Category: Calendar Items Page 8 of 22

2022 Plans and Challenges

Thanks to Facebook’s On This Day, today I was reminded of my 2014 New Year’s Reading Resolutions. Boy Howdy, did I do a lousy job with those. Of the 12 specific resolutions, I still need to accomplish at least 5 (there’s room for interpretation on a couple of them)—I still want to accomplish 4 of them. Maybe this reminder will help?*

* Yeah, I’m not counting on that, either. But it’s nice to dream.

So, I’m reticent to get into calling my shots, as it were, too much anymore—there’s a project from 2020 still hanging over my head, too. And a few others, too, I’m sure—I just don’t want to go spelunking through the archives to find more personal failures (minor, to be sure, but technically failures).

So, here’s what I’m going to shoot for around here in the next 12 months.
bullet Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own (a perennial project, but I made some strides last year)—one of the Book Challenges this year should be a fun way to help.
bullet I’m going to finish my Classic Spenser series and maybe find another Classic to do a project read-through. We’ll see about that. (I added this one after scheduling this post, but you know what? I’ve been kicking myself for ages for dropping this…)
bullet Be pickier in the Book Tours I participate in—I’ve already started this (Damp Pebbles Blog Tours ceasing operations helped, too—no slight intended to the Tour Organizers I still enjoy working with, but Emma was better at getting me to take risks). I still like Tours, they expose me to things I wouldn’t normally read—and I’m going to keep doing them. But I’m going to be pickier about them.
bullet Similarly, I’m doing fewer Book Challenges. I like the ones I’ve picked out—but they’re concrete things, no more of these “Read as Many of X as You Can” challenges. They don’t move the needle one bit for me as far as picking books—I read as many as I’m going to anyway, just with a count. But Challenges with specific targets can be fun. I’ll talk about those in a minute.
bullet Get better at proofreading—apparently, there’s a need.
bullet Try to interview more authors (maybe others, too?), and get better at that, too.
bulletThere are a few other ideas, but they’re harder to explain than to just do. You’ll know them if you see them.

2022 Book Challenges

12 Books
Perhaps you’ve seen this on everyone’s timeline this last week or so—12 months to read 12 books recommended by 12 friends. This looked like a great way to read something out of my wheelhouse—and so far, it should be. Only 1 of the 9 recommended so far is something that I’d have really considered. I still need 3 more recommendations—so hit the comments, folks!
12 Books Challenge


2022 “Support Book Bloggers” Challenge
Support Book Bloggers Challenge
This just looks like fun, mostly things I should be doing anyway. Go check it out.


2022 While I was Reading
While I Was Reading
I’ve done this one for the last few years—and Ramona’s done a great job of stretching me. And will continue to do so—this year’s categories are more challenging than I’m used to (I have to figure out authors’ astrological signs?).


Your TBR Reduction Book Challenge

Your TBR Reduction Book Challenge
I dig the way this one is organized—if nothing else, my TBR should go down by 12. 🙂


I’ll also undoubtedly do the 20 Books of Summer Challenge…that’s been pretty fun.


That’s everything I have planned, I can’t wait to see what unplanned things happen around here. Hope you’re around to join in the fun!


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

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

Even if the month brought me a bad Jack Reacher (stupid Lee Child wanting to retire…how selfish), I think it was pretty good for reading around here: 33 Books finished, 8,149 pages (or the equivalent) with a rating of 3.5 Stars on average (a little lower than I’ve had lately, but still really good).

I don’t have any books unfinished–sure, that meant I read short works for the last day and a half of the month, but I wanted to start 2022 with a clean slate (something I almost never do, so I was pretty happy about that).

