Six Sentence Saturday - August 27, 2011

I tell you ladies and gents - I hate technology... Or, it hates me... I spent over an hour on the phone with tech support for my new computer today. I couldn't use it at all this morning! I turned it on, was chatting with the cc and thought it just went to sleep... Next thing I know: BLUE SCREEN! So, I restarted it to see if I could at least get the phone number for the computer company... BLUE SCREEN! I didn't try again. I called my mother and asked her to look the phone number up for me on their website. Here is the real kicker... my computer is so new that it wasn't even registered in their system yet! Part of my phone call was spent with them hastily putting that in order so that the technician could help me. Technology hates me!

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.

Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.

At the end of each review I will post a

rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.

Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!

4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.

3 of Hearts- Glad I read but no big deal

2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?

Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)

Six Sentence Saturday is an idea that I occasionally borrow from Staci at Life in the Thumb.

I call today 'Graphic Novel Day'. In order to accomplish something... There are a lot of reviews.

Sweet Tooth - Volume 2: In Captivity by Jeff Lemire

Completion Date: August 6, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with the Series.

Following on the heels of THE NOBODY, his Vertigo graphic novel debut, writer/artist Jeff Lemire pens his very first ongoing series SWEET TOOTH. A cross between Bambi and Cormac McCarthy's The Road, SWEET TOOTH tells the story of Gus, a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid children, has been raised in isolation following an inexplicable pandemic that struck a decade earlier. Now, with the death of his father he's left to fend for himself . . . until he meets a hulking drifter named Jepperd who promises to help him. Jepperd and Gus set out on a post-apocalyptic journey into the devastated American landscape to find 'The Preserve' a refuge for hybrids. In this second volume, Lemire explores the heartbreaking story of Jeppard and how he went from a devoted husband to the ruthless mercenary he is now. Meanwhile, Gus is captured in a camp with other hybrid creatures where he meets Dr. Singh, a scientist studying the plague that's wiped out so much of the world. By traveling more into Gus' past, Singh will learn more about the plague, as well as clues at how some of it might relate to Gus and his father.

I talked my library into buying this book, so I am very happy they listened to be about it and the next book in the series. This is a very different dystopian novel than the ones currently out there, so I actually enjoy it ten times more for that simple fact. The first book brought Gus to a camp where he is being studied because he is different, so this book carries on from that and shows what it is like for him to be locked up. We also learn the inspiration behind Jeppard, who captured Gus in the first place. Once again the story is heart-breaking for all concerned, and you can't help finding out what is going to happen next. I strongly recommend this series!

Nightschool: The Weirn Books - Volume 3 by Svetlana Chmakova

Completion Date: August 19, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with the Series.

Betrayed by one of their own, the Hunters have become the hunted as their hideaway is invaded by a pack of ravenous werewolves! But it'll take more than a few mongrels to get the better of these kids. Meanwhile, Alex begins advanced training with Mr. Roi. Will he be able to help her find a clue to her sister's disappearance? Or is the home-schooled Alex in way over her head?

I loved Dramacon by this author, but I am not enthused by this series so far and the library doesn't have the 4th book. I am not sure if it is that I am not in a vampire mood or if it is because I am putting too much space between the books, but I am almost lost about all that is going on. The other possibility is that she is trying to accomplish too much in each book and is over-whelming her readers. I think what I plan to do is request the library buys the 4th book and then read all 4 books in a short period of time so that I can give a fair assessment of the overall story. It is not that this book was terrible, but Dramacon was way better!

Avalon High: Coronation - Volume 3: Hunter's Moon by Meg Cabot

Completion Date: August 19, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with the Series.

The exciting conclusion to Meg Cabot's magical Arthurian manga!

Ellie has only one day left to get her boyfriend Will to truly believe he's the reincarnation of King Arthur, or the world will plunge into eternal darkness. But Will refuses to believe her! Meanwhile, the upcoming Homecoming game and dance have everyone distracted, especially Ellie. Some people aren't too happy about her Homecoming Queen nomination and are determined to cause trouble. Ellie's got to save her reputation and the world before the new moon on the night of Homecoming brings them all to a dangerous crossroad. If Ellie can't convince Will of his destiny, the world may never recover. . . .

This manga series of Arthurian legend and high school romance comes to a thrilling climax in this final volume. And just remember—anything can happen if you believe!

