Tag: News/Misc Page 4 of 29

Back to School Book Tag

On September 3, 2024

Back to School Book Tag
When I saw this over at Chasing Destino last week, I thought that seems like a bit of seasonal fun. I might want to try that. And as I did try it, I discovered it was a bit of seasonal fun. (phew)

It was created by That Book Gal blog, and if you desire to jump into the Back to School Fun, be sure to tag the creator.

English – Name your favorite author’s (or books) writing style.

Cover of Mortal Stakes by Robert B Parker

Mortal Stakes by Robert B. Parker

I just can’t get enough of Robert B. Parker’s style–even when the novel is “meh,” his voice…man, oh, man. (the similarities between his and so many other authors I follow blindly show just how much I love his voice).

This is a dangerous topic for me, style is so important in my tastes, I could list two dozen others here…I’m going to leave it with two others that I can’t help but think of…

Cover of Dead Beat by Jim Butcher Cover of The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Math – A book that made you frustrated!

Cover of the Meifod Claw by JW Bowe

The Meifod Claw by JW Bowe

I literally just searched my posts for the word “frustrated” and this one came up. Sorry to Mr. Bowe but man, this book did.

Science – A book that really made you think or question things.

Cover of The Appeal by Janice Hallett

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

You just can’t get through Hallett’s fascinating and mind-boggling book without having to rethink everything you’ve read in it by the end.

History – Your favorite book from a different time period.

Cover of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Did anyone really think I’d say something different?

Art – Your favorite book with pictures.

Cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Illustrated Edition by Douglas Adams and Chris Riddell Cover of The Mysteries by Bill Watterson and John Kascht

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Illustrated Edition by Douglas Adams and Chris Riddell and The Mysteries by Bill Watterson and John Kascht

This was a stumper for me (especially with all of the board books and picture books that I’ve been swimming in lately), but the artwork in these two are just great.

Drama – A book you would love to see turned into a movie.

Cover of Whistful Ascending by JCM Berne

Whistful Ascending by JCM Berne

I don’t know how it could happen, but I’d preorder every Blu-Ray collector’s edition today. (outside of animation…maybe when the Invincible team start looking for their next project).

Music/Band – A character with a similar music taste to you.

Cover of The Heathens by Ace Atkins

The Heathens by Ace Atkins

There was a character, TJ Byrd, that Atkins made a Spotify playlist for–I listened to it a lot. It’s not really representative of my taste as a whole, but it hit a sweet spot. (and every other character that I could tie to a specific taste made me think, “eh, that’s too ____ for me”)

Lunch – A food from a book you would love to try.

Cover of Kneading Journalism by Tony Ganzer

Kneading Journalism by Tony Ganzer

Between how bad I am at baking bread, and the fact that I might have celiac…this isn’t something I should try (but man, did I want to)

Bus Ride Home – A book or author that is relaxing.

Cover of And Be A Villain by Rex Stout

Any Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin book by Rex Stout

Reading Stout is like coming home after a long day. It takes me less than a page to be comfortable and forget whatever chaos is around me.

Extra Credit – A book someone recommended that you enjoyed.

Cover of No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister

I could name so, so, so many–and I feel like I’m insulting people who aren’t Carol who’ve recommended books to me. But this is the most recent and the freshest in my mind.

Sorry to not mention one of your recs Nicole, Micah, Jodie, Paul, Sean, Jamie, Mom…..

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

gif of Fozzie looking for laughs
See what I did there? Hitting the books…Ha!!

The Quintessential Summer Book Tag

By HCNewton

On August 22, 2024

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

A generic-looking tag reading 'The Quintessential Summer Book Tag'
This was created by TheBookishKat and I found it on Jo Linsdell’s ever-so-helpful Book Tags To Try This Summer post. I just needed a little variety in my life, so figured I’d give it a shot.

1. Iced Drink- a refreshing book

Graphic of an iced drink and the Cover of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

I don’t remember what I was home sick with when my mother brought this home to me, but it helped me feel better then and every–countless–time that I’ve read it since then. This story about fifteen contestants (and 1 mistake) competing for the inheritance of Samuel W. Westing has always been as refreshing as the best iced tea I’ve ever had.

Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay

2. Cotton Candy- a book that was fluffy and sweet

Graphic of Cotton Candy in a cup and the Cover of The Book That No One Wanted to Read by Richard Ayoade

The Book That No One Wanted to Read by Richard Ayoade

So this was just charming and sweet from beginning to end. Yes, it was written for a MG (at the oldest) audience, but I enjoyed it as much as–if not more–than cotton candy. It was light, it made me smile, and it made me want more.

Image from Pixabay

3. Sunglasses- a dark book

Graphic of Sunglasses and the Cover of According to Mark by H.B. O'Neill

According to Mark by H.B. O’Neill

Does it get darker than a couple of hundred pages about a broken-hearted man, who needs social/medical/psychiatric aid, seeking to kill himself because he’s convinced that Mark Twain wants him to? (still, it is a beautiful book with some moments of joy)

Image by Ronny Overhate from Pixabay

4. Picnic on a Rainy Day- a sad book

Graphic of a raining cloud and the Cover of The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

With a little thought, I could come up with sadder books, no doubt. But this was the first to jump into my mind (since I’d already used According to Mark). I stuck with it, because it fits this so well–not only is it sad, but like even a rained-on picnic, there are plenty of smiles and even some chuckles and warmth in this book. But yeah, it won’t just be rain that dampens your cheeks by the time you finish this.

Image by J S from Pixabay

5. Sand- a book that irritated you Red Queen

Graphic of a pile of sand and the Cover of Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado

Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado

This felt like it was written using a template to generate the hero, her sidekick, and the villains by an unimaginative committee looking for the next Lisbeth Salander or Robert Langdon (obviously, more of the former than the latter). It grated on me like sand in your clothes and shoes after you leave the beach (and yet, it kept me turning the pages, which is another kind of annoying).

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

6. Summer Blockbuster- favorite book-to-screen adaptation The Princess Bride

Graphic of people looking at a movie screen and the Cover of The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Is there another answer? I mean, really?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

7. Dropped Ice Cream- a book you were anticipating, but it wasn’t good

Graphic of an ice cream cone on the ground and the Cover of Winter's Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch

Winter’s Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch

After the success of The October Man, I had faith in Aaronovitch’s ability to pull off an American adventure. Especially because I already know and like Special Agent Reynolds from when she shows up with Peter Grant. But, it’s just clear that Aaronovitch pull off writing in the U.S. from an American perspective. If this was about Peter or Abigail coming to visit Reynolds and running into trouble, I could’ve bought it. But this narrator just isn’t an American (or really, that American Evangelical…not even an ex-Evangelical). A rare miss in this series.

Image by Izwar Muis from Pixabay

8. Palm Tree- a tall book you loved 42

Graphic of a palm tree and the Cover of 42 The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams edited by Kevin Jon Davies

42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams edited by Kevin Jon Davies

I honestly couldn’t think of another tall book. But also, I like to spread the word about this as much as I can.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

9. Bonfire- a book you want to burn

Graphic of a campfire and the Cover of Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Sure–I’m diametrically opposed to book burning of any kind, but if there was a fireplace in use anywhere near me when I finished this book, I’d have been tempted to toss it in. (and would’ve gladly paid the library fees). The ending of this just made me so mad. I know I’m in the minority with this book, but I don’t care.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

10. Fireworks- a book that exploded onto the scene

Graphic of fireworks exploding in the sky and the Cover of Don't Know Tough by Eli Cranor

Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor

If you’re going to make your debut, you want to do it like Cranor. From the first page, this book hits you with the velocity of a rocket taking off—and as far as I can tell that’s how the book went, too. Suddenly, every Crime Fiction account/page I follow was talking about this book.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

I don’t typically actually tag people when I do these, but I’m curious to see what you’d put here. So if you made it this far, consider yourself tagged. (no need to go overboard on graphics like I chose to do for reasons that I don’t quite get)

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Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 books of 2024… so far!

