Tag: State of the Blog Page 3 of 4

There are 3 books that I really wanted to talk about this week — and so far, I haven’t. I’ve got 1/3 (maybe less) of a post about Steve Cavanagh’s The Plea written, but I just don’t have time to finish it in time to post; I think sleep deprivation might be the best way to write about the insane (and insanely froody) Jimbo Yojimbo by David W. Barbee — but that’ll have to wait (alas); and lastly Life Begins When The Kids Leave Home And The Dog Dies by Barb Taub is going to be fun to talk about.

I got Noirville, the short story collection in the mail today from Fahrenheit Press — it looks great. I’m sure the stories are as nifty as the book they’re printed in.

I was reminded yesterday that I hadn’t started, much less posted about, a particular book this month. I’d totally forgotten I’d agreed to it. Which makes 3 more books I have to read this month (plus three from March I ran out of time for). If only I wasn’t in the middle of the busiest month of the year at work. I have to learn how to say no . . . but there’s so many good-looking books out there, it’s so hard to say anything but “yes.”

Lastly, Luca Veste’s The Bone Keeper is chillingly cool. I’m hoping to get to post about it next week (and hoping to finish reading it …well, probably about the time this posts).

Looking back at 2017 for Books and the Blog

By HCNewton

On January 1, 2018

In Calendar Items, News/Misc.

As we kick off 2018, I wanted to take a glance back at 2017. 260 books read — I exceeded my goal (nothing like exceeding an arbitrary number to boost the ol’ ego), 395 posts (short of my goal by a couple hundred, and worse — almost 50 fewer than 2015!). I had some strong gains in traffic — views and visitors — and I’m also seeing good growth in followers here and on various social media fronts, which is encouraging as all get out.

So here’s my breakdown of books by genre, like the one I did last year. Genre labeling is more difficult this year, I read a lot of hybrids, but I tend to go with the overarching genre (for example, Artemis is a SF and Crime hybrid, I went with SF). Mystery/Suspense/Thriller is back to where it should be. SF and Fantasy took the hit to make up for that. it’s been forever since I’ve read a Western, I guess (at least one that wasn’t a hybrid with Urban Fantasy or SF or something). Theological books went down in actual numbers, not just percent — but I read some big, technical stuff this year that took a lot more time/energy to read, so I’m not too bothered by that. Still, for someone who doesn’t plan too thoroughly, the percentages stay remarkably the same from year to year — tastes (and series I follow) apparently stay the same.

Genre	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012
Children’s	7 (3%)	5 (2%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Fantasy	7 (3%)	31 (13%)	17 (9%)	11 (7%)	15 (8%)	12 (6%)
General Fiction/ Literature	29 (10%)	27 (11%)	17 (9%)	7 (4%)	30 (16%)	30 (14%)
Horror	0 (0%)	1 (.4%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Humor	1 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (1%)	3 (2%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller	102 (37%)	61 (25%)	64 (34%)	62 (37%)	63 (33%)	73 (35%)
Non-Fiction	10 (4%)	11 (5%)	8 (4%)	4 (2%)	2 (1%)	11 (5%)
Science Fiction	27 (10%)	37 (15%)	16 (8%)	17 (10%)	14 (7%)	11 (5%)
Steampunk	1 (0%)	2 (1%)	7 (4%)	3 (2%)	3 (2%)	11 (5%)
Theology/ Christian Living	30 (11%)	33 (14%)	42 (22%)	42 (25%)	37 (19%)	10 (5%)
Urban Fantasy	45 (16%)	36 (15%)	19 (10%)	20 (12%)	26 (14%)	48 (23%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (0%)

Enough about me. I want to talk about you, who keep me going and show an interest in what I’m doing here and give some thanks to people for their impact on The Irresponsible Reader (the blog and the person) in 2017:
Thanks to everyone for your comments/feedback — texts, emails, comments here/BookLikes/Goodreads, tweets, FB comments, even the occasional Face-to-Face conversation. Keep it up! I really appreciate the time you took to leave feedback. Hopefully you can tell that you’ve shaped the conversation here — it has, I assure you.
Flattered thanks to (in no particular order): vihasi shah, ravencrimereads , JL’s Bibliomania, littlemissnosleep, charmingkitties, hubblegal, bettybookreviews, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BOOK BLOG, tripleblacktri, SnoopyDoo, discobarbizar, iosappdevelopmentcompanyinbangaloreblog, dawgietime, ellabyrde, QuietBlogster, amandanicolette, pandaduh, GEORGE SORIN VENETE, The Sound of One Man Laughing, catskittiesandmore, saisuresh007, perfectbingosites.co.uk, alexankarr1, mysteryauthorjamesrnelson, Abinotronix, martyn james, Jeyran Main, J. A. Allen, passmethatbook, Tannat, roamingwanderlusts, nzfnmblog and writerlady, Adam Harkus (a blog my two young guitarists will love), Christy Luis, kirilson, Let’s Read Something New, publishquest2017, Genre Book Reviews, gencyazarlarklubu, Reading is My Escapte, Portable Magic, Mollie Player, netbij, Scarlett Brodie, Maria Bardyukova, bloggerfingers, MladenR, Anushka, annebonnybookreviews, thehuntandpeckblog, Richard Klu, The Cable Denning Fan Club, Mr and Mrs NW, abokrose, LizScanlon, theartdive, M.L.S.Weech, Simple Ula, Skulls and Coffee, BellaDonna, vickibrock44, Rizky FAUZI, whatsnonfiction, Reasons To Resist, nishlovepink, foodlove16, Scarletpiper, georgederringer, youngadultallegiance, The Lyrictrotter, shellinoutreviews, Nici Copywriter, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Mrinalini Raj, Shelfleigh, Shaun Hume, dreamnoiseblog, Alice @ Arctic Books, thrillersuspense, texaslawstudent, Lauren, Author Maremma Gee, Person of Interest, Brusque and The Hunt and Peck Blog for being new followers (at least for a post or two) of the blog (in one of its forms) this year — the size of this list shocks me, and I hope you all got at least something out of it. (I sincerely hope I didn’t miss anyone)
Hearty thanks to (in no particular order): Rosaria Butterfield, R. David Cox, Miles V. Van Pelt, D. I. Jolly, Alex Wells, Matthew Barrett, Jim Butcher, Kerrie L. Hughes, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Murphy, Brad Parks, Sam Lawrence & Ben Jackson, Danko Herrera, Taylor Stevens, Hillary Huber, Andy Martin, Zoe Kalo, Gibson Michaels, Ian Rankin, Sinclair B. Ferguson, Jennifer Weiner, John Bowen, J. B. Rockwell, K. S. Villoso, Aimee Byrd, Luca Veste, Paul Goldstein, Max Elliot Anderson, Brandon D. Crowe, Sarah Pinborough, Duncan MacMaster, Marissa Meyer, Douglas Holgate, Danielle Rogland, Faith Hunter, Lloyd Alexander, James Langton, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Leslie Hung, Derek Landy, Rupert Degas, Lee Child, Dick Hill, Shawn Hartje, Ace Atkins, Seanan McGuire, J. Gresham Machen, Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle, Christopher Hansen, J.R. Fehr, Loren D. Estleman, Owen Laukkanen, Reformed Forum, John Scalzi, Samuel G. Sterling, Danielle Pollock, Joshua Torrey, W. Robert Godfrey, Carolyn Arnold, Steph Broadribb, Sarah Kuhn, Dave Barry, Patrick Frederic, Benedict Jacka, D.J. Bodden, Mindy Kaling, Geehardus Vos, Sam Allberry, Graeme Simsion, Josh Bazell, Robert Petkoff, Rob Shackleford, Chrys Cymri, Jason Miller, Stephen Oram, Steve Cavanagh, David Baldacci, Scott Brick, Doree Shafrir, Paul Cornell, O. Palmer Robertson, Paul W. Cohen, Rick