Author: HCNewton Page 376 of 632

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Wizard Ring by Clare Blanchard

On January 22, 2020

Today I welcome the Book Tour for Wizard Ring by Clare Blanchard. Along with 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: Wizard Ring by Clare Blanchard
Release date: August 24, 2019
Format: Ebook
Length: 284 pages

Book Blurb:

I knew nothing about the alchemist John Dee until one winter’s night in Prague when I met the ghost of a barber.

My name is Sylvia. I was just a burnt-out teacher with a subversive sense of humour. Then my mother gave me a magic ring made in the Prague workshop of John Dee.

I’ve never been the same since.

About Clare Blanchard:

Originally from the North Yorkshire coast in England, Clare Blanchard spent half her lifetime in Czechia in Central Europe, where her books are mainly set. Inspired by noir fiction, her settings are often like another character in the plot. She writes crime mysteries and dark urban fantasy with a historical twist.

Clare loves beautiful landscapes and architecture, cross-country skiing, the wine of South Moravia, and of course Czech beer. When she’s not being literary she knits funky socks.

Social Networks:

Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Instagram

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Kobo ~ Nook

My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

Top Ten Tuesday: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

By HCNewton

On January 21, 2020

In News/Misc.

The topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesdays is the Ten Most Recent Additions to my Bookshelf.

This was a little harder than it could’ve been — I’ve had weeks where I could’ve made this list with a week’s worth, but I actually had to dig back all the way to December! (Actually, that’s kind of a relief, maybe I’ve found a bit of restraint when it comes to buying.) I’ve read a whole 4 of these (will probably start one more this week), which doesn’t say great things about reducing my TBR pile.

	Deep Dark Night by Steph Broadribb
	Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
	The Identity and Attributes of God by Terry L. Johnson
	Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg
	Anatomy of Authors by Dave Kellett
	One Man by Harry Connolly
	Perfect Murder by Rebecca Bradley
	You Must Have A Death Wish : Matt Phillips
	Evil Valley by Simon Hall
	The ABCs of Metallica by Metallica, Howie Abrams, Michael Kaves (Illustrator)

Saturday Miscellany—1/18/20

By HCNewton

On January 18, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

I’ve been knocked out by a nasty cold this week (which seems to be returning) and couldn’t focus enough to read anything for a horrible three days. I don’t think anything I posted suffered from lack of focus (but I had to do a lot of re-writing to make them coherent). Thankfully, I recuperated enough that I could focus on the best thing that Steph Broadribb has written (see this space on Monday…I think).

While I couldn’t read, I could surf a bit and this ended up as one of the longest entries in this series that I’ve compiled (I believe). But there was a moment today when I thought this would be my shortest post yet–my browser and Pocket decided to stop cooperating (as they’re under the same corporate roof, this is doubly problematic). I prevailed, sort of, but I’m beginning to wonder if I need to find an alternative. Suggestions to replace Pocket, anyone?

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Jack Reacher series author Lee Child ‘quits and lets brother step in’—I actually read (and enjoyed) Andrew Grant before I tried Lee Child, and hope this move works out for both of them (and expect it will). But I have to say, this is the saddest headline I’ve read in a long time.
People who read books are nicer than those who don’t, study finds.
The New York Public Library Has Calculated Its Most Checked-Out Books Of All Time
Take a look behind the ‘small doors to imaginary spaces’ within bookshelves
Is this the most powerful word in the English language?: The most commonly-used word in English might only have three letters – but it packs a punch.—A whole lotta words about “the”
20 Things Overheard In Bookshops—I enjoyed this one enough that it almost makes up for the trauma of the first item.
‘Nobody in Tesco buys spy books by women’: how female authors took on the genre
“As an author, I hate and fear Goodreads. As a reader, I just hate it.”—a thread from Seanan McGuire.
Are Crime Writers as Twisted as Our Characters?: Authors Weigh In On Their Creepy Creations
William Gibson: ‘I was losing a sense of how weird the real world was’—A good interview/profile with the SF master.
A Narrator In Every Port—Harry Connolly talks about Narrator Voice, one of those things you never think about that is so important for the reading experience.
My Rules For Writing A Novel—Matthew Hanover shares his rules for writing.
To My Friends With Reading Tastes Opposite from Mine—I’ll second this one.
The 16 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time by Global English Editing—The Tattooed Book Geek posted this snazzy infographic in a guest post this week.
What determines reading speed?—asks Paul’s Picks
TTBG’s Fifteen Blogging Tips.—I’m reasonably certain that I’ve linked to this before. But we could all probably use a reminder.
Short Series vs Long Series: Which Do I Prefer?—I don’t know that I’d thought about things in this way before, and may end up posting my take on this soon. Fun to think about anyway.
Bookworm Problems #1—should make you grin
I typically try to close with a laugh, or something unusual, but today calls for something else. I’ll just steal Ace Atkins Facebook post from this morning

