Week in Review - Week 9

Random Thoughts

It is hard to believe it is almost the end of February. We started off the month with snow, but we haven't really see any since. Instead we are having basically spring weather and it is so weird! Nice, though. We haven't had to really shovel, or plow, and the temperatures are likely saving on heating costs. I am just used to February being my least favourite month of the year because usually the winter really gets to you this month. It is almost refreshing that has been mild. We went for a random road trip last weekend and you could have the windows open in the car and not freeze. It will be interesting to see what March brings...

Graphic Novel Year

Saga - Volume 1 (reread)

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Marvel Unlimited)

Harbinger - Volume 1: Omega Rising (Scribd)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl - Volume 2: Squirrel You Know It's True (Marvel Unlimited)

Saga - Volume 2 (reread)

Saga - Volume 3 (reread)

Batgirl - Volume 2: Family Business

Currently Reading

Weekly Reading

Saga Volume 1 - I love this series, but I was behind in it. With Volume 6 coming out later this year, one of my goals for February was to read all the books I owned in the series. This one was a reread. I loved the reread. This series just has a great cast of characters and a compelling storyline. If you haven't read it, you really should! Strongly recommended.

Big Thunder Mountain - The back story to how a ride came to be named? Big Thunder is a ride at Disney, right? In any case, with a huge series happening right now it was nice to see a complete arc added to Marvel and I actually really enjoyed this Volume. There is a strong female lead and the story takes place in an old western town. The Mountain is a character all its own. It is a fun, quick read. Recommended!

Harbinger - Volume 1: Omega Rising - When I heard that this series was going to include an overweight, female super hero... I had to check it out. I had noticed the series before on Scribd, but never really knew anything about it. Then I saw mention of it on a blog and had to see what I thought. It is also the first time I believe I have read anything by Valiant comics. This volume didn't knock my socks off compared to other things I have read this month, but I did like it and look forward to more! Recommended.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl  - Volume 2: Squirrel You Know It's True - Squirrel Girl is one of the best things happening at Marvel right now. Here we have a female in college kicking butt. She's funny and original and makes fun of Iron Man on Twitter. She is definitely worth checking out if you haven't before! I continue to enjoy her and look forward to the next volume. Strongly Recommended!

Saga Volume 2 - I am loving my reread of this series. It is nice to refresh my memory about things I had forgotten about the series. And, I love Lying Cat. (You know me and animals in comics... And books... Done well, they are my favourite!) At the core this is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet without the suicides. It is the story of love conquering prejudice and war. It is a story for the ages... It just happens to take place in the future in space. Strongly recommended!

Saga Volume 3 - This was also a reread... I have only not read Volume 5, but I didn't reread when I read Volume 4 and things were just not fresh in my memory. I wanted things to be fresh in my mind for Volume 5 and hopefully still be fresh when Volume 6 comes out. Another strong comic in a favourite series. I love Fiona Staples art. She is definitely worth checking out in general! Another strongly recommended volume!

Batgirl - Volume 2: Family Business - I wish I had read more DC comics. They just have the easiness of Marvel Unlimited as an option... And I only have so much funds to use on books. I am glad I took a chance on the first Volume of this series for Valentine's Day because I am really enjoying Babs and her friends. This book also crosses over with Gotham Academy, the one DC series I started last year, so yay for me. I look forward to Volume 3 out later this year! Recommended!

New Additions

Batgirl - Volume 2: Family Business

A Darker Shade of Magic

Weekly Posts

Week in Review - Week 8

Weekly Pictures

Week in Review - Week 8

Random Thoughts

I ended up participating in Book Blogger Appreciation Week last week hosted at The Estella Society. It was fun to brush off the old tag from the days when Amy hosted it. I am sort of outside the blogging sphere nowadays, but it was fun to join in! I added new bloggers to my feed reader and talked on Twitter a lot. We will see if I can comment on these new blogs and keep using Twitter... This last week also announced some changes to Scribd, a site I use to off-set my TBR pile. I am pretty disappointed with the changes and have found myself trying to read books off my list there instead of my personal challenge to catch up in some series. This is mainly because if I don't like the changes, I will be cancelling my membership in March. We will see how things play out...

Graphic Novel Year

Rat Queens - Volume 1: Sass & Sorcery (reread)

Rat Queens - Volume 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth

Morning Glories - Volume 8: Assembly

Morning Glories - Volume 9: Assembly

Jim Henson's Storyteller: Witches (Scribd)

Clive Barker's Nightbreed - Volume 1 (Scribd)

Clive Barker's Nightbreed - Volume 2 (Scribd)

Girl in Dior (Scribd)

Currently Reading 

Weekly Reading

Rat Queens - Volume 1 (reread) - I love this comic about a group of sassy, female heroes. They are not your conventional band, though, and are often fighting trouble they brought on themselves... But, I was so happy to reread it and revisit with the characters! I hope this series goes far and they continue to develop! Recommended!

