Category: Books Page 93 of 160

March 2021 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

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On April 1, 2021

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

March is the best month of the year as far as books finished—28 titles, 6959+ pages (one was an Audible Original and I have no idea what the page count will be) for a 3.83 Star Average—including four 5-Star books. I’m clearly getting soft (and, yeah, they were some great books too). My writing—review-ish posts and otherwise—isn’t what I want it to be, but hope springs eternal. I really need to catch up. I have a couple of door-stopper novels on my shelf, I should probably break out one or two of them in April as a way of catching up on posts (if I only finish 12 books, I’ll have plenty of time to write them up), right?

In one of those little things that no one but me cares about: I’ve got too many things unfinished at the moment. I’ve got 4 “project” books (things I plan on spending months on), and then 3 others. I’d expected to finish two of those on 3/31, but, y’know, Life happened. Since I’ve started doing these month-end reports, I’ve never had this many in progress.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in March.
Books Read

What Abigail Did That Summer The Unkindest Tide Calculated Risks
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Junkyard Bargain What the World Needs Now - Bees! The Vigilante Game
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Paging Through History The Treadstone Resurrection The Rags of Time
2 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Burying The Newspaper Man You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey Volume One: Family Matters
4 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
Rejoice and Tremble Born in a Burial Gown Cursed
3 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
Circle of Enemies Volume Two:Eight is Enough The Christian’s True Identity
4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars
Wild Sign Bluebird, Bluebird Animal Instinct
4 Stars 5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Volume Three: Perfect Strangers Below Zero Small Talk
5 Stars 4 Stars Still Deciding
Dead in the Water The Wasteland War The Lightning Thief
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Drop the Mikes
4 Stars

Still Reading

Tom Jones Original Cover The Wonderful Works of God Things Unseen
Grace and Glory (BoT Edition) The Great Sex Rescue The Particulars of Peter
No Country for Old Gnomes

Ratings

5 Stars 4 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 11 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 7 1 Star 0
3 Stars 4
Average = 3.83

TBR Pile
Mt TBR March 21

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 18
Self-/Independent Published: 9

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 1 (2%)
Fantasy 1 (4%) 8 (12%)
General Fiction/ Literature 0 (0%) 1 (2%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 1 (4%) 1 (2%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 11 (39%) 25 (38%)
Non-Fiction 2 (7%) 3 (5%)
Science Fiction 5 (18%) 10 (15%)
Steampunk 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 2 (7%) 6 (9%)
Urban Fantasy 6 (21%) 11 (17%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wroteotherwriting
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th), I also wrote:

That’s that for me, how was your month?

WWW Wednesday, March 31, 2021

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On March 31, 2021

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

Here we are at the end of the month—and before I start seeing what I accomplished around here, let’s check in with a WWW Wednesday, all right?

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 Particulars of Peter: Dance Lessons, DNA Tests, and Other Excuses to Hang Out with My Perfect Dog by Kelly Conaboy—a book only marginally longer than its title—and am listening to No Country for Old Gnomes by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels (Narrator) on audiobook.

The Particulars of PeterBlank SpaceNo Country for Old Gnomes

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) Duncan MacMaster’s Drop the Mikes and the blast from the past, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Jesse Bernstein (Narrator) on audio.

Drop the MikesBlank SpaceThe Lightning Thief

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be the last of the Toccata System trilogy, Progigal Storm by Kate Sheeran Swed, and Slow Horses by Mick Herron, Gerard Doyle (Narrator) on audiobook. I need to refresh myself on this book so I can get serious about the series before a friend locks me into a small room for a week with no internet and only a stack of these books.

Progigal StormBlank SpaceSlow Horses

What about you—how’re you closing out this month? What does April have in store for you?

Saturday Miscellany—3/27/21

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On March 27, 2021

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 March 25 was not a good day for the literary world, with the deaths of Beverly Cleary and Larry McMurtry. HarperCollins posted this about Cleary and the Washington Post had the first non-paywall McMurtry obituary that I found. I went through a McMurtry phase in college (while avoiding the much-hyped Lonesome Dove, which was probably stupid of me). And Cleary? Come on…who among us didn’t live vicariously through Ralph S. Mouse and his antics? She’s probably the author who taught me you could feel things other than thrills or laughs through books, actually.
bullet 12 Ways to Get Out of a Reading Slump: What to do when you just can’t seem to work up the motivation to read.
bullet How to Know When it’s Time to Quit a Book
bullet In Defense of Kvothe: A Candid Look at a Divisive Character—it’s odd that such a beloved character needs a defense, but, I think even the most ardent fans would admit that he’s a problematic character (like all of us). Here’s a good apologetic for the Kingkiller.
bullet ruminations on my first year of blogging—pretty sure it took me several years to learn what this blogger picked up in one.
bullet Making a Monster—Spells and Spaceships kicked off their Fantasy Monster Week with this post. This series of posts could do some real damage to your book buying budget, I should warn you.

