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

Book Blogger Hop: Finding Your Literary Namesake

On August 27, 2025

This prompt was submitted by Snapdragon @ Snapdragon Alcove:

Have you ever read a book with a character with the same name as you?

Yes. Which isn’t easy. I grew up as one of those kids who never found their name on the license plate souvenir, bracelet, Coke bottle, etc., etc. So, that I can think of three books that have a character with my name in it is pretty surprising (I want to say that I’ve read four, but I can’t think of the other one).

Except it appears that I’m mistaken. I was sure that Thomas Rockwell’s How to Eat Fried Worms featured a kid with my childhood nickname, but I can’t find proof of that (and don’t want to re-read the book for a passing reference just for this post). It must’ve been a book I read about the same time. And now it’s bugging me that I can’t think of it.

Sometime between writing that paragraph and scheduling this post, I remembered I had access to this thing called “The Internet”—perhaps you’ve heard of it? Typing “hobie juvenile books 1980s” into DuckDuckGo led me to Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub, which is obviously it—and was the first of the Hobie Hanson series, of which I was previously unaware. I do think I remember reading 4B Goes Wild, the sequel. But there are 7 books in this series (most published after I was too old to read them, but not yet old enough to not care). I’d completely forgotten about this book’s existence—and while my memories of it aren’t full. I do have warm, fuzzy associations with it. I don’t remember Hobie being an incredibly great kid, but he had potential—and wasn’t as much of a snot as some of his classmates.

Last year, for our Science Fiction Book Club, we took on Robert R. Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. If I didn’t know better*, I’d have assumed the leader, George picked the book to needle me, because it features a former Federated Nations Senator, Mortimer Hobart. Also known as “the Warden” and “Mort the Wort.” I’m just glad that the colonists didn’t use his surname as the source of their juvenile nickname (having survived Junior High School, it’s an easy mark). While I can’t say that the Warden is the worst villain in the novel—but he’s sure a convenient figurehead for everything wrong on the colony—and is one of the first targets of the revolution.

* And I really don’t.

The best is from Jeff Noon’s book Vurt. At a summer job while in college, a co-worker got a strange look on his face when we met. Once he found out I was a reader, too, he wanted to know if I’d read Vurt—I hadn’t, but it was absolutely up my alley. Turns out he reacted to my name because he remembered this passage:

Everybody knew about Hobart, but nobody knew anything. Just the hundreds of rumours that surrounded the name: Hobart invented Vurt. Hobart is alive, Hobart is dead. Hobart is a man, a woman, a child, an alien. Some have called her Queen Hobart, and they have worshipped her. To others Hobart is a dream or a myth, or just a good story that somebody made up, so good that it stuck around, became truth. Nobody knew anything.

Sure, the more you read in the book, the less you want to be associated with Hobart. But…c’mon, how often do you get to (mis-)appropriate a quote like this? “Hobart is a dream or a myth, or just a good story that somebody made up, so good that it stuck around, became truth.”

I still can’t remember if there is a fourth book—and that’s okay. Three is enough.

What about you, reader? Do you have a literary namesake or two? Are they more flattering than mine?

These Dog Days Aren’t Over

By HCNewton

On August 26, 2025

In Books, Dogs, Fiction, News/Misc., Non-Fiction

(Updated and Revised 8/26/25)

It’s National Dog Day, the annual celebration of “all dogs, mixed breed and pure. Our mission is to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year and acknowledges family dogs and dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort.” So it seemed like a good day to post another version of this. I haven’t added much to this since last year’s edition (and the same goes for 2024). This worries me a little bit. What have I been wasting time reading?

These Dog Days Aren't Over This was a hard post to come up with a name for‡. Essentially, this post came from a comment not too long ago about being hesitant to read books about animals if the reader doesn’t know if they survive the book. I get that, I absolutely do. I still bear the scars of Where the Red Fern Grows and Marley and Me (sure, that wasn’t that long ago, but the wound still stings). So, for readers like my correspondent, here are some perfectly safe books prominently featuring dogs!

I plan on updating this regularly at least annually, perhaps more often. So by all means, chime in with comments about Dogs I’ve forgotten about/haven’t encountered yet!

Non-Fiction

bullet Life Lessons by Titan as told to Melaney Taylor Auxier—accompanied by photos of this very good boy, Titan teaches some life lessons. He teaches about friends, making mistakes, eating well, being grateful, that sort of thing. (my post about it)
bullet The Particulars of Peter by Kelly Conaboy—this is a collection of humorous essays giving Conaboy the opportunity to rave about her dog, Peter. In her eyes, Peter is a perfect dog, and as you read this, you’ll be tempted to agree. (my post about it)
bullet Olive, Mabel & Me by Andrew Cotter—Cotter’s charming book describes his life with the two dogs that rocketed to international stardom (and brought him along). (my post about it)
bullet My Life as a Dog by L. A. Davenport—Davenport’s short little book about the relationship between the author and his dog, Kevin, a black and tan, pure-bred dachshund. It focuses on what the two of them did over two days and then a weekend selected from the years they spent together. (my post about it)
bullet Dogtology: Live. Bark. Believe. by Jeff Lazarus—Humans are so obsessed with their dogs, we’ve devoted so much time, energy, and work into them that it’s become a religion, with humans essentially worshipping their pets. This book is a look at that devotion and the rituals and beliefs that accompany it. It’s technically humor, but a lot of it seems pretty on-target. (my post about it)
bullet What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs by Cat Warren—Warren basically covers three topics: there’s the science and history of using working dogs (of all sorts of breeds, not to mention pigs(!), birds, and even cats) to find cadavers, drugs, bombs, etc.; there’s the memoir of her involvement with cadaver dogs via her German Shepherd, Solo; and anecdotes of other cadaver dogs and trainers that she’s encountered/learned from/watched in action. (my post about it)
bullet What the Dog Knows Young Readers Edition by Cat Warren, Patricia J. Wynne—The above book adjusted for younger readers, with some great illustrations. It’s not dumbed-down, just adjusted. (my post about it)

