(Y-11) Last day of 2018 (Day 31 of 31)

This is the last day of this year, although my reading year still has 287 days ahead of it, the change of a calendar year it is something eventful.

I am pleased to inform that yesterday, thanks partly again to my insomnia, was a magnificent day of reading and I finished a couple of graphic novels.

First of them was one of the cross-over events of Valiant comics universe between Harbinger and Bloodshot, it was all out war and beautifully written by Joshua Dysart.

The second one took me to a not so pleasant trip to Angelville, where Jesse and Tulip had to endure Mr. Custer’s psychopathic family, only Garth Ennis can write those types of scenes.

Thanks to these two graphic novels I had my best day yet, 374 pages and this elevated my total to 8,885 pages for the year.

I’ll aim to reach 9,000 pages by the end of the day, just 115 pages to go, it should not be a problem.

On the book front, I only read 8 pages, currently on page 140.

Being the last day of my micro-project, of reading the minimum daily average, which is 146 pages per day, I think the first week of January will be perfect opportunity to dedicate my reading efforts solely to Deadhouse Gates.

And lastly, the gap in my reading schedule has closed down a bit more. Currently, I am 19 days behind, slow and steady wins the race.

I’ll probably go thru the third volume of Harbinger and ring in the new year with a Harry Potter marathon.

I hope you enjoy whichever are your plans for the new year’s celebration, stay safe out there.

Happy Readings!!!

azr

 

(Y-11) Down the stretch (Day 30 of 31)

Yesterday’s reading was pretty decent, I had a total of 164 pages.

I did not finish anything yesterday, so my total stays the same, and I have fallen a day behind on my reading schedule, which now is 22 days.

On the positive side, I reached page 132 of Deadhouse Gates, the most progress in a few days, and read the better part of the first volume of the Spanish version of Preacher by Garth Ennis, this particular version compiles the first 12 issues of this now classic Vertigo Comics series.

The interior art of Steve Dillon and the fantastic cover art by Glen Fabry just put the cherry on top of a tremendous series.

The menacing Saint of Killers in his quest to hunt down Jesse Custer.

Today will be dedicated to finishing the first volume of Preacher, making some headway with Deadhouse and hopefully watching my team, the Indianapolis Colts, reach the NFL playoffs.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

(Y-11) Winter is here (Day 29 of 31)

Yesterday’s reading was spectacular, my total was 344 pages, officially makes it the best of all this season of reading.

This was thanks to my insomnia and that I put it to good use and finished a couple of volumes of the Valiant comics universe, this time it was the second volume of Harbinger, Renegades, and the second volume of Bloodshot, The Rise and the Fall.

These volumes where just build-up for the first major event of this fantastic universe, The Harbinger Wars, written by the authors responsible for the two series mentioned above, Joshua Dysart and Duane Swierczynski, it looks promising.

Thanks to this my new total for the year is 8,377 pages, and I am behind 21 days behind schedule, as I was saying little by little the gap is closing down.

On the book front, again I had a dreadful day, only 9 pages and I am currently on page 110.

But seeing the forecast for today.

And the fact that it is snowing lightly.

It is the perfect opportunity to stay in bed reading, have one cup or ten of coffee and make some headway with my book.

It finally feels like winter.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

(Y-11) Another one bites the dust (Day 28 of 31)

Another great day of reading, yesterday’s total was 156 pages, and another goal achieved.

I have now crossed the 8,000-page mark.

8,042 pages to be precise.

This thanks to the second volume of Valiant Comics’ Shadowman, if I thought the first volume was incredible, this one just keeps on building an extraordinary world, a must read for every comic book fan.

Here I leave an image from one of the alternate covers by David Mack, just beautiful.

On the book front, I am currently on page 101, making a bit of headway but really slow, and on that idea, I changed my finishing, that was for next Monday, to the first Sunday of January.

On the matter of my reading schedule, I am still 22 days behind, but it has become stable and actually, I have been chipping days off as my reading improves.

For today, which it is forecast rain or possibly even snow, I’ll stay inside with a nice cup of coffee and some great books.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

 

 

(Y-11) Straight Ahead (Day 27 of 31)

I am now approaching the final leg of what has been an extraordinary year.

Just 5 days left and I am inching to what I set out to do for this year of reading.

To start off, yesterday’s total was 279 pages, the second highest of the month.

I reached a total of 7,873 pages on the year, that is only 127 to achieve my immediate goal of 8,000 pages. If everything runs smoothly, I will reach this coveted number by this evening.

Now let’s talk about yesterday reading.

I finished the first volume of Archer & Armstrong, The Michelangelo Code, all I have to say about this is Ninja Nuns, you are welcome.

Also, I read the first volume of what I think will turn out to be my favorite one of all the Valiant comics universe, Shadowman.

A really cool mixture between horror and superhero comics, all of this brewed slowly on cauldron full of voodoo. Honestly, it has a lot of the elements that I loved about comics all rolled into one single story, highly recommended.

So naturally, I jump right into the second volume, Darque Reckoning, of this fantastic story.

On the book front, the dry spell continues, only 6 pages yesterday, the story is quite catching, but I think that my focus is on achieving certain things that I can concentrate enough to get a good rhythm with the book.

So, for now, I am on page 90 of the book, and this will be treated as the starting point for the next five days to get it done.

I think once the 8,000 pages mark is hit my mind will relax and focus on climbing that behemoth of a mountain that is The Malazan Book of the Fallen.

