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readingrobin · 1 year ago

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Hoo, July was a real busy month. Came and went like it was nothing. Still being in the throes of summer reading, I was able to get through a good chunk of reading material, especially some new graphic novels and manga. It seemed to be a bit of a middling month, with titles I really enjoyed, and others that really came up short. Still, this is the most I've been able to reading in a single month in a while.

Total Books Read: 24

Total Pages Read: 6,070

Books Read:

West by Edith Pattou (1.5/5) - When I heard that there was a sequel to East, a book I devoured and treasured in high school, I was excited, but a little surprised. East was a fairly open and shut book, being a wonderfully immersive retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I wonder if, after 15 years, the author wanted to jump on the "what happens after happily ever after?" train to try and broaden the relationship between Rose and Charles. It, uh....it doesn't go well.

I don't think I've ever read a more unnecessary book. It feels like a retread of the first, especially the third act in particular, as Rose goes off to save Charles from the clutches of the Troll Queen, only now it's their child and for some reason Charles has amnesia. This latter bit was probably the worst aspect of the book for me. Throughout the majority of the story, we don't get the couple we grew to love in East. We don't get to see how their relationship has matured or who they are around each other after three years and a child. It's back to square one, with Charles having as little agency as he had before.

I didn't really care for most of the new characters, except maybe Sib, but only because her involvement gives a little bit more insight into the magic of this world. Estelle was, I have no idea, just a child to tag along and give additional perspective. None of them grew on me like the original cast did. I will say the Morae are a big highlight of the book, with the weaving of the three cloaks scene being the closest this ever comes to feeling like the first book.

If you liked East, I can't say that you should pick this book up as a continuation. At the best of times, which is rare, it does feel like that magical tale of a woman going up against insurmountable odds to save the people she loves, but at the worst, it feels like nothing.

Angels of Death Vol. 1 by Kudan Naduka (3/5) - Picked this manga up because I had seen some snippets of the anime and was interested to see what exactly the plot line is. It's always difficult to give your thoughts on a manga's first volume since it's pretty much an introduction and set up to the story, but this volume was sufficiently creepy enough to get my attention. I'm interested to see what exactly the outcome to all this will be, whether it's some kind of social experiment thing or something more nihilistic. Either way, you just know it's going to end in tears.

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World Vol. 1 by Asaya Miyanaga (3.5/5) - This series has such a charming art style, like something you would see from older, more whimsical children's books. Each chapter focuses on Nicola's wandering with the devil salesman Simon, going from your typical "you find yourself in a tavern" beginnings to staying in a creepy, ghost-infested hotel. Each story has some good laughs, great artwork, and the right amount of fluff to make it an enjoyable read. Can't wait to see more of this world with Nicola!

Crumbs by Danie Stirling (2.5/5) - While this graphic novel has stellar emotional storytelling, it came off as a bit meh to me. I know people who would absolutely adore this story and relate to the characters, but I'm wondering if I read it at a time where I wasn't in the mood for a more romantic plot. I do appreciate the wonderful balancing of Ray and Laurie's journeys, with her struggling with her internship and what she wants to do in life and him striving to become a musician, yet always prioritizing others' needs before his own, needing to always be the "fixer" in a situation. The highs and lows of their relationship are meaningful, yet I never really felt moved by it.

The worldbuilding takes a backseat to the romance and I think it sort of suffers as a result. I never got a good sense of what the Council did. I guess deal with magical goings on? Helping people? Just doing magic stuff? It was all a little unclear. But this is one of those stories where the backdrop is only meant to be just that and nothing more, which is fine, but not really my thing.

Also, some of the panels are incredibly blurry, at least in the print edition I got. I'm not sure if this is simply an issue of enlarging webcomic panels to full blown pages, but it became a little distracting. It's a shame because the art could be really beautiful at times.

