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

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

I have those rough days as well. This morning is a great example. During my walk my left knee was bugging me a bit and my right lower back (probably my sciatic joint) was bugging me. I just took a bit of a slower pace and kept going. Audiobooks definitely helped me get into the groove of the walk but making it my means of getting to work also really helped. When it's just something I was doing on my own it was harder to get that motivation all the time. Making it something tied to work that I have to go to everyday made it easier to stick to a routine. It just became part of the work routine for me. I might not want to go to work or walk all that way but I have to go to work and to do that I'm walking. Not sure it makes sense to anyone but in my weird little head it does.

October also marks the technical start of my walking journey. Two years ago I started walking around my neighborhood and listening to audiobooks. I failed that first winter pretty hard but it was a learning curve. March of last year I got back into it and I've been walking since. I'm now looking at my third winter of walking. I need some more cleats but I've got this one

It's Monday, a new day, a new week, and technically a new month. This has been a nice relaxing weekend and I'm feeling good this morning. Don't get me wrong if I had the option to take an extra day or two to continue to veg out I would but there is work to get done.

On a side note it is really starting to feel like fall around here. It's dark in the morning, the temps are in the single digits in the morning (mid 30's to mid 40's), and everything is either orange or turning orange.

It was an alright month for walking. Not my best and not horrible either. I walked a total of 138 KM or 86 miles bringing my yearly total up to 1,400 km or 870 miles. I don't think I'm going to be hitting my goal this year but it gives me something to aim for next year.

I'm in a weird mood this week. Probably linked to all the IRL stuff going on but I'm more interested in reading then updating anything really. Regardless, I'm here to give at least a short update on things.

The Red Fox Clan -4 Stars
My only novel this week. I have some mixed feelings about this one. On just a surface level this is more of what I expect from this series and kind of takes me back to some of the earlier books in this series. This is not a self contained story and is mostly setup for the last bit of the book and the ultimate conclusion in the next novel. There is that fun sense of adventure and Maddie makes for an interesting enough character. There are moments though that just feel... odd though. Will, the MC's teacher is there for a couple chapters in the beginning of the book and then never seen or heard from again. I get it in a way. This is Maddie's book and it's her story but it just feels odd that he is in the same kingdom, working on the same case, and just never heard from again. There were a lot of elements that were set up to big twists or pay offs and they just felt telegraphed. For instance the bad guy is pretty obvious from the moment he appears on the page. There is also the trope of the Skandian trump card. Need emergency troops? Don't worry, there is always a ship load of Skandians lurking somewhere just off the page. I know I sound like I am slagging this book pretty hard but these are fun reads and something I can just turn off my brain and get swept up in the adventure.

Now for everything else
How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 1 -3 Stars
How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 2 -3 Stars
Ecchi comedy mixed with workout advice. Meh overall

The Great Cleric (Manga) Vol. 1 - 4 Stars
The Great Cleric (Manga) Vol. 2 -4 Stars
Another isekai manga. This was the one anime I was watching this series. Basically guy dies in our world, gets resurrected in another world, picks the skill to be a healer, story ensues. The one thing I like about this is that the guy is not stupid OP from the beginning. Most of the story so far has been him training to get actually stronger. I like the slower pace and the actual training. I would love to get my hands on the light novels but of course my library doesn't carry them.

Let's Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World Vol. 3 -3 Stars
Let's Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World Vol. 4 -3 Stars
Alright this series took a turn I wasn't expecting. I figured that this book was going to take the harem route but nope. Our MC is happily married and there is only the one woman for him. The dragon loli is only around for the food. The sexy demon lady gets married off to someone else. The new characters in the fourth volume don't like humans and have their own world ending goals. Still a dumb isekai but it's fun. Just a chill slice of life in a fantasy world with a stupidly OP MC.

Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More (Manga) Vol. 1 -4 Stars
Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More Vol. 2 -4 Stars
Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More Vol. 3 -4 Stars
Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More (Manga) Vol. 4 -4 Stars
This series devoured my Saturday. This was yet another random snag from the library that came in with the massive influx of manga/comics. How to best describe this. Young woman dies from overwork in our world and is reborn in a new world where magic is a thing. Her father is an accomplished magic artisan which is someone who creates items for daily use that use magic stones or items from monsters. Thing a fan made with a wind and an ice stone. Our young MC grows up with her father and wants to follow in his footsteps. It's a cozy slice of life in a fantasy world and there is just something interesting about it that makes it hard to put down.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1—Phantom Blood, Vol. 3 -4 Stars
The end of the final trilogy and it was a good ride. The crazy over the top fights, the ending twist, it was all just fun and I can't for the next series.

Dinosaur Sanctuary, Vol. 2 -3 Stars
I still had fun reading this one but it didn't quite land like the first volume did. Perhaps it was my mood when reading it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, Volume 9 -4 Stars
More turtles. I do like the expanded story lines but it kind of felt a bit cluttered with this one.

