<–The State of the Reader: 6/1/22         The State of the Reader: 6/29/22–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

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Books Purchased: 1

• Honey and Pepper by A. J. Demas (When in Pheme) – $3.99 @ Amazon Kindle

Total: $3.99

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Books Finished: 1

Title: Black Hammer, Vol: 4: Age of Doom, Part Two
Series: Black Hammer
Author: Jeff Lemire
Illustrators: Dean Ormston, Rich Tommaso et al
Date Added: May 2, 2019
Date Started: May 1, 2022
Date Finished: June 9, 2022

Media: Paperback

Even though I’m not as pressed as the people who did so, I think I know why this one was given a lower rating.  They didn’t like the end.  I was okay with it especially after finding out this isn’t the last volume.  I’m not sure who all is going to be including in any following ones, but I don’t really like to rate sequential works, and it can be hard to review them separately since they’re really just a part of a bigger narrative.  Regardless, I added the next volume to my reading list, though right now I don’t really have any graphic novels or manga I’m itching to read.  I might have to remedy that.  There is another Transformers/My Little Pony crossover 😍

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Books DNF: 0

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Books On Hold: 0

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Books Reading: 7

Title: The Last Anniversary
Author: Liane Moriarity
Date Added: June 3, 2022
Date Started: June 3, 2022

This became available at the e-Library so I immediately borrowed it.  She’s my newest favorite author and I’ve read damn near everything she’s published.  There’s always one character I completely connect with and this time it’s a new mother named Grace who is heavily coded as ND (neurodivergent) with hints at being autistic.  How she was accused of being “a drama queen” all the time, yet she feels nothing when she’s supposed to feel things and can multitask cry and make dinner simultaneously.  Sometimes you literally don’t have time to just have a breakdown because there’s shit that needs done, and I understood that.

Of course there’s also a huge, deep, dark secret in this book surrounding great-grandparents that went missing years ago, leaving their baby behind.  This baby is the grandmother of Grace and her cousins.  She was discovered by two sisters: Connie and Rose, the former of whom has just died and left her house to Sophie who was dating Thomas, another grandchild.  It’s…a lot lol.  Why did Connie leave the house to her “great-grandson’s” ex?  What really happened to the baby’s parents?  There’s some shady shit going on with the two sisters and I am INVESTED.

Title: Ecofeminism
Series Title: Critique Influence Change
Authors: Maria Mies & Vandana Shiva
Date Added: July 13, 2020
Date Started: May 3, 2022

Media: Paperback
Progress: 2%

One of the excellent points I read these past two weeks centers around the idea of “emancipation from nature,” which is a foolhardy concept that implies dominance over it.  You can’t divest yourself from what you are with the argument being humans are and should be part of nature.  Of course this doesn’t mean we should subscribe to “Appeal to Nature” fallacies.  That’s not the point I think the authors are going for (just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s “good” re: cyanide), but rather  seeing nature as apart from humanity is detrimental to our survival.

Title: Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness
Author: Da’Shaun Harrison
Date Added: February 11, 2022
Date Started: May 2, 2022

Media: Paperback
Progress: 13%

The way Harrison talks about the bodies that are deemed “okay to be used” is quite revealing…not so much to me, but in general.  There are certain bodies we’re okay with using even if that concession is unconscious.  It’s what drives the terrible and false “virgin/whore” dichotomy and allows for horrendous abuse.

Title: The King in Yellow
Author: Robert W. Chambers
Date Added: August 4, 2019
Date Restarted: April 17, 2022

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 41%

I feel like each story ups the ante, and it turns out (at least some of) the stories occur in the same universe.  The protagonist of “The Yellow Sign” mentions “the tragedy of young Castaigne” who was the MC of “The Repairer or Reputations.”  However, I feel the MC’s fate in this later story was far worse.

Title: Parasite Eve
Author: Hideaki Sena
Translator: Tyran Grillo
Date Added: June 8, 2017
Date Started: April 14, 2022

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 78%

Holy shit did things go from 0 to COMPLETELY fucked up quickly.  I could already see why Squeenix was so interested in this novel for not only the game of the same name but aspects of Final Fantasy VII, as well, but whew, it happened really quickly.

I don’t know why I always try to figure out why books have the ratings they do before I read the comments; it’s just something I like considering.  I’m wondering if the reason this is under 4.00 is because of some really graphic scenes and something I really hope won’t happen to a 14 year old.

Title: The Death of Jane Lawrence
Author: Caitlin Starling
Date Added: July 25, 2021
Date Started: April 7, 2022

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 85%

I got this back quicker than I thought, as I was like 4th down on the borrow list?  I’m going to finish it before the 28th when it’s due back.  Again, I’m speculating on the lower rating, but the latter parts of the novel have pacing issues.  Nearing the climax should up the ante, but I really just want to see what the conclusion is.  It’s not a deal breaker, and I’m closing in on the end, which I hope Starling is able to stick.

Title: House of Sky and Breath
Series: Crescent City
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Date Added: March 7, 2021
Date Started: February 23, 2022

Media: Physical/Hardback
Progress: 32%

I was thinking this while watching the latest episode of The Boys (S4E4); this world has a similar energy insofar as there are beings with immense power who could literally level cities existing alongside regular humans, and a great deal of them are not benevolent.  Even the ones who are Vanir are still afraid of the greater beings like the Asteri, and now that I’m writing this, the goal of this novel or maybe even the entire series is similar to the one in The Boys.

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Even though I usually don’t work on my own writing on update days I really want to right now lol.  I also need to read at least a chapter of the Maas since that’s on my to do list.  I’ve also been working on another “smaller” story that’s been living in my head.  I don’t know if it will ever see the light of day because…it…well, I don’t think I can write something like this and be a good person 🙃  But you know how you just can’t stop thinking about something?  It’s one of those.  I can’t resist the call of the void when the void has such tempting items.

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<–The State of the Reader: 6/1/22         The State of the Reader: 6/29/22–>