InsanitySandwich.com

Read in May, Part 1 (Catch Up Post!)

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Lorraine Posted in Read This Month .

Read in May 01

The Rabbit Back Literature Society – Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen. This is such an odd book. Magical realism meets books about books meets murder mystery meets strange and unusual happenings meets illuminating flashbacks meets what is going on?? When Ella is invited to join the elite Rabbit Back Literature Society, she gets a lot more than she bargained for. The head of the society goes missing, there seems to be a virus affecting the books at the town library, and she becomes embroiled in something known as ‘The Game’. Please, click on the link and read the blurb because this is a wonderful, twisty turny read that defies summation (seriously! I can’t condense what makes it so brilliant into a few sentences – I’ve been trying!).

The Women Who Shaped Politics: Empowering Stories of of Women Who Have Shifted the Political Landscape – Sophy Ridge. Or, more correctly ‘The Women Who Shaped British Politics’. Or, even more correctly, ‘The Women Who Shaped English Politics’. Ridge admits to her omissions and biases in the opening paragraphs of this book, but it’s still a bit hard to overlook the absence of non-English politicians at times. I also found it hard to swallow that after acknowledging Constance Markievicz as the first female MP in Britain (which then included Ireland), the book went on to state several times that Nancy Astor was the first female MP. Now, Markievicz didn’t take her seat but that doesn’t make her any less the first female MP which makes Nancy Astor the first female MP who actually took her seat. These things aside, I enjoyed The Women Who Shaped Politics immensely. It got across an awful lot of information without getting bogged down and it really is a good overview of some of the female figures who have played a prominent role in British political life. A good introduction for people looking to dip their toes in the complicated landscape of women in politics.

The Dark Days Club – Alison Goodman. I’ve mentioned before how I’m right into Regency high jinks, right? The Dark Days Club takes Regency high jinks, supernatural shenanigans, and a forbidden romance, slams them all together and comes out the other side as a hell of a read. Lady Helen is a sympathetic main character, torn between duty to family and duty to the crown, and the book doesn’t sidestep the limitations placed on women during this time period like some others (*cough* I’m looking at you Lady Julia Grey *cough*). The only thing I struggled with was supernatural element which I never connected with, finding it forced and not terribly convincing. Luckily, the rest of the book more than made up for this weakness and if you’re looking for a fun Regency read, look no further.

The Other Typist – Suzanne Rindell. A story of the jazz age, The Other Typist follows Rose, an every-day sort of girl who meets Odalie, an extraordinary sort of girl who utterly transforms Rose’s life. But is everything quite as it seems? This was a random pick from the library which I ended up absolutely loving. From the start, it’s clear that Rose is an unreliable narrator and as her life starts to fracture she becomes more and more selective about what she chooses to see. And the ending! Read this tale of glamour and obsession, read it now and know that wherever you think this book is heading, you’re wrong.

Read in May 02

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2: Prelude – Will Corona Pilgrim et. al. A truly dismal collection of seemingly random Guardians of the Galaxy comics and not a prequel to the new movie at all. Nice false advertising there, Marvel.

Guardians of the Galaxy New Guard, Volume 3: Civil War II – Brian Michael Bendis et. al. For the life of me, I can’t find a finished version of this cover anywhere online so you’ll have to put up with one that says ‘Subtitle TBC’. Anyway, Captain Marvel calls the Guardians for help, only she doesn’t tell them what’s going on so they jump straight in and everyone looks like an arsehole. Seriously, that’s the best summary I can come up with for this random, largely pointless installation in the Civil War II saga (I get that it’s hard to work company-wide events into a single title but was Bendis even trying with this one?).

Guardians Team-Up, Volume 1: Guardians Assemble – Brian Michael Bendis et. al. Given that this is basically a random selection of issues where various members of the Guardians team up with other Marvel heroes, this has its ups and downs. A highlight is definitely the Gamora and She-Hulk crossover, and the Rocket Raccoon team up with the Pet Avengers was surprisingly witty but at the end of the day it’s a pretty transparent cash grab.

