Grandpappy’s Corner: Goodnight Darth Vader by Jeffrey Brown: Han Snored First

Grandpappy's Corner Logo with the Cover of Goodnight Darth Vader by Jeffrey Brown

Goodnight Darth Vader

by Jeffrey Brown

DETAILS:
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Length: 64 pg.
Read Date: February 8, 205
Buy from Bookshop.org Support Indie Bookstores

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….

Episode Eight P.M.: BEDTIME

Lord Darth Vader rules the Galaxy, while attempting to rule his twin children, Luke and Leia Skywalker. He has commanded them to go to bed, but they have other ideas….

What’s Goodnight Darth Vader About?

This is a book in the style of Goodnight Moon featuring Darth Vader and his twins (in a very non-canonical way) while he’s trying to get them to sleep, with looks at individuals from throughout the Empire (or former Empire) as they settle in for the night.

Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute

Brown has this great style that both gets the detail necessary for the droids, aliens, ships, and all that. At the same time, he keeps it playful and appealing for people of all ages to look at.

You can see plenty of examples of this on his website.

Who Is This Book For?

I really don’t know who the audience for this book is—I know it’s sold for kids, it seems to be intended for kids, but I think this is a better fit for Star Wars fans than for the toddler (or younger) set.

Sure, it’s not like a toddler gets the references (or understands most of the words in) Good Night New Orleans (to stay on-theme) or just about any other book I’ve talked about in Grandpappy’s Corner. So it’s not a big deal if a reader doesn’t get the Ackbar joke or know who Dexter is. So, sure, read it to your kid. But to appreciate this truly? You need to be a fan of the series.

So, what did I think about Goodnight Darth Vader?

I had a blast with it—I liked the art, the humor, the take on the Goodnight Moon style of book, and so on.

I’ve seen the covers for some of the other books along these lines that Brown has put out, but I haven’t read them—I only read this one because someone gave it to the Grandcritter. I’m going to take steps to get my hands on the others now.

The art, the strange creatures, the smiling kids—that’ll keep the young readers/read-to involved. The characters and jokes will help the fan enjoy this—even after multiple, multiple readings.

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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Highlights from January: Lines Worth Repeating

Highlights from the Month

Cover of The Boys of Riverside by Thomas Fuller

The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory by Thomas Fuller

Desire is a tree with leaves, hope is a tree in bloom, enjoyment is a tree with fruit.


Cover of Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire

Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire

Romantic love is not required to live a full and happy life, my seedlings,” Father had told us, watching carefully to be sure we took his message to heart, “but if you cannot love one who loves you truly in return, find friends, find companions, find people who will tell you the truths you cannot carry and unveil the lies you cannot see. Most of all, cleave to each other, for you will be the only sure support you have in all this world.

The force of their wanting cut channels in the world.

You’re his child because parentage is so much more than blood. Parentage is showing up and being present, is love and learning and compassion and care.


Cover of Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds

Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds

Svetlana forced herself to nod. She could never quite overcome a lingering prejudice against the comet miners. They were too brave, too courageous. Svetlana thought that the only kind of person you wanted anywhere near any part of a fusion motor was someone with a strong aversion to risk.

Cowards were exactly the kind of people you wanted around nuclear technology.

“You could give scheming lessons to Machiavelli,” Parry said.

“I did. He flunked.”


Cover of Sword & Thistle by S.L. Rowland

Sword & Thistle by S.L. Rowland

When he smiled, Dobbin recognized him by his missing front teeth. Hildir had lost them in an unfortunate accident involving too many drinks, a frying pan, and a gelatinous cube.

On nights like this, he wondered if he could ever truly give it up. The traveling, the exploration, meeting new people, and experiencing the hidden treasures of Aedrea. To settle down in one place for the rest of his life trapped in a cage…

Then again, wasn’t that what books were for? He could live a hundred lives and still sleep in a warm bed at night.

“We’re adventurers. We make our living doing stupid things.”

“You can lead a griffin to the mountains, but you can’t make it fly.”


Cover of Subculture Vulture by Moshe Kasher

Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes by Moshe Kasher

Once at the mechanic, you find out what the problem is. Busted transmission, engine failure, acute cirrhosis. That knowledge is VITAL. Without it you cannot move forward. But that knowledge doesn’t fix the car. It only makes the fixing of the car possible.


