Category: Calendar Items Page 1 of 22

Douglas Adams on Presidents

This one is a bit more cynical–okay, very much more cynical–than the last quotation I shared. It still seemed appropriate for today.

Zaphod BeeblebroxThe major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.

To summarise: it is a well-known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarise the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem.

—Douglas Adams
from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

 

 

 

That nifty drawing of Zaphod was drawn by Terry Cooper.

Archie Goodwin on Voting

For the 3 of you who are unaware, it’s Election Day in the U.S., so I thought I’d share this little bit from Archie Goodwin to commemorate it.

Archie GoodwinThe most interesting incident Tuesday morning was my walking to a building on Thirty-fourth Street to enter a booth and push levers on a voting machine. I have never understood why anybody passes up that bargain. It doesn’t cost a cent, and for that couple of minutes, you’re the star of the show, with top billing. It’s the only way that really counts for you to say I’m it, I’m the one that decides what’s going to happen and who’s going to make it happen. It’s the only time I really feel important and know I have a right to. Wonderful. Sometimes the feeling lasts all the way home if somebody doesn’t bump me.

–Archie Goodwin
from A Family Affair

October 2024 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

I finished 24 titles in October (8 up from last month, 1 down from last October), with an equivalent of 6,605+ pages or the equivalent (1,657+ up from last month), and gave them an average of 3.7 stars (.43 down from last month). Man, audio-only productions really mess with my page count math.

A stupid cold, a lot of activity on the personal front, and miscellaneous other things are really draining my energy and making it hard to post lately. I’m trying to come up with a workable solution to this that doesn’t involve retirement (either from this or the day job). In the meantime, I’ll just grumble about how little I”m writing 🙂 Actually, that cold did more than set back my writing–you’ll note on the calendar at the bottom of the post that there are two blank days there. I don’t know the last time I spent two days without reading.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in October.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to,6

Cover of Black Maria by Christine Boyer Cover of Born to Be Hanged by Keith Thomson Cover of Starter Villain by John Scalzi
4 Stars 3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Cover of Blind to Midnight by Reed Farrel Coleman Cover of The More the Terrier by David Rosenfelt Cover of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
3 Stars 4 Stars 2 Stars
Cover of How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley Cover of My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby Cover of Fearless by MW Craven
3 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars
Cover of On Classical Trinitarianism by Matthew Barrett Cover of A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke Cover of Constituent Service by John Scalzi
5 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis Cover of Buzz Kill by Alison Gaylin Cover of Pupposites Attract 1 by Hono Natsuna
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Cover of On the Christian Life by John Calvin Cover of Hermit of Paradise by Kim Sanders Cover of Not Till We Are Lost by Dennis E. Taylor
5 Stars 1 Star 4 Stars
Cover of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein Cover of Pigeon-Blood Red by Ed Duncan Cover of Spook Street by Mick Herron
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Cover of Obitchuary by Spencer Henry and Madison Reyes Cover of I’m Still a 10-Year-Old Boy by Nancy Cartwright Cover of Ashes Never Lie by Lee Goldberg
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars

Still Reading

Glorifying and Enjoying God Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 3 Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy

Ratings

5 Stars 4 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 2 2 Stars 2
4 Stars 8 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 2 1 Star 1
3 Stars 6
Average = 3.7

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
NetGalley
Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of
2023
6 47 68 153 5
1st of the
Month
5 58 75 166 6
Added 5 5 8 2 6
Read/
Listened
5 1 5 1 3
Current Total 5 62 78 167 9

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 21
Self-/Independent Published: 3

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 7 (3%)
Fantasy 1 (4%) 32 (15%)
General Fiction/ Literature 3 (13%) 21 (10%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 10 (42%) 67 (30%)
Non-Fiction 3 (13%) 20 (9%)
Science Fiction 4 (17%) 18 (8%)
Theology/ Christian Living 2 (8%) 24 (11%)
Urban Fantasy 0 (0%) 25 (11%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 1 (4%) 2 (2%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?


