The Irresponsible Reader - I Read (a lot) and then Rant, Rave and maybe Review

(updated and revised this 5/25/26)

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 better—or at least more complete.

Some time in 7th or 8th grade (I believe), I was at a friend’s house, and his brother let us try his copy of the text-based Hitchhiker’s Guide game, and we were no good at it at all. Really, it was embarrassing. However, his brother had a copy of the first novel, and we all figured that the novel held the keys we needed for success with the game (alas, it did not help us one whit). My friends all decided that I’d be the one to read the book and come back in a few days as an expert.

I fell in love with the book almost instantly, and I quickly forgot about the game. Adams’ irreverent style rocked my world—could people actually get away with saying some of these things? His skewed take on the world, his style, his humor…and a depressed robot, too! It was truly love at first read. As I recall, I started re-reading it as soon as I finished it—the only time in my life I’ve done that sort of thing.

Also, I finally understood that song, “Marvin, I Love You,” that I kept hearing on Dr. Demento.

It was one of those experiences that, looking back, I can say shaped my reading and thinking for the rest of my life (make of that what you will). Were my life the subject of a Doctor Who or Legends of Tomorrow episode, it’d be one of those immutable fixed points. I got my hands on the next three books as quickly as I could (the idea of a four-volume trilogy was one of the funniest ideas I’d encountered up to that point in my life), and devoured them. I do know that I didn’t understand all of the humor, several of the references shot past me at the speed of light, and I couldn’t appreciate everything that was being satirized. But what I did understand, I thought was brilliant. Not only did I find it funny, the series taught me about comedy—how to construct a joke, how to twist it in ways a reader wouldn’t always expect, and when not to twist but to go for the obviously funny idea. The trilogy also helped me to learn to see the absurdity in life.

One of the big lessons that HHGTTG taught me was something I didn’t realize for quite some time- I noticed and talked about it, but I didn’t really realize what was going on. Whether in the game, the novel, the TV show, or the radio show (my local library getting those tapes was a revelation)–Adams took several key scenes and put them in different order, almost completely intact (although with some different jokes sometimes). Each time he did that, it was to play to the strength of the various media. I learned later that he did this for a couple of other versions, and then the movie. When it comes to story–you can keep the big items and play with them to get them to serve your aim, without doing any real damage to the core of your story/point. Like I said, it took a while for me to get the vocabulary to describe that–or to spend any time thinking about it beyond, “hey, that’s cool how he did that.” It’s just one of those things that stuck deep in my mind.

Outside of one family member–HHGTTG was my first exposure to an atheist. I mean, I knew they existed–the way I knew Australia existed. I’d read about it in books, maybe seen it on a TV show or something (hey, I was a kid from a small town in Southern Idaho in the 80s). But here was a guy wearing that on his sleeve–but he made a joke about it. Well, a few. I didn’t threaten my young faith or rattle me, it was more of a “huh, so that’s what they’re like.” Nothing scary, just silly. I also have to say–again, sheltered kid from Idaho pre-Internet–that one of those jokes involved someone getting killed at a zebra crossing. It wasn’t until a few reads in that I started to wonder if that was actually a thing, and not another of his Adams’ jokes about a special road crossing for those particular animals. It was a learning experience for me in many ways.

Years later, when the final volume (by Adams) was released, I’d already cemented what I thought about the books from these frequent re-reads. I’m not sure that Mostly Harmless changed things much (except for making me think for the first time that maybe I didn’t want him to write more in this series). His non-Hitchhiker’s work illustrated that he was capable of making you see things in a new light–either with a smile or a sense of regret—even when he wasn’t writing the trilogy, even when he was writing non-fiction. It was never the setting or the genre—it was Adams.

But here on Towel Day—as with most of the time I talk about Adams (but I need to change that), it comes down to where I started—the Trilogy. I read the books (particularly the first) so many times that I can quote significant portions of them, and frequently do so without noticing that I’m doing that. I have (at this time) two literary-inspired tattoos, one of which is the planet logo* featured on the original US covers. In essence, I’m saying that Adams and the series that made him famous have had an outsized influence on my life and are probably my biggest enduring fandom. If carrying around a (massively useful) piece of cloth for a day in some small way honors his memory? Sure, I’m in.

So, Happy Towel Day, You Hoopy Froods.

* I didn’t know it at the time, but Adams didn’t like that guy. Whoops.

Towel Day ’26: Do You Know Where Your Towel Is?

By HCNewton

On May 25, 2026

In A-B, Authors, Calendar Items, Douglas Adams, Fiction, News/Misc., Science Fiction, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

(updated and revised this 5/25/26)

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 across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost”. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in “Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.” (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)

Towel Day, for the few who don’t know, is the annual celebration of Douglas Adams’ life and work. It was first held two weeks after his death, fans were to carry a towel with them for the day to use as a talking point to encourage those who have never read HHGTTG to do so, or to just converse with someone about Adams. Adams is one of that handful of authors that I can’t imagine I’d be the same without having encountered/read/re-read/re-re-re-re-read, and so I do my best to pay a little tribute to him each year, even if it’s just carrying around a towel. TowelDay.org is the best collection of resources on the day.

In commemoration of this date, here’s most of what I’ve written about Adams. I’ve struggled to come up with new material to share for Towel Day over the years, mostly sticking with updating and revising existing posts. And, this year is no exception. A few years back, I did a re-read of all of Adams’ (completed) fiction. For reasons beyond my ken (or recollection), I didn’t get around to blogging about the Dirk Gently books, but I did do the Hitchhiker’s Trilogy:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, The Universe and Everything
So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish
Mostly Harmless
I had a thing or two to say about the 40th Anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
I took a look at the 42nd Anniversary Illustrated Edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

I should also point to a posts I wrote about Douglas Adams’ London by Yvette Keller and 42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams edited by Kevin Jon Davies—both are great ways of filling out one’s understanding of Adams and his work. I have to mention the one book that Adams/Hitchhiker’s aficionado needs to read is Don’t Panic by Neil Gaiman, David K. Dickson and MJ Simpson.

If you’re more in the mood for a podcast, I’d suggest The Waterstones Podcast How We Made: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—I’ve listened to several podcast episodes about this book, and generally roll my eyes at them. But this is just fantastic. Were it available, I’d listen to a Peter Jackson-length version of the episode.

I’ve only been able to get one of my sons into Adams, he’s the taller, thinner one in the picture from a few several years ago.

I’m trying to pass this on to the next generation as well. Here’s his son, the Grand-critter, from 2 years ago:

You really need to check out this comic from Sheldon Comics—part of the Anatomy of Authors series: The Anatomy of Douglas Adams.

Lit in a Nutshell gives this quick explanation of The Hitchiiker’s Guide:

One of my favorite posts there is this pretty cool video, shot on the ISS by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

Even better—here’s an appearance by Douglas Adams himself from the old Letterman show—I’m so glad someone preserved this:

Love the anecdote (Also, I want this tie.)

Saturday Miscellany—5/23/26

By HCNewton

On May 23, 2026

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

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:
bullet Why the Canon Is Worth Conserving—R.V. Young makes a good case here. Maybe not convincing, but good to chew on.
bullet The Written Word Is Having A Rough Week—”Rough” is putting it mildly.
bullet Common Readers: BookTok’s critical values
bullet The most famous crime writer you’ve never heard of – prepare to be hooked—a heckuva piece on Peter Grainger. About time he got some attention.
bullet Waterstones livestreamed Brandon Sanderson in conversation with Joe Abercrombie—I haven’t watched yet, but I imagine it’s more than worth the time.
bullet Scalzi’s recent BlueSky post about AI sums up what a lot of us SF fans have been thinking. Just phrased better.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Authors on the Air Global Radio Network Jordan Harper discusses A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE—a great conversation about the book and more. Every exposure I have to this writer makes me like him more.

