Category: News/Misc. Page 44 of 193

WWW Wednesday, May 3, 2023

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On May 3, 2023

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

I’d like to say right now that I’m on the verge of life calming down and my regular routines returning—allowing me to get back on track with everything here, but I think I should make sure those chicks make it out of their shell before I start tallying them up. So in the meantime, let’s just take a glance at the WWW for the week, okay?

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow and am listening to Straight Man by Richard Russo, Sam Freed (Narrator) on audiobook. I’d been thinking about finding time for a re-read of this book lately, and (probably thanks to Lucky Hank) there it was on my library’s new addition shelf, so sure, why not try the audiobook?

The Winter of Frankie MachineBlank SpaceStraight Man

What did you recently finish reading?

I had a semi-productive Saturday and was able to finish Kneading Journalism by Tony Ganzer, Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and the audiobook of Morning Star by Pierce Brown, Tim Gerard Reynolds (Narrator) on audio. Not just a productive day, but a really rewarding day.

Kneading JournalismBlank SpaceChain Gang All StarsBlank SpaceMorning Star

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be the latest Bree Taggert novel, Lie to Her by Melinda Leigh and my next audiobook should be Hammered by Lindsay Buroker, Vivienne Leheny (Narrator), a UF that could be a lot of fun.

Lie to HerBlank SpaceHammered

How are you starting May?

Ask Me (just about) Anything for My Upcoming Blogiversary

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On May 2, 2023

In News/Misc.

The Tenth Anniversary of this here blog is coming up soon, and I’m trying to come up with some things to commemorate such an august occasion. One of the things I’ve decided to do was inspired by A Literary Escape (and some others that I forgot to note) and I’ll be answering questions from you, my favorite blog readers in the world.

But first, you have to ask them. I’d prefer that you use this form (if only to make it easier on me to keep track of them), but you can leave a comment, Tweet at me, send me a DM, Facebook comment, IG comment, carrier pigeon, encode it into a manuscript…whatever.

I’d prefer the questions to be about books, reading, the blog—that sort of thing. But I’m feeling brave—ask me whatever. You might get a “none of your business” kind of response, but who knows? This should be fun!

Saturday Miscellany—4/29/23

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On April 29, 2023

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I knew this was going to be a quiet week here, but…it’s been too quiet for me. Hoping to get back into the swing of things next week, but I’m not going to promise anything. How are ya’ll doing?

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 It’s the 10th Annual Independent Bookstore Day—go out there and support at least one!
bullet S.A. Cosby Is Finding His Religion—in case you weren’t already excited for All the Sinners Bleed
bullet Neil Gaiman is Releasing an Album?—sure, why not? Looks promising.
bullet MWA Announces the 2023 Edgar Award Winners
bullet As interesting as the awards are, I’m more excited because the Edgars means that it’s time for Crime Reads to post their The State of the Crime Novel Roundtable Discussion with the Edgar Nominees Part 1 and Part 2
bullet For Poetry Month, Tor.com put together this list of Eight SFF Books Written in Verse—a.k.a. 8 Novels I Won’t Read, but Some of You Might Want to Try
bullet “Holmes and Watson in Manhattan”: Musings on the Creation of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin—I will always read and always share a good Wolfe and Archie piece
bullet What I Need Is a Literary Mood Ring—Molly Templeton asks, “how does a person go in search of the precisely right book that will incite a feeling?”
bullet Duty Is Heavier Than A Mountain: A Ramble on Men and Mental Burdens in Early Epic Fantasy—Peat Long continues to ramble on men and Early Epic Fantasy
bullet The Magic of Rereading Children’s Books
bullet The Pain of Publishing
bullet My Read-bait Words in the Synopsis or Reviews
bullet Should We Be Paying More For Books?—I’m cheap enough to want to say no, but I’m pretty sure we should be
bullet Star Rating System: Keep it or Abandon it Altogether?
bullet What Plots Peat Likes—another good series by Peat continues…
bullet Real Books: Funny Covers from Published Titles (I’ve read one of these and have had two others on my to-buy list for a bit, might have to add more)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh—a thriller about a marriage on the brink. Not typically my kind of thing, but Sternbergh’s going to have a great take on this idea up his sleeve.
bullet Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane—”an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history.”

To build up a library is to create a life. It's never just a random collection of books - María Domínguez

The Friday 56 for 4/28/23: The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson

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On April 28, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 (and 57) of:
The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson

“Hey, wait a second!” the obsessive among you say (I’m going to pretend there are people who obsessively read this blog), “you already did a Friday 56 for this book! What gives? Is this just a re-run?” No, no, this is not a re-run (but that’s a good idea when I’m pressed for time). Gibson’s publishers recently re-issued this book with a fancy new cover, so I’m using this as an excuse to share this thing that made me smile (and made me hungry, too).

