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

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

Must cling to positivity. It's to early in the week to slip over the edge into grumpy old man mode. Never mind, that was a lost cause.

Just tons of stress, more work than can be done in the time frame allotted with even more coming in. I have to walk home this evening as well which should be tons of fun. Just to much stuff going on and no end in sight.

My next real break is the middle of July for my anime convention. There is the three day weekend for Canada day but I'm ready for a break break not just an extra day off.

Why is it Monday and where did the weekend go?

Time for that weekly wrap up and it will be a bit shorter this week.

Crocodile on the Sandbank -4 Stars
This was just a fun read that had a bit of a nostalgic tinge to it for me. I've never read this series before but there was just something about the flow of the story, the mystery, etc that just felt like older mysteries I used to read when I was younger. I really like Peabody as a character and the supporting cast was just as good. I will admit that I figured out the mystery pretty early on but it was still fun watching it all unfold. If there was one small criticism of the book was the portrayal of Egypt and the Egyptian people. I don't think this is the authors views and more of a "this was how it was viewed in the time setting of the novel" but it was a still a bit unpleasant to read. Don't get me wrong it didn't make me want to throw down the novel or make me want to only rate this book a one star or what not. It was more of a "well this is awkward" kind of thing. I definitely plan to read more in this series just to see where things go next. I was not expecting a two year time skip in essentially the epilogue of the novel but it did make me curious.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 10: Includes Vols. 28, 29 & 30 -4 Stars
I really figured that this would be the end of the battle city arc but nope there is still more after this. The next book though is definitely the final battle. There is not a lot and a lot at the same time that can be said about this book. The big thing in this book was the battle between Yugi and Kaiba. This was a masterclass battle between two people at the top of the game and a it was also a clash of personalities. Fate vs freedom, the past vs the future, friendship vs going it alone, etc. I'm still amazed that I ended up liking this series as much as I am and that I want to keep reading. If you were ever curious about this series then I would definitely recommend giving it a go.

Confessions of a Shy Baker, Volume 1 -3 Stars
This manga is incredibly similar to the What Did You Eat Yesterday? series that I talked about last week but with slightly better execution. I was still far from wowed by the series but the characters were at least likeable, the food transitions felt more smooth and integrated, and the romance felt like it at least had a little spark. Maybe it's a me thing but these manga just didn't click with me.

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 13 (Volume 13) -5 Stars
It's the latest volume of one of my favorite slice of life series and what can I say that I haven't said before. It's more of the characters doing the same but it's just such a fun and relaxing read.

Belle of the Ball -3 Stars
Another random snag from the library. I snagged this because of the potential cuteness and it more or less delivered. It's a basic high school romance. Weird nerdy girl confesses to hot girl and gets shot down. Hot girls jock girlfriend threatens weird nerdy girl to stay away from her girlfriend. Jock needs tutoring to pass their class and stay on the team so they need to get help from the nerdy girl they threatened. Friendship ensues as personalities are discovered which then leads to romance. It's not a bad story but I've got a couple of criticisms. Hot girl in the beginning has a bigger part and is kind of portrayed as scheming and not so nice light. After the tutoring she kind of just disappears only to show up in the final act with a personality make over. I would have loved to get to know more about her and see what brought about this change. Then there is the jock. This is a weird one but I just didn't like the artistic portrayal of the character. Outside of one scene where she was lounging around in her bra there was nothing artistically to show that she was a woman. Honestly, until this scene I thought she was a male character. It's weird, a nitpick, and I probably have no place to criticize but it's just my two bits.

Orochi: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 1 -3 Stars
This was one of those random snags from the library that just happens to help with many challenges. This was a horror manga and the comparisons to Junji Ito are unavoidable but this came before Junji Ito. I was reading the author's bio and this author was an inspiration to Ito. This is where my heavily opinionated opinion comes into this review/rant thing. I prefer Ito's work. This was good but it just didn't have the punch in my opinion that Ito does. Now I'm not saying that everything Ito does is a masterpiece but there have been so many stories that have just unsettled me. There are times where I'm reading something from Ito and the artwork is just seared into my brain. This collection of stories, or really just two stories, was good but it felt borderline more comedic than horror. That being said I definitely want to read more from this author including The Drifting Classroom.

Up next is many things as I try to get challenges done and I chase the ever persistent library due date.

