Category: News/Misc. Page 35 of 232

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

On February 7, 2025

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

This is a little late, but I did manage to get it I read 19 titles (the same as last month, 2 more than last January), with an equivalent of 5,308 pages or the equivalent (4,061 down from last month), and gave them an average of 3.8 stars (.1 down from last month).

I’m not crazy about all the things I meant to post and didn’t–but I’m pretty happy with what I managed to post. I’m not going to go deeper than that. Doing anything but doomscroll lately seems like a victory, really.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in January.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Still Reading

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

Cover of Called to Freedom by Brad Littlejohn

Cover of The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Ratings

		Average =	3.8
	2		0
	3		0
	6		0
	3		0
	5

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	3	68	78	167	10
Added	3	1	7	1	3
Read/ Listened	2	1	5	0	4
Current Total	4	68	80	168	9

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 17
Self-/Independent Published: 2 (wince!)

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	1 (5%)	1 (5%)
Fantasy	2 (11%)	2 (11%)
General Fiction/ Literature	1 (5%)	1 (5%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	5 (26%)	5 (26%)
Non-Fiction	3 (16%)	3 (16%)
Science Fiction	2 (11%)	2 (11%)
Theology/ Christian Living	3 (16%)	3 (16%)
Urban Fantasy	2 (11%)	2 (11%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

The Big Empty by Robert Crais: The Muffins Rode Shotgun
A Few Thoughts on The Bang-Bang Sisters (Audiobook) by Rio Youers, read by Kristen Sieh
Glorifying and Enjoying God by William Boekestein, Jonathan Landry Cruse, Andrew J. Miller: Heartfelt Application of the Classic Tool
A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay: Vigilante Power Coupling
Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 3: Eighteenth through Twentieth Topics by Francis Turretin: A Master Class on Theology and Methodology Concludes
Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property by Mike Lupica: Even Tough-As-Nails Attorneys are Mortal
The Boys of Riverside by Thomas Fuller: A Football Book for Non-Sports Fans
Broken Bonds by Amy Mantravadi: 16th Century Figures Come to Life in This Novel
Pigeon-Blood Red (Audiobook) Ed Duncan, read by Dave Keyser: No Muss, No Fuss, Just a Solid Thriller
Grandpappy’s Corner: I Am a Big Brother by Caroline Jayne Church: A Sweet Instructional/Motivational Guide
REPOST: Lessons From Lucy by Dave Barry: America’s Funniest Human Tries to Learn a Few New Tricks from an Old Dog
Another take on Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property is here: GUEST POST: Upon Further Review . . . by Robert Germaux

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

WWW Wednesday—February 5, 2025

By HCNewton

On February 5, 2025

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

This was supposed to be the second post of the day. Pretty sure the other one won’t be finished today after all. It’s more difficult than it should be to talk about a book you didn’t enjoy, didn’t think was well-executed, but has some good points. But anyway…let’s focus on the WWW Wednesday.

Also, let me remind you that you can Donate to my American Cancer Society fundraiser here.

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?


Promise by Christi Nogle	How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds by Alan Jacobs	Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire, read by Emily Bauer

Nogle doesn’t stray too far from her Horror-norm in a lot of these short stories (at least those at the beginning of the collection), but at the halfway point, there hasn’t been a dud in this batch of creepy SF shorts.

Jacobs’ book is one of those that were I king for the day, I’d make everyone read. (which probably violates some of what the book is trying to convey).

And Aftermarket Afterlife is just as hard to take the second time, which is why I haven’t written about it yet. The wounds are still fresh. (that’s all a compliment, btw)

What did you recently finish reading?


Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis	The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong, read by Phyllis Ho

Lewis’ second novel is outrageously laughable if you think of it as SF, if you don’t, it’s a pretty good time.

I expected Leong’s book to be light entertainment—and it was. But it was more that that, too. One of my favorites in months.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Anxious People by Fredrik Backman	Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson, read by Barton Welch

My fourth foray into “Read everything Backman writes ASAP” since 2016. Clearly, I’m not so good at the ASAP part. But, whatever.

I want to dip my toe back into Stevenson’s brilliantly creative take on murder mysteries before I try the second in this series.

How are you kicking off February?

MUSIC MONDAY: “Colors” by April Smith and the Great Picture Show

By HCNewton

On February 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.

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Saturday Miscellany—2/1/25

By HCNewton

On February 1, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Yeah, this is on the late side. Sorry about that. It’s been one of those days full of fun busy-ness.

BTW, I don’t think I officially mentioned it (I did hint at it inGrandpappy’s Corner: I Am a Big Brother by Caroline Jayne Church: A Sweet Instructional/Motivational Guide ), but as of Tuesday, I have a new Grandcritter crittering around. It’s just as great the second time (for anyone who wondered).

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 Read Ebooks. Support Local Bookstores.—Bookshop.org is selling ebooks! It’s not quite at the stage most of us want, but it’s a start!
bullet Urgent Messages from Eternity—an exhibit of Kafka’s postcards, letters, and manuscript pages. I won’t be able to drop by myself (thanks, Geography). But I wish I could.
bullet Why children’s books?—I’ve read many similar pieces over the years, this might be the best. Also, I love the Coleridge quotation it starts with.
bullet Reading Writing About Reading and Writing—Molly Templeton’s latest
bullet A Place for All My Books—”A cozy board game about collecting good books & the joy of organizing them.” A Kickstarter campaign you may be interested in
bullet Setting Realistic Reading Goals for 2025—”Realistic Goals”??? I didn’t know that was an option.
bullet Rediscovering the Joy of Reading
bullet How to Cultivate a Reading Habit and Read More Books
bullet Does anyone care about book blogging anymore?—Did many (outside of ourselves and a few friends) ever care?
bullet Raven’s January- Read Like Nobody’s Watching… —Raven’s off to a good start
bullet 5 Tips for Writing a Book Review That Readers Will Enjoy—Now’s as good a time for me to start as any
bullet Captivating Character of January—a new feature/link party from Carol at Reading Ladies.
bullet Audiobooks and Reading Are/Not the Same—Dulin tries to work some nuance into this discussion. Silly man…nuance on the Internet in 2025?
bullet Spotlighting Beatrix Potter! Why I LOVE Peter Rabbit and Co
bullet Books I’ve Read With Protagonists Aged 50+
bullet Book Shopping Alternatives to Amazon—a handy resource

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Agatha H. and the Voice of the Castle by Phil & Kaja Foglio
bullet The Shoulders of Giants by Jim Cliff
bullet Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh
bullet Gemini Cell by Myke Cole; Fairest by Marissa Meyer; and Jacaranda by Cherie Priest

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Dead Money by Jakob Kerr—A lawyer/problem solver (not a fixer gets pulled into a murder investigation in Silicon Valley.
bullet Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan—Everyone’s favorite cryptozoologist/bookstore owner is on the hunt for a hodag (a thing that I’ve absolutely heard of before)
bullet We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin—So I know what Gaylin can do with Parker’s characters, am curious about what she does with her own.

I’m Reading Every Day in February for the American Cancer Society—My Official Launch Post

By HCNewton

On February 1, 2025

In Books, Miscellany, News/Misc.

No one is a fan of cancer. I daresay there’s no one ambivalent toward it.* We’ve all had our lives, the lives of family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and even pets devastated by it in one form or another. Fighting cancer, researching better ways to fight it, preventing it–all are laudatory ends. So, I participated in this fundraiser last year on a lark—I’m pretty much going to read every day anyway–let’s see if I can earn some money for a good cause, right?

But this year, it’s personal. Last year, four people in my family dealt with cancer in some significant ways. Three of us seem to have dealt with it successfully—we’re not unscathed, but aside from follow-up tests, we’re pretty much done with it. One member of the family is undergoing treatment now, and we all have high hopes. So it’s not a lark this time, and I’m going to talk more about it than I did last year. (I probably should’ve taken it more seriously last year, but it’s too late to do something about that now).

So please, friends and readers, Donate. Every little bit helps. So, please, chip in. And watch this space as I fill in this calendar (and hopefully, the thermometer).

I’ve heard there are some glitches, and it seems like a particular social network is being invasive while trying to pay. If you want to help and don’t want to deal with that, send me a message and we’ll work something out!

* As soon as I typed that, I could imagine someone objecting to that characterization. But I’m going to pretend to have faith in humanity and keep the sentence.

GUEST POST: Upon Further Review . . . by Robert Germaux

By HCNewton

On January 30, 2025

In Books, Miscellany, News/Misc.

