Author: HCNewton Page 207 of 623

The World Record Book of Racist Stories (Audiobook) by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar: Records No One Should Want to Hold (but too many vie for)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: November 22, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 4 hrs., 54 min.
Read Date: November 28-29, 2022

An Issue with Sequels/Follow Ups

As I’m sitting here thinking about what to write, I keep comparing this to last year’s You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism. This is intentional because this is very much a Part II to that book. But it’s different, too. So it makes sense to contrast it so I can give an idea of how it’s different.

At the same time, I run the risk of sounding dull—”You’ll Never Believe did X, The World Record Book did Y,” “The World Record Book is more Z than…,” and so on.

I don’t know how to avoid that—so I guess this is an apology in advance? I’ll try to limit the comparisons and keep this interesting, if only because the book deserves to give a good impression, even if I’m not able to do that.

What’s The World Record Book of Racist Stories About?

Because they got to share a bunch of stories in the first book—primarily about Lacey—the sisters wanted to give the rest of their family, and some friends, the chance to get their stories told. Or, as they put it, “air out [their] dirty racist laundry.”

Ruffin warns:

FYI: You’ll be able to tell the difference between this book and the last book. This one’s gonna be a bit heavier. A touch more serious. The reason for that is with the first book, Lacey and | got to giggle through silly racism stories, and it felt great. So, if the family wants to share their stories too, however they want to share, we welcome that. We want them to feel great and heard and blah, blah, bloo. There’s plenty of silliness, it’s just that the rest of the family is less likely to remember the funnier racist stories. They have not been keeping journals. But those terrible, scary racist stories? Maaaan, they remember those like a mug. So, to emotionally prepare you, I’d call this book fifty-fifty silly-scary racist stories. Okay? So, don’t come to me talking about “It wasn’t like the first book” ‘cause you’ve been warned.

To balance out these stories, the interplay between the sisters seems a bit sillier than before (in the print version, each has their own typeface so you can see it)—up to, and including, them singing their own little ditties in the audio. The authors also include some pictures for illustration of the ridiculousness of the story or for a little burst of joy or cuteness to alleviate the heaviness of the stories they’re telling.

I should add there are a couple of anecdotes that really silly or scary, just heartbreaking.*

* Granted, there’s a sense in which all of these are heartbreaking, humanity’s inhumanity always is. So I guess those stories are extra-heartbreaking. Heartbreaking cubed.

The Organization of the Book

So, the theme of this book is there in the title—it’s a Guinness World Records collection, but no one wants to get their stories told here (names have been changed to protect those involved—according to the authors, at Lamar’s insistence over Ruffin’s intentions). The anecdotes are arranged under broad topics (or for the person they’re about), and they are each given a title like “Most Confusing Racist Phrase,” “Worst Car Service,” “Most Racist Pilot,” “Worst Celebrity Look-Alike,” “Worst Teacher,” and so on. Several of the category names are clearly exercises in creativity by the authors, like “Most Regular Degular, Day-to-Day Racism” or “Most Racist Comment I Was Not Part Of”

These Worsts and Bests, it must be remembered, apply to their family and circle of friends. Most minorities in this country can probably come up with their own “Worst Nursing Home Experience,” “Second Worst Bar Patron,” or “Worst Interview.”

A Variety of Storytellers

In the previous book, the stories were predominately told about things that happened to Ruffin or Lamar, as I’ve said. This time out, they bring in stories about their mother, father, all their siblings, a sibling-in-law, a former Nebraska state senator, and even a couple of white people (for contrast).

In fact, the book opens with an anecdote from a white, male friend about a traffic stop. It’s really atypical encounter, and one that this white, male would enjoy having. But, Ruffin says that it’s the story that shocked her the most. I don’t blame her if what follows is what she’s used to. Roughly midway through the book, we get another five quick anecdotes from a friend that Ruffin trades “opposite stories” with:

Stories where I’m suffering some racist nonsense and she’s getting away with everything but murder. It’s so shocking to me. I can’t believe this is happening to my little bud. Being white is hilarious. So, as you read these next five stories, try to think about how out of place they are in this book. Try to imagine a Black man getting away with any of this. It’s fun because you can’t!

With at least four of these, I agree—I can’t imagine that. Probably not the other, either.

They also include some anecdotes from state senator Tanya Cook, a nice (?) reminder that it’s common to find this kind of behavior anywhere.

So, what did I think about The World Record Book of Racist Stories?