A Beginning At The End by Mike Chen—A SF Family Drama set 6 years after a global pandemic changes everything.
The Wild One by Nick Petrie—Peter Ash brings his brand of action to Iceland. I honestly can’t remember if I’ve ever read anything that takes place there, this should be a great way to fix that.
Burn the Dark by S. A. Hunt—I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I’ll have time to get to this, but it’s a fun concept: “a YouTube celebrity gone-viral with her intensely-realistic witch hunter series. But even her millions of followers don’t know the truth: her series isn’t fiction.”

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to aloysius5, writingeatingwalking, Dora , Hâf, Susan, and Shell-Shell’s for following the blog 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 I., Chapter v.-ix.

By HCNewton

On January 17, 2020

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

Fridays with the Foundling
(yeah, I know, I typically hate using actor’s images when it comes to discussing the source material…but, w/o Finney, I’m not doing this)

Miss Bridget shocks the housekeeper by showing actual tenderness and affection toward the (as yet unnamed) foundling. She follows that up with what could (should?) be construed as a less than compassionate move–she hunts down his mother (a far easier task than you’d expect) and brings her before the magistrate, Mr. Allworthy. Allworthy doesn’t condemn her for what she does, he gives her a lecture on morality, assures her he’ll take care of the child better than she could’ve, and then tries to get the name of the father from her. She doesn’t give that up, but does so in a way that she earns the approbation of Mr. Allworthy, as well as Miss Bridget and the housekeeper (who were absolutely not eavesdropping, they just happened to hear what happened between the magistrate and mother.

Really not a lot happens here, and Tom is “off-screen” for almost all of it. Still, it’s good to get this kind of thing out of the way and the narrator continues to be entertaining.

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire: Jack and Jill’s Final (?) Showdown in the Moors

By HCNewton

On January 16, 2020

In Fantasy, Fiction, K-O, Seanan McGuire, Wayward Children

Come Tumbling Down

by Seanan McGuire
Series: Wayward Children, #5

Hardcover, 206 pg.
Tor Books, 2020

Read: January 8-10, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children was an island of misfit toys, a place to put the unfinished stories and the broken wanderers who could butcher a deer and string a bow but no longer remembered what to do with indoor plumbing. It was also, more importantly, a holding pen for heroes. Whatever they might have become when they’d been cast out of their chosen homes, they’d been heroes once, each in their own ways. And they did not forget.

I wanted to do an Opening Lines post for this book, but I couldn’t decide where to stop—maybe around page 6 (which is a little too long for that kind of post). Seriously, it took less than a page for me to fall in love with this book.

It’s a typical day at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children (assuming such a thing exists) when a door appears, but instead of someone getting to go to their “home,” two figures emerge. One is a complete stranger, the other is Jack. Well, sort of. Close enough for our purposes here.

Things on the Moors have gotten to a crisis point where only one of the Wolcott twins can survive—Jack or Jill. Jill has struck first and things are dire. Jack recruits a couple of her friends and classmates to return with her (she was relatively certain she could return them to the school) to aid her in confronting her sister. They used to be heroes, they will be heroes again—as often as needed—much to Eleanor’s chagrin.

