Tag: NetGalley

State of the ARC #13: Productive Procrastination?

This month’s State of the ARC will be more about the state of my TBR. I didn’t read any ARCs, though I did publish two reviews. Unfortunately, I also requested more ARCs so I’m right back to the same number I began with. I’m not mad though, because I managed to grab Leila Aboulela’s Elsewhere Home. Soooo excited to read it. I also nabbed Instructions for a Funeral (David Means), The Library Book (Susan Orlean) and Lies that Bind (Kwame Anthony Appiah). I had some crazy good luck this month.

 

Lies that Bind is already overdude (I requested it super late) but I’ll try to read and review it during September. The Library Book comes out October 16th, so keep an eye out for that one in a couple months. Most of my new acquisitions are going to be published until next year, so I will dedicate the rest of this year mostly to TBR and overdue books.

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I wrote four reviews (click the image to see the review). How to Love a Jamaican earned three stars and was altogether underwhelming. I gave The Namesake five stars and I recommend it to everyone (seriously, read it). The Newcomers was another three-star read for me. The review is on Goodreads for now, but I might actually post it here as well. I finished Persepolis in July, but published the review this month. It was also only a three-star read for me. July was an underwhelming reading month, making August an underwhelming State of the ARC month. September should be much better. The weird layout of the covers is purely accidental, but it looks better than the weirdness I had when trying to get them in a line. I think I really need to learn how to format things on WordPress.

 


the namesake cover

Now for the part I’m most proud of: I read ten whole books this month! I’ll simply list them, because this post is already image heavy. The links lead to Goodreads.

 

Out of these, the only one I loved was The Namesake, but there were a few others on the list that I at least liked and there were two that I absolutely hated. Keep an eye out for reviews here and on Goodreads to find out which ones. I’m definitely reviewing Her Body, The Road, Regiment of Women and Home and Exile here, but I’m not sure about the rest yet.

 

Just looking at that list makes me happy.

 

The last thing I’d like to share today is my State of the ARC BINGO. I’m making progress! I really want to put Song of Blood and Stone  in the “ARC with your favorite color cover” spot, but this is a 2nd-half-the-year BINGO, so I’ll have to find another. SOMEONE GIVE ME PURPLE ARCS PLEASE (or indigo or forest green or spring green).

 

State of the ARC BINGO

 

That’s it for now. If you want to join the meme/ see what it’s about/ read the other State of the ARC posts, stop by Avalinah’s Books!

February Stats

I’m out of my slump for an undetermined amount of time, so I might as well make the most of it. It’s been a productive month and if the momentum continues, March will be productive as well.

 

I haven’t been keeping track of Instagram and Twitter followers just yet, but based on my notifications I gained quite a few. I seem to receive a notification every couple of days. Several appeared to be spam accounts/ follow-for-follow accounts, so I’m not sure how many of those followers will stick around.

 

Last month, I published published three posts (click the image to read ’em):

Snow Flower Secret Fan Buddy Read thumbnail   Tea Haul Thumbail   image of the post header

 

Sadly, I only managed to taste one tea in Feb but my tasting notes should be out on the 8th. I’ve been trying to recover from this weird evolving flu-mixed-with-food-poisoning. My stomach can’t tolerate caffeine at the moment. 😦 I’ll try again soon; life without tea is boring, haha.

 

Though I told myself I wouldn’t request any  books in February, I couldn’t resist these Black History Month titles:

The respective publishers approved me for all three but I have no idea when I’ll get around to actually reading them. Thankfully, two of them don’t have archive dates set. However, a couple of the pub dates are about a month away so I might pause my China readings and read these instead. I’ll finally be ahead of the curve! I’m a little scared of Denmark Vesey’s Garden though, because it’s nearly 500 pages. It’ll take me at least two weeks of dedicated reading to get through it.

 

I also requested Song of Blood and Stone, which is an afro-futurist novel. I didn’t include it with the Black History Month titles because those are all political, but this one definitely deserves a mention because afro-futurist novels tend to be pretty good. I think I’m most excited to read this one.

 

I’m almost finished reading Imperial Woman (Pearl S. Buck), so that review should be out soon (the 12th?) anyway, but do you think I should continue with my original plan or do the Black History Month reading first? Alternating is also an option, but I like themes.

General Reading Stats

Books Finished: 3

Read but Unreviewed Arcs: 5

Unread Arcs: 15 from Netgalley, 5 from Library Thing

I promised myself I wouldn’t sign up for Edelweiss until I cleared my NetGalley and Library Thing ARCs. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me.

 

 

I Managed to Score Volume 2

If you missed my review of the first volume, check it out here.

DayBlack Volume 2 Cover
Rosarium Publishing, 2017. 96 pages.

DayBlack Volume 2

By: Keef Cross

As I mentioned in my previous DayBlack review, DayBlack follows the story of Merce, a slave-turned-vampire who’s trying to survive in the modern world. Over the centuries, he has invented several clever tactics for staying alive undetected.

 

When I finished the first volume (which contains issues 1-3), I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue reading the series.  I don’t remember what made me feel that way though, because when I saw the second volume on NetGalley I requested it so fast I surprised myself. I guess deep down I really wanted to know how Merce’s story continued.

 

While reading this volume, I realized I misspoke in my first DayBlack post. I was reading one volume as if it were a single story, but actually each volume contains three different issues. If I bought them individually instead of receiving the volume, I’d have to purchase three separate books. I realized my mistake when I made it to Issue Five,  and after I noticed it I felt like I was binge-reading the story. I think that’s what eventually got me hooked.

 

Volume 2 (issues 4-6) begins in a strange place. I spent most of Issue 4 trying to figure out what was happening. I didn’t understand where Merce was or what he was doing, and his son seemed to have disappeared as well. I was satisfied in Issue 6 when his son came back, but just like in the first volume, his appearance was brief. DayBlack Volume 2 seems to be where Merce’s backstory begins to mesh with his present day activities. Two characters reappear from his past, and the reader is trying to figure out who they are while Merce tries to figure out why they’ve arrived. In other words, Merce is just as confused as the reader. I was confused; then I was angry that my confusion wasn’t being resolved. At the same time, Merce’s confusion dissipates and his anger grows. By creating this emotional involvement with the reader, Cross evokes feelings of empathy for Merce.

 

Based on what we’ve seen of other vampires in the series, Merce seems to be decidedly more human (this volume introduces a potential reason for that). He experiences grief at the loss of a past lover. He experiences anger and lust and longing. Most importantly, he feels remorse.

 

While Merce may outwardly seem guarded and haughty to the characters in the story, the reader knows he holds himself to a relatively high moral standard. When he makes a mistake he feels guilty. He feels a sense of duty towards his son, even if his son should technically be his worst enemy. He tries not to kill people. When he does kill someone, he does it only to protect himself.

 

Other vampires kill gratuitously, and they make a mess of it in the process. The other vampires we’ve seen so far in DayBlack don’t think twice about ending a humans life for even the smallest transgressions. The vampires manipulate humans, and when they’re done they discard them. It’s no wonder the vampire hunters are so intent on purging the Earth of this night-walking species.

 

We also learn one of Merce’s vulnerabilities in Volume 2. It’s not his kryptonite, but it’s clearly something that causes him great emotional anguish.

 

Just like the first volume of DayBlack, this one is not for the faint of heart, and it’s potentially NSFW. The scenes are more suggestive and more bloody. Partway through the volume, I actually started counting how many instances of barely-hidden nudity I saw. Male sex organs are generally covered by plants or by another person’s limbs. Female genitalia are covered by similar means, but their chests are usually visible, even through clothing. There were a couple instances where nothing but a stream of blood “covered” a woman’s nipples.

 

I don’t particularly want to see the graphic scenes. In fact, I feel guilty because I feel like I should be filling my mind with other things. I’m so involved in the story at this point, though, that I almost feel obligated to continue. An invisible force is coaxing me to follow Merce until the end. Like it or not, I’m in this for the long run.

 

I’m giving four stars (feathers? I need a personalized rating system) to DayBlack: Volume 2, not because I found fault in it, but because I can’t justify myself giving 5 stars for something so violent. That said, I enjoyed the story and I’m pleased by the art. I hope more comic artists follow in Cross’s footsteps and create art that doesn’t conform to European or East Asian standards. I cautiously recommend DayBlack: read at your own risk. It’s so different from other comics, though, that I think it’s worth the read even if it’s not your style.

 

DayBlack Volume 2 will be available for purchase on December 27th, 2017. Find it on: Amazon | Thriftbooks | Goodreads

 

 

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