Category: News/Misc. Page 177 of 242

Universal Monster Book Tag

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On October 11, 2019

In A. Lee Martinez, Book Tag, Books, Constance Verity, Fantasy, Fiction, Ian Patrick, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin, News/Misc., Rex Stout, Robert B. Parker, Sam Batford, Science Fiction, Seanan McGuire, Spenser, Wayward Children


Witty and Sarcastic Book Club tagged me in her little creation—a tag based on Universal’s Classic Movie Monsters. There’s a lot of recency bias in my pics, but oh well—I liked the list. I really need to do more things like this, it was fun.

While trying to come up with the last couple of entries for this, I took a Facebook break and read a couple of posts on a Nero Wolfe fan group, and realized I could fill my blanks from that Corpus. Then it occurred to me that I could do one of these with entries only from the Nero Wolfe series. Or, the Spenser series. Huh. (I’d have trouble with some other series depending how you define “sequel” below). Watch me control the impulse.

bullet Dracula: a book with a charismatic villain
The Silence of the Lambs
My Pick: Gotta go with Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, every other charismatic villain I can think of pales in comparison.
Bonus Nero Wolfe Pick: (yeah, so much for restraint—this was a fun additional challenge) Paul Chapin in The League of Frightened Men (my post about the book)
Bonus Spenser Pick: The Gray Man in Small Vices

bullet The Invisible Man: A book that has more going on than meets the eye
The Last Adventure of Constance Verity
My Pick: The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez (my post about the book)
Bonus Nero Wolfe Pick: Even in the Best Families
Bonus Spenser Pick: Early Autumn

bullet Wolf-Man: A complicated character
Needle Song
My Pick: Doc Slidesmith in Needle Song (my post about the book)
Bonus Nero Wolfe Pick: Can I just use Nero Wolfe? Eh, Orrie Cather in A Family Affair
Bonus Spenser Pick: Patricia Utley in Mortal Stakes

bullet Frankenstein: A book with a misunderstood character
The Unkindest Tide
My Pick: The Luidaeg in The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire (my post about the book)
Bonus Nero Wolfe Pick: Over My Dead Body (my post about the book)
Bonus Spenser Pick: Hawk, A Promised Land

bullet The Bride of Frankenstein: A sequel you enjoyed more than the first book
Stoned Love
My Pick: Stoned Love by Ian Patrick (my post about the book)
Bonus Nero Wolfe Pick: The League of Frightened Men (yeah, that’s the second time this shows up, but it’s the sequel…) (my post about the book)
Bonus Spenser Pick: God Bless the Child

bullet Creature from the Black Lagoon: An incredibly unique book
A Star-Reckoner's Lot

(there’s a better cover now, but this is the first)

My Pick: A Star-Reckoner’s Lot by Darrell Drake (my post about the book)
Bonus Nero Wolfe Pick: Some Buried Ceasar (my post about the book)
Bonus Spenser Pick: A Savage Place

bullet The Mummy: A book that wraps up nicely (see what I did there?)
Every Heart a Doorway
My Pick: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (my post about the book)
Bonus Nero Wolfe Pick: This applies to almost every one of them, I’m going to go with The Doorbell Rang
Bonus Spenser Pick: The Judas Goat

I’m not going to tag anyone, but I’d encourage any reader to give it a shot. I’d like to see your lists.

Also, I’ve been thinking for awhile I needed to do a re-read of the Spenser series. This post has convinced me I really need to get on that.

WWW Wednesday, 10-October-2019

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On October 9, 2019

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

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! I haven’t been able to get as much finished as I’ve wanted to since Thursday, so why not try something simple?

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?

The current thing I’ve got going is listening to the audiobook of This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, Ramon De Ocampo (narrator).

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Don’t Get Involved by F. J. Curlew and will be posting both my take on the book and a Q&A with the author next week.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book will probably be The Dead of Winter by A.B. Gibson, an Appalachian Trail Murder Mystery.

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

Opening Lines—System Failure by Joe Zieja

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On October 7, 2019

In Blog Series, Currently Reading, Epic Failure, Fiction, Joe Zieja, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations, Science Fiction

Head & Shoulders used to tell us that, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s true for wearing dark shirts, and it’s especially true for books. Sometimes the characters will hook the reader, sometimes the premise, sometimes it’s just knowing the author—but nothing beats a great opening for getting a reader to commit. This is one of the better openings I’ve read recently. I’m sure we can all relate to it.

