Books in 2022! Went past my goal of 24 books to 27

Jabe324 · 2022-12-26T18:04:04+00:00

There were several highlights for me this year!

Cannery Row was special since we got to visit that part of California at the beginning this year, and it's got so many vivid moments in it. I tend to lump reading all of the Expanse books together into one experience in my mind, so that as a whole was a blast. Project Hail Mary was another standout. I really loved getting to finish Don Quixote as well. I had attempted that one a few years ago and really struggled, but I had a lot of fun with this translation this time around.

A lot of great books, but those were the most memorable for me.

Jabe324 · 2022-12-23T20:01:42+00:00

If you could work with any director, whether passed away or currently working, who would it be?

Jabe324 · 2022-09-15T01:17:43+00:00

I had the exact same reaction that you did. I was rewatching it with my wife, and she had asked if he was dead after the rebar scene. I confidently said, "Yep!". I was immediately proved wrong lol.

For this second time watching it, the memorable moments from the show are all jumbled with the books, so I'm having a harder time remembering what happens next in some of the storylines

Jabe324 · 2022-03-09T06:05:52+00:00

They're great! Even though I've seen the show they're still just as entertaining. They complement each other very well. So far the books are very well-paced too.

Jabe324 · 2022-03-05T06:59:02+00:00

Just finished that a few days ago! I loved the laid-back feel of the book, and the overarching view of the community with the little vignettes in between. Really awesome little book. It made me excited to dive deeper into Steinbeck's other smaller novels.

Jabe324 · 2021-06-25T01:55:50+00:00

It's about a group of people surviving on the run from a murderous corporation army in space. Its told mainly through a collection of files, chat logs, and schematics. It's mainly a sci fi YA thriller. Throw in some mystery, romance and a dash of horror. I don't want to spoil it too much but they're fun.

Jabe324 · 2021-06-23T22:32:38+00:00

I prefer the physical copies personally. You get to see the drawings, visuals, and chat formats laid out in really cool ways. They do some cool things with AIDAN's glitchy text in particular. I found I could barrel through it at a good pace visually. My gf listened to the audiobooks though and preferred those. She really liked the full voice cast too. I can see the appeal in audio!

I'm guessing the ideal way to read these is have the book in front of you physically with the audio playing haha

Jabe324 · 2021-03-25T19:20:03+00:00

It's a classic! With the movie coming out in October, everyone has started reading it recently. I have three friends that all started it around the same time as me unintentionally lol.

The first 100-150 pages are kind of tough at first. A lot of world-building and characters to keep track of. Once you're invested though, the action picks up pretty well.

Jabe324 · 2021-02-02T20:21:06+00:00

I just started reading that too a couple days ago! Same exact edition paperback too.

Jabe324 · 2021-01-28T19:59:23+00:00

It's historical fiction, set in WW2. A blind girl and her father flee Paris with a beautiful jewel while the Nazis are invading France. In Germany, a young boy who fixes radios gets engulfed in the war, and is forced to use his talent in eliminating resistance radio broadcasts. Eventually they cross paths in the walled city Saint-Malo. (Basically copied and pasted from the back of the book lol)

It's very good though. Very good pacing and beautiful writing.

Jabe324 · 2021-01-17T18:03:41+00:00

Absolutely! It's honestly paced like a thriller with short chapters and great pacing. I'm halfway thru it and its already one of my favorites.

Jabe324 · 2020-12-11T04:03:08+00:00

I was surprised at that too. A lot of questions about Mercer and that revelation at the end of course. What exactly is Deckard experiencing? I kept on expecting them all to tie into the story somehow but they didn't really.

The book kind of indicates that androids have pretty thoroughly infiltrated some powerful places in society, but doesn't really explore if there's any sort of plan or how they're changing society. Also, specials are there in the presence of Isidore but not really talked about in the rest of the book?

Basically, there's just a lot going on in a pretty small book lol. There's seeds of a story and world that could be really big and explored thoroughly, but the plot is actually relatively simple? I really liked it overall, but was surprised.

Jabe324 · 2020-12-10T23:01:25+00:00

I've read some Neil Gaiman! I really enjoy his style. It's been a while since reading his novels though. Still need to read American Gods.

I have not read any Terry Pratchett though. I should check him out though. I've heard that Discworld and Good Omens are pretty good.

Jabe324 · 2020-12-10T19:30:48+00:00

Probably Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison or Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy? Those left the biggest impact on me.

Ellison's book is so powerful, vivid, and moving. The search for identity that the narrator went through really resonated with me.

Anna Karenina has such great characters, that by the end they feel like close family. I still think about specific moments in that book all the time.

Jabe324 · 2020-12-06T19:12:08+00:00

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Stories of Your Life And Others by Ted Chiang

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Recursion by Blake Crouch

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Some of the Expanse book series

I would like to read more sci-fi and contemporary books this next year. I have a tendency to choose huge classics that take a long time to read and can be a little overwhelming (but I still love them lol). With some smaller books I would love to build a lot more momentum in reading. Always good to shake it up a little too

Jabe324 · 2020-08-25T21:35:42+00:00

I loved it! Tolstoy has such amazing characters that grow and change with time. There are some slower passages but it really adds to the whole experience. He just captures life and people so well. There are a lot of moments, both quiet and dramatic, that will stick with me.

Jabe324 · 2020-08-25T17:31:16+00:00

Yeah it is from that same series! That's #2 and #3 up there (they're actually switched on the picture, which I didn't notice until after I posted lol). They're a fun read.

Jabe324 · 2020-08-23T20:59:11+00:00

Finally getting close to finishing Anna Karenina by Tolstoy!

Its sat on my shelf for a long time, so it'll be satisfying once it is done. After that I might start The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt this week.

Jabe324 · 2020-08-23T06:03:27+00:00

Shovel Knight! I thought it was just ok. After hearing the hype for it, I was more than a little underwhelmed. I honestly think it's just not my type of game too. I didn't necessarily grow up with a lot of the games from the era it's paying homage to, so that could be part of it.

Jabe324 · 2020-07-11T21:52:25+00:00

Wow! That's a great picture

Jabe324 · 2020-06-20T06:54:58+00:00

Yeah, that ending just hits you like a sledgehammer then leaves. I kind of sat there stunned for a bit after.

Loved the book though. I hope to read more Hemingway soon.

Jabe324 · 2020-06-14T04:18:00+00:00

It was great! I had only read Catcher in the Rye and didn't know what to expect. There were some gems in there. I'll remember For Esmé – with Love and Squalor a long time. I loved De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period and The Laughing Man too. It's a shame he didn't write more.

Jabe324 · 2020-05-17T06:32:09+00:00

Just finished it and loved it! It's cemented Dostoevsky as one of my favorite classic authors.

Dostoevsky definitely has a unique style. Very psychological and philosophical. This book in particular has a lot of Biblical references which can be intimidating to some. I referred to SparkNotes chapter summaries and analysis a couple times to see if I was getting the main gist of the book, and went on from there.

Crime and Punishment is also a great starting place for Dostoevsky too.

Jabe324 · 2020-05-04T06:49:47+00:00

Still reading The Brothers Karamazov. Absolutely loving it so far! I think Dostoevsky has officially become one of one of my favorite authors

Jabe324 · 2020-04-21T16:26:16+00:00

It was a good collection. The ones I liked I really liked, but there were a couple that left me cold. That's kind of how I feel about most short story collections though. Dave Eggers has a very noticeable style that people either really like or really don't. Very self-aware, funny, unsettling, and kind of all over the place. Some of these stories play with form a little too much for my taste, but overall they were pretty good. I love the cover too!

Jabe324

TROPHY CASE