Gord’s Comments (group member since Sep 03, 2018)

Gord’s comments from the Readers Unbound group.

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.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine what you are going through right now.

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.

Time for a quick update. I don't have as much to talk about with it being a shorter week and just life being life.

Cardcaptor Sakura, Book 4 -5 Stars
Yet another Clamp series that I find myself at the end of and man this one makes me tear up. I cried the first time I read the ending and I cried just as much this time. Why? No idea. There is just something about this ending that hits me right in the emotional core and reduces me to shambles. There is something just so sweet about everything and it just makes me bawl. Not a whole lot to say outside of that. Now to move on to the sequel which I have never read before.

Don't Call It Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 1-2 -5 Stars
This is one of those random ones that popped up on my radar at some point but my library didn't have it at that point. Since then they got it and I got myself a copy. This book was an experience that just pulled me in hard. There are a couple aspects of this book that I feel need to be talked about. First, there is the art. There is a couple pages where the art is like the cover and it's good in an uncanny valley kind of way. It looks good but there is something that is just weird about it. Then there is the art that is used for the average panel and it's not that great. I've read all sorts of manga/doujinshi (fan made manga) so it's not the worst I've seen but it's still not that great. Where the story shines though is in the writing and I'm not sure how to even describe this oddity. The series is called Don't Call It Mystery and I feel that is apt. The MC helps solves puzzles but he is not involved with the investigation itself. He is not out in the field looking for clues, investigating crime scenes, none of that. What he is good at is talking and this boy talks a lot. He is always asking questions, sharing his opinions, etc. I think the best way to describe the reading experience of this book is to think of the classic reveal moment from something like a Poirot novel. Where Poirot gathers everyone together in the study and he goes over the events of the mystery. He asks questions, makes his observations, etc with all of it leading up to his big reveal of who the bad guy is. That moment is basically what this book is and it just works for me. This book has three cases/puzzles in it and the second one just hooked me in hard. One of those books where nothing matters but getting to end and the big reveal. I really can't wait for the second book.

Alley: Junji Ito Story Collection -4 Stars
I think this will be my last Ito collection for a while. I love Ito and I still think that he is the master of horror in a manga format but I'm starting to feel kind of burnt out. Ito has been getting much more popular in the west which means more of his works have been getting translated. I've been reading several of these this year as the library has been bringing them in. After a while they just started to blur together. The weird art work, the spooky setting, the big spooky reveal, etc. That is what this collection is. It's more Ito being Ito. That being said there are some pretty good ones in this collection.

Now, what is up next.

The Spellshop
I'm about 30% of the way into this book and I'm having a great time so far. I'm really glad that more and more cozy fantasy is being published in the main stream as it's a nice genre to read.

Outside of that I have some more manga and a couple novels to work through.

It's far from a deal breaker for me or anything. It's just one of those things that I noticed while reading through the novels. Like I said, I'm stoked to see where it goes.

I'm a little off my schedule and I would have posted much earlier today but I really needed to sleep. I've had a busy week since my last update and not all of it was reading.

The Return of the King -5 Stars
I feel like I have a lot to say about this book and it's going to be more then just "this book is awesome". It is awesome but I feel like I just have a lot more to unpack with this one. This series is divided up into six parts, or books, with each novel having two parts each. This final novel had some really different styles to it which was odd. The fifth part changed from this epic adventure to defeat this great evil to a full blown military fantasy. This fifth book was a whole lot of "this army moved there", "that army moved over there", "10k men moved in behind", etc. To be brutally honest, this is not really my style of fantasy but I could get through this section. Part of that is because it still had these personal moments scattered through out. That and it's ties to the larger story. In part six we get back to Frodo and Sam with the story coming to its inevitable end. What really surprised me the most with this section is just how soon this came to an end. This book had a few extras in the end but still this inevitable outcome came at about the 55% mark. Looking at my position in the book I was settling in for some story telling and then it was over but not really. Yes, the ring is destroyed, Middle Earth is saved, and there is much joyous celebration... kind of. What follows is basically the series running in reverse. With our MC's basically reuniting and then revisiting the major locations and characters we had encountered over the book. As the four hobbits are traveling back to the Shire characters leave them at various points until it's just the four of them returning to the Shire. With the adventure coming to an end at the door of Bag End where it all started and then essentially an epilogue that has the final end for Frodo and Bilbo.

