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

WWW Wednesday—September 23, 2026

On September 23, 2026

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


Dawn by Octavia E. Butler	Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI by Karen Hao	I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends by Jessica Tarlov

Oh, my…Dawn is so good. I’m less than 50 pages from the end, and I have so many conflicting thoughts about the characters and events. These aliens are…freakishly alien. I’m going to be chewing on this for a long time.

Hao’s book is hard to grapple with–the amounts of money, computer power, and corporate moves are hard to take in. And the ethics behind everything? Boy howdy…

Tarlov’s book is okay. It’s what I should’ve expected, but not really what I was hoping it would be. I’ll explain more when I’m finished.

What did you recently finish reading?


A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire	Dragonfired by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale Jr.

I was hoping to have a post about A Divided Duty up today, but I needed more energy before tackling it. Short version: I loved it.

Dragonfried was hilarious and moving, when it wasn’t barely interesting. I’ll try to explain more on that soon–but that’s basically how I’ve reacted to all three books in Pike’s series.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick	The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon, read by Jennifer Jill Araya

I’m trying to purge my mind of every memory of Ridley Scott’s film (which is difficult)–or at least to shove them into a corner where I can ignore them, before I jump into this book.

I know I said Dixon’s novel was going to be my next one last week–but I wanted a quick Non-Fiction hit after some longer Fantasy audiobooks. I’ll dive in tomorrow.

What books are on your nightstand/side table/desk now?

Pupposites Attract 2 by Hono Natsuna, Matt Trayvaud (translator): The Slow Burn Decelerates

By HCNewton

On September 23, 2026

In Comics, Dogs, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Pupposites Attract 1

by Hono Natsuna, Matt Trayvaud (Translator)

DETAILS:
Series: Pupposites Attract, #2
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Format: Paperback
Length: 160 pg.
Read Date: September 19, 2026

What’s Pupposites Attract 2 About?

This continues the story about the beginning of a relationship—two really. Boy walking dog meets girl walking dog. Kiyotaka’s a big guy, a little on the shy side—his dog Monjuro is a little Pomeranian who is nothing but adorable fluffiness and outgoing energy. Chiharu’s a bold extrovert and her Rottweiler, Tsubu, is a gentle giant (who may tend toward a nervousness that feels out of place for such a big guy).

A few chance encounters mark the beginning of a friendship between the two humans—and between the two dogs. The dogs seem to know before the humans do that there’s more going on between them than friendship—or at least that there should be. The relationship hasn’t budged a bit since the first volume, but they’re still cute together. Kiyotaka gets the idea for something they can do together that doesn’t involve almost-chance encounters, and spends some time working up the nerve for it.

Also, his brother and Monjuro may have made a connection on their own with an attractive young lady. The lesson of this series is get off the apps and devote yourself to a yappy Pomeranian.

We also get Monjuro’s backstory.

Translator’s Notes

As with the last volume, following the story, we get some character design sheets and a few pages of translator’s notes which talk about some of the cultural background, explain the dog names (although the story itself does a pretty decent job of that), and things of that nature. Most of the translator’s notes didn’t help me too much—but those that did were great. (and I expect other readers will have the opposite reaction to me) Regardless, it’s a nice tough for people who may not be all that familiar—or familiar at all—with manga.

Like me.

I really appreciate these notes.

A Little Word About the Art

It was good—nothing that blew me away, but I enjoyed it.

The dogs were drawn perfectly—they’re so adorable that you want to take them home—or at least roll around on the ground and play with them regularly.

Hono Natsuna nailed depicting the emotions, both human and canine. Again, there were many scenes where the text really wasn’t needed to tell the story in addition to the art.

So, what did I think about Pupposites Attract 2?

You could tell from the first book that this romance (assuming that’s what it is) would be a slow burn. But, wow, I didn’t expect it to be this slow. They almost seemed to be marching in place rather than advancing for all but a couple of pages. (I don’t know how a good fire metaphor to use there, or I would’ve). Still, watching these two shy folks try to connect is fun.

