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20 Books of Summer 2021: Wrap Up

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On August 30, 2021

In Books, Currently Reading, Fantasy, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Urban Fantasy

20 Books of Summer
One summer.

Three months.

93 Days.

20 books.

I really didn’t think I’d get it done on time after seeing where I was in July. But here I am with almost 27 hours to go and I’ve finished the 20 Books for Summer Challenge for 2021. After a June that was less-than-productive (well, okay, I read nothing), and a July that got me less than halfway home, I expected I was going to have to fudge things like last year by going with Labor Day as a cutoff. But nope, I pulled off an according-to-Hoyle completion.

20 books down, cleared off a lot from my Mt. TBR (including things I bought in 2018!), not a stinker in the bunch (two of them flirted with it, though)—and a nice, warm sense of accomplishment to boot. Now, that’s books read, not posted about. I guess that’s my challenge for September, I think I have ten of them done, however, so it’s not that daunting.

Here’s the list:

✔ 1. A Beginner’s Guide to Free Fall by Andy Abramowitz
✔ 2. The Dead House by Harry Bingham
✔ 3. The Run-Out Groove by Andrew Cartmel
✔ 4. Love by Roddy Doyle
✔ 5. The Ninja’s Blade by Tori Eldridge
✔ 6. Small Bytes by Robert Germaux
✔ 7. A Reason to Live by Matthew Iden
✔ 8. Twice Cursed by J. C. Jackson
✔ 9. The Dime by Kathleen Kent
✔ 10. Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster		 ✔ 11. The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove
✔ 12. The Mermaid’s Pool by David Nolan
✔ 13. All Together Now by Matthew Norman
✔ 14. The Good Byline by Jill Orr
✔ 15. Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights by Liam Perrin
✔ 16. Fools Gold by Ian Patrick
✔ 17. Know Your Rites by Andy Redsmith
✔ 18. The Far Empty by J. Todd Scott
✔ 19. August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones
✔ 20. In Plain Sight by Dan Willis

20 Books of Summer '21 Chart August

The Friday 56 for 8/27/21: Fools Gold by Ian Patrick

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On August 27, 2021

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

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 56% of:
Fools Gold

Fools Gold by Ian Patrick

Then it comes, a torchlight being shone into the front of our car. I start sitting up showing my hands as the door gets opened.

“What the fuck are you doing on my drive?” The voice asks from behind the phone torch that’s shone in my face. I keep my hands where he can see them.

From his shadow he’s a big lump and he must have company.

“We were just leaving.” I say as he lowers the torch. My eyes adjust, I smile at him.

“Give me the car keys or I’ll introduce you to my favourite hammer.” As if to emphasise the point he shows the claw hammer he’s brandishing in his shovel sized hand.

“You’re the boss, mate, now here’s the keys and lets not get stupid.”I move to get the keys and then I hear Nines.

“Why don’t you shift your fucking heap of shit motor mate and let us leave?” Nines’ pistol is aimed at the guy who hadn’t noticed him move due to his concentration on me.

WWW Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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On August 25, 2021

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

Another day without a “real” post. The struggle with my new schedule continues–I really thought I had a post ready to go today, I just needed a bit more work. And then I started reading, and didn’t get around to writing. I’m on a roll when it comes to books—not sure it’ll be enough for the 20 Books of Summer, but it’ll be close. It helps that I’ve hit a streak of good ones, too. Let’s take a quick look at some of them with 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 very fun and charming The Good Byline by Jill Orr and am listening to the mildly amusing In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson on audiobook.

The Good BylineBlank SpaceIn a Sunburned Country

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished a couple of books that didn’t hold back the shocking moments: David Nolan’s The Mermaid’s Pool and Cold Wind by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator) on audio.

The Mermaid's PoolBlank SpaceCold Wind

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be the third Sam Batford novel, Fools Gold by Ian Patrick, and my next audiobook might be Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors by Annette Marie, Rob Jacobsen and Narrated by Iggy Toma if I the hold comes through at the Library—otherwise, I have no idea.

