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

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

I've been using my time so far to listen to audiobooks. Normally I don't like wearing earbuds while at work but there is just to much background noise to listen to it straight out of my phone. That and I'm listening to some darker subject matter that might raise a few eyebrows. Serial killers, murdered children, possible Renfield's syndrome, that kind of stuff. Not as bad as listening to straight up smut out loud but up there.

Yesterday was my coworkers last day before a two week vacation. He is leaving today for Spain and Italy. That leaves me in the shop all by myself until the first of October. Surely nothing with go wrong in the next couple weeks, right?

This has been a really busy week of reading for me and I have truly done a number on my library pile. Needless to say I will have a lot of things to talk about this week but at the same time not a lot to really say about some of them. You'll see below what I mean. Also, this will be a shotgun blast of books from all over my interest spectrum. From the violent and gritty to the super sweet slice of life.

The Night of Baba Yaga -3 Stars
I was scrolling through the new books at the library and the cover/title for this one simply jumped out me. After reading the synopsis I just knew I had to give this book a try. This book was an interesting read that kind of felt all over the place. There were elements of the book just felt like a solid three star book and then there were moments that felt like something from a solid four star book. This book was full of a lot of gore and violence with fight scenes a plenty which were good but nothing mind blowing either. Our MC is an absolute beast when it comes to hand to hand fighting and her willingness to scrap is what led us to this stories plot. She got into a fight, got overwhelmed by the Yakuza, and essentially blackmailed into being a bodyguard for the bosses daughter. All of this was pretty standard in my opinion. There was a particularly great twist though and the ending, while open ended and kind of rushed, felt pretty good. I was really struggling last night trying to think of a way to explain this book. It wasn't until I read a review where I found the perfect way to describe this. This book felt cinematic. I can easily see this as a movie and not like a summer blockbuster but more of an artistic action flick. Honestly the movie that I immediately thought of was the original Old Boy movie. Some of the action scenes in that movie would match this book so well. Overall this was a short, quick read that I'm glad I found. If you don't find a graphic and violent book then maybe give it a shot.

Now for all the comics/manga

Spy x Family, Vol. 6 -4 Stars
Another entry in this series and it's still fun. This one we get story progression and an underground tennis tournament. This is second time I ran into an underground, illegal, sports tournament and I have to say, I think I'm a fan of this trope. It takes a normal boring sports tournament and turns everything on it's head with the wacky insanity.

Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Vol. 2 -5 Stars
I simply love this super sweet, borderline romantic, slice of life stories. They make my brain happy. Not much to say here.

The Ribbon Queen -3 Stars
This comic is what happens when you slap a police procedural together with a horror/body horror theme. This felt like a book written for the here and now as it dealt with two big themes, police corruption and violence against women. Yes, violence against women is not anything new and this book addresses that but the topic feels for topical for right now. Male members of a SWAT team start turning up dead in horribly violent ways and this book is about what they did and what is happening. The start of this book felt really good and the first time you see one of these men die is horrifying. After a while though the deaths kind of stop having an impact as they all die essentially the same way. The book really stumbled for me when it got towards the end and everything was explained. It just felt like the story went on hiatus for this massive info dump and it never really picked it back up again. Like the first part was full of mystery and horror which was really good and then then ending just felt like talking. Not a horrible read but I kind of clocked out of it before the final page.

Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 3 -5 Stars
More FMA! I love this series and I am loving my reread of it.

A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 1 -4 Stars
A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 2 -4 Stars
I saw that there was more volumes out for this series so I figured it was a good time for a return to it. I forgot how fun and absolutely nerdy this series was. Don't get me wrong I don't get most of the references in this series but I get some of them. I just love the idea of someone getting transported to a fantasy world and creating a fantasy version of Comiket. For those that don't know what Comiket is it's short for Comic Market and it's a semiannual event in Tokyo where people gather to sell self published works. This is a massive event and has become the worlds largest fan convention with over half a million people normally attending. Taking that concept and putting a fantasy twist on it is great. Outside of the Magiket our MC also runs a publishing company and we get to see the shenanigans that happen there. Like I said before, this is just a fun read.

