The ones of you demanded a new video and I have acquiesced, with a Book Haul–because, why not?
Also featured–my lingering cough, and more “um”s than I care to admit (even if Valerie Fridland’s defense of the use of it in Like, Literally, Dude was convincing), and me likely butchering the pronunciation of some author names. Sounds like fun, right?
Here on October 30, I’m sitting here next to 3 of my September TBR books, probably won’t finish in time, eh? But let’s see what I have been working on…
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:
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| Ashes Never Lie by Lee Goldberg |
I’m Still a 10-Year-Old Boy by Nancy Cartwright |
I’m starting the second Sharpe & Walker book today–I’m really eager to see what this book says about the series as a whole. Also, Eve Ronin is supposed to show up–can’t complain about that.
It’s fun to hear Cartwright talk about her life and career so far. I expect that the book will get even more fun once she starts voicing the titular 10-year-old.
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| Spook Street by Mick Herron |
Obitchuary: The Big Hot Book of Death by Spencer Henry and Madison Reyes, read by Spencer Henry, Madison Reyes, and Annette Amelia Oliveira |
Spook Street was just fantastic. I really don’t understand why I haven’t made the time to read everything by Herron yet*. And while I know the titular “Spook” is a reference to spies, this is his spookiest (in terms of unnerving) yet.
Obitchuary is a cute and light-hearted look at the biggest taboo topic I can think of. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come up with more to say.
* Paul, my friend, feel free to not say anything in response to this. I know you’ve been telling me this forever. Feel free to resume telling me this in January when I’ll have seemed to have forgotten.
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| Nobody’s Hero by M.W. Craven |
Adventures in Cryptozoology: Hunting for Yetis, Mongolian Deathworms and Other Not-So-Mythical Monsters by Richard Freeman, read by Derek Perkins |
I’ve been sitting on this ARC of Nobody’s Hero for awhile, wanting to post about it closer to the release date. I’m beyond ready to dive in.
Adventures in Cryptozoology seemed like it could be fun. At the very least, it’ll help boost my sagging Non-Fiction numbers for the year.*
* (that’s mostly a joke)
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The tunnel is about 20 feet long. Or 7 meters. Man, being an American scientist sucks sometimes. You think in random, unpredictable units based on what situation you’re in.
…I don’t want to be in some other part of the ship if something interesting happens.
Just as I’m thinking that, something interesting happens.
Knock-knock-knock.
No, that’s not creepy at all. Being in a spaceship twelve light-years from home and having someone knock on the door is totally normal.
It’s a simple idea, but also stupid. Thing is, when stupid ideas work, they become genius ideas. We’ll see which way this one falls.
I cross my arms and slump into my pilot’s seat. There’s no gravity to properly slump with, so I have to make a conscious effort to push myself into the seat. I’m pouting, darn it, and I intend to do it right.
Chasing Embers by James Bennett
“I have seen your world, little beast. I have drunk of its terror and hope. Humans fear the darkness that gave them birth and harness the light to outshine the stars. They build machines that cough with smoke and poison the very air. They suck up the blood of the earth and pour filth into the seas. They speak boldly of freedom and peace and think they can buy them with war. Money is their temple and greed their god. They stand in defiance of all that is real, turning magic into myth, myth into Remnants, choosing to live in a cold dead dream.”
The Debt Collector by Steven Max Russo
“You’re a good egg too, Gabby,” he said, smiling awkwardly. They each picked up their beers and clinked glasses. Just a little scrambled, he thought.
Nugget’s Tenth Life by Adam Holcombe
Brother yowled and turned to race down the buidling, but Nugget was made of sterner stuff (that stuff being the brilliant stupidity of youthfulness).
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
They say hunting monsters will turn you into one. That isn’t what’s happening now. Sometimes to kill a dragon, you have to remember that you breathe fire too. This isn’t a becoming: it’s a revealing. Ive been a monster all along.
“May your life be long and easy.”
It’s a common blessing out here, but I’ve never dissected it before, Why are we, who are so unhappy, fixated on long lives? What is the point? An easy life isn’t a blessing. Easy doesn’t mean happy. Ale doesn’t mean anything at all. Sometimes the path to an easy life makes you miserable. The only person I’ve ever heard value happiness is the former empress. She named her second son happy, hoping it would be true. She knew the cost of an easy life, and the uselessness of a long one. She had both. She wished neither for her child, only that he a some point be happy. Was he? Was anyone?
She smiles, less like she thinks I’m funny and more like she wanted prove she knows how.
…that’s what a sister is: a piece of yourself you can finally love, because it’s in someone else.
I’d love to stay. Forcing Dell into small talk is fun because she so bad at it with me. It’s like she’s being asked to communicate with a child or snake—something that is either boring or dangerous, with no in-between.
It burns, but that’s too simple a term. It burns like opening your eyes in the light burns, like being born probably burns. It doesn’t feel like my body is responding to a foreign substance, but like the substance is awakening cells usually dormant.