Fiction

bullet Frida, The Good Dog by Daniel J Breen, Jeff Ross (Illustrator)—this is a cute picture book about a very good dog named Frida (that was self-evident, I guess). It’s a quick and adorable read.
bullet Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series by Jeffrey B. Burton—A Dog Trainer/Cadaver Dog Handler and his dogs get involved in serial killer cases. Warning: Like many heroes in action novels, most of Mace’s dogs get beat up/injured. Some pretty badly. (my posts about it)
bullet Suspect by Robert Crais—One of my all-favorite books, a cop with PTSD gets assigned to the K-9 Unit and works with a dog fresh from Afghanistan combat. (my post about it) The pair also plays a major role in The Promise.
bullet Sharp Investigations by E.N. Crane—A series of comic investigations about an Ex-MP and her K-9 partner in Ohio. Both are pretty skilled and are walking disasters at the same time. (my posts about them)
bullet Pug Actually by Matt Dunn—Doug, a loyal pug, plays cupid for his owner. This is a cute rom-com with a charming canine narrator. (my post about it)
bullet Stepdog by Nicole Galland—A love story where the major impediment to happily ever after is her dog (a gift from her ex). (my post about it)
bullet Noodle Conquers Comfy Mountain by Jonathan Graziano, Dan Tavis (Illustrator)—This picture book is about Noodle’s search for a place to spend the day where he can have all his needs met: to be able to smell nice smells, see his Jonathan, watch for a snacking opportunity (or several), and—most importantly—feel comfy. Impossible to not like. (my post about it)
bullet Noodle and the No Bones Day by Jonathan Graziano, Dan Tavis (Illustrator)—This picture book relates the origin of the Internet Craze and the wonderful, photogenic pug behind it. (my post about it)
bullet Kay-9: The Robot Dog by J.M. Gulmire—maybe doesn’t belong on this list (see: “Robot”), but it’s too cute to leave off on a technicality. What’s an inventive boy to do when his very supportive mother won’t let him get a dog because she’s horribly allergic? Why, build one with an incredibly lifelike AI. Obviously. (my posts about it)
bullet Oberon’s Meaty Mysteries by Kevin Hearne (Audiobooks narrated by Luke Daniels)—Oberon, the scene-stealing Irish Wolfhound from The Iron Druid Chronicles narrates this series of novellas (my posts about it)
bullet Neah Bay series by Owen Laukkanen—Lucy is a dog who is trained by prisoner Mason Burke, who has to track her down when he gets out. She’s a service dog for Marine Vet Jess Winslow. Lucy connects the two humans in her life and helps to keep them safe when a corrupt deputy comes after Jess. (my post about it)
bullet Pupposites Attract 1 by Hono Natsuna, Matt Trayvaud (translator)—This manga is the story about the beginning of a relationship—two really. Boy walking dog meets girl walking dog. The dogs (one very small, one very large) become good friends and their humans? Well, something starts between them, too. It’s as cute as you can imagine. (my post about it)
bullet I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson—I’m not sure how to sum this one up in a sentence. It’s a pretty typical novel about a troubled writer with a romantic life and family in shambles. But his dog is the thing that makes all the difference. (my post about it)
bullet Chet and Bernie books by Spencer Quinn—Bernie Little is a PI in Phoenix. Chet’s his four-legged partner and the series narrator. It’s too much fun to miss. (my posts about it)
bullet The Right Side by Spencer Quinn—”a deeply damaged female soldier home from the war in Afghanistan becomes obsessed with finding a missing girl, gains an unlikely ally in a stray dog, and encounters new perils beyond the combat zone.” (my post about it)
bullet Woof by Spencer Quinn—The beginning of an MG series about a with a penchant for trouble and her dog. (my post about it)
bullet A Tail of Mystery by Paul Regnier—this is the first novel in a series about a journalist who moves back to his small hometown, develops the ability to communicate with his dog, and starts solving cozy murders. No, really. It’s a great time, I can’t wait to read more in this series. (my post about it)
bullet Andy Carpenter books by David Rosenfelt—Andy Carpenter is New Jersey’s best defense lawyer and a devoted dog owner. He helps run a rescue shelter, too—and almost every client he takes as some sort of connection with a dog. These books aren’t dog-centric like the others on this list, but they’re dog-heavy. (my posts about it)
bullet The K-Team books by David Rosenfelt—a spin-off from the Andy Carpenter series. This features a PI team made up of Andy’s wife/investigator, Laurie; the near super-heroic Marcus; and Corey Douglas, a freshly-retired K-9 officer. His canine partner, Simon Garfunkel, comes along, too. Simon Garfunkel doesn’t play a giant role in the books, but he gets at least one good action scene per book. (my posts about it)
bullet Voyage of the Dogs by Greg van Eekhout—SF for all ages about a team of dogs on a long-distance space flight. (my post about it)

