Author: HCNewton Page 1 of 631

DETAILS:
Publisher: Runamok Books
Publication Date: July 19, 2026
Format: Paperback
Length: 107 pg.
Read Date: September 25-26, 2026

Cecil eyed the yellow jacket, swinging at it, missing. “So what’re you trying to tell me?”

“That it’s time for you to take the lesson I’m teaching today.” Alex held both hands closed on his own chest, opening them to Cecil. “That it’s time for you to accept your shortcomings and learn from these teachable moments.”

“Okay, I’ll bite again.” Cecil nodded impatiently. “What today’s lesson, pards?”

“That, sometimes, things are not as we perceive.”

What’s Waiting for LeClerc About?

The detectives of Smith’s gritty Canadian noir, Scratching the Flint are back and doing their thing in this novella. Cecil and Alex are on a stakeout, sitting in a just-disguised-enough van waiting to catch a drug deal going down that’s connected to a money laundering business. I should stress upfront that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t encountered these two before—everything you need is included in the novella.

Outside the van, two customers are waiting for LeClerc, completely unaware that they’re being used. Not just by the detectives as bait for LeClerc. But they’re also being used as bait by LeClerc.

See, he’s not oblivious to what the police are doing—so with a pair of binoculars and some Radio Shack-level equipment (pretty sure he wouldn’t pay Radio Shack prices)—he’s watching and listening to the van and his customers

And well, what we have is a Beckett-level wait that will not end the way that any of the characters expect.

Grounding in the Particulars he

Scratching the Flint took place in the months leading up to 9/11, this is on the first anniversary of it. At least in part, this reflects shifting attitudes toward certain crimes, attitudes toward Police, and so on. But more than anything else, this serves to ground the works in a particular time. This isn’t a vague time-frame—it’s definite: September 11, 2002.

There are also references to two well-known drug users/addicts. One was in the news at the time, the other had a connection to one of the characters—this gives Smith the chance to use these to discuss attitudes toward the headline maker, and to tell us something about the one with the connection.

All in all—this makes everything that Smith is doing here smack of realism. Where some people would give us a vibe of early-2000s, drop a pop culture reference or two, and then keep things vague when it comes to particular people and/or would invent a celebrity name to use. Smith doesn’t give us solid, real times and people, which just adds to the atmosphere and character work.

So, what did I think about Waiting for LeClerc?

Oh, this was good. Yes, the title does tell you a lot about the plot—but not so much that you don’t want to read it. And boy, the temptation is to say more than that, but why disrupt Smith’s brilliance at work?

This might be one of the lowest-action noir works I’ve read. Pound-for-pound (as it’s a novella, it’s important to stress that), the sentences committed to action/violence/etc. are not that much more than you’d get from an Agatha Christie or Rex Stout novel. When you compare that to Scratching the Flint…Smith is practically throwing his versatility in your face.

The action that happens means something. It’s arresting. It takes you unaware and rattles you. As it should.

The dialogue is fantastic. Paragraphs could be written about every conversation, and I easily could’ve read a version of this that takes place over nine hours instead of three (although I’d have a really hard time believing LeClerc’s customers would wait that long). In discussions over books, music, religion, clothing, odors…you learn so much about these people in very few words—and more than once you’ll smile.

The other big takeaway from this is the danger in underestimating your target. And noir is always good at that.

This novella deserves more, but you have to dig into scenes, motives, and events in a way that’d ruin the impact. So, I won’t—I’ll just tell you that you’re missing out if you pass this up.

Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author—my thanks to him for it. However, this is a book I chose to read and write about, and my opinions are my own.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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Fantasy with Friends: Can Fantasy Help Us See Reality More Clearly?

By HCNewton

On September 28, 2026

In Books, Fantasy with Friends, News/Misc.

Fantasy with Friends is a weekly meme hosted by the good people over at Pages Unbound. Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works.

This week’s prompt is:

Sometimes people talk about fantasy as allowing readers to see or realize things about our real world that they would not otherwise have seen (that is, they argue that fantasy can more effectively help us see reality than realistic fiction or even nonfiction can). Has this happened to you? Is there something you think about differently now because you were initially inspired to by a fantasy story?

