(no subject)
Holy crap, I said as I started to compile this list. I mean, I love reading, but I haven't done it this compulsively since...the last Bush administration.
And there you have it.
What I Just Finished Reading
The Wicked + The Divine vol. 2 - Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie
I'm puzzled by the LT reviews of this volume that compare it unfavorably to the first. I found the pacing and worldbuilding smoother and deeper here, while the latter element remained as intriguing as in the first volume. Volume 2 fills out the entire pantheon of reincarnated gods (and then some!), and introduces a kicker of a reveal that I caught just before it Gillen dropped it-what a great mix of hinting and misdirection he had going on-and a gut-punch of a cliffhanger.
Shutter vol. 2 - Joe Keatinge & Lila De Luca
Shutter hits its stride in volume 2. The main pro- and antagonists all get some nice character development and the art, which I suspect takes some inspiration from Minekura Kazuya, is top notch. Keatinge is setting up an interesting world and I was excited for his characters to explore it more.
Shutter vol. 3 - Joe Keatinge & Lila De Luca
The momentum continues in volume three. Keatinge performs the neat trick of turning previously deplorable villains into not exactly characters redeemed, but characters whose motivations are revealed to have more depth and meaning than you'd originally believed. The worldbuilding here is fantastic and includes a pseudo-Venice populated by cats. Give me more.
Injection vol. 1- Warren Ellis & Declan Shalvey
I really liked this volume on my first read. Now, I love it. Ellis' twist on English faerie and the effing stunning art hooked me on the first read, but it took a second one for me to catch all the little insights and easter eggs we're given into the main characters.
Red - Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner
Re-read (or should that be “re-red?”) for reasons. The moral of the story bothers me as much as it did during my first read in 2006, but I have a better appreciation for just how flat it could have fallen, but didn't.
Promethea vol. 3 - Alan Moore, J.H. Williams III & Mick Gray
In which our heroines continue to journey along the Sephiroth. There's a rare misstep in Moore's praise of the ancient Greek city states as just the bestest societies where everyone lived in freedom, happiness, and harmony (Really!? How awesome was it for the women there, Alan?) but the issues in this volume contain some of the most mindbending depictions of the concepts Moore's exploring in the series that it's still a winner.
What I Am Currently Reading
[Placeholder] - [Placeholder]
For reasons.
Injection vol. 2 - Warren Ellis & Declan Shalvey
The second volume of this series focuses on Vivek Headland, a wealthy Manhattanite with fastidious taste in clothing and food who studies ethics and moonlights as an inspector when the police are stumped. I usually dislike the “crimefighter of genius intellect” character trope, but I am infatuated with Headland. Ellis' sly dialogue and Shalvey's wry, nuanced illustrations are just alchemy. This is perhaps the best serial currently out there, and I will be buying the individual issues.
Pleasure Bound - Eeborah Lutz
This week's chapters dealt with homosexuality in Victorian Britain and the various ways polite society and contemporary countercultures expressed and sublimated it (religious imagery, flagellation porn, and homosocial artistic endeavours, primarily). Lutz's prose is as clean and illuminating as ever.
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
So many adjectives. So. Many. Adjectives. I'm excited to ultimately read this one, but I'm going to put it down for the time being, until I'm ready to meet All The Adjectives head-on.
Jerusalem - Alan Moore
This 6" x 10" novel had to be typeset in size-10 font with half-inch margins-in other words, to make use of every space-squeezing trick in the book-to come in at “only” 1,266 pages. Thus, prepare to see it popping up with regularity, as I will be reading it for the rest of my life. This week's chapter, written in the voice of a drug-addled prostitute, was an uncomfortable reminder of the way in which many of those white, down-and-out rust belt trump voters perceive the world.
Inda - Sherwood Smith
In which the protagonist begins a tentative rapprochement with his brother. There are so many names, nicknames, and titles here I can't keep them straight anymore, so I'm now just along for the ride.
The Aisles Have Eyes - Joseph Turow
The week's main nonfiction book examines how retailers use personal data aggregation to decide which customers to court and which customers to discard. I'm in the midst of the early chapters, in which Turow is explaining the change from a bartering economy to today's familiar regime of set prices. The writing thus far is crisp and engaging, which is good, because the subject is potentially quite frightening.
The Light and Shadow Tarot - Brian Williams & Michael Goepferd
The Light and Shadow Tarot has been one of my go-to decks for 20 years now. It's been a while since I worked through the book, so I'll be doing that over the next few weeks, focusing particularly on the astrological correlations.
What I'm Reading Next
I need to wrap up the first volume of Kouga Yun's Earthian, though it'll be hard after this week's string of wins. Also on deck are Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell's Murder Mysteries and Gaiman and Michael Zulli's The Facts in the ase of the Departure of Miss Finch, in addition to the in-progress volumes above.