The Royal Ranger: A New Beginning
This is my current audiobook and I'm about halfway through. Now this book does start out on a sour note as I've hinted at before and I'll get into those details next week during my weekly wrap up. Once past that sourness though I am enjoying this book. I just wish that part either wasn't there or handled differently.

Fractured
The next Will Trent book for me and I am enjoying it so far. I kind of forgot how intense Karin Slaughter books are and this book "gently" reminded me while "easing" me in to the story. Basically it kicked me off a cliff in the prologue.

After that I've got a couple more comics and a light novel I need to get read this week. Hopefully I can get through everything on my plate in time.

On a side note I must have been more tired than I originally thought. I slept for a solid 8 hours last night which just never happens. I've then napped at lest 2-3 hours so far this morning. I'm getting ready for my usual Saturday walk and I'm feeling extra lazy. I forgot my water bottle at work, it's 80 billion degrees outside, the urge to nap is strong, I'm reading the next Will Trent book. All valid reasons to stay inside I'd say. I'm also debating whether to take a slightly shorter route and get a pizza or do the proper adult thing and take the longer route and eat better.

I found in my early 20's that I was no longer cut out for the amusement park. There was just this big switch. One time I could anything and everything with no problems. Next time I horribly dizzy and nauseous and just didn't want any part of it. Kind of reminds me of drinking in a way. For the longest time I could drink my body weight in alcohol. Then one morning I woke up with a hangover that hung around for a couple days. After that it just wasn't fun anymore. Now I just have no interest and haven't had any alcohol in over a decade probably.

It's been a hot minute since I picked up a Karin Slaughter book and I kind of forgot how intense they are. I started Fractured and just the prologue was enough to remind me what I'm in for.

Happy Friday everybody! Hopefully we all have a good day and a smooth transition into the weekend.

I seem to have the worst timing with it to. It's like the book knows exactly when I get to works and spaces itself out accordingly to just leave me hanging. I'd listen to it at work but I don't want to divide my attention between this big reveal and operating power tools, running cranes, etc. Probably not a good mix.

The usual unfair and unjust predicament. I'm basically down to the last chapter of my book, the final 45 minutes of audiobook, and we are about to finally confront the big bad thing. Have to stop my audiobook as I'm at my desk and I can't delay things any longer. I now have to wait until lunch time for the big reveal.

Shatnerquake

It's a weird little book where all the various characters Shatner ever played all converge in one time line with the real Shatner. If you can find it the book is short so it's a quick read.

There was a point where I was requesting a lot of really weird and obscure books through the inter library loan system and I swear my name was cursed every time I put in a request. "What is he requesting now? Nazi Leprechauns? How? What? A library is actually carrying this?" My buddy at work still teases me to this day about the one incident. I requested a book called Shatnerquake and it arrived at the same time as a a few other weird books. The day I got the notification from the library that it was ready to pick up they had to suddenly close the library as lights were falling from the ceiling. I still say it has nothing to do with me but people just aren't convinced.

Sorry eh, aboot all dat smoke.

Joking aside, that is what we were going through earlier this year with all the fires on this side of the country so I know what you guys are going through. Keep safe out there.

I currently have 14 items out. 9 manga/comics, 3 novels, and 2 audiobooks. I'm picking up more this weekend, and returning some of course, and I've got holds that are close on several digital items as well.

Work has me stressing pretty hard right now. Things are just busy, tons of requests for more things coming in all the time, and I just feel perpetually behind. I'm a bit stressed at home as well as I've gotten a little over eager at the library again and I'm drowning in books. It's not a bad problem exactly but when you are already feeling perpetually behind it doesn't help the mindset. Oh well, soldier on, get things done, etc, etc, etc.

The first thing I did after getting my phone was turn off the data usage. That will be there for rainy day if I need it kind of situations. That was followed by any of the tracking stuff like phone locator, advertisement ID, etc. Anything I download on my phone is done with wifi from home. If it's anything like my Fire then Libby will sync and automatically download what ever you have on the go and sync the books between devices. As for Hoopla you have to pick what you want to download which is minor.

Using my phone as my device for audiobooks is nice. I went for my lunch time walk and all I need was my phone and my headphones. It was super easy to open the book and close it when I was done. Just an easy experience. Yes, this is where you can tease me for being amazed by modern tech. Everyone else has been talking a shot or two at me about it. In my defense this was like having a stick for years and then suddenly upgrading to a lightsaber.