Rat Queens - Volume 2 - I am so glad I finally got around to reading this book! It arrived during my reading slump last year and while I started it, I never finished it. Now I could read it with enthusiasm and once again enjoy my time with the characters. I didn't love this one quite as much as book 1, but I am still a huge fan and cannot wait until Volume 3 is out later this year. Recommended!

Morning Glories - Volume 8 - Okay, so I was so close to being caught up in this series that I splurged and bought the last two books before Volume 10 is out in May. I love this series and its messed-up, half the time no idea what is going on, storyline. I knew if I neglected it, it would be next year before I finally caught up and I didn't want to wait that long. This series continues to be a page turner for me. I am definitely a fan! Recommended!

Morning Glories - Volume 9 - And here we are, caught up! Once again this volume was a page turner and I was left at the end wondering what was going to happen next... It seems like the minute something is explained, more weird things start happening. The pieces are starting to come together, though, and I am loving the ride! Recommended!

The Storyteller - I read this on Scribd because I have been meaning to get to it for a while and didn't want to miss out. I love Jim Henson. I love The Storyteller. I loved this comic book. The art is stellar and the retellings are a lot of fun. I think that Jim Henson would have approved! It is essentially a collection of fairy tale retellings involving witches, so I would have enjoyed this even if it was not tied to Henson. Strongly recommended!

Nightbreed - Volume 1 & 2 - I read this on Scribd, too. I am not even sure why.... I didn't like it at all, but I still read all 12 issues that were on there. It was weird, which I expected, but I think I was just not the right audience for it. It was also the first time I have ever read anything to do with Clive Barker and may not have been the best starting point... Just not my thing...

Girl in Dior - I had seen this around the blogosphere and added it to my library in Scribd, but it was because of this post by Melanie and the whole trying to read stuff off of Scribd that I finally read it. And, I really liked it! The art was really great and the story was well-told considering it was based on true events. It is about away from what I normally would read, but it is a graphic novel so that always catches my interest! Recommended!

For the Love of Cats: From A to Z - This just sort of happened... It was a fun cover, I love cats, and it caught my eye last night. I did learn a few things from it, though, and enjoyed the artwork. Another one that I read on Scribd...

Go the Fuck to Sleep - I have been curious about this book since I noticed it when it came out. Not something I felt a pressing need to buy, so I had been planning to read it on Scribd. That happened yesterday and it was a lot of fun! It definitely captures the frustration a parent can feel! Recommended!

You Have to Fucking Eat - And then, there was apparently a sequel. So, decided to read that yesterday as well. It is also lots of fun and definitely represents the frustration of picky eaters well! Also from Scribd and also recommended!

New Additions

Morning Glories - Volume 8: Assembly

Morning Glories - Volume 9: Assembly

Shattered: The Iron Druid Chronicles (Book 7)

Hunted: The Iron Druid Chronicles (Book 8)

The Wicked + The Divine - Volume 3: Commercial Suicide

Weekly Posts

Week in Review - Week 7

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Day 1 - Introduce Yourself!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Day 3 - Blogger Recommendations

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Day 3 - Books I Read Because of Dewey

Books I Am Excited About - March Edition

Weekly Pictures

Books I Am Excited About - March Edition

I always want way too many books throughout the year.... The ones that are topping my list for March are the following:

The ultra-popular statues from DC Collectibles come to life in their own ongoing comic book series! Learn the story behind this alternate reality where the Second World War is fought by superpowered women on the front lines and behind the scenes! It all begins with the stories of Batwoman, Wonder Woman and Supergirl.

-- I love World War II stuff! I am so happy with this idea and cannot wait to give it a try!

Set to Release: March 8, 2016

Mercy Thompson has been hailed as “a heroine who continues to grow and yet always remains true to herself.”* Now she’s back, and she’ll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it’s the children who suffer...

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?

-- New Mercedes Thompson!!!!

Set to Release: March 8, 2016

Welcome to Gotham Academy! Gotham City's most prestigious prep school is a very weird place. It's got a spooky campus, oddball teachers, and rich benefactors always dropping by... like that weirdo Bruce Wayne. But nothing is as strange as the students! Are these Gotham's newest heroes... or villains? The future is here at Gotham Academy.

GOTHAM ACADEDMY Vol. 2 digs deeper into the mysteries that surround the pretigious school and the characters that inhabit it. Collects GOTHAM ACADEMY #7-12.

-- I read the first volume of this on a whim last year and I am looking forward to where the series goes next!

Set to release: March 22, 2016

That is what my top books are for March... What are you looking forward to in March?

