The Irresponsible Reader - I Read (a lot) and then Rant, Rave and maybe Review

The post title there really has little to do with the book, but I loved the line so much, I had to use it.

The Big Empty

DETAILS:
Series: Elvis Cole, #19
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 384 pg. 
Read Date: December 18-20, 2024

What’s The Big Empty About?

I’m tempted to skip this part and rush to the bit where I insist you go pick this up, throw up the five stars, and call it a day. But I won’t—I’d feel guilty about it. But honestly, feel free to skip this. It’s just filler until I get to the .jpg with the stars.

The Baker Next Door is an Internet sensation, she’s moving on to TV and brick-and-mortar stores. But her success isn’t enough for her, something’s been chewing at her for a long time, so Traci Beller comes to Elvis with a cold case. The ten-year anniversary of her father’s disappearance is coming up, and she wants some answers. She’d prefer Elvis find him hale and hearty, but she doesn’t expect it. But she wants to know what happened before. Five years ago good investigators that Elvis knows couldn’t find him, and the state declared him deceased. But Traci wants to try again.

Something about her and her determination gets to Elvis, and he agrees to look at the LAPD’s file—as well as the records from the other PIs. Also, Traci gave him muffins. It probably doesn’t hurt that Ben Chenier is fan, either.

Still, it’s a cold case. It’s not going to be easy to find something new—and it’s only something new that will move the case forward. Otherwise, he’s just going to be doing what his predecessors did, just probably less fruitfully. Thankfully (otherwise this would be a short story, not a novel), Elvis asks the right question and gets the answer he needs.

On the other hand, he might have preferred the less eventful version.

Elvis and Joe

At this point, Joe Pike is practically a super-human, or maybe a human so fantastic as to be unbelievable—like Batman or Jack Reacher. And I don’t care (I don’t think anyone does)—because he’s not infallible and we all love to see him come in to save the day.

Meanwhile, Elvis has always seemed pretty mortal. Something happens in The Big Empty that emphasizes this mortality. It is not like what happened to Spenser in Small Vices, but it reminded me of it. But Crais handles it better and more believably—Elvis is not infallible, he’s not invincible, and it’s good for the reader—and for him—to get a reminder of it.

Still, it appears that Crais has taken the “stop the characters aging” route—we don’t get references to Vietnam anymore to keep them from seeming as old as they are (see also: Spenser dropping references to Korea). I don’t care how much Tai Chi or whatever Elvis does—he’s too old to do half of what he does. I’m absolutely okay with that, I don’t need to see inconveniently-timed sciatica messing up Pike’s silent approach to a building or Elvis needing a cane or a hearing aid to get through the day.

Basically, I wouldn’t change a thing about what Crais has done with these characters, nor what he’s doing with them now—and The Big Empty is one of the best books to showcase the strengths of his approach to the characters since The Last Detective.

On the Other Hand, We Have John Chen

Really, truly, John Chen is a lousy excuse for a human being—he’s a decent criminalist (it seems) and he’s really easy for Elvis to manipulate into getting what he needs. But the guy is about as self-aware as a piece of toast. His self-delusions are at the level of Pike’s omnicompetence—this doesn’t make him any less entertaining (or cringe-inducing) to read, but wow…some growth in his character would restore some of my faith in humanity.

I was so happy when he showed up in these pages, and I loved every moment with him. (so, yeah, I really don’t want him to grow or develop as a character)

But what I really want—and I don’t know how this could happen—is a short story/novella where John Chen and Roddy Ho have to team up. It would be the ultimate in HR nightmares, and the two would hate each other (I assume). But boy howdy, would it be fun to watch.

So, what did I think about The Big Empty?

Yes, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that I’m going to love a new Elvis Cole novel. But that shouldn’t take away from just how ____ing good this was. If this was my first time reading Crais, it would not have been my last—and I’d have a stack of library books next to me now (which would be replaced by a stack of paperbacks fresh from the bookstore after I read one or two more).

There’s just something about Crais’ prose that makes you race through it. Because of the pace at which he puts books out lately, I wanted to take my time and savor it. Relish each paragraph. But you just can’t do it—the prose is so smooth, so well put together, that every time you try to slow down, Crais comes along behind you and gives you a nudge and you remember that you’re on a bobsled hurtling down the track. That almost sounds like you’re out of control—but you’re not. Maybe a better metaphor would be that you’re in a Lamborghini Murciélago, trying to drive slowly down a deserted highway to take in the scenery. But that car isn’t built for 35 MPH, and before you notice, you’re doing at least 80.

Also, that wasn’t me complaining (too much) about the pace Crais is publishing lately—if he was faster, that prose wouldn’t be as honed. He can take as long as he wants.

We got a larger-than-usual cast of supporting characters for a Cole or Pike novel (or so it seemed, I didn’t do a headcount, nor am I going to go back and do one for the last few books). I thought they were all great—from the antagonists, to the villains, the witnesses, and the innocent parties that got sucked up into something they shouldn’t have been. I believed them all and would like to see almost all of them again (if only it were possible). I can’t tell you the best characters because it would ruin too much, and I want to stay on Putnam’s good side. But when you get to the last chapter, the character there that I haven’t mentioned in this post? That’s the best character (by a nose) in this one.

The first chapter was great—maybe it didn’t do much in terms of story, but it gets you right back into Elvis and Lucy. Then we meet Traci and her manager (that you want Elvis to punch almost as much as he wants to), and you’re with Elvis in wanting to help her—and the book keeps building from strength to strength there—right up to the perfect closing paragraph.

The sole quibble I have with this was the way that the relationship between Elvis and the Sherriff Department’s detective. It just seemed off the way it developed from the natural antagonism to the endpoint where it seemed more (not completely) collegial easier than it should’ve.

So, yeah, I think I’ve made it clear that I really enjoyed The Big Empty, I don’t think it’s the best thing that Crais has written—but it’s gotta be in the top 5 (it could be recency bias talking, but I don’t think so). I’d have to think long and hard to come up with many (other than The Promise, because of Maggie). Regardless of how it stacks up with the rest of Crais’ oeuvre, it’s a dynamite novel, one of the highlights of 2024 for me—and I predict many people will say it’s a highlight of 2025 for them when it’s published next week.

Get your pre-orders or library holds in now, friends, you want to get your hands on this.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Putnam Books via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

5 Stars

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.
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My Favorite Theology/Christian Living Books of 2024

By HCNewton

On January 5, 2025

In News/Misc., Theology/Christian Living

My Favorite Theology/Christian Living Books of 2024
It’s time for me to start with these lists, I guess. We’re going to start with my favorites in Theology and Christian Living (and related things). There’s some overlap in some of these titles, which just shows what kinds of things I was thinking about this year, I guess. I didn’t read as many books along these lines as I expected to/usually do–mostly because the ones I did read took some work to get through (and I had too many “project reads”). But these would’ve floated to the top in any year.

As always, re-reads don’t count for these lists.

(in alphabetical order by author)

On Classical Trinitarianism: Retrieving the Nicene Doctrine of the Triune God

edited by Matthew Barrett

My original post
This is simply a monumental work that the Western Church desperately needs. (at least from where I’m sitting) Barrett and the all-star group of contributors make the case that we need to remember, if not rediscover, the classical, Nicene doctrine of the Trinity (as well as that which led to it and from it). We ignore it at our own peril and play fast-and-loose with it today to the damage of our preaching, our sanctification (collectively and individually), and our mission. These 800 pages of articles define the essentials, expand upon those definitions, show where we’re falling and failing and point us to recover lost ground.

I read it far, far too quickly to get everything it was trying to do–I’m going to take another run at it soon and will read it slowly, with a notebook in hand.

5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars

The Marrow of Modern Divinity

by Edward Fisher, Thomas Boston

My original post
This is one of the most famous (or infamous) books in the Scottish Reformed tradition–Edward Fisher’s defense of the Gospel against the errors of legalism and antinomianism with (generally) helpful notes (as short as a phrase or as long as several paragraphs) by Thomas Boston that created a controversy in the Church of Scotland big enough that books are still being written about it.

The Marrow is so clear. It’s so helpful. It’s so full of Gospel truth and assurance. It’s so spot-on in describing the ditches of legalism and antinomianism that are so easy to fall into. And yet, it never gets nasty or harsh in the criticism of the errors, it just points at them and says, “Don’t go there, and here’s why.” So few books along these lines manage that (I’m not saying they’re wrong to show teeth, but Fisher/Boston show you don’t need to).

I cannot recommend this enough.

5 Stars

On the Unity of Christ

by Cyril of Alexandria, John Anthony McGuckin (Translator)

My original post
One thing that goes along with our problems with Trinitarian Theology is Christology–particularly the Unity of the Divine and Human natures of Jesus Christ. It’s not an easy thing to grapple with, make no mistake, but it’s not something we should take casually, either. Cyril of Alexandria’s On the Unity of Christ is one of the landmark works in the development/defense of this idea–and reading it you understand why it’s stood the test of time. The translation (and, I assume, Cyril’s original) flows easily, most of it can be understood by 21st Century readers (even those of us relatively unschooled in philosophy or technical theology). The case he’s making is easy to follow and profit from.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand why something is considered a classic outside of its age. On the Union of Christ is not one of those books.

5 Stars

The Water and the Blood: How the Sacraments Shape Christian Identity

by Kevin P. Emmert

My original post
I read this last January, and should probably schedule a re-read soon. It’s one of those books.

It’s is a confessional (from all over the Protestant spectrum) and theological look at the sacraments and their role in teaching Christians about Christ and forming their character and lives in Him. The book starts by talking about the dependence of the Sacraments on the Word, then moves to a look at the nature of the Sacraments and how they function generally to form Christians. The next two chapters look at each Sacrament specifically—what they tell us about those “who have been immersed into Christ and who commune with Him.” The last two chapters apply all this, how the Sacraments form and inform Christian morality and then how they equip and guide believers into the work of ministry in a variety of settings.

The focus of the book is our identity in Christ—the doctrine of Union with Christ—and how the sacraments shape us into better living out that identity. And I just wanted to marinate in that for days. I still do, really.

5 Stars

Word and Spirit: Selected Writings in Biblical and Systematic Theology

by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.; edited by David B. Garner & Guy Prentiss Waters

My original post
This is a collection of most (if not all) of the shorter works of Richard Gaffin organized under the topics of: Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology, and Systematic Theology; Theology of Hebrews and Paul; Scripture, Epistemology, and Anthropology; Pneumatology; and The Law of God, Soteriology, and Eschatology.

If I were asked what was the best section, or the best piece in the book (or in each section), I’d balk. If pressed, I’d make an attempt and would end up arguing for just about every piece in the book. It’s probably the book on this list I profited the most from. I expect that to be true–or at least in the running–anytime I pick it up in the future.

5 Stars

Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling

by Nijay K. Gupta

My original post
Gupta’s aim is to show how strange the early Christians appeared to their neighbors due to their practices, beliefs, and attitudes. Not as a call to “keep Christinity weird” or anything–but to remind us how odd we are compared to everyone around us, and we’ve always been that way.