Lamar writes in her closing remarks:

I’m glad our family and people from the community got the chance to share these stories with you. No matter how you feel about them, they have happened and are happening out there to not just a small group of people in Omaha, Nebraska, but to absolutely anyone at anytime, anywhere. I personally feel that by sharing these stories we are shining a light on racism, ignorance, and just some all-around hilarious shit.

That’s a pretty good way to summarize this book. And it’s a light that needs to be shone in a way that the masses will take it in. In our culture, for better or worse, the best way to do that is to make it funny and chopped up into digestible bits*. Which is what Ruffin and Lamar did here.

* See Planet Funny by Ken Jennings for more on that.

I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first—no offense to the authors and contributors, but it wasn’t as fun. If only the Introduction had warned me… But the authors worked hard to make it enjoyable—it’s just hard to do with the subject matter. As it grawlix-ing should be. The fact that they succeeded at all is remarkable.

Pretty much, you can read what I said about You’ll Never Believe and apply it here, just with a little less laughter. But I did laugh audibly at a few points, so there’s that. I also shook my head enough in unbelief/despair/denial that I’m surprised I didn’t pull something.

It may not be my favorite non-fiction read of the year (but it’s close), but it might be the most important one. Pick this (and the predecessor) up, folks.

4 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.

No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child Is Good Enough

By HCNewton

On December 7, 2022

In Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

No Plan B

by Lee Child, Andrew Child (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Jack Reacher, #27
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 24, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 357 pg.
Read Date: December 1-3, 2022

…maybe the others were right. With Reacher running around out there, maybe the full ceremony isn’t the smart way to go. Maybe It’s time we switched to Plan B.”

“We don’t have a Plan B, We’ve never needed one.”

“Maybe it’s time to think of one.”

What’s No Plan B About?

Reacher sees something in a newspaper about a museum display nearby, so he goes to check it out. This leads to him being in just the right neighborhood to see someone being pushed in front of a bus. While others are calling 911 and trying to tend to the victim, Reacher pursues the pusher. This leads to a confrontation where Reacher’s size works against him for once, and with the help of his partner, the man gets away (a Tom Cruise-sized character probably would’ve got at least one of them). Before they slipped away, Reacher got a glimpse of something the man took off the victim that made him curious.

That glance starts a whole machine working—that man, his partner, and their bosses can’t have what he saw become public. They don’t know how much time he got with the information, how much he read/understood—but if he saw anything, it could make things go very wrong for them. So they dispatch another team to take care of Reacher (the two that escaped aren’t in any shape to do anything after tangling with our hero).

Meanwhile, Reacher tries to convince the police that the woman had been pushed. But there’s already a witness who’d been swearing she jumped, and no one confirms what Reacher saw. The detective in charge sympathizes with Reacher and wants to follow up on his statement, but his superiors like the tidy answer a suicide brings. He feeds Reacher a bit of information, and the former M.P. is off on his own investigation. When the new team tries to take him out, Reacher knows he’s on to something and digs in for the long haul. This will take him from Colorado to a small town in Georgia, home to a prison the murder victim worked at.

Two other parties are making a trip to that same town. One is a teen who just learned that his father is imprisoned there—in the same conversation that he learned his father’s identity from his dying mother. He steals some money from his foster mother (money that should’ve been used to care for him, I should note) and buys a bus ticket from LA. He’s in over his head, and as we follow him on his journey it becomes clear that the fact that he survives long enough to get to Georgia is a sign of divine blessing or dumb luck.

We also track a father out for revenge. He’s a professional arsonist—actually, he employs professional arsonists at this point in his career. Something happened that killed his son—the details are kept vague for the reader. The grieving father backtracks the supply chain that provided the product, determined to destroy the man at the top.

So, what did I think about No Plan B?

After last year’s Better Off Dead, I was prepared to put this collaboration/Reacher 2.0 in the “Not for Me” category. I’m glad that the brothers continue to have success, and that many, many readers are satisfied, but it might be time for me to disembark. I wanted to give them one more chance—everyone has an off-novel, right?—but I’d decided that this would be my last Reacher novel. This was good enough to get the brothers another. I guess my fandom is no longer a long-term lease, but the equivalent of a month-to-month rental.

One strategy I employed going into this was ignoring half of the names on the cover—this is an Andrew Grant/Child take on Reacher, not a Lee Child*. That adjustment to my expectations, helped a bit, too.

* I’ve heard and seen multiple interviews/features on the pair describing how they work together, so I know it’s not entirely true. But, it helped me.

