Category: News/Misc. Page 2 of 202

February 2025 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

On March 11, 2025

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

I finished 25 titles (6 up from last month, 3 up from last February), with an equivalent of 6,424 pages or the equivalent (1,116 up from last month), and gave them an average of 3.4 stars (.4 stars down from last month).

My late 2024 slowdown in posting continues, and I’m getting better with accepting that, while still trying to figure out how to get around it. But basically, I’m reading a lot and enjoying talking about that–that’s good enough for me.

So, here’s what happened here in February.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Still Reading

Cover of Wisdom for Life by Michael P. V. Barrett

Cover of A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel by John Colquhoun

Cover of Where the Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski

Ratings

		Average =	3.4
	0		3
	1		2
	7		0
	10		0
	3

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read	NetGalley Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of 2024	3	68	78	167	10
1st of the Month	4	68	80	168	9
Added	1	3	4	3	4
Read/ Listened	2	20	6	0	4
Current Total	3	69	78	171	9

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 20
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	3 (12%)	9 (4%)
Fantasy	2 (8%)	9 (4%)
General Fiction/ Literature	3 (12%)	9 (4%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	4 (16%)	9 (20%)
Non-Fiction	4 (16%)	7 (16%)
Science Fiction	3 (12%)	11 (5%)
Theology/ Christian Living	3 (12%)	0 (0%)
Urban Fantasy	3 (12%)	6 (14%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis: His First Apologetic Work is a Mixed Bag
I Have Too Many Things to Say About Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets by Christopher Farnsworth
The Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis: Everyone Has to Start Somewhere
Grandpappy’s Corner: Little Aiden: A Big Kid Book for Toddlers by Albert and Anna Choi, Bettina Braskó (Illustrator): Aiden’s a “Big Kid” Now (well, bigger)
Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire: Things Get Serious
Grandpappy’s Corner: Goodnight Darth Vader by Jeffrey Brown: Han Snored First
Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People by Nicholas G. Piotrowski: Looking At The Heart of the Bible’s Narrative
Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp: The Last Days of Maggie Dunn
The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis: What Can Happen When a Bad Review Copy Falls Into the Right Hands
Installment Immortality by Seanan McGuire: G-G-G-Ghosts!
(slightly updated) REPOST: Buddy the Knight and The Queen of Sorrow by Peter David: A Tale of Friendship, Devotion, Bravery and Heart

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

MUSIC MONDAY: “You You You” by The Okee Dokee Brothers

By HCNewton

On March 10, 2025

In News/Misc.

The Irresponsible Reader's Music Monday logo

Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.

Having the Grandcritter live with us for a while has really done a number to my music listening…

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Opening Lines: Miracles by C.S. Lewis

By HCNewton

On March 9, 2025

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

We all know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover (yet, publishing companies spend big bucks on cover design/art and we all do judge them that way). But, the opening sentence(s)/paragraph(s) are fair game. So, when I stumble on a good opening (or remember one and pull it off the shelves), I like to throw it up here. In these few paragraphs, you see exactly how he argues for the rest of the book.

from Miracles by C.S. Lewis:

In all my life I have met only one person who claims to have seen a ghost. And the interesting diing about the story is that that person disbelieved in the immortal soul before she saw the ghost and still disbelieves after seeing it. She says that what she saw must have been an illusion or a trick of the nerves. And obviously she may be right. Seeing is not believing.

For this reason, the question whether miracles occur can never be answered simply by experience. Every event which might claim to be a miracle is, in the last resort, something presented to our senses, something seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted. And our senses are not infallible. If anything extraordinary seems to have happened, we can always say that we have been the victims of an illusion. If we hold a philosophy which excludes the supernatural, this is what we always shall say. What we learn from experience depends on the kind of philosophy we bring to experience. It is therefore useless to appeal to experience before we have settled, as well as we can, the philosophical question..

If immediate experience cannot prove or disprove the miraculous, still less can history do so. Many people think one can decide whether a miracle occurred in the past by examining the evidence “according to the ordinary rules of historical enquiry.” But the ordinary rules cannot be worked until we have decided whether miracles are possible, and if so, how probable they are. For if they are impossible, then no amounnt of historical evidence will convince us. If they are possible but immensely improbable, then only mathematically demonstrative evidence will convince us: and since history never provides that degree of evidence for any event, history can never convince us that a miracle occurred. If, on the other hand, miracles are not intrinsically improbable, then the existing evidence will be sufficient to convince us that quite a number of miracles have occurred. The result of our historical enquiries thus depends on the philosophical views which we have been holding before we even began to look at the evidence. The philosophical question must therefore come first.

Here is an example of the sort of thing that happens if we omit the preliminary philosophical task, and rush on to the historical. In a popular commentary on the Bible you will find a discussion of the date at which the Fourth Gospel was written. The author says it must have been written after the execution of St. Peter, because, in the Fourth Gospel, Christ is represented as predicting the execution of St. Peter. “A book,” thinks the author, “cannot be written before events which it refers to.” Of course it cannot–unless real predictions ever occur. If they do, then this argument for the date is in ruins. And the author has not discussed at all whether real predictions are possible. He takes it for granted (perhaps unconsciously) that they are not. Perhaps he is right: but if he is, he has not discovered this principle by historical inquiry. He has brought his disbelief in predictions to his historical work, so to speak, ready made. Unless he had done so his historical conclusion about the date of the Fourth Gospel could not have been reached at all. His work is therefore quite useless to a person who wants to know whether predictions occur. The author gets to work only after he has already answered that question in the negative, and on grounds which he never communicates to us.

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Saturday Miscellany—3/8/25

By HCNewton

On March 8, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

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 The Best Villains in Literature Bracket: Ides of March Madness—LitHub is about to crown the ultimate Villain in Lit. Vote now (if you can choose…some of these are brutal choices)
bullet Inside a Collection of ‘Imaginary’ Books
bullet The Digital Packrat Manifesto—the case for building your own digital library (and choosing your digital storefronts with care)
bullet From the Gut: A Literary History of Indigestion—Oddly fascinating piece (and you must read the footnotes)
bullet Harper To Publish New Collection of Stories and Essays by Harper Lee—Huh. Well, might as well, I guess. Probably will be better than that last published book with her name on it
bullet Turns Out, There’s a Sequel to The Westing Game—this is, no doubt, the item from this list that I’m most invested in. It’s possibly the single piece of writing I’m most invested in this month.
bullet Thomas Trang’s “Dark Neon & Dirt”: A Gritty, Twisty Riff on L.A. Noir—Nick Kolakowski talks to Thomas Trang about Tran’s upcoming book (which looks great, incidentally)
bullet Speaking of Nick Kolakowski, The Writer’s Dossier 3/3/2025 – The Nick Kolakowski interview—Kolakowski talks about things like his latest novel (which you really should read), evolving as a writer, and his experience with Craig Ferguson
bullet Tolkien Against the Grain: The Lord of the Rings is a book obsessed with ruins, bloodlines, and the divine right of aristocrats. Why are so many on the left able to love it?—pretty sure I’d have never thought about considering this
bullet A New Harper Lee Book is Being Published: Why Is There No Controversy This Time?—Brianna asks a good question
bullet Three Years of Roars and Echoes—Congrats to Lashaan! The man responsible for at least 70% of the comics/graphic novels I’ve read in the last decade, and almost all of the Tolkien from that period, too.
bullet Carol’s Captivating Character of February Link-Up—a good pick (and a good reminder for me to finalize my choice)
bullet bedsidebibliophile succinctly nails the thinking behind a 5 star rating
bullet If you don’t “awwww” at this bookstore’s story, there’s something broken in you

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Stone Quarry by S. J. Rozan
bullet Pin Action: Small-Time Gangsters, High-Stakes Gambling, and the Teenage Hustler Who Became a Bowling Champion by Gianmarc Manzione (I’d forgotten about this one, not sure I’m glad to be reminded)
bullet The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
bullet I talked about the release of: A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark by Harry Connolly; Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs; Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire; Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne; and Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster): Life Lessons and Other Ravings from Dave Barry by Dave Barry

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp—Domestic thriller, a look at grieving and preparation for death, and a rollicking good time. I raved about it recently (and will do so again at the drop of a hat)
bullet Cold Iron Task by James J. Butcher—I have no idea what this third Unorthox Chronicle is about, because I can’t let myself be tempted, I just have too much to do. I’ve even loaned it to a friend just to get it out of the house so I can focus on some other things.
bullet Guard in the Garden by Z. S. Diamanti—A cozy fantasy about an injured Dwarven soldier finding his second act. If this is half as charming as it looks, you’ll be in for a good time
bullet Thaumaturgic Tapas by Tao Wong—you have to give this a second look for the title alone, right? The Nameless Restaurant struggles with success
bullet Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano—My patience for Finlay’s antics is waning, but these are still guaranteed good times. Bringing in her nosy neighbor? Yeah, this should be fun.
bullet Kills Well With Others by Deanna Rayburn—These senior assassins are called back into action.
bullet I’m a Dumbo Octopus! by Anne Lambelet—this kid-level introduction to cephalopods looks adorable
bullet See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon—A “young man who learns the devastating truth behind his friend’s death, propelling him on an odyssey of discovery into the nature of grief in the digital age, the limits of memory, and the meaning of friendship.”

GUEST POST: How Reading Can Help You Grow a Short Story into a Novel by Reena Bhojwani

By HCNewton

On March 7, 2025

In Books, Miscellany, News/Misc.

Earlier today, I posted a spotlight about Reena Bhojwani’s novel Fragrant Soup. Now, I’ve got this look behind the scenes as Reena describes part of how she transformed this short story into a novel. I know she has more to say along these lines, and I hope she comes back to share some more. Either way, I’m very glad to present this Guest Post.

How Reading Can Help You Grow a Short Story into a Novel

I grew my short story of 5000 words into a novel with the same name that’s now over 62,000 words long.

So the question is how? And the answer is not linear. Although, one of the things I did very consciously and throughout was: reading.

I jumped in with both feet and scoured the Internet and the local libraries for books. I read some non-fiction articles, blogs and memoirs, but I also tried to read within the genre I was trying to write, which brought me to various forms of Asian fantasy stories. I tried to keep it to Young Adult and Middle Grade Asian and South East Asian Fantasy stories because they were closest to my target. However, on the side I continued to read romance novels, thriller, horror and a bit of middle grade fiction but not specifically Asian fantasy. I needed to know what was out there so I would know how to answer the annoying question “What books are your books like?” And also “What books are you books not like?”

Some other reasons to read widely were:

For sensitivity: This was me reading as a writer to see how sensitive or potentially offensive subject matter was dealt with when I read within my genre. For example, how certain descriptive phrases were written or how certain (possibly) taboo concepts were covered by certain writers. Taking notes either on a separate page or on post-its to then stick into the book as I read started becoming a habit.

For style: Again, this would mean reading as a writer. To be aware of nuances in dialogue, description and pacing. When I read other genres, I noticed things like choice of narrative perspective, chapter lengths and other devices that I would otherwise have allowed to slip through the cracks. Why certain things were done and certain choices were made while others were not. This is where I started noticing there were several books written with snippets of Mandarin, but I didn’t come across any with Cantonese in them.

For inspiration: I ended up getting so many ideas for my story while I was reading other pieces of fiction. However, inspiration doesn’t mean plagiarising. Sometimes I got an idea because there was a plot twist I was reading about or because a new character was introduced and I thought, “THAT’S IT! I can do that! EUREKA!” That doesn’t mean I took their character and shoved it into my narrative. It just made me realise that adding a character could help me make a certain part of the story work better. And equally, I had moments when I thought, “It makes sense now. This character/part/section has to go. It’s time to kill this darling.” Not because I knew they needed to go but because I realised.

While reading, I came across so many books in a series that I eventually realised I could turn my story into a series… and so I did! (Well, I started. I’ve only finished book 1 and the ‘Sneak Peek!’ Section of book 2!) Inspiration came come from content, style or just general concepts.

For what doesn’t work: The more books you read that you DON’T LIKE or that have been criticised in the field you’re interested in, the more insight you will get about what NOT to do, or what to watch out for or avoid, which is sometimes more helpful than what to do. The key is knowing not to get too caught up in it all. Take what you need and move on.

It’s important to note though that reading should happen all the way through in the ideal world, but there’s aren’t enough hours in a day and many of us can’t quit our day jobs or read through the night and function properly the next day, so some form of a balanced book diet with a frequency of your choice is best.

There are lots of tidbits of advice I have after I chose to grow my short story into a novel, so if you want to know more, you’ll have to comment on write to me and let me know. You can find me at www.inspiredmusehk.com.

You can find more information about Reena Bhojwani and her books at her website, Inspired Muse.

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WWW Wednesday—March 4, 2025

By HCNewton

On March 5, 2025

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

What a difference a week makes–after talking about a few lackluster (or worse) books at the end of February, I ended the month very strong and the first books of March have continued that streak. It’s a nice place to be.

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?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?


The Library Game by Gigi Pandian	Every Tom, Dick & Harry by Elinor Lipman, read by Piper Goodeve

I just started The Library Game today. I thought Pandian had wrapped up this series with the last book, I’m glad to see that I was wrong and I’m eager to see where the series goes from here.

Lipman’s Ms. Demeanor was entertaining enough (although it had its drawbacks), and I’m curious to try something else by her.

What did you recently finish reading?


Perelandra by C.S. Lewis	Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow, read by Wil Wheaton

Perelandra blew me away this week, just as much as it did 20+ years ago when I read it the first time.

A couple of weeks ago in a Saturday Miscellany post, I said something about getting around to trying Doctorow sometime, the manager of Shared Stories told me that I really should start with Red Team Blues. He was right.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind by Alan Jacobs	Ashes Never Lie by Lee Goldberg, read by Eric Conger,Nicol Zanzarella

It’s time for me to wrap-up my review of Jacobs’ trilogy.

And I’ll be tackling Ashes Never Lie on audio. Sharpe & Walker + Eve Ronin = fun.

How’s March starting for you?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Things Nero Wolfe Said*

By HCNewton

On March 4, 2025

In News/Misc., Top X List

The topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesdays is the Top Ten Things Characters Have Said

If I took that too loosely, I’d spend weeks trying to narrow this down. So I decided to limit it to one character–Nero Wolfe. He’s easily the most quotable character I can think of (with the possible exception of Archie Goodwin, who narrates the Wolfe books). But I didn’t have time to do a thorough job of that, either. But I was able to cobble together a decent collection of quotations. Give me a year, and I’ll come up with something more definitive (or I’ll have a selection of 90+ items and will freeze up in trying to whittle it down).

But first,

Who is Nero Wolfe?

Nero Wolfe, fictional American private detective, the eccentric protagonist of 46 mystery stories by Rex Stout. Wolfe was introduced in Fer-de-Lance (1934).

A man of expansive appetites and sophisticated tastes, Wolfe is corpulent and moody. Detesting mechanized vehicles and disdaining most humans, he is averse to leaving his home for business reasons; he assigns the physical investigations of murders to his associate and friend Archie Goodwin and manages to solve his mysteries without leaving his own confines. Another of Wolfe’s associates is his private chef, Fritz Brenner, who also works as Wolfe’s butler and handyman. Wolfe’s interest in food is equaled only by his passion for orchids: with the aid of Theodore Horstman, he nurtures some 10,000 orchid plants in his rooftop garden.

by: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Nero Wolfe". Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Oct. 2012, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nero-Wolfe. Accessed 3 March 2025.

Top Ten Things Nero Wolfe Said * That I Can Think of Without Re-Reading the Corpus

	To me the relationship of host and guest is sacred. The guest is a jewel resting on the cushion of hospitality.
	…with the quarry within reach, the purpose fixed, and the weapon in hand, it will often require up to eight or ten minutes to kill a fly, whereas the average murder, I would guess, consumes ten or fifteen seconds at the outside.
	Man’s brain, enlarged fortuitously, invented words in an ambitious attempt to learn how to think, only to have them usurped by his emotions. But we still try.
	Since I entered this room you have made nothing but mistakes. You were without courtesy, which was offensive. You made a statement contrary to fact, which was stupid. You confused conjecture with knowledge, which was disingenuous.
	I carry this fat to insulate my feelings. They got too strong for me once or twice and I had that idea. If I had stayed lean and kept moving around I would have been dead long ago…I used to be idiotically romantic. I still am, but I’ve got it in hand.
	Maintaining integrity as a private detective is difficult; to preserve it for the hundred thousand words of a book would be impossible for me, as it has been for so many others. Nothing corrupts a man so deeply as writing a book; the myriad temptations are overwhelming.
	I love to make a mistake, it is my only assurance that I cannot reasonably be expected to assume the burden of omniscience.
	Sir, I would not enter a taxicab for a chance to solve the Sphinx’s deepest riddles with all the Nile’s cargo for my reward! Good God. A taxicab…You observe my bulk. I am not immovable, but my flesh has a constitutional reluctance to sudden, violent, or sustained displacement.
	[Dina Laszio] leaned back. “Marko told me once, long ago, that you don’t like women.” Wolfe shook his head. “I can only say, nonsense again. I couldn’t rise to that impudence. Not like women? They are astounding and successful animals. For reasons of convenience, I merely preserve an appearance of immunity which I developed some years ago under the pressure of necessity. I confess to a specific animus toward you. Marko Vukcic is my friend; you were his wife; and you deserted him. I don’t like you.”
	I understand the technique of eccentricity; it would be futile for a man to labor at establishing a reputation for oddity if he were ready at the slightest provocation to revert to normal action.