This final section was really what got me thinking and reflecting on what I was reading. Like the other two books I was a little fuzzy on the details but I could remember the major plot points. That was until I got to the section after the ring was destroyed. This might as well have been a brand new book for me at this point and I have some thoughts/feeling about all this. First, this type of ending is just not something I think I've ever encountered before. Most books would have ended with the ring being destroyed and a short epilogue. I'm not sure if any series but LotR could have pulled off an ending like this either. I'm not saying it's impossible but it is a difficult thing to pull off and still have the reader engaged. Second, I love the message that I got from this. That the big adventure doesn't end once the big evil is done, that life itself is an adventure, and that everyday can be an adventure. You never know what might be around the next corner. I love that the adventure ended at the same place it all began. It shows how the characters have changed over their adventure for better or worse.

This book really gave me a lot to think about and I loved my overall experience with both this novel and the series in its entirety.

The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 1 -4 Stars
Ever since I watched the anime I knew I wanted to read the series it was based on. At that point in time all I could get my hands on was the manga without having to dish out some cold hard cash. Heading into the con I was looking for a light novel for some light reading while standing in line and discovered that Hoopla has the series available. To say that I was excited would be a wee bit of an understatement. Now for the book itself. It was good and what I was expecting, in a way. Normally when I read the light novel for a series it's a hands down better experience. There are a lot of details that get skipped, plot points that get glossed over, etc. This one has me feeling conflicted. The bedrock for the character and series is all there and solid but there were a lot of little embellishments when it comes to the anime. For instance cat mode Maomao for when she gets excited is an anime only thing. It's a minor thing, and I get why it's done but while reading about Maomao it just feels like there is this dimension missing to her. Also, this first book was the entire first season of the anime. There are 14 more volumes currently which means so much more content.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -4 Stars
I don't have a lot to say about this one, it was just a fun read and something easy to have on when I was bombing around a con.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3—Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 6 -4 Stars
Also not a lot to say about this one either. More crazy fight scenes as we get ever closer to Dio.

Now what is next.

The Spellshop
I saw the description of this as a "fantasy cozy mystery" and figured I had to give this a try.

For the manga side of things I have:

I'm back and I have been doing some reading this week.

Stitches -3 Stars
This was essentially one of those spooky short story collections for teens but from a Japanese author and I have many conflicted feelings. I've read a lot of these books ever since I was a young man and they were a great gateway into other horror. As a result these books, no matter the stories, always have this sense of nostalgia for me. They all have the same feeling, the setups, the same shocking twists, the same overall vibe. Ultimately though, that is also my biggest issue with these kind of books as well. They never feel new or fresh for me. Sure the stories and settings might change but at their core they're always the same. I also feel a bit disappointed when reading these stories as well. Like I said they are a great gateway into horror and while not a die hard horror fan I have dabbled in a fair bit of horror over the years. These stories feel like a tease for me. It introduces a spooky setup but before anything can really happen or can be explored it's already over and moving onto the next thing. I want to know what that creepy ghosts does to people, I want to see what that weird monster thing does to people, I want to know who and what they are, I just want more. I always end up feeling disappointed in these kind of books but I know at some point I'll pick up another one because of nostalgia and curiosity.

Blood Cursed -3 Stars
My next audiobook was Return of the King, the final book in the LotR series and I just wasn't mentally in the mood for something that serious. I ended up grabbing this book as I just had this craving to listen to another one of these and it didn't disappoint. It's a cheesy action novel. This is the 44th novel in this series of cheesy action novels written by many different authors under the same name. You don't pay attention to continuity, you don't pay attention to things like character growth or realism. You show up for the gunfights, the sword fights, the action, and the silliness of it all. This novel gave me just that and my tired brain was happy.

Now for the manga and comics

First Test Graphic Novel -3 Stars
Why do I keep doing this to myself? At this point in time I should know better and yet I keep picking up these type of comics. This is a comic book adaptation of a full length novel of the same name by Tamora Pierce. I just don't like comic book adaptations. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with this comic and is a fair adaptation. Comics like this just leave me feeling disappointed and kind of short changed. With the novel you get to explore the character and world and see so much stuff. Someone has to then come along, condense all of that, put it into a different medium, all with their own interpretation of things. As a result things get cut out, things get changed, and some things just don't change well from one medium to another. As a result I just feel short changed at the end. I just want to go out and pick up the original novel.

[bookc:She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 4 (Volume 4)|202730997] -5 Stars
I just love this series and the budding romance between the two leads. I love how the series handles sensitive topics and I love the chemistry between all the characters. I just want more of this series and unfortunately it will be a bit of a wait. The fifth volume came out in Japan in February and there isn't even an announcement for the English translation yet.

Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Vol. 1 (Volume 1) -5 Stars
Yes, it's yet another chill slice of life yuri with adult women characters. I've had some really great experiences with this type of book and I love finding new ones. I'm sure there is a name/sub-genre for this type of book but I don't know what it is. The plot for this book is pretty simple. Lead goes through a breakup and is looking for a fresh start. She decides to move to a new place and finds this beautiful house for rent. The quirk is that the landlord lives in the house, in the attic to be specific. Oh and the landlord is an ex-idol as well. It's chill, it's sweet, it's cute. My brain and my heart are happy.

I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 3 -4 Stars
I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 4 -4 Stars
I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 5 -4 Stars
After trying out the first couple volumes I knew I had to read the rest of this series. I sat down yesterday and plowed through the last three volumes and loved it. The mom in this series is just an amazing mom. Doing everything she can to try and understand what her sons are going through and figuring out how to support them. Even the dad, who says some questionable things, is trying to grow and change. Then we get to the ending. I'm not going to get into spoilers as there isn't really a lot to spoil. The ending just felt... rushed to be honest. There was a reveal that I more or less saw coming that felt like it didn't get the usual exploration. Then there was a bit more book and it just ended. Yes, it had a sweet moment at the end but there was just so many things that just felt unresolved. I'm not saying every story line has to end with a perfect little bow but the story just kind of ended with no wrap up. It's just left me feeling very perplexed, especially after reading the author's last little section. Am I just expecting to much from this series? Are my expectations just in the wrong? Am I just missing the point?

Now, what is next? I have the upcoming week off for my local anime convention so I have a lot reading time in my future.

On the audiobook front I have
The Return of the King
and
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
I want to finish Return of the King before the convention as it is a bit of a heavier read. I'm sure I'll need at least one other audiobook as well. Maybe another Rogue Angel one.

Outside of that I have some more manga to read, also another light novel, and I'm sure I'll end up grabbing something from Libby or Hoopla.

This was an odd week and I don't really have a lot to talk about. I wasn't walking this week due to the weather and I just wasn't feeling any books this week. I was more interested in watching movies and sumo. That being said here is what I did complete this week.

American Flygirl -3 Stars
I have a lot of feelings surrounding this book and the hard part is splitting them between feelings about the book and feelings in general. For this book I thought it was alright. I snagged this from the library basically because the book caught my eye. It's about the first Asian American women to get her pilots license in the USA and the story itself is interesting. Seeing what Hazel did with her life, the training required for your license, and just another view of life at that time. The early part of the book was much more focused on her life but as the book went along it became more about WWII and the training that the WASP's went through with Hazel just kind of showing up here and there. Which kind of makes sense as the author had to put what Hazel was doing and going through into larger context. Why the WASP's had to be created and what not not. Overall the book was entertaining but nothing super special either.

Then we get into my general feelings. I'm starting to think historical books might not be a good thing for me to read. It was interesting to see how progressive these women were and just how ahead of their time things were. Not just because these women were flying planes either. The whole attitude towards dating, sex, etc was interesting, especially for time. Then there is the super frustrating side of things. I'll admit that things have changed and progressed since the 40's but in some ways things have also not changed. There have been to many times I've read books like this and seen comments from the past that are basically the same as comments that I've heard in present day. It's so disheartening to see that certain mindsets have not changed in some 80 years. There is also the fact that some of these women didn't die in accidents but were straight up murdered due to insecure men. Women who crashed because of things like sugar in the fuel tanks or rags in the landing gear. Now, some of this could be due to spies/saboteurs but as the book explains some of it was just men being upset that women were flying or "taking their job" and that is so frustrating. Again, you can sort of see this sort of mindset in certain groups even in current times. Lets just say it's super frustrating and leave it at that.

That's it, that's all I read this week. Like I said I was in a weird sort of space this week. As for what is next I legit don't know. For the audiobook side of things I have the final Lord of the Rings book but I'm really not in the mood for something like that currently. I don't really have anything else lined up. There is something that I want to listen to but I'm debating between that and finding some challenge book. Outside of that I've acquired yet another stack of manga that I need to work through.

Alright, time for that weekly update and I actually have some things to talk about this week.

Now You See Me -4 Stars
This was a buddy read that I headed into knowing little about outside of the synopsis. What I found was a pretty solid mystery/police procedural set in London. This was definitely a mystery where you as the reader weren't supposed to be able to figure it out before the end. You were figuring things out as the police figured them out. There were snippets here and there you could theorize about and maybe even figure out but I just couldn't slot it into the bigger picture. That made the ending very satisfying which then slid in one last twist that I legit never saw coming. The characters were alright but nothing to really write home about. They served their purposes in the story. The only thing that I didn't really like and just felt out place was this romance element. I wouldn't even really call it a subplot either. It just dropped into the book at one point, felt really awkward, and then promptly disappeared. It showed up once or twice after that but never for long and it just never felt like it fit in. There was no real build up to it, the characters didn't feel like they had any sort of chemistry, and outside of certain moments the book didn't even acknowledge it. The other big question I have now that I am done is how this will transition into a series. This book really felt like a self contained story with the MC's background playing a massive part in the mystery. Now that mostly everything has come to light I am wondering how they make this into a series. What elements haven't been revealed to the world in this book are not really enough to carry another book I feel. I don't know, I'm very curious and I'll get to the second book next month.

Body Movers -2 Stars
This was a challenge book that I read to fill a Chick-Lit requirement and oh man I did not have a good time with this one. Before I get into this I want to acknowledge that this book is just not for me. This genre, in general, is just not something I'm overly interested in. I went looking for some recommendations and basically found three options to look at. The overly dramatic and serious type of book (bleh), the sappy contemporary romance (more bleh), and the comedy route. I decided to go down the comedy route and this book is definitely a "comedy" book. The problem is that I just didn't like any thing that this book was trying to do. I didn't like the MC, I didn't like the MC's brother, I didn't like the "love interests", I didn't like the mystery, just nothing worked for me. This was one of those books where anytime anyone was to make an important decision they would inevitably choose the dumbest option possible. I'm on probation, thousands of dollar in debts to shady characters, my family life is riddled with debt, this sounds like a great time to gamble my entire first paycheck. The cops are investigating the MC and the husband of a murder victim for their involvement in the murder, lets make out and nearly have sex in the front seat of a car right out in public. There was just so many tropes in this book that I just didn't like and lumping them all together just added to this feeling of boredom/frustration I had with this book. I'm just glad to finally be done with this book and moving on to something else.

Now for the other books I read

One Piece, Volume 2: Buggy the Clown -4 Stars
Like I mentioned before I'm having such a sense of nostalgia going back and reading this series from the beginning. Especially with the knowledge of events that happen much later in the series. This is the first time we meet Buggy and it's wild to think about where he ends up later. Just a fun time going back and seeing where things all started.

Soichi -3 Stars
I love reading Junji Ito's stuff but like any author he has some duds and I feel that this is one of them. It's basically a collection of short stories all interconnected with the same characters and locations. Soichi is basically this creepy little kid who terrorizes all of those around him. That's the premise of each short story and they run the gambit from full on supernatural things to just a kid being a little monster. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this one but I just didn't like this one as much.

The Great Cleric (Manga) Vol. 9 -4 Stars
Another great entry in this series. It's probably not for everyone but I am fun reading this series.

The New Girl -5 Stars
I have been following this artist's online work for years now and was excited to hear about a published book from her. This book was just a joy to read. It's about a young girl having to move to Canada from Romania because her parents moved for work. They move to Montreal which just adds to her complications. She gets her first period on the plane flight, she doesn't know anyone in Montreal, she doesn't speak the language, etc. It's about her adopting to her new life and finding her way in basically a new world. It's just a great read with some great art. Another nice little touch is the use of colored text bubbles. I'm not sure if this is the first time I've ever seen it but I really appreciated it. The author would use different colored text bubbles to indicate which language the individual was speaking. This was a nice touch as the language barrier was a big factor in the book and many of the characters spoke different languages.

Now, what is next.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This is my next audiobook and a nice break after that Body Movers book.

American Flygirl
This is a random nonfiction book I snagged from the library that sounded super interesting.

Time for that weekly update and not as much to talk about this week. I've been splitting my time between reading and other things on the go. With that being said lets get into what I read.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold -5 Stars
This was a beautiful book that hurt me a lot. It's a slice of life book with four chapters and each chapter is its own self contained little story with interconnecting characters and the cafe as a location. I listened to the first story and it was a little emotional but nothing to heavy. Then the remaining three stories had me crying my eyes out. I listened to this while on my walk to work and for a lot of those walks my vision was rather blurry. I even had to stop a couple times to collect myself before continuing on. What I came to appreciate after I was finished was that these were not just stories full of crushing despair that would leave you broken. There was hope mixed in. You could see the characters processing a horrible event and then see a path forward. A glimmer of hope that while things were dark now they would get better over time. At the same time I don't feel like it was a super sappy happily ever after kind of thing either. It's complicated alright. I'm really glad I read this book and while it did hurt I loved it for the experience. I'm definitely requesting the next one and preparing some tissues for the inevitable tears.