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Genrenauts: The Wasteland War by Michael R. Underwood—The Genrenauts are back and as grim as things looked at the end of the last novella, they’re worse now. I read this yesterday, it was so good to be back in this world. If you haven’t come across the Genrenauts yet, here’s my post about the Season One collection.
bullet The Bounty by Janet Evanovich and Steve Hamilton—Fox and O’Hare “race against time to uncover a buried train filled with Nazi gold” with the help of Fox’s father. This is probably my make-it-or-break-it book with this series. The fact that Steve Hamilton is on board gives me some hope.

WWW Wednesday, March 24, 2021

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On March 24, 2021

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

Last week, we had Pi Day, The Ides of March, St. Patrick’s Day, and the Spring Equinox. This week? Um…Crickets. March takes all the interesting days and puts them in a row. The best I can find for today is that it’s the twelfth Wednesday of 2021 and it’s World Tuberculosis Day. I don’t know about you, but I forgot to get Tuberculosis a card. Maybe I’ll just settle for a WWW Wednesday, instead of attempting the herculean task of hunting for a Belated World Tuberculosis Day Greeting Card

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 Small Talk by Robert T. Germaux and am listening to Below Zero by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator) on audiobook.

Small TalkBlank SpaceBelow Zero

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished the ARC for David Rosenfelt;s Animal Instinct and was blown away by Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke, J. D. Jackson (Narrator) on audio.

Animal InstinctBlank SpaceBluebird, Bluebird

What do you think you’ll read next?

There are 3 books yet that I hope to read this week, which is probably not going to happen. So I need to be responsible, I have a Book Tour Stop on Monday, so my next book should be Dead in the Water by Chris McDonald (responsible should always be as fun as the Stonebridge Mysteries). Then, because I need a change of pace—The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Jesse Bernstein (Narrator) on audiobook.

Dead in the WaterBlank SpaceThe Lightning Thief

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

Down the TBR Hole (24 of 24+): Phase 1 Wrap-Up

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On March 24, 2021

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

Down the TBR Hole

Like most readers, I have lists of books that I mean to read one day. I have the books that I’ve purchased which is a pretty intimidating stack (physical or electronic) and a pretty healthy Goodreads “Want To Read” list. Other methods have really never worked for me. But at a point, that list became unwieldy, despite occasional edits. Then I saw this meme and started this series, and here we are at #24.

I started this with 240 books and cut 129 books off of the list—some because I didn’t see what once appealed to me about them; they were no longer easily available/not going to be available (the author/publisher changed their mind); I still figured I’d like them, but I knew I’d never get around to finding the time to read it; or because I’d listed some two (or three) times—and I’d even read a few of them between pulling the list and getting to that spot in the series.

One positive side effect from this series is that it’s spurred me to read something—either by rekindling my interest or just reminding me it existed.
bullet The World’s Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette’s, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne from DtTH #7
bullet Deathstroke, Vol. 1: The Professional by Christopher J. Priest, Mark Morales, Joe Bennett, Jason Paz, Carlo Pagulayan, Belardino Brabo from DtTH #12
bullet Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman from DtTH #12
bullet Starlight by Mark Millar, Goran Parlov from DtTH #13
bullet Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry from DtTH #13
bullet Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran from DtTH #18
bullet Hey Grandude! by Paul McCartney from DtTH #20
bullet Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke from DtTH #22

So, they’ve now been cut from the list, too—so that’s another 8 from 240.

This little project has now eliminated 137 books off of my aspirational To Be Read List—57%. That’s not bad. Not bad at all, actually. Of course, I’ve added 49 books to it since I pulled the initial list—so I’ll be back with more to cut (just looking over those 49, I’ve identified a couple that won’t survive). I’ve already been choosier about adding things to my “Want to Read” Shelf, asking myself, “Is this just fodder for a future Down the TBR Hole?”

