Four Graphic Novels

2015, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cybil Challenge, Don't Read This, Favorites /

I’m only about a month late but I’ve started the whole Cybils shortlist thing and am slowly making a dent in the list. Graphic novels were a good way to dive in.

El Deafo was excellent. Really. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it — so much hype around it! But, it was well deserved hype.

Bad Machinery: The Case of the Good Boy, sigh. I just don’t like Bad Machinery. I don’t get why everyone else does. This one was better than the last one I read (or tried to read) but I had to force myself to get through this one, too. If it makes the Cybils next year, I’m just not going to read it. Blah.

Gaijin: American Prisoner of War — I liked it. The art was excellent.

Bird & Squirrel on Ice was super cute. I particularly like Sakari and her role in the story.

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The Boys of Blur

2015, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

First… OMG I read a book. A real live book with pages and stuff! Yippee! It had been so long, I wasn’t sure I actually liked reading anymore. (Kidding. Mostly.)

Anyway, Boys of Blur is from the Cybils shortlist and it was good. Also creepy, as books set in the swamps of Florida can often be. It was a quick read and exactly right for my still not quite back from vacation/caught up at work attention span.

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Two Awesome Audiobooks

2015, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Feminism, Fiction, Women /

Thank goodness for audiobooks! Without them, my books read this month count would be horrid. Oh wait, it will still be horrid but at least the audiobooks helped. Also, they were great books.

Sarah Addison Allen’s First Frost was terrific. It took me awhile to remember who all of the Waverlys were and how they were connected and what their magics were but I very much enjoyed it. Great book for a road trip.

Next, Anita Diamond’s Boston Girl (read by Linda Lavin!) was excellent and an even better book for a road trip. I wish it had been a little longer, with a few more stories about Addy as wife/mother but I’m not really complaining.

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When I Found You

2015, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

We finished our audiobook and didn’t have any waiting for us at the library so I surfed Amazon for free audio books and decided When I Found You looked like the best of the bunch. Turns out it was better than expected. One of those books that you keep thinking about after you’ve stopped listening for awhile. One of those books that makes you sad but also makes you feel good at the same time.

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Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them

2015, Art, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

I grabbed Pen & Ink from the new arrivals shelf just as an impulse pick — because I knew RJ would be at our house and I thought she might be interested in it. I think she read it. I’m not sure. But I very much loved it. The stories behind the tattoos were fabulous. Really good stuff (and a quick read, which was important after some very long work days.)

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Reading In January

Books in Bed, Reading /

January was a better reading month than I thought. A total of 15 books (I thought it was much less.)

4 Non-fiction
1 Audiobook
4 YA
1 Queer
1 Short Story

I wonder if I can do as well in February — could be tough since I’ll be on vacation for more than a week (with a lot of tough work projects in the works, too.)

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Evil Librarian

2015, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

Who can resist a book called Evil Librarian? Not me, that’s for sure.

It was cute. YA cute. It was also a little slow for me. The first half of the book just slogged along, which it shouldn’t have since a lot did happen. It just wasn’t compelling. Or maybe I was just tired from a really hectic work week? I dunno. It was good. I didn’t hate it. Not sure whether I’ll read the next two books (there have to be two more because, well — I can’t imagine there wouldn’t be because of the deal with the demon…)

Oh, the book also made me want to see Sweeney Todd so there’s that. lol

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Handmade Nation

2015, Art, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

I have no idea why Handmade Nation was on the new arrivals shelf at the library. It’s old, old, old, old. But there you have it. It was there. I was amused. I checked it out.

I was even more amused when I started reading it. Everyone was so young! All of those sites were so new! Things have really grown and changed!

I kept stopping to see if featured artists/crafters/makers were still doing the type of work that was featured in the book, (sometimes yes, sometimes no.)

I found myself watching old Craft Lab videos with Jennifer Perkins and giggling like crazy.

I enjoyed the stroll down memory lane. 😉

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