hello everybody. Is it Summer yet? Sure feels like it here. For a while there, I was lost to Death Howl. It’s a tactical grid deck building rpg. I’m obsessed and had to opt not to recharge my joycons in order to stop myself from playing.

i read a couple of good books:

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa is often compared to 1984 and The Metamorphosis. After reading the book, I was shocked to find out that it was first published in 1994. Which speaks to its timelessness. It was first translated into English in 2019. The author is prolific and has won every major literary award in Japan.

From Google: “…about a totalitarian regime on an unnamed island where objects, people, and concepts are systematically and mysteriously “disappeared” from collective memory, enforced by a sinister police force. The story follows a young novelist who, along with a few others, must hide a man who is immune to the disappearances, exploring themes of loss, identity, censorship, and the quiet resistance found in kindness and memory.”

Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill (the author of Greenteeth which I also loved). There are similar themes between the two books. In both cases the protagonist begrudgingly learn to overcome their inherent nature and egos in order to relate to and bond with their mortal companions. I love the slow relationship building, folklore, and quick pacing of the plot.

from Goodreads: “When Malt, the goddess of death, is accidentally turned into a human by a wayward spell, she finds she’s ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life.

After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire?

Trapped in a body that’s frustratingly feeble, she’s forced to team up with Bellis, warrior daughter of Boudicca on a perilous journey across Roman-occupied Britain to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. As animosity turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.”

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove. It’s a cozy-adjacent Murderbot paranormal-monster LitRPG-esque (isekai/rebirth/reboot). It’s a very fun read.

from Goodreads: “Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.”

What I listened to

Ok, your turn to regale us with the media you’ve been consuming!