Lucinda Hiri was pretty sure taking over the galaxy hadn’t been in the job description when she was offered this intern position six months ago. Then again, it wasn’t impossible. The Snaggardir corporation’s paperwork was notoriously long and detailed, vetted by droves of lawyers at every level of approval to make sure that the language had all the right loopholes in all the right places. Lucinda supposed that somewhere on page 356 there could have been a small asterisk that said “in the event a nascent people rise up after two hundred years of secret collusion, you will be required to take detailed notes at their strategy meetings.”

It had seemed like a dream come true at the time. Sal Snaggardir and his family’s company were arguably the most powerful economic force in the galaxy. The possibilities for her career as a businesswoman were endless. Not liking interning at some space technology company on Urp, where she would likely move laterally for the entirety of her disappointing, coffee-supported life. Snaggardir’s was the place to make it big.

In retrospect, though Lucinda should have noticed that Mr. Snaggardir was trying to conceal just how big his company had gotten. Subsidiary corporations literally thousands of banks all across the galaxy holding funds under different names, and that nondisclosure agreement she signed threatening to eradicate her family line if she ever told anyone anything about the company. The legal department said that was boilerplate, and, really, what did she know? She was just a thirty-year-old unpaid intern with three advanced degrees in business arts.

from System Failure by Joe Zieja

Saturday Miscellany—10/5/19

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On October 5, 2019

In Books, News/Misc.

A brief one this week—but such is the joy of being miscellaneous, right? Here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Mohit Malviya, jackiesreadingcorner, and Patrick Lynn for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

WWW Wednesday, 2-October-2019

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On October 2, 2019

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

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! It’s been a while since I’ve done this, I figured it was time to dust this off.

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 a little over one-third done with the audiobook for Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, narrated by Steven Pacey. I read this a few years ago, and have forgotten almost all of it (I remembered most of the first two volumes). I’m having a blast with it. I’m also about 80 pages away from finishing System Failure by Joe Zieja. This Sci-fi comedy trilogy is one of my favorites from the last few years, and it’s going out strong.

What did you recently finish reading?

Monday, I finished Justice Gone by N. Lombardi Jr and Ghosts of You by Cathy Ulrich. I’ll be posting about these both over the next couple of days.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m not sure what my next audiobook will be, I should probably figure that out before my commute tomorrow. My next book will probably be A Bloody Arrogant Power by Malcolm J Wardlaw, a near-future dystopia seems like a good follow-up to a comedic space opera.

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

Celebrate the Little Things book tag

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On October 1, 2019

In Book Tag, News/Misc.


Witty and Sarcastic Book Club tagged me in this, and it seemed like a nice way to take a moment and take a look at things. Like she said, it’s good to celebrate the little things. Because really, the little things add up to the big things.

⇒ Who was your very first follower? If you can still find it out, then tag them and give them a shout out!
Shannon A. Thompson, she jumped on during the first week and hooked me up with a couple of books/book tours after that. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve interacted. But she’s still on board, so, hey—thanks!! It was an ego boost then, and even another one now.

⇒ What was the last milestone you reached?
100 NetGalley reviews—just last week. Honestly, I’m bad at noting milestones, so it’s kind of noteworthy that I can even list one.

⇒ What was the very first post you posted on your blog? Share it with us!
Cleverly entitled, Getting Started, was the first thing I posted here. I added some other posts with earlier dates, to match the day I wrote the review on Goodreads and to add some content. 2,400+ posts later, I’m still kicking.

⇒ Who was your most recent follower? Tag them and give them a shout out!
My most recent follower was Patrick Lynn—and I can see myself spending a lot of time on his blog.

⇒ What was the last post you posted and who was the very first person who took their time to click the like button?
My last post was Pub Day Repost: A Time Traveler’s Theory of Relativity by Nicole Valentine: A Captivating MG Mix of Science and Magic and the first to like it was Mohit Malviya

⇒ How many months have you been blogging for?
Here? I’ve been blogging for 74 months. But I’ve been blogging for 204 months (long enough that I had to break out the calculator to get that number. I was an English major).

⇒ Do you have any bloggers you’re friends with? Give them a shout out!
And here’s where I leave someone off the list and cause offense. Great fun.</sarcasm>. I’d list Bookstooge, SC Flynn (who has pretty much disappeared, but was a reliable presence long enough to leap to mind). Paul’s Picks, Witty and Sarcastic, and Emma at damppebbles would be the stand-outs now.

⇒ Who originally created the last meme or tag you participateId in? Give them a shout out!
I really don’t do a lot of memes/tags (but I enjoy it when I do, I should do more). This summer, I did a few WWW Wednesdays. It 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.

⇒ Have you any social media related to your blog? Share it with us!
Facebook
Twitter
Tumblr
Booklikes
Bloglovin’

⇒ Last but not least, give thanks to all of your followers.
I’ll do a better job on Nov. 28 (well, history suggests I will, who knows what’ll happen between now and then). But I do honestly appreciate those who read this; comment here; follow on the blog or one of the social media sites I posted above or e-mail; talk to me about what I post or books in general. You legitimize my hobby/obsession and I appreciate it.

One more thanks that I should give—my youngest son put that little graphic together for me. I expect to get a few more out of him soon.

I’m not going to tag anyone, but I’d encourage any reader to give it a shot. It’s a fun exercise.

September 2019 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

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On October 1, 2019

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

7,577 pages over 25 books, most of those good books, too—not counting the ones I haven’t decided on, I’m looking at a 3.63 average, can’t complain about that. Sure, there was a 2-star, but it only took me a day to get through, so it wasn’t that bad. Also, this was a month of small additions (and smaller subtractions) to Mount TBR. Yay for restraint? It was a pretty good month, basically. I felt like I was behind most of the month, but I don’t think that was really the case. I’ve got big plans for October, hopefully in a month, I’m feeling as bullish about it as I feel about this month.

So, here’s what happened here in September.

https://wordpress.com/stats/irresponsiblereader.com

Faith vs Faithfulness: A Primer On Rest The Editor Dachshund Through the Snow
3 Stars 4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Bloodline The Blade Itself Gluten Is My Bitch
3 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Irony in the Soul Fletch Reflected The Unkindest Tide
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Have You Eaten Grandma? Sea This and Sea That Appetite for Risk
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 3 Stars
The Chain Before They are Hanged Relief by Execution
4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
The Princess Beard I'm Sorry...Love, Your Husband Hire Idiots
3.5 Stars 2 Stars 3.5 Stars
Land of Wolves Cradle to Grave My Plain Jane
4 1/2 Stars Still Deciding 3 Stars
Grace Worth Fighting For Beyond Authority and Submission: Women and Men in Marriage, Church, and Society Justice Gone
5 Stars 4 Stars Still Deciding
Ghosts of You
Still Deciding

Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 5:Ecclesiology, the Means of Grace, Eschatology Last Argument of Kings

5 Stars 1 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 3 2 Stars 1
4 Stars 7 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 3 1 Star 0
3 Stars 7
Average = 3.63


Physical Books: 4 Added, 2 Read, 29 Remaining
E-Books: 0 Added, 0 Read, 24 Remaining
Audiobooks: 0 Added, 1 Read, 2 Remaining

2019 Library Love Challenge

2019 Library Love Challenge

  1. The Chain by Adrian McKinty
  2. Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson
  3. I’m Sorry…Love, Your Husband (Audiobook) by Clint Edwards, Joe Hempel
  4. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, Steven Pacey
  5. Gluten Is My Bitch: Rants, Recipes, and Ridiculousness for the Gluten-Free (Audiobook) by April Peveteaux
  6. Have You Eaten Grandma?: Or, the Life-Saving Importance of Correct Punctuation, Grammar, and Good English by Gyles Brandreth (link forthcoming
  7. Before They are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie, Steven Pacey
  8. My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows, Fiona Hardingham (link forthcoming

While I Was Reading 2019 Challenge

Nothing this month.
LetsReadIndie Reading Challenge

#LetsReadIndie Reading Challenge

  1. Hire Idiots by Professor I.M. Nemo
  2. The Editor by Simon Hall
  3. Bloodline by Pamela Murray
  4. Irony in the Soul: Nobody Listens Like the Dying by Pete Adams
  5. Appetite for Risk by Jack Leavers
  6. Cradle to Grave by Rachel Amphlett (link forthcoming
  7. Ghosts of You by Cathy Ulrich (link forthcoming
  8. Justice Gone by N. Lombardi, Jr. (link forthcoming
  9. Faith vs Faithfulness: A Primer On Rest
  10. Relief by Execution by Gint Aras
  11. Sea This and Sea That by Jeremy Billups
2019 Cloak & Dagger Challenge