I would complain about some of the flashbacks. There’s really one important story told in the past, but the jumps back and forth in time didn’t make sense. If it had gone present-past-present, that’d be one thing. Instead, we get present-half of the past-present-the other half of the past-present. The jump to the present didn’t help out the next bit of the past, and it really threw me out of things when we took that second trip backward.

I would’ve liked a little more forward progress–and more of the potential second romance arc (although it looks like #3 could have that). But that’s not the story that Hono Natsuna is telling. This calls for patience–thankfully, treading water with these four is entertaining enough that it doesn’t bother me too much.

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.
Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

Hobbit Day Repost: The Hobbit (Audiobook) by J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator): Serkis (Naturally) Knocks It Out of the Park with this Audiobook

By HCNewton

On September 22, 2026

In Audiobook, Fantasy, Fiction

It’s Hobbit Day–and I fell asleep a three or so hours early last night–so why not revisit this post about the Serkis version of the audiobook?

The Hobbit, or
There and Back Again

by J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Recorded Books
Publication Date: September 20, 2020
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length:10 hrs., 25 min.
Read Date: January 18-22, 2022

What’s The Hobbit About?

I suppose it’s theoretically possible that in 2022 someone will be reading a book blog and not know the basics of this, right?

So a Hobbit (Bilbo Baggins) is recruited (quite presumptuously) by the wizard Gandalf to join a band of thirteen dwarves on their odyssey to sneak back into their territory which had been taken over by the dragon, Smaug. Their goal is to steal back the treasure (particularly an heirloom of the king’s family, the Arkenstone). There’s really no reason to think that Bilbo, who hates the idea of adventure and just wants to stay in his comfortable home all day (like 99.9997% of Hobbits) will make a capable burglar. But Gandalf insists on it, overrules the objections of the dwarves, and tricks Bilbo into accepting the role.

Along the way, they have various adventures—in addition to some nasty geographical features, they meet goblins, giants, trolls, freakishly huge talking spiders, a ware-bear, elves, and several others. Some of those are allies, many are not. Eventually, they reach the Lonely Mountain, face off against the dragon, find themselves in the middle of The Battle of Five Armies, and then (as the title implies) Bilbo goes back home.

The Narration

I saw that Serkis recorded this and almost jumped immediately—but I made myself hold off until he did the follow-up trilogy. Well, that happened last fall, so after I wrapped up my Alex Verus re-listen, I moved on to this series. What a delicious listen!

Serkis does a great job bringing individual characters to life—and keeping them individual. A couple of times I wondered if he was doing a McKellen impression with Gandalf, but I talked myself out of it—ditto for the other characters. I thought his Smaug was excellent, too.

The moment that [name redacted out of habit, can’t imagine I’m spoiling anything] turns on Bilbo was so well done that I felt something like surprise while I was waiting for it.

But the big question for me going in was how was he going to approach Gollum. Would he be prevented from duplicating the voice/characterization from the films in this format, because it wasn’t owned by some film company or something? Or was Serkis just sick and tired of doing it and wanted to try another approach? Nope and nope. His audiobook Gollum sounded just like the movie Gollum and I could’ve listened to that section of the book on a loop for few times through. I just loved it. It almost didn’t matter what he did the rest of the time.

I typically listen to audiobooks at more than 1.0x speed—it varies from book to book, narrator to narrator, genre to genre—what speed I use. Frequently, too, I’ll start at something like 1.2 and then work my way up as I get used to a narrator/book. Not with this one—I wanted to soak in the performance. I don’t think I made it more than a paragraph or two before I slowed to 1.0 and kept it there the whole time, I just really got into his performance (I’m not sure that I’ll do that for LoTR, those are some long reads).

Oof, I really should’ve thought of this before starting the book…

If you’re reading, it’s easy to skip and/or skim through the songs. If you’re listening to an audiobook—unless you want to stop everything you’re doing to focus on fast-forwarding just enough, you’re stuck listening to them all.

Call me a Philistine if you will, but I just can’t do the songs. And I consistently forget how many of them there are in this book. I tried, I really tried to pay attention, but I couldn’t. I do think Serkis did a decent job carrying a tune with them. I’d love a Behind the Scenes look at how they decided on a tune for him to use.

