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February in Review
Books Acquired: Jesting Pilate by Aldous Huxley Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins Books Read: The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman I hadn’t heard of Jesting Pilate before, but it’s a travelogue from Aldous Huxley that details his trip through multiple countries, from India to America (I believe). Classic travel writing can be a lot of fun (travel before planes or hotel reviews, shock and horror), so I’m looking forward to this. Acceptance I picked up to complete the trilogy, although I still haven’t read the second book yet, so…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Morning Star
Morning Star by Pierce Brown Published: 2016 Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds Series: Red Rising #3 Length: 21:50 (524 pages) This is the third novel in the Red Rising trilogy, and I thought it came to a very satisfying conclusion. Brown is apparently planning a follow-up trilogy, one that will follow new characters living with the result of this story, and I will probably read through those as well. The first one is due out later this year. In this world, the people are divided by colour class. The golds rule at the top, treated as gods by some of the lower colours, and at the bottom of the class…
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Sex Criminals, Vol. 3: Three the Hard Way
Sex Criminals, Volume Three: Three the Hard Way by Matt Fraction Illustrated by: Chip Zdarsky Series: Sex Criminals #3 Published: 2016 Publisher: Image Comics Length: 160 pages Collects: issues #11-15 When I was skimming reviews before purchasing this, I saw that they were generally less enthusiastic than the last two volumes, but I seem to be having the opposite experience as everyone else. I was lukewarm on the first volume, really enjoyed the second volume, and I thought this latest one was just as strong. At this rate, the comic will be cancelled as soon as it becomes my favourite series of all time. Sex Criminals is a filthy, juvenile,…
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Born a Crime
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah Published: 2016 Narrated by: Trevor Noah Length: 08:50 (224 pages) I never sit down and watch The Daily Show, but over the years I have seen quite a lot from people just sharing the videos. Since Trevor Noah took over, very few clips have made their way to me, so I wonder how well the switch from Jon Stewart is going. I imagine it’ll take some time for him to find his stride on there, and I do hope he’s given the chance, because, from watching his stand-up and reading this book, it’s clear he’s the type of person that needs to be on…
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The Thirty-Nine Steps
The 39 Steps by John Buchan Published: 1915 Narrated by: David Thorn Series: Richard Hannay #1 Length: 04:10 (100 pages) I think I first heard of this while browsing lists of classic Scottish literature. It’s referred to as one of the earliest spy novels, a man-on-the-run thriller really, in which an ordinary man finds himself wrapped up in an international conspiracy with his country’s safety on the line. This is the first in half a dozen novels featuring Richard Hannay, and it’s been adapted to film multiple times (none of which I’ve seen), the earliest being a Hitchcock film from 1935. It looks like a new adaptation is in the…