Category: News/Misc. Page 1 of 193

Saturday Miscellany—11/23/24

On November 23, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

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 Literacy Statistics 2022-2023—We are going to kick things off this week on an incredibly down notes. If you’re prone to despondancy, you might want to avoid this.
bullet Why We Need Fairy Tales—this will help you recover from those numbers
bullet How Does the Writer Say Etcetera?—”Sumana Roy ponders the linguistic and aesthetic significance of ‘etceterization.'”
bullet 10 of the Most Original Murders in Mystery—This is a good list–even without the inclusion of Some Buried Ceasar. But that helps.
bullet Matthew Hanover has put out New/Refreshed Covers for his novels—There are better reasons to pick them up (for example, the contents), but this is a good excuse if you haven’t gotten around to it.
bullet It’s a Really Good Time to Get Loud About the Books You Love: Some ideas to help keep literature and the book community alive.—I try to do these already, but like Templeton, it seems like it’s needed more now (and I need the kick in the pants).
bullet Why I Love to Read Reviews – A Defence of the Blogosphere, Blogging and Reviewers—hear, hear.
bullet What Makes a Good Children’s Book?—another good ‘un

Not Really Book-Related, but I want to talk about it anyway:
bullet Animaleague Baseball Batter Up! Board Game—One of my favorite local authors–who does great picture books (and has provided some of the images here), Jeremy Billups, has realseased his first board game! I got to sample an early version a couple of years ago, and am eager to get my hands on one of the final versions! Go give it a look-see (and, even better, pick one or three up for yourself!)

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Us by David Nicholls
bullet I talked about the releases ofAgatha H. and the Voice of the Castle by Kaja Foglio and Phil Foglio, The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, and Superheroes Anonymous by Lexie Dunne.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson—after he leaves the Corps, Walt needs a job. Why not try Alaska, a state that can make Wyoming look crowded?
bullet The World According to Cunk by Philomena Cunk—just in time for the holidays, a history book that might include an actual fact or two, but does contain several laughs, as I wrote recently.
bullet King Arthur & The Ladies of The Lake by Vincent Pompetti—I really enjoyed this graphic novel retelling of Arthurian legends.
bullet An Icelandic Adventure: One Family’s Mostly Successful Quest for Puffins, Pleasure, and Perfect Pizza by S. Bavey—I’m pretty sure the subtitle tells you what you’re going to find. (but perfect pizza in Iceland seems like a stretch, but what do I know?)

Craig Johnson, The Osher Institute, and Tooth and Claw

By HCNewton

On November 22, 2024

In Andy Carpenter, Charlie & Rose Investigate, Craig Johnson, Fiona Griffiths, Harry Bingham, Iron Druid Chronicles, Jo Perry, Kevin Hearne, M. T. Miller, Miscellany, News/Misc., Walt Longmire

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing Craig Johnson for the third time 7 years. I’m starting to feel like a stalker, or a groupie, or…I dunno, I can’t come up with the third things for that list. Anyway, I’m not either of those–or the other one, either. I only see him when he comes to the Treasure Valley and I see an advtisement. Really.

This time, he came to Boise to do a presentation for students of The Osher Institute–a lifelong learning program that seems like a great idea (I’ve heard a few people talk about it before). Thankfully, they opened it for non-students, too–for a small fee that included the price of his new novella, Tooth and Claw (which he signed afterward, too).

He talked a little about the oddly extended process in getting the novella written (by his standards, anyway), the style/influence that was behind this one, and a little bit about the story (maybe too much, almost certainly more than I’ll put in my eventual post about it). He also told a nice little story about the history of the SS Baychimo, a ghost ship that would appear every 10 years or so up in Alaska. I assume that I’m not the only one who had to go home and read more about it later after hearing his recounting.

Then he went into an extended Q&A time for the rest of the hour–I’ve heard a couple of the anecdotes he used before, but he used them to answer different questions, so that was a nice touch. But this wasn’t like the other Q&As I’ve seen him do before–this was a fairly mixed audience. There were plenty of Johnson fans, and plenty of people who’d watched the Longmire show, too. But there were a decent number of people who hadn’t read him at all before (1 person read The Cold Dish in the last couple of weeks). This led to some great questions from people who just wanted to talk about writing, the process of publishing, and then the recommended way to read the books (his wife insists they be read in chronological order, he maintains you can grab them in any order*).

