Reading as a Form of Self-Expression 

Reading habits often say more about a person than casual conversations ever reveal. The genres someone returns to, the authors they trust, and the themes they explore shape a quiet identity over time. This identity develops through repeated exposure to ideas, perspectives, and narratives that resonate on a personal level. 

Many readers begin to notice patterns in their preferences. Some lean toward introspective literary fiction, while others gravitate toward fast-paced thrillers or expansive fantasy worlds. These choices reflect not just entertainment preferences, but also how individuals process the world around them. 

Over time, this connection between reading and identity becomes more visible in everyday life. Readers carry their interests into conversations, routines, and even subtle personal choices. The influence extends beyond bookshelves and into how they present themselves in different environments. 

The Shift From Private Habit to Visible Identity 

Reading is often seen as a solitary activity, yet its impact rarely stays private. The ideas absorbed through books shape opinions, influence communication styles, and guide how people interact with others. This creates a natural shift from internal reflection to outward expression. Readers may not always speak directly about what they are reading, but the influence appears in their behavior. Their choice of language, references, and even humor often carries traces of the books they engage with regularly. This makes reading a quiet but consistent force in shaping identity. 

Welcome back, fellow lovers of the Wild West. Today, I want to delve into Cabin Gulch ^[*] by Zane Grey, a mesmerizing nearly five-hour audiobook ^[*] from GraphicAudio. Originally penned in 1915, this tale likely graced the pages of a Pulp magazine in serialized format—though I must admit, I couldn't track down the specifics of its initial publication. If anyone has that information, please share it in the comments. It was subsequently retitled The Border Legion and published in book form in 1916 by Harper & Row. Remarkably, the story has been adapted into film five times, the most-famous being The Last Round-Up in 1934, starring Randolph Scott.

As with many Westerns that started their lives in magazines, Cabin Gulch underwent various changes in its transformation to The Border Legion. Thankfully, GraphicAudio chose to adapt the original 1915 text, giving us an uncensored version of Grey's gripping story.

At the heart of Cabin Gulch ^[*] is Joan Randle, a young woman driven by anger who sends Jim Cleve into the lawless mining frontier of Idaho Territory to test his courage. But when she regrets their quarrel, she sets off to bring him back, only to fall prey to the infamous bandit Jack Kells.

Kells is a character drenched in menace, willing to kill—not hesitating even against his own men—to possess Joan. The plot thickens with a burgeoning gold strike at Alder Creek, enticing Kells and his gang to descend upon the miners with malicious intent. The intensifying emotional landscape for Joan is the crushing realization that Jim has allied himself with Kells's nefarious crew. Grey weaves a powerful tapestry of tragedy, romance, historical detail, and flickers of hope that resonate even today.

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

This Week's Prompt:

Are there genres you read that you feel a little shy about?

My Answer:

I wouldn’t say there are any genres I shy away from reading. However, I might feel a bit embarrassed reading erotic literature, even though I don’t actually read that genre or have any desire to. (Though, do adult Westerns count?) Some genres simply don’t interest me for various reasons. It’s not a matter of shyness; they just don't appeal to me. 

〜B.J. Burgess

This Week's Linky:

How to join the Book Blogger Hop?

To prepare for next week’s post, check out the upcoming prompts. If you'd like to submit a prompt, fill out this form. Join our Facebook group to connect with other book bloggers and get updates.

Here’s what to do:

1. Share your response to this week’s prompt.
2. In the linky list, enter your name or nickname followed by your blog name and the URL to your post (e.g., Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer).
3. Visit others on the list and leave comments.

(Optional)

• Respond to the prompt in a YouTube vlog.
• Share on Facebook (@coffeeaddictedwriter) and Twitter (@coffeeramblings) with #bookbloggerhop and #coffeeramblings.
• Post the prompt on Instagram, tag me (@coffeeramblings), and include the hashtags.
• Engage with other bloggers on social media.
• Enter your name @YouTube/Twitter/Facebook/Instagram and provide the URL to your posts in the linky.

Update 02/20/26:

Please do not link to a random book review on your blog unless it includes the Book Blogger Hop prompt for the week along with your answer to it. Any blog link that doesn't follow this simple rule will be removed from the hop.

