The State of the Reader: 8/12/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 7/29/20         The State of the Reader: 8/26/20–>

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

Currently Reading

Title: The Luster of Lost of Things
Author: Sophie Chen Keller
Date Added: September 12, 2017
Date Started: July 22, 2020

Cover of The Luster of Lost Things by Sophie Chen KellerMedia: Paperback
Progress: 20%

This is one of those story’s you’ll enjoy if you love winding, whimsical writing with a heavy heaping of eloquence.  If that’s not your bag, you’d probably consider this too purple for your tastes, which is fine.  I don’t like how “purple prose” is used as a pejorative since it’s really just a stylistic taste.  If you like it, you like it; if you don’t, you don’t.

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The State of the Writer: 8/9/20

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<–The State of the Writer: 7/26/20         The State of the Writer: 8/23/20–>

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

Finished Projects: 2

Project: Story
Title: The Broken Rose
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Fanfiction
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Length: Novel
Current Word Count: 250,796
Prior Word Count: 251,552
Word Difference: -756
Status: Editing
Progress: First edit of Chapter 26

The artist of this week’s pic is a long time favorite of mine.  She, too, writes Aeriseph and is a talented illustrator to boot.  Her story Border of Taboo is actually available in physical format on Amazon (???) which…is now making me very curious how she managed to avoid copyright issues with Squeenix???  I may have to investigate this.

…

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Preacher, Volume 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis (Preacher #1) (DNF)

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Title: Preacher, Volume 1:  Gone to Texas
Series: Preacher
Author: Garth Ennis
Artist: Joe R. Lansdale
Date Added: September 13, 2017
Date Started: August 23, 2018
Date DNF: August 23, 2018
Genre: Graphic Novel/Comic, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural/Paranormal

Cover of Preacher: Volume 1, Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis and Joe R. LansdalePages: 336
Publication Date: 1995
Publisher: Vertigo
Media: Paperback – Library

One of the most celebrated comics titles of the late 1990s, PREACHER is a modern American epic of life, death, love and redemption also packed with sex, booze, blood and bullets – not to mention angels, demons, God, vampires and deviants of all stripes.

At first glance, the Reverend Jesse Custer doesn’t look like anyone special-just another small-town minister slowly losing his flock and his faith. But he’s about to come face-to-face with proof that God does indeed exist. Merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Jesse now possesses the power of “the Word,” an ability to make people do whatever he utters. He begins a violent and riotous journey across the country in search of answers from the elusive deity.

I love when I’m reading something and BAM, racial slur.  I was already on the fence about this and that sealed it for me.  This isn’t to say I’ve never read or never will read anything with slurs.  There are definitely valid reasons to use them in a work, so please don’t get it twisted and assume that’s the reason I shelved this.  It was more the final straw in a story I wasn’t that into in the first place.

This one of those narratives you’d think I’d be in love with: a small town preacher forcefully merges with a half-angel, half-demon being named Genesis and parts of the story takes place literally in Heaven with angels (Seraphi and Adephi), but it’s not really my style or aesthetic.  The story also jumps around so much, it comes off as frenetic.  I know it’s a big fan favorite (it has over four stars on Goodreads), but it’s not for me.

The Broken Rose: Chapter 25 – Winter’s Rose

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The Broken Rose Page

<–Chapter 24                                                                                                                                 Chapter 26–>

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII, its characters, and settings are all property of Square Enix so I can take no credit nor claim any ownership of that. I do take some credit for the story’s plot.
Banner Artwork Disclaimer:  The featured artwork for the banner is entitled White rose I and was created by the very talented Deviant Artist RemusSirion who was gracious enough to grant me permission to use it here.  The picture has been slightly altered from the original. All rights belong to the artist, and links are included for both the artist page and the work.

*******MAJOR CONTENT WARNING*******

Consistent and sustained graphic descriptions and mentions of rape/ sexual assault, sexual slavery/bondage, slavery, human trafficking, physical abuse, graphic descriptions of violence, mental abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, body shaming, starvation, torture, forced pregnancy, forced childbirth, miscarriage, forced miscarriage, abortion, and other potential disturbing and triggering topics.

