Author: HCNewton Page 355 of 624

Saturday Miscellany—4/18/20

On April 18, 2020

Really don’t have any prologue material today…just hope you’re all staying healthy. Let’s just dive 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 Idaho’s Independent Bookstores and the COVID-19 Crisis—Idaho Public TV talks with the owners of three Indie Bookstores (two of which make my personal Top 3 Bookstore list–the third would, too, because of the name alone, if I’d ever been there) about the current mess
   bullet Read 300 books in a year: The surprising benefits of reading more: According to studies, reading is a healthy way to help combat feelings of isolation and depression.
   bullet Escape Into These Fantastical, Imaginary Maps: When the real world feels unbearable, why not chart a course through lands that are literally unreal?
   bullet 5 Mistakes That Will Doom Any Self-Published Book—Paul “Goat” Allen speaks for many readers here. I’ve had a post percolating about mistake one for a couple of months (but I keep coming across as too harsh, so I haven’t posted yet), the rest are spot-on, too.
   bullet How to Break Out of a Reading Slump—some handy tips—a good time for this kind of post, it seems many are in a pandemic-induced slump. Don’t know if this’ll fix it, but it can’t hurt.
   bullet What is With All of the Self-Help Books With Swear Words in the Title?—right?
   bullet FAKE TRUTH: Five Questions with Lee Goldberg
   bullet Is Harry Bosch the Last Great American TV Detective?—a good look at both the print and screen versions of Bosch (and I hope the answer to the question is no)
   bullet Rex Stout: Meet the Legendary Mystery Author Who Created Nero Wolfe: His larger-than-life sleuth left an indelible legacy on crime fiction.—I’m always game to post a link to a profile about Stout or Wolfe (always), the publication of The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe this week gives me another opportunity to do so.
   bullet Speaking of which, COVID-19 forced The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe Launch Party to go online. Which means I could “attend”
   bullet Those Classic Detective Series You’ve Always Been Meaning To Read, Anyway—I would’ve linked to this without the Wolfe mention, but…
   bullet 20 Must-Read Feel-Good Science Fiction Books
   bullet The importance of pace in thrillers—This is something we all instinctively know (I believe), but it’s nice to see someone take the time to think it through
   bullet What is Your Bookworm Dystopia Like?—Loved this post
   bullet How I Turned Into An Audiobook Listener—point 2 is vital for someone trying to get into Audiobooks.
   bullet How was the book? – Describing the Reading Experience: 8 criteria of the Reading Experience—fantastic post
   bullet The Orangutan Librarian hits us with two good posts about DNFing this week: Why do I struggle to DNF? (I’d co-sign this post) and Books I Successfully DNF’d!
   bullet Reader Confessions: 10 Ways I’m A Bad Reader—was a lot of fun

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Episode Ninety Eight – Can You Fit a Pinball Machine in the Oxford Bar? – with Ian Rankin—a fun chat with the legend, that includes a tidbit about the upcoming Rebus novel.
bullet Sbooks podcast It’s A Fair Cop, Guv.—talks to Neil Lancaster about his time with the Metropolitan police and turning to Crime Fiction

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe: Parodies and Pastiches Featuring the Great Detective of West 35th Street edited by Josh Pachter—a great looking collection celebrating Wolfe—I’ve dipped my toe in and am enjoying it a lot

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Quinn Patrick Fernandez, Neriman K., Not Quite Home, Caroline Paquin and SarahSansom for following the blog (in one form or another) this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK V., ix.-xii.

By HCNewton

On April 17, 2020

In Fiction, Fridays with The Foundling, General Fiction/Literature

Fridays with the Foundling
After Allworthy pronounced his will in the reading from last week, we focused on everyone else in the house—and ignored Tom. Fielding now turns to focus on him. Tom doesn’t deal well with his guardian’s impending death—not that anyone else did, but Tom’s focused on Allworthy himself, not what he’s being left.

In the aftermath both of Blifil’s tragic news and Allworthy’s recovery, Tom and Thwackum bicker a bit and then Blifil and Tom get into a scuffle as well—tempers are short (and alcohol-fueled), but peace eventually prevails. Tom heads outside to cool down and turns his thoughts to Sophie—but he sees Molly doing some fieldwork (I don’t think Fielding specified, but she has a pitch-fork). The two chat a bit, and then head off into the bushes for some privacy.

