Category: News/Misc. Page 103 of 240

Saturday Miscellany—11/5/22

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On November 5, 2022

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I don’t think I have much to say today before diving into things (I rarely do, probably, I’m just rarely self-aware enough to stop talking), so let’s skip my blather and get right to the good stuff:
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Words we think we know, but can’t pronounce: the curse of the avid reader—Been there, done that. I particularly enjoy when strong Jeopardy! contestants display this. If those masters of the minutiae stumble, I can get away with it, too.
bullet On the Cult of Craftism
bullet ‘It provoked an erotic shock in me’ – Marian Keyes, Nick Hornby, Leïla Slimani and other writers on the books that changed them
bullet Five Mysteries That Inspire Serious Childhood Favorite Vibes: Find out what mystery you should read next based on your favorite childhood books.
bullet A Milestone, of a Sort: One Kay for The Iron Gate—Harry Connolly (who I will convince more of you to read if it’s the last thing I do) looks at his sales and ponders the state of his career
bullet My First Thriller: S.A. Cosby—A great profile of Cosby and his first novel.
bullet Thoughts on Cozy Fantasy by K. R. R. Lockhaven—Lockhaven dropped by Fanfiaddict to offer some thoughts on the subgenre. Apparently, I’ve been reading it longer than I realized.
bullet Dolls, weirdness, and imaginary numbers…—Fahrenheit Press announces an upcoming release. All I can say is that you have to read about it. (and probably order it)
bullet #R3COMM3ND3D is back! This is likely my favorite annual blog series and I’ve already been tempted by too many books to read (and I’ve been happy to see some familiar titles, too).
bullet …with #BookBlogger Lorna
bullet …with #BookBlogger Ally Parsonage
bullet …with #BookBlogger Carla
bullet …with Author Anne Coates
bullet …with Reviewer Me And My Books
bullet Transmissive Authors: A Theory and Thoughts
bullet A Blogger’s Life: Anxiety Ridden Mind of a Blogger—The Withering Blog talks about resuming blogging, or “My Return from Exile”
bullet Books, books, and more books—shelves to admire and a habit I can relate to

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Flood Circle by Harry Connolly—Fresh on the heels of The Iron Gate, Ray and Annalise are up against their greatest challenge yet—with the greatest rewards. I’m trying to work this into my schedule ASAP. If I go without sleep this week…
bullet Racing the Light by Robert Crais—Elvis Cole (with some help from Joe Pike and Jon Stone) hunts for a missing/abducted podcaster. I had a few enthusiastic things to say about it.
bullet Gardens by Benedict Jacka—an action-packed novella in the Alex Verus universe. .

EXCERPT from Kestrel’s Dance by Misty Massey: A Fish Slipping Its Net?

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On November 5, 2022

In Book Tour, Fantasy, Fiction, Quotations

Kestral's Dance Banner

from Kestrel’s Dance by Misty Massey

The men throwing hounscozza cubes erupted into cheers and raucous teasing. Their noise proved enough for the reader. Slamming his book closed, he tossed back his drink and stood. Now that she could see his face, Kestrel realized she’d seen him before. She pressed her hands flat on the table, letting the residual ache remind her to stay calm. On Eldraga, after her fight with the knife-fighter. This was the strange man who stopped at her table and made the vague threat about the fish slipping its net, one she hadn’t put any stock in at the time. Yet she’d heard the threat more and more, and now here he was. With all that had happened, she wasn’t in a mind to think it was coincidence.

The man squinted at her. He smiled slowly, no trace of humor in his eyes. He rubbed his free hand over his belly, and marched out the door before she could say anything. The Islands weren’t so big that a person wouldn’t run into people this way, but something was wrong.

“Shadd,” she said. When the big man glanced over, she beckoned him to her. “That man who was reading in the corner — did you notice him leave just now?”

He furrowed his brow. “I think so, Captain. Is somethin’ amiss?”

“Can you follow him a bit? And tell me where he stops?”

“On my way,” he said. He stopped at his table and muttered something to McAvery, then sauntered out the door, as if he’d meant to go all along.

