Category: Books Page 111 of 161

February 2020 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

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On March 2, 2020

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

The short version: 17 books, 5715 pages, 3.6 Average. The same number of books as January, a thousand (or so) more pages (not sure how that worked), a decent average rating. Things are ramping up at work for a couple of months, and I’ll be stunned if my numbers don’t slim down a little until June. All in all, a pretty decent month (unless you compare what I did to my February Plans post…but we can ignore that, right?)

So, here’s what happened here in February.
Books Read

A Beginning At The End Bloody Acquisitions Burn the Dark
4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
House on Fire Academ's Fury QualityLand
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Hi Five Hidden Steel The Gene Wizards
4 Stars 2 Stars 2 Stars
Shadow of the Batgirl Lies Sleeping Every Day Matters
3 Stars 5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Highfire God Save the Child Dark Harvest Magic
4 Stars 5 Stars 3 Stars
Madam Tulip and the Serpent's Tree Venators: Magic Unleashed
4 Stars 4 Stars

Still Reading

Tom Jones Original Cover Institutes of Christian Religion vol 1 The Identity and Attributes of God
The In Between False Value

Ratings

5 Stars 2l 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 2
4 Stars 6 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 2 1 Star 0
3 Stars 4
Average = 3.6

TBR Pile
Mt TBR January 20

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 10
Self-/Independent Published: 7

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 1 (3%)
Fantasy 4 (24%) 7 (19%)
General Fiction/ Literature 0 (0%) 3 (8%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 0 (0%) 1 (3%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 5 (29%) 11 (31%)
Non-Fiction 0 (0%) 2 (6%)
Science Fiction 3 (18%) 3 (8%)
Steampunk 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 1 (6%) 1 (6%)
Urban Fantasy 4 (24%) 8 (22%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wrote
I had a post that I was very excited about, but everytime I tried to write it, it went off in another direction than I wanted and I couldn’t get it back in line. Maybe next month, maybe it’s (another) one for the Trash Heap. On the successful side, other than the Saturday Miscellanies (1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th Sat), I also wrote:

How was your month?

Saturday Miscellany—2/29/20

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On February 29, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

I had high hopes for output this week, but didn’t get to them all. Nor did I get to surf around as much as I’d expected. C’est la vie—but I got extra sleep this week (that I apparently needed, about a bonus night’s worth). Still, we’ve got some good 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:

    This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • False Value by Ben Aaronovitch—I’m about 1/3 of the way into the new Rivers of London novel and it’s a doozy! Good jumping on point for those wanting to check out this series.
  • Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire—the latest InCryptid novel is 1. the thickest so far, 2. features Sarah (who we haven’t seen enough of for…years, I guess), making it 3. a sure-fire win.
  • The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold—” A former soldier turned PI tries to help the fantasy creatures whose lives he ruined in a world that’s lost its magic.” ‘Nuff said. (for me, anway, if you want a bit more, check out this post from The Witty & Sarcastic Book Club)
  • Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore—a young woman starts experiencing her life at random ages.
  • Finna by Nino Cipri—a couple of minium-wage employees on an adventure across the multi-verse.
  • Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold—a promising looking modern Red Riding Hood retelling.
  • For many not in the US Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh came out this week. But because I’m envious of them, I’m not going to provide a link to it. It’s a childish and useless gesture, I realize. But if I have to wait a year+ for this book, they’ll have to wait that long to get a link from me.


Top 5 Saturday: Books Inspired by Mythology

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On February 29, 2020

In Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Kevin Hearne, News/Misc., Urban Fantasy, YA/MG/Children's Books


The Top 5 Saturday weekly meme was created by Amanda at Devouring Books.

Rules!

  • Share your top 5 books of the current topic—these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
  • Tag the original post (This one!)
  • Tag 5 people (I probably won’t do this bit, play along if you want)

This week’s topic is: Books inspired by Mythology. Which you’d think would be super-easy—and it was fairly easy—but coming up with a fifth took a little more work than I expected.

Bad Blood
by
Lucienne Diver

An Urban Fantasy featuring a strong, snarky, female PI who doesn’t believe the family legend that she’s descended from Pan and Medusa. But when Apollo himself shows up to hire her, she starts to come around . . . I admit I don’t remember a lot of this (I read it 7 years ago), but it was one of the first I thought of when I decided to do this list and I do keep asking myself why I never got around to reading the rest of the series.

American Gods
by
Neil Gaiman

Honestly, not my favorite Gaiman (maybe on a second read that’d change). But man, there are passages in this book that are pure magic. Epic in scope, but filled with fantastic characters, and Gaiman’s prose, you can absolutely understand why it’s beloved and so widely-read.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
by
Douglas Adams

Unless I read something I cannot recall, this was the first book I read that made use of mythological characters in a contemporary setting. I absolutely loved the idea and wondered why more people didn’t do that. Clearly, they do (just see the rest of this post and the others posting on this theme today), but at the ripe old age of 15, it was revolutionary to me. Odin, Thor, Loki and a few other Norse dignitaries are flitting about London and the area, inflicting damage, killing innocents, and driving nursing home staff crazy. Throw in Dirk Gently and Adams at his best and you have a killer read.

Hunted
by
Kevin Hearne

Members of five (I think) pantheons show up in this book—in what’s probably Hearne’s finest use of them all. A good story for Atticus, Oberon, and Granuaile (Oberon has his best dramatic moment, as I recall) aside from that, but a great way of blending the various pantheons into the Iron Druid’s world. One of my Top 2 in the series.

The Lightning Thief
by
Rick Riordan

How can you have a list like this and not include this book (or one of the legion it spawned)? The book that started a craze and gave Riordan the ability to quit teaching. This set the template for all of Riordan’s myth-inspired books (be it Greek, Roman, Egyptian or Norse mythology) and is just fun (unlike some of the latter books which got a bit preachy and tedious). It’s not quite Potter-level of fame/influence, but it’s the closest we have in the States, a nice collection of kids, a creative way of brining myths to the 21st Century, and a rollicking good time.

Down the TBR Hole (2 of 24+)

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On February 26, 2020

In Books, Down the TBR Hole, News/Misc.

Down the TBR Hole

Back for Round Two!

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

  1. Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
  2. Order on ascending date added.
  3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
  4. Read the synopses of the books.
  5. Decide: keep it or should it go?
  6. Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

(Click on the cover for an official site or something with more info about the book)

Monster Hunter Vendetta Monster Hunter Vendetta by Larry Correia
My Thoughts: I read and enjoyed Monster Hunter International years ago, probably would’ve jumped on this follow-up if my library had a copy of it—or if I’d had the cash for it then. I liked International enough, and have heard primarily good things about the rest of the series. Gotta give it another shot.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
City of the Sun City of the Sun by Daid Levien
Blurb: A P.I. with a dark past hunts for a missing child.
My Thoughts: I don’t remember what attracted me to this. Looks perfectly decent, but I have so many mysteries that I know why I want to read, I’m going to pass on this.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
Unicorn Precinct Unicorn Precinct by Keith R.A. DeCandido
My Thoughts: See what I said about Monster Hunter Vendetta.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Jack Reacher's Rules Jack Reacher’s Rules by Lee Child
Blurb: “…this one-of-a-kind book compiles timeless advice from maverick former army cop Jack Reacher, the hero of Lee Child’s blockbuster thrillers…”
My Thoughts: Why haven’t I read this yet?
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Two Pints Two Pints by Roddy Doyle
Blurb: “Two men meet for a pint in a Dublin pub. They chew the fat, set the world to rights, take the piss… They talk about their wives, their kids, their kids’ pets, their football teams and – this being Ireland in 2011–12 –about the euro, the crash, the presidential election, the Queen’s visit.”
My Thoughts: Doyle going the comedic route? (which is what it seems like) A sure-fire win. (and there are two sequels…)
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Blurb: “Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He’s been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear.Max is different from other children. Some people say he has Asperger’s, but most just say he’s “on the spectrum.” None of this matters to Budo, who loves Max unconditionally and is charged with protecting him from the class bully, from awkward situations in the cafeteria, and even in the bathroom stalls. But he can’t protect Max from Mrs. Patterson, a teacher in the Learning Center who believes that she alone is qualified to care for this young boy.

When Mrs. Patterson does the unthinkable, it is up to Budo and a team of imaginary friends to save Max—and Budo must ultimately decide which is more important: Max’s happiness or his own existence.”
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
A Ticket to the Boneyard A Ticket to the Boneyard by Lawrence Block
My Thoughts: The first seven of these were compelling, and I’m not sure why I ran out of gas with these. A friend has been castigating me for that choice for a few months now. Gotta get back on that horse.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Dixie City Jam Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke
My Thoughts: I admired and respected the first six of these more than I enjoyed them. I’m betting this would be the same. Life’s too short.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
The Nightgown The Nightgown by Brad Parks
My Thoughts: A 32-page prequel to the Carter Ross series seems like it’d be 20 or so minutes of fun, but I can’t see me getting around to this (unless Parks writes another Ross book or two—might renew my interest, but even then…a singular short isn’t my style)
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
Trouble in Paradise Trouble in Paradise by Marcia Clark
My Thoughts: See above, but re: the Rachel Knight series.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down

Books Removed in this Post: 4 / 10
Total Books Removed: 7 / 240

Anyone out there read any of these books? Did I make the right call with any of them?

