bailedI couldn‘t finish this book. The « hunter‘s log » made my skin crawl. I had an inkling about the ending, so I flipped through the last few chapters to confirm that hunch.
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bailedI couldn‘t finish this book. The « hunter‘s log » made my skin crawl. I had an inkling about the ending, so I flipped through the last few chapters to confirm that hunch.
#Roll100 list for June 2025 has some variety of genre and 3 different formats!
Rear Window and Other Stories (Woolrich) (print)
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Archives Vol. 2 (ebook)
Horror of Glam Rock (Magrs) (audio)
so-soIn comparison to other manga series I read, this one feels more “serious” (it has fewer funny moments and the characters are competing against each other), and that was hard to get into. Also the art felt dark and hard to follow, and there weren‘t enough female characters.
so-soThis is probably not going to be useful for long-time public servants, and even for new public servants some of the material seems quite obvious. The book also feels dated despite being published in 2019. Perhaps the second edition (2025) will be a bit fresher.
pickRead this for school. Pretty easy to read. No visible endnoting, but each chapter has a section at the end describing the sources consulted for each bit of the chapter. The index was a bit skimpy.
pickThe cats are as cute as always and I loved the little story “A Mage and His Cat”. I do worry about Marin, though. Hopefully her human can follow a more rigorous feeding plan so that she can be healthy again.
pickAnother great book from Sanderson. The magical system based on colour was super neat, and the ending chapter provides good lore. I liked Siri and Vivenna as well as Lightsong, who makes this book have a bit more levity than the Mistborn trilogy (which is not unfunny, just more serious).
bailedStructure-wise, this is a perfectly fine D&D book, but I personally didn‘t really connect with the setting or the conflicts between the various guilds. This might work better for fans of Magic: The Gathering.
#BookSpinBingo for May 2025. I may be overly optimistic putting The Way of Kings on there—it *will* be the next book in the Cosmere Buddy Read, but it‘s a real chunkster 😅 I am travelling for a bit in May, so it might make a good train book. Although I could say that about the Hadfield, which is an audiobook read by the author. Decisions, decisions!
pickI liked this better than Monsters of the Multiverse. What I liked best was the descriptions of various species‘ pantheons, which will be very helpful to me as I build my Elf Cleric.
pickAnd with that, Series 3 of Dalek Empire concludes. I continue to think Galanar displays some Tenth Doctor vibes at times. His last little speech had a touch of the Fifth about it (from “Earthshock”, where Five describes to the Cyber Leader the value of emotions).
so-soA high so-so to low pick. The characters are interesting, and I liked that as a barrister, Skelton had a legitimate stake in solving the crime, but the mystery itself kind of fizzled out at the end. I‘ve put the next book on my to-read list but am not in a hurry to read it.
pickI found this an interesting exploration of Canadian music in the 1990s, feminism, and personal reflexivity. I read the 2024 edition with a foreword by Vivek Shraya.
Went to the advance poll today to vote in our federal election. Long line, so I read while waiting my turn. When I got to the front of the line, the poll worker saw my book and exclaimed « Brandon Sanderson! » His friends are really into Sanderson‘s work, so that was fun to trade geeky enthusiasms. (He is more into anime.) I was rewarded with a fist bump for being cool ??
pickWhat an ending to the first Mistborn trilogy! It was such a ride. And now I want to read the trilogy again to see all the clues that must have been there from the beginning.
so-soStructurally, this book is a Pick. Lots of info about the world of Eberron, and even a few sample adventures to get the campaign started. But content-wise, for me, it‘s a so-so, because Eberron is a grim, gritty noir world and I don‘t think I would enjoy a campaign there. I also skimmed most of the last two chapters.
My April 2025 #Roll100 picks are trying to be a bit more highbrow but don‘t entirely escape the clutches of sci-fi 😆
- Our Mutual Friend (Dickens)
- Doctor Who: Evolution (Peel)
- Redgauntlet (Scott)
I might put Dickens on my Serial Reader, which I haven‘t used in a long time! It‘s such a useful app, but I fell out of the habit of using it.
so-soMore of a high so-so for me. For whatever reason, I found this harder to get through than the more « flip-through » books such as Xanathar‘s Guide and Tasha‘s Cauldron. I did like the cool dragonborn ranger, though, and recorded the info for future use.
pickMore of a low Pick than some installments of this series, but still good for a quick listen.
pickAn interesting read, with funny asides between Volo and Elminster. Some really creepy illustrations; well done!