Cover of I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

The world was so old and exhausted that many now saw it as a dying great-grand on a surgical table, body decaying from use and neglect, mind fading down to a glow.

Lark laughed. It was her habit when delighted to rise lightly on tiptoe as if forgotten by gravity.

Why do this to yourself you say, and I reply Why not?

As enemies go, despair has every ounce of my respect.

He was suspected of wisdom but it’s a tough thing to prove …


Cover of The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire

The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire

Love is a knife forever suspended an inch from your heart, and if it falls or you stumble into it, you can all too easily find yourself impaled and bleeding.

Like every other baby I’d seen, he looked nothing like his parents, and more like the unpleasant blend of a salmon and a drowned human.

From a great enough height, even water may turn into a weapon.


(Image by DaModernDaVinci from Pixabay)

WWW Wednesday—February 12, 2025

It’s the 43rd day of the year, also known as February 12. And you know if I’m resorting to counting the days, I don’t have a lot to say by way of introduction. So let’s just get on with it.

WWW Wednesdays Logo

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?

Cover of Installment Immortality by Seanan McGuire Cover of Passageways by Rebecca Carey Lyles Cover of The Greatest Nobodies of History by Adrian Bliss
Installment Immortality
by Seanan McGuire
Passageways
by Rebecca Carey Lyles, Editor
The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments
by Adrian Bliss

I just started the ARC for the upcoming InCryptid novel from McGuire, and am eager to see what kind of mess was left after the last book.

1.5 years after I was given this short story collection by Becky Lyles, I’m done putting it off.

This book by Bliss is an interesting mix of humor and history (heavy on the former, but informed by the latter). Love the concept, if nothing else.

What did you recently finish reading?

Cover of Anxious People by Fredrik Backman Cover of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Anxious People
by Fredrik Backman
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
by Benjamin Stevenson, read by Barton Welch

Backman’s Anxious People was hilarious, touching, sobering, heart-warming, and wise.

I appreciated going through Stevenson’s book again, I was able to better appreciate the structure, the way he set everything up, and so on without being distracted by all the twists, turns, and reveals.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Cover of Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson Cover of Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher
Snow Crash
by Neal Stephenson
Long Past Dues
by James J. Butcher, read by James Patrick Cronin

Snow Crash is the selection for the SciFi Book Club this month–somehow, I’ve yet to make it past the first third of the book in the decades I’ve spent trying, as much as I’ve enjoyed that third. That streak ends soon.

I remember being thrown by the way Butcher’s second novel ended. It’ll be good to revisit this and to see how he laid the groundwork for it.

Do you have a date with a book for St. Valentine’s Day, or are you going for something more conventional?

Book Blogger Hop: How Do You Read Book Series?


Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Idea-ist @ Get Lost in Literature:

Do you prefer to read series one book after another, or can you read other books in between?

Once upon a time, I used to binge-read series. One after another after another like Lays potato chips. But I don’t let myself do that anymore–there are two reasons for this,

  1. I kept losing track of which novel was which, they just ran together into one huge book. Which doesn’t sound all that bad, but it took away from appreciating each novel as its own thing. (some TV critics have said the same thing about releasing/watching an entire season of a show at once instead of the week-by-week approach).
  2. Burnout. Part of this is spill-over from the one-giant novel effect. But really, just too much of a series voice at once just cuts the effectiveness of it.

If we’re talking series with several volumes released, I typically like to do one book a month or so. Enough time to soak in the details, ruminate on each book (hopefully write a post on it), and then get into the next book.

Huh. I thought I had more to say on this than that.

What about you, are you a binger or do you stretch things out?

Opening Lines: The Greatest Nobodies of History by Adrian Bliss

Head & Shoulders used to tell us that, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s true for wearing dark shirts, and it’s especially true for books. Sometimes the characters will hook the reader, sometimes the premise, sometimes it’s just knowing the author—but nothing beats a great opening for getting a reader to commit.

