Sunshine Blogger Award - The 2026 Edition

 

Here’s the participation rules

1. Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog
2. Thank the person who nominated you
3. Provide a link to your nominator’s blog
4. Answer your nominator’s questions
5. Nominate up to eleven bloggers
6. Ask your nominees eleven questions
7. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blogs

Veselin nominated me for this award this year. I consider naming him and linking him as thanks enough.

What’s your favorite book and why

Favorite book, singular?

Dune by Frank Herbert.

Can you share some obscure/unusual words you like to use when writing

The problem is that while I have a wide vocabulary, I don't compare it to the nitwits of today. So most of the words I use are completely normal. If you are me. If you're not me, well, you're el crewedso. See, I'm multilingual too.

Do you have pets (if yes, photos!)

Nope. Never have, never will.

What brings you joy?

Sitting at an outdoor cafe, sipping an iced sweet chai, while writing for hours in my current journal. Just looking off into the distance, thinking, writing.

If there’s anything that can make you look forward to tomorrow, what would that be?

Knowing I have the day off so I can go to the aforementioned cafe ;-)

Best vacation destination from your experience?

Hawaii. Best place ever. As long as you don't have to do the driving.

Do you count steps?

Don't have time. Work keeps me moving.

Favorite meal?

Pizza! I could eat pizza forever.

The last song you listened on repeat?

The Resident Evil theme song. By Marilyn Manson of all people :-D

How many blogs do you have?

What’s your favorite quote?

give me neither poverty nor riches;
    feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
    and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
    and profane the name of my God.
~Proverbs 30: 8b-9 ESV

Now I'm supposed to nominate 11 other bloggers and ask 11 new questions. However, I know something about you all that you don't.

You. Aren't. Hardcore. Enough!

Sunshine Blogger Award - 2025 Edition

 

Pooja recently did an SBA and when I went looking, the last time I had done one was back in '19, so it seemed like it was time to participate again. Give me something to write about besides a book review anyway :-D Plus, sunshine, amiright?

Rules For The Sunshine Blogger Award:

• Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog.
• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Provide a link to your nominator’s blog.
• Answer your nominators’ questions.
• Nominate up to 11 bloggers.
• Ask your nominees 11 questions.
• Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog posts.

Questions:

What inspired you to start blogging?

I discovered Blogspot when google bought it in 2003 or so. It allowed me to write and to stay in contact with my scattered friends and family. Over the years blogging has changed as I have changed and now I mainly blog about the books I read. Of which there are a lot.

What is your favourite movie?

Die Hard. Bruce Willis will always live in my head as John McClane.

Which season do you prefer most and why?

The Autumn. The mornings are crisp, the sun is still strong in the afternoons, harvests are happening and the Pumpkin Festival is right around the corner!

If you could be a fictional character for a day, who would you be?

Garric, the main character from David Drake's Lord of the Isles series. He is a Chosen One and I love those kind of stories.

What was your favourite game growing up?

The Farming Game. It made Monopoly look like a scrawny chicken. My friends and I would have sleepovers and we'd set things up the night before, get up at 7am and then play the entire day and if we were lucky, finish that night.

Other than blogging, what hobby or hobbies do you enjoy?

Reading. It's actually what drives my blogging :-D

What is the last TV show you watched?

The 3 Stooges on Tubi.

What is a dish or food that reminds you of your childhood?

Chicken pot pie, just like Mom used to make it!

Is cereal technically soup, why or why not?

Cereal is most definitely NOT soup. I don't know how anyone could ask that question with a straight face.

What would you do if you could live forever?

Pull of a massive heist so I could hire authors to write books for me. I'm going to need a LOT of books to last forever ;-)

Who was your first celebrity crush?

This was an easy one. Cindy Crawford doing that Pepsi commercial in '92. It burned itself into my brain and has never left.

Now comes the part where I'm supposed to nominate 11 of you and ask 11 new questions and continue things.

