Possibly a New Favorite Author and Our Second Favorite Plumber

3/3/2022

I Can't Get Enough of This Book

The library here in Boise just started this super fun reading challenge. You're supposed to read 50 books in a year following certain guidelines. For example, one has to be from a celebrity book club, a book with the word "fire" in the title, etc. For my book with a prison convict in it, I picked up the book Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. Wow, I have waisted so much time not reading a book by Pratchett in the past. 

If you enjoy books with a great sense of humor, tremendous characterization, and an unexpected storyline, I'd definitely recommend this book. It has been an overall joy. I don't think I've laughed out loud while reading a book like this in a long time. It will be really hard trying to find ways to fit other Pratchett books into the library's competition guidelines but it's definitely going to happen. 

While looking at other books by Pratchett I saw one called Guards, Guards. There's a dragon on the cover which means it's for sure going on my list of books to read soon. It too looks hilarious and I mean, there is a dragon in the book, which does make it possibly the perfect book. 

Some things I've noticed while reading Going Postal is just how good Pratchett is at showing and not telling. You instantly get a good sense of what each character is like and they're all so different. Everyone has very defining characteristics too which makes it easy to pick them out in a book with multiple characters for the reader to learn about. I'm going to have to use some of his tricks in my own writing. 

So many Games

I'm playing a lot of games right now. There are great titles out on the Nintendo switch currently and I need to catch up. First off, I beat both Monster Hunter Stories II and Pokemon: Legends Arceus last week. Both of their post games have been great. I'm quite a completionist so I've been going through and wrapping up all of the side quests and things I missed during the main story. 

I've never  played a Monster Hunter game, and I know Stories II is way different, but I found it delightful. There were some spectacular travel companions in that game. The first three... possibly four companions, were absolute joys. The fifth... not so much, but hey, you can't win them all. I did feel like my character refused to learn the same lesson being shoved down their throat every area but hey, it takes several attempts to learn things in real life. 

Pokemon Legends Arceus... my dream game as a kid. Wow, what a great deviation from the linear Pokemon games we've had in the past. It still felt kind of linear, especially in the beginning, but it's a fun game. I'm looking forward to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as they're looking pretty open world but modern. Another dream of mine as a kid was to have a Pokemon game where someone, a human someone, follows you around as a companion. Pokemon Coliseum did that and I thought it was spectacular. Now I want a game where your companion can fight alongside you in certain situations and maybe one you can choose to step away from the tiresome damsel in distress feeling I felt with Coliseum's companion. 

The primary game I'm currently playing is... ba ba buuum Mario 64. A classic and one I've never played. It's been fun. 3D platformers aren't usually my thing but I think it's fun going back and playing games that really inspired so much of gaming in general. Mario games have never been my favorite, with the exception of some of the Paper Mario games, because they tend to lack a creative storyline and dialogue. But still, I can tell they're good games for those who enjoy mastering the skills platformers entail.

While playing this game alongside Pokemon Legends: Arceus, it made me think, wouldn't it be cool if they made a massive open world Mario RPG? It may just be me wanting to have a Yoshi constantly available to ride across a giant expanse of an ancient, ruined mushroom kingdom, but hey, I think it would be fantastic.

Let me know what kinds of books and games you're all enjoying right now. I'm currently looking to read a graphic novel by a LGBTQIA+ author. I would love it if it was something in the fantasy genre. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. 

Have a wonderful rest of your week!