WWW Wednesday – June 16, 2021

June 16, 2021 Ryan6 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Last night I stated reading Alien: River of Pain by Christopher Golden, which I managed to read 59 pages of. Reading quotas have been working out for me pretty well so far, as I set out to make sure I read at least 50 pages last night. So far, I think my suspicions were correct and that I will like this book the most in the trilogy of books it belongs to. So far, it feels a bit like cheating, though, because a few sections are just scenes from Alien and Aliens adapted into prose. They’re adapted well, mind you, so if they’re sparsely used I don’t think I’ll mind. They’re only just establishing the characters we’ll get to know at the Hadley’s Hope Colony, but it has been enjoyable so far. It has amusingly raised questions as to why anyone would want to make a colony there, and I wonder if that’ll be further addressed.

Recently Finished

Over the weekend I finished reading Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, the 20th Discworld novel. This feels to be a rather momentous achievement, I wish I felt more inclined to bask in it a little. 20 books deep into a series is no small feat, even if it took me five years to get here. I really enjoyed this book—absolutely loved certain parts of it—but I can’t help but feel my experience was a little tainted by familiarity. This novel is among the most quoted of Pratchett’s work, and my own curiosity years ago had me looking up clips of the TV adaptation. I just wish I’d known less about it. Some other things in the execution held it back a little for me too, so while I loved it overall, I’m not completely enamoured with it. I should have a review up sometime later this week.

Reading Next

I’m hoping I can get River of Pain done soon, allowing me to squeeze in one more book in June. A novel that might just fit in perfectly is Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I bought this book relatively recently and even added it to my yearly to-read list, but honestly, I can’t remember what precisely drew me to it. I know it’s an American classic, and it never hurts to read more classics, but I really can’t summon any relevant information about it in my memory. Well, I’ve got it anyway, so we’ll soon see how a fairly blind reading of it goes.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – June 9, 2021

June 9, 2021 Ryan2 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m currently only 15% of the way through Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, the 20th Discworld novel, so the story is really only getting started. I am loving the setup so far, as I wasn’t completely aware that what Death and his granddaughter Susan will be dealing with is, essentially, the assassination of Santa Claus (named the Hogfather on the Disc). The assassin Mr. Teatime is spearheading the plot, and while it has yet to be executed upon, he’s so elegantly deranged I can only assume he will be successful, at least at first. He’s actually been the greater focus of the story so far, so I look forward to learning more of what Death and Susan specifically get up to. I’m weirdly familiar with this book, but in a vague way, so I don’t actually know a lot of what precisely goes down.

Recently Finished

Over the last week I’ve mostly been reading volumes of Berserk by Kentaro Miura, specifically finishing Vol. 28 and then making much shorter work of Vol. 29. I’m continuing to enjoy it a lot, though it feels a bit like its spinning its wheels at the moment. I had expected they would have made more progress trying to get to Puck’s homeland, but Vol. 28 was a lot of just fighting crocodiles and then a sea monster. The last few chapters of that volume did have some good character stuff with Schierke the witch, though, which bled into 29, where there was then some good stuff with Farnese. I’m realizing that lately Guts goes through stages of fighting and being hurt, with a lot of character focus going to his companions.

Reading Next

Alien River of Pain I’m still going to read Berserk Vol. 30 before I even push hard toward finishing Hogfather, but I still have my next novel decided anyway. I need to get further along with my challenges, darn it. In keeping with reading a holiday(ish) book out of season, I’m going to read Alien: River of Pain by Christopher Golden, which tells of the events at the colony of Hadley’s Hope that the marines are deployed to in the film Aliens. I read the first two books in this trilogy around Halloween, but I’ve realized that I’ve set myself up to read so many horror books this year that I don’t want to read yet another Alien book during the spooky season this year.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – June 2, 2021

June 2, 2021 Ryan6 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Berserk 28 I’ve started reading more Berserk by Kentaro Miura, specifically Volume 28. So far, this volume has really reminded me of the warmth and tenderness Miura was able to inject into his work, despite all the darkness and violence that permeates the story. It was a simple moment where a normally stoic character breaks down despite herself, and our gruff and detached hero Guts is able to provide a modicum of comfort for her. I was thinking more about moments like these thanks to a tweet I read reflecting on Miura’s work in the wake of his passing, and it’s a good reminder of how important positivity is, even in stories full of struggle and despair.