Avengers Standoff, Volume 2 – Nick Spencer et. al. Not as good as the first volume but still a surprisingly enjoyable read (well, for a non-Avengers reader at any rate).

Read in May 03

Indelible – Adelia Saunders. Magdalena can see people’s secrets, Neil hasn’t quite figured out what’s really important, and Richard is searching for the mother he never knew. Three characters, three stories that slowly wend their way into one beautiful, aching whole. The magical realism element (Magdalena can see the history of a person written on their skin) is what drew me to this, and that aspect of the book is as thoughtful and wonderful as I’d hoped, but there’s so much more to the story than that. We move back in forth in time and location, learning just a little bit more each time until things finally start to click into place. A slow-burn of a read, definitely, but one worth your time.

The Secret Loves of Geek Girls – Hope Nicholson (ed). I didn’t realise this would be a straight up romance book. I thought, as did Kelly Sue DeConnick according to her introduction, that it would be more wide-ranging, so I struggled with this. Individually, the stories were fine (some were better than others, obviously), but they didn’t fit together. There was no thematic arrangement that I could see, instead they’re just presented at random which led to a jerky reading experience. They were also quite repetitive – ‘I was a geek and I didn’t fit in and then I found love and it either went great or terribly’. Here’s the thing, I was a geek but I fit in just fine, so reading story after story where being a geek seems to mean automatic exclusion was tiresome. There’s some really lovely, honest stuff in here but overall I was massively disappointed.

The Boy on the Bridge – M.R. Carey. GO READ THIS BOOK! Seriously. This takes place in the same universe as The Girl With All The Gifts, a book where M.R. Carey took zombie tropes and made them wonderful again, but it’s not a direct sequel. Technically, you could read this without reading The Girl With All The Gifts, but both books are so freaking good that it’s worth reading them in publication order. I read the second half of this sitting in my garden and cried so hard at the ending, in front of all my neighbours, and it was worth it.

Aliens: Life and Death – Dan Abnett & Moritat. This referenced a lot of events that I’m not familiar with, but it was a fun sci-fi horror romp with a dash of LGBT representation so I forgave it pretty quickly.

Read in March, Part 2 (Catch Up Post!)

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Lorraine Posted in Read This Month .

I keep telling myself that I’m going to sit down and schedule my blog posts properly, but every time I start, the sun comes out and I wander off. Or I fall down a hole on the internet known as ‘I’ll just click this one link’. And to think I used to think of myself as an extremely organised person – ha!

Read in March 04

Avengers Standoff, Volume 01 – Nick Spencer et. al. An odd one this, and one I only picked up because the new Thor is in it. Maria Hill has decided that the best thing to do with superhuman bad guys is brainwash them into thinking that they’re completely different people and it’s the 1950s (that last part isn’t accurate, but it sure feels like it). Because, as we all know, nothing is likely to go wrong with a top notch plan like that. This is not an original idea and the fact that it exists primarily to deliver fight scenes between the Avengers and SHIELD isn’t exactly inspiring. But, it’s… well, it’s okay. The writers do their best with what they’ve been given and I don’t hate the result.

The Diaries of Nella Last: Writing in War & Peace – Nella Last, Patricia & Robert Malcolmson. Another result of the Mass Observation Project, three volumes of Nella’s diaries have already been published, with this one filling in the gaps between them. Which made it a bit patchy, as a read, especially as I haven’t read the other volumes. Nella is a completely average English woman, living a completely average English life and it makes for a fascinating read. Reading her diary gives such a complete picture of the world she lived in – my god, shopping for food was a nightmare back in the 1940s/50s :/ I’ll definitely be picking up the other volumes of her diary at some point.

Suicide Squad, Volume 05: Apokolips Now – John Ostrander et. al. Ahahaha. This is a prime example of how much better comics have become in the last decade or so. The dialogue is awkward and bombastic, the story is weird and the characters are often hilariously terrible. It has a certain appeal, I’ll admit, but it’s definitely not for me.