これで以上です。
And there you have it.
What I Just Finished Reading
The Wicked + The Divine vol. 2 - Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie
I'm puzzled by the LT reviews of this volume that compare it unfavorably to the first. I found the pacing and worldbuilding smoother and deeper here, while the latter element remained as intriguing as in the first volume. Volume 2 fills out the entire pantheon of reincarnated gods (and then some!), and introduces a kicker of a reveal that I caught just before it Gillen dropped it-what a great mix of hinting and misdirection he had going on-and a gut-punch of a cliffhanger.
Shutter vol. 2 - Joe Keatinge & Lila De Luca
Shutter hits its stride in volume 2. The main pro- and antagonists all get some nice character development and the art, which I suspect takes some inspiration from Minekura Kazuya, is top notch. Keatinge is setting up an interesting world and I was excited for his characters to explore it more.
Shutter vol. 3 - Joe Keatinge & Lila De Luca
The momentum continues in volume three. Keatinge performs the neat trick of turning previously deplorable villains into not exactly characters redeemed, but characters whose motivations are revealed to have more depth and meaning than you'd originally believed. The worldbuilding here is fantastic and includes a pseudo-Venice populated by cats. Give me more.
Injection vol. 1- Warren Ellis & Declan Shalvey
I really liked this volume on my first read. Now, I love it. Ellis' twist on English faerie and the effing stunning art hooked me on the first read, but it took a second one for me to catch all the little insights and easter eggs we're given into the main characters.
Red - Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner
Re-read (or should that be “re-red?”) for reasons. The moral of the story bothers me as much as it did during my first read in 2006, but I have a better appreciation for just how flat it could have fallen, but didn't.
Promethea vol. 3 - Alan Moore, J.H. Williams III & Mick Gray
In which our heroines continue to journey along the Sephiroth. There's a rare misstep in Moore's praise of the ancient Greek city states as just the bestest societies where everyone lived in freedom, happiness, and harmony (Really!? How awesome was it for the women there, Alan?) but the issues in this volume contain some of the most mindbending depictions of the concepts Moore's exploring in the series that it's still a winner.
What I Am Currently Reading
[Placeholder] - [Placeholder]
For reasons.
Injection vol. 2 - Warren Ellis & Declan Shalvey
The second volume of this series focuses on Vivek Headland, a wealthy Manhattanite with fastidious taste in clothing and food who studies ethics and moonlights as an inspector when the police are stumped. I usually dislike the “crimefighter of genius intellect” character trope, but I am infatuated with Headland. Ellis' sly dialogue and Shalvey's wry, nuanced illustrations are just alchemy. This is perhaps the best serial currently out there, and I will be buying the individual issues.
Pleasure Bound - Eeborah Lutz
This week's chapters dealt with homosexuality in Victorian Britain and the various ways polite society and contemporary countercultures expressed and sublimated it (religious imagery, flagellation porn, and homosocial artistic endeavours, primarily). Lutz's prose is as clean and illuminating as ever.
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
So many adjectives. So. Many. Adjectives. I'm excited to ultimately read this one, but I'm going to put it down for the time being, until I'm ready to meet All The Adjectives head-on.
Jerusalem - Alan Moore
This 6" x 10" novel had to be typeset in size-10 font with half-inch margins-in other words, to make use of every space-squeezing trick in the book-to come in at “only” 1,266 pages. Thus, prepare to see it popping up with regularity, as I will be reading it for the rest of my life. This week's chapter, written in the voice of a drug-addled prostitute, was an uncomfortable reminder of the way in which many of those white, down-and-out rust belt trump voters perceive the world.
Inda - Sherwood Smith
In which the protagonist begins a tentative rapprochement with his brother. There are so many names, nicknames, and titles here I can't keep them straight anymore, so I'm now just along for the ride.
The Aisles Have Eyes - Joseph Turow
The week's main nonfiction book examines how retailers use personal data aggregation to decide which customers to court and which customers to discard. I'm in the midst of the early chapters, in which Turow is explaining the change from a bartering economy to today's familiar regime of set prices. The writing thus far is crisp and engaging, which is good, because the subject is potentially quite frightening.
The Light and Shadow Tarot - Brian Williams & Michael Goepferd
The Light and Shadow Tarot has been one of my go-to decks for 20 years now. It's been a while since I worked through the book, so I'll be doing that over the next few weeks, focusing particularly on the astrological correlations.
What I'm Reading Next
I need to wrap up the first volume of Kouga Yun's Earthian, though it'll be hard after this week's string of wins. Also on deck are Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell's Murder Mysteries and Gaiman and Michael Zulli's The Facts in the ase of the Departure of Miss Finch, in addition to the in-progress volumes above.
これで以上です。