Author: HCNewton Page 126 of 609

Fourth Quarter Check-In/Wrap-Up: 2023 Plans and Challenges

On January 2, 2024

In Books, Calendar Items, Miscellany, News/Misc.

Well…this doesn’t look the way I want it to. But here goes:

My plans this year focused on the two series that I’ve started—Literary Locals and Grandpappy’s Corner—both of which went well last year.

Then there’s the perennial, “Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own.” How did I do on that?

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2022	5	45	42	143
End of 1st Quarter	4	44	54	142
End of 2nd Quarter	5	50	56	145
End of 3rd Quarter	5	51	58	151
End of 4th Quarter	6	47	68	153

Let’s move right along to see how I did with the Reading Challenges…
2023 Book Challenges

Goodreads Challenge

It should show a few more read, but Goodreads doesn’t have them in the list, and I’m too lazy to bother submitting them. Still, there I’m success.

and now, it’s time for the less than successful marks

12 Books
I got behind in March and never got back to this. It really drove me crazy, because I wanted to read these, but the idea of being behind ended up being a mental block. I’m working on this for next year. And I only wrote about one of the three I managed to read.

2023 While I was Reading

I finished this one…although #4 isn’t probably what Ramona was going for. This is the last time I’ll be participating in this challenge, as Ramona’s retiring her blog. I feel bad that I didn’t do better for this last go-round. But…eh. I gave it a shot.

A book with a protagonist over 40.: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
A book considered a classic.: The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock
A graphic novel.: Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, Boulet (Illustrator)
A book that has been banned or challenged.: The Freedom of a Christian: A New Translation by Martin Luther (proscribed by the Edict of Worms in 1521…yeah, it’s a stretch, but I ran out of time for the more contemporary titles I picked)
A book set in a place on your bucket list.: Blood Runs Cold by Neil Lancaster
A book published before you were born.: On the Apostolic Preaching by Irenaeus of Lyons
A book related to a goal you have for 2023.: Church History in Plain Language, Fifth Edition by Bruce Shelley, Revision Editor Marshall Shelley
A book by an author of color.: The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian
A book with a clever title.: Kneading Journalism: Essays on Baking Bread and Breaking Down the News by Tony Ganzer
A book by a famous author you’ve never read: The Last Dance by Mark Billingham
A non-fiction book about a topic you love.: The Worst We Can Find: MST3K, RiffTrax, and the History of Heckling at the Movies by Dale Sherman
A novella: Bad Memory by Jim Cliff

Your TBR Reduction Book Challenge

I’m on-target for this one (as much as I can be), and have even got a couple of the Stretch Goals accomplished.
January – End to end temptation I give you permission to read the most recent book you have got on top of your TBR. For many this is one we only get to read eventually but for now I want you to pick up the newest book in Mount TBR and read it. Can you remember the last time you did that? It’s a good habit to get into and January is all about starting good habits: The Perception of Dolls by Anthony Croix, Edited by Russell Day
Stretch Goal – Read the oldest book in Mount TBR it has waited long enough: Bartleby and James: Edwardian Steampunk Chronicle by Michael Coorlim
February – Short steps For the shortest month of the year I want you to read 28 short stories. This can be a TBR collection, anthology or even backlog of magazines that you have. Life is fast but use this challenge to appreciate the skill of the short story writer. Play your skills right you may get more than one book read this way. eh…I get partial credit for this, Noirville contained every short story I had unread, but it’s only fifteen stories. I did read extra novellas for the Stretch Goal, though. So I’m calling this okay?
Stretch Goal – Read four novellas one for each week of the month. Bad Memory by Jim Cliff, Anna and the Vampire Prince by Jeanne C. Stein, and Broken by Don Winslow (which is six novellas).
March – Fresh Starts This time for the beginning of spring you need to start a series you have never read before. Release this work from Mount TBR! Justice Calling by Annie Bellet
April – Open and Shut Case For the month named after the latin for ‘to open’ you need to read a standalone book with no sequel or links to any other book. Something new and something you can let go after reading it: The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow
May – Crowning Glory? the UK has a lot of bank holidays including a coronation this month so suitably let’s pick a book about revolution or a change of those in power. Questland by Carrie Vaughn
June – long reading days or longest nights Irrespective of your hemisphere you have time for reading either in the joys of summer or depths of winter. Your challenge here is to find the largest tale on Mount TBR and finish it. Let that monster get off your back: Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
July – Holidays are coming! let’s go travelling find a book by the author who lives the furthest from you on the globe. I give you seven months to do the maths! Let’s explore the fiction of places very much not like our own: Eternity Fund by Liz Monument (Australia)
August – Holiday Treats reward time you get to choose the book in your TBR pile no Themes, clues of queries to ask. Just take one off the list!: Lemon Man by Ken Bruton
September – Seven Deadly Tempts read a book linked however you want to one of the seven deadly sins. Booktempting I stress is not one of them. Indulge yourselves: Cash Rules Everything Around Me by Rob Gittins. If that title doesn’t scream Greed, I don’t know what does (the other 6 show up as well in the book)
October – Spooky Season cometh read a book with a spooky or dark theme. Unsettle yourself prior to Halloween: Evil Embers by Cristelle Comby
November – Small Press Big Stories read a book that is published by a printing house that is not connected to the auk/US Big Five publishers: Evil Valley by Simon Hall
December – Don’t forget to say thank you it’s been over a year treat yourself to a book someone else gifted you. If you liked it tell that person!: Vicious Dogs by Henry Brock

Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge;

I’ve got 16 of the 24 categories taken care of. So, I guess I’m okay-ish here. I’ll have a few others accomplished by the end of the year, but I think this is going to be an incomplete challenge.