The Mighty Thor, Volume 01 – Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman. There are a lot of Marvel characters that have never floated my boat and Thor has always been one of them. This version of Thor, though? I love her. I knew the new Thor was a woman, and I knew there was controversy (obviously), but that’s about all I knew going in so the whole thing was a delightful surprise. Jane Foster is amazing in this, torn between helping others and helping herself. Definitely give it a go if you’re into a more nuanced look at superheroes.

Read in March 05

The Mighty Thor, Volume 02: Lords of Midgard – Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman & Rafa Garres. Marred by inconsistent art but still a lot of fun. See above.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot, Volume 01: Tricks of the Trade – Skottie Young et. al. Speaking of fun, Skottie Young is writing and illustrating the madcap adventures of Rocket Raccoon and Groot! Yay! A fun, light read with some interesting dark bits to remind you exactly what these two are capable of.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot, Volume 02: Civil War II – Nick Kocher et. al. So this is easily my favourite Civil War II title. Hands down, by a country mile, my absolutely favourite Civil War II title. Now you might be a bit confused because I have been quite negative about Civil War II in the past, so what, exactly, has happened here? First of all, Gwenpool is in it and Gwenpool = <3. Secondly, they mention Civil War II and how it’s all incredibly urgent and terrible, and then they go and do something completely different (because, as Gwenpool points out, they’re hardly going to kill of a main character in a B-list title like this one, so what they do will have exactly zero impact on the main Civil War II story that they’re being forced to reference). Which is exactly how Civil War II should be handled – ignore it until it goes away. Winning!

All-New All-Different Avengers, Volume 01: The Magnificent Seven – Mark Waid, Adam Kubert & Mahmud Asrar. Hmmm. I feel like this title doesn’t know exactly what it’s trying to achieve. Some long-time Avengers leave for REASONS so new Avengers are brought in, all of which leads to us sitting through ‘omg! I’m not good enough to be an Avenger!’ and ‘Everyone feels that way at first, kid. It’s cool.’ There are so many good characters in this (Ms. Marvel! Miles Morales! Jane Foster!) but it just feels weird. I have to admit that that’s partly because I really dislike Vision and Tony Stark, but it’s partly because none of these characters really seem to go together, which has often been a problem I’ve had with the Avengers.

Read in March 06

Burning Bright – Melissa McShane. I read a few glowing (no pun intended) reviews of this around the time it was published, so when it popped up for free on Amazon I almost fell over myself clicking the download button. In 19th Century England, Elinor leads an incredibly restricted life. Her father is domineering and dismissive at the same time, and she can’t see a way to create the future she wants for herself. All of that changes when it becomes clear that she can wield an incredibly rare power over fire. With her father intent on using the rarity of her powers to sell her off to the highest bidder, Elinor takes her destiny in her own hand and presents herself in the offices of the Royal Navy, an organisation with a history of utilising men with powers like hers. AND THEN EVERYTHING IS AMAZING. I mean, it’s not ‘Elinor gets away from her mean Dad and everyone lives happily ever after’ – it’s full of strife and difficulty and seemingly unresolvable situations. It also features a romance that doesn’t overshadow Elinor’s development as a badass, self-sufficient woman. Look, it’s really good, okay? If you like stories where women are not down with the patriarchy, this story is for you. Equally, if you like stories where people can set things on fire with their minds, this story is for you. And if you like romantic leads who go through their own journey and aren’t just Mr. Perfect right from the start, this story is for you.

The Magician’s Land – Lev Grossman. I didn’t love The Magicians, thought The Magician King was better (but still not great) but still managed to enjoy the TV version which condensed both books into one season. I wanted to read The Magician’s Land before season two of The Magicians started and… it was okay. Quentin is definitely at his least annoying in this instalment (thank god) and the action clips along at a reasonable pace. It’s slightly difficult to believe that anyone would hire Quentin, who we have been repeatedly told is a mediocre magician in the wider scale of things, to actually teach magic but he manages to screw that up pretty quickly and we find ourselves in the middle of an unexpected heist story instead. So, yeah, The Magician’s Land was grand but nothing particularly special. At least I can go ahead and watch season two now.

