Tag: Cliff Chiang

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 – 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 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.

WWW Wednesday – November 29, 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 Lost WorldI’ve managed to put another decent dent into The Lost World by Michael Crichton this past week, which is pretty good considering my track record with it thus far between the big reading days. Honestly, I’m a little taken aback with how much this novel might be back-loaded with action. Last night I realized that I’m two-thirds of the way through, but it doesn’t feel like all that much has happened plot-wise. I have a general idea of where things are going right now thanks to the film adaptation, but it’s so weird that what’s coming happens relatively early in the film but so late in the novel. It’s certainly a much more subdued approach, which isn’t inherently bad, but there’s a listlessness to it all that I’m still finding unfortunate. Also, I’m amused by Crichton retconning the whole “vision based on movement” thing with the T. rexes, though it seems it was all based on developing science, so I appreciate him trying to keep up to date with things too.

Recently Finished

Paper Girls 4Over the weekend I finally read through the fourth volume of Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang. I’m disappointed in myself that I’m not remembering key plot points right away when I find myself continuing this series. It’s hard with comics sometimes, as I don’t want to commit to a whole series if I end up not liking it, but if it’s good my reading of it will be so spread out that I don’t feel like I’ll wholly appreciate it. I’m going to make a point of re-reading this series sometime in the near future so that I can better appreciate it as a whole. Nevertheless, I really liked this volume, especially in how it fleshed out the different factions of future peoples embroiled in conflict that the girls are caught between. Their competing philosophies and methods are really interesting.

Reading Next

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess 11I’ve got more Paper Girls and the final volume of the Twilight Princess manga on the horizon, and then I will by starting The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett, along with another small book, hopefully. It’s funny that this time of year always has what I’ve got left to read so clear, but I’m a little excited that it’s involving so many this time. I think I will feel very accomplished.

It’s unfortunate that this month I really didn’t post much at all except for these updates, but I am working on an Alien 3 review, which will hopefully go up before next Wednesday. Additional posts should hopefully pick up in December too, if I can weave them between holiday plans effectively enough.

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

WWW Wednesday – February 15, 2023

RyanLeave a comment
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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! I’m actually between books at the moment. Go me.

Recently Finished

Wolf in White VanI managed to have some good reading time this weekend, and I used it to finish Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. I’m happy to report that the twist that I was afraid was coming did not in fact happen, so things did not go in a disappointing direction for me. I’m actually finding it a little hard to pin down quite how I feel about the book, though, as I can’t say I was deeply enthralled or in love with it, but it had the more unique effect of altering my state of mind in the wake of finishing it. Perhaps this isn’t that uncommon, but it’s rarer that the feeling isn’t something more joyful. It’s something altogether more poignant. I also feel like I didn’t fully “get” the novel, if you take my meaning. Some things definitely resonated with me, but I found the stream of consciousness a little hard to follow at times. I’m going to need some more time to reflect on it before reviewing.

Paper Girls 3I also won’t have to eat my glasses this week like I threatened myself last week, as I also made to time read the third volume of Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang over the weekend. This marks the end of reading through all the volumes of this series that I currently own, so I’m going to pick up more this year so I can get it finished up. As it turns out, I’m halfway through the series now, and I’m feeling especially hooked by this point. I really like the way this story explores time travel, specifically having only one timeline rather than branches. Each member of the core cast has had a good amount of focus by this point too, so I’m pretty invested in all of them. They’re handling themselves pretty well, all things considered, but I love how they still feel like they’re just flying by the seat of their pants. Tentatively, I’d like to commit to finishing this series before the end of the year.

Reading Next

Springfield ConfidentialSpeaking of reading commitments, one I decided to make over the past week was to finish the Berserk series by Kentaro Miura by April, which is when I will post my next blog update about reading challenges. I’m playing at them a lot looser this year and decided I would rather take on goals as they come to me rather than set up a bunch in January that I may be less enthused about come June. Since I’m not in the middle of any novels anymore, I suppose I should have made up my mind exactly what I want to read next, but I have not. So, I guess I’m going to start reading Springfield Confidential by Mike Reiss in the meantime, as that’s been at the top of my mental to-read list for a while now.

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

WWW Wednesday – February 8, 2023

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

Wolf in White VanI did not end up posting last week because, due to a deeply unfortunate turn of events that came out of nowhere, I literally did zero reading. Utterly scandalous. So, there didn’t seem to be a point to putting one of these up since nothing had changed. Fortunately for this week, I did manage to read some more of Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle, though I’m still got a bit to go despite how short the novel is. More and more details around the tragic incident with some of the players of Sean’s game are slowly being unearthed, and I’m starting to wonder if he isn’t something of an unreliable narrator. I suppose that shouldn’t come as a surprise, all things considered, but if the story goes in the direction I think it’s going in I believe I will be unhappy with the outcome. We shall see.

Recently Finished

Nothing this week! I am ashamed; I have not been reading comics like I’ve meant to. This could easily change at any time, but look at how that’s worked for me so far.

Reading Next

Paper Girls 3The books I want to read next haven’t really changed, so maybe we’ll be seeing some Paper Girls or Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star or even some Springfield Confidential in the near future. The possibilities are limited and specific. I should have some time this weekend, so let’s just commit to Paper Girls volume three right now, shall we? I’ll eat my glasses if I don’t. Also, I’m not too sure about Springfield Confidential, to be honest. I definitely want to read it soon, but I’m still feeling in the mood for fiction, so I might try to juggle it with something else. What that something else will actually be I cannot say at this time, but I do have a few things in mind.

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

WWW Wednesday – January 25, 2023

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

Wolf in White VanI was hoping I’d have made more progress with Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle since last week, but work comes first, so I did not end up having as much reading time as I was anticipating. Still, I have made some decent progress and have a better picture of what this whole story is all about. It’s made clear from early on that the main character, Sean, is facing some legal trouble related to the pen-and-paper role-playing game he operates for people via the mail, and up until the point I have reached, the details of the tragedy leading to his legal troubles have been slowly elucidated. It’s painting an interesting picture of how a disfigured loner has found a way to form his own little sense of community and the baffling yet believable misunderstanding that led to the tragedy which puts an unfortunate spotlight on him. With so much of that case uncovered already, I’m curious to see what details are yet to be revealed or if there is a turn in store for Sean.

Recently Finished

Nothing this week!

Reading Next

Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star 2I’m still not anticipating that I will have another book in my hands by this time next week, since I should be more realistic about my time, but I do intend to read more comics by next week if I can. Of course, I really want to keep myself going on Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang with the third volume, but I would also really like to read volume two of Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star by Kaeruno Erefante, which I intended to read back in December but never actually made time for. Despite the length of time since volume one, this is at least not a narrative-heavy series, so it will be easy enough to jump right back into it.

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