Supportive Roles

These dogs aren’t as significant a presence in their books as the prior group, but they’re important enough to mention.
bullet Mouse from The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. (my posts about it)
bullet The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man by W. Bruce Cameron and the sequel Repo Madness by W. Bruce Cameron— (my posts about it)
bullet Edgar from the Washington Poe books by M. W. Craven. (my posts about it)
bullet Rutherford from The TV Detective series by Simon Hall (my posts about it)
bullet Oberon from the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne . (my post about it)
bullet Ruffin from the I. Q. series by Joe Ide . (my posts about it)
bullet Dog from the Walt Longmire books by Craig Johnson (my posts about it)
bullet Purvis (and Beau) from The Good Kill by John McMahon (my post about it)
bullet Trogdor from The Golden Arrow Mysteries by Meghan Scott Molin (my post about it)
bullet Mingus from The Drifter by Nicholas Petrie (my post about it)
bullet Herbert and Daisy from Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman (my post about it)

Books with paws on both sides of the line

Some books that belong on this list, but might be a bit too close to not fitting on it for some readers
bullet Lessons From Lucy by Dave Barry—there’s a strong “my beloved dog is old and will die soon-vibe throughout this (it’s the whole point), so some may want to avoid it. But the focus is on what Barry is learning from his aging but still full-of-life dog. (my post about it)
bullet This Dog Will Change Your Life by Elias Weiss Friedman with Ben Greenman—Friedman is probably better known as The Dogist on various social media programs where he features pictures of dogs he meets around whatever city he happens to be in at the time (typically NYC). This book talks about some of the dogs he’s met, some dog charities and organizations he’s encountered, the way some dogs have changed the lives of people he’s known, and some general thoughts on dog-kind in general.
bullet Max Boucher Mysteries by Troy Lambert—Max used to be with the Seattle Police, but became a P.I. after the deaths of his wife and daughter. Because of the events of the first novel, Max gains a reputation as an animal detective. Particularly specializing in missing/kidnapped dogs. Most of the dogs in the series get out okay, but some are injured or worse. (my posts about it)
bullet Stray Ally by Troy Lambert—this is an action novel featuring heroics from several dogs working alongside a special ops soldier to try to stop a white supremacist group from launching a terrorist action. Some dogs are hurt, and a few die along the way. (my post about it)
bullet Dead is … series by Jo Perry—the canine protagonist in these mystery novels is a ghost, so there’s a dog death involved. But we meet her as a ghost, so she won’t die (again) in the series. (my posts about it)
bullet Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure by David Rosenfelt—For various and sundry reasons, the Rosenfelts decide to move their home and dog shelter from California to Maine. As anyone who’s had to get a dog (or a toddler) into their vehicle for a drive across town can imagine—getting 25 dogs moved across the country is a logistical nightmare. In Rosenfelt’s capable hands, if “tragedy plus time equals comedy,” “nightmarish logistics plus time” does, too. The shelter specializes in senior dogs, so not every dog mentioned or featured lives, but that’s not the focus of the book. (my post about it)
bullet E. B. White on Dogs—if this isn’t every short piece or letter White wrote mentioning dogs, it’s so close as not to matter. Some are witty, some are touching, some are somewhere in between. There are even a few written from the point of view of his dog! Sadly, this does include a eulogy for one dog, a few other mentions of canine mortality, so it can’t make the main list. (my post about it)
bullet Lessons from Tara by David Rosenfelt—a sort-of-sequel to the above. Inspired by the death of their dog, Tara, the Rosenfelts now operate a no-kill shelter for senior dogs. This is the story about the origins and day-to-day of that life. There’s discussion of Tara’s death, and he has to cover the end of days for dogs, but it’s not the focus of the book. It’s one some will want to avoid, but you probably shouldn’t. (my post about it)

‡ I brainstormed this a bit with my family, and wanted to share some of those titles that didn’t make the cut, just because I enjoyed their creativity:
bullet These Dogs Didn’t Go To Heaven/Not All Dogs Go to Heaven implies these dogs aren’t wonderful creatures, and that’s a solid loser
bullet No Kleenex Required too vague, and not necessarily true, they’re just not required because of a death
bullet The Best Bois
bullet Books Where the Author isn’t A Heartless Bastard (Looking at You, Marley and Me) too long, and boy howdy, does it seem my son has bigger issues with the book than I did
bullet Books that Even PETA Would Be Okay With
bullet Books for the Vegan in You suggests the dog books I don’t mention are in favor of eating them…
bullet Paw Patrol I’m almost confident my daughter’s now-husband suggested as a joke, for his sake, I’m assuming it was
bullet Pawfect Dog Stories I refuse to resort to that kind of joke

(Images by S K from Pixabay and josmo from Pixabay)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Hard To Be Happy” by Rob Thomas

By HCNewton

On August 25, 2025

In News/Misc.