“What’s wrong, my girl?” Binns asked.

“Did you know that man?”

“Can’t say I do. He usually orders a drink and reads until his mug is empty. Hasn’t given the barmaid any trouble.”

Of course not. There’d have been no reason to draw attention to himself, not if he was waiting for someone. For her. “He approached me on Eldraga. Very mysterious. He said something strange to me about a fish not staying netted, then walked away.”
Binns’ eyes widened. “Did he say anythin’ else?”

“No,” she said. “Why?”

He drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “I had a network of informants, back in my day. You might recall one of ’em givin’ you a message about roses and thorns one time.”

She did remember. On Eldraga, the night before Binns was arrested and jailed, and his ship stolen from the harbor. She’d believed the messenger to be a drunken tramp at the time, talking nonsense. “You mean that was one of yours?”

“He wasn’t. But that phrase, ‘fish not staying netted’? That was one o’ mine.”

“What did it mean?”

He frowned. “It means someone you thought safely locked away may have gotten loose.”

Interested in the rest? Go grab your copy of Kestrel’s Dance by Misty Massey now!

Psst Promotions
Let's Talk Promotions
My thanks to Psst…/Let’s Talk Promotions for the invitation to participate in this Book Tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

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

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On November 4, 2022

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:
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.”

2022 End of the Year Book Tag

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On November 2, 2022

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

2022 End of the Year Book Tag
I saw this over at My World of Books, and it looked fun, so I thought I’d take a stab at it. I should also credit Ariel Bissett the creator of this here tag.

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Faith & LifeIn the Fullness of Time

Both B.B. Warfield’s Faith & Life and Richard Gaffin’s In the Fullness of Time: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of Acts and Paul are project books that I’m plugging away at a little each week—and should have no problem finishing by the end of the year.

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

Jane Steele

I really don’t think of reading that way—seasons rarely impact what I’m reading. But if I had to pick one, I guess Jane Steele sort-of functioned in a transition-ish way for me—shifting from my summer project to pressing on to my rest-of-the-year goals, I guess.

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

The World Record Book of Racist StoriesA Hard Day for a HangoverDesert Star

The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar promises to be hilarious, heartbreaking, and anger-inducing. It feels strange to look forward to that, but hey…that’s the kind of guy I am. I’ve enjoyed the first two volumes of the Sunshine Vicram trilogy, so I expect to love A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones. I can’t believe I almost published this without mentioning Desert Star. Bosh, Ballard, and Connelly are one of the best combinations out there, I can’t wait to dive in. I’m sure there are other upcoming releases that I’ll be as excited about, but I’ll have to wait until they’re upon us before I realize it.

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

Not the Frost Files

I thought about mentioning books 2-4 of The Frost Files…but that feels like a cheap way to get to three easily. Also, I’m pretty sure I’m going to fail on that front, alas—and why set myself up for failure like that?

So, let’s go with…

Dead LionsRadio RadioE.B. White on Dogs

I’m going to go with Mick Herron’s Dead Lions for 3 reasons—1. I’ve been promising myself for ages to read the rest of the series, and #2 is the next step; 2. My buddy Paul will stop nagging me if I read it (and start nagging me about Real Tigers, but that’s 2023’s problem. Besides, change will do him good), and 3. I want to be able to watch season 2 of the Apple series in a couple of weeks. Secondly, I’ve been on myself to read Ian Shane’s Radio Radio since at least April of 2019 when I bought it, and I’m sure it’ll be a burst of goodness (and it’ll help me finish up a Reading Challenge). Lastly, I planned on reading E.B. White on Dogs this spring, so I’d better hop to it.

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

Any of the books mentioned in this post are likely contenders. Other than White and Herron, all the authors mentioned in this post have made best-of lists for me in the past few years—and I think Herron’s got a shot at it this year already because of Reconstruction, so why not for this one, too? So…yeah, any of these.

Have you already started making reading plans for 2023?

