Category: Calendar Items Page 9 of 22

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

On August 2, 2021

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

“Only” 24 books this month—I got off to a strong start, and then I started a period of readjustment thanks to returning to the office. I’m not sure I’ve got my feet under me when it comes to reading/listening to audiobooks yet. That’s 6,412 pages (or audio-equivalent), plus I’m guessing another 350 or so—there was one audio short story and one to-be-published novel that I can’t find page counts for. Which is not terribly shabby when I think of it in those terms. My average rating was 3.9, a tenth of a point higher than most months this year (4 tenths higher than my worst), so that fits.

Part of what use these posts to do is spur myself to action on various fronts—or that’s the intent, anyway. Am rethinking the Mt. TBR portion of these posts, because it’s sure not working too well.

Enough monologuing, I’m not a supervillain about to leave the hero to die in an (doomed) elaborate contraption—here’s what happened here in July.

		Average =	3.9
	3		0
	3		0
	9		0
	4		0
	5

I’m strongly considering renaming this to Tsundoku (積ん読), so I can celebrate the size of some of these bars rather than shaking my head at myself…What do you think?

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

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	1 (5%)	2 (1%)
Fantasy	3 (16%)	14 (9%)
General Fiction/ Literature	3 (16%)	8 (5%)
Horror	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Humor	0 (0%)	2 (4%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	6 (32%)	59 (36%)
Non-Fiction	1 (5%)	10 (6%)
Science Fiction	0 (0%)	15 (9%)
Steampunk	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living	0 (0%)	18 (11%)
Urban Fantasy	4 (21%)	31 (19%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

The Watchman by Rob Parker: Ben in the U.S.A.
Faithful Theology: An Introduction by Graham A. Cole: Basics for Building a Theological Method
Tender is the Bite by Spencer Quinn: Will Chet Share Bernie with a Ferret?
Small Bytes by Robert Germaux: Back to the Beginning of JB Barnes
Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights by Liam Perrin: Heroism Comes from the Unlikeliest Places
In Plain Sight by Dan Willis: A P.I. with a Magical Edge Races the Clock in this UF Series Start
Foundations of Covenant Theology by Lane G. Tipton: A Fascinating Approach to Genesis 1-3
The Rags of Time (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator): DC Smith is a Fly in a Colleague’s Ointment
Know Your Rites by Andy Redsmith: Murder, magic and now rap music. Oh joy.
A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones: Sunny and Auri get into Some Cold Cases in their Hot Town
The Attributes of God: An Introduction by Gerald Bray: Sketching out The Essence of God and How He Relates to Us
Finding Hope in Hard Things by Pierce Taylor Hibbs: How the Hard Things Shape Us
August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones: Even a Kindness from the Devil Must Be Repaid

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

That was my month…how was yours?

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

By HCNewton

On July 3, 2021

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

I don’t think I’ve ever been this delayed at assembling and posting one of these since I started, but it’s been that kind of week. It looks like June was a pretty good month overall. I finished 26 books, 8,102 (or the equivalent) pages, with an average rating of 3.8. Nothing to complain about there, is there?

Compiling this was a strange experience—a combination of “I read that in June? It feels longer ago” and “How have I not written about that yet?” (a couple of times about the same book). My “to write about” list is getting truly terrifying, and I need to address that somehow. But that’s my issue. I think September is going to be all door-stopper novels just to give me the opportunity to catch up (I’d do it in July, but…well, I’ve got that 20 Books Challenge).

The other thing that jumped out at me this morning was that my charting of the books I buy and haven’t read hasn’t really helped the problem a whole lot—I’d figured seeing that chart once a month would be a push I need. Looking at my plans for the month, I think July’s should be interesting, though.

This introduction has gone on longer than it should have, so on with the show—here’s what happened here in June.

		Average =	3.86
	2		0
	2		0
	14 (!!)		0
	3		0
	5

“Traditionally” Published: 19
Self-/Independent Published: 7

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	1 (2%)
Fantasy	2 (8%)	12 (9%)
General Fiction/ Literature	3 (12%)	4 (6%)
Horror	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Humor	1 (4%)	4 (3%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	8 (10%)	51 (37%)
Non-Fiction	1 (4%)	10 (7%)
Science Fiction	1 (4%)	14 (10%)
Steampunk	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living	2 (8%)	13 (9%)
Urban Fantasy	6 (23%)	25 (18%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Not Awkward by Matthew Hanover: Moving On by Looking Back
Runaway Train by Lee Matthew Goldberg: It’s Just Easier than Dealing with the Pain
The Christian’s True Identity by Jonathan Landry Cruse: An Introduction to the Glory that is Being “In Him”
Morte Point by Rob Parker: Things Go From Worse to Worse to Much Worse for Bracken
Creature Feature (Audiobook) by Steven Paul Leiva, Seamus Dever, and Juliana Dever:A 1950s Monster Movie Comes to Life in a 1960s Midwest Town
On God and Christ by Gregory of Nazianzus: Classic, Orthodox, Passionate
Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison: Cincy’s New Boss Vampire has Rachel on the Ropes
Meat is Murder by Chris McDonald: Adam and Colin Look into an Activist’s Death
A Good Kill by John McMahon: Crimes New and Old Rock a Small City
I Have Mostly Good Things to Say about The Mostly Invisible Boy by A.J. Vanderhorst
What Happens When We Worship by Jonathan Landry Cruse: An Introduction To or Gentle Reminder of The Supernatural Event of Worship
The Keepers by Jeffrey B. Burton: A Sequel Stronger than its Predecessor—a Real Treat for Fans.
The Penny Black by Rob Parker: Ben Bracken Takes a Breather (for a bit)
99 Poems to Cure Whatever’s Wrong with You or Create The Problems You Need by Sam Pink: The Cartoon Continues
The Bounty by Janet Evanovich with Steve Hamilton: Fox and O’Hare are on the Hunt for Nazi Gold
Death in Adam, Life in Christ: The Doctrine of Imputation by J. V. Fesko: Careful Words on an Important Topic
Till Morning is Nigh by Rob Parker: It’s Not Quite the Employee Party in Nakatomi Plaza, But It’s Close
Dog Eat Dog by David Rosenfelt: Man Defends Dog, Andy Carpenter Defends Man

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

The Last 10 Books Tag
As Close as I get to a “Review Policy”
A Few Quick Questions…with John McMahon
WWW Wednesday for June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23, and June 30, 2021
The Friday 56 for 6/4/21 (Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal) and 6/25/21 (Till Morning is Nigh by Rob Parker).

That’s my June in a nutshell—how was your month?

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

By HCNewton

On June 1, 2021

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

May 2021 saw me complete 22 books for 6,238+ pages or the equivalent (I don’t have a page count on one of the unpublished books yet, and there as a DNF in there, too, so that’s where the + comes in). Not my strongest month, but given things going on in Real Life, I’m pleased with that. 3.5 Average Stars—read a couple of let-downs, and a decent number of books that were good, but not great. Which is fine with me, viva le 3 Stars! (and a couple of things blew me away, too—not going to complain about that!)

I posted something every single day in May—a feat I haven’t accomplished in years. Sure, some of the posts were a little on the lame side, but I still feel like I accomplished something there. Not a solid month, but it could’ve been worse, I’m satisfied.

So, here’s what happened here in May.






		DNF

		Average =	3.5
	3		2
	1		1
	3		0
	5		0
	7

Incremental decrease! I’ll take it 🙂

“Traditionally” Published: 13
Self-/Independent Published: 9

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	1 (5%)	2 (2%)
Fantasy	1 (5%)	10 (9%)
General Fiction/ Literature	1 (5%)	3 (3%)
Horror	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Humor	1 (5%)	3 (3%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	8 (36%)	41 (37%)
Non-Fiction	4 (18%)	9 (8%)
Science Fiction	1 (5%)	13 (10%)
Steampunk	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living	1 (5%)	11 (10%)
Urban Fantasy	4 (21%)	19 (17%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

The Word Became Fresh by Dale Ralph Davis: Principles for Old Testament Reading “For Fun and Profit”
Dead Secret by Noelle Holten: Maggie Has to Juggle Several Balls at Once—Can She Keep it Up AND Catch a Killer?
Below Zero (Audiobook) by C. J. Box, David Chandler: Joe Pickett’s 9th Adventure is Almost Impossible to Believe
Red Widow by Alma Katsu: This Realistic Spy Thriller Just Missed the Mark
Surviving Religion 101 by Michael J. Kruger: Letters to a Christian College Sudent
A Wanted Man by Rob Parker: Meet Ben Bracken
The Writer’s Library by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager (Audiobook) Was Just Painful to Listen To: DNFed
A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs by Sophie Loosveldt, Isabella Croker (Illustrator): Secret Agent Pug? A Spy *for* the House of Love?
In Medias Res: A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell, Morgan C. Jones (Narrator)
Goodbye to the Sun by Jonathan Nevair: Broken People and Broken Worlds Hope for a Better Future
I have a hard time shutting up about Moonlighting: An Oral History by Scott Ryan
The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson: A Jaw-Dropping Debut
A Quick Look at the Wonderful The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition by Douglas Adams, Chris Riddell (Illustrator)
R. C. Sproul: A Life by Stephen J. Nichols: The Life and Work of Robert Charles Sproul

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

How was your month?

How Has Book Blogging Changed the Way I Read? (Blogiversary ruminations)

By HCNewton

On May 29, 2021

In Books, Calendar Items, News/Misc.