Writing-wise, I put out a variety of things, and a pretty good number of posts, but the things left unfinished stack is way too large…

All in all, color me pleased. Although, at this point, anything that brings an end to the up-and-down year that 2021 was is good to me. Anyway, here’s what happened here in December.
Books Read

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake Fortune Favors the Dead Who Is Jesus?
3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
The Last Time She Died Dr. Rick Will See You Now Cold Reign
4 Stars 3 Stars 5 Stars
Mistletoe and Crime Better Off Dead We Had a Little Real Estate Problem
4 1/2 Stars 2 Stars 3 Stars
A Christmas Carol: A Signature Performance by Tim Curry Faith in the Time of Plague A Sheep Remembers
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Grave Reservations A Private Investigation Risen
4 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
Messy The Nutcracker My Contrary Mary
3.5 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
The Sentence Is Death Things Unseen Why Did Jesus Have to Live a Perfect Life?
3.5 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
A Dream About Lightning Bugs Fortune and Glory Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You
3.5 Stars 3 Stars 3.5 Stars
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas Stuff You Should Know Agent to the Stars
3.5 Stars 2 1/2 Stars 4 Stars
Anonymous The Case of the Left-Handed Lady The Iggy Chronicles, Volume One
4 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
Dogtology Zoth-Avarex's Escape Plan
3 Stars 3 Stars

Ratings

5 Stars 1 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 1
4 Stars 7 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 5 1 Star 0
3 Stars 13
Average = 3.5

TBR Pile
Mt TBR December 21

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 21
Self-/Independent Published: 11

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 2 (1%)
Fantasy 1 (3%) 7 (20%)
General Fiction/ Literature 5 (16%) 24 (8%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 2 (6%) 9 (3%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 11 (34%) 117 (38%)
Non-Fiction 4 (13%) 22 (7%)
Science Fiction 1 (3%) 20 (7%)
Steampunk 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 5 (16%) 38 (13%)
Urban Fantasy 3 (9%) 49 (16%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

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

How was your month?

The Irresponsible Reader in 2021: Thoughts, Thanks, and Stats

Programming Note: Over the next few days, I’ll be looking back over 2021—but I’ll try to come up with some new material, too. Many/most others have already done their best-of/year-end wrap-up posts, but I’m a stickler—I can’t start doing this kind of thing ’til the year is over. My brain doesn’t allow me to work that way (I just hate projecting things in general—and some years ago when I just read irresponsibly, but hadn’t adopted the name, the last novel of the year was so far beyond the rest that I can’t start looking back until 12/31 at the earliest).

As we kick off 2022, as is my custom, I wanted to take a glance back at 2021 (may it soon be a distant memory). 307 books finished (plus comics, picture books, short stories, and the like that I don’t know how to count)—my mind is thoroughly boggled! I exceeded my goal (nothing like exceeding an arbitrary number to boost the ol’ ego), too; finishing around 86,000 pages; with an average rating of 3.69 Stars. I only DNF’d one book, which is nice (or could I have enjoyed myself more if I’d done more?).

On the blog front, I put up 562 postsan all-time high for me82 more than last year!! I had another year of strong gains in trafficviews and visitorsI’m not big-time (never going to be), but those numbers consistently weird me out (which is why I only look every 6-12 months). My follower count (here and on social media sites) is encouraging and humbling, I really feel like I ought to do more to earn them.

I didn’t have any big blog projects for the year this yearI did finish my trip through The History of Tom Jones, but the follow-ups I thought about never materialized, but may in 2022. I also want to get back to my Classic Spenser series…that one is bugging me. I’ll talk about some other plans soonmaybe, maybe I’ll just put them in place instead.

As is my habit, here’s my breakdown of books by genre (and I’m going to have to change things soon, this chart doesn’t show up well anymore, I just like showing the trends). Genre labeling continues to be more difficult as I’m reading a lot of hybrids (most of us are, they’re being produced more), but I tend to go with the overarching genre. Basically, everything’s the same, with just a percent or two of adjustment. It’s been forever since I’ve read a Western or a Horror noveland “humor” is pretty useless as a category, as a lot of things I read could be considered that. Once again, for someone who doesn’t plan too thoroughly, the percentages stay remarkably consistent from year to yeartastes (and series I follow) apparently stay the same. I need to devote a Saturday afternoon some time to doing the math to make this chart more useful/attractive. I didn’t expect both Fantasy and Non-Fiction to dip the way they did this yearnot at all surprisingly Mystery/Thriller/Crime picked up those percentage points, though.

