Category: Currently Reading Page 40 of 72

WWW Wednesday, March 9, 2022

After a couple of atypical weeks, this is starting to feel like a normal one (at least on the reading front). Which makes this WWW Wednesday a little more interesting than the last two, for me, anyway.

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 Lives Laid Away by Stephen Mack Jones—I’m a little apprehensive, I loved the first in the series so much—and am listening to Demon Magic and a Martini by Annette Marie, Cris Dukehart (Narrator) on audiobook.

Lives Laid AwayBlank SpaceDemon Magic and a Martini

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished David Ahern’s Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan, Jesse Bernstein (Narrator) on audio.

Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s EndBlank SpacePercy Jackson's Greek Heroes

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson and my next audiobook should be Hard Reboot by Django Wexler, Morgan Hallett (Narrator).

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) TrueBlank SpaceHard Reboot

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments!

Highlights from February: Lines Worth Repeating

Highlights from the Month
Here’s a collection of my favorite phrases/sentences/paragraphs from last month that I haven’t already used for something. (I will skip most audiobooks, my transcription skills aren’t what they should be).

Ban This Book

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

How do you explain to someone else why a thing matters to you if it doesn’t matter to them? How can you put into words how a book slips inside of you and becomes a part of you so much that your life feels empty without it?

Probably because for all the amazing things books can do, they can’t make you into a bad person


A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

If there’s a killer coming after you with a knife, embarrassment doesn’t even register.

If you have ever tried to stay afloat on a pair of magic bread slices, then you’ll know what it was like.

You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a cookie look smug.


The Blood Tide

The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster

The other two much younger investigators were self-importantly wandering around the bridge, trying to give the impression that they knew what they were doing.

You’re job pissed, you are.’

‘I prefer the term dedicated.’


The Goodbye Coast

The Goodbye Coast by Joe Ide

If the price of keeping your job was shooting someone, maybe think about going to college.

Ren noted the shotgun. It was in its usual place, leaning against the wall between a rake and the long pruning shears.

“Quite a selection of gardening tools,” she observed.

“I grow ammo,” Marlowe replied. “The .357s are doing nicely. The 45s wont bloom until next year.” Ren didn’t laugh and she didn’t smile. He covered with a question…

“DeSallis is a tax accountant. He was mine for years but I let him go. He walks a little tog close to the line, but he could recite the IRS regulations and ski a the same time. DeSallis could find a deduction if it was hidden in my neighbor’s duck pond.”

The Sunshine was the worst motel in Hollywood and Hollywood had a lot of terrible motels. It was like a dying sewer rat amid a crowd of healthy sewer rats.


All at Sea

All at Sea by Chris McDonald

…no argument with a woman of a certain age about money gets won, especially if that woman is Northern Irish—the sweetest old lady in the land can turn into Deborah Meaden at the mention of cash.

It made Adam think of the Titanic, which was not a comforting notion at all.

When they’d been growing up, they’d both been unlucky in love: unlucky in the sense that the opposite sex had generally considered them invisible.

A short, round man with weathered skin and a beautiful combover appeared from the back and greeted them warmly in English.

‘Is it that obvious?’ Adam laughed.

‘Yes, my friend. You look like human milk bottle. Now, how may I help today?’


Dead Man in a Ditch

Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold

(I really wanted to take the time to transcribe a bunch of the lines from this, but if I stopped to note every good line here I wouldn’t have finished listening to it)

Good gamblers can separate math and emotion. Bad gamblers look for ways to make them align.


The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein

“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

“And now leave me in peace for a bit! I don’t want to answer a string of questions while I am eating. I want to think!”

“Good Heavens!” said Pippin. “At breakfast?”