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Book Blogger Hop: Weekly Blogging Time

By HCNewton

On March 4, 2025

In Book Blogger Hop, Books, News/Misc.

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

How much time does blogging take out of your life weekly?

Sure, I know technically that Billy is asking something else, but I can’t help but read that as, “How bad is my time management?”

First, I’m not counting reading time. That’s a related, but separate, hobby. At least for the purposes of this post–also, it’ll help the hours stay low.

Secondly–I’m not sure if I should count time sharing, re-posting, and other social media-type interactions to promote this blog and others. That’s kind-of blogging time. But also, not really. I’ve also been bad about that lately. Ideally, I’d say I spend 30-45 minutes each weekday on that. I’d be happy if I spent a half hour a week on it over the last couple of months.

So, now, to the blog. Thirty minutes a day minimum (even when I don’t actually hit “Publish” or “Schedule.”). Three hours a day maximum. That’s 180 minutes-1080 minutes a week. That’s almost part-time job territory on the fuller weeks.

I’m really wishing I hadn’t done this math now, he types, shaking a metaphorical and resentful fist in the direction of Coffee Addicted Writer.

Fellow bloggers, what’s your weekly time look like? Any tips for me? (other than mainlining more caffeine or writing less)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Rock ’N’ Roll Heaven” by Spin Doctors

By HCNewton

On March 3, 2025

In News/Misc.

The Irresponsible Reader's Music Monday logo

Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.

Sometimes a silly but catchy song is enough…

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Saturday Miscellany—3/1/25

By HCNewton

On March 1, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I’ve barely been online this week, so I’m very glad that A Literary Escape and Pages Unbound posted some highlights from the month for me to glean from—I’d have enjoyed their posts regardless, but they helped bulk up this post.

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 The Ascendance of the Book Ladder: The history of a totally necessary invention—We all want one, why not learn a little about them?
bullet Little Free Library Study Reveals Benefits for Book-Impoverished Communities —No one will be (should be) walking away from this study saying, “Who’d have imagined this?” But it’s good to see someone finding evidence.
bullet Face Value: Translating Divergence—”Clare Richards underscores the significance of D/deaf, disabled, and/or neurodivergent writers and translators presenting their community on their own terms.” (as interesting as they are, I need to stop reading pieces from this site, it’s doing unhealthy things for my TBR)
bullet When Books Invade (But Make It Friendly)—This is one many of us can relate to, I expect. Particularly the first paragraph under “Why Read?.” Just from reading her historical book last year, I had the idea that Nadya Williams and I belonged to the same tribe. This is one more bit of proof.
bullet Taking the “Shoulds” Out of Reading—I really don’t auto-post everything Molly Templeton writes, it just feels like it. Worth the read for the last ‘graph alone (but the prior ones are good, too)
bullet Psychological Thrillers Are Finally Giving Middle-Aged Women Their Due—”[N]o one is pushed to the brink like a menopausal woman. And no one can fight for her life like her either.”
bullet Embrace Graphic Novels
bullet The Health Benefits of Reading Every Day
bullet About Community and the Future of the Narratess Indie Sale
bullet How to break up with Amazon as a Book Lover—It ain’t easy, so here’s some help
bullet If you’re not ready to do that yet, What Are Kindle Points & How Do You Use Them?
bullet The Classics: Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen in Verona, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Romeo and Juliet

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet I didn’t post about any books, but I talked about the releases of: Dorothy Parker Drank Here by Ellen Meister and Canary by Duane Swierczynski

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet His Truth Her Truth by Noelle Holten—Unreliable narrators in a domestic psycholigical thriller from one of this reader’s favorites. My March is pretty much planned already, but I’m going to squeeze this one in somehow.
bullet title by soandso—”a podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating—but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love?” I don’t know that this would’ve popped up on my radar if Alan Sepinwall hadn’t been talking about it, but If he vouches for it, that’s good enough for me.
bullet The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton—”Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle, The Fourth Consort asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?” Go read the link for the whole blurb