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GUEST POST: Chronic Illness in Death Rights by Shannon Knight - The Irresponsible Reader
Shannon Knight popped into my email inbox last week (technically, it was an email from Shannon, not Shannon herself) with a Guest Post. This was great news for me--I love Shannon's Guest Posts, and I appreciated the night off from writing. Then I read this post, and it deals with one of my favorite aspects
April 2025 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About - The Irresponsible Reader
I finished 24 titles (3 up, 1 down from last April), with an equivalent of 6,222 pages or the equivalent (547 up from last month), and gave them an average of 3.8 stars (.13 up). There was one DNF, too. Sure, four of those were children's books, so we're not talking about a lot of
WWW Wednesday—May 7, 2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my kidney removal--and what a year it's been. This is not much of an introduction to a WWW Wednesday, but it's all that I've got in me. Well, I mean--I've got one kidney in me, as well as a full roster of other organs, that was more of a
LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with Cindi Hartley - The Irresponsible Reader
I haven't had a chance to read Cindi Hartley's work yet, but I'm very excited to introduce you to her. When I met her at the Nampa Library's Book Faire last month, her effervescent personality made me a fan. She's new to being a published author, which brings a fun perspective. Hope you enjoy this--and
Good Trouble by Forest Issac Jones: Marching toward Victory - The Irresponsible Reader
Good Trouble: The Selma, Alabama and Derry, Northern Ireland Connection 1963-1972 by Forest Issac Jones DETAILS: Publisher: First Hill Books Publication Date: April 1, 2025 Format: eARC Length: 200 pg. Read Date: May 1-3, 2025 What's Good Trouble About? It's really simple, based on several interviews as well as plenty of research, Jones shows the
BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Good Trouble: The Selma, Alabama and Derry, Northern Ireland Connection 1963-1972 by Forest Issac Jones - The Irresponsible Reader
I'm very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Forest Issac Jones' provocative Good Trouble: The Selma, Alabama and Derry, Northern Ireland Connection 1963-1972 on its last day! If you take a look at the feed for https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours from the last week, you'll see what several other bloggers have had to say
The Ten Commandments by Cornelius Van Til: A Brief Look at the Law - The Irresponsible Reader
The Ten Commandments by Cornelius Van Til DETAILS: Publisher: Cantaro Publications Publication Date: January 1, 2024 Format: Paperback Length: 204 pg. Read Date: February 9, 2025 What's The Ten Commandments About? Well, as the title suggests, it's about The Ten Commandments--it's an exposition of them, and a brief explanation of what the Moral Law is
Saturday Miscellany—5/3/25 - The Irresponsible Reader
Odds 'n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You've probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case: Most parents don’t enjoy reading to their children, survey suggests—might as well start on a down note, right? Can only go up from here... A Fifth of American Adults Can’t Read. Here’s
WWW Wednesday—April 30, 2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
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 Diary-of-a-black-city-girl. The Three Ws are: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? Seems easy enough, right? Let's take
MUSIC MONDAY: “The Last Shanty ” by Derina Harvey Band - The Irresponsible Reader
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then. I mentioned the other day that I was celebrating the grandcritter's 2nd birthday. As most two-year-olds do, I know he reads his Grandpappy's blog religiously. So, for him, I thought I'd post one of his
Saturday Miscellany—4/26/25 - The Irresponsible Reader
Did I spend too much at the Independent Bookstore Day event I attended? Yes. Am I bothered by that? No, because I actually showed restraint--I could've easily spent 2 or 3 times as much. And, I did cut myself off from going to multiple bookstores. Don't tell me I don't have self-control. I also found
Programming Note/Reminder & Encouragement - The Irresponsible Reader
This is one of those rare Saturdays where I don't know when I can assemble the Miscellany for the day, but it is coming. One of the reasons that I'll be away from my keyboard is that it's the last Saturday in April--known to many of us as Independent Bookstore Day. This is the 12th
Opening Lines: A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick - The Irresponsible Reader