There’s the implication that if we don’t seem weird to those outside the Church, maybe we’re doing something wrong. But that’s not his main point.

Also, the strange-ness of early Christianity was one of the things that attracted some to the Church. It was different, it was distinct, and that drew in people who saw the shortcomings of their culture.

It’s a somewhat humorous (but not jokey) and engaging read that educates and challenges. It’s well worth your time.

This could/should be read in conjunction with the books by Williams and Presley on this list, they describe some of the same time period in overlapping but distinct ways.

4 Stars

Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World Like the Early Church

by Stephen O. Presley

My original post
While many look at the increasinly post-Christian world we seem to be living in and come up with plans for waging a Culture War of one form or another, Presley asks why not look to the Early Church, the pre-Constantinian believers who were in a situation very similar, but a pre-Christendom. How did they go about interacting with the culture? This book explores that idea by looking at the way Christians believed, taught, and acted (generally speaking, recognizing outliers and sins along the way) in the spheres of: Identity, Citizenship, Intellectual Life, Public Life, and Hope.

His position is, to over-simplify: through a focus on catechesis (or, if you prefer, discipleship) and liturgy (or, if you prefer, worship) the Church was able to build identity and community, able to live out the lives they were called to and to impact—slowly and organically—the culture around them.

It’s not a perfect book, but it’s so helpful that it’s easy to overlook what few problems/quibbles I might have had with the writing/examples. It’s a reminder that the Church ought to be the Church (see the book by Strange below), and focus on that.

This could/should be read in conjunction with the books by Williams and Gupta on this list, they describe some of the same time period in overlapping but distinct ways.

Oh, yeah, it hasone of the best indexes I encountered last year, too.

4 Stars

Empowered Witness: Politics, Culture, and the Spiritual Mission of the Church

by Alan D. Strange

My original post
This is an introduction to and defense of the Presbyterian doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church (essentially that the Church has a ministerial, not majesterial/legislative, calling). The book accomplishes its task primarily
by looking at the way Charles Hodge and some of this Southern Presbyterian opponents–who all held to this doctrine–dealt with the issue of slavery/The Civil War in the middle of the 19th Century.

It might seem like a strange approach, but it really works–keeping it from contemporary arguments, Strange is able to talk about these things without bringing in too many prejudices or getting distracted by trying to comment on contemporary issues.

There are few books (of any genre) that I’ve spent as much time talking about over the last year as I have this one. It’ll spark conversation for you, if nothing else. But you’ll profit from it greatly.

4 1/2 Stars

Redemptive History & Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos

by Geerhardus Vos, edited by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

My original post
Like the Gaffin collection (above), this is a collection of much of Vos’ shorter works, largely focused on Biblical Theology. We get 270 pages of 20 +/- page articles, then several shorter works and addresses, and then a handful of Book Reviews (that provide as much as, if not more, to chew on than the shorter works).

This collection just knocked my socks off. I read an article a week and it was one of the highlights of the week for me to do so.

I learned a lot. Not just about Vos and his brand of theology, but about the Scriptures and the Lord who gave them to His Church so she would see Him and His glory in them.

The writing is fantastic. The thinking is even better. I had to think about a lot of this, to ponder and wrestle with it, and got to revel in it, too.

I can’t think of a reason to not read this book—it’ll reward careful reading (and casual reading, too—just not as richly). It’s just great stuff.

4 1/2 Stars

Cultural Christians in the Early Church: A Historical and Practical Introduction to Christians in the Greco-Roman World

by Nadya Williams

My original post
For Williams, Cultural Christians are “individuals who self-identify as Christians, but whose outward behavior, and, to the extent that we can tell, inward thoughts and motivations are largely influenced by the surrounding culture rather than by their Christian faith and teachings of Jesus.”

There are three driving concerns behind this book. The first is to combat the idea that the Early Church was too spiritual and correct to have to deal with these individuals—and because of that we can have some problematic ideas about the Church today. Secondly, because of our historical ignorance, we can fail to see how the Early Church was influenced by the culture around them. Third, if we see how the Early Church is susceptible to this, and that we are, too—we can more easily see the need to push beyond Cultural Christianity to the genuine article.

Williams does discuss some of the major theologians of the first few centuries of The Church (until around the time of Constantine), but her focus is on everyday believers. To get a real flavor of what life was like we don’t just need the theological tracts and creeds, we need to know what people ate, wore, did for a living, and so on.

We have the same feet of clay as our forefathers did—and the same challenges to overcome. Thankfully, we have the same Savior. This book helps us to remember that—and I encourage everyone to pick this up (and not just so you don’t have to hear me do it in person, as many of my friends have).

This could/should be read in conjunction with the books by Gupta and Presley on this list, they describe some of the same time period in overlapping but distinct ways.
4 Stars

A few books that almost made this list, and I want to be sure to mention one more time:
The Lord Jesus Christ: The Biblical Doctrine of the Person and Work of Christ by Brandon D. Crowe (My original post), The Two Kingdoms: A Guide for the Perplexed by W. Bradford Littlejohn (My original post), Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy by John McGuckin (My original post), and The Hijacked Conscience: An Informed and Compassionate Response to Religious Scrupulosity by Debra Peck (My original post).

Saturday Miscellany—1/4/25

By HCNewton

On January 4, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

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 January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924!—While the list of some of the more prominent titles is interesting, it’s a good piece on copyright, public domain, and even some of people behind the works
bullet Support an indie author by leaving reviews—An Evergreen Reminder
bullet New You? Or Old Books? Here’s a resolution: Craft a personal canon
bullet 20 Years of Old Man’s War—Scalzi looks back at the publication of OMW, the book that changed his life
bullet Robert Crais: A Crime Reader’s Guide to the Classics—You read this, and you never have to read another word about Robert Crais again. It’s just that good. (the last section is a must read)
bullet Reading Ladies’ Carol has a few 2024 Blog Reflections to kick off 2025
bullet She also posted: Best of the Best: 2015 to 2024—a nigh-Herculean task
bullet Lashaan’s A Year in Review — 2024 at Roars and Echoes. I’m so tempted by just about everything mentioned in this wrap up (except for the very tiny amount of things I’ve already read/watched)
bullet State of [Pete Long’s] Delirium 2025
bullet Fictionophile’s SEVEN Bookish Resolutions 2025—some good, SMART, goals.
bullet Politics in SFF: Yes or No? Book Berne-ing 18!—Berne delivers what will be come to known as the definitive take on the subject for years to come. (okay, probably not, but it should be a contender if such a thing were possible)

It’s the Time of Year for Best of Lists like these to embiggen your 2025 TBRs (or to give you fodder to think about). I’ve made purchases/planned purchases/placed library books on hold from these. One title in particular keeps showing up on these lists (including what I’ve posted the last few weeks). It’s going to be on my list, too. Which just makes me feel better about including it–I knew what I was doing. 🙂
bullet Biblionerd Reflections’ My Favorite Backlist Reads of 2024 and My Favorite Books of 2024
bullet The Fantasy Hive 2024 Year-End Awards—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
bullet 2024 Book RoundUp —The Voracious Reader has some great taste.
bullet 2024, A Year in Reading: Best Books of the Year—from Asking the Wrong Questions. The third sentence is one of the most relatable things I’ve read in the last few months.
bullet Spells and Spaceships’ My Books of the Year 2024.
bullet The Shaggy Shepherd’s Most Memorable Reads of 2024
bullet Top 10 Books Read in 2024—from Pete Long. My TBR can’t handle this kind of pressure.
bullet Stephen Writes continues to put out good lists (and make me feel better about all the year-end lists I have planned)
bullet The Best Settings I Read In 2024
bullet Top 10 Books I Read In 2024
bullet MIke Finn’s My 12 Favourite Reads of 2024
bullet 746 Books has three lists to tempt you:
bullet My Favourite Books of the Year: Part One – The 746!
bullet My Favourite Books of the Year: Part Two – The Irish!
bullet My Favourite Books of 2024: Part Three – New to Me!
bullet reader@work’s Books of the year: 2024 edition—made me reconsider a book I’d previously decided against
bullet My Top Ten Books for 2024!—from The Orangutan Librarian
bullet Dillon Michael White’s Top Books of 2024 is a quick watch well worth your time

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Endsinger by Jay Kristoff—the disturbing, yet satisfying, (as I recall) conclusion to the Lotus War trilogy
bullet Broadchurch: A Novel by Erin Kelly—I cannot get enough of Broadchurch‘s first series in any format (I will not comment on the rest).
bullet Broken Soul by Faith Hunter
bullet As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes with Joe Layden—I should revisit this one
bullet And I mentioned the release of Low Midnight by Carrie Vaughn.

2024 Plans and Challenges: Year-End Look

By HCNewton

On January 2, 2025

In Books, Calendar Items, Miscellany, News/Misc.

I’d hoped to keep charging ahead with Grandpappy’s Corner and Literary Locals, and while those haven’t completely died off, I haven’t done that much with them as I expected.

How’s the perennial, “Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own” goal going? Well, I bought very few books in February, so that helped, but overall…?

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read
End of 2023	6	46	68	153
End of 1st Quarter	4	50	64	154
End of 2nd Quarter	3	54	79	162
End of 3rd Quarter	5	58	75	166
End of 4th Quarter	3	68	78	167

Goodreads Challenge
I topped it by 1, but Goodreads won’t give me the silly graphic for 2024 for some reason. So you’re going to have to take my word for it.

12 Books

I didn’t touch any of these, and I’m really annoyed with myself.

Reading with Wrigs

Like I mentioned the other day, I didn’t finish this one, either.

A Book with a Dragon: Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
A Book with the word “leap” in the title: Couldn’t think of one.
A Book with the Olympics: Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie
A Book with an Election or Politician: The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher
A Work of Fiction with an Eclipse: Missed it
A Book by an Author Who Has Written Over 24 Books: Dream Town by Lee Goldberg
A Book Set in a Different Culture Than Your Own: I have an idea or two.
A Book of Poetry: Enough Rope by Dorothy Parker
A Book with Time Travel: A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen
A Book with Antonyms in the Title: I really thought I’d get this one, but, alas
A Book Told from the Villian’s Point of View: Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart kind of applies.
A Book With a Purple Cover: Abnormal Ends by Bryan McBee

