Berserk Official Guidebook - Kentaro Miura

This book came on my radar once I'd gotten caught up with the manga. I do have the next volume preordered. I was bummed about the cliffhanger in the last one!

In this book, you'll find character portraits, storylines and sketches. There is also an interview with Kentaro Miura, and it's a pretty decent length. It's got a lot of great information, and you get a real sense of the author's personality and dedication. The character portraits are really nice. They covered almost anyone you can think of, and all the major characters go into some depth. 

I really liked this book, and I think it'll be a good reference if I forget anything in the future. I don't think someone just starting the manga should read this book. It's going to spoil a lot of the genius twists, turns and amazing story that I think should be experienced through the source material. 

The guidebook came out after the release of volume 38, so if you've made it that far, I recommend this book. If not, get caught up ASAP and buy this book! Good Book!

The Seven Dials Mystery (Superintendent Battle #2) - Agatha Christie

I've read the first book in this series, The Secret of Chimneys, and I enjoyed it. I wasn't sure how great Battle was at the end of that one, so I was interested to give him another chance.

A group of friends are visiting the Coote family when a prank goes wrong. One of them is found dead, but it isn't until Lady Eileen, known as Bundle, almost hits another of the friends that there seems to be a pattern. There is a secret society and national secrets mixed up in it, and Bundle is on the case.

And it really is Bundle most of the way through. Battle shows up here and there, but he keeps information to himself for the most part, and we don't get into his mind at all. He pops up at explanation time to clarify some things for Bundle, but it's after she's done all the leg work.

I did like this book. I just don't understand why it has to be a Superintendent Battle book. Yes, Bundle knew him from the first mystery, but other than that, it could have been any police inspector. It's not a big deal, and it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. I'm giving it a Good Book! review, but don't expect to see Superintendent Battle flex his mystery-solving muscles.

Dragon Rider - Cornelia Funke

I can't even tell you how long I've had this book. It's a hardback, and it's a bit beat up, so it had to come to me used. Cornelia Funke is probably better known for her Inkheart series, and I read those. They are no longer in my collection, but I remember liking the first one. Also, something I didn't realize is that this book is part of a series. The other two also start with Dragon Rider as the title, but the second one is The Griffin's Feather, and book 3 is The Aurelia Curse.

Firedrake has left his home to find the mythical Rim of Heaven. Humans are approaching the current home of the dragons, and Firedrake isn't content to sit by and watch his home get taken over. On his adventure, he brings his best friend, Sorrel. She's a brownie and a spicy one at that! They run into a human boy, Ben, who helps them on their way. But there's also a humongous enemy after them. Nettlebrand tried to wipe out the dragons once before and was unsuccessful. This time, he's got a man on the inside.

The story was about what I expected. I felt like I wasn't the target audience for sure. It was too tame and seemed like it would be better for younger children. That's not a bad thing, it just wasn't a story that drew me in. I think if my kids were younger we'd have read a chapter a day. It's that kind of book. Also, most of the chapters are short, so it lends itself to reading aloud.

I was a bit let down at the end. I can't really put my finger on what it was that bothered me, but I was glad the book was over. It's on the longer side, so that might've had something to do with it. I thought the writing flowed in a good way. It was just okay to me.

Uzumaki - Junji Ito

I finished this series a few days ago, and I wanted to take some time to process it before writing my review.

A town is being plagued by spirals. They appear everywhere, and the residents become obsessed with them. A young woman and man are the only ones who seem immune at first. I'm not going to say too much about the plot. This isn't one of those manga that have 100+ chapters, so it didn't take long for me to get through it.

I found this one to be interesting. It's in the horror genre, and some of the visuals were enough to make me not want to read this at night. I'm also not interested in seeing this animated. It's not a butterflies and roses ending, but that makes sense with the story.. 

If you're looking for an uplifting story, this isn't the manga for you. I liked it though and will happily give it a Good Book! review. But I won't be hunting for any spirals to stare at anytime soon!

Last Patient of the Night (AJ Docker and Banshee #1) - Gary Gerlacher

I'm a sucker for a book with a dog. and this one had a police dog!

AJ is an emergency room doctor and sees a variety of injuries. Jenny comes in presenting with a fracture consistent with abuse, but she rejects his help. It isn't long before AJ sees her again, but this time she's not alive. With his friend, Tom, and Banshee the police dog, he's going to break laws and put his nose - and life - on the line to find the murderer.

AJ is one of those protagonists that gets under my skin. He's cocky and rude. I don't know why Tom puts up with him. And when Banshee is hurt, it's in defense of AJ. This doctor was super annoying, and I'm not sure why so many women loved him.

SPOILERS: I understand that both of the guys were teasing each other constantly. But Tom was my favorite character. And guess what? He's not in the next book. AJ decides he's done with Houston and heads off to Montana. And the worst part? Tom gifts Banshee to AJ!!! No way that man should have a sweet dog like Banshee. Does AJ care about the dog? Of course, but I still hated that.

Banshee wasn't in a lot of the book, since he got shot protecting AJ. AJ was irritating and stupid. There was absolutely no reason for him to keep some of the information from the police the whole time. Why would he imagine sneaking into the gang's hideout alone was a super idea? And he had plenty of time to think it over. It wasn't a spur of the moment idea.

This one didn't grab me. I wanted more Tom and Banshee, and all I got was a smarmy womanizing doctor. It's a pass for me.

Attack on Titan - Hakime Isayama (manga series)

I started this series a long time ago. I couldn't even tell you exactly when. I'm also going to confess that I stopped before the end. Out of the 139 chapters, I made it to 100.

Eren lives in a city that is surrounded by tall walls. One day, the city is attacked by titans, strange human-shaped creatures that don't need food or water to survive, but they eat humans for fun. Eren and his friends experience loss and decide to join the military. Eren is determined to kill all the titans, but everything is not quite as it seems. Secrets and political intrigue are commonplace, and the mission isn't as cut and dry as it appears.

The storyline is unique, and I was drawn to it. I still think it's a neat story, but I had some issues that just got worse over time. The first problem is that a lot of the people look the same. There are so many characters, it was hard to keep them clear in my mind as it was, but then when some of them are so similar looking, it made it impossible. Next, the story got so complex, I couldn't remember important details. I put the series aside for a while, and when I came back, I couldn't remember which side was responsible for what.

The beginning of the volumes has a little synopsis of who is who, but it still didn't help me at times. I might know who someone is, but what was their role in the overall story? I just couldn't remember. I also tried watching the anime, but I got creeped out by the way the titans moved. They were bad enough in the manga to look at, but watching them move was too much for me.

I don't think this is a bad manga at all. I just realized it wasn't making me excited to keep going. I was tired of trying to keep everyone separate, especially the ones who looked similar. I looked up the rest of the plot, and I'm good.

I can see why this manga has such a following. It's a well thought out world, and the uniqueness of the story stands out. For me, it just got tedious, and it wasn't for me.

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

This is one of the earliest "true crime" books. It's widely considered to be the first, but there are a couple others.

In 1959, the murder of the Clutter family shocks the members of a small farming community in Kansas. The brutality of it is the work of two criminals. One of them heard that Herb Clutter had a safe in his house and plenty of money in it. Dick decides to take that information and bring his friend, Perry, to the Clutter place and "leave no witnesses." The worst part is that the information is bad. Herb didn't have a safe.

The book tells the story from all sides. The killers, the friends of the victims, and general information is all organized to tell the complete story. From the last moments of the Clutters to the capture and outcome of the trial of the perpetrators.

For being such an early example of the genre, this book was really well done. Capote was intrigued by the crime and interviewing people before the criminals were captured. It took him six years to write the book.

One critique I'd like to offer up is the amount of time dedicated to the analysis of the criminals felt excessive. The real part that bothers me about true crime is it feels like the focus is on the killer(s), and people don't remember the victims. Killers don't deserve to have their name remembered - their victims do.

Other than the excessive amount of time spent "analyzing" the murderers, I did enjoy the book. It was interesting, and I couldn't wait to see what happened. I wanted to look it up so many times, but I was able to control myself! If you're interested in true crime, you might be interested in this book. I'm giving it a Good Book! review, but I also want to send out a RIP to Herb, Bonnie, Nancy and Kenyon Clutter.