Tag: News/Misc Page 22 of 26

Just taking a quick glance at the authors for this batch let me know I wasn’t going to be cutting a whole lot. Annnnnd, I didn’t.

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

1. Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
2. Order on ascending date added.
3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
4. Read the synopses of the books.
5. Decide: keep it or should it go?
6. Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

(Click on the cover for an official site or something with more info about the book)

	The List by Patricia Forde Blurb: “In the city of Ark, speech is constrained to five hundred sanctioned words. Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world.​On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself.” My Thoughts: I remember thinking this MG dystopian fantasy looked great, but was still about to cut it until I read the synopsis…and, I just can’t. Verdict:
	The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty Blurb: The first in McKinty’s mystery series set during The Troubles. My Thoughts: I’ve never heart anything but praise for this series. Also, I have a friend who has threatened me if I don’t read it. Verdict:
	Redemption Street by Reed Farrel Coleman Blurb: “Ex-NYPD officer and freshly minted PI Moe Prager travels up to a decaying Boscht Belt hotel to uncover the truth behind a decades old fire that killed seventeen people, including his high school crush. Away from his beloved Brooklyn and out of his element, Moe finds that the locals aren’t as eager to dredge up the painful past or to stir up the embers of that long dead fire as he seems to be.” Verdict: It’s Coleman. Duh.
	Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman My Thoughts: I’m sure there’s a good reason that I haven’t read Gaiman’s retelling of Norse myths…okay, that’s a lie. Such a reason couldn’t exist. Verdict:
	Deathstroke, Vol. 1: The Professional by Christopher J. Priest, Mark Morales, Joe Bennett, Jason Paz, Carlo Pagulayan, Belardino Brabo Blurb: Confronted by his own troubled past and challenged to reinvent himself before he loses everything and everyone in his life, Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke, finds himself and those he values most in the crosshairs—stalked by an unseen enemy. My Thoughts: Been a fan of Wilson for forever, how do I not read this? (especially because my library has it?) Verdict:
	Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World by Rob Sheffield Blurb: “Dreaming the Beatles is not another biography of the Beatles, or a song-by-song analysis of the best of John and Paul. It isn’t another exposé about how they broke up. It isn’t a history of their gigs or their gear. It is a collection of essays telling the story of what this ubiquitous band means to a generation who grew up with the Beatles music on their parents’ stereos and their faces on T-shirts. What do the Beatles mean today? Why are they more famous and beloved now than ever? And why do they still matter so much to us, nearly fifty years after they broke up?” Verdict:
	The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton Blurb: “Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it’s a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe … he can open them all. It’s an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever close to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.” My Thoughts: Great hook, Hamilton’s writing. How can it not be a heckuva ride? Verdict:
	Drifting in the Push by Daniel Garrison Blurb: “…a fast-paced, comical romp that takes the reader on a journey through the unintentional adventures of one man’s reality. From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, from Mexico to Alaska, missteps, stubborn obstacles, and fate are his constant companions, along with an offbeat assortment of entertaining characters.” Verdict:
	The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein Blurb: “Joel Byram, our smartass protagonist, is an everyday twenty-second century guy. He spends his days training artificial intelligence engines to act more human, jamming out to 1980’s new wave—an extremely obscure genre, and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage. Joel is pretty much an everyday guy with everyday problems—until he’s accidentally duplicated while teleporting. Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him.” My Thoughts: I have no memory at all of this book. Which is a shame, I should have read it. Verdict:
	The Secret History of Jane Eyre: How Charlotte Brontë Wrote Her Masterpiece by John Pfordresher Blurb: “In this perceptive book, John Pfordresher shares the enthralling story of how Charlotte Brontë wrote her masterpiece and why she tried so vehemently to disown it. What few people knew then—and even fewer know today—was that as she tended her invalid father and held the family together, Brontë was re-imagining her experiences as a governess, her fears for her dissolute brother and her devastating passion for a married man into an immersive, brilliant novel. By aligning the details of Brontë’s life with the timeless characters and plot of Jane Eyre, Pfordresher reveals the remarkable parallels between one of literature’s most beloved heroines and its vulnerable and deeply human creator and why Brontë didn’t want those parallels exposed.” My Thoughts: You have to ask? Verdict:

Books Removed in this Post: 1 / 10
Total Books Removed: 68 / 240

Anyone out there read any of these books? Did I make the right call with any of them?

(Image by moritz320 from Pixabay)

Did a lot of cutting in this time out—mostly of books that I would probably enjoy if I took the time. But the point of this is to make these calls, regain some focus on my reading plans, and whatnot.