Thwackum and Blifil have a similar idea—they’re taking a walk to get over the fights. Naturally, they see those two heading for the bushes. Blifil recognizes both of them, but Thwackum only sees a couple of people up to something. He heads off to try to stop the illicit behavior, and Blifil doesn’t do anything to stop him. The two make enough of a racket that the lovers know they’re coming.

Molly has gone into hiding and Tom goes to confront the interlopers and to keep them from discovering who the young woman was (which seems their primary concern). The fists start flying—and it’s kind of an amusing fight scene at the beginning. But the still recovering Tom starts to succumb to the numbers when he’s joined in the fight. A passerby is offended by the idea that two would fight one and jumps in to even the odds without wondering who the one is, much less the two.

It turns out that it’s Squire Western who’d joined the fray and he’s more than enough to turn the tide.

At this Time, the following was the Aspect of the bloody Field. In one Place lay on the Ground, all pale, and almost breathless, the vanquished Blifil. Near him stood the Conqueror Jones, almost covered with Blood, part of which was naturally his own, and part had been lately the Property of the Reverend Mr. Thwackum. In a third Place stood the said Thwackum, like King Porus, sullenly submitting to the Conqueror. The last Figure in the Piece was Western the Great, most gloriously forbearing the vanquished Foe.

Before Western came to Tom’s rescue, he’d been out for a walk with his wife and Sophie—who come upon that scene. Seeing Tom covered in blood is too much for Sophie, who faints dead away—until Tom revives her. Tom and the Westerns go their way and Blifil and Thwackum return to Allworthy’s and Book V comes to an end.

I’m honestly not sure what I think about this section—after the reading last week it looked liked things were starting to happen, but these chapters felt like a whole lot of tire spinning. Sure, it’s nice that things are getting a bit clearer between Blifil and Tom—and Tom and Sophie—it just felt like a little bit of a let-down (it also could’ve been that I had a hard time focusing). Still, the fight scene made it worthwhile.

I cheated a bit and read the first paragraph of Book VI, and I am looking forward to it, so there’s that…

The Identity Thief by Alex Bryant: A Contemporary Hunt for Centuries-Old Power

By HCNewton

On April 16, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Identity Thief

by Alex Bryant
Series: The God Machine, #1

Kindle Edition, 438 pg.
K&M Books, 2020

Read: April 13-14, 2020

Bryant has given us a YA/MG Urban Fantasy Adventure with so many layers that it’s hard to summarize or talk about with any degree of detail.

Essentially the book is about a villain with the unlikely name of the Cuttlefish who is trying to steal as many of a set of books that he can. On the face of it, that doesn’t seem to be much of a premise, even when you throw magic into the equation. Cuttlefish doesn’t really strike fear into your heart at first glance, and stealing books? Really? But the lengths he goes to in order to get these books—fatal lengths—gets the reader invested far before the motive behind wanting all the books is revealed.

While the Cuttlefish is running around England, using his very interesting brand of magic, we generally focus on a twelve-year-old girl, Cass, her friends, her mother, a boy she’s totally not interested in (and he’s not interested in her, just ask them), and a new family in their neighborhood.

Cass seems like a fairly typical pre-teen. Her peers’ approval of her is more important than it should be and overrides her reflexes to be polite/friendly when it comes to Hector (the new boy). In a nice bit of realism (even if it’s frustrating to read) that when her friends show themselves to be unworthy of her loyalty/concern, she’s still unwilling to break free from them.

Hector is an unattractive, socially awkward (for good reasons, it turns out) boy of Greek descent (in this world magic is tied to ancient Greek culture, so he’s a little bit of an outsider already). He desperately wants to be Cass’s friend but has no idea how to do that—especially not in a way that she won’t find mortifying. Not only is he strange, but he is also prone to seizures—there’s just no way for him to gain any kind of social acceptance.