2019 Cloak & Dagger Challenge

  1. Hire Idiots by Professor I.M. Nemo
  2. The Editor by Simon Hall
  3. Dachshund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt
  4. Bloodline by Pamela Murray
  5. Irony in the Soul: Nobody Listens Like the Dying by Pete Adams
  6. Fletch Reflected by Gregory McDonald, Dan John Miller(link forthcoming
  7. Appetite for Risk by Jack Leavers
  8. The Chain by Adrian McKinty
  9. Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson
  10. Cradle to Grave by Rachel Amphlett (link forthcoming
  11. Ghosts of You by Cathy Ulrich (link forthcoming
  12. Justice Gone by N. Lombardi, Jr. (link forthcoming
Humor Reading Challenge 2019

Humor Reading Challenge 2019

  1. The Princess Beard by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson
  2. I’m Sorry…Love, Your Husband (Audiobook) by Clint Edwards, Joe Hempel
  3. Hire Idiots by Professor I.M. Nemo
2019 Cloud of Witnesses Reading Challenge

2019 Cloud of Witnesses Reading Challenge

    Nothing this month.

How was your month?

COVER REVEAL: The Vagabond Mother by Tracey Scott-Townsend

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On September 30, 2019

In Fiction, News/Misc.

Welcome to The Irresponsible Reader’s part in the Cover Reveal for Tracey Scott-Townsend’s The Vagabond Mother—although, guessing by the people taking part in this Reveal, geography/time zones, etc. at this point, it’s more of a Cover Confirmation. Still, welcome. Pretty pictures ahead.

But first, some words.

In particular, words that you’d find on the . . .

Back of the Book

Not every Vagabond is a Castaway…

Maya Galen’s oldest son, Jamie, left home eight years ago after a massive row with his parents and now Joe, her youngest child and apple of her eye, has cut off all contact with them too.

Called to Australia to identify the body of a young man, Maya is given her son’s journal. After a sleepless night she decides that the only thing she can do is follow in Joe’s footsteps and try to discover her most basic human self. Eschewing a monetary lifestyle, from now on she must rely on her physical and emotional strength to survive.

Following Joe’s hand-drawn maps and journal entries, she travels from Australia to Denmark and beyond, meeting many other travellers along the way and learning valuable lessons.

Eventually a crisis forces her to return home and confront the end of her marriage, but also a new understanding of what family, in the widest sense, really means.

 

Exploring the big questions at the heart of human existence, The Vagabond Mother shares territory with books and films such as Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, The Way, starring Martin Sheen, Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.


This book will weigh-in at 312 pages and will be available on Jan. 20 from Amazon UK and US (I’m not sure about other Amazons).

Without further ado…

The Cover


That’s a nice looking cover, isn’t it?

Here it is with the back cover, too:

Now, I’ve done my part—I’ve revealed and/or confirmed the cover. Now it’s your turn, knowing what the cover looks like, put it on your shelf/kindle. Go click on the link for Amazon UK and US and get this ordered.

Saturday Miscellany—9/28/19

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On September 28, 2019

In Books, News/Misc.

This has been a strange week, I kept running out of steam in the evenings and was honestly and pleasantly surprised to find that I’d played around on social media enough to actually have anything to post today. How I got anything written this week is beyond me. I did do more reading than I expected to—still, I have a need to be reading 5 books right now rather than writing anything (and I don’t mean reading a chapter or two and then switching, I literally mean reading 5 simultaneously). When I say that I overcommitted for Sept./Oct. I really mean it. (and that’s not counting the two books I pre-ordered months ago that arrived in the last 10 days and are sitting ignored on my shelf).

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this list of odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye—I did:

    A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:

  • Author Stories’ Episode 724 | Craig Johnson Returns With Land Of Wolves—Hank Garner’s fifth chat with Johnson. Pleasant chat about a great installment in the series (my post about the book will be up soon, I think)

    Among an interesting looking crop the this week’s only New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon is:

  • Fallen by Benedict Jacka—the tenth in the Alex Verus series is out now, and I’m hoping I can squeeze it in soon. Incidentally, I like the fact that the US covers are starting to be multi-colored. I can’t give an abbreviated single-sentence synopsis, because I like walking into these without any idea what’s going to happen. It’s enough that it’s a new Verus.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Aqsa haleem, OwlBeSatReading, and bryan_lunsford for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

100 Book Reviews on NetGalley

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On September 26, 2019

In News/Misc.

I just hit the magic 100 on NetGalley!
100 Book Reviews

Phew!

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