Calendar Items - The Irresponsible Reader

December 2022 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

On January 2, 2023

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

Well, this was a pretty good way to wrap up 2022—I feel pretty productive. I completed 33 titles (that includes a short story, a quick collection of flash fiction, 2 books that I’ve been working on for months, and 3 children’s books—which helped that number) and 8,694+ pages (or the equivalent). My average rating for the month was 3.6 stars, which I won’t complain about. This is likely my best month ever for non-review(ish) posts, if not ever, at least for this year. A lot of books finished, a good rating average, and a lot of things written. Color me pleased as punch.

Here’s what happened here in December.

Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to













	</a

Ratings

		Average =	3.6
	2		1
	0		1
	12		0
	8		0
	9

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2021	9	45	42	144
1st of the Month	7	50	42	148
Added	2	0	8	0
Read/ Listened	3	2	8	5
Current Total	5	43	37	143

(yes, the math doesn’t work—like it didn’t last month—but I did a year-end audit, and had to tweak a couple of things (not sure how they got messed up in the first place. Time to fire some of my staff again. The totals are right now.)

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 25
Self-/Independent Published: 8

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	1 (3%)	5 (2%)
Fantasy	6 (18%)	32 (10%)
General Fiction/ Literature	5 (15%)	24 (8%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	9 (27%)	114 (37%)
Non-Fiction	4 (12%)	29 (9%)
Science Fiction	1 (3%)	28 (9%)
Theology/ Christian Living	5 (15%)	45 (15%)
Urban Fantasy	2 (6%)	34 (11%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	2 (1%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Little Ghost by Chris McDonald: Women and Money—The Deadliest Combo
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 11: Knock Knock by R. T. Slaywood: Something Interesting’s on the Other Side of the Door
Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church by Michael J. Kruger: A Needed Call to Arms
Dead Lions by Mick Herron: An Overdue Read for Me, the Best of Both Worlds for Spy Fiction Fans
Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze by Sheryl Bass, Remesh Ram (Illustrator): A Sick Dragon in Need
No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child Is Good Enough
The World Record Book of Racist Stories (Audiobook) by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar: Records No One Should Want to Hold (but too many vie for)
Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham: The Actress-Essayist Does It Again
The Legend of the Christmas Witch by Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza, Julia Iredale (Illustrator): The Story of Santa’s Misunderstood Sister
Aether Powered by James T. Lambert: 21st Century Steampunk
Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke: Family, Puns, a Dash of Romance, and Murder
Low Anthropology by David Zahl: How Realism Should Lead to Compassion and Charity
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal: Classic Mystery and Classic SF in One Contemporary Package
The Return of the Christmas Witchby Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza, Julia Iredale (Illustrator): The Witch Returns to Battle a Dystopian Holiday
Sacrifices by Jamie Schultz: To Destroy, or to Be Destroyed
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi: Packs a Powerful Punch
12 Things God Can’t Do by Nick Tucker: 12 Reassuring Truths
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett: Journaling Her Investigation into the Hidden Ones of the North
Radio Radio by Ian Shane: A Tom Petty Song in Novel Form
Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson with Veronica Chambers: A Life in Food
Catch-Up Quick Takes: Some Lighter Reads/Listens
Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe: A Knock Out of a Debut
Scattered Showers: Stories by Rainbow Rowell: Some People Want to Fill the World with Silly Love Stories
Catch-Up Quick Takes: A Handful of Audiobooks

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

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

Festivus 2022: For the Rest of Us

By HCNewton

On December 23, 2022

In Calendar Items, News/Misc.

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!

Here 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.

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. I’ve got to keep up the pressure.

AI’s takeover of publishing, from covers, to audiobook narrations, to writing and illustrating! It’s just too much. This is about human creativity, not close approximations of it. Also, you’d think that people who publish/sell/read dystopian fiction and SF would know better than to give the reins of anything to an AI.

The Goodreads “update” or “upgrade” or “redesign” or whatever they’re calling it. It’s uglier, it’s flakier, it’s less functional, and just plain worse. I don’t disagree that the site needed a makeover and improvements, but what we got wasn’t what we needed.

