Book buying was a little more conservative this month, though that’s also relative to last month, where I went on some sort of spree for some reason. This is at a time when I’ve been reading a lot loss, thanks to my working two jobs. Feels like the freelance editing is going well, though, so I just have to balance things better to get more reading done.

Enough carrying on, let’s get to the books!

New Books

These three volumes of Berserk by Kentaro Miura were not actually a result of any wild spending. My birthday is coming up next month, and one of my best friends decided to give me their gift of these three volumes early. I’ve already read one of them, and I’m eager to read the next two. Thank goodness for the quicker turn-around time for reading manga, I’m actually getting some reading done.

Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus by Chester Brown was a purchase that came from a random outing to a couple of local comic shops. The second didn’t have what I was looking for either, so I picked up some other things I still wanted. I’ve actually passively been aware that the store had a copy of this book for a while now (that while might even be years). I’ve read a couple of Brown’s graphic novels before, though it has been a while, and I decided to finally get myself ready to read another.

At the same shop I bought Brown’s graphic novel, I also purchased The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga by various. Admittedly, I chose to get this book much more on a whim. I expect that it’s non-canon too, though perhaps the legends are canon, even if they’re not true. If you know what I mean. Should be a fun read, at any rate.

The Oxford Book of Canadian Ghost Stories, edited by Alberto Manguel, was another thrift store purchase this past month. I don’t know what the deal is with buying ghost stories there lately, but seeing that it was a Canadian collection, I figured I should own it and take forever getting around to it. Y’know, for the heritage.

Jingo by Terry Pratchett was the most pragmatic purchase, as it serves one of my reading challenges for the year. This is the next Discworld I need to read, and I’m currently in the middle of it. It’s good!

As my only digital purchase for the month, I decided to just throw caution to the wind and buy The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde as a kindle book, instead of tracking down a physical copy. It cost me an entire dollar. Sometimes physical media is just too much, and I only have so much space. Maybe I’ll actually read this sooner rather than later, now. I love the idea of a ghost trying to get rid of new house occupants who just aren’t bothered that he’s there.

Novel Discoveries

This small collection of “novel discoveries” might have been even smaller had the first book, The Modern Myths by Philip Ball, been in stock at my local bookshop. They posted the book on their Instagram, and it’s the sort of subject that’s right up my alley, so I went in some time later to check it out. Unfortunately it was gone, and I wanted to pick it up on more than just an inkling that I might like it, so I didn’t ask them to order another one for me. Hopefully some day it’s back in stock so I can have a proper look.

Alien 3: The Unproduced First-Draft Screenplay by William Gibson (a novel by Pat Cadigan) is novel I randomly learned about on social media. I had no idea there was prospective version of Alien 3 drafted by one of the father’s of the cyberpunk genre, but I would love a look at what he had in mind for it. I have a fondness for Alien 3 as it is, especially the re-cut version, but it can still be fun to wonder what could have been.

Closing Thoughts

Lately, I’ve been thinking that I ought to comb through my books and find some that I no longer want to keep. Like I said, I don’t have unlimited space, and I’ve definitely let them pile up once again. I just have such a hard time letting them go (except, ironically, for my copy of Never Let Me Go that was never returned by a flame of my former roommate). If you have any advice on how to best go about giving up some books, I’d love to hear about it.

Until next time, thank you for reading.