Genre 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Children’s 2 (1%) 5 (2%) 7 (3%) 11 (4%) 7 (3%) 5 (2%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Fantasy 20 (7%) 35 (13%) 28 (10%) 30 (11%) 7 (3%) 31 (13%) 17 (9%) 11 (7%) 15 (8%) 12 (6%)
General Fiction/ Literature 22 (7%) 16 (7%) 21 (8%) 22 (8%) 29 (10%) 27 (11%) 17 (9%) 7 (4%) 30 (16%) 30 (14%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (.4%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 9 (3%) 2 (1%) 4 (1%) 3 (1%) 1 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (1%) 3 (2%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 117 (38%) 90 (34%) 105 (38%) 107 (38%) 102 (37%) 61 (25%) 64 (34%) 62 (37%) 63 (33%) 73 (35%)
Non-Fiction 22 (7%) 28 (10%) 25 (9%) 22 (8%) 10 (4%) 11 (5%) 8 (4%) 4 (2%) 2 (1%) 11 (5%)
Poetry 2 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Science Fiction 20 (7%) 20 (8%) 30 (11%) 25 (9%) 27 (10%) 37 (15%) 16 (8%) 17 (10%) 14 (7%) 11 (5%)
Steampunk 1 (0%) 2 (1%) 1 (0%) 3 (1%) 1 (0%) 2 (1%) 7 (4%) 3 (2%) 3 (2%) 11 (5%)
Theology/ Christian Living 38 (13%) 23 (8%) 34 (12%) 25 (9%) 30 (11%) 33 (14%) 42 (22%) 42 (25%) 37 (19%) 10 (5%)
Urban Fantasy 49 (16%) 42 (16%) 25 (9%) 29 (10%) 45 (16%) 36 (15%) 19 (10%) 20 (12%) 26 (14%) 48 (23%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (0%)

Thanks to the nifty spreadsheet made by the Voracious Reader, I was able to get a few more stats. I find them interesting, maybe you will, too.

I honestly thought that re-read percentage was going to be higherit dropped by 2% from last year. I expected it to be in the high 20s/low 30s.


Audiobooks also dropped a little this year, as that’s the majority of my re-reads lately, I guess that explains the drop there. Still, that’s another surprise decrease.

Enough about me. Now we get to my favorite partI want to talk about you, who keep me going and show an interest in what I’m doing here and give some thanks to people for their impact on The Irresponsible Reader (the blog and the person) in 2021:

 

Have a great 2022, hope you find plenty of good things to read!

Festivus 2021: For the Rest of Us

Shunning the commercialization of Christmas*/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Santaween/Chrismukkah, we’re again celebrating Festivus (for the rest of us) here at The Irresponsible Reader.

Let’s begin our observance!

Festivus PoleHere I am with my Festivus pole. I really appreciate the very high strength to weight ratio, it’s a mighty fine pole.

Note the lack of distracting tinsel. It’s very important.

And now, let the Airing of Grievances begin.

Airing of Grievances
Yes, some of these are only slightly revised from previous Festivus posts. Which is to be expected, it’s not like the entire universe fixed itself after I posted one lil’ post. It’s going to take at least three, right?

bullet I’m seriously disappointed that Ace Atkins is leaving the Spenser series. Sure, it’s best for him and his career to go off and work on his own projects, which will undoubtedly be great. But speaking selfishly (which is the point of grievances, right?), I don’t want him to go!

bullet Publishers are starting to use AI readers instead of humans for audiobooks! This is madness—we don’t need to make things easier for our new computer overlords by letting them lull us into letting our defenses down by reading our stories to us. Also, they don’t do a good job of it.

