Category: Currently Reading Page 58 of 73

The Friday 56 for 7/31/20

On July 31, 2020

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

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice

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

from page 56 of:
Coffee and Condolences

by Wesley Parker

“Think fast,” a voice calls from behind me and, before I can fully turn my head, a red, rubber ball bounces off my head and sends me sprawling into a rack of shirts. In an attempt to break my fall, I grab for a shelf only to find out it’s not fastened into the wall tight enough, and I bring down the entire supply of skinny jeans on top of me. I can hear the gasps and footsteps of people coming to dig me out of the pile of hipster rubble. As I get to my feet, I hear Lily scolding a worker for not securing the shelves to the wall—as if they were the catalyst for what just happened.

“Lily, what the fuck?”

“My bad! I thought having kids gave you better instincts.”

“Yeah, for falls and spills. It didn’t give me spider sense.”

The Friday 56 for 7/24/20

By HCNewton

On July 24, 2020

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

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice

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

from 56% of:
Legends Rise

Venators: Legends Rise by Devri Walls

…the vampire grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him forward, roughly sinking his teeth into his neck and pulling blood in long, painful jerks. He’d heard vampires could make this process enjoyable. This one didn’t bother.

The instructions had been to leave him on the verge of death, with just enough blood to keep his heart pumping. He hadn’t stopped to think of one thing: What would stop the vampire from finishing him off?

WWW Wednesday, July 22, 2020

By HCNewton

On July 22, 2020

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

What, already? Another Wednesday? July is speeding by. Guess 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 Venators: Legends Rise by Devri Walls and am listening to The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson (narrated by the author).

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished Wesley Parker’s Coffee and Condolences and Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson, George Guidall (Narrator) on audio.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be The Revelators by Ace Atkins (assuming it’s available at my Library in time), or it’ll be Betty by Tiffany McDaniel and Dark Jones by Alex Bledsoe, Stefan Rudnicki (Narrator) on audiobook.

Blank Space

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

The Friday 56 for 7/17/20

By HCNewton

On July 17, 2020

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

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice

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

from Page 56 of:
Peace Talks

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher

Lara was perfectly capable of asking me to do something beyond the pale of any functioning conscience.

But Lara was damned smart, too. She had to know that I had limits—that my compact with Mab hadn‘t changed that. If she told me to do something unconscionable, I was going to tell her where she could shove it.

Which would get me killed. Overkilledd. Überkilled…

I had nothing but lousy choices. So what else was new?

WWW Wednesday, July 15, 2020

By HCNewton

On July 15, 2020

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

So Monday night, my Internet service goes down—and stays down for 16 hours. It’s times like this that remind me how dependent I am on the silly thing. Can’t post anything, can’t keep on on my bloghopping/social media, or any of the handful of other things I needed to do. And then, of course, I’m still telecommuting—so missing out on over half my workday on Tuesday was icing on a really nasty cake*. Before I realize what’s happening, it’s time for WWW Wednesday! I need these questions just to help me get my head on straight.

* The cream filling was that I caught up on my reading after a slow week last week, 1.7 books in that 16 hours.

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?
(assuming the shipment arrives when UPS says it will) I’m reading Peace Talks by Jim Butcher and am listening to Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe, Joe Jameson (Narrator)..

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished Abbi Waxman’s I Was Told It Would Get Easier and haven’t finished the audiobook I started last Wednesday (probably will today).

What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be The Silence by Luca Veste and is still going to be Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson, George Guidall (Narrator) on audiobook.

Blank Space

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

WWW Wednesday, July 8, 2020

By HCNewton

On July 8, 2020

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

It’s the 190th day of 2020, which happens to be a Wednesday, so we might as well do a WWW Wednesday, right? (every time I previewed this, at least one image didn’t show up…hey, look, the host transfer issues I worried about are showing up!)

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 One Man by Harry Connolly and am listening to Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe, Joe Jameson (Narrator).

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished M. W. Craven’s The Curator and Heartburn by Nora Ephron, Meryl Streep (Narrator) on audio.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman and Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson, George Guidall (Narrator) on audiobook.

Blank Space

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

The Friday 56 for 7/3/20

By HCNewton

On July 3, 2020

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

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice

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

from 56% of:
One Man

One Man by Harry Connolly

“You were going to describe the fight,” Mirishiya said.

“The fight is the best part of the story! Swift, bold strikes! One man against many! The pirate captain crippled! The pirate crew throwing down their weapons in terror! When I tell it, it’s like an old tale of adventure.

“But the truth is I didn’t see any of it. The night was darker than any I’ve seen before or since. The watch lanterns on Scream for Mercy seemed to wink out, as though a shroud had been thrown over them. I heard the clash of metal. I heard screaming. By the fallen gods, I heard screams that haunt my dreams to this day. But all I could see was growing darkness and the flicker of blue firelight.”

WWW Wednesday, July 1, 2020

By HCNewton

On July 1, 2020

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

It’s the first of July, the beginning of a new fiscal year for my employer, and the height of the season to ignite recreational explosives to torment dogs, Vets, and possibly burn down your state. But let’s ignore all that and deal with a 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 Curator by M. W. Craven and am listening to Briev Cases by Jim Butcher, with Narration by James Marsters, Jim Butcher, Cassandra Campbell, Julia Whelan & Oliver Wyman on audiobook.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished Spencer Quinn’s Of Mutts and Men and The Fangs of Freelance by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator) on audio (if we’re going for things I actually finished, not something I stopped listening to).

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be One Man by Harry Connolly and Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg, Mike Chamberlain (Narrator) on audiobook.

Blank Space

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

June 2020 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About Template

By HCNewton

On July 1, 2020

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

In this month that ended before I realized it had begun, I somehow finished 23 works with a total of 6,881 pages (or the equivalent). I DNF’ed one book, but the rest had an average rating of 3.8. As usual, I didn’t write as much as I wanted to–which didn’t bother me until I saw how many things this month didn’t get covered. I’m sure I’ll get them done pretty soon, but, it made me wonder what I was doing.

Still, a pretty good month here. Hope you had one, too.

So, here’s what happened here in June.
















		DNF

		Average =	3.8
	2		0
	4		0
	6		0
	5		0
	6

“Traditionally” Published: 19
Self-/Independent Published: 4

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	2 (2%)
Fantasy	3 (13%)	18 (15%)
General Fiction/ Literature	1 (4%)	8 (7%)
Horror	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Humor	0 (0%)	1 (1%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	8 (35%)	48 (39%)
Non-Fiction	4 (17%)	8 (7%)
Science Fiction	2 (9%)	11 (9%)
Steampunk	0 (0%)	2 (2%)
Theolgy/ Christian Living	2 (9%)	9 (7%)
Urban Fantasy	3 (13%)	17 (14%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Venators: Promises Forged (Audiobook) by Devri Walls, Daniel Thomas May: Out of the Frying Pan and into the . . . Clutches of a Life Siphoning Fae?
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK VII., xi.-xv.
American Demon by Kim Harrison: Harrison Comes Back to The Hollows Without Missing a Step
City of Hate by Timothy S. Miller is not a book I should have read, but maybe you should.
The Ghosts of Sherwood by Carrie Vaughn: Oo-de-lally, I had fun with this
The Power of Habit (Audiobook) by Charles Duhigg, Mike Chamberlain: A Compelling Look at Why We Do What We Do
Fair Warning by Michael Connelly: McEvoy’s out to clear his name and catch a twisted killer
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK VIII., i.-iv.
Blood Storm Magic (Audiobook) by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator): The series comes to a dramatic yet dissatisfying end
Crossing in Time (Audiobook) by D. L. Orton. Narrated by Noah Michael Levine, Erin deWard: This Romance/SF is a Wild Ride!
Burn Me Deadly (Audiobook) by Alex Bledsoe, Stefan Rudnicki: LaCrosse’s Good Deed Goes Very Punished
The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton: A Serial Killer Hunt Goes to the Dogs
Anna by Laura Guthrie: A Charming Look at One Girl’s Pursuit of Happiness
Muzzled by David Rosenfelt: One of Andy Carpenter’s Twistiest Cases Yet
Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why by Alexandra Petri: Laughing So You Don’t Cry at the State of Our Country
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK VIII., v.-x.
Why Would Anyone Go to Church? by Kevin Makins: A Book that Doesn’t Deliver on What it Promises, but is Still Rewarding
Classic Spenser: The Judas Goat by Robert B. Parker
How the Wired Weep by Ian Patrick: Patrick’s Latest Crime Thriller Does Not Disappoint

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

20 Books of Summer 2020: Kickoff and June Check-In
Quarter 2: #ARMEDWITHABINGO Check In
Down the TBR Hole (6 of 24+)
Down the TBR Hole (7 of 24+)
Mid-Year Freak Out Book Tag
I Dare You! Book Tag
WWW Wednesday for June 3, June 10, June 17, and June 24
The Friday 56 for 6/5/20, 6/19/20, and 6/26/20

How was your month?

20 Books of Summer 2020: June Check-In

By HCNewton

On June 30, 2020

In Andy Carpenter, Books, Chet and Bernie, Currently Reading, David Rosenfelt, Don Winslow, Fantasy, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Ian Rankin, InCryptid, John Rebus, Kevin Hearne, Luca Veste, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Non-Fiction, Spencer Quinn, Urban Fantasy

Here we are at the end of June, one-third of the way through the summer, and I’m roughly one-third of the way through the challenge. That worked out nicely. I’ve made one substitute because I had some trouble getting my hands on the one non-fiction book that was on the list. And, hey, I just read a non-fiction book, so might as well put that one in. Otherwise, I’m on track for finishing the list as originally conceived.

✔ 1. Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why by Alexandra Petri
2. The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold
3. Screamcatcher: Dream Chasers by Christy J. Breedlove
✔ 4. The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton
✔ 5. Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
6. One Man by Harry Connolly
7. The Curator by M. W. Craven
8. The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge
9. The Rome of Fall by Chad Alan Gibbs
✔ 10. American Demon by Kim Harrison

11. A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne
12. Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
✔ 13. Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire
14. Curse the Day by Judith O’Reilly
✔ 15. Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn
16. Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin
✔ 17. Muzzled by David Rosenfelt
18. Bad Turn by Zoë Sharp
19. The Silence by Luca Veste
20. The Border by Don Winslow

20 Books of Summer Chart June