Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
Category: News/Misc. Page 63 of 243
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:
Book Banners Ban a Book About Book Banning: Would you believe a school library system would go so far as to ban a book about book banning just because it mentions banned books?—I listened to this audiobook a couple of years back, it boggles my mind that this is controversial.
Thoughts on the 25th Anniversary of ‘Hannibal’—Nick Kolakowski looks back on the book that broke my burgeoning Thomas Harris addiction
Apostrophe’s Dream—Just what do those special characters get up to in a Moveable type drawer?
The Worst Dads in All of Literature: An Incomplete List —skip the Abraham entry, the rest of the post is pretty fun.
Ink & Imagination: Celebrating Ballpoint Pens With Words and Wonder—fountain pens get all the attention, but give me a good ballpoint any day.
These gifts are the way to a book-lovers heart
The Chocolate Lady asks: Do you ever want to go back and review books you read before you started blogging?
Fiction & Mythology—How Many Types of Vampires are There?—Over on Summon Fantasy, Anca Antoci surveys vampires
It’s okay to like grimdark or “I am a Nineties Edgelord”
Lev Parikian has the kind of book buying discipline that I can only aspire to.
A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Tea, Tonic, and Toxin Episode 58: Archie Goodwin is Awesome—(a great episode title), Part 2 of the conversation with Ira Matestky, focused on The League of Frightened Men.
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Hot Lead, Cold Iron by Ari Marmell—I’m still annoyed with myself that I didn’t stick with this series
Marked Man by William Lashner—a pretty good legal thriller, IIRC
The Intern’s Handbook by Shane Kuhn—I enjoyed this book so much, I really wish Kuhn had found his audience.
I mentioned the publication of two books I rather enjoyed and one I completely forgot about (probably because I didn’t get around to reading it): Shield and Crocus by Michael R. Underwood, California Bones by Greg Van Eekhout, and The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart—an assassin who got out is being pulled back in. I had a blast with it, as I tried to convey
Moonbound by Robin Sloan—Sloan gets strange in this Fantasy novel pretending to be Sci Fi (or is it the other way around)? I liked it, but didn’t totally get it
Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter—”A heartwarming novel about a loving dad who drags his eleven-year-old daughter to ‘father-daughter week’ at a remote summer camp—their last chance to bond before he loses her to teenage girlhood entirely.”
Whoops, I almost forgot about this. Blame M.W. Craven.
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?
I literally had to force myself to close The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven and put some distance between me and so I could get this post (and tomorrow’s) ready. I’m closing out Paper & Blood by Kevin Hearne, read by Luke Daniels on audiobook—I’m more eager than I was a couple of days ago for the third installment in this series (and I was pretty eager then). Also, this might be the best thing that Luke Daniels has ever done (and that’s no small feat).
What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished E. Rathke’s Howl and I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle, read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett on audio. Am I allowed to say that I enjoyed it more than The Last Unicorn? It feels like the kind of thing I should whisper—or maybe only admit to someone in a parking garage while standing in the shadows.
>
What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be for The Teachings of Shirelle: Life Lessons from a Divine Knucklehead by Douglas Green and my next audiobook should be The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos, read by James Babson.
What has found its way to the top of your TBR?
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
I’m still trying to figure out my energy levels and how to manage them during my recovery, so I slept through most of my typical social media hours this week (and more of my reading/blogging hours than I’m comfortable with). This resulted in a skimpy list this week. But the show must go on, I hear. (and what I do list is worth your time, I think)
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:
It’s Time We Added Full Credit Pages to Books: Maris Kreizman on the Importance of Acknowledging the Labor That Goes in a Single Title—I’d be down for that.
Five Years On: Reflecting on Dead Inside—Noelle Holten looks back on her debut’s anniversary. (it was such a good read, if you haven’t tried it yet, you really should)
Disabled and Neurodivergent Books out in 2024—a handy list for those who’d be interested
My Problem With Audiobooks—I absolutely get this.
On Mimesis and Stories—another batch of good thoughts from Peat Long
On My Radar: May 2024—Literary Escape’s Monthly Wrap-up of posts and reviews we all should’ve read last month.
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week? (and a fun week it was)
No Colder Place by S.J. Rozan—the fourth Lydia Chin/Bill Smith
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu—it was that long ago I read this?
Kill Fee by Owen Laukkanen—I miss this series…
Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins—Parker. Atkins. ’nuff said.
Night Broken by Patricia Briggs—Mercy Thompson’s 8th adventure
I also spent some time talking about some Puritan works Heaven on Earth by Thomas Brooks—an all-time fave—and The Christian’s Great Enemy: A Practical Exposition of 1 Peter 5:8-11 by John Brown
I mentioned the release of strong>Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta and the fun compilation, strong>FaceOff edited by David Baldacci
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven—the 6th Poe and Tilly novel, reportedly the darkest. No small feat there. Life is preventing me from getting to it at the moment, so I’m bit cross with life. (apparently available in the U.S. in September for those who aren’t addicted enough to order from overseas.)