So, what did I think about The Hobbit Audiobook?

I’m not the Tolkein-fanboy that I (and many acquaintances) would’ve assumed I am. This is only my third (complete) time through the book—I tried a handful of times in grade school, but couldn’t make it through. I got some encouragement from a big fan in college to push through it so I could get to The Lord of the Rings, but didn’t get around to it until the year before Jackson’s LotR was released. I really enjoyed it then, and my appreciation grows in the re-reads. Serkis’ work here moved that up a lot, too.

It’s just a fantastic audiobook—any problems stem from the original text, not Serkis’s performance—if anything he helped the text (not that it needed much). I can’t wait to see what he does with LoTR, those books demand a bit more, and I’m confident he’ll live up to expectations, now I just want to hear it for myself.

If you’re at all curious about this, you should give it a shot—you’ll be glad you did. If you have no curiosity about this—are you sure? Should you reconsider your position? This’d be a great way on family vacations or something to introduce younger readers to the series, I’d think.

5 Stars

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, opinions are my own.

MUSIC MONDAY: “At The End Of The Day” by Orla Gartland

By HCNewton

On September 21, 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.

Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing by Marshall J. Moore: A Saint’s Heart Looks Much the Same as a Sinner’s

By HCNewton

On September 21, 2026

In Fantasy, Fiction

The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing

by Marshall J. Moore

DETAILS:
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: September 22, 2026
Format: eARC
Length: 384 pg.
Read Date: September 10-11, 2026

What’s The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing About?

Okay, this is going to sound familiar—using body parts and organs from several corpses and some galvanic energy generated by a lightning bolt, a Doctor and his assistant, Igor, are trying to create life. Until, of course, they’re interrupted by the locals carrying torches and pitchforks (and likely some other improvised weaponry), driving them away from their laboratory.

Igor helps the Doctor* to escape, and they head to a new town to start their work anew. This isn’t the first (or fourth) time, and Igor expects that it won’t be the last.

This time, they settle into a seemingly abandoned castle. The Doctor claims to have some family connection to it, so they’re not quite squatting as they usually do. Igor hopes that’ll keep the torches and pitchforks away a little longer than usual. The Doctor gets to his work, and Igor to his—there’s a cemetery that needs plundering.

It turns out that the castle isn’t abandoned. A relative of the Doctor’s (if you go climbing the family tree far enough) has moved back into his home. Sure, as he technically died years ago, he’d have a hard time proving ownership. He and his wife are vampires. A witch and her feline familiar also want to use the castle for their work. The Count, the Doctor, and the Witch are on the verge of tearing each other to shreds when Igor talks them into cohabiting. The castle’s big enough for all of them, after all. Maybe they could even help each other. The Count’s wife, Cordelia, the familiar, Grimalkin, and Igor are treated rather shabbily by the others in their pairings. It doesn’t take them long to recognize that in each other, to befriend one another, and to try to help each other.

It’s a short trip from people seeing your worth and appreciating you to you yourself starting to see it—and demanding it be recognized. And well…things move on from there.

* No last name given. Count it a mystery.

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

Sadly, I don’t remember what made it click for me when I got the invitation to “Read Now” from NetGalley—but it struck the right chord in me a couple of months back, and here we are.

The first third (+/- a couple of percentage points) really didn’t do much for me. Everything was entertaining and amusing—I was ready to keep going, but I wasn’t that invested. Then something around that point clicked, and I was laughing and caring about the characters. I won’t say it swept me off my feet—but it did something close to it. I was utterly into the rest of the book—even bits I could guess or seemed paint-by-numbers, Moore’s execution was good enough that I just couldn’t care.

It’s likely that the first third would’ve landed better on another day, too. I could’ve been having an off day. I’m just saying, if you’re not sold immediately—stick around. Grim, Cordelia, and/or Igor will get to you.

What are some of the big themes of the novel?

I could toss out three as primary—which seems difficult to pull off—and at least one other as a good secondary.

The three friends don’t have a lot of practice in having friends—the one with experience has fallen out of practice for a few centuries. But they take to it easily and without noticing (at first). It’s charming, it’s sweet, and it’s entirely relatable—Igor doesn’t know how to be a friend, how to think like a friend—but he just does things that you do for friends (and then realizes it later). As the friendships grow, so do the characters—in confidence, in caring, in bravery, in willingness for self-sacrifice.

The other very prevalent theme is the idea of self-respect—and in these pages, it grows out of friendship. Igor essentially thinks, “Cordelia and Grim seem to see that I have some worth, maybe I make the Doctor show me some respect.” (and the others take similar stands). I’m not going to say how that goes for any of them, but it’s heartwarming to see. Igors and familiars are not usually treated with a whole lot of decency or respect—they’re around to do their master’s bidding, and that’s about all that anyone thinks of them. But Moore helps us to see them as people (or, in Grim’s case, a person worth paying attention to).

The possibility and tendency of anyone—regardless of appearance, profession, or background—to do good or evil (or a mix) comes from the individual, not appearance, profession, or background. This isn’t necessarily the most prominent theme—but when it crops up it sort of takes over and the rest kind of fall by the wayside. If I had to take a stand, I’d say that this is the heart of the book, though.

Despite what the title suggests, anything about the power of collective bargaining, the value of work, solidarity of the employees comes in far behind the rest—and honestly, for very few pages. It’s there—but you have to be patient. It’s a good title, though.

So, what did I think about The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing?

Like I said above, this novel came close to sweeping me off of my feet. I thoroughly enjoyed this ride (at least most of it). It has the feel of a cozy—but there’s some actual action and some grave robbing and corpse robbing that probably puts it out of the genre (plus other things that come up later). When trying to get this post done (it took me two more writing sessions than I expected to come up with something I liked), it occurred to me that this is a very Ted Lasso-esque novel.

It’s about a small team (of three—up to 7, depending on how you want to count it) sticking by each other, trusting each other, and using that trust to achieve something bigger than themselves. It’s about being curious (ya’ll know the rest). It’s about wearing your heart on your sleeve and going for what you want to go for.

It’s incredibly earnest and heartfelt. It’s also funny—it has a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, and some just chuckle- or grin-inducing moments. The threats of violence are real—either person-to-person, otherworldly-to-Earth, or crowd of visitors to small-group. And I’m not going to say how many of those threats get carried out, but there’s real danger and no promises of anyone making it.

There’s also another character that comes along partway through the book that is just cute. I’d love to go on about that character, but I’m afraid of what undead creature Moore would send after me for ruining things for you.

I really enjoyed this novel and think you will, t0o—it’s just the thing to set the stage for a spooky October (if that’s your kind of thing). Give it a shot.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Ballantine via NetGalley—my thanks to both for this. This post contains my honest opinion about a book I chose to read.

Saturday Miscellany—9/19/26

By HCNewton

On September 19, 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 Every Novel Is Boring—Until It Isn’t—Really liked this essay
bullet Brandon Sanderson Defends George R.R. Martin, Wouldn’t Finish ASOIAF
bullet Misunderstanding the Genius of Jules Verne — And Why It Matters to Science Fiction
bullet AnnaBookBel comes of age!—Anabel hits a great milestone!
bullet ScifiMonth 2026—is coming in November—check out the announcement posts from There’s Always Room for One More, Dear Geek Place, A Dance with Books, and Bookforager—and be sure to stop by for the fun in a month and a half

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Fiction Fans Bonus Author Interview: Fool by K.R. Lockhaven—a nice chat with Lockhaven about his new book