That was it for completed novels this week.

Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus, Vol. 3 -4 Stars
There is something just wonderful about this series. I was thinking about this a lot after I finished this volume and I think a lot of it comes down to the innocence of this series. Don't get me wrong it had it's serious moments for sure but overall it had a pretty innocent tone. There was none of this edge that more modern magical girl shows have. That whole idea of taking something innocent and making it darker and edgier. Don't get me wrong I can appreciate those kind of things to a certain degree but I find as I'm getting older I just want that wholesome innocence more. As for this volume it's more of Sakura finding her own power and changing the cards and I had fun reading it.

I Married My Female Friend Vol. 1 -4 Stars
I Married My Female Friend Vol. 2 -4 Stars
Speaking of innocent and wholesome. This was a random snag from the library and I enjoyed it. Basically two young ladies make a promise that if neither are married in fives years that they will marry each other. Of course, as you can guess from the title, this is what happens and we join the couple at some point after they got married. This is a "romance" but it kind of feels like the romance is more one sided and very low key. It's more about learning to live with someone who is the opposite of you with a hint of romance mixed in. It's a fun little read and there are only three books in the series.

As for what I am reading currently/next
Now You See Me
I'm about 60% of the way in to this and it's hard to explain why I'm so invested in this book but I am invested. It's a police procedural style thriller and the author is doing a great job laying out the mystery. It's definitely feeling like on those mysteries where you are not supposed to solve it until the author shows you who it is and I'm not opposed to those style of mysteries.

Body Movers
This is the other audiobook I'll be working on and it's for a challenge. I'm kind of meh feeling about it but I'll get through it.

Outside of that I've got some more manga to work on as usual.

There are not a lot of women that are naturally over the 6' mark. Some come close with the help of heels but that is not the same.

Time for my weekly update and I'm feeling pretty good this week. I've been dealing with a heavy pile of stuff from the library for several months now and I finally feel like I'm getting into a spot where I'm getting caught up on things. I still have things checked out but it's not two giant stack of books sitting on my table where I'm juggling due dates and constantly chasing the next due date. Any way, time for the books.

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again -3 Stars
This was an interesting read that confirmed one thing for me. I'd much rather watch a giant monster stomp through a city than read about it. Reading about it just isn't as satisfying in my opinion. Back to the book at hand, this book can basically be divided into three parts. The first novel, Godzilla, the second novel, Godzilla Raids Again, and then the afterword. The first novel was a solid entry with some of the essential giant monster movie tropes baked into it. The second one was alright, definitely less of a protest movie and more of the action flick that the Godzilla movies became. Then there is the afterword. Normally this is the section of the book that I might skim over at best but here it was something that sucked me in and I couldn't stop reading. The afterword gave us some history on the author and the movie itself. What I really loved about this afterword though is how it put everything into context. Where Japan was at after the war, what was happening in the country between the end of the war and 1954, the events in 1954 with regards to Bikini Atoll. It was a movie that dropped at just the right moment and resonated with people. Overall an interesting read and an important classic that is not in the normal discussion of classics.

Deadbeat Druid -3 Stars
I have some pretty conflicted feelings about this book. Overall I'd say that it maintains its solid three star rating that the rest of the trilogy had. I would say that this was probably the weakest book of the series for me though. I loved the journey through the underworld and the lore that was set up there. There was a lot of interesting creatures and just overall lore. I had a couple of big issues with the book though. The start of the book kind of plodded along and I was getting a bit annoyed with the constant reminders of what happened in previous books. I don't mind a quick summary but this felt like a constant beating over the head. Combined with a general lack of anything going on and it just added to the plodding feeling of things. Then we get to the ending of the book. I appreciate the message that the book was putting forth and I get where it's trying to do but that feel good Care Bear ending just didn't work for me. You spend three books building up this villain to basically give him a hug and send him on his way at the end of it all. I'm not against a feel good ending, or even some of the feel good stuff in the ending of this book but everything about the bad guys resolution just felt off for me. Not a bad book and not a bad series but not super outstanding either.

Now for the manga and comics

Predator versus Wolverine -3 Stars
You get what is advertised in the title. This is just a small series about all the various fights between Wolverine and one of the Predators over the decades that Wolverine has been alive. It's not horrible but it's not mind blowing either.