Whose bright idea was it to resurrect the nearly forgotten 1997 creature feature Anaconda? Remakes, reboots, and legacy sequels have become the lifeblood of Hollywood, churning out offerings like candy from a vending machine. But the 2025 Anaconda reboot is not your typical creature horror flick: it’s a meta-action-adventure buddy comedy featuring the dynamic duo of Jack Black and Paul Rudd. Directed by Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the film with Kevin Etten, this curious transformation of a once-thrilling franchise into a dark comedy leaves me pondering the intentions behind the revival. While the film raked in $134 million at the box office against a $45 million budget—definitely not a flop—it certainly failed to knock it out of the park. A Christmas Day release probably didn’t do it any favors; it would have likely thrived better in the early spring or late summer months. Now available for Digital rental or purchase ^[*], Anaconda is set to hit physical media on March 17th, released on 4K UHD (+ Digital) ^[*], Blu-ray (+ Digital) ^[*], and DVD ^[*] by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

The plot refreshingly pivots: Doug (Paul Rudd) and Griff (Jack Black), best friends since childhood, have long dreamed of remaking the original Anaconda. Finally spurred by a midlife crisis, they venture into the depths of the Amazon to bring their vision to life. However, their comedic escapade quickly spirals into chaos once they encounter a real giant anaconda, turning what was meant to be a jovial film set into a deadly nightmare. The very project they were eager to pursue could very well be their undoing. The cast also features Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn, Selton Mello, and Daniela Melchior, with cameos from original cast members: Ice Cube and an uncredited Jennifer Lopez.

R.L. Stine, the master of horror and suspense for young readers, returns with a thrilling new release titled Nightmare on Nightmare Street ^[*], published by Blackstone Publishing. At eighty-two, Stine continues to defy the passage of time, typing away using just one finger. This persistence has allowed him to produce an array of Goosebumps spinoffs and Stinetinglers, catering to both young readers and the nostalgic adults who grew up devouring his tales in the 1990s. In the book’s introduction, Stine describes Nightmare on Nightmare Street as an "Everything story for Everyone," aiming to be a nightmarish experience for middle-graders and their parents alike. He fondly notes, "A book for adults who read my books when they were kids!"

The story revolves around twelve-year-old Joe Ferber, his sister Sadie, and their parents, who have just moved into a house that screams horror movie tropes: tombstones tucked away in the basement, a creepy doll that seems to have a life of its own, and eerie noises echoing through the walls. On his first night in this unsettling abode, Joe's nightlight flickers, morphing into a spectrum of colors, and the doll seemingly finds its way into his bed. But just as he begins to grapple with these bizarre occurrences, he awakes to find himself in a different reality. Shawn Hannigan, also twelve, shares a similar unsettling experience with his little sister, Addie. Their new school, however, takes the strange to an entirely different level, with teachers donned in animal masks and a principal’s office shrouded in darkness and chaos. By the end of their first day, a mysterious woman claiming to be Shawn's mother asserts that he doesn’t even have a sister. As increasingly odd events unfold around both boys, they must navigate the blurred lines between reality and nightmare.

The newest installment in the First Mountain Man series, titled Preacher's Hell, arrives with a mix of excitement and disappointment. This installment marks a significant departure, being the first in the series not to grace the mass-market paperback format, a casualty of publishing trends that seem designed to cater to shifting reader preferences and, frankly, confound loyal audiences. In an odd twist, the new paperback dimensions—5.47 x 8.21 inches—are now the industry standard, forcing Pinnacle to reassess its entire line of Johnstone Westerns. Gone are the days of two or three releases per month; this fully embraces a slower pace, with new titles emerging every other month starting in March 2026. The price hike to $15.99 for each paperback also stings, though a glimmer of hope lies in preordering discounts, as I discovered on Amazon ^[*]. Yet the landscape for Westerns feels as barren as the dry plains they depict. My local Walmart, once a treasure trove for Johnstone fans, now offers nothing but the latest watered-down YA fantasies, the kind that languish on shelves, untouched and unloved. Despite an employee's dismissal of Westerns as outdated, I can’t help but recall that the new titles are always sold out quickly in my neck of the woods—the genre is far from dead.

Preacher's Hell ^[*] begins at a desolate trading post nestled in the Bitterroot Mountains. At first, it offers the warmth of friendship with familiar faces, Audie and Nighthawk. But tranquility is short-lived. A brutal gang of thieves descends upon a young Indian woman and her grandfather, igniting a chain reaction of violence that shatters the moment. In the aftermath, with chaos swirling, the gang's leader, a sinister figure named Mack Ozark, slips through their fingers, leaving behind grief and a haunting charge. Before the woman dies, she entrusts Preacher with a mysterious bundle, revealing two blond-haired, blue-eyed infants—twins, undeniably precious, yet not her own.

