Tag: reading

WWW Wednesday – 2017/06/21

Ryan2 Comments

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

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

TheftByFindingCoverI’ve finally put my energy back into reading Theft By Finding by David Sedaris; I’m a couple more hundred pages in now. I’m still a little disappointed I haven’t finished it yet, but for some reason I’m just finding it harder to get through as quickly as a straightforward novel. I’m really enjoying it now, regardless. The diary entries are curated, so we’re only seeing what Sedaris wants us to see rather than the whole raw thing, but it’s still surreal to see the years of a life summarized and pass by so quickly. It’s making me a little self-conscious about how I’m spending my own time, though optimism is among the resulting feelings.

Recently Finished

WyrdSistersCoverOver the weekend I finished reading Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (review here). It was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed the characters, as well as the use of theatre to explore how words and stories can effect truth. It shows how a story with the right spin can effectively change reality by warping people’s perception of something until it’s no longer what it once was, as far as public opinion is concerned. I was a little disappointed, however, simply because I think it was a little too built up for me. It was good, consistent with Pratchett’s work, but not especially captivating.

HellboyWeirdTalesVol1I also read Hellboy: Weird Tales Vol. 1, which is a collection of stories written and drawn by other artists who wanted an opportunity to portray Mignola’s iconic character. Some of the stories were really great, giving glimpses into Hellboy’s relationships with other members of the B.P.R.D. that we don’t really see in the main series. A good number of others were very cartoony, though, which is not what I read Hellboy for. They were cute and fun, but not to my taste for the character.

Reading Next

LovecraftCountryCoverI’m pretty much dead set on reading Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff once I’ve cleared by current slate. I really ought to look into other new books coming out, but as of yet I have nothing on my radar. I’ve been meaning to get to Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein this year too, which should be a quick read, so I may tackle that soon as well.

WWW Wednesday – 2017/06/14

Ryan1 Comment

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

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

Unfortunately I have not made any progress on Theft By Finding by David Sedaris since last week. I’ve been a little out of whack. I’m a little disappointed in myself, since I feel getting a review up for it should be more urgent, but I just don’t feel a huge drive to get through it.

I decided to focus the majority of my energy on Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, which I’m over 200 pages into now. It’s an odd tale that puts an interesting spin on Macbeth story, if Macbeth were wracked by his crimes for himself and his wife. It feels like the plotline is more of a frame to flesh out the witches and their place in the world than it is the focus of the book. I’m quite fine with this though, as the three have a good dynamic between them. For the most part they’ve reacted to what is thrown at them, so to speak, rather than being more active, but that is changing in the book’s final third.

Recently Finished

I read Darth Vader: The Shu-Torun War over the weekend, the third volume in Marvel’s Darth Vader series that ran from 2015-2016. Though it does involve Vader combating some of his rivals, challenging him to become the Emperor’s new enforcer, this volume felt a lot more like a side-story than I would have liked. This was following the crossover event Vader Down, however, so I do understand  a desire to let things settle a little before ramping back up.

The story concerns a conflict on a planetary level — a change in scale I appreciate in Star Wars when I can get it — and shows the kind of measures the Empire takes to keep certain worlds in line, as well as what they shape out of impressionable young leaders in the process.  I liked seeing both Vader’s influence in political matters and his being made to reign himself in (out of necessity) by the rulers otherwise under his heel.

Reading Next

Hard to say what novel I’ll read next, though I am still eyeing Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. Since the New Year I’ve had a list of books I wanted to read this year, though, and there are a couple of Neil Gaiman books on there I ought to crack open as well. Otherwise, I’m definitely going to read Darth Vader: End of Games soon to finish off that series, and will probably read the first volume of Hellboy: Weird Tales as well.

WWW Wednesday – 2017/06/07

Ryan2 Comments

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

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 currently 105 pages into Theft by Finding by David Sedaris. I wanted to have a lot more of it done by now, but I spent last Thursday to Monday visiting with family and attending my brother’s wedding, so I did not have as much time for reading as I normally would have.

Things were off to a bit of a shaky start with this book, as it’s a lot different from what Sedaris normally writes. Though hand-picked and edited, these are his raw diary entries from these points in his life, so they lack the refinement of his anecdotal essays. As I’ve gone through it my interest has been continuously sated anyway; the glimpses into his life, while at first vague and feeling without context, have grown into something more as I get deeper and learn.

I’m afraid I haven’t made any progress on Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett due to the already-stated busyness. I’ll push myself to get further along soon, though. I plan on making myself get through it before I finish Theft By Finding, if I can.

Recently Finished

The only thing I managed to finish in the last week was Frankenstein Underground by Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck. It is about Mignola’s version of Frankenstein’s Monster, who previously appeared in Hellboy in Mexico. This book immediately follows the Creature’s parting ways with Hellboy from that book. The story goes to some strange places, incorporating the Hollow Earth hypothesis with established Hellboy mythology to explore how a creature such as he could come to be, all the while remaining pretty faithful to the original characterization of the Creature. It’s a wonderfully weird tale that fleshes out an otherwise brief appearance into a meaningful addition to Hellboy canon.

Reading Next

While in the middle of two books already it’s hard to say what novel I will get to next. I’ve been meaning to get to Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, but I really can’t say what I’ll go for when the time to grab another book comes.

Otherwise, I’ve been able to snag The Shu-Torun War and End of Games, the last two volumes of Star Wars: Darth Vader by Kieron Gillen et al. There was a big sale on Kindle editions for Marvel books last week, so I got them for only a couple dollars each. These I will definitely get through soon, then I can move on to the Doctor Aphra spîn-off series that followed.

WWW Wednesday – 2017/05/31

Ryan2 Comments

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

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

At the moment, I’ve only just started reading Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. I’m a little over 30 pages in, so I don’t have much of an impression of it yet. It looks like the story will be mashing up elements of  Hamlet and Macbeth, which sounds like fun. This book is the second one focused on the Witches, with the return of Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, the former being a recurring character I’m fond of since reading her debut in Equal Rites. Other than that there’s a great little scene where Death is perturbed about having to explain that someone is set to be a ghost after dying (undead things are not really his jurisdiction).

Recently Finished

I’ve had a rather busy week in this respect. First I finished reading Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. The ending wasn’t what I expected, but it was a tale that inspired a lot of thought, as well as conflicting emotions. Ultimately, I really liked it. It’s a great story about the effects of power and responsibility over it. I posted a review for it last Thursday.

I also finished Hellboy in Hell: The Death Card, the final volume and conclusion of Hellboy’s story. While short, this series was a wonderful couplet that wrapped up the whole series quite nicely. The final pages are artfully done, leaving things on a muted, bittersweet tone (leaning more towards the sweet). There are a lot of call-backs to the series as a whole, which were woven into the story taking place quite well. One in particular made me very happy I read Hellboy in Mexico before moving onto these books.

Lastly, I also finished reading On Writing by Stephen King, his memoir on the craft that also teaches how to write. I found his advice invigorating and valuable. I’m hopeful that I will take his lessons forward with me as I push myself to write my own fiction. It did leave me a little disappointed in myself as well, however, as I have not been writing fiction as much as I want myself to be. Hopefully I get a good kick from this book. I see myself reading it again in the near future to make his advice stick.

Reading Next

Yesterday I got my copy of Theft By Finding by David Sedaris. I will be starting that soon, and probably putting more energy into it than Wyrd Sisters for the next little while so that I can get a review out as soon as possible.

WWW Wednesday – 2017/05/24

Ryan2 Comments

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

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

Last week I said I wanted to get through a couple of books before Gwendy’s Button Box and Theft By Finding were released on May 30th. As it turns out, I was mistaken about the former’s publication date, which was actually May 16th. So, I quickly bought the book and began reading it.

As it turns out it’s a rather quick read (making the Kindle edition much more attractive than the $30 hardcover), so I’m nearly finished with it. While it is written by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar, it still reads a lot like a King story to me. It’s an interesting twist on a familiar tale about the effects of power, its influences, and what one should do with unfettered access to it. So far most of the story has felt in service of building toward something, rather than dealing with something. It has been enjoyable thus far, but things have also been a little too nebulous. This needs to amount to something substantial for me, or I will be left a little disappointed.

I’ve also started reading On Writing by Stephen King. I’m only about 40 pages in at the moment, but I’m enjoying it. Thus far he’s talked about his earliest memories growing up, giving a window into the things that shaped him as a writer. It feels like an honest approach to giving advice on the craft, without pretension or inflated self-importance.