I started this thing on May 29, 2013, with no real idea of what I was doing—or getting myself into. At this point, I’m still not sure what I’m doing. But, I’m apparently doing it for a while.

A few months ago, one of the blogger prompt/meme things asked “How has book blogging changed the way you read?” As per my norm, I over-thought it and didn’t get around to writing anything for that particular day/week’s prompt. But that question has lingered in the back of my mind. So here are some thoughts about it—I’d have preferred to polish this some more. But I’m pretty sure if I polished/reworked this to the extend I want, there’s no way it’d go up today. It might be ready for my 9th Blogiversary (almost certainly my 10th).

How Has Book Blogging Changed the Way I Read?

I think about what I’m going to read more

I decide to read a book largely by whim (or I picked a book in a series or by an author months/years/decades ago by whim and have to keep going), but the question of when is given thought. But it’s kind of the same thing—did I just read something in a similar genre? Do I have time due to library due dates, blog tour, publication date?

Pros: Thinking about reading is almost as good as actually reading, and I generally enjoy the thinking.
Cons: I feel a little silly when I think about how much effort I put into this. Also, I can slip into spending too much time on this to the neglect of other things—like a youtube hole. I’m not talking about hours or anything. But I can spend a ridiculous amount of time on it. Deciding what to put for the “What are You Going to Read Next” part of a WWW Wednesday post can easily take 3-5x longer than assembling the post itself.

I’m better informed about selecting what I read

I almost never go into a book blind anymore—I know something about the book, the author, or the publisher. Someone—not an algorithm—has done something to bring it to my attention.

Pros: Forewarned is forearmed, right?
Cons: Even before the pandemic eliminated this possibility, it’s been forever since I just browsed my library’s New Release shelf (or any other shelf) just to see if something caught my eye. I’ve stumbled onto real gems that way.

I think about what I read more

The origin story of this blog focuses on this point. I used to just read constantly, one book from the next, and would barely give what I read any thought. Just put one book down and pick up the next. It bugged me, but I couldn’t do much about it. My family would only put up with so much book talk from me—my eldest was a young teen when I started this and my youngest was in early elementary school, just not the right ages to talk about most of what I read, and my wife did/does listen to me prattle on, but even her eyes glaze over at a point. So writing about every (or almost every) book I read helped me stop, think about, consider, evaluate, and spend more time in each book.

I should note that there are now four people in “Real Life” I can chat with about books—which is nice. Thanks, Paul, Nicole, Tony, and Adrianne.

Pros: I stopped feeling like I was short-changing myself and the effort the authors put into what I read. Sure, I’d think about what I read a little, but not much—at least not enough to satisfy myself. I know I’m getting a lot more out of what I read.

I read more widely

Sure, if you look at my genre breakdowns, it may not look like it. But from my point of view, I’m reading a greater variety of things than I think I would’ve. For example, I can’t imagine I’d have heard of, much less purchased from, 95% of the indie presses/authors I follow now. That goes for a lot of non-indie authors, too. This goes along with the being better informed—I’m reading other readers’ blogs/tweets and whatnot, and people I’ve never heard of are asking me to read their stuff (I’m still getting used to this idea, and that’s been happening for 7 years). Sub-genres, perspectives, settings, you name it—there’s a greater variety to my menu. (even bigger if I throw in the “I should get into that one day” list)

I re-read less

I have a hard time spending time with a book unless I can think of something to do with it for the blog. Which means fewer re-reads. No one wants to read bi-annual posts about Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout—and I probably can’t find things to say about it every few months.

Pros: I’m sure there are some.
Cons: I miss re-reading. I’d do it because I love the world, the characters, the author, whatever. And I like revisiting them. I like getting to know them better, understanding more, finding details I’d missed and/or forgotten. It used to be when I got sick, I’d grab a random Nero Wolfe book for some comfort to go along with the chicken soup, but I haven’t done that in, well at least 6 years (hmmm, that’s 2 Wolfe references on this point, I think my subconscious is trying to tell me something).

The best part

When I actually get to the reading. When I get the couple of minutes-a few hours to read, all of the above stops mattering. I don’t think about blogging, I don’t think about my reading schedule, or any of the other paraphernalia. I’m just lost in a book, I’m really no different than the seven-year-old kid on his first out-of-state road trip with his parents who didn’t realize how mind-numbingly dull riding in a car would be so didn’t bring anything to read. He ended up complaining so much that his parents stopped, bought a couple of books at a grocery store, and shut him up for the next week or so as he read the two books—Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective and Sugar Creek Gang: Screams in the Night*—multiple times, perfectly content to be lost in the worlds created by Donald J. Sobol and Paul Hutchens**, while his family was having fun in this one***.

At the end of the day, that’s what counts, right?

* More than four decades later I still have both of those books.
** Mysteries and a thriller. Pretty easy to see the effect of that on me, isn’t it?
*** Make no mistake, when we got to Disneyland, Universal Studios, etc.—I put the books down and had fun. Even I’m not that strange.

Towel Day ’21: Do You Know Where Your Towel Is?

By HCNewton

On May 25, 2021

In A-B, Authors, Calendar Items, Douglas Adams, Fiction, News/Misc., Science Fiction, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

(actually updated and slightly revised this 5/25/20!)

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.)

Towel Day, for the few of who don’t know, is the annual celebration of Douglas Adams’ life and work. It was first held two weeks after his death, fans were to carry a towel with them for the day to use as a talking point to encourage those who have never read HHGTTG to do so, or to just converse with someone about Adams. Adams is one of that 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.

Some time in 7th or 8th grade (I believe), I was at a friend’s house—his brother let us try his copy of the text-based Hitchhiker’s Guide game, and we were no good at it at all. His brother had a copy of the novel, however, and we all figured that the novel held the keys we needed for success with the game (it did not). It was decided that I’d be the one to read the book and come back in a few days as an expert. Adams’ irreverent style rocked my world—could people actually get away with saying some of these things? His skewed take on the world, his style, his humor…and a depressed robot, too! It was love at first read. One of those experiences that, looking back, I can say shaped my reading and thinking for the rest of my life (make of that what you will). If carrying around a (massively useful) piece of cloth for a day honors his memory? Sure, I’m in.

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. (he says for at least the 7th straight year, a work ethic I like to believe Adams would recognize).

In the meantime, here’s some of what I’ve written about Adams. A couple of years back, I did a re-read of all of Adams’ (completed) fiction. For reasons beyond my ken (or recollection), I didn’t get around to blogging about the Dirk Gently books, but I did do the Hitchhiker’s Trilogy:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, The Universe and Everything
So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish
Mostly Harmless
I had a thing or two to say about the 40th Anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
(this link will go live later in the morning of 5/25/21) I took a look at the 42nd Anniversary Illustrated Edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Also, I should mention the one book Adams/Hitchhiker’s aficionado needs to read is Don’t Panic by Neil Gaiman, David K. Dickson and MJ Simpson. If you’re more in the mood for a podcast, I’d suggest The Waterstones Podcast How We Made: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—I’ve listened to several podcast episodes about this book, and generally roll my eyes at them. But this is just fantastic. Were it available, I’d listen to a Peter Jackson-length version of the episode.

I’ve only been able to get one of my sons into Adams, he’s the taller, thinner one in the picture from a few years ago.

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:

Love the anecdote (Also, I want this tie.)

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

By HCNewton

On May 1, 2021

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

April 2021 is in the books (no pun intended): 24 books read, 8046 pages finished (1273 of those belonged to project reads that have taken months to get through, so there’s a grain of salt or two involved in that number) with 3.9 Stars on average. I wrote almost as much as I wanted to, especially these last couple of weeks. All in all, I’m calling April a win.

So, here’s what happened here in April.
















	Still deciding

		Average =	3.9
	2		0
	3		0
	5		0
	5		0
	9

Despite what progress I make on reading these this year, I seem to offset that with my purchases.

“Traditionally” Published: 20
Self-/Independent Published: 4

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	1 (1%)
Fantasy	1 (4%)	9 (10%)
General Fiction/ Literature	1 (4%)	2 (2%)
Horror	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Humor	1 (4%)	2 (2%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	8 (33%)	33 (37%)
Non-Fiction	2 (8%)	5 (6%)
Science Fiction	2 (8%)	12 (13%)
Steampunk	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living	4 (17%)	10 (11%)
Urban Fantasy	4 (17%)	15 (17%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Small Talk by Robert Germaux: A Fledgling Task Force on the Hunt for a Serial Killer on the Streets of Pittsburgh
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVIII., iv. – vii.
Drop the Mikes by Duncan MacMaster: The Scrawny, Geeky, Jessica Fletcher-esque Kirby Baxter find Trouble in a Caribbean Paradise
Cross Her Heart by Melinda Leigh: A Fast, Addictive Introduction to a New Series
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVIII., viii. – xi.
The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King: Don’t Make Him Angry. You Won’t Like Him When He’s Angry
Blood and Treasure by Bob Drury, Tom Clavin: A Look at Dream Come Truers
Because You’re Mine by Luna Miller, Ludvig Christensen Parment (Translator): Another Missing Person Case for Gunvor Ström and Friends
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVIII., xii. – Chapter the last.
Robert B. Parker’s Payback by Mike Lupica: Sunny Does Some Dangerous Favors for Some Dear Friends
The Particulars of Peter by Kelly Conaboy: Adventures of a Woman Obsessed with her Dog
Blood Trail (Audiobook) by C. J. Box, David Chandler: Who Hunts the Hunters?
Prodigal Storm by Kate Sheeran Swed: The Toccata System Trilogy Wraps Things Up Satisfactorily and Entertainingly
Tom Jones (1989) Director’s Cut
Grace and Glory by Geerhardus Vos (Banner of Truth Edition): A Fantastic Sermon Collection
The Art of Violence by S. J. Rozan: Bill Smith is Hired to Prove His Client IS a Murderer
A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White was A Pretty Decent Space Opera That I Should’ve Liked More Than I Did
Quick Take Catch Ups: Strange Planet; Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead; Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore; Paper: Paging Through History

