• Books Read

    The Vintage Caper

    The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle Published: 2009 Series: Sam Levitt #1 Length: 223 pages I love Peter Mayle’s Provence books, where he details his life after moving there from England. He apparently also has a series of detective novels that focus on food and wine, a combination of two things I enjoy quite a bit, so I thought I’d give them a try. Mayle’s a strong writer, and that does come through here, but the story itself was a bit silly. This follows Sam Settler, a once-thief now working as a private detective, as he tries to track down millions of dollars of stolen wine. I imagine his alliterative…

  • Books Read

    The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

    The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark Published: 1961 Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes Length: 04:45 (150 pages) I’ve been trying to read a bit more Scottish fiction in the last year or two, and this is a novel you’ll find on every Scottish list around the Internet. I had heard of Muriel Spark, but to be honest I didn’t know anything about her, not even that she was Scottish, so I picked this up as blind as one could be. Miss Jean Brodie is an unorthodox teacher for a group of ten-year-old girls in an Edinburgh school in the 30’s. We follow the group as they progress through…

  • Comics Read

    Kaijumax, Season 1

    Kaijumax, Season 1 by Zander Cannon Format: Trade Paperback Illustrated by: Zander Cannon Series: Kaijumax #1 Publisher: Oni Press Published: 2016 Length: 168 pages Last year, while attending PAX West, we dropped by the Oni Press booth. They had some discounted comics for sale, and since I’ve only read their Bryan Lee O’Malley books, most of it was new to me. I picked out the first volume of The Sixth Gun and a funny little book called I Was the Cat, both of which I still haven’t read, and then I asked which book he’d recommend. He chose Kaijumax, because it’s hilarious and different from anything he’d come across. He…

  • Books Read

    Fool’s Quest

    Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb Published: 2015 Series: The Fitz and The Fool, #2 Length: 768 pages I’m so happy to have gotten back into reading Robin Hobb. I’m spreading the books out, partly because they’re quite chunky and partly because I don’t really want this story to come to an end. I’ll console myself with the fact that I have two other related trilogies to go back and read, as well as whatever she comes out with next. Robin Hobb is a brilliant writer, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. Her novels are beautifully written, and she expertly draws the reader into a complex, but understandable,…

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    January in Review

    Books Acquired: Irredeemable, Vol. 3 by Mark Waid Irredeemable, Vol. 4 by Mark Waid Ayoade on Ayoade by Richard Ayoade The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman Books Read: Morning Star by Pierce Brown Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb Kaijumax, Season 1 by Zander Cannon The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark It’s been a decent start to the year. A bit of a rough beginning, as I got ill immediately upon returning from holiday and spent a chunk of New Years Day in emergency, but it all turned out all right. The rest of the month was relaxed. Reading, hanging out, and taking some photos. Last month I…