I’ve enjoyed this project so far—like most of those I start here, it’s taken longer than I expected, but that’s okay. It’s like browsing in a bookstore, but one I stocked myself. And as long as it’s been since I’ve had that chance to do that in reality, I’ll take even this watered-down approximation of the real thing.

I summarized this earlier, but I feel compelled to add the boilerplate info to this:
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 (still) 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?


(Image by moritz320 from Pixabay)

Saturday Miscellany—3/20/21

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On March 20, 2021

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Last weekend, I considered putting up a post saying that I was going to take the week off—we worked long shifts all week and had some family stuff going on, and I just knew it was going to be hard getting anything done. But I decided I’d power through and get some stuff accomplished. And ended up basically taking the week off—although the only thing I made a conscious decision not to do was last the Fridays with the Foundling post. All I have to show for my efforts this week are several mostly completed and utterly lifeless posts that I’ll have to do a major re-write on next week.

I did get some reading in, though—including my favorite book of the year so far. So, there’s that. Hope you enjoy this week’s collection:

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 Why You Should Support Your Local Bookstore—In case you need the reminder
bullet A Kansas Bookshop’s Fight with Amazon Is About More Than the Price of Books—worth the minor hassle of dealing with The New Yorker’s not-a-paywall hoops
bullet I didn’t set out to go on an anti-Amazon rant, but, here we are: Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.—this one troubles me greatly.
bullet Pre-ordering: show authors some love!—Yeah, this is focused on this particular press, but it applies to all the others. And you don’t even have to shop at That River Website to do it! I’m frequently (still, somehow) surprised how much this helps an author when I see them talk about this.
bullet 5 Reasons to Listen to Classics on Audio—There are some really good points here…I should do this. The accompanying playlist Classic Books to Try on Audio looks like a decent place to start. I think the narrator is key, for example—Ian McKellen reading The Odyssey or George Guidall reading Les Misérables? Sign me up.
bullet Why So Many Novelists Write About Writers—This isn’t a definitive answer to the question I’ve asked a million times (I’m sure most readers have), but it’s a good one.
bullet Why Are We Obsessed With Psychopaths?—some good stuff here, too.
bullet When Is A Book Blogger Not A Book Blogger?—I’m not sure this rant was necessary (I don’t think the blogger is, either), but…yeah, I tend to agree.
bullet The Importance of Knowing Your Own Taste: Ways to Avoid the HYPE and HATE Train—you’d like to think this is unneccesarry and self-evident. However, we’ve all been victim to this folly and need good reminders like this from The Orangutan Librarian.
bullet That post was followed a couple of days later by some great examples of taking her own advice: Books I Read Thanks to Negative Reviews and Ended Up Loving (as an aside, I love the cover for My Lady Jane used there—does a better job of capturing the book than the one I saw when I read it)
bullet To What Extent Should We Compare Books?—good discussion from Stephen Writes
bullet How I Have Maintained A 300+ Day Post Streak!—Nope. Not jealous at all. Especially this week. Going to take some of this advice.
bullet Typically, I’m not a fan of “you’re not a real fan/geek/X, if you don’t…” things, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that @BooksNest is wrong here.

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Drop the Mikes by Duncan MacMaster—The Kirby Baxter series is about the most reliably entertaining series I’ve read in the last few years, and I can’t imagine this is going to be the exception. Kirby ends up vacationing next to a Fyre Festival-type thing and stumbles on to a murder (of course).
bullet Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs—Anna and Charles investigate the disappearnce of a small community. I’m around 60% through with this, it’s Briggs’s best in years (so far, anyway)
bullet What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch—Peter’s cousin Abigail gets the spotlight in this fun novella. I talked about it a bit here recently.
bullet Firefly: Life Signs by James Lovegrove—hey, look, another in this Firefly series for me to have on my TBR Shelf and not get around to reading for months (I did read the first one…). Thankfully, the hardcovers look nice sitting there.

WWW Wednesday, March 17, 2021

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On March 17, 2021

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

For those who track such things, it’s the Feast Day of Patrick of Ireland, but here? It’s just plain ol’ 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 hot-off-the-press Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs and am listening to the last (so far) Twenty Palaces audiobook, Circle of Enemies by Harry Connolly, Daniel Thomas May (Narrator).

Wild SignBlank SpaceCircle of Enemies

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished M. W. Craven’s fantastic Born in a Burial Gown and Cursed by Benedict Jacka, Gildart Jackson (Narrator) on audio.

Born in a Burial GownBlank SpaceCursed

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt and some sort of audiobook, we’ll see if any of my Library holds come in.