“We have to go back,” said Nadi as she stared into her wine glass.

“To Velenia?” asked Rummy.

“Yes.”

“Where there’s a homicidal wizard with an incredibly powerful weapon who has every intention of turning us into shish roundabobs?”

(Shish roundabobs were an ingenious invention that was revolutionizing food service across Erithea; unlike shish kabobs, which are pointy and pose constant danger throughout a meal, to the point (pun fully intended) where you can’t really relax and enjoy the lovely combination of meat and vegetables they offer, shish roundabobs are fashioned from a stick that has a pointed end in order to slide easily through food, but the pointy part snaps off once the food is on to reveal a soft, round tip that is much less dangerous if you happen to poke yourself in the eye with it. Even better, the stick is hollow, and can be filled with whatever substance best compliments the meal you’re eating—yogurt sauce, hot sauce, garlic sauce, lizard blood…whatever you fancy. It’s been whispered that the woman who invented them once lost an eye while eating a shish kabob, but I met her, and the worst injury she ever suffered eating a shish kabob was a tiny scratch on the roof of her mouth that took about a minute and a half to heal; she’s an exceptional marketer, however, so she generally wears an eyepatch wherever she goes—often switching it from one eye to the other so that she doesn’t strain her vision—and lets people make assumptions about the dangers of shish kabob consumption, leading, in most cases, to an uptick in sales for her invention. She’s pretty amazing.)

But, I digress.

WWW Wednesday, April 25, 2023

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On April 26, 2023

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

My reading this week has been greatly reduced (actually didn’t crack a book yesterday at all, a true rarity). Part of that is due to work (just a couple of training days), but the biggest thing is that the Grandcritter has arrived, and I’ve had a hard time focusing on anything that isn’t him. He’s a wonderful little guy, and cuter than everything that’s not Grogu—and even that knight might not be able to compete with the Critter (don’t worry, I’m not going to plaster the page with a bunch of pictures). So, yeah, it turns out something can trump books in this reader’s life. Still, I managed to get almost enough material for this post.

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 seem to have taken a break from Kneading Journalism by Tony Ganzer, but I will get back to it today. I’m reading Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and am listening to Morning Star by Pierce Brown, Tim Gerard Reynolds (Narrator) on audiobook, it’s hard to know which is more brutal—but I’m leaning toward Chain-Gang All-Stars, if only because the future described there is a lot closer to when we are now (and it’s much more likely to happen than Brown’s future).

Kneading JournalismBlank SpaceChain Gang All StarsBlank SpaceMorning Star

What did you recently finish reading?

I most recently finished Dave Barry’s Swamp Story, a truly zany story, and The Stench of Honolulu by Jack Handey (Narrator) on audio, which wanted to be zany.

Swamp StoryBlank SpaceThe Stench of Honolulu

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow and I haven’t even thought about what my next audiobook should be, thankfully, Morning Star is a long one, so I have some time before I have to come up with something.

The Winter of Frankie MachineBlank Space???

Have you been reading anything good lately?

Saturday Miscellany—4/22/23

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On April 22, 2023

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I spent more hours this week interacting with people after work hours than I’m used to (well, people who don’t live with me), which meant that I had very little time to do the kinds of reading that leads to things getting posted here. C’est la vie…

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 National Library Week kicks off on Monday, the theme this year is “There’s More to the Story,” spotlighting the all the things libraries do.
bullet I spent all night at the Last Bookstore. Things got spooky—a bookstore sleepover is such a great idea
bullet Memes-field Park? ‘Digital natives’ are flirting with Jane Austen’s vision of the ideal man all over again
bullet What Do Modern Mystery Novels and Medieval Mystery Plays Have in Common? Sin.
bullet Nancy Drew and the Case of the Guilty Pleasure—how a young reader jumped the gap between blue-spined mysteries to those with yellow-spines
bullet It’s Not The Size Of The Dog: A ramble on Small Men in early Epic Fantasy—a fun follow-up to Peat’s previous ramble about Large Men in Fantasy
bullet Top 5 Tolkien Metal Bands—I didn’t even know this was a thing…
bullet Stop the Audiobook Hate—it seems so stupid that this is a thing that people need to say, but…
bullet What Worldbuilding Peat Likes—another follow-up from Peat Long, some good stuff here (probably doesn’t need to be said)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet City of Dreams by Don Winslow—the second of Winslow’s swan-song trilogy is out, and getting nothing but (likely well-deserved) raves
bullet The Rhythm of Time by Questlove and S. A. Cosby—I’m super-curious about what a collaboration between these two authors would produce—and then you make it a MG Fantasy (that sounds fun no matter who wrote it)? I’m dying to find out.
bullet Hard Rain by Samantha Jayne Allen—she solved one murder as an amateur, what can Annie McIntyre do as she trains as a P.I.? I had some very positive things to say about it recently.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Bachir Bastien, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.
oh to be 13 and reading a book under the blanket at 2 am @kanyekitheaa

