Category Archives: Reviewettes

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In which linkity links

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Reading Update
Dragon Justice (Paranormal Scene Investigations #4)Dragon Justice (Paranormal Scene Investigations #4) by Laura Anne Gilman. Good continuation of this series about a paranormal investigation agency. If you read it, brace yourself. Not everyone on the team makes it to the end.
Volatile Bonds (Prospero's War, #4)Volatile Bonds (Prospero’s War #4) by Jaye Wells. Another good addition to this series about a police detective attached to a Federal unit focusing on crime in the city’s supernatural community.
Staying Dead (Retrievers, #1)Staying Dead and Curse the Dark (Retrievers, #2)Curse the Dark (Retrievers 1-2) by Laura Anne Gilman. Good sort of detectivey series about Wren, whose magic leaves her unnoticed by most people, and her partner Sergei, who isn’t magical at all.

“FeedmeFeedmeFeedmeFeedmeFeedmeFeedme!” -Chaos

Have I mentioned before how glad I am that he never grew into his ears (or paws)?!

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Linkity last saw the sun the morning of October 4

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Reading Update
You Had Better Make Some Noise: Words to Change the World by Phaidon Editors. A very good book of quotes tailored to these times we’re living in.
Bookmarked for Death (Booktown Mystery #2) by Lorna Barrett. I only made it about five pages before deciding I didn’t care at all and set it aside.
Crispin’s Model by Max Gladstone. Good creepy Lovecraftian short from the POV of an artist’s model sitting for an artist who pays very well but is decidedly odd…
The Dragon Conspiracy (SPI Files #2) by Lisa Shearin. Pretty good paranormal series about a Southern seer who works as an agent for Supernatural Protection and Investigation in New York City. Her boss is a vampire and his boss is a dragon…
Dead to Rites (Mick Oberon #3) by Ari Marmell. Good mystery/urban fantasy series set in 1930s Chicago about private investigator (and member of the Fae) Mick Oberon. He tries to avoid mob-related jobs, but…
Tricks of the Trade (Paranormal Scene Investigations #3) by Laura Anne Gilman. Good paranormal suspense (with a hint of romance) about an agency of New York City private investigators who are trying to prove to the Council governing the supernatural world that having unaffiliated investigators is a good thing.
A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by VE Schwab. Good tale of three Londons (White, Red, Grey) with varying degrees of magic, the man who can walk between them, a thief, and nefarious plots.

“Why aren’t you petting me, Mom????” -Mayhem

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Linky apparently needed a lot of humor and cool things to get thru the past few weeks

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Reading Update for the Past Two Weeks
Free Agent, Soul Ink, Armageddon Rules, and Wish Bound (Grimm Agency #1, #1.5, #2, #3) by JC Nelson. Ok paranormal/fairy tale series about a woman whose parents sold her into indentured servitude working for the Grimm Agency. (I know, that’s amazingly unhelpful even by my reviewette standards, but pretty much anything else I can say would be a spoiler.) On the plus side, this is a completed series! It won’t drag on forever! 😀
No Hero and Yesterday’s Hero, and Anti-Hero (Arthur Wallace 1-3) by Jonathan Wood. Pretty good series about a cop who ends up in a secret British government agency (dealing with the paranormal) after he sees too much at a crime scene. Maybe it’s the nature of books that use Lovecraft’s concepts and characters, but this reminded me an awful lot of the Laundry Files by Charles Stross. And no one’s injuries really seem to linger past the time when they’re incurred.
Bookburners: The Complete First Season by Max Gladstone et al. 3.5 stars. Good paranormal suspense about a secret organization funded by the Vatican who travel the world confiscating dangerous magical texts. This was originally released serially – I would’ve hated to read it that way. I also think the serial thing contributed to this book’s heft (800 pages) – it could definitely stand to be trimmed down a bit.
Hot Lead, Cold Iron and Hallow Point (Mick Oberon 1-2) by Ari Marmell. Good mystery/urban fantasy series set in 1930s Chicago about private investigator (and member of the Fae) Mick Oberon. He tries to avoid mob-related jobs, but…
Let Some Word That Is Heard Be Yours by Alex Nall. Very good comic story about a teacher having a rough time who turns to Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood for calm and wisdom.
Mid-Century Portable Typewriters: Spotter’s Guide by Nick Bodemer. The book only has 13 typewriters in it. While there are many blank pages included for notes, fewer blank pages and more content/more typewriters would make this a much more useful reference.

“….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos (on the left – you can see his greying whiskers over his body) & Mayhem (under the blanket)

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Linkity thinks we’re having entirely too much rain all at once

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Reading Update (Brace yourselves – have I mentioned that I read really, really fast when I’m in a reading mood??! It’s safe to say I was in a reading mood this week.)
The Watercolor Sketchbook Kit by Curtis Tappenden. I only have the book part of the kit ($1.49US at a thrift store), but it was an enjoyable overview of watercolor basics. You’d best look elsewhere if you want something that goes into detail.
Memory Zero, Generation 18, and Penumbra (Spook Squad 1-3) by Keri Arthur. Decent paranormal fantasy trilogy about a police officer who doesn’t remember anything about her life before age 14. Then everything in her life is turned upside down when it suddenly seems as if nearly everyone is out to get her. Delightfully free of sex (but not sexual tension), I wish things had been tied up a little more at the end of the third book. (The books were originally released in 2004/5, then rereleased with new covers a decade later.)
Detective Stories and Cry Wolf (Rivers of London 4-5) by Ben Aaronovitch. Good additions to the series – and I really appreciate the timeline in the back of these that shows you where each of the graphic novels fits with the other books.
Dirty Magic, Cursed Moon, Deadly Spells, and Fire Water (Prospero’s War 1-3, 0.5) by Jaye Wells. Good series about a cop who, as teenager, walked away from her life as the heir to a branch of the magical equivalent of the mob. She’s sworn off magic, but her fellow (non-magical) officers don’t really trust her. And then she gets a chance to work with the MEA – the federal Magical Enforcement Agency.
The Brimstone Deception, The Ghoul Vendetta, and The Myth Manifestation (SPI Files 3-5) by Lisa Shearin. Pretty good paranormal romance series about a Southern seer who works as an agent for Supernatural Protection and Investigation in New York City. Her boss is a vampire, his boss is a dragon, and her wanna be boyfriend is a goblin dark mage.

“One fish, two fish, red fish, NIP FISH!” -Chaos

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Lackluster linkity titles abundantly abound

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Reading Update
Typewriter: A Celebration of the Ultimate Writing Machine by Paul Robert & Peter Weil. Really interesting look at the early days of the typewriter, focusing on the amazing number of typewriter-related patents granted and the equally amazing number of typewriter companies that went bankrupt.
Soft Summer Blood (DI Liam McClusky #4) by Peter Helton. Cranky about how the book ended. And if this is how the series ends… Hmph.
Known Devil (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation #3) by Justin Gustainis. Ok paranormal thriller about a cop and his vampire partner trying to figure out what’s happening with a vampire mobster gang war.
The Eidolon by Libby McGugan. Good scifi suspense about research scientist whose project is suddenly and inexplicably shut down, right before he’s approached by a very mysterious figure with a job offer that seems too good to be true.
The Cracked Spine, Of Books and Bagpipes, A Christmas Tartan, and Lost Books and Old Bones (Scottish Bookshop Mysteries 1, 2, 2.5, & 3) by Paige Shelton. Pretty good mystery series about an American archivist who moves to Edinburgh to work in a very unusual bookstore. I’m having a bit of trouble suspending my disbelief at the amateur sleuth angle in this series and am concerned about spraining an eyeball from all the eye rolling I’ve been doing.

“I’ve been looking and looking, but I just don’t see this ‘typewriter case’ you keep mentioning, Mom. It’s a mystery, I guess.” -Mayhem

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In which linkity is surprised by fall’s abrupt arrival

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Reading Update
The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Guide for the 21st Century by Richard Polt. Excellent look at typewriter history, pluses and minuses of various vintage typewriters you might be interested in, and the place of typewriters in today’s world. At times, the revolution/insurgency metaphor was a bit wearying, but it ultimately didn’t detract from how interesting and useful I found this book to be. Be warned, however, that this book might make you crave your own typewriter – I bought two during the two weeks I was reading it…
To Helvetica and Back (Dangerous Type #1) by Paige Shelton. Good cozyish mystery set in a typewriter repair/book restoration/print shop in a fictitious Utah ski town modeled after Park City.
Bookman Dead Style (Dangerous Type #2) by Paige Shelton. Good continuation of this mystery series about a typewriter repair/book restoration/print shop in a fictitious Utah ski town.
Comic Sans Murder (Dangerous Type #3) by Paige Shelton. Another good addition to this series – this is the most recent book in the series. Hopefully it continues for at least a few more books.
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. I rate poetry based on how much it speaks to me – how much I can relate to it…
Rainstone Fall (Chris Honeysett #3) by Peter Helton. Ok mystery about an artist/private investigator in Bath. I’ve read a lot of mysteries in a very short time and they’re blurring together, but I think this one was first person and I just couldn’t relate to the POV character (even though his name was also Chris, lol).
Falling More Slowly, Four Below, and A Good Way To Go (Detective Inspector Liam McClusky 1-3) by Peter Helton. Pretty good mystery series about a hot mess of a DI who’s new to Bristol. I must say, the author makes Bristol sound like hell on earth. O.O

“I don’t have any idea what typewriter case you’re talking about, Mom.” -Mayhem

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Linkity would like to assure you that Chaos really is at least as crabby as portrayed here

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Reading Update
A Book That Takes Its Time: An Unhurried Adventure in Creative Mindfulness edited by Irene Smit & Astrid van der Hulst. Good collection of essays from the magazine Flow. This book has all sorts of goodies in it – little journals, stickers, etc. Not sure whether I’ll use them or not, though.

*GLARING* -Chaos

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Linkity is much more contained this week!

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Contest

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Reading Update
Typewriters: Iconic Machines from the Golden Age of Mechanical Writing by Anthony Casillo. After a whirlwind overview of typewriter history, the rest of the book features typewriters from the author’s collection. Really, really glad this was a library book.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

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In which linkity works through the tumblr backlog

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Reading Update
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland. This was the first Neal Stephenson I’ve read since trying and failing to get into his Baroque Cycle, so I was pleasantly surprised at how compulsively readable this was. It dragged a bit in the middle, but I was sucked in by that point. I would love to retitle it Schrodinger’s Witches: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.! (Spare your wrists and read the ebook. This seems like it would be extraordinarily confusing in audio.)
Abstract Painting: The Elements of Visual Language by Jane Davies. Excellent book, summed up well by its title. This is one I’ll probably reread over and over, working to absorb the contents into my subconscious mind.

“Why are all of you upside down?!” -Mayhem

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The return of linkity!

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I’m back! 🙂 My class (printing ephemera on the platen press) was great fun. I printed a LOT of stickers. A LOT.

Bookity

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Reading Update
Foolsgold: Making Something from Nothing and Freeing Your Creative Process by Susan G Wooldridge. This was good (it’s bristling with post-it flags), but not as good as Poemcrazy. It does tackle tough subjects, such loss, grieving, and feeling stuck.
The Sketchbook Project World Tour by Steven Peterman & Shane Zucker. A look at pages from Sketchbook Project sketchbooks from all over the world. It was interesting to see what people had done to their books, but also was such a fast read I’m really glad I got it from the library.
Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley. Very good first-person tale of 14-year old Jake, who lives on one of the world’s few dragon preserve parks, and who manages to accidentally and irrevocably change his life on his first solo trip into the park. (Dragons are originally from Australia, so think about the implications for dragon physiology. I’ll wait.)
The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library #1) by Genevieve Cogman. Very good urban fantasy about about a Librarian who gets assigned a very odd trainee on her next world walking mission. (This was recommended by Charles Stross in a post at tor.com about books vaguely similar to the Laundry Files.)
The Masked City (The Invisible Library #2) by Genevieve Cogman. The abruptness of the very close to being a cliffie but not quite ending annoyed me. Fortunately I had the next book checked out already.
The Burning Page (The Invisible Library #3) by Genevieve Cogman. Very good, very thrilling continuation of the series. Kept me up way too late on a work night.
The Lost Plot (The Invisible Library #4) by Genevieve Cogman. Another thriller! This actually felt as if it could be the end of the series. Or not. I think I’d be ok with it ending here.

*sleepy* -Mayhem

Does she look 12 to you?! She sure doesn’t to me.