five word title (only 5 words, count ’em up!) – The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow
won an award (the book won an award. any award!)
meant to read it last year (a book you planned to get to in 2022 and didn’t) – The Night Watch by Neil Lancaster
giving an author a second chance (an author (or specific book) you previously didn’t jive with ) – Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
an author writing under a pseudonym (the author(s) is not writing under their real name) – Cutthroat Cupcakes by Cate Lawley
2022 debut novel (an author’s first book that released in 2022) – Lemon Man by Ken Bruton
standalone (the book has no prequels/sequels) – Proxies by James T. Lambert
bought and forgot it (a book you bought (or borrowed) and forgot about it) – Cash Rules Everything Around Me by Rob Gittins
plants on the cover (any kind of plant on the cover is fair game) – The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
first in a trilogy (the book is the first of three) – The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
name in the title (the title has a character name in it) – Klone’s Stronghold by Joyce Reynolds-Ward
set on a continent you don’t live on (the story is set on a continent (or heavily inspired by a place on a continent) you do NOT live on) – Anna and the Vampire Prince by Jeanne C. Stein

it’s a trope! (your favorite) (pick your favorite trope and read a book featuring it)
less than 170 pages (make sure it’s a short one!) – Bartleby and James: Edwardian Steampunk Chronicle by Michael Coorlim
released at least 23 years ago (that’s right, we’re taking it back to the 90’s (release dates in 1999 or before))
protagonist name starts with “M” (the main character has a name beginning with “M”) – Teaching Moments by Troy Lambert (Max)
graphic novel outside your fave genre (find a graphic novel that isn’t in one of your favorite genres)
recommended by a bookseller (ask your local bookseller for a recommendation! if you don’t have a local store, there are plenty with social media accounts to reach out to)
letter “z” in the title (the letter “z” appears somewhere in the title) – A Sh*tload of Crazy Powers by Jackson Ford
all about music or the arts (the story revolves around music or the arts in some way) – Questland by Carrie Vaughn
protagonist has a pet (any pet will do) – A Man Named Doll by Jonathan Ames
more than 450 pages (grab a tome and get reading!) – The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
your favorite genre (a book that falls in your favorite genre) – Barking for Business by E. N. Crane
main cover color is your least favorite color (find a book prominently featuring your least favorite color on the cover) – A Geerhardus Vos Anthology: Biblical and Theological Insights Alphabetically Arranged ed. Danny E. Olinger (I don’t know that I have a least favorite color, but it is a bit “meh”)

Basically, 2 out of 4 (the Goodreads challenge isn’t really much of one). Not really my best. But…these things are for fun and to make me think about reading in a slightly different way. It succeeded there, as much as I didn’t.

(Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)

MUSIC MONDAY: Auld Lang Syne by Radio Company

By HCNewton

On January 1, 2024

In News/Misc.

Music Monday’s originated at The Tattooed Book Geek‘s fantastic blog and has shown up here and there since then.

(last holiday season song for a while)

The Irresponsible Reader Metallica Logo

The Irresponsible Reader in 2023: Thoughts, Thanks, and Stats

By HCNewton

On January 1, 2024

In Miscellany, News/Misc.

Programming Note: As is my custom, over the next week I’ll be looking back over the year that was—but I’ll try to come up with some new material, too. Many/most others have already done their best-of/year-end wrap-up posts, but I’m a stickler—I can’t start doing this kind of thing ’til the year is over. My brain doesn’t allow me to work that way (I just hate projecting things in general—and some years ago when I just read irresponsibly but hadn’t adopted the name, the last novel of the year was so far beyond the rest that I can’t start looking back until 12/31 at the earliest).

As we kick off 2024, I wanted to take a glance back at 2023—304 books finished (plus comics, picture books, short stories, and the like that I don’t know how to count)—my mind is thoroughly boggled! I exceeded my goal (nothing like exceeding an arbitrary number to boost the ol’ ego), too; finishing over 82,481 pages (too many audio-only things, to get an accurate count); with an average rating of 3.68 Stars (exactly the same as last year…how’s that for consistency).

On the blog front, I put up 626 posts—an all-time high for me!! Thanks have to be given for all the contributors I had to a couple of series of posts this year that made that possible (I’ll get to this below). I had another year of strong gains in traffic—views and visitors—I’m not big-time (never going to be), but those numbers consistently weird me out (which is why I only look every 6-12 months). My follower count (here and on social media sites) is encouraging and humbling, I really feel like I ought to do more to earn them. Maybe there’s a book on how to be more interesting as a person that I should grab.

This was a year for series for me (which is partially why I’m so far behind on my To-Write-About pile). I (yet again) didn’t get back to my Classic Spenser series (which is grating), and I got too caught up in other stuff and abandoned my monthly Highlights: Lines Worth Repeating series (it’ll be back soon). But on the positive side, my Literary Locals series really took off and I launched my Grandpappy’s Corner, a true labor of love. My contribution to Self-Published Author Appreciation Week, The Inside Scoop—Self-Published Authors Talk About Self-Publishing turned out to be far bigger than I expected—and far better than I hoped. Lastly, there was the Top 5 All-Time Desert Island Books series of guest posts, which I particularly enjoyed.

I, like many readers, am an introvert. But this year, I went out of my way to attend some in-person events, and hope to do some more of that. There were a couple of individual signings and readings, some other events at Rediscovered Books, the Nampa Library’s Treasure Valley Indie Book Fair, the Boise Library’s Comic Arts Fest and their Book Faire, and a meeting of IdaHope. It was great to interact with fellow readers and some authors apart from the screen. I started to list the authors I met, and then realized I’d forget at least one and would feel horrible. So…you know who you are, if you’re reading this, I really enjoyed interacting with you. I should probably list recording an episode of Let Me Tell You a Story as meeting an author (and her husband), but that was for Internet consumption, so it feels strange including it with all this offline stuff (but oh man…such a fun thing to do!).

As is my habit, here’s my breakdown of books by genre—I tweaked the table a bit, so it actually fits on the screen (or should). Genre labeling continues to be more difficult as I’m reading a lot of hybrids (most of us are, they’re being produced more), but I tend to go with the overarching genre. Once again, for someone who doesn’t plan too thoroughly, the percentages stay remarkably consistent from year to year—my tastes (and the series I follow) apparently stay the same. I was surprised by the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller drop, and am bothered by the Theology drop (although a lot of those took enough work/time that it I can assuage my conscience). I expected the increase in Children’s lit—but those are so short that I can’t attribute any changes between it and the other moves.