The 2024 Booktempter’s TBR Challenge

All 12, plus two stretch goals. Fourteen off the TBR. Sure, it’s just a drop in the bucket. But a step is a step.
January – Lucky Dip: Randomly choose a book by someone you’ve never read before: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Stretch Goal – In the same spirit I give you permission to read the last book to enter your TBR pile. Actually read something you’ve got yourself to recently read: Hacked by Duncan MacMaster
February – Lovers Meeting: No not romantasy focused – this challenge is somewhere in TBR is a delayed treat. Read an author you’ve loved and held back from reading because the time was not right. Its time for you two to get re-acquainted. Enjoy yourself! Return of the Griffin by JCM Berne
March – Spring :You know that first book of a series you bought and have now realised is now finished? You have my permission to read this at last. And you know what? Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn
April – Diamond Anniversary: Diamond is the birthstone of April so your challenge is to read something over 60 years old: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
May – The Fourth…May the force be with you and I permit you to read a SF themed tale: Grave Cold by Shannon Knight
June – The Longest Days: You may choose the longest book in your TBR pile the days are long so go for it: The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
July – The Ides have it In an ongoing tribute to Julius pick a tale of intrigue and scheming: The Last King of California by Jordan Harper
August – Travel Broadens the Mind: Choose a Book that is from an author from a different country to yourself: The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong. I’ve read all from other places that aren’t from this year, so…Canada (which doesn’t seem to count, but does)
September – Back To School: Choose a Book about a character learning something – be it in school, a new power or something about themselves: Project Hail Mary by Andy Wier
October – Yep Its Halloween Time: Find a spooky themed read!: My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby (a murder mystery focusing on a mortuary worker, as creepy as I could come up with)
November – Short but Sweet: Four Novellas – and you cna do this in a month: 1-800-CallLoki by Dawn Blair
Stretch Goal – I test you – I want eleven short stories read – magazine, collection or anthology!: Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology by L. J. Hachmeister
December – Parting Gifts: Read a Book gifted to you – before Christmas comes and you realise you’ve still not read it!: Shadow of Hyperion by JCM Berne

Backlist Bingo 2024

I did get a bingo, but not the blackout that I hoped for.

✔ 1. This is Who We Are Now by James Bailey (my post about it)
✔ 2. Blood Reunion by JCM Berne
✔ 3. Ways And Truths And Lives by Matt Edwards
✔ 4. The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
✔ 5. Grammar Sex and Other Stuff: A Collection of (mostly humorous) Essays by Robert Germaux (my post about it)
✔ 6. The Camelot Shadow by Sean Gibson
✔ 7. Last King of California by Jordan Harper
✔ 8. Steam Opera by James T. Lambert (my post about it)
✔ 9. The Glass Frog by J. Brandon Lowry (my post about it)
✔ 10. The Legendary Mo Seto by A. Y. Chan (substitution) (my post about it)

✔ 11. Curse of the Fallen by H.C. Newell
✔ 12. Heart of Fire by Raina Nightengale (my post about it)
✔ 13. Detours and Do-overs by Wesley Parker (my post about it)
✔ 14. Bizarre Frontier Omnibus #1 by Brock Poulson (my post about it)
✔ 15. Howl by e rathke (my post about it)
✔ 16. Bard Tidings by Paul J. Regnier
✔ 17. Panacea by Alex Robins
✔ 18. Cursed Cocktails by S.L. Rowland (my post about it)
✔ 19. Big Trouble in Little Italy by Nicole Sharp (my post about it)
✔ 20. The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong (my post about it)

In sum…while I read a lot of great stuff this year (and even more good stuff), I didn’t do so good with my goals. Oh well.

(Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)

The Irresponsible Reader in 2024: Thoughts, Thanks, and Stats

By HCNewton

On January 1, 2025

In Miscellany, News/Misc.

Programming Note: As is my custom, over the next week I’ll be looking back over the year that was—but I’ll try to come up with some new material, too. Many/most others have already done their best-of/year-end wrap-up posts, but I’m a stickler—I can’t start doing this kind of thing ’til the year is over. My brain doesn’t allow me to work that way (I just hate projecting things in general—and some years ago when I just read irresponsibly but hadn’t adopted the name, the last novel of the year was so far beyond the rest that I can’t start looking back until 12/31 at the earliest).

As we kick off 2025, I wanted to take a glance back at 2024—276 books finished—a little less than some years, but given all the Life Stuff™ in my life this year, I expected that number to be far lower. That’s over 82,000 pages (too many audio-only things and beta reads to get an accurate count); with an average rating of 3.7 Stars. The page count is likely a little higher than last year, as is the stars. So, yay for consistency.

On the blog front, I put up 573 posts—a drop from last year, but not huge. Thanks have to be given for all the contributors I hada couple of series of posts this year that made that possible (I’ll get to this below). I had another year of solid gains in traffic—views and visitors—I’m not big-time (never going to be), but those numbers consistently weird me out (which is why I only look every 6-12 months). My follower count (here and on social media sites) is encouraging and humbling, I really feel like I ought to do more to earn them. Maybe there’s a book on how to be more interesting as a person that I should grab.

The blog series continue to go–mostly. I (yet again) didn’t get back to my Classic Spenser series (which is grating), and I got too caught up in other stuff and abandoned my monthly Highlights: Lines Worth Repeating series (it’ll be back soon). But on the positive side, my Literary Locals series slowed a bit, but it’s still chugging along. Grandpappy’s Corner, slowed a bit. My contribution to Self-Published Author Appreciation Week, Spreading the Self-Pub Love, ended up taking more effort than I thought, but the results were worth it. Lastly, there was the return of Top 5 All-Time Desert Island Books series of guest posts, which I particularly enjoyed. The YouTube channel hasn’t quite taken off as I hoped, but I had fun doing what I’ve done, and have some ideas to keep at it (and those who’ve given me feedback has been positive, so, that’s all good for me)

As is my habit, here’s my breakdown of books by genre—I tweaked the table a bit, so it actually fits on the screen (or should). Genre labeling continues to be more difficult as I’m reading a lot of hybrids (most of us are, they’re being produced more), but I tend to go with the overarching genre. Once again, for someone who doesn’t plan too thoroughly, the percentages stay remarkably consistent from year to year—my tastes (and the series I follow) stay the same as is to be expected. The growth in Fantasy and SF makes sense, but I didn’t expect it to be that noticeable. The decrease in Children’s books is odd–but, I do tend to only count the ones I read by my choice (not the Grandcritter’s) and that I’m going to write up–and I did less of that than I expected to in 2024.