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

This Week's Prompt:

If you had to, would you pass your book collection on to someone special? If not, what would you prefer your family, or friends do with your books after you’re gone?

My Answer:

I’m a bachelor, so I don’t have any children to whom I can pass my books after I die. If I ever get married and have kids—which is a big if—I would leave my books to my family. I don’t have any close friends, so if my parents are still alive, I would leave my books with them. They can choose to sell them, donate them, or give them away to someone else; it really doesn’t matter to me. After all, I would be gone, so my feelings about it wouldn’t count. If only I could be buried with all of my books!

Hello, fellow Friday 56ers! 

This week, I'm featuring The Gun Man Jackson Swagger by Stephen Hunter, a 2025 release that my local library recently added to their shelves. I'm somewhat familiar with Stephen Hunter but didn't realize he had written a Western. I haven't started reading it yet, and I haven’t checked the blurb either; I prefer the plot to be a surprise when I finally read it. I'm not sure when I will share my thoughts. The earliest I can post a review would be next weekend if I don’t have anything else for the Gunsmoke & Grit spot. If not, I’ll save the review for a later weekend when my schedule is clearer.

Hollywood is in a slow fade, and the reasons are as varied as they are troubling. Perhaps it’s the dominance of streaming platforms, or the rise of anxiety surrounding AI. Maybe it’s the political correctness that seems to permeate every script, or the disheartening lack of originality plaguing contemporary cinema. Whatever the cause, the younger generations appear indifferent to the once-glorious lights of Hollywood; they'd rather lose themselves in the fleeting entertainments of TikTok and YouTube. I might not be young anymore, but my passion for film, especially the classic Hollywood of yesteryear or the golden age untainted by CGI excess, remains strong. The current trend, where studios expect to recoup their lavish budgets during the opening weekend or risk relegation to a quiet home streaming release, makes it no wonder theater ticket prices are skyrocketing; who wants to shell out their hard-earned cash for a product that feels so out of touch?

This rant is fueled by my recent encounter with The Last Kings of Hollywood: Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg―and the Battle for the Soul of American Cinema ^[*] by Paul Fischer, the same author who brought us A Kim Jong-Il Production. As I write this, I realize I have a copy of the latter sitting unread on my shelf, a testament to my own chaotic reading habits. You may be wondering who these "last kings of Hollywood" are. They’re none other than the legendary trio: Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg.

In the summer of 1967, as the old Hollywood studio system crumbled, a determined young film school graduate named George Lucas began his first day on the Warner Bros. lot as an assistant to the then-largely unknown Francis Ford Coppola, a boisterous father of two with a creative fire. Simultaneously, on the Universal Studios lot, a film-obsessed twenty-year-old named Steven Spielberg yearned to break free from his apprentice shackles and carve his own path as a director.

I have a complex relationship with Louis L'Amour—a blend of admiration and exasperation that reflects the dual nature of his legacy. My adopted paternal grandfather was a devoted fan, and our family would eagerly gift him his latest works for birthdays, Father’s Day, and Christmas, until declining eyesight curtailed his reading. After he passed, I found myself the custodian of not just his collection, but also a few titles from my late maternal grandmother. Over the years, I’ve amassed my own collection of L'Amour works, filling my shelves with almost every title he published. That’s the love part, or perhaps more accurately, the appreciation. Then comes the hate part: I believe Louis L'Amour is overrated. His books were omnipresent during my childhood, squeezing out shelf space in bookstores where other Western authors could have thrived. I understand the marketplace—demand shapes inventory—but it still frustrates me to see L'Amour’s name dominate as if no one else in the genre could compete. Sure, he crafted some notable stories, but to my mind, he was a master of the “pulp” short story. His talents shine brightest in shorter forms; as a novelist, he ranks merely above average. I respect his contributions and recognize his place in literary history, but I'd argue that Zane Grey is the true giant of Western fiction—that’s just my opinion. With that in mind, I'm returning to L'Amour's books, starting with Trouble Shooter.