Genre	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2012-16
Children’s	25 (8%)	5 (2%)	2 (1%)	5 (2%)	7 (3%)	11 (4%)	7 (3%)	5 (.5%)
Fantasy	34 (11%)	32 (10%)	20 (7%)	35 (13%)	28 (10%)	30 (11%)	7 (3%)	86 (8.6%)
General Fiction/ Literature	26 (9%)	24 (8%)	22 (7%)	16 (7%)	21 (8%)	22 (8%)	29 (10%)	111 (11%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	90 (30%)	114 (37%)	117 (38%)	90 (34%)	105 (38%)	107 (38%)	102 (37%)	323 (32%)
Non-Fiction	22 (7%)	29 (9%)	22 (7%)	28 (10%)	25 (9%)	22 (8%)	10 (4%)	36 (3.6%)
Science Fiction	34 (11%)	28 (9%)	20 (7%)	20 (8%)	30 (11%)	25 (9%)	27 (10%)	95 (9.5%)
Theology/ Christian Living	30 (10%)	45 (15%)	38 (13%)	23 (8%)	34 (12%)	25 (9%)	30 (11%)	164 (16.4%)
Urban Fantasy	33 (11%)	34 (11%)	49 (16%)	42 (16%)	25 (9%)	29 (10%)	45 (16%)	149 (14.9%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	9 (3%)	2 (1%)	12 (4%)	4 (2%)	6 (2%)	7 (3%)	2 (1%)	32 (3%)

Thanks to the nifty spreadsheet made by the Voracious Reader, a few more stats were prepped for me (if I did better at using the tool, I could have more). I find them interesting, and maybe you will, too.
Re-Read Chart Huh…that’s a 2% drop in re-reads. I’d have guessed I went up by 5-10%. Source of my Books
Thanks to a comment from Allyson Johnson last year, I broke things down a bit to differentiate between borrowed (from a person) and borrowed from a Library. Combined, that number went down, which would trouble me a bit, but the percentage of review copies went up to almost balance it out.
Format of the Book The percentage of eBooks went up as did paperbacks (oddly). Hardcovers took the hit there. There’s probably a link between that and the review copies mentioned above.

Enough about me. Now we get to my favorite part—I want to talk about you, who keep me going and show an interest in what I’m doing here, and give some thanks to people for their impact on The Irresponsible Reader (the blog and the person) in 2023:

Thanks to everyone for your comments/feedback—texts, emails, comments here/Goodreads, tweets/Twitter-replacement posts, FB comments, even the occasional Face-to-Face conversation. Keep it up! I really appreciate the time you took to leave feedback. Hopefully, you can tell that you’ve shaped the conversation here—it has, I assure you. Many of you are pushing me to be a better writer—some of you push me to read better books. I’m going to give a particular thanks to Robert Germaux, Lashaan, The Write Reads, Allyson Johnson (you really push me to think about what I’m reading!), W&S Bookclub, Lashaan, Emma, and Noelle for their encouragement, retweets, and interaction.
Flattered thanks to (in roughly reverse chronological order): Little Reader, Taylor @ Taylor Fenner’s Bookish World, JK Joy, Amy Rice, cchittom, Ashleigh Mordew, NovelLives, danigarciagimenez, holley4734 of chasing destino, Bachir Bastien, Damien de Soto, Mike Finn and mehsi, Hilarey, Jolie, SHANNON K SEXTON, hikingtheup, Mike Finn, Blue Bell, jason Lee, and Aditi Kundu, for being new followers (at least for a post or two) of the blog this year—the size of this list shocks me, and I hope you all got at least something out of it. (I sincerely hope I didn’t miss anyone)
A hearty thanks to all the authors, editors, illustrators, translators, and other people behind the production of the books I spent time with this year—this blog would be nothing without your efforts, your blood, sweat, tears, fears, work, love, dreams, hopes, art, and words. Your books were my companions throughout this year, and I can’t thank you enough for them (and I hope I get to spend time with many of you again soon!).
More thanks to all those who requested that I read and talk about your (or your clients’) books. I know how much work, effort, heart, and everything else that went into your books. It’s super humbling, I know you all didn’t like what I said, but, I am grateful for the opportunity.
I did a mind-boggling number (for me, anyway) number of Q&As this year and I cannot thank every participant enough. I got to ask “A Few Quick Questions” to: JCM Berne, Andi Ewington, Tony Ganzer, Matthew Hanover (always a good time to have him back), Harry L-B, Hilarey Johnson, D.I. Jolly (again!), Troy Lambert, Paul Levine (I can’t believe he came back for another round), Elliott Linker, K.R.R. Lockhaven, Rebecca Carey Lyles, Josef Matulich, Elizabeth Peiró and Shannon Knight, Joyce Reynolds-Ward, Amy Maren Rice, Michael Sears, Herman Steuernagel, and Matt Witten.
Beyond those, I really want to thank Matt Edwards, Taylor R. Gray (a.k.a. .G.), Merri Halma, Danielle Higley, Lisa Hess and Hilarey Johnson, Hilary Johnson, James T. Lambert, Troy Lambert, Cate Lawley (a.k.a. Kate Baray), Rebecca Carey Lyles, Bryan McBee, Danielle Parker, Brock Poulsen, Justin Reed, Joyce Reynolds Ward, Amy Maren Rice, and Paul Regnier for answering my questions about writing in Idaho (or close to it).
As I mentioned before, those who contributed to The Inside Scoop were far more in number than I’d hoped, and I really appreciate them sharing their experiences, difficulties, and victories on the self-publishing front. They were: JCM Berne, Jeremy Billups, James Lloyd Dulin, Andi Ewington, Jonathan Fesmire, Robert Germaux, Matthew Hanover, Shannon Knight, Rebecca Carey Lyles, Michael Michel, H.C. Newell, Raina Nightingale, e rathke, Alex Robins, Ian Shane, and Tao Wong
I also hosted a record number of Guest Posts this year. Many thanks to Vesper Aeon, E.N. Crane/Noelle Rider/Noelle Neal-Crane, Jodie Crump, Mars G. Everson , Lilly and Sara from Fiction Fans Podcast, Robert Germaux, J. M. Gulmire, Shannon Knight, K.R.R. Lockhaven, Daniel Meyer, Chris Monceaux, Donna Morfett , Raina Nightingale, Mark Pepper, Raven, Matthew Samuels, Shazzi.
My son Owen provided a lot of the technical support I needed this year. Owen’s my best editor (sadly, it’s largely after I post something…), too, and he’s saved me from looking stupid on more than one occasion.
All my kids have acted as sounding boards this year—helping with some graphics, jokes, themes, etc. They (and Owen) do a solid job of pretending to care about what I’m saying about books, reading, and whatnot. A hat tip to Calvin, Katrina, Carleigh, and Machen, too.
A lot of thanks need to go to the Grandcritter, and my pack—Kinai (RIP), Tanny, and Athena. Not only have you brought me joy and inspired some reading, you’re also great at reminding me to stop all this nonsense and pay attention to life around me. (for example, this post would’ve taken 2/3 as long to write if it wasn’t for Athena and Tanny insisting on some pets and scritches—the Grandcritter wasn’t present today, so he gets no blame—er, credit—on that front. This time.)
A special thanks to my wife. Without your support, indulgence, and patience this thing wouldn’t exist—and I’d read a lot less (the horror!). Thank you. I love you.
And thank you all for reading. This may feel obligatory and insincere. It is not. Honestly, each time I get a notification of a comment, or a like, or a share, or a follow, etc. it makes my day. To know that someone took a couple of seconds or more out of their day to glance at this? It means the world to me. Thanks.