(Image by moritz320 from Pixabay)

Saturday Miscellany—2/22/20

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On February 22, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

Running late today, my normal time for assembling this post was taken up by a valiant attempt at a little DYI around the house. The results speak loudly about my fitness to spend my time reading and talking about books and far away from tools.

But from the better late than never department, here are the 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:

    A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:

  • Author Stories Podcast Episode 810 | Roxanna Elden Interview—I read a little about this book a few months ago (as I recall), but had forgotten about it until this great chat with Garner. I really appreciated her take on the audiobook narrator.

    This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • A Deeper Song by Rebecca Bradley—the newest DI Hanna Robbins, the last two in this series have been among the best procedurals I’ve read in the last couple of years, I expect this will join the list. Bradley’s last novel is still collecting virtual dust on my Kindle, but I might read this one first.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Wednesday Reads, Eamon, Graphic Design Eye and ARJung for following the blog in some format this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

WWW Wednesday, February 19, 2020

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On February 19, 2020

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

Hey, it’s the middle of the week. 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 the very fun Highfire by Eoin Colfer and am listening to Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Narrator) as a refresher before the release of the next Rivers of London novel next week.

What did you recently finish reading?

I was away for a few days last week and got a little extra reading in, but yesterday I finished Joe Ide’s Hi Five (I have so many things to say about it) and Shadow of the Batgirl by Sarah Kuhn, Nicole Goux.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Madam Tulip and the Serpent’s Tree by David Ahern (I’ve been waiting for this for a while) and Dark Harvest Magic by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator) on audiobook.

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

Saturday Miscellany—2/15/20

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On February 15, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

Not much to say, I’m 604 miles away from home this weekend and haven’t been able to write more than three sentences so far, which is about two posts under my goal (have read more than a few, however). Thankfully, this post doesn’t require a lot of writing. It’s probably the elevation, because that’s a thing, right? (or maybe it’s just spending time with my wife and daughter…)

Anyway…here are the 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:

    A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:

  • The Once & Future Podcast, Ep. 204: Jeanine Cummins—Anton Strout talks to his old friend about American Dirt in an interview recorded before the controversy about the book (and promotion of it) got as big as it has. I had a suspicion that many of her critics didn’t know that much about Cummins/her work before I listened to this. Now I’m convinced.

    I’m sure I missed some, but there weren’t any New Releases that caught my eye this week.


Down the TBR Hole (1 of 24+)

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On February 12, 2020

In Books, Down the TBR Hole, News/Misc.

Down the TBR Hole

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

  1. Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
  2. Order on ascending date added.
  3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
  4. Read the synopses of the books.
  5. Decide: keep it or should it go?
  6. Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

I’ll probably be tackling 5 of these at a time, but this time I’m going for 10 because the first 3 are in one series, and it seems like cheating to have the first 3 of 5 to be answered together. I’ll probably slow down in the future.