Riordan, Kieran Culkin, Robbie DaymondRobbie Daymond, Steve Hamilton, Spencer Quinn, Jason Parent, Amber Benson,E.J. Copperman, Jeff Cohen, Zoë Sharp, Alex Bledsoe, Patrick Ness, Ash Gray, Craig Johnson, George Guidall, Cory Barclay, Stephen Wellum, Stephan Pastis, Jared Goldsmith, Emily Ruben, Ryan McGraw, Michael J. Kruger, J. Ligon Duncan, Russ Colchamiro, George Bachman, Stephen Clark, Mark Jones, Don Winslow, Patricia Briggs, Lorelei King, Holter Graham, Gabe Hudson, Reed Farrel Coleman, Jacqueline Chadwick, Robert Germaux, Bradley Horner, B.C.R. Fegan, Lenny Wen, Chris Grabenstein, Jeff Woodman, Michael Connelly, Nathaniel Barber, Rachel Isgar, Ph.D., Cornelis P. Venema, Ben Sasse, Angie Thomas, Bahni Turpin, Chrissy Lessey, M. T. Miller, Shaun Hume, Jo Perry, Layton Green, Jason Reynolds, Guy Lockard, Alex BehrAlex Behr, Hart Hanson, Ari Fliakos, Joseph Brassey, Amy Stewart, Adam Sternberg, David Rosenfelt, Grover Gardner, Josef Matulich, Matt Cowper, C. J. Williams, Lucy Treloar, Kristin I. Morris, Joseph J. Zielinski, Ph.D., L.G. Metcalf, O.Hallesby, Leigh Bardugo, Mozhan Marno, Michael RN Jones, John Calvin, Joe Ide, Mindy M. Shelton, Tia Sorenson, Daniel Falatko, Robin Sloan, Rich Leder, Brian Cosby, Michael Allen, Scott R. Swain, Alan Jacobs, David Yair, ilana Graf, Natalie Jackson, Krysten Ritter, Carl R. Trueman, Katrina Shawver, S. J. Rozan, James E. Dolezal, Jonathan Fesmire, Dan Sofer, Edgar Cantero, Kyla Garcia, Doogie Horner, JJ Harrison, Sue Grafton, Joe Zieja, Tehila Sade Moyal, Fatima Pires, Hugh Martin, K. J. Howe, Peter Clines, Alejandro de Gutierre, S.C. Flynn, Alan Sepinwall, Andy Weir, Susan E. Davis, PT, Howard L. Hibbard, Robert Crais MacLeod Andrews, Robert Kolb, Harry Bingham, Siriol Jenkins, Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels, Shane Kuhn, Pete Simonelli, Joel Beeke, Heather L. Beal, Jubayda Sager, Isaac Alexis, MD, Max McBride, Janet Evanovich, Peter May, Harry Connolly, Max Wirestone, Ned Vizzini, Robert Fass, John Murray, Ben Aaronovitch, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero, David Z. Hirsch, Robert B. Parker, Michael Prichard, Neil Gaiman, Maria Bardyukova, Quiet Riley, Jr., Rik Hoskin, and (last but certainly not least) Tom Garcia this blog would be nothing without your efforts, your blood, sweat, tears, fears, work, love, dreams, hopes, and words. Your books were my companions throughout this year, and I can’t thank you enough for them (and I hope I get to spend time with many of you again soon!).
More thanks to all those who requested that I read and talk about your (or your clients’) books. I know how much the work, effort, heart, and everything that went into your books. It’s super humbling, I know you all didn’t like what I said, but, I am grateful for the opportunity. Sorry, I didn’t list you all by name this year, my records got a little confusing.
Many thanks to Faith Hunter, Nathaniel Barber, B.C.R. Fegan, Russ Colchamiro, Duncan MacMaster, Ben Jackson, and D.I. Jolly for taking time out of your busy schedules to answer a few quick questions with me this year!
Thanks to Alex Behr who sent me a very attractive looking signed paperback copy of Planet Grim a couple of weeks ago, and I keep forgetting to send a thank you to. So, while I’m hitting everyone else up here…
A shout-out to my wife (inside joke). Seriously, dear, without your support, indulgence and patience this thing wouldn’t exist — and I’d read a lot less (the horror!). Thank you. I love you.
And thank you all for reading. Seriously, each time I get a notification of a like, or a share, or a follow, etc. it makes my day. To know that someone took a couple of seconds or more out of their day to glance at this? It means the world to me. Thanks.

