Gord’s Comments (group member since Apr 06, 2017)

Gord’s comments from the Vampires, Weres and Fae! group.

I finished up Morning Glory Milking Farm this morning and this might just be my biggest "alright, hear me out" moments I've had in reading in a very long time. It was actually a pretty good book.

And people wonder why I like being a cave troll living in the darkest corners of the warehouse.

I wish I could give you some advice. While I don't suffer like you do I do have occasional nightmares where my brain kicks me awake with a massive shot of adrenaline. Sometimes I can get back to sleep and sometimes I just need to go do something else besides sleep. Go play a game, read a book, something to calm down a bit before trying to sleep.

Oh it is. It's hard to see the weight loss when you are judging it at a day to day or week to week look. Stepping back and seeing the bigger picture really puts things in perspective.

I put on my winter jacket this morning for the first time in months and suddenly my weight loss is very apparent. I've most definitely shed a few pounds since I last wore it.

I've had a week so there won't be a lot to update this week.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen ⭐⭐⭐
I snagged this one for a challenge and it's one of the numerous books out there that is a continuation of a Disney property. This is of course a continuation of The Nightmare Before Christmas movie. Jack and Sally are now married and Sally is dealing with a whole lot of doubt about suddenly finding herself in the role of Pumpkin Queen. The biggest thing that I found interesting about this book was just the expansion of the lore. We get to see the world in some of the other trees and we find out that there are many other and older trees out there as well. Overall the book was fine but it didn't exactly wow me either. By the end of the book the biggest thing I was really feeling was an urge to go and watch the movie again.

Watcher in the Woods ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The next Rockton book and this one is a bit different then the previous ones. While it did have a central mystery to it the main theme in this one was expanding the lore and mystery of Rockton itself. It doesn't feel like the series has moved into end game territory yet but there are some pretty hard lines getting drawn in the sand in this one. We are starting to see some divisions and what not going on. I mentioned in the first book that this series has a lot of potential since everyone has a secret past. It's an interesting solution to a small town mystery and this book was a great example of that. I won't spoil anything in this one but I legit did not see the ending coming. I'm really having fun with this series and I'm really glad I gave it a chance.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I snagged this one for a banned book challenge and, being honest here, I've been meaning to read this one for years. I can't say for certain if I've ever actually read this book before but I've been aware of this book since I was a kid. It was the art that stuck out with this one. The art is a thing on infamy at this point in time. As for the book itself, I'm kind of split. On one hand the book is very far from scary but I know that I am approaching this as a 40 something adult who has dabbled in his fair share of horror novels. That being said there is something just special about this book. The stories are all super short, 1-3 pages on average, and they feel timeless. Part of that is because they are based on folklore that has been around for ages but still. There are some absolute classics in this like the man with a hook hand, the call coming from within the house, the high beams story. These feel like corner stones of horror really. On top of all of that many of these story had just a flow to them that felt nostalgic. I remember sitting around campfires telling spooky stories as a kid and our stories flowed just how some of these did. This was a special read for sure.

The Geographer's Map to Romance ⭐⭐⭐
This book feels weirdly flipped on its head. Normally for a book like this I'd be all invested in the main story and groan about the romance. Especially since most of the romance in this novel is based on my most hated romance trope, miscommunication. In this one I loved the main couple and a lot of that came down to the fact that they were just lovable idiots. The miscommunication stemmed from their personalities and them being just to wrapped up in their own thoughts. Everything outside of the romance though was absolutely boring. This book felt like trying to swim upstream in pudding. It was such a slog to get through this one.

Now for the single manga this week
Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is one of those manga that has been on my TBR for a while and I'm glad I finally picked this one up. It's a simple slice of life in a fantasy world with this creatures that are a couple inches tall. There is just something simply beautiful about this one. The story is simple but the world feels rich and deep. We get these little glimpses into the day to day life of these two young woman and it's so fascinating. I really want to read more now.

What's next

Yeah....... I can explain the first book. Curiosity. Horrible, horrible curiosity. I've been hearing about this book for over a year now and I have to figure out what all the chatter is about. To be clear, I'm listening to both. The first one is not something I will be listening to while I am at work for some obvious reasons.


These are the two main books I'm working on this week.

Looks like the president's feelings were hurt so Canada is back in the dog house, again. I'm 100% sure that he totally won't flip flop on this several times as well.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-t...

That's some classic simple humor and it's good

A few years ago it wasn't even a game I would have ever thought about liking. Now it's like a default go to when I just want to chill out and listen to a book or something.

Today I want to crawl into the blanket fort so bad. At work I have a nightmare of an order that is cursed in about 20 different ways. At home I have books, naps, and Powerwash Simulator 2 releases today. I know I'll go to work but man do I want to just stay home so bad right now.

I was looking through the on order books at the library the other day and saw this The Official Skibidi Toilet Survival Guide and I felt ancient

It seems like the notifications got broken on Goodreads again

Time for my weekly wrap up and I don't have as much to talk about this week since I have been mostly working on novels all week.

Before We Forget Kindness ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I am starting to have some really conflicting feelings about this series. After five books the formula is extremely apparent at this point. It doesn't help that each mini story has to rehash a lot of the same details as well. What the cafe looks like, what the owners look like, the rules for going back/forward in time, what happens to the people time traveling, etc. You know each story is going to be some sort of emotional gut punch but that, for me, is where the book shines. The book is really good at setting up and delivering an emotional story in what is essentially a short story format. The last story in this book is a great example of that. I knew what was coming even before our subject went back in time and it still hit me like a freight train. I was listening to this at work, not my smartest move, and I'm so glad I was working alone because I was choking back the tears for sure. Much like the last book in this series it feels like the author has given up on world building or adding to the overall lore of things and is instead focusing solely on the tales of those that are time traveling. Again this take some place between the first and third book with no real point established. Part of me is fine with that, part of me is curious about the overarching story, as limited as it might be, as well. This is going to be last one in this series for now. The next one is not coming out until May of next year and then I'll have to wait for the book to be available.

The Encyclopedia of the Weird and Wonderful: Curious and Incredible Facts that Will Blow Your Mind ⭐⭐⭐
This book is really a step outside of my norm in a big way. Not only is this a nonfiction book which is not something I normally read but it is also a book written by a YouTuber. I have been following Milo since he moved over to YouTube from TikTok and started creating long form content. I really like what he puts out and I was interested when he announced that he was releasing a book. I tossed it on my TBR but I never thought I would get to it since I doubted my library would ever get it. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it at my library one day while browsing around. In full honesty this book is really a 3.5. I found the subject matter rather interesting but I also had my usual NF issues with the book. This book is just a collection of weird and random archeology facts from around the world. There are definitely a lot of if interesting things in this book. I was starting to struggle by the end though because it just felt like an endless barrage of facts. Similar to the NF books that are like "here's an important date, and another one, and another one, and another one". By the end I was starting to clock out a bit. The other big thing I found really interesting was how much this really felt like Milo. As I mentioned I've been watching his content for a while and this really felt like reading one of his scripts. The humor, the flow, the interjections, all of it. It felt like reading one of his shows instead of watching it. I'm not sure how to word this best but it felt pretty cool.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not a lot to say here. Yuna does bear like things and is overpowered in doing so. This is the continuation of the elf village arc and as mentioned Yuna saves the day and all is good. I love this series but man do I have a hard time explaining why.

Now for the manga.

Yowamushi Pedal Omnibus, Vol. 6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This continues the interhigh competition with the focus this time being on the hill climbing section of the race. As I've mentioned before I am really starting to understand the appeal of sports manga. I can see all the tropes but that caveman part of my brain is just like "whooooo sports, whooooo competition, whooooo underdog rising to the challenge, whooo rivals battling it out". It really is hard not to get caught up in the hype of what you are reading on the page and it makes this manga such a quick read.

Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 Vol. 8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
More FMA and it's still awesome as always. It's definitely moving into the end game with only three volumes left. I am so glad I decided to reread this one. It's also making me want to check out other stuff from this author besides Silver Spoon that I am reading for my own selfish reasons.

What is next

My current audiobook and I'm nearly done. I'm really glad I was led to this series and that I gave it a chance. Since this won't last me long I also have to find another audiobook for this week and I really have no ideas there currently.


My digital and physical reads this week.

Birthday

cold

If I limited my ice coffee and ice cream consumption to only warm weather I'd basically never get to consumer them ever.

My inner Canadian was slipping a bit at lunch. It's close to 4c/39f and I'm strolling around with a tshirt on while eating an ice cream cone. I didn't count on how dang cold it was and I was only popping over to the farmers market for lunch. I decided to grab a sorbet as a treat.

Tie-dye

For those that are curious, it's about 16:20 to 16:28.

Alright, that has to be the weirdest shit ever. I am listening to Watcher in the Woods, the next Rockton book for me, and I heard the strangest sound ever. In that quiet moment at the end of a sentence I heard what sounded like a stomach gurgle. I thought I was hearing things so I immediately paused the book, finished what I was working on, went to my desk, listened again, and there it was. It sounds like a stomach gurgle.