Have a great 2024, hope you find plenty of good things to read!

December 2023 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

By HCNewton

On January 1, 2024

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

Lookee there, another month is done and dusted (yeah, a year, too…but we’ll get to that later). This month I finished 27 titles (3 down from last month, 6 down from last December), with an equivalent of 7,905+ pages or the equivalent (1,599 more than last month), and gave them an average of 3.78 stars (the same as last month).

There were a couple of picture books in that total, and 2 books I’ve been working on for months, so that’s really a lower number. But…eh, whatever. With one exception, I had a good time with them. I didn’t write as much this month as it felt I did, but I liked almost everything I produced. So…I’m calling it a win.

Here’s what happened here in December.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Ratings

		Average =	3.78
	3		1
	4		0
	7		0
	5		0
	7

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2021	9	45	42	144
1st of the Month	7	47	69	153
Added	3	2	8	1
Read/ Listened	4	2	9	1
Current Total	6	47	68	153

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 18
Self-/Independent Published: 9

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	25 (8%)
Fantasy	4 (15%)	34 (11%)
General Fiction/ Literature	1 (4%)	26 (9%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	9 (33%)	90 (30%)
Non-Fiction	2 (7%)	22 (7%)
Science Fiction	3 (11%)	34 (11%)
Theology/ Christian Living	5 (19%)	30 (10%)
Urban Fantasy	2 (7%)	33 (11%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	1 (4%)	9 (3%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Up on the Woof Top by Spencer Quinn: I Have No Humbugs to Give
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 40: Close/Open by R. T. Slaywood: Moving Day Cont’d
The Holy Spirit: An Introduction by Fred Sanders: A Vital and Needed Work
Robert B. Parker’s Broken Trust by Mike Lupica: Lupica Earns Some Trust from This Longtime Spenser Fan
Fuzzwiggs: The Switcheroo by Amy Maren Rice: 1/2 A Silly (and Odorous) MG Adventure Sure to Please
The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Child: Time for Me to Slip out the Back (away from) Jack
Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, Boulet (Illustrator): A Joy-Filled Retelling for Readers of All Ages
Grandpappy’s Corner: Saint Valentine the Kindhearted by Ned Bustard: …Violets are Blue, I Liked this Book, and You Will, Too.
The MOST Powerful Christmas by JCM Berne: The Best “Superhero Christmas Story Written by a Jew about Hindus Saving the Holiday” You’ll Read All Year
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman: The Joy Love Brings, and the Price We Pay
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 41: Garden Conversation by R. T. Slaywood: Did We Just Get Some Answers?!?
Regeneration and Redemptive History by Scott R. Wright: Recalibrating Our Understanding on an Important Distinctive
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire: One of McGuire’s Best (no matter what series). A Magical Novella
Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up): A Mixed Bag That Features Plenty of Tasty Treats
Blood Betrayal by Ausma Zehanat Khan: A Pair of Potential Hate Crimes are Almost Too Much for the Communities and the Investigators
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 42: Meaningful by R. T. Slaywood: Lesson One
Grandpappy’s Corner: Saint Nicholas the Giftgiver by Ned Bustard: The Making of a Legend
The Chimes by Charles Dickens: A Different Set of Bells You Don’t Want Tolling for You
Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor: The Sins of the Fathers…
The Mayors of New York by S.J. Rozan: Let Your Honesty Shine…
The God of the Mundane by Matthew B. Redmond: A Call to the Ordinary Life

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

The God of the Mundane by Matthew B. Redmond: A Call to the Ordinary Life

By HCNewton

On December 31, 2023

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

The God of the Mundane:
Reflections on Ordinary Life
for Ordinary People

by Matthew B. Redmond

DETAILS:
Publisher: Cruciform Press
Publication Date: April 3, 2021
Format: eBook
Length: 146 pg.
Read Date: December 24, 2023

What’s The God of the Mundane About?

So I wondered. I wondered about the great majority I have known and know, the great majority living fairly ordinary lives.

Is there a God, for instance, for those who are not changing anything but diapers? Is there a God for those who simply love their spouse and pour out rarely appreciated affection on their children day after day? Is there a God for the mom who spends what feels like God- forsaken days changing diapers and slicing up hot dogs? Is there a God for the man who hammers out a day’s work in obscurity for the love of his wife and kids? Is there a God for just and kind employers? Generous homemakers? Day-laborers who would look at a missions trip to Romania like it was an unimaginable vacation?