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“It doesn’t even matter what the General says in his speeches. Those who have abandoned their own truths just stop thinking altogether. They sink into a childlike delusion that some great general oozing with confidence will solve everything for them. There’s nothing more comfortable than dozing off without a care in the world in the back seat of a car being driven by your father. They don’t even consider that there will come a time when they’ll have to take the wheel themselves. Many adults, no matter how old they get, remain children at heart.”—The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Audiobook) by Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle
bullet Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope by Berkeley Breathed
bullet The Corruption of Chastity by Frank Westworth
bullet Shadowed by Karen E. Olson
bullet The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
bullet Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
bullet And I mentioned the releases of: Robert B. Parker’s Debt to Pay by Reed Farrel Coleman; An Obvious Face by Craig Johnson; and The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Fool by K. R. Lockhaven—A group of revolutionaries kidnapps the son of the King’s Fool to force him to uncover the King’s biggest secrets. You don’t want to miss this one–as I said here, and am pretty sure I expressed when I chatted with Lockhaven recently.
bullet We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman—This promises to be fun. “At sunrise, high in the Italian hills, a body is found on the steps of a beautiful private villa. On the body is a threatening note, signed by a mystery man. Back at We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie, and Steve leap at the chance to take on their first proper case. So what if their new client seems to have his own reasons for avoiding the police? All they need to do is uncover who left the note, and then find them. Simple.”
bullet War by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Rigano—”A powerfully moving graphic novel that explores the affects of war on children.”
bullet Never Say Die by Ke Huy Quan—”In this stunning and compulsively readable memoir, the Oscar-winning star of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan, tells the story of his journey from Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history.”
bullet Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel—”a breathtaking novel of doubles, shadow worlds, and fractured timelines as a man disappears from a glittering Los Angeles party, and a woman—a gunrunner, an art collector, an operative of the State—searches for answers.”
bullet I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends by Jessica Tarlov—”The outspoken liberal voice on the Fox News show The Five shows us how to stay true to our values, find common ground, and communicate with confidence when engaging across political and social divides.”

source: Bookstr on Facebook

WWW Wednesday—September 16, 2026

By HCNewton

On September 16, 2026

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


A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire	Dragonfired by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale Jr.

I’m less than 10% into the Toby Daye ARC, and am thoroughly enjoying Toby and Tybalt as parents of a screaming baby. I do wonder how they’ll balance that with saving the day.

Pike’s third Dark Profit book is laying the groundwork for something fun, but I haven’t really gotten into this one yet.

What did you recently finish reading?


The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai	Dead Inside by Noelle Holten, read by Rachael Beresford

I was so much more impressed with the writing in The Cat Who Saved the Library than its predecessor, but I enjoyed the whimsy of The Cat Who Saved Books a bit more (there was still plenty in this one). So, so good.

I’d forgotten the details of the murder cases in Holten’s book–but remembered the personal life stuff. So it was fun to revisit this, still, a lot of the “personal life” material was so much worse than the murder cases.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Dawn by Octavia E. Butler	The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon, read by Jennifer Jill Araya

I’m eager to start Dawn, but a little worried that Butler’s going to treat my emotions like a heavy bag in the gym.

I don’t see how I’m not going to enjoy The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances and really hope Dixon doesn’t let me down.

How have your recent reads been treating you?

Quick-Take Catchups: The Leftovers from May

By HCNewton

On September 16, 2026

In Uncategorized

I’m even behind on my catch-ups…this summer really did a number on my organization. Let’s see if I can get some of it back. Again, I want to remind the reader that the point of these quick-takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.

The Frame-Up

by Gwenda Bond, read by Shannon McManus (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication Date: February 13, 2024
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 11 hrs., 3 min.
Read Date: May 4-6, 2026

This was a solid heist novel with just a dash of magic thrown in. Honestly, I’m not sure the magic was necessary—Bond has enough going on with the dash of romance, the family drama (increased by a “can’t go home again” story arc), and the art heist.

But throwing in the magic just kicked everything up a half a notch, if not a full notch. So I’m not complaining–I’m just trying to say that the criminal found family of it all was enough.

This is my second novel by Bond—and it’s enough to make sure that I’ll take a second look at other books by her.

The Terminal List

by Jack Carr, read by Ray Porter

DETAILS:
Series: The Terminal List, #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 12 hrs., 24 min.
Read Date: May 7-11, 2026

Ugh. How did this get so popular? I’m not really that willing to spend time on talking about it. I can’t think of a single moment that I enjoyed–even Ray Porter couldn’t save it. I kept listening to see if it climbed up out of the horrible pit to make it to “extraordinarily mediocre.” Also, because I wanted to be able to tell someone that I gave it a full try.

