Category: Books Page 5 of 158

WWW Wednesday—December 31, 2025

On December 31, 2025

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

Well, that Man Flu I mentioned Saturday really wiped me out–to the extent that reading 20 pages in a day was a victory. I honestly didn’t think I was capable of sleeping as much as I have this week without sedation. So, my schedule for the week has been tossed (everything in the what do you think you’ll read next answer should’ve been finished no later than tonight). Whoops.

Oh well, I’m on the mend and the worst part of having books unread for 2025 is that I know where I’ll start for 2026.

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?


Through the Corner of Circles by Meg Ashley	Son of a Liche by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale Jr.

Ashley’s book is really good–I’m not convinced at 2/3-ish of the way through that I understand where the book is going. I’m fine with that–I’m pretty sure that the author does.

I didn’t make much progress on Son of a Liche since last week, still really digging it (even if some plot developments have not be enjoyable).

What did you recently finish reading?


More Grammar Sex: Essays About Life and Stuff	Cold Days by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters

Germaux’s second collection of essays “about Life and Stuff” is just entertaining as his first. It was a good collection to dip in and out of during the hubbub surrounding Dec. 25.

Cold Days is still the most recent audiobook that I’ve listened to. Still a lot of fun.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis	Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher, read by Robertson Dean

I’d planned on ending the year with this book, a nice bookend to starting it with A Pilgrim’s Regress. Thanks to this stupid flu, I’ll be starting the year with it. Oh well, it was a nice thought.

Might as well start the New Year with a quick read, right?

How are you finishing this year? Are you going to be taking books into the New Year, or do you get to start with a clean slate?

Saturday Miscellany—12/27/25

By HCNewton

On December 27, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

It’s the last Saturday Miscellany of 2025–as so many have lately. There are two contributing factors–1. It’s between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 where time is vague. 2. I have a case of the Man Flu, making the vagueness of time even worse for me. As I typically do, I ask that you keep Mrs. Irresponsible Reader in your thoughts at this difficult time for her.

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 The American Dream in the Winter Solstice: Reflections on the Linked Legacies of Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and West—It’s hard to describe briefly but I wish I could write stuff like this
bullet Last week, we looked at the New York Public Library’s most checked out, along with an aggregate of the US. Now, let’s look closer to my home with: These are the top books checked out from the Boise Public Library in 2025
bullet INTERVIEW: with author Michael Michel—over at at GrimdarkMAGAZINE
bullet Senior Sleuths: The Art and Appeal of Mysteries Starring Older Detectives—”Michelle L. Cullen on tropes, elderly invisibility, and what makes aged crime-solvers so arresting”
bullet 18 New Cross-Genre Book Trends from 2025 (and Going Strong into 2026!)—from Goodreads
bullet Discussion: Should bloggers do research before posting book reviews?—oh, good grief, no. Read a book and respond to it–if you want to verify a thing or two, go for it (and yes, I do this–and sometimes keep going and end up not posting anything). If it’s not on the page, that’s not for you to worry about. If you’re writing for a publication (especially if someone pays for it), then yeah–best get your house in order.
bullet Quotables: Words that Stuck with Me in 2025—One of my favorite annual posts from Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
bullet The Orangutan Librarian had a good pair of posts this week: Books I Successfully DNF’d in 2025 (I think whoever sold them on Snow Crash set them up for failure, but, whatever) and Books I’m Glad I Didn’t Quit
bullet It’s time for another batch of the best of 2025 to lighten your wallets and build up your TBRs:
bullet Alta Journal’s Best Books of 2025
bullet FanFiAddict’s Will’s Favorites of 2025
bullet The 10 Best Books I Read in 2025—by Briana at Pages Unbound
bullet FanFiAddict’s DB Rook’s Best Reads of 2025 looks exactly like what the author of Callus & Crow should pick
bullet The best fantasy, horror, and sci-fi books of 2025—according to GrimarkMAGAZINE
bullet LordTBR’s Top Reads of 2025
bullet And then we’ve got The Hard Word’s Top 25 of 2025: 15-11
bullet A Jam’s list to 2026 releases – Part 2

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet It’s Our Right to Fight by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth
bullet Do More Better by Tim Challies

Captivating Character of December: Zoë Boutin-Perry

By HCNewton

On December 26, 2025

In Books, Miscellany, News/Misc.

