winning survivor of the great era of pop and rock music. One fan dissects his work. Review--> #Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #Bookstagram #OnEltonJohn #HighBridgeAudio #EltonJohn #ALC #NetGalley #BookReview

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/05/%f0%9f%8e%a7%f0%9f%93%9aon-elton-john-an-opinionated-guide-by-matthew-restall-bookreview-highbridgeaudio-arcreview-music-popculture/

This comprehensive graphic history of Ukraine's centuries-long struggle against Russian aggression is such an important story to tell. Review --> #Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #Bookstagram #ABriefHistoryofaLongWar #Ukraine #GraphicHistory #Russia #CurrentAffairs #History #NetGalley #ARC

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/05/%f0%9f%93%9aa-brief-history-of-a-long-war-ukraines-fight-against-russian-domination-bookreview-tenspeedgraphics-arcreview-graphicnovel-currentaffairs-history/

Bending the Rules is a fascinating, provocative, and highly entertaining visual exploration of identity and gender through fashion. Review--> #Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #BookReview #BendingtheRules #GenderBinary #Fashion #LGBTQIA #PrincetonArchitecturalPress #ARC #NetGalley #Bookstagram

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/05/%f0%9f%93%9a%f0%9f%91%96%f0%9f%91%97bending-the-rules-fashion-beyond-the-binary-bookreview-princetonarchitecturalpress-arcreview-lgbtqia-fashion/

Gaëlle Bélem’s The Rarest Fruit is a captivating tale of resilience, discovery, and the untold stories behind the vanilla bean. Review--> #Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #Bookstagram #NetGalley #TheRarestFruit #EuropaEditions #Slavery #FrenchIndies #HistoricalFiction #Vanilla

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/04/%f0%9f%93%9athe-rarest-fruit-by-gaelle-belem-bookreview-europaeditions-arcreview-historicalfiction-literaryfiction/

This memoir is a celebration of Tim Curry's life’s work, and a testament to his impact on the entertainment industry as we know it today. -->#Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #BookReview #Vagabond #TimCurry #RockyHorror #Clue #Annie #ALC #HachetteAudio #Netgalley #Memoir#GrandCentralPublishing

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/04/%f0%9f%8e%a7%f0%9f%93%9avagabond-a-memoir-by-tim-curry-bookreview-hachetteaudio-grandcentralpublishing-arcreview-memoir-movies-rockyhorror/

A woman returns to the Oregon town where a nightmare unfolded 20 years ago and is waiting to engulf her again. This psychological thriller was pretty good! Review--> #Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #BookReview #ItHappenedontheLake #LisaJAckson #KensingtonPublisher #ARCReview #NetGalley

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/04/%f0%9f%93%9ait-happened-on-the-lake-by-lisa-jackson-bookreview-kensington-arcreview-mystery-thriller/

Interrogating her own upbringing in an evangelical community, Stephanie Stalvey weaves a story of faith, alienation, romance and acceptance, in this graphic memoir. Review--> #Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #BookReview #EverythinginColor #FirstSecondBooks #ARC #NetGalley #Evangelicals

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/04/%f0%9f%93%9aeverything-in-color-a-love-story-bookreview-firstsecondbooks-arcreview-graphicnovel-religion-memoir/

Disease Knows No Politics is a timely, inspiring memoir that champions the American Dream and defends the (NIH). Review--> #Bookthreads #BookSky #BookBlogger #NIHDirector #ARC #BookReview #DiseaseKnowsNoPolitics #GlobePequotPress #Science #Memoir #AmericanDream #JohnsHopkins #NetGalley

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/10/04/%f0%9f%93%9a%f0%9f%a9%badisease-knows-no-politics-bookreview-globepequotpress-prometheus-arcreview-medicine-science-current-affairs/

Book Review: Streaming Wars - How Getting Everything We Wanted Changed Entertainment Forever by Charlotte Henry

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/10/book-review-streaming-wars-how-getting-everything-we-wanted-changed-entertainment-forever-by-charlotte-henry/

This should be a fascinating look at how streaming services evolved and the outsized impact they've had on our culture. Instead it is mostly a series of re-written press-releases and recycled analysis from other people.

Sadly, the book never dives in to the pre-history of streaming. There's a brief mention of RealPlayer - but nothing about the early experiments of livestreaming gigs and TV over the Internet. Similarly, it ignores how Big Brother created a generation of people who wanted to stream on their phones. Early pioneers like JenniCam are written out of history. The book is relentlessly focussed on American streamers, with only a brief foray into the UK, Africa, and other markets. There's nothing about Project Kangaroo and how it squandered an early opportunity for streaming dominance.

Steaming only started with Netflix, according to this book. Despite iPlayer launching at roughly the same time, it doesn't make an appearance until halfway though the book. It's also missing some of the interesting aspects of how Netflix built its algorithm, and the privacy impacts of it.

The analysis itself mostly quotes from reports from Enders and other firms like that. It doesn't seem like there was any original research done, and there aren't any new interviews done for the book. Instead it is just a surface-level analysis mixed in with clichéd prose about boiling frogs. It's also fairly uncritical - several sections are just press-releases from big streaming services with little discussion about whether they're accurate. It almost turns into a corporate biography / hagiography rather than a serious look at streaming.

There's very little about the production side. For example, how Netflix squashes cinematograph and how its lack of permanent props storage restricts accurate set-dressing to tent-pole shows.

Although this is a preview copy, the prose feels half-baked.

Overall, the iPlayer is a very high-quality product, providing access to both linear TV and a whole range of content in its extensive catalogue.

That's the sort of thing I'd expect from a student essay rather than a serious book.

Unlike Warez - The Infrastructure and Aesthetics of Piracy by Martin Paul Eve, there's almost nothing about piracy and how that drives the behaviour of consumers, producers, and distributors. There's a bit of discussion of Napster, but hardly anything about the more modern cultural impact.

It is maddeningly contradictory. In a couple of pages it goes from:

Consequently, we are closer than we have ever been to having something like global TV. Close, but not actually there.

To:

because of the amount of work available to view, there is no mono-culture anymore.

Which is it?

The book concludes by saying:

With that in mind, the ultimate winner of the streaming wars is the consumer. It is us.

Is it though? There's almost nothing about shows cancelled before they got going. Nothing about whether American cultural hegemony suffocates local media development. It briefly touches on the constant price rises, but never investigates whether it changes behaviours or if they drive customers away. There's not a single interview with viewers - and no attempt to understand whether they feel positive about the way streaming has changed the world.

There's a fascinating story to be told, but this isn't it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy, the book is available to pre-order now.

#BookReview #iplayer #Netflix #NetGalley

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Streaming Wars - How Getting Everything We Wanted Changed Entertainment Forever by Charlotte Henry”
★★☆☆☆

This should be a fascinating look at how streaming services evolved and the outsized impact they've had on our culture. Instead it is mostly a series of…

#NetGalley #BookReview The Killing Stones (The Return of Jimmy Perez #1) by Ann Cleeves #Mystery #Scotland

The Killing Stones The Return of Jimmy Perez #1 by Ann Cleeves Release date: September 30th, 2025 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4.5 rounded up) I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Killing Stones (The Return of Jimmy Perez #1) by Ann Cleeves from NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Macmillan in order to read and give an honest review. ...Cleverly written, replete with intrigue, red…

https://bwitzenhausen.wordpress.com/2025/09/30/netgalley-bookreview-the-killing-stones-the-return-of-jimmy-perez-1-by-ann-cleeves-mystery-scotland/