First, consider yourself nominated. Because if you are reading this, that means you have a pulse. That's an absolute must for bloggers! ;-)

Second, I will officially nominate 11 bloggers who "follow" me and appear to be active but don't interact with me.

Thirdly, I will actually ask 11 new questions, but they will be Bookstooge-esque questions, so you might have to think a couple of extra seconds to answer them. And thanks to Pooja for kicking things off.

My Nominees:

The Silmaril Chick

Texeira

Ovat Friday

Willy Stevens

Godly Chic Diaries

Joseph Newcomer

Myrelar

Joyce O'Day

Marilyn Gardner Milton

Uncommonly Bound

Radiant Creations in Motion

My Questions:

1. Why Would Anyone Consider Cereal to be Soup?
2. Why Do You Blog?
3. How Do You Justify Your Existence? (I got that one from the Tales of the Black Widowers, good isn't it?)
4. How Do You Choose Who to Follow?
5. If John McClane and John Wick were tied on a railroad track and you could only set one of them free, which would you choose and why?
6. In a game of Parcheesi, who would win, Spongebob Squarepants or the Doom Slayer?
7. Do you feel guilty about all of my oxygen that you are breathing?
8. What is your favorite movie?
9. If you were going to be "accidentally but on purpose" killed tomorrow, how would you spend today?
10. Are mirrors Friend, or Foe?
11. If you could change ONE THING about your blog, what would it be?

• Sunshine Blogger Award - Grumpy Cat Edition
• Sunshine Blogger Award - Part Shnayim

The Book Titles Tag

 I found these lists at Emma's site. The idea is to answer each question with the title of a book you read from the previous year. Emma did this with just her 2024 list. I was tempted to just use ALL of my titles from 2000 to now, but much like an expert gamer, wanted to make this just a bit harder on myself. So I too am limiting my answers to 2024. Unless it gets really hard, in which case I'll use a cheat code, just like I use to do in Heretic and Hexen ;-)

– When I was younger I was  Vainglorious
– People might be surprised to discover that I am  an Alpha
– I will never be  The Gambler
– At the end of a long day I need  a Pound of Flesh
– Right now I’m feeling Triumphant
– Someday I want to (be)  Human and Demon
– At a party you’d find me  (wishing I could) Bar the Doors
– I’ve never (seen) Mrs Pollifax on Safari
– I really don’t enjoy  Champagne for One
– In my next life I want (to be) The Ronin

– If you could go anywhere, where would you go:  Sanditon
– Your favorite form of transportation:  Pyramids
– Your best friend is  Mostly Harmless
– You and your friends are  Dead Men Walking
– What’s the weather like:  Under Twin Suns
– Favorite time of day:  Making Love Last Forever
– If your life was Weaponized
– What is life to you:  Might as well be Dead
– Your fear:  Betrayal
– What is the best advice you have to give:  Spies!
– Thought for the Day:  If It Bleeds...
– How I would like to die:  Trading Blows at Close Quarters
– My soul’s present condition:  Crisis of Faith

I began the day with Wishes
On my way to work, I saw The Sign of Nine
and walked by The Web of Spider
to avoid the Neuromancer
but I made sure to stop at The Watsons
In the office, my boss said, A Man Lay Dead
and sent me to research My Grave Ritual
At lunch with Mary Poppins in the Park
I noticed Doctor Syn on the High Seas
under (the) False Flag
then went back to my desk, a Lethal Agent
Later, on the journey home, I bought The Book of Cthulhu
because I have The Weapon from Beyond
Then settling down for the evening, I picked up The Killer's Payoff
and studied  The Amulet
before saying goodnight to The Hellhound of the Baskerville's

Holy smokes, that was tough! I'd recommend each section as tag for anybody else. Unless you're as tough as Emma and me.
*cracks knuckles
Have at it folks! ;-)

The Blog Tag

From Pooja on her post The Blog Tag. I haven’t done a Tag post in quite some time (a year and a half in fact!) and this felt like a good one to do.

The Blog Tag

How did you come up with your blog name?