Connie at Reading Ladies has started a new monthly feature, Most Captivating Character of the Month. I read plenty of great characters this month (and have a few left, too), but the character I chose for December (although I might have picked Dogged Determination from Michael R. Fletcher’s Dogged, if I prepped this a few days later), Zoë Boutin-Perry from Zoë’s Tale by John Scalzi.

I don’t have a review-ish post to link to, because I’m still trying to decide how I’m going to tackle this series. But I’ll likely end up cannibalizing bits of this post.

Zoë is a delightful, snarky, teenager—sure of herself (bordering on over-confidence, at least from the outside). With her new BFF, she seems unstoppable. Sure, the pair of frightening alien bodyguards add to that. But it wouldn’t take anyone long to realize that their main function is to be unnerving (she won’t let them do anything else).

Left to her own devices, she’d make a splash on whatever colony world she found herself. A lot of that can be attributed to her adoptive parents, and the way they raised, supported, and loved her. But beyond that she’s never been left to her own devices—thanks to her birth father and his research. That ended up putting an entire race happily in her debt.

In Zoë’s mind (and she’s not that wrong), most of what has happened in her life is because of what she is, not who she is. I don’t want to get into the details—let her first-person narration fill you in. It’s being the daughter of Charles Boutin and the adopted daughter of John Perry and Jane Sagan. It’s about being the model sentient being for the entire race of Obin. It’s her turn now to make who she is more important than the circumstances she’s in.

And, boy howdy, does she take advantage of that. In the words of Robert Muldoon about a particular Velociraptor and Oberon about Granuaile—Zoë’s a clever girl. Oh, so clever. And determined. And creative.

And her sense of humor? Love it. That endears her to me enough. The rest is just icing on the captivating cake.

What character would you name for last month?

Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

WWW Wednesday—December 24, 2025

By HCNewton

On December 24, 2025

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

So, I’m relaxing on this bonus quasi-holiday and my wife casually asks, “When are you going to start the crock pot?” Eeep, an hour ago! And in the ensuing dash to throw things together for the extended family dinner tonight, I realize that I didn’t get a pretty important and flavorful ingredient. So…in the tradition of Men Everywhere who put things off, I rush off to the store. Thankfully, not for gift shopping…but still. I now return to the safe ground of talking about books. I can be trusted with books.

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?


The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis	Son of a Liche by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale Jr.

I’m wrapping up my time in Narnia today.

Son of a Liche is very clever–occasionally hilarious, a little touching, with plenty of intrigue and stabbing. It bugs me that I’m probably leaving it untouched for a few days thanks to my work schedule. (not so much that I’m going to go to work when I don’t have to, mind you)

What did you recently finish reading?


Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire	Cold Days by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters

Time with the Wayward Children is always well-spent. This latest installment is just more proof. I should have a full post up Monday–it will be very positive.

Cold Days was just so much better than Ghost Story.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Through the Corner of Circles by Meg Ashley	Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher, read by Robertson Dean

I was given this book by Ashley’s son, and it sounds pretty good. A little contemporary fantasy, a little Lakota myth. Sounds like a fun combination.

I’d looked at Dear Committee Members before, but never got around to it. I was reminded about it in a conversation last week and decided to give it a whirl.

Are you going to get any reading done over the next few days, or are you going to be occupied with friends/family?

