The State of the Reader: 9/8/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 3 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 8/11/21         The State of the Reader: 9/22/21–>

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.

Purchased: 7

Total: $1.99

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: Something from the Nightside
Series: Nightside
Author: Simon R. Green
Date Added: July 1, 2017
Date Started: August 27, 2021

Cover of Soomething from the Nightside by Simon R. GreenMedia: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 48%

My interest in this has unfortunately waned the more progress I make.  It had your stereotypical, trope-y, PI stuff, but I loved the way it was written.  Green really captured that “hard-boiled detective” feel (even though John Taylor insists that’s not what he is).  It was immediately reminiscent of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, which if you know me is…not really a compliment.  I read the first and second books in that series quite a few years apart and when I got through the latter, it left a really bad, misogynistic taste in my mouth.  This novel has some problems with that, but it’s not really my major issue (yet).  The vibe I was getting from Taylor was more akin to John Constantine and less Harry Dresden, but I have some issues with how quickly the romance angle gets underway.  I always worry I’m being a hypocrite with that since it can be really hard to know when to switch when you’re doing a sort of Enemies to Lovers thing, but here it just seems really contrived, and it’s dampening my enjoyment.  I actually started reading this because I wasn’t enjoying the Le Guin book as much, and now I’m having a similar problem.  I’m going to keep pushing through.  I’m about halfway done, so hopefully I can finish it.

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The State of the Writer: 9/5/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Writer: 8/22/21         The State of the Writer: 9/19/21–>

A post updated every other Sunday discussing my current writing projects and any completed the prior two weeks.

Finished Projects: 0

Project: Story
Working Title: The High Archon
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Original
Length: Novel
Current Word Count: 676
Prior Word Count: 676
Word Difference: 0
Status: Organization
Progress: Chapter 1

I did some serious brainstorming/notetaking over the past few days, fleshing out one of the side characters.  Even if it doesn’t find its way into the story, I like to have a robust background for as many people as possible.   I might work on more today, since I still have some creative juices left for it.

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The State of the Gamer: 8/26/21

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<–The State of the Gamer: 8/12/21           The State of the Gamer: 9/9/21–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

What I Purchased

No purchases.

What I’m Playing

Title: The Lost Child
Series: El Shaddai
System: Nintendo Switch

Cover of The Lost ChildDate Started: July 31, 2021

This has been my main go to for the past few weeks.  There’s just something addictive about a dungeon crawler where you map and capture monsters.  The story is a C- at best and the voice acting is MAYBE a solid C, but that’s not what I came here for.  There are a few things I wish they did like make a way for you to sort your Astrals (the name of the monsters) by element type and best karma type, the latter of which is used to level them up.  I’m also not overly fond of how you obtain weapons.  You can’t buy them; you can only find them in the dungeons and afterwards have this one merchant appraise them.  You can also attempt to strengthen them, but there’s at most an 80% or so chance (at most) you’ll succeed.  It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s not ideal.

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The State of the Reader: 8/25/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 12 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 8/11/21         The State of the Reader: 9/8/21–>

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.

Purchased: 1

Total: $0.00

Books Finished: 1

Title: What Alice Forgot
Author: Liane Moriarity
Date Added: July 24, 2021
Date Started: August 9, 2021

Cover of What Alice Forgot by Liane MoriarityMedia: eBook/Kindle (Library)

I breezed through this because it was impossible to put down.  It’s one of the only times I’ve finished a library book without having to renew at all.  My notes for it are still thankfully there (Kindle retains it even after the book is returned), so I should be able to write my review when I eventually get around to it (if I don’t wind up picking the book up).

While I have some mixed feelings about the end, this was ultimately an amazing novel where not only the main character’s story held my interest.  I may have even been more engaged with Alice’s sister Elisabeth, because some of the things she wrote to her therapist could have been taken straight from my head.

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The State of the Writer: 8/22/21

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<–The State of the Writer: 8/8/21         The State of the Writer: 9/5/21–>

A post updated every other Sunday discussing my current writing projects and any completed the prior two weeks.

Finished Projects: 0

Project: Story
Working Title: The High Archon
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Original
Length: Novel
Current Word Count: 676
Prior Word Count: 676
Word Difference: 0
Status: Organization
Progress: Chapter 1

I wracked my brain for a week over what to do and where to put my “false” starts.  I wound up making a separate section for them on Scrivener.  I have two more to sort out, but one of them occurs later in the story when the two protagonists meet, so I might just hold off on putting that anywhere on Scivener since I don’t know what chapter that will be.  I’m not sure when I’ll start drafting again, but I am on vacation for two weeks in September so I might plan it out then.  I’m hoping if I can get over this beginning hump, things will be easier.  This chapter has a radically different tone from the rest of the novel, which could be one of the reasons it’s giving me so much trouble.