The Irresponsible Reader's 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

The World’s Last Night by C.S. Lewis: An Interesting (if Somewhat Scattered) Collection that Starts Off With a Banger

By HCNewton

On August 24, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Further Up and Further In, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The World’s Last Night
And Other Essays

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperOne
Publication Date: February 14, 2017
Format: Paperback
Length: 122 pg.
Read Date: August 3-10, 2025

What’s The World’s Last Night About?

This is a collection of essays by Lewis, quite simply. I don’t know that they belong together more than that. GIven the original date of publication (1952), he was alive when this was collected, but I have no idea if he was involved in the selection—I am curious about that. So much so that I’ve written 3 more sentences (including this one) about it than I intended to.

Here’s what the jacket flap on my copy says:

In these seven satirical yet poignant essays, C.S. Lewis tackles the temptations of evil. He challenges readers to decide how they would live on thew world’s last night and writes, “We are not the playwright, we are not the producer, we are not even the audience. We are on the stage. To play well the scenes in which we are ‘on’ concerns us much more than to guess about the scenes that follow it.” The infamous Screwtape makes a special appearance with a toast that explores the prospects for exploiting evil. Blending irony, humor, and paradox, Lewis tackles religion’s most difficult and intriguing questions regarding immorality, belief, and the meaning of prayer.

I’m also not sure “satirical” applies to all seven essays. But I didn’t come here to pick a fight with anyone involved with putting this together. So let’s move on with a quick look at each essay (the premise should be clear for most from the title).

The Efficacy of Prayer

I loved this essay. I’m glad I read the collection, if only for this—sadly, the rest of the collection really didn’t live up to it. But I’m okay with paying most of the $17 I spent on the book for this essay. It’s one I will be returning to.

On Obstinancy in Belief

This is sort of a Science v. Faith (a ridiculous debate). Lewis made some pretty good points, and it was generally good. But I’m not sure it’s a home-run.

That demand for our confidence which a true friend makes of us is exactly the same that a confidence trickster would make. That refusal to trust, which is sensible in reply to a confidence trickster, is ungenerous and ignoble to a friend, and deeply damaging to our relation with him. To be forewarned and therefore forearmed against apparently contrary appearance is eminently rational if our belief is true; but if our belief is a delusion, this same forewarning and forearming would obviously be the method whereby the delusion rendered itself incurable. And yet again, to be aware of these possibilities and still to reject them is clearly the precise mode, and the only mode, in which our personal response to God can establish itself. In that sense the ambiguity is not something that conflicts with faith so much as a condition which makes faith possible. When you are asked for trust you may give it or withhold it; it is senseless to say that you will trust if you are given demonstrative certainty. There would be no room for trust if demonstration were given. When demonstration is given what will be left will be simply the sort of relation which results from having trusted, or not having trusted, before it was given.

Lilies that Fester

This is an interesting take on anti-intellectualism and related ideas. It really feels like it could be a recent composition.

There’s a paragraph about a child reading Science Fiction that sold me.

Screwtape Proposes a Toast

I was just going to refer you to what I wrote about this as an add-on to The Screwtape Letters, but apparently, I never finished that post. So, um, that won’t work.

This fell short of the original Screwtape material. It doesn’t have the wit, the insight. It feels like a sequel to The Abolition of Man crammed into Screwtape’s mouth, and it didn’t work nearly as well.

Good Work and Good Works

Second-best essay in the batch.

‘Good works’ in the plural is an expression much more familiar to modern Christendom than ‘good work’. Good works are chiefly alms-giving or ‘helping’ in the parish. They are quite separate from one’s ‘work’. And good works need not be good work, as anyone can see by inspecting some of the objects made to be sold at bazaars for charitable purposes. This is not according to our example. When our Lord provided a poor wedding party with an extra glass of wine all round, He was doing good works, But also good work; it was a wine really worth drinking, Nor is the neglect of goodness in our ‘work’, our job, according to precept. The apostle says everyone must aot only work but work to produce what is ‘good’.

Religion and Rocketry

Huh. Interesting take on extraterrestrial life, etc. I’m not sure what else to say.

The World’s Last Night

There are many reasons why the modern Christian and een the modern theologian may hesitate to give to the doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming that emphasis which was usually laid on it by our ancestors.

It’s hard to believe that someone in the 20th Century could start an essay about escathology that way. But there it is, in black and white.

We must admit at once that this doctrine [of the Second Coming] has, in the past, led Christians into very great follies. Apparently many people find it difficult to believe in this great event without trying to guess its date, or even without accepting as a certainty the date that any quack or hysteric offers them. To write a history of all these exploded predictions would need a book, and a sad, sordid, tragi-comical book it would be.

I’ve read some of those books, and he describes them well.

Overall, this is a really good look at the doctrine of the Second Coming and Judgement and how we should act before then—and why we should do so.

So, what did I think about The World’s Last Night?

I liked this more than some of what I’ve read by Lewis this year, but it doesn’t hold a candle to him at his best. There are moments of brilliance. Moments of spiritual insight and wisdom. Some moments of wit and common sense (which should never be sneezed at). Some moments where you wonder why he has impacted so many (including myself) in such a strong and lasting way.

Still, it’s worth the time—not just for completistis, either. Just know going in that not every essay is going to wow you.

I’m tempted to give it 4 Stars just for the first essay, but let’s not get carried away by such a strong start.

3.5 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.
Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

Saturday Miscellany—8/23/25

By HCNewton

On August 23, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I really should’ve saved a couple of things from last week’s list for today…oh well, it’ll be faster for both of us this way.