Alright, alright, hear me out. I know I'm a wee bit out of touch with phone tech but I just discovered something nice. I got my Libby account set up on my new phone and I can now listen to audiobooks on my phone instead of needing a separate device just for that. I know this makes me sound ancient but my old phone just would not do that at all. Not sure what the battery life on this will be like but I should be good for a couple of hours of walking. This is such a game changer for me. During the summer where I don't want to wear a jacket this meant I always had to have my backpack with me just to carry my Kindle Fire. Now I can go out for a walk and just toss my phone into my pocket.

This has been some kind of week for sure. Not one I want to repeat by any stretch of the imagination. That being said I did get some reading done and as warned last week it's more manga/comics.

The Lost Stories -4 Stars
A collection of short stories that takes place primarily after the events in The Emperor of Nihon-Ja. Normally I'm not a fan of short story collections but this was a solid one that hints at a couple of different spin off series. There is a definite nod to The Brotherhood series and potentially a taste of The Early Years as well. The author used this to address fan questions about aspects of the series such as the working years of a horse, what happened during these events in the series, etc. We also got the wedding of a couple of characters and this is where I have a couple of issues. I think that the stories handling the weddings were tasteful and have no issues with them by themselves. It's all tied to one event in the next book that doesn't sit well with most people, or at least I don't think it does. It feels like one character got done extra dirty as their wedding is almost an afterthought in this book and then "things" happen to them in the next one. It doesn't sit well with me, that's all. Regardless I have the next one downloaded already and I'm ready to start it.

Now for the comics/manga

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, Volume 3 -4 Stars
What a shift in tone from the last volume. In the last volume the story was shifting genres like you wouldn't believe and was all over the place. This volume focuses on one story about Shredder and the Foot making a power play to fully overtake the criminal underworld in New York. There were still the Sci-Fi elements and the magical elements but they felt like garnishes to what was essentially a crime thriller. There were some massive revelations with the reveal of Hun, Bebop, and of course Rocksteady. It was interesting to see all these various factions scheming and plotting with and against Shredder. There was a massive blow to the Turtles as well where one of their own is recruited over to the Foot through essentially magical mental manipulation. This was just a very engaging volume and I can't wait to get to the next one to see the fallout of everything.

The Hunters Guild: Red Hood, Vol. 2The Hunters Guild: Red Hood, Vol. 3 -3 Stars
The first volume of this series definitely hooked me in and these two volumes was a long padded death throw. This series got cancelled super early on for whatever reason. In the second volume the story was flowing along smoothly when suddenly it gets put on the shelf and two short stories from the author are inserted. Now I will admit that the one about Hermit Crabs was super interesting and could be a potentially interesting series. Then we get to the third volume and this is where things kind of get a little weird. This is obviously where the author gets the news that his series is getting cancelled and is trying to desperately wrap things up. The story gets really weird with references to these supreme beings called "Readers" and how the characters are only there to entertain the Readers. Maybe this is me reading a little to much between the lines but there seems to be some "frustrations" that the author is venting into his writing a little bit. This volume then ends with the publisher cramming in more shorts from the author. The publishing company really did everything they could to stretch the end of this series across two books. If they had cut all the extra stuff they could have easily fit all this into one book and sold this series as two books instead of three but there isn't money in that. It's hard to say if this series was killed off to early. There was definitely potential there but who knows where things could have gone. Maybe there wasn't enough story there to keep this story going and still be interesting. Or maybe this was an unjust death of what could've been the greatest story ever. I simply don't know.

