My Reading Blog Intro & The Kaiju Preservation Society
For the last two years I’ve taken part in the Goodreads reading challenge with 46/40 in 2022 and 39/50 in 2023. Being a completionist millenial who grew up playing games where one had to get X numbers of in-game trinkets to make a number in a database get larger I do enjoy these challenges. Aside from the pleasure of reading (as opposed to doomscrolling certain social media portals) this has given me a great bedtime routine. Dare I say it has given myself an insight about what makes me tick. In this I would like to create a blog - nay, a record of what I thought about each book I read in 2024.
A little bit on what I consider reading: Any format in which a book is provided; be it hardback, paperback, e-reader of choice, pdf, audiobook and any other that I don’t frequent. My favourite ways to consume books are digitally; audiobooks or ebooks. Not that you need to know why but here’s why:
Storage of books | While books are gorgeous things they do take up A Lot of space. Living in a flat in Edinburgh space is of a premium.
Light Pollution | As I live with Mr Ro it’s unfair if I need a light on to read a paperback/hardbook/elder scroll in bed; ebooks are backlit on my tablet.
Ease of transport | Heaven forfend I leave the illustration cave I don’t require a pack mule for the 3 books I usually have on the go.
Zoning Out | Sometimes being an illustrator you have tasks you can do on autopilot which is where audiobooks come in. Jobs such as creating flats for illustrations, packaging prints in those wee poly bag or tidying the kitchen when you should be doing Other Things.
The Cat | The corners on my tablet are rounded so she doesn’t feel the need to grind the edge into her gums as frequently as a pleasingly right-angled novel would allow.
Anyway, here’s why you’re here: The book review
Book 1 of 50 for 2024
The Kaiju Preservation Society | John Scalzi | Macmillan Books | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls "an animal rights organization." Tom's team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.
What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.
It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society that's found its way to the alternate world. Others have, too--and their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.”
I’ve had The Kaiju Preservation Society in my TBR pile for a while - Thanks Kirsty C-Sk (she has good recommendations)! The way I select books is as follows:
My very clever friends recommend them
They have a crime/forensics/death slant to them (I’ve discovered children’s book illustrations have a proclivity for these things)
I like the cover - very smart people in publishing houses seem to know how to reel me into an awesome book with a particularly wonderful cover
Kirsty did it again with The KPS. She rec’d the Ambrose Parry books - check them out too (think of this as a 19th Century Taggart). I liked those esp being a resident of Edinburgh.
I didn’t know what to expect having not read any of John Scalzi’s prior works - It was joyous. For reference I listened to the audiobook version read by Wil Wheaton as I organised my workspace in the corner of the sitting room. His performance certainly added to the story. So often voice actors can make or break an audiobook.
I will not spoil the story however Scalzi captured the essense of what life was like during the pandemic and how so many people had to resort to less than ideal jobs just to get by. The story was heartwarming & gripping - you genuinely reasonated with the characters. The telling was honest; I think that’s the best word. Scalzi said out loud what people were thinking regarding certain individuals actions.
The one thing that was a little jarring about the story was how the two worlds co-existed. That left me a little perplexed but then I’m not up on my alternate universe & quantum theory so maybe my bad.
In future blog posts I’m hoping to do little illustrations about the books I read - I would love to draw a kaiju but Life Stuff is taking the reins at the moment. I also hope for my posts to be more in depth. Honestly I just started writing this today (5th January 2024) because I thought “why not?” & I don’t have a structure set out yet. Sometimes it’s best to dive in & watch out for the tree crabs.
Follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m Currently Reading, hope to read, and so on and so forth.
Click here to buy the The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (Amazon Affiliate link).
I do, of course, suggest checking out local independent booksellers with this handy dandy map created by bookshop.org