Recently Finished

I finished reading Tarkin by James Luceno over the weekend, the new canon Star Wars novel about Grand Moff Tarkin before earning the rank of Grand Moff. I liked it, but with all said and done I’m pretty lukewarm about it. Getting to know some of the Imperial politics was interesting, but the plot was a bit too much concerned with him and Darth Vader chasing shipjackers around the galaxy. Tarkin doesn’t directly involve himself in the action, which is appropriate, but I wish the story had been more about political intrigue than leading pursuits against dissidents. I never got swept up in the mystery, I kind of just felt led along to each reveal. The details of his past were most compelling, giving a bit of a look at people’s lives on a planetary level.

I also read Hellboy in Hell: The Descent, the first of two volumes in that series by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart. It had a rather somber feel to it, his descent into hell dreary and nightmarish, and not bombastically infernal. I really like the depiction of the Abyss, full of gigantic eldritch insects skittering in the pitch black.

Certain plot points related to hell from the main series get tied up here too, which felt a little abrupt, yet still appropriate considering they’re issues that needed to be put to rest. It did a lot to leave me wondering what’s next for Hellboy, some unsettling turns leaving his future in Hell unclear and not at all what I would have expected. With only one volume to follow this one I’m cautiously optimistic of where the story will go. I’m worried it will disappoint me, with only one volume to conclude things.

Reading Next.

Theft By Finding by David Sedaris comes out next week, so I’ll be reading that once I get a hold of my copy. Otherwise, I’ll definitely be opening the next volume of Hellboy in Hell, and Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett looms in my near future too.

WWW Wednesday – 2017/05/17

RyanLeave a comment

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

I meant to write one of these last week, I really want to start doing them weekly. Sadly, I also do shift work and that Wednesday disappeared in a haze of fatigue. Here’s hoping I can start weekly from here.

Currently Reading

Right now I’m in the middle of reading Tarkin by James Luceno, one of the new canon Star Wars novels. I am enjoying it; this book tells a much more grounded story of Imperial intrigue and squashing dissent and rebellion than Lords of the Sith did, which I’m finding translates better to novel form. However, I wonder if I’m making a mistake by only having read the novels about villains thus far. I like getting into the heads of these characters, but ultimately it is giving the backstory of a man who destroyed an entire planet without batting an eye, because of how much he believes in a strong show of force to eliminate dissenter.

It still presents Tarkin with some interesting dimension, showing that he’s not wickedly cruel and sadistic, but ruthless and committed to his cause all the same. His involvement is a little more nuanced than simply being in on an evil plot to turn the galactic government into a dictatorship. I just can’t get completely behind him because he has no problem enforcing this dictatorship.

I like the book regardless and I’m intrigued to see where it goes. Tarkin and Darth Vader are currently being given a run for their money, which I hope will lead to more interesting developments as they become more compromised. I hope the implied rivalry between him and Vader comes to a head more as well. So far it’s been hinted at, but they’re cooperating just fine.

Recently Finished

Since my last entry I finished The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (review here). I must say, it did make me eat my words a bit. I said that it likely didn’t have any surprises for me, but I was wrong. There weren’t any shocking plot developments, but what I did find was a prominent personal connection with Holden, which made me empathize with him a lot more than I had before. The novel felt bittersweet by the end and I’m happy I read it. I took more away from it than I thought I would.

I also finished reading What If? by Randall Monroe (review here), which was a lot of fun to get through. I treated it like a read I would come back to periodically, but I enjoyed reading a lot of entries at once too. The humour was solid, but what I really took away was how much his explanations of physics and the laws of nature, when answering these absurd questions, actually taught me things I didn’t know before. It was fun and I know more about the world than when I started.

Lastly, I read through The Incredible Hercules: Dark Reign, which is the fifth volume in a Marvel Comics series about Hercules, which were originally published in the late 2000s to early 2010s. Once again I found they blend the mythology of Hercules with the modern, comic book interpretation of him very well, even dealing with how he’s always working toward overcoming the negative aspects of who he was in those old stories. The previous volume dipped a little in quality for me, so it was great to see it pick up again here.

Reading Next

It still feels as if I’ve got endless books to choose from, but I think I’m pretty set on what I’m reading next. I want to start and finish On Writing by Stephen King as well as Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett before the end of May. In terms of comic books, I want to read the two volumes of Hellboy in Hell — having recently acquired volume two — as well as the first volume of Hellboy: Weird Tales and Frankenstein Underground, which I just picked up for great prices used yesterday.