Horror Stories – E. Nesbit. Oh man, this was a tough read. When I found out that E. Nesbit of The Railway Children fame had written horror stories for adults, I was fully on board. Unfortunately, they have not dated well. Pretty much all of the stories rely on THE IMPLICATIONS but the implications that were terrifying at the time E. Nesbit wrote these stories are not exactly terrifying now. And so Horror Stories managed to be really well written but really, really disappointing.

Rocket Raccoon: Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant – Bill Mantlo & Mike Mignola. Lucky me to follow up a disappointing read with a terrible one. I get that this is just how comics were written in the 80s but I am not into it. Avoid unless you’re a mega Mike Mignola fan.

Read in March 07

Kill or be Killed, Volume 01 – Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips & Elizabeth Breitweiser. In order to save yourself, would you kill someone who did bad things? What about someone who was completely blameless? Once you’ve started killing to save yourself, where do you stop? And can you ever be sure that you actually need to kill anyone at all? Hardly an original story, but Kill or be Killed is definitely worth a read as our hapless ‘hero’ stumbles through the situation he finds himself in (minus the love triangle which is a thing I don’t need to see moving from YA to comics).

Aquaman, Volume 01: The Trench – Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis & Joe Prado. SIGH. To summarise this volume, people think Aquaman is a joke but he’s not. Geoff Johns does a pretty good job of presenting the different facets of a character caught between two worlds, neither of which fully embrace him. The problem, in my opinion, is that Aquaman just isn’t a very interesting character.

Worlds’ Finest, Volume 01: The Lost Daughters of Earth 2 – Paul Levitz, George Perez & Kevin McGuire. Not being overly familiar with DC, the setting of this was a bit lost on me. Basically, alternative versions of Power Girl and Huntress get transported to our Earth (I think I have that in the right order!) and have to try to find their way home. There’s some nice interaction between the two characters. They work well together and they’re friends, despite forging their own paths, which is nice and not often seen between female superheroes. But they spent an awful lot of time punching things which detracts from the whole ‘we need to work together to find a way home!’ thing.

Kingsman: The Secret Service – Mark Millar, Dave Gibbons & Matthew Vaughn. Can a chav become a spy? Yep. Seriously though, Kingsman takes two sides of British society not often found together, smashes them together and has some fun along the way. I should probably watch the movie for bonus Colin Firth <3

Read in March 08

The Darkness, Origins, Volume 01 – Garth Ennis & Mark Silvestri. I have so many problems with the ‘HE CAN’T HAVE SEX!!!1!!!111!!!!!’ aspect of this story. So. Freaking. Many. Problems. I also have problems with the fact that while the Darkness covers Jackie Estacado almost completely, poor Sara Pezzini has to walk around with her bits hanging right out thanks to the Witchblade. Not cool. Oh, and there’s a storyline involving the mafia or the mob or some totally boring thing.

The Hanging Tree – Ben Aaronovitch. A surprising amount of people seem to not have read the Rivers of London series, which… I mean, you should read it. It has the following things going for it: it’s top notch urban fantasy; while also being squarely placed in the crime genre; it’s set in a wonderfully detailed London; it features a main character of colour; who is clever; but not too clever; and funny; but not as funny as he thinks; it has loads of amazing female characters; and a spattering of LGBT characters. Basically, it’s fun and well-written and interesting, and this latest instalment is no exception.

Trust No One – Jonathan Maberry (ed.). Oooft. There are some high points in this collection of short stories, but they’re few and far between. Elsewhere, typos mar the text and no one seems to have cared about any kind of continuity (Mulder suddenly has an ex-wife in one story). Skip it.

2015 Wrap Up

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Lorraine Posted in Yearly Wrap Up .

In 2015 I read a total of 211 books. 204 of these books were fiction, and a mere 7 were non-fiction. A whopping 117 books were graphic novels. All in all, 127 of the books were written by men and only 85 were written by women. I’m surprised at how many graphic novels I read, but not at all surprised that I read more books by men than women. Which is not to say that I’m not disappointed, but graphic novels in particular are still dominated by male creators.

