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

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

Confession time. I was initially going to skip this one because my brain got this mixed up with the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine. The Morganville series was something I tried reading back before I was on Goodreads when I first getting back into reading and I did not like the books.

This is all new to me and I should be starting in the next couple of weeks. I have my copy from the library it's just getting the time to read it.

Ice on top of water is pretty common for this time of year. It just gets cold enough over night for ice to form but not cold enough, or long enough, for larger puddles to fully freeze. It makes walking really interesting. Is this ice solid and slippery? Is it solid but full of sand/gravel/dirt/etc so it's not slippery? Is there a small lake under this ice and I might break through?

I've played a ton of Diablo 1 and 2 when I was younger and that line is permanently tattooed into my brain.

This morning was one of those weird spring traditions that I don't think anyone ever grows out of. For us here it's early spring and we are going through that daily freeze thaw cycle which means tons of crunchy ice. That super thin ice that crunches under foot when you walk on it. I don't know about anyone else but I still get that sense of joy of hearing and feeling crunchy ice under foot. Of course this brings about the other spring tradition of picking the wrong crunchy ice to walk on. As soon as I stepped on it I swear half my leg disappeared into the void. Once I got my foot back there was the initial panicked check and everything is still clean and dry. Then there was the inevitable five or six steps later when you feel icy cold water soaking through the top of your sock. Was there anything learned from this moment of stupidity? Probably not and I know it will happen again because no one can resist crunchy ice.

This week we landed a massive project at work and we are booked up until early October which is good in a way. There are going to be a couple of really busy months ahead of us for sure We also got a couple of orders for next year already as well which is earlier than usual.

Some commutes are just like that. You somehow manage to hit every red light, every traffic jam, etc. It's never when you want it to happen either.

I started listening to Broken Homes and man does it feel good to back with this series. The characters, the setting, the narrator, it just felt good. It helped make the walk this morning feel a little less crappy.

I know that this dates me and tells a lot about me but one simple line triggers a flood of memories. Now this could be just a simple sentence, it could be a localization thing, and it could be the person doing the translation was also a massive nerd.

"Stay awhile and listen"

Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 2

If you heard Deckard Cain congratulations. If not this is what I heard in my head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAVVy...

Nothing like the quiet peacefulness of a Sunday morning being interrupted by the nonstop drone of of leaf blowers because someone saw a snowflake. I understand how they are helpful and make snow removal easier but at the same time I loathe them so much.

Alright, time for the weekly wrap up and oh man it has been a roller coaster of a week. Good books, bad books, in between books, and just a general reading funk.

-2 Stars
Lets start with the bad, I just did not like this book. Basically a barista comes up with a system to match people together based on their coffee orders. Sure, there is an interesting idea for a story at the heart of things but the book just does nothing. There is no depth to anything and things just happen because the tropes require it. I was so bored reading this and only finished it because I needed it for a challenge. About the only thing I can really say that was good about the book was that it was short.

-5 Stars
Now for the good. I have been enjoying this series so far but always felt that there was something missing from the books. This book felt like the series hit it's stride. It had emotional moments, it had action scenes, it had character growth, it had it all. No joke, there was a scene at the end that might have even brought a tear to my eye. This was just a fantastic read and I am now fully hooked on this series.

-3 Stars
I feel like I need to explain some things here. Last week I spoke about Solo Leveling and how much fun I had reading that power fantasy. That put me in a mood and combined with my general feeling of being tired this month from work I wanted something fun to read. That lead me to this series. I will fully admit that this is not good power fantasy, this is not good literature in general. This is bottom of the barrel isekai and the MC is OP and perfect. He starts with nothing but his smartphone in a fantasy world. By the end of the third book he is engaged to four women (polygamy is a thing in this world), a billionaire, was gifted a mansion, has ties to the royal family (one of his fiancees is the princess), and a well respected adventurer. This is not a high stakes, tension filled series. Our MC shows up and essentially solves any problem with his harem of beautiful women. There are some weird anime/manga tropes in here but overall it's fluff. Here is the thing though... I had fun reading this. This was the perfect thing to just turn my brain off and have a good time with. For all the negative things there are some interesting elements going on that have me curious and while the anime community seems to like dunking on this it has to be doing something right. The 27th book comes out this year and no word of it ending.