Have a great 2018, hope you find plenty of good things to read!

Something had to give…

By HCNewton

On December 14, 2017

In Books, News/Misc., Writing, YA/MG/Children's Books

Yeah, nothing for a couple of days here — just how I want to follow-up one of the best weeks I’ve had traffic/share/etc.-wise. I’ve got a couple of posts ready to go for Friday, and I’ve finished 5 books already this week, so it’s not like I’m hurting for material. Just hurting on time and energy.

There’s a good reason for this — and I’ll talk about it sometime. In the meantime, come back Friday.

Clemency…

By HCNewton

On October 27, 2017

In News/Misc.

I just removed 32 books from my “To Blog About” List. 32. Most of these were re-reads, and a good number of them were audiobooks. For the most part, with the audiobooks, I’ve written something on the text version and have nothing really to add other than a comment or two on the narration — and there are only so many ways I can say that George Guidall has really grown on me (and I can’t imagine anyone else doing the Walt Longmire books now), or Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is the perfect match for Peter Grant, or that Lorelei King and Luke Daniels just blew me away with their work.

Another example would be my re-read of The Rook by Daniel O’Malley — I took pages of notes on my re-read of that in preparation for the release of the sequel, Stiletto. Then my life got busy and not only did I not get around to taking those notes and making them into a longer-than-normal post, Stiletto sits on my shelf, unread. That’s driving me crazy.

There were a couple of non-re-reads on that shelf, too — but I never figured out how to take my one or two thoughts on the books and turn them into something interesting to read/write, and enough time has passed that I have to admit that it’s just not going to happen.

I still have too many books on that list, but I’ve gotta tell you, the (totally self-imposed) burden being lifted feels great.

Coming Attractions

By HCNewton

On August 28, 2017

In News/Misc.

I don’t have any books to post about today — as of this writing, I’ve got about 20 minutes of reading left in one book, am waiting on something from an author on another, and am in the middle of 2 short story collections, so I’m stuck for material for posts. But not for long! While I have a much longer TBR list — and another dozen or so books that I actually own, but haven’t gotten to — her’s what I’m calling my “Active TBR List” — those books that I intend on knocking out in the next month. I’ll probably get one or two others in, and not get to all of these right away, but this is my hope/plan. I’m curious — how far out do you guys plan? What’s on your list?

Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar
Jamarr’s Promise by Kristin I. Morris and Dr. Joseph J. Zielinski
The Blue Curtain by L.G. Metcalf
Travels and Travails of Small Minds by Daniel Falatko
The Spirit Mage by Layton Green
Workman’s Complication by Rich Leder
Flame in the Dark by Faith Hunter
Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

Black and Blue by Ian Rankin — my monthly John Rebus Read
How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds by Alan Jacobs which hit my front porch yesterday
The Dying Place by Luca Veste, was in another package yesterday
Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton will be ready for me any day now

The Song of The Swan by Michael RN Jones
Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn
Rubicon by Ian Patrick

I’m not sure I should’ve listed it like this — it’s both exciting and overwhelming.

Looking back at 2016 for Books and the Blog

By HCNewton

On January 2, 2017

In Calendar Items, News/Misc.

As we kick off 2017, I wanted to take a glance back at 2016. 241 books read — I exceeded my goal (I don’t remember what it was at the beginning, but I revised it a couple of times and still beat it by 6), 444 posts (short of my goal by a couple hundred), I had some good gains in traffic — views and visitors (not as much as the previous couple of years, but that’s better than a loss). I’m also seeing good growth in followers here and on various social media fronts, which is encouraging as all get out.

So here’s my breakdown of books by genre, like the one I did last year. Mystery/Suspense took a hit this year percentage-wise, but not as much as I thought it did. SF and Fantasy jumped up to make up for that. it’s been forever since I’ve read a Western, I guess (at least one that wasn’t a hybrid with Urban Fantasy or SF or something). Theological books went down in actual numbers, not just percent — but I read some big, technical stuff this year that took a lot more time/energy to read, so I’m not too bothered by that. Still, for someone who doesn’t plan too thoroughly, the percentages stay remarkably the same from year to year — tastes (and series I follow) apparently stay the same.