By HCNewton

On June 25, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Top X List

This week’s topic is, “Top 5 books of 2024… so far!…What does your top 5 list look like at our halfway point??” I haven’t done one of these in a minute, this seemed like a good time to get back to it. Whittling down my list to a Top 10 was a piece of cake at this point (a pleasant surprise)–but trimming that to a Top 5 took some work. I think I’m satisfied with the result. Although beyond that this post could’ve been easier, if I’d only finished my posts on three of these by now.

In alphabetical order by author:

	The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett This Fantasy-Mystery hybrid (with a decent amount of other-worldly science thrown in) was my first five-star read of the year, and it’s one I’m still thinking about. The world was great, the characters were complex and well-executed, the story and atmosphere were stunning. I could go on and on about this one, but am going to force myself to be pithy here. My full take on the book can be found here.
	The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher Yes, part of the appeal of this novel was that we finally got something new in this series after years of silence. But I’d have had a blast with this no matter when it was released. Butcher very carefully gave his fans more of just about everything they enjoyed in the first book without duplicating it in any sense. He also deepened and expanded our knowledge and understanding of this world, its magic and politics, and all of the major characters (white hats, gray hats, and black hats). At least two of the new characters had better be back. There’s a character death that I’ll eventually forgive Butcher for, but I’m not there yet. This one just ticked every box for me.
	The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven This is the darkest M.W. Craven novel–well, I haven’t read his second book yet, so I should qualify this as the darkest Poe and Tilly novel. And that’s no mean feat. The two are called in to help investigate the death of a cult leader and end up discovering much more–murders that no one realized had happened, torture sessions disguised as education/treatment, some twisted emotional and spiritual abuse–and more. Both Poe and Tilly are at there best here–and the rest of regular characters are as well. This will stick with readers for a while.
	Smoke Kings by Jahmal Mayfield Speaking of dark…Smoke Kings tells the story of a group of friends who decide to take social justice into their own hands and become vigilantes acting out against those who’ve benefited from lynchings or other racially-motivated crimes their families participated in decades ago. Internal and external pressures start to overwhelm the group and then things get deadly. There’s a whole lot of evil done in the name of righteousness here (by people that others would deny were anything but righteous). The number of heroes–or at least people who were actually accomplishing good things–are far outweighed by those using others. If you’re not disturbed as you’re gripped by this, you’ve missed something.
	Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman The first 87 pages of this book might have been my favorite 87 pages this year. The rest of them were pretty good, too. The central premise was a little out there, but Waxman pulled it off–and the rest of the book was so good you didn’t mind anyway. I laughed, I was moved, my heart was warmed—all the typical reactions to Abbi Waxman. I loved being in this world, surrounded by Waxman’s words and I cannot wait for the next excuse I have to do it again. My full take on the book can be found here.

I Did a Thing: Tough Questions from Witty & Sarcastic Book Club

By HCNewton

On May 23, 2024

In Miscellany, News/Misc.

Over the past couple of months in my Saturday Miscellanies, I’ve linked to the new series of interviews with Book Bloggers over at Witty & Sarcastic Book Club called Tough Questions.

I was forc—er, subjected t—er, graciously invited to participate in this and my responses were posted on Monday. If you’ve ever wondered what my memoir would be called, what I might call this blog if I rebranded, what my favorite is to read (the answer may surprise you), or other things. Or if you just want to read something on a pink background. Give it a look-see!

Caveat lector: This post does contain what might be the most controversial opinion that I’ve ever put on teh IntraWebs.

Also, if you’re not following the blog or following Jodie on various social media platforms, now would be a good time to start.

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Programming Announcement/Sick Leave

By HCNewton

On May 6, 2024

In Miscellany, News/Misc.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve had this monologue from Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs running through my head:

EUGENE I’d better explain what she meant by Aunt Blanche’s “situation.” You see, her husband, Uncle Dave, died six years ago from (He looks around) this thing… They never say the word. They always whisper it. It was (He whispers)—cancer! I think they’re afraid if they said it out loud, God would say, “I HEARD THAT! YOU SAID THE DREAD DISEASE! (He points his finger down) JUST FOR THAT, I SMITE YOU DOWN WITH IT!” … There are some things that grownups just won’t discuss. For example, my grandfather. He died from (He whispers) diphtheria! Anyway, after Uncle Dave died, he left Aunt Blanche with no money. Not even insurance. And she couldn’t support herself because she has (He whispers)—asthma… So my big-hearted mother insisted we take her and her kids in to live with us. So they broke up our room into two small rooms, and me and my brother Stan live on this side, and Laurie and her sister Nora live on the other side. My father thought it would just be temporary, but it’s been three and a half years so far and I think because of Aunt Blanche’s situation, my father is developing (He whispers)—high blood pressure!

