Category: Calendar Items Page 17 of 24

2018 Independent Bookstore Day

I didn’t celebrate Independent Bookstore Day in quite the same way I did in 2017. Last year, we went to Rediscovered Books, bought a couple of books and then went elsewhere and adopted a dog. This year, we went to Rediscovered Books — played a game (which got me a Blind Date with a Book) — bought a couple of books and chatted with an author.

Altogether less expensive, and I didn’t have to talk in a higher-pitched voice — not even once.


Yeah, I clearly need more practice at taking pics like that. Anyway, I grabbed The Vinyl Detective – Written in Dead Wax by Andrew Cartmell (mostly because Ben Aaronovitch talked a lot about the books on Twitter and whatnot). My Blind Date is with Fonda Lee’s Jade City, described as “Fantasy/Adult” and “The Godfather but with magic” (or words to that effect). And then I also purchased — and got signed — the new version of Devri Wall’s Venators.

Back in 2016, I read and blogged about Devri Wall’s The Wizard’s Heir and Venators: Through the Arch, and she was nice enough to answer A Few Quick Questions for me. We got to chat about why there’s a new version of the book, when to expect the next in the series, and what not. My wife, who actually thinks about things other than books, suggested getting a picture (ever the rookie, my fingers are covering the title).

As part of the game at RD, I had to take a couple of pics, I might as well throw them up here. One task was to take a picture of the bookstore — here’s the rare empty spot today (filled up seconds later). Another task was to take a photo of a Non-Fiction book with a great cover. I don’t know that I’ll read Best Before: The Evolution and Future of Processed Food, but that’s just a great cover.
      

Independent Bookstore Day 2018 – April 28!

You like books, right? Otherwise, why are you here? You like bookstores, too, right? Nothing against Barnes & Noble or any of the dozens of great online booksellers — but there’s nothing like a good Independent Bookstore. Staff who know their wares; possibly get to know your tastes; care about books, writing, etc.

(and better for the local economy than chains, too, but that’s out of my wheelhouse to discuss)

Basically, they’re great resources, community centers, and places to spend your money. To celebrate/promote them, 400 Indie Bookstores around the country are celebrating Independent Bookstore Day this Saturday. Go, check a local store out — see the exclusive items just for the day. If you’re in Southwest Idaho, Rediscovered Books in Boise is the place to go (there are a couple of other decent shops in the area, but not as good, IMHO).

Happy (Belated) Shakespeare Day!

There was some sort of mis-communication between me and the good people at Invaluable so this is going up a day late (totally my fault). I didn’t even know that Shakespeare Day was a thing (but of course it is). Still . . . no matter what day it is, this is fun:

Happy Shakespeare Day! What better way is there to celebrate the life and legacy of William Shakespeare than looking back at some of his most famous insults? You are in luck, because Invaluable created a Shakespearean insult generator just in time for Shakespeare Day. The generator includes 70+ of Shakespeare’s snarkiest insults from his most famous works. Whether you wish to insult a friend, enemy, or your significant other, one of these insults is guaranteed to be perfect!

Here’s a couple of samples:

Quotation of the Day

“A man condemning the income tax because of the annoyance it gives him or the expense it puts him to is merely a dog baring its teeth, and he forfeits the privileges of civilized discourse. But it is permissible to criticize it on other and impersonal grounds. A government, like an individual, spends money for any or all of three reasons: because it needs to, because it wants to, or simply because it has it to spend. The last is much the shabbiest. It is arguable, if not manifest, that a substantial proportion of this great spring flood of billions pouring into the Treasury will in effect get spent for that last shabby reason.”

–Nero Wolfe

March 2018 Report

So, here’s what happened here in March. It wasn’t a great month — lots of stuff at work distracted me, some sickness, and whatnot threw me off. There were 7 books I didn’t get to that I’d either planned on or committed to read. Neither of which is something I enjoy doing. Hopefully April is all about catching up.

Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to:

Mr. Neutron Madam Tulip and the Bones of Chance Burn Bright
4 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Greek Mythology: Beyond Mount Olympus Nils Cuts His Nails – The Scissors Game Don't Ever Look Behind Door 32
2 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
My Little Eye Vernon the Vegetarian Lion Tricks for Free
4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Volume 9: Sermons to the Church Everything is Normal Skyjack
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
An Ill-Fated Sky Secular Jewish Culture Wires and Nerve, Volume 2
4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
Good Guys            
3.5 Stars            

Still Reading:

Christianity at the Crossroads            

Reviews Posted:

Book Challenge Progress:

Angel's Guilty Pleasures Wires and Nerves, Volume 2: Gone Rogue by Marissa Meyer, Douglas Holgate (link forthcoming)
Good Guys by Steve Brust (link forthcoming)

Mr. Neutron by Joe Ponepinto
Nils Cuts His Nails – The Scissors Game by Nurit Zvolon, Rotem Lots-Zaiden
Vernon the Vegetarian Lion by John Hughson, Ali Smith (link forthcoming — I thought I’d written it up by now)
Everything is Normal: The Life and Times of a Soviet Kid by Sergey Grechishkin
Secular Jewish Culture by Yaakov Malkin, ed.