Now for what is next
The Best of Edgar Allan Poe
I'm reading this to fill a poetry challenge and it seems fitting for the time of the year.

Fallen
I'm working on this book now as I need to return it to the library soon and it's more Will Trent. After that I still have a massive stack of comics and manga to work my way through.

I shouldn't have started the next Will Trent book before completing my chores. I now want to do nothing but read my book.

My coworker and I were also wondering where this year went earlier this week. For what ever reason this year is just flying by so fast.

Alright, this is gross, and unexpected. In September I save $1,020.03 bringing my yearly total to $6,356.71

I'm a very food motivated individual but I got to thinking after I read your message a bit and I know a prefect reward for this weekend. It's a one time thing but I'm taking tomorrow off. Normally I go out walking on Saturdays to visit the library but the library is closed tomorrow and I have nothing I need to return immediately. I'll visit tonight to pick up what is available and then take tomorrow off. I still have to do laundry tomorrow morning but after that just take a day to relax and do nothing. Spend the day just reading and napping which right now sounds amazing.

One last day of craziness and then things should calm down a bit next week. Part of me wants to celebrate this evening with a night of junk food but I'm also trying to cut that out.

Digging deep this morning looking for something called "motivation"

-Only the strongest or forged in hellfire

Or some other macho random fantasy BS right.

All jokes aside it's pretty stressful right now but I'll get through it. Only a couple more days or super stressful times and then it should be back to normal stress levels again.

Work update, not so much a rant but still, spoiler wall for those who don't want to see it.

(view spoiler)[
The last week has been tumultuous to say the least. Things went sideways hard last Friday. Without going into a whole lot of details it involved people having a bad day, bad communication, stress, and a humongous work load. We all got pretty fired up to say the least. Monday things would have kicked off again but half the team was gone. Tuesday though things hit the fan. All those bad feelings from Friday came back with even more attitude. About mid morning this all came to a head and our boss came down to the shop on fire. There wasn't any yelling but there was elevated voices that the whole warehouse could hear. It wasn't bad though as the three of us sorted things out and walked away from things feeling pretty good.

Outside of that it just feels like everything I touch lights off a shit storm that I had no intention of starting. Again, no details, I pointed out something wrong yesterday and today there is talk of someone getting fired (not me). What started out small and innocent enough escalated and escalated and escalated. Again, no fault of my own. It's just starting to feel like I should either crawl into a bunker for my own protection or be locked away far from the light of day for everyone else's protection.

I'm just ready for the weekend at this point. (hide spoiler)]

I think that my problem is that I haven't thought about it at all. I've got the poetry one taken care. Or I will here soon. I've downloaded a copy of some Poe. For the Western one I'll just read some more Longmire. Short stories will be easy, I just need to find something from the library.

Time for that weekly update and it has been a busy week of reading.

The Babel Codex -3 Stars
This was a random novella in the Rogue Angel series and something that did not survive the Harlequin buy out of Gold Eagle. Outside of my library having a copy I can't seem to find this book any where at all. This novella was just another Rogue Angel book but in a more condensed version. Instead of slower moments for "characters" or moments of research it was just action scene, another action scene, a little research, more action, some more action, and final scene. It wasn't a bad book and it was a quick read.

And Then There Were None -5 Stars
This was a fun audiobook this week. This was not my first time reading this book but it has been a long while since my last read through. I remember only the most basic premise of this book. Ten people went to an island and they all died. Well, I remember a bit more then that but that is the basic premise. It's weird how my memory was off in someways though. For what ever reason I thought that both Agatha Christie and the time setting for this book was older. That it was set in the 1800's for some reason. It was a bit of a weird "wait a minute" moment when I realized that the book was set between WWI and WWII. The other thing I noticed a bit more this time is just the tropes. I think part of it comes from the fact that I've read a whole lot more mysteries now and I notice things a lot more now. That being said I can't really knock this book for having certain things due to its age. This was a pioneer and an inspiration for many, and I do mean many, mysteries that exists today. Regardless, I just had fun listening to this and, in an ominous voice in my head, stating "and then there was ______" every time someone died. Yes, I know I'm weird.

Touch of Frost -4 Stars
A buddy read of one of my favorite series. Jennifer Estep is never going to be a literary juggernaut pumping out award winning books one after another but she is really, really good at releasing what I call popcorn books. Books that you can just turn your brain off and have a great time reading. This series, the Elemental Assassin series, the Black Blade series. Just fun popcorn reads that you can probably read in a day. For those that have never heard of this series it takes place in the same world as the Elemental Assassin series. It's about a school for descendants of ancient warriors like Spartans, Vikings, Valkyries, etc who are trained to battle the ancient evil of Loki, his Reapers, and the constant threat of Chaos. It's part high school drama, part Percy Jackson, part trashy romance and for what ever reason I love this series.

Now for the manga/comics and there is a lot this week.