Aeris learns to cherish the beauty of winter even as she worries over the new aspect of their relationship.

The image of a white rose with dark around the edges. The words “Chapter 25 Winter’s Rose” are in the top left corner.

The sky and the shore had become one, blended to winter white.  Not even the sea dare disturb monochrome.  It murmured within its grey shroud.  Frost painted lace upon the large window leading out to the balcony.  A winter tableau scattering light as the day waxed coldly around.

Heaven’s Gate guarded a far different world where the little Cetra still slept.  Sunk in her own sea of blankets and pillows where the mattress couched her within warmth.  Delicate fingers curled upon softness, one set held near her face.  Thick blankets had been pulled up to her ear, though chestnut swam over the folds.  Behind soft shut lids, she clutched at dream webs that made her slightly frown.  Not quite a whimper escaped from her lips, and she was happy to just let them go.

Just to ensure no dark would catch her, Aeris opened her eyes.  That green’s bright was summer unstolen, though winter still ruled the air.  Not here.  She yawned, deliciously warm and wriggling with delight.  She blinked several times, always to ensure that this life was the truth and no vision, but it was more a formality now.  Two hundred and seventy-one days.  It’s been that long since last I was raped and beaten.  The maid slipped a hand over her slender neck with its shiny scar circled around.  The only chains allowed there were of her own placing, bearing jewels of adornment not harm.  Her wrists and ankles had them, too.  My entire body’s a scar.

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The State of the Gamer: 7/30/20

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<–The State of the Gamer: 7/16/20           The State of the Gamer: 8/13/20–>

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

  • Tales of Vesperia – $14.99 @ PlayStation Store

What I’m Playing

Title: Broken Age
System: Nintendo Switch

Cover of Broken Age gameDate Started: 7/4/20

This has gotten really interesting, and yes, the stories do and have connected, which I suspected all along.  There have also been so really big reveals on both sides.  I have had to use a guide for some parts.  In some situations because I was too lazy/tired to figure it out; in others because I never would’ve remembered something.  You have to recall someone a character named “Alex” sang, and I literally do not remember who the hell that is lol.  I’m pretty sure you can still go back and see it, but I’m honestly not sure.  The puzzles are still by and large intuitive without relying on the dreaded “game logic.”  Many of my issues come from my ability to get lost in a round room and being in a gigantic spaceship for the second chapter.  You need to know how to find your way around, and you’re not afforded a map.  It’s easy initially because they game just takes you to the places, but then later you have to navigate around yourself.  It’s hard to remember where everything is.

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The State of the Reader: 7/29/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 7/15/20         The State of the Reader: 8/12/20–>

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

Finished: 1

Title: Keturah and Lord Death
Author: Martine Leavitt
Date Added: August 16, 2016
Date Started: June 6, 2020
Date Finished: July 18, 2020

Cover of Keturah and Lord Death by Martine LeavittMedia: Hardback

This book hardcore reminds me I need to read Theodora Goss’s Heroine’s Journey essay.  It’s in my “to read” for research already, but it’s vital for essay references.  I’ve been trying to decide whether or not Death and the Maiden motifs are under the umbrella of Beauty and the Beast ones or vice versa.  I guess it’s sort of a literary “what came first?”  I want to say Death and the Maiden was first because motifs about Death are older than dirt, but I still wonder what fits as the better umbrella.  Is Death a “beast” type or is (being paired with) a beast a type of death?

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The State of the Writer: 7/26/20

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<–The State of the Writer: 7/12/20         The State of the Writer: 8/9/20–>

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

Finished Projects: 1

Project: Story
Title: The Broken Rose
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Fanfiction
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Length: Novel
Current Word Count: 251,552
Prior Word Count: 251,855
Word Difference: -303
Status: Editing
Progress: Prepping to post

I’m going back and forth on whether or not I need to do a third edit.  I did make some changes in the second, but I can’t decide if they were major enough for at least another read through.  Idk.  I have started looking for potential chapter covers, so it seems like my brain is telling me that’s what I should be doing lol.  I do still need to write the summary, but whether I do a final edit or not,  I should have the chapter posted before the end of the week.

