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WWW Wednesday—November 20, 2024

On November 20, 2024

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

I can’t think of an introductory paragraph (or even a sentence) today. So let’s just jump into things:

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?


Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology edited by L. J. Hachmeister	Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie	Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture–and the Magic That Makes It Work by Jesse David Fox

I’m almost certainly finishing the Kedie book today–it’s intense. I don’t know where it’s going to end up, but my blood pressure will be better when it does.

Instinct is a mixed bag–but mostly good. The Jim Butcher story made me so glad when I read it I wouldn’t care if the rest of the stories were horrible (they’re not, but I really would be fine with that).

Jesse David Fox is the kind of guy I’d like to talk comedy with, I have so many follow-up questions about the material in the first half of this book (not because he didn’t give enough information, I just want more). This is the kind of book I’ve wanted for ages.

What did you recently finish reading?


Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo (Illustrator)	The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson

I really liked this take on Starfire (and Cyborg)–giving her Ehlers–Danlos syndrome was an interesting move (and might have got my daughter to read the whole series).

I’m already missing David Smith (and, yes, Grainger fooled me).

What do you think you’ll read next?


Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan	I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue, read by Nasim Pedrad

Altered Carbon is one of those that I think I might have read a couple of decades ago, but I’m not sure. Anyway, this is the book for the Sci-Fi book club.

it was a while ago that I put a hold on I Hope This Finds You Well at the library, and I honestly don’t remember what it was about the book that intrigued me. It looks promising, and I trust post-me. Mostly.

Tell me what you’re reading–help me feel like I’m not in this rut I’ve been in lately (you’ll note how slow things have been turning over here lately).

Book Blogger Hop: Annotate or Untouched?

By HCNewton

On November 18, 2024

In Book Blogger Hop, Books, News/Misc.

Whoa…it’s been 2 months since I’ve done one of these?

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Do you like to annotate your books or leave them untouched?

I’m not sure what kind of monster you take me for. Write in a book? I’d just as soon dog-ear a page. Yeah, yeah, yeah…history is replete with examples of marginalia (and it’s proved to be a helpful resource for scholars), and if you own a book, you should be able to write in it–some people insist on it. But every book in the H.C. Newton Not-Yet-Memorial Library is untouched by pen, pencil, highlighter, or (shudder) Sharpie (outside a handful of autographs, which is totally different*).

There are (at least) two reasons for this–I don’t want to ruin a book with my lousy handwriting, or inability to use a highlighter or pen to draw a straight line. Let’s keep these pretty. But more importantly, I don’t like to be trapped by what I thought was interesting, important, noteworthy, and so on last time I read a book–I want to get impressions this time. (if for no other reason than I don’t want to be disappointed in previous-me). Does this hamper going back to find that one quotation, that killer argument, that metaphor that rocked my thinking? Yes. And that has been a problem. Still…books that please my eyes are worth a little effort/memory-straining.

I’m apparently so well-known for this in my social circles that friends and acquaintances will apologize to me before showing a marked-up book. Which is unnecessary, if a little nice. I bear no ill will towards people who choose to riddle their books with graffiti, sure, I wonder about their priorities, but I know they do the same for mine 🙂 I actually used to know someone who’d borrow books from me and then end up buying me a new copy of whatever book they borrowed because they just had to write in something they read. That actually worked out pretty nicely for me.

* Or is it an inconsistency that frees me from Emersonian hobgoblins?

What about you, do you deface or keep ’em clean?

