Skip to main content

Four, Twice

I'm halfway through a book right now and before I got too much farther, I thought I would pause and talk about the last four books I've read plus a comic.

Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson - Alif is a computer hacker in a repressive Arab state who works for those who wish to speak their minds but stay out of jail. He is in love with a member of the royalty who tells him she is marrying another man. Life gets even more complicated from there with djinn and computer programs and trying to finally grow up. I didn't like Alif much at first but he grew on me as he grew and the book as a whole is fascinating - well-written, thoughtful, and full of cool ideas. I really dug it.

Sorry Please Thank You by Charles Yu - This is Yu's second story collection and the first since his excellent novel was published two years ago. The first story, "Standard Loneliness Package," tells the story of a man who works for a company that allows him to experience people's grief, sadness, and more for them so that they don't have to. "First Person Shooter" deals with zombies and crushes. "Yeoman" has the same concept that Redshirts does but takes it in a different direction (plus, short story vs. a novel). The stories are varied, of course, and while I didn't love them all the ratio of interesting to not was pretty high.

Dare Me by Megan Abbott - A group of high school cheerleaders gets a new coach. The captain, who basically ran everything under the old coach doesn't like it. Her best friend and lieutenant does. Mean girls doesn't even begin cover it. Plus, there are dead bodies. I liked this novel but didn't love it - there just wasn't enough to hook me character-wise and while the writing was good, it didn't knock me out. Your mileage may vary.

The Yard by Alex Grecian - The Yard in question is Scotland Yard and the time period is the late 19th century, just after Jack the Ripper disappeared. It is the beginning of having detectives who specifically investigate homicides and some forward thinking men are developing forensic science. The book begins with the murder of an Inspector and follows three main characters in that wake - Walter Day, the newest Inspector on the squad; Constable Hammersmith, who pursues justice for a boy left to die in a chimney; and Dr. Kingsley, who brings with him a wealth of knowledge and forensic innovation. Even though the story can be predictable at times, the characters are great and Grecian keeps you turning the pages. This looks to be the start of a series and I can't wait for the next one.

Fantastic Four Vol. 3 by Jonathan Hickman and Neil Edwards - It's been a while since I read the first two volumes of Hickman's run on this title but I was easily able to get right back into the story. Hickman has been working through some big ideas but also has a great sense of character and fun. My favorite issue of the four collected here just might be the one where Johnny takes Franklin and Leech to a toy store where they run into Arcade and Impossible Man because it's so much fun. On the other spectrum, we get a story where future Valeria visits Sue. Plus, arrogant college-age Doom. Oh, and Neil Edwards draws the hell out of it all, abetted by a trio of able inkers. I need to read the next volume soon.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday Shuffle #413

Summer is here and I'm happy that it is. Jill finished school this week, but Grant and I have to go through Friday. I have the week off from my TTT course, so I'm going to catch up on some reading and TV. There was baseball I could watch yesterday and I can watch some again today, so you can bet I'll be doing that. Few things bring me joy more than baseball and a book in my lap for between innings. Here's today's ten... 1. I 4 U & U 4 Me (Home Demo)/The Decemberists (15) - last played on 8/19/15 2. Part One/Band of Horses (6) - last played on 5/7/16 3. Shame Chamber/Kurt Vile (5) - last played on 7/23/15 4. In the Eyes of My Friends/Sugar (2) - last played on 10/5/14 5. I Could Have Done This Myself/Lightspeed Champion (4) - last played on 9/1/14 6. Nonstop Disco Powerpack/The Beastie Boys (10) - 5/15/16 7. Mountain/Lucero (7) - last played on 4/29/12 8. Evergreen/Matthew Sweet (1) - played countless times on CD 9. The Sleeping Beauty/American Music ...

Sunday Shuffle #479

I don't know if it's the weather, nostalgia, or something else, but I woke up feeling like I wanted to do a Sunday Shuffle today. I barely open up iTunes anymore and haven't downloaded new music into it in a long time...which also means I haven't listened to a lot of the music I have stored there in a while. So, this is simultaneously old and new in a way and that feels interesting to me this morning. Let's get to today's ten... 1. Pulling On A Line/Great Lake Swimmers (6) - last played on 11/8/15 2. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Of/U2 (7) - last played on 5/19/13 3. Us/Spoon (4) - last played on 11/24/17 4. Meat Is Murder/Shout Out Louds (6) - last played on 12/11/16 5. Different Days/Jason Isbell (11) - last played on 6/1/17 6. Another Way I Could Do It/Sloan (34) - last played on 6/22/18 7. Wizard Buys A Hat/The Mountain Goats (8) - last played on 2/12/17 8. Decks Dark/Radiohead (8) - last played on 7/10/18 9. Luisa/Jay Gonzalez (13) - last ...

Heavy Rotation #37

This past Friday was a big release day, with 4 new albums that I will probably be listening to over and over again. That means it's probably time to write about what I've been into over the last month-and-a-half or so. Sound good? Phoebe Bridgers/Stranger in the Alps - Before last fall, I hadn't listened to any of Bridgers' music. Sure, I knew of her, but that was it. It wasn't until Boygenius (the group she's in with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus) that I really heard anything she'd done. Their EP is great, so I thought it was time to expand my horizons and give this one a listen. Better late than never is a cliche for a reason, right? Anyway, the album starts off very strong with "Smoke Signals" and "Motion Sickness." The former is contemplative and moody and lovely with killer lyrics while the latter is more prickly and up-tempo with (again) killer lyrics. It's a strong start to the album. If I had to pick one track to get someon...