Comics I'm All About Right Now - March 2016 (Book Review)

So you know what a subscription service is, right? Also known as a sub service, pull list, etc. It's the list of books that your local shop keeper makes sure are set aside for you on a regular basis. My sub service is at Comics Etc on Main Street. They have one of the worst web sites in 2016 but keep an active Facebook Page and a Facebook group for those who are so inclined. The store itself is big and carries a wide selection of books, and geeky extras. They also keep a whole lot of trade paperbacks, which are my format of choice for most things. However, if you care about the condition of the books on the shelves, this is not the store for you. Everything is crammed together and needs to be culled like nobodies business. For straight readers though, not collectors, this means that lots of older books haven't been marked up as back issues.

Anyway,  I usually follow books in trade paper back (TPB) form, the collection of several single issue books, because I can't manage to stay on top of a story in 32 page bursts with 4 - 6 weeks in between. A down side of reading things in TPB, though, is that I have to wait an extended period of time for the collection to come out... and WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING IN SAGA RIGHT NOW!!?? I DON'T EVEN KNOW!!  ::breathe::

I have a few TPBs on my sub- service because I also can't manage to remember to keep track of when they are scheduled to come out... are there people who keep track of these things on their own? They are better geeks than I, letmejusttellya. I also recently added a butt- ton of titles to my sub- service to start following in single issue. There really is no rhyme nor reason. It's also interesting to me how I'm willing to pay for comics and trades but scoff at the retail price of "regular" books. I am an enigma. 

Book Crack: Books about Books

An aside: Should "About" be capitalized in this blog post's title. I forget the rule about About... forgive me, Friends.

Books about books are my thing. Nevermind whatever I said my thing was the last time I said something was my thing. Books about books are definitely my thing more than that other thing. Invariably, every book about a book has the back and forth in time thing. I mean, there's the "now" in whatever time period that is, where someone gets a hold of a book from somewhere. And there is also the "then:" the time of the book, which is either the time the book was written or the time period that is the setting of the story told in the book. I like the back and forth thing. I also like books that alternate perspectives. Maybe I just like "jumpy"books... anyway. The last three books about books I read:

  
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler 
I was waiting for this book to come out. I even had the date of release in my calendar, in case you were wondering exactly how big of a book nerd I can be. (HUGE, Rochester!). It's about a librarian (as many Books about books are) that receives an old book from a rare book dealer. Inside, the book has the name of the librarian's great grandmother, who drowned herself. Just like his own mother did. Duh duh duh! In the present, Simon is trying to figure out the pattern of his family and save his self- destructive sister. In the time of the book, we follow several people involved in a traveling side show carnival, though it wasn't really called that at the time. This book is beautifully written and leaves the reader thinking about the wonder of the universe and the ties that bind people together. 

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks 
I read this book via audio book after failing to get into it as a hardcover. In the now, we have a book conservationist who has been tasked with the mighty job of restoring a 500 year old Jewish Haggadah. For different elements of the book (a stain, a hair) she discovers, there is the story of how it happened in the time of the book. The descriptions are beautiful and it's interesting to hear about the creation of the book using the different methods over hundreds of years. Did you know that parchment is made out of animal flesh? You do now! I'm glad that I tried this book, again. I think it was smoother through the ears, probably because of the historical parts, which make my brain numb, sometimes due to my PHSSTD (Post High School Social Studies Traumatic Disorder).

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult 
She might get a bit of flack on my Twitter TL, but I love Jodi Picoult. I've read several of her novels and think they're each different and interesting. Granted, I have read them all with years in between them, which I think helps with any author. You don't get too keen to their patterns and idiosyncrasies. Anyway, in the now, Delilah is a weird nerd with few friends who is the first to be able to see that the characters in a middle grade adventure book might have minds of their own. It might be all a little predictable and a little convenient and "just how would that work exactly," but that is kind of part of the story. Ms. Picoult wrote this book with her daughter and it is, itself, for younger readers. It's enjoyable and super quick, despite it's 350 pages.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Inkheart, a favorite book within a book about books and book- lovers. The whole series is gold.

Comics I'm All about Right Now (Book Review)

There are some days when I'm just not in a novel mood... like, not in the mood for a novel... But I'm always in the mood for a good story and pretty pictures. Enter: Comic Mode. 