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

The Ghost Brigades The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
My Thoughts: This is the sequel to Old Man’s War which was plenty of fun, but after I read it I couldn’t quickly get my hands on the sequel (although I could’ve gotten 3 & 4), and then I got distracted and…well, here I am 8 years later.
Verdict: Yeah, I’ll have to re-read Old Man’s War first, but that should be a good time anyway.
Thumbs Up
The Last Colony The Last Colony by John Scalzi
My Thoughts: See above.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Zoe's Tale Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi
My Thoughts: See above.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
The Naming of the Beasts The Naming of the Beasts by Mike Carey
My Thoughts: Similarly, I’ve read the first two of this series 3+ times, and the second two once, but couldn’t get my hands easily on this one (and it’s the only one not in my library system, how horrible is that?). Felix Castor was such a fun character, I really should get to this one—even if it means I have to spend a little money.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
This Dog for Hire This Dog for Hire by Carol Lea Benjamin
My Thoughts: A P.I. Novel with a Canine sidekick. This should be a slam-dunk for me. But when I read the blurb, something fails to grab me. Don’t ask me what. Just don’t think I’m going to get around to it. Possibly my loss.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
To Speak for the Dead To Speak for the Dead by Paul Levine
Blurb: The first mystery in Paul Levine’s best-selling series, To Speak for the Dead, introduces trial lawyer and ex-Miami Dolphins linebacker Jake Lassiter, who has an uncanny knack for digging up the truth – and the danger that comes with it.
My Thoughts: About 15 years ago, I gobbled up Levine’s Solomon vs. Lord series and probably should’ve jumped on this one at the time. I didn’t and have kicked myself for it frequently since. Maybe it’s the football thing? Odds are these are just as fun as the Andy Carpenter books.
Verdict: I don’t know when I’ll get around to it, but I can’t bring myself to cut this.
Thumbs Up
Devil in a Blue Dress Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
Blurb: Set in the late 1940s, in the African-American community of Watts, Los Angeles, Devil in a Blue Dress follows Easy Rawlins, a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend’s bar, wondering how he’ll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Monet, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.
My Thoughts: In casual conversation, I’d tell you I’ve read this. But a quick look at the blurb tells me that I haven’t. It’s more than a little unthinkable, really. I need to change this.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Pelham Fell Here Pelham Fell Here by Ed Lynskey
My Thoughts: I have no idea how this one ended up on my radar in April ’12, but it did (the author’s name rings a bell for some reason…maybe people on a Nero Wolfe discussion group have mentioned him?). The blurb is semi-interesting, but a couple of the quotations on Goodreads make me leary.
Verdict: No idea what drew me to the book, leary quotations = time to go.
Thumbs Down
A Cold Day in Paradise A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton
Blurb: Other than the bullet lodged near his heart, former Detroit cop Alex McKnight thought he had put the nightmare of his partner’s death and his own near-fatal injury behind him. After all, the man convicted of the crimes has been locked away for years. But in the small town of Paradise, Michigan, where McKnight has traded his badge for a cabin in the woods, a murderer with the same unmistakable trademarks appears to be back. McKnight can’t understand who else would know the intimate details of the old murders. And it seems like it’ll be a frozen day in Hell before McKnight can unravel truth from deception in a town that’s anything but Paradise.
My Thoughts: I remember reading that Hamilton has come back to this series after a while away. That blurb, my impression of Hamilton from his Nick Mason books, and the fact that Hamilton has been drawn back to the books make this a no-brainer.
Verdict: If anything, I need to prioritize this.
Thumbs Up
Detective Detective by Parnell Hall
Blurb: Stanley Hastings, the world’s most unlikely private eye, a struggling actor/writer trying to support his wife and kid in New York City, who chases ambulances for a negligence lawyer and carries a camera instead of a gun and photographs accident victims and the cracks in the sidewalk that tripped them, tackles his first real case, tracking down the murderers of a client he could not save because he wasn’t a real detective.
My Thoughts: Like the Lynskey book, I have no idea how this ended up on my radar.
Verdict: I dunno, just not feeling this.
Thumbs Down

Books Removed in this Post: 3 / 10
Total Books Removed: 3 / 240

Anyone out there read any of these books? Did I make the right call with any of them?

(Image by moritz320 from Pixabay)

WWW Wednesday, February 12, 2020

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On February 12, 2020

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

Hey, it’s the middle of the week. Time for WWW Wednesday! It’s also the last day of the work week for me, and I’m having a hard time focusing on anything productive. Thankfully, these posts are pretty easy to produce.

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 Hi Five by Joe Ide and am listening to Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Narrator).

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Joseph Finder’s House on Fire and yesterday, I completed Academ’s Fury by Jim Butcher, Kate Reading (Narrator) on audio.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Qualityland by Marc-Uwe Kling.

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

Saturday Miscellany—2/8/20

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On February 8, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

A lighter load after last week’s mega-list. This ended up being one of those weeks that I had no energy at all after work, and I ended up writing/surfing less than I’d expected to. There’s probably a link there. I’m not sure why so many things about kids and reading popped up on my feeds this week, but I always enjoy reading/sharing these articles.

Anyway, here are the 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:

    This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne—the second of the Seven Kennings trilogy. Sadly, it’s going to be a month or so before I can get to it (barring some calamity that makes me bedridden and unable to go to work for a month, I should say. If that happens, it’ll only be three weeks before I can get to it).
  • Shadow of the Batgirl by Sarah Kuhn, Nicole Goux—a fresh take on Cassandra Cain. Looks spiffy to me.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to waytoofantasy, Betty, Matt Kaster and jellyfishentity for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

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