I hope to have all these books done before May 30th, when Stephen King’s new book Gwendy’s Button Box and Devid Sedaris’ new book Theft by Finding both come out. I want to finish those two new books as quickly as I can to get reviews written and posted, sot that I’m not just writing about older books. Looks like it’s going to be a bit more of an exciting few weeks for reading.

When I Overcame a Tough Book

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Growing up I did like reading a fair bit, though I honestly didn’t get an itch for it until early adulthood. I could be rather picky. While I was younger, I remember I read most of the Harry Potter books, a couple from A Series of Unfortunate Events, Goosebumps, The Hobbit, a random Boxcar Children novel, and a book about a kid raising a raccoon or something. The list I can recall feels rather small. There had to be some superficial element to it that drew me in. I can’t remember the plot to that Boxcar Children book at all, but it had a picture of a T-Rex skeleton on the cover, so I wanted to read it. The novels I had to read for school, especially as I got older, often served as a barrier to my comprehension. At the time, if a book challenged me I was unlikely to want to bother.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – 2017/05/03

RyanLeave a comment

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

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 still in the thick of things with Randall Munroe’s What If?, though I’m a little over halfway through it now. I’m pushing myself a little more to finish it, just so it isn’t lingering in the background too long. I’m still really enjoying it. While it’s humorous, there’s a lot more value in what I’m learning from it. One great section in particular covered the logistics of flying in the atmosphere of other planets and moons in our solar system. He also shares a rather uplifting twist on the lesson in the myth of Icarus, which is (paraphrased) that he never really saw it as a lesson about flying too high, but the ineffectiveness of wax as an adhesive.

I’m also in the middle of reading The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. I was hoping I’d have it done by now, but completing something for a job application and a short road trip forced me to set it aside. I understand why it’s considered a classic, and I’m not having a terrible time reading it, but all the same I don’t like Holden Caulfield as a character nor a narrator.

I get that that’s largely the point with his character, unless you more closely relate to him, but I dislike him all the same. He’s a hypocrite who lays far too much blame on others rather than his own behaviour. At the same time I sympathize, because he’s clearly a deeply depressed person. As a narrator, I just dislike his style. He just ends too many sentences with “and all.” and all.

I see it’s significance in literary history, and I’ll be happy to say I’ve read it when all is said and done, but I don’t feel like it has any surprises in store for me. Before I was halfway in I felt I had a good handle on what the book is going for and while I’m a little optimistic I’m fairly certain there’s not going to be much more to it, other than what sordid activities he gets up to.

Recently Finished

I recently finished reading Sourcery by Terry Pratchett, the fifth novel in the Discworld series. I managed to power through it in four days, testing how quickly I could get through a book of that length if I applied myself a little better. Pratchett’s writing was great as usual — even showing improvement as he’s getting further in his series — I just found the plot a little too underwhelming. The structure is too similar to other books he’s told, where the main character travels along meeting new people and seeing strange sites while a cataclysmic magical threat grows in the background, until things eventually come to a head.

Incidentally, the book was elevated by its climax and conclusion for me, telling something legitimately poignant while also making me laugh harder than I ever have at one of his books. Also, having starred in three of the five Discworld novels until this point, I would have to say this was my favourite Rincewind story, despite my criticisms.

Reading Next

Once again I find myself unsure what I’ll be getting to next. I really want to push myself to finish off all the books I’m currently in the middle of. After that, I’ll like start On Writing by Stephen King, though I also want to start that new book White Tears by Hari Kunzru so that I can review a new release. Otherwise, I’ll likely start Tarkin by James Luceno to get more of the new Star Wars books under my belt.

If I can keep up the faster reading pace I will hopefully start writing one of these weekly.

Until next time. Happy reading!

WWW Wednesday – 2017/04/19

RyanLeave a comment

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

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 getting further along in it now, but I’ve still got a ways to go with What If? by Randall Munroe. Still really liking it, although I’m a little disappointed to find I can’t fully appreciate some of the more math-heavy entries. I’ve never really had a penchant for it beyond the basics. One entry in particular I did really like though, which tackles that frequently occurring question “What if everyone on Earth jumped at the same time?” I won’t spoil his twist on it, but I thought it was answered quite humorously by giving us an entirely new problem that the premise creates.

