Category: Currently Reading Page 3 of 62

I finished 28 titles (8 up from last month, 3 up from last August), with an equivalent of 9,408 pages or the equivalent (3,017 up from last month), and gave them an average of 3.86 stars (.18 up/down from last month).

I really thought that I was going to be making some decent progress on Mt. TBR this summer, and I was on a decent path, but I stumbled a little bit–not that Epic Sale of Beloved SFF Books and the Narratess Indie Sale didn’t help (a week will and a voracious appetite didn’t either).

My posting wasn’t quite what I wanted, but when is it? I’m giving my self a pass on that. My focus (for good or ill) was on reading this month, blogging was less of a priority. I’d like to say that next month will be different, but I’m not going to hold myself to that.

Any who, here’s what happened here in August.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Still Reading

Ratings

	3		0
	4		0
	8		0
	8		0
	5
		Average =	3.86

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 19
Self-/Independent Published: 9

Review-ish Things Posted

• Some Further Thoughts about The White Door by Pierce Taylor Hibbs
• A Farewell to Arfs by Spencer Quinn: The World Breaks Every One, Except Maybe Chet
• The Last Shield by Cameron Johnston: You Will Sit Up and Say, “Yippee-ki-yay”
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: A Cultural History by Matt Foy and Christopher J. Olson: They Riffed, so the Internet Could Snark
• Steam Opera by James T. Lambert: Choosing It Not Because It Was Easy…
• The Legendary Mo Seto by A. Y. Chan: And Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce
• The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong: The Real Magic Here Isn’t Supernatural
• The Glass Frog by J. Brandon Lowry: A Fairy-Tale-esque Fantasy for All Ages
• A Quick Thought about the Audiobook No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister, read by a full cast
• Cursed Cocktails by S.L. Rowland: Mixing Drinks and Starting Over
• The Lord Jesus Christ: The Biblical Doctrine of the Person and Work of Christ by Brandon D. Crowe: Christology 101
• The Teachings of Shirelle by Douglas Green: A Goofy Dog’s Wisdom

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

• 20 Books of Summer 2024: July Check-In
• MUSIC MONDAY: Ooh La La by Faces
• LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with R.M. Scott
• Books about Books and the People Who Love Them
• Now That’s How you Start a Review…
• MUSIC MONDAY: Have a Good Time by Paul Simon
• MUSIC MONDAY: Getting Old Sucks (But Everybody’s Doing It) by Bowling for Soup
• A Few Quick Questions About RinthCon 2024 with Armanis Ar-feinial, Marilyn Peake, and T. Olsen
• The Quintessential Summer Book Tag
• Hold On To Your Wallets, Folks…
• These Dog Days Aren’t Over
• MUSIC MONDAY: Shooting Stars by Rival Sons
• Highlights from July: Lines Worth Repeating
• 20 Books of Summer 2024: Wrap Up and Other Summer Reading
• WWW Wednesday for August 7, August 14, August 21, and August 28, 2024.

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

I read 20 titles (4 down from last month and last July), with an equivalent of 6,391+ pages or the equivalent (a little less than 951 down from last month), and gave them an average of 3.68 stars (.16  up from last month—pretty much a draw). Not the best month for reading, but not bad.

On the other hand, look at Mt. TBR–good progress there. And the number of posts for the month (thanks to Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week) was significantly higher than usual. The blog was a hoppin’. Sure, most of that wasn’t me actually writing, just me putting stuff together, but…whatever. It looks productive.

Anyway, a little later than I like, here’s what happened in July.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

	</a

Still Reading

Ratings

	2		0
	1		0
	6		0
	4		0
	7l
		Average =	3.68

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 15
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Review-ish Things Posted

• Grandpappy’s Corner: Under the Barnyard Light by Carla Crane Osborne, Brandon Dorman (Illustrator): A Quiet, Wintry Night’s Chores
• Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos: Memory Brushes the Same Years
• Divine Providence by Stephen Charnock, edited by Carolyn Whiting: A Classic Reworked
• The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven: We’re All Stories, In The End.
• Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World like the Early Church by Stephen O. Presley: How Our Fathers and Mothers Walked
• Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs: A Coyote and a Werewolf Have to Save a Wedding
• Howl by e rathke: Postapocalyptic Monsters and Those Who Hunt Them
• The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 54: Dantalion by R. T. Slaywood: Countdown
• The White Door by Pierce Taylor Hibbs: Good vs. Evil and a Tolkien-Quoting Cat
• Detours and Do-Overs by Wesley Parker: Percy Chases His Happily Ever After
• Grammar Sex and Other Stuff: A Collection of (mostly humorous) Essays by Robert Germaux: A Collection That (mostly) Amused Me
• Chasing Empty Caskets by E.N. Crane: Missing Bodies and a Belgian Malinois in a Tutu
• Grave Cold by Shannon Knight: She Sees Dead People
• Return of The Griffin by JCM Berne: With No Time For Hope, Rohan Returns to Earth
• Red Dead’s History by Tore C. Olsson: A Historian Looks at the U.S. Shown in the Game

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

• 20 Books of Summer 2024: June Check-In
• MUSIC MONDAY: America by Simon & Garfunkel
• LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with Carla Crane Osborne
• Book Blogger Hop: Fireworks or Reading?
• Some Questions About Cover Art With…Savanna Mayer and Shannon Knight
• HC Chats with Jodie from Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub about Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week
• MUSIC MONDAY: Deep Stays Down by Larkin Poe
• LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with Jerome Goettsch
• Highlights from May & June: Lines Worth Repeating
• MUSIC MONDAY: Killing Floor by N’ Blue
• PUB DAY SPOTLIGHT: Bottled Secrets of Rosewood by Mary Kendall
• HC Chats with JCM Berne about Jim Butcher
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love This Week
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Anca Antoci
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with JCM Berne
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Tom Bookbeard
• The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published “General” Fiction
• The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Children’s & Picture Books (a look in Grandpappy’s Corner)
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with A.J. Calvin
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Andi Ewington
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Karl Forshaw
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Robert Germaux
• The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Steampunk
• The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Non-Fiction
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Shannon Knight
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with David T List
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Rebecca Carey Lyles
• The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Fantasy
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with H.C. Newell
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Nathan Ogloff
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Paul Regnier
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with DB Rook
• The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Science Fiction
• The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Urban Fantasy
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Marie Sinadjan
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with D.H. Willison
• Spreading the Self-Pub Love with Tao Wong
• The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Crime Fiction
• Looking Back at a Week of Spreading the Self-Pub Love
• MUSIC MONDAY: Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Live) by Susan Tedeschi
• LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with Norelle Smith
• HC Chats with John Simons about RinthCon
• WWW Wednesday for July 3, July 10, July 17, July 24, and July 31, 2024.

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

If you have the means, I strongly recommend seeing Ben Folds live, as I did a couple of days ago (just one of the many reasons this week I spent almost no time online). No light show, no pyrotechnics, elaborate sets, backup dancers, or any of the typical tropes. Just one man and a piano (okay, a bunch of paper airplanes, too).

Much blog-hopping and so on to catch up on this week.
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
How to read more, according to the Booker Prize 2024 judges—If anyone knows how to do this, it’s those who had to read all the (not quick and easy reads) for this Prize
My Guilty Pleasure: I’m a Gen Xer Reading Comic Books Once Again
Your Hero Could Beat Up My Hero—a fun little post to entice readers into The Recruiter
On Lying About Reading, or: How I Learned That Stieg Larsson Is Good, Actually—”Sara Martin Considers the Motivations Behind Our Literary Untruths”
When It’s Time To Change Your Reading Habits—Molly Templeton launches a personal attack against me. Or maybe it just feels that way.
“You Were Always The Wrong Guy Until You Weren’t” – Thoughts on the Flawed Hero—Peat Long continues his beef with Scrubs‘ Dr. Percival Cox while offering some good thought-provoking thoughts on flawed heroes.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison—one of the better entries in the series, iirc
W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton—the antepenultimate book in the series (how often do I get to use that word?)
The Competition by Marcia Clark
Never Go Back by Lee Child—Remember when I liked reading Reacher?
The Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Hermit Next Door by Kevin Hearne—a new SF novella looks like a lot of fun (hint: he’s a hermit because he’s an alien trying not to get caught)
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell—I’ve always been a sucker for Rowell’s non-YA fantasy. This book about a couple’s second-chance looks like a nice time

Gail Borden Public Library helps me stay topical with this: