80 years ago today, Archie Goodwin — one of my top 5 All-Time Favorite Characters — met the only woman who could keep his attention for more than a few months, Lily Rowan. Lily shows up several times in the series and threatens to steal every scene she appears in (and frequently succeeds). Check out this post from Today in Mystery Fiction for the details — one of my favorite scenes, from one of my favorite books in possibly my favorite series — (I think I have 3 or 4 copies of it), so I had to say something.
How they met 80 years ago, when Archie’s only in his mid-30’s, is beyond me. But Math was never my strong suit, I’m sure it makes sense, surely Charlie Epps (or Larry or Amita) could explain it to me.
As you know (because I can’t seem to shut up about it), August was an eventful month for my family — yet I somehow found time for 23 books (only 2 audiobooks however). They weren’t all fantastic, but I really enjoyed them all, so there’s nothing to complain about on that front. I did read a couple that were simply great, too — which is always nice. I need to do a little better on the writing front, but I’m doing what I can there.
The Western Star (Audiobook) by Craig Johnson, George Guidall
Anaconda Vice by James Stansfield Scoundrels Among Us by Darrin Doyle Dead Blind by Rebecca Bradley Death and Taxes by Mark David Zaslove Hostile Takeover by Cristelle Comby Twisted Magics by J. C. Jackson Finding Felix by Jo Platt Vinyl Detective by Andrew Cartmel Dear Mr. Pop-Star by Derek Philpott, Dave Philpott She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames Jade City by Fonda Lee The Drifter by Nicholas Petrie
The Blue Kingfisher by Erica Wright Anaconda Vice by James Stansfield Scoundrels Among Us by Darrin Doyle The Cleansweep Counterstrike by Chuck Waldron Dead Blind by Rebecca Bradley See You Soon, Afton by Brent Jones Death and Taxes by Mark David Zaslove Hostile Takeover by Cristelle Comby Twisted Magics by J. C. Jackson Dear Mr. Pop-Star by Derek Philpott, Dave Philpott Finding Felix by Jo Platt
Another month with nothing for this one…but I have a plan.
I’ve had a little time on my hands lately, so I’ve gotten a few more books read than usual — but fewer audiobooks. The downside to a reading burst is that it’s difficult to keep up with the posts about what you read. Oh well . . . worse problems to have.
My Lady Jane (Audiobook) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows, Katherine Kellgren Planet Funny by Ken Jennings Besieged (Audiobook) by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels An Obvious Fact (Audiobook) by Craig Johnson, George Guidall
Planet Funny by Ken Jennings Doctor Who: Christmas Invasion by Jenny T. Colgan Arsenal by Jeffery H. Haskelll The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Ophelia Immune by Beth Mattson Ways to Die in Glasgow by Jay Stringer (link to come) The Puppet Show by M. W. Craven (link to come) Between the Shade and the Shadow by Coleman Alexander Boise Longpig Hunting Club by Nick Kolakowski (link to come) Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor (link to come) Picket Town by Chris von Halle (link to come) Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (link to come) Nightwolf by Willie Davis
Arsenal by Jeffery H. Haskell Ophelia Immune by Beth Mattson Between the Shade and the Shadow by Coleman Alexander Boise Longpig Hunting Club by Nick Kolakowski (link to come) Picket Town by Chris von Halle (link to come) Nightwolf by Willie Davis Needle Song by Russell Day A Mint Condition Corpse by Duncan MacMaster (link to come)
Another month with nothing for this one…not feeling good about it.
Nothing to post today, in celebration of Independence Day in these United (at least officially) States of America. Enjoy some time with your family and friends, take in a parade, enjoy the weather, have some good food and drink, or catch up on your reading (or maybe all of the above).
I read a decent chunk of things — and rated most of them pretty well. I don’t think I had anything under a 3 — which is the first in a few months (this year, maybe?). The only regret I have is that while the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak and tired, and the writing about what I read just didn’t get done. I’d also planned a few posts that weren’t just reflections on a particular reading experience that didn’t get finished enough to see the light of day. Maybe July will be more productive. Regardless, I’m calling June a winner.
Any Other Name (Audiobook) by Craig Johnson, George Guidall Dry Bones (Audiobook) by Craig Johnson, George Guidall The Highwayman (Audiobook) by Craig Johnson, George Guidall The Eyre Affair (Audiobook) by Jasper Fforde, Susan Duerden The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audiobook) by J. K. Rowling, Jim Dale
The Incredible Ordinary Hero or The Brave Bystander: Burn s by Aida Rascanu, Beatrice Magrini (Illustrator) Jesus and His Enemies by Paul F. Yeulett Superheroes Can’t Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies by Todd Miles Dead in the Water by Simon Bower
Despite starting off pretty rough, this ended up being a pretty good month — some fantastic works, a lot of good ones, but yeah, some let-downs, too. Things were fairly productive, too — all in all a good month, and the next month promises to continue that trend (phew!).
So, here’s what happened here in May —
Books/Novels/Novellas/Short Stories Read/Listened to:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels.
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost”. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in “Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.” (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)
One of my long-delayed goals is to write up a good all-purpose Tribute to Douglas Adams post, and another Towel Day has come without me doing so. Belgium.
Next year . . . or later.
Adams is one of those handful of authors that I can’t imagine I’d be the same without having encountered/read/re-read/re-re-re-re-read, and so I do my best to pay a little tribute to him each year, even if it’s just carrying around a towel (I’ve only been able to get one of my sons into Adams, he’s the taller, thinner one in the picture from a couple of years ago below).
TowelDay.org is the best collection of resources on the day, recently posted this pretty cool video, shot on the ISS by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.
Even better — Here’s an appearance by Douglas Adams himself from the old Letterman show — so glad someone preserved this:
Numberwise, April was better than March, worse than February. Neither of which were that stellar — but on the whole, what I read was really strong, so that makes up for it. Still, I’m hoping now that things are slowing down at work, they can pick up here. I still have 2 books I was supposed to read for March, and 2 for April — thankfully, I’ve only committed to 2 for May. I just might catch up by the end of the month (then again, the new Ace Atkins drops tomorrow, so who cares about commitments).
The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs, Lorelei King, George Newbern Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu, Will Damron
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.
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).