Fables #150 hit stands this month. Interestingly, it's long enough in and of itself to also be the 22nd trade paperback, wrapping up the whole shebang. The cover opens to reveal a beautiful spread across the back for anyone nuts enough to break the binding on a book... who does that!? Fables has been the only one since Strangers in Paradise that I have collected in complete single issue format (with the exception of two trades when I got behind following a relocation). The books tell the story of all of the fables you know and love and their attempt to fight multiple adversaries, not the least of which is being forgotten by the real world. I love(d) this series and am sad to see it go. I was pleased to have most of the side characters get a little stories of their own in the last few issues. (I also love one of the spin off series: Fairest, and will be collecting the TPBs. The Jack of Fables spin off series, less so.) Also, check out the art work. You need this in your life.

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Jason Shawn Alexander, who according to his twitter photo, is not bad to gawk at, writes and lends a talented artistic hand to Empty Zone. Issue 3 hit shelves last week and I haven't been to pick it up, yet. #NoSpoilers. I am decidely slow on the uptake with new series/ books but I really had zero idea what was going on in Book 1. Book 2 added a little context to the dark and gritty story so I don't feel quite so lost among the ghosts, hallucinations, and half cyborg- bad ass chick main character. I'm excited to see where it's going. 

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Jeremy Haun offers a new book about an STD that makes the infected beautiful. The Beauty Issue 1 was out on August 12th and offered 3 different covers. I wrestled myself in the aisle (embarrassing!) and only bought my favorite one. The book asks you to consider if you would get infected to be beautiful? And at what cost. It's not clear what the final cost is for those in the book, yet. One of the most compelling elements of the story is the reaction of those who are not infected. We all know everyone harbors a bit of hatred for the prettiest boy or girl in the room. Mr. Haun has also started a campaign to raise awareness for the book that highlights positive body- image. And obviously, since it's 2015, there's a hashtag. Find out more here. And then look below for my STD free face... #TeamSafeSex!

Audiobooks Saved My Life

I have only recently, within the past year, gotten really into the audiobook thing. This occurred about the time I aged enough to realize that music and morning DJs on the radio SUCK. This collided with the discovery that you can download books directly to your device from the local library using Overdrive. Thusly and therefore, audiobooks saved me from driving my car off the road rather than listen to morning radio.

Now, I probably “read” somewhere between 3 and 5 books a month by just listening to them in the car while driving. I LOVE it. I am a believer. I have fully converted and proselytize wherever I go. There are some books that I know would never hold my interest if I read them through my eyeballs. For example, I hate reading books with too much random italic font (e.g., flashbacks, words in non-English) and books where the names of the characters are long, difficult for me to sound out, or too similar to each other. But audiobooks really help smooth out those little pains in the ass… and don’t you want your ass pain to be smoothed!? Of course, you do. Plus, I like when English stories have English- accents strewing from the speakers.

Of course, as with all things, there are many thungs that get on my nerves about audiobooks. Topping that list: missing junk. I first noticed that I might be missing out on something when I read a blog post about the cover of Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Book Store. Apparently, in some versions, the books on the cover glow in the dark. I LOVED that book and felt full and wholly robbed by not knowing that there was something special about the cover. Similarly, at book club last week, I learned that there is a map on the inside of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I was less emotional about that one, but still felt that I hadn’t gotten the full experience of understanding Harold’s 600-mile journey across England. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of graphics and whatnot in Feed by M.T. Anderson that helps the reader understand the disorganized nature of the world; the audiobook used sounds and distortions to do it.

The way that a reader inflects or emphasize certain words makes a big difference in the book, especially when it comes to jokes. Timing is everything and subtle changes in the words can change the interpretation of meaning. I get a little distracted sometimes when there’s a speaking choice that I think was really misleading (Like it’s up to me, right!? My ego-mania knows no bounds). I’ve decided that audiobooks are the only way I’m ever reading memoirs, though I intend to make an exception for Alan Cummings if i have to. There’s ZERO possibility that Tina Fey’s book Bossy Pants, which she reads, would have been as entertaining through the eyes. Not that I don’t love her, but it’s because of her delivery and personality.

There have been a few books audiobooks that were read by someone with a voice that I was so intolerant of that I couldn’t even finish it. That’s been a rare occurrence. Though, in the second book of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, apparently they switched voices and I was righteously pissed until I forgot all about it.