(Image by DaModernDaVinci from Pixabay)

WWW Wednesday, March 2, 2022

My youngest turns 18 today. This is a very strange feeling on multiple layers. It has nothing to do with anything I really talk about here, but it puts me in a strange headspace, y’know? I’m excited for him, nervous about what’s next for the family, and…yeah. I guess I don’t know what I’m saying there. Let’s get back to the books…

I’m headed out of town for a few days tomorrow, which is really going to throw my reading for a loop. Typically when I go somewhere, I find a way to make reading about 50% of what I do. I don’t think I’m going to have that kind of time. But I could be wrong. So planning for March is going to wait until next week. This post is largely a re-run of last week’s, which did make it quicker than usual to put together.

Anyway, on with March’s first 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 still reading (and probably finishing today) Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith and am listening to Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan, Jesse Bernstein (Narrator) on audiobook.

Troubled BloodBlank SpacePercy Jackson's Greek Heroes

What did you recently finish reading?

The last book I finished was Mark Pepper’s Man Down and Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano, Angela Dawe (Narrator) on audio.

Man DownBlank SpaceFinlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should still be One for All by Lillie Lainoff and I have no idea what my next audiobook will be, we’ll see where I am next week (and what’s available at the library).

One for AllBlank Space???

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

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

22 Books completed last month, 5,670 pages (or the equivalent) 3.6 stars. That’s only 1 book less than last month—between the shortness of the month and the doorstop that I’m reading right now, that is really surprising to me. I’ll take that. Also 3.6 stars? That’s good enough for me.

Tracking the number on my Goodreads Want to Read list is messing with my head, this makes 2 months in a row of adding as many as I read? Humbug. At least it isn’t growing, I guess.

Basically, February was an okay month here (obviously not the case in the world as a whole). Here’s what happened here:

Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law Revenge of the Beast Ban This Book
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Mike Nero and the Superhero School A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking Go Back to Where You Came From
3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
The Lost Discipline of Conversation Under Color of Law The Blood Tide
2 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Shattered Bonds Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics The Imputation of Adam's Sin
4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Why bother with church? Dead Man in a Ditch The Goodbye Coast
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
All At Sea Light Years from Home How Not to Be an *SS
4 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Man Down The Fellowship of the Ring Quest
4 Stars 5 Stars 3 Stars
Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead
3 Stars

Still Reading

The Story Retold Faith & Life Troubled Blood

Ratings

5 Stars 1 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars
4 Stars 8 1 1/2 Stars
3.5 Stars 5 1 Star
3 Stars 6
Average = 3.6

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
End of
2021
9 45 42 144
1st of the
Month
6 46 42 144
Added 3 4 0 3
Read/
Listened
3 3 1 3
Current Total 6 47 41 144

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

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 1 (4%) 1 (3%)
Fantasy 5 (22%) 7 (18%)
General Fiction/ Literature 1 (4%) 2 (5%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 6 (26%) 17 (43%)
Non-Fiction 3 (13%) 4 (10%)
Science Fiction 1 (4%) 2 (5%)
Theology/ Christian Living 4 (17%) 7 (18%)
Urban Fantasy 1 (4%) 5 (13%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 0 (0%) 1 (3%)

Review-ish Things Posted

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


Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

WWW Wednesday, February 23, 2022

I know that February is the shortest month, but it still seems way too soon for this to be the last WWW Wednesday for the month. But here it is and I’m scrambling to finish a couple of goals for the month.

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 finally getting around to reading Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith and am still listening to The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein, Andy Serkis (Narrator) on audiobook.

Troubled BloodBlank SpaceThe Fellowship of the Ring

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Mark Pepper’s Man Down” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Mark Pepper’s Man Down (a bonkers read) and the last audiobook I finished was Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold.

Man DownBlank SpaceDead Man in a Ditch

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be One for All by Lillie Lainoff and my next will be Quest by A.J. Ponder, Benjamin Fifes (Narrator) for a Book Tour next week.

One for AllBlank SpaceQuest

How are you wrapping up this month?

The Friday 56 for 2/18/22: The Goodbye Coast by Joe Ide

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 Goodbye Coast

The Goodbye Coast by Joe Ide

“Is there any other reason Fallon came here?” Marlowe said.