Genre	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2012-17
Children’s	9 (3%)	25 (8%)	5 (2%)	2 (1%)	5 (2%)	7 (3%)	11 (4%)	12 (.95%)
Fantasy	41 (17%)	34 (11%)	32 (10%)	20 (7%)	35 (13%)	28 (10%)	30 (11%)	93 (7%)
General Fiction/ Literature	27 (11%)	26 (9%)	24 (8%)	22 (7%)	16 (7%)	21 (8%)	22 (8%)	140 (11%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	80 (33%)	90 (30%)	114 (37%)	117 (38%)	90 (34%)	105 (38%)	107 (38%)	425 (33%)
Non-Fiction	22 (9%)	22 (7%)	29 (9%)	22 (7%)	28 (10%)	25 (9%)	22 (8%)	46 (4%)
Science Fiction	10 (23%)	34 (11%)	28 (9%)	20 (7%)	20 (8%)	30 (11%)	25 (9%)	122 (10)
Theology/ Christian Living	31 (13%)	30 (10%)	45 (15%)	38 (13%)	23 (8%)	34 (12%)	25 (9%)	194 (16%)
Urban Fantasy	32 (13%)	33 (11%)	34 (11%)	49 (16%)	42 (16%)	25 (9%)	29 (10%)	194 (16%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	8 (3%)	9 (3%)	2 (1%)	12 (4%)	4 (2%)	6 (2%)	7 (3%)	34 (3%)

Here’s a few more stats I typically share. I find them interesting, and maybe you will, too.
Re-Read Chart That’s a 3% uptick in re-reads. Which is nice (I expect that next year will see a big jump, but we’ll see how that works out. I’m neither a prophet or a son of a prophet and my predictions tend to demonstrate that. Source of my Books
“Bought” went down (phew) and everything else went up–which is nice to see.
Format of the Book The percentage of Hardcovers and Audiobooks went up, and everything else went down. I felt like I read more eBooks than the numbers say, which is interesting.

Enough about me. Now we get to my favorite part—I want to talk about you, who keep me going and show an interest in what I’m doing here, and give some thanks to people for their impact on The Irresponsible Reader (the blog and the person) in 2024:

Thanks to everyone for your comments/feedback—texts, emails, comments here/Goodreads, tweets/Twitter-replacement posts, FB comments, even the occasional Face-to-Face conversation. Keep it up! I really appreciate the time you took to leave feedback. Hopefully, you can tell that you’ve shaped the conversation here—it has, I assure you. Many of you are pushing me to be a better writer—some of you push me to read better books. I’m going to give a particular thanks to Robert Germaux, The Write Reads, Allyson Johnson (you really push me to think about what I’m reading!), W&S Bookclub, Lashaan, Emma, and Noelle for their encouragement, retweets, and interaction.
A hearty thanks to all the authors, editors, illustrators, translators, and other people behind the production of the books I spent time with this year—this blog would be nothing without your efforts, your blood, sweat, tears, fears, work, love, dreams, hopes, art, and words. Your books were my companions throughout this year, and I can’t thank you enough for them (and I hope I get to spend time with many of you again soon!).
More thanks to all those who requested that I read and talk about your (or your clients’) books. I know how much work, effort, heart, and everything else that went into your books. It’s super humbling, I know you all didn’t like what I said, but, I am grateful for the opportunity.
I cannot thank every participant in the Q&As from this year enough. I got to ask “A Few Quick Questions” to: Steven Max Russo, Armanis Ar-feinial, Marilyn Peake, T. Olsen, Savanna Mayer, Shannon Knight, Jocele Skinner of Shared Stories, M.D. Presley, and J.M. Gulmire.
Beyond those, I really want to thank R.M. Scott, Norelle Smith, Jerome Goettsch, Carla Crane Osborne, Arnold Ytreeide, Sarah Hill, Christi Nogle, Melaney Taylor Auxier, and Steve McGill for answering my questions about writing in Idaho.
And I do have to thank Adrian M. Gibson, John Simons, JCM Berne, and Jodie from Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub for sitting down with me on camera.
I also hosted a record number of Guest Posts this year. Many thanks to Shannon Knight (and again), Robert Germaux, Mary Kendall, Carol from Reading Ladies Book Club, and Mary Camarillo.
My son Owen provided a lot of the technical support I needed this year. Owen’s my best editor (sadly, it’s largely after I post something…), too, and he’s saved me from looking stupid on more than one occasion.
All my kids have acted as sounding boards this year—helping with some graphics, jokes, themes, etc. They (and Owen) do a solid job of pretending to care about what I’m saying about books, reading, and whatnot. A hat tip to Calvin, Katrina, Carleigh, Taylor, and Machen, too.
A lot of thanks need to go to the Grandcritter, and my pack—Tanny and Athena. Not only have you brought me joy and inspired some reading, you’re also great at reminding me to stop all this nonsense and pay attention to life around me.
A special thanks to my wife. Without your support, indulgence, and patience this thing wouldn’t exist—and I’d read a lot less (the horror!). Thank you. I love you.
And thank you all for reading. This may feel obligatory and insincere. It is not. Honestly, each time I get a notification of a comment, or a like, or a share, or a follow, etc. it makes my day. To know that someone took a couple of seconds or more out of their day to glance at this? It means the world to me. Thanks.