When I heard that this series had an Arthurian connection, I KNEW I was going to have to read it! The sad thing is that I read the first two books a long time ago and am only getting around to this now because it was ages before the library bought it and I sort of forgot to keep checking. I really enjoyed this retelling of the popular Arthurian myth in a modern time period. I believed it was well-done and not far-fetched at all. I liked the character of Ellie and her influence over the modern day Arthur. It was a little too perfect, but she didn't have a lot of room to draw things out.

Sweet Tooth - Volume 3: Animal Armies by Jeff Lemire

Completion Date: August 26, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with the Series.

A cross between Bambi and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, SWEET TOOTH tells the story of Gus, a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid children, has been raised in isolation following an inexplicable pandemic that struck a decade earlier. Now, with the death of his father he’s left to fend for himself . . . until he meets a hulking drifter named Jepperd who promises to help him. Jepperd and Gus set out on a post-apocalyptic journey into the devastated American landscape to find ‘The Preserve’, a refuge for hybrids.

In this third volume, Jeppard begins to form an army to topple the militia camp so he can rescue Gus and the other hybrid kids. But will he arrive too late to save anyone?

We now know the inspiration behind Jeppard, so it is not surprising that he regrets locking Gus up and begins a journey to release him. As in most books, things do not go exactly to plan and that opens a lot of action. Jeppard finds out some secrets and Gus learns to distrust most people, which is a huge turnaround from the first book. There are also more things to reveal about the characters we have met along the way. There was also something set-up in this book that I look forward to seeing played out in future books. I really enjoy this graphic novel series and recommend it!

The Unwritten - Volume 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity by Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Company

Completion Date: August 26, 2011

Reason for Reading: A reread so that I knew what was going on when I read book 2 and 3.

Collecting issues 1-5. Tom Taylor's life was screwed from go. His father created the Tommy Taylor fantasy series, boy-wizard novels with popularity on par with Harry Potter. The problem is Dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom's real life that fans are constantly comparing him to his counterpart, turning him into the lamest variety of Z-level celebrity. In the final novel, it's even implied that the fictional Tommy will crossover into the real world, giving delusional fans more excuses to harass Tom.

When an enormous scandal reveals that Tom might really be a boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a very mysterious, very deadly group that's secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his own life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, eventually finding himself at locations all featured on a very special map -- one kept by the deadly group that charts places throughout world history where fictions have impacted and tangibly shaped reality, those stories ranging from famous literary works to folktales to pop culture. And in the process of figuring out what it all means, Tom will find himself having to figure out a huge conspiracy mystery that spans the entirety of the history of fiction.

I read this book ages ago, never reviewed it, and then didn't read the sequels in a timely manner, so I figured I should refresh my memory. This is a highly entertaining book that combines many aspects of literature that I love: Fantasy, magic, books, literary characters, mystery, murder, vampires, and much much more. It almost gives Fables a run for its money, but that will probably never happen. This book also sort of connects to the very famous series about a magician named Harry Potter. I wasn't sure if I would like that, but it is actually rather entertaining and I just loved this book. If you haven't gave this series a try, you really should!

The Unwritten - Volume 2: Inside Man by Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Company

Completion Date: August 26, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with the Series.

Tom Taylor's life was screwed from go. His father created the Tommy Taylor fantasy series, boy-wizard novels with popularity on par with Harry Potter. The problem is Dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom's real life that fans are constantly comparing him to his counterpart, turning him into the lamest variety of Z-level celebrity. In the final novel, it's even implied that the fictional Tommy will crossover into the real world, giving delusional fans more excuses to harass Tom.

When an enormous scandal reveals that Tom might really be a boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a very mysterious, very deadly group that's secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his own life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, eventually finding himself at locations all featured on a very special map — one kept by the deadly group that charts places throughout world history where fictions have impacted and tangibly shaped reality, those stories ranging from famous literary works to folktales to pop culture. And in the process of figuring out what it all means, Tom will find himself having to figure out a huge conspiracy mystery that spans the entirety of the history of fiction.

In this volume, Tom arrives at Donostia prison in Southern France and falls into the orbit of another story: The Song of Roland. Unfortunately for Tom, it's a story that ends with a massacre. .Tom discovers the true meaning of "out of the frying pan" after his escape from Donostia jail takes him to Stuttgart in 1940, a ghost city inhabited by the master liar of the Third Reich, Josef Goebbels, and a tortured soul who's crying out for rescue - or death...

