And done…earlier then expected but this year has been a MUCH better reading year than the last few were. So much better.
With all the quality time I‘ve spent reading Obi-Wan/Anakin content (yes, I‘m really, really, really excited about the Obi-Wan Kenobi show next week), I‘m not at all surprised I completed my goal reading about the two of them. Now, on to the next book…
I hope everyone is having a fun, satisfying reading year!
pickHired by the Farm Security Administration, John Scott heads west with his camera to document life in the Dust Bowl & draw attention to the plight of farmers. He finds an unforgiving, brutal landscape that inspires awe & fear. He also finds strength & resilience, surrender, hope, & consequence. He comes to question the value & purpose of his photographs & even questions if these stories are his to tell. Wonderful comic—great art, emotional story.
This afternoon‘s read is a graphic novel, original published as a digital comic, about the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.
Starting this one tonight—it‘s a YA mystery featuring a nonbinary autistic teen who moves to a new town (with dad) and stumbles across a thirty year old mystery that they then try to solve.
pickThis assured, emotionally rich debut is one to savor & take your time with. Set in the South, in the town of Old Ox, during the last days of the Civil War, this is a story about finding your courage & losing it, about cruelty—intentional, causal & unintended, about family, broken & whole, about love, & at its core, it‘s about hope. Whether George Walker is foolish or brave, what he sets in motion takes readers for quite a ride. Excellent.
Skottie Young and Jorge Corona were nominated for an Eisner Award for Middlewest in the category of Best Graphic Album—Reprint which seems like the perfect excuse for a glamour shot and a reread! Such a great comic—great story with art and colors so good I just want them burned into my eyeballs.
Today‘s #Bookmail is the middle grade debut for the author of Iron Widow. This one sounds like a whole lot of fun—- journey across China to seal the underworld shut? A botched possession which sees the First Emperor of China possess Zachary Ying‘s AR gaming headset instead of Zachary himself? Mom in danger? Yes to all of this!
Also, this is a very cool cover.
pickThis was a fast, fun fantasy about Gemma Ripley, most well known as the pampered princess of the Kingdom of Andvari—a reputation which serves to hide the fact Gemma actually has powerful magic & works as a spy. While on a mission she runs into a mortal enemy & things get complicated…as they always do. They have to work together, if they can, to survive what comes next. It‘s a familiar story…with the bonus of a pet gargoyle! Entertaining enough.
I know nothing about this book really EXCEPT that it has a gorgeous cover and a blurb from Kate Elliott. Is that enough to make me interested in it? Yeah, more than enough. 😬😂
#Two4Tuesday
1. Is it cheating to say I‘m a bibliophile who also happens to be a voracious reader? I love talking about books, being surrounded by books, thinking about books, reading books of course and, well generally everything about books.
2. I suppose one difference might be the distinction between reading books and collecting books and the degree to which someone engages in one or the either or both activities.
@TheSpineView
pickApparently I haven‘t met a Halloween/autumn romance that won‘t sweep me off my feet (I see you Pumpkinheads) because I enjoyed this predictable yet sweetly told YA romance about three friends each looking for the love of their life with the help of a love potion & a magical Halloween night (pun intended…😬) Loved the humor, appreciated the ways in which authors incorporated consent, representation & more. A fun read. On sale 8/30/22.
Saturday night with a book and a drink on the patio…Definitely have to go with cider for the autumnal (Halloween to be exact) story. 🍎🎃🍂👻
pickIf a gothic feminist take on Bertha Mason (Rochester‘s first wife) & Lucy Westnera (a victim of Dracula) undead & well in 1960s LA until the sudden & unexpected return of those two men sounds at all interesting, you will likely enjoy this book as much as I did. This is a modern gothic horror, an examination of coercion, violence against women, survival, love & betrayal, the power in remembering & what it is to be forgotten. On sale 8/23/22.
I can confirm that you are NEVER too old to listen to someone read stories to you…stories, poetry about Batman, about refugees, anecdotes about Terry Prachett, Gene Wolfe, and updates on all the tv happening—Good Omens 2, Anansi Boys and, of course, Sandman. So much fun. If you ever have the chance to see Neil Gaiman in person, I highly recommend doing so. He is a consummate storyteller and wonderfully entertaining.