I have a grievance with the book publishing/selling/marketing industry. It’s 2022, 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.

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. What’s the point?

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).

Similarly, what’s up with publishers changing the look of series covers—and or the height of the books—in a series? 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).

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…)

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.

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.

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!

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…

This is going to be a doozy. Possibly my greatest Festivus Feat of Strength to date.

For my Feat of Strength, I’m going to watch the Netflix movie, Spenser Confidential. Theoretically based on Robert B. Parker’s Wonderland by Ace Atkins, directed by Peter Berg, with a screenplay by Sean O’Keefe and Brian Helgeland, and starring Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, and Iliza Shlesinger. That’s not a big deal, really, I endured it before.

However…this time I’m going to do it without complaining to anyone—friend, stranger, wife, child, or dog—while doing so. I will not write about the experience, post anything on the Internet or social media (beyond this post), or do anything of a similar nature. I will keep all of my comments, complaints, criticisms, or comparisons to the novels or previous TV/film adaptations to myself. Furthermore, I shall endeavor to enjoy the experience. I honestly don’t know if I can pull this off, but I will attempt it.

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…

November 2022 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

By HCNewton

On December 2, 2022

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

In November, I managed to wrap up 22 books with a total of 6,940 pages (or the equivalent). With one exception, I really liked them, giving them an average 3.8 stars (including 4 books that are strong contenders for my year-end lists). All in all, it was a great month for what I read—even if the numbers were on the low end for me. I’ll take that trade off.

On the production side, I’m less happy. But regular readers can count on me saying that regularly, so I won’t dwell on it. But I got to do a Q&A with Marshall Karp this month—so honestly, I’m more than fine with that side of things.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in November:
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Still Reading

Ratings

		Average =	3.8
	1		1
	3		0
	11		0
	3		0
	3

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2021	9	45	42	144
1st of the Month	7	46	45	147
Added	3	2	6	1
Read/ Listened	3	1	9	0
Current Total	7	50	42	148

The math on that e-book column doesn’t work right, even I can tell that, but I’m not going to find the time to figure out where I went wrong.

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

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	4 (1%)
Fantasy	9 (9%)	26 (10%)
General Fiction/ Literature	3 (14%)	19 (8%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	7 (32%)	105 (42%)
Non-Fiction	1 (5%)	25 (10%)
Science Fiction	4 (18%)	27 (11%)
Theology/ Christian Living	2 (9%)	40 (16%)
Urban Fantasy	3 (14%)	42 (13%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	2 (1%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel by James Howe, Andrew Donkin, Stephen Gilpin: The Children’s Classic Brought to Life in a New Format
I Struggle to Express my Sense of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 7: Lost Lamb by R. T. Slaywood: Lost, but Maybe on the Way to Being Found
Gardens by Benedict Jacka: A Quick, Action Packed, Visit to the World of Verus
Kestral’s Dance by Misty Massey: Fencing, Fighting, Torture, Revenge, Giant Monsters, Chases, Escapes…
The Life and Work of Jesus by Ra McLaughlin and Christopher Caudle: A Broad and Capable Introduction to Christology
For We Are Many (Audiobook) by Dennis E. Taylor, Ray Porter (Narrator): Who Knew that Finding a Replacement for Earth Was the Easy Part
The Truth (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson DC Shakes the Dust Off and Steps Up for a Friend
Terry’s Crew by Terry Crews and Cory Thomas: Brings a Much-Needed Dose of Encouragement and Enthusiasm to the Page
Less by Andrew by Sean Greer: Is a Thing I Read
Treasure State (Audiobook) by C.J. Box, Christina Delaine: Return to Big Sky Country with Box’s PI
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 8: Cat out of the bag by R. T. Slaywood: The End of the Test
Christ of the Consummation, Vol. 1 by O. Palmer Robertson: The Beginning of A Wonderful Trilogy
NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority by Marshall Karp: Is This Elite Squad Ready for Their Latest Challenge?
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 9: The Hand that Feeds by R. T. Slaywood: Things Get Weird…er, Weirder
Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms: A Reader’s Edition edited by Chad Van Dixhoorn
The Veiled Edge of Contact by James Brayken: Apotheosis Through Union
Snowstorm in August by Marshall Karp: Retired Cops Face Off Against a Cartel to Save NYC
A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones: A Good Way to End the Trilogy (even if I don’t want it to end)
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 10: The Bathroom by R. T. Slaywood: Washing Off the Dust from the Past
Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan: A Rollicking Adventure I Should Have Read Years Ago
The Excellencies of God: Exploring and Enjoying His Attributes by Terry Johnson: Not Quite as Good as Its Predecessor but Worth Your Time
Catch-Up Quick Takes: Two Educational Satires and One Memoir
I Have Far Too Many Things to Say about Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne (But I Try)