When I read this prompt, I thought something like, “Well, obviously. That’s one of the side benefits of reading anything–especially SF/F because they take us out of our world. This’ll be a piece of cake.” And then I sat down a couple of times to jot down some initial thoughts, and now it’s time for me to write the post–and…I haven’t been able to come up with a single example. Nothing concrete, anyway.

I think at the end of the day, I’m going to have to say it’s people. I think about people, relationships between people, obligations that exist inherently between them–and those we take on ourselves. Fantasy has–and likely will continue to do so–help me think about other perspectives, seeing inherent worth in the individual (which is always easy in the abstract to say one holds to, but is sometimes more difficult in practice). Parenthood, neighborliness, hospitality, relationship of child to parent, love, commitment, care for animals, care for those less fortunate or Other (thankfully, I don’t have to deal with literal trolls or goblins–but the principles apply in not seeing them as necessarily bloodthirsty hoards), seeing nobility where one doesn’t expect it, in seeing the absence thereof where you would be inclined to expect it. Seeing heroes in the little things as well in the big moments.

There’s something about people that you can and ought to see differently in the most paint-by-number Tolkien rip-off, the laziest “this one D&D campaign that I loved” novelization, the “I want to be Travis Baldree” cozy, to the mind-blowing epic of epic that leaves you panting for the next doorstop in the series. Any fantasy novel is going to make you look at people, creatures, magic/tech, and life differently.

(and yes, this should be applied to any other genre in multiple senses, as well–just one of many reasons I wish I’d been able to come up with something more Fantasy-specific)

Go read some of the other responses to this prompt, they’re likely better thought-out and consider different works/angles.

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Saturday Miscellany—9/26/26

By HCNewton

On September 26, 2026

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

It’s still Saturday in the Mountain Daylight Saving Zone…

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Which Big Fall Book Should You Read?—a handy, dandy flowchart
bullet One Staff Member, One Budget, One Community: How Rural Libraries Really Build Diverse Collections—by The Association for Rural & Small Libraries Staff and Members
bullet The 6 Best Crime Books Released Since 2010, Ranked
bullet There’s too much violence in fantasy.—something to chew on
bullet Grand Theft Automaton: Ur A Slave 4 Me—Cat Valente has a nice rant on AI
bullet On the Difficulties of Bookish Influencers Becoming Authors
bullet Michael Vadney has a list of D&D books “for the next time your adventuring party gets wiped out by the most powerful boss in all of TTRPGs: Scheduling.”
bullet Behind the Book: When One Story Becomes Four with Patricia Furstenberg—the latest in Gina Rae Mitchell’s series
bullet Details to Add Realism in Fantasy—I didn’t have time (or ideas) enough for this week’s Fantasy with Friends, but this post and the other participants’, are worth your time.
bullet Florence: Captivating Characters of September 2026—another good one from Reading Ladies Book Club

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Fiction Fans Fool by K.R. Lockhaven—Fiction Fans follow up their chat last week with Lockhaven by discussing the book in question. Some really good stuff here (especially in teh spoiler section)

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“They’d been in there. They were fast, obviously, and the room was in chaos. Papers were strewn across the floor. His desk chair was upended, and it seemed like half of the books on the shelves had been pulled down and now lay like dead birds, their wings open among the other debris on the floor.”— The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glen Dixon

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet Ascent by M. T. Miller
bullet Catch & Neutralize by Chris Grams
bullet The Heart of Henry Quantum by Pepper Harding
bullet Biblical Authority after Babel by Kevin J. Vanhoozer
bullet As Wings Unfurl by Arthur M. Doweyko
bullet Children of the Different by S.C. Flynn
bullet And I mentioned the releases of: Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d by Alan Bradley; The Family Plot by Cherie Priest; and Hungry Heart by Jennifer Weiner

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing by soandso—A tale of assistants, sidekicks, and familiars trying to get a little respect (and preventing the world from ending). This was a lot of fun and just sweet enough, which I tried to convey earlier this week.
bullet Actually, Nevermind by Taylor Tomlinson—”As she approaches thirty-four—the same age her mother, Angela, was at her death—Tomlinson grapples with fear and ambition, identity and doubt, and all the ways her mind has changed since the day her mom died.”
bullet Die Famous by Michael Koryta—”follows a remarkable family as they race toward an impossible reunion–and asks us to consider where our own loyalties lie when ambition, devotion, and truth mean something different to each person telling the story.”