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
Having a teenage daughter is like Choose Your Own Adventure, a constant set of junctures in the road. She’s in a mood? How do you respond? Do you snap? Do you sympathize? I chose my go-to: ignore.—Go Gentle by Maria Semple

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet Burned by Benedict Jacka
bullet Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
bullet And I mentioned the releases of: The Highwayman. by Craig Johnson; Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? by Paul Cornell; This Damned Band also by Paul Cornell and Tony Parker; Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life by Steven Hyden; The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton; and My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Hawai’i Rage by Tori Eldridge—”A suspicious death on a Kohala Mountain ranch draws ranger Makalani Pahukula into a tangled family tree.” It’ll be a minute before I can dive into this, but I’m looking forward to seeing how this builds on Kaua’i Storm
bullet True Romance: A Noir Anthology editby by Troy Lambert & Vincent Zandri—the author list alone is enough to get me to shell out a couple of bucks. In this anthology, “passion isn’t red roses and candlelight. Instead, it’s obsession, betrayal, revenge, and the kind of desire that leaves bodies in its wake…From quiet suburban rot to organized crime empires, from calculated seduction to explosive violence, these stories explore the dangerous intersection where love and darkness meet. Because in noir, love isn’t salvation. It’s motiv”
bullet It’s Hard to Be an Animal by Robert Isaacs—”a funny, magical, and tender novel following a lonely, conflict-averse man whose sudden ability to understand animals sends him on a wild romp around NYC, and ultimately helps him discover his own voice. “
bullet Ironwood by Michael Connelly—the sequel to Nightshade (which I need to read soon) brings Detective Sergent Stilwell into contact with Renée Ballard and a violent drug deal.

Highlights from April: Lines Worth Repeating

By HCNewton

On May 22, 2026

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations

Highlights from the Month

Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz

Even secrets told at a whisper grow wings.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

“You can’t go home.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. Because it’s gone.” Aminata frowned, finished her drink, and nodded, “You can’t find it again. Even if you go back, it’s not there anymore. That’s history, that’s how it works! Someone’s always changing someone else.”

The terror that took Baru came from the deepest part of her soul. it was a terror particular to her, a fundamental concern—the apocalyptic possibility that the world simply did not permit plans, that it worked in chaotic and unmasterable ways, that one single stroke of fortune, one well-aimed bowshot by a man she had never met, could bring total disaster. The fear that the basic logic she used to negotiate the world was a lie.

Soul Fraud by Andrew Givler

…the entire building burst into flames. It was not a gradual combustion. One second, the building was a normal not-on-fire warehouse. Then it was all fire, as if it were the head of a match that had been struck.

Cooking has always seemed so magical to me. Two things can be made from the same five basic ingredients yet taste wildly different. It may only have been a day since I learned magic was real, but part of me always thought cooks were secretly wizards.

When you’re a kid, your mother tells you not to let your friends peer-pressure you into drinking, doing drugs, and other stuff. But she never covered what do if an acquaintance offered to help you summon a demon. Or at least mine didn’t. She completely skipped that chapter.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I gasped as I was pulled from sleep’s dark, peaceful embrace. The process of waking up is a surprisingly accurate measure of how close your life is to rock bottom. For some people, the ones with everything clicking exactly as it should be, waking up is the worst thing that happens to them in a day. Because sleep is amazing. It’s mornings that are evil. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, fat or Mr. Universe. Sleep is the lesser equalizer after death. We all get to enjoy it, and it eventually finds us all. Waking up is a shared pain for all of us. Even those freakish morning people.

“What is it you mortals say? Ah, yes, time flies when you’re having fun,” he said with a twitch of his lips. “I’ve always liked that mental picture, time flying, when obviously it actually swims.”

Guns of Brixton by Paul D. Brazill

‘How is he?” said Kenneth to the fresh faced young policeman who’d been sat outside Bernie’s private room reading the Guardian.

‘Well, he’s been in and out of consciousness for most of the day. It was touch and go at one time,’ said the uniformed plod, ‘and he’s not out of the woods yet.’