I’m also in the middle of reading Hellboy in Mexico. I feel I ought to have finished it by now, but I’m more lax with getting through it since finishing the main series. The original idea for the one-shot “Hellboy in Mexico” was great and it’s a lot of fun to see it fleshed out. Basically, Hellboy has a “lost weekend” in Mexico in 1956 that spanned about five months. He spent nearly the entire time drunk, so doesn’t remember much of what happened. This book builds on that idea, giving us a collection of stories about what he got up to.

Recently Finished

In defiance of personal expectations I actually managed to power through all of The Dark Tower by Stephen King since my last entry. Not that it was particularly hard; the book was really hard to put down. Cliffhangers were resolved, plotlines wrapped up, and a lot of heartbreak and loss was had. It was unexpected how much I actually found myself grieving for characters after I’d put the book down. That doesn’t happen for me often.  The group is almost constantly traveling forward as well, which I like, encountering harsh conditions, hellish landscapes, and nightmarish adversaries. I don’t want to talk endlessly about it, so what I’ll say in closing is that this might be my favourite book in the whole series. It was a satisfying end. I posted a full review a couple days ago if anyone is interested in more of my thoughts.

I also finished reading the entire Hellboy series, which I feel quite accomplished about, since acquiring and reading the remaining seven volumes I needed had been a mission of mine for the last while. I was happy with how it all turned out, though I wish volumes had run together a little better. Volumes 10 and 11 are both collections of shorts that don’t occur chronologically with the main story, which hurt the pace a bit for me. The conclusion itself was epic, however, and a rather poignant end for the character.

Reading Next

At this point I have the reader’s wonderful problem of having so many books to read I cannot make up my mind. I’m leaning toward Tarkin by James Luceno to get more of the new Star Wars books under my belt, though I also want to maybe power through the Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger so I can say I’ve done it (I’ve owned a copy for years). As I think I’ve mentioned before I also want to continue Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series with Sourcery, On Writing by Stephen King, and Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. Like I said, lots to choose from. Haven’t made up my mind yet, but you’ll know what I picked by my next entry.

WWW Wednesday – 2017/04/05

RyanLeave a comment

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WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

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 still hardly into What If? by Randall Munroe, though I’ve read several more entries since I last checked in here. I do love the book, it’s insightful and hilarious, I’m just too absorbed in other things right now to give it enough time.

As I write this I’m 265 pages into The Dark Tower and it has been quite the roller coaster so far. I’m so eager to see the end, yet there’s so much left I can’t begin to imagine where it’ll end up. So far it’s been a lot of finishing up loose ends from the entire series, leaving the final neck of the journey in completely uncharted territory. I’m excited and terrified. The foreshadowing is blinding and I’m scared for how things will turn out for the ka-tet (the core group). I’m only about 30% through this tome so there’s much that could happen.

I really like how King settles in a little and takes his time with new places the story goes. As Roland and company come upon a new area we’re given a chapter dedicated to the adversaries they’ll face, their mindsets, and how their organization works. I love how it expands upon the world and people in a more methodical way, giving us a better view of the big picture than the protagonists’ perspectives ever could on their own.

Recently Finished

I haven’t finished any other prose books lately, my attentions more solely focused on The Dark Tower. However, I have gotten a little further along finishing Hellboy. I recently finished volume 11, The Bride of Hell and Others. It’s another quality collection, though I was a little disappointed it didn’t continue any of the main Hellboy storyline left off from The Wild Hunt either. That’s two collections since that volume now and I’d really like to read more of the main story arc. That being said, “The Bride of Hell” itself was a great story, and other stories in this collection had especially weird and horrific ideas, like a carnivorous house.

Reading Next

I expect I’ll still be reading The Dark Tower for the next few weeks, depending on how much I really throw myself into it. In the meantime I have been eyeballing Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff and Sourcery by Terry Pratchett. I’m sure I’ll get to them soon rather than later, but it’s more just a wandering eye thing right now. I’ve also just picked up On Writing by Stephen King, which I’m actually thinking about starting to read alongside The Dark Tower when the mood strikes me. I’m really on a King kick right now. I might read IT this year too.

Other than that, I’m of course on my way to reading volume 12 of Hellboy, The Storm and The Fury to finally cap off the main series. After that I want to read Hellboy in Mexico, which I’ve owned for a while, and then the first volume of Hellboy in Hell, which I just picked up.