Grandpappy’s Corner: Crown by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James: An Ode to an Experience and a Place

By HCNewton

On September 25, 2026

In Grandpappy's Corner, YA/MG/Children's Books

Crown:
An Ode To The Fresh Cut

by Derrick Barnes, Gordon C. James (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Agate Bolden
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Format: Hardcover
Length: 32 pg.
Read Date: August 29, 2026

What’s Crown About?

I’m just going to quote from author’s website here:

Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut is actually a poem I was inspired to write after seeing an illustration from one of my illustrator buddies (shout out to Don Tate!) of his teen son after a trip to the barber. It took me back to when I was a kid, and how sitting in that barber’s chair and receiving a dope haircut was probably the only place in the Black community where boys are treated like royalty. Still are. It’s a poem about self affirmation and how the world may not see your brilliance, or your beauty, but you do, and everyone around you that loves you can definitely see it, recognize it.

(I’d have quoted heavily from the author’s note at the end, but it’s better for the adult readers to take in after the book)

Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute

Gordon James blew me away with this art. Each page is painted gorgeously (although some are two-page pieces). I don’t know what else to say—this is beyond my capability to describe, really.

You can see several samples on the artist’s webpage.

How is it to Read Aloud?

I’ve read plenty of Picture Books this year and this is hands-down one of the best.

The poem that Barnes wrote, slips off the tongue. The free verse just carries you along as you read—I think it works better if you read it aloud than silently. That’s the case for a lot of poetry, true, probably more so when it comes to poetry written for the picture book crowd.

So, what did I think about Crown?

I grant you, I don’t have the same relationship with a barber shop that it appears that many in the Black community do. But who hasn’t felt a certain amount of confidence after a new haircut? And how doesn’t like the pampering you get from a barber/stylist? I don’t get the full benefit of a straight-razor shave, but from the little I get, I think I’d be addicted to them if I didn’t have these shaggy whiskers.

Barnes captures that feeling perfectly—and accents it for the target audience just right. I’m not part of that audience in several ways, but I can appreciate it. If I were any part of the target? I’d be nuts about this.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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Captivating Character of September: Kvothe

By HCNewton

On September 25, 2026

In Books, Miscellany, News/Misc.

My Most Captivating Character of the Month for September comes from Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind. First, yes, I know that the book and character have their detractors. If you’re one of them, that’s cool. Stand there in your wrongness and be wrong, and get used to it–just don’t talk to me about it. That’s an exaggeration, actually–like I told the people at Book Club a few weeks ago, I’m utterly incapable of being objective about this novel, and even if you point out glaring errors, plotholes, problems with the characters and convince me of them–I’ll forget it within 15 minutes and get back to loving it. Secondly, for things like this, I prefer to go with a book that was new to me that month. But, there’s just no way that I can pick any other character (and there were a few that were worthy) when I can pick Kvothe. I don’t have a post written about The Name of the Wind and really don’t know if it’s possible for me to write anything shorter than 100 pages about it, so don’t expect that anytime soon. But maybe, just maybe I can talk a little about Kvothe in this context.

My name is Kvothe, pronounced nearly the same as “Quothe.” Names are important as they tell you a great deal about a person. I’ve had more names than anyone has a right to.

The Adem call me Maedre. Which, depending on how it’s spoken, can mean “The Flame,” “The Thunder,” or “The Broken Tree.”

“The Flame” is obvious if you’ve ever seen me. I have red hair, bright. If I had been born a couple hundred years ago I would probably have been burned as a demon. I keep it short but it’s unruly. When left to its own devices, it sticks up and makes me look as if I have been set afire.

“The Thunder” I attribute to a strong baritone and a great deal of stage training at an early age.

I’ve never thought of “The Broken Tree” as very significant. Although in retrospect I suppose it could be considered at least partially prophetic.

My first mentor called me E’lir because I was clever and I knew it. My first real lover called me Dulator because she liked the sound of it. I have been called Shadicar, Lightfinger, and Six-String. I have been called Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, and Kvothe Kingkiller. I have earned those names. Bought and paid for them.

But I was brought up as Kvothe. My father once told me it meant “to know.”

I have, of course, been called many other things. Most of them uncouth, although very few were unearned.

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to gods, loved Women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

This is how he begins telling his life story to The Chronicler. Now, Kvothe was raised to be a performer, a storyteller–his parents were excellent at it, as were many of the others he grew up alongside. He had some time to think about how he was going to tell his story, and crafted it. In his youth, a storyteller told him, “You have to be a bit of a liar to tell a story the right way. Too much truth confuses the facts. Too much honesty makes you sound insincere.” So he’s telling us the truth in this book (and the sequel–and hopefully, one day, the third volume). But that doesn’t mean he’s telling it to us straight.

is he an unreliable narrator? Sort of–but he’s telling us his story the right way. He focuses on his triumphs, makes himself look good, clever, witty–especially compared to rivals. Yes, he admits mistakes and talks about setbacks and defeats. But he still looks pretty good throughout. He’s setting himself up for a major fall.

We know he’s going to fall, because we first meet him as a tavern owner under an assumed name. Something happens between the flashback events of the novel* and the present, something dramatic. And now, the man–the legend–whatever you want to call him is “a man who is waiting to die.”

How we get from the quotation I opened with to the one I ended with is pretty captivating

* It’s something after the second book, too…but that’s for another time.

What character would you name for last month?

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A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire: Family Don’t End in Blood

By HCNewton

On September 24, 2026

In Fiction, K-O, Seanan McGuire, Toby Daye, Urban Fantasy

A Divided Duty

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: Toby Daye, #20
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: September 29, 2026
Format: eARC
Length: 384 pg.
Read Date: September 16-18, 2026

What’s A Divided Duty About?

In brief—because Raysel’s not ready to come home, because she wants to keep doing therapy in a place with low expectations, and because she and Toby can work the system, the Queen decides that at the one-year mark, Raysel needs to stay in service to Toby.

Things get mighty tense at court when this is announced—tense enough that war could’ve broken out (literally). But cooler heads seemed to prevail for the moment.

Then Raysel’s mom kidnaps her. If she can’t be with her daughter legally, Luna will take Raysel out of the Queen’s jurisdiction—out of anyone’s jurisdiction—and bring her to Blind Michael’s land. With both of them with Luna’s mother in her father’s land, Luna trusts that she and Raysel will be able to stay there in peace and re-establish a connection.

But, of course, things don’t go the way Luna planned. Thankfully, Toby wasn’t going to give her a chance to do anything anyway. Or so Toby’s plan went.

What happens when neither plan goes right?

The Trauma That Keeps on Giving

So, if you’re not familiar with the events of Be the Serpent/Sleep No More/The Innocent Sleep you’re probably not reading this post. But if you are reading and haven’t read them…skip down to the next section.

One of the strengths of this series is that events matter—events from the third novel, An Artificial Night, were important to Sleep No More/The Innocent Sleep, for example. So it’s no surprise that the events of the three titles I mentioned in the last paragraph are still casting their shadows on these novels. Actually, so is An Artificial Night, now that I mention it.

In both the novel and the accompanying novella, But by Degrees, we see our heroes (and their opponents and allies) dealing with the repercussions of that trilogy—both when it comes to political fallout, psychological fallout, and emotional repercussions, and more. It’s evident everywhere and will likely take you by surprise at how those show up in these pages. The trauma from those events, mixed with what’s happened since then, combine to some twisted results—and simple new situations that are neither good nor bad, but are clearly the result of that trauma.

And honestly, I don’t think we’re done with that yet. Faerie (at least those living along the Western Coast) has a lot of healing and recovery to do.

Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?

Well, I’ve read the previous nineteen books 1-3 times each, so naturally I’m going to pick up #20.