Princess Princess Ever After -3 Stars
I've been on a Kay O'Neill kick lately reading whatever my library has on hand. I've been loving this author so far but I think this might be their weakest work and probably a real early title for them. Books from Kay tend to aim for the middle kid category but this book felt even younger than then that. It also didn't have that unique world building feel that I'm used to from Kay. This was kind of a bog standard world with princesses who don't want to be princesses which is a theme I've seen in a lot, and I mean a lot of comics for younger kids. The princess who doesn't want to be the girly girl and wants to go out and kick butt and all that. It's not bad message but it has been done to death at this point.

Run on Your New Legs, Vol. 5 (Volume 5) -4 Stars
A satisfying conclusion to this short series. It wraps up all the story lines the series had going on and had a feel good ending. The only thing I might have liked to have seen would have been a flash forward scene at the end. Say something, I don't know, 10 years in the future and the MC is getting ready for his first Olympics performance or something. Just a glimpse of where this new thing is going to take him. Overall this series was a fun read and an interesting glimpse into a world I knew next to nothing about.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, Volume 8 -4 Stars
This series has been a wild, wild ride. This volume only had two volumes from the main series and a whole lot of side content. First was this weird tale of Bebop and Rocksteady mucking about in the timeline. It was entertaining enough I guess. We then pull in stuff from the TMNT Universe series where we get a bunch of setup for things going on in the TMNT time line that isn't directly related to the turtles. This includes our introduction to the EPF and a glimpse at Null again. Really curious about that honestly. Then this book had a Christmas special from the main story line that was just heart warming. Probably the stand out section for this volume honestly. Overall still loving this and I am still very curious where things are going to go next.

The Boxer, Vol. 3 -4 Stars
The third book in this series and it's kind of spooky how hooked I am on this thing. This book features two main fights, some back story for other characters, and a small glimpse into our MC who still unnerves me. This book had him speaking more then he has at any time so far and lets just say it does not help his image of being a very, very unsettling guy. This book just pulled me in and I devoured this thing in a single sitting. The bad side to that is now I am stuck waiting for the next volume.

One-Punch Man, Vol. 13 -4 Stars
One-Punch Man, Vol. 14 -4 Stars
More One Punch Man. Not a lot to really say.

Let's Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World Vol. 1 -4 Stars
Let's Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World Vol. 2 -4 Stars
Alright, hear me out now. I saw this come up in the newly acquired section of the library and I had an itch for some trashy isekai manga. Look at those covers, it just screams trashy right. Turns out that it is trashy but also pretty good. I mean this is pretty much what you would expect. Guy gets summoned to another world, people who summon him thinks he has no amazing skills so they let him just wander off, turns out he has an amazing skill for noncombat stuff. Basically he buys a plot of land by the sea outside the human kingdom and settles down for a quiet life. He then discovers that his skill allows him to be a master of what ever tool he wields allowing him to have the best possible outcome. Grabs a hoe and in one swing perfectly tills an acre of ground kind of thing. He goes fishing, lands a mermaid, mermaid becomes his wife. He befriends the local undead king getting a source of monster minions and resources. His amazing cooking skills gets him a second wife with the local dragon. All while building himself this new settlement for his wives and helpers. This isn't high brow writing or anything but it is entertaining. I think it's pretty clear that I have trashy taste in trashy slice of life isekai and I don't care anymore.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1—Phantom Blood, Vol. 3
The final installment in the Phantom Blood story line and man was this good. The over the top fights, the emotional moments, everything just hits right. Now it's time for the next part, Battle Tendency.

Up next
The Red Fox Clan
My next audiobook and I've already started it. So far it has been a whole lot of set up for what is to come.

For stuff that is not audiobooks I still have a giant stack of manga to get through.

I have, I think I read that for another poetry task I got stuck with. It was alright. I'm planning to just get some Poe and listen to that.

I've been working on this today and it's just a fun read. It's obvious who the bad guy is but it's still fun for a popcorn read.

I'm down to four left at this point as I realized I was overthinking some of these, shocking I know. I've got these left:

Short Stories - Just not something I really read
Western - Same as above
Poetry - I dread this one more than anything
Personal Interest - No clue what to do with this one

With everything that has happened the last couple days the urge to hibernate is super strong today. I started reached Touch of Frost and I just don't want to go outside at all. The only slight motivation is that I have a giant stack of things to go back to the library so that I can then pick up an even bigger stack of things. I could grab a pizza on the way home but that is not good eating and a part of me is trying to get back on to the better path of things. Maybe some A&W.

Today was not a good day. I thought the morning was rough with a lot of stressors that have been bugging me for a while now but it had nothing on this afternoon. I don't know if I'd the worst day ever but it's up there. Basically our work load for next week has tripled and that is after our workload for next week was already damn busy. Combine that with a lot of real shitty attitudes, mine included, and it was not a fun time. I'm going to take a couple days to not think about work, relax, all that fun stuff. Then next week figure out how I can walk on water, on one hand, while juggling flaming chainsaws, all while blindfold and being attacked by killer bees. That's just the warm up for Monday morning as well. Then the challenging stuff starts.