Navigating With You -5 Stars
Just putting this out there early, this was probably one of the best comics I've read in a long time. It's a simple slice of life romance and it just clicked with me on all fronts. It's a simple set up, two young women start at a new school, one is an introvert and one is an extrovert. One is looking to just blend in and get through the day while the other is out to make friends with everyone. As you can guess these two personalities clash and it's only when they discover a shared interest in an old manga series do the walls start to come down. They start a book club where they track down and read the volumes to this series. As the story progresses they become friends and then more then friends. There is just so much that I love about this book. The romance isn't an instant romance, it takes time and communication to be formed. Both women have their own issues that need to be worked out. Sometimes alone, sometimes with the support of the other person. The chemistry between these two is amazing and the book is just so sweet and yet there are moments that will make you cry. I love how the diversity aspect of things were handled. It never felt like either character was defined solely by one thing. Being a lesbian, having a disability, being Black/Latino, etc wasn't the only thing that defined their personality. It was an element of who they were as a person. The other thing I want to talk about is the manga series that they were tracking down. As they would find a volume you, the reader, would get a condensed version of it as well. The art style and story would change to this completely different series with it's own story line, characters, and everything. It was just this really nice touch and I loved it. This is a strong recommend from me if this sounds even slightly interesting at all.

The Boxer, Vol. 7 -3 Stars
I now have to end this wrap up with a bit of a downer. I have been reading this series all year and have become oddly fascinated with it. I'm not normally a fan of sports related stuff but this just pulled me in I found myself just devouring them. I love how the "protagonist" kind of became this barrier that other characters had to overcome, but couldn't. I loved how the author would make you feel sympathetic for the opponent of the MC. Then we got to the current story arc. Our MC was going up two brothers, one was the manager and the other the fighter, who were well known for using the most vile and underhanded tactics in and out of the ring to win at any cost. Volume six set this up so well and the beginning of this volume set up the fight beautifully. Our MC, who is normally silent, usually ends the fight in the first round or two promises to make the fight last all twelve rounds. Basically stating that he won't knock his opponent out and will spend all twelve rounds beating him to a pulp to make him pay. As the reader you are stoked because his opponent deserves every horrible thing coming his way. Then the author tries to do a hard pivot. He tries to show that the brothers are not as bad as we all thought and the manager/team behind our MC is just as bad as they are. There was no real set up for the MC's team to be this "evil" and I just didn't care about the brothers back story. Sometimes you just need the bad guys to be bad guys and the good guys to be good guys. There is nothing wrong with this as a story element. This twist just didn't work for me and it kind of put a stain on the whole series for me. I don't thing the MC is bad necessarily but it calls his manager and their team into question. I just don't like how any of this was handled at all. I'll still be back for volume eight but I'm a little less excited for things now.

As for what is next
The Ambitious Card
Like This, For Ever
These are the audiobooks for this week. I'm hoping to have The Ambitious Card done today and then I'll get started on the next one.

Outside of that I have my never ending pile of things from the library. Probably the first thing up will be Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear. Yes, I am rereading this series again. I was just in a mood and I wanted to read this again because it makes the brain happy. I also have some more Dragonball and a horror comic. I also have the entire second season of Steven Universe I need to finish before next weekend as well.

I have been walking less this year as I make concessions for weather but after my vacation at the beginning of August I feel like I've been getting even lazier. I went from 5-6 one hour walks a week to 2-4. I still get some walking in on those off days, usually 10-15 minutes but it's not the same. Part of it is discovering that I now have a bus stop right outside my apartment that drops me off right in front of the Starbucks near my work. It's just so convenient and easy. Plus I get an extra 45-60 minutes to myself in the morning.

For the shop it won't be a massive change. It's a lot of things behind the scenes and paperwork related. That being said this is all new for our company and we are breaking all new ground. Basically we are now a free floating asset that is not tied to any particular location and are there to be utilized by all branches. It's a very interesting idea.

It was the rollout for all the changes to our department and we were invited to see what was said essentially. This was the big, big boss basically telling the branch managers what was happening, why it was happening, and how it was all going to work. We were just the flies on the wall watching everything.

That was a funny meeting. Basically everyone in that meeting was a branch manager or higher except for me and my coworker who were just quietly lurking in the back listening in on everything (it was a Teams meeting). One of those classic "one of these things is not like the others" kind of moments.

