#booksread — Public Fediverse posts

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Yooooo! A friend from Write Club published a comic and I got it (and my backer reward, of one of the original pages).

#03 (2026-07-25) #SupergirlWomanOfTomorrow

Having recently watched—and really enjoyed—the Supergirl movie, I was curious about the source material and asked my local library to acquire a copy. Which they did.

It was, of course, an excellent story, and very DIFFERENT from the movie. Being able to compare the two as I read was really interesting: the book's rich visuals were by far superior, but neither story felt BETTER than the other.

#TomKing #book #books #BooksRead #supergirl #GraphicNovel

#02 (2026-07-18) #TheIncal

John Di Fool—crude detective in a cyberpunk city—receives a powerful, sentient artifact and becomes targeted by aliens, cultists, presidential clones, assassins, et al.

There's a whole lot of running away from—or reluctantly towards—danger. Much political satire and numerous wild concepts thrown at the reader with little fanfare.

Based on a failed Dune adaptation. Unhinged and kind of amazing.

#AlejandroJodorowsky #Moebius #JeanGiraud #GraphicNovel #book #BooksRead

#01 (2026-07-09) #LegendsAndLattes

I finished the main story back in April, and finally picked the book up again a few days ago to read the last few pages of the prequel story at the end.

A very sweet, cozy, and queer story about Viv—an orcish former swordswoman—who has given up her mercenary life to open up a coffee shop. And the friends she makes along the way.

Kind of Pratchetty in style, but a bit light on character descriptions.

#book #books #BooksRead #fantasyReads #fantasy #LGBTQ

📚️ #BooksRead pinned thread.

This is where I'll reply with a toot about any books I've read, starting now (July 2026). Not going to split it up by year because that didn't do me much good in 2023. (Where the thread had two entries.)

I'd include Doom Guy in the list, but I can't remember when I finished it. Sometime late last year or early this year.

The 2023 thread can be found here, though:
https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@jedimb/110946888719336062

“And the woman’s belly split open, with a whistling sound that then turned into a strange and extraordinarily beautiful music; a bluish light descended on the streetcar, and there came into the world first a barbel, then two white angora rabbits, and a rose.”
***
„Und der Bauch der Frau spaltete sich auf, begleitet von einem pfeifenden Geräusch, das sich dann in eine seltsame und außerordentlich schöne Musik verwandelte; ein bläuliches Licht senkte sich auf die Straßenbahn, und zur Welt kamen zuerst eine Barbe, dann zwei weiße Angorakaninchen und eine Rose.”

-Dumitru Tsepeneag, _Vain Art of the Fugue_ (trans. Patrick Camiller (and then deepl))

#literature #quotes #books #booksRead

Finished reading: The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 7

Not gonna lie, was not expecting this to suddenly develop into a kind of cross between PTSD Radio and deadass a fanfic I wrote back in 2015? Wild.

Anyway. This is the last volume that’s currently published in English, and of course it ends on a cliff-hanger. I do feel this arc is not as strong as some of the previous ones, though that might be because it focuses less on the relationship between “Hikaru” and Yoshiki and more on the bigger mystery plot which after a lot of initial promise is sort of unspooling to be a bit . . . eh. That being said, the story is growing more explicit that, yes, Yoshiki was attracted to Hikaru and some of the imagery around this is kinda hilariously unsubtle. I still dig it but, yeah. Going spelunking in the giant slit surrounded by legs? Mm hmm.

Still rooting for these crazy kids, and keen for the remaining issues (and s2 of the show).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ganymede_Takeover

finished this today, really cool ideas but the characters were a little cartoonish. The other author wrote the short story that "They Live" (the film) was based on

#books #booksRead #sciFi #SF #philipKDick

Finished reading: The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 5

I cannot describe how much this series is my jam, holy shit. Awkward boy and his monster-in-the-body-of-his-former-best-friend love interest, Summer really, really manages to nail “Hikaru’s” nonhumanness in a way a lot of other series gloss over or anthropormorphise. “Hikaru” can’t experience emotions, specifically love, exactly like humans do, but that doesn’t make him evil or wrong or worse. Just different, and still worth Yoshiki’s more familiar feelings in return. It’s metaphor if you want it to be (for queerness, for asexuality, for neurodiversity . . . many options to pick from) but also just straight-up works on its own face. Something that isn’t human isn’t human! And that’s okay, and you want things to work out for these crazy kids! Go be happy on the beach and have weird abstract raw chicken intimacy together or whatever. Bless.

The manga follows the show pretty closely (well, technically the reverse but you know what I mean), though I will say I found some of the timeskips and the general mystery easier to follow in this form. I’m not sure if this is the translation being more explicit or the fact I’m seeing it for the second time, but regardless, there it is. The other thing that’s very noticeable is the choice to give everyone, effectively, a kind of faux American hick accent? I assume this is reflection of dialect use in the original, so I get the choice, but. Oof. Not my favourite stylistic choice.