Saturday Miscellany—12/20/25

By HCNewton

On December 20, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

The sheer number of basic html errors this week that I’ve made (and thankfully caught) is enough to make my head spin. Including in this largely copy-and-paste post. I figured by this point, I’d have come up with a punch-line or something to follow up that opening observation, but inspiration seems to be striking someone else. So, I’ll just leave this here as another sign that the ol’ gray matter isn’t quite 100% this week. Thankfully, here are a handful of examples of people that should be publicly posting:
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 “Reading is a subversive act”: Shenandoah interviews Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor–Elect Ghazala Hashmi—Shared for the ideas nothing else. Politics aside (I know nothing about hers), this is what I want in an office holder. As Sam Seaborn says, “I look for anything. I look for a mind at work.”
bullet Reintroduction of Federal Right to Read Act Aims to Bolster Literacy, School Libraries
bullet The New York Public Library’s Most Checked Out Books in 2025
bullet Why stay so narrowly focused, though? LibraryThing (and others) have a cool graphic showing The Most Popular Books in US Public Libraries for 2025.
bullet How Translation Works, Book Title Edition
bullet The Art of Buying Books for Other People
bullet Ways You Can Help Your Fellow Book Bloggers This Holiday Season—it would be classless of me to suggest that you can take care of #4 on Jo’s list by using the Bookshop.org button to the right. So I won’t.
bullet Where Do You Promote Your Book Blog in 2026?—This is something I’ve never worked that hard on (and it shows). Some of the comments to the post have inspired a thought or two. Will I take advantage of that? Who knows…but I should. (or, better, I should hire one of my underemployed kids to do it for me)
bullet Curating a Library for a Young One—good stuff here.
bullet Books that made a bigger impression over time—oooh, I like this idea. And a couple of these books have been on my “eh, maybe” list for a bit. Given their impact, I’m a little more inclined to get them.
bullet It’s time for a few more Best Of ’25 lists, so hold on to your wallets.
bullet CrimeReads gave us: The Best Books of 2025: Traditional Mysteries and The Best Books of 2025: Noir Fiction
bullet Public Books’ Public Picks 2025
bullet Tom Bookbeard’s Top Reads of 2025
bullet Favorite Books Read in 2025—from Pages Unbound’s Krysta
bullet C. J. Daley’s Top Reads of 2025
bullet 746 Books has three lists (it’s not just me that has to break them down!) My Favourite Books of the Year: Part One – The 746!. Part Two – The Irish!, and Part Three – New!
bullet and this only sorta fits here, like last week, The Hard Word’s Top Twenty-Five for First Twenty-Five Years (20-16)
bullet And then we have people looking ahead to 2026 (good grief, I’m barely planning the next 11 days! (yes, I’m jealous of their level of organization))
bullet Wolfmantula’s The Unofficial 2026 TBR—the amount of effort behind this post’s graphics alone…
bullet A Jam’s list to 2026 releases – Part 1
bullet Get Ready! Readers’ Most Anticipated Books of 2026—

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Book Berne-ing #22 Breaking Into Booktube!

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
bullet An Unwelcome Quest by Scott Meyer
bullet Indexing: Reflections, Episode Ten: Untold Truths by Seanan McGuire
bullet Santa 365 by Spencer Quinn
bullet Winter and Night by S. J. Rozan
bullet And I mentioned the release of Bryant & May and the Burning Man by Christopher Fowler

This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Dogged by Michael R. Fletcher—”In the final days of the Demon Empire a lone wardog goes in search of the answer to the only question she cares about: Who murdered her mate? Utterly unqualified to solve a mystery, Dogged Determination has but one advantage: She never, ever gives up.” The cover alone grabs my attention (it’s almost like that’s the point), the premise sounds cool, and the hype from early reviews around this is palpable. It’s the next novel I’m tackling.

Book Blogger Hop: Are You a Plot-Driven or a Character-Driven Reader?

By HCNewton

On December 19, 2025

In Book Blogger Hop, Books, News/Misc.

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Are you more of a plot-driven reader or a character-driven reader?

That’s an interesting question. I’m not completely certain that it’s something I considered until I joined Storygraph and they started asking. I resist the distinction—it takes characters to drive a plot, and it takes a plot (or three) to drive characters.

And yet…

It’s Character-driven novels. By a mile. Yes, there are some books where the characters aren’t that important—just the machinations of the plot (I’d offer a couple of Reacher novels or other thrillers as nominees—but would we care as much without ol’ Jack at the center?). And sometimes, even books featuring characters one likes/loves will sacrifice them because of plot (there are dozen of examples on the metaphorical tip of my metaphorical tongue, but they’re not making it past that point). I’m not talking sacrifice in terms of death there, just “there’s no way that X would do something like Y in a million years.”

But I’m far more willing to put up with an aimless, unfocused, or otherwise meandering novel if I like the characters than I am putting up with an intricate and well-paced plot with dull, flat, or unlikeable characters. I’ve read them both, I’ve enjoyed both. But the former will get me to come back to the author more eagerly.

Do you have a preference for what drives a book?