“He wants to be an actor,” Ren said, shaking her head. “He went to a few theater auditions in London. He’d read for a minute, no more, and get dismissed. In England, we take our actors seriously.”

“If you catch up with Fallon, what will you do?”

“I’ll kill him first and then we’ll talk.”

WWW Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Time for WWW Wednesday, that lovely part of the week where I pretend to be organized.

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 Light Years From Home by Mike Chen and am listening to The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein, Andy Serkis (Narrator) on audiobook—it’s so long, I fully expect to see it in this spot next week, too.

Light Years From HomeBlank SpaceThe Fellowship of the Ring

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished a pair of hard-boiled novels: The Goodbye Coast by Joe Ide and Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold on audio.

The Goodbye CoastBlank SpaceDead Man in a Ditch

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book will be the next Stonebridge Mystery, All At Sea by Chris McDonald—so you know I’m eager to dive in. My next audiobook should be Quest by A.J. Ponder, Benjamin Fifes (Narrator), a book I literally remember nothing about, so that should lead to a surprise or two.

All At SeaBlank SpaceQuest

How about you?

The Friday 56 for 2/11/22: Life, The Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams

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.

Another week where there’s nothing I can share from my current read. However, the book I’m reading is discussing the third book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide trilogy. That’s close enough for me…

from Page 56 of:
Life, The Universe, and Everything

Life, The Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams

“Ask me if I ever get bored, go on, ask me.”

The mattress did.

Marvin ignored the question, he merely trudged with added emphasis.

“I gave a speech once,” he said suddenly and apparently unconnectedly. “You may not instantly see why I bring the subject up, but that is because my mind works so phenomenally fast, and I am at a rough estimate thirty billion times more intelligent than you. Let me give you an example. Think of a number, any number.”

“Er, five,” said the mattress.

“Wrong,” said Marvin. “You see?”

The mattress was much impressed by this and realized that he was in the presence of a not unremarkable mind.

WWW Wednesday, February 9, 2022

It’s Wednesday, time for me to figure out what I’m reading next, as part of what we call 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 of the second DS Max Craigie Scottish Crime Thriller, The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster, and I’m listening to Shattered Bonds by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator) on audiobook. I’ve only got one more book in my Jane Yellowrock revisit, I need to figure out what I’m going to do next.

The Blood TideBlank SpaceShattered Bonds

What did you recently finish reading?

The last book I finished was Wajahat Ali’s Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American. I also just completed Under Color of Law by Aaron Philip Clark, Preston Butler III (Narrator) on audio.

Go Back to Where You Came FromBlank SpaceUnder Color of Law

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics: Modern Idioms and Where they Come From by Gareth Carrol, which looks like a lot of fun. My next audiobook should be the hardboiled PI/Fantasy mashup, Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold.

Jumping Sharks and Dropping MicsBlank SpaceDead Man in a Ditch

What about you? Anything good?

The Friday 56 for 2/4/22: MASH by Richard Hooker

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.

When I started doing these, I imposed a rule on myself that I would only use a book that I was reading that week, but between ARCs and page 56s that didn’t work without context, I didn’t have anything this week (or, likely, next), and I like doing these. Rules are meant to be broken, right? So I started grabbing random books off my shelf—it took me three tries, apparently, page 56 is a popular one to leave blank.

A blast from the past this week.
from Page 56 of:
MASH

MASH by Richard Hooker

Dear Hawkeye:

As Dean of the College, I naturally remember you very well. In my job one has to take the bitter as well as the sweet, and I’ve had my share of both.

My natural expectation is that, if I accede to your request, I will soon have on my hands some illiterate seventy-year-old refugee from a leper colony. Despite the possibility of your having matured slightly in the last nine years, that is really what I expect.

However, this sort of thing is popular these days. If you feel your boy can do college work and if you can get him over here and supply him with a thousand dollars a year, we will give him a chance. Enclosed is an application for Ho-Jon to complete.

Sincerely,
James Lodge
Dean, Androscoggin College

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