He’ll go far with that degree in clichés, thought Kenneth. Officer material, no doubt about it.

Frog and Toad are Doing Their Best by Jennie Egerdie, illustrated by Ellie Hajdu

“Friends do not let friends dress like internet trolls,”

“Toad,” said Frog, “the older I get, the less I understand time.”

“Time means nothing,” said Toad. “Time is just the thing that happens between snacks.”

Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Júlia Sardà

Like all of the best stories, this takes place in Idaho.

While Annie was gallivanting about Europe—which is what you do in Europe, by the way, you gallivant; it is a kind of traipsing—Henry was determined to build his new wife a lavish new house.

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

Getting back into reading feels like stepping back into the house of a beloved friend she hasn’t seen in a long time. It feels like coming home.

Tilly wasn’t sure she was expecting the trip to be fun. She was going because Joe had asked her to and it turnsed out that it’s very difficult to say no to the dead love of your life.

The right book in the hands of the right person at exactly the right moment can change their life forever.

Book shops aren’t just book shops, they’re places fo rbook lovers to come together, like-minded souls meeting among the stacks. They’re the hubs of community, the arena for heated conversations about the latest must-read series. They’re safe spaces to step in out of the rain, no matter who you are. They need our support now more than ever.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

The problem with sending messages was that people responded to them, which meant one had to write more messages in reply.

She hadn’t lied once. And yet they were trusting her.

Poetry is for the desperate, and for people who have grown old enough to have something to say.

Grown old enough, or lived through enough incomprehensible experiences.

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

There is always more after the ending. Always the next morning, and the next. Always changes, losses and gains. Always one step after the other. Until the one true ending that none of us can escape. But even that ending is only a small one, larges as it looms for us. There is still the next morning for everyone else. For the vast majority of the rest of the universe that ending might as well not ever have happened. Every ending is an arbitrary one. Everything ending is from another angle, not really an ending.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

I lost my notes to this, so started flipping through the book to find things to include…and realized that I was going to be flipping for hours if I didn’t stop. So, I’ll just go with these samples:

Smart cookie. I am smart, but I am not a snack object dispensed from a packaged food machine. What a preposterous thing to say.

Some trees aren’t meant to sprout tender new branches, but to stand stoically on the forest floor, silently decaying.

There is one topic of conversation humans never exhaust, it is the status of their outdoor environment. And for as much as they discuss it, their incredulity is . . . well, incredible. That preposterous phrase: Can you believe this weather we’re having? How many times have I heard it? One thousand, nine hundred and ten, to be exact. One and a half times a day, on average. Tell me again about the intelligence of humans. They cannot even manage to comprehend predictable meteorological events.

(Image by DaModernDaVinci from Pixabay)

Opening Lines: Go Gentle by Maria Semple

By HCNewton

On May 21, 2026

In Blog Series, Currently Reading, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

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 reader to commit.

I slid the fried egg—extra crispy, embedded with cracked pink I peppercorns—onto a nest of baby arugula centered atop a slice of toasted sourdough. I sharpened my paring knife with a few satisfying slashes and sliced four cornichons thin enough for light to pass through. Those I placed across the warm egg, chevron-style. I capped it all off with a second piece of toast, this one thick with lemon aioli.

Or: I made a fried egg sandwich.

But how you do anything is how you do everything, and one might say my life’s work has been chasing the Platonic ideal.

from Go Gentle by Maria Semple

Opening Lines Logo

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell: Her Course of Love Sure Didn’t Run Smoothly

By HCNewton

On May 20, 2026

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Rainbow Rowel

Cherry Baby

by Rainbow Rowell

DETAILS:
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: April 14, 2026
Format: Hardcover
Length: 406 pg.
Read Date: April 30-May 1, 2026

The tears on Cherry’s cheeks were fat.

In the months after Tom left—and the months after it became clear that he wasn’t coming home—Cherry’s tears had changed.