The action was good—but hallway fights might be better left to Daredevil than print. I wondered for most of the book if they had one too many storylines, but I ended up buying into the idea. The first hundred pages were great (at least the Reacher vs. conspirators storyline, and maybe the foster kid)—particularly the first couple of chapters, it was a very effective hook. Pages 100-300 were good enough—some “meh” bits, enough good bits to keep me engaged and to push the narrative along, with a really nice uptick over the last chapter or two. The last 50 pages were rushed—you want things to move quickly in the end of the thriller, you need fast action to go along with the adrenaline of the big finish—but this was just too much happening, and it was hard to appreciate it all. There’s a fast momentum, and there’s careening out of control, and this came close to that.

Still, it was in those pages that I came around to liking the revenge storyline and getting why the Childs went with it.

This was a decent thriller with some really good moments featuring a character that reminded me a lot of that guy from 61 Hours, The Hard Way, and One Shot. It’s a fast, entertaining read that will do the job.

3 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.

Book Blogger Hop: Rereading Before Reading a Sequel

By HCNewton

On December 7, 2022

In Book Blogger Hop, Books, News/Misc.

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Do you go back and reread the previous book before starting the sequel?

In my pre-book blogger days, yes. Almost 100% of the time—or if it was part of a multi-book ARC, I’d read everything leading up to it. Sure, that led to some imbalance—I’d know the beginning of a trilogy really well, the middle part so-so, and then the third would just get one reading (unless I got the hankering to read the whole thing in one bite).

It really helped to get some minor details refreshed, remember the character names (especially in bigger fantasy tomes), and just “prime” my mind in general for what was coming. Also, I clearly enjoyed the previous book—that’s why I was coming back for the next, and it worked as an excuse to revisit the series/author.

But that really went away once I really got into blogging, and I’d have a hard time letting myself enjoy the luxury of a re-read. That’s a whole ‘nother story, though, and not something anyone but my therapist should pretend to care about.

Over the last couple of years, however—this is largely thanks to my local library really beefing up their collections—I’ve taken to listening to a book a week or two before the sequel/next in the series releases. I get all the benefits, and since I don’t make a point of writing about every audiobook I listen to, there’s no guilt or internal pressure. I probably do this for 50% or so of the books in a series that I read, time (and availability) permitting right now.

What about you? Do you go into a sequel cold or do you need a refresher?

WWW Wednesday, December 7, 2022

By HCNewton

On December 7, 2022

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

It’s time for this week’s 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?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I just started Radio Radio by Ian Shane and am listening to Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry on audiobook.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Spare Man, and have already started recommending it to everyone. I also finished the satisfying Stone Cold by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator) on audio.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Her Name Is Knight by Yasmin Angoe (and yeah, I said this last week, but other library deadlines reared their head) and my next audiobook should be the trilogy ending Junkyard War by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator).

Blank Space

What about you?

A Few Quick Questions with…Sheryl Bass

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2022

In A Few Quick Questions With...

A little bit ago, I shared my thoughts about Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze, which is really something you need in your library (if you have people around in the right age range, anyway). Now, here are a few Answers to my Questions from Sheryl Bass, the author. I enjoyed these answers—and really appreciate how she didn’t say anything about my embarrassing typos that I finally noticed when I formatted this post.

Can you talk a little about the genesis of this particular book? What about this idea (among the large number of others you may have had) that made you devote the time to it?
This book started with a big sneeze of my own. I had the ridiculous thought that it was a good thing I wasn’t a dragon or it could have done a lot of damage. This was approximately 13 years ago. The book has been edited and revised since then.

The illustrations are fantastic—how did you team up with Ramesh Ram? What was the process of working with him to combine story and pictures?
This is a self-published book, but the term “self-publishing” is a bit of a misnomer as there are many people who can help every step of the way. I found my mentor, April Cox of Self-Publishing Made Simple while I was watching a free online video she produced about her services. She has approximately 12 illustrators who she regularly works with and knows that they are willing to do work for hire such that the author can retain rights to the illustrations after their work is complete and they are competent and responsive. She had me review the websites of all 12 illustrators and pick my favorite 3 or 4. Then, I asked the three or four of them to draw the exact same scene from my book in black and white. I paid each of them $50 do do this sketch. I then whittled it down to my top two illustrators and had my friends and family be a focus group and vote on their favorite illustrator. Remesh Ram of Prayan Animation won the votes. He is fantastic and I plan to use him for my future children’s picture books.

I can only imagine that coming up with a story in rhyme brings particular challenges—did you find yourself having to abandon ideas, or backtrack a bit when you couldn’t find a decent rhyme and rework a sentence or two?
Yes! I definitely found writing in rhyme to be a challenge. However, I believe it is well worth it. Many publishing houses don’t like rhyme right now. Various types of children’s books go in and out of style and perhaps rhyme is not as in fashion as it once was. However, I am a big proponent of rhyme as there is research supporting it for children in language acquisition, vocabulary expansion, giving a children a sense of rhythm and encouraging reluctant readers. This is part of why nursery rhymes are so useful and enjoyable for children.

You chose to publish this yourself, rather than going through a small press, or a larger “traditional” press—any regrets about that? Any advice for others considering this path?
I have no regrets about self-publishing this book and doing so in the future with additional children’s books. The advantages to self-publishing are more creative control (I chose my own illustrator and told him exactly how I wanted the dragon to look, what I wanted my townspeople to be wearing, etc.), the royalties are higher (40-50% versus 10-12 percent with traditional publishing) and a faster turn around time to publish (months versus years for traditional publishing).

Before this book, you had a couple of personal essays about dogs published—writing about dogs is a big interest around these parts—can you tell us a little about those essays and the books they were in? Any plans to combine your children’s books and your interest in dogs?
These were two slightly different versions of the same story about being a stage mom to my now deceased dog, Lyric. She starred as Toto in the Boulder Dinner Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz. She was the only cast member without an understudy and got paid in prime rib every night (since it was dinner theater). Her mom got paid $40 per show. She did 7 shows per week for five months. This story can be found in Lost Souls: Found! Inspiring Stories About Chihuahuas (Kyla Duffy and Lowrey Mumford) and Second-Chance Dogs: True Stories of the Dogs We Rescue and the Dogs Who Rescue Us (ed. Callie Smith Grant).

Related to that—what’s next for Sheryl Bass, author?
I have two additional children’s picture book stories in drafts and others not yet put to paper that I plan to self-publish. You can find my current book and eventually, my others at http://www.be-kindpublishing.com.

Thanks for your time—and thanks for this great little book—I hope it finds its audience!

Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze by Sheryl Bass, Remesh Ram (Illustrator): A Sick Dragon in Need

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2022

In Fantasy, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Come back in an hour or so for a Q&A with the author!

Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze

by Sheryl Bass, Remesh Ram (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Be-Kind Publishing
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Format: eBook
Length: 36 pg.
Read Date: December 2, 2022

Before We Get to the Story

I’m going to take things in a slightly different order than I usually do: I’m going to start with two important things you need to know from the outset.

The first is that Remesh Ram has given readers one of the cutest dragons ever. Really adorable.

The second thing that Ram demonstrates in almost one-half of the pages, is that a runny—nay, drippy—nose can be cute (also, this is going to really grab the attention of some kids).

The rest of the art is just as good. In a lot of books like this, all the adults/non-main characters tend to look identical—just different clothes and hair colors. Ram’s characters are clearly individuals. I really appreciated that.

Overall, bright colors, some very imaginative illustrations, and great character design. I’m really impressed with the art.

What’s Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze About?

Right, now it’s time to get to the story part.

We start out with our cute baby dragon suffering from a cold, and as he’s flying around one day he sneezes (as one does when you have a cold). Being a dragon, stuff shooting out of your nose tends to be on fire—and this sneeze did a good job of setting part of a village on fire.

Our parent-less dragon doesn’t know what to do…he’s distraught and makes plans to leave and find a new cave away from the village (while leaving an apology note behind). A determined little girl comes upon him as he’s preparing to leave and confronts him. Then she decides to find him some help.

Discussion Points

The publisher notes that this book would serve to get conversations going about:

– Found Family
– Building Trust
– Love and Kindness
– Helping Others / Sharing
– Reserving Judgement
– Accountability / Making Amends

And, yeah, I can see it functioning that way well. I do think it can come across as too heavy-handed on some of these points. But I have to remind myself that this is a book intended for a very young audience—and subtlety isn’t called for there. Heavy-handed is a selling-point.

So, what did I think about Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze?

I thought it was a cute little story. I think some of the rhymes would be fun to read aloud (I haven’t tried it yet, my dogs aren’t good audiences), and things like that are what draws a picture book to me as a potential reader-to-others. Will I have a good time reading this, or is it more of a thing you endure while hoping someone gets drowsy? (I’ve got plenty of experience with both)

I do think it’d work well for age-appropriate chats along the lines mentioned above—which is another nice bonus.

This is a great combination of attention-grabbing and attention-keeping art, a heartwarming story, some fun rhymes, and some potential life lessons. And—it’s about a dragon. Who doesn’t like to read about dragons? It’s been a while since I looked, but books for this audience about dragons aren’t super-easy to find. What better way to raise a Fantasy reader?

DISCLAIMER: I recieved a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.

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.

PUB DAY REPOST: A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones: A Good Way to End the Trilogy (even if I don’t want it to end)

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2022

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

A Hard Day for a Hangover

by Darynda Jones

DETAILS:
Series: Sunshine Vicram, #3
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 352 pg.
Read Date: November 16-19, 2022

What’s A Hard Day for a Hangover About?

Wow, this is hard to do. This is the third book in a trilogy, so let’s start off with this—all the ongoing storylines are progressing—barrelling to some sort of conclusion, we get to know everyone a little better, we see the ramifications and ripple effects of the deaths, arrests, plots, and everything else from book 1 and 2, secrets are revealed, lives are changed, and….well, it’s a third book. A lot happens, many things end, and some things start.

There are a couple of new/book-specific plotlines: the town flasher gets stabbed by an unlikely weapon; a prisoner escapes from state custody, which leads to some uncomfortable questions for Sherrif Vicram; someone breaks into the home of one of the town’s elderly residents (and she wants it covered up); a young woman is found beaten and hanging on for dear life—and she may not be the first woman in that situation; and a group of grade schoolers starts a boy band (you won’t believe which of those storylines intersect).

All in all, this is a bad week for Sunny to start hungover.

Hot Ones

I’m not a die-hard fan, but my wife and I watch a lot of Hot Ones—and we frequently buy and use the sauces we see on the show. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should fix that, and this illustration won’t make much sense. Sorry about that.

When I’m eating those sauces, I generally prefer the ones that are in the 1-3 slots, but occasionally, I can enjoy up to a 5 (and, yes, I’ve eaten sauces in all 10 spots—and have consumed “The Last Dab” more than once). If you convert Hot Ones‘s sauces into sex scenes in books, I think you’d find my tastes for those pretty well align. Keep things mild, close the door before things go too far, and let these people have some privacy.

Jones clearly has no designs to do anything like that. This book (like the rest of the series) is definitely not erotica—but it’s far too spicy for my taste. It’s not so distasteful that I have to stop reading, but my skim-reflex does kick in. As I said when I talked about A Good Day for Chardonnay, All I could think of as I read those sections was, “My mom is going to read this.” She’s going to read it because I bought her the first book. Not only is she going to read this book, but she’s also going to know that I read those scenes. And then I wanted to burst into flames.

I would guess that there are fewer spicey scenes in this book, but they rank higher on the Scoville scale. That’s going to please some (most?) fans, but others should know that going in.

Too Much?

Like the previous two books, Jones keeps the action jumping back and forth between Sunny and Auri, from case to case, or from case to personal arc constantly. And every time you think you’re about to settle into one of the stories for a while, she yanks the focus from you to something else (quite possibly something you’d forgotten was going on). There are times I felt like a lab dropped into a herd of squirrels, never sure what I should be focused on because there were so many things to watch.

And, on the whole, I found this as effective and fun as before. I don’t think Jones could write a boring story, but I’m not sure because she never gives you the chance to start to get bored with a storyline, before she changes things.

But…I’m not sure it was the right choice for this book. She’d given us so many great characters, so many wonderful ideas and plots, plus the new ones we that she introduced in this novel. I think it was just too much. There were (at least) two great characters that we never got to see this whole novel—they were mentioned, but the life-changing nature of what transpired in the storyline they’re attached to could’ve used their presence. Mostly, I’m bothered because one of them was one of the brightest rays of sunshine in the series (and in this series, that’s saying something).*

* I take that back. Sort of. One of the two I’m thinking of shows up for one scene. The fact that I remembered this just before publishing both illustrates what I said about this being overstuffed and undercuts my complaint.

Then there are storylines that seem to be given short-shrift—I can’t get into specifics without spoilers—but there were a couple of storylines that we’d spent so much time over the previous two books that I expected something major to occur here—but we get token bits of instead. That’s largely true for some of the storylines introduced in these pages, too.

Still, there’s just so much happening—so much to enjoy and get caught up in—that other than the absence of that bright ray of sunshine I mentioned, I didn’t notice and/or care about this until I sat down to think about and write about the book. I do think that this novel could’ve benefited from another 70-100 pages to give us all the characters readers expect to see and give adequate space for all the storylines. But in 350 pages for Jones to accomplish all that she does is an impressive feat and I don’t want to complain about that.

I guess I’m just feeling like someone who goes to a concert for a favorite band and they don’t play as many of their hits that you wanted them to, just most of them—and seemed to cut off the encore a little sooner than you’d hoped.

So, what did I think about A Hard Day for a Hangover?