October Bookmory

2024 Plans and Challenges: Third Quarter Check-In

I was feeling bad about it being this far into October before I had a chance to put together my Third Quarter Check-in until I realized that I skipped the 2nd Quarter. I’m really not on top of things this year. This is a recurring theme for this post.

2024 Plans and Challenges
I’d hoped to keep charging ahead with Grandpappy’s Corner and Literary Locals, and while those haven’t completely died off, I haven’t done that much with them. I think the next couple of months should bear fruit along those lines, though. We’ll see.

How’s the perennial, “Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own” goal going? Well, I bought very few books in February, so that helped, but overall…?

 

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
End of
2023
6 46 68 153
End of 1st Quarter 4 50 64 154
End of 2nd Quarter 3 54 79 162
End of 3rd Quarter 5 58 75 166

Downey shakes his head sadly


Goodreads Challenge
Goodreads Challenge 3rd Quarter
Keep sighing, Downey


12 Books
12 Books Challenge
I haven’t made any dent this at all yet (I still haven’t written posts on 2 of the books that I read last year!!) It’s really getting under my skin. Which is exactly what I said in April. Still true. Still under my skin.


Reading with Wrigs
Reading with Wrigs

    • A Book with a Dragon: Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
    • A Book with the word “leap” in the title: I’m having trouble finding one that I’m interested in. Any suggestions?
    • A Book with the Olympics: I’ve got one picked out, if that counts.
    • A Book with an Election or Politician: The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher has a few politicians
    • A Work of Fiction with an Eclipse: I’m utterly clueless. Any suggestions?
    • A Book by an Author Who Has Written Over 24 Books: Dream Town by Lee Goldberg
    • A Book Set in a Different Culture Than Your Own: I have an idea or two.
    • A Book of Poetry: Poetry Comics by Grant Snider (I feel bad picking this, but until something else comes along…)
    • A Book with Time Travel: A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen
    • A Book with Antonyms in the Title: Still drawing a blank (you’d think this’d be easy)
    • A Book Told from the Villian’s Point of View: Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart kind of applies.
    • A Book With a Purple Cover: Abnormal Ends by Bryan McBee

The 2024 Booktempter’s TBR Challenge

The 2024 Booktempter's TBR Challenge
I’m on-target for this one (as much as I can be), and have even accomplished a Stretch Goal.
January – Lucky Dip: Randomly choose a book by someone you’ve never read before: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Stretch Goal – In the same spirit I give you permission to read the last book to enter your TBR pile. Actually read something you’ve got yourself to recently read: Hacked by Duncan MacMaster
February – Lovers Meeting: No not romantasy focused – this challenge is somewhere in TBR is a delayed treat. Read an author you’ve loved and held back from reading because the time was not right. Its time for you two to get re-acquainted. Enjoy yourself! Return of the Griffin by JCM Berne
March – Spring :You know that first book of a series you bought and have now realised is now finished? You have my permission to read this at last. And you know what? Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn
April – Diamond Anniversary: Diamond is the birthstone of April so your challenge is to read something over 60 years old: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
May – The Fourth…May the force be with you and I permit you to read a SF themed tale: Grave Cold by Shannon Knight
June – The Longest Days: You may choose the longest book in your TBR pile the days are long so go for it: The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
July – The Ides have it In an ongoing tribute to Julius pick a tale of intrigue and scheming: The Last King of California by Jordan Harper
August – Travel Broadens the Mind: Choose a Book that is from an author from a different country to yourself: The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong. I’ve read all from other places that aren’t from this year, so…Canada (which doesn’t seem to count, but does)
September – Back To School: Choose a Book about a character learning something – be it in school, a new power or something about themselves: Project Hail Mary by Andy Wier


Backlist Bingo 2024
Backlist Bingo 2024 3rd Quarter
I really need to get moving.