There were days when her eyes felt so full, the tears ran in rivulets. She’d swear that crying had never felt that way before—that before, she’d cried drops, and now, she cried streams. There must be some science to it, one sort of crying for transient pains and another sort for crippling grief.

What’s Cherry Baby About?

Cherry is a pretty successful marketer in Omaha; her husband was in advertising and did a little webcomic in his spare time. It was semi-autobiographical and had almost no followers. At some point, around the time that they started to see each other, a new character, “Baby” enters the cast (unbeknownst to her). Sometime after that, Tom’s comic caught fire. It was published in book form—and optioned as a film.

Now Tom is in L.A. working on the movie, and Cherry—along with his dog—are still in Omaha. Cherry and Tom are getting a divorce. And Cherry isn’t taking it well.

She’s in full-grieving mode. A few months in, she treats herself. Tom hated concerts, she’s always loved them, and one of her all-time favorite bands will be doing a show in town. So she goes, anticipating a pick-me-up. While there, Cherry runs into Russ—a friend from college. Russ isn’t “the one who got away.” But he is the big “what if” question in her life.

Apparently, the feeling was mutual. Even better, Russ hasn’t read Tom’s comic and knows nothing about it. He’s probably the only person in Omaha who doesn’t connect Cherry and Baby (even her family equates them, which Cherry hates). What could be better?

A solid meet-again-cute. A woman in need of a fresh start. A guy who is almost perfect. What could be better?

Fat Girl Life

A fat girl can’t wait for boys to pluck her like a flower or find her on the beach like a seashell.

Cherry had never been Cinderella. She’d always been the prince chasing down what she wanted. (She’d been a witch, enchanting apples.) She’d had to reach for things. For love. For attention.

Cherry has had nothing but Fat Girl Summers her whole life. And the other three seasons, too. She’s fat—she tells us this from the outset. Her mother and her sisters are, too. It’s not due to laziness, overeating (not that any of them are shy about eating, however), lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyles, or whatever. It’s a genetic thing; their family is just fat. And they’re all okay with it.

Well, they’re more than okay with it. Not quite proud of it, but unashamed is the better word.

And the fastest way to get on Cherry’s bad side is to imply there’s something wrong with it. She’s pretty (possibly more than pretty, it’s hard to judge from the way it’s presented), charming, fun, caring, and fat. In her eyes, she’s the whole package.

And it’s really hard to argue with her (if you wanted to).

This, obviously, has shaped her life—it’s not easy for Fat Girls/Women/Boys/Men in the U.S. She accepts it, realizes how it molded her personality and expectations—but thanks to her mothers and sisters, she’s been able to gain the level of confidence that she can get through it. Not unscathed, but whole.

The Proverbial Door is Ajar

Granted, it’s been a while since I read Rowell—but this is a bit, ahem, spicier than I appreciate. Definitely more than I’m used to with her. The door does close—eventually—on the sex scenes, but it stays open a lot longer than I think it needed to (or opens earlier than it needs to).

But that’s a matter of taste, I realize. And I’m not trying to put down Rowell here, I think I get why she made the decisions she did in this regard. But I’m not suggesting this book to my mother, sister, or daughter (but I wouldn’t discourage their reading it, either).

Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?

I picked this up because I really enjoy Rowell’s writing (well, I couldn’t make myself pay attention to the fan fiction bits of Fangirl, so I didn’t read the spin-offs, but otherwise…), and I was glad to get a chance to read her again.

I stuck with it because I really liked Cherry and got invested in her life. Also, Rowell’s voice and tone is just so comfortable, there’s no reason to think about stopping.

I’m sure there’s a better way to put it—but comfortable is better than cozy, which I keep using. There’s a warmth, a humanity, and a little bit of humor—and so much heart. You just want to keep reading, no matter what’s happening (or isn’t happening.)

What does this book tell us about humanity?

I think this book has a lot to say about the need to love and the need to be loved—as you are and as the object of your love is. Not as you want them to be, not as they were, but as they are (although as they were does play a role)—and the same for you. Loved as you are, for who you are.