Cass’s mother is with the police, a branch dedicated to policing magic users—and she’s very involved in the Cuttlefish hunt. She’s also decided that Hector and his mother are going to be her project—they’re new to the area and not that welcomed by the populace. So, she’s going to do her part to make up for everyone else. As is Cass, whether she wants to or not. Hector’s mom is strange, but incredibly friendly—which really doesn’t help Cass. And when the two mothers get uncomfortably close, Cass just can’t handle it.

Cass is part of a clique of four at her school, and she’s definitely not the Alpha. One of her friends is nice, supportive and not really as fixated on the typical popularity/social goals. The other two are probably not the kind of girls you want your daughter to be friends with. In pack-mode, however, the don’t make life easy for Hector. Although there’s a group of boys who make these girls look like saints—although one of them (the one Cass is absolutely only a friend with) does try to get everyone to treat Hector like a human being. You may find yourself tempted occasionally to wonder why we’re dealing with all the twelve-year-old drama, but have patience, it’ll pay off—also, Bryant makes it all entertaining enough that you rarely wonder what it has to do with the Cuttlefish story.

Cuttlefish is sort of a Voldemort figure. He’s a notorious thief who disappeared (and was assumed dead) for years, only to re-appear with more outlandish crimes than before. The thing about him is that no one knows what he looks like. He is an Identity Thief—he can perfectly mimic anyone—voice, appearance—the whole thing. Typically, he takes on the likeness of his most recent victim and uses that identity to gain access to his next.

The magic system is pretty intricate, but there’s a lot yet to learn. It does, again, have its roots in Ancient Greece, and the alphabet and language of the Greeks are vital to its use. As magic users are ostracized in British (and presumably, Western) culture, Greeks are seen as likely magic users and are treated suspiciously. It’s a strange quirk that most authors wouldn’t have added to this, but says a lot about this world.

The Identity Thief joins a large number of books I’ve read in the last 6 months or so that scatters a lot of supplemental material throughout the book—newspaper articles, school flyers, website comment forums, and the like—these add a lot of flavor to the book, as well as ways for Bryant to dump a lot of information about the world without detracting from the narrative. Oh, also, most of them are just a lot of fun.

There is a darkness to this book that’s uncommon for YA/MG fiction. But there’s a playfulness to all of it, too—particularly the Cuttlefish portions. He enjoys what he’s up to. The feel of the work reminds me of Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant. And like Landy’s books, this is the kind of YA/MG (MG-leaning) book that can appeal to readers of all ages.

I had a blast reading this—Bryant’s creativity with the magic involved is only topped by the creativity he displays with the plot. Every time I thought I knew what he was going, he’d pull something off that I couldn’t have expected. Those times where I did know what to expect (there were a couple of them), his execution was still skillful enough that it felt like I didn’t know what was coming. Which is a pretty neat trick, you have to admit.

This was simply fun to read and I’m a more than a little curious about what’s in store for these characters. Inventive, stylish, unpredictable—The Identity Thief should steal a place on your TBR right away.

3.5 Stars

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Identity Thief by Alex Bryant

By HCNewton

On April 16, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the unexpected The Identity Thief by Alex Bryant. A few weeks ago, I was pleased to take part in the cover reveal for the book, and now it’s time to talk about the book! Following this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?

Book Details:

Book Title: The Identity Thief by Alex Bryant
Release date: February 28, 2020
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Publisher: K&M Books
Length: 438 pages

Book Blurb:

A shapeshifting sorcerer called Cuttlefish unleashes a terrifying wave of magical carnage across London. A strange family known as the River People move into Cassandra Drake’s neighbourhood. Are the two events connected?

Spoiler alert: no.

Reasons to buy this book:
✔ Good cover.
✔ Cheap. Seriously, the Kindle version only costs as much as about 3 mangoes. What would you rather have – 10 hours of gripping urban fantasy, or 30 minutes of biting into sweet, succulent mango flesh?
✔ OK, I shouldn’t have used mango, objectively the best fruit, as a comparison. But buying this book doesn’t stop you from buying mangoes, if that’s what you insist on doing.

About the Alex Bryant:

Alex has led a largely comfortable but unremarkable life in North London, and more recently Oxford. His main hobbies as a kid were reading and sulking.