Recently Finished

Over the weekend I finished reading my ARC copy of Bacchanal by Veronica G. Henry. I wanted to have the review up yesterday, but I wasn’t quite able to get it finished, and I really didn’t want to rush it out. Nevertheless, I should have it up soon. Overall, I quite liked this book. There were some notable hitches in the plot for me, but the setting and characters really won me over. It was a slow burn for a lot of the book, but I really liked the way it took its time getting Liza to understand the nature of her supernatural abilities. I was more than happy to spend lots of time with this otherworldly carnival too. I’ll have to keep an eye out for more of Henry’s work in the future.

Reading Next

Hogfather Between personal reads that I didn’t list and getting ARCs done, I’ve gone off the rails a little as far as my reading challenges are concerned. So, I’m going to get back on track and start reading a few of those soon. To stay on top of my desire to read a Discworld book every quarter, I’m going to start reading Hogfather by Terry Pratchett next. It’s the penultimate Death novel, which makes me sad, but it’s also one I’ve seen most referenced, so I’m excited to finally check it out for myself. Feels a bit odd to read a Christmas-y book in June, but I shan’t put it off.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – May 26, 2021

May 26, 2021 RyanLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m about 28% of the way through Bacchanal by Veronica Henry, an ARC I hope to have finished within the next week. I’m enjoying the setting and I really like what’s being done with Liza’s powers, which allow her to psychically communicate with animals. At this time, she still hasn’t gotten the hang of this power, as there seems to be a give and take, so when she pushes too hard she can kill the animal. With only a Tasmanian tiger and a tortoise at her disposal at the Carnival, where she must put an act together or get thrown out, the stakes are understandably high. I’m excited by the fact that I have no idea where this book might be going, since it’s only been laying foundation so far, establishing friends and foes, but leaving plot a little nebulous.

Recently Finished

ThePrincessDiarist I’ve not finished anything new since last week, but shortly after my last post I realized that I completely forgot to mention that I finished reading The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. I had oddly mixed feelings after concluding this book, partly to do with the fact that I have almost no desire to review the book. I liked it, but it felt like such a personal thing related to Fisher that trying to review it would just feel off, for me personally. It inspired a bit of melancholy in me by the end, since I really wish she’d have been able to see the sequel trilogy through, considering Episode IX was meant to focus a lot on Leia and she talks a bit about her involvement in the new films. I wish it had been a bit more about the production of the film rather than her relationship with Ford, but it was still interesting as a peak behind the curtain into the lives of people before they became larger-than-life.

Reading Next

Berserk 28 I’m undecided on what novel I’d like to read next, goodness knows I’ve got a laundry list to choose from. What I do know, however, is that I’m going to read through another batch of Berserk volumes by Kentaro Miura. If you haven’t heard, the news recently came out that Miura tragically passed away on May 6. He was such an influential artist, it has been an upsetting turn of events, to say the least. This has spurred me to continue on with his series sooner rather than later, which I’ve sometimes let languish on the shelf, though it’s not been all that long since I read my last volume.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – May 19, 2021

May 19, 2021 Ryan4 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Nothing! I’m between books at the moment. I did take the free time to finally post my review of Light of the Jedi, if you’d like to check that out. It’s not often that I’m behind on reviews (because I read so slow).

Recently Finished

Over the weekend I finally read through the last two volumes of the first Doctor Aphra series, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End, both by Simon Spurrier et al. I really wish I had read through these a lot sooner, as they tied together with details from earlier books, which I was fuzzier on the specifics of this far removed from reading. She continued to be an appreciably complex figure, her selfishness harming people she cares about so often, and these last two books had some great twists and turns that really dove into her oscillating nature. I also love how this series continues to be the place for all the weirder little details in the Star Wars universe. I wish the more mainstream stuff would take a leaf from this series.