Opening Lines: Empowered Witness by Alan D. Strange

By HCNewton

On November 17, 2024

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

We all know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover (yet, publishing companies spend big bucks on cover design/art and we all do judge them that way). But, the opening sentence(s)/paragraph(s) are fair game. So, when I stumble on a good opening (or remember one and pull it off the shelves), I like to throw it up here. There are so few writers that can grab you like Winslow can from the get-go.

from Empowered Witness: Politics, Culture, and the Spiritual Mission of the Church by Alan D. Strange:

The calling, or mission, of the church as the church is to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, not to be another merely (or even chiefly) political, social, or economic institution. The church, in its full-orbed existence, may have political, economic, or social concerns that develop out of its mission, but those aspects are not what primarily mark and define it. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is head and King of the church, made it clear in his marching orders to the church—what we’ve come to call the Great Commission—that he intended the church to go to every people group (often translated “nations”) and to evangelize and disciple them (Matt. 28:18-20), enfolding them into his kingdom, which is “not of this world” (John 18:36), a kingdom that does not have the transitory but the eternal at its heart (2 Cor. 4:18). It is Christ himself, our heavenly King—since he is with us even now by his Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45)—who gathers and perfects his church (Westminster Confession of Faith 25.3) through the appointed means.

The gospel is not about worldly success in any proper sense, then, but is rather about deliverance from the penalty, power, and ultimately the presence of sin, a message that comes to permeate the whole of the lives of those transformed by it. We can rightly say that the message of the church is a spiritual one, coming to people of every sort in every land to bring them here and hereafter into the spiritual reality of the kingdom of Christ. Therefore, Paul encourages the Christians in Corinth, “In whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God” (1 Cor. 7:24). Paul makes clear that the bondservant may and should avail himself of the opportunity of freedom (1 Cor. 7:21). He also makes clear, however, that whatever condition one finds himself in, even whether one is married or not, is not paramount: what is most important is not one’s vocation or life circumstance but being called by and coming to Christ, being a new man or woman in Christ. Paul’s concern is that his readers are Christians, whatever else may be true of their lives. His concern for them, to put it another way, is chiefly spiritual.

This is the spiritual message that the church is privileged to herald to the world (salvation by grace alone), the good news—the meaning of gospel—without which there is no good news. The story of the world after Adam’s fall is nothing but bad news since all is sin, darkness, and hopelessness without the good news of the gospel. The gospel of salvation in Christ, however, is the good news that transforms the worst into the best, seen particularly at the cross, where humanity at its worst not only fails to defeat God but where God uses humanity’s attempt to do so as the centerpiece of our salvation. Christ has overcome the world. This is the message that the church joyfully preaches to the world. It does not preach itself, nor does it promote some sort of political, social, economic, or cultural utopia to be achieved in this age.

The church preaches that we are to live in this age not for this age but for the coming age that has broken in on this age and beckons us to a new heavens and a new earth that await all who trust in Christ alone.

Opening Lines Logo

Saturday Miscellany—11/16/24

By HCNewton

On November 16, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

A small list this week–between be so tired after work this week that I didn’t have the energy to do much online, I seemed to have spent most of my social media time following new people on Bluesky rather than actually, you know, seeing what anyone was saying. The X-odus is real (and “Hi!!!” to anyone who’s here for the first time because of it.)

But I do know that miscellanies are going to get long soon, one post from Pages Unbound has pointed out to me that we’re about to enter the Season of Lists–which is both fun and overwhelming. (and budget straining). I’m pretty much looking forward to it, while also feeling daunted about having to come up with my own soon.

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 Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ can be imported in India after court is told 1988 ban order can’t be found—Dogs still eat homework, eh?
bullet Maximizing Time for Reading: Why reading—and reading widely—is more important than ever, and how to go about creating habits and practices to allow yourself the space and time
bullet Florida’s Education Dept. releases a list of over 700 books removed in K-12 schools —I can understand (if not agree with) why some of these were removed from schools…but you gotta shake your head at a lot of these
bullet Gifts for Babies and Toddlers (Board Book Edition) 2024—it’s that time of year again, isn’t it?
bullet 5 years of Spells & Spaceships: the journey so far and my 10 favourite books.—only 5? I thought I’d been reading this longer. And picking a top 10 from that period? No small feat.
bullet I’m Okay with Books Being Perceived and Sold as Products (Rather Than Art)—I get this. I may have a knee-jerk reaction against the premise, but I see Krysta’s point.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Under the Radar SFF Podcast Blogger Interview with Jodie from W&S Blog—to discuss authors, favorite stories, and Jodie’s love for Dragonlance. Haven’t listened to it yet, but am looking forward to it.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet Poison Fruit by Jacqueline Carey
bullet Personal by Lee Child
bullet The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
bullet Pickles and Ponies: A Fairy-Tale by Laura May

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet From Great Heights by Bryan McBee—SF and Magic. Very curious to see what McBee does with this.