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 ChatGPT Shaming Is Making Our Writing So Much Worse: In the age of A.I. paranoia, people are cutting em dashes, skipping metaphors, and leaving in typos to prove their human.—If it’s a choice of defending my writing as human generated or cutting an em-dash, I’ll go to the gibbet! Leaving in typos? Stuff of nightmares.
bullet Convince Audible to revise it’s New Royalty Model—I’m not going to tell you if you should sign this or not. Or if this should alter your audiobook practices (but there is a libro.fm link in my sidebar and I get a little something from it if you subscribe). But you should give this a read just to understand what Audible is doing.
bullet Linda Castillo on Keeping Her Kate Burkholder Series Fresh and Frightening After 17 Books—I’m way behind in that series and I’m not so sure she’s pulling it off. But maybe I’m in a middling-time for her and things will freshen up. Still, it was interesting to read.
bullet Andy Peloquin and some fellow authors clearly had some fun at WorldCon as seen in Let’s ask random authors some questions…Part One!!
bullet SFF books featuring Characters with Disabilties – Top Ten Tuesday!—2 solid picks here and 8 that probably are, too. Feed your TBR!
bullet Speaking of feeding your TBR, it’s time for Narratess Indie August Sale. My TBR is embiggened!

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Book Off! Season 14, Ep. 13 JD Kirk and MW Craven—I haven’t listened to a Book Off! in ages, this was a good one to get back into it with. Loads of fun.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet 212 by Alafair Burke
bullet Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley
bullet Veiled by Benedict Jacka
bullet Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
bullet Lastly, I mentioned the releases of: Hallow Point by Ari Marmell; Zero World by Jason Hough; Last Words by Michael Koryta; Zeroes by Chuck Wendig; and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet A Mother’s Guide to the Apocalypse by Hollie Overton—”a post-apocalyptic mystery exploring the unshakeable bond between mothers and daughters and the sacrifices we make for the people we love.” This looks intense and riveting

WWW Wednesday—August 19, 2025

By HCNewton

On August 20, 2025

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

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?


Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson	The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson, read by Eric Burgher

I’m finally dipping into Gibson’s first book. This is a dark and messed-up world. Really enjoying it so far.

So far, The Dragon and the George is doing a lot of things right. It’s doing a lot of things so-so as well. Still, it’s plenty of fun.

What did you recently finish reading?


Leveled Up Love by Leveled Up Love by Tao Wong & A. G. Marshall	Blood Rites by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters

Wong & Marshall’s SF/LitRPG/Rom-Com mashup was feel-good fun.

I don’t know that Blood Rites ranks up with Butcher’s best, but the high points of this are so high, I just don’t care.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki	The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen, translated by Lisa Hartford, read by Erik Davies

Aoki’s book seems to be quite the genre mashup, looking forward to seeing how/if it works.

Netflix’s Dept. Q got me interested in the source material, The Keeper of Lost Causes. Time for some Nordic Noir.

Are you working through anything good?

Leveled Up Love by Tao Wong & A. G. Marshall: Your Typical RomCom featuring a Waitress, a Bikini Model, and a lot of Space Battles (like I said, typical)

By HCNewton

On August 20, 2025

In Fiction, Science Fiction

Leveled Up Love

by Tao Wong & A. G. Marshall

DETAILS:
Publisher: Starlit Publishing
Publication Date: June 20, 2021
Format: e-Book
Length: 604 pg.
Read Date: August 18-19, 2025

What’s Leveled Up Love About?

Zack Moore is living off the generous inheritance he received from his parents, occasionally (when forced) looking in on the charitable foundation they started, and playing video games. Primarily, he’s playing Star Fury, and his team is gearing up for a big tournament that could lead to them playing on a professional circuit. He doesn’t need the job or money—but his teammates do. Zack needs to be good at something, and Star Fury seems to be it.

But his gameplay is interrupted one day, and the trustee overseeing his accounts (and former guardian) is there to get him to sign some documents. One of those documents (that Zack doesn’t read because he’s in a rush to get back to the game), is an agreement to alpha test a new game—and progress in that game will affect things like access to his accounts, access to the rest of the world, and access to the internet. Zack’s luxury condo (which looks like the sloppiest dorm room you’ve ever been in—without the textbooks) is so tied into smart technology that everything Zack owns or uses can be controlled by this software.

The game is Dating Evolution App, with the goal of a significant relationship with a romantic partner. Zack has to level up in various areas—like hygeine, personal style, employment, general reputation (several impassioned internet comments—all about Star Fury and its players—have to go, for example). If he wants to get the time online that he needs to help his team win the tournament, he has to start jumping through hoops—now.

General RomCom situations ensue.

As a LitRPG

I’ve never read a LitRPG before, so I may be off base, but…according to the repository of all human knowledge, Wikipedia:

LitRPG, short for literary role-playing game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of computer RPGs with science-fiction and fantasy novels… In LitRPG, game-like elements form an essential part of the story, and visible RPG statistics (for example strength, intelligence, damage) are a significant part of the reading experience… Typically, the main character in a LitRPG novel is consciously interacting with the game or game-like world and attempting to progress within it.

If that’s the case, Wong & Marshall nailed it.