The Apothecary Diaries Manga, Vol. 11 -5 Stars
What can I really say that I haven't already said about this series before? I love the MC, I love many of the side characters, and I love how the author sets up his mysteries. Just another fun entry in this series.

Tomb Raider King, Vol. 6 -4 Stars
I'm once again caught up on this series and waiting for the library to get some more. Another solid entry into this popcorn action series. Not a lot more to really about this one either.

xxxHOLiC Omnibus 7 -5 Stars
We've arrived at the end of the original series and what a beautiful send off to things. The latter half of this series really had a different tone to it and it made me emotional more than a few times. Maybe it was just what I had going on in my personal life but things really hit me hard. I still love this series and I'm very curious about the next two series that follow this. There is Rou that is a side story set in the previous events and Rei which is a continuation of the story. I'll have to see what my library has.

As for what is next...

Before the Coffee Gets Cold
This is my next audiobook and I've been waiting a while for this one. This sounds like a really great read and I'm looking forward to it.

Outside of that I have some more manga to get through but that pile is getting ever smaller.

All good, I'm used to short hand for series, I just didn't recognize those ones. The only thing that came to mind for SVSSS was Spy vs Spy and that probably dates me.

I know I'm a day late but Canada Day long weekend here and all that.

The Two Towers -5 Stars
I finally got around to to this book and it was just as much fun as the first one was to listen to. It's also interesting coming into this book a bit older and a bit wiser than I was the last time I read it. You could say that this book was a shining example of middlebookitis but if you know the history of this book it actually makes sense. This was supposed to be all one one book originally and was later divided by the publisher. Meaning this middle book was quite literally the middle of the book. The book picks up immediately following the events of the last book and just kind of ends. Don't get me wrong, the publisher picked great parts for the break but yeah. My reread of this series also highlights the brain rot I have from the movies even though I've never really watched them. I remember the battle at Helms Deep and Isengard as these massive events but in the book they were just things that happened. The battle at Isengard wasn't really a battle and it happened off page. We show up afterwards and everything is pretty much done. Gandalf deals with Saruman, passes on some instructions to Treebeard, and then everyone rides off to the third book. That is a gross simplification but essentially that is what happens.

As I mentioned in my ramble about the first book this series is just an experience. The world building, the characters, etc. It's just an experience and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Now for the manga

xxxHOLiC Omnibus 6 -5 Stars
Where do I even start with this one and not get into massive spoilers. After the tragic events of the last volume we get a time skip and that is where we join in. I don't feel like I can talk about much as there would be a lot of spoiler. What I will say is that while reading this book there is just this sense of sadness. When you find out what has been sacrificed, what the characters have been through, what people are doing to keep promises. By the end I just wanted to cry. I've taken longer to get through these last few books as the tonal change was unexpected but I'm very curious about how this will end and where it goes next.

Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 2 -5 Stars
Another series that made me want to cry this week. It has been a week shall we say. Much like LotR this series is just a treat to reread and I'm having so much fun, and emotional damage, while going through it.

A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch Vol. 2 -4 Stars
This book introduces a lot of new characters as it starts to expand into the greater world from the witches remote house. Still a great series but it just doesn't have the emotional gut punch of the first one. It's still great and I can't wait for the next volume.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3—Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 5 -4 Stars
This series is just wild. The fights are probably some of the most creative I have seen in a good long while. One of the fights in this book was against an eleven month, yes, month, old child that used a dream stand. Just, what, where do you even come up with these ideas? Now that being said there was a comment someone said and I just can't stop thinking about it. The story itself, and in particular the fights, are some top tier writing but this series JoJo is not really all that impressive. Maybe it's because of the larger cast of characters but this JoJo just kind of fades in the back ground. The last two JoJo's were these large charismatic characters that grabbed the spotlight. Meanwhile this JoJo just kind of moodily stands in the background not saying or doing much. Still loving things and I can't wait for the next one.

-3 stars
Not a lot to really say about this one. It was a whole lot of fighting and set up for the next book. Still a fun mindless popcorn series.

I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 1 -4 Stars
I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 2 -4 Stars
This is a manga series that has been floating around on my radar for a bit now and I finally decided to give it a try. This series, so far, is just so sweet and wholesome. Basically it's about a mom finding out that her son is gay and basically being there supporting him. He hasn't come out but he isn't exactly subtle about things and has some serious slip ups. Hence how mom was able to figure it out. There is a small part of me that is concerned about the dad in the situation. He is kind of a stereotypical male but not in a bad way. Some of his comments are things I've heard more than a few times in my life and it's not malicious but in this context it makes his son uncomfortable and confused. I suspect, or at least I hope, that dad will be fully supportive if/when his son comes out.