Reading with Wrigs 2025 Challenge—Oh, Right…I Did a Thing

By HCNewton

On December 17, 2025

In Books, Kevin Hearne, News/Misc.

Rising from the ashes of the While I Was Reading Challenge, came Reading with Wrigs. Last year, I didn’t do good with the challenge, and then this year, I actually finihsed it about a week ago and then forgot to make note of it. Ooops. Go figure–last year, I didn’t finish it; this year, I finish with breathing room and forget to note it.

Anyway, here we go:

Translated into at least 25 languages: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai (38 languages, in case anyone cares)
An immigrant author: Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Main character is a nurse or doctor: Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw (the post should go up tomorrow)
Insect on cover: Billy the Kid: The War for Lincoln County by Ryan C. Coleman
About happiness or gratitude: Dogged Pursuit by David Rosenfelt. Earlier I’d posed with a different title here, but I didn’t think it was that appropriate (no matter what the back cover said). Thi fits better here. It’s about a younger attorney finding happiness in his job, in his life, and giving his wife a shot at finding happiness for herself (even if it means leaving him, which he doesn’t want). Also, he finds a big dose of happiness in adopting a wonderful Golden Retriever, Tara, who will be with him for as long as the series continues. Not that anyone cares, but I thought I should explain.
Religious theme: The Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis
Featuring a carnival or circus: Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury
Featuring the Dust Bowl: All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky by Joe R. Lansdale (the post should go up soon. Should.)
Set in a confined space: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (I can’t believe I didn’t finish a post about this…that’s just wrong)
Title containing an element from the periodic table: Silver and Lead by Seanan McGuire
A book with a map: The Price of Power by Michael Michel

WWW Wednesday—December 17, 2025

By HCNewton

On December 17, 2025

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

I attended a work-adjacent social activity yesterday* . I’ve got two social gatherings tomorrow** . And one the next day.*** I don’t know myself anymore. So I’m going to rush back to my comfort-space of books for a bit now.

* And enjoyed it.
** I’m anticipating enjoying both.
*** I’ll likely have fun here, too.

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?


The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis	Cold Days by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters

Wow, you can remember the problems with the fifth Narnia novel, and then there’s re-reading it. I can appreciate it for what it is, but Lewis doesn’t make it easy, you know?

While I don’t love the plot developments that led to Cold Days (I don’t hate them either), I’m enjoying this more than I did Ghost Story (although I did like it more this time through).

What did you recently finish reading?


Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi	Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger, read by David Chandler

Zoe’s Tale was so much more fun than I expected once I realized what I was going to be reading. It could be my favorite of the series (although I’ve said that with every book in the series, so take that with a grain of salt).

Iron Lake itself was fine. But I think I made a mistake by going with an audiobook. It’s a very Joe Pickett-ish kind of plot and setting, which is fine. But when you have Joe Pickett’s narrator reading that to you…the word “distracting” is an understatement.

What do you think you’ll read next?


The Christmas Tree Killer by Chris Frost	Son of a Liche by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale Jr.

This seems like a good time for Chris Frost’s latest.

I grabbed Son of a Liche right after I listened to Orconomics, but forgot that I had it, until one or more of the people on SFF Addicts Ep. 183: Our Favorite Reads of 2025 LIVE. Whoops.

Are you going through something seasonal now? Trying to finish challenges?

In 2025…My Life in Books

By HCNewton

On December 16, 2025

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

In 2025...My Life in Books tag
It’s time for my third crack at this tag–I did it in ’23 and ’24, too. Book’d Out was nice enough to create a tag that’s easy and fun to return to. Thanks to Jodie over at Witty and Sarcastic Book Club for tagging me in her version (and reminding me that this exists), I didn’t steal any of her responses (although I might have been tempted).

Typically, my daughter and I spend an hour or so brainstorming answers to this–mostly with responses that I’ll never admit to trying. This year, I did this on my own–with her deciding between two options for one. I’ve gotta say, it’s much more entertaining for me to do it with her, and I’m going to make a bigger effort on that part for the 2026 version.