With this great burst of reading, I have gained one day and currently are 22 days behind my reading schedule, slowly, but surely the gap is closing.

Well, I am off to chase those pages.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

(Y-11) Right on track (Day 26 of 31)

With less than a week to go on the year, it is safe to say that I will be closing it with really strong.

Yesterday’s total was 224, and I reached 7,584 total pages for the year, just 416 to achieve the new goal for this holiday season set at 8,000 pages.

The gap in my reading schedule has remained steady at 23 days, but I have big plans for the end of January to reduce this drastically.

Let us now talk about yesterday’s reading.

First of all, I finished the second volume of the manga series Warcraft: Legends, this little snippets of such a vast world are pure delight for any fantasy reader, as I said yesterday, not a big gamer, but I do enjoy my daily dose of fantasy.

Also, I started reading the first volume of Valiant Comics’ Archer & Armstrong, which I like quite a bit, but to be perfectly honest, this was one of the series that least caught my eye with I started looking into this vast comic book universe, it has been a pleasant surprise how good it is.

On the book front, I really do not want to talk about it, just two pages yesterday, currently on page 84.

Well, at least the new animated Spider-Man movie, Into the Spider-Verse, was really good, and I am not the biggest fan of Spidey.

Now back to it, Happy Readings!!!

azr.

(Y-11) Just barely (Day 25 of 31)

I hope everybody is enjoying their holiday and are eating profusely.

Yesterday I enjoyed a day full of food and booze, the stars of the evening where a pair of red wine bottles that I bought more than 9 months ago in Ruidoso, New Mexico, courtesy of Noisy Water Winery & Cellars.

The one called “Dirty” was particularly exceptional.

But of course, before all the celebration began, I did had time to read for a while.

On that note, my total for yesterday was 149, just barely over the minimum daily average.

I finished reading the first volume of The Eternal Warrior, which has been my favorite so far of all the Valiant Comics Universe I have read.

Here you can see an alternate cover from the magnificent artist Clayton Crain, he also did some of the interior art, just little snippets, but quite remarkable.

 Also, I read some micro-tales of World of Warcraft: Legion, four issues of ten pages each, this is an introduction or mood setter to the sixth expansion of this massive game. Although I am not a player, I do enjoy the stories, epic fantasy galore.

Thanks to all of this my total reading for this year has gone up to 7,404 pages.

Just 2,596 to reach 10,000.

On the book front, not a great day, currently on page 80 and just one week to get through it, I never back down from a challenge.

In the morning I woke up to a pleasant surprise in the form of a Christmas present from my wife and non-other than my two vices, comics, and coffee.

I hope you keep on enjoying the rest of the Holidays, right now I’ll get ready to go and enjoy the new Spider-Man animated movie with my wife and kids.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

 

(Y-11) Let the massive eating begin (Day 24 of 31)

Today it is Christmas eve, and in Mexico, it is the main celebration of this holiday season.

And for me, that means only one thing, food.

Tonight we will have turkey and some other side dishes, it is pretty similar to Thanksgiving dinner on the US, but with a bit of a Mexican twist.

To top off the season of binge eating, I see in my really proximate future some tamales and buñuelos, I’ll post some pictures so you can get a visual delight.

Now, for the reading segment of my blog, yesterdays reading was again phenomenal, 200 pages and I finished the second volume of X-O Manowar, it is just getting better.

Also, I started reading the first volume of The Eternal Warrior series, this is just up my alley, epic sword fights and an immortal warrior, what more can I ask.

On the book front, I made little headway, currently on page 75 of 699, but I have not abandoned the idea of finishing by New Year’s Day, just have to push a bit harder.

My total for the year is 7,217 pages, and I keep a steady pace that fortunately has increased this last day, now I have 8 days left in 2018 and the goal of reaching 8,000 pages.

I’ll make the most of the morning because today it will be a day-long eating celebration.

Happy Holidays!!!!

azr.

 

Happy 54th Birthday to Eddie Vedder

It is no secret that my favorite band is Pearl Jam.

And today marks the 54th birthday of singer Eddie Vedder, a force of nature and one of the voices that accompanied me throughout all of the angst-filled days of my youth.

So, today in honor of Mr. Vedder, I’ll crack up my turntable and enjoy a Pearl Jam full day.

Thank you for all the music and for being a true champion for making this a better world.

azr.

 

 

(Y-11) Challenge Completed (Day 23 of 31)

With 9 days left I am glad to inform you that my goal for this Christmas break has been achieved.

With yesterday’s total, 172 pages, and with me finishing the first volume of Valiant Comics’ X-O Manowar, my total surpassed the 7,000 pages.

7,060 to be precise.

Naturally, I’ll be aiming to reach 8,000 pages before the end of 2018, which has been a year full of new adventures and a lot of positive changes in my life.

I have so much plan for 2019, for my life in general and particularly for this blog, but that is a conversation best left for January.

In today’s plan, there is to read the second volume of X-O Manowar, from which you can see at the top of the post a beautiful image of Aric, and to make some headway with Deadhouse Gates, currently on page 64 of 699.

Also, this reading spurt has reduced the gap of my falling behind in the reading schedule of this year, it has steadied at 24 days, but as I said before, my intention is to get it under 15 days by the end of the year, and even closer to form by the end of January 2019 with the 24in48 readathon.

Now back to it, Happy Readings!!!

azr.