Last week when I posted about Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property by Mike Lupica, I quipped “Robert Germaux to demur in the comment section (or in a Guest Post if he has a lot to get off of his chest).” The novelist/essayist took me up on that with this post—he made a couple of points I intended to and brought up some things I hadn’t considered. Incidentally, I’m even more eager to read his next novel now (especially if something comes from his rethinking).

I’m more than grateful for this interaction. Bob’s been reading Spenser longer than I have been reading, and you can see Parker’s influence in his work—he’s definitely worth listening to on this front. (and he’s invited to respond like this to any of my Parker-related posts, like Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets by Christopher Farnsworth that should’ve been up last week)

Upon Further Review . . .

My immediate reaction after reading Hot Property was that I enjoyed Mike Lupica’s second attempt at a Spenser novel a bit more than I did Broken Trust, his initial entry into the series. That being said, I did have a few nits to pick. I thought the love scenes between Spenser and Susan were somewhat truncated. (I’m a retired English teacher. I’m allowed to use words like truncated.) It felt as though Lupica didn’t quite have the same grasp of that relationship as, for instance, Ace Atkins did in his ten Spensers. I also thought that some of the interactions between Spenser and Hawk bordered on the redundant, the same sort of generic back-and-forth we’ve seen before. And I would have liked a couple more (and a little longer) scenes at Henry Cimoli’s gym. Henry is somewhat of a surrogate father figure for both Spenser and Hawk, and the affection they both feel for him (coupled with good-natured insults) is always fun to observe.

As I said, all of the above falls into the nits category, certainly nothing that would keep me from reading the book or recommending it to others. However, I had a bit more of a problem with two other parts of the book, one from a strictly objective point of view, the other admittedly entirely personal. HC stole my thunder on the former in his review when he mentioned being puzzled by the apparently close (and hitherto unknown?) relationship that Rita had with both Quirk (“. . . reached over with one of his big hands to take hold of Rita’s.”) and Belson (“Rita asked me not to tell you this . . .”). When I read those passages, I immediately wondered, when did this happen? I’ve been reading Spenser novels for fifty years now, and while it’s quite possible there have been times when Rita and Quirk, or Rita and Belson, bonded a bit, if so, it escaped my notice. On a lesser note, I thought the same thing about Vinnie when he asked Spenser, “How is she?” I don’t mean he shouldn’t care about Rita, but I think “How’s Rita?” would work better there, because I don’t recall any scenes in previous Spensers between Rita and Vinnie. Okay, maybe I dived a bit too deep into nits territory there, but I could see Vinnie asking “How is she?” about Susan much more than with Rita. In Crimson Joy (one of my least favorite Spensers), Vinnie is part of the gang that Spenser assembles to provide 24/7 protection for Susan while he tracks down a serial killer, so we know there was at least somewhat of a history there.

The personal thing? Well, I’m a writer. To date, I’ve written five mysteries about a Pittsburgh PI named Jeremy Barnes and two about a Pittsburgh police detective named Daniel Hayes. Since both JB and Daniel work in Pittsburgh (not one of your bigger cities), it figures that these two guys might connect at some point, and in fact, I’ve had each one make a quick reference to the other at least once. But I’ve never even considered the possibility of some sort of “crossover chapter” involving them, mainly because I write each character from the first-person perspective. So imagine my surprise upon seeing that Lupica has at least two occasions when Spenser and Jesse Stone have fairly long conversations. And yet . . . after rereading those chapters with, I hope, a much more objective eye, I had to admit that Lupica pulled it off. It made me rethink the possibility of a JB-Daniel meeting in the Jeremy Barnes novel I’m working on at the moment. We’ll see.

Overall, there is so much to like about Hot Property. I thought the conversations between Spenser and Susan where they discussed his relationship with Rita were very good. I especially enjoyed the scene that touched on Spenser’s thoughts on mortality. Getting some backstory on Rita was also interesting, and I wasn’t expecting Cecile (one of Hawk’s former lovers) to be back in his life. Could Lupica have something in mind there for a future book?

I still think Lupica did a better job with the Sunny Randall books than he has (so far) with Spenser, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to snatch up that next Spenser as soon as it’s available. I am, and I hope there are more to follow.