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 22 -3 Stars
It's kind of sad how I've gone from loving this series to a growing feeling of frustration with it. Like I mentioned last time I just want the story to progress at this point. If this book is a 5 gallon pail of water it feels like we get an eye dropper of story in each one which is quickly reversed by wishy washy decisions. The rest of the book is just gags. I know that this is supposed to be a gag series but man I just want the story to progress. I actually had a horrifying thought where I compared this to the Stephanie Plum series. The characters never progress and it's just the same jokes over and over again. Man that is depressing and scary.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 1What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 2 -3 Stars
This is part two of my downward spiral with manga/comics yesterday. I love food manga. If done well you can get some really creative stories like Delicious in Dungeon, Campfire Cooking in Another World, Sweetness and Lightening, etc. I think this the first food manga where I felt like it just wasn't done well. I picked this up figuring it had potential to be something really cute and it just wasn't. The story revolves two gay men in their early 40's who live together. Bonus points for that alone as I don't often see stories with main characters in their 40's. This is where the first problem with this series starts with for me though. I don't like either of the characters, especially Kakei, and I just don't feel their relationship. To me they felt like they were more like roommates that put up with each other then lovers. There was no chemistry, no spark, no spice, no cuteness, nothing. Then we get to the biggest problem I had with these books, especially the first one, and that is the food. The food was not folded well into the story and the transitions to the cooking parts felt incredibly jarring. The first example of this happened during an argument the two men were having. Kakei doesn't hide that he is gay but he doesn't share this info freely with anyone and everyone either. His partner though is very open about it and told one of his clients about his boyfriend. That client ran into both men later in public and revealed what she new. This led to an argument about who is allowed to know about them and what not. It's a serious discussion and something that is very important to the relationship. Halfway through the argument the story just switches to a detailed recipe and this topic is never revisited. It just felt so jarring but it's not the worst example. Kakei is a lawyer and later in the same book he is dealing with a client who is a victim of domestic violence. What I liked about his serious story beat was that the victim was a big burly man and the abuser was this tiny little woman. This was a serious story moment that touches on some really serious real world issues and it was handled well. Part of the way through this serious story it just full on stops, shelves this serious story element, to then have this detailed cooking section. There isn't even a real wrap up to the serious part of the story either. There is a couple panels dedicated to it later but for the most part it was just done and over. The second volume was a little better with the flow but by that point the damage had been done for me. This is most definitely a series I won't be continuing.

Twelfth Grade Night -2 Stars
This was a random snag from the library based solely on the potential cuteness. This just left me feeling old and with a general sense of "meh" about everything in this story. This is about a twin who is separated from her brother. Brother continues to go to a private school and she goes to a local public school. This public school backs on to the fairy realm and several of the Fae attend the school. Why you might ask? No idea. It just this weird random element to the story that did nothing for the story. I seriously have no clue why it was there. This entire element of the story could have been cut out and it would have zero impact on the story. Now maybe I'm just old and crusty but some of these characters just felt a bit... over the top. Then the story itself was just kind of meh overall. Boy likes girl, girl likes girl, girl likes boy and no one can communicate anything. There is a dance, miscommunication, blah, blah, blah. Maybe it's because I'm old and crusty but I just didn't resonate with anything in this book.

Now, what is coming up next week.

Crocodile on the Sandbank
My next audiobook and you can kind of tell the age of the book. Or to be more precise the audio recording of the book because there are elements of this book that I've never experience before. This was recorded in 1999 and maybe this is still a thing but I haven't seen it before. This book opens with the usual "this is a xxxxxx recording of xxxxx by this author and read by this narrator". Then it goes into the legal copyrights and then reads the blurb on the back of the book. It gets into the authors tributes and notes. There was just several minutes of stuff that I know are in physical books but I just don't experience in audiobooks. Outside of that it's off to an alright start. I'm only a hour into it so far but it seems fine.

Outside of that I'm still working on my giant stack of manga/comics. I promise this is coming to an end soon and there will be more novels in these wrap ups at some point.

Considering the week that I've had I can't really say that I am surprised. Tomorrow is going to be a big reset and next week will be all sorts of goodness.

My walk today did not go as planned at all. I forgot my water bottle at work yesterday but no biggie, I can deal with that and it gives me a reason to check out this bubble tea place. About halfway into my trip I got hit with, lets call it a stomach bug, and had a growing need for a washroom. The problem is I am in the middle of suburban hell and there is nothing but private homes and open fields. It wasn't bad though and I figured I could still make it to the library. I was wrong. I barely made it to the washroom in the mall in time. Finished up everything when I made a horrible discovery. My phone decided in all the haste that now was the perfect time to commit suicide by throwing itself into the toilet. I've heard of this horror story happening to others but never suffered the humiliation of it myself. I... uhhh... fished it out but it was dead and angrily vibrating at me. Now I'm not one of those people who has their whole life on their phone but I have my uses for it. It's my clock, my alarm, my stopwatch, how I keep in touch with people, etc. Luckily my carrier has a store nearby and I was dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. I don't update my stuff unless I absolutely need to. My and my old phone was easily a decade plus old, no data, and only the most basic function. The manufacturer doesn't even make phones anymore. I ended up getting myself a Google Pixel 7 Pro and now I'm trying to figure out how to use it, trying to figure out how to get my old contacts since I don't remember anyone's number, and all that fun stuff.