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

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

Thanksgiving 2022

By HCNewton

On November 24, 2022

In Calendar Items, News/Misc.

Happy Thanksgiving/Turkey Day/Thursday

(depending on your practice/preference/location)

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

The readers of this blog. If I knew your names, I’d thank you all personally.
The authors who’ve corresponded with me, encouraged me—even promoted this here project.
Those authors, publishers, and/or publicists provided books for me to read.
Books (print, electronic, or audio)—the stories, characters, and/or things I learn are what keep me sane, entertain, and inspire me.
Authors! If not for them, I wouldn’t have the above.
Talented narrators and illustrators—ditto
Coffee (and other beverages both caffeinated and adult)
Time to read
The Nampa Public Library, The Caldwell Public Library, (and The LYNX! Consortium)
Rediscovered Bookshop, Rediscovered Bookshop – Caldwell, and Libro.fm
My supportive, understanding, and encouraging wife and kids. They all do a pretty decent job pretending to care when this old man drones on and on about what he’s reading or what’s going on with the blog. They’ve also continued to step up on the brainstorming front lately.
Again, all of you who read this page, follow, like, tweet, comment, email, etc.—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. As for the rest of you, I hope you enjoy today and that you enjoy having the same pant size tomorrow as you do today.

October 2022 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

By HCNewton

On November 1, 2022

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

I finished 25 titles last month, for 7,641+ pages (or the equivalent)—the number of titles is down a few from September, but the page count went up. So, I can’t complain about that too much. I gave those titles an average of 3.68, which is another good sign. I have been struggling with my energy levels some, so I haven’t produced as much as I’d intended (I think it’s some tweaking going on with medication that’s messing with me, but I’m not sure). I did like what I did manage to eke out—and the stuff that’s in-progress is making me very happy. Hopefully, you get to see that in the next couple of weeks.

But enough of the summarizing, here’s what happened here in October.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to
















Still deciding

Still Reading

Ratings

		Average =	3.68
	4		0
	1		1
	6		0
	5		0
	8

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2021	9	45	42	144
1st of the Month	9	50	40	144
Added	2	4	8	3
Read/ Listened	4	8	3	0
Current Total	7	46	45	147

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 21
Self-/Independent Published: 4