Once in the Moors, a dark and nasty place to be sure, dangers that no one (save maybe Jack) could’ve predicted present themselves and threaten the lives of the students in horrible and chilling ways. Culminating in what appears to be a final encounter for the sisters.

I love the way that McGuire writes these books, and Come Tumbling Down is no exception. It is full of the typical whimsical, fantastic and nigh-poetic language and ideas. If you’ve read a Wayward Children book before, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t . . . it’s hard to tell you. Here’s a sample or two:

“This is terrible . . . I mean we knew it was going to be trouble . . . but this is bonus terrible. This is the awful sprinkles on the sundae of doom.”

“A little knowledge never hurt anybody,” said Sumi.

“Perhaps not. But a great deal of knowledge can do a great deal of harm, and I’m long past the point of having only a little knowledge.”

Sumi was Sumi. Spending time with her was like trying to form a close personal relationship with a cloud of butterflies. Pretty—dazzling, even—but not exactly companionable. And some of the butterflies had knives, and that was where the metaphor collapsed.

Jill had always been the more dangerous, less predictable Wolcott, for all that she was the one who dressed in pastel colors and lace and sometimes remembered that people like it when you smiled. Something about the way she’d wrapped her horror move heart in ribbons and bows had reminded him of a corpse that hadn’t been properly embalmed like she was pretty on the outside and rotten on the inside. Terrifying and subtly wrong.

“wrapped her horror movie heart in ribbons and bows” is pretty much worth the purchase price of the book.

I’m glad that I enjoy—relish, really—the language like I do, because there’s not a lot of plot or action here. There’s enough, but there’s an awful lot of talk both around and before the action really gets underway. That’s not a wholly bad thing, and I enjoyed all of it, it just seemed self-indulgent.

It felt to me that McGuire’s reached the point of diminishing returns with this one, it’s been one too many trips to the Moors and it’s time for other Wayward Children to get the focus. Thankfully, that seems to be the plan.

I don’t think this would be a great introduction to this series (but it would function okay that way) if you’re not going to read them all in order, I feel safe in saying that it needs to be read after Down Among the Sticks and Bones. This is a good way to return to the world and revisit some of these characters. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next volume.

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, opinions are my own.

Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam: Hunter tries SF with Predictably Entertaining Results

By HCNewton

On January 16, 2020

In Audiobook, Faith Hunter, Fiction, Science Fiction

Junkyard Cats

by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator)
Series: Shining Smith, #1

Audiobook, 5 hrs., 2 min.
Audible Original, 2020

Read: January 3-6, 2020

Faith Hunter dips her toe into SF with this Audible Original, and leaves quite an impression. The distinctive Hutner-flair is there, with science-y stuff replacing the magic stuff. It works pretty well.

Shining Smith is a veteran, of a handful of things, really. This takes place in the near-future, following a World War and another one (called the Final War in an act of aspirational nomenclature, I assume). She lives in/runs a scrapyard left to her by her father with a few cats and another vet recovering from trauma.

Shining deals on both sides of the law through intermediaries—no one knows her or who she is beyond those. It’s a perfectly safe environment.

Not a nice one, not a fulfilling one, but a safe one. And in her world, that’s asking a lot.

Until one day, one of her intermediaries shows up at her scrapyard dead. And then a very strong suspect for killing him shows up. And things get worse from there.

The action scenes are cool—filled with all the kinds of things that the best SF action scenes are filled with. The future-tech is cool, completely foreign to reality, yet it seems like the kind of thing that would emerge from our current tech.

I liked Shining, we don’t get to know her much. She’s such the riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, that it’s hard to get a real handle on her—but we get enough to root for her and want to know her better. Her compatriots are intriguing—as well-rounded as characters can get in this limited space where everyone is lying to each other about who and what they are.