When he’s not writing, he’s performing with his improvised comedy troupe, Hivemind Improv. And when he is writing, he’s procrastinating.

The first idea for The God Machine came when he was 19, shortly after falling off a horse. Or possibly shortly before – the exact chronology is lost to history. So is the horse’s name, in case you were wondering.

Social Media:

Author Site ~ Goodreads ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Purchase Link:

https://amzn.to/2vlq0Qg

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

WWW Wednesday, April 15, 2020

By HCNewton

On April 15, 2020

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

Thankfully—oh, so thankfully—it’s not Tax Day (at least on the Federal US level, no idea about your state/nation) but it is time for 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’m reading Fake Truth by Lee Goldberg, The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe edited by Josh Pachter, and am listening to An Unwelcome Quest by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels (Narrator).

What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished Alex Bryant’s The Identity Thief and Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey, Jefferson Mays (Narrator) on audio.

What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be Apex Predator by M. T. Miller and I don’t have a clue what audiobook will be next.

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

BOOK BLITZ: Unflappable by Suzie Gilbert

By HCNewton

On April 15, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for Suzie Gilbert’s Unflappable today, your typical adventure novel about a woman and an eagle on the run. Er, wait…that’s not typical…

Book Details:

Book Title: Unflappable by Suzie Gilbert
Publisher: Perch Press
Release date: March 24, 2020
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 328 pages
Purchase Link: Amazon UK/Amazon US

Book Blurb:

Twenty-five-year-old Luna Burke is on the run.

Licensed to care for injured and orphaned wildlife, she is determined to smuggle a homicidal Bald Eagle out of her husband’s private zoo in Florida, reunite the bird with its mate, and get them both to an eagle sanctuary in Canada. Hot on her trail is her furious husband, his bodyguards, the police, conservation officials, and an expert government tracker; aiding and abetting her is a smitten young tech guy, a lethal Navy SEAL turned panther advocate, and an underground railroad of wildlife rescuers intent on protecting one of their own. Waiting in Ontario is a legendary old eco-warrior more than willing to provide refuge…as long as Luna can make it across the border.

About Suzie Gilbert:

Hi, I’m Suzie Gilbert. I’m a wildlife rehabilitator and author.I live in New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley, am passionate about wildlife, and have been working with wild birds for nearly 30 years. I hope you will join me in my quest to raise awareness of how humans and wildlife can coexist in better ways.

I’ve written a memoir about the slippery slope all rehabbers eventually slide down, called Flyaway: How a Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings (HarperCollins); a children’s book, Hawk Hill (Chronicle Books); and numerous articles, op-ed pieces, and blogs.

My new book, Unflappable, is a funny, dark, sexy adventure about a wildlife rehabber on the run with an eagle, with her soon-to-be-ex-husband and the authorities hot on her trail.

https://www.suziegilbert.com/about

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour.

COVER REVEAL: Sword by Bogdan Teodorescu

By HCNewton

On April 15, 2020

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

Welcome to The Irresponsible Reader’s part in the Cover Reveal for Bogdan Teodorescu’s Sword! Thanks to Time Zones and whatnot, this isn’t so much a Cover Reveal as much as it is a Cover Confirmation at this point, but that’s being a little pedantic. There’s a spiffy looking cover down below, but before the picture, I’ve got a few words to share about the book.

Book Blurb

On the streets of Bucharest, a brutally efficient serial killer is at work. His targets: individuals from the Roma community with a criminal record. Each victim is killed with a single blow to the throat and tensions rise at the same rate as the body count. For not everyone disagrees with this vigilante killer.

With Presidential elections about to take place, and the police seemingly unable to track down the elusive assassin they’ve nicknamed Sword, the government struggles to keep control while other political figures try to stoke public resentment for their own ends.

The demons in Romania’s fractured society begin to resurface, as old distrust and prejudices grow with each new victim from the Roma community. The case is under the media’s relentless spotlight. Meanwhile, ruthless figures both inside and outside the government are manoeuvring to take advantage of the situation. But are they playing with political fire for their own purposes – are they in danger of sparking a vicious racial conflict?

Bogdan Teodorescu paints an acid portrait of a divided society in this powerful political thriller containing themes that will echo around the world.