Spider-Punk: Battle of the Banned by Cody Ziglar (4/5) - Spiderpunk (Hobie Brown) and his amazing Spider band are just non stop anarchic fun from beginning to end. Hobie brings the classic Spidey snark, heart, and tenacity that makes the character so lovable and seeing characters like Daredevil, Ms. Marvel, Riri Williams, etc. get a punk makeover just makes the comic that much cooler. Sure, I was afraid at the beginning that the story would incorporate a more commercialized, mass consumable depiction of punk beliefs, but I think by the end the story respects those ideals and follows through on them. And come on, who doesn't love a comic where Spiderman kicks the crap out of fascists?

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer (4/5) - This book has such enormous value, whether towards its significance as a way to interweave cultural practices and understandings with scientific study, to reflect on the state of the natural world and how we as a society interact with it, or just to feed our spirit. It's easy to dismiss what we take for granted: plants, animals, resources, especially when many are living in an age of abundance. Kimmerer imparts such knowledge on how to truly appreciate the gifts nature gives us, yet also stresses the need for us to give back in some way.

Her explanation of a reciprocal relationship with nature is such a needed one, especially when most are used to a commodity culture, where things are bought and sold through monetary means without a true understanding of where they come from. It takes action on top of understanding to make up what we get from nature, yet so many are willing to turn to ambivalence.

This was my second time reading this book and it was just as impactful the second time around. Since I had to read it for a class the first time around, I was glad that I could take my time to really read and reflect on Kimmerer's perspective. I think this is a book everyone should try reading if they have a love for nature and conversation and are searching for meaningful ways to cherish the world they live in.

The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman (4.5/5) - Neil Gaiman is insightful as ever in this collection of his essays, addresses, articles, and other nonfiction works from over the years. I like the varied nature of the collected material, with topics like music, comics, reading, interesting people he has met, introductions to books, etc. I will say, the final piece on Terry Pratchett did get me a little misty-eyed and knew from the moment he mentioned his name that I was a goner.

I am glad I chose to pick up this book on audio. I could listen to Neil reading tax forms and still be mesmerized by his natural storyteller's cadence. There were pieces that I had no context for, whether that be the music of Lou Reed or books and authors I had never heard of, but I still found the material so fascinating, because Gaiman has a genuine enthusiasm for each topic. It's like having a teacher that enjoys what they teach, so the class becomes that much more interesting instead of being a total slog.

Gaiman puts his intellect, wit, and heart in everything that he writes, even in the most day to day pieces. He has a mind made for writing.

Bone: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith (4/5) - I took a big gap in between reading the first Bone volume and this one, but I had not trouble finding my footing and settling back into this world. The world of Bone is so charming and funny, like a Sunday newspaper comic strip given a bit more plot and page length. I can't remember if I laughed out loud at any time during the first volume, but it did happen in this one once or twice.

All around, great character interactions, lively art style, and the beginnings of a deeper plot at work.

Dinosaur Sanctuary Vol. 1 by Itaru Kinoshita (4/5) - This manga is simply "What if Jurassic Park actually worked" and I love that about it. The informational pieces at the end of each chapter, provided by a dinosaur research consultant, were really accessible and engaging. They're a great way to insert some dinosaur facts and theories into the manga without it feeling too much like a research paper. The dinosaurs are treated like any other wild animal, with respect and care, but still an awareness that they can be dangerous. They have quirks and personalities and are not just mindless monsters that only think about their next meal. They have some great characterization, especially through their expressive designs.

The tone is really laid back, but the first volume gives a few hints of mystery, which makes you want to stick around to see what's next.

A top pick for anyone that had a rampant dinosaur phase as a kid or are still in the throes of it.

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World Vol. 2 by Asaya Miyanaga (3.5/5)- The demon's world continues to be an absolute delight, with Nicola's and Simon's dynamic being as sweet as ever. Nicola is so fierce and determined when it comes to helping her friend, always going to great lengths to help him. This appears to rub off on Simon, as he's seen being a little softer towards her in return.

For a world inhabited by demon's, it certainly is a cozy place.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (4/5) - There's so much going on here: slews of nihilism, both the usefulness and uselessness of religion, the moral irresponsibility and selfishness of those in power, the dangers of handing scientific progress to those that treat apocalypse-causing objects like toys and bargaining tools. This isn't a book that ends positively, for good reason. Like many sci-fi stories, it serves as a warning, so that we don't actually get to this point.

It's a bit light on plot, but very heavy on its messaging and implications. It's more like Vonnegut had a few ideas and needed some vessels to espouse them, which means that the story and characters may feel a bit empty at times. Still, what he had to say was insightful and thought-provoking. This was my first time reading Vonnegut, so I'm unsure if this approach is his usual style or something he did a little differently.

I'm still deciding on what this books means to me, with all its themes and viewpoints. There's a large case of religion somehow being both necessary as a lens for us to view life, even if it is a religion based on lies, and being entirely useless because of this. Bokonism is more a series of guiding principles, instead of devoting yourself to a single ethereal entity. Life is what you make of it, you decide your own life instead of using it to serve the interests of and sating an ethereal being that may or may not be real. It's a very inward-looking faith and yeah, it seems more appealing than a lot of religions I've come into contact with. Funny that.

There's also a hint of how nationalism can blind people to certain dangers that come from within their own country. I'm reminded of the moment where pictures of various dictators and foreign enemies of the US are being used as targets, with them being described as "every enemy that freedom ever had out there." And yet, there wasn't one American in that group, despite the doomsday object being an American creation, not just ice 9, but also the atomic bomb. What bigger enemy of freedom is there than a death weapon that can decimate literally every living thing? There is the ever enduring American thought that America is the hero, that there is nothing wrong with how the country operates, and to insinuate that there should be change, that America should try to be something else, is decidedly un-American. If the country is seen as perfect, then why should anyone take notice when something truly harmful and nefarious is going on?

Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World Vol. 1 by Keiichi Sigsawa (4/5) - This manga has a marvelous set up that makes it simple to tread any kind of territory, as KIno goes out to explore the world beyond her own land and learn the customs and ways of other people. I love the sense of freedom and reflection the manga carries, as well as the observant, non-judgemental nature of Kino. There are moments of reflection, but it feels like the reader is allowed to come to their own conclusions about the people Kino meets and their ways of life. Kino is merely a vessel in which the audience can view this world, but she still holds a good amount of character.

Children of the Whales Vol. 1 by Abi Umeda (3/5) - This is one of those first volume manga that absolutely leaves you hanging at the end, where you're practically desperate to get to the next volume to get either answers or to see the fallout of the ending. The world of the manga is intriguing, taking place on a moving island amidst a sea of sand, inhabited by people who are able to wield magic powered by their emotions. It's a mystery as to how they got on this island, one that the manga will eventually explore, which is introduced very compellingly.

Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky (2.5/5) - While the art style is absolutely gorgeous, I felt like the story was a little too jumbled to enjoy. Some plot threads start and stop so abruptly, like "eh, tired of that direction we're going in so let's do a bit of a turn in the middle of the story." At some points it feels like the plot is just sort of going on without doing much, only to make a sudden lurch towards the end. Given some development, I think Lelek and Sanja could have been stronger characters, but they just seem there. Lelek's desire to learn to defend herself with Sanja as her teacher peters out during near the third act of the comic, which almost makes the inciting incident of her kidnapping Sanja somewhat pointless. Some character motivations either come out of nowhere or are so muddled that it's hard to get a sense of what they truly want in the narrative. I wonder if the author was going for a more vague form of storytelling, more abstract, but, in this case, it only led to more confusion than enjoyment.