I had such a blast with this. I seriously didn’t want it to end—not just because of what I talked about in the last section—but unless this trilogy spawns a sequel or becomes a longer series, this is the end of the road for these characters. I don’t want to be done with them—especially not Auri and her friends. We’ve gone so far with all of these characters and I want to see what happens to them next.

That doesn’t seem fair to this book—it’s funny, it’s charming, it’s sweet—probably sweeter than the rest just because of where various storylines resolve. Even the silly raccoon storyline will elicit a few “awwww”s. The banter between Sunny and Auri is as great as ever—ditto for Quincy and Sunny. I don’t need plots, Jones can just release occasional 30-40 page collections of conversations between those pairs every now and then as they go about their daily lives, and I’ll buy every one.

The mysteries were resolved nicely (and I got one pretty large surprise along the way)—although I thought the missing prisoner story was resolved a bit too neatly (space issue, I’m sure). It’d be easy to overlook most of those stories in the midst of all the other stuff going on, and that’d be a shame—Jones really can tell a mystery story well and I hope she returns to the genre soon.

I’m honestly at a loss for what to say beyond this—if you’ve read A Bad Day for Sunshine and A Good Day for Chardonnay, of course, you’re going to want to read this—and you’ll be so glad that you did. If you haven’t read the previous novels—do not start here, go back and start from A Bad Day and you’ll thank me. This book—like the series—is a little bit Moonlighting, it’s a little bit Veronica Mars, it’s a little bit Gilmore Girls, and it’s a lot of warm-hearted fun.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 1/2 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.

Dead Lions by Mick Herron: An Overdue Read for Me, the Best of Both Worlds for Spy Fiction Fans

By HCNewton

On December 5, 2022

In Mick Herron, Slough House

Dead Lions

by Mick Herron

DETAILS:
Series: Slough House, #2
Publisher: Soho Crime
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Format: Paperback
Length: 347 pg.
Read Date: November 21-24, 2022

…whatever we’re here for, Lamb’s not being punished. Or if he is, he’s enjoying it.”

“So what’s your point?”

He said, “That he knows where some bodies are buried. Probably buried a few himself.”

“Is that a metaphor?”

“I failed English. Metaphor’s a closed book to me.”

“So you think he’s handy?”

“Well, he’s overweight and drinks and smokes and I doubt he takes much exercise that doesn’t involve picking up a phone and calling out for a curry. But yeah, now you mention it, I think he’s handy.”

“He might’ve been once,” Shirley said. “But there’s not much point in being handy if you’re too slow to be any good at it.”

But Marcus disagreed. Being handy was a state of mind. Lamb could wear you down just standing in front of you, and you wouldn’t know he was a threat until he was walking away, and you were wondering who’d turned the lights out. Just Marcus’s opinion, of course. He’d been wrong before.

“I suppose,” he said, “if we stick around long enough, we might find out.”

Squirrel!

I read the first book in this series over 2 1/2 years ago. Since then, my friend Paul has been hounding me, nagging me, and generally pushing me to keep reading them. Insisting that I’m missing out. Etc. Etc. Etc. While I suspected he was right—and even if he wasn’t, I wanted to based on Slow Horses and everything I’d heard from Paul, Jeff at Barbican Station, and from several other fronts.

But we all know how easily distracted I can be. So…here we are 45 months later. And I know when I post this I’m going to get at least one text from Paul, saying things like: “I told you so!” and “It’s about time.”

I deserve both of those messages because he did tell me so; and yes, it is.

What’s Dead Lions About?

Jackson Lamb gets suspicious when an old, low-ranking spy from the Cold War era dies on a public bus. He follows Dickie Bow’s last movements and finds reason to indulge that hunch a little longer, bringing in one of Slough House’s new additions to do some more legwork. What they find doesn’t make him any happier—a bogey-man from the old days might be back. And that can’t be good.

Meanwhile, Spider—pardon me, James—Webb recruits Louisa Guy and Min Harper to help him with a little project he’s got going on. He’s trying to recruit a Russian oligarch—one with political aspirations—as an asset, and he needs some security work done by people who won’t get the attention of any of the bigwigs in MI5. Neither wants to work with Webb, but if they do, there’s a chance…not much of one…but a chance that at least one of them will be the first Slow Horse to move back to Regent’s Park. Both of them are ready to be that one—even at the expense of the other, no matter what relationship might be budding between the two of them.

Best of Both Worlds

While I have an appreciation for British Cold War Spy novels—they’re really not my thing. I’ve tried, both in print and on film—and they just don’t work. But that’s the kind of world that River’s grandfather, O.B., represents—and that Tavener and Lamb represent the end of. They have one foot in that world still, it defines them—but they’re both (especially Tavener) also part of the War on Terror, financial crimes/terrorism, etc. of our current moment. River, Ho, and the rest of the Slow Horses belong to the latter.

What this book does so well is to marry the two schools—we have a very Cold War holdover storyline, and a Putin-era storyline. Now, I can’t imagine that Herron is going to be able to pull this off regularly, but getting to do it in the second novel, solidifying the series’ identity as being able to work in both eras. I thought that was a great move that welcomes in fans of both eras of British Spy Fiction.

So, what did I think about Dead Lions?

So, back in 2019 when I read Slow Horses, I liked it and was impressed by it, but I only gave it 3 Stars. When I listened to the audiobook last year, I think I “got” what Herron was doing a little more. But I still wasn’t as impressed with this as everyone I knew seemed to be. I’m fine with that, but I wondered a bit if I was missing something.

I think I found whatever it was in the pages of Dead Lions. Because…wow. Herron does it all here—there’s some satire, there’s commentary on human existence, on the politics (and espionage) of the Cold War, on the politics (and espionage) of the 2000s, a real and slowly-building tension, there’s subtle wit, less-than-subtle wit, a plot that is impossible to predict, characters that are the most human you’ll find in spy fiction, dialogue and narration that are impossible not to endlessly quote…and fart jokes.

One lesson that readers of the first book should’ve picked up is that they shouldn’t get attached to anyone—look at the number of people assigned to Slough House at the beginning of the book and then at the end. Percentage-wise, it’s safer to be a George R.R. Martin character. Herron ensures that no reader of Dead Lions thinks that’s a fluke. Right now (and I’m ready to be disproven), I figure the only safe characters are Jackson Lamb and (sadly) James Webb—he seems to have the survival capabilities of a hardy cockroach.

Herron surprised me on multiple occasions—I think at this point, I’m going to just permanently suspend my reflex to predict what’s coming when I spend time with him. They weren’t just surprises—they were the kind that I absolutely didn’t even think of expecting—and then in retrospect, I don’t know how I could’ve imagined anything else happening at all.

From time to time, TV Critic Alan Sepinwall will recap an episode saying things like “if we only got X, that would be enough. If we only got Y, that would be enough,” and so on. I felt like that while thinking about this book. If we only got Lamb tracking the final movements of Dickie Bow, that would’ve been enough. If we only got the Louisa Guy/Min Harper storyline, that would’ve been enough. If we only got the Diana Tavener/Jason Webb scene, that would’ve been enough. If we only got River Cartwright going undercover, and everything he goes through…you see where I’m going. Any one of those would’ve been enough for me to realize I need to take this series seriously and get on with reading them all. You combine these points with all those that I decided not to list for space/spoiler reasons? I’m on the verge of being rabid.

Everything I thought was a bug about Slow Horses was a feature, and I see that now. Everything I thought was a fluke about Slow Horses wasn’t. Everything I thought was good about Slow Horses was at least a little bit great. How do I know that? I see all of those elements here and have a much better appreciation for them in Dead Lions so I can better understand its predecessor.

I had other things in my notes that I really wanted to cover. But…I’ve said the essentials, and am at the point where I’m trying to gild an already gilded lily. So, I’m going to leave all that unsaid. Yes, I may have overhyped this and doomed you to not appreciate it. I get that and apologize in advance. Just chalk this up to a new and rabid fanboy—go into this series expecting something good. And then when you’re ready to join the rabid throng, I’ll be waiting for you.

And now, I’ve got to start waiting for messages from Paul.

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.

Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church by Michael J. Kruger: A Needed Call to Arms

By HCNewton

On December 4, 2022

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Bully Pulpit:
Confronting the Problem
of Spiritual Abuse in
the Church

by Michael J. Kruger

DETAILS:
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication Date: November 8, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 145 pg.
Read Date: November 20-27, 2022

The Back of the Book

Are churches looking for the wrong kind of leaders?

The last decade has witnessed a rising number of churches wrecked by spiritual abuse—harsh, heavy-handed, domineering behavior from those in a position of spiritual authority. And high-profile cases are only a small portion of this widespread problem. Behind the scenes are many more cases of spiritual abuse that we will never hear about. Victims suffer in silence, not knowing where to turn.

Of course, most pastors and leaders are godly, wonderful people who don’t abuse their sheep. They shepherd their flocks gently and patiently. But we can’t ignore the growing number who do not. We have tolerated and even celebrated the kind of leaders Jesus warned us against.

We need gentle shepherds now more than ever, and in Bully Pulpit, seminary president and biblical scholar Michael J. Kruger offers a unique perspective for both church leaders and church members on the problem of spiritual abuse, how to spot it, and how to handle it in the church.

The Approach

Kruger is writing to defend the Church—all of it. Congregations and other organizations need to be aware of what to look for—both in leaders they are about to call, and those already called—both the attributes we want to see and the warning signs we should be aware of. We need to be able to take appropriate steps to protect the victims of abuse while investigating the claims, and part of that is recognizing the duty of leaders to do that. Yes, there’s an obligation to investigate thoroughly, to presume innocence, and to follow the existing ecclesiastical and accountability structures in place—but we shouldn’t set the well-being of a bruised reed up against those.

We—as individual believers and corporately—need to understand what spiritual abuse is, the damage it can do, and how we can inadvertently help abusers to get away with it. More than that, we need to look at the whole of Scripture to see the very consistent message that God has given when it comes to those leaders who would cause his people harm. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem from eternal and temporal perspectives ought to be the starting point.

Kruger knows his ecclesiology, he knows leadership of Christian organizations, he understands the warnings of the Bible—and he’s taken steps to learn from the abused. He puts these together to shape and inform the discussions here.

So, what did I think about Bully Pulpit?

The biggest problem with this book is that it’s an introductory volume. Kruger’s starting the conversation for many (for others, he’s continuing it, and hopefully bringing more into it). As it’s just an introduction, some of the suggestions are too vague. Also (and he admits this more than once), most of what he suggests would work best in larger congregations and organizations—which leaves out many/most of those in this country alone. Yes, most of this can be scaled down to meet a medium/small congregation’s needs, but that will present problems.

Those are really the only drawbacks I saw here. And they’re pretty minor—Bully Pulpit should serve to initiate people to the issue and prompt more people from the confessional and conservative wings of Protestantism to start addressing this problem. It’s not only an introduction in that it’s basic and a beginning—it’s introducing the topic to a whole lot of people.

Kruger is clear about the issues, he’s clear about the responsibility of the Church and her leaders to address them. This is a significant problem, and it appears to be growing (I think it’s really our being exposed to it that’s growing—as Kruger shows, we’ve seen it in the Church from the beginning). I hope that Kruger’s call to action is heeded.

Picking this up yourself or giving it away, would be a good step in that direction.

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.

Saturday Miscellany—12/3/22

By HCNewton

On December 3, 2022

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I really don’t have much in the way of introduction today (or content, really). I’ve spent the last couple of days pondering something that maybe you have insight into/experience with: With less than a month left, and certain goals left unfinished–why do I keep going to the Library, and reading things that aren’t going to help me get to those goals? (Sure, I’ve been on the list for some of these books for weeks/months, but…)

You may note the absence of any New Releases this week–as usual, I assume that just means I missed seeing something. Clue me in.

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 What Is “I Have No Idea,” Ken? I owe my recent “Jeopardy!” appearance — and spectacular flame-out — to books.—If I’m just going to talk about all the benefits and joys of reading here, I’m going to have to talk about the downsides here, too. I enjoyed this former contestant’s appearance—even if she underperformed. This little essay was just as fun.
bullet How to Succeed in Publishing by Really, Really Trying and Getting Lucky—this is primarily advice for writers, but A. Lee Martinez also gives a pretty good perspective on a career from years in the trenches (which is more of my thing to share)
bullet As a Sequel to a Recent Post: One Kay for The Flood Circle—a quick update from Harry Connolly (and hey, if I share an earlier post, I should share the sequel)
bullet Where to start reading grimdark, no matter the genre you prefer—A handy “listicle of listicles” to guide a reader into Grimdark.
bullet Purposely Reading Bad Books—It’s a fun video, but mostly I’m sharing this in solidarity with the thinking behind her recent reads. If I prepped my year-end lists this early, I’d be compelled to pick the same kind of reads myself.
bullet FFA’S Most Anticipated Titles of 2023
bullet As with all good things, Damppebbles’s annual recommendation-fest, #R3COMM3ND3D has come to an end for this year. These last few are just as enticing as those that have come before.
bullet …with #BookBlogger Patricia B.
bullet …with #BookBlogger Sue Bavey
bullet …with #BookBlogger David
bullet …with #BookBlogger Emma—our host closes out the month.
bullet Can Any Book Truly Be Timeless?
bullet Two Sided Coins and Seeing Story Weaknesses As Strengths—Peat’s focus is on the writing side, but thinking along these lines can be a real help when we’re thinking/talking/writing about what we read.