Now that we know Tom Taylor a bit, I have to say that the only that that bothers me about this series is Tom. He is really rather whiny and sometimes I would love to give him a good shake, but that is sort of the point of his character and everything that has happened during the series so far. It is in this book that Tom really gets to know the rest of the members of his team because in the book he has a guy and a girl sidekick, so he of course has to have them included in his real life adventures. There is also a flying cat. Tom obviously believes that the books are only books, so he doesn't think that he has any connection to them. He is learning about who he is along with the reader, so it makes the series interesting.

The Unwritten - Volume 3: Dead Man's Knock by Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Company

Completion Date: August 26, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with the Series.

The third volume of the critically acclaimed New York Times best selling new series from the Eisner-nominated creative team of Mike Carey and Peter Gross.

This volume includes “Dead Man’s Knock,” featuring the launch of the long-awaited new Tommy Taylor novel. A scheme by the Unwritten cabal to bring its author out of hiding works with dramatic results, including the momentous confrontation between Tom and Wilson.

Plus, learn the truth behind Lizzie Hexam, Tommy’s mysterious benefactor, in an interactive tale that lets the reader choose the story’s path

Here is a trip down memory lane.... CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE! I am serious - part of this book you do just that and I was unnecessarily excited about this. This is also the book that explains the character of Lizzie Hexam, who you might recognize if you have read A Mutual Friend. In this book she gets her own section to explore who she is and how she came to be involved in Tom's story. It also is where Tom begins to address aspects of his past and the reader learns a few secrets that Tom doesn't know about yet. It was a great read!

The Ratings:

I assume that with my luck this evening, adding the cards will destroy my formatting. I have decided to cheat.

With the exception of the Nightschool book and Avalon High, I give all of these books this card:

For the exceptions, I give them this card:

I have been feeling a bit discouraged with graphic novels lately, so I am so happy I was able to find so many great ones in the same month!

Series Mentioned in this Post:

Sweet Tooth:

Out of the Deep Woods

In Captivity

Animal Armies

The Unwritten:

Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity

Inside Man

Dead Man's Knock

Nightschool: The Weirn Books:

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Avalon High:

The Merlin Prophecy

Homecoming

Hunter's Moon

Collected Essex County by Jeff Lemire

Collected Essex County by Jeff Lemire

Completion Date: March 21, 2011

Reason for Reading: Canada Reads 2011

Where does a young boy turn when his whole world suddenly disappears? What turns two brothers from an unstoppable team into a pair of bitterly estranged loners? How does the simple-hearted care of one middle-aged nurse reveal the scars of an entire community, and can anything heal the wounds caused by a century of deception? Award-winning cartoonist Jeff Lemire pays tribute to his roots with Essex County, an award-winning trilogy of graphic novels set in an imaginary version of his hometown, the eccentric farming community of Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In Essex County, Lemire crafts an intimate study of one community through the years, and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, and reconciliation. With the lush, expressive inking of a young artist at the height of his powers, Lemire draws us in and sets us free.

This new edition collects the complete, critically-acclaimed trilogy (Tales from the Farm, Ghost Stories, and The Country Nurse) in one deluxe volume! Also included are over 40-pages of previously unpublished material, including two new stories.

I do attempt to read the Canada Reads books, but the last couple years I have done rather bad at it. I figured I at least needed to read one and since I was surprised there was a graphic novel selection this year, I knew I had to see what it was all about. I am so glad that I did. I tend to read mostly graphic novels set elsewhere, so reading one set close to home was a bit refreshing. It felt familiar the whole time I was reading it because it was Canadiana at its best. It was very good representation of the quiet lives that appear to the outside when you live in the smaller areas, but the book shows that there is more to those quiet lives than meets the eye. I enjoyed how he managed to work the three stories together.

The collection takes the three volumes and puts them all together in one volume. This is a good idea because I can't imagine getting the same thing out of the story if you only read one of the books. They are meant to be a set or you miss out on a lot. When I first started, I thought they were three unrelated stories other than the setting, but as you get going with the story the connections begin to become apparent. I enjoyed how the nurse tied everything together and then in the end, when you discover that there is more going on than meets the eye. The stories are not happy ones, but they have their happy moments. They are just life with its ups and downs. Life is never met to be easy, but sometimes it is harder than anyone really expects.

I think this is a collection of graphic novels worth checking out. They seem so simplistic, but they are actually rather brilliant.