Zack’s stats at the beginning of the game were:

Zack Moore Current Attributes (Social Level 8)
Physique: 31
Style: 19
Reputation: -18
Occupation: 0

He would get similar stats fed through his smart glasses, based on social media/other internet data on any woman he focused on for long, which was so creepy and invasive I shouldn’t have to say (and yes, landed him in hot water not nearly as often as it should’ve).

He’d then get fed quests like:

Quest Found!
Hold a conversation with a woman face-to-face!
Restrictions: In-person. Non-VR generated. Unpaid interaction.
Difficulty: Variable
Reward: Access to electronics and internet

Now, with access to non-essential internet usage—like the massive tournament he was preparing for, Zack had no little choice but to take on these quests (similar ones for Physique, Style, Reputation, and Occupation). That’s what’s driving him through almost this whole novel—not his health, not the way he looks/dresses/smells (he’s not around people enough to care), or lack of relationship. It’s about access to Star Fury.

As a RomCom

This hit all the main points—a misunderstood, and loveable schlub (think of a social Sonny Koufax, without the girlfriend in the beginning), who (like Sandy) is wealthy. There’s a cute, wholesome woman without all the advantages he has that befriends him, and they build a relationship. There’s a knock-out bikini model neighbor who sees him as a nice guy that will buy her fancy clothes, nice jewelry (that matches whatever she has on), and will take her to expensive places and dinners.

Zack casually dates them both to get game points (although neither woman is aware of the other).

Meanwhile, he starts to grow in some ways through the other things the game has him work on, and he just might be growing up.

If you can’t guess the rest of the plot from here—you really haven’t spent much time with RomComs. Wong & Marshall get all the plot points right, deliver them in an entertaining and amusing way, and lead up to an emotionally satisfying resolution. Practically textbook.

So, what did I think about Leveled Up Love?

This reminded me of several books where a man-child is forced (by whatever) to change their lifestyle—exercise, eating right, concern for their appearance, and maybe even a better job—and along the way, they find that they like doing all that after all and get the girl. Does that make it bad? No. Predictable? Pretty much, yeah. But you don’t pick up something like this to be blown away. You pick up something like this because you’re curious about how it pulls it all off. How it hits all the conventions (in this case, both genres) marks in an entertaining way.

Or maybe because you love the conventions and you don’t care how fresh this book’s take is on it, you just want the familiarity.

Either works—and either will be satisfied with this book.

I liked all the characters—I wish we’d gotten to know a few better (particularly Zack’s teammates). The overall atmosphere is pleasant—and it’s one of the “cleanest” RomComs I remember reading. This just leaves you feeling warm and comfortable—it delivers some good smiles, and a chuckle or two, too.

I do think it could’ve been shorter—it was a lot longer than I expected when I started it (I really should glance at page counts for ebooks). But on this side of things, I don’t really know what they could’ve cut. Still, it dragged a bit for me (just a bit).

All in all, a completely enjoyable experience—could it have been better? Sure, dial up the laughs a bit more—but that might have detracted from something else. Leveled Up Love. It delivers just what it tells you in the subtitle. If that seems like your kind of thing, you’re right. Give it a try.

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, the opinions expressed are my own.

(belated) Saturday Miscellany—8/16/25

By HCNewton

On August 18, 2025

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Hate to let the streak end (although it was for a worthy cause), especially because I had the biggest list I’d come up with in a few weeks.

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 The authors who make millions through self-publishing: Three British writers reveal how they built successful careers without agents or conventional publishers
bullet C.S. Lewis in the Age of Bleakness: Awe, Wonder and the Power of Enchantment
bullet Our Golden Age of Reading (Online)
bullet Review Bomber Review Bombed—hate to see it (no, not really)
bullet Book Review: ‘Mississippi Blue 42’ takes readers into excesses and corruption in big-time college athletics—some review, some profile, generally good stuff about Cranor and his latest
bullet We All Miss Mass Market Paperbacks: It’s partly nostalgia, but there really is something special about those books…—Templeton makes it hard for me to finish the post I’ve been playing with about Mass Market Paperbacks
bullet 5 Fun Tips and Tricks To Focus on Your Physical TBR: Feeling overwhelmed by your physical TBR piling up all around you? Here are fun tips and tricks to dwindle your physical TBR.
bullet How I Read Star Ratings—some good thoughts from Pages Unbound’s Krysta
bullet Blogiversary #8—Carol’s Reading Ladies Book Club hit a milestone last week. Congrats!
bullet When Fiction Meets Reality: I Guessed the Inspiration for a Book and Now It’s Living Rent Free in My Mind
bullet Dungeons and Dragons Romance Books—I can think of a few people who’d like these

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet How I Library Episode 20: Penn Jillette—Fun in general, and Jillette offers one of my favorite anti-book ban arguments

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
bullet Indexing: Reflections, Episode 1: Forbidden Doors by Seanan McGuire
bullet Spell or High Water by Scott Meyer
bullet The Redeemers by Ace Atkins
bullet Hidden by Benedict Jacka
bullet The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire
bullet And I mentioned the releases of: Indexing: Reflections by Seanan McGuire; You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day; Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner; and The End of All Things by John Scalzi

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Final Vow by M.W. Craven—If there’s a book I’ve been looking forward to more this year, I can’t think of it. Just waiting on international shipping. Oh, right, about the book—Poe and Tilly are on the hunt for a sniper who is on a spree of random shootings.
bullet The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford—Ford tries his hand at epic fantasy, “a wild band known as the Bone Raiders harness the power of gigantic, fire-breathing lizards to defend their homeland.”
bullet The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown—”a trio of seemingly everyday people are members of a secret society tasked with finding and protecting hidden magical objects—ordinary items with extraordinary properties. “

Image credit: Grammarly

MUSIC MONDAY: “Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the Frog

By HCNewton

On August 18, 2025

In News/Misc.

