Tag: Whatcha Reading

Whatcha Reading, Geekly?

Published on by Kyra1 Comment

We’re switching things around a little bit this month with our Whatcha Wednesday series. Today marks our second Whatcha Reading post. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. The Geekly Gang may not have as many books to cover this month as we did last month (it’s only been two weeks since our last Whatcha Reading). Whatcha Reading can include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, comic books, and anything in between. As always, feel free to share what you’ve read recently. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang.

Kyra’s Reads

I mentioned The King in Yellow in last month’s Whatcha Reading, but I put it on hold for the moment. A new Barnes & Noble opened up, and I’ve picked up several new titles. One of my favorite aspects of Barnes & Noble is that your local store will carry books by local authors, and one of the poetry books I read last month is What Happens In Nebraska by Cat Dixon.

What Happens In Nebraska by Cat Dixon

Dixon’s What Happens In Nebraska doesn’t pull any punches. Each poem is raw, a wound that refuses to heal. But that doesn’t stop Dixon from playing with her poetry. “Keep Your Options Open” may be the first Choose Your Own Poem I’ve ever seen. It shows that a poet can explore pain while maintaining a sense of whimsy. I also love it when a writer gets specific, and I enjoyed the details in “Missed Connection.” It’s uniquely Omaha. It gives the poem authenticity and the universal theme of loss. What Happens In Nebraska has a lot of highlights; too many to list here, but I’ll share one more. “Horror Movie” begins with a new romance before it descends into the horror of a modern relationship. There’s a reason rom-coms end when the couple gets married.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

I also picked up Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet during my recent trip to Barnes & Noble. I haven’t yet finished Letters to a Young Poet, but what I have read makes it a great companion piece to What Happens In Nebraska. Letters to a Young Poet compiles a series of letters Rainer Maria Rilke wrote to a young officer cadet (Franz Xaver Kappus), advising him on writing, love, suffering, and the nature of advice. Rilke’s dense and poetic letters can inspire any artist.

I love Barnes & Noble’s selection of local authors, and they have a great selection of tabletop games. Super Boss Monster, which just shipped to Kickstarter backers, is already available at Barnes & Noble. Usually, tabletop games that go to Kickstarter take a handful of months to reach stores. Barnes & Noble gets many titles early. Be sure to check out your local Barnes & Noble.

Let’s see what Skye has been reading. Take it away, Skye.

Skye’s Reads

Anathema by Keri Lake

After a recent trip to the library, I found some interesting literature. Among them is Anathema. While I’m not far into it, some elements stand out. I like how the author pointed out that this was her first experience with gothic fantasy. Thank you, author, for telling us up front. Trying out new genres and getting outside our comfort zones can only lead to self-improvement.

While I have progressed too far in the novel, he author clearly knows how to start a story. The first sentence of the first chapter: “The forest hadn’t eaten in a while.” That’s one of those sentences that ignites the imagination. And it makes me want to keep reading.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Another suggestion from my local librarian. Thanks for the recommendation! Also, support your local library. Like Anathema, Three Dark Crowns falls firmly in the fantasy genre. Considering these stories were released after The Lord of the Rings, both have Tolkien-esque qualities. Bonus points to Three Dark Crowns for not starting off with worldbuilding that feels like homework.

What sets this story apart from Anathema is its premise. Three Dark Crowns focuses on royalty (shocker), but in the context of three princesses who are sisters. One will become queen. Only one. She’ll do so by killing her two sisters. This concept has been done before, but it immediately hooked me. From the introduction onward, tension builds. I look forward to exploring it more alongside Anathema.

Kyra Kyle again. Season doesn’t have an entry this week. She’s preparing to graduate from college. Woo hoo! I’m sure she’ll return soon. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Whatcha Reading, Geekly: April 2025

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Today’s post marks the end of our first month of the Whatcha Wednesday series. Let’s finish strong with Whatcha Reading, Geekly. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Today’s theme is reading. This can include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, comic books, and anything in-between. As always, feel free to share what you read this past month. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang.

Kyra’s Reads

Edgar Allan Poe

The Geekly Gang went to the Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy last month. This event featured actors interpreting Poe’s short stories and poems and cocktails based on the tales. My favorite cocktail of the bunch was the Cat’s Meow. And I started reading my collection of Edgar Allan Poe short stories. This may have also influenced my binging of true crime shows. Watching someone perform “The Tell-Tale Heart” and another actor portray “The Black Cat” got me wondering if Poe had homicidal tendencies. JK But I do think Poe’s work informed my choice of television shows.

Batman: Arkham, Catwoman

Staying on the subject of black cats, I also read the Batman: Arkham, Catwoman collection. I enjoy reading classic DC Comics stories, and the Batman: Arkham series is good for catching up with a villain’s history. Catwoman’s been around since the 1940s. Early stories are products of their time. Then, the stories jump to being cheesy and using a heap of cat puns. It’s difficult to read. Late Eighties comics that feature Catwoman were influenced by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, so they leaned into Catwoman’s updated origin as a former prostitute. Despite this, I liked Mindy Newell’s “Downtown Babylon.” Newell may have been forced to use this backstory for Catwoman, but she makes it her own. My only gripe is that “Downtown Babylon” was the second issue of a four-issue miniseries, and that’s Batman: Arkham’s biggest issue. Often, readers will get a random issue plucked from an ongoing story.