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Supernice: Smile. Or Else. by Petra Jacob

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Title: Supernice: Smile. Or Else.
Author: Petra Jacob
Date Added: June 11, 2020
Date Started: May 20, 2020
Date Finished: June 22, 2020
Reading Duration: 33 Days
Genre: Science Fiction (Sci-Fi)/Speculative Fiction, Young Adult (YA)

Cover of Supernice by Petra JacobPages: 284
Publication Date: May 30, 2020
Publisher: Self
Media: eBook/Kindle

A funny and gripping story about a tyrannical alien invasion in a sleepy seaside town.

Chirpy YouTuber Nick and his cynical teenage daughter Natasha have their lives thrown into turmoil one afternoon when the walls start swallowing people. Over the next week, more and more are snatched away, until the announcement is made: Earth is under new management. Aliens have taken control and they’re not happy with how humans have been behaving.

The new leaders introduce a series of increasingly oppressive rules. Make a single mistake and you’ll be taken away – to be transformed into an upstanding member of the community.
An upstanding, smiling member of the community with a brain like mashed potato.

As their town, and the world, are thrown into chaos and the streets are filled with grinning automatons, Nick and Natasha each find their own way to deal with the horror. Nick becomes a YouTube celebrity, convincing the public to behave. Natasha joins a makeshift rebellion working out how to dodge the alien demands. Each wants the best for the other, but they end up on opposing sides in humanity’s most vital and bizarre battle.

Will they ever be united against the real enemy? Will the human race become the docile drones that the aliens want? Or is universal niceness an impossible and undesirable dream?

Supernice reveals the disparity between how the younger and older generations view and deal with an alien invasion, and the author showcases this early in Nick and Natasha, the father and daughter MCs whose perspectives the narrative bounces between.  This isn’t to say neither of their viewpoints change/evolve, but it is fascinating to witness how easily some people are taken in for the benefits, while others, while afforded and seemingly offered some of the same, understand the deeper implications sooner and reject them despite the cost.

This is one of those stories where the bad happening seems almost good, similar to the sentiment of “we’re the virus” in response to the current global pandemic.

Remember kids, be fashionable not fashy

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The State of the Gamer: 7/16/20

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<–The State of the Gamer: 7/2/20           The State of the Gamer: 7/30/20–>

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’m Playing

Title: Broken Age
System: Nintendo Switch

Cover of Broken Age gameDate Started: 7/4/20

I’ve had this game for quite a while but just started playing it on the 4th of July.  It’s immediately immersive, and you can switch back and forth between the narratives at any time.  Of course I started with Vella, the brown girl lol.  Shay’s story was kind of boring until you can finally “sequence break.”  I wound up completing Vella’s first chapter then it automatically takes you to Shay’s though I think you can still switch back to her.  The stories do cross over, and now that I’m playing through Shay’s I’m really curious about what one character said about being the “sacrificed girl.”  There is definitely a subtext about “a foolish consistency” and not following in prior generations’ footsteps just for tradition’s sake.

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The State of the Reader: 7/15/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 7/1/20         The State of the Reader: 7/29/20–>

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

Finished: 1

Title: The Last Thing You See
Series: Rachel Dixon
Author: Marie Batiste
Date Added: March 26, 2020
Date Started: June 23, 2020
Date Finished: July 9, 2020

Cover of The Last Thing You See by Marie BatisteMedia: eBook/Kindle

This ended a bit more abruptly than I was expecting, but then I remembered that it’s a series.  The author does a fantastic job making you absolutely loathe the killer and his “associates.”  You know I love my sympathetic villains, but there’s something about having one that you just absolutely hate and want to see tortured just like their victims.  It’s something I’ve done before myself.  There’s a dark catharsis in having a character do despicable things so that you don’t feel terrible when your hero skins them alive.  I don’t know if that’s the route this is going to go, but I’ll be rooting for Rachel if it does.

Currently Reading

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