Have a great 2025, and I hope you find plenty of good things to read!

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

By HCNewton

On January 1, 2025

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

I finished 35 titles (16 up from last month, 10 up from last December), with an equivalent of 9,369+ (finished 2 beta reads, so I don’t have a decent page count) pages or the equivalent (3,357+ up from last month), and gave them an average of 3.9 stars (.33 up from last month). Wrapping up a couple of project books helped with that (not much, but a little), I’m not sure really what accounts for the extra pages–but I’m not turning up my nose at them.

So, here’s what happened here in December.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to


















		7



	r

Ratings

		Average =	3.9
	5		2
	4		0
	7		0
	10		0
	7

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

	Audio	E-book	Physical	Goodreads Want-to-Read	NetGalley Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of 2023	6	47	68	153	5
1st of the Month	5	66	81	167	11
Added	1	7	5	1	0
Read/ Listened	3	5	8	1	3
Current Total	3	68	78	167	8

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 24
Self-/Independent Published: 11

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	1 (3%)	9 (3%)
Fantasy	6 (17%)	41 (17%)
General Fiction/ Literature	3 (9%)	27 (11%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	8 (23%)	80 (33%)
Non-Fiction	0 (0%)	22 (9%)
Science Fiction	3 (9%)	10 (23%)
Theology/ Christian Living	6 (17%)	31 (13%)
Urban Fantasy	6 (17%)	32 (13%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	2 (6%)	8 (3%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Word and Spirit: Selected Writings in Biblical and Systematic Theology by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.: Righteous Gems
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman: Money Does the Funniest Things to People
Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie: The Problem with Flying
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 61: Chains by R. T. Slaywood: A Negotiation
The Marrow of Modern Divinity by Edward Fisher: The Core of the Gospel
Sizar by Susan Grossey: Another Trip through Cambridge’s Underbelly
Enough Rope by Dorothy Parker: Songs in a Minor Key
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 62: Contract by R. T. Slaywood: After All That?
Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka: Second Verse, Same as the First (in a good way)
What Were You Expecting? by Cameron Spires, Grace Cho (Illustrator): A Grown-Up Board Book
The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 64: Mourning Meeting by R. T. Slaywood: Looking Back and Looking Forward
The Fundamentals of Sacred Theology by Campegius Vitringa, Sr., Levi Berntson (Translator): A Thousand Points of Light
Grandpappy’s Corner: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Audiobook) by Dr. Seuss, read by Walter Matthau: A Great Read by One of the Greats
The Real Festivus by Dan O’Keefe: An Explanation for the Rest of Us!
The Killer’s Christmas List by Chris Frost: There’s Nothing Holly and Jolly About This Christmas
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien: It Must’ve Been Great to Grow Up a Tolkien
Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire: Water Loves Falling
Ghost Stations by M.D. Presley: Corbin’s Vagabond Shoes Are are Longing to Stray

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

Reading with Wrigs 2024 Challenge—Well, that’s a miss.

By HCNewton

On December 31, 2024

In Books, Kevin Hearne, News/Misc.

Rising from the ashes of the While I Was Reading Challenge, came Reading with Wrigs. I’ve done pretty well with While I Was Reading most of the I participated, and I thought this would be the same—but it wasn’t meant to be this year. I just assumed I’d come across some of these without going out of my way to look for anything. Ah well, I’ll do better next year.

Probably.

Anyway, here are my incomplete results:

A Book with a Dragon: Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
A Book with the word “leap” in the title: Couldn’t think of one.
A Book with the Olympics: Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie
A Book with an Election or Politician: The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher
A Work of Fiction with an Eclipse: Missed it
A Book by an Author Who Has Written Over 24 Books: Dream Town by Lee Goldberg
A Book Set in a Different Culture Than Your Own: I have an idea or two.
A Book of Poetry: Enough Rope by Dorothy Parker
A Book with Time Travel: A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen
A Book with Antonyms in the Title: I really thought I’d get this one, but, alas
A Book Told from the Villian’s Point of View: Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart kind of applies.
A Book With a Purple Cover: Abnormal Ends by Bryan McBee

MUSIC MONDAY: “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” by Johnnyswim

By HCNewton

On December 30, 2024

In News/Misc.

Music Monday logo

Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.

Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

Ghost Stations by M.D. Presley: Corbin’s Vagabond Shoes Are are Longing to Stray

By HCNewton

On December 30, 2024

In Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Ghost Stations

by M.D. Presley

DETAILS:
Series: The Inner Circle, #2
Publication Date: December 10, 2024
Format: eARC
Length: 396 pg.
Read Date: December 11-16, 2024

What’s Ghost Stations About?

New York City is a bit much for Corbin—he’s more than out of his element (a status he’s getting used to after running from the cult he’d pretty much been raised in, finding himself in a strange world of magicians and magician factions). But this is where the task that Mister is set to tackle. There’s a new drug variant floating around in parts of the US that affects magicians in a dangerous way. The Circle can turn a blind eye to the standard version of the drug, but this new form is a step too far.

Kirin, meanwhile, is back home. A place she hadn’t expected to see for some time yet. Her family is here—with all the interfamily and intrafamily dynamics and politics that brings. As are her friends—that found family established in her teen years that seems tighter than blood. Corbin gets shunted off with them to stay out of the way while Mister and Isaac get into it.

It doesn’t take long for Kirin’s group to decide that they’re supposed to be sticking their noses into it anyway—and what else to they have to do? So, they seek out a source for this drug—they know someone who can do the right kind of analysis on it to see how it was made. The figure if they can get that information, they can trace it to the source.