I think it was Julius Caesar’s barber who once said, “Everyone remembers the heroes, but it is the nobodies who make history,” which was just so like him. He was right, of course. If Genghis Khan’s childhood nanny had been a touch more attentive, and if Alexander the Great’s friends hadn’t suggested a group trip to Persia, everything would’ve been different. Neither you nor I would be here and this book would never have been published. Thankfully, in this timeline, everyone did their bit, from Michelangelo’s marble dealer to Cleopatra’s hairstylist and as such, we are all here, and so is this book.

from The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments By Adrian Bliss
Cover of The Greatest Nobodies of History by Adrian Bliss

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MUSIC MONDAY: “Crunchy Granola Suite” by Neil Diamond

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.

I love this bit from the Wikipedia page about the song:

David Wild in his book He Is– I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond, said, “he managed to write the coolest song ever written about granola or any other breakfast food made of rolled oats, nuts and honey”.

(and you know I’m hunting for that book as soon as I hit “Schedule” on this post)

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Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire: Things Get Serious

This is long-overdue. But half of what I do in these posts is figure out what I think of a book—and since about 30 minutes after finishing this book, I’ve known what I had to say (although I’m pretty sure I had the title in mind since I was about 1/3 of the way in, which is a shame, because “Adventures in Babysitting” is right there). Knowing exactly what I want to say makes writing a post hard, there’s no discovery for me. But, I’ve got an ARC for the next book waiting for me, so I had to get serious about things and get this out of my head so I can dive into it.


Cover of Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuireAftermarket Afterlife

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: InCryptid, #13
Publisher: Daw Books
Publication Date: March 5, 2024
Format: Trade Paperback
Length: 299 pg.
Read Date: March 21-27, 2024
Buy from Bookshop.org Support Indie Bookstores

What’s Aftermarket Afterlife About?

Just before I started writing this (or started again…this is something like the 15th attempt since March of last year), I took a glance at what I wrote about Backpacking Through Bedlam. This was either a mistake because I said everything there that I was about to say to start this post and now I have to come up with something new. Or it was smart because now I can cut out a lot of things and point you to that instead.

I’m lazy enough to lean toward “mistake.” But let’s see what I can do instead.

Lest we think that the Covenant of St. George in general and Leonard Cunningham in particular have just been twiddling their thumbs while we’ve been focused on Annie’s adventures (although we see some of Leonard there) or the end of Alice’s quest, we learn very quickly that they’ve been active. They’ve been gathering intelligence and plotting. The result is a shock-and-awe campaign that takes the family and their cryptid (and human) friends and allies unaware—and results in several injuries, deaths, and loss of property. Probably more damage, too.

But before we can get to that, Thomas and Alice (and Sally) arrive at the Portland-area compound for a reunion/(re)introduction. This goes so incredibly poorly that the reader will initially be relieved by the attacks because you foolishly think that means things are going to get more entertaining.

All this results in Mary, of all people, coming up with a plan to take the action to the front door of the Covenant.

Luck Runs Out

I’m not sure that I noticed it during my initial reads of the series—but in the last couple of books, as I listen to them on audio, I keep hearing about the strange luck the family has. And honestly, even if I hadn’t used the word luck—it’s hard not to think that. Verity and her friends/family/loved ones (same for her brother and sister and their friends/loved ones) largely escape the novels unscathed.

The thing about luck is…it runs out. This can be seen in the way that Sarah’s rescue of Artie at the end of Calculated Risks isn’t as successful as we might have thought at the time. And for another telling piece of evidence is pretty much this entire novel.

Choice of Mary

I was initially surprised to see Mary the family’s babysitting ghost as our POV character for this one. I expected another of the Price kids to get the slot (it’s been too long since we spent real time with Alex, for example). But I wasn’t going to complain—if only because it was nice to see her backstory.

In retrospect, there was no other choice. The reader (and McGuire) needed someone who could rapidly move between the various parts of the country to see everything going on and to take part in the action in some (not all) of the places the Covenant was acting. Thanks to her being the major actor, we get a little more insight into what happened to the animus mundi following Annie’s defeat of the Crossroads.

There are a couple of other things that only Mary could contribute to this story, but I can’t talk about those. So, as I expected but didn’t see going in, McGuire didn’t have a choice in POV character. It just had to be her.

Hail The Aeslin Mice

It’s really hard not to feel bad for these guys (when they’re not making you smile) throughout the series. This is probably the hardest novel to get through because of what happens to them. Their losses—different from the losses the family takes, and almost worse—are so hard to watch. Ditto for the family talking about them.

What’s even worse is the note that the race as a whole likely doesn’t have many more generations left. I’m sorry…I’m just not okay with that. I hope/trust that we’re going to find out how wrong those predictions are.

So, what did I think about Aftermarket Afterlife?

When I put this down I said something—I don’t remember what—but my daughter seemed shocked at my reaction. I was stunned, I didn’t expect most of what I spent the last hour or so reading (or the hours previous to it) and I guess that came out forcefully. And I’m still in that frame of mind almost 11 months later. I’m stunned by what McGuire did here.

The InCryptid books have always been (in my mind) the lighter of McGuire’s series—Toby’s for drama and excitement, the Wayward Children are to fill you with whimsy and heartbreak, and Verity/Alex/Annie et al are for some goofy action and strange critters.

I should know McGuire better than that. She’s never going to just let something be light entertainment. Still, I wasn’t prepared for this escalation. I should’ve been. The signs have been there since the end of Chaos Choreography. I’m not going to get into all the ways she gut-punches the readers here. But there are several. Some small, some huge, some of indeterminate size as of this time.

Still, McGuire deals with the various personalities, histories, abilities, interests, and everything else like a master. The writing is quirky as it needs to be without taking away from the drama or heartbreak. Mary is a great character and it’s good to see her come into her own, and we see a lot from other family members that we haven’t spent enough time with, too—ll while catching up with old friends. This is McGuire at peak performance.

Installment Immortality is due soon, and I have no idea what to expect from it—nor from the series going forward. But it’s going to be a very different kind of entity than we’ve seen before. I can’t wait for it.


4 1/2 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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Saturday Miscellany—2/8/25

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 US Authors Guild to certify books from ‘human intellect’ rather than AI—Good idea. Sad that it’s necessary, but glad to see it. Click here to see the Guild’s site.
bullet
Book publishers, authors, Donnelly Public Library sue Idaho officials over library materials law—’tis a stupid law, and I wish this suit success.
bullet Local bookstores, dealt another blow by L.A. fires, become ‘community touchstones’
bullet Children’s Editors on the Worst Places They Were Ever Pitched—at least one of these will make you snicker
bullet My First Thriller: Lee Goldberg—a good look at Goldberg’s roots
bullet A Literary Crossword for Book People—a little fun for the day
bullet Domestication Interview with Author Shannon Knight—looking forward to watching this
bullet I must be in a certain frame of mind this morning, here’s another quick grin-inducer from @writesofnovember (November J. Brown) on Threads
bullet Will 2025 Be the Return of the Classic?—one might be tempted to ask where they went, but I know I shouldn’t.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Nothing, really. It was a very slow month for me on the blog-front. I believe there was a lot of traveling, preparation for traveling, and recovering from traveling going on. However,
bullet I did post a Saturday Miscellany, and noted the release of Funny Girl by Nick Hornby; The Way Into Darkness by Harry Connolly; and Covenant’s End by Ari Marmelltitle.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Little Aiden: A Big Kid Book for Toddlers by Albert and Anna Choi, Bettina Braskó (Illustrator)—A cute book for toddlers that happens to be free until midnight PST. Grandpappy’s Corner featured it yesterday.
bullet Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations by Alton Brown—Brown “shares exactly what’s on his mind, mixing compelling anecdotes from his personal and professional life with in-depth observations on the culinary world, film, personal style, defining meals of his lifetime, and much more.” You pretty much have to get this in audio, right? You’re going to hear his voice in your head when you read it anyway, cut out the middle-man (i.e., your brain) to make it easier.
bullet Dead in the Frame by Stephen Spotswood—after the cliff-hanger Spotswood left us on, I have no need to read a blurb. I just need resolution!
bullet The Complete Critical Companion to Better Call Saul by Alan Sepinwall—Sepinwall’s book on Breaking Bad was fantastic. Surely this will be the same.

An old-looking, multistory set of packed bookshelves with a quotation superimposed. 'You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.' James Baldwin, author

Week 1 Check-in: I’m Reading Every Day in February for the American Cancer Society

Read Every Day in February for the American Cancer Society
No one is a fan of cancer. I daresay there’s no one ambivalent toward it.* We’ve all had our lives, the lives of family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and even pets devastated by it in one form or another. Fighting cancer, researching better ways to fight it, preventing it–all are laudatory ends. So, I participated in this fundraiser last year on a lark—I’m pretty much going to read every day anyway–let’s see if I can earn some money for a good cause, right?

Fundraiser Thermometer showing $128 of $500 raisedBut this year, it’s personal. Last year, four people in my family dealt with cancer in some significant ways. Three of us seem to have dealt with it successfully—we’re not unscathed, but aside from follow-up tests, we’re pretty much done with it. One member of the family is undergoing treatment now, and we all have high hopes, although the road is a bit bumpy. So it’s not a lark this time, and I’m going to talk more about it than I did last year. (I probably should’ve taken it more seriously last year, but it’s too late to do something about that now).

So please, friends and readers, Donate. Every little bit helps. So, please, chip in. And watch this space as I fill in this calendar (and hopefully, the thermometer). Week One has brought a couple of more donors, making good progress at the goal. I’ve also chatted with some others who are planning to donate–which warms the cockles of my heart. Thanks for the support!!

I’ve heard there are some glitches, and it seems like a particular social network is being invasive while trying to pay. If you want to help and don’t want to deal with that, send me a message and we’ll work something out!

Here’s a quick glance at my month’s reading to date.

Week 1 February Calendar

* As soon as I typed that, I could imagine someone objecting to that characterization. But I’m going to pretend to have faith in humanity and keep the sentence.

January 2025 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

This is a little late, but I did manage to get it I read 19 titles (the same as last month, 2 more than last January), with an equivalent of 5,308 pages or the equivalent (4,061 down from last month), and gave them an average of 3.8 stars (.1 down from last month).

I’m not crazy about all the things I meant to post and didn’t–but I’m pretty happy with what I managed to post. I’m not going to go deeper than that. Doing anything but doomscroll lately seems like a victory, really.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in January.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

Cover of The Pilgrim's Regress by C.S. Lewis Cover of Charlotte Illes Is Not a Teacher by Katie Siegel Cover of Robert B. Parker's Buried Secrets by Christopher Farnsworth
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Cover of The Bang-Bang Sisters by Rio Youers Cover of The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs Cover of The Boys of Riverside by homas Fuller
5 Stars 5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Cover of The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis Cover of Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire Cover of Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds
3 Stars 4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Cover of The Accidental Joe by Tom Straw Cover of God of All Things by Andrew Wilson Cover of Sword & Thistle by S.L. Rowland
4 Stars 3 Stars 3.5 Stars
Cover of Subculture Vulture by Moshe Kasher Cover of I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger Cover of Return from Exile and the Renewal of God's People by Nicholas G. Piotrowski
4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Grandpappy's Corner Logo with the Cover of I Am a Big Brother by Caroline Jayne Church Cover of Hit The Ground Running by Kate Ashwin Cover of The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
Cover of Don't Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp
4 1/2 Stars

Still Reading

Cover of Wisdom for Life by Michael P. V. Barrett Cover of Called to Freedom by Brad Littlejohn Cover of The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Ratings

5 Stars 2 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 3 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 6 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 3 1 Star 0
3 Stars 5
Average = 3.8

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
NetGalley
Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies
End of
2024
3 68 78 167 10
1st of the
Month
3 68 78 167 10
Added 3 1 7 1 3
Read/
Listened
2 1 5 0 4
Current Total 4 68 80 168 9

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 17
Self-/Independent Published: 2 (wince!)

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 1 (5%) 1 (5%)
Fantasy 2 (11%) 2 (11%)
General Fiction/ Literature 1 (5%) 1 (5%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 5 (26%) 5 (26%)
Non-Fiction 3 (16%) 3 (16%)
Science Fiction 2 (11%) 2 (11%)
Theology/ Christian Living 3 (16%) 3 (16%)
Urban Fantasy 2 (11%) 2 (11%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?


January Calendar

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