Category: Currently Reading Page 2 of 57

WWW Wednesday, February 28, 2024

On February 28, 2024

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

Yay, the month is almost over and I can get back to not having to overthink what I type in the Post Title!

So, speaking of February, I’ve mentioned before, but I need to say something one more time. I’m taking part in the fundraiser, I’m Reading Every Day for American Cancer Society this month, and I’d greatly appreciate your support.

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 the ARC of Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter, which I’m really enjoying and seemingly not making much progress in. I’m listening to The Body’s Keepers: A Social History of Kidney Failure and Its Treatments by Paul L. Kimmel, MD, read by Lane Hakel on audiobook. It’s both fascinating and a solid reminder that I was right to avoid any career related to medicine.

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Bradley Sides’s Crocodile Tears Didn’t Cause the Flood, a very strange book* that I meant to post about today. I also just listened to the mercifully brief An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy, read by Suzanne Toren on audio.

* And I mean that in the best possible way.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be for Strong Like You by T. L. Simpson and I have no idea what my next audiobook might be. I haven’t even thought of it, really—there’s a decent chance that I’ll still be listening to The Body’s Keepers when I assemble next week’s WWW, so I’ve got time to decide.

What are you reading today—and for the “bonus day” tomorrow?

WWW Wednesday, February 21, 2024

By HCNewton

On February 21, 2024

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

This has turned into one of those weeks…I’ve read for 60 minutes (combined) the last two days—and I don’t expect today is going to be much better. Those 30 minutes a day is enough to keep me sane…just. (they’re also a good reminder that my mind does require some time for reading). They’re enough to help me keep going with my, I’m Reading Every Day for American Cancer Society, too—a nice bonus. Shall we take a quick look at the books I’m spending a little time with?

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 the disturbing (as the cover suggests) Abnormal Ends by Bryan McBee, and am listening to Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter, read by Khristine Hvam on audiobook to refresh my mind on the series before I dive into the next one.

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished (and posted about ) Adam Johnson’s Fortune Smiles and Another Girl by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson on audio.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be the ARC of Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter (so I’d better make sure I get in some good Audiobook listening time soon) and my next audiobook should be An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy, read by Suzanne Toren, which looks like a quick and fun read.

How’s your reading going this week?

WWW Wednesday, February 14, 2024

By HCNewton

On February 14, 2024

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

I’d make some joke about books being my true Valentine or something here, but Mrs. Irresponsible Reader reads this occasionally—and why test her sense of humor?

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 (really) finally reading City on Fire by Don Winslow (yeah, I said I was reading it last week, but as soon as I started I was reminded of a looming Library due date), and I’m listening to Another Girl by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson on audiobook.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands and the great Soundtrack of Silence: Love, Loss, and a Playlist for Life by Matt Hay on audio.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen, and boy howdy, am I eager to dive in. My next audiobook should be Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter, read by Khristine Hvam—I can’t believe it’s been three years since this came out, I need to refresh my memory a bit before I dive into the next one.

Blank Space

What books are stealing your heart today?

WWW Wednesday, February 7, 2024

By HCNewton

On February 7, 2024

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

I was reminded of Joshua Malina’s repeated struggles to pronounce the name of this month on the West Wing Weekly podcast (a tremendous look at the show, if you haven’t listened to it yet, you should) as it took me three times to get the spelling right in the title of this post. I’m a moderately-intelligent, college-educated adult and should be over this by now (and remember never having a problem with it). But man…it was rough this morning.

So, here’s a WWW to look over while I go grab a napkin and fork so I can dig into the Humble Pie.

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 finally reading City on Fire by Don Winslow, and am listening to The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality by Karen Fine on audiobook, as I’m apparently a sucker for Veterinarian Memoirs.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished JCM Berne’s Return of The Griffin, and will be raving about it soon. I also recently finished the audiobook of Murder Crossed Her Mind by Stephen Spotswood, read by Kirsten Potter, easily the best Pentecost and Parker book yet.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be for Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett—a sequel I’ve been looking forward to—and my next audiobook should be Soundtrack of Silence: Love, Loss, and a Playlist for Life by Matt Hay—which looks fantastic.

Blank Space

What’s on your bedside table (or wherever you keep your current reads)?