I kept reading because I can’t imagine DNFing McGuire—especially not this one. I saw a few ways for this to end, and it really wasn’t until the last moment that I was sure how it was going to go. There were a handful of surprises along the way—not just related to the plot, but because of what I talked about in the previous section.

What does this book tell us about humanity?

Underneath everything—the court intrigue, the kidnapping, the family conflict, Toby’s work—even a lot of what the Luidaeg is up to (in both the novel and novella) has to do with healing and recovery. And the genuine human need for the space and time to pursue it. Toby’s not meddling with Raysel, Sylvester, and Luna for kicks—or from some kind of vengeance (although that would be understandable). No, she’s trying to give Raysel the time and space for recovery. She’s trying to get Sylvester to see that it’s what Raysel needs and to stand up for her to Luna. As far as Luna…well, that relationship has been damaged for so long, I’m not sure that Toby has much hope of anything.

But it’s not just Raysel that needs to recover—Sylvester does. Many in his service do, too. The same can be said for the Queen in the Mists and those in her court or in her knowe. Dean’s not in great shape, either. Or…or…or… you get the idea.

I’m not trying to echo what I said above, but I sort of am. But that’s the heart of this book—that people who’ve been through something need to find a way to recover and heal. That will not look the same for everyone, but those who care for them need to try to realize what they need for that recovery and give it to them. Even if that goes against what they want (or think would be best). Those people that give you the space, time, and support to recover, to figure yourself out—they’re your family, no matter what DNA or heritage says.

This book is about both efforts to find those ways to recovery, and what happens when they’re prevented or ignored.

So, what did I think about A Divided Duty?

I’m always amazed at how quickly I start thinking of Toby’s world as a comfort—one day I’ll go in remembering it and looking for it, but it wasn’t with this book. But right away, it happened. Sure, I knew it was going to get dangerous soon—because it always does. But that’s okay, because Toby’s determination and optimism make you think it’ll be okay again soon.

Toby goes to some dark places here (in multiple senses of the word), but she doesn’t seem to let it get to her as much as she might have otherwise. Maybe that’s because she and Tybalt are in a really good place and he’s watching her back. Maybe it’s because Miranda’s at home waiting for her with May, and as long as Miranda’s good, Toby’s good. She also seems more confident in her own magic (and even learns a bit more about it).

Speaking of Miranda—she’s at a really young age now, so she’s conveniently left at home with May and the rest to look over her. But that won’t last for long, I don’t think—if only so that May can do more than cook and babysit. I’m eager to see Toby and Tybalt balance parenting and heroics.

Toby has to face some of her biggest fears, and come to grips with a job she maybe could’ve done better years ago, which was good to see her deal with. And she does so with her typical aplomb and flair—and her husband and a member of her Urchin Squad (Cassandra’s term) by her side.

Good tension, good action—a good puzzle (or two) for Toby to solve. When the penny finally dropped for me, I was flabbergasted (arguably shouldn’t have been) and delighted—McGuire played me like a fiddle. Which makes me so happy. This was everything you want in a Toby Daye novel.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley—my thanks to both for this. This post contains my honest opinion about a book I chose to read.

WWW Wednesday—September 23, 2026

By HCNewton

On September 23, 2026

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?


Dawn by Octavia E. Butler	Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI by Karen Hao	I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends by Jessica Tarlov

Oh, my…Dawn is so good. I’m less than 50 pages from the end, and I have so many conflicting thoughts about the characters and events. These aliens are…freakishly alien. I’m going to be chewing on this for a long time.

Hao’s book is hard to grapple with–the amounts of money, computer power, and corporate moves are hard to take in. And the ethics behind everything? Boy howdy…

Tarlov’s book is okay. It’s what I should’ve expected, but not really what I was hoping it would be. I’ll explain more when I’m finished.

What did you recently finish reading?


A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire	Dragonfired by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale Jr.

I was hoping to have a post about A Divided Duty up today, but I needed more energy before tackling it. Short version: I loved it.

Dragonfried was hilarious and moving, when it wasn’t barely interesting. I’ll try to explain more on that soon–but that’s basically how I’ve reacted to all three books in Pike’s series.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick	The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon, read by Jennifer Jill Araya

I’m trying to purge my mind of every memory of Ridley Scott’s film (which is difficult)–or at least to shove them into a corner where I can ignore them, before I jump into this book.