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

A Few Quick Questions with…Robert Germaux
Down the TBR Hole (25 of 29+)
Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Book Titles That Sound Like They Could Be Crayola Crayon Colors
Down the TBR Hole (26 of 29+)
Just a Spoonful of Sugar—Non-Fiction to Smile With and Learn From—(Revised and Updated)
Down the TBR Hole (27 of 29+)
Down the TBR Hole (28 of 29+)
These Dog Days Aren’t Over—(Revised and Updated)
Fridays with the Foundling: Wrapping Things Up—This long journey is finally at its end!
WWW Wednesday for April 7, April 21, and April 28.
The Friday 56 for 4/2/21 (Prodigal Storm by Kate Sheeran Swed), 4/9/21 (Cross Her Heart by Melinda Leigh, 4/16/21 (A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White), 4/21/21 (Dead Secret by Noelle Holten).

How was your month?

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

By HCNewton

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.
















		Still Deciding

		Average =	3.83
	4		1
	1		0
	11		0
	7		0
	4

“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%)

He Drank, and Saw the Spider (Audiobook) by Alex Bledsoe, Stefan Rudnicki: LaCrosse’s Break from His Vacation Changes History
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch: Peter Grant’s Cousin Searches for Missing Kids
What the World Needs Now – Bees! by Cheryl Rosebush, Zuzana Svobodová: A Much-Needed Lesson for Kids About those Tiny Pollinators
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVII., i. – iv.
Latent Damage by Ian Robinson: A Compelling Series Debut
Cover Blown by Ian Robinson: DI Nash’s Professional Worlds Collide
The Treadstone Resurrection by Joshua Hood: A Fast Popcorn Thriller Delivers the Action
Junkyard Bargain (Audiobook) by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam: Shining Takes to the Road for the Next Step Installment
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVII., v. – viii.
Burying the Newspaper Man by Curtis Ippolito: A Young Police Officer’s Past Comes Back to Haunt Him
Rejoice and Tremble by Michael Reeves: Gospel Fear
Born in a Burial Gown by M. W. Craven: Before Washington Poe, There was Avison Fluke.
You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey (Audiobook) by Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar: You’ll Laugh While You All Lose Hope in Humanity. Fun Times!
Invincible TPBs One-Three by Kirkman/Walker/Ottley: Prepping for the TV Series by Looking at this Dynamite Start
Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire: Toto, I Have A Feeling They’re Not In Kansas Anymore
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVII., ix. – BOOK XVIII., iii.
Dead in the Water by Chris McDonald: These Amateur Detectives Start to Look a Little Less Amateur
Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt: The K Team Gets the Chance to Right an Old Wrong
The Wasteland War by Michael R. Underwood: The Genrenauts are (FINALLY) Back—Are They Up for the New Challenges?

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

Down the TBR Hole (22 of 24+)
Down the TBR Hole (23 of 24+)
Down the TBR Hole (24 of 24+): Phase 1 Wrap-Up
WWW Wednesday for March 4, March 10, March 17, March 24, and March 31.
The Friday 56 for 3/5/21 (Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire), 3/12/21 (Born in a Burial Gown by M. W. Craven), and 3/19/21 (Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs).

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

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

By HCNewton

On March 1, 2021

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

So February’s numbers were a 3.85 Star Average over 21 books with 5161 pages (or the equivalent) finished. Which is 4 more books (even if one of them was just a Picture Book, so I should probably say 3 more) and 120 fewer pages than January. Ten more review-ish posts, too. Not bad for a shorter month.

What progress I made on Mt. TBR was wrecked in the last week—but hopefully, March will help me recover. I’m really working on that this year, I’m hoping to get that pile whittled down by December.

