As I’ve been making a point of trying to do more non-review(ish) posts, I’ve been thinking about trying some of these Top Ten Tuesdays that I’ve seen other bloggers doing. And looking over the upcoming topics, this one piqued my interest — do I even have 10 favorite bookmarks? Can I approach that number? So I had to give it a shot.
Turns out that, yes, I had precisely 10 Bookmarks to use. Phew.
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 This used to be the most common one for me (although #1 has replaced it) — random bits of paper, preferably heavier stock. Movie tickets and coffee (or other) shop punchcards were the best, but whatever receipt/used envelope nearby would do in a pinch. |
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 Online bookstore freebie. Love these. Amazon used to send me so many of them, I threw them away or lost track of them (regret that, they were good quality). Thankfully, as they’ve moved past being a “mere” bookstore, there are others out there that haven’t. |
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 Better are the ones that authors give away, because, hey — cover art and it’s just good advertising. |
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 Not as heavy, and easier to lose — pages out of pocket notebooks are decently sized — and you can write on them. I HATE writing in my books, so this is a major plus. |
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 #8, but signed. Who doesn’t like a good autograph? (Anton Strout’s autograph here is blurred, to be nice) |
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 Front and back of this one, a nicer take on #6 because I just love the receipt from Atticus’ bookstore being one side of this. (Kevin Hearne’s autograph here is blurred, to be nice) |
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 Left over shopping lists (text blurred because I really don’t need you mocking my family’s handwriting), decent sized, room for writing. |
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 Yeah, this is technically a repeat of #9. However, these are nicer. I have two of them and use them frequently. WTS bookstore used a nicer paper, heavier than other bookmarks I have, and a little textured. Perfect size. Probably technically the “best” I have. |
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 A few years back, my library started using sheets like this for the books on reserve. Minus: it’s a really staticy paper, and super thin, so it’s easy to “lose” the bookmark inside the book. Have wasted too much time hunting for the things. Pluses: Plenty of room for writing (some inks and pencils don’t do well given the paper type); the title is on the sheet, so you can return the book and have an easy time identifying what the notes are about. |
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 (I assure you, there is a bookmark imaged there)My favorite. Get yourself some printer paper that’s perforated (if you’re lazy, or too inaccurate with scissors) into thirds. Plenty of room for taking notes (on both sides), good size (unless you’re reading a mass-market paperback). Not pretty, but ever so handy. |
I’ve been feeling really under the gun lately—I’ve mentioned (I think) that I over-committed for Sept./Oct. I still have 2 books I told authors I’d read in October (and one other to write about). Plus a few new releases that I meant to read this fall that aren’t so new anymore. I still have one book that I’m committed for this month, and a short one next month (maybe one more in there…I’ll check my calendar later). Plus a handful of things that are on my “I will read this in 2019” list.
For some reason that I have trouble articulating (and I know that some of you get this, and many of you don’t understand), between some of those goals and the 50 days remaining in 2019, I’m feeling a lot of pressure.
All self-imposed, I realize, but that doesn’t change it.
So you know what I did this weekend? I took a look at a few of the things on my “Must Read in 2019” list and put them on the “Probably Get to in 2020” list. Including 5 library books—one habit I fell into (pre-blogging even) is that a library due date trumps just about anything else when it comes to reading. And I don’t take things back to the Library until I’ve read them. These are on their way back, though. I would’ve taken care of them Saturday, but it was too late by the time I decided this.
Fewer books on the “Must Read” list equals fewer books on the “Must Write About” list. Which is good—because that list is still ridiculously long. But I’ll do what I can, I’ll be a little briefer about some things than I want to be (some things), and probably do a few more “Quick Takes” posts.
You know what? I felt so much freer just by giving myself that option. And yeah, I realize that I’m probably not still going to be able to finish everything on my “Must” lists this year, but it seems a little more attainable.
I’m not saying that feeling is going to last, or that I’m not going to find a new way to apply stupid pressure to myself. But for now…I’ll take it.
Right after I scheduled this post (naturally), I saw these tweets from David W at FanFiAddict:
Which tie in nicely to this post on their blog (also, one I didn’t see until after I wrote this). Followers and ARCs aren’t my hangups (well, occasionally that ARC thing, but I get over it pretty easily). It’s the reading and writing pace (as people who’ve been here for a bit know all too well). “Just remember: THIS ISN’T YOUR JOB. You started a blog to share your enjoyment of books with others…Don’t fret over what you can’t do, but be excited about what you can.” That’s exactly what I was trying to tell myself. It was reassuring to see someone else say that about the same time. Thanks, David!
Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
- The Strange Things You Find on Authors’ Websites
- A Simple Solution for Bookish Forgetfulness—This (and the article it references) are pretty good reads, and there’s some good ideas within.
- On The Casual Sociopathy of The Traditional Mystery: Should There Be Such Thing As A “Comfortable” Murder Mystery?—I’ve wondered about this a little myself lately. Not as articulately, I note.
- The Joys of Rereading Books on Audio—This is my experience precisely.
- “Who is your favourite fictional detective?”—Novel Heights compiles answers from various authors.
- The Veracity and Heart of Modern Action Thrillers: Infusing Esoteric Fact and Heritage into Fast-Paced Crime—Good piece. And (as it was intended to do), makes me want to read Eldridge’s new book.
- (At least) Two New Twenty Palaces Books!—Someone else is as excited as I am about these upcoming books.
- #R3COMM3ND3D2019—I can’t believe I forgot to mention this last week. Damppebbles has brought back their series where authors/bloggers/etc. get a chance to talk about 3 books from the last year they’re excited about. You need/want TBR ideas? Great place to find some.
- Why I Reread Books—Witty and Sarcastic Book Club’s got a great post on this (also ties into some of the earlier pieces this week).
- Canon fodder: Please, I am begging you, stop telling me which good books are actually bad.—Good stuff.
- The importance of endings—Really well done.
- This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
- Maxine Unleashes Doomsday by Nick Kolakowski—Post-apocalytic heist novel (well, more mid-apocalyptic), is just a blast. I tried to titlesummarize my thoughts about it yesterday.
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Illustrated Edition) by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Elise Hurst—I got this a few days ago, it’s just gorgeous. I don’t need another copy of this fantastic book. But I don’t care. This trailer gives you a feel for the illustrations.
- The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge—”An action-packed thriller about a Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja with family issues who fights the Los Angeles Ukrainian mob, sex traffickers, and her own family to save two desperate women and an innocent child.” How do you say no to that?
- The Last Dance by Martin L. Shoemaker—An investigation into space mutiny. Looks like a winner.
- Made Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky—I’ve been wanting to try Tchaikovsky for a while now, this might be the one that gets me.
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Tom Gamache, proofreadingebooks (the name is making me nervous about my content), Yvonne and Fragilistic for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?
Welcome to 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?
Easy enough, right?
What are you currently reading?
I’m working through the audiobook of The Right Stuff by Cornelia Funke and Lynn Redgrave (Narrator) and I’m reading Stephen Clark’s Hands Up.
What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished The Night Fire by Michael Connelly and Monday I finished Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs and Joe Manganiello (Narrator) on audio.
What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book will be Fallen by Benedict Jacka (5 weeks after its release…what is wrong with me?), my next audiobook will be Undeath and Taxes by Drew Hayes and Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)
Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)
While reading these posts on Bookidote, beforewegoblog, and The Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub, I noticed myself mentally composing this list—so I figure I had to join in the fun. I’d have posted this last week, but my free laborer realized how little he was getting paid and decided to play video games instead of generating my graphic.
Naturally, I only paid half of his fee.
Enough of that, bring on the Autumn! (even if it feels like Winter here in Idaho):
In Fall, the air is crisp and clear. Name a book with a vivid setting.
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards
I had a hard time coming up with something for this one, honestly. But Whangdoodleland was so vivid that I can still picture parts of it, despite having read it only once in the last 30+ years.
Nature is beautiful…but also dying. Name a book that is beautifully written, but also deals with a heavy topic, like loss or grief.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
When I posted about it, I said, “I’m not convinced that this is really all that well-written, technically speaking. But it packs such an emotional wallop, it grabs you, reaches down your throat and seizes your heart and does whatever it wants to with it—so who cares how technically well it’s written? (and, yeah, I do think the two don’t necessarily go together). A couple of weeks from now, I may not look back on this as fondly—but tonight, in the afterglow? Loved this.” I still look back on it as fondly, for the record.
Fall is Back to School Season. Name a Nonfiction Book that Taught You Something.