Is there a God for the middle-class mom staving off cancer, struggling to raise teenagers, and simply hoping both Mom and Dad keep their job? Is there a God for the broken home with a full bank account but an empty bed? Is there a God for grown children tending to the health of their aged parents?

Is there a God who delights in the ordinary existence of the unknown faithful doing unknown work? Is there a God of grace for those who live out their faith everywhere but do not want to move anywhere?

Is there a God for those who have bigger homes than me? More money than me? Nicer cars than me? Better health than me?

Is there a God for the mundane parts of life, the small moments? Is there a God of kind smiles, good tips, and good mornings? Is there a God of goodbye hugs and parting kisses? What about firm, truthful handshakes and grasps of frail fingers in sanitized hospital rooms?…

Is there a God of the mundane?

Does this God I worship care about mundane people and moments?

The answer to this question is, obviously, yes. In fact, almost every believer, Redmond argues lives the kind of quiet life that most contemporary preachers ignore—quiet, faithful, mundane. Ordinary. (Redmond limits his arguments to New Testament believers through the present. He could’ve/should’ve gone back to Genesis if you ask me).

There’s some gentle critique of contemporary Evangelical preaching and the kind of striving for the monumental it encourages—calls for, but largely this is a positive book. Redmond is primarily focused on saying, “Your ordinary life is good. It’s nothing to be ashamed of if you’re being faithful.”

Horton’s Ordinary

It’s been nine years or so since I read it, but this book felt a lot like Michael Horton’s Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World. I do think that Horton did a better, or at least, more thorough job of looking for the quiet, unremarkable life. And people who read and gained from Redmond should hunt Horton’s book down.

But every time I started to say something comparing the two in my notes, Redmond would say something in a way that caught me off guard. A way of framing his argument that raised my eyebrows, an illustration that made the point so clear.

So I’m not going to make any other comparisons between the two, I’m just going to say that these two are singing from the same hymn book and I hope their tribe increases. If you liked one, read the other.

So, what did I think about The God of the Mundane?

missed the obvious: the apostles are writing to normal people. Most of them are nameless. They are Jew and Gentile, yes. But they are also not apostles. And most are not pastors. They are carpenters, farmers, traders, sailors, fishermen, shepherds, guards. They are mothers and fathers and children. Compared to the life of an apostle, their lives are probably mundane. These are ordinary men and women believing an extraordinary story…

But he never asks them to stop being who they are. He never challenges them to go anywhere. We don’t even get hints that he is making them feel guilty for living with comforts he doesn’t enjoy. That’s weird. It’s weird because this is so common in our pulpits and in conferences held for zealous college students.

I’ve cut so many things from the outline I dashed out before starting this post—basically, I was going to end up providing a compressed paraphrase of this entire book as a disguise for talking about it. I don’t want to do that. But it’s tempting.

I do think that Redmond makes some of the same points too often. That’s not a crime in books, obviously, but in 146 pages, that kind of thing stands out. He could’ve added a little variation to some of his arguments, etc. to keep the text fresh. But his writing is clear, convincing, and engaging. You can easily see yourself getting this advice from a trusted friend across the table at a coffee shop or diner.

This isn’t classroom wisdom or what an Ivory Tower will come up with. It is pulpit wisdom. It’s like an application of everything the Preacher says in Ecclesiastes—and is almost as wise. It’s also the wisdom of someone who’s been around a while, has seen a lot, and has learned from that—and then coupled that experience with what the Scriptures say. (also, I just said the same thing three times in different ways) As such, it’s something we should at least hear out.

I didn’t mean to buy this book, I’d meant to put it on a “think about this later” list, but a slip of the finger later, and I had another ebook to read. I’m glad I got this, it’s not quite what Ross means when he talks about happy little accidents, but it works for me. This was encouraging to me. It was a reminder of principles I’ve tried to live by—and who doesn’t need a good reminder like that from time to time.

Do I think it could’ve been a better book? Yes. Do I think it’s a little surface-level, and frequently redundant? Sure. But when it’s good—it’s really good. It would’ve taken doubling (at least) the length of the book for it to be the kind of “better” I want—and would almost certainly leave it as the kind of thing that so many who need to read it won’t bother with. And frankly, a good message, wise words, or however you want to put it, means more than a good book any day.

But I say: Be nobody special. Do your job. Take care of your family. Clean your house. Mow your yard. Read your Bible. Attend worship. Pray. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Love your spouse. Love your kids. Be generous. Laugh with your friends. Drink your wine heartily. Eat your meat lustily. Be honest. Be kind to your waitress. Expect no special treatment. And do it all quietly.

3.5 Stars

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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Saturday Miscellany—12/30/23

By HCNewton

On December 30, 2023

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

When going through the posts, etc. I had collected for this week, it felt like this was going to be nothing but a list of lists. Which would’ve been fine, but strange, you know? I did eventually get mostly past the lists to some other things. But I’ll warn you now, if you are looking to keep your TBR from exploding, there are several things I linked to today that you’ll want to avoid.