Death can be senseless, but life never is.
I told Esther before that nothing was inevitable, but that was before I felt so helpless to change absolutely anything at all.
An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka
I’ve always liked London at night. The noise and bustle of the day fades away, and in the quiet you can feel the presence of the city. It has its own nature, kind of like its own essentia—old, layered, and complex, man-made construction on top of millennia- old earth. Generation after generation of people, with the plants and animals of old Britain living with them side by side. It’s neat and chaotic and ancient and sprawling, and it’s my home.
It wouldn’t be the first time I’d broken the rules, but I’ve always had an instinctive feeling that there’s a difference between breaking the rules and doing something wrong.
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
Daphne raised her hand. Nobody noticed. Daphne stood up, her hand still raised. They still ignored her. Daphne did not like being ignored, in the early days of her career, she’d been overlooked on account of her sex, talked over and patronized by a series of self-important, untalented little misogynists. So much had improved in the intervening years, and she was glad to see that a couple of the Councilors at the meeting were female. But now, she was being ignored because of her age, she appeared to have jumped out of the frying pan of sexism and into the fire of ageism–the final frontier of -isms.
(Image by DaModernDaVinci from Pixabay)
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
This week’s Saturday Miscellany would have no problem in a 10-Items-Or-Less lane.
Tiny entry this week. But I think you’ll find it worth your time.
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:
Why History & Social Science Cannot Substitute for Classic Fiction—there’s a little snobbery there with the “Classic” bit, but once you account for that…
Judy-Lynn del Rey: The woman who revolutionized the fantasy genre is finally getting her due—a cool profile of an unsung SF/F hero
A Modest Request for a Little More Genre Chaos—Molly Templeton advocates for “gleefully mixing genres”
The Magic-Wielding Characters Bracket Challenge—I fell behind reading these this week, looking forward to catching up—you should, too.
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Last Detective by Robert Crais
(and that’s it…very quiet week)
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Good-Looking Ugly by Rob D. Smith—an ugly rageaholic is conned by a long-lost cousin to help her rip off a cockfighting championship inbetween court-ordered therapy sessions.
Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins—I’m not even going to pretend to summarize this book in a line or two…click the link. Love the idea behind this, hope the execution lives up to it.
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.
I see in Lwnava Pravda that Luna City Council has passed on first reading a bill to examine, license, inspect—and tax—public food vendors operating inside municipal pressure. I see also is to be mass meeting tonight to organize “Sons of Revolution” talk-talk.
My old man taught me two things: “Mind own business” and “Always cut cards.” Politics never tempted me. But on Monday 13 May 2075 I was in computer room of Lunar Authority Complex, visiting with computer boss Mike while other machines whispered among themselves. Mike was not official name; I had nicknamed him for Mycroft Holmes, in a story written by Dr. Watson before he founded IBM. This story character would just sit and think—and that’s what Mike did. Mike was a fair dinkum thinkum, sharpest computer you’ll ever meet.
Not fastest. At Bell Labs, Buenos Aires, down Earthside, they’ve got a thinkum a tenth his size which can answer almost before you ask. But matters whether you get answer in microsecond rather than millisecond as long as correct?
Not that Mike would necessarily give right answer; he wasn’t completely honest.
from The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
I’m a whiny bookwyrm today. I got hit by a ton of bricks masquerading as a mild cold yesterday and it’s really knocked me for a loop. And everyone in earshot knows just how miserable I am. (typical guy, I know, I know…I don’t plan on changing that. Self-improvement is not my bag)
But you didn’t come here to read me go on and on about that (and I could). So, let’s turn to the WWW.
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:
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| The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein |
Not Till We Are Lost by Dennis E. Taylor; read by Ray Porter |
I might have read a Heinlein book in Middle School—I honestly don’t remember if I finished it. But he’s one of those guys you often wonder if you missed something by skipping. So, I might as well, right? Also, it’s the book that the SF Book Club will be discussing next week.
Not Till We Are Lost continues Taylor’s effort to explore deeper and darker issues—while not losing all the yuks. I’m really enjoying this.
 |
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| Hermit of Paradise by Kim Sanders |
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis, read by Keval Shah |
The less said about Hermit of Paradise the better. So…Dreadful is about a dark wizard who wakes up in his lab, with no recollection of his name, his goals, why he has a princess locked up in a cell, or pretty much anything else. It’s worth the time. Also…last week, in our RPG session, I ended up playing a necromancer who had no memory of his abilities (or that he was a necromancer). It was a nice bit of coincidental timing, and I probably owe Rozakis something for borrowing so much.
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| Spook Street by Mick Herron |
Pigeon-Blood Red by Ed Duncan, Dave Keyser |
I had to put Spook Street on hold Monday so I could hit a couple of deadlines…can’t wait to get back to this. A fantastic setup from Herron, can’t wait for the other 2/3.
