kingstoken (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kingstoken) wrote2021-03-30 06:25 pm
kingstoken) wrote2021-03-30 06:25 pm
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First Quarter Reading Wrap-Up
The first quarter of the year is gone (where did the time go!), and I've done pretty well with my reading so far. You can see my bingo card here, I have filled seven squares at this point, which is one better than this time last year. Here are some thoughts on what I have read so far;
*Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting by David Reed - An SPN tie-in book, I enjoyed this one, it was a mix of manual and short stories, the manual bits can be skimmed over, stuff you are going to know if you've watched the show, but I really liked the sections where it felt like Bobby was telling you stories about his past. It was written by one of the show's writers, so Bobby's voice was spot on.
*To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers - An interesting sci-fi book that looks at what a long term science mission in space might entail, some of which is lovely and some of which is terrible, although this novel does overall have a positive feel to it. Also, nice LGBTQIA representation. Its one drawback is that it is written in an episolary style, as a report home, which limits it slightly, I wish there was more character interaction and introspection.
*Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh - Very funny, the author mixes mostly humorous stories from her life and draws comics based on them, I especially loved her stories about her childhood and her dogs.
*The Roman Lady's Illicit Affair by Greta Gilbert - Romance that takes place in ancient Rome, which was a nice change from all the regency romances. The romance was kind of insta-love, but I forgave it, because I liked the setting and characters. Only drawback was that for the first half of the novel they were building up to something, and then there was a twist half way through, and that something didn't happen, which was disappointing, but I did like it overall.
*Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko - YA Fantasy, I picked this one up on the recommendation of a youtuber I follow, and I'm glad I did. An interesting world, that is African inspired. The overall story is about love and finding oneself, but the underlying world was very dark in places. I liked the main character, and enjoyed her journey quite a bit. The drawbacks are that I saw the main twist coming long before it happened, but maybe that is because I am seeing this through an adult's eyes. Also, I didn't 100% like the ending, and I'm not sure if I'm going to bother to read the sequel or not.
*West Coast Avengers, Vol. 1: Best Coast by - I finally got to read the first volume of the West Coast Avengers, I had been wanting to read this for ages, but my library didn't have a copy, so it was just a dream until it was gifted to me this month. It was such fun, I love all these characters, and it is so fun to see them all working together. However, I was sad to find out that the West Coast Avengers only got two volumes, sigh, why are some comics runs so short? (I know why, it's capitalism)
*Whirlwind by Rick Mofina - Crime drama, where a woman's baby is kidnapped during a deadly tornado. The story was a good mix of different storylines that converged together, and the tension was maintained pretty well. I could easily see this as a TV movie of the week. The only drawback was that the author liked using too many fake-outs, like every mystery/thriller is allowed one good fake-out in my opinion, but more than that and it starts to feel like you're wasting my time, and I just want to get back to the main plot.
*Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting by David Reed - An SPN tie-in book, I enjoyed this one, it was a mix of manual and short stories, the manual bits can be skimmed over, stuff you are going to know if you've watched the show, but I really liked the sections where it felt like Bobby was telling you stories about his past. It was written by one of the show's writers, so Bobby's voice was spot on.
*To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers - An interesting sci-fi book that looks at what a long term science mission in space might entail, some of which is lovely and some of which is terrible, although this novel does overall have a positive feel to it. Also, nice LGBTQIA representation. Its one drawback is that it is written in an episolary style, as a report home, which limits it slightly, I wish there was more character interaction and introspection.
*Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh - Very funny, the author mixes mostly humorous stories from her life and draws comics based on them, I especially loved her stories about her childhood and her dogs.
*The Roman Lady's Illicit Affair by Greta Gilbert - Romance that takes place in ancient Rome, which was a nice change from all the regency romances. The romance was kind of insta-love, but I forgave it, because I liked the setting and characters. Only drawback was that for the first half of the novel they were building up to something, and then there was a twist half way through, and that something didn't happen, which was disappointing, but I did like it overall.
*Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko - YA Fantasy, I picked this one up on the recommendation of a youtuber I follow, and I'm glad I did. An interesting world, that is African inspired. The overall story is about love and finding oneself, but the underlying world was very dark in places. I liked the main character, and enjoyed her journey quite a bit. The drawbacks are that I saw the main twist coming long before it happened, but maybe that is because I am seeing this through an adult's eyes. Also, I didn't 100% like the ending, and I'm not sure if I'm going to bother to read the sequel or not.
*West Coast Avengers, Vol. 1: Best Coast by - I finally got to read the first volume of the West Coast Avengers, I had been wanting to read this for ages, but my library didn't have a copy, so it was just a dream until it was gifted to me this month. It was such fun, I love all these characters, and it is so fun to see them all working together. However, I was sad to find out that the West Coast Avengers only got two volumes, sigh, why are some comics runs so short? (I know why, it's capitalism)
*Whirlwind by Rick Mofina - Crime drama, where a woman's baby is kidnapped during a deadly tornado. The story was a good mix of different storylines that converged together, and the tension was maintained pretty well. I could easily see this as a TV movie of the week. The only drawback was that the author liked using too many fake-outs, like every mystery/thriller is allowed one good fake-out in my opinion, but more than that and it starts to feel like you're wasting my time, and I just want to get back to the main plot.