On the other hand, if you’re wanting it to explode with goodness…

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 If Not For Libraries: Authors on the Importance of Public Libraries—The New York Public Library put this together earlier this year, and I’m not sure how I missed it until this week.
bullet Five years and 2m copies later, self-published author lands UK book deal—Granted, the overwhelming majority of self-pubbed authors won’t see this kind of success. But doesn’t it make your heart warm to see that some do?
bullet A.I. : In the Age of the Absence of the Author
bullet Why Readers Love Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire Series —this is a good overview of the series/good intro for those who’ve thought about dipping their toe in.
bullet Before We Go Blog is always a reliable source of good material, but three of the posts the team put up this week caught my eye.
bullet Top Urban Fantasy Series To Get You Hooked on the Genre—I enjoyed (the?) previous version(s?) of this, but this updated one makes me feel positively un-read in the genre.
bullet Top Ten Fantasy Characters That Probably Listen to Taylor Swift—Kudos to them for even coming up with this idea. I’m not a Swiftie (at least not after her second album), but I enjoyed the post
bullet Seven Favorite Cinnamon Rolls in SFF Novels—Is Cinnamon Roll a term I should already be familiar with? Either way, I’m adding it to my vocabulary.
bullet Top 20 Most Recommended Audiobooks of All Time—according to Libro.fm
bullet Another batch of Best of 2023 lists:
bullet Top Five Most Dramatic Twists I Read In 2023—Steven Writes comes up with another good category
bullet 10 of My Favorite Reads in 2023—from Pages Unbound’s Krysta
bullet Adam Holcombe provided “A handful of great books, given to you in the form of specialized awards”
bullet FanFiAddict’s A.J. Calvin’s Top 10 Reads of 2023
bullet Favorite Books in 2023—from A Literary Escape
bullet Out of This World SFF’s My Top 10 Reads of 2023!!!
bullet Most Memorable Reads of 2023—from Reading Ladies Book Club
bullet Top 5 Books of 2023—Top 5? As I’m going to demonstrate next week there’s no way I could get things down to 5. My hat’s off to Books are 42 for pulling it off.
bullet Tales from Absurdia’s The Best Books I Read in 2023
bullet Esmay Rosalyne’s Best Surprises of 2023
bullet What Makes a Story Comforting?—another good one from Molly Templeton. I’m also tempted to (somewhat reluctantly) rewatch Grimm.
bullet How to Plan for Your 2024 Reading Challenge —some good advice from NetGalley’s We Are Bookish blog
bullet Backlist Bingo 2024—it’s been a minute since Armed With a Book did a Bingo, this looks fun
bullet Read What You Got—a month-long push to clear up your unread books
bullet The 2024 Booktempter’s TBR Challenge—the last two of these from Runalong the Shelves have proved helpful to me. I’m back for a third go-round.
bullet The Project Backlist Reading Challenge—another good-looking challenge
bullet Bookish Travel: Visiting The 50 US States 2023—what a great idea…
bullet 2024 Ultimate Book Blogger / Reader Spreadsheet Template—a great tool for Bloggers and super-organized readers (or those wanting to be)
bullet Quotables: Words that Stuck with me in 2023—I love this annual post (which inspired my monthly posts…that I will get back to!)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Sundry Notes of Music: An Almost Memoir by Ian Shane—some of the bigger moments of Shane’s life are described through the filter of important (to him) songs. Humor, love, loss, and a lot of music. I talk a little more indepth about it here.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Little Reader, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.

The Mayors of New York by S.J. Rozan: Let Your Honesty Shine…

By HCNewton

On December 29, 2023

In Fiction, Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, S. J. Rozan

The Mayors of New York

by S. J. Rozan

DETAILS:
Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #15
Publisher: Pegasus Crime
Publication Date: December 5, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 280 pg.
Read Date: December 21-25, 2023

What’s The Mayors of New York About?

New York’s first female mayor has a problem. A few months after taking office, her fifteen-year-old son has run away. It’s not the first time, but it’s the first time since she’s been elected. She’s in the middle of high-stakes negotiations with a police union, so Mayor McCann doesn’t feel like she can turn to them without taking some PR hits/weakening in the negotiations.

So, she has her aide hire Bill Smith (who brings along Lydia, of course). It’s not easy tracking down one of the most recognizable teens in the city without letting anyone know you’re doing that—and it almost seems like the “without letting anyone know” part might overrule the “finding the teen” part of the job.

Now, Lydia’s trying to decide if she takes on a case of her own at the same time. Readers know long before they do that these cases will end up intertwined—otherwise, why would Rozan bring it up? And once Bill and Lydia cotton on to that, a hunt for a runaway takes on a whole new layer. Possibly several layers.

The Characters

Nah, I’m not going to talk about Bill and Lydia today—I honestly don’t know if I have anything else to say about them outside how they’re probably my favorite partnership in Crime Fiction (Robin/Cormoran—learn from these two. They trust each other and communicate frankly. Your lives will be the better for it, and the books will be shorter, too. Everyone wins.).

I want to talk about Mark McCann a little bit. At first, he’s just the target. He’s little more than a MacGuffin to get the plot moving. Then we start to learn a little about him and he becomes an actual character—one I want to learn more about. Then we get to meet him, and I like him a lot. And then Mark goes ahead and does some clever and stupid (read: dangerous) things and I want to see more of him.

The wanting to see more of him goes for everyone who’s alive and not under indictment of some sort at the end of the book—the McCann’s household staff, the people who help Mark along the way (and then help Bill and Lydia), and so on. I know it’s not really Rozan’s style, but if we could run across them in future books for a chapter or so just to spend more time with them, I’d really enjoy that. These all have a little more life to them than your typical witnesses, bystanders, and so on in PI Fiction. I particularly appreciated the way they all want some sort of Mayoral favor shown to their neighborhoods/communities and the way that Lydia takes notes to pass them along. A very nice—and real—note.

I feel like I should spend a few paragraphs on the most interesting character in this novel—Aubrey “Bree” Hamilton, the mayor’s aide who hires Bill to look for Mark. She and Bill dated years ago, and it’s clear from Bill’s First-Person Narration that the chip on his shoulder regarding this particular cheating %#&@ has is still pretty deep, no matter what degree of happiness he’s found elsewhere. It’s not just the way she cheated on him—Bill has no sympathy for her former PR clients (lawyers, largely) or the politicians she now works for, assuming everything they do or say is calculated for their benefit. He trusts Bree less than her bosses—and we see that throughout—but something about a 15-year-old boy who keeps running away from home speaks to Bill, so he has to investigate.

I got off target there, but I thought I’d explain Bill taking the case when he can’t stand anyone involved. Bree is a perfectly designed character—the reader can see how she’s good at her job, calculating, smart, and generally three steps ahead of anyone (aside from our protagonists occasionally). It’s impossible to tell how much she believes a lot of what she says, or if she’s saying it out of duty. And then there’s what she says to yank Bill’s chain a little bit. Bill (and therefore his narration) is so jaded against her that it’s hard for us to know how much of our negative reaction to her is justified and how much it is seeing her through Bill’s eyes. A great move by Rozan.

So, what did I think about The Mayors of New York?

The pace is fast without being breakneck. The dialogue is sharp and witty. Bill’s narration has never been more hard-boiled (his contempt for the client/client’s intermediary helps). The characters jump off the page. It’s what you want in a PI novel.

