Gord’s
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(group member since Apr 06, 2017)
Gord’s
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from the Vampires, Weres and Fae! group.
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Time for my weekly update and I have a few things to talk about this week. Who would have thought that walking two plus hours a day would chew through normal length audiobooks like nothing. 
A Darkness Absolute ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐This was a great read that kept me guessing for a good chunk of the book. Now that a lot of the world building and basic character set up was done this book was able to jump straight into things a whole lot quicker. That made this book a whole lot more engaging and a really quick read. It also did a great job exploring and setting up even more of the overarching mystery with the council and other locals in the area. I am looking forward to the next one for sure.
The Lake House ⭐⭐⭐After A Darkness Absolute I was looking for a bit of a palate cleanser before diving into my next thriller. I ended up with a thriller novel so this might not have been the most well thought out plan. This was a recommendation and a book that I just jumped blindly into. Overall it was an entertaining read but there were some issues. I liked the characters and their interactions well enough. For me it was just the pacing. This book felt like it took a really long time to set up what the threat actually was. It hinted at what it might be but it was to vague to actually be credible. Then there was a twist in this book that just didn't land well for me. It wasn't a bad twist or anything, it just took the book in a direction that I wasn't a big fan of. Overall, it was a spooky summer time read that I'm sure many might like.
Lady’s Knight ⭐⭐⭐⭐On the completely other end of the serious scale is this book here. I snagged this one from the library because it looked like a silly sapphic romance and it delivered on that. Basically there is a tournament for knights from across the land to come an participate in. The prize, the land of a lovely Lady. Then there is Gwen, the daughter of the local blacksmith, who just wants to know if she can even fight at all. She sneaks into the tournament and wins her first bout. This is where it was supposed to end until the lovely Lady got involved. From there it's a lot of familiar tropes with our two young ladies helping each other out by winning the tournament and finding some love along the way. It's some comedic, girl power, fluffy romance that I just had a blast reading. I was really surprised that there was a second book announced for this one but I will definitely be back for more.
Now for the manga side of things
Stars in Their Eyes: A Graphic Novel ⭐⭐⭐⭐I was seeing some chatter about this one and I am a sucker for wholesome romance so I decided to give it a shot. This is definitely a comic that was from the younger side of the YA genre but I don't think that should dismiss the message that this book brings to the table. It's about two young teens who meet at a con and fall in love. It's only about the one day at the con but it is really sweet in a first love kind of way. This book also deals with some heavier subjects such as disabilities, sexuality, and gender identity in a way that feels really positive. I think this would be a great book for younger readers looking to find themselves in a comic. Also, I have to say that the mother of the MC in this book is an amazing person. The relationship she has with her daughter is just amazing. Now, I have a bit of a gripe, and its kind of silly. This book takes place around a comic convention and the author references tons of real life series and fandoms but in a legally distinct way. Sci-Fi Wars instead of Star Wars for example. I understand perfectly well why this is done but for something so heavily focused on references it was a bit frustrating. Far from a deal breaker, more of a nuisance.
Dandadan, Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐I love this series, I love these characters. Not a lot else to really say except that I am really surprised how fast I am catching up to the anime. I'm nearly caught up to the end of the first season already.
Tomb Raider King, Vol. 11 ⭐⭐⭐⭐More of what I expected from this series and a fun popcorn read
My Kitten is a Picky Eater Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐For a wholesome feel good series about owners loving their kitties I was not expecting this one to be so emotional. Our MC finds and rescues a three week old kitten and with help from the vet takes it in and raises it. The book touched on early kitty life as well as the the whole adoption process (for Japan. I don't want to give to much away for anyone who is reading this and hasn't got to this one yet. I was just kind of surprised to find myself reading this and having a tear or two in the corner of my eye.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 13 ⭐⭐⭐⭐More Frieren and it's still just as fun. This wrapped up the story arc from the last volume and starting setting up the next one which is looking to be rather exciting.
What is next
These are the two audiobooks I have on deck for this week. I'm starting with My Lovely Wife which I'm struggling with a bit. It's nothing about the book, it's just not what I'm in the mood for but my loan is running out and I need it for a challenge that I have to finish this week. I'm hoping that I warm up to book quickly and it brings me around.
My short list of other things I am working on this week
I know, I know, I just posted about this but I've now officially lost 25 lbs. My next big goal is breaking that 300 line.
I feel like I could use that at least once a week
I just finished this book and holy shit, that ending, that ending was something. Ending spoilers(view spoiler)
I'm at 75% and I don't want to do anything else until I am done this book. I'll have this done today regardless but I want to finish is it now.
I'm still hung up on the ugly cover one. I was thinking of using
just because I don't like it
Growing up we had an incident where someone's mother was visiting from out of town. She saw a "dog" and wanted to go over and pet it. The dog was a black bear
I'm a little over halfway through and some random thoughts.-Jacob is growing on me
-Storm, adorable
-I'm loving that we are starting to ask more questions about the Hostiles and not just treating them as homicidal maniacs running around the woods. What this means though is that the killer is not from that group and we won't get any actual answers to anything in this book. The Hostiles will remain this enigma for now. I feel like Brent a bit. Are they a government experiment? Alien abductees being let free in the Yukon wilderness?
Well that was not the dog experience I was expecting this morning. I was out for my usual morning walk when a dog suddenly comes out from one of the walking paths and cuts across the road. It took me a couple seconds to realize that the "dog" was actually a coyote. Don't worry, we kept our distance from each other. He was on the other side of the street heading in the opposite direction I was. Just a bit unexpected.
Well my hard work is paying off. I've now officially lost more then 20 lbs since mid June. According to the scale this morning I have lost 23 lbs so far. I'm in this weird mindset about it. 23 lbs is a good chunk of weight to lose but I still have a long way to go to get to my goal. That being said I happy with my results so far.
Just a short one this week. Getting back to work after vacation, trying to get into a walking routine, working on chonky books, it's all a recipe for less things to talk about.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐I forgot how long this book was. This was a twenty six and a half hour long audiobook which is a lot of listening when you are only playing it at normal speed. Great for the walks though. There was a lot that happened in this book and a lot of emotions. I know that there is a lot of criticism of this series and some of it is warranted but it is an interesting world with a lot of interesting characters. Umbridge in this book is a great example. She is up there there as one of my favorite villains of all time. She is just so despicable and yet so very real feeling. She is just a bigoted, power hunger, little troll who will do what ever she has to do to maintain power. This slower paced reread of this series has been very fun.
Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐Another reread this week and another series I'm glad that I returned to. This one had a tonal shift from the first couple novels. The first couple novels were much more "traditional" adventuring stories. This one feels more political as Fran helps to overthrow a corrupt king. The next one sounds like it will be very food based. I'm looking forward to getting to some new, for me, material in this series and see where it goes.
Now for the manga
Tsumiki Ogami's Not-So-Ordinary Life, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐This was a random snag from the library. I found it while browsing through the new manga that had come in. This is a slice of life story about a young boy who is constantly worried about what others think about him. He wants a fresh start and transfers to a new school when he enters high school. This high school has a high population of "Mythfolks" which are basically supernatural folks. Vampires, oni, ogres, werewolves, etc. There he meets Tsumiki, you popular young girl who is a werewolf. He is drawn to her confidence and he hopes to learn from her. This is basically the classic extrovert adopting an introvert story line. I'm also getting some very strong Komi vibes from this. I'm not saying that it's a copy or a clone but it feels like it is hitting some of the same story beats. In this first volume we get the two MC's becoming friends and the introduction of the next couple friends that will be coming into this group. I wasn't exactly blown away by this volume but I don't hate it either. I'll be back for more to see where is going to go but I'm not expecting a whole lot.
As for what is next
A Darkness Absolute My next audiobook and my return to Rockton. It has been a fun read so far
Lady’s Knight The big physical book I am tackling this week. It was a random snag from the library that I hope is good.
I have no idea. I was wondering if I was just the odd Canadian with our weird pronunciation of things.
Alright, this is a weird nitpick. The narrator's pronouncement of touque. She is calling it a toke not a took. Weird, but it irks me every time she says it
Now that I am done Harry Potter I am going to start this one on my morning walk
One of the nice things about being back to work is being close to the farmers market again. I loaded up on fruit and veg and lunch for next week.
Today is the second week of going for two walks a day and things are going well. Between those two walks, my short jaunt to work in the morning, and my general walking I am getting probably about 11-12k steps a day in. A couple things I am noticing after three days of doing work and walks is that I'm more hungry now and a bit more tired. Both make sense of course. At this point I think I'm starting to settle into a routine which is good.
With me being on vacation last week I fully expected that I would have gained a pound or two of weight back. I was hoping that I would at least maintain the weight I had before I went on vacation. I jumped on the scale this morning and... I actually lost a couple more pounds. That is a little feather in my cap
Yes, and the Yukon is indeed near Alaska. Just north of BC and neighboring Alaska. As for bears, I'm sure that they might wake up during the winter but I think that is only during a chinook when it warms up a whole bunch. A chinook is the opposite of what a blizzard is.
Maybe if she was standing upwind?? Also, what bear is out in a blizzard? Those things are usually deep in sleep during the winter. Unless it's a polar bear but those are more coastal I think.
We've had a pretty mild summer here so walking hasn't been so bad yet. There have been a couple days that were a bit rough. My walks don't take that long so that helps as well. As for the winter, which is the one I'm most concerned about, I'm just going to walk laps in the warehouse on lunch. Spend 30 minutes walking the aisles.