The Binding by Bridget Collins (4/5) - What would you do if you had the opportunity to forget every bad thing that happened to you? To forget your past misdeeds, or even coerce those you had wronged to give up any memory they have of being mistreated by you? All to be contained in a book, these memories would either sit on the shelves of voyeurs, or be locked away forever. The Binding brings up these sorts of ethical questions, never completely examining them beyond their surface level, but maybe that's meant to be more of the reader's journey than the characters.' Around the halfway mark, the story shifts from being an alternative history/slight dystopian focusing on Emmett's apprenticeship as a binder to a romance story. I didn't really mind this change, as I liked the somewhat vague worldbuilding, and it puts the first half of the book in a completely new context. It also places Emmett in the interesting position of an unreliable narrator that has no idea of his unreliability.

Though I was satisfied to where the story went, it felt like this book could have done a more coherent job of tying together all its narrative threads. This books contains three parts, one told in Emmett's POV in the present, the second in the past, and the third following the present from another character's POV. With the binding being a more prevalent aspect in the first part, and the romance in the second, it would be natural to tie the two together in that third act, but one clearly has more time devoted to it than the other. It makes the theming somewhat unbalanced. We do get a better idea of how the binding process affects society and certain economic classes, while also getting a bit more of the morality and consequences of it, but not a whole lot more that what we've already been given.

The romance is at least pretty sweet. I can definitely see the chemistry between the two characters and I do ultimately want them to get together. How much you enjoy this book will depend on which aspect you want more out of the story. It's a dark, emotional, bittersweet read, one that will immediately suck you in with all its moral complexities and mysteries.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Vol. 1 by Hirohiko Araki (2/5) - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure has been the source for a bunch of meme material and has made quite a comeback with its anime adaptation, so I was interested in checking out the original manga, just to see what it was like. I have to say, I hadn't expected quite that much dark content, but I suppose that came from me not really knowing what JoJo was about other than buff anime men looking very intimidating but goofy at the same time. I'm not exactly a fan of the art style, where muscles appear larger than some characters' heads, but it's definitely a classic 80s style that I think other people would enjoy.

I don't think I'll be continuing with this series, as, while the mystery aspect is interesting, none of the characters really grabbed my attention. Dio is painted as a jerk you love to hate, whereas I just straight up disliked him, and JoJo seems so bland as a main character. I know that the story hops around different generations and time periods, but I don't know if those will fare any better.

Nimona by Nate Stevenson (5/5) - Did a reread right after I watched the movie and seeing them side by side really is an experience. Stevenson's graphic novel might be a little more pessimistic than its movie counterpart, but there is still a small amount of hope within the rage. It feels like a necessary, justified anger towards ignorance, corruption, and those that uphold a skewed status quo. I wish I had more characters like Nimona as a kid, but there's still a great comfort in having her now.

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones (3.5/5) - Sometimes I'm utterly blind-sided by the underlying aspects of colonialism, racism, and xenophobia in 20th century British children's fantasy. I feel like it's unfair to fault Jones' entirely, due to the environment in which she wrote and how our understanding of these elements has grown in the past few decades, but it doesn't make the content easier to digest at times.

It feels so out of place in what is yet another engaging Jones fantasy. I had similar feelings when I read Castle in the Air, so I imagine it's only going to be a reoccurring thing when Jones focuses on any nonwhite civilization or people. Again, a product of its time, but it doesn't exactly make it age well.

That aside, it's a classic fantasy about a boy coming into his power, kicking and screaming all the way. He's a reluctant hero in the most bratty way possible, without even fully realizing how much of a terror he is to other people. There's a bit of humor in when he realizes this and tries to be better, much to the relief of the castle staff.

This book is great for those that also feel between places most of the time, that find strength in discovering things on their own while also coming from a broken upbringing. While Christopher's innocence and loyalty is turned against him, it never leads him to betray those that matter most to him, only to realize there are better people to ally yourselves with than those who want you for only what you can give them.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber (3/5) - Revisited this book on audiobook to see if I still wanted to continue with the series. Originally, I felt that Scarlet hasn't lost anything to make any of the stakes brought up in the book worth it. She gets what she wants at no cost, other than some very heightened emotions in the moment that go away once things are resolved in her favor. While I still believe that to be true, it didn't bother me as much upon a second retread.

