Tag: 2120

WWW Wednesday – February 12, 2025

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

Though I’m in the middle of reading through a selection of comic book volumes, I thought I ought to start reading a novel as well. After giving it some thought, I decided upon Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel, the second novel in the Themis Files trilogy. It’s been nearly three years since I finished the first book, but luckily this story is taking place after a significant time skip, so it seems much will be recapped for my benefit. I’m only about 30 pages in so far, but I’m enjoying the briskness of it, especially after reading Moby-Dick. Another robot has suddenly appeared in London, and it’s just standing there menacingly, so the UN is in the process of deploying Themis to see if these  presumed visitors mean any harm. After a good deal of restraint in the first book, I’m wondering if this one will start with a big robot fight.

Recently Finished

For the better part of the back half of last week I read through 2120 by George Wylesol, and I’ve got to say, I think this book might be brilliant. A choose-your-own-adventure comic presented like a point-and-click adventure video game, this comic actually emulates the experience of playing one of those video games in book form. I got stuck and didn’t know how to progress, actually wandering halls and wondering where to go—in a book. Turns out there are many puzzles to solve along the way, and if you’re not properly paying attention to the strange, anomalous rooms you explore, you’ll have to do some backtracking to figure out how to progress. It could get tedious at times, and the story (while good) wasn’t exactly profound or groundbreaking, but I think this is a truly brilliant blend of two different media. This will easily be in my top 5 books of 2025.

I also read the comic book adaptation of Hellboy: The Bones of Giants by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola. This story was originally one of the spin-off Hellboy novels, which I read back in 2018. At the time, I recall thinking that the story would perhaps make a much better comic, and while in some ways that is true, I actually found the reading experience to be about the same. A lot of the fat gets trimmed and Matt Smith’s work as the illustrator is fantastic, but it ultimately read like a shallower version of an already fairly shallow novel. So, I’m happy this was a library read rather than a purchase, as I don’t really feel like I’ll need to add this book to my collection of Hellboy books.

Reading Next

No plans for the next novel I want to read, but the next comic I’m going to start is Hellboy in Love by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Matt Smith. This is another library book, and seeing as it is standalone and not adapting anything that already exists, as far as I know, I’m hoping it’ll tell a more enjoyable, original story.

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

WWW Wednesday – February 5, 2025

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

Nothing! I am between books. Finally.

Recently Finished

Yesterday, I finished my great undertaking by completing Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, including the excerpt at the back that tells of the real-life incident of the whale-ship Essex, which was wrecked by a sperm whale. This book was a greater challenge than I was anticipating, as the writing style was particularly difficult to parse. Fairly often I would read summaries and/or reread certain paragraphs to make sure I understood what happened in the chapter I’d just finished. I sincerely found this book more difficult than translations of Homer. Nevertheless, I’m proud of myself for finally overcoming this personal reading white whale, and despite my trouble with it I definitely gained an appreciation for it as a great piece of literature. I thought I knew how the story played out in a basic way too, but I was surprised by how some things turned out at the end, which was a nice bonus. Though the bulk of the book is about whaling, the narrative does pick up at the end in a rather more engaging way.

Reading Next

I feel like I need something of cool-down period after finishing such a massive novel before I begin another. Luckily for me, I have five different books that I’ve taken out from the library; four of them are graphic novels and one a book of poetry. To start, I’m going to finally get going with 2120 by George Wylesol, which I’ve been waiting on for an especially long time. It’s also due back this Saturday, so I’d like to be courteous and finish it by then, as somebody else has requested it. Then, I will likely read the two Hellboy comics I borrowed: a comic book adaptation of The Bones of Giants and Hellboy in Love, both of which are by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Matt Smith (illustrator).

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

WWW Wednesday – January 22, 2025

RyanLeave a 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

Moby-DickLast week I hadn’t made enough progress for a good update, but in the two weeks since my last WWW post I’ve managed to read quite a lot more of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. At writing, I sit at 367 pages in, or a little over half way. I’ve certainly been having mixed feelings about starting the year with this book, as for a good while I found it frightfully dull reading. It wasn’t until about the 300-page mark that I started to feel a growing appreciation for it. I suppose I just had to adjust to its voice, and staying committed has paid off. The plot is surprisingly scant, as this really is mostly about whaling; I’d been told this, but I sorely underestimated how much this was about whaling and cetology of the time, as well as talking trash about poor depictions of whales in art. Highlights from recent chapters include an encounter with a giant squid, which was surprisingly naturalistic, and the haunting description of sailors who have fallen overboard in the Arctic being found later frozen in ice flows “as a fly is found glued in amber.”

Recently Finished

Yesterday, I decided to set Moby-Dick aside briefly and finally read through Teeth by Dallas Hunt, a Canadian book of poetry. I’ve said it many times before, but I always have a bit of trouble with poetry, especially in retaining what I’ve read. I really don’t know what my issue is, but I try to read some when a book catches my eye anyway to keep my horizons broadened. This book is mostly written in a free verse style, which I appreciate a lot as I find it to be accessible. One that I especially enjoyed had Hunt venting frustration with the expectations of poetry and literature written by Indigenous authors and the cliches therein. It reminded me of how, even when trying to be supportive of a marginalized group, it is important not to forget they deal with the same mundane tribulations as anybody else.

Reading Next

I finally got 2120 by George Wylesol from the library after it being on order since September, so I’m likely going to be reading that soon. I’m really intrigued by it, but part of me is a little apprehensive about the choose-your-own-adventure aspects of it, as I’m a little worried it will feel more like a gimmick.

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