Animal InstinctBlank SpaceQuestion Mark

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

Down the TBR Hole (23 of 24+)

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On March 17, 2021

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

Down the TBR Hole

You get 11 instead of 10 this week, because this is the end of the (initial) list! There’s no way I’m going to do a post for one book (especially because that book is a thumbs up, where’s the fun in that?). Next time, we’ll take a quick look at this project so far.

But for now, how many books are we going to cut from my Want to Read list?

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)

A Beginner's Guide to Free Fall A Beginner’s Guide to Free Fall by Andy Abramowitz
Blurb: A family drama about roller coaster engineer in career and family trouble, and his sister, an advice columnist whose life is as just as messy.
My Thoughts: I really dug Abramowitz’s earlier novel, Thank You, Goodnight and am curious about what he’s got going on. Also, I bought this forever ago, so it has to stay.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Why Liberalism Works Why Liberalism Works: How True Liberal Values Produce a Freer More Equal Prosperous World for All by Deirdre N. McCloskey
Blurb: “With her trademark wit and deep understanding” McCloskey argues “for a return to true liberal values, this engaging and accessible book develops, defends, and demonstrates how embracing the ideas first espoused by eighteenth-century philosophers like Locke, Smith, Voltaire, and Wollstonecraft is good for everyone.”
My Thoughts: If this is any good, this is exactly the political book I want to read right now. But…I just can’t. I just cannot bring myself to care, put the effort into this, or for endure the despair that’d settle in after I finish this and look at the world around me.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
Your House Will Pay Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha
Blurb: “A powerful and taut novel about racial tensions in LA, following two families—one Korean-American, one African-American—grappling with the effects of a decades-old crime. In the wake of the police shooting of a black teenager, Los Angeles is as tense as it’s been since the unrest of the early 1990s. Protests and vigils are being staged all over the city. It’s in this dangerous tinderbox that two families must finally confront their pasts.”
My Thoughts: I had a friend rave about this a couple of weeks ago. That’s enough to keep it. I still would’ve because of the various reviews I saw around publication.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity by Michael J. Kruger
Blurb: “A cautionary examination of ten dangerously appealing half-truths.”
My Thoughts: I read this in May ’20 and wrote about it here
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
The Bard's Blade The Bard’s Blade by Brian D. Anderson
Blurb: “Mariyah enjoys a simple life in Vylari, a land magically sealed off from the outside world, where fear and hatred are all but unknown. There she’s a renowned wine maker and her betrothed, Lem, is a musician of rare talent. Their destiny has never been in question…Then a stranger crosses the wards into Vylari for the first time in centuries, bringing a dark prophecy that forces Lem and Mariyah down separate paths. How far will they have to go to stop a rising darkness and save their home? And how much of themselves will they have to give up along the way?”
My Thoughts: I’ve heard/read nothing but good things about this, and until I started this sentence had intended on keeping it. But…I rarely make time for fantasy any more, and I know I’m not going to get around to this.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
TITLE6 The Rome of Fall by Chad Alan Gibbs
Blurb: A 90s rock star comes home to be with his dying mother and teaches at his old high school in a retelling of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
My Thoughts: Proof that I actually read things from this list and I don’t just archive them here…I read this last August and wrote about it here
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
A Blight of Blackwings A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne
Blurb: The sequel to A Plague of Giants, about an invasion that devastates a continent, kicks off huge cultural/religious changes, and (it seems) inspires a movement to fight back.
My Thoughts: Yeah, I just got done saying I don’t make time for Fantasy the way I want to. But I thought volume 1 in this series rocked. I just need to force myself to start this and I know I’ll love it. Also, I have the hardcover within arm’s reach, I pretty much have to. Another also: Kevin Hearne.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Critical Point Critical Point by S.L. Huang
Blurb: The third Cas Russell novel. Nuff said.
My Thoughts: This was one of the victims of the busy-ness around my move last year, I’m getting to it shortly.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Something That May Shock and Discredit You Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel M. Lavery
Blurb: “a hilarious and stirring collection of essays and cultural observations spanning pop culture—from the endearingly popular to the staggeringly obscure…From a thoughtful analysis of the beauty of William Shatner to a sinister reimagining of HGTV’s House Hunters, and featuring figures as varied as Anne of Green Gables, Columbo, Nora Ephron, Apollo, and the cast of Mean Girls…a hilarious and emotionally exhilarating compendium that combines personal history with cultural history to make you see yourself and those around you entirely anew.”
My Thoughts: Texts from Jane Eyre was a fun read, but the synopsis of this one isn’t clicking with me.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
Broken Broken by Don Winslow
Blurb: “In six intense short novels connected by the themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt and redemption…a world of high-level thieves and low-life crooks, obsessed cops struggling with life on and off the job, private detectives, dope dealers, bounty hunters and fugitives, the lost souls driving without headlights through the dark night on the American criminal highway.”
My Thoughts: I’m only waiting to finish The Border before I start this.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
In Plain Sight In Plain Sight by Dan Willis
Blurb: “In 1933 New York, there are two kinds of magic, the all powerful sorcerers who use their abilities to acquire wealth and fame, and the runewrights who scratch out what meager spells they can to make a living. Decidedly in the latter category, Alex Lockerby uses his magic to aid him in his work as a private detective, consulting for the police on cases with mystical ties….” There’s more to the description, but who needs more?
My Thoughts: This has been on my list since Bookstooge posted about it last March. It’ll be soon.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up

