Category: Currently Reading Page 31 of 72

WWW Wednesday, November 16, 2022

We’ve reached the midway point for the week, and it’s about time that I actually produce something. Let’s start with this week’s WWW Wednesday and see if I can manage anything else.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m having a blast with Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan and I’m listening to Missing Pieces by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator) on audiobook. I’m a little worried about what I’m going to do now that I’m a couple of hours short of being totally caught up on this series. I guess it’s about time to start it again.

Theft of SwordsBlank SpaceMissing Pieces

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Michael Connelly’s Desert Star (hopefully you’ll read my take on it later today) and All These Worlds by Dennis E. Taylor, Ray Porter (Narrator) on audio—this series keeps getting better..

Desert StarBlank SpaceAll These Worlds

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones and my next audiobook should be Druid Vices and a Vodka by Annette Marie, Cris Dukehart (Narrator).

A Hard Day for a HangoverBlank SpaceDruid Vices and a Vodka

What about you?

The Friday 56 for 11/11/22: Less by Andrew by Sean Greer

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Less

Less by Andrew by Sean Greer

“Do you think of yourself as a genius, Arthur?”

“What? Me?”

Apparently the Head takes that as a no. “You and me. we’ve met geniuses. And we know we’re not like them, don’t we? What is it like to go on, knowing you are not a genius, knowing you are a mediocrity? I think it’s the worst kind of hell.”

“Well,” Less said. “I think there’s something between genius and mediocrity—”

“That’s what Virgil never showed Dante. He showed him Plato and Aristotle in a pagan paradise. But what about the lesser minds? Are we consigned to the flames?”

“No, I guess,” Less offers, “just to conferences like this one.”

WWW Wednesday, November 9, 2022

While all of us in the U.S. are celebrating or grousing (or a little of each) about the election results (and you’re formally invited to not comment on them below), I’m going to take a quick break to tackle today’s WWW Wednesday!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the ARC for NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority by Marshall Karp (an actual paper ARC, it’s been ages since I got my hands on one of those) and I’m listening to All These Worlds by Dennis E. Taylor, Ray Porter (Narrator) on audiobook, I’ve barely scratched the surface and Taylor has already upped the stakes more than I expected.

NYPD Red 7: The Murder SororityBlank SpaceAll These Worlds

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Andrew Sean Greer’s Less and Screwed by Eoin Colfer, John Keating (Narrator) on audio. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve listened to and read two books with such divergent feels simultaneously.

LessBlank SpaceScrewed

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Desert Star by Michael Connelly and my next audiobook should be Missing Pieces by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator) it’d be easy to draw a lot of parallels between these series at this point in their runs, but I know the voices are so different, that I’m not worried about them being too similar.

Desert StarBlank SpaceMissing Pieces

Have you been reading anything interesting lately?

The Friday 56 for 11/4/22: Gardens by Benedict Jacka

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Gardens

Gardens by Benedict Jacka

He nodded off into the forest. “You can go now.”

​“While you do what?” Jess said.

​“Not your problem.”

​“Don’t let him—” Shirazad began, before Deathgrip twisted her arm, making her cry out in pain. ​

“You still here?” Deathgrip asked Emmanuel. ​

“So how do we get paid?” Emmanuel asked.

​“Guess you’ll just have to keep your advance.”

​“We didn’t get an advance.” ​

Deathgrip raised his eyebrows. “Sucks to be you.”

WWW Wednesday, November 2, 2022

So life interfered last week and I’ve had to skip two books on my schedule so I can meet some commitments. I’m not sure when I’m going to be able to double back and get those I skipped, either. I tell ya, I should just retire early and do this full-time. The only thing that stands in my way are trivialities like my need for food, shelter, an Internet connection, and the ability to buy books.

While I put together the inevitable gofundme drive, why don’t we try this WWW Wednesday?

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Kestrel’s Dance by Misty Massey for some high seas adventure and am listening to Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire, Emily Bauer (Narrator) on audiobook—I’d really forgotten how fun Verity can be.

Kestrel's DanceBlank SpaceDiscount Armageddon

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished James Brayken’s The Veiled Edge of Contact—look for a Q&A with the author soon (shortly after I whittle down the 3 dozen things I want to ask him). I also just wrapped up Poltergeist by Kat Richardson, Mia Barron (Narrator) on audio.

The Veiled Edge of ContactBlank SpacePoltergeist

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should either be Gardens by Benedict Jacka or Terry’s Crew by Terry Crews and Cory Thomas (it depends on how long Kestrel’s Dance takes me). My next audiobook should be Screwed by Eoin Colfer, John Keating (Narrator).

GardensBlank SpaceTerry's CrewBlank SpaceScrewed

What about you?

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

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

A Death in Door County The Iron Gate Legends & Lattes
3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars
Working It Out Amari and the Great Game Anonymous
2 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
Good Talk Athanasius of Alexandria Slaying Monsters for the Feeble
4 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
6 Ripley Avenue The World's Worst Assistant The Old Woman with the Knife
4 Stars 3 Stars 3.5 Stars
Racing the Light The Ophelia Network Jane Steel
5 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Declassified The Bullet That Missed Rebel with a Clause
3 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars
Flight Risk The Life and Work of Jesus The Vexed Generation
4 Stars 3 Stars 3.5 Stars
The Sense of an Ending Treasure State Bunnicula The Graphic Novel
Still
deciding
3.5 Stars 5 Stars
Poltergeist
3 Stars

Still Reading

Faith & Life In the Fullness of Time The Excellencies of God
The Veiled Edge of Contact

Ratings

5 Stars 4 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 1
4 Stars 6 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 5 1 Star 0
3 Stars 8
Average = 3.68

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

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?