Now that I am through all that it's time to talk about what is next.

Deadbeat Druid
I was meaning to read this in June but I never got to it. Better late then never as they say. I'm interested to see how this series ends but slightly concerned with several of the mixed reviews I've seen.

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again
I stumbled across this when browsing through the new section at my library and to say that I am hyped is a bit of an understatement. Reading through the first part of the original Godzilla has been fun so far.

Outside of that, more manga, as usual.

I swear I understand English but I am so lost reading this conversation.

Time for another weekly wrap up and lets just say, in advance, that I as kind of on a Korean manhwa kick this week. Not planned or anything, just how the library books fall.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory -3 Stars
This was an odd one for me. I have been following this author on YouTube now for a long while, probably even while she was working on this book, and I've rather enjoyed her content. I snagged up this book because it helped with a couple of different challenges with one book. Heading into this I was expecting, well, a memoir and that is partially what I got. This book also had a fair bit of history in it as well. Going into cultural practices of various groups throughout the world and the history of the funeral business in the USA. This was about the author getting into the funeral business and her upbringing in Hawaii. It was an interesting listen and I enjoyed both aspects of the book but I was just never really blown out of the water either. I can't really explain why but for me the book was just alright.

Now for the comics/manga/manhwa

Summer Vamp -5 Stars
After the meh feelings I had for Ghost Station last week this was the perfect follow up book for me. It's about a young girl who ends up going to summer camp, the wrong one. She was supposed to be going to a culinary camp since she loves to cook but got on the wrong bus and ends up at a summer camp for vampires. What follows is the usual middle grade fare for a book of this nature. She makes friends, discovers who she is, comes out of her shell, etc, etc, etc. This was just a feel good sweet book and I loved every minute of reading it.

The Boxer, Vol. 6 -5 Stars
This was my other rebound book and about as far away from sweet and feel good as you can get. I'm not a sports fan and I don't really care for combat sports, outside of Sumo, so I am really confused why I am so invested in this series. There is just something about the writing and the presentation that just sucks me into the book. I start out with the idea of getting through a few pages. Next thing I know an hour or so has passed and I've devoured the entire book. I can't explain it. I'm now, once again, caught up on everything available and I'm once again waiting for the next volume to come out. Especially as I really want to see the next opponent get beaten so bad.

Spy x Family, Vol. 5 -4 Stars
More Anya shenanigans and I love it. The big thing I like about this series is that it doesn't fall into the same pitfall that a lot of gag manga do. It's not just a series of gags with little to no story. There is an ongoing story with plot progress and what not while still having all the funny bits. It's not a super deep story or anything but there is enough there to feel like things are progressing.

Beauty and the Beast Girl -4 Stars
This was a stand alone manga that follows a very simple trope but man was it just a wholesome sweet read. On one hand you have a monster girl with a tragic past hiding in the woods away from humanity. On the other hand you have a blind human girl. The monster girl gets to experience love because the blind girl can't see what she looks like. It's a story we all know and I don't really care if I know how it all plays out. This was just a sweet manga and I loved every minute of it.

Tomb Raider King, Vol. 2 -4 Stars
Tomb Raider King, Vol. 3 -4 Stars
Tomb Raider King, Vol. 4 -4 Stars
Tomb Raider King, Vol. 5 -4 Stars
This is what I have spent the last couple of days working on and man it has been a fun weekend of reading. I read the first volume of this Korean manhwa earlier this year and enjoyed it for what it is. It's a treasure hunting power fantasy with a broody male MC who was wronged by a powerful individual. After that first book my library had no more so I just shelved it for a later thing. Next thing I know my library brought in the next five books and here I am. It's more of the first book and I am not complaining. More treasure hunting, more broody MC, more power fantasy. It's just fun popcorn read and after the week I had it was what I needed.

Now, what is next
The Two Towers
This is my next audiobook and I'm just a wee bit excited and by wee bit I mean a lot. I loved the first book and I can't wait to continue my audiobook experience with this one.

Outside of that I have my never ending pile of manga from the library

Dare I say it in the smallest voice possible *go Oilers go*

I know I'm a little late but I was working on finishing up a novel. This will be a short one as I want to get back to my reading and relaxing before the weekend comes to an end.