bullet I have a grievance with the book publishing/selling/marketing industry. It’s 2021, why are we still placing stickers on books? If we have to do that, why hasn’t Science come up with a sticker that doesn’t leave a gummy residue behind? C’mon, Science, if you can’t give us a cure for cancer, a pill so people with Celiac disease can eat bread, or an Oreo that will help me lose weight—at least you can give us stickers that don’t leave gunk on our books! Especially, especially when it covers the ISBN number for those of us trying to scan them.

bullet What’s worse than stickers are those things that look like stickers, but aren’t. Just stupid, garish circles that have been printed on the cover and really only serve to obscure the image.

bullet I have a grievance with Movie/TV covers on books. C’mon people, this is stupid. Sure, it maybe helps sell more copies of the books—but has any book been improved by one of these covers? No! Knock it off! And especially, stop it with sticking pictures of actors on books in a series that haven’t been adapted, just because some have (yeah, I’m looking at you, Longmire).

bullet Similarly, what’s up with publishers changing the look of series covers? I like when they match and I resent having to go buy second copies of the old ones to have a nice matching set. (which I generally avoid, but I think about doing it a lot).

bullet It’s another year without the next installment from Rothfuss/Martin. No, my grievance isn’t with them, it’s with the entitled “fan” of the work, whinging at every conceivable moment about how long it’s taking them. Because there’s nothing else around to read? Let ’em get it right and use that energy to support someone whose books could use it.

(still—Martin, Rothfuss, Lynch…c’mon…)

bullet Whether it’s from a mainstream publisher, indie press, or a self-pubbed book, we have the technology and (theoretically??) the education so there’s no reason for there to be missing/extra punctuation or misspelled words in books.

Obviously, this doesn’t apply to book blog posts. No one paid for these.

bullet I have a grievance with the Book Blogging Community. There are way too many good book bloggers out there to keep up with. Some of you need to write less often! Also, you make the rest of us look bad.

bullet I’ve got a grievance with running out of places to put books and bookshelves that aren’t like a bag of holding or TARDIS and can’t take an increasing number of books. So…physics, I guess. Yeah, that’s right, Laws of the Physics, I’m calling you out. Get your act together!

bullet I’ve got a grievance with myself for putting off planning this post so long. I’m having a hard time coming up with Feats of Strength. I really need to start brainstorming earlier in the year…

bullet And what’s more…I lost my train of thought. Still, I managed to get a little off my chest, that felt good.

And now, the Feats of Strength

Time for Feats of Strength
In 2019, for my Feat of Strength, I held my TBR above my head, which I thought was pretty impressive. Then last year, I did something even harder—I signed out of Netgalley without requesting a single book. This year…

2021 Feat of Strength
Yes, that’s me lifting an entire bookshop. If that’s not a Feat of Strength, I don’t know what is. Okay, sure, it may be miniature, but it’s really hard to hold that steady without any of those teeny-tiny books falling off the shelf…

Let’s see how the rest of you do with your feats.

* I’ve gotten a little feedback about this—it’s pretty clear I’m a Christian. So why do I do a Festivus post instead of something about Christmas? While I do think that believers have the liberty to celebrate the Nativity if they desire to, I’m ambivalent toward the day, and hesitant to make a big deal out of it. So, I don’t. If you’re curious, I thought this episode of The Heidelcast did a decent job of articulating many of the issues (without getting nasty about it).

On the other hand, Festivus is just silly fun. Hope you don’t mind…

Happy Festivus

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

Well, November’s numbers here aren’t that impressive—a mere 19 books, with a total of 5,758 pages or the equivalent. Some of those were pretty short books/booklets, too. I knew I was going through books slower than usual all month (still not sure why), but it wasn’t until a saw those numbers that it really hit me. And sure, I know people who’d be happy with 19 books for a year—so the “mere” is mostly tongue-in-cheek (and because I know what my numbers usually are). More importantly, I know that it’s not about the numbers…they’re just very distracting. Oh, the other number, a 3.8 average suggests that those books were good enough to slow down and savor.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in November…