Timekeepers: How the World Became Obsessed With Time by Simon Garfield
If I’m going to read a non-fiction book, it had better teach me something or I’ll end up ranting about it for days/weeks/months! This one popped to mind, though. In my post about the book, I said: “Did I learn something from the book? Much more than I expected to. The chapter on the French experiments alone probably taught me enough to justify the whole book. I didn’t/couldn’t stick with the details of watch-making (I have a hard time visualizing that kind of detail), but even that was fascinating and informative on the surface. Most topics broadened my understanding and taught me something. Also, the sheer amount of trivia that I picked up was great (the amount of time spent recording the first Beatles LP, why pop music tends to be about 3 minutes long, etc., etc.).”
In order to keep warm, it’s good to spend some time with the people we love. Name a fictional family/household/friend-group that you’d love to be a part of.
The Household of Nero Wolfe from the books by Rex Stout
(yeah, that picture is from the A&E TV show, not exactly the books—but in that image in particular, they look just about perfect)
There were many families/groups/households that I could’ve picked for this, but that Brownstone on West 35th Street is near the Platonic ideal for a place to live—I’d love to spend time with Mr. Wolfe, Archie and Fritz (not to mention Saul, Fred, Orrie, Lily, Lon . . .)
The colorful leaves are piling up on the ground. Show us a pile of Autumn-colored spines.
(I thought this was going to be hard, but in the end, I had to not make the pile bigger!)
Also…wow, clearly, I’m not a photographer. It’s a shame I don’t live closer to my pal, Micah Burke, things around here would look much spiffier.
Fall is the perfect time for some storytelling by the fireside. Share a book wherein somebody is telling a story.
A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne
That’s really 90% of the book—a bard telling stories. How he pulls this off, really impressed me.
(Hammered by Kevin Hearne would also qualify, but I liked the storytelling in this one better)
The nights are getting darker. Share a dark, creepy read.
Darkness Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane
This one disturbs me every time I read it (4-6 I think), I still remember having to sleep with the lights on after I stayed up reading it until 2-3 in the morning the first time—I doubt I was a very good employee the next day. (Sacred maybe is creepier, but this is the better book by Lehane)
The days are getting colder. Name a short, heartwarming read that could warm up somebody’s cold and rainy day.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
The “short” in the category is the sticky wicket. But this is a quick read (even if the page number is higher than I’d count as “short.” Formulaic? Yup. Predictable? You betcha. Effective? Abso-smurfly. Textbook example of heartwarming.
Fall returns every year. Name an old favorite that you’d like to return to soon.
Magic Kingdom for Sale — SOLD! by Terry Brooks
Ive been thinking about this book a lot since Bookstooge’s Quick Fire Fantasy post. Gotta work this into the 2020 reading schedule.
I’m tagging any blogger who reads this. Play along.
This week’s list seems a bit more miscellaneous than usual, but that’s cool. I honestly didn’t think I’d spent enough time online this week to cobble together a post. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
- 10 Famous Authors With Surprising Day Jobs: Or, 10 reasons to hang on to that office job
- Should We Pay to Enter Bookstores?—The cheapskate in me balks at this, but really, not a bad idea.
- The Most Popular Books In Libraries, July–September 2019—It’s sort of a pain to read, but if you skip around by headings, this is some pretty interesting stuff.
- 7 Crime Tropes We Really Could Do Without: It’s time for a genre full of cliches to clean up its act.—Yes. But, no. If the right author can make any of these tropes work really, really well. They are overdone, but if pulled off juuuuuust right, I love ’em.
- Atmospheric Pressure: The Big Sleep at Eighty: 80 years ago, Raymond Chandler reinvented crime fiction with a novel that valued atmosphere—and style—above all else.—Case in point.
- How Objective Are Your Reviews?—This is possibly the best post I read this week, we all like to think our evaluations are objective (we might not admit it, but we like to think it), but yeah…they’re not. Unless we’re talking about the end of Harris’ Hannibal, or Dan Brown — because, really, we have to have some standards.
- Dragons of Autumn Twilight Read-Along—I tried to shuffle my schedule so I could do this, but I just couldn’t manage it. But this novel was one of the Big Ones in my development as a reader, you should follow along with what’s produced this month.
