This is going to be a bit long, so you might want to get yourself a nice beverage and get comfy.

I’ve been doing a much better job of protecting my nightly reading time this year, and I’m actually finishing books! Yay! So I thought I’d do a quarterly report of what I’ve read/am currently reading, in case you see anything you might like. I’ll also add what I’ve watched or am currently watching below, in case that’s of interest as well.

Two of the novels below are first person narratives, which I didn’t used to enjoy at all. I’m finding I have more tolerance for them the more I’m exposed, though they still aren’t my first choice. As storytelling changes, I find I have to as well, as more authors are using first person these days, and I’ve been experimenting with writing in it myself (as one of my pen names) just to keep up. Jury’s still out on whether it will be a long-term thing for me or not.

I’ve read two novels this quarter, and am well into a third, all of which are engaging and entertaining in their own ways. Here are my thoughts on each, with no spoilers (because that would just be wrong).

Bloodless by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

I love pretty much everything by these guys, though I’ll admit, I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one. It seemed to move slower at the start than normal for them, though the pacing at the beginning did match the overall “deep south” vibe. It definitely picked up toward the middle, and raced to the end. And it was very intriguing to finally learn more about Constance, such a long-running enigma in this world.

There was one side-plot that both took me aback, and made me squint a bit at the pages. I’m still not sure I’m completely on board with it, and…well…I may never be. The ending is also a big “huh?!” moment, that could and should have major implications on the series going forward, so I’m anxious to see how that turns out in the next book (The Cabinet of Dr. Leng). Which I have to wait a year for, because it’s only out in hardback and I hate reading hardbacks. Stupid publishing idiocy.

All of You by Elisa Lorello

Elisa is currently one of our local authors and a huge Duran Duran fan, so I picked this music-themed romance up at our local bookstore expecting a nice band-oriented romp, and instead got an orchestra of emotional angst that built to a crescendo of growth and healing for the characters. I was up late more than once for “just one more chapter” because I wanted to know what happened next.

If you love angsty romance, music, and some comfy pop culture references for those of us who are a bit older, grab a copy. I think you’ll be surprised at how much depth it contains. Or maybe not, if you’ve read Elisa’s books before.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I haven’t read The Martian yet, though I know we have a copy somewhere. This one was close to the top of my TBR pile, so I decided to give it a go. There’s a lot of mystery in the beginning, that could easily get frustrating in a hurry, but Weir does a great job of not letting things hang too long before moving the story along. I’ve just reached a somewhat confusing point where I go back and forth between hopeful and hopeless as the story bounces around the timeline, and I’m compelled to keep reading not just as a reader who wants to see “what happens next”, but also as an author who is insanely curious where the story will end up, from a craft/storytelling point of view.

We’ll see, for sure. I just really need to set an alarm to put the book down in time to get ample sleep…because that hasn’t been happening lately.

The Comic Book TBR Project

You may or may not remember, but one of my resolutions this year is to get through the insane stack of comic books in my “to be read” pile. I sort of stopped reading comic books sometime in 2019 (due to a lot of stress going on at the time), but I never stopped amassing them (I have a pull-list with my local comic shop that I go retrieve every month or so). To meet my goal, I’ve tasked myself to read one comic book before work every weekday, and I’ve been succeeding admirably with that (two on days I take off work). It also tends to start my day on a more creative note than just thinking about everything I need to get done, so win-win there!

That said, here’s a run-down of my progress on the various series I read:

Harley Quinn: Issues 71-75, 1-10 (next run)
I’m not digging the artwork on this particular run. The story is okay, though not awesome, but the artwork is really detracting, in my opinion. But, it makes for a quicker read, since I’m not overly concerned with taking in the details of every panel. So there’s that.

Deadpool: Issues 4-10, Issues 1-3 (current run – caught up, yay!)
I love Deadpool. I love Jeff the Shark. ‘Nough said.

Daredevil: Issues 18-30
This is a very philosophically deep run of Daredevil, with a lot of moral and ethical pondering by both our hero, and Electra, who is filling in for him temporarily. It’s very thought-provoking, and the art style is gritty and very well-matched to the story.

I Hate Fairyland: Issues 1-3 (current run)
If you like an insane amount of “so dramatic it’s obviously not real” blood-spatter, and the constant juxtaposition of overly-sweet with horribly-sour, this series is for you. Start with the first one though, not the current run (you can get them in book-form too). You need the background of the first runs to appreciate the current one. You’ll either love it or hate it – there’s no in-between with this one.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Issues 25-35
When I first started reading comic books, I was doing research, because I thought it would be fun to write a novel about the owner of a comic book shop (McKenzie Saves the World). I also wanted to know if I was potentially missing out on something great. I wanted to pick one major superhero to follow, and after reading a sampling of the big ones (Batman, Captain America, Superman, Spider-man, etc), I settled on Spider-Man. I’ve been reading ever since, and while the plot goes a bit wonky occasionally, for the most part, I enjoy the web-slinger’s more casual attitude about his odd life and I appreciate the off-beat humor at inopportune times. This run has an interesting plot going, but the recent issues have been in the 2099 mini-crossover-series and it’s…a bit weird. Maybe because I’m not really reading much of the other comic series involved. Luckily, it’s only a few issues and then back to normal, so no biggie. Happens all the time in comics.

Venom: Issues 1-11
This run seems very…Gaiman-esqe to me. It’s sometimes confusing, and I really don’t know if I’m enjoying it or just hanging in there because I’m curious how the writers are going to get themselves out of the seriously loopy weird symbiote loop they’ve gotten themselves into. We’ll see, I guess.

Predator: Issue 1
I read this as a trial run…it’s the current series. It was okay, but not really my thing. I don’t plan on getting any more.

Two Graves: Issue 1
This was a one-off trial run too, and I’m interested in reading more, but by the time I got back to the comic shop, they didn’t have any of the subsequent issues. I might see if they can order the rest of the series in for me when I go this month. The art style is really nice, and the story is quite enigmatic.

TV/Movies

We’re watching quite a few series at the moment, and honestly, I’d recommend all of them. I love it when there’s so much good TV on! Here’s what we’re currently watching, divided by where they are so you can find them if you wish:

CBS/Paramount +
NCIS, Season 20 (and yes, we’ve watched them all!)
The Equalizer, Season 3
Picard, Season 3

Netflix
Shadow & Bone, Season 2

Disney +
The Mandalorian, Season 3

As for movies, we haven’t watched anything super-exciting lately, but we are definitely planning a date to see John Wick 4 in the near future.

Music

Not much to report here, except that I am looking forward to getting copies of Theory of a Deadman’s Dinosaur and Pop Evil’s Skeletons very soon. I think I’ll get them on vinyl, and hopefully a digital copy as well. We also have two new LPs from Vinyl Moon to spin. Now that the storage unit project is winding down, we should have time to do that very soon!

Now it’s your turn! What are you reading, watching or listening to? Anything noteworthy? Comment wherever you’re reading this, or reply to the email – I’m always looking to add to my “To Read/Watch/Listen” lists!

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