20 Books of Summer

✔ 1. This is Who We Are Now by James Bailey (my post about it)
✔ 2. Blood Reunion by JCM Berne
✔ 3. Ways And Truths And Lives by Matt Edwards
✔ 4. The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
✔ 5. Grammar Sex and Other Stuff: A Collection of (mostly humorous) Essays by Robert Germaux (my post about it)
✔ 6. The Camelot Shadow by Sean Gibson
✔ 7. Last King of California by Jordan Harper
✔ 8. Steam Opera by James T. Lambert (my post about it)
✔ 9. The Glass Frog by J. Brandon Lowry (my post about it)
✔ 10. The Legendary Mo Seto by A. Y. Chan (substitution) (my post about it)
✔ 11. Curse of the Fallen by H.C. Newell
✔ 12. Heart of Fire by Raina Nightengale (my post about it)
✔ 13. Detours and Do-overs by Wesley Parker (my post about it)
✔ 14. Bizarre Frontier Omnibus #1 by Brock Poulson (my post about it)
✔ 15. Howl by e rathke (my post about it)
✔ 16. Bard Tidings by Paul J. Regnier
✔ 17. Panacea by Alex Robins
✔ 18. Cursed Cocktails by S.L. Rowland (my post about it)
✔ 19. Big Trouble in Little Italy by Nicole Sharp (my post about it)
✔ 20. The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong (my post about it)

In sum…a lot of stuff to read. A lot more to write. Probably impossible numbers, but fun to try (mostly). Overall, however, when it comes to my goals and challenges, Mike Ehrmantraut speaks for me.
Mike Ehrmantraut is not happy


(Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)

September 2024 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

I finished 16 titles (12 down from last month, 12 down from last September, too), with an equivalent of 4,948+ pages or the equivalent (4,460 down from last month, even with me finishing up a couple of project reads), and gave them an average of 4.13 stars (.27 up from last month).

If you haven’t checked out some of the non-reviewish posts, I’d really suggest looking into Saint the Terrifying spotlight, the Shannon Knight guest post, and the Chat with Adrian M. Gibson. Those’re posts that need more attention (because of the others involved, I should stress).

So, here’s what happened here in September.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Redemptive History & Biblical Interpretation Cover of Buddy the Knight and The Queen of Sorrow by Peter David Cover of The Kill List by Nadine Matheson
5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of >Marvel: What If . . . Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker Were Siblings by Seanan McGuire Cover of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Cover of Chasing Embers by James Bennett
4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars
Cover to #CrimeTime by Jeneva Rose and Drew Pyne Cover of Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne GCover of How to Babysit a Grandpa by Jean Reagan
3.5 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien Word and Spirit Cover of The Debt Collector by Steven Max Russo
3 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of Nugget’s Tenth Life by Adam Holcombe Cover of Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman Cover of An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka
3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Cover of The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
4 1/2 Stars

Still Reading

Glorifying and Enjoying God Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 3 Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy
Cover of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller Cover of On Classical Trinitarianism by Matthew Barrett Cover of Black Maria by Christine Boyer
Cover of Born to Be Hanged by Keith Thomson

Ratings

5 Stars 3 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 5 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 4 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 1 1 Star 0
3 Stars 3
Average = 4.125

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
NetGalley
Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of
2023
6 47 68 153 5
1st of the
Month
4 58 75 162 6
Added 3 2 4 5 2
Read/
Listened
2 2 4 1 2
Current Total 5 58 75 166 6

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 14
Self-/Independent Published: 3

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 1 (6%) 7 (4%)
Fantasy 2 (13%) 31 (16%)
General Fiction/ Literature 0 (0%) 18 (9%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 4 (25%) 57 (29%)
Non-Fiction 1 (6%) 17 (9%)
Science Fiction 3 (19%) 14 (7%)
Theology/ Christian Living 2 (13%) 22 (11%)
Urban Fantasy 3 (19%) 4 (21%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 0 (0%) 4 (2%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th), I also wrote and/or posted:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?


Sept Bookmory

August 2024 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

I finished 28 titles (8 up from last month, 3 up from last August), with an equivalent of 9,408 pages or the equivalent (3,017 up from last month), and gave them an average of 3.86 stars (.18 up/down from last month).

I really thought that I was going to be making some decent progress on Mt. TBR this summer, and I was on a decent path, but I stumbled a little bit–not that Epic Sale of Beloved SFF Books and the Narratess Indie Sale didn’t help (a week will and a voracious appetite didn’t either).