Favourite Books of 2015 01

Non-Fiction: Honourable Friends? Parliament and the Fight for Change – Caroline Lucas.

This is a frustrating read because the current political system in the UK does not work, and it’s upsetting to see that spelled out so clearly by someone trying to do their best for the constituents. It’s brilliant though, offering a really good overview of how the houses of parliament actually work, and highlighting those who are attempting to make a difference.

Fiction: My Real Children – Jo Walton / The Language of Dying – Sarah Pinborough.

My Real Children was just wonderful. I was underwhelmed by Walton’s Among Others which had received rave reviews – I liked it, I just didn’t love it. So although I thought I’d enjoy My Real Children, I never thought it would end up being one of my favourite books of the year. I’m a sucker for Sliding Doors-type narratives, and this one is perfect. The two lives that Patricia leads are beautiful and heart-breaking and real, but that’s just it – are either of them actually real at all?

The Language of Dying won me over with its cover. I had seen it for several months in my local library before I finally caved and picked it up. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was blown away. This little novel covers life, death and the wonder of the world in prose that grips you and doesn’t let go.

Favourite Books of 2015 02

Fiction (Translated): The Dirty Dust – Máirtín Ó Cadhain.

I’ll acknowledge right off the bat that this book, and the style in which it’s written, will not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. It’s dark but it’s funny, and it’s so, so Irish. I requested that my local library buy this in and I’m so glad that they did. I just hope that some other readers pick it up now that it’s available (according to their online catalogue, it’s on loan at the moment – yay!).

Graphic Novel (Fiction): The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 1: The Faust Act – Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie / Bitch Planet, Volume 1: Extraordinary Machine – Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro.

I can’t remember what drew my attention to The Wicked + The Divine. Every few months I do a catalogue search for graphic novels that have been added to the library catalogue (this whole post is basically a love letter to public libraries), and I think I might have ordered it just because it popped up there. Since I’ve read it, I’ve seen lots of positive reviews for it and they are all right. The story is awesome, the characters are awesome, the artwork is awesome and when it finished, I wanted the next volume immediately.

Bitch Planet, on the other hand, was on my radar before the first issue was even published. I don’t have a regular comic pull list anymore (though I’ve been thinking about setting one up again), so I waited not very patiently until the trade paperback was released and then requested that my library system buy it in. Luckily they did, and I absolutely loved every second of it. Bitch Planet is actually set in a terrifying future where women can be incarcerated at the drop of the hat. Women who don’t fit into the stereotype that men have established for them are labelled non-compliant, and, frankly, we could all stand to be a little more non-compliant.

Graphic Novel (Non-Fiction): Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? – Roz Chast.

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? was in a ‘Best of 2014’ display at my local library. It’s an unflinching account of the deterioration of Roz Chast’s parents in their old age. It’s funny and sad and thought-provoking, and deserved to win every single literary prize it was nominated for.

Favourite Books of 2015 03

Young Adult: Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli / Magonia – Maria Dahvana Headley.

I think I had heard rumblings about Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda before I picked it up, but it was the LGBT element that attracted me. From the looks of it, I knew I’d enjoy it, but I wasn’t expecting to absolutely love it. First of all, it’s really fucking funny, like proper, proper funny. The characters are all wonderful and you really can’t help but root for them all, and the romance is lovely but it’s also believable (which can be a bit rare in YA fiction!).

I picked up Magonia totally blind, being attracted to both the cover and the blurb. It’s also the second book on this list that has a recommendation from Neil Gaiman on its cover (the other being The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough) and I have to say he’s only ever let me down once (with Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill). The early chapters of this focus on Aza, whose illness is killing her, and those chapters are so well done. Terminal illness is a difficult subject but Magonia never crosses the line into mawkishness, Aza herself is too determined and too cool for that. When the fantasy twist comes, even though you know it’s coming, it’s brilliant. The new world Aza finds herself in is completely the same but completely different, and I found it enthralling. Can’t wait for the sequel.

Children’s Fiction: The Nowhere Emporium – Ross MacKenzie / The Hundred and One Dalmations – Dodie Smith.