- 3 Reasons to Quit the Book You’re Reading—She makes it sound so simple…
- Dear authors, I can dislike your book if I want to! – My Ity Opinion.—but if you don’t quit it, feel free to sound off
- This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
- Shattered Bonds by Faith Hunter—Jane Yellowrock is back in the aftermath of the devastating 12th novel to find that things can always get worse. I rambled on about it this week.
- Blue Moon by Lee Child—Jack Reacher. ‘Nuff said.
- Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson—I’m not even sure how to summarize this without reading it. Just click the link.
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Lee, likeherdingcatsblog, caffeinefocus, intentforcontent, entertainingly nerdy, The Awesome Dad, and juniorgareth42 for following the blog this week (gotta catch my breath for a moment, that was a long list). Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?
I saw this over at Bookstooge’s Reviews on the Road, and it seemed like a fun way to revisit some Fantasy Favorites, and indulge in a bit of nostalgia while I was at it.
Play along, will ya?
Rules:
- Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post
- Link to the creator’s blog (thebookwormdreamer.wordpress.com) in your post
- Answer the prompts below – all fantasy books!
- Tag 5 others to take part
- Enjoy!
5 star book
The Lies of Locke Lamora
I’ve read this at least 4 times and love it more each time. A Con Novel, a Heist Novel, a story of Found Family and vengence gone wrong (and, right, if you think that’s possible). I can’t get enough of Book I of the Gentleman Bastard Sequence. It’s fun, it’s suspenseful, good fight scenes, and characters you want to spend more time with.
Oh, and the fantasy world is pretty cool, too 🙂
(I have a very short post about it here)
Always going to recommend
The Chronicles of Prydain
The Chronicles of Narnia made me a Lewis fan. The Chronicls of Prydain turned me into a Fantasy fan (which is why I had to use the covers I owned as a kid). Yeah, it’s written for what we’d call today a Middle Grade audience, but when I listened to the audiobooks a year or two ago (or when I read them to my kids a decade ago), I thought it was just about as effective as you could hope. A little bit of fun, a dash of romance, a hero quest straight out of Campbell, a decent amount of magic (but not too much), a good mythic basis—and a oracular pig! It’s also probably the series that taught me that you’ll end up having emotional attachments to characters to the extent you may get teary about when they die and/or say good-bye to each other (and, yeah, did as an adult).
(my posts about the audiobook series)
Own it but haven’t read it yet
Bloody Rose
I tried to read this last year, and failed. I’m hoping to read it this year, and am likely to fail. I less-than-three’d Kings of the Wyld (in print and audio) so much, I don’t know why I haven’t made the time for the sequel.
Would read again
The Brothers Three
The first of The Blackwood Saga is everything I loved about portal fantasies as a kid—but it’s written for adults. Some good characters, a good amount of growth (especially in the later books in the series), good fight scenes and a pretty cool world to explore. This worked for me in ways I didn’t expect—and the sequels have done a good job building on this one. I’ve yet to read the newest in the series, but this one feels like a good comfort-read if I needed one.
In another world
The Warlock in Spite of Himself
(I probably would’ve gone with Brooks’ The Magic Kingdom for Sale, but Bookstooge beat me to it in his post).
I honestly remember very little about this novel, despite having read it several times. But the last time was probably in 1990-91. I was able to find a couple of the later novels in the series, too—just not enough for me at the time (I probably could now—yay, Internet). Still, somehow this is what sprang to mind when I thought of a fantasy on another world. A cool combination of SF and fantasy, as I recall.
Back on Earth
The Hum and the Shiver
(and the rest of the series, too, but this is good enough—as good as many series hope to be in itself)
A magical people with amazing musical talent in the Smoky Mountains, dealing with modernization, an Iraqi war vet, and a feud going back generations. I’m not a believer in magic, but Bledsoe makes me want to with these books—this is the best of a great series, and thinking about it now has got me thinking it might be time for read #4 of this one.
As for the tagging . . . nah, I’ll just leave this open to all my readers, I’d love to see what you all would put here. (W&S Book Club, here’s another chance to talk about The Dragonlance Chronicles—you’re welcome)
Welcome to 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?
Easy enough, right?
What are you currently reading?
I’m working through the audiobook of The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe and Dennis Quaid (Narrator) and I’m reading Nick Kolakowski’s Maxine Unleashes Doomsday.