Whether he was just talking about his upcoming book, answering a question about his process, talking about the ages of his characters, what he wrote before Walt Longmire got him a publication deal, a storyline that didn’t turn out the way he planned, or even a problem someone had with the Netflix adaptation, Johnson knows how to engage with an audience. I hope he doesn’t do this anytime soon, but if he quit writing and just toured the country telling stories about the books, his life, or just fun things he learned about history–I’d see him as often as possible and I think he be able to stay as active as he wanted. I don’t know if he’s always been able to work an audience the way he does, or if he grew into it (I think the former based on what he says about his family’s knack for storytelling), but there’s no denying that you walk away from a Craig Johnson appearance fully entertained. If you get the opportunity, take it.

And, of course, he brought that same charm and ability to connect to the autograph line–his lines don’t move that quickly. Once you get to the front, you understand why. He takes enough time so that fans new and old get a little of his attention, which no one is going to complain about.

I was also treated by a friend to a great meal at a nearby Mexican restaurant after we got our books signed. That’s not the point of this piece. I just can’t help thinking of it a day later.

*It’s good to see that even your writing heroes can be wrong.

Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

WWW Wednesday—November 20, 2024

By HCNewton

On November 20, 2024

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

I can’t think of an introductory paragraph (or even a sentence) today. So let’s just jump into things:

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

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

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

What are you currently reading?


Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology edited by L. J. Hachmeister	Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie	Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture–and the Magic That Makes It Work by Jesse David Fox

I’m almost certainly finishing the Kedie book today–it’s intense. I don’t know where it’s going to end up, but my blood pressure will be better when it does.

Instinct is a mixed bag–but mostly good. The Jim Butcher story made me so glad when I read it I wouldn’t care if the rest of the stories were horrible (they’re not, but I really would be fine with that).

Jesse David Fox is the kind of guy I’d like to talk comedy with, I have so many follow-up questions about the material in the first half of this book (not because he didn’t give enough information, I just want more). This is the kind of book I’ve wanted for ages.

What did you recently finish reading?


Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo (Illustrator)	The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson

I really liked this take on Starfire (and Cyborg)–giving her Ehlers–Danlos syndrome was an interesting move (and might have got my daughter to read the whole series).

I’m already missing David Smith (and, yes, Grainger fooled me).

What do you think you’ll read next?


Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan	I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue, read by Nasim Pedrad

Altered Carbon is one of those that I think I might have read a couple of decades ago, but I’m not sure. Anyway, this is the book for the Sci-Fi book club.

it was a while ago that I put a hold on I Hope This Finds You Well at the library, and I honestly don’t remember what it was about the book that intrigued me. It looks promising, and I trust post-me. Mostly.

Tell me what you’re reading–help me feel like I’m not in this rut I’ve been in lately (you’ll note how slow things have been turning over here lately).

Book Blogger Hop: Annotate or Untouched?

By HCNewton

On November 18, 2024

In Book Blogger Hop, Books, News/Misc.

Whoa…it’s been 2 months since I’ve done one of these?

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Do you like to annotate your books or leave them untouched?

I’m not sure what kind of monster you take me for. Write in a book? I’d just as soon dog-ear a page. Yeah, yeah, yeah…history is replete with examples of marginalia (and it’s proved to be a helpful resource for scholars), and if you own a book, you should be able to write in it–some people insist on it. But every book in the H.C. Newton Not-Yet-Memorial Library is untouched by pen, pencil, highlighter, or (shudder) Sharpie (outside a handful of autographs, which is totally different*).

There are (at least) two reasons for this–I don’t want to ruin a book with my lousy handwriting, or inability to use a highlighter or pen to draw a straight line. Let’s keep these pretty. But more importantly, I don’t like to be trapped by what I thought was interesting, important, noteworthy, and so on last time I read a book–I want to get impressions this time. (if for no other reason than I don’t want to be disappointed in previous-me). Does this hamper going back to find that one quotation, that killer argument, that metaphor that rocked my thinking? Yes. And that has been a problem. Still…books that please my eyes are worth a little effort/memory-straining.