Books Read

The Case of the Missing Marquess The Appeal Shadow Rites
3 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
The Man Who Died Twice The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition
5 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Return from a Distant Country The Dark Hours Master of Formalities
3 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise The Astonishing Mistakes of Dahlia Moss The Morality of God in the Old Testament
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Daughter of the Deep The Twelve Monotasks Super Powereds Year 1
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Leaving the LAW Psalms that Curse All the Lonely People
3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars 5 Stars
Forged
4 Stars

Still Reading

Things Unseen The Appeal The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Ratings

5 Stars 3 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 4 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 7 1 Star 0
3 Stars 4
Average = 3.8

TBR Pile
Mt TBR November 2021

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 14
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 11 (5%)
Fantasy 1 (5%) 19 (7%)
General Fiction/ Literature 2 (11%) 19 (7%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 0 (0%) 7 (3%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 8 (42%) 106 (39%)
Non-Fiction 1 (5%) 18 (7%)
Science Fiction 2 (11%) 19 (7%)
Steampunk 0 (0%) 1 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 3 (16%) 33 (12%)
Urban Fantasy 2 (11%) 46 (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:

How was your month?

November

Thanksgiving 2021

Happy Thanksgiving/Turkey Day/Thursday

On this day that has been set aside for us in the U.S. for expressions of gratitude, it’s been my custom take a moment and mention a few of the things that The Irresponsible Reader is thankful for.

bullet The readers of this blog, the authors who’ve corresponded with me/provided books for me to read/encouraged me—even promoted this here project.
bullet Books—the stories, characters, and/or things I’ve learned are what keep me sane, entertain, and inspire me.
bullet Authors! If not for them, I wouldn’t have the above.
bullet Audiobooks and talented narrators—ditto
bullet Coffee (and other beverages both caffeinated and adult)
bullet Time to read
bullet The Nampa Public Library (and The LYNX! Consortium)
bullet Rediscovered Bookshop, Rediscovered Bookshop – Caldwell, and Libro.fm
bullet My supportive, understanding, and encouraging wife and kids. They all do a pretty decent job pretending to care when their old man drones on and on about what he’s reading or what’s going on with the blog. They’ve also done a good job on the brainstorming front lately.
bullet Again, all of you who read, follow, like, tweet, comment, email, etc. this page—you have no idea how much every little bit is appreciated.

For my fellow Americans, I hope you have a pleasant day with your friends and/or family. Non-US types, I hope you enjoy today and that you enjoy having the same pant size tomorrow as you do today.

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

October in a nutshell: 31 books, 8,079 pages (or the equivalent), 3.5 average—even with more 3 Stars than I’ve had in a dog’s age. All the 3s make me feel better about things, I’ve wondered if I was being too free with 4’s lately. All said, I’m pretty satisfied with this month—I’m terrified by the number of things I haven’t written about, though. I should read some bigger books to help me catch up.

So, here’s what happened here in October 2021.
Books Read

Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes) See Her Die Beast Boy Loves Raven
3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
What God Has to Say about Our Bodies Dead Mercy Pug Actually
4 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Pure How to Resist Amazon and Why The Ninja Betrayed
4 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
But For The Grace A Good Day for Chardonnay The Church: An Introduction
4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 2 Stars
Tear It Down Grenade Bouquets Based on a True Story
4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
Abandon All Hope Junkyard Bargain Everything Happens
3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
Dark Heir The Case of the One-Eyed Witness Breaking Silence
4 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars 3 Stars
Bodacious Creed and the Jade Lake The Trinity and the Bible Dark Arts and a Daiquiri
3.5 Stars 5 Stars 3 Stars
The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex Squirrel Do Bad Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
4 Stars 3 Stars 3.5 Stars
Gated Prey Dust & Grim Fallen
4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars rating305 Stars
The Glorious Feast of the Gospel
3 Stars

Still Reading

Things Unseen The Appeal

Ratings

5 Stars 2 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 4 2 Stars 1
4 Stars 6 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 4 1 Star 0
3 Stars 14
Average = 3.5