I also read through Courting Justice by R.L. Sommer (sequel to Recusal) over the weekend, an eARC I received a little while ago, which is set to be published next week. It was pretty short, so I’m happy to have gotten through it so quickly. I don’t normally start books if I haven’t read the first in the series, but I was assured that reading the first one wouldn’t be necessary to appreciate this book. I wonder how much it would have made me feel differently if I had. Nevertheless, fiction about the legal system isn’t in my usual wheelhouse, so I thought I’d give it a go. I plan to have a review up on Monday, so I don’t want to expound too much about specifics here. Not one of my favourites, I’ll tell you that much.

Reading Next

Up next, I’m going to be reading another eARC, which I’m hoping to have done before the end of the month: Bacchanal by Veronica Henry. Featuring a young woman with latent magical powers joining an evil carnival that travels around the Depression-era South, this is a book I’ve been especially curious about over the last little while. I’ve stopped myself from looking into too much more information about this book, so I can go in as fresh as possible, but I have a good feeling about it. It’s ticking a lot of boxes for me.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – May 12, 2021

May 12, 2021 RyanLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m a good 70% of the way through The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. I’d have liked to have had it done, but some personal plans got in the way of any further reading time (not that I’m complaining). I’ve got a mix of emotions about this book. On the one hand I’m really enjoying it as a rather frank memoir about a young person who grew up around Hollywood stardom having her own whirlwind experiences on the set of a film she had no idea would become so big. On the other hand, I feel like there was some sleight of hand here, because it’s much more about her affair with Harrison Ford and what she recalls of their relationship than it is her experiences around the film, which is what I was expecting. I am enjoying it regardless, but I can’t help but feel misled.

Recently Finished

Alas, nothing this week. I really ought to get back to reading comic books. I’m really letting those slide now…

Reading Next

I’ve yet to start those High Republic comics yet, which I’ll certainly get to, but I think I’ll also read the final two volumes of Doctor Aphra by Simon Spurrier et al, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End. These are the last two volumes in the first series about the character. There’s a whole other series to start, which I believe began in 2020, but I really need to finish this up first. I feel much more comfortable letting a new series languish than one I’ve been in the middle of for years.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – May 5, 2021

May 5, 2021May 6, 2021 Ryan8 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Last night I started reading The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, the author’s memoir of her experience starring in the original Star Wars, including excerpts from a journal she kept at the time. I’m only about 50 pages in, and so far it’s just been memoirs. I’ve been enjoying it so far, though her writing style took a bit of getting used to so soon after I finished the last novel I was reading. It’s straightforward enough, but being more reflective of a life lived, she has jumped back and forth a bit between periods of time, though not dramatically. It’s got a nice conversational tone, at any rate, and I really like her sense of humour, which is honest, irreverent, and a little biting.

Recently Finished

Monday night I finished reading Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, the first novel in the The High Republic series of media, set 200 years before the Skywalker Saga. I ended up committing to some reading quotas over the weekend, helping me to power through the book a lot faster. The catastrophic incident that took up a great deal of the beginning of the novel was a little protracted, but I ended up really loving the way events unfolded in its wake. A few of the perspective characters felt superfluous, but I enjoyed a good majority of the new characters introduced in this book, especially the way the villains were built up over the course of the story. I’m really excited to read more of these books. I should have a full review up soon.

Reading Next

I’ve got a couple of ARCs to choose from that I want to be starting next, but I haven’t decided which I want to read first, so I’ll refrain from being too specific until I’ve made up my mind. What I’m pretty excited to dig into finally, though, are the issues I’ve slowly accumulated of a High Republic comic book series that has been coming out since January. I’m happy I restrained myself from starting there, because from the scant details I know, it seems to be dealing with some of the fallout from Light of the Jedi.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – April 28, 2021

April 28, 2021 Ryan6 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Over the weekend I started reading Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, one of the first books under the banner of The High Republic, which is an era set hundreds of years before the film saga. When I started this over the weekend I had lofty ideas of reading quotas, getting 50 pages done a day to speed up reading. I read just over 50 pages on Saturday, and have made no progress since. So that’s a bad start with that. I’m enjoying the book so far though, which has been introducing a large cast of new Jedi characters. An unexpected catastrophe is affecting and entire star system and a large force of Jedi, alongside a Republic fleet, are trying to save as many people as they can. It’s exciting stuff, but I want to see where the story goes once things quiet down too.

Recently Finished

Sadly, nothing this week. I’ve continued to neglect comics. Boo to me.

Reading Next

I’ve still had trouble deciding what I’ll read next from my to-read lists, but to do away with the indecision I’ve just now decided to go with The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, which is a collection of her old journal entries she wrote during the filming of the original Star Wars. I want to make sure I keep up with my lists in May, but I intend to get two ARCs finished that month too, so I’ve mainly picked this above the others because it’s relatively shorter. I am excited to finally read some of Fisher’s writing too, mind you.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – April 21, 2021

April 21, 2021 Ryan2 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m between books at the moment, so nothing! Boo! 👻

Recently Finished

Over the weekend I read through Lovesickness by Junji Ito, the newly released story collection of the manga author’s work. I posted a full review of it on Monday. The headlining story was quite good, which came as a surprise since it took me a while to warm up to it. I was also surprised by how long it was, expecting at first that it would only be one chapter long. Turns outs “Lovesickness” is 60% of the collection, so this book wasn’t the same type of story collection as Shiver, Smashed, or Venus in the Blind Spot. The remainder of the book brought the reading experience down tremendously though, which was a shame because I think that main story was one of the best Ito stories I’ve read in a while.

Last night I finished reading my eARC copy of Where Have You Gone Without Me? by Peter Bonventre. Since my last proper update about this book, I warmed up to it considerably. I’m not sure this will make me crazy for mystery thrillers going forward, but it certainly hasn’t turned me off of them. It was something of a slow burn, taking its time to build up the case. I kept expecting it to take a sudden, sensational turn, but it kept things fairly low-key and down to earth, though still compelling, for the most part. I should have a full review up soon, I’m still collating my feelings on the whole thing. I can’t remember the last time a singular story made my feelings fluctuate so, but I’m happy they ended up more positive.

Reading Next

I’m of two minds right now, because I haven’t really chosen what I’m going to read next as far as my to-read lists go, but I have decided I want to read Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule finally. I keep meaning to start this book as one I almost exclusively read at home, a supplemental read, but so far that’s just left me not starting it at all. I really want to start getting into these High Republic books, though, so I’m just going to start it, and that’s that. I’ll decide on another book from my lists to pick up soon too, I just can’t make up my mind on that right now.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – April 14, 2021

April 14, 2021 Ryan4 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’ve only gotten a little further along in Where Have You Gone Without Me? by Peter Bonventre, since I was more focused on getting Norse Mythology finished and getting the Feet of Clay review written. So, I haven’t got much more to say about the book itself right now. With those other things out of the way, though, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to finish this up by next week.

Recently Finished

The other night I finished reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, which served as an excellent introduction to the subject. I’ve actually got another book of Norse tales that seems a little denser, and I’m hoping that will be more accessible now that I’ve read this as a primer. It’s so amusing how this mythology seems to have no real concept of scale, describing so many beings as impossibly massive, yet gods like Thor, who is sized more or less like a regular person, is so easily able to kill such massive beings. That really must have been some hammer. I’m surprised the book didn’t include a story of how Loki came to be blood brothers with Odin and dwell among the gods in Asgard, especially considering he causes them as much trouble as he helps to resolve.

Reading Next

Though I’ve got a few books on the brain for what to read next, I’m most certainly going to read Lovesickness by Junji Ito next, which is the newest collection of the manga author’s short horror stories. I haven’t been enamoured with all of the author’s short fiction, but I think my expectations have been decently tempered after having read so much of his work over the passed couple of years, I’m hoping that’ll help me enjoy the book more overall. All the same, I do hope there are some gems in this book that I haven’t heard of before.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.