I may track down Newell’s 1989 Catwoman mini-series. What I read of it got me invested. The other standout in this volume was Ed Brubaker’s “Joy Ride.” This story is contained within a single issue and does a great job of showing Catwoman. She’s an anti-hero with a checkered past and a mischievous streak. Batman: Arkham, Catwoman is a good jumping-off point for further reading about the character. And that’s what I like best about this series.

Isaac Asimov I Robot

I, Robot

It may be sacrilege, but Asimov’s I, Robot made the DNF (did not finish) pile this month. The prose was more archaic than another book I started shortly afterwards, The King in Yellow, which was written fifty years prior. All is not lost. I’ll give I, Robot another go in another month or two. I’m also open to reading suggestions. I finished Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built a month prior and fell in love with how “human” Chambers made Mosscap. I picked up the follow-up, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, so spoiler alert for next month.

That’s all I have for this month. Thank you for reading, and let’s see what Season and Skye have been reading.

Season’s Reads

Fledgling

I’m finishing out my final semester in college, and Octavia Butler’s Fledgling is a novel we read in class. We read the first half one week and the second half the next week. I got so enamored with the story that I almost read the entire thing in a day. Fledgling follows Shori (pictured on the cover) as she discovers who she is and finds her purpose. She’s also a vampire called an Ina. Ina and humans live symbiotically with one another. I’ve never seen a story explore a mutual symbiosis with humans and a humanoid creature before. I highly recommend Fledgling for those who are interested in vampires, societal issues, and journeys of self-discovery.

There were talks back in 2022 of turning Fledgling into an HBO series. There isn’t much information on a release date or if the project was canceled. Personally, I’d love to see one of my new favorite books on screen.

The Nose

I read a collection of Russian short stories. “The Nose” by Nikolai Gogol stood out to me. It’s literally about a guy whose nose jumps off his face. The nose has a life of its own and even tries to leave the country by stagecoach, passport, and everything. There isn’t a clear main character within the story, but it’s about perception and how people handle the information provided to them. In classic Russian fashion, many characters have more than one name, so it can be difficult to follow at times. If you’re looking for something unique and wacky, I’d recommend “The Nose.”

Skye, what have you been reading?

Skye’s Reads

Yes, I also read on occasion. Here are the books I’ve been tackling lately.

The Crystal Witch

This should give you a crystal-clear idea of who I am. See what I did there? I practice New Age Spirituality. What draws me to it is its “a la carte” approach to faith. There’s no “right” way to practice it, and my preferred method is through rituals, tarot cards, manifestation, and crystals. That leads me to The Crystal Witch.

For folks like me who want a clearer picture of symbolism, spiritual power, and how to get started practicing New Age, The Crystal Witch has it all. So far, I’ve learned a lot about sacred altars, the importance of colors in practice, and descriptions of the most common crystals. I can’t wait ‘til I can categorize each of the crystals in my collection and start using them in everyday spiritual practice.

Revolutionary Witchcraft

Honestly, I’m unsure how I feel about the term witchcraft. While I’m empowered to be a part of a community, the term carries negativity. New Age is primarily built on positivity and the connection of humans to the rest of the universe. When words like “witch” are thrown around, it’s distracting. Although I’ll admit that New Age does have roots in the Occult, Paganism, and Wicca.

What does that have to do with Revolutionary Witchcraft? Well, Revolutionary Witchcraft teaches “witches” such as me how to use our beliefs to create positive change in our communities. I don’t know about y’all, but I always hear the latest news headlines and shudder. Because of that, I want to give back to my community, my country, my species, and my planet by properly directing my beliefs. Maybe we can finally see some good news, so here’s hoping.

The Filmmaker’s Handbook (5th edition)

Even in a segment about books, I still managed to circle back around to movies. That’s just what I do. I love visual art forms. I even like to make my own films. Eventually. Not now of course. Do you have $300 million? ‘Cause I don’t.

I’m reading The Filmmaker’s Handbook to give me an idea of where to start. What kind of shots work best to create a specific mood? When should you use live-action and animation? What are the basic building blocks of cinematic storytelling? How do you become an independent filmmaker? All that and more in The Filmmaker’s Handbook.

Also, I’m giving myself an excuse to judge films more harshly. I’m a critic at heart. What’re you gonna do?

Jesus’ Son

I’ve been putting a lot of emphasis on non-fiction books, so I asked my sister if she could recommend any fiction for me. She led me to Jesus’ Son. Thanks, Sis! I haven’t gotten very far into it, but so far, I have a lot of thoughts. Jesus’ Son is a collection of short stories with thought-provoking themes. Considering the first story is titled “Car Crash While Hitchhiking,” that’s a fair assessment.

Even though I haven’t read much, I feel like I could read the whole thing in one night. Unfortunately, I can’t. I’ve got stuff to do. Life be like that sometimes. The themes and emotions that arose after reading the first story were difficult to describe, but deeply intriguing. Because of that, I feel the need to re-read, re-re-read, and re-re-re-read to gain a deeper understanding. These are my favorite kinds of stories, stories that Shrek would compare to onions. These are some exciting layers.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle again. That’s all we have for you this month. Let us know what you’re reading in the comments, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.