It‘s Friday the 13th and the stage is set. 20 minutes until I get to see my favorite author live and in person for the first time. I can think of no better place to be right now. No signing line but signed books were available for purchase and I picked up a few of my favorites…So. Excited.
pickSo I liked it but less for the story, there really isn‘t much of one, & more for the telling of the story which is absolutely phenomenal. If you are interested in the craft of writing, you could do much worse than reading this book to understand how to create tension, effectively use foreshadowing, the slow & steady building of seemingly innocuous moments into big consequential moments & more. Strong first half, weaker back half but interesting.
pickFulfilling a writing dream, Mike Chen wrote a Star War…and it‘s a good one. Set after Attack of the Clones & just after Anakin has been knighted, Obi-Wan & his former padawan set off on different missions but , as is often the case, trouble has a way of finding them & they have to work together if they are going to avert a disaster. Definitely a fun read & one that will make watching Obi-Wan Kenobi all that much more poignant. (I‘m not ready.)
You‘ll hear no complaints from me when work reading means I get to feast my eyes on this awesomeness…
#NCBD makes everything a little better. Lots of fun stuff today—Seven Secrets, Wonder Woman, Star Wars, Shang-Chi, and Crossover. Also, not one BUT two Jenny Frison variants—one for 8 Billion Genies and the other for Grim. And last but definitely NOT least, two Skottie Young variants—Captain America and Demon Days (a cover I missed out on earlier).
Finally! A morning warm and dry enough to sit outside on the patio and read. This is one of my favorite ways to start the day.
Super excited to get my hands on this ARC. I mean, it‘s blurbed by Stephen Graham Jones. But also, it‘s a story about Lucy Westnera (from Dracula) & Bertha Mason (the wife in the attic from Jane Eyre) who are now undead immortals living in 1967 LA when Dracula and Mr. Rochester return. Doesn‘t it sound fantastic? 🤞it‘s as good as it seems like it should be!
#Two4Tuesday
1. That‘s a good question! I‘ll go with the tagged book—can‘t go wrong with a mystery set in the world of comic books, can you? Speaking of comics, the thing I‘m MOST excited about reading this spring is Saga. Love that it‘s back!
2. For sure—and I‘ll listen to pretty much anything while I‘m reading.
@TheSpineView
Or, actually, the announcement that Vol. 5 is coming this year! Super excited about this!!! I loved both of the novels Sarah Rees Brennan wrote, stories that follow after Vol. 4 of the graphic novels, but I‘m excited to see the story return to that medium. I‘m inordinately fond of this high school fencing team//the drama, the shenanigans, the romance, the rivalry. Such a fun series. Can‘t wait!!! 🤺🤺🤺
(Announcement on Pacat‘s Instagram)
I loved Yang‘s Tensorate series and am very much looking forward to their first full length novel…and then I stumbled across it‘s very cool cover this morning and now I‘m even more excited! It‘s out in September.
pickBelieving they‘ve killed someone, best friends Fish & Bread (who are ten) run away & disappear into the woods. The sheriff, the mother & grandfather of one of the boys, & a local waitress set out after them confronting their own fears, doubts, & nature as they race to find the boys before an even greater disaster occurs. This is a solid debut about choices & consequences, friendship & family & how far we go to protect the ones we love.
Today‘s #Bookmail!!! Saga is one of my absolute favorite comics & I am beyond thrilled to not only have a signed Issue #2 but also to get a signed copy of the script for Issue #1. Reading through Vaughan‘s ideas & dialog, instructions for layouts, reasoning for certain decisions, willingness to let Staples work her magic…all of it is just flipping cool & super interesting. Plus, bonus art from an artist Vaughan is doing an ongoing comic with.😍
pickBased on actual events, this is the story of the life & death of Andrew Haswell Green, a self-made man without whom there is no Central Park, MET, or NYPL. It is also, very much, a story about the sacrifices people make to chase their dreams & achieve their goals. In a time/place where rumors could sink careers, Green nevertheless found a way to leave his mark. Beautifully written—Lee writes with stunning efficiency and emotional depth.
pickI really enjoyed this story about the crew of a sanitation ship tasked with collecting debris in space. It also a story about climate change, fossil fuels, the environment & the environmental impact of space travel. Definite Expanse vibes in that the story also deals with the realities of living in space/space travel—debris, gravity, radiation sickness, oxygen supply, the time it takes to travel, all sorts of things. I‘ll definitely read more.
