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WWW Wednesday—June 4, 2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
There's still a little Wednesday left... 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?
Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 standalone books I wished were series - The Irresponsible Reader
This week's topic is, "Top 5 standalone books I wished were series. This is the week for everyone who ever wished their standalone book had more books. Maybe even a long epilogue or novella after it. You know, a Mysteries or Thorn Manor style book. Or, even a Song of Fire and Ice style never-ending
MUSIC MONDAY: “Ok, But This Is The Last Time” by The Offspring - 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. sharing mostly for the (well-executed) novelty of a piano version of a song by this band.
Dark Neon & Dirt by Thomas Trang: Pressure’s High Just to Stay Alive ‘Cause the Heat is On - The Irresponsible Reader
Dark Neon & Dirt by Thomas Trang, DETAILS: Publisher: Shotgun Honey Books Publication Date: March 18, 2025 Format: eARC Length: 320 pg. Read Date: April 15-18, 2024 What's Dark Neon & Dirt About? I've tried 6 different versions of this, and have ended up saying something I regret each time. Let's see if I can
Saturday Miscellany—5/31/25 - The Irresponsible Reader
I didn't think this was going to be a very full list when I started to assemble this post. But, boy howdy, are there a lot of good things below. 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: N.J.’s Peter
20 Books of Summer 2025: Can I Make it Five in a Row? - The Irresponsible Reader
After Cathy of 746 Books retired from hosting this challenge after an impressive 10 years, I figured this was going away. But Emma of Words and Peace and Annabel from AnnaBookBel stepped up to carry the torch. You can read their kick-off post here. So, I'm back for my fifth year of participation in this
Opening Lines: Return to Sender by Craig Johnson - The Irresponsible Reader
We all know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover (yet, publishing companies spend big bucks on cover design/art and we all do judge them that way). But, the opening sentence(s)/paragraph(s) are fair game. So, when I stumble on a good opening (or remember one and pull it off the shelves), I
Opening Lines: The Lies of Locke Lamora - 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 opening for getting a
Cover Reveal: Banners of Wrath by Michael Michel - The Irresponsible Reader
I'm very pleased today to welcome the Cover Reveal for the third entry in Michael Michel's Dreams of Dust and Steel— series: Banners of Wrath to this patch o' cyberspace this morning! It'll be the third book in an expected five-book series and will be on sale in January 2026. Which is too far away
The Best of the Best from 12 Years of The Irresponsible Reader (12 YEARS?!?!?!?!?!?!) - The Irresponsible Reader
It was 12 years ago today that I first posted something to The Irresponsible Reader. That's one of those numbers that both doesn't large enough, and is entirely too large. I can't believe that I've stuck with it that long (I can't remember if I said this or not here, but I didn't tell my
WWW Wednesday—May 28, 2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
The end of May looms, and I'm behinder than ever. What a problem--too many good things to read. Here's what's going in my eyes and ears this week. 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.
Killer Conversations with Rex Stout and John McAleer: Ridiculously Fun (and insightful, too, if you’re into that sort of thing) - The Irresponsible Reader
Killer Conversations with Rex Stout, John McAleer DETAILS: Publisher: Andrew McAleer Publication Date: March 30, 2025 Format: eBook Length: 91 pgs. Read Date: May 21, 2025 How Does the Publisher Describe Killer Conversations? Rex Stout: Killer Conversations (formerly Royal Decree) is a must read for aficionados of detective fiction. Here Edgar winner John McAleer shares
Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Animal Companions (who are we kidding? Dogs) - The Irresponsible Reader
The topic for this week's Top Ten Tuesdays is Animal Companions. I'd started a pretty diverse list, including Hedwig the snowy owl and Beast from the Jane Yellowrock books, but then I started to list dogs—and, as frequent readers know, I quickly got carried away and I had to eliminate any non-canine entry. I had
Towel Day ’25 (observed): Scattered Thoughts about Reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy - The Irresponsible Reader
(updated and revised this 5/26/25) I've been trying for a few years now to come up with a tribute to Adams. This isn't quite what I had in mind, but it's a start. In my mind, this is a work in progress (a multiple-year project), but I'm posting it anyway. Next year's version will be
Towel Day ’25 (observed): Do You Know Where Your Towel Is? - The Irresponsible Reader
(updated and revised this 5/26/25) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels. A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound
Towel Day ’25 (observed): Some of my favorite Adams lines . . . - The Irresponsible Reader
(updated 5/26/25) There's a great temptation here for me to go crazy and use so many quotations that I'd get in copyright trouble. I'll refrain from that and just list some of his best lines . . .* * The fact that this list keeps expanding from year to year says something about my position
Kaua’i Storm by Tori Eldridge: A Thriller + So Much More - The Irresponsible Reader
Kaua'i Storm by Tori Eldridge DETAILS: Series: Ranger Makalani Pahukula Mystery, #1 Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Publication Date: May 20, 2025 Format: eARC Length: 445 pg. Read Date: May 9-13, 2025 What's Kaua'i Storm About? Makalani Pahukula, who has been serving Crater Lake in Oregon as a Park Ranger for years, comes home to Kaua‘i
Saturday Miscellany—5/24/25 - The Irresponsible Reader
Before I get into things today, I'm curious--does anyone have a good recommendation for a bookmark app? I use Pocket to store the ideas for this post (and some other things, too). It was announced it's going away recently, and I'm looking for a replacement. Odds 'n ends about books and reading that caught my