Traditions of Courage by Jeffrey H. Haskell—the 7th in the Grimm’s War series, and I’m not going to read anything about it, because I’m now 3 behind. Ugh.
Yesterday, I told some people that anything I posted this week was a result of me being unable to get anything written about Robin Sloan’s Moonbound, and while this is a regular post for me—it’s still true. I’m taking time away from staring at an empty text file to put this together. Hopefully, there’s another post today, I really need to get something out there about 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?
I’m reading Bad Actors by Mark Pepper and am listening to The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith, read by Robert Glenister on audiobook.
What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished Craig Johnson’s First Frost and the last audiobook I finished was Dark Days by Derek Landy, read by Rupert Degas.
What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be the new Poe and Tilly novel, The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven. It’s probably my most anticipated read of the year, and I cannot wait to open it up. My next audiobook should be I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle, read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett.
Obviously, this was an atypical month here. But I think I’m getting back into the swing of things. I read 20 titles (5 down from last month, somehow 2 up from last May), with an equivalent of 6,214 pages or the equivalent (1,109 down from last month), and gave them an average of 3.47 stars (.33 down from last month).
Writing was down across the board for me—but I had some great people chip in to help out, so things kept happening here. Let’s see if that trend continues…
So, here’s what happened here in May.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to
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I Really Have No Idea 🤷 |
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Still Reading
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Ratings
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1 | |
1 |
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3 |  |
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4 | |
1 |
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6 | ||
| Average = | 3.47 |
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TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps
| Audio | E-book | Physical | Goodreads Want-to-Read |
NetGalley Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of 2023 |
6 | 47 | 68 | 153 | 5 |
| 1st of the Month |
4 | 50 | 82 | 160 | 7 |
| Added | 1 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Read/ Listened |
2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Current Total | 3 | 52 | 83 | 163 | 8 |
Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 15
Self-/Independent Published: 5
| Genre | This Month | Year to Date |
|---|---|---|
| Children’s | 0 (0%) | 4 (4%) |
| Fantasy | 2 (10%) | 13 (12%) |
| General Fiction/ Literature | 1 (5%) | 9 (8%) |
| Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller | 8 (40%) | 36 (33%) |
| Non-Fiction | 1 (5%) | 11 (10%) |
| Science Fiction | 2 (10%) | 8 (7%) |
| Theology/ Christian Living | 3 (15%) | 14 (13%) |
| Urban Fantasy | 1 (10%) | 12 (11%) |
| “Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) | 1 (5%) | 1 (1%) |
Review-ish Things Posted
- Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green: Slices of Life from Japan (and a couple of other spots)
- Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 1: First through Tenth Topics by Francis Turretin: A Master Class on Theology and Methodology
- The Return of the Kingdom by Stephen G. Dempster: A Quick Look at this Redemptive Historical Overview
- Price to Pay by Dave Sivers: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
- Proclaiming Christ in a Pluralistic Age by J.I. Packer: A Rediscovered Gem from a 20th Century Great
- Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman: Family, (Unwanted) Fame, Love, and Snails
- Nothing Special: Through the Elder Woods by Katie Cook: This Graphic Novel Sparked Joy
- 42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams edited by Kevin Jon Davies: A Tribute in Miscellany, Ephemeron, Bits and Bobs
- BLOGIVERSARY REPOST: Christ Of The Bible And The Church’s Faith by Geoffrey Grogan
- BLOGIVERSARY REPOST: Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child
- BLOGIVERSARY REPOST: Pros and Cons: A Short Story by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg
- The Good Samaritan Strikes Again by Patrick F. McManus: Gentle Humor about Idaho Life
- BLOGIVERSARY REPOST: The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross
- BLOGIVERSARY REPOST: Blood Trade by Faith Hunter
- Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart:The Confessions of a Tactical Drone with a Heartbeat and a Dairy Allergy
- BLOGIVERSARY REPOST: P is for Peril by Sue Grafton
Other People Wrote and I Posted Here
I had a number of Guest Posts, Crossposts, etc. this month so I could take some time away. I’m very, very grateful for them and wanted to point to them at least one more time:
- Top 5 All-Time Desert Island Books with Lashaan Balasingam
- Top 5 All-Time Desert Island Books with Noelle Holten
- Top 5 All-Time Desert Island Books with Carol from Reading Ladies Book Club
- Top 5 All-Time Desert Island Books with Stacey from Whispering Stories
- GUEST POST: Southern California Beyond the Beach by Mary Camarillo
- Top 5 All-Time Desert Island Books with My Mom
- GUEST POST: Don’t Be a Stranger: How to Make Connections in the Book Blogging Community
- CROSSPOST: The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax (Mrs Pollifax #1) 3.5Stars
- GUEST POST: A Contemporary Gothic Thriller by Mary Kendall
- GUEST REPOST: The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft from Witty & Sarcastic Book Club
- GUEST POST: Books and More Books by Robert Germaux
- GUEST POST: Grave Cold and the Art of the Sequel by Shannon Knight
- Top 5 All-Time Desert Island Books with K.R.R. Lockhaven Part 2
Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th), I also wrote:
- Kickstarter Announcement: Anna, Daughter of Creed by Jonathan Fesmire
- Opening Lines: Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman
- Programming Announcement/Sick Leave
- Ask Me (just about) Anything for My Upcoming Blogiversary
- LITERARY LOCALS: A Few Quick Questions with…Shared Stories
- Book Blogger Hop: Collector or Hoarder
- I Did a Thing: Tough Questions from Witty & Sarcastic Book Club
- Towel Day ’24: Do You Know Where Your Towel Is?