#WeekendReading
Since I‘m all about reading as much Obi-Wan Kenobi as I can before the show, I‘m reading the tagged book this weekend along with Planetes, a recommendation from my husband, and, if I get to it, Raft of Stars, an ARC that‘s been sitting on my shelves a while.
@Andrew65
Work reading starting to intrude a little on “not work” reading time as I prepare to excavate for the first time in three years. Fortunately, work reading = fun reading so it‘s all good!
pickAs someone who is the opposite of a thrill seeker (rules?!? yes please!!!) this place sounds absolutely terrifying…and marvelous and adventurous and wow oh wow do I find it hard to believe such a place existed in all its wild abandon as recently as it did. And for those Littens who went, I‘m so glad you made it out in one piece! A fascinating book about one man‘s driving ambition to giving people what they wanted—a rollicking good time.
Littens!!!
From Pierce Brown‘s Instagram…
ANNOUNCEMENTS. COMING. IN. JULY.
Literary mayhem? Yes please! Cannot wait!!!
Hey Skottie fans, I feel that I need to share the last page of Twig with you…
Sorry the picture is so bad…
If you don‘t want to wait until the fall, Skottie has a fabulous group of writers/artists publishing short IHF stories in his newsletter (http://skottieyoung.substack.com). He‘s also just finished Part Four of a five part story about how it is that Gert is going to make her return. I highly recommended checking them out if you‘re a fan!
pickActually, just not in Litsy yet…
Twig #1, Skottie Young‘s new comic, is a Suessian confection of wonder & adventure & questing. It‘s the absolute cutest! Twig wakes up late on the most important day of his life (so far) but he quickly rallies & he & Splat set off to see Mount Guphin where they are sent to the Belly Mines & given a task. And so the adventure begins. Wonderful art & colors & a fun story. Another winner from Skottie. Love it.
so-soI suspect this might be an #UnpopularOpinion but I found Black‘s adult debut to be underwhelming. While it might be a “me & not the book” situation, I found the worldbuilding to be super clunky, the characters a little flat, & the story not particularly interesting—all of which is surprising since I‘m generally a fan of Black‘s writing. The ending makes it clear there‘s more to come but I doubt I‘ll continue. It just didn‘t hold my interest.
It‘s not ALL Star Wars today. It‘s also #NCBD and today‘s pull includes Obi-Wan and Star Wars, Little Monsters about the last kids on Earth—who just so happen to be vampires—Radiant Black, and the newest comic from Skottie Young which tells the story of Twig (the titular character), Splat (the yellow blob), and a grand adventure.
My reading as I sit on the couch in my Ahsoka Tano pants and Star Wars Rebels t-shirt with The Clone Wars on in the background. 😬 The only thing that might distract me is my Legos (had to have Luke‘s landspeeder!) showing up. 😂
May the 4th be with you!
#Two4Tuesday
1. Usually 3-5 and that can be for an overnight trip or a longer one. I definitely fall in the “never too many books” camp. (Tagged book is the first I‘ve selected for a trip I‘m taking this summer—I also do that, start planning which books to take very early 😬)
2. Yes, the 3-5 number is the number of physical books. I always have more on my iPad so that whatever my mood, there is something to read
@TheSpineView
Another friend recommendation—one who tells me that as wild and crazy as the stories about this amusement park sound, they are in fact true. (I want to say she grew up in the area? Maybe even went a time or two?) anticipating a very entertaining book.
pickA banker, a con man, & a woman with an unusual talent meet in a town just after a devastating fire in the late 1800s American West in this fun, quirky debut about seizing opportunities when they present themselves, looking out for number one, & understanding everyone & everything is fair game. There‘s a magical realism element that isn‘t really necessary but I enjoyed the book & was entertained by the characters. On sale 7/12/22.
April was a great reading month—38 books. These are easily my three favorite. They are very different but are all incredibly interesting and well written stories. I can‘t say much about The Kingdoms without the risk of spoilers but as soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it again. Children of Time is a fascinating evolutionary story with so much to think about and Sunshine is the smartest, most interesting take on vampires I‘ve read in ages.
pickI‘ve seen mixed reviews of this volume but I really enjoyed it—it continues to fill in the blanks, layer in complexity, & leave us with more questions which is only fitting in a story premised on the idea that if enough people believe in something, no matter how fantastical or impossible, then it will become real. Competing government agencies, truth & conspiracy, the rewriting of history in the present. A really entertaining read.