There were a couple of SF-brand/tech names (like The Tyrell Corporation or tricorder) that I really couldn’t understand what Hvam was saying. Against the spirit of an “Audible Original,” but I’d like to read this so I could get a handle on those things. Which isn’t saying that Hvam didn’t do a great job—as per usual, her narration is top-notch.

My only complaint (outside of the tech words I couldn’t decipher), is the brevity, we get the good story, but we don’t get any depth—it’s like it’s designed to make you want more. Hey, wait a second . . .

A fun action-packed story that’ll whet your appetite for more. This is a glimpse into a cool world and I love what Hunter has created here. Yeah, I’m only going with 3 Stars for this. There’s a lot of potential in this world and with these characters—if Hunter returns to this? I can easily see this becoming a favorite series. It’s fine as a stand-alone, and it doesn’t demand a series/sequel but I think to really appreciate everything she set-up here, we need a little more. I’m not sure that makes sense, but…it’s what I can do.

3 Stars

Reread Project: The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs: A very different model of what reading can be all about.

By HCNewton

On January 16, 2020

In Reread Project

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

by Alan Jacobs

Hardcover, 150 pg.
Oxford University Press, 2011

Read: January 2-3, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Read would give you delight—at least most of the time—and do so without shame. And even if you are that rare sort of person who is delighted chiefly by what some people call Great Books, don’t make them your study intellectual diet, any more than eat at the most elegant of restaurants every day. It would be too much. Great books are great in part because of what they ask of their readers: they are not readily encountered, easily accessed. The poet W. H. Auden once wrote, “When one thinks of the attention that a great poem demands, there’s something frivolous about the notion of spending every day with one. Masterpieces should be kept for High Holidays of the Spirit”—for our own personal Christmases and Easters, not for any old Wednesday.

I picked this up as my first book of the year as a way to refresh the mind, come into the year with a reminder of what kind of reader I want to be. As I write this, I’m deliberately not looking at what I wrote last time I read this, but you may find it interesting. Maybe not. I don’t know if I’ll end up repeating myself.

I remember this book being as close to a mission statement for my approach to reading as you could hope for—particularly because I came to it late in life. It’s not like this is a book I read in college and it shaped me/my thinking, but it’s something that I came to a couple of years ago and it was as if a more erudite and thoughtful version of myself had written it.

The beginning of the book is the heart of it, he sets forth his central theses, core argument:

one dominant, overarching, nearly definitive principle for reading: Read at Whim.

Reading shouldn’t be about self-improvement (primarily), it isn’t the mental equivalent of eating Brussels Sprouts. It should be for pleasure. And to maximize that, Jacobs will argue—read at whim.

Following that, Jacobs talks about many aspects of reading for pleasure—note-taking, thinking about what we read, focus (and how to expand it), the role of ereaders (he’s surprisingly pro-ereader), fighting distractions, evaluating what we read and more.

I was particularly struck this time through by his section on re-reading. For growing in appreciation for, or understanding of a work. Or because you enjoy escaping into a well-known and beloved world for a period.

Jacobs frequently quotes Auden, at one point he cites Auden’s five ratings for a book—I think we should maybe replace the standard 5-Star system with this:

For an adult reader, the possible verdicts are five: I can see this is good and I like it; I can see this is good but I don’t like it; I can see this is good, and, though at present I don’t like it, I believe with perseverance I should come to like it; I can see that this is trash but I like it; I can see that this is trash and I don’t like it.

Most of all, this is a celebration of/appreciation of reading. Jacobs is a kindred spirit to us readers as well as a humanities professor. Reading is both a passion and a profession—and both (particularly the former) are clearly seen in these pages.

Our goal as adults is not to love all books alike, or as few as possible, but rather to love as widely and as well as our limited selves will allow.

Hear, hear. That’s a good reminder.

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, opinions are my own.

WWW Wednesday, January 15, 2020

By HCNewton

On January 15, 2020

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

Welcome to 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?

Technically, I’m not reading anything, because I’ve had this cold-ish thing for three days and haven’t been able to read (driving me crazy). But if I was, I’d be reading Deep Dark Dead by Steph Broadribb and am listening to Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson, Tavia Gilbert (Narrator).

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Seanan McGuire’s Come Tumbling Down and A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearn and Luke Daniels, Xe Sands (Narrators) on audio.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Wizard Ring by Clare Blanchard and some sort of audiobook. I’m not really sure what, but I’m just looking forward to reading anything.

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

Do I Have That? Booktag

By HCNewton

On January 15, 2020

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

I saw this over on Way Too Fantasy a couple of months ago and thought it looked fun (and promptly ran out of time to get to it). It’s harder than it looks (at least it was for me), but I enjoyed the challenge.

1. Do you have a book with deckled edges?

The Complete Novels of Jane Austen

I know that I have more, but this is the first I could find. (and yes, I looked rather strange pulling books off the shelf to run my fingers along the pages to check)

2. Do you have a book with 3 or more people on the cover?
Kings of the Wyld

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

The book that continues to be out of my grasp–couldn’t write up a post on the paperback, couldn’t write up a post on the audiobook. Love the book, just can’t articulate why. BTW, the French cover is even better than this very cool one (and would also qualify for this category if I owned a copy).

3. Do you have a book based on another fictional story?

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye / Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

Couldn’t decide, so, a twofer. Loved Fuzzy Nation, should probably give it another whirl, actually. Haven’t gotten around to Jane Steele yet, don’t ask me why, I couldn’t tell you.

4. Do you have a book with a title 10 letters long?
In The Still

In the Still by Jacqueline Chadwick

Scrolling through Goodreads “Read” page, counting letters. How did you spend your Saturday afternoon?

5. Do you have a book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?
Armada

Armada by Ernest Cline

Tricksy one. Thankfully, this came up on that Goodreads page pretty early. Well…not late, anyway.

6. Do you have a Mass Market Paperback book?
Look Alive Twenty-Five

Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich

Do I have an MMP? They’re only about 50% of my Fiction shelves. This was my latest.

7. Do you have a book written by an author using a pen name?

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith / Deep Down Dead by Steph Broadribb

The first one felt like cheating, so you get another twofer. By the way, these are all great no matter what name they go by. Read anything by Robert Galbraith, Steph Broadribb, J. K. Rowling, or Stephanie Marland (except The Casual Vacancy, why do that to yourself?)

8. Do you have a book with a character’s name in the title?
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eponymous titles are rarer (at least on my shelves) than I expected. But I’ve got this one, at least.

And just thought of another just before I hit “Schedule” (but sticking with the original post).

9. Do you have a book with 2 maps in it?

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

This was tough. I tend to ignore the maps in fantasy novels (when I’m not constantly referencing them, that is). This may have been the hardest to find.

10. Do you have a book that was turned into a TV show?

Angel’s Flight by Michael Connelly

I went with this one because it’s the basis of my favorite season of Bosch to date.

11. Do you have a book written by someone who is originally famous for something else? (celebrity/athlete/politician/tv personality…)

The Road to Mars by Eric Idle

One might say I have too many, thankfully, I’ve had pretty good luck with them. This is a gem.

12. Do you have a book with a clock on the cover?

Fated by Benedict Jacka

Figured a time-travel novel would be the way to go, but…nope. Had to think outside the box to get this one.

13. Do you have a poetry book?

The Pocket Book of Ogden Nash

Yeah, I’ve said that poetry isn’t really my thing. This is probably the only one I own.

14. Do you have a book with an award stamp on it?

The High King by Lloyd Alexander

Yes, and I hate the stupid sticker, ruins the cover image. The first one that came to mind was The High King by Lloyd Alexander. The conclusion to the series that turned me into a Fantasy fan.

15. Do you have a book written by an author with the same initials as you?

Ummmm…er…no? Can’t even think of one…Did Huey Newton (no relation, despite what you may read on Twitter) write a book? Harriet Nelson? (can’t think of another well-known H.N.)