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Day 3 - Books I Read Because of Dewey

Books I Read Because of Dewey

Dear Dewey,

It is hard to believe that so much time has gone by... I read these books almost 7 years ago. Some of them have stuck with me. Some were okay, but I am not sure I ever need to read again. Others I want to reread sooner rather than later! This post is why even when my blogging gets quiet... I don't stop... I remember reading So Many Books, So Little Time in a hotel after my great-grandmother died. I remember all the excitement bloggers had about American Born Chinese. It is too bad you never got to read his newer stuff... I am sure you would have loved him. At the end of the day, though, I have blogging friends that influence my life and my reading. I explore things that I may missed entirely if not for people like you. And, you continue to influence reading every time the blogosphere has a readathon. This means that people that never even met you, are still being inspired by your sense of community. In a way, you will always live on even if blogging becomes a thing of the past... I am sure there are still books on my TBR pile I have because of you. And, I know there are others I read other years because of you.

Much love to you and your love of reading and community!

Until next time...

And now, on with the books!

Read in January, 2009

A quote from Dewey's post: 

[O]ne of Jin’s classmates, a Japanese-American girl the bullies in the class call “chink,” which is a demeaning term for a Chinese person, not a Japanese person. The ignorance of some of Jin’s classmates is so deep that they can’t even get their racial slurs right. If you’re a woman like me, you may have been called names usually reserved for women. That’s pretty horrible, but imagine if the people degrading you with words paid so little notice to who you really are that they didn’t even use ugly words reserved for females, but instead called you names commonly used to insult men. With the former names, as awful as they are, you at least know that you’re not alone, that other women are called these names. With the latter, your femaleness is completely dismissed. Imagine how much damage something like that, happening day after day to a child, could do. How would that affect your sense of who you are?

You can read my Dewey letter here.

Read in February, 2009

So, when Dewey reviewed this post she answered questions. When I did my post I added my two cents to her answers. You can read the post here. 

Originally read February, 2009

When I posted my review I linked to all the mentions of John Green on Dewey's blog. Unfortunately the links go to other places now, but the idea is there!

Read in 2009

Words from Dewey:

I’ve noticed myself that many teenage girls consider developing breasts and hips to be “getting fat.” So many girls and young women I’ve talked to seem convinced that the ideal for a woman is to retain a pre-pubescent straight-up-and-down body. They seem to find it horrifying to gain weight, even when that weight gain goes along with increased height. This determination to retain a childlike stick figure body seems to go along with a horror with body hair. When I was in high school and college, it was considered “gross” to retain any armpit or leg hair, but now more and more I hear from girls and women that age that it seems “gross” to retain pubic hair, too. It concerns me that female secondary sex characteristics are considered so repulsive. It’s sickening to think that without realizing it, women attempt to please men by appearing as much as possible like little girls.

Unfortunately, like above none of the links to Dewey's blog work any more, but you can see the original post here.

Originally read in March, 2009

Thoughts from Dewey:

Since she lost her memory after an accident, she frequently looks up words. This serves a couple purposes. First, the character will keep using words she looks up later in the book, showing in a way how she has to use repetition to learn new things you might expect a girl of seventeen to have mastered. Second, it shows the reader, at times, some of the more obscure meanings of certain commonplace words. Adoration is not just the noun for the verb adore, to love, but can also be a religious term, mean a demonstration of worship.

You can read the original post here.

Originally read in 2009

A fitting book for #ComicsFebruary! Dewey and I both really liked this book. Read the post by clicking here.

Originally read in 2009

I mention browsing Dewey's blog and discovering that she had read this book, too. I really wish her blog was still active! You can read what I call a ranty post over here.

Read in 2009

I really loved this blog. A lot of other bloggers recommended it, but it was Dewey that got me to finally read it. And I wish I had read it long before I did... I should reread! I included a quote from Dewey in my post:

In fact, once it’s discovered who P.L.A.I.N. is, Jane’s new friends try to decide how to restructure themselves now that they’re no longer anonymous. Jane ends by saying, “Of course we can still be an art girl gang.” And she thinks, “I feel a fierce pride. This is my tribe.”

Check out the full post here.

Originally read in 2009

Dewey and I both really liked this book, but not for the same reasons as other bloggers... She made me feel not so alone on what I took away from the book. Read the post over here.

Originally read in 2009

I remember really loving this book. I must reread it! The original post is here.

Originally read in 2009

I love Terry Pratchett. I am glad one of my favourite books by him, I read because of Dewey! (And probably Nymeth... Oh, yes, I mention Ana in my original post, too!)

Thoughts from Dewey:

The story takes place in the mid to late nineteenth century on a tiny island which has been nearly destroyed by a tsunami. One survivor remains from the entire nation: Mau. But survivors from other islands and from a shipwreck wash up on the island and help Mau rebuild his home. One character, Ermintrude (who says her name is Daphne) has the biggest adjustment to make. She’s an English girl who was on board a ship that runs aground on the island. Unlike the other survivors, she has no shared language, history, culture, or even similar appearance to the others. But they all learn to communicate.

Read my original post over this way.

Originally read in 2009

 You can read my original post about this book here.