The Book Club is moved to Sunday because yesterday was Veterans Day and I had a special post for that day.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
In the last chapter of Joe’s Book Club, I asked readers to let me know if they had any questions about books, this book club or anything to do with books by clicking CONTACT. And several of you did! I’m answering those questions today and the offer still stands. If you have a question about books, just ask.
Q: Why haven’t you done more book reviews recently? Tim, Denver, CO
A: Writing book reviews takes time and unlike when I wrote these kinds of reviews for Shutterbug’s print version, nobody is paying me to write them for this blog. On top of that, some publishers just send me a press release and access to a digital version of parts of a book and expect me to write the review based those sources. This approach short changes both you and me, so I won’t play that game.
Other publishers, especially those who produce photography books, sometimes send send me physical books to review but few of them make the cut because I prefer to review books that would be useful to and will help a reader. I tend to write more book reviews about cars because these publishers reach out to me asking what books I would like to review rather than sending me a stack of books and hope I like them.
I hope that my own book writing and reviewing career is not over because I like to think that I have more to share with readers, especially on the subject of mirrorless cameras. But if that’s the way of the world, I can only say as the late Doris Day once sang, Que será, sera, Whatever will be, will be…
Q: So what happens to all those books that you receive but don’t review? Godfrey, Manchester UK
A: I donate them to my local library. While some Internet pundits say that this is a bad idea because the library doesn’t want your books, my local library does want them. They don’t want them for their shelves but they run a used bookstore inside the library lobby and sell donated books to fund books that they want to buy. That’s why the librarians are happy to see me bringing in books and always tell me that they appreciate my donations.
Books in Play
For those keeping score the number of “Books Read in 2023” currently stands at 59, which may (or may not) exceed the number I read in 2022, which was 71. Maybe it’s because I gave up on a higher number of books in 2023 than I did last year. And I also re-read at least one book and I don;t count those. I did manage to plow through Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, even though I wanted to quit many times while reading it. Why? It was my Sci-fi book club’s selection. I hope the next book they choose is more interesting, at least to me.
Book number 59, was Red Threads by Rex Stout and was a 1939 mystery novel that features some of the “second banana” characters that appear in the Nero Wolfe universe such as Inspector Cramer, Sergeant Stebbins and Police Commissioner Skinner. So far, it’s been interesting in an Agatha Christie way and, to tell the truth, there is more than a bit of Ms. Christie in the Nero Wolfe books anyway. And while Stout’s treatment on Native Americans in its pages may occasionally be cringey, it is not overtly offensive.
Coming Up: Book Number 60 is The Battered Badge by
Meanwhile my Sc–Fi Book Club meets in a few weeks and I’m looking forward to a lively discussion about the assigned book—Jule’s Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea—and look forward to what the next book we’ll read and discuss will be. I know it will be a more contemporary book and look forward to reading something new and different.
PS. The book I’m holding in the preview/thumbnail is Michael Connelly’s new book,
A note from Joe: If you click any of the links for any books that are mentioned in these posts, Amazon pays me a small commission BUT it does not increase the cost of the books (or movies) to you. It all goes to help support this blog and cover the expense of operating it. And if you do, many thanks!.