I still have no idea why the father was so abusive for no reason. It seemed like there should be some explanation of why he's willing to go to such great lengths to harm one sister for the other disobeying. He was just an uninteresting antagonist without much to him. I get that Scarlet and Donatella needed to be in a situation that had to be dire enough to run away completely from, but he was getting to mustache curling cartoon villain levels of wickedry. I fully believe this man is capable of tying someone to some railroad tracks if need be.

I also mentioned the lack of worldbuilding, but I have seen that the world is expanded upon in later books, so maybe I will continue for that reason. Also, I had forgotten how clever Tella was. For a moment, I found her insufferable, but once the end comes through that all changed. Since the sequels focus a bit more on her, that's also a reason to keep going.

I don't think I'll change my rating. Three stars seems a fair rating for a book I found passable, but didn't get immediately swept away with.

Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron (4/5) - (Review)

Darkly She Goes by Hubert (3/5) - I really appreciate the dark fantasy feel of this graphic novel. It gave me Snow, Glass, Apples vibes at times, telling of a woman that is more that what she appears, and what lies beneath the surface is something monstrous. The art has a way of overshadowing the story, as I was more swept away by the fantastical, nature landscapes, and the characters really didn't do much for me. It's a standard fantasy story with the standard cast of characters: a disgraced knight, a naive princess, a scheming stepmother, malevolent crones, an inept squire, etc. There's nothing wrong with a tried and true archetype, but it didn't feel like these characters and their journeys were being explored in a captivating or nuanced way. It's definitely dramatic enough to tell a capable story, but perhaps I've been spoiled and wanted something more out of a monster princess narrative.

Begone the Raggedy Witches by Celine Kiernan (3/5) - I'm not a fan of books that immediately thrust their characters into danger before we really know them, so the first third of it seemed like I was looking through all these events through a clouded pane of glass. By the halfway point it became more engrossing as we start to see more of the land beyond the border and Mup's burgeoning magical talent. It felt odd that the story didn't focus a lot around Stella, Mup's mother and the apparent heir to the kingdom across the border, who was taken from her tyrannical mother by her aunt long ago. I think I've been conditioned by the standard fantasy tropes and that's why I felt that way, but it kind of contributed to the uneven feeling of the story. Still, Mup was a great main character, full of heart, kindness, and resolve that any kid would love reading about. Will probably take on the sequel just to see what happens next.

A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan (4/5) - Such a resonating story for librarians and those that have found safe havens in their local libraries. This book does an excellent job of showing young readers the value and importance of libraries within their communities and how they serve people at various levels. Seeing Jamie's growth over the course of the book was so impactful, as she goes from resenting and being embarrassed at having to spend her summer volunteering at the library to finding a new outlook and sense of self because of it. I'm always a sucker for a coming-of-age, summer of reinvention kind of story.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (4/5) - An absolute must read for fans of Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series. Seriously, I have no idea whether Sage and Gen would either be good friends or constantly be at each other's throats. I have a weakness for protagonists that always seem to try their luck with a bit of snark or cleverness, ultimately getting themselves into trouble that they always somehow know how to get out of. Sage perfectly falls into that category, being the bane of almost everyone around him. And yet, he is a character you can admire for his resourcefulness and ability to think ten steps ahead. His narration immediately comes off as unreliable, though that only makes his every action all the more interesting.

I was surprised to see this book labeled as a young adult, due to the simplistic, yet accessible writing style which gives it a very middle grade sort of vibe. I suppose it's mainly due to Sage being fifteen, but it think it has enough appeal for both age groups.

Average Rating: 3.5/5

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