Mr. Neutron by Joe Ponepinto
Greek Mythology by
Nils Cuts His Nails – The Scissors Game by Nurit Zvolon, Rotem Lots-Zaiden
Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32 by B.C.R. Fegan, Lenny Wen
Vernon the Vegetarian Lion by John Hughson, Ali Smith (link forthcoming — I thought I’d written it up by now)
Everything is Normal: The Life and Times of a Soviet Kid by Sergey Grechishkin
Secular Jewish Culture by Yaakov Malkin, ed.

Nothing here . . . whoops. I’ve gotta get moving on this one.

How was your month?

February 2018 Report

My numbers should’ve been a little better — but between Iron Gold taking more time than I was prepared for, and ongoing sickness, I got a little behind with reading — and the writing took another hit this month, that I really can’t explain. Oh well. Onward and upward, and all that, right?

Anyway, here’s what happened here in February:

Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to:

Like a Champion Golden Gremlin A Blogger's Manifesto
4 Stars 2 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars
Uber Diva Smoke Eaters Fated (Audiobook)
3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars
Sanctification Iron Gold The Fed-up Cow
3 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Brighton Beach Memoirs (Audiobook) The Meifod Claw The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths
3.5 Stars 2 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
The Late Show (Audiobook) Timekeepers Blood Binds the Pack
4 Stars 4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
The Ark of Safety Illinois Native Americans: A 9,000 Year Civilization Resurrection Men
3.5 Stars“> 3 Stars 5 Stars
The Armored Saint            
3 Stars            

Still Reading:

Volume 9: Sermons to the Church Secular Jewish Culture      

Reviews Posted:

Book Challenge Progress:

Angel's Guilty Pleasures Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon, Max Casella, Peter Michael Goetz, Valerie Harper, Alexana Lambros, Anna Sophie Loewenberg, Jonathan Silverman, Joyce Van Patten
The Late Show by Michael Connelly, Katherine Moennig
Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin (link forthcoming)

Like a Champion by Vincent Chu
Golden Gremlin by Rod A. Walters
A Blogger’s Manifesto: A Modern Day Guide to Blogging by Aman Mittal
Uber Diva by Charles St. Anthony
Smoke Eaters
The Fed-up Cow by Peta Lemon, Maria Dasic Todori
The Meifod Claw by JW Bowe
Timekeepers by Simon Garfield
Illinois Native Americans by in60Learning.com

Like a Champion by Vincent Chu
Golden Gremlin by Rod A. Walters
A Blogger’s Manifesto: A Modern Day Guide to Blogging by Aman Mittal
Uber Diva by Charles St. Anthony
The Fed-up Cow by Peta Lemon, Maria Dasic Todori
The Meifod Claw by JW Bowe
Illinois Native Americans by in60Learning.com
Smoke Eaters by Sean Grigsby
Timekeepers by Simon Garfield

Whoops. Nothing this month!

How was your month?

January 2018 Report

My numbers aren’t as strong as I hoped to kick off this year, particularly the writing. I honestly don’t understand why it’s so low — on the plus side, I’ve slept more lately than usual (unscheduled sleep, mostly, but that’s beside the point). Still, plenty of entertaining reads, which is the important thing.

Anyway, on to the more interesting stuff…Here’s what happened here in January.

Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to:

Operation: Endgame Simple Genius Heirs with Christ
4 Stars 2 1/2 Stars 3 Stars
Love Story, With Murders Laughing Eyes All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault
4 Stars 2 Stars 4 Stars
Beneath the Sugar Sky Paddle Your Own Canoe (Audiobook) Where Night Stops
5 Stars 2 Stars 4 Stars
Faith: Hollywood & Vine God without Passions: a Primer The Falls
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Orphan X The Unbelievable Story of How I Met Your Mother Faith: Hollywood & Vine
3.5 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
Profane Fire at the Altar of the Lord Silence The Dying Place
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
The Bomb Maker            
3.5 Stars            

Still Reading:

Volume 9: Sermons to the Church Sanctification Like a Champion

The few books I’ve managed to post about:

Book Challenge Progress:

Angel's Guilty Pleasures Simple Genius by David Baldacci, Scott Brick
All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault by James Alan Gardner
Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living by Nick Offerman
The Falls by Ian Rankin
Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz
The Bomb Maker by Thomas Perry (link to come)

Laughing Eyes by Haya Magner, Miri Leshem Peli
Where Night Stops by Douglas Light
The Unbelievable Story of How I Met Your Mother by Preston Randall
Profane Fire at the Altar of the Lord by Dennis Malley
All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault by James Alan Gardner
Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living by Nick Offerman
God without Passions A Primer: A Practical and Pastoral Study of Divine Impassibility by Samuel Renihan
Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz
Silence (Audiobook) by Thomas Perry, Michael Kramer

Laughing Eyes by Haya Magner, Miri Leshem Peli
Where Night Stops by Douglas Light
The Unbelievable Story of How I Met Your Mother by Preston Randall
Profane Fire at the Altar of the Lord by Dennis Malley
Operation: Endgame by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

✔ Read a self published book: Profane Fire at the Altar of the Lord by Dennis Malley

How was your month?