I’m not the whispering type, but I’ve thought about that at least daily. And it has inspired me to whisper bits of my news just to amuse myself when I tell others about it. Early last month, a radiologist who was supposed to be looking for something else, noticed that my right kidney had a tumor on it that was most likely cancerous. The treatment for this is simple: remove the kidney. I have a spare, right? There’s no sign of it anywhere else, so this simple procedure will get set right.

By the time this posts, I should be fully anesthetized and won’t come out of it for a few hours. I’m supposed to lie low for a couple of weeks, and since I don’t know how I’ll be feeling over those weeks, I’ve arranged for some friends, acquaintances, and a stranger or two to drop by with some guest posts. Some will be a new Iteration of the All-Time Desert Island Top 5 lists from last year. Some will be other lists or posts, a guest review or two, and who knows what else? Some of the contributors won’t be strangers to readers of this blog. Some are new to this space. All of them have contributed something I enjoyed reading—hopefully, you do, too.

Also, since I can’t schedule posts there, my daughter has taken control of my BlueSky and Threads accounts. There’s a strong possibility that shenanigans may ensue there.

While you’re being entertained by my guests, I have a stack of (mostly lighter) reads to work through and a few movies I’ve been putting off while doing as little as I can. I’ll likely be popping back with a post or two (how many are to be determined) along the way, and plan on being back cancer-free and one renal organ lighter by the 20th.

I borrowed the kidney above from the blog we ran about my son’s kidney transplant, etc. So I’ll thank V.X. Blackthorne for doing that again. And clearly there is something about my family and kidneys (there’s nothing other than correlation when it comes to this and my son’s issues), but we don’t know what it is.

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The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag ’24

By HCNewton

On April 29, 2024

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag
I’ve seen this on various blogs, but can’t seem to find the creator, so I can’t credit them. I’d like to, if anyone knows who did it.

I saw this over at Peat Long’s Blog, Biblio Nerd Reflections, and Chasing Destino (and, apparently, did it myself last year), and thought it was worth a shot. Three weeks later, here we are…

How many books have you read so far?

86 is what the ol’ spreadsheet says. Which is larger than I expected, I’ve gotta say (even after subtracting a handful of board books, picture books, etc., that’s still better than I’d have guessed).

Have you already found a book you think might be a 2024 favourite? If not, what was your favourite book you read that wasn’t quite five stars?

Smoke Kings by Jahmal Mayfield , City on Fire by Don Winslow, and The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett are the front-runners so far.

Blank Space

I’ve got Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman coming up this week (probably), I assume it’ll be in the running, too.

Any 1-star books / least favourite book of the year?

America Fantastica by Tim O’Brien is a title that begs for someone to say it’s not that fantastic. And it isn’t. Not really that good–and I kept waiting for it to raise to the level of mediocre, at least. As I tried to describe.

Most read genre so far?

Mystery/Crime/Thriller. Which will come as no surprise to anyone who is not me. I figured it might be on top, but I thought that Fantasy would be a lot closer so far this year. Which probably says a lot about how much reflection I’ve given to things.

1st Quarter Genre Chart

A book that surprised you?

Several of them, really. But I’m going to have to give this one to the 2024 InCryptid novel, Aftermarket Afterlife–McGuire does things in this story I didn’t think she’d do in this series. I was caught way off-guard more than once. Literally stunned.
Literally gif

A book that’s come out in 2024 already that you want to read but haven’t yet?

Ugh. So many of them. The four that come to mind (and I’m sorry to everyone who should have a book that comes to mind, but didn’t).
The Ballad of Sprikit The Bard (And Company) by Seán O’Boyle, Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling by Nijay K. Gupta, The World Entire by Jo Perry, City in Ruins by Don Winslow (but I have to read City of Dreams first).

Blank Space

One goal you made that you’re succeeding at

To read more for and to post more in the Grandpappy’s Corner series.

One goal you made that you need to focus on

All of the others would fit. Catching up on my To-Be-Written stack is my primary focus at the moment.

(not that anyone but me can tell that, I’ll note)

New to you Bloggers/Booktubers/ Bookstagrammers/Booktokers for 2023 you recommend?

bullet Hair Past a Freckle
bullet The Quill to Live
bullet Burt’s Library

As per usual, I’m not tagging anyone in particular, but I’m curious–what’s the first of the year been like for you?

The “I’ll Get Around to it Later” Book Tag

By HCNewton

On March 21, 2024

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

The “I’ll Get Around to it Later” Book Tag
I saw this over at bookforager a couple of weeks ago, and it seemed fun. I’ve been wanting to do another Book Tag, too. So here we go…

This was created by Liesl Brunner at Quote, Unquote and it has a few rules:

Link back to the original post at Quote, Unquote so the creator can read your answers
Link back to the post of the person who tagged you and thank them. Okay, thanks for the fun read, bookforager!
You may use the included graphic anywhere in your post, but you don’t have to. (you can find it back on Quote, Unquote)
Fill all seven categories
You can either leave this tag open so anyone can do it or tag up to seven people

A classic book that you have been meaning to read forever but haven’t yet

The Woman in White

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

I’m certain I could’ve listed about half of “The Western Canon” here (probably much more, but let me live in that river in Egypt), but I went for this one, as the only “classic” I own and haven’t read. (I typically buy classics when I plan to read them) The precursor of much of American detective fiction, you know I’ve got to read this one, (so why haven’t I?)

A book on your shelf that you haven’t read yet

42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams

42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams edited by Kevin Jon Davies

I’ve been looking forward to it for ages (since the Kickstarter to fund it), so I’m not quite sure why I didn’t dive in immediately. I’m a little intimidated to read this, I guess. It’s literally the densest book on my TBR shelf (really thick, high quality paper, it weighs a ton). My goal is to be able to post about it on Towel Day now.

A book that you got recently that you haven’t read

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by Jason Pargin

I’ve been told by two very different people (yeah, yeah, everyone’s different, but you know what I meant) separately recommended this to me within a few weeks of each other. Saw it at a bookstore a couple of weeks later, and now, I’m hoping to finish it before Memorial Day.

A book that you’ve had forever but haven’t read

Hallow Point

Hallow Point by Joe Klingler

This is the oldest unread book I own–I read the first Mick Oberon Job, Hot Lead, Cold Iron and thoroughly enjoyed it. Bought this sequel back in January 2016. And then kept putting it off long enough that I can only remember the broadest outlines of the first one. I do need to get around to it (and the 2 following)

A book a friend recommended that you haven’t read

Dawn of Wonder

Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw

Actually, my friend Micah more than recommended this one to me, he gave it to me. As this came out in 2015 and book 2 has yet to see the light of day (a fact I just looked up), I’m thinking I may have made the right call on not reading this one (Renshaw’s reasons are incredibly understandable, but I’m still going to hold off a little longer). But since I’ve enjoyed and/or loved (mostly loved) every book Micah’s ever recommended to me, I probably would like this one, if I ever got around to it.

A book you’re procrastinating on

Literally everything in this post or the 270+ other books I’ve got on one list or another? That’s not helpful. Let’s go with:

Stiletto

Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley

I’ve used this as tag answers before. And, at the rate I’m going, I’ll continue to do so. But…here we are. I’m a little worried that if I get around to it later, my TBR shelf might fall over. It’s gotta be weight-bearing by now.

The next book on your TBR

Aftermarket Afterlife

Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire

I’m pretty sure the next one I’m reading will be this one, before it becomes one of those “I’ll get around to it” books (I’m not sure why InCryptid books tend to get this way, but they do). Actually, I’m hopefully reading it by the time this posts (but something tells me I won’t be). Otherwise, it’ll be this book (because I’m determined to have read everything I bought at the Nampa Library Book Fair last year before I show up to this year’s.