In the meantime, you have to settle for an all me version, hopefully it’s up to par 🙂

2025 was the year of… Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by Jason Pargin
In 2025, I wanted to be… The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
In 2025, I was… Too Old For This by Samantha Downing

Cover of Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by Jason Pargin

Cover of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Cover of Too Old for This by Samantha Downing

In 2025, I gained… Dead Money by Jakob Kerr
In 2025, I lost… My Documents by Kevin Nguyen
In 2025, I loved… Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Cover of Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

In 2025, I hated… (the) King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby
In 2025, I learned… How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle
In 2025, I was surprised by… Where the Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski

Cover of How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle

In 2025, I went… (to) The Last Colony by John Scalzi
In 2025, I missed out on… (the) Silence of the Dead by Andi Ewington/Erica Marks
In 2025, my family were… On Again, Awkward Again by Erin Entrada Kelly & Kwame Mbalia

Cover of Silence of the Dead by Andi Ewington & Erica Marks

Cover of On Again, Awkward Again by Erin Entrada Kelly & Kwame Mbalia

In 2026, I hope it will be… The Greatest Possible Good by Ben Brooks, read by Emma Gregory

Cover of The Greatest Possible Good by Ben Brooks

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

Saturday Miscellany—12/13/25

By HCNewton

On December 13, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Yeah, this is late. Was busy grandparenting, so I don’t feel too bad. Priorities for the day: Grandcritter #1. Several steps down: You, dear reader. One step lower: Reading something. (well…maybe a half-step, maybe a quarter-step…possibly the same step…somewhere in the general vicinity anyway). A few steps lower: everything else (Hi, wife and kids!)

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 Sophie Kinsella, ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ Author, Dies at 55
bullet PW’s 2025 Person of the Year: Nihar Malaviya—for his efforts countering book-banning, censorship, etc., PW named Penguin Random House CEO, Nihar Malaviya, their Person of the Year.
bullet New Kindle Feature Uses AI to Answer Questions About Books—And Authors Can’t Opt Out—this is ridiculous (and more than a little maddening)
bullet The Empty Lab, in Science and in Fiction
bullet To New Beginnings: Growing Past Percy Jackson: On aging past our childhood heroes, and leaving room for the next generation of fans—(this can apply to other fandoms, too, not just Percy)
bullet FFA’s Most Anticipated Titles of 2026 (so far)—oh, 2026 is going to be a busy year for my TBR.
bullet 746 Books is 12 today!—heckuva landmark.
bullet Over on Bluesky, Adam Holcombe posted his 2025 Wrapped: Author Edition—a fun way to look at his year. By the way, if you haven’t checked out his Bounty, Inc., you really should.
bullet And now, it’s time for some more Best Of ’25s:
bullet The Best Debut Crime Novels of 2025—according to Crime Reads
bullet Reviewers’ Choice: The Best Books of 2025—Reactor’s Reviewers have a veritable cornucopia of books to tempt you with
bullet 20 Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Authors Pick Their Favorite Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books of 2025—io9 got a bunch of authors to do the same
bullet The Hard Word is going for something a bit more ambitious, but I’ll lump them in with this anyway: Top Twenty-Five Crime Novels of the Last Twenty-Five Years (20-25)
bullet A.J.’s Completely Random Book Awards: 2025—I love these categories (and agree with several of the choices)
bullet Book’d Out brings us Five Books Best Nonfiction Books of 2025
bullet Best Books of 2025 TFF To-Read Festivus Guide—from The Forgotten Fiction
bullet Jo Linsdell compiled Book Bloggers’ Picks: One Must-Read Book We Loved This Year
bullet And with a few shopping days left before Giftmas/Santaween/whatever you call December 25th (or your gift-giving holiday of your choice), here’s a couple of more gift guides
bullet The 2025 CrimeReads Holiday Gift Guide
bullet Gifts for Readers: 50+ Ideas Book Lovers Actually Want —another great compilation from Jo Linsdell

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet The Four Beardsmen’s Big Fat Bookish Quiz of the year!—this looks like a blast.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet Dry Bones by Craig Johnson
bullet The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall—I’m kicking myself for not continuing with this series (didn’t realize it’d been this long since I’d dabbled)
bullet The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes—another series that I should’ve stuck with…
bullet Stepdog by Nicole Galland
bullet And I mentioned the release of The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (and one from last week that I forgot about):
bullet Lit by Tim Sandlin—a twisted-looking cozy mystery
bullet The Wizard’s Cat by Nathan Lowell—I had a lot of fun with the first in the series, looking forward to dive in.