Booknotes: July 2024
[Summer Note: We were away on vacation last week and I stayed offline as much as possible, getting in some extra book reading in the evenings. My bi-weekly “newsletter” will return at some point over the summer, whenever I decide to plug back into the Matrix again. Things are getting weirder every day.]
In which I briefly comment on the books I read each month, so a few years from now when I’m trying to remember one I think I read, I’ll be able to find it here. I’m also not going to limit this just to books because I’m a media omnivore. Maybe you’ll find something interesting, too?
Let’s find out!
Book Notes
{STAR} You’ve Been Played: How Corporations, Governments and Schools Use Games to Control Us All by Adrian Hon
- (4.0; print) Insightful overview of gamification in various forms — some familiar, some new (to me) — that’s ultimately quite depressing. I don’t generally believe in the inevitability of anything related to technology other than the likelihood that we’ll find and prioritize the worst use cases first, and then proclaim them as innovative, required, and infinitely scalable. #cmonson
Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
- (4.0; print) I’ve never been a Superman fan, but the premise and acclaim were intriguing, and Yang’s American Born Chinese was a favorite. More Teen than YA, it deals head-on with racism while keeping everything accessible for all readers. It also makes Superman himself an interesting protagonist, which is arguably the more impressive feat. I wonder how many libraries have soft-censored this one?
{STAR} Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vols. 3 – 8 by Naoki Urasawa, Osamu Tezuka, Takashi Nagasaki
- (5.0; print) An amazing reimagining of Tezuka’s goofy original short story that fully unpacks themes he only hinted at, while adding more nuanced emotional depth and political subtext, for a story that remains timely and even more relevant 20 years later. It’s not just my favorite manga I’ve read so far, but officially one of my favorite overall series ever! (Netflix has an anime adaptation that I’m going to have to check out next.)
Your Black Friend and Other Strangers by Ben Passmore
- (3.5; ebook) Indie/alternative comics and punk aren’t typically my thing, and Passmore misses as often as he hits, but there are enough good, thoughtful vignettes here for an entertaining read that probably works a little better in print.
Ripple Effects by Jordan Hart
- (4.0; ebook) Solid superhero story with a unique graphic medicine twist that drives the character development, supported by five insightful essays that add up to a compelling amd thoughtful read.
Hereticus (Eisenhorn: The Omnibus) by Dan Abnett
- (4.0; print) Another entertainingly cinematic romp, even more like a 40k Mission Impossible movie than the last one, but the ending is surprisingly abrupt and would have been disappointing if I didn’t know there was a fourth (and final?) story to follow.
Breath of the Giant by Tom Aureille
- (3.5; ebook) Solid storytelling that felt like it might have lost a bit of emotional weight in the translation while reading it, but it stuck with me for a couple of days afterwards and I kind of ended up liking it more in memory.
Media Notes
- After literally several hundreds of hours playing The Division 1 and 2, and Destiny 2 (not to mention their cousin, Diablo 4), I’m arguably a very tolerant looter shooter fan, and last year’s beta had impressed me enough that I was looking forward to jumping back in on Day One of the full release. Unfortunately, between an Xbox outage and typical live service shenanigans, I could barely log in the first two days. Once I did, though, it was a surprisingly fun time as I leveled up my Ajax, got a handle on most of the crunchy systems, found some favorite gear, messed around with my build, and frequently rolled my eyes at the cringiest B-movie storytelling periodically interrupted by a great set piece. It only took about 24 hours to hit the grind wall, though, and when I did, it was over for me. I had zero interest in leveling-up Bunny and wasn’t going to buy nor grind for another character, so I was stuck. I went on vacation, monitored Reddit to see if anything notable would change with the game, and finally uninstalled it when I got back home, ready to move on to the next one.
- Despite frequently being hilarious, this show is absolutely NOT a comedy, but it deserves all of the awards. Out of all of its amazing cast and engaging subplots, though, I was not expecting brother-in-law Pete to nail the most heartbreaking scenes at the end of another impressively great season. I’m going to take at least a week off to digest it all before jumping into Season 3.
Vacation Notes
10 days in Mexico City. We ate all the food, saw many amazing sites, and the altitude only slightly kicked our asses every step of the way. The only downside was it rained every day and ended up being colder (and damper) than expected, especially at night. I even got a couple of runs in before catching a cold that knocked me out for a couple of days and is only finally fading away.
Nevertheless, 10/10, would return again, but not before taking a couple of relaxing beach vacations first. I think I’m getting too old to travel like we usually do!
Your Notes?
If you’ve read (watched or played) any of these, let me know what you thought. And if you have any related recommendations, drop ’em in the comments like we used to do in the good old days! Some of you prefer email, which is cool, too. You do you!
PS: Notes on Notes
Where possible, I’m linking to Bookshop.org as the least offensive online shopping option for books, although I’ve been disappointed to find some books I’ve read don’t have a listing there, as if the book I held in my hand didn’t exist. They’re affiliate links, but feel free to switch to your preferred local bookshop if you have one and decide to buy anything. Where Bookshop doesn’t have a listing, I’ll link to the publisher’s page, which is often the best place to purchase your books anyway, although it may be a little more expensive and less convenient. If you’re lucky, some of them may also be available at your local library, in print or digital format!
Despite my day job, I still mostly read in print, but I’m noting the format along with my rating for context. If the format has any impact on my rating, I’ll mention that, but it rarely will since I try to avoid reading ebooks of anything that has a visual element.
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