My posting wasn’t quite what I wanted, but when is it? I’m giving my self a pass on that. My focus (for good or ill) was on reading this month, blogging was less of a priority. I’d like to say that next month will be different, but I’m not going to hold myself to that.

Any who, here’s what happened here in August.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Cover to Why We Read by Shannon Reed Cover of The Last Shield by Cameron Johnston Cover for What's Eating Jackie Oh by Patricia Park
4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars
Cover for The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong Cover of Mortal Coil by Derek Landy Bizarre Frontier Omnibus 1 by Brock Poulsen
3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars 3 Stars
Cover to Mystery Science Theater 3000: A Cultural History by Matt Foy and Christopher J Olson Cover for Amari and the Great Game by BB Alston Cover of The Legendary Mo Seto by AY Chan
4 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of Homerooms and Hall Passes by Tom O'Donnell Cover of Heart of Fire by Raina Nightingale Cover of No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Cover of Blood Reunion by JCM Berne Cover of The Lord Jesus Christ by Brandon Crowe Cover of Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
4 1/2 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg Cover for Curse of the Fallen by HC Newell Cover of Bard Tidings by Paul Regnier
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 2 Cover of On the Unity of Christ by St Cyril of Alexandria Cover of Panacea by Alex Robins
5 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song Big Trouble in Little Italy by Nicole Sharp Cover of Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Cover of Ways and Truths and Lives by Matt Edwards Cover of Zero Stars Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer Cover of The Recruiter by Gregg Podolski
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler
3 Stars

Still Reading

Glorifying and Enjoying God Word and Spirit Redemptive History & Biblical Interpretation

Ratings

5 Stars 3 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 4 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 8 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 8 1 Star 0
3 Stars 5
Average = 3.86

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
NetGalley
Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of
2023
6 47 68 153 5
1st of the
Month
3 52 76 161 8
Added 4 11 4 3 2
Read/
Listened
3 5 5 2 4
Current Total 4 58 75 162 6

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 19
Self-/Independent Published: 9

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 6 (3%)
Fantasy 9 (21%) 29 (19%)
General Fiction/ Literature 5 (18%) 18 (12%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 2 (7%) 53 (35%)
Non-Fiction 2 (7%) 16 (11%)
Science Fiction 2 (7%) 11 (7%)
Theology/ Christian Living 3 (11%) 20 (13%)
Urban Fantasy 4 (14%) 22 (14%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 1 (4%) 4 (3%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?


Aug Bookmory

July 2024 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

I read 20 titles (4 down from last month and last July), with an equivalent of 6,391+ pages or the equivalent (a little less than 951 down from last month), and gave them an average of 3.68 stars (.16  up from last month—pretty much a draw). Not the best month for reading, but not bad.

On the other hand, look at Mt. TBR–good progress there. And the number of posts for the month (thanks to Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week) was significantly higher than usual. The blog was a hoppin’. Sure, most of that wasn’t me actually writing, just me putting stuff together, but…whatever. It looks productive.

Anyway, a little later than I like, here’s what happened in July.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Cover for Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos Cover for A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen</a Cover of Winter Lost
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
Cover for Oregon by Don Winslow Cover of The Last King of California by Jordan Harper Cover of Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell
3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars
Cover of Storm Front by Jim Butcher Cover of Steam Opera by James T Lambert Cover for Good Knight, Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos
5 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
Cover of The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman Cover of Red Deads History by Tore C Olsson Cover of The Camelot Shadow by Sean Gibson
5 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Cover of Swiped by LM Chilton Cover for The White Door by Pierce Taylor Hibbs Cover to Cursed Cocktails by SL Rowland
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Cover to This Is Who We Are Now by James Bailey Cover to A Study In Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas Cover to A Farewell to Arfs by Spencer Quinn
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Cover to Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich Cover for The Glass Frog by J Brandon Lowry
4 Stars 3.5 Stars

Still Reading

Glorifying and Enjoying God Word and Spirit Redemptive History & Biblical Interpretation
Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 2 Cover of The Lord Jesus Christ by Brandon Crowe Cover to Why We Read by Shannon Reed
Cover of The Last Shield by Cameron Johnston

Ratings

5 Stars 2 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 6 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 4 1 Star 0
3 Stars 7l
Average = 3.68

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
NetGalley
Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of
2023
6 47 68 153 5
1st of the
Month
3 54 79 162 7
Added 2 5 6 1 1
Read/
Listened
2 7 9 2 0
Current Total 3 52 76 161 8

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 15
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 1 (5%) 6 (4%)
Fantasy 4 (20%) 20 (13%)
General Fiction/ Literature 2 (10%) 13 (9%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 8 (40%) 51 (34%)
Non-Fiction 1 (5%) 14 (9%)
Science Fiction 0 (0%) 9 (6%)
Theology/ Christian Living 0 (0%) 17 (11%)
Urban Fantasy 3 (15%) 18 (12%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 1 (5%) 3 (2%)

Review-ish Things Posted

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

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?


Jaly Bookmory

Saturday Miscellany—8/3/24

If you have the means, I strongly recommend seeing Ben Folds live, as I did a couple of days ago (just one of the many reasons this week I spent almost no time online). No light show, no pyrotechnics, elaborate sets, backup dancers, or any of the typical tropes. Just one man and a piano (okay, a bunch of paper airplanes, too).

Much blog-hopping and so on to catch up on this week.
Ben Folds in Boise 2024Odds ‘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 How to read more, according to the Booker Prize 2024 judges—If anyone knows how to do this, it’s those who had to read all the (not quick and easy reads) for this Prize
bullet My Guilty Pleasure: I’m a Gen Xer Reading Comic Books Once Again
bullet Your Hero Could Beat Up My Hero—a fun little post to entice readers into The Recruiter
bullet On Lying About Reading, or: How I Learned That Stieg Larsson Is Good, Actually—”Sara Martin Considers the Motivations Behind Our Literary Untruths”
bullet When It’s Time To Change Your Reading Habits—Molly Templeton launches a personal attack against me. Or maybe it just feels that way.
bullet “You Were Always The Wrong Guy Until You Weren’t” – Thoughts on the Flawed Hero—Peat Long continues his beef with Scrubs‘ Dr. Percival Cox while offering some good thought-provoking thoughts on flawed heroes.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison—one of the better entries in the series, iirc
bullet W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton—the antepenultimate book in the series (how often do I get to use that word?)
bullet The Competition by Marcia Clark
bullet Never Go Back by Lee Child—Remember when I liked reading Reacher?
bullet The Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Hermit Next Door by Kevin Hearne—a new SF novella looks like a lot of fun (hint: he’s a hermit because he’s an alien trying not to get caught)
bullet Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell—I’ve always been a sucker for Rowell’s non-YA fantasy. This book about a couple’s second-chance looks like a nice time

Gail Borden Public Library helps me stay topical with this:
The text 'At only 4 8 tall, Simone Biles jump clears more than 7 ft of air. Or, in library terms, she could jump over roughly 65 James Patterson books.' above an image of Simone Biles jumping 12 feet in the air next to a stack of 65 James Patterson books

June 2024 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

I finished 24 titles (4 up from last month, 6 down from last June), with an equivalent of 7,342 pages or the equivalent (1,128 up from last month), and gave them an average of 3.52 stars (.05 up from last month, so basically it’s a draw).

On the writing front, my new work schedule is really taking its toll, but I think I’m starting to be able to plan around it and prepare for those days that I know are going to be hurting me. We’ll see if I say something in August or not. As is my custom, I really do think I could’ve written more–especially on the review-ish front, but I’m happy enough.