If you want a great audiobook that puts it all together, get How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran. If you prefer stuff with adult main characters (and if you do, you should reevaluate yourself and your preferences) then go with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by May Ann Shaffer. 

 

Comics I'm all about right now (Book Review)

Look, I know everyone has already heard of these titles, I've discovered nothing new, and I'm just latesplaining. But, I'm #nerdstalking all things related to these books. Luckily, I'm broke or I'd, at minimum, have my BitchPlanet NC tattoo by now... If you don't know what that is, be sad because I'm cooler than you. 

Let's start with Bitch Planet, currently on issue 4. It's a little Running Man (movie based loosely on the book by Stephan King) and a little bit Stepford Wives. Well, I've never actually read/ seen Stepford Wives. But the idea is that women are being "taken care of" for their sassyness and noncompliance by being arrested and sent to a detention planet, known colloquially as Bitch Planet, obviously. If you're female and into comics, you need to, at minimum, check out the first issue. And then get the tattoo. At minimum.

Batgirl: Burnside - So, I don't read single issues of comics that much. I limit myself to TPBs for my own good. Fables is the only one I actually follow with any regularity and I recently discovered about 20 duplicate single issues in various piles. So, anyway, when I saw this cover (TOTALLY CUTE) and that it said Volume One, I didn't realize that it actually collects issues 35 - 40 of the Batgirl series. It still rocked my face off. Barbara Gordon, duh, is a major wiz coming to terms with her alter bad ass being popular and then unpopular a la every other superhero story. But it's done with a few twists and some great extra characters. Plus Black Canary is there in all her high- pitched glory.

Fairy Quest: Outcasts - Granted. Fairy tale retellings are kinda my #bookcrack. This is a two shot series that is making me follow Humberto Ramos around the internet like a fucking shadow. And here's my new wallpaper at work. If you don't love these three panels, you are as good as dead to me.

Saga is driving me a little crazy. I've committed to this series in trade paper back form. This means that, since it's on ongoing series, I actually have to wait until it "trades up" before I can read it!! It's kind of killing me. Now, obviously, I could decide to start doing single issues, instead. But then I would have some trades and some singles. UNACCEPTABLE! Plus, it would require me to start paying enough attention to what I have and when new issues come out to 1) get them when they are available, 2) not duplicate what I already have. Again, I recently found out I duplicated an insane number of Fables comics.

You need a summary of Saga: Hot goat man (Marko) falls in love with hot winged chick (Alana) and the couple, along with their "I thought horned people and winged people couldn't procreate with each other" child become the enemy targets of both their respective people, some contract killers, and at least two ex- girlfriends. But check out the goat guy. Seriously. Oh, the two groups of people are at war, a bit of a Star Wars kinda influence according to the stuff I've read from the creators. Is that important? Check out the goat dude, again. There are also some people with TVs for heads, who have sex with each other... Trust me. Just read it.

All pics on this post were found via Google search of awesome things. I did not draw them and do not own them, though I love them as if they are part of my very soul.

Books about Books: Yes, Please! [Book Review: 24- hour Bookstore]

First, let me just tell you that I was bamboozled. I think when I downloaded this audiobook, there should have been a warning that I would miss out on the glow-in-the-dark feature on the actual book. Seriously, it’s like no one has heard of informed consent! 

Ok, anyway. This is probably one of my favorite books of the year so far, but I’m not sure that it’s for everyone. Here’s why it was the right book at the right time for me:

It’s about books and a bookstore and I am a nerd. Do I have to explain this one? No. The characters visit several book stores and warehouses full of amazing tomes and artifacts. Hello! That’s good stuff.

It is about geeks talking about geek stuff and I am a geek. If you don’t like video games, technology, the internet, making things from cardboard and clay, or geeking out, this book will not hit you in the G (eek) spot like it did for me. Hehe… that’s funny. See what I did there?

There is an adventure that geeks go on that relates to stuff they read in fantasy novels as teens and I am, again, a big geeky nerd. What!? The last time my 15yo and I were in a library we imagined that behind the shelves there was doorway to Narnia and Diagon Ally. Even though the shelf was, indeed, a door, it was a secondary entrance to a conference room. No satres, no dragons, no underground book society. So, yeah. This book totally gives you that grown up taste of discovery and adventure.

Spectacular book quote:

"There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care."