Still—if you think I was short-sighted and/or just plain wrong, let me know.

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

1. Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
2. Order on ascending date added.
3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
4. Read the synopses of the books.
5. Decide: keep it or should it go?
6. Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

(Click on the cover for an official site or something with more info about the book)

	Crashing Heaven by Al Robertson Blurb: A cyberpunk-ish story about AI’s going to war with humankind living on an asteroid they control. My Thoughts: Looks good, really good. But I just don’t see me finding the time for it. Verdict:
	Break the Chains by Megan E. O’Keefe My Thoughts: It’s the follow-up to Steal the Sky, which I remember enjoying. I wonder why I didn’t return to this series. But I’m not feeling the pull right now. Verdict:
	MJ-12: Inception by Michael J. Martinez Blurb: U.S. vs. U.S.S.R. paranormal espionage. My Thoughts: Great hook. Seems like a concept worth spending time with. But, as I seem to be saying a lot right now…just don’t feel the need to pick it up. Verdict:
	Thawing A.C. Nielsen by Paul Carey My Thoughts: So apparently, this is about someone who’s figured out how to bring by the cryogenically frozen people back, and then some sort of commentary on TV/Celebrity kicks in? Verdict:
	Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy Blurb: “An asteroid is hurtling toward Earth. A big, bad one. Maybe not kill-all-the-dinosaurs bad, but at least kill-everyone-in-California-and-wipe-out-Japan-with-a-tsunami bad. Yuri, a physicist prodigy from Russia, has been recruited to aid NASA as they calculate a plan to avoid disaster.The good news is Yuri knows how to stop the asteroid–his research in antimatter will probably win him a Nobel prize if there’s ever another Nobel prize awarded. But the trouble is, even though NASA asked for his help, no one there will listen to him. He’s seventeen, and they’ve been studying physics longer than he’s been alive. Then he meets (pretty, wild, unpredictable) Dovie, who lives like a normal teenager, oblivious to the impending doom. Being with her, on the adventures she plans when he’s not at NASA, Yuri catches a glimpse of what it means to save the world and live a life worth saving.” My Thoughts: I remember being pretty excited about this in late 2017, and just not getting around to it. That seems like a mistake on my part. Verdict:
	Extreme Makeover by Dan Wells Blurb: “…a satirical new suspense about a health and beauty company that accidentally develops a hand lotion that can overwrite your DNA.” Verdict:
	Normal by Warren Ellis My Thoughts: A techno-thriller with a heavy dose of conspiracy theories in a mental health facility. Verdict:
	And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman My Thoughts: Doesn’t matter what it’s about, it’s Backman, I should’ve read it years ago. Verdict:
	Betrayals: A Jack Del Rio Thriller by Richard Paolinelli My Thoughts: I enjoyed the first Jack Del Rio book, Reservations, but the premise for this sequel didn’t really grab me. Paolinelli’s online antics (despite a lot of sympathy for many of his personal positions), has further turned me off. Verdict:
	Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt Blurb: “Lexi Angelo has grown up helping her dad with his events business. She likes to stay behind the scenes, planning and organizing…until author Aidan Green – messy haired and annoyingly arrogant – arrives unannounced at the first event of the year. Then Lexi’s life is thrown into disarray.” My Thoughts: I think this came up as a “if you liked Fangirl (by Rainbow Rowell), you’ll like this. Probably good for a quick distraction, but, I’m not really in a “if you liked Fangirl” place now (nothing against the Fangirl, but I don’t see me picking it back up). Verdict:

Books Removed in this Post: 8 / 10
Total Books Removed: 67 / 240

Anyone out there read any of these books? Did I make the right call with any of them?

(Image by moritz320 from Pixabay)

This felt like I was trimming a lot of fat while I was writing it, but in the end, there’s plenty of thumbs pointing up (some due to the fact that I already paid for them). Still, it was a good exercise, if only to remind me about things I wanted to—and still want to—read.

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

1. Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
2. Order on ascending date added.
3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
4. Read the synopses of the books.
5. Decide: keep it or should it go?
6. Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

(Click on the cover for an official site or something with more info about the book)

	Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey Blurb: “When Bronwen Dickey brought her new dog home, she saw no traces of the infamous viciousness in her affectionate pit bull. Which made her wonder: How had the breed—beloved by Teddy Roosevelt and Helen Keller—come to be known as a brutal fighter? Dickey’s search for answers takes her from nineteenth-century New York dogfighting pits to early twentieth‑century movie sets, from the battlefields of Gettysburg to struggling urban neighborhoods. In this illuminating story of how a popular breed became demonized–and what role humans have played in the transformation–Dickey offers us an insightful view of Americans’ relationship with their dogs.” My Thoughts: Think I’m going to pass on this, as fascinating as it sounds. If it’s as good as it looks, it’d just infuriate me and/or break my heart. And then I’d have to go adopt a pit bull, and I just don’t have room for that. Verdict:
	Conversations with Eric by Paul Casselle Blurb: “What would you do if overnight you were projected into a mysterious comedy crime novel? What would you do if at every turn you were confronted with gun-toting, murderous psychopaths, your life was threatened on an hourly basis and you suspected the police were as corrupt as the criminals? What would you do if you felt your head was about to explode with the comic madness of it all, and the only sane soul you had to talk to was your labrador? What would you do?…” My Thoughts: This is probably a lot of fun, or a frustating swing-and-a-miss. In the end, just not something I’m going to make time for. Verdict:
	In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch Blurb: “Twenty years ago, six Penn students shared a house, naively certain that their friendships would endure—until the death of their ringleader and dear friend Bea splintered the group for good. Now, mostly estranged from one another, the remaining five reluctantly gather at that same house on the eve of what would have been Bea’s fortieth birthday.” My Thoughts: I’ve never been disappointed in a book by Scotch, and while it’s been awhile since I’ve read one, I could always use another. Also, I bought this for my wife years ago… Verdict:
	Sacrifices by Jamie Schultz Blurb: Magical (and possessed?) thieves are on the hunt for a relic to help out with the demon-possession thing, and have to align themselves with the F.B.I. My Thoughts: Don’t ask me why I didn’t read this when it came out. Must’ve been super-busy. I’ve read the first two novels in this trilogy and was wow’ed by them (read book 1 twice). It’s the last in the series, so I wonder if one of the reasons that I didn’t read it was because I didn’t want it to end. Which is silly. It’ll be dark. It’ll be grim. It’ll be good.Also, I own it, and it’s one of those taking up space on my montly Mt. TBR graphs.Verdict:
	The Unseen World by Liz Moore“Ada Sibelius is raised by David, her brilliant, eccentric, socially inept single father, who directs a computer science lab in 1980s-era Boston. Home-schooled, Ada accompanies David to work every day; by twelve, she is a painfully shy prodigy. The lab begins to gain acclaim at the same time that David’s mysterious history comes into question. When his mind begins to falter, leaving Ada virtually an orphan, she is taken in by one of David’s colleagues. Soon after she embarks on a mission to uncover her father’s secrets: a process that carries her from childhood to adulthood.” My Thoughts: I’m guessing this got on my radar thanks to Moore’s Heft, which I really liked. This, at least right now, doesn’t feel like it’d tick any of my boxes. Verdict:
	Dead to Rites by Ari Marmell Blurb: Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum My Thoughts: It’s the third volume in the 1930’s Urban Fantasy about a Fae PI in Chiciago. Thought the first was great, Marmell’s a lock for a good read, own the second, but didn’t read it for whatever reason. Which is why I didn’t get around to this one (or the next). Something I should rectify. Verdict:
	How to Party with an Infant by Kaui Hart Hemmings Blurb: A book about a single mom in SF finding love from the author of The Descdendants. My Thoughts: Probably a great read. The Descdendants was great, it’s an interesting hook, but I don’t feel a need to shuffle my schedule to get to it. Verdict: Soft pass.
	Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia Blurb: Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum My Thoughts: This tale of an overachiever trying to seal the deal on her Stanford admission by getting a literary agent just doesn’t seem like anything I’m in the mood for now. I’m probably going to miss out on something good, though. Verdict:
	King Of The Moon by Victor Schwartzman Blurb: “A satirical novel where Gulliver’s Travels meets Star Wars via Game of Thrones. Look into a dimension where everyone grows up believing Fox News! Plenty of jokes and cheap shots! A look at one week in the life of a new King who does not want to be King!” My Thoughts: Whhhhaaaaattt? Verdict:
	The Red Chameleon by Erica Wright Blurb: PI Kat Stone (and former UC NYPD officer) fears that someone has recognized her from her past. So she teams up with former colleagues. My Thoughts: Read and enjoyed books two and three in this series, but I always struggle going backwards. I really should do it, though. Verdict:

Books Removed in this Post: 6 / 10
Total Books Removed: 59 / 240

Anyone out there read any of these books? Did I make the right call with any of them?

(Image by moritz320 from Pixabay)