Overall, I’m calling June a win (especially if you look at the Mt. TBR size!). Here’s the breakdown.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Cover for Poetry Comics by Grant Snider Cover image of Rites of Passage by MD Presley First Frost
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
The Ink Black Heart Cover of Cultural Sanctification by Stephen O. Presley Bad Actors
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons Cover image to E Rathke's Howl Cover image for the audiobook of Paper and Blood by Kevin Hearne
3.5 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Cover image of The Mercy Chair by MW Craven Cover of Dinosaurs in Trucks Because Hey Why Not? by Sandra Boynton Cover of The Hijacked Conscience
5 Stars 2 1/2 Stars 3 Stars
Cover for the audiobook of The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos Cover of The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith Cover of the audiobook for Erasure by Percival Everett
4 1/2 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
Cover image for The Teachings of Shirelle by Douglas Green Cover for Dog Day Afternoon by David Rosenfelt Cover for The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
Cover for Detours and Do-Overs by Wesley Parker Cover for Grammar Sex by Robert Germaux Cover for Labyrinth by Kat Richardson
4 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
The Book of Perilous Dishes Cover of Under the Barnyard Light by Carla Crane Osborne Cover to Divine Providence by Stephen Charnock
2 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars

Still Reading

Glorifying and Enjoying God Word and Spirit Redemptive History & Biblical Interpretation
Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 2 Cover for Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos Cover for A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen

Ratings

5 Stars 2 2 1/2 Stars 2
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 5 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 6 1 Star 0
3 Stars 8
Average = 3.52

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
NetGalley
Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of
2023
6 47 68 153 5
1st of the
Month
3 52 83 163 8
Added 2 5 6 0 1
Read/
Listened
2 3 10 1 2
Current Total 3 54 79 162 7

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 16
Self-/Independent Published: 8

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 1 (4%) 5 (4%)
Fantasy 3 (13%) 16 (12%)
General Fiction/ Literature 2 (8%) 11 (8%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 7 (29%) 43 (33%)
Non-Fiction 2 (8%) 13 (10%)
Science Fiction 1 (4%) 9 (7%)
Theology/ Christian Living 3 (13%) 17 (13%)
Urban Fantasy 3 (13%) 15 (11%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 1 (4%) 2 (2%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (1st, 8th, 15th, 22ndh, and 29th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your June?


June BookMemory Calendar

May 2024 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

Obviously, this was an atypical month here. But I think I’m getting back into the swing of things. I read 20 titles (5 down from last month, somehow 2 up from last May), with an equivalent of 6,214 pages or the equivalent (1,109 down from last month), and gave them an average of 3.47 stars (.33 down from last month).

Writing was down across the board for me—but I had some great people chip in to help out, so things kept happening here. Let’s see if that trend continues…

So, here’s what happened here in May.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Red Queen The Longmire Defense Christa Comes Out of Her Shell
2 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Chasing Empy Caskets The Secret & Hunting Virgins Price to Pay
3 Stars 1 Star 3 Stars
Proclaiming Christ in a Pluralistic Age The Olympian Affair The Binding Room
3.5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars
All Systems Red The Good Samaritan Strikes Again Strange Religion
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
After the Storm Grave Cold 42
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
The Hope in Our Scars Moonbound Backpacking Through Bedlam
3 Stars I Really Have No Idea 🤷
3.5 Stars
Assassins Anonymous Dark Days
4 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars

Still Reading

Glorifying and Enjoying God Word and Spirit Redemptive History & Biblical Interpretation
Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 2 Rites of Passage

Ratings

5 Stars 1 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 3 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 3 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 4 1 Star 1
3 Stars 6
Average = 3.47

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
NetGalley
Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of
2023
6 47 68 153 5
1st of the
Month
4 50 82 160 7
Added 1 3 7 4 3
Read/
Listened
2 1 6 1 2
Current Total 3 52 83 163 8

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 15
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 4 (4%)
Fantasy 2 (10%) 13 (12%)
General Fiction/ Literature 1 (5%) 9 (8%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 8 (40%) 36 (33%)
Non-Fiction 1 (5%) 11 (10%)
Science Fiction 2 (10%) 8 (7%)
Theology/ Christian Living 3 (15%) 14 (13%)
Urban Fantasy 1 (10%) 12 (11%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 1 (5%) 1 (1%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other People Wrote and I Posted Here
I had a number of Guest Posts, Crossposts, etc. this month so I could take some time away. I’m very, very grateful for them and wanted to point to them at least one more time:

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?


May Calendar

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