Most L'Amour aficionados already know this, but for anyone who doesn’t: like many writers in this genre, L'Amour began his career crafting short stories for pulp magazines. By 1950, he earned recognition that led him to write new Hopalong Cassidy adventures for Hopalong Cassidy's Western Magazine, which eventually transitioned into published hardcovers. Initially, he based his first two books on the style of Clarence Mulford, the original author of Hopalong. However, when the magazine folded after just two issues, L'Amour had to overhaul these titles to align more closely with the sanitized cinematic version that dominated television and film at the time. He continued this adaptation for the subsequent books, ultimately publishing four volumes in total.

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

This Week's Prompt:

When you spot giveaways, do you enter just for fun—even if you’re unsure you’ll read the book—or only when you truly want the title?

My Answer:

I rarely participate in giveaways now, particularly on GoodReads or LibraryThing, because when I do win, I often do not receive the books. Why did I enter the giveaways? I was genuinely interested in reading the books.

〜B.J. Burgess

This Week's Linky:

How to join the Book Blogger Hop?

To prepare for next week’s post, check out the upcoming prompts. If you'd like to submit a prompt, fill out this form. Join our Facebook group to connect with other book bloggers and get updates.

Here’s what to do:

1. Share your response to this week’s prompt.
2. In the linky list, enter your name or nickname followed by your blog name and the URL to your post (e.g., Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer).
3. Visit others on the list and leave comments.

(Optional)

• Respond to the prompt in a YouTube vlog.
• Share on Facebook (@coffeeaddictedwriter) and Twitter (@coffeeramblings) with #bookbloggerhop and #coffeeramblings.
• Post the prompt on Instagram, tag me (@coffeeramblings), and include the hashtags.
• Engage with other bloggers on social media.
• Enter your name @YouTube/Twitter/Facebook/Instagram and provide the URL to your posts in the linky.

Update 02/20/26:

Please do not link to a random book review on your blog unless it includes the Book Blogger Hop prompt for the week along with your answer to it. Any blog link that doesn't follow this simple rule will be removed from the hop.

After much anticipation, I’m finally ready to share my thoughts on the mystery thriller Empty Boxes, penned by Robin Action and brought to life by Blank Slate Press, an indie publisher based right here in Missouri. I owe the publisher a heartfelt apology for my delay in reading and reviewing this book. While I can’t pinpoint the exact date I received it—sometime last year, I believe—I can’t ignore that it was indeed a long wait. I showcased the book in a Friday 56 post last October, and you might be wondering what took so long. Well, it’s been a tumultuous time for me; my mother had several ER visits and underwent surgery last November, which understandably pulled my focus away from blogging. In my suitcase of distractions, I even packed this book, but it ended up left behind while I opted for movies on my Fire Tablet instead. Eventually, I stumbled upon it again just last week, much to my relief.

Empty Boxes ^[*] is the second installment in the Rita Locke series, and fortunately for me, it can stand alone, as I hadn’t yet dipped into the first book. The narrative follows Pittsburgh crime reporter Rita Locke as she investigates the murder of a funeral director, only to discover a chilling truth—he had been burying empty coffins. As she digs deeper into his secrets, she unravels a sinister plot spanning international borders, leading her from the familiar streets of western Pennsylvania to an offshore Caribbean medical school. Here, she finds herself ensnared in a web of deceit that threatens her very life.

Let’s take a journey back to 1941—a pivotal moment just months before my maternal grandmother would come into this world and mere months before the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into the chaos of World War II. In this particular time capsule, a film emerged that embodies the essence of screwball comedy: Love Crazy, directed by Jack Conway, known for the films like Viva Villa! and A Tale of Two Cities. This film stars the effortlessly charming duo of William Powell and Myrna Loy, who together graced the screen in 13 films—14 if you count Loy's brief appearance in the 1947 flick The Senator Was Indiscreet. Their dynamic, always portraying a couple, showcased a rare and intoxicating on-screen chemistry, most notably in the delightful Thin Man series. Crazy Love ^[*] marked their tenth collaboration, offering a whimsical misunderstanding plot that far surpasses much of today’s Hollywood output in terms of writing, acting, and direction.

Powell and Loy bring to life Steve and Susan Ireland, a married couple joyfully celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary. Their plan? A personal reenactment of an Inuit ritual from Baffin Island—though this year, they’ve decided to perform it backward, culminating with dinner first instead of at midnight. However, the evening takes an unexpected detour when Susan’s mother, Mrs. Cooper (Florence Bates), barges in uninvited. An innocent trip to mail an insurance premium nearly ends catastrophically for Steve, as a lift attendant—played by the always quirky Elisha Cook Jr.—reminiscent of his role in Don’t Bother to Knock.