Head & Shoulders used to tell us that, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." That's true for wearing dark shirts, and it's especially true for books. Sometimes the characters will hook the reader, sometimes the premise, sometimes it's just knowing the author—but nothing beats a great--or strange--opening for getting a
WWW Wednesday—April 23, 2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
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 Diary-of-a-black-city-girl. The Three Ws are: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? Seems easy enough, right? Let's
LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with Nathan Keys - The Irresponsible Reader
Nathan Keys and I tried to get this posted last year, but communication errors led to that plan going out the window. But after the Treasure Valley Book Faire a couple of weeks ago, we brushed this up, updated it, and now I'm happy to bring this to you. Hope you enjoy. Before we get
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman: You’ll Laugh All the Way to the Morgue - The Irresponsible Reader
(not that you actually go to a morgue in this book, I was just struggling with that headline) One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman DETAILS: Publisher: Berkley Publication Date: April 15, 2025 Format: eARC Length: 400 pg. Read Date: April 11-15, 2025 What's One Death at a Time About? Natasha Mason is a
REPOSTING JUST CUZ: The Ten Commandments by Kevin DeYoung: A Warm, Engaging Study of God’s Revealed Will - The Irresponsible Reader
Well, I ran out of time to finish a post about a book I read this year about the Commandments, so...let's dust this off. The Ten Commandments: What They Mean, Why They Matter, and Why We Should Obey Them by Kevin DeYoungeARC, 208 pg.Crossway, 2018 Read: September 23, 2018 My initial thought when I saw
Saturday Miscellany—4/19/25 - The Irresponsible Reader
Odds 'n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You've probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case: Gatsby @ 100: American Classrooms, American Dreams? Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby Turns 100. Time To Admit It’s Crime Fiction.—I'm not sure that I buy this, but I can't argue against it. Mark Twain
My Documents by Kevin Nguyen: Who will survive in America? - The Irresponsible Reader
My Documents by Kevin Nguyen DETAILS: Publisher: One World Publication Date: April 8, 2025 Format: eARC Length: 352 pg. Read Date: April 7-9, 2025 What's TITLE About? Soon after the fall of Saigon, but not soon enough, a woman named Bà Nội manages to escape Vietnam with her four-year-old son—she'd been able to send two
Happy Jack and the Scary-Ass Book of Doom (Audiobook) by Rich Partain, read by JP Adams: DNF’d Without Prejudice (or any interest) - The Irresponsible Reader
Happy Jack and the Scary-Ass Book of Doom by Rich Partain, JP Adams (Narrator) DETAILS: Series: Shadows Over Earth-That-Was, Book 1 Publication Date: December 17, 2024 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 12 hrs., 50 min. (I made it 3.5 hours ) Read Date: April 16-17, 2025 What's Happy Jack and the Scary-Ass Book of Doom About?
Grandpappy’s Corner: Life Lessons by Titan as told to Melaney Taylor Auxier: Wise Words from a Noble Dog - The Irresponsible Reader
Life Lessons by Titan as told to Melaney Taylor Auxier DETAILS: Publication Date: June 28, 2024 Format: Paperback Length: 39 pgs. Read Date: April 9, 2025 What's Life Lessons by Titan About? We meet this very good-looking dog, Titan, at the shelter when he meets his human, she "fell in love instantly because I'm so
WWW Wednesday—April 16, 2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
For a few years, April 15 was the apex of my professional life--months of effort led up to it, weeks of effort spent dealing with it, and then we had a couple of months of reprieve before starting the cycle again. I left that employer almost 4 years ago, but it's still in the back
Nero Wolfe on Taxes - The Irresponsible Reader
I can't tell you when this became a (largely) annual thing for me to post, but it was on a blog that pre-existed this one. As always, it seems like a good day to post it. A man condemning the income tax because of the annoyance it gives him or the expense it puts him
2025 Plans and Challenges: First Quarter Check-In - The Irresponsible Reader
This year is speeding by, the way they do more and more...let's take a quick look at the challenges and goals I set for the year I'd hoped to keep charging ahead with Grandpappy's Corner and Literary Locals, and while those haven't completely died off, I haven't done that much with them. I think the
REPOSTING JUST CUZ: Death and Taxes by Mark David Zaslove: The most rootin’ tootin’ shoot ’em up about accountants you’ve ever seen - The Irresponsible Reader