Early on, I had inklings about what was behind everything (and I’m pretty sure Rozan intended readers to). As the plot moved forward and we received more and more confirmation about those inklings, it made me uncomfortable and a little queasy. Why couldn’t I have been wrong? Why couldn’t these have been red herrings? Thanks to some skillful storytelling you don’t get bogged down in the wrongness of everything that’s afoot—it’s there and it colors everything, but your focus becomes on the characters dealing with it all, the reveals to other characters and the nail-biting way this story is resolved.

Yes, I think Rozan could’ve just as easily and skillfully let the characters and readers wallow in the muck of the crimes behind everything—but it would’ve changed the tenor of the book so much that the early chapters would feel out of place, and we probably wouldn’t have found some resolution that’s as satisfying.

Also, just because some things weren’t red herrings, don’t think that Rozan doesn’t toss enough of them at the reader to keep you wondering.

Rozan has been on a hot streak since Paper Son, and The Mayors of New York shows no signs of her slowing down anytime soon. And I am more than okay with that. If you’ve never indulged in this series before—this would work as a jumping-on point. Almost any of them would, really. The trick is to jump on somewhere for some of the best that PI fiction has to offer. A touch of the classic American PI added to a hefty helping of the 21st century. The Mayors of New York is one I heartily recommend to all.

4 1/2 Stars

Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor: The Sins of the Fathers…

By HCNewton

On December 28, 2023

In C-E, Eli Cranor, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

I’ve been trying to write about this book since April. I know I’m not going to do this justice, and so I keep procrastinating. But with 2 posting days left this year…I can push it off no longer.

Ozark Dogs

by Eli Cranor

DETAILS:
Publisher: Soho Crime
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 290 pgs.
Read Date: April 12-13, 2023

What’s Ozark Dogs About?

One of the bigger hurdles for me in completing this post was figuring out what to put here, I toyed with:

It’s by Eli Cranor, which means it’s going to have a Southern Noir sensibility, is probably going to have something to do with family, and is going to be excellent. That’s all you really need to know.

I still stand by that, but figure you need more, I just wasn’t sure what to say. I’ve finally given up and am just going to paste what Soho Crime has on their website (which, frankly, gives away more than I would’ve).

After his son is convicted of capital murder, Vietnam War veteran Jeremiah Fitzjurls takes over the care of his granddaughter, Joanna, raising her with as much warmth as can be found in an Ozark junkyard outfitted to be an armory. He teaches her how to shoot and fight, but there is not enough training in the world to protect her when the dreaded Ledfords, notorious meth dealers and fanatical white supremacists, come to collect on Joanna as payment for a long-overdue blood debt.

Headed by rancorous patriarch Bunn and smooth-talking, erudite Evail, the Ledfords have never forgotten what the Fitzjurls family did to them, and they will not be satisfied until they have taken an eye for an eye. As they seek revenge, and as Jeremiah desperately searches for his granddaughter, their narratives collide in this immersive story about family and how far some will go to honor, defend—or in some cases, destroy it.

Consequences

Don’t get me wrong—there’s plenty of crime, tension, drama, and all the rest in the novel’s “today.” But in a very real sense the novel isn’t about any of that. It’s about what happened almost two decades before this that set the families on their courses and what the outcomes of those courses are.

This is a book about ramifications, consequences, pigeons coming home to roost—however you want to put it. When you read about those earlier events a part of you is going to ask, “Why didn’t Cranor write about that?” Most—or at least many—authors would’ve, and then some would’ve added something like this as a sequel. Or maybe as Part II in a longer novel.

Cranor’s not about that, though. His focus is on what those events do to the present. How they’ve shaped the lives of those in the present (primarily without their knowledge or understanding), and how the sins of the fathers can be visited on their sons and daughters.

The Author’s Note

Frequent/Regular readers will know that I almost never mention this kind of thing when I talk about a novel. Do read this one after you finish reading about the Fitzjurls, the Ledfords, and the rest.

Unless I miss my guess, you’ll agree with every syllable.

So, what did I think about Ozark Dogs?

This, like Cranor’s first novel, would be really easy to over-hype, so I’m going to try to be restrained here.

The prose is so sharp, so…on point. You can tell every syllable was considered, if you read portions of this aloud (or, I’m sure, listen to the audiobook) you will feel the work that went into it—although it’s so smooth and flowing that it comes across as effortless. You see exactly what Cranor intends you to see, probably feel what he intended, and understand the motivations (even the ones that disgust you) of these people in precisely the way he planned.

The dialogue is so well done that you might find yourself sounding a bit like someone from Arkansas for a day or two after you finish.

These characters—it’s hard to think of them as characters, really, they’re people. People you can imagine seeing on the news or in a documentary about all this. It won’t be the most flattering documentary about anyone, I should add. I think every single one of them crosses a line—more likely many lines—that they’ve known their whole life they wouldn’t cross, at least have resolved they wouldn’t cross again years ago. But they do, sometimes with regrets, sometimes with eagerness. And your heart breaks for them, even for some of them that you hope horrible things happen to by the end of the book. Fully developed, fully realized, very human (read: fallible and flawed) characters on every page.

Earlier I said this book is about consequences, and that’s stuck with me for months. But it’s also about devotion—sometimes devotion that borders on obsession. Devotion to a cause, devotion to an idea, devotion to yourself, or (the most dangerous?) devotion to a person (or group of people). There’s a straight line between every character and what they’re devoted to and those consequences.

But if you don’t want to think about books like that—and you’re just looking for a great read? Ozark Dogs fulfills that, too. It’s a full-throttle, action-packed, revenge-driven, thrill ride with great fight scenes, enough blood and guts to satisfy the reader looking for that, and some twists and reveals that’ll stun you.

Cranor gives us another thriller that you can give to an anti-genre snob, who’ll appreciate it as much as people who only read Crime Fiction/Thrillers will. If you haven’t read him yet, do yourself a favor and get this (and Don’t Know Tough) now and start waiting for his July release while you’re at it.

5 Stars

WWW Wednesday, December 27, 2023

By HCNewton

On December 27, 2023

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

This was supposed to be the 2nd or 3rd post of the day, but you know how things gang aft a-gley sometimes. Hopefully, I can eke out something else, too.

In the meantime, I’ll get to business with this and see you in 7.

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?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri, Daniel Miyares (Illustrator)—a book I’m not even going to try to sum up in less than a couple of paragraphs. I’m listening to Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison, Kristen Sieh (Narrator) on audiobook. I’m not so sure about the story as a whole—but it possibly includes the best description of someone becoming a werewolf that I’ve ever come across.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Henry Brock’s Vicious Dogs, a clever PI novel, and the superlative The Curator by M.W. Craven, John Banks (Narrator) on audio.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The Moonshine Messiah by Russell W. Johnson. Next, I’m going to try the audiobook of The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman—I’m not 100% I can devote the attention to it that it deserves in audio format, but I haven’t been able to find the time for the print version, so we’ll see how I do.

Blank Space

How are you closing out the year? Trying to squeeze in a few more books for whatever your goal was?

(I’ve got three more I hope to finish. Will get at least one of them done 🙂 )

PUB DAY REPOST: Sundry Notes of Music: an Almost Memoir by Ian Shane: A Life’s Playlist

By HCNewton

On December 26, 2023

In (Auto)Biography, Non-Fiction

Since I inititially posted about this book, Shane has made a Spotify playlist to go along with this, I’d recommend giving it a listen as you read/after you read/before you read the book. It’s just a good mix of music (and I can’t imagine anyone else is going to come up with a playlist like this). It’s worth a listen or five even if you’re not interested in the book (and then you might be…)

Sundry Notes of Music:
an Almost Memoir

by Ian Shane

DETAILS:
Publisher: 45rpm Media
Publication Date: December 26, 2023
Format: eARC
Length: 248 pg.
Read Date: October 27-30, 2023

What’s Sundry Notes of Music About?

Ian Shane takes a break from fiction to bring us a memoir that’s unlike most you’ve read. These began as a series of blog posts looking at his life through songs. Forty-six songs connected to forty-six stories from various parts of his life—an almost-memoir, as he puts it.

Some of the essays are tied to a particular version of a song, how a particular copy became part of his collection (or how he hunted for it), and others are because a particular episode or person became entwined with a song.

Almost everyone can relate to this book—everyone has those songs that when you hear them make you think of a particular place, person, time of life—or an old cassette tape, CD, or beat-up vinyl (maybe I should add pirate site or streaming service, too). It doesn’t take much for anyone to start listening to music and start reminiscing. Shane’s just been a bit more formal about the process than most of us and has written them down in these essays.

The Songs

I hesitate to admit this because I’m afraid I’m going to lose a lot of credibility with Shane. But I know less than a quarter of the songs from this book (at least the ones he devotes a chapter to—I know some of the others referenced).* Even worse, I disagree with him about the quality of more than one of those.

* I may know a few others if covered by another artist, or by hearing them on the radio or in the background somewhere without knowing the artist/title.

Does this matter? Not really, no. What matters is the connection and how Shane expresses it. What he says about his life and the song. This is why books like High Fidelity, Eddie and the Cruisers, Juliet, Naked, Thank You, Goodnight, The Rome of Fall, etc., etc., etc. work—because we can connect to music and music makers even when they’re fictional. We all know how it feels when we click with a song, how it can reflect and shape memories, how it can make you feel on several levels at once.

Sure, those handful of chapters involving songs (or artists) that I’m familiar with hit on another level or two. But not in a way that made things significantly different.

Also, it must be remembered—this is not a book of music criticism, as often as it may feel like it. It’s a memoir—it’s about how a song is connected to a time or event in the life of Ian Shane. So even if he made up “Supertheory of Supereverything” by Gogol Bordello (and come on…how hard would it be to believe that?), that wouldn’t particularly impact the way that chapter worked for the reader.*

* Aside from the fact that in a memoir things should be as close to true as possible while protecting privacy and allowing for fuzzy memory.

So, what did I think about Sundry Notes of Music?

I love the concept for this book—and wish I could read more like this. I think people exchanging track listings for their version (to be expanded upon by request) would make becoming friends much easier.

I also think this helps me understand shades of Shane’s novels (not just the parts that he points to in this book, either). As he’s one of those authors at the top of my list from the last few years, I particularly appreciated that—but since not enough of the world has heeded my calls to buy and read his work, I won’t expect many to see a similar appeal in this book. And as I’ve learned these last few years, you really don’t need to know much about the life or work of someone to be able to really enjoy a memoir, if the memoir is good enough. This one is.

Sure, I’d have liked another few chapters about the Tom Petty show. Do I think his estimation of The Beatles is lacking (however apt calling them the equivalent of a boy band may be)? Yes. Do I wish (primarily for his sake) that some of these chapters had ended on a “happier” note (particularly the chapters “talk tonight – oasis” and “life fades away – roy orbison”)? Sure, but’s not a comment on Shane’s writing, it’s reality rearing its head.

You can see traces of Hornby’s Songbook/31 Songs in these pages. Possibly Al Young’s Drowning in the Sea of Love (I don’t know, I hadn’t heard of it until Shane mentioned its influence). But this struck me as something more like Rob Sheffield’s Love Is a Mix Tape and Talking to Girls About Duran Duran—just involving a longer period of time. I may have grinned and chuckled more at Shane than Sheffield (those who’ve read the former will roll their eyes at me there, of course).

There are parts of this book that are very funny—some bittersweet, some tragic, some simply thoughtful. Multiple essays will hit all of those points and more. They’re all engaging in various ways. Not one track on this playlist is going to leave you looking for the skip button.

Readers of Hornby, Young, or Sheffield should appreciate this approach to memoir. Those who find this approach intriguing likely will, too. Readers of Shane’s novels will definitely find something to enjoy here. People who simply appreciate well-written memoirs/personal essays should give this a look, as well. Really, anyone who finds good writing appealing should give this a glance. Yes, I’m casting the net wide on that last sentence—that’s my point.

4 Stars

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