TBR Pile
Mt TBR October 21

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 12
Self-/Independent Published: 19

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 2 (1%)
Fantasy 2 (6%) 18 (7%)
General Fiction/ Literature 4 (13%) 17 (7%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 2 (6%) 7 (3%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 11 (35%) 98 (39%)
Non-Fiction 2 (6%) 17 (7%)
Science Fiction 2 (6%) 17 (7%)
Steampunk 1 (3%) 1 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 4 (13%) 30 (12%)
Urban Fantasy 3 (10%) 44 (17%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wroteotherwriting (and a few things others wrote)

Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th), I also wrote:

What about you, how was your month?

Happy Birthday, Archie!

My annual tribute to one of my favorite fictional characters (if not my all-time favorite). I’ve got to do an overhaul to this soon, but it is slightly updated and tweaked from last year.

On Oct. 23* in Chillicothe, Ohio, Archie Goodwin entered this world—no doubt with a smile for the pretty nurses—and American detective literature was never the same. He’s the narrator (and, I’d argue protagonist) of the questionably named Nero Wolfe mysteries. While the eccentric and overweight genius might be what brings people to the series, it’s Archie’s wit, attitude, and snappy narrative voice that brings people’s back.

* About 34 years ago, no matter what year it is that you read this.

When my aunt first gave me a Nero Wolfe book to read, she sold me on the Wolfe character, but when I read it, I wasn’t so sure that I liked the guy. But his assistant? He was cool. Sure, it didn’t take me long to get into Wolfe, but Archie’s always been my favorite. Since I was in Middle School, if I was suffering a slump of any kind (reading, emotional, physical), time with Archie Goodwin could get me out of it. There were a few years that when I got sick, I’d grab a Nero Wolfe novel to help me get through it (along with the Vitamin C and Chicken Noodle soup), and you can’t tell me it didn’t work. Noted critic Jacques Barzun says it well:

If he had done nothing more than to create Archie Goodwin, Rex Stout would deserve the gratitude of whatever assessors watch over the prosperity of American literature. For surely Archie is one of the folk heroes in which the modern American temper can see itself transfigured. Archie is the lineal descendant of Huck Finn.

While Archie’s about as far from a teetotaler as you can get, to commemorate his birthday, I’m toasting him in one of the ways I think he’d appreciate most—by raising a glass of milk in his honor.

Who was Archie? Archie summed up his life like this:

Born in Ohio. Public high school, pretty good at geometry and football, graduated with honor but no honors. Went to college two weeks, decided it was childish, came to New York and got a job guarding a pier, shot and killed two men and was fired, was recommended to Nero Wolfe for a chore he wanted done, did it, was offered a full-time job by Mr. Wolfe, took it, still have it.” (Fourth of July Picnic)

Long may he keep it. Just what was he employed by Wolfe to do? In The Black Mountain he answers the statement, “I thought you was a private eye” with:

I don’t like the way you say it, but I am. Also, I am an accountant, an amanuensis, and a cocklebur. Eight to five you never heard the word amanuensis and you never saw a cocklebur.

In The Red Box, he says

I know pretty well what my field is. Aside from my primary function as the thorn in the seat of Wolfe’s chair to keep him from going to sleep and waking up only for meals, I’m chiefly cut out for two things: to jump and grab something before the other guy can get his paws on it, and to collect pieces of the puzzle for Wolfe to work on.

In Too Many Women, he’s a bit more concise and describes himself as the:

heart, liver, lungs and gizzard of the private detective business of Nero Wolfe, Wolfe being merely the brains

In Black Orchids, he reacts to an insult:

…her cheap crack about me being a ten-cent Clark Gable, which was ridiculous. He simpers, to begin with, and to end with no one can say I resemble a movie actor, and if they did it would be more apt to be Gary Cooper than Clark Gable.