Looking back at 2017 for Books and the Blog

As we kick off 2018, I wanted to take a glance back at 2017. 260 books read — I exceeded my goal (nothing like exceeding an arbitrary number to boost the ol’ ego), 395 posts (short of my goal by a couple hundred, and worse — almost 50 fewer than 2015!). I had some strong gains in traffic — views and visitors — and I’m also seeing good growth in followers here and on various social media fronts, which is encouraging as all get out.

So here’s my breakdown of books by genre, like the one I did last year. Genre labeling is more difficult this year, I read a lot of hybrids, but I tend to go with the overarching genre (for example, Artemis is a SF and Crime hybrid, I went with SF). Mystery/Suspense/Thriller is back to where it should be. SF and Fantasy took the hit to make up for that. it’s been forever since I’ve read a Western, I guess (at least one that wasn’t a hybrid with Urban Fantasy or SF or something). Theological books went down in actual numbers, not just percent — but I read some big, technical stuff this year that took a lot more time/energy to read, so I’m not too bothered by that. Still, for someone who doesn’t plan too thoroughly, the percentages stay remarkably the same from year to year — tastes (and series I follow) apparently stay the same.

Genre 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Children’s 7 (3%) 5 (2%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Fantasy 7 (3%) 31 (13%) 17 (9%) 11 (7%) 15 (8%) 12 (6%)
General Fiction/
Literature
29 (10%) 27 (11%) 17 (9%) 7 (4%) 30 (16%) 30 (14%)
Horror 0 (0%) 1 (.4%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 1 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (1%) 3 (2%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Mystery/
Suspense/
Thriller
102 (37%) 61 (25%) 64 (34%) 62 (37%) 63 (33%) 73 (35%)
Non-Fiction 10 (4%) 11 (5%) 8 (4%) 4 (2%) 2 (1%) 11 (5%)
Science Fiction 27 (10%) 37 (15%) 16 (8%) 17 (10%) 14 (7%) 11 (5%)
Steampunk 1 (0%) 2 (1%) 7 (4%) 3 (2%) 3 (2%) 11 (5%)
Theology/
Christian Living
30 (11%) 33 (14%) 42 (22%) 42 (25%) 37 (19%) 10 (5%)
Urban Fantasy 45 (16%) 36 (15%) 19 (10%) 20 (12%) 26 (14%) 48 (23%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (0%)

Have a great 2018, hope you find plenty of good things to read!

December 2017 Report

So, here’s what happened here in December, 2017. Good way (generally speaking) to end the year! (I’ll get to the 2017 as a whole thing later today, I hope)

Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to:

Talking to the Dead (Audiobook) Briefly Maiden The Squirrel on the Train (Audiobook)
4 Stars 5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Death is Not the End The Intern's Handbook (Audiobook) The Cult of Unicorns
3 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Closer Than You Know A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized Between Wittenberg and Geneva
4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Elephant Wind Tummy Rumble Quake Set in Darkness
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor: Code Red Diamond Dead Beat (Audiobook) Mink Eyes
3 Stars 5 Stars 3 Stars
Turbo Twenty-Three The Blackhouse The Twisted Path
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Snobbity Snowman Mechanical Failure (Audiobook) The Questionable Behavior of Dahlia Moss
4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Knowing And Growing in Assurance of Faith The Crossing It's Kind of a Funny Story (Audiobook)
4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Rivers of London: Detective Stories The Wanted Promised Land (Audiobook)
3.5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Audiobook) A Plague of Giants Didn’t Get Frazzled
5 Stars 5 Stars 3 Stars
O Death, Where is Thy Sting?            
5 Stars            

Still Reading:

Nothin’, nada, zip, zilch . . . been awhile since I’ve done that!

Reviews Posted:

How was your month?

November 2017 Report

I had a pretty good month, it seems. I gave out a whole lot of 4 Stars — which means I read/talked about a whole lot of good books. Good way to spend the penultimate month of 2017.

Here’s what happened here in November.

Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to:

Communication Failure The Squirrel on the Train Moshe Comes to Visit
4 Stars 4 Stars 2 1/2 Stars
Righteous Meddling Kids The Freedom Broker
4 Stars 3 Stars 3.5 Stars
Paradox Bound The Rat Tunnels of Isfahan Dead Souls
4 Stars 3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
The Hidden Face Breaking Bad 101 Artemis
4 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
Faith. Hope. Love. Shadow of Calvary Blood Rites (Audiobook)
4 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Deep Blue Trouble All Hands on Pet! Suspect (Audiobook)
4 Stars 3 Stars 5 Stars
Curse of the Coloring Book The Midnight Line A Serpent's Tooth (Audiobook)
3 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Red Dog Bedlam      
4 Stars 4 Stars      

Still Reading:

A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized A Plague of Giants Between Wittenberg and Geneva
Talking to the Dead (Audiobook) Briefly Maiden      

Reviews Posted:

How was your month?

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