2025 Retrospectives - The Irresponsible Reader

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

On March 11, 2025

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

I finished 25 titles (6 up from last month, 3 up from last February), with an equivalent of 6,424 pages or the equivalent (1,116 up from last month), and gave them an average of 3.4 stars (.4 stars down from last month).

My late 2024 slowdown in posting continues, and I’m getting better with accepting that, while still trying to figure out how to get around it. But basically, I’m reading a lot and enjoying talking about that–that’s good enough for me.

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

Still Reading

Cover of Wisdom for Life by Michael P. V. Barrett

Cover of A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel by John Colquhoun

Cover of Where the Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski

Ratings

		Average =	3.4
	0		3
	1		2
	7		0
	10		0
	3

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	4	68	80	168	9
Added	1	3	4	3	4
Read/ Listened	2	20	6	0	4
Current Total	3	69	78	171	9

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 20
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Genre	This Month	Year to Date
Children’s	3 (12%)	9 (4%)
Fantasy	2 (8%)	9 (4%)
General Fiction/ Literature	3 (12%)	9 (4%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	4 (16%)	9 (20%)
Non-Fiction	4 (16%)	7 (16%)
Science Fiction	3 (12%)	11 (5%)
Theology/ Christian Living	3 (12%)	0 (0%)
Urban Fantasy	3 (12%)	6 (14%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis: His First Apologetic Work is a Mixed Bag
I Have Too Many Things to Say About Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets by Christopher Farnsworth
The Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis: Everyone Has to Start Somewhere
Grandpappy’s Corner: Little Aiden: A Big Kid Book for Toddlers by Albert and Anna Choi, Bettina Braskó (Illustrator): Aiden’s a “Big Kid” Now (well, bigger)
Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire: Things Get Serious
Grandpappy’s Corner: Goodnight Darth Vader by Jeffrey Brown: Han Snored First
Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People by Nicholas G. Piotrowski: Looking At The Heart of the Bible’s Narrative
Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp: The Last Days of Maggie Dunn
The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis: What Can Happen When a Bad Review Copy Falls Into the Right Hands
Installment Immortality by Seanan McGuire: G-G-G-Ghosts!
(slightly updated) REPOST: Buddy the Knight and The Queen of Sorrow by Peter David: A Tale of Friendship, Devotion, Bravery and Heart

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

Captivating Character of January: Maggie Dunn née McCormick

By HCNewton

On February 18, 2025

In Books, Miscellany, News/Misc.

Connie at Reading Ladies has started a new monthly feature, Most Captivating Character of the Month. It didn’t take me too long to decide who would be my choice for January, Maggie Dunn from Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp.

In my original post, I said:

You can tell from the beginning that she’s smart. She’s driven. She’s brave (at least in the face of some things…like dying). She loves her family. She’s gone through a lot. She’s pretty funny. (probably pretty, too, but that’s not that important, especially when you see the world through her eyes). You later learn what a good friend she can be and why she was elected.

Now, like a parfait, or an onion, or an ogre—Maggie has layers. I’m not going to talk about those layers because you need to discover them for yourself. But she has them—and you keep learning about those layers as the book continues. Each layer—for me, anyway, and I predict for most readers—got me to like her more as a person (pretty frequently) and as a character (always). Is there a difference? Sure—one extreme example (that doesn’t apply here, but gets my point across) would be Dr. Lecter. Fantastic character, but not someone you’d want to hang out with.

A Little More About Her:

In High School, she was a high-achieving student and occasional pot smoker. Until her mother died, and then the smoking increased (and maybe she dabbled in some harder drugs). But she stayed high-achieving and went off to college, becoming a prosecuting attorney in her home town (which brought her back into contact with her dealer, among others).

Along the way, she married a doctor and had two children. She’s popular in the town, thanks in part to her family’s very popular restaurant, her public service, and, well…many things. So she’s now in her first term as the mayor.

The more we get to know her (as I suggested above) we get to see many of the layers and layers underneath the glossy and impressive surface. Many of these layers will make you like her, some will make her relatable and keep her from being too good to be true. And other layers, well, it’s captivating character of the month–not admirable character of the month.

What character would you name for last month?

Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

Highlights from January: Lines Worth Repeating

By HCNewton

On February 13, 2025

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

Highlights from the Month

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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 …

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)

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

By HCNewton

On February 7, 2025

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

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

Still Reading

Cover of Called to Freedom by Brad Littlejohn

Cover of The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Ratings

		Average =	3.8
	2		0
	3		0
	6		0
	3		0
	5

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

The Big Empty by Robert Crais: The Muffins Rode Shotgun
A Few Thoughts on The Bang-Bang Sisters (Audiobook) by Rio Youers, read by Kristen Sieh
Glorifying and Enjoying God by William Boekestein, Jonathan Landry Cruse, Andrew J. Miller: Heartfelt Application of the Classic Tool
A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay: Vigilante Power Coupling
Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 3: Eighteenth through Twentieth Topics by Francis Turretin: A Master Class on Theology and Methodology Concludes
Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property by Mike Lupica: Even Tough-As-Nails Attorneys are Mortal
The Boys of Riverside by Thomas Fuller: A Football Book for Non-Sports Fans
Broken Bonds by Amy Mantravadi: 16th Century Figures Come to Life in This Novel
Pigeon-Blood Red (Audiobook) Ed Duncan, read by Dave Keyser: No Muss, No Fuss, Just a Solid Thriller
Grandpappy’s Corner: I Am a Big Brother by Caroline Jayne Church: A Sweet Instructional/Motivational Guide
REPOST: Lessons From Lucy by Dave Barry: America’s Funniest Human Tries to Learn a Few New Tricks from an Old Dog
Another take on Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property is here: GUEST POST: Upon Further Review . . . by Robert Germaux

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

Enough about me—how Was Your Month?

Tag: 2025 Retrospectives

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

Captivating Character of January: Maggie Dunn née McCormick

In my original post, I said:

A Little More About Her:

What character would you name for last month?

Highlights from January: Lines Worth Repeating

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