Books - The Irresponsible Reader

Saturday Miscellany – 8/10

On August 10, 2013

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:

Young Adult, New Adult… Mid-Adult? — do we really need another sub-genre/specialization/commercial category? siiiiigh
Business Cards of Famous Literary Characters — cute little post

Possession by Kat Richardson

— book 8 of the Greywalker series is out. I’m only 6 behind now.

“my” brick-and-mortar bookstore

Zero History by William Gibson

— I’m confused and embarrassed by the fact that it took me this long to pick this up.

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough — Mentioned this recently when it was published, been looking forward to it for months. Think I’m going to tackle this next
Smokin’ Seventeen by Janet Evanovich — after a year and change, my wife and I are on the verge of being caught up with this series, and are going to have to wait months for the next one. Which I think will be helpful, help me anticipate reading them again.

Saturday Miscellany – 7/20

By HCNewton

On July 20, 2013

In Books, DVD/Movie, Elvis Cole/Joe Pike, Fantasy, Fiction, News/Misc., Robert Crais, Writing, YA/MG/Children's Books

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:

11 Weird Books That Really Exist — Mental Floss’ title for this really undersells it
5 unconventional ways to become a better writer (hint, it’s about being a better reader) — Sure, this isn’t a writing blog (tho’ we’re generally pro-writing, it’s how we get books, right?), but the tips on reading better are at least worth a read (h/t: Lifehacker)
25 Things To Know About Your Story’s Stakes — Speaking of writing, these tips on craft are helpful to use while evaluating books. Why do some plots/books work better than others? So often it comes down to stakes.
Joe Abercrombie to write HarperCollins trilogy — Abercrombie for younger readers? Yes, please. Heck, I’d take Abercrombie board books.
Robert Crais at Mysterious Galaxy — announces next book will have Elvis, Joe, Maggie and Scott. I assumed this would happen, I just figured we’d have to wait a few years. But Santa came early! Is it too much to hope that Carol’s in it, too?

The Guild: The Official Companion by Felicia Day
Celebromancy by Michael R. Underwood
Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez

Saturday Miscellany – 7/13

By HCNewton

On July 13, 2013

In Books, News/Misc.

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:

Being a lifelong bookworm may keep you sharp in old age — There’s hope for me!
S&S Teams With Int’l Thriller Writers On Star-Studded Anthology — this looks very promising
What Makes You Put Down a Book? — Very interesting infographic from goodreads
Book Titles With One Letter Missing — there’s a snicker or two here

The Last Word by Lisa Lutz

Saturday Miscellany – 7/6

By HCNewton

On July 6, 2013

In Books, News/Misc.

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:

2013 Locus Awards Winners — in case you somehow missed it. They got Best SF Novel right, IMHO — haven’t read enough of the rest to say, though I’ve heard good things about the rest
Infographic: Who Spends the Most Time Reading in the World? — not only do you get this interesting/troubling look at reading throughout the world, but you get a glimpse into Russian reading habits
14 Books To Read Before They Hit The Big Screen — this is a handy little list for folks like me that hate to have a movie spoil a good read. (I swear I didn’t read as many buzzfeed pieces as I do now before I started these posts)

Beyond Bacon: Paleo Recipes that Respect the Whole Hog by Stacy Toth and Matthew McCarry

Saturday Miscellany – 6/29

By HCNewton

On June 29, 2013

In Books, Fantasy, Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc.

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:

Blade Reforged by Kelly McCullough. Y’know, I think I’m a book behind in this series. Whoops!
Hunted by Kevin Hearne. So excited about that one that I already posted the review.

Light week, but it’s something.

Saturday Miscellany – 6/22

By HCNewton

On June 22, 2013

In Books, Fantasy, Harry Bosch, Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc.

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:

Reading novels makes us better thinkers — ah ha! I have a~~n excuse~~ justification to read! Not that I needed one. Or that it seems to make me much of a decision-maker.
The 30 Harshest Author-on-Author Insults In History — some of these are great. I particularly enjoyed Twain on Austen and the contrast between Hemingway and Faulkner.
Amazon Orders Cop Drama Pilot Based On Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch Novels — Oh please let this work. I’m thinking Michael Cudlitz.
How to read a lot of books — a lot of good advice here. May try out some of his organization. (via Lifehacker)

Wisp of a Thing by Alex Bledsoe — The Hum and the Shiver was almost unbelievably good, almost afraid to try this sequel. Not sure it can live up to it.
Killer Ambition by Marcia Clark — I’ve enjoyed the first two, should be a fun read
The Heist by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg — despite what I said about the prequel, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it
The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel by Neil Gaiman — be sure to read Patrick Rothfuss’ review

Man! I’ve got to get to reading…

Friday Miscelleny – 6/7

By HCNewton

On June 7, 2013

In Books, News/Misc.