WWW Wednesday—November 13, 2024

By HCNewton

On November 13, 2024

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

Every title in this post is one that I own. That doesn’t happen too often–it’s rather nice to have a bunch of things to decrease Mt. TBR all together like this.

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?


Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology edited by L. J. Hachmeister	Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie	The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson

I need some shorter reads that I can dip into here and there, so what better time to finally get around to this collection? Urban Fantasy stories starring some of my favorite fictional animals–how have I not read this yet?

And yeah, I decided to squeeze in another title before Kedie’s work, but I am getting this read now.

I’m still working through The Late Lord Thorpe–my job has been actively working against me listening to it a lot over the last few days (and will continue to do so through the end of the week), so I have no idea how long it will be before David Smith and his creator show me how wrong I was last week.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Wrong Hands
by Mark Billingham

I think DS Miller’s first adventure was a bit more on the amusing side–but this second book is so good that I didn’t care. This was a really compelling and twisty read.

What do you think you’ll read next?

1-800-CallLoki (The Loki Adventures Omnibus)
by Dawn Blair

This omnibus has been sitting near the top of my TBR for too long, it’s time to knock it out.

Given how long the new Grainger is taking me, and library due dates coming up, I honestly have no idea what my next audiobook will be (yes, the audiobook of What You Are Looking for Is in the Library had to be returned unlistened…the amount of work I’m putting into listening to this is outweighing my expectations, but at this point, it’s the principle of the thing)

What authors and titles have caught your attention lately?

Saturday Miscellany—11/9/24

By HCNewton

On November 9, 2024

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 Who’s Really Writing Celebrity Novels? The writers and agents working behind the scenes tell us how it actually works.
bullet Ranking 40 Popular Books That Are Actually Badly Written—this click-baity list is something largely to read to scoff at or argue with.
bullet The Book News is Generally… Good?—after those two stories and all the ick of the last couple of weeks, who couldn’t use a little bit of good news (no matter what you may think of Tuesday’s results, it’s hard to deny that things have been rather nasty lately).
bullet Dorothy Parker and the Art of the Literary Takedown: Her reviews are not contemptuous, a common pitfall for her imitators. They are simply unbridled in their dislike.—Okay, fine, if you’re going to be negative, do it like the Master. (I read so many people today that need to do this)
bullet The Novel and the Dictator: On the Man Who Criticized Stalin Yet Lived—I’m really glad that I discovered Nadya Williams this year.
bullet IYKYK: When Novels Speak a Language Only Part of the Internet Gets
bullet Out of This World: Books to Read When You Need an Escape—Just in case anyone is interested in that sort of thing…
bullet Comfort Reads: Feel-good Fiction for Rough Days—continuining the theme, Jodie has some great choices
bullet Let’s Talk About Book Boyfriends—a.k.a. Fictophilia (my weakness is for Book Dogs/Pets, but I get it…)
bullet September & October 2024 Community Posts!—Dini has collected some great posts can be found here.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
bullet The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
bullet Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution by Keith R.A. DeCandido
bullet The Burning Room by Michael Connelly, So, Anyway… by John Cleese, Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison! by Harry Harrison, and Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg. (it’s been that long for the Ortberg?)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo (Illustrator)—My only real gripe with this series is the release timetable, so I’m really eager to dive in to see their take on Kory Anders.