Highlights from January: Lines Worth Repeating

By HCNewton

On February 6, 2024

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations

I’m back with this look at some of the best lines I came across last month. I wish a couple of the ARCs I read were published so I could use some lines from them–it probably would’ve almost doubled the size of this post.

The Blacktongue Thie by Christopher Beuhlman

Only the strong, the rich, and the dying think truth is a necessity; the rest of us know it for a luxury

And there’s humanity in a glimpse—we’ve always got a copper for a stone idol, but none for the beggar in its shadow.

To conquer a kingdom, a thousand is not enough. To free a prisoner, ten is too many.

Miles Morales Suspended by Jason Reynolds

The moon was a lightbulb dangling from a high ceiling, But in Brooklyn, there were no stars. Not in the sky. Miles, climbed along side his building up to the roof. Once there, he looked out at the New York City skyline and imagined that all the stars that were supposed to be there had fallen, and now sparkled much closer to the ground.

Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman

For parents, the drawback to loving their children so much is the anxiety that comes with it-—like love’s neurotic cousin…

He’d like to know what she almost said. One of the worst things about being a person is that when you don’t know something, you assume the absolute worst.

Another one of the worst things about being a person: when we’re not busy imagining the worst, too often we allow ourselves to imagine the best, and that almost never pans out.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

“I’m sorry about before,” I said. Seeing as we were shoulder to shoulder, I spoke outwards, lobbing my apology into the void of the mountain. It’s the only way blokes know how to show humility, by pretending we’re at a urinal.

Witty repartee is not well serviced by truth.

Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire

I hate it when people tell me not to be afraid. They never do that when something awesome is about to happen. No one says “don’t be afraid” and hands you an ice cream cone, or a kitten, or tickets to Comic-Con.

Hacker by Duncan MacMaster

The campus was bustling.

The air was fresh.

However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there were a pair of eyes boring holes into the back of my head. I turned around suddenly, and among the milling throng of students and staff going back and forth, I did catch someone doing an instant turn into a doorway.

Were the police tailing me?

Was the killer tailing me?

Was I being a paranoid moron?

All three were distinct possibilities.

The City of Scales by M. T. Miller

Ask, receive, then grieve over the folly of your desire.

The person behind the counter rose; a burly, shirtless creature resembling an oversized egg pretending to be a man.

But this hunt, not unlike a broken latrine, is a gift that keeps on giving.

“Suggestions?”

“None,” said the captain. “Unless someone finds us and we have to subdue them. If that happens, we should move at that moment.”

“No complaints from me,” Amelie said, knowing that she was telling a lie. If things turned sour, she would grumble all the way to her dying breath.

“Easy, no?”

“Not as easy as drowning,” the captain said. “But it could work.

“And my professional opinion is that I have no idea.”

Dream Town by Lee Goldberg

“You’re cruel, which you’ve already proven today by trying to starve me to death,” Duncan said. “We skipped lunch.”

“How is that my fault?”

“You were driving,” he said. “We were caught up in the momentum of the case.”

“He who holdeth the steering wheel decideth whether to driveth- through or not to driveth- through,” Duncan said. “It’s in the Bible. Or maybe it was Shakespeare. I can’t remember, because I’m too hungry.

(Image by DaModernDaVinci from Pixabay)

