Music Monday’s originated at The Tattooed Book Geek‘s fantastic blog and has shown up here and there since then.
Let’s get a little sappy for Valentine’s Day week.
(from CMT Campfire Sessions)
Man, it’s been too long since I’ve done one of these. Time to get back in the swing of things, I generally have fun with these.
Book Blogger Hop
This prompt was submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Review:
Do you post Happy Publication Day posts for books you read?
Not as such, no. I do see plenty of people tweeting that kind of thing—or posting to Facebook, etc., etc. But I rarely do that.
I try to do a blog post on the release day for books I receive an advanced copy of—hopefully a repost of my already written thoughts on a book or I’ll sometimes get a post up on the day itself if I didn’t have my act together in time.
I also make a practice of noting the release of books that I’m interested in or am excited to read in my Saturday Miscellany posts.
I’ve thought about moving that to Tuesdays, but that seems like too much work, and just one more thing for me to keep track of.
If you do, how do you commemorate publication day for books?
(authors need not reply, we all know you’re obsessively clicking refresh to see sales numbers)
I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Kaitlin Corvus’s Sorrow’s Forest. If you take a look at the feed for https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours over the next few days, you’ll see a lot of bloggers who did find the time to write interesting things about it. Sorrow’s Forest was a finalist for the 2023 Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Award, so you know there’s a lot of good to be said about it–but before getting to the spotlight for it, let’s start with a word about BBNYA.
BBNYA:
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.
Book Details:
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Age Category: New Adult
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 272 Page
Publication Date: July 15, 2022
About the Book:
Sorrow’s Forest teems with beasts, some ugly, some beautiful, all unnatural. A ban restricts travel beneath her branches, existing for as long as Lakeview Township has, and most who disobey do not return.
To win a bet, twelve-year-old Mackie King enters the forest, and in its depths, he discovers a boy-like devil. Then he steals him from the trees.
In as little as an hour, the devil names himself Blue and fits seamlessly into the Kings’ life. No one seems to remember he wasn’t always there. Only Mackie knows the truth.
Now, Mackie and Blue are grown, Queen Sorrow has awakened, and she wants her devil back. She’s willing to tear the town apart to reclaim him. Mackie has always been resourceful, but it will take every bit of ingenuity he and Blue possess to thwart Queen Sorrow and her minions, save the town, and free themselves from the shadow of the bittering forest.
Book Links:
Amazon Canada ~Amazon UK ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ The StoryGraph
About the Author:
Kaitlin Corvus is from Ontario, Canada. The north holds the best part of her. She writes about nobodies, monsters, and gutter glitter, loves the stars, the deep dark sea, and a good horror mystery.
My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.
The Lord Bless You and Keep You:
The Promise of the Gospel
in the Aaronic Blessing
DETAILS:
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: September 19, 2023
Format: Paperback
Length: 174 pg.
Read Date: December 3-17, 2023
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
What’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You About?
This book is a reflection on, study of, and application of the Aaronic benediction (above), “possibly the most frequently heard passage of Scripture in Christian worship”.
Luther called the Psalms “a little Bible” since each psalm sets out in brief form all that is taught in the rest of Scripture. I am suggesting the same observation is true of the Aaronic blessing. By exploring the blessing’s background, central elements, spiritual meaning in Israel, and realization in Christ, we will grasp the comprehensive nature of the theme of God’s face and be enabled to stand more fully in its light. We will see that God made us with faces so that his could shine on ours and that the Aaronic blessing could be to us not only a “little Bible,” but a “little gospel.”
The book is essentially broken into two sections—the first three chapters examined the context of the Aaronic blessing’s introduction, the content of the blessing itself, and then looked at it in the light of the New Testament. The second section is more practical—the consequences of the blessing both for ourselves and the way we treat others, and the pastoral use of the blessing.
A Question of Timing
I would’ve appreciated a version of this book written in 2019. Too often, Glodo, sounded to me like he was trying to re-fight the battle over masks from 2020-2021 with a theological veneer in the latter chapters (and the introduction). A version of those chapters without reference to that would’ve been more helpful—and less potentially off-putting—and might have prepared the reader to come to their own informed conclusions on that issue if a similar pandemic occurs again.
Maybe I’d have been happier if he took a firm pro-/con- mask position, because the mentions of the practice with just a negative tone (or so I took it), was unsatisfactory. (if only because it was so vague it’s hard to interact with)
So, what did I think about The Lord Bless You and Keep You?
I was very excited to hear that someone was giving us an entire book on the Aaronic benediction—and overall, I was pleased with what we got. Personally—I wanted chapters 1-2 to be longer, more detailed and a little more developed, especially 2. I think three could’ve probably used the same treatment, but I didn’t write that in my notes (unlike with the other two). The chapters on the consequences of the blessing were fine. I also anticipated that the book would’ve featured a lot more of what the chapter on pastoral use and application gave us—and would’ve liked more of that.
That said, I’m not complaining that Glodo didn’t write the book I wanted/expected—but it would’ve been nice. (I’m not sure we needed the appendix, but, eh—it’s an appendix, so…who cares?)
I really do think that this is a good contribution and will be helpful to readers. I do recommend reading this—particularly the first half.
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
I struggled to find time for pretty much everything this week that wasn’t work, so this list ended up on the shorter side, but I still think you’ll find something you like.
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:
Children’s Publishers on the Role of BookTok
The Case for Paper: Books vs. E-Readers —Psychology Today weighs in on the side of paper.
Fantasy reimagined: Arab and Asian authors are rising globally by embracing their cultures
Literary Awards – What are they and why should you care? – Part 1—Rediscovered Books has started a series on their blog about those foil stickers on books.
Why Are Books Featuring Old Protagonists Trendy Right Now?—Good question, and Corson offers some good answers.
Nick Petrie on the Best Boundary Pushing Novels in Beloved Mystery Series—Petrie talks about some of the novels where authors broke/pushed the rules governing their series (and mentions a couple of unbreakable rules)
The American Cancer Society is running a fundraiser this month, and I figured I’d jump in: I’m Reading Every Day for American Cancer Society – Please Donate!—(I sort of wish I did this under the blog name, instead of my personal profile, oh well)
Shortly after starting that challenge, I saw that Hair Past a Freckle is doing something similar for Sarcoma UK, if you’re in the donating mood.
A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
SFF Addicts Ep. 90 Robert Jackson Bennett talks The Tainted Cup, Murder Mysteries & Moretitle—This is a great conversation. And although I wish he’d gotten Rex Stout’s name correct when talking about the inspiration for his detective characters, I love the image of Dr. Doolittle/Henry Higgins writing Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin.
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones – 1899-1981 by Iain H. Murray
Hell Hole by Chris Grabenstein—the mid-point in a series I so wish was ongoing
The Humans by Matt Haig
Mandarin Plaid by S. J. Rozan—I can’t imagine I could write something so pithy today (especially about a Rozan book!)
The Bat by Joe Nesbø
I mentioned the release of The Martian by Andy Weir…I wonder what happened with that one…
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett—This murder mystery/fantasy hybrid my first 5-star read of the year as I described a couple of weeks ago. I can’t imagine I won’t be mentioning this a few more times this year, so I’ll just leave it there for now.
Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out by Shannon Reed—”A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a teacher, bibliophile, and Thurber Prize Semifinalist.” Looks fun…and what bibliophile doesn’t enjoy reading about others afflicted with the same addiction?
Fourteen Days by many people—”Set in a Lower East Side tenement in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Fourteen Days is an irresistibly propulsive collaborative novel from the Authors Guild, with an unusual twist: each character in this diverse, eccentric cast of New York neighbors has been secretly written by a different, major literary voice–from Margaret Atwood and Celeste Ng to Tommy Orange and John Grisham.” I don’t know when/if I’ll get around to reading this, but I’m fascinated by the idea.
I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes: And Other Tales from My ADHD Brain by Emily Farris—”A hilariously-honest, heartwarming essay collection about life, love, and discovering you have ADHD at age 35.”
The Price You Pay by Nick Petrie—Peter Ash comes to Lewis’ aid in his latest adventure. This looks great. If only I didn’t have to three books to read to catch up on the series.
(you’re welcome for the earworm)
The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 46: Fake
DETAILS: Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #46 Format: Kindle Vella Story Read Date: February 8, 2024
The Story So Far…
A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.
He’s abducted by some representatives of a mysterious group who subject him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.
Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. He takes refuge in a homeless encampment shortly before a police raid. He’s apprehended and finds himself an interrogation room and shortly escapes after using his grift (but with results he didn’t quite intend). He finds himself by a group of squatters who seem to have strapped a woman to a chair for reasons that can’t be good. He attempts to rescue her before he even realizes what he’s doing, and seems to have succeeded—well, the two of them got away from the group anyway—breathing but bruised. They make their way to a fast-food taco joint and Bonaduke really needs to refuel to keep going. He tries, but fails to get food because he keeps passing out. Thankfully, the clerk is the same guy from the liquor store and he both recognizes him and gives him first aid. The woman (Zero) wakes up and shows some abilities of her on as she helps them escape from her captors who’ve tracked her down. One thing leads to another—Zero and Bonaduke’s magics don’t mix well (at least until they understand what each other can do?), and they end up in a video-game race against the squatters in a tricked-out version of Eric (the clerk’s) car. Note, I said video-game race, not a video-game-style race. They’re actually in one. When dumped back into reality, he’s surrounded by bruised and broken bodies (of people and cars). And then he gets into a supernatural fight and survives…just.