The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent (Light Novel) Vol. 4 -4 Stars
Not a lot to really say about this one that I haven't said before. It's more of Sei figuring out her powers, a slow budding romance, fighting of the plague that is infecting the kingdom, etc. This is just a fun and feel good series.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone -4 Stars
I know there are a lot of issues with the author and the series but this series will always have a special place in my memories. Rereading this was just a fun time and it was my first time listening to this as an audiobook. The narrator was Jim Dale and I felt that he did a great job.

Ghost Station -2 Star
Spicy and hot take time. I didn't like this book. I didn't think it was a bad book, in fact there were several interesting ideas in the book. My biggest problem with this book is that it was just super boring. There was some cool initial setup and then it just settled into this plodding pace with a MC that I just didn't like and the book just turned into this giant slog to get through. There was a big shocking reveal about half way through that was telegraphed from about a mile away. When it finally was revealed it just wasn't that shocking. Maybe if the ending was interesting it might have been better but it just kind of happened and nothing was really explained. I kind of feel let down as I was a bit hype for this book.

Now for the manga
Dragon Ball (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 4: Includes vols. 10, 11 & 12 -4 Stars
More Dragon Ball. This one covered another tournament and the introduction of Picollo which had a bit more of a mature tone. Not a lot but some characters die but you know they will be coming back to life at some point.

Dinosaur Sanctuary Vol. 4 -3 Stars
More dino facts. That's about it.

As for what it is next.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory
My next audiobook

Outside of that I have a giant stack of manga/comics/manhwa to get through this week so I can get them back to the library. Now, back to my reading.

I've read the first ten volumes and highly recommend it. It has some really unique world building in it.

I don't have a lot to talk about this week again. This has been just one of those weeks where IRL was a bit hectic. I figured I'd get this posted before I settled in for some reading time.

Murder in G Major -3 Stars
This was a solid three star cozy mystery with a paranormal twist. The major flavor of this one was music and I've seen some criticism of the music aspect of things but I don't know enough about it to really say. Young women moves to small town Ireland after things go sideways in her career. She lands a job at the local school as a music teacher and moves into a house that just so happens to have a ghost. That ghost needs help solving a murder mystery, start the usual cozy shenanigans. Like I said this was a solid three star mystery. It didn't do anything really groundbreaking with the formula one would expect but it wasn't boring. The characters were interesting, the mystery was interesting, it was just a great little popcorn book.

Now for the manga

Before I get into the manga I finished this week I want to touch on a series I DNF'd this week. I was reading through Made in Abyss this year and I've been struggling lately with the series. It's a few different factors that I'll get into but after last weeks post I was going to finish up the next book that I was working on and I realized that I just had no interest in reading anymore in the series. Maybe it gets better in a couple books, maybe it doesn't, I just don't really care anymore. For the last few issues I've been struggling with the art and the story. Basically the story gets to a point in the dive where no one can ever return from and they had pushed through this barrier. After pushing through this barrier they had found a city and this is where things really went off the rails for me. The city speaks their own language of which little is actually translated for the reader so a good chunk of things are just gibberish. The city and its inhabitants are all deformed and twisted which is kind of interesting but with the muddled art style it really made it hard to understand just what you were looking at. There was another art decision that I'm not going to get into here. It was a decision that just didn't sit right with me though. All of these things just led to me losing interest. It's a bummer because I really do like the concept of the story and was curious about mysteries the story had in store for me but now I just don't care anymore.

xxxHOLiC Omnibus 5 -5 Stars
Originally my plan was to marathon the last three books in this series and I was on track to do just that until I read this one. Don't get me wrong, the story and everything in the book was great, hence the five star rating. I won't get into spoilers to much but there was a death in this volume and it hit me kind of hard. Combine that with the stuff going on in my life and it was just a bit to much emotionally for me at this moment. I'll be back to the last two books later (in the next couple weeks honestly) but for right now I just needed something not so emotionally damaging. Especially as I know that the next book will be dealing with the fallout of this characters passing and I need some time to brace myself for that.

Up next

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
This is my next audiobook and it showed up at some perfect timing. I just finished the above audiobook and was wondering what to read next when I happened to check my library account and this had finally shown up. The version I have is narrated by Jim Dale and so far it has been a great experience.

On the physical side of things I have a couple of manga to get done. I also have:
Dragon Ball (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 4: Includes vols. 10, 11 & 12
The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent (Light Novel) Vol. 4
Ghost Station