WWW Wednesday – December 18, 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

Thief of TimeWith all of the reading time afforded to me at the moment with my new schedule, I decided to really go for it and started reading Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett, the next Discworld book that I need to read and the final in the “Death” subseries. It’s a little bittersweet to know that this will be the last one, I think for the first time during my read through of this series, but it’s been a long time coming too. So far, I’m enjoying it quite a book at about 160 pages in; in typical fashion it still feels like things are ramping up, though the stakes are fairly clear at this point. Once again an Igor is playing a supporting role, so apparently Pratchett really loves the idea of these characters, though I find reading their accents a little tiresome at times. Another small character from a previous book, Lu-Tze, has returned in a major role here. I love how seamlessly he brings characters back around like this.

Recently Finished

AcceptanceLast week I finished reading Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer, the third and final book in what used to be the Southern Reach trilogy. Skimming some of the reviews on Goodreads, I was surprised to see a fair amount of ambivalence and negativity about this book, as I personally loved it as a conclusion to the series. It provided enough information that I don’t feel like I was strung along grasping at comprehension, but it continued to be just so weird and nebulous that it preserved a sense of something ineffable going on. Though I’m very intrigued about what the newest novel, Absolution, could be about, I would be very satisfied if this was indeed the final word on this series. I think this is the first time I’ve finished a novel series in a year (I did not anticipate a new release, so I don’t count it). I’m hoping I can maybe turn this into a personal trend, at least occasionally. Better sometimes than never.

Reading Next

With things starting to ramp up and get busier with the holidays, I probably won’t try to read anything more than A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll; it’s irrational, but I hate the idea of starting a book at the end of the year and continuing it into the next.

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

Books on My Winter 2024/2025 To-Read List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book meme run by That Artsy Reader Girl. Goodness, I did not realize until today that I have apparently not written one of these since all the way back in March. Lately, subjects hadn’t grabbed me when I’ve checked up on the listing, but I think I’ve been remiss in how little I’ve been checking, since I wish I’d contributed more throughout the year. This is an easy one to jump in on, at any rate, as I have a few books I still want to read before the year is done and a bunch more I’m hoping to start in the new year and the months following.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – December 11, 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

AcceptanceMy new work schedule is actually allowing me to get a good amount of reading done on a regular basis, so I’m well on my way to finishing Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer, the third novel in the Southern Reach trilogy. This is a nice change of pace after I took a little too long reading Authority. I know I mentioned this a little last week, but I really like how much this novel is providing clarity and revelation about Area X while still leaving me feeling like I don’t fully understand the why of everything that’s happening. A particular theme in this novel (perhaps the whole trilogy but emphasized here) is the limitations of human subjectivity and how that hinders its ability to understand something truly alien. It seems like further, deeper explanations are still forthcoming in the 100 or so pages I have left, and I hope I’m still happy with where it leaves me.

Recently Finished

Over the Garden Wall Tome of the UnknownLast week I read through Over the Garden Wall: Tome of the Unknown by Pat McHale and Jim Campbell, which was simply a delightful read. I’ve read some tie-in comic books to cartoons I like before, and I have always found them to be a little spotty. I expected this to be a little more throwaway, with its chapters containing random stories of little consequence to the series, and while that is somewhat true in that you don’t need to read this at all to have a fulfilling experience with the show, it does serve as a wonderful companion to the series, structuring each chapter in such a way that they actually fit between episodes and complement some of the character development we see in the show.

Reading Next

A Guest in the HouseI’m thinking I have to seriously consider another book to read, as I think I may finish Acceptance well ahead of the end of the month, and I’m not going to abstain from reading just because I finished something faster than I expected to. While I’m making up my mind about that, however, there are some graphic novels I want to read, namely A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll, a comic I wish very much that I’d taken the time to read during Halloween instead of the mediocre fare I did end up reading. A consolation to getting to it this late is that it should make for a fine Christmas ghost story, a tradition I’ve been meaning to embrace but never really have beyond enjoying adaptations of A Christmas Carol.

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

WWW Wednesday – December 4, 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

AcceptanceThis week I’ve started reading Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer, the third novel in the Southern Reach trilogy. I’m a good 100 pages or so in now, and I’m really enjoying how, once again, this novel is bringing a marked shift in how the narrative is told. While the first was epistolary from a single perspective and the second a more conventional, singular third-person one, this novel is presenting us with a number of different perspectives at significantly different points in time, all pertinent to Area X. What I especially like about this is how it is mixing things up, since things felt a little stagnant at times when solely from Control’s POV in the last book. Revelations have been a slow burn, and already I feel like I’m coming to understand things a little more, but it’s also still profoundly weird, raising yet more questions.

Recently Finished

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids AgainOver the weekend I finally finished reading Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again by Shigeru Kayama. This book took me a little longer to read than I would’ve liked, but this month has been busier with work, so I’m trying not to give myself too hard of a time with it. Overall, I enjoyed this reading experience very much, though some things clicked into place when the Afterword confirmed me that it was indeed written for a younger audience, as it definitely reads that way, with mixed results sometimes. Speaking of the Afterword, it actually really tied the whole reading experience together for me. While I may not have been in love with it purely as a novelization of those films, the book is a wonderful cultural artifact, and the background context given by the Afterword really helped to highlight the significance of these novellas and what went into their inception, endearing me to the whole package a lot more.

Reading Next

Over the Garden Wall Tome of the UnknownI’m determined to finish Acceptance this month above all else, so I’m not setting my mind on other concrete reading plans; I don’t want to set anymore lofty reading goals with the end of the year so close at hand. That being said, I’ve recently borrowed Over the Garden Wall: Tome of the Unknown by Pat McHale and Jim Campbell from the library. Though I was quite late to seeing the show, I’ve taken up the tradition of watching it every Halloween season since I first watched it. Naturally, when I saw this on the shelf, I wanted to read this too, so I should be getting to it pretty soon.

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

WWW Wednesday – November 20, 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

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids AgainOn Monday, I read the lion’s share of the Godzilla novella by Shigeru Kayama from the book Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again. So, I’ve finished the first novella of the two, putting me at about the halfway point of the book. Overall, this novella follows the plot of the film quite closely, with some added flourishes that make the reading experience unique but were understandably cut from the film version, if they were ever a part of it at all. It was a fun read, but it’s also a movie novelization from the 1950s, so it’s got a fairly pulpy style, though I wonder if that was more an intentional choice on the part of the translator. Despite being fairly straightforward, I liked how much emphasis the narrative put on people’s suffering and desperation in the face of the horror Godzilla represents.

Recently Finished

Snow, Glass, ApplesOver the weekend, I read Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran, a graphic novel I came across at the library recently. I recall reading the original short story of this retelling of Snow White in one of Gaiman’s books, and I really liked the graphic novel adaptation of A Study in Emerald, so I decided this was worth a look. I expected to enjoy it, but I was very surprised by how much Doran’s illustrations elevated this text, creating a superior reading experience to the original short story. The visual style, heavily borrowing from the work of Irish artist Harry Clarke (to whom Doran expresses feeling indebted to), is absolutely stunning, presenting much of it like a visual stream of consciousness, occasionally reined in with traditional paneling when it calls for it. I wish I’d come across this book for my October reads, but its chilly atmosphere is still fitting for the season. I highly recommend checking this out, just for Doran’s art.

Reading Next

No real set plans on what I want to read next, other than a forthcoming reading of Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer to finish off the Southern Reach trilogy.

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

Book Review – Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

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Authority

Authority is a 2014 science fiction horror novel by Jeff VanderMeer and the second novel in the Southern Reach trilogy. Following the disastrous 12th expedition into Area X, the Southern Reach (the organization in charge of containing and researching Area X) is in complete disarray. Members of the last expedition have returned under mysterious circumstances, the same as the 11th, except for the psychologist, who was also the Southern Reach’s director. Now, despite being an outsider, John Rodriguez (aka “Control”) must take the helm as acting director. Through a series of interrogations, briefings with staff, and reviews of disturbing videos and other documentation, Control must uncover the secrets of Area X and try to salvage the institution’s handling of it, something he soon realizes is deteriorating faster than anybody is willing to admit.Read More »

New Books & Novel Discoveries (October 2024)

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I think this is the longest I’ve neglected posting one of these. October was an interesting month for reading, but despite it being my birthday month and a time perhaps for picking up more spooky reads, I didn’t do much of any book shopping, which feels weird. So, on top of things feel a bit weird with work, I’ve let this uneventful month lie unwritten about for almost two weeks. Time to fix that.

Let’s see the new books!Read More »

WWW Wednesday – November 6, 2024

Ryan1 Comment
www_wednesdays

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! I regret not posting last week, but my work schedule is weird and I had people over to carve pumpkins last Wednesday, so I was unable to get a post up in time. As a result, I have a few finished books to get to.

Recently Finished

Vermis IIThe first book I finished since I last posted was Vermis II: Mist & Mirrors by Plastiboo, the second book in a series of art books structured as game guides for a dark fantasy video game that never existed. I really enjoyed the first volume, and I liked this second one even more. The first book felt a little open-ended, as if you’re following a quest line that the player could follow regardless of chosen character, but this time around it seemed to be a guide for a specific character’s journey, with more characters listed at the end, presumably with their own quests. I really liked the focus this gave to the book, keeping the game guide motif while allowing itself a more concrete narrative.

Sherlock Holmes and the NecronomiconNext, I read Sherlock Holmes and the Necronomicon by Sylvain Cordurié and Laci, another Halloween read that I borrowed from the library. This wasn’t terrible, but I don’t have a lot of nice things to say about this book either. It was competently written and drawn, but had very little going on that I found interesting. It being a Holmes story felt especially pointless, as he doesn’t do any detective work. The only real significance is that, somehow, Moriarty has returned, and he is going to use the Necronomicon to fully revive himself because of some nonsense about part of his soul being in Holmes. Actually, that was the most interesting element, as the idea is brought forth that positive changes in Holmes’s character are a direct result of Moriarty’s soul hiding in him, but this isn’t focused on enough. I likely won’t be checking out the second book.

Meddling KidsFinally, I finished Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero, my last spooky read for the Halloween season. Unfortunately, I didn’t actually finish it until November 4th, but the lion’s share of it was in October, so I’m counting it. I really like this book, I’d give it a solid four stars overall, though sometimes I want to say three and a half because the ending sections of this book became something of a struggle for me. There were some great twists and turns in the story that I enjoyed, but so much of it is this trio of burnouts fighting off a horde of amphibious monsters and it just wouldn’t stop; my eyes actually started glazing over and I had to snap myself back into focus during these continual, drawn out fight sequences. It was really good novel overall, but I can’t help but feel like Cantero wants it to be a movie, which can only really hurt a book if indeed the author doesn’t really want it to be a book.

Reading Next

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids AgainThe year is winding down, and I feel like I have to be realistic about what I’m going to be able to get to. Obviously, I can manage a good number of comics on short notice, but I have to be realistic about what novels I think I can read, especially since my work schedule may be dramatically changing soon. So, there are two books I definitely want to read before the end of the year: Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again by Shigeru Kayama and Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer. I’m going to start with the Godzilla book, as I’ve been excited to read that one, and I’ll round out the year finishing off the Southern Reach trilogy. Reading a whole trilogy in a year is rare for me; I think the only other time I’ve done it was when I read The Lord of the Rings.

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

Frighteningly Good Reads 2024 Wrap-Up

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Once again, the Halloween season has come and gone, and it’s time to look back at all of the spooky books I managed to read in this year’s horror reading showcase hosted by Silver Button Books.

I feel like I did a little better last year, and there were a couple of books that I’m disappointed I failed to read, but I’m still rather happy with how things turned out. Below are my Frighteningly Good Reads for 2024, though the selection looks a little different from what I presented at the start of last month.Read More »