A little. Not much. Most of my energy is trying to finish fulfilling the plans I had for 2022. I do have three review copies of ’23 releases and only plan on reading one of them this year. I have sketches of plans and projects, but I won’t finalize those for another 6 weeks or so. Probably.

But really, I have to keep the pedal to the metal to hope to take care of most of my 2022 hopes and plans. I can deal with 2023 after that.

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.

WWW Wednesday, November 2, 2022

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On November 2, 2022

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

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

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On November 1, 2022

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

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?

Saturday Miscellany—10/29/22

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On October 29, 2022

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

My wife, kids, kid-in-law, dogs, and work all demanded (and were gladly given) a little more time and attention this week, so reading, blogging, and reading blogs took a hit. I did manage to see a few things for this post–and then got some help from Peat Long’s Friday Five.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Libraries Can Unite a Lonely, Divided Nation—they probably won’t, but wouldn’t it be nice?
bullet Mike Craven: Crime writer motivated by cancer survival—a nice profile of one of my favorites
bullet A Horse Girl, a Hobbit, a Wanderer: On Picking Up Hobbies From Books
bullet Most generic thriller plan…—The Orangutan Librarian shares a plan for a “a generic thriller with an awful twist.”
bullet On the Use and Abuse of Dragons
bullet Next Month, keep an eye out for Small Press Great Stories, a nifty-looking event put together at Runalong The Shelves
bullet What I Miss about How I Read as a Child

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Fahrenzine: Welcome To Hollywood by Russell Day & Saira Viola—Fahrenheit Press isn’t giving any details about about this story, but I haven’t gone wrong yet with blindly trusting Fahrenheit or Day (I keep meaning to try Viola, but haven’t managed to yet). Honestly, you could tell me that Russell Day is doing an Austen pastiche and I’d probably love it. Very curious about this one.
bullet No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child—this is the third book in the “hand-off Reacher to little brother” project. Hopefully, it’s a lot stronger than the second (or first).

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to unclearer and Gina (thanks for the mention, by the way) who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.
A Book is not just a book. It is sanity, it is happiness, it is a teacher, it is a therapist, and a best friend

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

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On October 28, 2022

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:
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

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On October 26, 2022

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

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?

REPOSTING: The Warm Glow of Acceptance…

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On October 25, 2022

In News/Misc.

This came up on my Facebook memories today, and I had no recollection at all of writing a post with this title. So I had to re-read it (I rarely do that). I now remember all the events I talked about and it brought a smile to my face, so, here it is again—hopefully, someone out there is half as amused by it as I was.

(and if you aren’t, simply return the unused portion and our customer service agents will issue you a full refund)

As usually happens when I have a solid—maybe ambitious—plan for a week’s worth of posts, something came up this weekend that was far more important than this blog. So that plan is shattered (can’t wait to see what I’m able to recover). But something that happened this morning that gave me enough material to put something up today.

Last week, a friend sent me a Facebook Message: “Achievement unlocked! 😊” She’d been identified as a “Top Fan” of the blog’s Facebook page. And you know the competition is fierce. 🙄 It is kind of cool that the algorithm took a break from warping minds, selling things, and stoking division in the country to recognize that a friend of mine was supportive. It is a little strange to think that anyone could be considered a “fan” of me (excepting the two canines who live here).

Then, the next day, I saw that meme I used in the last Saturday Miscellany post. Two days in a row of unexpected positive feedback. I’d planned on making a jokey post about this last week, but got hung up on looking for a meme or gif of Mabel Mora asking, “We have fans?”. So I never got around to it.

This brings us to this morning. Sure, it was fun that my friend got a badge declaring her my fan. It warmed my heart and made me laugh to see Slaywood’s pic. But this morning, someone left a comment on a five-month old post that made my heart soar. This guy, John, really looked down deep into the recesses of my soul and took a look around. And, he gets me. He really, really gets me.

Egotistical and irrelevant…as the youths say*: I feel seen.

* …or did not that long ago, right?

I do this for my own sense of fun, but feedback like this really makes it all worthwhile…

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