Fools GoldBlank SpaceWarping Minds & Other Misdemeanors

How are you wrapping up the month?

The Friday 56 for 8/20/21: In Ten Years by Ian Shane

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On August 20, 2021

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

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:
In Ten Years

In Ten Years by Ian Shane

“You turn thirty-nine today.”

“Yeah, I know. It says so on the cake.”

“You turn forty next year.”

“I can also do first-grade math, Max. Is there a point anywhere in our future?”

“Don’t you think it’s time to find a nice girl?”

“I already have one mother, Max. I have no need for a second.”

“Sarah wants a girl to talk to when we get together.”

“I’ve brought girls.”

“None of them stick around long enough for Sarah to get attached to. Besides, you haven’t even had one of those disposable dates in a while.”

WWW Wednesday, August 18, 2021

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On August 18, 2021

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

Don’t have the time/energy for much today, but I think I can fit in 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 an ARC of the twentieth Jesse Stone novel, Robert B. Parker’s Stone’s Throw by Mike Lupica and am listening to Burned by Benedict Jacka, Gildart Jackson (Narrator) on audiobook.

Stone's ThrowBlank SpaceBurned

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished one of the noirest noirs I can remember, J. Todd Scott’s The Far Empty and Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo, Kathleen McInerney (Narrator) on audio—which is pretty disturbing, too.

The Far EmptyBlank SpacePray for Silence

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Love by Roddy Doyle—outside of periodic re-reads, I haven’t read Doyle this century. It’s about time I fix that. My next audiobook should be Kill All the Lawyers by Paul Levine, William Dufris (Narrator).

LoveBlank SpaceKill All the Lawyers

Are you reading anything good?

The Friday 56 for 8/13/21: The Dead House by Harry Bingham

By

On August 13, 2021

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

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 56% of:
The Dead House

The Dead House by Harry Bingham

The chamber we’re in isn’t vast by the standards of vast. It’s perhaps twice the length, height and width of that common room at Penwyllt, but it feels cathedral-like to me. Lofty and aerial.

I sit on a hunk of rock and wait for Lloyd (grinning) and Burnett (muttering) to appear. We congratulate each other. Learn to keep our torch beams angled slightly away from each other’s eyes, so we can see each other without dazzling ourselves.

Water pools in places on the floor, but is nowhere more than a few inches deep. Somewhere there’s a drip of water against rock. A faint draught.

Burnett sits next to me, mixing blasphemy and old-fashioned cursing in a way that is both dully conventional but also pleasingly heartfelt and direct.

Lloyd bounces round like a puppy. Splashes to the end of the chamber. Points out that the passage continues on from there. Pokes around a rubble of loose rock along the chamber’s right hand edge, muttering to himself.

When he’s done, he trots back.

‘OK? OK? You both all right? You’ve done well. That was a good crawl. Not as good as Ogof Daren Cilau, but still a good ’un. A really good ’un. Now, OK, take a break. Have a rest. I’ll get the sacks and we’ll set up base camp.’

WWW Wednesday, August 11, 2021

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On August 11, 2021

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

So, it’s a little too early to really know how things are going to change with the new job as far as time for books and audiobooks—but I can tell you how it’s going this week. I’ve found about the same time to read—it’s shifted and in different sized chunks. So that’s a relief. But audiobook-time has taken a dive, maybe this week I’ll be able to finish the not-very-long book that I started Friday. In the midst of all the personal upheaval, one thing has remained constant—it’s time for 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 Dead House by Harry Bingham, the next novel in one of those series that I keep getting distracted from, and I’m listening to The Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine, William Dufris (Narrator) on audiobook—switching narrators from the first book threw me a little, but am enjoying it (when I can listen).

The Dead HouseBlank SpaceThe Deep Blue Alibi

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Andy Abramowitz’s A Beginner’s Guide to Free Fall and Black Arts by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator) on audio.