I’m apparently so well-known for this in my social circles that friends and acquaintances will apologize to me before showing a marked-up book. Which is unnecessary, if a little nice. I bear no ill will towards people who choose to riddle their books with graffiti, sure, I wonder about their priorities, but I know they do the same for mine 🙂 I actually used to know someone who’d borrow books from me and then end up buying me a new copy of whatever book they borrowed because they just had to write in something they read. That actually worked out pretty nicely for me.

* Or is it an inconsistency that frees me from Emersonian hobgoblins?

What about you, do you deface or keep ’em clean?

Opening Lines: Empowered Witness by Alan D. Strange

By HCNewton

On November 17, 2024

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

We all know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover (yet, publishing companies spend big bucks on cover design/art and we all do judge them that way). But, the opening sentence(s)/paragraph(s) are fair game. So, when I stumble on a good opening (or remember one and pull it off the shelves), I like to throw it up here. There are so few writers that can grab you like Winslow can from the get-go.

from Empowered Witness: Politics, Culture, and the Spiritual Mission of the Church by Alan D. Strange:

The calling, or mission, of the church as the church is to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, not to be another merely (or even chiefly) political, social, or economic institution. The church, in its full-orbed existence, may have political, economic, or social concerns that develop out of its mission, but those aspects are not what primarily mark and define it. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is head and King of the church, made it clear in his marching orders to the church—what we’ve come to call the Great Commission—that he intended the church to go to every people group (often translated “nations”) and to evangelize and disciple them (Matt. 28:18-20), enfolding them into his kingdom, which is “not of this world” (John 18:36), a kingdom that does not have the transitory but the eternal at its heart (2 Cor. 4:18). It is Christ himself, our heavenly King—since he is with us even now by his Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45)—who gathers and perfects his church (Westminster Confession of Faith 25.3) through the appointed means.

The gospel is not about worldly success in any proper sense, then, but is rather about deliverance from the penalty, power, and ultimately the presence of sin, a message that comes to permeate the whole of the lives of those transformed by it. We can rightly say that the message of the church is a spiritual one, coming to people of every sort in every land to bring them here and hereafter into the spiritual reality of the kingdom of Christ. Therefore, Paul encourages the Christians in Corinth, “In whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God” (1 Cor. 7:24). Paul makes clear that the bondservant may and should avail himself of the opportunity of freedom (1 Cor. 7:21). He also makes clear, however, that whatever condition one finds himself in, even whether one is married or not, is not paramount: what is most important is not one’s vocation or life circumstance but being called by and coming to Christ, being a new man or woman in Christ. Paul’s concern is that his readers are Christians, whatever else may be true of their lives. His concern for them, to put it another way, is chiefly spiritual.

This is the spiritual message that the church is privileged to herald to the world (salvation by grace alone), the good news—the meaning of gospel—without which there is no good news. The story of the world after Adam’s fall is nothing but bad news since all is sin, darkness, and hopelessness without the good news of the gospel. The gospel of salvation in Christ, however, is the good news that transforms the worst into the best, seen particularly at the cross, where humanity at its worst not only fails to defeat God but where God uses humanity’s attempt to do so as the centerpiece of our salvation. Christ has overcome the world. This is the message that the church joyfully preaches to the world. It does not preach itself, nor does it promote some sort of political, social, economic, or cultural utopia to be achieved in this age.

The church preaches that we are to live in this age not for this age but for the coming age that has broken in on this age and beckons us to a new heavens and a new earth that await all who trust in Christ alone.

Opening Lines Logo

Saturday Miscellany—11/16/24

By HCNewton

On November 16, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

A small list this week–between be so tired after work this week that I didn’t have the energy to do much online, I seemed to have spent most of my social media time following new people on Bluesky rather than actually, you know, seeing what anyone was saying. The X-odus is real (and “Hi!!!” to anyone who’s here for the first time because of it.)

But I do know that miscellanies are going to get long soon, one post from Pages Unbound has pointed out to me that we’re about to enter the Season of Lists–which is both fun and overwhelming. (and budget straining). I’m pretty much looking forward to it, while also feeling daunted about having to come up with my own soon.

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 Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ can be imported in India after court is told 1988 ban order can’t be found—Dogs still eat homework, eh?
bullet Maximizing Time for Reading: Why reading—and reading widely—is more important than ever, and how to go about creating habits and practices to allow yourself the space and time
bullet Florida’s Education Dept. releases a list of over 700 books removed in K-12 schools —I can understand (if not agree with) why some of these were removed from schools…but you gotta shake your head at a lot of these
bullet Gifts for Babies and Toddlers (Board Book Edition) 2024—it’s that time of year again, isn’t it?
bullet 5 years of Spells & Spaceships: the journey so far and my 10 favourite books.—only 5? I thought I’d been reading this longer. And picking a top 10 from that period? No small feat.
bullet I’m Okay with Books Being Perceived and Sold as Products (Rather Than Art)—I get this. I may have a knee-jerk reaction against the premise, but I see Krysta’s point.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Under the Radar SFF Podcast Blogger Interview with Jodie from W&S Blog—to discuss authors, favorite stories, and Jodie’s love for Dragonlance. Haven’t listened to it yet, but am looking forward to it.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Poison Fruit by Jacqueline Carey
bullet Personal by Lee Child
bullet The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
bullet Pickles and Ponies: A Fairy-Tale by Laura May

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet From Great Heights by Bryan McBee—SF and Magic. Very curious to see what McBee does with this.

Game Night Book Tag 2

By HCNewton

On November 15, 2024

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

Game Night Book Tag 2
Last week just as I was scheduling the publication of my responses to Game Night Book Tag, I thought, “ooh, I wish she’d included Game X and Game Y.” Next thing you know, I had a whole roster of games for this sequel (maybe I should say expansion pack?). If you use this version yourself, I’d ask that you include this post as well as the original from Witty and Sarcastic Book Club.

Pictionary: A Book with a Dynamite Cover

The cover of Pictionary boardgame and the cover of The Name of the Wind: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition by Patrick Rothfuss

I had a realy hard time narrowing this down to one, and had started to think of a different category/game (which was extra-annoying because this was the first one I thought of). But then I remembered this cover by artist Sam Weber and designer Paul Buckley and settled down. The original cover was more than good enough–but this one went the extra mile.

Stratego: A Book with an Epic Battle Scene (or Some Complicated Scheme)

The cover of Stratego boardgame and the cover of The Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

The Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

I could’ve named any number of thrillers, SF adventures, or Fantasy epics (and even as I type this, I fight off the impulse to make a half-dozen replacements). But there’s something just right about the way that Eames handles fight scenes–no matter the scale. But that last one? Chef’s kiss.

Candyland: A Book from Your Childhood that Brings Back Fond Memories

The cover of Candyland boardgame and the cover of The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards

You thought I’d say The Westing Game here, didn’t you? It seems to be the first book from my childhood I tend to mention. But from Edwards’ descriptions of the characters–particularly the Whangdoodle himself, the solution to the big problem, and a large part of the setting–there’s little about this book that isn’t as sweet as Candyland. As for memories…from the time Mrs. Jennings first read this to our class through me repeatedly checking this out from the Library (and eventually it being the first hardcover book I remember getting), few books evoke fondness like this for me.

Sorry: A Book about Revenge

The cover of Sorry! boardgame and the cover of Light Bringer by Pierce Brown

Light Bringer by Pierce Brown

Okay, sure, any of Brown’s Red Rising qualifies as being “about revenge.” But Light Bringer seemed to be vengeancier than the rest.

(my post about it)

Life: A Book that Tells the Story of a Life

The cover of Life boardgame and the cover of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, Henning Koch (translator)

From the flashbacks to his childhood or over the course of his marriage and up to the events that changed his life/attitude in his later years (and the last chapter that probably helps the bottom line for whatever facial tissue companies the readers use), this book is a sure-fire winner. Funny, touching, inspiring…Backman knows how to deliver the goods.