So, here’s what happened here in February:

		Average =	3.85
	2		0
	0		1
	8		0
	5		0
	5

“Traditionally” Published: 12
Self-/Independent Published: 9

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	1 (5%)	1 (3%)
Fantasy	3 (14%)	7 (18%)
General Fiction/ Literature	1 (5%)	1 (3%)
Horror	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Humor	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	9 (43%)	14 (37%)
Non-Fiction	0 (0%)	1 (3%)
Science Fiction	2 (10%)	5 (13%)
Steampunk	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living	2 (10%)	4 (11%)
Urban Fantasy	3 (14%)	5 (13%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton: A Broken Family is at the Center of a Battle for A City
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire: The Sixth Wayward Children Novel is a Let-Down
Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby: Entertaining. Stunning. Devastating.
Fake by Roz Kay: 3 Horrible Husbands, 3 Wives Who Deserve Better and One Disastrous Dinner Party
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XV., vii. – x.
The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott R. Swain: A Brief but Deep Study
Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins: Spenser Battles Mortality, An Old Foe, and a Sex-Trafficking Ring.
Parting Shadows by Kate Sherran Swed: Vengeance, A Heartbroken AI and some Bad Parenting Characterize this SF Novella
In This Bright Future (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson: A Stranger in a Strange Land
A Few Thoughts about Forged by Benedict Jacka
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XV., xi. – BOOK XVI., ii.
Smoke by Joe Ide: What Happens When Isaiah Quintabe Leaves LA?
A Two-Fer: Twenty Palaces and Child of Fire (Audiobooks) by Harry Connolly and Daniel Thomas May
Chasing the Pain by Matthew Iden: A Missing Addict (or two), a Missing Friend, and the Ex-Cop Out to Find Them
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVI., iii. – vi.
Phantom Song by Kate Sheeran Swed: Cyborgs, a Vigilante, and an Opera Star in a Solid Follow Up Novella
Hey Grandude! by Paul McCartney, Kathryn Durst (Illus.): 4 Grandkids and their Grandude Take a Magical Journey Away from Boredom and Rain
Oh, That Shotgun Sky by Sarah Chorn: “The old way died. Now, everything’s different.”
The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter by Aaron Reynolds: A Wonderfully Ridiculous Adventure
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: Well, I Know What I Want My Retirement to Look Like
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline: A Very 80s Sequel (IOW, Wholly Unnecessary and Completely Inevitable)
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVI., vii. – x.
Rebels and Exiles by Matthew S. Harmon: Sin, Its Consequences, and Restoration Through Redemptive History

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

These Dog Days Aren’t Over
Down the TBR Hole (20 of 24+)
Down the TBR Hole (21 of 24+)
A Few Quick Questions with…Matthew Iden
WWW Wednesday for February 3, February 10, February 17, and February 24, 2021.
The Friday 56 for 2/5/21 (Parting Shadows by Kate Sheeran Swed), 2/12/21 (Phantom Song by Kate Sheeran Swed), 2/19/21 (The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter by Aaron Reynolds), and 2/26/21 (The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman).

How was your month?

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

By HCNewton

On February 1, 2021

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

2021 got off to a slow start for me—17 books down, 5,281 pages (or the equivalent). But it’s a good start, with 3.8 average rating.

I really dislike the way it sounds like I’m whinging at the beginning of these posts lately. But 13 lousy review-ish posts? That’s just not good. Still, it’s better than last Fall, and the only way to go from here is up, right? Also, this isn’t my job, it’s not like anything bad is going to happen if I don’t keep up (Right? Right? Please tell me I’m right…)

I’m looking forward to the books I know I’m going to read in February, and to those I’m hoping to get to, too. I hope to be chippier on March 1.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in January.

		Average =	3.8
	1		0
	2		0
	7		0
	4		0
	3

(yes, this looks much worse, I recounted at the beginning the year, and things are a bit more accurate—I’m not sure where the E-Books got quite so off, but…man, that’s an intimidating number)

“Traditionally” Published: 12
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Fantasy	4 (24%)	4 (24%)
General Fiction/ Literature	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Horror	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Humor	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	5 (29%)	5 (29%)
Non-Fiction	1 (6%)	1 (6%)
Science Fiction	3 (18%)	3 (18%)
Steampunk	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living	2 (12%)	2 (12%)
Urban Fantasy	2 (12%)	2 (12%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Persons of Interest (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson: DC Smith’s Tie to a Murder Victim Leads to a different Twisty Case
Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich: Stephanie’s Discontented but Provides Readers with the Best Book in Years
Free Fire (Audiobook) by C. J. Box, David Chandler: Pickett’s on the Case in a Prosecution-Free Zone
The Curious Dispatch of Daniel Costello by Chris McDonald: A Cozy Mystery for People who Don’t Read Cozies
Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten: A Desperate DC Races to Save Her Friend’s Life
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XIV., v. – viii.
We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen: A Super-Powered Thief and Vigilante Together Could Be Extraordinary
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XIV., ix. – BOOK XV., ii.
Gentle and Lowly by Dane C. Ortlund: An Encouraging Look at the Heart of Christ
The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick: I Struggle to Adequately Describe this Stunning Fantasy Novel
The Salvage Crew (Audiobook) by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, Nathan Fillion: A Unusual Tale of Artificial Intelligence, Cascading Failure, and Poetry
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XV., iii. – vi.
Wake of the Bloody Angel (Audiobook) by Alex Bledsoe, Stefan Rudnicki: A Search for A Needle in a Very Wet Haystack

