Hi, hello, happy Friday Eve, and welcome back to another week of random thoughts on life and books.
I had grand plans today. I have a newsletter to finish that I need to get out on Sunday, I had a TV appearance this morning, I have gotten more than halfway through my revision of my 2027 book that’s due September 1, and I needed to write this piece. I ran out of time this morning, so I plan to do it as soon as I finished at my doctor’s appointment. Yeah, best laid plans. I had to get my eyes dilated, and that means I can’t see. I have literally been in a dark room with my sunglasses on and a cat in my lap for the past several hours. I’m actually dictating this post, so bear with me.
Voice dictation is something that I picked up back after my knee surgery when balancing a laptop in my lap was a physical impossibility. I got very attached to using Siri to search for things, voice texting, and dictating words onto the screen. It works really, really well most of the time. Sometimes it goes completely haywire, and I’ll look back at what it has taken down in dictation and you would think that the system has been smoking crack.
I have such great respect for anyone with vision problems who is finding their way through books—writing them, reading them, talking about them online. It can be very disheartening when your vision isn’t doing what it’s supposed to do. I’ve gotten very lucky with mine until this year when I’ve had all kinds of problems, but they have cleared up and I am good to go. I shouldn’t have to get dilated to this level for another year and I am very grateful for that.
Anyway, because of all of that, this is going to be a short post. And I had to make an executive decision that the newsletter will not come out on Sunday. It will come out on Tuesday morning. I apologize for that and promise to get back on schedule next month.
In the I can’t write if I’m not reading category. Here are some of the books that I’ve been devouring this week.
I started Freida McFadden‘s BRAIN DAMAGE, which is actually quite good. Her books are hit or miss for me, because some seem to have a different voice than others, but this one does have the warmth that I expect from her work.
I finished book one of DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL and have started book 2. I’m listening to these, which is what I’ve been doing this afternoon instead of working, and I do think the audio brings something fresh and new to these books that you don’t get otherwise just by reading them. Jeff Hayes has done an amazing job embodying Carl, Princess Donut, and the vast array of voices that make up the dungeon.
I got an advanced copy of Victoria Aveyard’s TEMPEST, and I’ve been nipping away at it. I’m having a hard time with fantasy right now. I’m not quite sure why that is. Maybe I’ve OD’d on Romantasy? I am hopeful that when I’m not being pulled in 1000 different directions I’ll be able to settle down and get back into some good fantasy.
After Riley Seger‘s fantastic number one debut last week, (wasn’t it great to see a crime fiction novel even with some horror at the top of the list?) I read an interview with him and he suggested two books that I grabbed immediately: THE CHILDREN by Melissa Albert, which looks absolutely fantastic and VILLA COCO. by Andrew Sean Greer. I know a lot of people are reading that right now. It looks really great.
My release day is shared by so many absolutely incredible books—new ones from Jennifer Hillier HEART OF GLASS and Tess Gerritsen’s THE SHADOW FRIENDS are top of my list for Tuesday.
But please, do get yourself a copy of YOU KNOW WHY. I think it’s one of my better books, and there might just be a little Easter egg for those of you who like some of my earlier titles 🥰
That’s it from me. Forgive the typos and no hyperlinks on the books, I’ll come back to that later and link everything out when I can see properly.
How did your week go? Read anything great?
JTx
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When I need a palate cleanser or an easier read, my go to lately has been cozy fantasy or cozy mystery. I highly recommend Sarah Beth Durst’s Spellshop series. She just announced there will be a book 5 and 6 in 2028. They can be read in order but don’t have to be. Same world and interconnected characters. Really delightful. I also love J. Penner’s Fellowship books. The Adenashire series has lots of baking and cats! Book 6 comes out next year. For cozy mystery, I love Donna Andrews. Her Meg Langslow series is quirky, animal-focused, and filled with quirky characters. I’m reading book 39 now. Last but not least, the Aunt Dimity series by Nancy Atherton is so much fun. That honey-colored cottage in the Cotswolds has seen so many changes over the years. These are books you can come back to after a few years and drop right back into the characters and know exactly where you left off. It’s touched with a bit of the supernatural as well.
This week’s list:
The Calamities by Chuck Wendig
Mazywood by Tananarive Due
Probable Caws by Donna Andrews
Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys by Mariana Enríquez
Sounds like a busy morning!
My Mom has macular degeneration, which makes reading hard....and she used to be a big reader.
We made it to Branson and oh my is it hot...97!!
Im still reading THE LION AND THE DEATHLESS DARK. This is a long book. I'll probably finish it on the way home on Mon.