Comic Book Extravaganza

Supernatural: Beginning's End: Volumes 1 - 6 by Andrew Dabb, Daniel Loflin, & Company

Completion Date: March 5, 2011

Reason for Reading: Fun!

Written by Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin Art and cover by Diego Olmos Photo Variant Cover Picking up several years after the hit RISING SON miniseries, the Winchester clan find themselves in the strangest situation imaginable - monster hunting in the Big Apple! The definitive events that led to Sam leaving his family to attend Stanford, this gripping and horrifying story, courtesy of television series writers Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin, will explore the raw nerves of what makes the Winchesters unique and volatile. Fans of the cult hit TV series won't want to miss this pivotal 6-issue tale!

I really like this TV show, so when I had the chance to borrow these comics, I was curious. This is a prequel of sorts to the events in the show. It was interesting to see the early development of the characters and the story. It was particularly helpful in explaining just how fragmented the family is by the time the first season started. There are things revealed during the show, but this actually shows them playing out. The family has obviously been through some very strange things and they all have their own way of coming to terms with things. I enjoyed these and look forward to more from the books and the show.

Rock 'n' Roll Comics: The Runaways by Spike Steffenhagen, Jay Allen Sanford, & Company

Completion Date: March 5, 2011

Reason for Reading: Fun!

Joan Jett may be best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, including their hit cover 'I Love Rock N' Roll, but her career as a member of The Runaways This one shot tells about her life from when she helped to found The Runaways in the 1970s, the hardest rocking girls band, to when she broke off to her iconic solo career. Learn the true story of Joan Jett and The Runaways with this biography that's unauthorized and proud of it!

I am not a huge Runaways fan, but I do respect what they accomplished in a mostly male world. When I borrowed some comics, this one was mixed in and I decided to give it a read. This is also why I read The Guild, which I really enjoyed, so I was hoping for a similar experience. I did like this, but I didn't entirely love it. If you like the band, it is worth checking out, but otherwise I am not sure if I would call it a must read.

Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories by Zack Whedon & Company

Completion Date: March 5, 2011

Reason for Reading: Fun!

Based on the Emmy Award-winning web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, this collection of stories written by Zack Whedon (Deadwood, Fringe) chronicles some of the earliest adventures in the lives of archenemies Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible.

This anthology solves many unanswered questions left over from the show. For instance: What event inspired Dr. Horrible to become the world's greatest criminal mastermind? Why is Penny, the beautiful girl from the Laundromat, still single? How can you, the reader, be like blustering do-gooder Captain Hammer? And why is Horrible's sidekick, Moist, so . . . um . . . well, you'll find out!

If you haven't had the chance to watch Dr. Horrible, DO SO NOW! I love it and I was so happy to read this comic book based on the web show. It was a lot of fun and I was so happy to revisit all of the characters and learn more about them. Just talking about it is making me excited. I might rewatch the show tonight!

Sweet Tooth - Volume 1: Out of the Deep Woods by Jeff Lemire

Completion Date: March 9, 2011

Reason for Reading: Fun!

Following on the heels of THE NOBODY, his Vertigo graphic novel debut, writer/artist Jeff Lemire pens his very first ongoing series SWEET TOOTH. A cross between Bambi and Cormac McCarthy's The Road, SWEET TOOTH tells the story of Gus, a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid children, has been raised in isolation following an inexplicable pandemic that struck a decade earlier. Now, with the death of his father he's left to fend for himself . . . until he meets a hulking drifter named Jepperd who promises to help him.

Jepperd and Gus set out on a post-apocalyptic journey into the devastated American landscape to find 'The Preserve' a refuge for hybrids. This unique and haunting new series is written and illustrated by Eisner-nominated creator Lemire (The Essex County Trilogy) and colored by fellow Eisner nominee Jose Villarubia.

I was rather curious about this comic because of the attention his other comics, The Essex County Trilogy, gained a bunch of attention recently because of Canada Reads. I have also seen a couple reviews of this that made it sound interesting. And, it was pretty good, but I think I might be heading towards my 'get sick of graphic novels' period. Last year I hardly read any at all, so I was into them a bit lately, but now I am getting bored again. I think when I read book two, I will reread this one to give it another chance. Despite thinking I was a bit indifferent to it, though, I did like it. Don't think that I didn't. I just don't think I gave it a fair chance... It could be the idea, too. Post-apocalyptic-type books are very popular right now and I have read a bunch, so maybe I need something different for a while.