Tag: reading

WWW Wednesday – May 19, 2021

Ryan4 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

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

Doctor Aphra Unspeakable Rebel SuperweaponOver 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.

Courting JusticeI 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

BacchanalUp 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

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

ThePrincessDiaristI’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

Doctor Aphra A Rogue's EndI’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

Ryan8 Comments
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

ThePrincessDiaristLast 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

Light of the JediMonday 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

The High Republic Issue 1I’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.

New Books & Novel Discoveries (April 2021)

Ryan5 Comments

Spring’s been hitting a little differently this year, eh? Or is it just me? The first half of this past month was so surprisingly warm and welcome, it’s too bad the latter half decided to act like regular old Spring with mud, cool weather, and the occasional flurries. What an odd month it’s been. I almost had very little to show for new books this month, but I couldn’t resist hitting up my local bookstore this week.

Without further ado, on to the books!Read More »

WWW Wednesday – April 28, 2021

Ryan6 Comments
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

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

Ryan2 Comments
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, so nothing! Boo! 👻

Recently Finished

LovesicknessOver 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.

Where Have You Gone Without MeLast 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

Light of the JediI’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

Ryan4 Comments
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’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.

WWW Wednesday – April 7, 2021

Ryan6 Comments
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

Norse MythologyI started reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman last week and I’m a little over a third of the way through it at the moment. My only frame of reference for Norse mythology has been popular culture so far, but it turned out to be a decent primer. In the past I’ve had trouble with mythology books because I have no frame of reference for names and terms, which makes it harder for me to remember things. For the most part this hasn’t been the case with this book, plus Gaiman writes in a really accessible way. It still feels like I’m reading myths, which don’t flow quite like standard prose, but I’m enjoying it all the same. I had no idea our sources on Norse myths are so scant either, with most not even being from a time when the beliefs were practiced.

Where Have You Gone Without MeI also started reading Where Have You Gone Without Me? by Peter Bonventre, an eARC I received a little while ago. I’m a little behind on starting it, since it came out at the end of March, but wanted to make sure I read through it all the same. I’m only about 30 pages in so far, during which I’ve had a range of reactions to it. At first I was feeling a little iffy, but I think that had to do with the fact that I don’t read a lot crime thrillers. There have been a few recurring technical errors as well, but I’ll chock that up to it being an advance copy. By the end of my last reading session, it had grown on me a lot more. I’m still waiting for the story to hook me, though, but it’s very early on in the book so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

Recently Finished

Feet of ClayLast Wednesday I succeeded in finishing Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett by the end of the day, in keeping with my personal challenge to read at least one Discworld novel every quarter of the year. I should have a review up within the week. This was a good novel, and I appreciated how different it felt from other Discworld books, but I couldn’t help feeling that there were facets of it that I enjoyed more than the whole of it put together, if that makes sense. I feel like I’m still collating my feelings on the book, even a week later. The mystery at play was a little too convoluted for me, but I really liked some of the ideas explored along the way, such as the questions of how life is defined when confronted with some truths about golems, which at first seem animate but not truly alive.

Reading Next

I’m not really sure what I’ll be reading next, especially with two books on the go right now. I should probably just shift focus towards some comics until I’ve got those two finished. I’ve been neglecting them again anyway, so I’ll probably go back to the Star Wars well.

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

Reading Challenge Update

Ryan6 Comments

This feels a bit late, since we’re nearly a week into April now, but it was a long weekend so I’ll cut myself a bit of slack. Why not? The stresses of the past year have continued, but it seems like maybe there’s more light at the end of the tunnel. This Winter felt especially desolate for some reason, so the emergence of Spring has been especially appreciated this year.

Admittedly, books haven’t quite been the escape they usually are for me, but I’m still trucking along, committed to reading them. They don’t feel a chore, but I find I’m having a harder time with longer sessions. Let’s see how I’m doing with my challenges now that the first quarter of 2021 has finished.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – March 31, 2021

Ryan5 Comments
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

Feet of ClayI’m just over halfway through Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett, the 19th Discworld novel. As is usually the case with me, I wanted to be done with the book by now, but clearly that’s not the case. I might be blitzing through the rest of it today so I can have it done before April. I do think I have the time today, but we’ll see if I can manage it. Nevertheless, I’m really enjoying this book, which feels rather distinct from the many other Discworld novels that have come before it. It still has its comedic edge, but it’s taking itself a lot more seriously than other plotlines have. I’m really intrigued by the way he’s introducing golems into the world too, which function more or less like robots and seem to be gaining sentience, with all of the ethical dilemmas that come along with that.

Recently Finished

I haven’t finished anything else this week, as my focus was meant to be on Feet of Clay. Progress on it over the weekend was stunted by exhaustion, if I’m honest, and I have nobody to blame but myself for that.

Reading Next

Norse MythologyEyeballing my to-read list for the year, I have just this moment decided I’m going to read Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman next, which I expect will be a unique offering from the author considering he is adapting folklore and mythology, rather than crafting a novel all on its own. That’s what I presume, anyway. It’s been well over a year since I’ve read any Gaiman too, so it’ll be nice to get back into some of his writing again. I’ll probably try catching up on more Star Wars comics soon too, but with my Goodreads challenge nicely on track I’m not in a hurry to rush through comics at the moment.

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