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:

10 Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day — keep trying to convince my kids of this (especially my teenagers), maybe hearing it from someone besides me will help.
25 Signs You’re Addicted To Books — this is me in a nutshell. But with slightly less cursing and a whole lot less cats.
Why Leaving a Book Half-Read Is So Hard — not sure I buy all of this, but I kinda see myself here
The World’s Longest Book Domino Chain — what a way to kick off a summer reading program

Dusted Off: Exactly How They Work

By HCNewton

On May 31, 2011

In Books

Of all the “motivational” style posters I’ve seen, this is probably closer to the truth than any of them (can’t imagine getting much closer, honestly). I’ve seen this link posted a handful of times over the last few weeks, and each time I’ve left the tab open, returning to look at it several times throughout the day. Figured it’s about time I put it up here…

Can’t imagine it’s going to work well on this here template, so you’d be better off clicking the link above or the image below and seeing it in a better way.

Dusted Off: Misc. Things about Books

By HCNewton

On April 28, 2011

In Books, News/Misc., Robert B. Parker, Spenser

We’re all more than familiar with the stereotype of the socially awkward bookworm (heck, it’s practically my whole identity for huge chunks of my life), but some recent research suggests that just might not be so. In fact, those who read a lot of fiction might be more empathetic than others (gotta say, that’s long been my theory, glad to see that I was probably right). (h/t:Lifehacker)
This has been linked like crazy all over, but author extraordinaire Michael Chabon has a great essay out about The Phantom Tollbooth (taken from his introduction to the forthcoming 50^th anniversary edition). Loved, loved, loved that book (and re-re-re-re-re-reread it as a kid). A couple years ago I read it with my kids and fell in love again–thanks to Mr. Chabon, I have to go read it again.
I’m torn about this. I’m a huge, huge fan of Robert B. Parker, and the thought of not getting new Spenser and Stone volumes each year depresses me, but the news that the Parker estate and his publisher have hired new authors to continue his two main series (thankfully there’s no talk about more Cole/Hitch books). If Joan’s comfortable with it, it seems wrong for us fans to be naysayers. But, my initial reaction’s more like what Andrew Wheeler tweeted, “V.C. Andrews, move over: sharecropping to begin over Robert Parker’s barely-cold corpse.” (h/t:Harry Connolly’s feed). But, hey, it’s not like Parker treated his stuff as much more than a commodity anyway lately (and honestly, I liked some of the choices that the new Stone writer made with the movies more than Parker made). I do know I’ll be grabbing them up from the library as soon as humanly possible–and hopefully I’ll like ’em enough to head to a bookstore after that.

Dusted Off: 2010 Books

By HCNewton

On January 12, 2011

In Books, Calendar Items, News/Misc.

I kinda overdid it this year when it came to books. No doubt, helped in part by my Nero Wolfe Corpus project, I read 78 more books than 2009. Which is just insane. I didn’t think I was reading more or anything–I was just plowing through stuff. I can’t imagine I’ll even come close this year, but you never know… Here’s the list, for those who are interested.

Now for my personal rankings…

As I looked over my list, I gotta say I was surprised and chagrined to see how little non-fiction I read last year. I wasn’t consciously avoiding it, it just happened. Even if I hadn’t, I can’t imagine much being better than Stephen King’s Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I should also note that Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History by Andrew P. Napolitano is great fodder for paranoia, as well as a nice little history primer.

The Scott Pilgrim series – Bryan Lee O’Malley. There’s no way to pick one, gotta think of them as a package deal
Changes – Jim Butcher
One Day – David Nicholls–best book I read all year
Anasi Boys – Neil Gaiman
Boy Proof – Cecil Castellucci
Cursor’s Fury – Jim Butcher
Good in Bed – Jennifer Weiner
How I Became a Famous Novelist – Steve Hely
The Adventure of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle – Patrick Rothfuss (not really a novel, but trust me folks, this is worth the read)

Reading so much, however, leads to more than one stinker. Do yourself a favor and avoid these:

Point Omega – Don DeLillo
The Ask – Sam Lipsyte
Bite Me: A Love Story – Christopher Moore. And I really liked the first two in the series
Chemistry for Beginners – Anthony Strong. This thing just didn’t know what it wanted to be, and ended up being nothing.
Batman: The Ultimate Evil – Andrew H. Vachss I can’t even explain how horrible this would-be expose of child sex slavery disguised as a super hero story. It was as bad as it was well-intentioned and misguided.
Youth in Revolt – C. D. Payne
Zorro – Isabel Allende
Hello Kitty Must Die – Angela S. Choi
Starter for Ten – David Nicholls. Yup, same Nicholls that wrote my favorite book from 2010.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
The Girl who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson

Category: Books Page 159 of 160