Man and His Symbols

The State of the Reader: 4/8/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 3/26/20         The State of the Reader: 4/22/20–>

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

Books On Hold: 1

Title: Man and His Symbols
Author: C. G. Jung et al
Date Added: August 4, 2017
Date Started: January 7, 2020

Man and His Symbols coverMedia: Paperback

Apparently I even forgot to include this last time.  Oh well.  I put it on hold because only the first essay is written by Jung himself.  Not that I doubt the other psychologists aren’t worth my time, but I really liked Jung’s style.  I think I’m going to splurge and pick up his Psychology and Alchemy, because I’ve been pretty immersed in the latter.  It’s…EVERYWHERE, and I want to be able to pinpoint its symbols and usages in FFVII et al.

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The State of the Reader: 3/25/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 3/11/20         The State of the Reader: 4/8/20–>

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.

Books Finished: 1

Title: Desdemona and the Deep
Series Title: Dark Breakers
Author: C. S. E. Cooney
Date Added: July 24, 2019
Date Started: March 5, 2020

Cover of Desdemona and the Deep by C. S. E. CooneyMedia: eBook/Kindle

This has the lowest rating out of all of the books in the trilogy, but I enjoyed it.  I think I might know why people didn’t, but I thought the overriding message paired well with the delectable writing style is enough for four stars.  What amuses me is I saw a video about Phossy Jaw the other day.  It’s an actual thing, and it’s just as horrible as Cooney describes in her book.  So yeah, this novel was a really good castigation of shitty capitalists/capitalism as well as portraying a spoiled rich girl who isn’t to the core.  Also queer and trans representation, though I’d want an actual trans person to decide on if the latter is decent.  Not my lane, loves.

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The State of the Reader: 3/11/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 2/26/20         The State of the Reader: 3/25/20–>

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.

Books Purchased

  • 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley: Including Gematria and Sepher Sephiroth by Aleister Crowley – $17.77 @ Amazon

Books Finished: 1

Title: Pestilence
Series Title: The Four Horsemen
Author: Laura Thalassa
Date Added: January 26, 2018
Date Started: February 24, 2020
Date Finished: Marcy 4, 2020

Cover of PestilenceMedia: eBook/Kindle

It seems somewhat irresponsible if not downright cruel to praise a book called “Pestilence” during an epidemic, but current events aren’t the author’s fault.  This book has a very good chance of being my best of 2020…which again is almost brutally ironic for present events.  It could be both hilarious and heartbreaking in the same sentence.  It made sense psychologically, and the main character is a total bad ass.

William Faulkner is quoted as saying, “The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict,” and I think Thalassa would’ve made him proud.  I need to hold off on reading the next book War only because I need some time to emotionally process this.

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The State of the Reader: 2/26/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 2/12/20         The State of the Reader: 3/11/20–>

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.

Books Purchased

Books Finished: 3

Title: The First Girl Child
Author: Amy Harmon
Date Added: September 17, 2019
Date Started: January 17, 2020

Cover of The First Girl Child by Amy HarmonMedia: eBook/Kindle

The ending was a little bit confusing/cluttered, but the overall experience was excellent.

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The State of the Reader: 2/12/20

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 13 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 1/29/20         The State of the Reader: 2/26/20–>

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.

Books Purchased

Books Finished: 1

Title: Metzengerstein
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Date Added: April 27, 2019
Date Started: January 26, 2020
Date Finished: February 6, 2020

Cover of Mezengerstein by Edgar Allan PoeMedia: eBook/Kindle

I’m not sure if I’m going to review this.  Oh, it was fine.  Definitely gives you a taste of Poe, and I think I know what he’s trying to say.  I may need to marinate on it more and look it up.

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The State of the Reader: 1/15/20

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

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.

Books Purchased

Books Finished: 2

Title: Star Trek: Picard – Countdown #1
Series Title: Star Trek: Picard – Countdown
Author: Kirsten Beyer
Artists: Mike Johnson & Ángel Hernández
Date Added: January 5, 2020
Date Started: January 5, 2020
Date Finished: January 8, 2020

Star Trek: Picard - Countdown #1 coverMedia: eBook/Kindle

I don’t know if this is common knowledge, but I try to live my life in a way that Captain Picard would be proud.  He is best captain (don’t even @ me), my favorite one (sorry Steve Rogers, you’re second though), and only the most English man to ever English playing a French man.  I’m so stoked for the Picard series and this comic is a precursor to that.  If you’re into Star Trek and are planning to watch the Picard series, I highly recommend.