Good, it was pretty much as we expected. Tomorrow should be the more interesting meeting. This is the meeting where we are invited in our official capacity as "flies on the wall". It's a company wide branch manager meeting and our new role and capacity will be rolled out to everyone. We are to join this call but say nothing, do nothing, just sit and listen.

Man this is probably the most excited I have been about going to work on a "Monday" morning. This morning we have the team meeting where we learn the details and then at some point this week we have the general group roll out. I just feel that this will be exciting turn for our little department.

Time for that weekly update and this has been an odd week in an odd month of reading in an odd year of reading. Any way I found myself reading two mysteries at the same time. A cozy digital book and a dark thriller on audio. Don't mix these two genres together. The more I got invested in the dark thriller the more lame the cozy felt. In one book it was "bodies, bodies everywhere" and in the other book it was "there is a dead body, kind of, maybe, somewhere off page, and in another country". Two different tones, two different paces, and neither mix well.

Dead Scared -4ish Stars
This was part of a buddy read and I rather enjoyed it. I'm not going to sugar coat it though, there are flaws with this book. Mainly in the characters department. The characters just aren't folks that I overly care about and feel more like a vessel to get me what I really want which is the mystery. The mystery in this book is easily the strongest point. It starts out kind of broad and scattered but before long I found myself completely hooked in. The author did a great job stringing the reader along as well. There is a character who is set up early on who is obviously a red herring for the reader but there is always that shadow of doubt that keeps a suspect. Every time you think the character is safely eliminated or just can't be because of the obvious red herring there is some new clue or action that just drags him back into the limelight. This book just keeps stringing you along to the end and then the end events keep you engaged until the final page. Not a perfect book but definitely entertaining.

Artifact -3 Stars
This was the cozy that had the unfortunate role of playing second fiddle this week. This was not a bad cozy and I feel in some ways it was pushing the boundaries of what one would expect from a normal cozy. There was no small town that our MC has lived in her entire life and she knows everyone. It starts in San Fransisco and does a little globe trotting before the end of the story. It's roots were definitely in the cozy genre but there was also felt like there were little traces of the globe trotting archeologist adventure mixed in as well. I'm not ruling out the second book but I'm not racing out for it either.

Tomb Raider King, Vol. 7 -4 Stars
Not a lot to really say about this one. More artifacts, more revenge, more of the story.

I Got Caught Up In a Hero Summons, but the Other World was at Peace! (Manga) Vol. 8 -3 Stars
I also don't have a lot to say about this one either. It's more of the story.

Stuff of Nightmares: No Holiday for Murder -3 Stars
Meh, just meh. This was a random snag for me. I was at the library picking up my holds and this was on the librarian recommended shelf. I saw Christmas horror and R.L. Stine and was intrigued. I should have known better. This was just the bog standard, canned horror, with a creepy host to introduce the stories but for a slightly older audience. I don't hate these things, I find them mildly entertaining, but at the same time they just don't rock my world either.

Now, what is next

The Ambitious Card
This is purely a challenge read but I just don't encounter many books that just happen to take place in Minneapolis.

Outside of that I have a stack of things from the library currently. Not sure what I'm reading next but it's a long weekend and I have some time for reading.

In a very good way, at least for us any way.

Alright, I know I'm in the minority here but I actually liked this book. Don't get me wrong, it definitely has its fair share of flaws but there is something about the mystery itself that just pulls me in hard. The world building isn't anything special as it's just the real world. The characters are alright. They are far from my favorite characters in the world, hell Joesbury annoys me most times, especially when it comes down to all the romance. It's the mystery though. I don't know how to explain it but I'll be sitting there annoyed with the book wondering why I'm even reading it and then suddenly I'm half way through the book and I have to know what is going on and who is behind it.

Next week is going to be an exciting week at work. I can't really say why as it hasn't been announced yet and I don't have all the details either. Everything is indicating that it will be a very interesting time for our department.

I've been listening for a bit more and I almost feel like my theory is to obvious which now pushes it into the red herring category. Like the suspects fits the bill just a bit to well.

