I didn't post anything but book thoughts last week, so I thought that I'd lead in to this blogpost with a duck-date! A couple weeks ago, I posted that I'd adopted a duckling and named it Raptor. The photo below shows how big it's gotten in the interim. Raptor is a very healthy duckling, and it's quite huge now. I didn't think that it would grow so quickly, to be honest, and I'm a bit sad that I'll have to say good bye to it very soon.

Comparison: Day 3, 7, 12, 16, and 22!
I got into Neko Atsume as well, during that 9 and 1/2-hour wait to register for the elections, and it's been very nice and soothing. They finally rolled out an English setting, and I've been happily collecting cats on my phone. I've got quite a few already, but my other friends are blowing me out of the water.












We've only got a few weeks until the term ends, and you can really feel the tension in the air. Students were able to start enlisting last week, already trying to look forward to next term. We've still got finals to finish with first though, and I hope that they don't trip over that major hurdle in their hurry to move on. They're very sweet kids, after all.


L: My number from when I registered for the elections last 10/31, R: My Starbucks planner for 2016 from 11/02!
because a) it's a cool video, and b) she's helping me with a project I've been trying to get off the ground for a while now. :)) Here's hoping that I'll have news about that by my next blog post, after Komikon.
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Finished reading:










Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan I was a bit iffy about picking this up after being disappointed with the conclusion of The Heroes of Olympus, and I was honestly sceptical that branching out into the Norse mythos would be a good idea considering how stretched thin Riordan's writing was after three series, but I ended up reading it in a fit of pique (Gardens of the Moon has very difficult to read, more on that later.). I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it. Having very low expectations may have helped, of course, but it was pleasant in its own right. Some of it is still horribly contrived, but I'd like to think that Riordan really enjoyed himself writing this one, even going so far as to poke at his previous books in some parts. I was worried when the First Person POV came back, but Magnus manages to be likeable, (unlike some demigods...). We'll see how it develops. Here's hoping it stays just as fun as it is.
STILL Reading:

The Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Next 20 Reads:
1. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
2. Genocide of One by Kazuaki Takano
3. The Man Who Knew Too Much by G. K. Chesterton
4. Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson
5. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks
6. Cloud and Ashes: Three Winter's Tales by Greer Gilman
7. She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya
8. Atonement by Ian McEwan
9. Sans Moi by Marie Despleschin
10. The Angel's Game (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #2) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
11. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
12. The City and the City by China Mieville
13. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
14. Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
15. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
16. Life During Wartime by Lucius Shepard
17. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
18. Thank You, Jeevesby P.G. Wodehouse
19. Descent of Angels (The Horus Heresy #5) by Mitchel Scanlon
20. Kindred by Octavia Butler
STILL Reading:
Okay, so, if you've read my previous post, you know that I'm reading Gardens of the Moon now. Unfortunately, it is pretty damn hard to get through. I've been assured by my Malazan buddy (Hey, Amador!) that GotM is easily the weakest one out of the whole ten-book series. I'd feel better about it if I could even get through a chapter a day, but it's pretty hard so far. I've just finished the Book One, and I hope the rest of it flows better for me. Meanwhile, I might sneak in a few books to co-read with it.

The Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Reading Next:


Diaspora by Greg Egan
Abarat: Days of Magic Nights of War by Clive Barker


Diaspora by Greg Egan
Abarat: Days of Magic Nights of War by Clive Barker
Next 20 Reads:
1. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
2. Genocide of One by Kazuaki Takano
3. The Man Who Knew Too Much by G. K. Chesterton
4. Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson
5. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks
6. Cloud and Ashes: Three Winter's Tales by Greer Gilman
7. She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya
8. Atonement by Ian McEwan
9. Sans Moi by Marie Despleschin
10. The Angel's Game (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #2) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
11. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
12. The City and the City by China Mieville
13. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
14. Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
15. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
16. Life During Wartime by Lucius Shepard
17. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
18. Thank You, Jeevesby P.G. Wodehouse
19. Descent of Angels (The Horus Heresy #5) by Mitchel Scanlon
20. Kindred by Octavia Butler