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The State of the Reader: 1/2/19

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 9 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 12/19/18          The State of the Reader: 1/16/19–>

A weekly 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.

Books Obtained: 8

Books Finished: 2

Title: Angels’ Blood
Series Title: Guild Hunter
Author: Nalini Singh
Date Added: May 11, 2017
Date Started: November 2, 2018
Date Finished: December 27, 2019
Reading Duration: 55 days

Angels' BloodMedia: Paperback (Library)

This book was everything I wanted and more.  It is exactly how I love to see angels portrayed: dangerous, mysterious, and sexy.  There are so many vampire stories out there, and there are so many where vampires are compared to angels, but this one was unique as it made vampires and angels distinct entities, but gave them an integral connection.  I’ve already bought the next book in the series (as noted above), and it’s the next one I plan to read after I finish my current fiction/fantasy.

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The State of the Reader: 8/9/17

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<–The State of the Reader: 8/2/17          The State of the Reader: 8/16/17–>

A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy.  I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case.  If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Samples Read This Week

  1. Dreadnought by April Daniels: Kept (RWTR) – When I come across a book with a transgender main character, it’s going on my really-want-to-read list for the representation alone.  It doesn’t hurt that the first page instantly makes you feel for her.  All she wants to do is buy some damn nail polish.
  2. Doon by Lorie Langdon: Kept – This starts off as your typical YA high school drama (and I’m not saying this to diminish the drama that happens in high school or invalidate any of the very real feelings about the fore mentioned), but it comes off realistically and not trite despite the common subject matter of a girl fighting with her boyfriend over another girl.  If the mundane aspects of the fantasy are presented in such an interesting way, I have high hopes for the more magical ones.
  3. Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff: Kept – It was hard not to think of Redwall Abbey while looking at this, since it takes place in Red Abbey, which is a sanctuary for abused women and girls.  The MC’s peaceful life is upended when the newcomer Jai arrives, and I want to know how.  The book was pretty cheap on Amazon Kindle, so I suppose I’ll find out soon.
  4. Nemesis by Brendan Reichs: Kept – Every year on the main character’s birthday, she’s killed by a mysterious assailant, afterwards waking up still quite alive, but like any person who doesn’t get off on their own murder, she wants the cycle to end.
  5. Dissonance by Erica O’Rourke: Kept – This is the fourth sample I read in one day, and I honestly can’t remember what the hell the book is about.  I remember the cover is pretty and I liked it enough to keep.  Haha, what’s the point of me doing this Sample section if I’m not going to have something to say about the books?  Oh, it’s about parallel realities.  Totally up my alley.
  6. Gilded Cage by Vic James: Kept – It’s interesting enough for the library list.  The magic users are the elite and if you’re not one you have to serve a magical family for ten years as an indentured servant.
  7. The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge: Kept – It’s about a tree that grants favors if you tell it lies.  That’s not going to end poorly at all.
  8. The Borrowers by Mary Norton: Kept – I read The Borrowers Afield years ago when I was a child, but it was the second book in the series, which I could tell even then without knowledge of the first.  The Borrowers and their life/situation already seemed well established (or rather in upheaval since they had to leave their cozy home).  I’d like to see how it all begins.
  9. Red Rising by Pierce Brown: Kept (RWTR) – The opening line.  “I would have lived in peace.  But my enemies brought me war.”  Yes.  Hell yes.  The language.  The stakes.  The oppression.  I can tell this is an epic tale worthy of my attention.

Books Purchased This Week: 1

Title: Maresi
Series Title: The Red Abbey Chronicles
Author: Maria Turtschaninoff
Date Added: December 18, 2016
Date Purchased: August 5, 2017

Media: eBook/Kindle
Price: $2.99
Retailer: Amazon

Total Price: $2.99
Average Price: $2.99

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