The Friday 56 for 4/21/23: The Deal Goes Down by Larry Beinhart

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On April 21, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Deal Goes Down

The Deal Goes Down by Larry Beinhart

Trees fight for life. If you climb to the high, rocky places, where the soil’s been stripped by the beating of the winds, day and night, you’ll see the pines hanging on, their roots crawling into the splits between the stones and wrapping tight around them, like the crew of a ghost sailing ship, desperately clinging forever to the lines as they ride through an eternal storm. .

This love of life that we go on about, how precious it is and such, is just a mechanism. Spiders and flies, blades of grass, and bacteria have it. Any form of life that doesn’t have it gets wiped out. Ipso facto, it’s built in, like spark plugs in an internal combustion engine. We spend endless hours wondering if our life will be short or long, good or bad, worthwhile or worthless, then death comes, and we have no idea at all.

WWW Wednesday, April 19, 2023

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On April 19, 2023

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

I have nothing to ramble on about here at the beginning of this post (I’m sure you’re all relieved)…let’s get right to the WWW of it all.

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 slowly working and thinking my way through Kneading Journalism by Tony Ganzer. I just started Swamp Story by Dave Barry (which will probably not involve much thinking, but a lot of laughter). I should be wrapping up The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley, Hillary Huber (Narrator) on audiobook, and I’m still trying to figure out what I think about it (but it’s generally positive).

Kneading JournalismBlank SpaceSwamp StoryBlank SpaceThe Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished the compelling Larry Beinhart’s The Deal Goes Down and the utterly adequate Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs, Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator) on audio.

The Deal Goes DownBlank SpaceCharlie Thorne and the Last Equation

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be the promising-looking Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. My next audiobook should be a Kenzie and Gennaro novel that I’m fairly ambiguous about, Sacred by Dennis Lehane, Jonathan Davis (Narrator).

Chain Gang All StarsBlank SpaceSacred

Are you working your way through anything good, compelling, or just vaguely interesting?

That’s Some Streak!

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On April 19, 2023

In News/Misc.

730 Day Streak
I tried to work in a Ray Stevens joke, but I think most of my readers are too young for it. And even if you aren’t too young, do you really want to get that song stuck in your head? (oh, I did that already? Whoops.)

For most of the life of this blog, I’ve struggled to get 4-6 posts up a week. The goal was always 6, but sometimes I’d have to settle for two. Sure, I’d occasionally get 8 or 9 days in a row, but that was about it.

Then in 2021, I got a notification that I’d posted something here for like 50 days in a row—without trying or noticing. That seemed pretty cool, so I thought I’d see if I could go for 100 days in a row. And then I’d take a couple of days off. But then I got the 100-day notification and decided to go for 200, I was liking this challenge.

Once I hit 200, I didn’t even bother shooting for 300—I had to go for a year. And then once I got there (actually, it was a couple of days afterward—I don’t think I saw the year mark), I figured it could be fun to go for two years—or 730 days. Yesterday’s repost about Hard Rain was enough for me to achieve that personal record. I’d hoped to get 2 other posts up yesterday (maybe 3), just to make the day more of an event, but things happen (I do have 1.2 of them written, I want to note).

Sure, not every one of those days resulted in something I’m proud to have posted—once it became a goal and not something I stumbled into, I’d stress about getting something up and would have to settle for a repost of something just to qualify. But I did work on something every day, whether I got it in decent shape to post or not. I’m enjoying the discipline

I haven’t decided if I’m going to try for three straight years (1,095 days) or if I’ll let myself have a day or two off. For now, I’m just going to enjoy the accomplishment. We’ll see what happens next.

MUSIC MONDAY: Lux Æterna by Metallica

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On April 17, 2023

In News/Misc.

Music Monday
Music Monday’s originated at The Tattooed Book Geek‘s fantastic blog and has shown up here and there since then. I’ve resisted joining in for various and sundry reasons (primarily that I do a lot of these X days of the week memes already—some argue too many), but I couldn’t resist an excuse to use the graphic at the bottom of the post (you can blame my kids for showing me https://www.metallicalogogenerator.com/). So, yeah, I’ll join in on this occasionally.

This week, let’s start off with a song from Metallica’s new album, “Lux Æterna.”*

* If I was going to start with a Metallica track, I probably should’ve gone with “One” for the bookish tie-in, but no one wants to spend that much time on this page.

The Irresponsible Reader Metallica Logo

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