Both are choices I regret. Cookie-cutter action from a Gary Sue super-soldier. Completely uninspired and derivative. And there are how many sequels???

The Arkadians

by Lloyd Alexander, read by Words Take Wing Repertory Co

DETAILS:
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication Date: November 9, 2010
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 5 hrs., 49 min. 
Read Date: May 18-19, 2026

I feel disloyal to my grade-school self in giving a Lloyd Alexander book a “meh.” But this one pretty much deserved it. Alexander’s playing around with Greek myths fell pretty flat for me, I didn’t connect with the characters, the story (especially the results for each character) was predictable, and the whole thing felt written by a formula. I did find some scenes amusing and/or effective, but I doubt I’ll return to this one again and again. (I probably will give it one more chance down the road, just to be sure it wasn’t my mood)

Booked

by Alison Gaylin

DETAILS:
Series: Sunny Randall, #13
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: May 12, 2026
Format: Hardcover
Length: 320 pg.
Read Date: May 25, 2026

This was entirely too quick to read–but I find that’s a thing with Gaylin’s Sunny book–she just gets in the groove and you’re rocketing through the thing. I really liked what she did with the recurring characters here, especially Blake. I’ve given up hope of a decent Richie storyline, but I didn’t mind this one. As far as the latest Malanie Joan drama–this might be my favorite use of her. The mysteries involved were pretty well executed, and I bought the way that Sunny finally uncovered the link that tied it all together. I’d seen the link (or something very much like it) coming for several chapters, but wasn’t sure Gaylin would pull off Sunny’s discovery. I think I’ve learned now to trust her. No Sunny Randall book has ever blown me away–but Gaylin makes me happy to see the series continuing and delivers a satisfying read every time.

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

by Amanda Montel, read by Ann Marie Gideon

DETAILS:
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: June 15, 2021
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 8 hrs., 21 min.
Read Date: May 21-26, 2026

This was truly disappointing—the subtitle made me think it would be one thing, and while the text would occasionally tip that way, it didn’t stick with it. Honestly, you should go read what Kathy @ 746 Books had to say about it. She captured my ideas better than I could.

Unread:
A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) to Read on TikTok

by Oliver James

DETAILS:
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 7 hrs., 10 min. 
Read Date: May 26-27, 2026

James’ achievement—as well as his openness about the life experiences that got him to this point—should be celebrated. Seriously, I’m impressed and would love to sit and chat with him about it.
Everyone should be upset at the education system that failed him—and almost certainly fails many others like him every year.
There’s a lot to commend about this book.
This is not good book. There’s too much redundancy that feels like it was included to make an arbitrary word count. The timeline is a bit muddy, and would’ve been better to follow had it been presented linearly. If it were a series of blog posts, or a book half the length, I wouldn’t have complained.
To reiterate: this is a criticism of the book, not of the author, what he’s doing or how he’s doing it.

Starship Troopers

by Robert A. Heinlein

DETAILS:
Publisher: Ace
Publication Date: June 27, 2006
Format: Paperback
Length: 288 May 25-27, 2026

There’s a lot to like in this—there’s a lot to be disappointed in, too. I was pretty much in until the big battle scene. But after that? It all fell short after that. Heinlein clearly had things he wanted to say about the role of a citizen, the role of the military, war, and so on—and he used this book to say them through various mouthpieces. Sadly, most of what we got was talk, theory, just ideas, unlike similar books that put the talk into action (albeit fictional, it’s more than just haverings).

I walked away dissatisfied. I know I open myself up to ridicule, mockery, and disdain for that—but that’s how it is. Others who’ve clearly been influenced by this novel have done a better job with it (e.g., Scalzi, Hurley, Card).