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	4 (2%)
Fantasy	3 (12%)	24 (10%)
General Fiction/ Literature	1 (4%)	16 (6%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	9 (36%)	98 (39%)
Non-Fiction	3 (12%)	24 (10%)
Science Fiction	2 (8%)	23 (9%)
Theology/ Christian Living	2 (8%)	38 (15%)
Urban Fantasy	3 (12%)	29 (12%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	1 (4%)	2 (1%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Santa’s Little Yelpers by David Rosenfelt: A Little Yuletide Cheer and Two Dangerous Cases Andy Didn’t Ask Santa For
Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty: One Giant Leap for Homicide
A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan: A Nice Kick-Off to a Promising Series
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 3: The Bad Stuff by R. T. Slaywood: We Get a Little Backstory
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob: Explaining Race in the U.S. to a Child
The Great Lie by Pierce Taylor Hibbs: He Is Here, and He Is Not Silent
The Iron Gate by Harry Connolly: The Twenty Palaces—Back and Better than Ever
Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston: Can Amari Rise to These New Challenges?
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 4: The Five by R. T. Slaywood: In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time
6 Ripley Avenue by Noelle Holten: One House. Eight Killers. No Witnesses.
Athanasius of Alexandria: His Life and Impact by Peter Barnes: Tumultuous History and a Stalwart Bishop
The Ophelia Network (Audiobook) by Mur Lafferty, Khristine Hvam: A Cute (?) Dystopian Thriller
The Stories Behind the Stories by Danielle Higley, David Miles (Illustrator): Behind the Scenes of Some Childhood Favorites
Racing the Light by Robert Crais: Spooks Spooking. Detectives Detecting. Killers Killing.
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 5: Hair of the Dog by R. T. Slaywood: Waking Up…
Flight Risk by Cherie Priest: Two Missing Persons Bring the Team Back Together for this Winning Sequel
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman: Chickens (Start to?) Come Home to Roost
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 6: Rat in a Maze by R. T. Slaywood: I Feel Like I’m Lost in a Maze with This, but I Like It
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye: Reader, She Murdered Him. Er, Them.

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

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

Third Quarter Check-In: 2022 Plans and Challenges

By HCNewton

On October 17, 2022

In Books, Calendar Items, Miscellany, News/Misc.

One of the handful of things I dropped the ball on recently was this check-in. I appreciate—and can use—the time to plan and organize, and hopefully, someone enjoys reading them.

I didn’t have many concrete plans for 2022, but one that I mentioned was “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).” How am I doing on that?

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2021	9	45	42	144
Current Total	9	50	40	144

That’s…not good. I did have to burn a few Audible credits…and then there was this sale, and…and…ugh. Other than that, I’m still doing pretty well at reading what I buy this year. But, this is really not what I’d hoped to see at this point of the year.

Let’s see how I’m doing with the rest of my plans and move on to the Reading Challenges…
2022 Book Challenges

12 Books
I’m doing well with this one, but am a little intimidated by the book I have slated for November—it’s a little on the longer side and if it’s as good as Micah says, I’m going to lose a lot of 2023 to the rest of the series. (a good problem to have)

2022 “Support Book Bloggers” Challenge

I decided to nix this one—I’m working on all the things mentioned here, but feel a little uncomfortable doing these things because of a checklist—and even more awkward about discussing it. But I’m mentioning it again, because I like the idea and want to spread the word about the efforts (it’s just not for me)

2022 While I was Reading

I’m doing okay on this—as usual, I’m not really planning the books for this challenge. When October hits, if I haven’t read everything on the list, I’ll get serious about hunting.

A book with a question in the title.: I have an idea for this, but I’m not sure a local library will get it next month when it comes out, and I don’t know that I want to spend money on it. Hmmm…we’ll if I have to get clever.
A book of non-violent true crime.: Blessed Are the Bank Robbers: The True Adventures of an Evangelical Outlaw by Chas Smith
A book with a cover you don’t like.: Composite Creatures (the style of the art just bugs me)
A historical fiction novel not set in Europe.: A Snake in the Raspberry Patch by Joanne Jackson
A book with a character’s name in the title.: With Grimm Resolve
A book featuring paranormal activity (fiction or non.): That’s like a third of what I’ve read this year…I guess I’ll go with Amongst Our Weapons
A book with a number in the title.: Citizen K-9
A food related memoir.: I have no idea. Literally.
A book that’s won an award.: I’ve read a few of these, I just need to track down a title for this blank
A middle grade novel.: How to Save a Superhero by Ruth Freeman
A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign.: This one is going to be hard—it also comes close to disclosing more personal information than I want to share—but I think I’ve got one in mind.
A book that’s a combination of genres.: Bloodlines by Peter Hartog (I also used this for the next challenge, so I’ll probably replace this on the final list)

Your TBR Reduction Book Challenge

I’m hitting the target on this one—I’ve only managed to hit 1 Stretch Goal (I don’t have many books that apply to the stretches, actually). This isn’t helping that much with my reduce the TBR plan, but it’s not hurting it. So there’s that.