Cooked Goose

Cooked Goose by Laura Jenski

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

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 books about music (My Non-Fiction List)

By HCNewton

On February 13, 2024

In Books, News/Misc.

This week’s topic is, “Top 5 books about music. February seems to have a ‘national ukulele day’ so what are your top 5 books about music, musicians, or instruments.” I had a very hard time cutting this down to five when I was thinking about novels, so I decided to do a Non-Fiction list as well. This was a bit trickier, actually. Maybe if I tried harder, I could’ve come up with a better list, but I didn’t have that kind of time. But once I had the idea for this list I had to finish.

	A Dream About Lightning Bugs by Ben Folds Sure, the big appeal of this book is to learn more about the career of Folds and the Ben Folds Five, and there’s some good material on the ups and downs of Folds’ personal life. What he says about music and the creation of it–both his and others’, that gets it on this list. Also, I’m a pretty big fan of the author, that doesn’t hurt.
	Soundtrack of Silence by Matt Hay It’s dangerous to put this here because I’ve barely scratched the surface of the book as I compose this. But something about the premise and the early execution, the nice way that he’s working in references and lyrics to music makes me think it’ll be worth calling one of my Top 5.
	Dear Mr Pop Star by Derek & Dave Philpott It’s kind of a stretch to include this one, but this book brought me so much joy that I don’t care. I’ll vigorously apply a shoehorn to get it to fit. It’s not about music or musicians, per se. It’s a collection of “deliberately deranged letters to pop stars from the 1960s to the 90s to take issue with the lyrics of some of their best-known songs.” For example, they write to Starship about “We Built this City” going into a great amount of detail about the nature of foundations, different types of them, etc. and how this makes their “design project” the “most ludicrous” in the history of architecture. But what separates this book from similar tomes, what makes it special is that on the very next page, you get to read a response from Martin Page, who co-wrote the song. Page mounts an impassioned defense of the song — full of references to Rock classics as proof. Each letter printed in this collection is answered by a songwriter, musician, or other representative of a musical act. Some of these responses debate the premise of the Philpott’s letter, some answer in the same vein, others take the premise and run with it in their own way — some appear to be in on the joke, others appears to be flummoxed that anyone would take their lyrics in this insane manner.
	Sundry Notes of Music by Ian Shane We all know how a song can tie you to a moment in your personal history. Just hearing it can take you back to a moment, to a feeling, etc. There’s also how the lyrics of a song can hit you just right and inform a period of time in your life. We all know it, but few of go where Shane did and write a memoir (of sorts) tracing significant songs.
	Love is a Mix-Tape by Rob Sheffield A stray thought about this book led to this list. This is simply a fantastic book, a chronicle of Sheffield’s time with his wife, Renée, from their meeting to her untimely death at the age of 31. He frames his account in discussions of mix tapes he or she made for various times/events in their lives. The songs, and the feelings they evoke, are just as much part of their story as anything else. There’s a lot of humor, a lot of heart–and then some heartbreak and the aftermath. I really should make some time to re-read this.

Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 books about music (My Fiction List)

By HCNewton

On February 13, 2024

In Books, News/Misc.

This week’s topic is, “Top 5 books about music. February seems to have a ‘national ukulele day’ so what are your top 5 books about music, musicians, or instruments.” I had a very hard time cutting this down to five (as you can plainly see from all the “See also” books I mention), but I have a list I’m happy with. But I think I could’ve gone for 20 without breaking a sweat.