What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished Shattered Bonds by Faith Hunter and Monday I finished When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead and Cynthia Holloway (Narrator) on audio.
What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book will be Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds.
Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)
So I saw a pretty decent bump in traffic this week thanks to The Write Reads featuring one of my posts as their Review of the Day, if you’re reading this because of them–hi! Thanks for stopping by. I’ve been meaning to say this for a few weeks now, but I keep forgetting—if you’re not following The Write Reads feeds on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram, you really should be. Their Post/Review of the Days are some of the best reading you’ll see from Book Bloggers out there. Sure, you’ll end up having too much to read (either posts or the books they talk about), but it’s worth it.
Anyway, here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them (especially if you follow The Write Reads), but just in case:
- Every Child Can Become a Lover of Books: Michelle Martin, a professor at the University of Washington, helps librarians create spaces that are welcoming to kids of all backgrounds
- 7 Author Pseudonyms That Were Cracked—and 6 That Haven’t Been (Yet)—Who doesn’t love a good pseudonym?
- Beowulf: Epic Adventure or Tale of Loss?—I just love the fact that there are people blogging about Beowulf.
- All the *WARNINGS*!!!—The Oranguatan Librarian sounds off on Trigger Warnings. As per the usual, it’s a good read.
- Fearless, free and feminist: the enduring appeal of Jack Reacher—Lest any reader be put off by the title (yeah, I’m talking about you), there’s very little feminism in this piece (I expected more, anyway). What there’s a lot of is good analysis of the series, the character and why so many like them.
- The Evolution of Dragons in Western Literature: A History—Hic sunt dracones, do you need me to say anything more to get you to click?
- We Need Noir—Because the Truth Is Dark, Messy, and Sometimes Ugly
- Fantasy: A Plethora of Choices—The Witty & Sarcastic Blog takes a look at types of Fantasy Novels (particularly handy for those not sure where to wade into the genre).
- 5 of the Most Useful Animal Sidekicks in Fiction—I’m only familiar with one of the 5, and there’s a part of me that wants to respond with a much longer list. But…how do you not recommend anything that talks about Falcor? Quick poll: how many of you have read the book The Neverending Story? Without getting into the merits of it, were you better off just watching the first movie?
- Judging a book by it’s cover…—I love stories about cover design (as long-time readers know and maybe regret), here’s some gorgeous examples of what a cover can be.
- How Do You Read Series?—I think I would go insane if I lived like this reader (that’s not a criticism, it’s a bit of “how do you manage that?” said with incredulity tinged with awe). What about you?
- Book Blogger Spreadsheet Template—my own spreadsheet is getting unwieldy and overly-complicated (it’s still a lot better than it was!), I think I might abandon mine next year for this one. It’s a work of art.
- This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon — or, if I had more time, I’d get to (the last four of these fit into this category. I can’t see finding the time for them, but I bet it’d be worth it):
- Famous in Cedarville by Erica Wright—a small-town mystery that leads to Hollywood in all it’s glory and vice. My post about the book.
- The Night Fire by Michael Connelly—Bosch. Ballard. Haller. ‘Nuff said. I have 2.6 books to go before I get to this one. Yeah, I’m counting down already.
- The Girl with No Face by M. H. Boroson—an Urban Fantasy set in 19th Century San Francisco’s Chinatown? Fantastic idea.
- Ghoster by Jason Arnop—I’ve seen this title a lot this week, this social media satire/thriller looks like a good way to spend some time.
- From Hell to Breakfast by Meghan Tifft—I’m not even going to try to summarize this one—click the link read more and get as tempted as I am.
- Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters by Emily Roberson—Percy Jackson meets Reality TV?
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Anthony Day Grandin, Donald Wilson, lisasbooksgemsandtarot (say that five times fast), Adrianna and Scarlett Backus for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?
Welcome to 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?
Easy enough, right?
What are you currently reading?
Today I started the audiobook of Side Jobs by Jim Butcher and James Marsters (Narrator) and I’m a little over half finished with Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
What did you recently finish reading?
Yesterday I finished Open Season by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator) on audio and Monday I finished Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch.
What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book will be the eARC of Shattered Bonds by Faith Hunter—I’ve been wanting to dive into this for weeks, but my Book Tour stop is next week, and I would’ve had a hard time putting off talking about it after I read it.
Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)
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