- Towel Day ’24: Some of my favorite Adams lines . . .
- Towel Day ’24: Scattered Thoughts about Reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy
- Towel Day ’24: One Closing Item (Indulge a Grandpappy)
- Highlights from April: Lines Worth Repeating
- LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with Steve McGill
- Happy 11th Blogiversary to Me
- They Asked, so I Answer (just about) Anything for My 11th Blogiversary
- WWW Wednesday for May 22 and May 29, 2024.
Enough about me—how Was Your Month?
Cathy at 746 Books is hosting 20 Books of Summer for the 10th year, which is impressive. This is the fourth year for me (not nearly as impressive), and it’s proved to be fun and a good way for me to actually focus on things I’ve gotten distracted from and/or impulse buys. This year I had a plan since January or February, and then when it came time to put it into action threw all of it out. I’m a little apprehensive about this list, it’s ambitious—I think both length and content are going to make several of these slower reads—and risky—I haven’t read most of the authors before, and don’t know what I’m getting into. However, I’ve wanted to read all of these (some of them for years), and I own all but one of these already. Yup! Nineteen books (at least) are leaving Mt. TBR this summer*!
I typically use the unofficial US Dates for Summer—Memorial Day to Labor Day (May 27th through September 2nd), just because it’s easier for me to think that way. And I’ve needed those first few days of September more than once, but let’s not think about that. Now, here it is almost a week later and I’ve just finalized my list—and I probably won’t get started reading any until June 6, this is almost certainly going to come back to bite me somewhere sensitive. But that’s a problem for tomorrow…or August, I guess.
There’s still time to join in the fun—if you’re into this kind of thing. (there are 10 and 15 book versions, too)
* Technically, I guess, one of these has only been on the mountain for a week, but it still counts.
This summer, my 20 are going to be:
(subject to change, as is allowed, but I’m going to resist the impulse to tweak as much as I can).
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 Are Debut Novels Failing to Launch?
Banned Book of the Week—Digital Public library of America announced a new campaign this week
Fletch Inhaled Twice: Reflecting on the influence of I.M. Fletcher and his creator, Gregory Mcdonald—I might quibble a bit here and there, but the only real problem with this piece is how short it is
Five for Them, One for Me, with Rob Hart—a fun Q&A with Hart about Assassins Anonymous
When Romance Is a Mystery: Books Where Finding Love Is Like Solving a Whoduni
Adam Holcombe looks back at a year of A Necromancer Called Gam Gam
Should I Feel Guilty For Checking Out A Book Instead Of Buying It?—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
20 Brilliant Anglo-Saxon Words We Should Bring Back—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Conquer Your TBR Pile — Practical Tips to Read More Books This Year
Master Your Reading List: 10 Practical Tips for Avid Readers—2 of these this week? What is it, January?
Authors: How NOT to Ask a Book Blogger for a Review
Ashley Ottesen explains why her (and my, incidentally) TBR stack will always be full
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
John Knox by Simonetta Carr, Matt Abraxas (Illustrator)—probably the best looking biography I’ve ever read (sure, it’s for kids, but…Abraxas nailed it).
The Warrior by Ty Patterson
The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Wake of the Bloody Angel by Alex Bledsoe—man, I loved this book (still do).
This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
First Frost by Craig Johnson—It’s the 20th Walt Longmire book and we get a look at Walt and Henry before they head off to the armed forces and Vietnam (and Walt dealing with the fallout from TheLongmire Defense).
Things got away from me today, so this is going up later than it should. But I’ve been blathering too much as it is…
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?
I’m reading Rites of Passage by M.D. Presley, and am just about finished listening to Dark Days by Derek Landy, read by Rupert Degas on audiobook.
What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished the ARC of Rob Hart’s Assassins Anonymous—and you’re going to want get your hands on this one—and Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire, read by Emily Bauer on audio.
What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be First Frost by Craig Johnson (assuming I get to Shared Stories by the time I finish Rites of Passage) and my next audiobook should be The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith, read by Robert Glenister.
How are you closing out the month?