The Nowhere Emporium has a surprisingly high amount of negative reviews on Goodreads, but I really, really enjoyed it. Yes, the concept isn’t the most original in the world, but it becomes original through the characters and the writing. I always enjoy finding good new books by Scottish authors, and this one definitely ticked that box.

I had absolutely no idea that The Hundred and One Dalmatians would be such a charming read. It’s ridiculous how cute it is, especially the version I read which was illustrated by Alex T. Smith. I like the Disney version, but the original book is so much better.

Ferney by James Long

Ferney – James Long.

I really struggled to finish this one, finding it an incredibly dry read. Add to that the fact that I didn’t really enjoy the characters and no, I don’t think this is the original and better version of The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Rat Queens, Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery – Kurtis J. Wiebe & Roc Upchurch

Rat Queens, Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery – Kurtis J. Wiebe & Roc Upchurch.

Before picking this up, I’d heard amazing things about it, but it just didn’t live up to expectations for me. I liked the setting, I liked the characters, I even, despite Roc Upchurch being a total scumbag, liked the art, but I just didn’t feel it, if you know what I mean. The total experience was a bit of a meh, which was disappointing.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The Magicians – Lev Grossman.

I hate Quentin, the main character in this, with a passion that scares me. He’s such a dick. I love the world that this is set in, and the way magic works, and the idea of Brakebills, but I hate Quentin and the execution of Brakebills, so that made it all a bit tricky. Something else that annoyed me, which is not the book’s fault, is how many reviews of this start with ‘oh, I totally thought this was going to be a Harry Potter rip-off’. The idea of a school for people who can do magic is not unique to Harry Potter, people! Anyway, despite all of that I did pick up the sequel, and enjoyed it a lot more.

Todd, the Ugliest Kid on Earth, Volume 1 – M.K. Perker & Ken Kristensen.

Surprising because, from the cover and the blurb, it looked rubbish but it was actually really fun. Poor Todd. He’s the nicest kid in the world, but he’s so ugly that his own parents make him wear a paper bag over his head, and everyone hates him. An oddly appealing concept 😀

How Music Got Free by Stephen Witt

How Music Got Free – Stephen Witt.

Surprising because the way that the music industry operates is mental, but the story of the people who leaked most of the music available online is even more mental. This is actually a really readable, enjoyable book, even if you do spend the whole thing thinking ‘what the fuck??’

I recommended, and continue to recommend, so many books that I read last year to so many people, for so many different reasons.

2015 Books I Recommend 01

For a twist on a fairy tale: The Sleeper and the Spindle – Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell.

For a twist on a vampire story: The Moth Diaries – Rachel Klein.

For a twist on a boarding school story: The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place – Julie Berry.

For a magical read by a Scottish author: The Nowhere Emporium – Ross MacKenzie.

2015 Books I Recommend 02

For an excellent political read: Honourable Friends? Parliament and the Fight for Change – Caroline Lucas.

For an awesome graphic novel: The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 1: The Faust Act – Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie.

For an original fantasy read: Magonia – Maria Dahvana Headley.

2015 Books I Recommend 03

For a very darkly comedic read: The Dirty Dust – Máirtín Ó Cadhain.

For an uplifting YA read: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli.

For a ‘fuck yeah, feminism!’ read: Bitch Planet, Volume 1: Extraordinary Machine – Kelly Sue DeConnick & Valentine De Landro.

No book series this year (although I did continue to read Ben Aaronovich’s Rivers of London series, Robin Stevens’ Murder Most Unladylike series, Jacqueline Harvey’s Alice-Miranda series, Holly Black’s Curse Workers series, Teri Terry’s Slated series, Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series, Pat Barker’s Life Class series, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Raised By Wolves series), but I was introduced to some many brilliant comic book series in 2015 (and continued to read Jim McCann’s Mind the Gap, Scott Snyder’s American Vampire, John Layman’s Chew, Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga, and Greg Rucka’s Lazarus).

Best Series of 2015 01

Ms Marvel, Volume 1: No Normal – G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona.