You can find more information about Bob and his books at his Amazon Author Page.

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WWW Wednesday—January 29, 2025

By HCNewton

On January 29, 2025

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

It’s entirely possible that by the time this posts, every bit of this will be out of date–but the way this week is going, I can also see me repeating this entire post next week. This grandpappy isn’t complaining at all, but books are being shoved to the side more often than I’m used to. Still, for the sake of argument, let’s go with this…

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?


Hit The Ground Running by Kate Ashwin	The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire, read by: Raphael Corkhill

Ashwin’s first novel is so fun and self-assured that I’m expecting that I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for the sequel (with 23% to go, I assume there’ll be at least one sequel) and probably am going to have to hunt down some of her comics, too.

Last week, I said, “It is going to be so weird hearing the voices Toby, Tybalt, et. al. in a voice that doesn’t belong to Mary Robinette Kowal.” I underestimated just how strange it would be. I’m able to put that aside (mostly) and enjoy this.

What did you recently finish reading?


I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger	Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes by Moshe Kasher

Enger’s novel is one of the most engaging and hopeful dystopian novels I can remember reading. There’s no plucky young woman in a love triangle coming to save the world–but there might something better going on.

There are so many things that could be said about Kasher’s book that I don’t know where to start–but since this isn’t a full post about it, I can let myself off with a “it’s entertaining, educational, and will make you laugh.”

What do you think you’ll read next?


Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp	The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong, read by Phyllis Ho

This Karp ARC looks like a return to his roots–dark comedy and thrillers. This is exactly what I want to see out of him (even if the premise is a bit…odd).

A cozy-looking fantasy about a found family and a search for a lost child. It looks charming, and worth a shot.

How are you closing out January?

Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 authors I want to try in 2025

By HCNewton

On January 28, 2025

In Books, News/Misc.

This week’s topic is, “Top 5 authors I want to try in 2025 Who are some new authors that you want to read from in 2025?” Which works well as a companion piece to New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024 from earlier. It’s sort of future-casting half of next year’s post. One hopes. There are plenty of authors who will be new to me this year, I trust, but these are the top five I’m planning on getting to know.

	Karl Forshaw I first “met” Forshaw when I was trying to put together my Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week posts last year. It was a pleasure working with him, and he was very supportive and helpful. But also…his novel, Renia, looks pretty good and I’ve only heard good things about it (including from other Self-Published authors last year)
	Adrian Gibson Not too long ago, I seemingly couldn’t go a day without seeing something about Adrian’s first novel, Mushroom Blues, and his podcast shouldn’t be missed. Then, on a lark, I invited him to my little YouTube channel and not only was he gracious enough to show up, I had a great time with it, too. Also, a friend read and raved about his book. He’s a nice guy, he knows what he’s talking about, and his debut novel seems to be a winner. What’s not to look forward to?
	Jason Pargin I have no personal connection to this author, I’ve just been hearing great things about him for years, and really want to dive in.
	DB Rook I could basically repeat what I said about Forshaw here. I won’t, I’ll just point you to it and then point to his book, Callus & Crow.
	Sadir S. Samir I don’t have much of a connection to Samir, either. But the same friend from above raved about it, other friends and bloggers have, too–and The Crew got plenty of in my SPAAW series last year. It’s beyond time for me to try his stuff.

Do you have any particular authors you’re looking forward to trying this year?

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

By HCNewton

On January 28, 2025

In News/Misc., Top X List

The topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesdays is the Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

I’ve done this (or something similar) the last few years (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023), and have come to look forward to it. It’s one more chance to talk about people I quite enjoy talking about. Hopefully, these names get to continue to pop up on this here site for years to come. One common theme I noticed through most of these–their work just made me happy, it was fun to read. Maybe the subject or their style was on the lighter side–there’s more MG/YA-ish things here than I typically list, too. I dunno, I just enjoyed getting to know these authors via their work. I’d love to interact with them, too–if any of those listed here read this and want to participate in anything with me. Please let me know.

I was going to count the co-authors as one, but I couldn’t decide between 6 or so others for the final slot, so they get counted individually, but I’ll talk about them together.

Here’s this year’s list.