Not just romantic love, either. There’s friend love and family love, too. The book focuses on romantic love, but family love comes in second.

The depictions aren’t always pretty—in fact, in this book, many of them are messy and nasty, with a great sense of “it shouldn’t be like that.”

So, what did I think about Cherry Baby?

Cherry had trusted Tom. She’d taken him for granted—she’d thought that she was supposed to. She’d believed they were a settled question.

Cherry’s family is a nice, vaguely Lutheran, group who want four things for Cherry: 1. to be happy; 2. to get back together with Tom; 3. failing that, to start dating this nice man from their church; and 4. to come back to church (there’s a not-at-all-subtle link between 3 and 4). They’re a loving, close family, but really don’t get what makes Cherry tick. Still, their interactions—in person or in group chats is one of the many, many highlights of the book.

Stevie, Tom’s dog, is another one. She’s a Newfoundland-Great Pyrenees mix, and the cause of a huge increase in lint/hair rollers in Cherry’s budget. She was more dog than Cherry was ready for when Tom got her. And then when he left, the two only had each other. And a great bond was made. Stevie’s chaotic energy is wonderful. And one scene (spoiler: the dog lives) with the two of them toward the end of the book, just about broke me.

The rest of the book is just great. Once we meet Tom (in the book’s present), you understand why Cherry loves him—and why it’s so hard for her to be going through this period. When we see him at the beginning of their relationship, you have a hard time believing they’d go wrong. The romance with Russ could be just the thing to keep her afloat in this dark period in her life—and you can see it working.

But like that one guy said, the course of love never did run smooth. And some roads are bumpier than others. With sharp drop-offs to either side. And maybe some snow.

Still, Cherry’s the kind of person you want to watch navigate that course—so you can root for her, cheer for her, and maybe weep with her.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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WWW Wednesday—May 20, 2026

By HCNewton

On May 20, 2026

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

After an annoying run of having to return library books before I can read them, I’m 3 for 3 this month (well, 2.2 at the moment, but it’ll be 3 in a day or two). That’s a relief–also, they’ve all been worth prioritizing. My wallet also appreciates that.

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 a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?


The Photonic Effect by Mike Chen	The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love edited by Alice Hoffman	The Final Vow by M.W. Craven, John Banks

The Photonic Effect starts out as Chen’s SF-iest book yet.

It’d be really nice if more of the essays about the love of/from a dog weren’t eulogies. Surely these people can talk about fantastic living dogs, right? (still, it’s such a good one)

Still early into revisting The Final Vow, but we’re just at the point where things are starting to pick up.

What did you recently finish reading?


Go Gentle by Maria Semple	The Arkadians by Lloyd Alexander, read by Words Take Wing Repertory Co

Go Gentle wasn’t as good as Where’d You Go, Bernadette (few things are), but it was much better than Today Will Be Different. So I’m calling that a win. I truly spent most of the novel trying to figure out where Semple was going next–and I was always, always wrong. Her choices were far better than I could’ve guessed.

The Arkadians wasn’t Alexander at his best, but it was plenty of fun.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Robert B. Parker’s Booked by Alison Gaylin	Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell, read by Ann Marie Gideon

It’s time to check-in on Sunny Randall.

I’m not really sure what Cultish is beyond the subtitle, but Mrs. Irresponsible Reader just finished it and told me I’d probably really appreciate it.

Okay, that’s my list–what do you have?

Cover Reveal: Whispers of the Storm and Rising Gale by Z.B. Steele

By HCNewton

On May 19, 2026

In Fantasy, Fiction

I’m very pleased today to pitch in with the Cover Reveal for the new covers of Z.B. Steele’s upcoming Rising Gales and its predecessor, Whispers of the Storm. Steele’s book has received love for multiple years in my Spreading the Self-Pub Love series. And these covers are going to help get more people to pick them up and become fans. These covers are eye-grabbers.

Before we get to the reveals, let’s learn a bit more about the books and the author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment.