Morning Glories Deluxe Collection, Volume 1 – Nick Spencer, Joe Eisman & Rodin Esquejo.

The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 1: The Faust Act – Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie.

Best Series of 2015 02

Alex + Ada, Volume 1 – Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn.

Bitch Planet, Volume 1: Extraordinary Machine – Kelly Sue DeConnick & Valentine De Landro.

I would have to say Sarah Pinborough and Maria Dahvana Headley, both of whom create magical worlds, though in very different ways. I’ll definitely be picking up more books by them both.

Happily, they were both excellent and worth waiting for.

Most Anticipated of 2015

The Sleeper and the Spindle – Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell

Bitch Planet, Volume 1: Extraordinary Machine – Kelly Sue DeConnick & Valentine De Landro

Patricia from My Real Children by Jo Walton, who made me want to be the best possible version of myself that I can be. Lucifer aka ‘Lucy’ from The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie who made me want to enjoy myself and dress sharply. Kamala from Ms Marvel, Volume 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona who made me want to be true to myself, no matter what obstacles are put in my way.

The Hundred and One Dalmations by Dodie Smith

The Hundred and One Dalmations – Dodie Smith.

Why did no one tell me how good this was before now? To my shame, I’ve never read Dodie Smith, despite I Capture the Castle popping up in libraries, charity shops and bookshops all the time, mocking me.

The Luninaries – Eleanor Catton. When I went to Thailand in October, I thought this would be the perfect read for the long plane journey. Sadly, for me, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. I slogged my way through roughly half of it, not giving a shit about any of the characters or anything that was happening, before my aunt-in-law finally told me to just stop. I have weird guilt about not finishing a book, but I took her advice.

Walking the Dog by David Hughes

Walking the Dog – David Hughes. I just couldn’t get into this ‘landmark book in the field of graphic literature’. The memoir of a man in his 40s, it just didn’t appeal to me. I quite enjoyed the art style, but realised after about twenty pages that the story just wasn’t for me as I didn’t care about the narrator, and I didn’t care about his dog.

Based solely on my 2015 reading list, I’m looking forward to quite a few titles.

Looking Forward To in 2016 01

The Hanging Tree – Ben Aaronovitch. The sixth entry in the Rivers of London series.

Ms. Marvel, Volume 3: Crushed – G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa & Elmo Bondoc.

Ms. Marvel, Volume 4: Last Days – G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona.

Chew, Volume 11: The Last Suppers – John Layman & Rob Guillory. The second last volume in the series, I think.

Looking Forward To in 2016

Jolly Foul Play – Robin Stevens. The fourth Murder Most Unladylike mystery.

Lazarus, Volume 4: Poison – Greg Rucka & Michael Lark. Not enough people are talking about this awesome sci-fi comic.

The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 3: Commercial Suicide – Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie.

Aerie – Maria Dahvana Headley. The sequel to Magonia.

Looking Forward To in 2016

Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch – Kelly Sue DeConnick & Taki Soma.

The Magicians Land – Lev Grossman. The Magician King was much better than The Magicians, so I’m hopeful for the last title in the trilogy.

Read in May 2015 (Catch Up Post!)

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Lorraine Posted in Read This Month .

Guardians of the Galaxy/All-New X-Men: The Trial of Jean Grey – Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli & Stuart Immonen. An interesting concept – can you try a time-displaced Jean Grey for crimes that she hasn’t yet technically committed? – that was well handled.
The Uncanny X-Men: Days of Future Past – Chris Claremont, John Byrne & John Romita Jnr. A classic storyline for a reason, and a reminder that Kitty Pryde has always been awesome.
Uncanny X-Men: Fear Itself – Kieron Gillen & Greg Land. Showcases Cyclops-the-military-leader really well.
Uncanny X-Men: Acts of Vengeance – Chris Claremont & Jim Lee. A solid classic storyline.
The X-Files Season 10, Volume 4 – Joe Harris et. al. Although I enjoy this generally, it featured a lot of characters I’m not particularly into (Frank Black, Agents Dogget and Reyes).