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

The Irresponsible Reader in 2020: Thoughts, Thanks and Stats
My Favorite Theology/Christian Living Books, Non-Fiction Books, Audiobooks, Non-Crime Fiction, and Crime/Mystery/Detective/Thriller Fiction of 2020
The New Year Book Tag
2021 Reading Challenges
Down the TBR Hole (18 of 24+)
Down the TBR Hole (19 of 24+)
WWW Wednesday for January 6, January 13, January 20, and January 27, 2021.
The Friday 56 for 1/1/21 (Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten), 1/15/21 (Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire), and 1/29/21 (Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby).

How was your month?

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay, with some minor edits by me.

The Irresponsible Reader in 2020: Thoughts, Thanks and Stats

By HCNewton

On January 1, 2021

In Calendar Items, News/Misc., Nick Kolakowski

Programming Note: Over the next few days, I’ll be looking back over 2020—but I’ll trying 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—a few years ago, pre-blog, the last thing I read (finished on 12/31, as I recall) just blew me away and was easily the best thing I read that year. Ever since then, I just can’t start to think about it until January 1.

As we kick off 2021, as is my custom, I wanted to take a glance back at 2020. 263 books finished (plus comics, picture books, short stories, and the like that I don’t know how to count)—and that’s with pretty much taking one month off! I exceeded my goal (nothing like exceeding an arbitrary number to boost the ol’ ego), too; around 80,000 pages; with an average rating of 3.77 Stars. I only DNF’d one book, which is nice (and man, it was bad).

On the blog front, I put up 480 posts—128 more than last year!! (and again, that’s with some time off). I had some strong gains in traffic—views and visitors—actually, strong gains doesn’t quite cut it. Consider my mind boggled. I’m also seeing good growth in followers here and on various social media fronts, which is encouraging as all get out—not just growth in numbers, but the level of and amount of interaction is up to the point that my socially awkward self doesn’t really understand it.

I didn’t finish two of my projects for the year—my trip through The History of Tom Jones and my survey of the first twelve Spenser novels. I’m getting back to both of those in the coming days (and I might lengthen the Classic Spenser series by three or four, we’ll see).

In addition to the changes in lifestyle brought on by the global pandemic (perhaps you heard of it), I moved my blog to a self-hosting platform. That created more headaches than I want to think of (comments went down at least 3 times, for example). But I think it’ll be worth it in the long-run. And not just because I can save some money. And then, my family had to move, which was a lot more disruptive than I expected. I know I’ve talked too much about it already, just a little more…in the first decade or so that my wife and I were married, we lived in 6 different places, moving was just a thing that happened. In the next 13 years, we lived in one place and planned on at least two more years there. That’s a lot of inertia to overcome—but we’re almost settled, most of my books have a place to be, and I’ll soon shut up about it all.

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 is more difficult lately 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 novel—and “humor” is pretty useless, 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 year—tastes (and series I follow) apparently stay the same.

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

I keep saying I want to re-read more, I’m doing okay on that front, but want that to get higher.

I knew I was listening to more audiobooks this year (just the nature of my work enables me to do a lot of these, plus gym time—before March, anyway), but that it’s the majority of what I “read” in 2020 is pretty surprising. A lot of the “Borrowed” and re-read slices above are tied to that.

Enough about me. I 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 2019:

Thanks to everyone for your comments/feedback—texts, emails, comments here/BookLikes/Goodreads, tweets, FB comments, even the occasional Face-to-Face conversation. Keep it up! I really appreciate the time you took to leave feedback. Hopefully, you can tell that you’ve shaped the conversation here—it has, I assure you. Many of you are pushing me to be better writers—some of you push me to read better books. I’m going to give a particular thanks to Bookstooge, Allyson Johnson, W&S Bookclub, Lashaan, Emma, and Noelle for their encouragement, retweets, and interaction.
Flattered thanks to (in no particular order): Lou des Anges, Don Jimmy Reviews, Žygimantas Krungolcas, penelopeburns, TL Wright, Mugilan Raju, aloysius5, writingeatingwalking, Dora , Hâf, Susan, Shell-Shell’s, travelingcloak, clareblanchardbooks, Store Of Unicorns, jamesdeeclayton, fluffyluggage, waytoofantasy, Betty, Matt Kaster, jellyfishentity, Wednesday Reads, Eamon, Graphic Design Eye, ARJung, Familiar Diversions, Sorry kids, no feet. , WhiskeyintheJar Romance, 99 problems, and a book ain’t one, Just Olga and her books, Burfobookalicious, Linda Hilton, Darth Pedant, brokeassmother, Angels With Attitude Book Reviews, Elentarri’s Book Blog, Lora’s Rants and Reviews , Mike Finn, Written Among The Stars, surjit2009 , Rachel Bridgeman, One Book More, imyril, KetoJENic Vibe, Shreya Roychoudhury, tiffosaur, *Flora*, posssumpapaya, Shayleene MacReynolds, beyondthecryptsandcastles, Uniquely Portable Magic, Daniel MacKillican, J.R.Spiker, Caffeinated Reviewer, Odah Ebubechukwu Nelson, ontheshelfbookblog, Rajesh khanna, sandomina, LDW, just_tommye, Mayank Sharma, youngcreativepress, Oaks CastleCollections, the reading chemist, Quinn Patrick Fernandez, Neriman K., Not Quite Home, Caroline Paquin, SarahSansom, Chiddicks Family Tree, ginnymalbec, Narun Garg, jyvurentropy, Om Prakash Khare, Sakari Lacross, The Apocalypse Daddy, Stine Writing, Murder by Death, EmilyJane1995, Tea With Stevie (which I first misread as “Tea with Stevia” and thought “ew”), Christine, Katie @ Melting Pages, pen2m3, Matt Sweeney, indiefan20, Susan, Bookworm Blogger, wonderouspages, Freda Mans, ellisnelson, Lola, Mary Grace Dañas, DL Orton, johnnyholidayesq, Being Zab, Chris Green Reads!, Frankie | Chicks Rogues and Scandals, Turtle Quotes, Jacob Collins, San, Anketsu, benjamingohs, Umairah @ Sereadipity, writingfest, Elaine Howlin, Cathy746books, Kiara McCabe, educater34 MSc, NickMay, NewDogNewTricks, Ed A. Murray, Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks, Crystena’s Books, Afrin, leighhecking, Morgan, NewDogNewTricks, francescocat, penelopeburns, tensecondsfromnow, beyondthecryptsandcastles, Tannie LowA.C. Stark, Mike Finn , ilaria.muzzi, bookshelflife, angelicreader,consideringthebibletogether, Faith’sPen, Books Are 42 (possibly the greatest blog name ever), The Godly Chic Diaries, ankushmaster, samfsm, Elias Graves, T.Tazaki, samfsm, S.D. McKinley, crimsoncodexebooks, Char, I.F, BookerTalk, Spellbound Librarian, Mina @Stacked, ravensprouts, Ollie, Anna, P.L. Stuart, Masha, Shoppen met Marceline, Dellybird, Anjana, Dr. Ndubuisi E. Ojo, and last but not least, Miss Katherine White for being new followers (at least for a post or two) of the blog (in one of its forms) this year—the size of this list shocks me, and I hope you all got at least something out of it. (I sincerely hope I didn’t miss anyone)
Hearty thanks to all the authors, editors, illustrators, translators, and other people behind the production of the books I spent time with this year—this blog would be nothing without your efforts, your blood, sweat, tears, fears, work, love, dreams, hopes, art and words. Your books were my companions throughout this year, and I can’t thank you enough for them (and I hope I get to spend time with many of you again soon!). (I typically link to them all, but honestly, who reads it, and it was taking too long to put together the links for all 271 names involved).
More thanks to all those who requested that I read and talk about your (or your clients’) books. I know how much the work, effort, heart, and everything else that went into your books. It’s super humbling, I know you all didn’t like what I said, but, I am grateful for the opportunity.
I didn’t do as many Q&As this year as I intended to, but many thanks to those who took time out of their busy schedules to answer my questions: Shellie Bowdoin, Matthew Hanover (again), Noelle Holten, Michael Landweber (again), Reyna Griffin and Jeff Quest of the Like the Wolfe Podcast, Paul Levine (I still can’t believe I was given this opportunity, I’ve been reading him so long), Ronald Hera,
Nick Kolakowski (the fifth time he’s done this!!, Gray Basnight,
and D. B. Borton! I thoroughly enjoyed picking all of your brains and hope I can again.
Owen and Machen, my sons, provided a lot of the technical support I needed this year. Owen’s my best editor (sadly, it’s all after I post something…), too, and he’s saved me from looking stupid on more than one occasion.
Micah Burke…the only reason this thing isn’t smoldering ruins since I tried to migrate to my own host is because of your efforts. I can’t thank you enough. The instant I make a dime on this thing, you’ll get the first nickel!
A special thanks to my wife. Without your support, indulgence, and patience this thing wouldn’t exist—and I’d read a lot less (the horror!). Thank you. I love you.
And thank you all for reading. Honestly, each time I get a notification of a like, or a share, or a follow, etc. it makes my day. To know that someone took a couple of seconds or more out of their day to glance at this? It means the world to me. Thanks.

Have a great 2021, hope you find plenty of good things to read!