The Irresponsible Reader's 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.

Waltzed with my daughter at her Wedding Reception to this over the weekend.

Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

A Few Quick Questions With…Adam Holcombe

By HCNewton

On August 18, 2025

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Book Tour, Fantasy, Fiction

Okay, we’re wrapping up my Tour Spot for A Necromancer Called Gam Gam with some actual new content! (gasp!!) Holcombe was gracious enough to take some time out from camping to answer a few quick questions for me…I hope you enjoy these answers!

Why don’t you take a moment to introduce yourself to the readers, and tell us about your path to publication?
Hello all! I’m Adam Holcombe, author of the Chronicles of Gam Gam series as well as the upcoming sci-fi epic, Bounty Inc. My path to publishing is much like the tick’s path to getting burned off of someone. Except the people I latched onto were all very nice and helped me instead of burned me! I’m very grateful for that.

But what I mean specifically is that I was able to follow some of my favorite indie authors through social media, and ended up finding ways to get involved, such as an accountability thread on a Discord server where I ended up getting to know some of my favorite people. With their help, I was able to find my way to publishing A Necromancer Called Gam Gam, and much of my success is owed to how kind and wonderful everyone in this community has been to helping ticks like me grow into our own authors.

Who are some of your biggest writer inspirations/influences. Whether or not we readers can see them, but you know they’re there.
Two of my biggest inspirations to writing come from different media sources than the traditional book, actually. The first is Eiichiro Oda, the mangaka for One Piece, and the second is James Gunn, writer and director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, among several other things. And both of these are for very similar reasons: they both blend humor and emotion so seamlessly it’s incredible how it works, and it’s what I’m constantly striving for myself. I want to create a story that leaves one laughing before they suddenly find themselves silenced by a powerful, heart-wrenching scene. And then maybe ending on a laugh, I don’t know, guess you’ll have to read to find out!

That’s not to say I don’t have authors who are inspirations to me as well! In the same vein of things, M.L. Wang writes emotion so well, she’s been one of the few authors who have ever really brought tears to my eyes. Krystle Matar writes characters so well, it’s hard to imagine they invented these people, they feel real, pulled straight from whatever plane of existence Krystle can peer into. C.M. Caplan can dial the unhinged to eleven and just make it work, something that is so very hard and something I hope to get the chance to do more and more as I continue writing. Those are just a few, but so many stories I’ve read, and authors I’ve talked to have influenced my work in tiny ways, and will continue to do so as I keep pushing more out.

I want to ask about tone—because you strike this balance (or do an intricate dance around and between tones, whichever metaphor you prefer) between cute/cozy and emotionally-wrought with a side of creepy. Was this something you had in mind from the beginning? Was this something you discovered along the way and then wrote/rewrote to turn into it? Or is this just Adam Holcombe in a nutshell?
Ha, maybe my previous answer gave some of this away, but deep/serious moments and light/silly moments are two things I work hard to balance and I’m happy to see that it seems to be working from your perspective! For A Necromancer Called Gam Gam, there were a few ideas I wanted to incorporate from the beginning that set up this balance, but so much of the actual work came when the writing started. If something felt too creepy and too serious when I wanted it to be lighter, I would adjust and make sure something silly was incorporated so it wouldn’t go too far in one direction. And in the same way, if it was getting too whimsical, I’d look for a way to ground things once more. It took a lot of toying to get the feel that I was satisfied with.

This is the point where I like to ask about a supporting character or two that caught my attention. But you’ve done a good job of taking these supporting characters and giving them short stories. When did you decide to do those? Was it because of people like me who were asking questions about them, and this was a quick and effective way to shut us up? Do you have any plans to keep these coming? I think The Wishing Stone provides several potentials.
A lot of authors offer a newsletter magnet, usually a novella of sorts that ties into their story and brings people to their newsletter while also giving readers a chance to try their work and hopefully hook them. I wanted to do something similar, but with A Necromancer Called Gam Gam already being a novella, it felt odd doing a second novella to sell the first. Or giving away that for free to join a newsletter that had nothing else to offer. In the end, the idea came from several anthologies I’ve read where the authors would tie the short story into a series of theirs, giving the reader a taste and a chance to hop onto that series if they liked what they read. A short story seemed a lot more doable for coupling with A Necromancer Called Gam Gam than a second novella or something similar might be.

So, I decided to look at which characters I felt really deserved more backstory, and started with Sir Gibblet in The Knight Revenant, and of course Nugget would need more story in Nugget’s Tenth Life. He’s demanding like that. I also wanted to provide these stories for free, so that anyone who wanted to see what the Chronicles of Gam Gam was about could easily do so. And, for people who are better at reading physically, I also decided to provide them in the physical copies so a reader wouldn’t have to read it digitally if they have a preference. After the first book, pairing up with The Knight Revenant, I thought it would be a lot of fun to do this for each book in the series. Each main book is planned to be partnered with a short story to expand on side characters that don’t get to hog as much spotlight.