While dealing with this, Corbin has to learn to navigate the powerful families that make up the Circle, the strange subcultures of magic in NYC, and the strangest challenge of them all—interpersonal relationships. Colin was never equipped to handle life outside the cult—to be thrown into the intense world of twenty-somethings with too much money, drugs, alcohol, and hormones flying around. (sure the drugs and the magic and the danger are the more pressing things—but Colin and handle that)

The Little More of the World

In Rites of Passage, we were told about the Circle—the group that runs the world of magic in the States—at least in the major population centers, while other areas have more of a local group controlling them. I’m not going to say that after this, the reader will understand the Circle and how it operates fully. But we get an idea—a good look at it.

And honestly, it’s not that pretty.

I think that The Inner Circle, like Jacka’s Stephen Oakwood, is doing a good thing in Urban Fantasy—a new thing, too. Where most Urban Fantasy deals with magic/groups in terms of detectives/police vs. criminal acts and structures (either organized crime or werewolf packs that act like motorcycle gangs). Presley and Jacka are presenting us with “legitimate” sources of power—economic elites.

In these worlds, it’s the 1% of the magic world (which is already an elite caste of sorts) that holds the power. Not only does this allow Presley, Jacka, and (I assume) others I am not thinking of/haven’t been exposed to comment on a rising oligarchy and the power of these elites. But it gives the reader a handy way to think about these things without getting too tied up in contemporary political labels or societal movements.

As Mister, Isaac, and Corbin keep traveling the country, I look forward to seeing other ways that this is shown and dissected.

So, what did I think about Ghost Stations?

All that aside—this is just a rollicking story. Most of the things I really want to talk about are spoilers (the way the drug works, the people that Corbin meets and makes deals with, and so on).

The change of setting—and the promise of more settings to come—helped this seem very fresh compared to the first, and should do the same for the following books (it’s the second, the series is obviously still fresh, it’s more of the promise here). And Corbin not understanding much of how this world he’s in now works, allows Presley to inform the reader while maintaining the story’s momentum. His cluelessness allows us to be. New case, new setting, Corbin and the reader both get to learn a lot. Thankfully, we readers are safe from whatever magic whammy is threatening our dowser.

As before, his magic helps. But it’s Corbin’s instincts, his watchfulness—even his outsiderness—that help him to get where he needs to go. While watching someone sling magic is always fun, it’s the guys like Dresden, Alex Verus, Mercy Thompson, and Corbin that really make a series like this work.

I liked most of the world we got to see—I wouldn’t want to live in this NYC (or any other, to be honest), but it was interesting. Her brother seemed cool and her friend TJ was someone I hope we see soon. The other member of her group was generally a tool who’d be a great antagonist in an 80s teen movie. Still, he was a good example of the type. Everyone else we met? Fascinating. Presley seems incapable of creating a dull character (even if we only see them for a chapter).

Ghost Stations is a solid follow-up with a great hook, a better world to explore, and enough turns and twists to keep you engaged from the creepy start to the satisfying conclusion and all points between.

I’m eager to see where the next novel takes us, but for now, I just want to encourage you to pick this one up.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion—which I’ve delivered above.

4 Stars

REPOSTING JUST CUZ: Who Is Jesus? Knowing Christ through His “I Am” Sayings by J. V. Fesko

By HCNewton

On December 29, 2024

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Who Is Jesus?:
Knowing Christ through
His “I Am” Sayings

by J. V. Fesko

Paperback, 93 pg.
Reformation Heritage Books, 2016

Read: December 5, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Who is Jesus? About?

This book does three things—at the same time—first and foremost, it looks at all fourteen times that Jesus uses the phrase “I am,” in the Gospel of John, and discusses the context and meaning of it. Fesko doesn’t just look at Christ’s meaning of “the door,” “the bread of life,” and so on, but the significance of the use of “I am” (ἐγώ εἰμι, ego eimi).

Secondly, it looks at the “seven signs of divinity” presented in John—and how they’re intertwined in the “I am” sayings. But Fesko doesn’t let the focus linger on these signs.

Lastly, and this is the unique part of this study, is to look at the Old Testament allusions and roots of the fourteen “I am”s. Seeing how Christ was self-consciously pointing to the Scriptures to show how he fulfills them is a real treasure.

Fesko concludes each chapter with a few paragraphs of application to the reader and some questions for further study.

So, what did I think about Who is Jesus??

This might not be the best comparison, but it’s the one that I kept thinking of as I read this, so…if you don’t like this, I’ll give you a full refund for the cost of your subscription.

In The West Wing, there were repeated worries about the President’s approach to things—the way he interacts with people, there’s “The President at his Best”/”The Professor” or “Uncle Fluffy.” Fesko’s books feel like they’re written the same way. For example, Death in Adam, Life in Christ: The Doctrine of Imputation or Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism are products of “The Professor.” Who is Jesus? is pure Uncle Fluffy.

This is not a complaint. This is an observation. Well, okay, maybe a little of a complaint. I’m glad this was the Uncle Fluffy Fesko—I appreciated that this was an accessible, short read—but I think it could’ve used a little more of The Professor. Just a little more depth would’ve been great. But it’s good as it is, just could’ve been a bit better.

At the same time—you give me a version of this book by The Professor? I’m there in a heartbeat.

Who is Jesus? is a quick read (it’s very easy to be too quick about it, I had to tap my breaks a few times), but it’s a good read. There’s a richness to the study of the “I Am” sayings and a real reward to looking at their Old Testament roots. This is well-worth your time, it’d be good for Bible Studies, Sunday Schools—even Family Worship aids.

3 Stars

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, opinions are my own.