In the months to come, I’m going to have to get creative to find a way to match the challenge with a book. I’m eager to see if I can pull it off.
January – New Beginnings I give you permission to read the most recent book you got on top of your TBR.: Bloodlines by Peter Hartog
Stretch Goal – Read the oldest book in Mount TBR it has waited long enough: Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
February – Valentine’s Day Gift
Is there that book by an author you love you picked up and still haven’t read because you do not deserve it just yet? Other items got in the way? You have for this challenge to pick that book up and read it: Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
March – Fresh blooms
For the beginning of Spring I want you to open a book in the TBR pile by an author you’ve never read before: The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson
April – New Openings
April is derived from the Latin for ‘to open’ In Mount TBR there may be the first book of a series. Your challenge is to read: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
May – Randommmmm
You MAY pick one random book out of Mount TBR and you must read it: Conjured Defense by J.C. Jackson
June – The Longest Day
Find the longest book in Mount TBR and you must read it: The Border by Don Winslow
July – You Came, You Read and You Conquered
In your TBR there may have been a book you know will be a challenging read. Show it who is the Emperor and read that book until it screams for your mercy and then finish it! AMORALMAN by Derek Delgaudio
August – Holidayyyyy
Pick a book that takes you away to another place. Read it and relax: The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove
September – Back to School
Pick a book with some link to education. Dark Academia; dangerous school, etc.: The Days of Tao by Wesley Chu (I had a hard time finding something for this prompt, and was so happy when I remembered this started at a summer class)

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

September 2022 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

By HCNewton

On October 3, 2022

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

Wow, September sped by for me–I felt like I was behind all month, 3 titles felt like they took twice as long as they should have to finish (but never dragged) and I just didn’t produce nearly as much as I thought I would. (although, when do I ever?) Still, all in all, it was a good month–29 titles finished for 7,536+ pages (or the equivalent). My average rating for the month was 3.4 stars–although I’m still thinking about a couple of them, so it might technically be higher (I think I need to write something before I know for sure). 3.4 is a little lower than I’ve been hitting lately, but I’m not complaining–even with a couple of “meh” books, I enjoyed them all.

The Big Project I’d hoped to start two weeks ago, is under way, so expect something new and exciting (at least for me, but I hope for you) soon.

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




Unsure



		Still Deciding

Still Reading

Ratings

		Average =	3.4
	0		1
	0		2
	9		0
	10		0
	5

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2021	9	45	42	144
1st of the Month	8	49	145	145
Added	7	2	4	0
Read/ Listened	6	1	6	1
Current Total	9	50	40	144

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 20
Self-/Independent Published: 9

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	4 (2%)
Fantasy	1 (3%)	21 (9%)
General Fiction/ Literature	2 (7%)	15 (7%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	12 (41%)	89 (39%)
Non-Fiction	4 (14%)	20 (9%)
Science Fiction	5 (17%)	21 (9%)
Theology/ Christian Living	2 (7%)	36 (16%)
Urban Fantasy	3 (10%)	26 (11%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	1 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

We’ll Need a Bigger Mirror by Shmulik Shir, Julia Po: A Batch of Unusual Birthday Gifts
Out of Spite, Out of Mind (Audiobook) by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels: An Assortment of Britts
Confronting Jesus by Rebecca McLaughlin: Introducing Jesus Without Any Baggage
The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon by K.R.R. Lockhaven: Adventure and Second Chances on the High Seas
The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil by Seth MacFarlane: A Quick Dose of Preachiness in a Tie-In Wrapper
Travel by Bullet (Audiobook) by John Scalzi, Zachary Quinto: The Dispatcher is Back Again
Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma by Preeti Chhibber: A Fun Time with Everyone’s Favorite Webhead
Blood Sugar (Audiobook) by Sascha Rothchild, Allyson Ryan: She Didn’t Kill Her Husband, But…
Crossway Short Classics: Scougal
Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs: Mercy May Find Herself Up Against a Horror Movie Character
Fatal Forgery by Susan Grossey: A New Type of Crime Calls for a New Type of Investigator
An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris: An Intriguing UF/Western/Alt-History Mix
Robert B. Parker’s Fallout by Mike Lupica: Two Murders Rock Paradise
The Story Retold by G. K. Beale and Benjamin L. Gladd: Everything You Want in a NT Introduction and More
Pub Day Post: Wealth Management by Edward Zuckerman: Not Your Garden-Variety Thriller
The Days of Tao by Wesley Chu: A Fast and Fun Post-Script to the Trilogy
Dead Man’s Hand by James J. Butcher: Welcome to the World of The Unorthodox
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 1: The Register by R. T. Slaywood: A Sufficiently Intriguing Introduction
Catch-Up Quick Takes: A Few Remaining August Titles (Her Last Breath, The Alchemist and an Amaretto, The Heron)
The Soul’s Conflict and Victory Over Itself by Faith by Richard Sibbes: Sibbes Gets a Lot out of Psalm 42:11
Movies (And Other Things) (Audiobook) by Shea Serrano, Mario Toscano: The Answers to Pressing Movie Questions
Hell and Back by Craig Johnson: They Say All Haunting is Regret
Directed by James Burrows (Audiobook) by James Burrows et al: Behind the Scenes of the Best Sit Coms
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 2: The Register by R. T. Slaywood: Bad Stuff on the Horizon
Roxanne (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson: The Murder Squad Wades Through a Pool of Lies

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

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

When Archie Met Lily

By HCNewton

On September 12, 2022

In Books, Calendar Items, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin, News/Misc., Rex Stout

84 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.

Besides, it’s not like I have a long list of dates associated with fictional events (but really should work on one).

How they met 84 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.

August 2022 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

By HCNewton

On September 1, 2022

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

Okay, in August I finished 30 books, for 8,494+ pages or the equivalent (Audible Originals really mess me up with the page estimates). No stinkers this month—3.8 average stars. I successfully wrapped up the 20 Books of Summer Challenge, got a few Q&As in, and…well, that’s about it, actually.

I’ve got a great-looking stack of books for September, and a few Q&As lined up. I’ve also got a fun project that should be kicking off this month that will last for a good chunk of the rest of the year. I’ll talk more about it before it launches, but I’m going to keep my powder dry for now.

Enough about that—here’s what happened here in August.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

















	</a

Still Reading

Ratings

		Average =	3.8
	6		0
	1		0
	10		0
	3		0
	10

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2021	9	45	42	144
1st of the Month	9	50	41	143
Added	7	2	7	3
Read/ Listened	8	3	3	1
Current Total	8	49	45	145

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 18
Self-/Independent Published: 12

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	1 (3%)	4 (2%)
Fantasy	4 (14%)	20 (10%)
General Fiction/ Literature	0 (0%)	13 (7%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	11 (38%)	77 (39%)
Non-Fiction	0 (0%)	16 (8%)
Science Fiction	3 (10%)	16 (8%)
Theology/ Christian Living	3 (10%)	34 (17%)
Urban Fantasy	7 (24%)	23 (12%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	1 (1%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn: Bernie Goes Back to High School
Dead Against Her by Melinda Leigh: Bree’s Personal and Professional Lives are in Jeopardy
Breaking Point (Audiobook) by C.J. Box, David Chandler: Joe Finds Himself Between Some Rocks and a Hot Place
The Attributes and Work of God by Richard L. Pratt, Jr.: A Broad and Capable Introduction to Theology Proper
Hell of a Mess by Nick Kolakowski: A Whole Bunch of Plans that Don’t Come Together
Composite Creatures by Caroline Hardaker: This’ll Live Rent-Free in Your Mind for A While
Persecution by RC Bridgestock: Charley Mann Hunts Her Most Elusive Killer Yet
Divine and Conquer by J.C. Jackson: You Can’t Go Home Again
1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm by Valerie Johnson, Cee Biscoe (Illustrator): A Cute Read-Along with Some Great Bonuses
One Decisive Victory by Jeffery H. Haskell: The Trilogy’s Conclusion is Almost Nothing but Action
Roses for the Dead by Chris McDonald: McDonald Ends This Trilogy with a Bang
Crossway Short Classics: Warfield, Ryle, and Edwards
Final Heir by Faith Hunter: It All Comes Down to This
Firefly: The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove: All They Ever Wanted
Crossway Short Classics: Schaeffer, Spurgeon, Chalmers
Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley: The Re-Birth of a Detective
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu: Will Simply Blow You Away