REPOSTING: Breaking Bread with the Dead by Alan Jacobs: Interacting with the Classics from a Contemporary Perspective in Order to Learn and Critique - The Irresponsible Reader
Earlier this year, I re-read three books by Alan Jacobs in what he styles as a trilogy of sorts (my paraphrase), with the intention of writing new, longer, posts about them all--or maybe one mega-post about all three. Neither of those happened, and I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen this year--as much as
REPOSTING: The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs - The Irresponsible Reader
Earlier this year, I re-read three books by Alan Jacobs in what he styles as a trilogy of sorts (my paraphrase), with the intention of writing new, longer, posts about them all--or maybe one mega-post about all three. Neither of those happened, and I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen this year--as much as
REPOSTING: How to Think by Alan Jacobs - The Irresponsible Reader
Earlier this year, I re-read three books by Alan Jacobs in what he styles as a trilogy of sorts (my paraphrase), with the intention of writing new, longer, posts about them all--or maybe one mega-post about all three. Neither of those happened, and I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen this year--as much as
Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag—2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
Yes, I realize that 2/3 of the second of 2025 is over, but better late than never, right? I started all this a month or so ago, and...whatever. Thanks to A Literary Escape for reminding me to do this (although that post went up on time). How many books have you read so far? At
WWW Wednesday—May 21, 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
Why Haven’t I Replied to Your Comment(s)?/Why Do I Take Days/Weeks to do So? - The Irresponsible Reader
That's a fantastic question--and one I ask myself often. Particularly on Wednesdays and Saturdays when I receive the most comments. The reasons are multi-faceted, but rooted in distraction. (actually, my daughter has been trying to convince me that I have some sort of undiagnosed Attention-Deficit Disorder, and there might be something to it) I thought
LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with Glen Gabel - The Irresponsible Reader
Glen Gabel drops by this series to class it up a bit (seriously, how often do people casually drop in Latin on the Irresponsible Reader? And the Bible in Latin? I'm pretty sure never. When I met Gabel at the Library's Book Faire--he didn't even mention his book (and I really should've asked him about
Book Blogger Hop: Your Favorite Re-Reads - The Irresponsible Reader
Book Blogger Hop This prompt was submitted by Nicole @ The Christian Fiction Girl: What are some of your favorite books to re-read? I really don't have--rather, don't make--much time to re-read anymore. This is one of the biggest complaints I have about my reading, honestly. It's also the thing I keep telling myself
Rift by Cait West: An Important and Moving Story, That Didn’t Completely Work for Me - The Irresponsible Reader
Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy by Cait West DETAILS: Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Publication Date: April 30, 2024 Format: Hardcover Length: 226 pg. Read Date: March 23-30, 2025 What's Rift About? A gripping memoir about coming of age in the stay-at-home daughter movement and the quest to piece together
Saturday Miscellany—5/17/25 - 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: Pay Attention! The invention of close reading. Extraterrestrial tongues: Imagining how aliens might communicate prepares us for first contact and illuminates the nature of our own languages Crime Novelist Don Winslow Unretires
Class Clown by Dave Barry: A Chuckle-Filled Peek Behind the Curtain - The Irresponsible Reader
Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up by Dave Barry, DETAILS: Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication Date: May 13, 2025 Format: eARC Length: 256 pg. Read Date: May 4-6, 2025 What's Class Clown About? It's really all there in the subtitle: it's Dave Barry's memoirs about
Hive by D. L. Orton: A Wild Time Travel Ride - The Irresponsible Reader
Hive by D. L. Orton DETAILS: Series: Madders of Time, Book One Publisher: Rocky Mountain Press Publication Date: May 6, 2025 Format: ARC Length: 350 pg. Read Date: May 8-9, 2025 What's Hive About? We open on a semi-functional (less so by the day) biodome some 30 years in the future (it's vague, but safe
BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Hive (Madders of Time #1) by D.L. Orton - The Irresponsible Reader
I'm very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Book One in D.L. Orton's Madders of Time series, Hive! If you take a look at the feed for https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours over the next week, you'll see what several other bloggers have had to say about it. My $.02 will be coming along
LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About Writing in Idaho with Ashley DeLeon - The Irresponsible Reader
I met Ashely at this year's Book Faire and really enjoyed our conversation, which will hopefully not be our last. I also really enjoyed the book she mentions below and hope to write about it soon (hopefully in conjunction with a conversation). Get to know her a little here and then search out her book
WWW Wednesday—May 14, 2025 - The Irresponsible Reader
I haven't quite read as much as I wanted to this week--and leaving my headphones at home Monday really hurt my audiobook progress--but at least I've gotten more sleep than I usually do (see also: the silence for the last couple of days). But, at least I've had a good time reading what I have
Saturday Miscellany—5/10/25 - The Irresponsible Reader
Another day of people-ing, so another late Saturday post. Hate to leave you all hanging in suspense. Actually, if anyone was in suspense, you really need to think about your priorities. But you know what I mean. Odds 'n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You've probably seen some/most/all of
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
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
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
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