The Friday 56 for 10/28/22: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Sense of an Ending

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

My mother nodded away as she took all this in.

“You see, I was right.”

“How’s that, Ma?”

“He was too clever. If you’re that clever you can argue yourself into anything. You just leave common sense behind. It’s his brain unhinged him, that’s why he did it.”

“Yes, Ma.”

“Is that all you’ve got to say? You mean you agree?”

Not replying was the only way to keep my temper.

WWW Wednesday, October 26, 2022

For the second week in a row, I find myself spinning my wheels and staring at blank screens when it comes time to work on posts here. It’s starting to get to me. Hopefully by the time this posts, that sentence will be out-of-date, but I’m not counting on it. I’ve been reading and listening to plenty of things to give me material to write about, as you can see in this WWW Wednesday!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the genre-bending debut, The Veiled Edge of Contact by James Brayken, and am listening to the new Cassie Dewell novel, Treasure State by C.J. Box, Christina Delaine (Narrator), on audiobook.

The Veiled Edge of ContactBlank SpaceTreasure State

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending—and will be chewing on it for some time—and The Vexed Generation by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels (Narrator) on audio.

The Sense of an EndingBlank SpaceThe Vexed Generation

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be the second Frost Files installment, Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air by Jackson Ford, (a few years too late for my taste) and my next audiobook should be the second Greywalker novel, Poltergeist by Kat Richardson, Mia Barron (Narrator).

Random Sh*t Flying Through the AirBlank SpacePoltergeist

How are you coasting into November?

Highlights from September: Lines Worth Repeating

Highlights from the Month
It’s the lass full week of October, it’s probably past time for me to get this out of the “Drafts” folder.

Be the Serpent

Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire

But that’s Faerie for you. Making sense is something that happens to other people.

It felt like I was standing outside this scene and watching it unfold, like none of this had anything to do with me. Like I should have been able to smile politely, say, “No, thank you,” and walk away, leaving everything exactly as it was before I got out of bed this morning.


Travel by Bullet

Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi

“In this case something called ‘Magic Beanz.’ And that’s spelled like whoever named it failed the third grade.

I nodded at this. “It’s not a legitimate cryptocurrency if it’s not badly spelled. ”

“Drive me nuts,” Mason said. “It’s like people naming their kid Ashley or Braden, but then spelling the name with six “Y”s. It doesn’t make the kid special, it just means they won’t be able to spell their own name until they’re in high school.”


The Days of Tao

The Days of Tao by Wesley Chu

Once you spend three thousand years in the same place, you are pretty much done with it forever.


An Easy Death

An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris

It’s always something to recognize, how still the dead are. Ten minutes ago he’d moved and breathed and thought and wanted, and he’d done his best to kill us. Now all that didn’t matter to him.


Snowstorm in August

Snowstorm in August by Marshall Karp

“It’s called a multipurpose subsea vehicle,” our pilot, Captain Jim Charles, told us, “but I like to think of it as the kind of watercraft Dr. Frankenstein would have built if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with dead bodies.”

The line was probably a standard part of his orientation speech, but he delivered it so deadpan that both Redwood and I responded with the genuine laughs he was expecting.


Dead Man's Hand

Dead Man’s Hand by James J. Butcher

It felt unreal that she could be dead. She had always been so powerful, so sure, so wise. Not to mention so paranoid that she did her own dental work.

He took a breath to brace himself for what came next. He could show no fear, no hesitation , and most of all, no pride. You can’t have pride and appropriately handle kids at the same time. It was some kind of universal, or perhaps cosmic, rule.

…coaxing the jeep to life. It sounded like it should be in a hospital bed surrounded by its loved ones, but it started moving somehow…It didn’t help that all he could smell was whiskey and cigarettes, and whatever the opposite of that new-car smell was.


Hell and Back

Hell and Back by Craig Johnson

Most live in fear of dying alone, but it was something he understood—that there are things that you can only do by yourself, besides, we are never truly alone. There’s always something out there waiting, it is the nature of life and the nature of death.


For We Are Many

For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor

“The cat’s A.I. was realistic, right down to the total lack of loyalty.”

“Just when you start to get ahead in the rat race, the universe delivers bigger rats.”

(Image by DaModernDaVinci from Pixabay)

The Friday 56 for 10/21/22: The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Bullet That Missed

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

“So kill me or let me go. Those are your two options. Which do you choose?”

“I think I choose option three,” says the Viking. “The option where I send Viktor Illyich the full photos.”

“The full photos?”

“Yes, for sure. The photos with your friend Joyce Meadowcroft by your side. Both pictures, both names.”

“Bit below the belt,” says Stephen. Elizabeth still feels safe. Viktor won’t go after Joyce either. Not if they’re in the photo together. A friend of Elizabeth is a friend of Viktor.

“Viktor might not have the heart to kill Joyce, of course,” says the Viking. “She is more of a civilian, I think? So here’s my deal. Just as insurance, if Viktor Illyich isn’t dead within two weeks, I will kill your friend Joyce.”

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