Over at The Thrilling Detective, he’s described this way:

If Goodwin hadn’t gone to work for Wolfe, he’d certainly have his own agency by now (and temporarily does, in one novel). Far more of the traditional eye, Goodwin is a tough, handsome guy with a photographic memory, a .32 under his well-tailored suit (and sometimes an extra .38 in his overcoat pocket), and a well-developed appreciation for the ladies. And, in the opinion of more than a few cops, officials and stuffed-shirt executives, a mouth that ought to be nailed shut permanently. (Wolfe isn’t immune either – part of Goodwin’s job, as he sees it, is needling the fat man into taking cases, if only to make sure the bills get covered.) He’s not the deductive genius that Wolfe is, but a smart and tenacious op with a good right hook, and a decent and personable man. Most of all, in his narration of the books, he’s a helluva storyteller; it’s his view of the world, and his interaction with Wolfe, that keeps us coming back for each new mystery.

The Archie Goodwin FAQ is less succinct but does a good job of laying out the facts.

I’m not the only Archie fan out there:

  • Someone pointed me at this post, The Wit and Wisdom of Archie Goodwin. There’s some really good stuff here that I was tempted to steal, instead, I’ll just point you at it.
  • Robert Crais himself when writing an introduction to a Before Midnight reprint, devoted it to paying tribute to Archie—one of the few pieces of anything written that I can say I agree with jot and tittle.

In case you’re wondering if this post was simply an excuse to go through some collections of Archie Goodwin quotations, you wouldn’t be totally wrong…he’s one of the fictional characters I like spending time with most in this world—he’s the literary equivalent of comfort food. So just a couple more great lines I’ve quoted here before:

I would appreciate it if they would call a halt on all their devoted efforts to find a way to abolish war or eliminate disease or run trains with atoms or extend the span of human life to a couple of centuries, and everybody concentrate for a while on how to wake me up in the morning without my resenting it. It may be that a bevy of beautiful maidens in pure silk yellow very sheer gowns, barefooted, singing “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” and scattering rose petals over me would do the trick, but I’d have to try it.

I looked at the wall clock. It said two minutes to four. I looked at my wrist watch. It said one minute to four. In spite of the discrepancy, it seemed safe to conclude that it would soon be four o’clock.

Description:I shook my head. “You’re flattering me, Inspector. I don’t arouse passions like that. It’s my intellect women like. I inspire them to read good books, but I doubt if I could inspire even Lizzie Borden to murder.”

She turned back to me, graceful as a big cat, and stood there straight and proud, not quite smiling, her warm dark eyes as curious as if she had never seen a man before. I knew damn well I ought to say something, but what? The only thing to say was ‘Will you marry me?’ but that wouldn’t do because the idea of her washing dishes or darning socks was preposterous.

“Indeed,” I said. That was Nero Wolfe’s word, and I never used it except in moments of stress, and it severely annoyed me when I caught myself using it, because when I look in a mirror I prefer to see me as is, with no skin grafted from anybody else’s hide, even Nero Wolfe’s.

If you like Anglo-Saxon, I belched. If you fancy Latin, I eructed. No matter which, I had known that Wolfe and Inspector Cramer would have to put up with it that evening, because that is always a part of my reaction to sauerkraut. I don’t glory in it or go for a record, but neither do I fight it back. I want to be liked just for myself.

When a hippopotamus is peevish it’s a lot of peeve.

It was nothing new for Wolfe to take steps, either on his own, or with one or more of the operatives we used, without burdening my mind with it. His stated reason was that I worked better if I thought it all depended on me. His actual reason was that he loved to have a curtain go up revealing him balancing a live seal on his nose.

It helps a lot, with two people as much together as he and I were, if they understand each other. He understood that I was too strong-minded to add another word unless he told me to, and I understood that he was too pigheaded to tell me to.

I always belong wherever I am.

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

September has come and gone, and what’s happened here? Well, I completed 30 books—8,240 pages (or the equivalent)—with a 3.7 average (thanks to a lot of 5-Star reads). I posted something every day, too. NOt necessarily something good, but something—and that’s a start. I did not accomplish my big goal of the month, which was to finish posting about my 20 Books of Summer books, I’ve got to get going on that (if only so I can read a sequel or two). But basically, it looks like a pretty good month.