Books Removed in this Post: 5 / 11
Total Books Removed: 129 / 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—3/13/21

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On March 13, 2021

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Another short one, guess that’s where my attention span is lately. I didn’t get a lot posted this week, either—but I got some good sleep in (not always intentionally), and honestly, I didn’t like a single one of those posts. They felt lifeless to me, but that’s what I was capable of, and I didn’t think that a few more days of percolating was going to improve things, either. Hopefully next week will be better.

In the meantime—all of these below are worth your clicks.

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 I tried to write a Norton Juster tribute after I heard about his death on this week, but it just didn’t work out. But it’s one of those deaths that hit me. The Phantom Tollbooth was formative for me in many ways, and I could (and have) pick it up and be completely satisified at point in my life. It’s like one of those movies you see flipping through the channels and you have to stop and watch.
bullet Obituary: Norton Juster—from Publisher’s Weekly
bullet Berkeley Breathed’s Tribute—I should’ve realized the links between Tollbooth and Bloom County
bullet My favourite book as a kid: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster—was written last Spring, but it works really well this week.
bullet The Phantom Tollbooth: Beyond Expectations—a nice little documentary about the book, Juster and Jules Feiffer. (I contributed to the Kickstarter years back)
bullet What Are Cozy Mysteries?—Ramona Mead’s overview of the sub-genre
bullet Must be something in the water, because this popped up on a feed this week, too: Murder, but gentler: ‘Cozy’ mysteries a pandemic-era balm—worth it just for the first few paragraphs.
bullet 50 Very Bad Book Covers for Literary Classics—Wow. “Very bad” hardly begins to describe it. I was going to name a highlight (lowlight?) or two, but I wouldn’t have known where to stop. (thanks—kind of?—Themis Athena for drawing my attention to it)
bullet “We Didn’t Start the Thriller”—Robert Crais has posted a link to this silly and fun parody a couple of times this week, I can see why.
bullet Goodreads vs. The StoryGraph – The New Dilemma of Reading Trackers and the Book Community—I’m with Bec & Books on this. I’ve been dabbling with The Story Graph for a few months, but it feels like I’m shouting (mumbling?) into the wind. Is there anyone actually out there?

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to josbees who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger!

WWW Wednesday, March 10, 2021

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On March 10, 2021

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

Hey kids, what time is it?

It’s WWW Wednesday Time!

Yeah, the call-and-response thing works better for Howdy Doody, doesn’t it? I’d had this prepped and scheduled then at midnight I closed the book on The Treadstone Resurrection and had to do a quick update. Because I’m just that committed to accuracy.*

* and, yeah, it’s a good way to procrastinate.

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 Burying the Newspaper Man by Curtis Ippolito for a Tour Stop next week and am listening to The Rags of Time by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator) on audiobook—part my favorite audio series by far.

Burying the Newspaper ManBlank SpaceThe Rags of Time

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished a thriller, Joshua Hoods’s The Treadstone Resurrection, and the near polar-opposite, Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky, Andrew Garman (Narrator) on audio.

The Treadstone ResurrectionBlank SpacePaging Through History

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be something I’ve been wanting to start for months, Born in a Burial Gown by M. W. Craven and You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism written and narrated by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar on audiobook—my wife tells me it’s a great mix of something that made her laugh and made her angry.

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p style=”text-align: center;”><a href=https://www.mwcraven.com/book/born-in-a-burial-gown/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Born in a Burial GownBlank SpaceYou'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey
Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

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