-3 Stars
Another challenge book that I listened to. This was for a particularly hard challenge and I wanted to get this task over with so I can move onto the next part. Basically this book is about a young boy who has sociopathic tendencies in a small town. One day bodies start showing up and he gets obsessed with what is going on and tries to solve the mystery. There is an interesting idea here at the core but there was something about this book that just did not click with me. I think it was mostly the MC that I just didn't like. I didn't enjoy watching these events unfold from his point of view. Compounding this issue was the narrator. I just didn't feel like the narrator fit the character. The narrator has the cadence and tone that makes me thing of a 1920's gangster and not a 15 year old boy. I wasn't even upset with the twist that happened halfway through. The book just didn't click with me.

-3 Stars
Speaking of things not clicking with me. I snagged this series to finish a challenge from 2019 and meh. Again not a bad idea behind the series or anything but it just didn't click. After two volumes I still have no real idea what is going on and we just keep getting more and more characters thrown at us. The challenge is done though and I won't be continuing on with this series.

-4 Stars
More assassins, more serial killers, more over the top action. I love this series and can't wait for more.

Now, what is next.

On audiobook I'll be starting next week. Finally getting back to this series and I'm super excited.

For regular books I have some manga to read and I think I'll start next because fun light read.

Aundrea wrote: I pack a lunch 4 days, then do takeout on Fridays. I look forward to the one lunch in the week that isn't like all the others :D."

Normally that is what I do as well. I eat my own lunch for four days a week and then go to the farmers market on Friday. This week helped open my boundaries for Friday lunch options and I'm pleased.

It's Friday afternoon! Time for some snacks, some manga, some naps, and just relaxing. One more week of this month, one last push and then things should calm down a bit.

This has been an interesting week of lunches. I've had Mediterranean, Vietnamese, a huge sandwich, and today I have Ethiopian. I don't want to do this all the time but it's nice knowing I have some options in the area that I can get from time to time.

Just a little over a week left in this month and I can't wait for it to be over. This month feels like it's lasted a decade at least and the end goal is at least another decade off. As you all know I've been busy this month and I'm just tired. Even my bones feel tired at this point in time. This next week will either be very quiet or hell on earth and my gut is leaning towards hell on earth as we try to get to that lofty goal for the month.

Oh I would love more Murderbot but I've already got two audiobooks downloaded for a total of 18 hours worth of book. I need to work through all that first and then get to more Murderbot.

Lunch update #2. Today I have a sandwich and a fruit salad. A chickpea sandwich with all the veggies but onions and a healthy dash of mustard. The combination of everything with a bit of heat from some pickled hot peppers and the mustard makes for a real tasty bite. The sandwich is huge as well. It's on a regular slice of bread but it's like 2-3" thick.

I'm currently listening to I Am Not a Serial Killer on audio and the narrator just does not fit the main character. The main character is supposed to be a 15 year old sociopath (maybe???) and the narrator sounds like a 1920's gangster. At first I thought maybe I was just hearing things and then the narrator did a voice for a side character and now I just can't stop hearing it. It's not what is being said it's how it's being said. The cadence and flow just makes me think 1920's gangster.

I finished Rogue Protocol this morning and I was not prepared for such an emotional ride.

(view spoiler)[
That ending and the death of Miki, or Mickey or however you spell it, and the impact on Murderbot hit like a hammer. I feel this book really hit its stride for the series. Great action, great tension, great character development. Just an all around great package. Plus, our boy is finally going home. I want the next one so bad but I have other reading responsibilities. (hide spoiler)]

Today was my first day eating out and it was tasty. I had a Mediterranean Buddha bowl consisting of turmeric rice, roasted cauliflower, falafel, salad, and then a side of pickles, onions, etc all topped with a lemon tahini sauce. I'm now full and ready for a nap.