Saturday Miscellany—2/3/24

By HCNewton

On February 3, 2024

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

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:
Column: Need help finding a good book? Try one your 9th-grader isn’t allowed to read —There’s something to this strategy (especially if it leads someone to read Milton), but I’m mostly sharing this for some of the updates on the banning-but-not-technically movement across the states.
The Great Fiction of AI: The strange world of high-speed semi-automated genre fiction—as Pages Unbound noted, “The problem with this article is that we’re all mocking the authors for ‘writing’ books with AI, but they’re claiming people buy their books anyway and they’re making tons of money by churning this stuff out.”
What Is Punctuation For?: Between the medieval and modern world, the marks used to make writing more legible changed from “pointing” to punctuation.
Why Are We Talking About Books Like This?—This.
What Makes a Favorite?—I appreciated Kopratic’s musings on the topic
Dealing with DNF: The Practice of Did Not Finish—I’ve linked to a number of posts on DNFing over the years, I don’t know if any have been this thorough
Why I’m No Longer Reading Grimdark…—I get this. I absolutely get this. I’m not there, but I could be. And I really identified with the Orangutan Librarian’s ‘2nd paragraph.
Welcome to the #Febookary Reading Challenge 2024!—This looks fun. I absolutely don’t have time for it, but it looks fun.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Fobbit by David Abrams
bullet Split Second by David Baldacci
Unnatural Selection by Aaron J. Elkins
And I noted the releases of Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch (and I was not prepared for all of that) and Cress by Marissa Meyer.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
According to Mark by H. B. O’Neill—”Following a bad breakup, a despondent man, Robert, becomes convinced that the spirit of Mark Twain is trying to guide his life and thinking, giving him lessons in the form of quotations from Twain’s works. Eventually, Twain focuses on getting Robert to kill himself. Robert’s eager to follow the lessons of his hero, but things keep interfering with his efforts.” Is how I started my raving about the book. You can read the rest here.
A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen—I stopped reading at the author’s name. So I don’t know what it’s about…it’s sort of a Groundhog Day/ST:TNG “Cause and Effect” kind of thing. But not?
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson—Stevenson follows up his dynamite novel by sticking his protagonist in a locked room mystery on a train. Sounds perfect to me.
Rivers of London: Here Be Dragons by James Swallow, Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch—Peter and Nightingale deal with a Wyvern above London in the newest comic collection.
These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang—without reading it, I doubt I can do better than the description: “A teenage sorcerer’s apprentice must solve her boss’s murder in order to prove her innocence in this twisty, magic-infused murder mystery perfect for fans of Knives Out and The Inheritance Games.”

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to mentalnotes1, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.

January 2024 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

By HCNewton

On February 1, 2024

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

Before I get into anything, I want to give a shout-out to the tech wizard behind all this, Micah Burke, who (seemingly effortlessly…but probably not) got this site updated and fixed overnight. Hopefully the comments that I inadvertently broke are back online–many other things behind the scenes are much improved, too. You’re a legend, sir. Check out his website, buy one of his pics, hire him for something…

I finished 17 titles (10 down from last month, 3 down from last January), with an equivalent of 5,655 pages or the equivalent (2,250 down from last month), and gave them an average of 3.89 stars (.1 up from last month). I’d realized that I was taking longer with most books this year, I just didn’t know it was that much slower. I’m okay with that number–I only track so I can see how I’m spending my time–it’s just strange for me. Another thing that stood out to me is that my Traditionally vs. Indie Published ratio isn’t what I hope for, but looking at my TBR for the year, that should level off.

Most of my writing was focused on 2023, but I tried to keep a hand in and an eye on 2024 as well, with decent results. I left a couple of items on the drawing board, but not enough that I care. All in all, I’m calling this a good month and a strong start for ’24 for myself and for this wee lil’ blog.

Now, next week something’s happening in that part of my life that pays for all this. I don’t know how that’ll impact my posting frequency or my reading and listening. I’m pretty sure it will…but what do I know? The last 3-4 times I’ve said something like this, no discernible change was visible. Stay tuned, I guess.

But let’s get back to January, here’s what happened around here:
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Book 3 of The Azure Archipelago

Still Reading

Ratings

		Average =	3.88
	1		0
	3		1
	8		0
	3		0
	1

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read	NetGalley Shelf
End of 2023	6	47	68	152	5
1st of the Month	6	47	68	152	5
Added	2	3	4	3	3
Read/ Listened	3	2	5	3	2
Current Total	5	48	67	152	6

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 14
Self-/Independent Published: 3

