Category: Currently Reading Page 40 of 72

The Friday 56 for 4/1/22: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

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 Kaiju Preservation Society

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

From the platform, a walkway stretched up and over into a gathering of sequoia-size trees. Among the trees were wooden platforms and walkways and buildings, the whole affair swaddled in what looked like fine nettings and coverings.

“That’s Tanaka Base?” I asked.

“It is.”

“Did you mean to make it look like an Ewok village, or was that just an accident?”

“Well, technically speaking, Tanaka predates the Ewok village by a couple of decades. So it looks like us.”

“Does George Lucas know that?”

“He might.”

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

I was fairly surprised by my counts this month—22 books completed or 7235+ pages (or the equivalent)—it felt like I read more than that. But those are decent numbers, especially when you figure in the average rating of 3.68 Stars. I had a lot of fun with the books I read/listened to this month, and that’s the aim, right? (as easy it is to be distracted by numbers)

I was also surprised by what I’d actually written, especially after being gone for 5 days and then feeling like I had to catch up after that, when I put together that part of this post I expected it to be a pretty anemic list.

All in all…it’s been a good month, as you can see here:
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Troubled Blood One for All Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End Lives Laid Away Demon Magic and a Martini
4 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True Recovering Our Sanity Spelunking Through Hell
4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Hard Reboot Drown Her Sorrows False Value
3 Stars 3 Stars 5 Stars
Death in the Sunshine Glorification: An Introduction Pay Dirt Road
3.5 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Double Take The Two Towers Halo: The Fall of Reach
4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
DoubleBlind Murder Under Her Skin Free Billy
3 Stars 3 Stars 5 Stars
20/20
3 Stars

Still Reading

The Story Retold Faith & Life Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire

Ratings

5 Stars 2 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 8 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 3 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
6 47 41 144
Added 5 3 6 3
Read/
Listened
4 3 4 2
Current Total 7 47 43 145

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 18
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 1 (2%)
Fantasy 2 (9%) 9 (15%)
General Fiction/ Literature 1 (5%) 3 (5%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 11 (50%) !!! 28 (45%)
Non-Fiction 1 (5%) 5 (8%)
Science Fiction 2 (9%) 4 (6%)
Theology/ Christian Living 2 (9%) 9 (15%)
Urban Fantasy 3 (14%) 8 (13%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 0 (0%) 1 (2%)

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, March 30, 2022

A couple of books lately have taken a day or two longer than I’d anticipated, so I’ve had to shuffle the ol’ schedule for Book Tours, Library Due dates, etc. So this WWW Wednesday came along just in time for me to take a breath and make sure that schedule was right.

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 stylish and cool Payback is Forever by Nick Kolakowski and am listening to 20/20 by Carl Goodman, Louise Brealey (Narrator) on audiobook, based on a friend’s recommendation.

Payback is ForeverBlank Space20/20

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished the Libby Fischer Hellmann’s DoubleBlind, a very gutsy thriller, and Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood, Kirsten Potter (Narrator) on audio.

DoubleBlindBlank SpaceMurder Under Her Skin

What do you think you’ll read next?

Coming up next will be Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair for a tour next week. It’s been too long since I spent time in the Magic 2.0 world, so my next audiobook should be Fight and Flight by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels (Narrator).

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For HireBlank SpaceFight and Flight

How are you crusing into April?

The Friday 56 for 3/25/22: Payback is Forever by Nick Kolakowski

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done one of these (a streak of books with hard-to-quote or oddly-dull-to-quote 56s), but you can always count on Kolakowski to be quote-worthy.

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:
Payback is Forever

Payback is Forever by Nick Kolakowski

Creak-creak-creak-creak.

Miller pictured a lightning bolt shooting from the top of his head, through the ceiling, and incinerating the old man in his irritating chair. Like something a Greek God would do to a peasant who was preventing him from mating with a beautiful swan. Wasn’t that how the legend went? He was a little drunk.

Jill laughed. “You have to admit, it’s sort of funny.”

“Sure, unless I’m trying to sleep.”

WWW Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Spring has sprung, and sure, that’s messing with my Seasonal Allergies, but I’ll take it. I just stuck my head outside to get the dogs in and I’m going to have a hard time convincing myself to go back to work here in a few minutes…I was able to hold my attention together long enough to remember that it’s time for a WWW Wednesday, tnough.

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 Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund, which is not a sentence I’d have expected to utter even four months ago (which is the kind of snobbery I’m trying to get over) and I’m listening to The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator) on audiobook, and probably will be until sometime next week.

Halo: The Fall of ReachBlank SpaceThe Two Towers

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Elizabeth Breck’s dynamite Double Take and really enjoyed revisitng False Value by Ben Aaronovitch, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Narrator) on audio.

Double TakeBlank SpaceFalse Value

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be DoubleBlind by Libby Fischer Hellmann and my next audiobook should be Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood, Kirsten Potter (Narrator).

DoubleBlindBlank SpaceMurder Under Her Skin

You reading anything good right now?

WWW Wednesday, March 16, 2022

I don’t know about the rest of you–but my wife and I are still dragging after the Daylight Savings jump. Our dogs have figured out when to expect food, and I’m still reeling. It makes no sense to me, but, I’m not sure it needs to. Still, I’ve managed to stay awake long enough to get some reading in–and will probably continue to do so. As you can see in this week’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 first in the new series, Death in the Sunshine by Steph Broadribb, and am listening to False Value by Ben Aaronovitch, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Narrator) on audiobook, just to remind myself where we left Peter and everyone else before the new book next month.

Death in the SunshineBlank SpaceFalse Value

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished a couple of quick reads/listens—Melinda Leigh’s Drown Her Sorrows and Hard Reboot by Django Wexler, Morgan Hallett (Narrator) on audio.

Drown Her SorrowsBlank SpaceHard Reboot

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Double Take by Elizabeth Breck, which promises to be really good, and my next audiobook should be The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator), which promises to be really long.

Double TakeBlank SpaceThe Two Towers

What about you?

The Friday 56 for 3/11/22: The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson

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 Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson

If this were a performance and I were describing Borden, I’d probably call it tranquil and idyllic, but those are really just polite ways of saying boring and filled with lazy people, and since I don’t need to be polite here, I’ll say this: Borden is a boring place full of lazy, and frequently chauvinistic, people….

Suffice it to say, Borden’s not exactly a star-making destination for bards on the rise, but it does consistently offer gigs with solid pay, so if I’m in the region, I make it a point to stop over for a night or two. Around the time the people of Skendrick were so desperately seeking assistance with their little dragon problem, I was in the middle of a two-night stint at Big Bob’s, the nicest tavern in Borden, which is a little bit like saying it’s the least drunk sailor in a dockside bar. Still, the disappointingly regular-sized Robert, the proprietor and namesake of the establishment, didn’t ogle me, paid performers well, and at least had a decent selection of ales, so it was my preferred stop when I was in Borden.

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!)

Page 40 of 72

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén