(Y-10) The Dark Knight and coffee.

Well, my plan to read the next two trilogies of the Legend of Drizzt saga has not gone as planned.

I’m still working on the final book of the story arc of the Paths of Darkness, The Sea of Swords, and then start with the first book of the Sellswords Trilogy.

Being optimistic I will most likely have time to read one trilogy, this of course was all caused by a nosy citizen of Gotham, in his Snyder-Capullo rendition.

I’m about 40 pages from finishing the second volume of this run, The City of Owls, and I’ll dive right into the third volume.

And of course, keep chipping away at my book.

Finally, the bought a couple of new books, one arrived yesterday, The Halloween Tree, written by the genius author Ray Bradbury and illustrated by the extraordinary Gris Grimly, one of my personal favorites, the other book I’ll keep it a mystery until it arrives

Simply amazing, I think I’ll leave on my shelf until Halloween to better enjoy it.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

30 March, 2018 0

(Y-10) Two Weeks, Two Trilogies

I am going to take advantage of this two weeks without the daily routine and the imminent family getaway to get back on track with my reading.

The task for this two weeks you might ask, first to finish The Sea of Swords, the current book I’m reading and the thirteen of The Legend of Drizzt Saga, and tackle two trilogies in that same universe.

The first one will be The Sellswords Trilogy, which the made up of The Servant of the Shard, which if you can see in the picture below I bought quite a time ago and still bears the old school logo of the Forgotten Realms, Promise of the Witch King and The Road of the Patriarch, which are from a newer and newest edition respectively.

The Second one will be The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy, which is made up of The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, and The Two Swords.

Hopefully, this six books will be done and on the read column by the time spring break is over, my page count really needs this, which, consequently sits at 12,069 pages for this the tenth year of my crazy project.

Now back to it.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

26 March, 2018 0

(Y-10) Ready for Spring Break

Today marks the start of the two-week break we get, at least here in Mexico, for spring.

So, I got ready for this period, that hopefully will help me get back on track and for that, I’ll need the help of my old friend caffeine.

I went out and bought a kilo of whole bean glory.

This particular batch is from the beautiful state of Chiapas, Mexico and it is carefully roasted by local roasters Casa Cafetzin.

For the first week, I’ll just kick back and catch up on my reading.

For the second week, we will take a little trip, but more on that later.

Happy Readings!!!

azr

24 March, 2018 0

(Y-10) Recruiting some help

Finally, I have finished the thirteen-book of The Legend Drizzt saga, the series took a slower pace and focused more and the inner turmoil of the Barbarian Wulfgar, with a few swashbuckling moments here and there.

For the start of the fourteen book of the series, The Sea of Swords, I have recruited some help.

First, on the fuel side of things, and a long time coming, some beautiful, freshly roasted coffee from where I considered one of the best places to buy/drink coffee in the Juarez-El Paso area, I’m talking about BLDG. 6 Coffee Roasters. This time I will give the house blend a try.

On the chocolatey part of things, two new chocolate bars came my way. One spicy alternative and a more classic flavor.

And lastly, a guide through the perilous realms of Faerûn, so I can keep up with Drizzt in his never-ending quest.

Fortunately, I have a holiday long weekend and not too far, a vacation retreat with some peace and quiet.

Happy Readings!!!!

azr

17 March, 2018 0

(Y-10) Grinding away and new goodies

Right, I’m about 65 pages to go on The Spine of the World, which I planned to finish by today and jump right in into the thirteen-book of the Legend of Drizzt saga.

Slowly but surely my reading is getting back on track, I Know, lots to read, lots to do but I’ll finish the year with a bang.

In the goodies portion of this entry, well there are a few.

First, let us start with some books that arrived in the mail.

Neil Gaiman books illustrated by the highly talented Chris Riddell, I have been eyeing them for quite a while.

On a more boozy part of my new goodies.

A brand spanking new bottle of Sotol, this particular label is sort of a local endeavor, it is produced and bottled about 25 miles south of Juarez in the small community of Samalayuca, pure desert spirit.

So I’m all set to unwind and work on my page count.

Happy Readings!!!

azr

13 March, 2018 0

(Y-10) a bit more procrastinating but with chocolate

Right now I’m passing the half way mark of The Spine of the World, the twelfth book in the Legend of Drizzt saga, the pace of this book is a bit slower but it takes time to further develop some characters, it adds some more deep to the story against being a sword smashing fest.

Quite refreshing I might add.

My plan is to get through at least 3/4 of the book by the end of the weekend, and maybe throw some Batman action here and there.

Right I have a couple of trade paperbacks from the Scott Snyder run.

All of this whole munching on some delicious chocolate, the victim for this evening a 72% cocoa Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Cranberries, which apparently donates part of its proceeds to endangered species funds, so, eating with a purpose.

For now I’ll have a wild crazy night filled with sotol, dark chocolate, lots of caffeine and of course some good old reading.

Good night and Happy Readings!!!

azr.

10 March, 2018 0

(Y-10) Indulging and getting back on track

My mood is really fluctuating thing.

I am an outgoing person, sociable and most of the time my mood is really mild and easy going.

But also there is always, just under the surface, my sad vein, it pops its ugly head whenever and wherever it feels like.

I start to see the signs.

I can’t concentrate, so my reading goes to the toilet, also, my insomnia kicks in, I’m awake but my brain is basically green jelly.

Fortunately, I have the biggest, brightest and most beautiful warrior by my side, of course, I’m talking about my best friend and wife.

She is there to kick me in the ass and lift me up.

She brought to my attention that I was spiraling and I should refocus on the things that I loved like music, reading, eating and drinking (mostly coffee and alcohol).

But not only that, I should somehow integrate all of this to this blog in a sort of personal public journal.

So, I took her advice and I will integrate more of the things I love.

The first thing was indulging in this great little restaurant, El Mimbre, we went for breakfast, and boy it was a whole experience.

To start the restaurant is almost hidden from the main street at is on, so you experience this relax and quiet atmosphere that rarely you can find in a busy city like ours.

Secondly, the food.

The Glorious Food

We had some dishes featuring mole from the beautiful state of Veracruz, everything was cooked to perfection, including my blue corn tortillas, made from scratch and right at the moment you order it.

This will be, I suspect, one of our go-to places to relax and eat some amazing food.

On the coffee side of things, I received a little sample from a local coffee roasting house, this particular batch is from the beautiful state of Oaxaca, and it is nutty and floral in all its glory.

And finally, on the book front, I have finished the eleventh book of the Legend of Drizzt saga, The Silent Blade, and are right now starting with the twelfth book of the series, The Spine of the World.

Just got some new fantasy acquisitions to further my crazy notion of reading all fantasy book this year.

My total for this year is 11,344 pages.

Still, some 85,000 pages to go and about 230 days to do it.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

4 March, 2018 0

(Y-10) no time like the present

As I sit here on a caffeine buzz one thought comes to mind.

Fuck it, I’m doing this bat shit crazy thing that has been roaming around my head.

I’m going to chase my ultimate white whale.

I’m going to read 100 books in one year, that is 91 books from here until the 13 of October.

deep reath and take the plunge.

Mr. Cave, play me out you mysterious sexy bastard.

Happy Readings!!!

azr

15 February, 2018 0

(Y-10) an eventful post and the first 10,000 pages

It has been 9 days since my last post, I know that my tomorrow always turns out to be like a week later, but I love to procrastinate, it is truly one of my few talents.

So let’s take this one thing at a time.

First and foremost, I have been taking notes on my daily progress on those ruled yellow page ledger and haven’t updated my bullet journal since the second day of February. although, I am happy to report that my streak of 100 pages per day is alive and well. Actually, it is entering today, 31 uninterrupted days, this is partly why I have not been keeping my updates as tight as I should.

Here is my update up until January 31.

On the book front, I finished the ninth book of the Legend of Drizzt saga, up until now the series has not let up, is full of action, intrigue and well-rounded characters. And of course, I jump directly into the tenth book, Passage to Dawn, the drow menace ever present.

On the graphic novel front, I finally finished reading Batman: Elseworlds Vol. 1, is a collection of alternate Batman worlds and let me tell you, seeing this book makes me wonder of all the great Batman stories left yet untold.

With all this reading I finally reach the coveted 10,000 pages mark. I know there is a lot of roads ahead of me but I’m confident that this year with be a truly epic one.

With that in mind, a have a couple of things to announce, first, in July I plan to be part of this really cool readathon, 24 in 48, the main idea is to read 24 hours in a 48 hour period. You can break it down however you like, in one 24 hour sitting or over the weekend. The next one is scheduled for July 21 and 22 of 2018. So get your cozy reading chair and eyes ready.

The other thing is that I’m planning to catch some mountain air, probably somewhere between the end of March or the first weeks of April, and of course, I’m planning some mayor reading, so, for my total reading for the month of April, the goal is 10,000 pages. That is approximately 333 pages per day.

This kind of crazy ideas that are floating around my head is why I need to hoard a lot of reading material, because, I can plan to read lots and lots of pages but without so many fantastic books and graphic novels that will impossible.

That was my subtle way to say that I have some new acquisitions.

Two novels that are in my total epicness list for this year, The Name of the Wind and The Return of the Black Company. And the acclaimed graphic novel, Punk Rock Jesus.

And the cherry on the cake, the 200th-anniversary edition of one of my all-time favorite novels, Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus. Beautifully illustrated by David Plunkert, and let me tell you, it gives it a new dimension to this already beloved book, it still amazes me how it can resonate so much with our current status and even more to think that it was first published back in 1818.

Simply outstanding.

With all these new volumes coming into my already swelling bookshelves, I’m glad that my under the stair shelves are ready to use and of course already pack really tight.

For now, I leave you with a quick update for this, the tenth year of my crazy project. As I dive into my reading more determined than ever.

Total pages for (Y-10) : 10,071 pages

Pages left to read (Y-10): 86,695 pages

Days left in (Y-10): 244 days.

Happy Readings!!!

azr.

12 February, 2018 0

(Y-10) the streak is alive and some new reading material

Today marks 21 days with 100 pages or more per day.

Don’t want to jinx it so I’ll just say that much.

Right now I’m working on a couple of things. On the book front my time is solely placed on the ninth book of the Legend of Drizzt saga, The Siege of Darkness, and let me tell you it has not let up. Truly and amazing work of fantasy.

On the graphic novel front I finish a couple of stories from French publishing house Delcourt, Druids, and Elves, and currently working on Batman: Elseworlds, this ragtag collection of Batman in alternative universes is a true delight for every fan of the Dark Knight.