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Fantasy	5 (29%)	5 (29%)
General Fiction/ Literature	2 (12%)	2 (12%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	5 (29%)	5 (29%)
Non-Fiction	1 (6%)	1 (6%)
Science Fiction	1 (6%)	1 (6%)
Theology/ Christian Living	2 (12%)	2 (12%)
Urban Fantasy	1 (6%)	1 (6%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Such Sharp Teeth (Audiobook) by Rachel Harrison, Kristen Sieh: Hallmark’s Werewolves
Miles Morales Suspended (Audiobook) by Jason Reynolds, Narrated by Guy Lockard & Nile Bullock: Who Needs a Mask? Miles Can Carry a Story on His Own
I’m Not Sure How to Write About The Blacktongue Thief (Audiobook) by Christopher Buehlman, But I Really Liked It
Clearing the Deck II: Tweet-length thoughts about books I can’t find time to write about
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett: This Mystery/Fantasy Hybrid is My First 5-Star Read of the Year
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 43: Missing Things by R. T. Slaywood: A New Home
The Existence and Attributes of God by Shephen Charnock, edited by Mark Jones: This Time-Honored Classic Matches Its Reputation
Warriorborn by Jim Butcher: Butcher Serves Up Quite the Appetizer Before The Olympian Affair
America Fantastica (Audibook) by Tim O’Brien, Oliver Wyman (Narrator): Nothing Fantastic…or Worth Bothering With
Grandpappy’s Corner: How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dyckman, Jennifer Harney
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 44: Bound in Darkness by R. T. Slaywood: What Did You Say?
Silly Rhymes for Belligerent Children by Trace Beaulieu, Len Peralta (Illustrator): Wonderfully Weird Poems for Children of Most Ages
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown: We All Know Books are Magical, but Some Books Really Are Magic
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett: I Can See Me Becoming a Slavering Fan of This Stuff…
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 45: Implications by R. T. Slaywood: Maybe I’m the Problem…
Death in the Dark Woods by Annelise Ryan: If It Weren’t for You Meddling Bookseller and Your Stupid Dog…
The AItheist by Michael J. Svigel: Do Apostles Preach to Electric Sheep?
Grandpappy’s Corner: What’s in Your Howl? by Douglas Gamble, Illustrated by: Steve Humke, Terri Isaacson: If Only Ylvis Had Asked This Question Instead…
The Last Dance by Mark Billingham: The Dancing Detective and the Whingeing Widower

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

WWW Wednesday, January 31, 2024

By HCNewton

On January 31, 2024

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

Here we are at the end of January, and there are at least 2 books I’d hoped to tackle on my TBR and one on my TBL (it To Be Listened (to) a thing? It should be) that I haven’t touched. Not bad, but, still—not auspicious. (one of those three does show up in this post at least!). Before I start planning February’s impossible goals, we might as well take a look at this week’s 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:

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the new Eve Ronin adventure, Dream Town by Lee Goldberg, and am listening to Didn’t See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto, read by Risa Mein on audiobook.

What did you recently finish reading?

Yesterday, I finished M.T. Miller’s The City of Scales, where Miller discovered a gear I wasn’t sure he had, and Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis by Michael Ward, read by Nigel Patterson on audio, where I discovered new depths to the beloved series.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be the second book in The Hybrid Helix, Return of The Griffin by JCM Berne—exactly 55 weeks behind schedule. My next audiobook should be the latest Pentecost & Parker mystery Murder Crossed Her Mind by Stephen Spotswood, read by Kirsten Potter.

How’re you wrapping up this first month?

WWW Wednesday, January 24, 2024

By HCNewton

On January 24, 2024

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

I’m having one of those months where every book is taking at least a day longer than I assumed it would. This isn’t really a big deal—but I have a stack of library books with due dates looming, and I’m going to have to do something to overcome that. As that Canadian band asks, who needs sleep?

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?

This morning I started two new books: I’m reading Death in the Dark Woods by Annelise Ryan, and am listening to Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis by Michael Ward, read by Nigel Patterson on audiobook. I’m intrigued by the premises to both, and hope they live up to them.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Duncan MacMaster’s Hacker. It was better than I expected (and I expected good things). I also just finished Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane, read by Jonathan Davis on audio. I’d forgotten so much of this book—this was like reading it for the first time.

> Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be a book I meant to read in December, The City of Scales by M.T. Miller. My next audiobook should be something pretty different for me, Didn’t See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto, read by Risa Mei.

Blank Space

Are you reading anything good?

Opening Lines: Hacker by Duncan MacMaster

By HCNewton

On January 19, 2024

In Blog Series, Currently Reading, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

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 will not start this story at the moment I found an eyeball floating in my Coke.

from Hacker by Duncan MacMaster
Hacker Cover
Hard to top this. You have to keep going, right?

Opening Lines Logo