(my post about it)

Operation: A Book with a Lot of Technical Details (that may or may not be true)

The cover of Operation boardgame and the cover of Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

(I really should’ve thought about the two yellows there when I combined them into that image…gak)

First, Adjei-Brenyah gets the fight scenes (the ugly and the beauty) just right and delivers them in such a way that you feel like you can see them–and he gives enough detail in the SF-ish elements and all the rest to bring this to life. But the part that brought this book to mind for this category for me (and why I cancelled my first pick in its favor) are the footnotes–those that are actual documented history and those that are fictional (from a future to us, but history to the characters), these details, studies, and quoted documents add a weight and depth to the narrative to make this feel like a non-fiction work that had slipped through a wormhole to arrive in our time. (the narrative didn’t need that weight and depth, I stress…)

(my post about it)

Trivial Pursuit: A Fun Non-Fiction Book

The cover of Trivial Pursuit boardgame and the cover of The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

I probably use this too often for Non-Fiction prompts in Book Tags–but every alternative that I came up with didn’t feel as right. So…here we are. Wolfe’s book is probably my all-time favorite Non-Fiction, it captures the spirit of the Space Race, the way it depicts the individuals involved is so vivid and lifelike, the way the narrative moves, and Wolfe’s style make this both informative and enjoyabler.

(my post about it)

I don’t typically tag anyone in these, but I’m making an exception here. I’d love to see what Jodie has to say about my amendments.

Image by OTH Amberg-Weiden from Pixabay

WWW Wednesday—November 13, 2024

By HCNewton

On November 13, 2024

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

Every title in this post is one that I own. That doesn’t happen too often–it’s rather nice to have a bunch of things to decrease Mt. TBR all together like this.

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

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

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

What are you currently reading?


Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology edited by L. J. Hachmeister	Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie	The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson

I need some shorter reads that I can dip into here and there, so what better time to finally get around to this collection? Urban Fantasy stories starring some of my favorite fictional animals–how have I not read this yet?

And yeah, I decided to squeeze in another title before Kedie’s work, but I am getting this read now.

I’m still working through The Late Lord Thorpe–my job has been actively working against me listening to it a lot over the last few days (and will continue to do so through the end of the week), so I have no idea how long it will be before David Smith and his creator show me how wrong I was last week.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Wrong Hands
by Mark Billingham

I think DS Miller’s first adventure was a bit more on the amusing side–but this second book is so good that I didn’t care. This was a really compelling and twisty read.

What do you think you’ll read next?

1-800-CallLoki (The Loki Adventures Omnibus)
by Dawn Blair

This omnibus has been sitting near the top of my TBR for too long, it’s time to knock it out.

Given how long the new Grainger is taking me, and library due dates coming up, I honestly have no idea what my next audiobook will be (yes, the audiobook of What You Are Looking for Is in the Library had to be returned unlistened…the amount of work I’m putting into listening to this is outweighing my expectations, but at this point, it’s the principle of the thing)

What authors and titles have caught your attention lately?

Saturday Miscellany—11/9/24

By HCNewton

On November 9, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

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 Who’s Really Writing Celebrity Novels? The writers and agents working behind the scenes tell us how it actually works.
bullet Ranking 40 Popular Books That Are Actually Badly Written—this click-baity list is something largely to read to scoff at or argue with.
bullet The Book News is Generally… Good?—after those two stories and all the ick of the last couple of weeks, who couldn’t use a little bit of good news (no matter what you may think of Tuesday’s results, it’s hard to deny that things have been rather nasty lately).
bullet Dorothy Parker and the Art of the Literary Takedown: Her reviews are not contemptuous, a common pitfall for her imitators. They are simply unbridled in their dislike.—Okay, fine, if you’re going to be negative, do it like the Master. (I read so many people today that need to do this)
bullet The Novel and the Dictator: On the Man Who Criticized Stalin Yet Lived—I’m really glad that I discovered Nadya Williams this year.
bullet IYKYK: When Novels Speak a Language Only Part of the Internet Gets
bullet Out of This World: Books to Read When You Need an Escape—Just in case anyone is interested in that sort of thing…
bullet Comfort Reads: Feel-good Fiction for Rough Days—continuining the theme, Jodie has some great choices
bullet Let’s Talk About Book Boyfriends—a.k.a. Fictophilia (my weakness is for Book Dogs/Pets, but I get it…)
bullet September & October 2024 Community Posts!—Dini has collected some great posts can be found here.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
bullet The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
bullet Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution by Keith R.A. DeCandido
bullet The Burning Room by Michael Connelly, So, Anyway… by John Cleese, Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison! by Harry Harrison, and Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg. (it’s been that long for the Ortberg?)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo (Illustrator)—My only real gripe with this series is the release timetable, so I’m really eager to dive in to see their take on Kory Anders.