Or maybe not. But he gets better. And then his new…friends? Acquaintances? People who keep popping up in his life?…start explaining exactly what’s going on to him while they set up a new HQ and try to teach him about his abilities (and everyone tries to understand them).
What’s Fake About?
Bonaduke has a notion or two from what he learned in the last episode and does some experimenting with his abilities using these notions. And something happens. I’m not exactly sure what, but something.
So, what did I think about Fake?
Insert default complaint about grammar and spelling, again. There’s a pretty big point made about contracts here. Well, actually it’s about “contacts.” But I think he meant the other one. If you’re going to make a significant point about something, you should probably get the word right.
The last few paragraphs restored a bit of confidence in where this is going. It wasn’t that long ago that I was feeling excited about this series, but the last couple of episodes have poured cold water on that. But maybe there’s light at the end of the tunnel?
Bush-turkey Needs a Friend
by Ann Göth
DETAILS:
Publisher: Natural Publishing
Publication Date: November 13, 2023
Format: eBook
Length: 34
Read Date: February 7, 2024
What’s Bush-turkey Needs a Friend About?
This is the tale of Tom, an Australian brush-turkey (aka bush-turkey), and his quest to meet someone like him–or at least enough like him to befriend him.
It doesn’t go well for him, most birds deciding that Tom’s a bit too strange for them. But he carries on, grows up, and eventually meets another bush-turkey and, yes, makes a friend.
The Author
Göth is a Science teacher and a Brush-Turkey researcher, who has written a book for adults on the Brush-Turkey. So she comes at this with a dual expertise and a mission to teach accurate lessons about the bird.
It reminded me of Valerie D. Johnson’s 1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm, where you get an expert on an area coming along to teach young readers (in her case, math). We could use more things like this in the world (they probably exist, I just need to learn about them).*
* If I was in a snarkier mood, I’d say that we need more things like this than children’s books written by celebrities. But I’m not in that kind of mood.
Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute
Eh…this is the biggest stumbling point with this book. It’s pretty obvious that Göth is not a professional illustrator, and won’t be anytime soon. This is not to say that the art is bad–it’s just not good. It’s fine. A little inconsistent, a touch sloppy, but good enough.
I don’t know that a young reader is going to have a problem with it–I don’t see most of them being as snobbish as we grown-ups can be.
How is it to Read Aloud?
It’s a simple, straightforward style–no rhyme, no rhythm, no tongue-twisters, no made up words. That can be a nice change of pace, really. The nice short sentences should work well for reading aloud or coaching someone through early sentences on their own.
So, what did I think about Bush-turkey Needs a Friend?
This was a pretty nice book and a good introduction to a bird I’d like to know a little more about.
The life lesson isn’t a particularly novel or groundbreaking one–but it’s one that needs to be repeated throughout a child’s life (and many adult lives, too), so bring it on. Add that to the ornithological lessons, and this is a good read.
Disclaimer: I received this book from BookSirens in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
I’m very pleased to welcome the Cover Reveal for Anca Antoci’s Pierced by Silver to The Irresponsible Reader this morning! This novel is an an urban fantasy (with a romantic subplot) focused on Romanian mythology (by a Romanian), if you’re like me, that alone will pique your curiosity. The blurb will crank that up for you. Before we get to revealing the cover, let’s learn a little bit about the book and author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment, and then we can all feast on the cover.
Book Details:
Book Title: Pierced by Silver by Anca Antoci
Series: Paranormal Misadventures, Book 2
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
Release date: March 21, 2024
Preorder: Yes
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
About the Book
Where the boundaries blur between the living and the dead, the line between hero and monster is thin
Deep in the heart of Transylvania, nestled amidst ancient forests and shrouded in centuries-old superstitions, lies the village of Vânători. A string of gruesome murders has left the villagers terrified, and the authorities baffled. Joining forces are Ella Martin, a witch with a hidden past, Felix Goia, a brilliant but haunted police inspector, and Radu Lupu, a mysterious police captain whose supernatural nature has the potential to unravel everything.
As the bodies pile up and the villagers’ fear turns to rage, Ella, Felix, and Radu find themselves caught in a race against time. The locals suspect one of their own to be a strigoi—a relentless force that hungers for blood. They must uncover the truth behind the killings, whether it’s a human monster or a strigoi, before the village is consumed by darkness.
However, their investigation takes a perilous twist when Radu, as a vârcolac, becomes the target of an unrelenting predator armed with silver tipped arrows. With their strongest ally out of commission, Ella and Felix must hurry to save him and stop the killings before Vânători becomes a ghost town.