I've been working on this and I'm about 30% into this and I have similar feelings as the first one. I feel that things are still getting setting up and that this is just a long slow build towards the ending of the book. If I had one criticism so far it's these random chapter set X years in the past. I don't who this is about or what it has to do with anything. I know it will all tie into the big reveal in the end but they feel so random and out of place.

Early prediction on the killer that I had while walking to work this morning. I'm likely wrong but meh
(view spoiler)[
Nick Bell. Here is my current chain of thought just with what I have so far. There was that short chapter in the past where it was revealed that the one kid caused another kid to commit suicide through bullying. What if instead of guilt he felt a thrill from it and became some sort of twisted serial killer that uses suicide as his weapon of choice. As for Nick Bell, it's a stab in the dark but he is the head of the counselors which means he would have access to peoples records. This would give him the insight needed to mess with someones head and drive them to suicide. I also feel that he is probably not working alone either. (hide spoiler)]

Another week and some more reading. Honestly this month has been kind of slow which is really odd as August is normally a heavy month of reading for me. Just another oddity in a year of oddities.

Desperation in Death -5 Stars
Towards the end of the con earlier this month I had a craving for a novel and there was one thing I was really craving at that was some more In Death. This book was just such a comfort to read for me which is weird considering the super dark subject matter this one was covering. It's just the setting, the characters, and their interactions. I just love this series and reading it brings me a lot of fun.

The Spellshop -3 Stars (really a 3.5 star)
This book took me on a journey that left me feeling conflicted by the ending. I'm not sure where or how this popped up on my radar as I'm back to ignoring new books this year but everything about this book screamed at me to give this a shot. The cover was beautiful, it's a cozy fantasy, books, magic, it just sounded great. The book started out great and pulled me in immediately. I loved the world that was set up, I loved Kaz, I loved getting to the island and finding the cottage. Then I got bored, then we met cloud bears and then I was excited, then drama started and I was back to feeling kind of meh. This book was basically all over the place for me. There were a lot of elements that I really loved such as the magic, the creatures of the world (Kaz, cloud bears, etc), the humanoid characters (centaurs, etc), the island itself. Then there were elements that I just didn't enjoy as much such as the romance. It's not a bad romance by itself but I felt that it was yet another distraction in the book that was taking me away from what I really wanted. Lets just say I would rather have cloud bears then talk about feelings and abs. Which brings me to the other point that I didn't really like and that was just the story. It really felt like the author was trying to throw every plot point possible in the book and just became muddled. If the story was just a simple thing where the MC made her way to the island and it was about her figuring out cottage life, magic, and the island I would have been perfectly happy. Instead we have to mix in romance, drama, villains (kind of), and it just became cluttered. This was a good book that just got lost in all its various story elements.

The Great Cleric (Manga) Vol. 10 -4 Stars
More of this series and it was what I expected. This is a fun mindless series.

Dragon Ball (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 5: Includes vols. 13, 14 & 15 -4 Stars
More Dragon Ball and this was fun. This was a more serious story line with the old Piccolo who then became Piccolo Jr. There is also another Piccolo that is God. It's Dragon Ball, don't read to deep into anything. This was also the introduction of probably the most controversial Dragon Ball character with Mr. Popo. Of course there are tons of fights because Dragon Ball. Overall it was just a fun read and I can't wait for the next one.

Now, what is next

Dead Scared
This is the next audiobook I have downloaded but I'm not sure if I'm the mood for it. I was when I finished the first book but now I've seen some mixed stuff and my interest is elsewhere I'm kind of feeling a bit meh towards this. The thing is I don't really have anything else lined up and nothing else is really speaking to me so I might just roll with it.

Artifact
Yup, another novel. Feels kind of weird to reading so many novels right now. This is for a challenge and it's alright so far.

Outside of that I have some more manga and comics and usual.

I know, I know, I still get stressed.abiut it though. We committed to a certain ship date and professionally speaking I feel the need to do my best to hit that commitment.

I still have a ton of stuff to get done but it's the backlog I'm worried about. Especially because my coworker is going on a two week vacation here in a couple weeks.

Well this is a massive monkey wrench in all things work related. All rail transport was shutdown last night due to a strike which means all those shipment of parts we are waiting for are now in limbo.

I thought the whole cheating to get selected thing had been debunked. Regardless it was an odd performance.