Oh, yeah, I did call this “My Fiction List” up there in the title. There is another one coming…

	Thank you, Goodnight by Andy Abramowitz A pretty successful lawyer/one-time rock star takes one more swing at music success–if only he can get his band to forgive him for how he treated them when they were at their peak. Until I read my post about it, I honestly remembered very little about the book (it’s coming back to me now)–but I recall being blown away by Abramowtiz’s depiction of the highs and perils of superstardom, and the way the character had to work to get his old friends to see past his faults. See also: Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby, The Jackals by Adam Shaw, The Rome of Fall by Chad Alan Gibbs, The Love Song of Johnny Valentine by Teddy Wayne
	The Buffalo Nickel Blues Band by Judie Angell I don’t remember what grade I was in when this book came into my life–I’m pretty sure it was due to a Scholastic Book order form. I can’t remember if my mother or I picked it for me–but it’s almost certainly the first book I read about a band/musicians (outside of Fflewddur Fflam, anyway). So, yeah, pretty much every book in this post owes the fact that I care about novels about music/musicians. I haven’t touched the book since the Reagan administration, and don’t know what happened to that copy. But I could still probably muster a full blogpost about it. It got into my blood, the way a great song will do. It’s about the shortlived career of I-want-to-say-middle-schoolers in a local band playing music that appealed to both adults and their peers. See also: Rock On by Denise Vega
	The Commitments by Roddy Doyle I’m fairly certain that I’ve used this book on 1/3 of the book tags I’ve done over the years. That’s hyperbole, but it feels true. It’s one of those books (see the last on this list) that was so formative for me that I still use it as a filter for books/films/shows that I read/watch to this day–and it all started with the video for “Try a Little Tenderness” from the movie soundtrack–the four of us in my freshman dorm room stopped whatever we were doing when it came on–and naturally, I had to rush to the arthouse theater when it finally arrived. When I saw it was based on a book, you can believe I wasted no time in getting my hands on it. More than any book on this list, you can hear the music this band listens to or performs. Doyle is able to catch the rhythm and sound so perfectly I can’t imagine anyone else coming close (but would love to see it).
	Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman Maybe it’s recency bias that puts this here. I’m not sure I care–Norman captures the joy associated with performance and the joy of watching an excellent performance in a way that few others do. He also captures the feeling so many of us had about 90s rock and the culture around it. See also: This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs, Not Famous by Matthew Hanover, Runaway Train and Grenade Bouquets by Lee Matthew Goldberg, About a Boy by Nick Hornby
	High Fidelity by Nick Hornby Is there anything more cliché than this choice for a white dude of my age? Probably not. But I’ll defend this choice. There’s a reason that every guy my age talks about this book–Hornby hit something in all of us. Rob (and the rest of the gang) were able to find a passion in the music of their lives, and through that were able to find ways to express their feelings outside of that. What Rob (and the rest, but especially Rob) says about music and its power would probably be co-signed by every character in these books, and most of the readers of them. What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music? See also: Post-Graduate and Radio Radio by Ian Shane, About a Boy by Nick Hornby

Yes, I mentioned a few of those See Also books multiple times. I had a hard time limiting them to a listing with just one book. Many of them probably could’ve fit in more places than I listed, too…but things were getting out of hand.

And I’m not sure where/if I should’ve worked in The Name of the Wind.

Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 books I will definitely* read in 2024

By HCNewton

On January 16, 2024

In Books, News/Misc.

This week’s topic is, “Top 5 books I will definitely* read in 2023. An oldie, but a goodie! And one I can’t wait to see whether I will (or won’t) read these books in 2024… Same disclosure every year: you won’t be subjected to punishment (from me) if you don’t read these. But what are 5 books you really want to tick off your TBR this year?” I was 4 for 5 last year, let’s see how I do this year. I own all of these, so that should help.

	The Camelot Shadow by Sean Gibson I’ve been wanting to read more by Sean Gibson and when I stumbled across this one last year, it just jumped out at me.
	Wish Givers by Shannon Knight Okay, I’m hoping to get to more than one of Knight’s novels, but this is the one that’s calling to me the loudest.
	Hacker by Duncan MacMaster Ghost Writer-turned-amateur detective is back for his third adventure. I’m looking forward to this–MacMaster is always sure to please.
	Abnormal Ends by Bryan McBee A cyberpunk serial killer novel from one of the Literary Locals I’ve been wanting to dive into. That’s three factors in favor of it right there.
	Detours and Do-Overs by Wesley Parker I was knocked out by Parker’s Headphones and Heartache, and I can’t wait to see what the sequel holds.

I do plan on getting to at least one of these within a week. Hopefully the rest will follow soon.

Do you have any particular books you’re set on getting to this year?