About the Books:

Whispers of the Storm

CREDLIN OF THE WOLVES
VANGUARD, LEGEND, ASSASSIN, REAPER

Listen to my story:

I wasn’t always the monster they see me as. Half of the songs they sing are stories of my grandeur. The other half are tales of my misdeeds.

The sad truth is that they’re all true.

So, listen to my tale and learn why it all happened. Learn the reason for the war, the reason for all the death.

Listen to my tale and listen well. I won’t be alive long enough to tell it again.

If you’re buying an e-Book, the cover will update sometime today–and the physical copies will switch soon. So if you want to get a classic, collector’s edition of the original cover–buy now!

Rising Gale

My execution draws near…

The noose beckons. My days dwindle. And still, my story is unfinished.

Tears are left to be shed. Blood has yet to be spilled. Lend me your ear once more to hear of sins and failures. Of swords and shadows. Of violet lightning and black blood.

For it was I who began the war of the gods.

Releases on June 16.

About the Author

Z.B. Steele, a Peachtree City, GA, native, now lives in the Birmingham area with his wife, Gabrielle, and their daughter. When not writing or reading, he can be found drinking, crying, staring into the abyss, or some combination of the three.

Steele loves hip-hop, grunge, RPGs, movies, and anime. He’s “willing to argue, any time, anywhere.”

and now…

The Covers

Click on these to embiggen–you’re going to want to see them.

Kudos to these fine folk for their work on this eye-grabber:
Artist: Jeff Brown
Interior formatting for physicals: Abel Montero

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MUSIC MONDAY: “What A Feeling” by Jesse Butterworth (feat. Czech Symphony Orchestra)

By HCNewton

On May 18, 2026

In News/Misc.

The Irresponsible Reader's Music Monday logo

Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.

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Fantasy with Friends: What Makes a Good Fairy Tale Retelling?

By HCNewton

On May 18, 2026

In Books, Fantasy with Friends, News/Misc.

Fantasy with Friends is a weekly meme hosted by the good people over at Pages Unbound. Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works.

This week’s prompt is:

Do you like reading fairy tale retellings? What, in your opinion, makes a good retelling?

I don’t know that I have a real passion for fairy tale retellings, but more often than not, I enjoy them when I run into them.

I break them into two varieties–straight retellings. I’ve only got one example that comes to mind–Hansel and Gretel by Stephen King and Maurice Sendak (which I didn’t write about, which bothers me, I liked what I thought I wrote). There’s an emphasis here or there that the author brings to mind, or a certain amount of their own style, while retaining a Straight Outta Grim feel. I’ve read others like it, but they’re not coming to mind.

The other type is a reinvention–tweaking the setting, updating, gender-flipping, setting them in the future or whatever. With those…the necessities are that you retain enough of the original that it’s recognizable, but the author throws more than their emphasis or style. But then, you throw it into the future with cyborgs, like Marissa Meyer. Or make Cinderella a secret agent along with some of the other princesses after their “happily ever after”s, like Jim C. Hines did. Or, you take all the Prince Charmings (who really aren’t that impressive when it comes down to it) and throw them into an effort to save all their kingdoms from a common foe. Or–last example–you play with the Fairy Tale tropes and the power of narrative, throw in some guns and crime, like Seanan McGuire did in her Indexing series. I’m waiting to see how M.K. Felix goes beyond her Robin Hood/Snow White mashup before I try to summarize–but I’m eager to see what she does. But the basic elements need to be there–Red Riding Hood should wear red–it’d be great if there was a hood–some sort of wolf-figure and a grandmother; from there, the author can do what they want, as long as it’s interesting.

Or you take a couple of elements/characters and throw them into some larger work–like when the Gruffs show up in the Dresden Files (and Harry can only wish they were billy goats), or Snow White shows up as one of Toby Daye’s most dangerous foes. That works pretty well, too.

I’m really looking forward to some of the other posts in response to this prompt, I ended up not having as much time as I intended to write this and am looking forward to some thoughtful posts.

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