I‘m pretty sure that last sentence should say “the most INSULATED level of the pyramid” rather than “the most insulted” 🤣
pickAs with Volume 1, so with Volume 2. Cute cats, as always.
pickProbably a low Pick. Similar to Tranter‘s book Kenneth for me: a period of early Scottish history that I‘m not super familiar with, a decently digestible read, and a romance that was eye-rolly but also not as terrible as it could have been.
pickA low Pick for this one because it was a bit denser than the other D&D books I‘ve read so far (which have more bite-sized chunks of information). I did make note of a few interesting character background options and the history of the Moonshaes.
pickI once again rocketed ahead of the buddy read for this because I could not stop reading! This was a bit longer than the first book, Mistborn, so it was a bit more of an effort in places, but WOW am I really loving this world.
Went to the movies yesterday. There was a bookstore nearby, so I decided to continue stocking up for the #CosmereBuddyRead 😂 I am OBSESSED @JacqMac 😄
pickThis was a fun collection of bits and bobs. I found a bunch of neat spells that of COURSE my current character (a Cleric) can‘t actually use 😂 Also liked Xanathar‘s asides and the disclaimer on the copyright page.
pickIt‘s neat to read this now that I have the 2024 ruleset to see what made it into the new rules. The chapter on « group patrons » was cool too for presenting ways to bring the party together rather than just meeting in a tavern ?
pickA great assortment of essays, speeches and book reviews. My faves included one about the author‘s Belgian grandfather‘s family, one about using Stephen Leacock‘s work to understand the author‘s British grandfather, and a surprising little treat about my fave dinosaur, Parasaurolophus.
Found via Discord. This made me nearly spray water all over my phone 🤣🤣🤣
Vin says she couldn‘t have loved Kelsier because « he was old, for one thing ».
Elend: I seem to recall you made fun of my age, as well.
Vin: That‘s different. You‘re only a few years older than me—Kelsier was ancient.
Elend: Vin, 38 is not ancient.
Vin: Close enough.
Ouch, guess I will be Ancient + 1 this year ?
Managed to get a bingo on my January 2025 #BookSpinBingo (column G). I could probably have squeezed in a book I own to get a second bingo, but I have an assignment due tomorrow and need to focus on that 😅
pickI don‘t think I‘ve ever exclaimed « Holy shit! » (in a good way) so much at a book in my life. The world that Sanderson has built is super neat and this story was such a wild ride. Glad for the #CosmereBuddyRead to get me started with Sanderson‘s work ?
#Roll100 picks for February 2025: non-fiction, sci-fi, and a mystery!
British Sea Power (Howarth)
Horror of Glam Rock (Magrs)
Quand sort la recluse (Vargas)
pickI love this series! Mr Kanda agonizes over which cat tree to get Fukumaru and makes a new online friend. I always read these books with a smile and very often cry a little bit (this book is no exception).
pickI nearly gave up on this in the first few pages because of the wildly descriptive beginning. Then I read this was adapted from a play by Keane, so I was able to see that as the stage directions for Act 1, Scene 1. And then the action started. The love triangle was not for me, but I very much liked Aunt Anna Rose.
Was out shopping today and decided to stock up for later on in the #CosmereBuddyRead 😂
(There is no way in heck I could finish these from the library)
This week for my #FiveJoysFriday:
1. Spent most of the week working on a jigsaw puzzle: a rainbow of buildings in Copenhagen (artist: Martin Schwartz)
2. Played board games with my nephew last weekend
3. My partner and I ordered a board game table that can be converted to a dining table
4. My favourite Triscuits were on sale 😋
5. Made great progress on a work project and received encouragement on it 💪🏼
pickThis was pretty dang cute. The KITTENS 🥺 There are only three volumes in this series (at least according to Goodreads) so I will finish it up sharpish. Thanks @JenlovesJT47 for the rec 😻
so-soA high So-So verging on low Pick. For the most part, Leela, who narrates most of the chapters, is rendered well, but her knowledge of sailing ships is not plausible to me (those bits felt like “research“). I also found the story was told just enough out of order to be disorienting chronologically.
Dalek Empire 3.3: The Survivors was my December pick for #12BooksOf2024. It was a really good listen and has me racing through this story arc a little faster than I normally read audiobooks!
The Fearless Organization was my November pick for #12BooksOf2024. I borrowed an e-copy from the library and did a LOT of highlighting -- and then it got returned automatically when the loan was up 😂 I'll have to borrow it again to get the highlights back.
pickThis was such a good installment of Dalek Empire! David Tennant does an excellent job as Galanar, and the dramatic cliffhangers continue to pile up. I refreshed my memory of earlier Dalek Empire arcs, and this is building on the story really well.
pickOverall, I'd say this was a Pick. The pace was good for a historical novel, and I enjoyed reading about the Battle of Copenhagen given that I visited the city this past summer. The only downside to this book: few female characters, and what ones exist are not well rounded. (I don't expect many given the setting, but it would be nice for the ones there ARE to be interesting.)