16. Do you have a book of short stories?
Planet Grim

Planet Grim by Alex Behr

Behr liked what I said about the eARC of this enough that she sent me a hardcopy. It’s got a special place on my shelf because of that bit of generosity. Cool stories, too.

17. Do you have a book that is between 500-510 pages long?

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

This made me so grateful for years of spreadsheet keeping (and a search function).

18. Do you have a book that was turned into a movie?

The Martian by Andy Weir

(if I’d gone with The Hobbit would I get 2 extra points?)

19. Do you have a graphic novel?

Scott Pilgrim – Scott’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Such a fun little read.

20. Do you have a book written by 2 or more authors?
No Country for Old Gnomes

No Country for Old Gnomes by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne

Yeah, I posted about an eARC, but I have the hardcover, too.

By reading this, you’ve been tagged (probably should’ve warned you earlier, oops). Am very interested to see what you come up with!

Clearing the Deck: Tweet-length thoughts about books I can’t find time to write about

By HCNewton

On January 14, 2020

In Audiobook, Fiction, G-L, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Patricia Briggs, Theology/Christian Living

Yeah, I have a daunting TBR stack, but I also have too many books on my “To Write About” pile, and it’s bugging me. So, I’m cutting myself some slack, and am clearing the deck of everything from 2019 and before that I haven’t made time for. This was painful to do, I was looking forward to writing about most of these, but I’m just not going to get to them–and the 2020 books are starting to pile up, too. So, in 144 characters or less, here’s me cutting myself some slack.

(Click on the cover for an official site with more info)

	Rivers of London, Volume 4: Detective Stories by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, Lee Sullivan Brief flashbacks showing what Peter et al. get up to between novels/comic series. A fun idea, well executed. Would enjoy another one like this.
	Rivers of London Volume 5: Cry Fox by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, Lee Sullivan This was a lot of fun, and showed a new side of a cool recurring character.
	Rivers of London: Action At A Distance by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, Brian Williamson, Stefani Renne A serial killer hunt and Nightingale backstory. Great combo.(some nice Molly material, too)
	Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian by Danny E. Olinger A biography and a discussion of his Vos’ major works. This was an excellent way to gear up for my 2019 Vos reading. Inspirational stuff.
	The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator) A light Urban Fantasy about misfit monsters. Enjoyable enough to come back for more.
	Open Season by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator) Series Debut about a WY Game Warden with a nose for mystery. Loved the dual POVs (Pickett, his daughter). Addicting.
	Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain by Richard Roberts, Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator) A cute story about kids of super-heroes/super-villains trying to get started in the biz without their parents’ involvement. Went on longer than it needed to, but fun enough to try volume 2.
	Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs, Joe Manganiello (Narrator) Manganiello is a great choice for narrator. Nice little stand-alone fantasy story. Great dragons.
	Savage Run by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator) Almost as good as the first Pickett novel. Mrs. Pickett gets to shine here, too. I’m so glad I finally got to this series.
	Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, Lynn Redgrave (Narrator) Gets a bit redundant, but I loved the concept. Better than the movie (which I kind of liked), but still could’ve been better.
	Undeath and Taxes by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator) A little better than the first volume, an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.
	Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs, Joe Manganiello (Narrator) OK, so Dragon Bones wasn’t a stand-alone. Could’ve been, but it was nice to get a little more with these characters/this world. Still, give me a Briggs Urban Fantasy above this.
	The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards by Alan D. Strange I love this series. Strange packs so much material into this tiny package. Excellent stuff.
	Badlands by C. J. Box, January LaVoy (Narrator) Cassie takes over The Highway series and moves to a new Oil Town in North Dakota. Midwest Winter, Drugs, Murder, Corruption and Too Much Money wreak havoc on her first week on the job.
	Zombie Spaceship Wasteland: A Book by Patton Oswalt (Audiobook) The memoir chapters are nice, the comedic bits are odd (and funny). An interesting look at Oswalt.
	No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness by Michelle Segar, Ph.D. A great way to look at keeping (or getting) yourself motivated to exercise.