*Based on Romanian folklore and mythology, the story follows the events of Midsummer Night’s Curse, but can also be read as a standalone. Each book in this series features a new mystery that will be solved by the end of the story, but the dynamics between the characters may change and evolve, so I recommend that you read the books in order.
Book Links
About the Author
Anca’s overactive imagination pours into her stories bringing otherworldly creatures to life. Her debut novel, Forget Me Not, is the first part of a trilogy published in 2020.
Before starting her writing journey, Anca was active in the blogging community as a fantasy book reviewer. The fanfiction stories she wrote long before she dreamed of being a writer are still popular and available on her blog. Although not as often, she still posts book reviews and book recommendations on her blog www.summonfantasy.com.
Living in Romania, Anca speaks English as a second language and is quite self-conscious about her accent, which is why she never speaks in her videos on TikTok. She loves taking long walks through the parks to recharge her batteries before a writing sprint. Anca loves cooking and can often be found in the kitchen trying out a new recipe while an audiobook keeps her entertained.
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Pinterest ~ Medium ~ Mastodon
and now…
The Cover
Antoci adds:
Fun fact: The wolf head on the cover is called Draco and was a religious and military symbol for the Dacians, an ancient people who inhabited what is now Romania and parts of surrounding countries (before we were conquered by the Romans 2000 years ago). It was a standard, typically made of bronze, that depicted a wolf head with an open mouth and a snake-like body.
The Draco held significant meaning for the Dacians in two ways: military and religious. It was mounted on a pole, carried by a standard bearer, and often displayed proudly during battles and religious ceremonies.
The Draco played a crucial role in uniting Dacian warriors and intimidating enemies during battle. The wolf head contained metal tongues that vibrated in the wind, creating a howling sound resembling wolves or dragons. Its wind-borne howl served as a psychological weapon against the enemy, striking fear into their hearts.
The Draco also represented the Dacian pantheon, particularly the sky god Zalmoxis (serpent) and Gebeleizis (wolf). Both gods embodied power, protection, and connection to nature.
Now, you may be wondering why I’m telling you all that. Since this is the second book in Paranormal Misadventures, I’ll assume you have already met police captain Radu Lupu (by the way, lupu means “the wolf” in Romanian and it’s a pretty common surname). Just in case you haven’t finished Midsummer Night’s Course, I’ll avoid spoilers. Let’s just say it’s relevant to the story. There’s actually a Dacian legend of the Great White Wolf I drew inspiration from. I hope you’ll enjoy the pieces of my culture and heritage I included in this story.
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.
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.
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.
What’s on your bedside table (or wherever you keep your current reads)?
I’m very pleased to welcome the Cover Reveal for the new Archer and Baines novel, Price to Pay by Dave Sivers to The Irresponsible Reader this morning! Before we get to revealing the cover, let’s learn a little bit about the book. It’ll just take a moment, and then we can all feast our eyes on the cover.
Book Details:
Book Title: Price to Pay by Dave Sivers
series: Archer and Baines, Book 7
Genre: Police Procedural
Format: eBook
Release Date: February 28, 2024
About the Book
‘Fast-paced, devious and twisty – the pages turned themselves! I loved it!’ – Liz Mistry
The more you have, the more you have to lose…
Following an arrest that went wrong, leaving her disfigured and her life in ruins, DCI Lizzie Archer transferred to Buckinghamshire’s Aylesbury Vale, hoping to rebuild her confidence, her career and her life. Eleven years later, she’s happily married, her career is back on track, and she has friends she would trust with her life.
But things can change in a heartbeat.
Meanwhile, her friend and colleague, DI Dan Baines, has worries of his own as the long shadow of the serial killer known as the Invisible Man continues to hang over him. When the chance comes to finally get answers to some troubling questions, he is almost afraid to learn the truth. Because sometimes the reality can be worse than your imagination.
Soon after receiving unsettling threats from local criminals, an old flame makes an unwelcome return to Lizzie’s life. Days later, a grisly murder too close to home plunges her into a nightmare that could cost her everything as suspicion falls on her and her husband, Dominic.
Dan and his team are sidelined from the murder investigation, but they’re not going to let that stop them when a friend is in trouble. And the clock is ticking. Because, if they can’t uncover the truth soon, things will get even worse for Lizzie and Dominic.
Pre-Order the Book Now
and now…
The Cover
That’s a moody image, eh? I don’t get the feeling this is going to be a feel-good romp (the blurb helps, too). Just the thing for a chilly late winter night…
You’re going to want to get this, you might as well order it now, so it arrives on your reader on the 28th!
My thanks to Overview Media for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.