WWW Wednesday—November 6, 2024

By HCNewton

On November 6, 2024

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

Busy, busy, busy week here. I’m actually surprised I finished this at a semi-reasonable hour. I think I might have some better content coming in the next day or two…

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?


A Sky Full of Dragons by Tiffany McDaniel	The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson

I’ve yet to fall under the charm of A Sky Full of Dragons, but I still fully expect to.

What did you recently finish reading?


Nobody’s Hero by M.W. Craven	The World According to Cunk: An Illustrated History of All World Events Ever by Philomena Cunk	Adventures in Cryptozoology: Hunting for Yetis, Mongolian Deathworms and Other Not-So-Mythical Monsters by Richard Freeman, read by Derek Perkins

I’ll be raving about Nobody’s Hero at the first opportunity I get. I had visceral reactions to this thriller.

Philomena Cunk’s latest has some real laugh-out-loud moments, as one would expect. I’ll expand on that really soon, too.

Adventures in Cryptozoology is the dullest imaginable book with that title. I think that’s intentional, but that doesn’t change my utter apathy about it. More soon, too.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie	What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, read by Hanako Footman, Susan Momoko Hingley, Kenichiro Thomson, Winson Ting, and Shiro Kawai

I’ve never been able to put my finger on it, but despite me not really caring about sports at all in the real world, I really get into a good sports novel. I’m told that’s what Running and Jumping is, so I might as well give it a whirl, right?

I actually borrowed the audiobook of What You Are Looking for Is in the Library this time. Getting the right file type should go a long way toward actually listening to it.

What are you using to distract yourself from the outside world this week?

Douglas Adams on Presidents

By HCNewton

On November 5, 2024

In Calendar Items, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin, News/Misc., Quotations, Rex Stout

This one is a bit more cynical–okay, very much more cynical–than the last quotation I shared. It still seemed appropriate for today.

The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.

To summarise: it is a well-known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarise the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem.

—Douglas Adams
from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

That nifty drawing of Zaphod was drawn by Terry Cooper.

Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 books on my TBR that intimidate me

By HCNewton

On November 5, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Top X List

This week’s topic is, “Top 5 books on my TBR that intimidate me” I haven’t done one of these in a minute, this seemed like a fun one to try.

In alphabetical order by author:

	The Annotated Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler Edited by Owen Hill, Pamela Jackson and Anthony Rizzuto I love The Big Sleep–it was my first Chandler novel, it’s the one I’ve read the most often. And the idea of learning more about it, getting background, digging into to some of the scholarship, etc. sounds great (which is why I ordered it months before it came out in 2018). But I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it–there’s part of me that doesn’t want to know that much about it (and I almost never say that kind of thing). I’m also a little afraid that it’s going to flip a switch and I’m going to spend months digging into Chandler scholarship in general.
	The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins I don’t know that intimidated is the best word, but I needed a fifth book. I’m more apprehensive about dipping back into that world. Also, apathetic. But sure…let’s go with intimidated.
	The Will in Its Theological Relations by John L. Girardeau 550 pages of a critique of Jonathan Edwards and a restatement of the classic Reformed position on the freedom and bondage of the will in dense 19th Century language. Yeah, that’s easy to see why I’m intimidated.
	Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley The Rook is such a good novel, but after seeing some not-as-good reviews, I’ve been putting it off since it was published. I just don’t want anything to tarnish The Rook in my mind. I should add that I haven’t seen bad reviews for Stiletto, just people who didn’t like it as much as I’d hoped. Which makes it different than the other books by O’Malley.
	Flynn’s World by Gregory Mcdonald Similarly, I just don’t know if I can muster up the courage to read this one. The Fletch novels that Mcdonald wrote in his later years were good enough, but they were missing something. I’m afraid that this would be the same way–that it came so many years after the Fletch books, makes me even more intimidated by it. The initial Flynn books are probably in my all-time favorite stack. I just don’t want to see it be tarnished. But there’s a chance I’m missing out on something really good.