I know I said Dixon’s novel was going to be my next one last week–but I wanted a quick Non-Fiction hit after some longer Fantasy audiobooks. I’ll dive in tomorrow.

What books are on your nightstand/side table/desk now?

Pupposites Attract 2 by Hono Natsuna, Matt Trayvaud (translator): The Slow Burn Decelerates

By HCNewton

On September 23, 2026

In Comics, Dogs, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Pupposites Attract 1

by Hono Natsuna, Matt Trayvaud (Translator)

DETAILS:
Series: Pupposites Attract, #2
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Format: Paperback
Length: 160 pg.
Read Date: September 19, 2026

What’s Pupposites Attract 2 About?

This continues the story about the beginning of a relationship—two really. Boy walking dog meets girl walking dog. Kiyotaka’s a big guy, a little on the shy side—his dog Monjuro is a little Pomeranian who is nothing but adorable fluffiness and outgoing energy. Chiharu’s a bold extrovert and her Rottweiler, Tsubu, is a gentle giant (who may tend toward a nervousness that feels out of place for such a big guy).

A few chance encounters mark the beginning of a friendship between the two humans—and between the two dogs. The dogs seem to know before the humans do that there’s more going on between them than friendship—or at least that there should be. The relationship hasn’t budged a bit since the first volume, but they’re still cute together. Kiyotaka gets the idea for something they can do together that doesn’t involve almost-chance encounters, and spends some time working up the nerve for it.

Also, his brother and Monjuro may have made a connection on their own with an attractive young lady. The lesson of this series is get off the apps and devote yourself to a yappy Pomeranian.

We also get Monjuro’s backstory.

Translator’s Notes

As with the last volume, following the story, we get some character design sheets and a few pages of translator’s notes which talk about some of the cultural background, explain the dog names (although the story itself does a pretty decent job of that), and things of that nature. Most of the translator’s notes didn’t help me too much—but those that did were great. (and I expect other readers will have the opposite reaction to me) Regardless, it’s a nice tough for people who may not be all that familiar—or familiar at all—with manga.

Like me.

I really appreciate these notes.

A Little Word About the Art

It was good—nothing that blew me away, but I enjoyed it.

The dogs were drawn perfectly—they’re so adorable that you want to take them home—or at least roll around on the ground and play with them regularly.

Hono Natsuna nailed depicting the emotions, both human and canine. Again, there were many scenes where the text really wasn’t needed to tell the story in addition to the art.

So, what did I think about Pupposites Attract 2?

You could tell from the first book that this romance (assuming that’s what it is) would be a slow burn. But, wow, I didn’t expect it to be this slow. They almost seemed to be marching in place rather than advancing for all but a couple of pages. (I don’t know how a good fire metaphor to use there, or I would’ve). Still, watching these two shy folks try to connect is fun.

I would complain about some of the flashbacks. There’s really one important story told in the past, but the jumps back and forth in time didn’t make sense. If it had gone present-past-present, that’d be one thing. Instead, we get present-half of the past-present-the other half of the past-present. The jump to the present didn’t help out the next bit of the past, and it really threw me out of things when we took that second trip backward.

I would’ve liked a little more forward progress–and more of the potential second romance arc (although it looks like #3 could have that). But that’s not the story that Hono Natsuna is telling. This calls for patience–thankfully, treading water with these four is entertaining enough that it doesn’t bother me too much.

Hobbit Day Repost: The Hobbit (Audiobook) by J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator): Serkis (Naturally) Knocks It Out of the Park with this Audiobook

By HCNewton

On September 22, 2026

In Audiobook, Fantasy, Fiction

It’s Hobbit Day–and I fell asleep a three or so hours early last night–so why not revisit this post about the Serkis version of the audiobook?

The Hobbit, or
There and Back Again

by J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Recorded Books
Publication Date: September 20, 2020
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length:10 hrs., 25 min.
Read Date: January 18-22, 2022

What’s The Hobbit About?

I suppose it’s theoretically possible that in 2022 someone will be reading a book blog and not know the basics of this, right?