I was really looking forward to looking at how far Mt. TBR had shrunk this month—I knew I’d done good work on that front. Annnnnd…it’s exactly the same height—one smaller in Audiobooks and one larger in hardcopy. Maybe in October?

Anywho…now for what happened here in September.

Books Read

True Dead The Treadstone Exile The Genius' Guide to Bad Writing
4 1/2 Stars 2 Stars 3.5 Stars
Holier Than Thou Headphones and Heartaches Nine Nasty Words
3 Stars 5 Stars 3 Stars
Stalker Stalked Yearbook Suburban Dicks
4 Stars 3 Stars 5 Stars
Bound Best in Snow Shots Fired
5 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
It's a Wonderful Woof Broken Soul How to Slay a Dragon
4 Stars 4 Stars 2 1/2 Stars
When Sorrows Come In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It Meadowlark
5 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
The Path of Faith Word by Word The Chronicles of Iona: Exile
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 3 Stars
Marked Once Upon a Time in Hollywood The Case of the Missing Firefly
4 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Deeper The Thursday Murder Club https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jennifer-lynn-barnes/the-hawthorne-legacy/9780759557642/
3.5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars
Daughter of the Morning Star Out of House and Home Fan Fiction
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars

Still Reading

Things Unseen See Her Die Blank Space

Ratings

5 Stars 4 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 2 2 Stars 1
4 Stars 10 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 5 1 Star 0
3 Stars 7
Average = 3.7

TBR Pile
Mt TBR September '21

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 23
Self-/Independent Published: 7

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 2 (1%)
Fantasy 0 (0%) 16 (7%)
General Fiction/ Literature 3 (10%) 13 (6%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 1 (3%) 5 (2%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 12 (40%) 87 (39%)
Non-Fiction 4 (13%) 15 (7%)
Science Fiction 0 (0%) 15 (7%)
Steampunk 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 3 (10%) 26 (12%)
Urban Fantasy 6 (20%) 41 (18%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

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

How was your month?

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

So I finished 30 books for the month, with a total of 9,998 pages (or the equivalent)–although 598 pages of that belongs to a book I’ve been chipping away at since January, so that number is arguable. Either way, those are some decent numbers. A 3.65 average rating is nothing to sneeze at. As usual, I’m less than impressed with the writing output but I like the variety–let’s call that a win.

Eh enough of that…here’s what happened here in August.
Books Read

Why I Still Believe Solomon vs. Lord Paper & Blood
2 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars
The Ninja’s Blade Black Arts Twice Cursed
4 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
A Reason to Live Faith Among the Faithless The Wonderful Works of God
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 5 Stars
A Beginner's Guide to Free Fall The Dead House Moses and the Burning Bush
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
The Deep Blue Alibi The Far Empty Pray for Silence
3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars 3 Stars
Stone's Throw Burned Love
4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars
Kill All the Lawyers The Mermaid's Pool Cold Wind
3 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
The Good Byline In a Sunburned Country Fools Gold
3 Stars 2 Stars 4 Stars
Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors The Dime The Person of Christ: An Introduction
3 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Long Black Curl The Run-Out Groove The Word is Murder
5 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars

Still Reading

Things Unseen True Dead

Ratings

5 Stars 2 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 2 2 Stars 2
4 Stars 12 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 5 1 Star 0
3 Stars 7
Average = 3.65r

TBR Pile
Mt TBR Aug 21

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 22
Self-/Independent Published: 8

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 2 (1%)
Fantasy 2 (7%) 16 (8%)
General Fiction/ Literature 2 (7%) 10 (5%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 0 (0%) 2 (4%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 16 (53%) 75 (39%)
Non-Fiction 1 (3%) 11 (6%)
Science Fiction 0 (0%) 15 (8%)
Steampunk 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 5 (17%) 23 (12%)
Urban Fantasy 4 (13%) 35 (18%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

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

How was your month?

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