Anyway. Volume 5 is caught up to the show, so while I have volume 6, volume 7 is still on its way, and this is where we’re stopping for tonight.

Finished reading: Role Model

So approximately two months ago, in a fit of sadness, I watched the gay hockey show in one sitting then fell down an AO3 rabbit hole wherein I read slightly shy of 500 fanfics about it. During this journey I realized that my OTP for this fandom was, in fact, Actual Wet Cat Troy Barrett and Gay Apple Boy Harris Drover, and there just wasn't that much fic about them, specifically. Which... boo. And then I was like, "I could... read their book?"

Really, aren’t we all Mallory Dowdy, deep down?

Finished reading: Wyrmtide

I’ve always loved the various Books of the Wyrm supplements for Werewolf because, let’s be real here, I am forever an edgy fourteen-year-old in my heart (especially when I was, in fact, an edgy fourteen-year-old), and I love dumb shit like that. So Wyrmtide had some pretty big wolf-prints to follow for me, personally, particularly after how disappointing I found the way the Sabbat/Black Hand were handled in their V5 book. Thankfully, Renegade have seemingly learnt from that book’s mid-ass take, and while Wyrmtide definitely does not want you to play Black Spiral Dancers or fomori or whatever, there is a little […]

Finished reading: Dai Dark Vol. 1

I read this ages ago in fan translated form, and really enjoyed it. So figured I should pick it up when I finally saw it in-store in an actual physical legit translation.

It’s weird, creepy, and joyful. Perfect combo.

Currently reading: SFSX Safe Sex Volume 1: Protection

This is the inaugural read for our writers’ guild’s new comics book club, so we did a group order from the Friendly Local Comics Store (because support your locals, folx).

I had to go pick said order up in town, and I happened to have a hair appointment booked on the same day. “No worries,” thinks I, the fool. “That will give me something to read for the next four hours in the chair.”

Friends, let me tell you. This is not a good choice of casual hair salon read, even in the edgy queer goth salon. Like I don’t think I saw a single clothed person in the whole first ten pages. Just, y’know. Warning anyone thinking of re-creating my mistake.

All the same, keen to find out how to fight the power of the Christofascist nation-state with the power of kinky queer sex in some other, more appropriate venue.

Currently reading: Foucault’s Pendulum

“If a pedestrian bumps into you in the street, or even insults you, you humbly apologize and move on, even though you’re God and with a snap of your fingers you can turn the world to ashes. But, infinitely powerful as you are, you can afford to be long-suffering.”

Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum (p. 69 . . . nice)

A Sense of Doubt blog post 4013 - Books Read in 2025 - Writing Wednesday for 2602.11. https://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-sense-of-doubt-blog-post-4013-books.html #Books #Reading #BooksRead #yearinreview #writingwednesday

Finished reading: Shattered Nation

So. Confession: A while back I had scanned a PDF copy of this book that I, um. “Borrowed” to see if it was worth buying the hardcover, and it hadn’t really clicked with me. All the same, I did pick up the physical copy recently because, let’s be real, I am a slut for W:tA and wanted to send price signals to Renegade so they release more of it, regardless of whether I’m super into any one specific book. Actually sitting down to read this cover-to-cover and . . . I Get It, now. Not just this book, but 5th […]

Finished reading: Rokea

I never really “got” the Rokea as a kid — they were big and ugly and weird — but as an adult the whole premise of “what if Jaws had autism and was immortal?” is suddenly incredibly appealing. I too would like to walk into the sea and never return, thanks. This is vintage old World of Darkness, so expect a bunch of weird race and sex stuff (including some way-too-casual references to rape). The example chronicle is also set in Australia and is nonetheless extremely, hilariously (white) American, right down to the fact that, while the majority of it […]

Currently reading: Rokea

(touches the dirt)

Something . . . American happened here.

Finished reading: Malleus Monstrorum Slipcase Set

As someone who loves both the Mythos and a bestiary, these books unfortunately kinda show the limitations when both are combined. Mythos entities encountered alone are horrific and gross and cool. Combined they run together in a kind of protean slurry of gore and tentacles and “unpronounceable” names, and the seams where multiple authors over the century have stitched in their own additions result in something that is somehow both too samey and too thematically incoherent.

Also, just . . . times have kinda moved on? Hence the quote marks around “unpronounceable,” since combinations of syllables that seemed “foreign” and “strange” in 1926 are significantly less so in an age where your average English speaker has encountered half a dozen loanwords before breakfast. (Or possibly at breakfast; the fact that “Shak’shu-ka” could be a Mythos god being kinda illustrative of the point.) Not to mention some of the monster designs feel a bit uninspired in a world of Bloodborne and Silent Hill, though Loïc Muzy’s illustrations punch above their weight as usual.

All that being said, none of that is the fault of these books specifically, which are a great resource for what they are, with all the relevant crunch and fluff and cool illustrations. Also, props to the writers for updating some of the more, y’know. Cat-named (if you get my drift) elements, particularly the distancing of Mythos entities from any one ethnic group or set of religious/spiritual beliefs (Ithaqua, looking at you, buddy).

Anyway. I don’t regret buying these, and they did sate my lust for tomes of tentacled bad bois. And I guess that’s the important part.

Currently reading: Vulture Capitalism

Today’s other adventure was going into the library to get my card reactivated. Then picking this up randomly to read while waiting in the queue. Then trying to borrow it and getting denied because it was on reserve. Then the nice librarian who liked my Cure shirt borrowing it for me anyway, because “we can’t have you denied on your first borrow.” So, uh. Sorry to whomever’s reserve I just queue-jumped, I guess.

Anyway. Book!

Finished reading: Earthlings

The best way I can sum this up is probably Oyasumi, Punpun for chick-lit readers, noting that manga itself is kind of “No Longer Human for manga readers.” So basically I guess what I’m getting at is that if you have any kind of familiarity with the whole genre of “Japanese works about not fitting in to Japanese society,” in any medium, nothing here will be particularly novel or shocking to you.

Which isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy this (I did), or that it isn’t a worthwhile read (it is), only that it’s a kind of Baby’s First Outsider Literature novel and, well. Everyone starts somewhere.

Finished reading: This Book is Full of Spiders

John Dies at the End is one of my favourite books, in my all-time favourite genre, i.e., that sort of cosmic horror-adjacent black comedy of “ordinary losers encounter extraordinary situation, gory hijinks ensue” (see also, for e.g., Ash vs. Evil Dead, EMH, anything by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, etc.). So it is with a conflicted heart that I say This Book is Full of Spiders just doesn’t quite land for me. In some ways it is more competent, narratively, than its predecessor, but I think the polishing of some aspects of it make the rough-edges in others (characterisation, theme) more apparent, and it feels like it’s always trying to be slightly more clever than it is. It also has a very 2010s edge of Millennial ironic cynicism that has aged pretty poorly in this our Big New Year of 2026, particularly in relation to the ending and also some segments of racism-as-humour that are definitely being used in the well-meaning-I-guess-white-guy-ha-ha-isn’t-racism-dumb way that’s like . . . ye-ee-ee-eah maybe you could also just not?

Anyway. There are apparently still two more books in this series and am I going to read them? Absolutely. But was this my favourite? No. Still chewed through it quickly, though, and sometimes that’s really all you need.

Finished reading: Hol(l)o(w)metabolism

Devoured (har har) while manning the CSFG‘s booth at the Geek Markets yesterday. Some heavy themes, but good shit. Available as a zine, printed or electronic, directly from the author.

#books #booksRead #csfg #sff

Finished reading: Department of Truth, Vol 1: the End of the World

Found this randomly in the library when I was wasting time last week. In a funny coincidence, I’d heard it recced a few days before, so read the first chapter, and immediately vowed to go out to buy it. Which I tried today, except . . . the local comic store had apparently sold out of every single edition of it? So I reserved a copy (support your local stores, folks!), then went back to the library to finish reading. Which I did sitting on the floor in the children’s storytime circle because, look. ACT Libraries? Love your work, but seriously. Chairs, brah. Y’all used to have so many more chairs. Where did they go? Do you need funding? You probably need funding. I’m sorry. Sorry for pointing it out. Please don’t be self-conscious, it’s fine, really. Keep doing what you’re doing.

Anyway. I will still be purchasing this volume, and also the next one, and also maybe being a pain and cancelling my reserved copy and getting one of the special hardback editions instead. So. There’s that.

#books #booksRead #comics #recommended

Finished reading: Vermis I – lost dungeons and forbidden woods (Forsaken Edition)

Dark Souls meets MÖRK BORG. Doesn’t hold together as coherently as a game as Godhusk, but if the whole “fake videogame guidebook” genre appeals in any way, a must-buy.

#books #booksRead #recommended

Finished reading: Godhusk – rebirth

For everyone who enjoys reading the Dark Souls wiki more than actually playing Dark Souls, these books are for you!

#books #booksRead #recommended

So, hey. It’s that time of the month again. No, not that one. The one where I do a book recap of things I’ve read.

I confess this month has been a slow month, in part due to yours truly trying to plow through the last 30k of DEMONS . . . IN SPAAAAACE!, partly due to working on another Very Secret Project . . . but, let’s be honest, mostly because of getting distracted by Sexy Skyrim.

. . . ahem. Continue reading ›

I’ve probably mentioned before that, for a variety of reasons, I’m not the fastest reader in the world. Nonetheless, I managed to get through seven titles in July, which I think was pretty good.

Continue reading ›

#books #booksRead