American Vampire, Volume 6 – Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque et. al. A collection of stand-alone issues that plug in some gaps in the histories of Skinner and Hattie.
American Vampire, Volume 7 – Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque et. al. A new big bad is introduced and Pearl continues to be awesome.
Thief of Thieves, Volume 1: I Quit – Robert Kirkman, Nick Spencer et. al. I’m not a fan of Kirkman’s writing from what I’ve read of The Walking Dead, but I thought I’d give this a whirl to see if it had improved any. And… nope. Underwhelming.
Who Is Jake Ellis?, Volume 1 – Nathan Edmondson & Tonci Zonjic. A fairly solid action thriller with some interesting twists and turns.
Wolverine and the X-Men, Volume 2: Death of Wolverine – Jason Latour et. al. Uneven as Wolverine dies off-screen in the middle of the issues collected here, so we move from Wolverine and Storm on a date to the entire school mourning Wolverine without anything in between. Meh.

Secret Avengers, Volume 2: The Labyrinth – Ales Kot & Michael Walsh. Deadpool – yay! I also quite liked what was happening with Hawkeye (I didn’t know he had a sense of humour) and Spider-Woman, two characters I don’t know a great deal about. In conlusion, Deadpool – yay!
Morning Glories: Volume 3: P.E. – Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma & Rodin Esquejo. Still really enjoying the twisty, turny story bathed in unease and distrust.
Morning Glories: Volume 4: Truants – Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma & Rodin Esquejo. See above.
The Nowhere Emporium – Ross MacKenzie. This is a magical read about a Glaswegian orphan who stumbles on a mysterious shop that turns out to hold untold wonder and, of course, more than a little danger. Loved it!
Uncanny X-Men: Night Screams – Chris Claremont et. al. So, Dracula’s in this…

Bright Young Things – Scarlett Thomas. I found this interesting, if not fantastic. Six people answer an ad for ‘bright young things’ and find themselves living together on an unidentified island. They pass the time by talking about anything and everything, but why are they on the island and who brought them there?
Dirty Little Secrets – Liliana Hart. I enjoyed this little romance mystery more than I thought I would, though it wasn’t without annoyances. The two main characters were likeable and the story zipped along. A nice, light read.
Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes – Denise Grover Swank. It’s hard to read this and not think of the Sookie Stackhouse books. It has a similar Southern setting, and a similar main character (Rose) who has a supernatural ability that marks her out as different. Rose’s transition from shy wallflower to independent woman throughout the novel is enjoyable, and Rose herself is likeable, but she did make me want to shake her on many, many occasions. The writing is nice though not exactly challenging (the strongest curse that Rose can bring herself to use is ‘crappy doodle’, a phrase that no one should ever say ever) . An uncomplicated read for a day where you really can’t face engaging your brain, I feel. It’s actually still available as a free download on amazon if that sounds like it’ll float your boat.
Dearest Clementine – Lex Martin. An incredibly overwrought New Adult romance featuring a damaged girl with a mysterious past, a saviour of a man, and a collection of loveable friends. Look, I don’t think that this is a particularly good read and yet I mostly enjoyed it. Sometimes you need to read something that reminds you of the fan-fiction you used to read when you were 13.
The Sky is Everywhere – Jandy Nelson. I downloaded this for free from amazon and assumed that it was self-published. Imagine my surprise when I saw it on the shelves of my local library not that long after. It has the hallmarks of a self-published YA novel, I think, and I found the premise a bit stretched and the love-triangle hugely unrealistic. I wasn’t particular enamoured with it overall.

Blur – Kristen Middleton. This poor book tries so hard to be an interesting horror-romance, but it doesn’t manage on either count. The characters are mostly poorly drawn, the dialogue is strained and the relationships are uninteresting. Can we move on from love triangles please?
Love Handles – Gretchen Galway. The blurb for this made me think it was going to be dreadful – Beverly’s a preschool teacher who never goes to the gym but then she inherits a fitness wear company – but it was actually really, really fun. The premise is silly, the romance is silly but it all works.