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The State of the Gamer: 8/12/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 6 Comments

<–The State of the Gamer: 7/29/21           The State of the Gamer: 8/12/21–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

What I Purchased

  • Thomas Was Alone – $4.99 @ Nintendo eShop

Total: $4.99

What I’m Playing

Title: The Lost Child
Series: El Shaddai
System: Nintendo Switch

Cover of The Lost ChildDate Started: July 31, 2021

I couldn’t pass up a dungeon crawler on sale for $10 as opposed to it’s regular $50.  I’m really glad I didn’t spend $50 on this.  It’s fine for what it is, and I’m definitely not playing it for the story or voice acting because that leaves a little to be desired.  It’s sort of an amalgamation of Biblical (angels/fallen angels and demons), the Cthulhu Mythos (I was literally running from Nyarlathotep on R’lyeh Road), and some Norse Mythology.  Lua (which I’m thinking is a reference to a Roman goddess), your companion character is kind of annoying, but meh?  I’m enjoying the exploration and catching the monsters or Astrals.  I’m still trying to figure out the best way to level them up and which ones I should focus on.  According to howlongtobeat.com this is around a 40 hour game for the main story and twice that for completionists.

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The State of the Reader: 8/11/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 8 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 7/28/21         The State of the Reader: 8/25/21–>

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.

Purchased: 4

Total: $7.97

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: What Alice Forgot
Author: Liane Moriarity
Date Added: July 24, 2021
Date Started: August 9, 2021

Cover of What Alice Forgot by Liane MoriarityMedia: eBook/Kindle (Library)
Progress: 9%

Amnesia is such a common gimmick in fiction/fantasy, but that doesn’t make it any less intriguing (at least for me).  There’s a reason it’s so popular, because it presents an easy (if convenient) reason for a mystery, and there’s no better motivator for solving an enigma then when it involves yourself.  The main character Alice slips on her bike during spin class and wakes up with no memory of the past ten years.  She thinks she’s still pregnant with her first child and is in a loving relationship with her husband as they work on their house and prepare for the blessed event…but in reality Alice has three children, is in the midst of a divorce, and isn’t talking to her sister whose own point of view is extremely interesting.  Elisabeth (the sister) is writing letters to her therapist that resonate with me more than I’d like, so for many reasons this has become a book I look forward to reading every day.

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The State of the Writer: 8/8/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Writer: 7/25/21         The State of the Writer: 8/22/21–>

A post updated every other Sunday discussing my current writing projects and any completed the prior two weeks.

Finished Projects: 0

Project: Story
Working Title: The High Archon
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Original
Length: Novel
Current Word Count: 676
Prior Word Count: 676
Word Difference: 0
Status: Drafting
Progress: Chapter 1

I moved all my notes for Chapter 1 to Scrivener, so now I have those and my outline on that program.  I did some more world-building over the past few weeks as well, since there were a few things I needed to figure out.  Now I want to look at all of my “false starts” over the years and see what I can glean from that.  No clue when I’ll start drafting again, but I at least know the direction I’m going.

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The State of the Gamer: 7/29/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Gamer: 7/15/21           The State of the Gamer: 8/12/21–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

What I Purchased

  • The Darkside Detective (Point-and-Click/Adventure) – $5.84 @ Nintendo eShop
  • Tested on Humans: Escape Room (Puzzle/Adventure) – $3.99 @ Nintendo eShop
  • The Lost Child (RPG/JRPG) – $9.99 @ Nintendo eShop
  • The Dark Eye: Memoria (Point-and-Click/Puzzle) – $9.99 @ Nintendo eShop

Total: $29.81

What I’m Playing

Title: Tales of Vesperia
Series: Tales
System: Nintendo Switch

Cover of Tales of VesperiaDate Started: May 23, 2021

I am well into the third act of the game and have over 120 hours in.  I’m not exactly sure where when it’s going to end, but I at least know what the real threat is now that we’ve cut through the chaff.  I’ve started using a spoiler free* guide to the side quests since Vesperia has a lot of missables.  There are some that I’m already out of luck on (like the 50% Monster Book and Nan) since I didn’t know about them in the beginning (and watching Oliz play through it has really confirmed that), but I’m trying to get all of the ones I can.  There are some I’m willing to forgo like the dragon races with Ba’ul.  I just eked out a win in the first level.  I’m not good at those types of games, and the big reason to do it seemed to be so you’d get the upgrade that would allow Ba’ul to land on this one island, but something happened in the game that made it accessible so I’m not even sure that’s necessary anymore.

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The State of the Reader: 7/28/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 7/14/21         The State of the Reader: 8/11/21–>

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.

Purchased: 3

Total: $11.97

Books Finished: 1

Title: We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep
Author: Andrew Kelly Stewart
Date Added: May 22, 2021
Date Started: July 16, 2021
Date Finished: July 23, 2021

Cover of We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep by Andrew Kelly StewartMedia: eBook/Kindle

I loved the lyricism of this novella, words I can fall in love with.  I’m also a fan of the specific, post-apocalyptic trope where people, usually children, are lied to about the circumstances/situation and they have to figure out what’s really going on.  This is the author’s first book, and he absolutely captured not only the trapped and claustrophibic elements of subsisting in a derelict and failing nuclear sub, but the same for the cruel and monastic order forced upon the main character and their peers.

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