A Beginner’s Guide to Free FallBlank SpaceBlack Arts

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The Far Empty by J. Todd Scott and my next audiobook (assuming I ever finish The Deep Blue Alibi) should be Burned by Benedict Jacka, Gildart Jackson (Narrator).

The Far EmptyBlank SpaceBurned

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

The Friday 56 for 8/6/21: All Together Now by Matthew Norman

By

On August 6, 2021

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

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:
All Together Now

All Together Now by Matthew Norman

Michelle is in her swimsuit; a pair of goggles hang around he, neck, “Can we go in the pool?” she asks. Before Blair can answer Kenny enters. He’s wearing his swimsuit, too, but it’s on backward and his goggles are wrapped upside down around his forehead “We gotta go in the pool!”

“At least somebody came to party,” says Cat.

Martin takes a theatrical sip of his awful drink. “I’m on it,” he says. “Hon, hang with your friends. Michelle, Kenny, it’s cannonball time.” Michelle and Kenny cheer… Martin leaves to change into his suit while Cat throws grapes in the air from a giant fruit bowl for the twins to try to catch in their mouths.

“That’s kind of a choking hazard, Cat,” says Blair. “Oh, honey, don’t eat floor grapes.”

“Is your mommy always like this?” Cat asks the twins. She throws a grape up for herself, and it bounces off her nose.

“Like what?” asks Kenny.

“Such a mom?”

WWW Wednesday, August 4, 2021

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On August 4, 2021

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

Time for the first WWW Wednesday of August, where the books are as hot as the weather!

(wow, that was cheezy, I’m not sure where that came from. I’m hearing the voice of Sean Evans in my head as I read the sentence…)

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 Ninja’s Blade by Tori Eldridge—which starts off in a really compelling way—and am listening to Black Arts by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator) on audiobook.

The Ninja’s BladeBlank SpaceBlack Arts

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished the ARC Paper & Blood—it’s a doozy—and Solomon vs. Lord by Paul Levine, Christopher Lane (Narrator) on audio—which is as fun as I remember, I think I last read it 13 years ago.

Paper & BloodBlank SpaceSolomon vs. Lord

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Twice Cursed by J. C. Jackson and my next audiobook should be The Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine, William Dufris (Narrator).

Twice CursedBlank SpaceThe Deep Blue Alibi

How are you starting this month?

20 Books of Summer 2021: July Check-in

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On August 3, 2021

In Books, Currently Reading, Fantasy, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Urban Fantasy

20 Books of Summer
One summer.

Three months.

93 Days.

20 books.

It’s time for my July Check-In for 20 Books for Summer. After a June that was less-than-productive (well, okay, I read nothing), it didn’t look so good.

I’m still not sure it does—July was better, I read eight books off the list. I thought I’d read more until I started prepping this post, though—math’s never been my strong suit. Twelve books in August still seems doable, but I’m thinking this goal is out of range. Still, I’m going to try, I’m having fun working through the list, anyway.

Speaking of which, here it is:

1. A Beginner’s Guide to Free Fall by Andy Abramowitz
2. The Dead House by Harry Bingham
3. The Run-Out Groove by Andrew Cartmel
4. Love by Roddy Doyle
5. The Ninja’s Blade by Tori Eldridge
✔ 6. Small Bytes by Robert Germaux
7. A Reason to Live by Matthew Iden
8. Twiced Cursed by J. C. Jackson
9. The Dime by Kathleen Kent
✔ 10. Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster		 ✔ 11. The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove
12. The Mermaid’s Pool by David Nolan
✔ 13. All Together Now by Matthew Norman
14. The Good Byline by Jill Orr
✔ 15. Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights by Liam Perrin
16. Fools Gold by Ian Patrick
✔ 17. Know Your Rites by Andy Redsmith
18. The Far Empty by J. Todd Scott
✔ 19. August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones
✔ 20. In Plain Sight by Dan Willis

20 Books of Summer '21 Chart July

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