Buy Link

https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Bogdan-Teodorescu-ebook/dp/B0872C8LFY

And now…

The Cover

That is not a shadow that I want to see behind me . . .great atmospheric cover, eh?

You can get your hands on this cover (and the novel it goes with!) at https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Bogdan-Teodorescu-ebook/dp/B0872C8LFY next month (obviously, you can order it now…and you should).

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.

BOOK BLITZ: A Lesson for Every Child: Learning About Food Allergies by Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino, Sally Huss (Illustrator)

By HCNewton

On April 15, 2020

In Book Tour, YA/MG/Children's Books

I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for A Lesson for Every Child: Learning About Food Allergies today. A cute-looking and helpful children’s book.

Book Details:

Book Title: A Lesson for Every Child: Learning About Food Allergies by Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino, Sally Huss (Illustrator)
Release date: March 11, 2020
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 41 pages
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/2xJUTOT

Book Blurb:

Learning was everything to Mrs. Emerson. So when a new student was brought into her classroom, Mrs. Emerson was delighted because she discovered that this young man knew something that everyone needed to know. She told her class that Jack was just like everyone else, except for one thing – he had food allergies. “Would you like to explain that to us, Jack?” Jack proceeds to educate us all. This book is endorsed by Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Connection Team (FAACT), MedicAlert® Foundation, Elijah Alavi Foundation, The Love for Giovanni Foundation, No Nut Traveler, and Food Allergy Zone

About Sally Huss:

</aAuthor/Illustrator Sally Huss creates children’s books to uplift the lives of children. She does this by giving them tools to overcome obstacles; by helping them value themselves and others; and by inspiring them to be the best that they can be. Her catalogue of books now exceeds 100.

"Bright and happy," "light and whimsical" have been the catch phrases attached to the writings and art of Sally Huss for over 30 years. Sweet images dance across all of Sally's creations, whether in the form of children's books, paintings, wallpaper, ceramics, baby bibs, purses, clothing, or her King Features syndicated newspaper panel "Happy Musings."

Sally is a graduate of USC with a degree in Fine Art and through the years has had 26 of her own licensed art galleries throughout the world. sallyhuss.com

About Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino:

Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino is one of America’s foremost personal and corporate development consultants. She is the creator of The Best Ever You Network (or Best Ever You), a leading multimedia provider of lifestyle and self-help content. While participating in the Harvard Business School for Leadership program, Elizabeth serves as a Leadership Advisor for the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute.

In 2020 Elizabeth joined Sally Huss to create the best-selling children’s book A Lesson for Every Child: Learning About Food Allergies. Living with life-threatening food allergies for many years, Elizabeth added her personal experience and her expertise to the project. She also sits on several boards of organizations and foundations that bring awareness to this life-threatening condition.

Elizabeth is also the best-selling author of Percolate – Let Your Best Self Filter Through (Hay House Publishing). elizabethguarino.com.

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour.

Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 Books That Made Me Laugh

By HCNewton

On April 14, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

When I saw this list topic I figured, “oh, this’ll be the easiest post to put together.” HA! What a joke…I could’ve done 25 without breaking a sweat (actually, at one point, I thought about doing 5 themed Top 5’s, but that seemed a bit silly). So I restricted myself to the first 5 that I could think of, these may not be the Top 5, but they’re a funny 5 anyway
.

	Dear Mr Pop Star by Derek & Dave Philpott This book is almost indescribable—the blurb for the book says, “deliberately deranged letters to pop stars from the 1960s to the 90s to take issue with the lyrics of some of their best-known songs.” Which are followed by correspondence from a member of the band/songwriter in response—sometimes rebutting the Philpott’s, sometimes playing along. I spent most of the latter half of 2018 talking about this book. Here’s my post about the book.
	Anatomy of Authors by Dave Kellett This is a collection of cartoons celebrating (and poking gentle fun at) some of the greatest writers in history. It’s great bookish fun. I need to do a full post on it soon.
	Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David The most unlikely hero in Fantasy fiction, Apropos is a thief, a scoundrel, and the kind of guy that usually doesn’t survive a whole novel. Somehow, David makes this both a laugh-out-loud parody and a stirring fantasy action and (as I recall, it’s been a long time), an almost redemption story.
	Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi An alien race wants to make First Contact with humanity, so what does their emissary do? Recruits a Hollywood agent to win humanity over, naturally. Here’s my post about the book.
	Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States by Dave Barry Dave Barry traces the history of the U.S. in possibly the funniest book I’ve ever read—I can’t begin to think how many times I’ve read this, and have audibly laughed every time.

Saturday Miscellany—4/11/20

By HCNewton

On April 11, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

Everyone hanging in there? Hope you’re all safe and relatively healthy. I don’t have anything really to say, so I’ll just dive into the links.

You’ll note below that somehow I listened to a lot of podcasts this week, despite not driving anywhere. The one I’ve spent the most time listening to over the last two weeks isn’t listed below, but you’ll be seeing something a little different from me about that soon. (I’m working on my teases, did that one work?)

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 How You Can Support Your Local Bookstores Right Now—Simon & Schuster brings us this week’s version of the list.
   bullet The Truth About Escapism—Black Sail Books talks about the value of escapism in a world increasingly focused on productivity.
   bullet Ann Patchett on Why We Need Life-Changing Books Right Now—It might not sound like it, but it’s an excellent follow-up to the above (also, I heartily concur with Patchett’s take on the author in question)
   bullet Say ‘I Do’ to Doorstopper Novels: Trust us, they’re worth the commitment.—I’m prudish enough to prefer a different opening, but eh…I get the point.
   bullet Don Winslow: My First Experience With Hollywood Math—not really that related to books, but it’s a fun little story spun by Winslow
   bullet Red Herrings in Contemporary Crime Literature: Celebrating the 21st century masters of misdirection.
   bullet 6 Completed Sci Fi Fantasy Series You Probably Haven’t Binged Yet
   bullet Feel-Good Fiction: Books to Read in Difficult Times—A nice list for our current circumstance from the Witty and Sarcastic Book Club.
   bullet Book Blogging is Bullsh*t
   bullet Full circle—Don’t tell the other bloggers/essayists/etc., but this piece on the circle of appreciation between reader and writer is probably my favorite of the week.
   bullet Book Reviewing, Is There a Happy Medium for Readers, Writers, & Bloggers—Mz Brooklyn Jay talked to writers, readers and bloggers for material to this piece. I really liked it.
   bullet The ‘DNF’—an excellent post on this perennial topic

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode (or more) you might want to give a listen to:
   bullet To help publicize the release of Fake Truth this week, Lee Goldberg appeared on two podcasts (yes, there’s some overlap in his answers, but not that much). Meet the Thriller Author 94 and Author Stories Podcast Episode 849 (I’ve toyed with writing a post about that travesty Netflix recently released called Spenser: Confidential, no need. Goldberg’s take on it here said everything I’d want to say).
   bullet Author’s on a Podcast Talking Books Ep. 35 – Nicholas Eames was plenty of fun.
   bullet Two Crime Writers And A Microphone have been on fire since they’ve returned this year, Episode Ninety Six – Two Rolls Gets You A Squirrel – with Adrian McKinty was just brilliant, I laughed so much at this one.
   bullet Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald—this new podcast with Braff and Faison revisiting each Scrubs episode has nothing to do with books but is so much fun that I’m sharing it anyway.

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
   bullet King of Crows by Russell Day—isn’t actually going to be released until next month, but the date was announced this week (Fahrenheit almost never gives any book this much advance warning, which I was I’m struggling to read their stuff when it’s new). But take a look at the link and order it now, Day’s one of the best authors I’ve read in the last couple of years and this epic (“Ocean’s Eleven meets 28 Days Later”) is only going to make me keep calling him that.
   bullet Broken by Don Winslow—Six novellas from the master. The early buzz on this collection is loud.
   bullet Fake Truth by Lee Goldberg—Ian Ludlow is back in trouble, this time stumbling over a Russian fake news plot.
   bullet A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones—Funny and exciting. This novel about a single mom and small-town sheriff is so much fun. I gushed about it here.

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome toMayank Sharma, youngcreativepress, Oaks CastleCollections and the reading chemist for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?