Genre	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2012-16
Children’s	5 (2%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	5 (0%)
Fantasy	31 (13%)	17 (9%)	11 (7%)	15 (8%)	12 (6%)	86 (9%)
General Fiction/Literature	27 (11%)	17 (9%)	7 (4%)	30 (16%)	30 (14%)	111 (11%)
Horror	1 (.4%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%0	0 (0%)	1 (0%)
Humor	0 (0%)	1 (1%)	3 (2%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	4 (0%)
Mystery/Suspense	61 (25%)	64 (34%)	62 (37%)	63 (33%)	73 (35%)	323 (32%)
Non-Fiction	11 (5%)	8 (4%)	4 (2%)	2 (1%)	11 (5%)	36 (4%)
Science Fiction	37 (15%)	16 (8%)	17 (10%)	14 (7%)	11 (5%)	95 (9%)
Steampunk	2 (1%)	7 (4%)	3 (2%)	3 (2%)	11 (5%)	26 (3%)
Theology/Christian Living	33 (14%)	42 (22%)	42 (25%)	37 (19%)	10 (5%)	164 (16%)
Urban Fantasy	36 (15%)	19 (10%)	20 (12%)	26 (14%)	48 (23%)	149 (15%)
Western	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (0%)	1 (0%)

Mega-Thanks to Jo Perry and Darrel Drake for helping to push me to their Twitter followers — you’ve probably done more than I have for the health of this thing. I only say that half in-jest.
Thanks to: A J Blakemont, Alice, allysonj, bbooksmartblog, Book Haunt, Bookstooge (there are times I could feel like I’m writing just for your feedback), Brenton Dickieson, Cate_Beauman, Darrell Drake, debra, Deek Rhew, Dessa, doddyaboutbooks, duskrider3740 , Erin Rhew, Gary, Grace Crandall, Jason B. Ladd, Jayme B, justbusiness1, Karen E. Olson, Kat Knit, Kimberlee Bastain, Laura@125Pages, Lauren Jones, Levi, Marsha, Micah Burke, Nancy, Patty Pope, Paul, Rafael Lovato, Ren, Rich Leder, Roy M. Griffis, rrys, S. C. Flynn, Tom R. Moore, and Vijayalakshmi Harish for your comments/feedback. Keep it up! I really appreciate the time you took to leave feedback. Hopefully you can tell that you’ve shaped the conversation here — it has, I assure you. I need to do better about commenting on other blogs, but WordPress comment sections seem to have it out for me.
To Stuart M. Perkins, laydenrobinson, Mildew Fairy Reads, Jayme B, Jessica Manuel, One for the Books, Dr. Joseph Suglia, Edmond Sanganyado, natalieslovelyblog, As the page turns.., Fictionophile, Aidan Reid, Haidji, Marve Gandah, JAH, raulconde001, Bibliophage, greenlanddiary, Fernando Ortiz, Jr., ebookbump, the Defined Introvert, mpatraiko, Got My Book, Stormy Vixen, Bijoux Alisoa, Vijayalakshmi Harish, allysonyj, J. L. Gribble, Looseygoosey, extraordinarydog, Senna, Beth from Hello Beautiful Book Blog, Alois Larc, greatestcatpics, Deniz Yalım, bluecloverdust, wanderlustexplored, ThemisAthena, kittensandhumans, Grace Crandall, alittlebirdtweets, kmelerine, Peter Ranger
BusinessandBook, DPNews, Real Tasty Pages, drjohnpatrickkeefeii, Char’s Horror Corner, BrokenTune, Canary, hoveprinting, Krissys Bookshelf Reviews, allmeowedout, belikewaterproduction, FelissaEly, frustratedego, Drew @ TheTattooedBookGeek, TNWTL MOVEMENT, marteenreadsbooks, Contemplative Reflections, Michael Patrick Hicks, Candace L Stauber,doddyaboutbooks, booksfromdusktilldawn, resterrestern, juliahuynhs, Laine The Librarian, William Duarte, My Thoughts, annmariemcqueen1, amecipraba, Larissa N. Takahassi, julianrichmonds, Manuel Antao, BrokenTune, duskrider3740, Shitijsharma, bookcupidity, enjoywanderlust, bluereadergal, wildpuppies and Lowlife Magazine for being new followers (at least for a post or two) of the blog (in one of its forms) this year — the size of this list shocks me, and I hope you all got at least something out of it. (I sincerely hope I didn’t miss anyone)
Hearty thanks to: Goldy Moldavsky, Kevin Smith, Phil Hester and Jonathan Lau, Martine Leavitt, Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle, Alex Bledsoe, Christopher Buckley, Scott Meyer, Benedict Jacka,Blake Crouch, Brad Meltzer, Tod Goldberg, Scott Brick, Brandon Sanderson, Danielle Paige, Devon Sorvari, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Brandon D. Crowe, Carl R. Trueman, David B. Garner, K. Scott Oliphint, Rod Mays, L. Michael Morales, Jax Miller, John Irving, Karen E. Olson, Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson, and Chuck Wendig, Lee Child, Dick Hill, Luke Daniels, Mary McGarry Morris, Megan E. O’Keefe, Michael R. Underwood, Mary