Tag: News/Misc Page 10 of 29

The Friday 56 for 12/16/22: Sacrifices by Jamie Schultz

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Sacrifices

Sacrifices by Jamie Schultz

“You know they’re chock-full of demons, right?”

“I don’t know that. This is the twenty-first century. We tend to be extremely careful about calling aberrant behavior demonic possession when it might simply be mental illness.”

“Seriously? Under these circumstances?”

“None of them appear to have any history with the occult, that I can turn up, let alone the kind of lengthy history that results in end-stage possession . . .” Elliot spoke quickly and precisely, dressed it all up with technical-sounding jargon, but a note of uncertainty clung to her voice like a parasite, sucking the life out of it.

The Friday 56 for 12/9/22: Radio Radio by Ian Shane

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Radio Radio

Radio Radio by Ian Shane

He picks up the box to indicate that his ten years at this company could barely fill a cardboard box. “My last bit of advice that you’re going to ignore is to not give these bastards a reason.”

This is the best bit of advice he’s given me. It doesn’t sound so stupid when it comes from someone who’s not in an authoritative position. “Yeah,” I say softly. “Thanks.”

Tony makes his move to the door. “Hey, Tony,” I say, stopping him at the threshold.

“Yeah.”

“I’m gonna miss you, man.” Tony chuckles a bit. “No, you won’t.” He smiles at my seemingly transparent attempt at comfort. “But thanks for saying so.”

I walk to the doorframe to watch him walk away from the station for the last time. I felt a subtle sense of loss as I saw him turn the corner. It’s the sort of loss an FBI agent might feel after putting away a mob boss that was the subject of a three-year probe. He was a worthy adversary. We were like Eliot Ness and Al Capone, Dr. Richard Kimble and the one-armed man, Batman and The Joker.

The Friday 56 for 12/2/22: Aether Powered by James T. Lambert

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Aether Powered

Aether Powered by James T. Lambert

…if I figured it out myself, I could make even more. Build flying cars. Hell, sell conversion kits to make regular cars fly! Airplanes without wings, no airports, and a lot less fuel. Replace Boeing. Why think small? Replace NASA and build ships that go to the moon without fuel. Mars in days instead of months. And no weight limits.

Carol must have seen my eyes glaze over. “Snap out of it! You aren’t Henry Ford. Hell, you’re not Ford Fairlane! You know nothing about manufacturing, venture capital, entrepreneurship, or even patent law. Yeah, someone could turn this into a multi-billion-dollar industry, but you are not that guy. Take the money and run.”

The Friday 56 for 11/25/22: Dead Lions by Mick Herron

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Dead Lions

Dead Lions by Mick Herron

She said to Ho, “You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to.”

As an interrogation technique, thought River, this lacked bite.

The Friday 56 for 11/18/22: Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Theft of Swords

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

The room was unused.

Hadrian remained silent near the window as Royce moved across the room to the door. He watched as the thief’s feet tested the surface of the floor before committing his weight. Royce mentioned once how he had been in an attic on a job when he hit a weak board and fell through the bedroom ceiling. This floor was stone, but even stones sometimes had loose mortar or contained hidden traps or alarms. Royce made it to the door, where he crouched and paused to listen. He motioned a sign for walking with his hand and then began counting on his fingers for Hadrian to see. There was a pause, and then he repeated the signal. Hadrian crossed the room to join his friend and the two sat waiting for several minutes in silence.

Eventually Royce lifted the latch with gloved hands but did not open the door. Outside they could hear the heavy footfalls of hard boots on stone, first one set, and then a second. As the steps faded, Royce opened the door slightly and peered out. The hall was empty.

The Friday 56 for 11/11/22: Less by Andrew by Sean Greer

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Less

Less by Andrew by Sean Greer

“Do you think of yourself as a genius, Arthur?”

“What? Me?”

Apparently the Head takes that as a no. “You and me. we’ve met geniuses. And we know we’re not like them, don’t we? What is it like to go on, knowing you are not a genius, knowing you are a mediocrity? I think it’s the worst kind of hell.”

“Well,” Less said. “I think there’s something between genius and mediocrity—”

“That’s what Virgil never showed Dante. He showed him Plato and Aristotle in a pagan paradise. But what about the lesser minds? Are we consigned to the flames?”

“No, I guess,” Less offers, “just to conferences like this one.”

The Friday 56 for 11/4/22: Gardens by Benedict Jacka

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Gardens

Gardens by Benedict Jacka

He nodded off into the forest. “You can go now.”

​“While you do what?” Jess said.

​“Not your problem.”