I was on Devilreads from 2009-2013. During that time I used my real name and a real photograph of myself. During that time I also had enough run ins and threats from crazy writers and rabid fans that I swore never again. So when Devilreads began their campaign to censor reviews under the guise of “guidelines’ and silence people, I left for Booklikes.

I chose Bookstooge because I read so many books (you’d be surprised how many people on a site dedicated to reading think 100+ books a year is some impressive number, sigh) and stooge because I was willing to do a lot to make sure that books (and the attendant reviews) had a very high place in my life. There is no “wrong” way to review, whatever Devilreads and the idiots who inhabit that stygian darkness may claim.

On the avatar side of things, I started using one with this review:
Gorgon

Since then I have gone through several facelifts until I am where I currently am now.

If your blog was a person (fiction or real), who would it be?

Hands down, it would be Shrek. Mrs B told me that and she’s 110% correct!

What helps you create new content if you feel like you need some inspiration?

Rockstar, baby! The power of caffeine running through my veins powers everything I do.

Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?

I do consider myself to be collaborating with Miss Ross, as she does the art for the artwork posts and I do the words side of things. But the reality is that I would not willingly choose to share the writing aspect of blogging with anybody. I chronicled that decision here:
A Loner But Not Alone

The words here at Bookstooge.blog are mine and mine alone. I take the glory and the responsibility. Words are important to me.

Is there anything more you wish you had or would like to learn as a blogger?

I think every blogger wants more, something. Finding out what that is is part of the fun of being a blogger. For me, it is interaction, specifically, comments. I want more of those suckers, I really do.

As for learning, I wish I knew how to be a better craftsman when it comes to the words I write. I want to look at my posts and see exactly which word is needed at “that” point to make the whole thing flow like a stream.

Do you have a specific style of blogging?

My blog is mainly book reviews. I do try to leaven things out with various non-review posts, which can run the gamut from Tag posts like this to personal posts where I bare my soul and cry like a baby for you all to see (yeah, ok, maybe NOT quite that personal) to Art related posts. I would say it is 50-60% book reviews and the rest is whatever I feel like.

As for “style”, I am not sure. Intelligently Ironic? Punchyouintheface-fu? Studiously Ignorant? Pugnaciously Pink? Whatever style, it’s me and don’t you forget it!

---

And there we go, the Tag is finished. I like short tags like that.

• All of My “Tag” Posts

The Dungeons & Dragons Book Tag

Originally created by the Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub

Barbarian: In a simplified nutshell, barbarians are fighters whose anger can give them a berserker state of mind: think an overdose of adrenalin allowing someone to do the nigh impossible.

Name a character with a temper:

Jerome, from Way-farer. It’s what leads him to kill one of the fabled “Grandfathers” and find out they are nothing more than a deception of the Mushin keeping humanity shackled as cattle.

---

Bard: Bards use music and song to either help or hinder. Music is massively important to them, and can give them power.

Name a book/character for which music is important:

Porcelain by the musician Moby. Music was kind of his life

---

Cleric: “A priestly champion who wields divine magic in service of a higher power” (D&D Player’s Handbook)

Name a book/character for which religion plays a large role:

Gavin Guile from The Burning White. The author has a whole chapter with Gavin talking to the Creator on some pretty serious subjects. It’s not your usual Hollywood religion-lite crap.

---

Druid: Druids are representative of nature. They get their power- healing, magical spells, etc.- from either the land itself or from a nature deity. 

Name a Book where nature plays an important role:

Sentenced to Prism. The 2 main characters find out that life on Prism is integrally linked together and they themselves become part of that link by the end of the book.

---

Fighter: A fighter relies on physical skill. They are often good with a weapon and can function as a pretty good meat shield.

Name a book with great fight scenes:

Dune.. The scene between Paul Maud’dib and his cousin Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. While not a chapter long fight, it conveys exactly what the author wants. That is important.

---

Magic Users: Dungeons and Dragons features Warlocks, Wizards, and Sorcerers. Each is different, but I’m lumping them together for the purposes of this tag. The name is self-explanatory: a user of magic.

Name a book or character with cool magic:

The Swords from Fred Saberhagen’s Book of Swords. 12 Magical swords created by the gods that end up being powerful enough to kill the gods.

---

Paladin: A holy warrior.

Name a character with strong convictions:

Anakin Skywalker in the novelization of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. While it led him down to the dark side, he was convinced every step of the way that he was doing the correct thing. He became known as the Dark Lord for it. An Unholy Paladin if you will.

---

Ranger: Hunters, wilderness survivors, and protectors, rangers are often what stand between civilization and the monsters that live in the wild.

Name a character that is in tune with the wild.

Nonnus, a mage shaman hermit from the Lord of the Isles series. While he dies, he teaches Sharina everything he knows about surviving in hostile lands.

---

Rogue: Rogues use stealth and cunning to defeat their foes or prevail in a situation. 

Name a book or character with cunning:

The Rogues series in the Forgotten Realms immediately sprang to mind.

• All of My “Tag” Posts

The Die Hard Book Tag

I’d like to thank Zezee for bringing this to my attention and to Pete for creating such an awesome tag.

John McClain – A book in which someone has a really bad time

Way-Farer. Jerome, the Main Character, an idealistic young man, has asked the Old Man on the Mountain to train him in the Way of the Sword. The Old Man does this by attacking Jerome every chance he gets, to force Jerome to develop his sixth sense for danger. One day Jerome senses danger as he is about to enter the cottage they share but instead of waiting, he decides to try to pay back the Old Man, with the result that the Old Man almost kills him with just a stone pot lid. Thankfully, things to get better for Jerome after that!

Holly Gennaro – A book with a superb leader

Erevis Cale. Probably my favorite Forgotten Realms character. He leads from the front and doesn’t shy away from doing what needs to be done. Like stabbing someone in the back 😉

Sergeant Al Powell – A book with a sidekick with a great backstory

Smikes, from Nicholas Nickleby. He’s not a “traditional” sidekick, like Robin is to Batman, but man, Smikes gets rescued by Nicholas and is his faithful servant until the end where he dies. If that’s a spoiler to you, well, you’re about 180 years behind schedule. So get with the beat, Baggy! And read yourself some Dickens. But I’ll save spoilering his backstory. There, you’re welcome.

Johnson & Johnson – A book with a pair of real dicks

The Lady and Soul Catcher from Glen Cook’s The Black Company. Each of these extremely powerful sorceresses encapsulate the idea of power corrupting to the uttermost.

Karl – A book with a revenge plot that needn’t have happened

Gankutsuou. A manga based on the anime of the same name, which in turn is based on the classic Count of Monte Cristo. The anime is amazing and I am glad I own it. But if even one of the people who turned Edmond into the authorities had actually told the truth, Edmond never would have been imprisoned and the whole Count of Monte Cristo would have never have happened.

Mr Takagi – A book with an interesting side character killed too early

Edwin Drood. While supposedly the “titular character”, getting bumped off right near the beginning of the book makes it too early for me. Thankfully, while the original story was never completed by Dickens due to the ungrateful sod dying first, David Madden stepped up to the plate and finished up the game for us.

Harry Ellis – A book with a character really out of their depth

Liath, from Kate Elliott’s Crown of Stars series. Unlike Ellis however, Liath know’s she’s out of her depth and does something about it during the series. She’s not a loser who dies like Ellis. But I gotta say, it was satisfying to see him die.

Richard Thornburg – A book with an infinitely punchable character

Yossarian from Catch-22. Ohhhh, I hated him so much!

Hans Gruber – A book with a fantastic villain

They just don’t make villains like ol’ Hans’y any more. And not many actors like Rickman either (sadly). But the closest character I could think of was Light Yagami from the manga series Death Note. An arrogant psychopathic genius who is eventually outwitted. Oh, it’s a good series! Just avoid the various movies, tv shows and especially the netflix movie adaptation. Go with the manga.

• All of my “Tag” posts