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

(alphabetically)

	Robert Jackson Bennett Bennett has been one of those authors that I’ve meant to get around to since his first book was released and authors/bloggers I respect started hyping his work. There was something that kept me from taking the plunge–I’m not sure what, but I did have City of Stairs in my hands several times without plunking down ye olde debit card. Naturally, I’m annoyed that I didn’t–but I’m more than happy that I took the plunge with this Fantasy/Mystery Hybrid. The worldbuilding is fantastic, the details he’s put into this environment, magic and science systems are amazing, and the storytelling is even better. I was just blown away with everything he put on the page. And that’s without mentioning that The Tainted Cup is a riff on Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Anyone who’s going to tackle that is going to get my attention. In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put him on this list, click here.
	A.Y. Chan Chan infused her debut novel with energy, enthusiasm, and a solid understanding (well-earned) of martial arts and what a young girl has to go to gain that understanding. But mostly, she wrote a fun adventure that can appeal to her target audience as well as crusty old guy like me. What’s not to like about an author who can do that? In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put her on this list, click here.
	Dewey Conway Bill Adams These two assembled a bit of MG magic as well. It would be pretty easy to tweak the voice, upgrade the danger in a couple of spots, change a chicken into something a bit more (obviously) dangerous, and leave most of the major plot points alone to bring the readers a pretty decent fantasy novel for adults. But no–they went somewhat silly and goofy, kept the chicken (thankfully), and made the whole thing an earnest and satisfying read for young and old alike. I can’t wait to see what else this pair is capable of. In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put them on this list, click here.
	Katie Cook Cook’s art is eye-grabbing in itself. You add in her characters, charm and this story? I need nothing else. I”m not sure what else to say. There’s an optimism, a positivity, and a sense of whimsy that poured out of this book and I’m very glad I took a chance on it. In case you’re curious about what I said about the works that put her on this list, click here.
	Peter David Technically, David wasn’t new-to-me this year, because he’d published under another name previously. But I challenge any one to look at the works of his alter ego and tell me that I “knew” this version of him. Also, it’s my blog so I can make up the rules. But more importantly, David’s work belongs to that great tradition of talking to his audience in terms they might have to reach a little for and never talking down to them, despite his subject matter. I felt like I was reading a kindred spirit (but one who can actually write). In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put him on this list, click here.
	Rob Hart Hart is one of those authors that I’ve meant to read for ages now (okay, I checked–I put a book on a wish list back in 2016). But things happen and I just never got around to it–but his 2024 release called to me and then pressed almost all of my buttons while I was reading it. It’s one of those books that felt tailored to me. Then I read this interview with him, and everything I was thinking about him as a result of the book turned out to be right. I can see myself becoming quite familiar with his work in the years to come. In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put him on this list, click here.
	Cameron Johnston The Last Shield had a perfect hook, a perfect elevator pitch, and the execution was close enough to perfect that you’d have to get a magnifying lens out to see where/if it fell short. Like with David and Hart, it’s like he was writing something for me–or for people who like all the same things as I do (and, I assume, he does). And of course, you want to read someone like that. In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put him on this list, click here.
	M.D. Presley Presley’s Urban Fantasy series scratched the same itch as Schultz’s Arcane Underworld and Connolly’s Twenty Palace series do–UF featuring somewhat unsavory types with chips on their shoulder and a desire to work against the system while following strong moral compasses of their own. Also, magic that doesn’t quite fit the mold of just about anything else out there. (I qualify that with “just about” so I can’t get corrected by everyone who reads this) If you do all that? I’m going to be happy to encounter you. In case you’re curious about what I said about the books that put him on this list, click here and here.
	Shami Stovall Stovall’s Chronos Chronicles remind me of James J. Butcher’s work, and a little of Comby’s Vale Investigation series (I’m not sure anyone else would make the connection). Good, solid UF PI fiction with a magic system that makes sense almost immediately–and is also close to, but very distinct from, many of the standard UF systems. There’s a sense of fun to these that Butcher misses–this might be where I think of Comby–while maintaining the drama. I dunno, I just dig this stuff and I’m glad Stovall crossed my path this past year. In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put her on this list, click here (I have another overdue post about the second in the series, too).

MUSIC MONDAY: “Zombie” (Acoustic Version) by The Cranberries

By HCNewton

On January 27, 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.

This came up on some sort of shuffle this weekend, I don’t think I’d ever heard this version before. Which is a crying shame, this is excellent.

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