Robinette Kowal, Michael Portnoy, Adelia Drubetski, Noah Hawley, Robert Petkoff, Owen Laukkanen, Patricia Briggs, Reed Farrel Coleman, Matthew Norman, Anna Kendrick, Wesley Chu, John Scalzi, Zachary Quinto, David VanDrunen, J. V. Fesko, Ace Atkins, Amy Stewart, Seanan McGuire, Cynthia Hopkins, Jo Perry, Berkeley Breathed, Bob Proehl, Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, Craig Johnson, Cristina Henríquez, James E. Adams, David Rosenfelt, Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows, Douglas Adams, E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen, Elan Mastai, Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg, Marilynne Robinson, Faith Hunter, Galia Armeland, Harry Bingham, James Patterson, Marshall Karp, Edoardo Ballerini, Jay Snyder, Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley, Joe Mantegna, Joseph Finder, Kim Harrison, Maria Semple, Kathleen Wilhoite, Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, Booth Tarkington, Pat Conroy, Paul Cornell, Tony Parker, Erich Wurster, Joseph W. Smith III, Rainbow Rowell, Rebecca Lowman, Sunil Malhotra, Norton Juster, Norman Dietz, Pierce Brown, Rick Yancey, Shane Kuhn, Tiffany McDaniel, Randall Munroe, Jonathan L. Master, Michael P.V. Barrett, Amber Benson, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Kathe Mazur, Lauren Graham, Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, David McCallum, Pepper Harding, Amy Poehler, Richard P. Belcher, Jr., Marissa Meyer, Benjamin L. Gladd, Matthew S. Harmon, Gerald M. Bilkes, Herman Bavinck, J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, Daniel O’Malley, Anthony T. Selvaggio, John William Huelskamp, Maria Semple, Matthew Goodman, Kathe Mazur, Michael W. Goheen, Mitch Stokes, Peter Davidson, Philip S. Ross, Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Robert Galbraith, Robert Glenister, James K. A. Smith, Vern S. Poythress, Wes Bredenhof, Robin Sloan, Ari Fliakos, W. Bruce Cameron, A. Lee Martinez, Michael Koryta, Taylor Stevens, Hillary Huber, Patricia Briggs, and Lorelei King this blog would be nothing without your efforts, your blood, sweat, tears, fears, work, love, dreams, hopes, and words. Your books were my companions throughout this year, and I can’t thank you enough for them.
More thanks to: Tara R, Roy M. Griffis, Jennifer Wilson, Daniel Falatko, David Harris Lang, Dustin Renwick, Emily Ruben, Erica Wright, John Grayson Heide, Jayme Beddingfield, Joe Klingler, Jonathan Charles Bruce, Kathy Cyr, Kimberlee Ann Bastian, Larry Rodness, Marina Fontaine, Michael Darling, Michael Landweber, Nancy Hersage, Sean McKenzie, Nerys Wheatley, Darrell Drake, Rafael Lovato, Clay Johnson, Rhett C. Bruno, Rick Riordan, Dylan Madeley, Larry Higdon , Grant Bywaters, William Galaini, Adam W. Jones, Anne Renwick, Arthur M. Doweyko, Arthur Nsenga, Shaunakay Francis, C.A. Huggins, C. G. Barrett, Chris Grams, Chuck Waldron, Robert A. Brown, Dale Wiley, Dan Martin, David Ahern, Devri Walls, Olga Werby , Jason B. Ladd, Johnny Newport, Rich Leder, Carl Schmidt, H. Lovelyn Bettison, L. Sydney Abel, Marjorie Thelen, Mark Benjamin, Walt Hackman, C. Esther, Richard Paolinelli, Alan J. Field, Alexa Whitewolf, Daniel P. Swenson, Jessica Dall, J. L. Gribble, Joe Zieja, Josi Russell, Kathy Bryson, Lee LaCroix, Frank Westworth, Nicky Peacock, Robert Germaux, S.C. Flynn, James Hutchings, Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron, Kristi King-Morgan, Connor MacDonald, M. T. Miller, Nathan Ronen, Jeff Faria, Diana Strenka, Vanya Ferreira, Cathy Kennedy, Zoe Kalo, David Belisle, Jason Heller, and Joshua Viola
for the work, the effort, heart, and everything that went into your books — plus thanks for asking me to read your work (either yourself or through your publicist, publisher, etc.). It’s super humbling, I know you all didn’t like what I said, but, I am grateful for the opportunity.
Stian for the graphics help and encouragement, hope I get to fully utilize them soon.
And you all for reading. Seriously, each time I get a notification of a like, or a share, or a follow, etc. it makes my day. To know that someone took a couple of seconds or more out of their day to glance at this? It means the world to me. Thanks.

Have a great 2017, hope you find plenty of good things to read!

Backlog (writing and reading)

By HCNewton

On August 13, 2016

In News/Misc.

I’ve had a couple of weeks lately where I open up a file to write a review/review-like thing and nothing happens, there were 4 I tried to write this week that didn’t get done. This is extraordinarily frustrating.

Well, just to feel like I actually accomplished something today (other than finishing a pretty decent book), I just updated my Reviews in Progress page. I just added 23 books from this summer that I haven’t made/found time to write about.

The size of my TBR list is about the same. I’m tempted to make a similar page for it, but think I’ll hold off, as it fluctuates a bit.

Wow! I really, really, really need to get to work . . . Authors who are waiting, I promise I’m doing what I can.

Audiobooks and Other Programming Notes

By HCNewton

On June 16, 2016

In Audiobook, News/Misc.

Two days without a post about a book, which is pretty annoying — I’ve been working on a couple, but somehow I haven’t finished any since Tuesday. Sorry!

So my new job involves a lot of — I want to say mindless work, but that’s not true. Le’s just say that there’s a lot of work where you’re isolated and could use something to occupy part of your mind. So I’ve been listening to more audiobooks than normal. Many of which are books I’ve read before, so they’re sort of part of the Reread Project. But I’m working in a few new books, too. I need to get better a simply regurgitating what I’ve said before about these re-reads, I realize.

Let me just say, I’m really disappointed in the tastes of whoever it is in my library that borrows audiobooks. Based on the selection, there’s high demand for lousy books.

Come to think of it, looking at the shelves, that’s true of paper books, too — it’s just more obvious in the small sample size of audiobooks.

Anyway, when it comes to audiobooks, it’s impossible to just keep things to the writing itself, performance comes in to play, too. So I have to talk that some (and I’ve listened to a couple lately that have hurt the books, and a couple that have helped the books, one or two that made no difference). I want to keep the focus on writing, story, character — but part of the audiobook experience is the narrator(s). I may end up lumping a few write-ups into one post instead of several individual. Also, I’m going to try to keep the audiobook talk to Fridays (no reason, just wanted to pick a day).

So, that’s what’s going on with me — a little writer’s block, a whole bunch of good books, a new type of book showing up regularly, and me falling more and more behind on posts.

What are you reading lately?

Changes (no, not THAT Dresden Files book)

By HCNewton

On March 7, 2016

In News/Misc.

(there’s far less bloodshed here)

So, I started a new job today — which is exciting, and stressful, and good news and many other things. For the first time in almost a decade, I won’t be working the Graveyard Shift anymore — I get to sleep when it’s dark and be awake during the day like a Real Person™ (further proof that my life is not, alas, Urban Fantasy).

What does this mean for the blog? Hopefully, not much — after a period of adjustment. But last week’s minimal posting was due to me running around trying to get ready for this change, and I anticipate the same this week. Next week? I don’t know . . . time will tell.

Please bear with me, I’ve got a lot of balls in the air when it comes to this thing — a lot of plans and hopes, I’m not walking away, just making some adjustments.