The Irresponsible Reader

Robert Crais’ The Promise Delayed

According to an email I just received about my preorder* and a post to his Facebook page (but no update to his website yet), The Promise has been delayed. The Facebook post says a US publication date is forthcoming, but I’m supposed to receive mine on April 28 of next year. On the one hand — you know what? I’d rather it be done right, rather than done fast. Robert Crais, much like George R. R.…

US Pub Day Repost: We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker @WhittyAuthor ★ ★ ★ ★ Hunting for Hope (and Life?) in a Hopeless Place @ZaffreBooks

I posted this back in April in as part of a Book Tour around the UK publishing date, now it’s time for US audiences to get a taste of Whitaker’s wallop… — Am glad to welcome the Book Tour for We Begin at the Endby Chris Whitaker today—it’s one of those books that I don’t feel quite adequate to talk about, but we’ll give it a shot. Be sure to check out some of these other blogs on the graphic…

Elphie Meets the End of The World by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron Misgav (Illustrator) ★ ★ ★ 1/2 It's the End of the World as he Knows it, and Elphie (eventually) Feels Fine @ElphieAdventure

Elphie Meets the End of The World

by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron Misgav (Illustrator) Series: Elphie’s Books, #4

Kindle Edition, 17 pg. 2020

Read: July 8, 2020

It’s not uncommon given, well, everything that’s happened in 2020, for people to joke about the apocalypse coming, the End of the World being even more nigh-er than usual, and whatnot. But how many kids—either because they overhear…

It’s the 190th day of 2020, which happens to be a Wednesday, so we might as well do a WWW Wednesday, right? (every time I previewed this, at least one image didn’t show up…hey, look, the host transfer issues I worried about are showing up!)

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at…

There are more books involved with this one for reasons you’ll see, which is part of I cut more on this dive down the hole than usual (also, there’s a bit of cheating, too). Hopefully, someone out there finds these somewhat interesting, I find composing them rather cathartic.

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughtsis the one that exposed me to this, and…

Pub Day Repost: Muzzled by David Rosenfelt ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 One of Andy Carpenter's Twistiest Cases Yet #Muzzled #NetGalley

Muzzled

by David Rosenfelt Series: Andy Carpenter, #21

eARC, 304 pg. Minotaur Books, 2020

Read: June 20, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Wow. Andy Carpenter #21. That’s pretty mind-boggling, I’ve got to say. The way that Andy’s been ramping up the retirement talk over the last couple of books, I can’t help but wonder how many more are in store—but I have to expect we’ll…

Pub Day Post: Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn @ChetTheDog ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 Water, Water Everywhere and a Murder, too

Of Mutts and Men

by Spencer Quinn Series: Chet and Bernie, #10

eARC, 304 pg. Forge, 2020

Read: June 27-29, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Bernie meets the man destined to his new best friend—a hydrologist who seems to share many of the same opinions as Bernie when it comes to water usage in Phoenix. I don’t think we’ve managed to get a novel where Bernie hasn’t complained…

I do not have enough superlatives in my repertoire to do justice to The Curator by M. W. Craven @MWCravenUK ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Curator

by M. W. Craven Series: Washington Poe, #2

Hardcover, 372 pg. Constable, 2020

Read: June 30-July 2, 2020

‘Sean Carroll’s a kite enthusiast,’ Bradshaw said after Nightingale had ended the call. ‘He’s not a dork.’

Poe grunted. He had a problem with ‘enthusiasts’. As far as he was concerned, on the ladder of weird interests that eventually escalated to criminal behaviour,…

Allons-y! Geronimo! and whatnot

Well, things have been going here pretty steadily for a month now — and I’ve even got posts scheduled through the beginning of next week (feels nice to have that cushion) — so, I’m taking the plunge and publicizing things further, making things more public. If this is your first time here, welcome, thanks for dropping by.

Saturday Miscellany—7/4/20: Ink Drinkers, Pet Names, Fantasy Taxonomy, Blogging Myths and more

I did come across some fun things to read this week, bu I’ve got no podcasts (a couple of videos, though), no new releases to talk about, this is going to be quick. Which I guess is good, because I don’t see a lot of my US readers all that interested in spending time today in reading this post (…eh, maybe given the peculiarities of this year…).

Happy Independence Day to you in the U. S., and…

So, we left Partridge and Tom seeking shelter in a stranger’s home—The Man on the Hill (I kept mentally substituting “The Fool on the Hill” from Magical Mystery Tour, which made this difficult). We’re told he has an interesting life (the fact that he’s known by a title and not a name is a tip-off).

So, for reasons I’m hoping I’ll understand eventually, Fielding treats us to five chaptersof this…

The Friday 56 for 7/2/20

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice

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

from 56% of:

One Man by Harry Connolly

“You were going to describe the fight,” Mirishiya said.

“The fight is the best part of the story! Swift, bold strikes! One man against many! The pirate captain…

The point of these quick takes post to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness. —

Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner

by Judy Melinek, MD, & TJ Mitchell, Tanya Eby (Narrator) Unabridged Audiobook, 7 hrs., 43 mins. Tantor Media, 2014 Read: June 12-14, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official…

Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine

by Derren Brown

Unabridged Audiobook, 14 hrs., 32 mins Penguin Audio, 2018

Read: June 26-29, 2020

Several weeks ago, I put a hold on this book from my Library. I was looking for some good Non-Fiction and this seemed along the lines of something a doctor was recommending. Also, the subtitle made me think I’d like it. I knew nothing…

It’s the first of July, the beginning of a new fiscal year for my employer, and the height of the season to ignite recreational explosives to torment dogs, Vets, and possibly burn down your state. But let’s ignore all that and deal with a WWW Wednesday!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at…

In this month that ended before I realized it had begun, I somehow finished 23 works with a total of 6,881 pages (or the equivalent). I DNF’ed one book, but the rest had an average rating of 3.8. As usual, I didn’t write as much as I wanted to–which didn’t bother me until I saw how many things this month didn’t get covered. I’m sure I’ll get them done pretty soon, but, it made me wonder what I…

20 Books of Summer 2020: June Check In #20booksofsummer20

Here we are at the end of June, one-third of the way through the summer, and I’m roughly one-third of the way through the challenge. That worked out nicely. I’ve made one substitute because I had some trouble getting my hands on the one non-fiction book that was on the list. And, hey, I just read a non-fiction book, so might as well put that one in. Otherwise, I’m on track for finishing the list…