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

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

July 2022 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

By HCNewton

On August 1, 2022

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

This was a busy month, both behind the scenes and visible. I finished 33 titles–which included a lot of smaller reads–booklets, novellas, and whatnot–both in terms of what I read and bought, so that makes some of the numbers bigger than usual. Those 33 titles were made up of 8,409 pages (or the equivalent) and not only were there a lot of them, I enjoyed them, too–3.7 average stars (including 6 5-Stars, believe it or not, I barely do).

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

Still Reading

Ratings

		Average =	3.69
	6		0
	1		1
	7		0
	7		0
	11

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2021	9	45	42	144
1st of the Month	5	52	43	141
Added	6	4	13	3
Read/ Listened	3	6	15	1
Current Total	9	50	41	143

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 23
Self-/Independent Published: 10

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	2 (1%)
Fantasy	0 (0%)	16 (10%)
General Fiction/ Literature	2 (6%)	13 (8%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	13 (39%)	66 (39%)
Non-Fiction	4 (12%)	16 (10%)
Science Fiction	1 (3%)	13 (8%)
Theology/ Christian Living	10 (30%)	31 (18%)
Urban Fantasy	3 (9%)	16 (10%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	1 (1%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Catch-Up Quick Takes: A Few May/June Books
Growing Downward by Nick Thompson: Spiritual Growth is Not an Ascent; It is a Descent
The Border by Don Winslow: Confronting the Ghost and the Monster
The Law (Audiobook) by Jim Butcher: Harry Gets Back to His Roots in this Novella
A World Without “Whom” by Emmy J. Favilla: Schoolhouse Rock Never Taught Me This
Short Tails by Spencer Quinn: Too Short, but a Lot of Fun
The Botanist by M. W. Craven: Nothing is Without Poison
Songbird (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson: Passing the Baton
AMORALMAN by Derek DelGaudio: Engaging and Compelling, but Maybe Left Me with Too Many Questions
Condemned by RC Bridgestock: This DI has Two Cases that Couldn’t Be More Different
You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World by Alan Noble: Correcting Our Understanding of Humanity
The Self-Made Widow by Fabian Nicieza: The Housewife Detective and the Disgraced Journalist Face Off with a Devious Mind
With Grimm Resolve by Jeffrey H. Haskell: Buckle Up, Grimm and the Interceptor are Back!
The Prince of Infinite Space by Giano Cromley: Stumbling Toward Adulthood
Whispers in the Dark by Chris McDonald: Is DI Piper a Match for this Cunning Killer?
Guidebook for Instruction in the Christian Religion by Herman Bavinck; Gregory Parker Jr., Cameron Clausing (Translators): Dogmatics for Everyone
Mortgaged Mortality by J.C. Jackson: New Territory (in multiple senses) for our Heroes
Ghost of a Chance by Dan Willis: The Odds are Stacked Against this Runewright
The Deepest Grave by Harry Bingham: Shotguns and vellum. Churches and saints.
On Eden Street (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson: Grainger is at the Top of His Game for this one
Quick Take Catch-Ups: Some July 2022 Audiobooks
Cyprian of Carthage: His Life and Impact by Brian J. Arnold: An Unfocused Introduction to the Father

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

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

Category: Calendar Items Page 9 of 25

Let’s begin our observance!

And now, let the Airing of Grievances begin.

And now, the Feats of Strength…