After the Fall

by Edward Ashton, read by John Pirhalla

DETAILS:
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 9 hrs., 56 min.
Read Date: May 28-29, 2026

Maybe because of Ashton’s reputation, I went into this with expectations that were too high. Because I felt like I should enjoy what I was hearing more than I did throughout the whole book–and there’s no reason for me to think like that. It was a solid premise, and Ashton (and Pirhalla) did a good job in executing it. But the whole time I kept thinking, “he’s about to knock my socks off in the next development/chapter/scene,” and that never happened. There’s a lot to praise here, but it never made the jump from “pretty good.” And since I came in expecting more and didn’t get it, the book felt like a letdown. I don’t think I’m being fair to the book, but…

Remington Platypus

by Steve Nash

DETAILS:
Publisher: Northodox Press
Publication Date: July 31, 2025
Format: eBook
Length: 362 pg.
Read Date: May 28-30, 2026

I really thought I’d written a full post about this, and I’m rather annoyed to find out that it doesn’t exist.

This is a fairly-standard, but well-executed, Police novel about a grizzled detective who does what it takes to get the job done—sort of a Harry Bosch figure. Although he’s on better terms with his superior and some of his colleagues. He’s taking on a drug supplier and goes too far, resulting in him being transferred to a small town, his hometown, where he struggles to fit in—except for the few who remember him. There he encounters some crimes that lead him right back into investigating the same supplier. And things get ugly from there.

But here’s the thing—all the creatures are animals. Animals who have formed a parallel society to humans, complete with schools, police services, and drug gangs. There are some animals who haven’t taken this civilization thing to heart—and remain wild and without speech, higher thoughts. We’ve seen a lot like this before, but not like this.

Combining these two tried-and-true story types is just brilliant. You make these people instead of animals and most of the novel works just fine. You take out the crime element and just leave the inter-animal conflicts in and it’d be a pretty cool story. The mashup of the two elevates this to something else. The only comparison that jumps to mind is the comic Fables [VERIFY THE NAME HOB] combining crime fiction and fairy tales.

Raven was raving about this last year, and it’s easy to see why. You need to check out their post.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

An Icelandic Adventure by S. Bavey: Traveling with the Baveys

By HCNewton

On September 16, 2026

In Non-Fiction

An Icelandic Adventure:
One Family’s Mostly Successful Quest for Puffins, Pleasure, and Perfect Pizza

by S. Bavey

DETAILS:
Publication Date: November 23, 2024
Format: eBook
Length: 118 pg.
Read Date: September 14, 2026

What’s An Icelandic Adventure About?

This is a day-by-day recounting of the Bavey family’s vacation to Iceland in June 2024—a great way to get away from some record heat in New England. The two parents and two teen children visited a number of places in their seven-night trip along the south coast (and back again).

Bavey gives a detailed itinerary, shares some nice photographs, and provides pronunciation guides throughout—I’m sure even with that help I didn’t read correctly, although I tried. That’s on me, not her.

Why did I pick this up?

I helped out with the book’s cover reveal back in November 2024, and picked it up when it came because it sounded fun. And it was.

But what led me to finally getting around to it was The 2026 BookTempter’s TBR Challenge prompt, “Treat yourself to a book that is not from your usual genre. Expand your minds!”

So, what did I think about An Icelandic Adventure?

One—it was a perfectly pleasant read. Bavey writes with a light, conversational touch—and did make me grin a few times. I do wonder about the level of detail when it comes to what was eaten, restroom breaks, and whatnot—and then the relative lack of detail when it comes to descriptions of some of the attractions.

Two, it felt like sitting down with a friend describing a family vacation—you can enjoy it, but not really get invested in it. Particularly if it’s somewhere you’re not terribly interested in visiting yourself.

Three, despite those two thoughts—there’s a reason this is not “a usual genre” for me—I really don’t have a desire to track down more things like this. It’s really not for me. Which isn’t to say that if Bavey, or some other aquaintence/friend, writes something like this in the future that I won’t pick it up (and likely have fun), but I’m not going hunting for them.

I do recommend it for a quick, pleasant read—full of nice tips if you’re visiting Iceland, including some great links in the back to various places.

Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Authors I’ve Met

By HCNewton

On September 15, 2026

In Literary Locals, News/Misc., Top X List

The topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesdays is Top Ten Authors I’ve Met”

I’ve been very fortunate to meet a lot of authors recently thanks to some local author events and being online, doing interviews, etc. It’s one of my favorite things ever.