Game Night Book Tag

By HCNewton

On November 7, 2024

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

Game Night Book Tag
I’ve only seen this on one other blog–Witty and Sarcastic Book Club–which is also where it originated. Like Jodie said, these games aren’t my go-tos, but it was fun to revisit them. Just for fun, I tried to find images from the editions of the games that I used to play from.

Clue: A Book Featuring a Mystery

The Cover of the Clue boardgame and the cover of The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowall

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowall

Anyone who’s even glanced at this site knows I could go on and on and on here. But I limited myself to one–this is a fun mystery in a SF world. It’s basically The Thin Man in Space–classic mystery characters, classic mystery tropes, unclassic mystery setting–but you couldn’t tell from teh way that Kowall deals with it.

(my post about it)

Monopoly: A Book Focused on Treasure or Money

The cover of Monopoly boardgame and the cover of Tower of Babel by Michael Sears

Tower of Babel by Michael Sears

This is all about New York Real Estate–doesn’t get more focused on Money/Treasure than that. Not that Sears limits himself to that, but the other parts of the book featured on money don’t seem as intense.

(my post about it)

Ticket to Ride: A Book Featuring Travel

The cover of Ticket to Ride boardgame and the cover of Paradox Unbound by Peter Clines

Paradox Bound by Peter Clines

Paradox Bound jumped to mind when I thought of this category. It’s all about travel–both geographically and chronologically. Why stick to something as mundane as roaming the highways and byways of the world, when you can throw in history as well?

(my post about it)

The Settlers of Catan: A Book with a Lot Going On

The cover of The Settlers of Catan boardgame and the cover of The Cartel by Don Winslow

The Cartel by Don Winslow

There are so many plotlines, layers in plotlines, betrayals, set-ups, twists, suprises…saying there’s “a lot” going on feels like an understatement. Winslow’s a pro at this kind of thing–you don’t even notice how much happens until you stop and think about it afterwards.

Risk: A Book in Which an Attempt at Domination is Key to the Story

The cover of RISK boardgame and the cover of Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn

Many, many books led up to this one–it’s for all the marbles, Kitty and her pack (of friends and wolves) vs. Roman. And if they lose, well, he wins everyething. Yet even in the midst of all that, Vaughn makes room for character moments, resolving arcs, and a satisfying series conclusion.

(my post about it)

Apples to Apples: A Book that Makes You Laugh

The cover of Apples to Apples boardgame and the cover of Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

I could’ve put all sorts of things here, but I’d just had a conversation with someone about this book when I sat down to start working on this tag. So…

There’s some humor here about the entertainment industry (on both sides of the camera), about interpersonal relationships, Alien life, Aliens trying to blend in on Earth, the relationship between people and dogs, and…just generally funny stuff. I’ve read it multiple times, and listened to the audiobook once. Found it funny every time.
(my post about it)

Scrabble: A Book with Beautiful Writing

The cover of Scrabble boardgame and the cover of Seraphina's Lament by Sarah Chorn

Seraphina’s Lament by Sarah Chorn

It’s been 5+ years since I read this, and it still haunts me–not becuase the images and characters are haunting, but because Chorn’s writing is beautiful. I think of it frequently. I’ve read a number of her books, and they all have that teeth-achingly tragic-yet-beautiful/tragic-while-beautiful prose, but this is the one that stands tallest in my mind.

(my post about it)

Indie Board Game: An Indie or Self-published Book that Everyone Should Read

Some generic die and game pieces and the cover of Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne

Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne

I can name any number of Indie Books that more people should read. Several that many people should read. But everyone??? That’s a tall, tall, order.

I don’t know that Wistful Asending something that everyone should read. But most people should. Most people (everyone?) will find something in its pages they’ll enjoy, it’s got it all: Superheroes. Sentient space bears. Dinosaur-y/kaiju-y aliens. Talking spaceships. Fantastic Dialogue. Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True Love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest Ladies. Snakes. Spiders… Pain. Death. Brave men. Cowardly men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles. Er, wait. I think I started talking about a different book there. Eh, close enough.

(my post about it)

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.

Image by OTH Amberg-Weiden from Pixabay