​“Don’t let him—” Shirazad began, before Deathgrip twisted her arm, making her cry out in pain. ​

“You still here?” Deathgrip asked Emmanuel. ​

“So how do we get paid?” Emmanuel asked.

​“Guess you’ll just have to keep your advance.”

​“We didn’t get an advance.” ​

Deathgrip raised his eyebrows. “Sucks to be you.”

2022 End of the Year Book Tag

2022 End of the Year Book Tag
I saw this over at My World of Books, and it looked fun, so I thought I’d take a stab at it. I should also credit Ariel Bissett the creator of this here tag.


Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Faith & LifeIn the Fullness of Time

Both B.B. Warfield’s Faith & Life and Richard Gaffin’s In the Fullness of Time: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of Acts and Paul are project books that I’m plugging away at a little each week—and should have no problem finishing by the end of the year.

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

Jane Steele

I really don’t think of reading that way—seasons rarely impact what I’m reading. But if I had to pick one, I guess Jane Steele sort-of functioned in a transition-ish way for me—shifting from my summer project to pressing on to my rest-of-the-year goals, I guess.

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

The World Record Book of Racist StoriesA Hard Day for a HangoverDesert Star

The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar promises to be hilarious, heartbreaking, and anger-inducing. It feels strange to look forward to that, but hey…that’s the kind of guy I am. I’ve enjoyed the first two volumes of the Sunshine Vicram trilogy, so I expect to love A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones. I can’t believe I almost published this without mentioning Desert Star. Bosh, Ballard, and Connelly are one of the best combinations out there, I can’t wait to dive in. I’m sure there are other upcoming releases that I’ll be as excited about, but I’ll have to wait until they’re upon us before I realize it.

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

Not the Frost Files

I thought about mentioning books 2-4 of The Frost Files…but that feels like a cheap way to get to three easily. Also, I’m pretty sure I’m going to fail on that front, alas—and why set myself up for failure like that?

So, let’s go with…

Dead LionsRadio RadioE.B. White on Dogs

I’m going to go with Mick Herron’s Dead Lions for 3 reasons—1. I’ve been promising myself for ages to read the rest of the series, and #2 is the next step; 2. My buddy Paul will stop nagging me if I read it (and start nagging me about Real Tigers, but that’s 2023’s problem. Besides, change will do him good), and 3. I want to be able to watch season 2 of the Apple series in a couple of weeks. Secondly, I’ve been on myself to read Ian Shane’s Radio Radio since at least April of 2019 when I bought it, and I’m sure it’ll be a burst of goodness (and it’ll help me finish up a Reading Challenge). Lastly, I planned on reading E.B. White on Dogs this spring, so I’d better hop to it.

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

Any of the books mentioned in this post are likely contenders. Other than White and Herron, all the authors mentioned in this post have made best-of lists for me in the past few years—and I think Herron’s got a shot at it this year already because of Reconstruction, so why not for this one, too? So…yeah, any of these.

Have you already started making reading plans for 2023?

A little. Not much. Most of my energy is trying to finish fulfilling the plans I had for 2022. I do have three review copies of ’23 releases and only plan on reading one of them this year. I have sketches of plans and projects, but I won’t finalize those for another 6 weeks or so. Probably.

But really, I have to keep the pedal to the metal to hope to take care of most of my 2022 hopes and plans. I can deal with 2023 after that.


As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.

The Friday 56 for 10/28/22: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Sense of an Ending

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

My mother nodded away as she took all this in.

“You see, I was right.”

“How’s that, Ma?”

“He was too clever. If you’re that clever you can argue yourself into anything. You just leave common sense behind. It’s his brain unhinged him, that’s why he did it.”

“Yes, Ma.”

“Is that all you’ve got to say? You mean you agree?”

Not replying was the only way to keep my temper.

The Friday 56 for 10/21/22: The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Bullet That Missed

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

“So kill me or let me go. Those are your two options. Which do you choose?”

“I think I choose option three,” says the Viking. “The option where I send Viktor Illyich the full photos.”

“The full photos?”

“Yes, for sure. The photos with your friend Joyce Meadowcroft by your side. Both pictures, both names.”

“Bit below the belt,” says Stephen. Elizabeth still feels safe. Viktor won’t go after Joyce either. Not if they’re in the photo together. A friend of Elizabeth is a friend of Viktor.

“Viktor might not have the heart to kill Joyce, of course,” says the Viking. “She is more of a civilian, I think? So here’s my deal. Just as insurance, if Viktor Illyich isn’t dead within two weeks, I will kill your friend Joyce.”

Page 10 of 29

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén