WWW Wednesday – January 17, 2024

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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

Video Game of the YearI hadn’t made much progress last week due to the January lull, which is why I didn’t post, but I have been chipping away at Video Game of the Year by Jordan Minor, which is a year-by-year guide to some of the most influential video games of each year from 1977 to 2022. Some early entries have been unsurprising, such as the likes of Pong and Pac-Man, but within each entry is a great look into the industry climate that helped shape these games and the technical limitations that they had to work with. I’m hoping I don’t plod along with this for too long, but I’m enjoying it regardless.

AnnihilationAlso, on a whim, I started reading Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer on Monday, though I was too tired to fully take advantage of my available reading time; if I wasn’t so fatigued, I probably would’ve finished it. Though it’s been a while since I’ve seen the film adaptation, I’m still taken a little aback at how different the book is from it in terms of presentation, even though the premise is more or less the same. I’m really enjoying it as a cosmic horror story all the same though, and I’m frankly relishing the fact that I’m not sure what to expect. With starting this book, and hopefully finishing it imminently, I’ve decided to commit to reading through the whole trilogy this year; getting the first one finished so early is a good start.

Recently Finished

The Employees (2)On Sunday, I managed to read through the entirety of The Employees by Olga Ravn, a science fiction novella told through report statements from the crew of a ship that has taken on strange objects that are having an effect on the them, both human and humanoid alike. At times, this book was a little too stream of consciousness for me, as the statements being read are transcribed from characters speaking, so oftentimes it felt as though I was reading rambling or jumbled thoughts, leaving me worried some details went over my head; it felt not unlike when I struggle to follow poetry, though not nearly as bad. However, this conveyed the idea of the crew’s states of mind slowly being compromised really well, and a clear story eventually emerged that I really enjoyed. I’m a little behind on the reviews I want to write, but hopefully I’ll get one up for this one.

Reading Next

The GhostThe next book I want to read is The Ghost: A Cultural History by Susan Owens. Though I don’t believe in ghosts, I find ghost stories and the mythology around them fascinating. For a long time I had wanted to buy this book, but I decided last month or so to read it from the library instead. I actually had the book in my possession in December, but I realized that I wasn’t going to have time to get to it until the new year and somebody else had a reservation on it, so I just returned it without starting. I’ve got a hold on it now again and I’m hoping to be able to take it out again soon.

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

Looking Back at 2023 & New Challenges for 2024

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I have to say, 2024 sounds a little too serious as a year, doesn’t it? Even in 2023 it felt like we were still in the shadow of 2020, but now it feels a lot more apparent that we’re entering the mid-2020s, which is discomforting. I know this is all subjective, but the march of time has never felt more apparent to me.

Neverminding that digression, with the dramatic change of my working habits and schedule introduced a couple of years ago, it took me a while to adjust my reading habits to a place I could be happy with. As a result, I referred to my reading endeavours in 2022 in last year’s equivalent of this post as a “dud”. I’m happy to report now that I managed to turn that mood around in a year’s time. Let’s have a look at the particulars.Read More »

Top 5 Books I Read in 2023

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It’s that time of year again where I start reflecting on the past year’s reading endeavours and determine which among them were my favourites. As always, this isn’t about books that came out in 2023, just the ones that I enjoyed the most among all the books that I finished, listed in no particular order.

Surprisingly, I found this list a little more difficult to put together than normal, as somehow I didn’t really have the pool of books to pull from that I thought I did. Though I made a great effort to get a lot more comics read, I didn’t actually read much more novels than last year, and unfortunately I think there were a few more middling books than is usual for me. In any case, let’s get to this year’s list.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – January 3, 2024

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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 at the moment! I’m between books, taking some time to cool off in the new year.

Recently Finished

The Fifth ElephantThough it took until pretty much the eleventh hour, I finished reading The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett during New Years. Though I took time away from the blog to visit family for the holidays, I actually got a fair amount of the book read while I was away, which is uncharacteristic of me. Still, it wasn’t quite enough to stop me from needing to read up until the last minute, but I’m happy I got it done all the same. Though I don’t like it as much as others, my opinion on this novel really turned around, despite taking a little while to get going. Ultimately, I just needed to be a little patient, as the first half of the novel did lay a solid foundation and build toward something really compelling. I love how much he’s able to make this world funny, yet have the funny little details matter beyond just being humour.

Reading Next

The Employees (2)At the moment, I don’t really have a solid plan for what I want to read next. I kept alluding to a book I would maybe squeeze in at the end of the year, and obviously I did not do that. That book was The Employees by Olga Ravn. It’s a short science fiction novella about the crew of a ship, both organic and synthetic alike, becoming fixated on strange objects they take onto their ship. The story is told in employee memos and reports, which sounds like a really interesting format, and it also looks like it won’t take me long to read at all, so I’ll hopefully get through it soon now that I have a clean slate. Other than that, I still want to read All My Friends Are Creeps by Count D. soon, since I’m borrowing it from a friend.

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

New Books & Novel Discoveries (December 2023)

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I’d say I was pretty restrained over the holidays and didn’t go crazy buying things for myself; there were even a number of thrift store trips where I managed to reign myself in and not buy any books impulsively. So, all the books I received this month were gifts in one way or another. I’m still wracking my brain wondering if I did buy something, of course, but I’m 95% sure I didn’t.

Enough carrying on, on to the books!Read More »

WWW Wednesday – December 20, 2023

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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

The Fifth ElephantThough I had the reading time I expected this week, I only read about another 100 pages in The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett; I was really hoping I would get through more of the book than that, but I was exceptionally sleep-deprived that day, so I only had the capacity for so much. To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this outing regardless. At almost 200 pages in, it doesn’t really feel like the story has gotten started, it just feels as if we’re still building up to something. Maybe I will come to better appreciate the slow burn later on, but right now I wish I had a firmer understanding of what’s going on and what’s at stake. So far, the only thing with any real substance is the subplot surrounding Fred Colon serving as acting captain while Vimes and Carrot are gone, resulting in the other members of the Watch forming a police union.

Recently Finished

Paper Girls 6I’m happy to report that over the weekend I finished reading the sixth and final volume of Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang. I really enjoyed the way this wrapped up, especially in how it felt a little more subdued. There was plenty of spectacle to be had, but by far the most tension I felt was after their time travel adventure had already been concluded. I was desperate for any and all signs indicating what might be in store for these girls after the conclusion of the book. All in all, it was really bittersweet and ambiguous. I don’t tend to get emotional while I’m reading very often, but this ending definitely had an effect on me. In some ways it rehashed some of the events of the first volume, which I’m happy to say I remembered enough about to spot some differences, but I’m also especially determined to read through the series a second time now to better appreciate it.

Reading Next

All My Friends Are CreepsI think I might read All My Friends Are Creeps by Count D., a poetry collection that a friend of mine let me borrow after I talked to them about how I often struggle with reading poetry. I can already tell it’s poetry I’m going to enjoy, and the art is really appealing to me too. Though it’s a pretty monster-oriented book overall, I’m thinking I’m going to try and count this as a Christmas ghost story of sorts, since I’ve not really committed to anything else for the holiday. I expect that this won’t take me long to finish either.

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

WWW Wednesday – December 13, 2023

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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

The Fifth ElephantI’ve made a fair amount more progress in The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett; I’m nearly at 100 pages in, though it still feels like the story is in its preliminary stages. Vimes has finally set out for Uberwald with Sybil and his retinue in tow, but it’s not gone much further than that yet. It seems the city watch back in Ankh-Morpork will still have plenty to do while he’s gone though, as a robbery and a strange murder remain unsolved. I’m curious how it will all tie together with Vimes’s diplomatic mission. Some detail has been given on what the fifth elephant is supposed to be, which seems to be dealing more with it as an idea than something literal, though there does seem to be a suggestion that one actually did exist. I don’t know why, but I assumed the story would be about it more actively, like as an active, existing entity. I’m sure this is a lot more interesting. Knowing more sure does make the cover funnier too.

Recently Finished

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess 11Over the weekend I finished the 11th and final volume The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess by Akira Himekawa. The final fight against Ganondorf made for some great moments, especially with some more fan service involving the Hero’s Shade, aka the Hero of Time. There was also more attention paid to the romantic angle between Link and Midna without deviating away from the ending of the game, which I also appreciated. A marriage between narrative elements of this and the quest in the game really would be something. I couldn’t help being a little disappointed with this though, as it was really just the final fight and then the story quietly wrapping up. I can’t help but feel it would’ve been more impactful if all of this had been included in volume 10 for a grander finale (and a nice round number of volumes).

Reading Next

I still have plenty of time to finish reading Paper Girls, and I may have time to squeeze in a final small book too, I just want to prioritize The Fifth Elephant before I commit to anything. With the year winding down part of me is fine with just quietly finishing what I’m already working on with reading. We’ll see.

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

WWW Wednesday – December 6, 2023

Ryan2 Comments
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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

The Fifth ElephantThough I didn’t give myself quite as much time with it as I was hoping, I started The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett on Monday, the next novel in the Discworld series that I need to read. I’m only about 50 pages in, so the story has barely started, but so far this book sees us back with Vimes and the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork. It seems Vimes is going to have to play diplomat more than copper in this book, however, as he is being sent as an ambassador to Uberwald. I’m really excited that Uberwald is a part of this story after being featured so heavily in the previous novel. I don’t expect things to be too referential, but its giving some enjoyable connective tissue between the two.

Recently Finished

Paper Girls 5Over the weekend I read through the penultimate volume of Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang. Thankfully, I’m reading it close to the last volume, so I’m having no issues following what’s going on. This volume has us seeing greater and greater signs of all of the elements of the story weaving into each other, which has really got me wanting to do a reread at some time in the near future. I especially have a feeling that reading the beginning of the story will be significantly different the second time around. With the way things are coming together, I can’t help but hope some of these girls are able to change their fates, even though everything points to that being outside of possibility. Hopefully by next week I’ll know how everything pans out.

The Lost WorldOn Monday I finally finished reading through The Lost World by Michael Crichton, which continued to be weaker than the first novel, though the final third of the book had enough action going for it that it was at least fun. I think it’s hilarious that Ian Malcolm ends up with a messed up leg and high on morphine for a significant portion of this novel too. Also, compared to the film, Sarah Harding is really badass in this novel and all around had stronger characterization than the other characters; though the novel isn’t really “about” any one person, I wish it had spared more focus on her. Overall, I think this book’s problem is that the plot was just too weak; this may be a little ungenerous, but I feel Crichton didn’t put much effort into contriving a reason for people to be mucking about on a dinosaur island again.

Reading Next

I’ve gone over my near-future reading plans a lot now, so expect more Paper Girls and Twilight Princess manga soon, maybe by next week. I don’t want to state the last book I might read this year, in case I have to push it to January.

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

Book Review – Alien 3 by Pat Cadigan

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Alien 3 First-Draft

Alien 3: The Unproduced First-Draft Screenplay by William Gibson by Pat Cadigan is a 2021 novel that tells an alternative story to the third film in the Alien franchise. The story follows the fates of Ripley, Newt, Corporal Hicks, and the synthetic Bishop after their narrow escape from the Hadley’s Hope colony and their harrowing encounter with the alien Queen aboard their ship the Sulaco. They thought their nightmare was over, but the aliens are nothing if not relentless; though the Queen was ejected from their ship, she has left something behind that is eager to change and grow. As they try to recover themselves at Anchorpoint Station, it slowly becomes clear that the danger hasn’t ended, but evolved.Read More »

New Books & Novel Discoveries (November 2023)

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I ended up getting more books than last month, despite my vague attempts to buy less things for myself as Christmas approaches. In fairness, a number of them were orders that arrived later than expected, so perhaps things evened out. Once again, I am struggling with the idea that there is a book or two I’ve forgotten, but I can’t determine what they might be. There was a flurry of trips to the thrift store this past month, which I’ve decided is to blame for this.

Anyway, enough rambling, on to the books!Read More »