So a Hobbit (Bilbo Baggins) is recruited (quite presumptuously) by the wizard Gandalf to join a band of thirteen dwarves on their odyssey to sneak back into their territory which had been taken over by the dragon, Smaug. Their goal is to steal back the treasure (particularly an heirloom of the king’s family, the Arkenstone). There’s really no reason to think that Bilbo, who hates the idea of adventure and just wants to stay in his comfortable home all day (like 99.9997% of Hobbits) will make a capable burglar. But Gandalf insists on it, overrules the objections of the dwarves, and tricks Bilbo into accepting the role.

Along the way, they have various adventures—in addition to some nasty geographical features, they meet goblins, giants, trolls, freakishly huge talking spiders, a ware-bear, elves, and several others. Some of those are allies, many are not. Eventually, they reach the Lonely Mountain, face off against the dragon, find themselves in the middle of The Battle of Five Armies, and then (as the title implies) Bilbo goes back home.

The Narration

I saw that Serkis recorded this and almost jumped immediately—but I made myself hold off until he did the follow-up trilogy. Well, that happened last fall, so after I wrapped up my Alex Verus re-listen, I moved on to this series. What a delicious listen!

Serkis does a great job bringing individual characters to life—and keeping them individual. A couple of times I wondered if he was doing a McKellen impression with Gandalf, but I talked myself out of it—ditto for the other characters. I thought his Smaug was excellent, too.

The moment that [name redacted out of habit, can’t imagine I’m spoiling anything] turns on Bilbo was so well done that I felt something like surprise while I was waiting for it.

But the big question for me going in was how was he going to approach Gollum. Would he be prevented from duplicating the voice/characterization from the films in this format, because it wasn’t owned by some film company or something? Or was Serkis just sick and tired of doing it and wanted to try another approach? Nope and nope. His audiobook Gollum sounded just like the movie Gollum and I could’ve listened to that section of the book on a loop for few times through. I just loved it. It almost didn’t matter what he did the rest of the time.

I typically listen to audiobooks at more than 1.0x speed—it varies from book to book, narrator to narrator, genre to genre—what speed I use. Frequently, too, I’ll start at something like 1.2 and then work my way up as I get used to a narrator/book. Not with this one—I wanted to soak in the performance. I don’t think I made it more than a paragraph or two before I slowed to 1.0 and kept it there the whole time, I just really got into his performance (I’m not sure that I’ll do that for LoTR, those are some long reads).

Oof, I really should’ve thought of this before starting the book…

If you’re reading, it’s easy to skip and/or skim through the songs. If you’re listening to an audiobook—unless you want to stop everything you’re doing to focus on fast-forwarding just enough, you’re stuck listening to them all.

Call me a Philistine if you will, but I just can’t do the songs. And I consistently forget how many of them there are in this book. I tried, I really tried to pay attention, but I couldn’t. I do think Serkis did a decent job carrying a tune with them. I’d love a Behind the Scenes look at how they decided on a tune for him to use.

So, what did I think about The Hobbit Audiobook?

I’m not the Tolkein-fanboy that I (and many acquaintances) would’ve assumed I am. This is only my third (complete) time through the book—I tried a handful of times in grade school, but couldn’t make it through. I got some encouragement from a big fan in college to push through it so I could get to The Lord of the Rings, but didn’t get around to it until the year before Jackson’s LotR was released. I really enjoyed it then, and my appreciation grows in the re-reads. Serkis’ work here moved that up a lot, too.

It’s just a fantastic audiobook—any problems stem from the original text, not Serkis’s performance—if anything he helped the text (not that it needed much). I can’t wait to see what he does with LoTR, those books demand a bit more, and I’m confident he’ll live up to expectations, now I just want to hear it for myself.

If you’re at all curious about this, you should give it a shot—you’ll be glad you did. If you have no curiosity about this—are you sure? Should you reconsider your position? This’d be a great way on family vacations or something to introduce younger readers to the series, I’d think.

5 Stars

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MUSIC MONDAY: “At The End Of The Day” by Orla Gartland

By HCNewton

On September 21, 2026

In News/Misc.

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Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.

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