The Wishing Stone offers up a lot of fun decisions on who can be next, but as a sneak peak just for you and your readers, the next short story will be following Emil who runs into some shenanigans in the city after the events of the second book.

You display a certain knowledge of knitting—and I like the way that Gam Gam uses it to describe magic. Is this the result of research for the character? Or is this a hobby that you inserted for the image of an elderly necromancer?
Okay, so a peek behind the curtain here, I know nothing about knitting. Give me yarn and two knitting needles, and you’ll get a big ol’ knot back. Maybe the two knitting needles, too. I owe everything knitting related to my wife, who is a huge fan of knitting, crocheting, and many other forms of crafting. I’ll do my own research, but then I run it by her, and she helps me phrase it in a way that actually makes sense. Her teaching me what a perl was probably tested her patience.

Interestingly enough, not that long ago I had to ask her about some big cable knitting thingy to see if it made sense to exist yet in the world of Gam Gam, and she got a big kick out of me trying to talk about it and ask about it. She even dared to say I “was cute.” In the end, though, I decided that in a world with enchanted, magical items, the big cable thingy can exist too. (The big cable thingy is circular knitting needles for those who know more than me.)

I have a guest question from Jodie at Witty and Sarcastic Book Club. I think I read somewhere that Gam Gam started as a D&D character idea, was that a natural jump from the game to writing? Do any of your other characters share that origin? Does being a DM affect how you write/structure a story?
Gam Gam certainly started as a D&D character, but she was quite a bit different! One of my favorite things about D&D is being able to play as ridiculous and fun characters, and sometimes, I take that to the extreme. How she came about was that I wanted to be the party’s grandma if I ever played her, baking cookies, and caring for everyone, but I needed to figure out what kind of class this grandma would be. The funniest to me was having her raise the dead as a Necromancer because it was such an odd combination. And lastly, it’s fun to be insane, so I originally had her animating the bones of some dear loved ones. This was not in a cute way, but a rather horrifying way. At the time, I was a forever DM (meaning I never played characters, so all my character ideas lived and died quickly, never finding freedom on the fields of imagination and dice rolling), so when I had a character idea I was obsessed with, she kind of stuck around until I talked about Gam Gam and was coerced into writing about Gam Gam.

The transition was relatively natural, but I had a character and no story. And the character was a bit insane, so that definitely needed adjusting. Maybe it could have worked, but that was the character I wanted to be to mess around with my friends, not necessarily the one I wanted to read about. I tamed her down, gave her an actual reason for being a necromancer, and found a story that fit just right for her, and the rest came quickly after that. I’m much happier with Gam Gam the story character than I probably would have been had she remained the D&D character.

Right now, Gam Gam has earned the sole distinction as D&D character turned book character. I have a lot of influences from D&D coming into my books (a character in Bounty Inc. is kind of like a lizardfolk or dragonborn, and I have a different character in the third Gam Gam book that is kind of like another creature from the world of D&D), but nothing so direct as the Gam Gam transition. I don’t know if it will be likely either, that seemed to kind of be a one shot wonder that worked in the right place at the right time. I’m getting to play characters now, but it feels like their stories belong in my D&D group, not a story, and so they’ll likely not see the page.

Being a DM feels like writing mostly worldbuilding with the barest frame of a story at times. I can control what my players do to a point, but we never really know where the story is going, and I don’t want to pull them away from something interesting, especially if I’m also very interested. Whereas, for writing, I usually need some beats of plot to really begin on it, and that tends to be central (after I’ve already figured out characters, I do need those before plot). So, my brain actually splits these completely apart, and I tend to not overlap them in many ways. Like, what works for D&D doesn’t always seem to work for a story and vice versa. I’ve had many a great story moments ruined because my players just did other things haha. It feels less like one builds on the other, and more that they compliment each other in completely different ways, and I love that because I’m not always feeling like I want to write one way verses the other. This is, of course, a disclaimer that this is from my own experiences of how I DM and write my own way, and this definitely varies between authors/DMs.

While we’re here, do you want to give a plug for Bounty Inc.? What’s on the horizon for Adam Holcombe, author, after that?
Yes, I would love to! Next on my release docket is a huge swing away from Chronicles of Gam Gam with Bounty Inc. This was the book I was working on before A Necromancer Called Gam Gam came knocking on my brain, so it’s been cooking for some time. If you’re interested in a sci-fi epic that has the same blend of humor and seriousness as Gam Gam, but brought into a more action-packed, vulgar adventure through space, helping to improve the galaxy one bounty at a time, then be sure to check it out! It releases October 15th, 2025!

I am also hard at work on The Knitting Club (book 3 of Chronicles of Gam Gam) and hoping to have that out early next year (though that may be pushing it). I plan to send that out to beta readers by the end of the month. Emil’s short story will be sometime in there too, I’m sure.

I have plenty more Gam Gam and Bounty Inc. left in me, I just need to find the time to work on it all!

Thanks for your time and participation! I’m a big fan and I hope we get to keep reading your work for years to come!
Thank you so much for having me and for enjoying your time with Gam Gam and Mina! I hope to be around for years to come, I’ll need them for everything I have planned.

A Few Quick Questions