Pigeon-Blood Red looks like a promising crime thriller. Intrigued by it.
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
The Grandcritter has developed a passion for a particular version of “There She Goes.” So I did a little experiment to see if he’d recognize differences in the three versions I’m most familiar with, if he’d respond to the versions he never heard before, and if there was any particular preference.
He recognized it, but was fairly ambivalent toward it (not an opinion I share, I should stress)
He enjoyed this. Seemed intrigued by the idea someone not The La’s performed it.
The original is definitively the best version (if you ask him). This song will stop a hangry fit, it will increase a great mood, it will capture his attention for at least 3 repeats and will induce dancing that will make any human that can see him smile..
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:
Bookselling Out: How the market transformed American bookstores—a fascinating article/review about what looks like an equally (or more) fascinating book on the history of American bookstores
Quiz: Can You Identify These Last Lines of Classic Mystery and Crime Novels?—I did not do well with this one…
“I Enjoy capturing the time we live in in my writing.” :Buzzkill’s Alison Gaylin—a good Q&A with Gaylin about her latest book.
Why Do Bad Adaptations Scare Us? Cashgrabs, Fandoms and the Terrifying Prospect of When He Was Wicked—I have no opinion on about When He Was Wicked/the prospects thereof, but I enjoyed the rest of it.
Sharpen Your Fangs: A Guide to Vampire Fall—”Vampire Fall”??? This list of books about vampires could make for a year’s TBR (well, if you augmented it a little)
The Magic-Wielding Characters Bracket Challenge—I typically list every entry when Witty & Sarcastic Book Club does a series, but I’m going to lose track if I try. So I’ll just put this link here and tell you to go read these.
Incoming: The ScifiMonth 2024 Challenge, Read-along and Buddy Reads—Bookforager provides a list of prompts for ScifiMonth 2024, it’s going to be a god one, folks. (I might even stick my foot in a little bit this year instead of just reading the posts)
This is just cool
Jeffrey Speight announced this week that this month’s profits from his books Paladin Unbound and Mystic Reborn will go to the Hurricane Helene Relief Fund. I’ve only heard good things about them (particularly Paladin Unbound). Get some good reading and do a little good, too.
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Incarnate by Anton Strout
One Kick by Chelsea Cain—I’m still irked we never got a follow-up
L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais—sharing these posts lately about this re-read really makes me want to do another. Particularly when I think about this book.
I noted the release of The Younger Gods by Michael R. Underwood, too.
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The More the Terrier by David Rosenfelt—I’m glad Rosenfelt puts out multiple books a year, or the fact that this is the 30th Andy Carpenter book would make me feel older than I already do. Still, as I recently wrote, this holiday installment is every bit as entertaining as the first books were.
An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka—the second book in the Stephen Oakwood series. I’m so excited to jump back into this world and learn a bit more about it—I’m seriously tempted to go without sleep for a couple of days so I can finish my current read so I can get to it.
Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin—Rebus, Rankin. ’nuff said.
The Waiting by Michael Connelly—Bosch. Ballard. Connelly. ’nuff said again.
Billy the Kid: The War for Lincoln County by Ryan C. Coleman—Billy the Kid is one of those characters that I’ve always been drawn to. Everything I’ve seen/heard about this book makes me certain that I’m going to relish this telling.
Dogs and Monsters: Stories by Mark Haddon—”eight mesmerizingly imaginative, deeply-humane stories that use Greek myths and contemporary dystopian narratives to examine mortality, moral choices and the many variants of love.”
Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris—the daughters of Jonathan Harker and Professor Moriarty investigate gruesome deaths in turn-of-the-century Paris
Sleep and a deep sense of discontent toward what I’ve been writing lately has kept me from finishing the 4 posts I was hoping to get up this week. Sigh. Anyway, I started my fifth Mick Herron novel (the 4th Slough House/Slow Horses), Spook Street. So why not revisit this, my most in-depth discussion—thanks to Jeff from Spywrite–about Herron.
I have Podcasted—is that the right conjugation?—I have Podcast? I have committed Podcast? I have appeared on a podcast, I guess is the way to put it.
A month or so ago, Friend of the Blog, Jeff Quest who took part in a Q&A some time back about the podcast he co-hosts*, Like the Wolfe. invited me onto one of his other podcasts, Barbican Station. Barbican Station is primarily a look at Mick Herron’s Slough House series, but he’s also looking at some of Herron’s other works, which is where I come in. We discussed Herron’s stand-alone, Reconstruction. Reconstruction is an Espionage-adjacent Thriller, but more of something in the Crime Fiction genre. It’s—simply put—great and the work that turned me into a Herron fan.
We spent about an hour talking about Reconstruction, Herron in general, Slough House, and a few other things. It was a blast. Give it a listen–while you’re at it, give it an extra one for me, since there’s no way I’m going to bear listening to the voice that isn’t Jeff’s.
* He also contributed a nice post in my Strolling Down Amnesia Lane series last year.
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