This seems like a good day to revisit this (sort of a shame there were no sequels) Death and Taxes by Mark David ZasloveSeries: Tales of a Badass IRS Agent, #1ARC, 219 pg.Aperient Press, 2018 Read: August 13 - 14, 2018 I'm not sure I can go this book justice with a hand-crafted synopsis, I'll
March 2025 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About - The Irresponsible Reader
I finished 21 titles (4 down from last month, 2 down from last March), with an equivalent of 5,675 pages or the equivalent (749 down from last month), and gave them an average of 3.67 stars (.27 up from last month). I knew I'd been busy, sick, and tired lately--but it wasn't until I looked
The Price of Power by Michael Michel: An Addictive and Powerful Multi-Threaded Fantasy Novel - The Irresponsible Reader
I talked about this book before I finished reading it a week or so ago, but I wanted to make some corrections to bad guesses/assumptions and then just talk about things in general now that I'm finished. But yes, a lot of this material is reused. The Price of Power by Michael Michel DETAILS: Series:
MUSIC MONDAY: “You Love to Sing” by Copeland - The Irresponsible Reader
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then. I don't know that I've ever really paid much attention to Copeland over the years, but they opened at a concert I attended a couple of weeks ago, where I heard this song for (almost
Miracles by C.S. Lewis: A Pleasant, If Not Particularly Helpful, Read - The Irresponsible Reader
Miracles: A Preliminary Study by C. S. Lewis DETAILS: Publisher: Collier Books Publication Date: 1960 Format: Mass Market Paperback Length: 168 pg. Read Date: March 2-9, 2025 ...the shock comes at the precise moment when the thrill of life is communicated to us along the clue we have been following. It is always shocking to
Saturday Miscellany—4/12/25 - The Irresponsible Reader
Odds 'n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You've probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case: National Library Week wraps up today (something I should've said something about earlier), so today is your last chance to take advantage of this. However, if you donate $15+ to a local
LITERARY LOCALS: The 3rd Annual Treasure Valley Book Fair (and tiny book haul) - The Irresponsible Reader
This past weekend, the Nampa Public Library hosted The 3rd Annual Treasure Valley Book Fair and, as is my habit, I wanted to take a minute or two to talk about it. Like last year, everyone was given a Passport with the names of every author present. If you got a stamp from every author,
WWW Wednesday—April 8, 2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
This is my third post for the week, should be my seventh or eighth. On the plus side, if you are seeing this, it means I stayed awake long enough to put it together yesterday :) This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of
MUSIC MONDAY: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Live At Montreux 1992) by Tori Amos - The Irresponsible Reader
Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then. A couple of weeks ago, this came up on shuffle in the car. Not only did I forget that I owned a copy of this song, but I'd forgotten that Amos had ever done a
REPOSTING JUST CUZ: You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World by Alan Noble: Correcting Our Understanding of Humanity - The Irresponsible Reader
This seemed like a fitting book after the last few weeks--I needed a reminder of the highlights of this book. You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World by Alan Noble DETAILS: Publisher: IVP Publication Date: October 11, 2021 Format: Kindle Edition Length: 232 pg. Read Date: May 29-June 12, 2022
(late, I know) Saturday Miscellany—4/5/25 (or Weekend Miscellany or Sunday Miscellany…) - The Irresponsible Reader
I spent the day at the Nampa Library's 3rd Annual Treasure Valley Book Fair and dealing with family stuff, so it's taken me a bit to get the time for this. Odds 'n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You've probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case: The
In Medias Res: The Price of Power by Michael Michel. A Powerful, Addicting Read - The Irresponsible Reader
As the title implies, I'm in the middle of this book (well, a little past middle), so this is not a review, just some thoughts along the way. The Price of Power by Michael Michel DETAILS: Series: Dreams of Dust and Steel, #1 Publisher: Chainbreaker Books Publication Date: April 2, 2025 Format: eARC Length: 498
SPOTLIGHT: The Price of Power by Michael Michel - The Irresponsible Reader
I'm excited to help Michael Michel spread the word about this week's publication of the first book in his Dreams of Dust and Steel series, The Price of Power. Fantasy reader friends and foes (assuming I have one or two) are going to want to get this right away and move it to the top