Top Ten Authors I've Met

I’m limiting myself to one-on-one encounters—if I let myself use a book fest or something, I’d end up leaving off someone and feel bad. So, with that disclaimer, in roughly chronological order:

	V.E. Mitchell Mitchell worked at the University of Idaho,–I don’t remember in what kind of position at the time, who taught the occasional weekend workshop on writing. I attended two of them—they were essentially the same thing each time. One was about Science Fiction writing and the other was about writing a Star Trek novel; there was some generic writing advice that you could get pretty much anywhere—but it was illustrated by some behind-the-scenes stuff with the Star Trek novels and Paramount. That was really interesting, I should point out—but not helpful. Then she’d just tell stories about the novels she’d published with them, those in the works, and (I believe) one that had been cancelled. Again, not helpful, but a lot of fun. I owned one of her books (The Next Generation novel Imbalance) and had read another ST Original novel that my roommate owned, so I was able to talk a little bit about those with her—and she kindly signed my ____.
	Lance Olsen Lance was an instructor at the University of Idaho when I was there and taught a couple of Lit and a couple of Creative Writing courses I took. I’ve also met him at a couple of appearances he did after I graduated when he toured the State as part of his tenure as Idaho Writer in Residence. It’s safe to say that he’s had more influence on my reading than just about any person I mention on the blog.
	John Scalzi I’ve met Scalzi twice now when he’s been hosted by the Boise Public Library for readings/signings—he’s great about taking time for a quick conversation with the people in line. I remember the first time him saying something about owning the same shirt I was wearing—I told him when he posted a picture of himself in it saying it was the ugliest shirt he owned, I was mildly offended. He laughed and gave as sincere an apology as such a comment was worth.
	Shane Kuhn Shane Kuhn did a reading/signing at Rediscovered Bookstore that was so sparsely attended I felt sorry for him (sorrier yet that I could only buy one book at the time; I wanted to buy 20). He didn’t let it visibly get to him and was great with the maybe 5 people (plus bookstore staff) present. We had a brief chat during the signing—probably could’ve gone longer without bothering anyone had I been able to come up with more to say.
	Craig Johnson I’ve met Johnson at three readings/signings and have not acquitted myself well at any of them. Utterly becoming tongue-tied somehow—thankfully I’m usually accompanied by an outgoing friend at these. It’s not being star-struck, I don’t think, and he seems friendly and chatty with other people in line—but something about him turns me into Chris Farley interviewing Paul McCartney, “Remember when you were in The Beatles? Was that cool?”
	Devri Walls Devri’s publicist (or something, my memory is fuzzy on the details) got me to read one of her books and she took part in a Q&A as well. After that, I think I read another book (maybe it was an ARC) before I attended an event she was part of at Rediscovered Bookstore. From there, we ran into each other at a Comic Con, another event of hers, and then just randomly at a bookstore. It’s always fun to run into her.
	Jeremy Billups After some correspondence related to his books, Billups invited me to get coffee with him a few years back—in the end, it came out to be a lot like some of the HC Chat videos I’ve done lately—just without being recorded (rats). It was a lot of fun hearing about trying to make it as an indie picture book author in Idaho. He’s a super nice, guy, too.
	E.N. Crane I saw an advertisement for an in-store signing for E.N. Crane—which was (sadly) the first I’d heard of her. Her work looked interesting, so I popped in. We had a fun chat about her work, some of our favorite mystery series, and a few other things. I’ve stopped by her booth at a few local bookish events since then, it’s always a blast. We rarely talk about her books, for some reason, most of the conversation is about other things—and contains a lot of laughs.
	Felicia Day Given her popularity and the length of the line behind us, my daughter and I didn’t have a lot of time to chat with Day, but I was able to get her to sign my copy of her memoir, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), at a Supernatural con a few years ago. We were able to chat briefly about it and her other book, and how I appreciated having her as a role model to point my daughter to for geeky creativity.
	Becky Lyles After some email correspondence and Becky taking part in a Q&A and other things here, she and her husband graciously invited me to be a guest on their podcast, Let Me Tell You a Story. They had me over to their house for the recording—and were wonderful hosts before sitting us all down behind the microphones and hitting “record.”