COMICS | Book Lists: Comic Series I'm Currently Reading

The title for this one is pretty self-explanatory.

I have recently found myself in the midst of some great comic series and wanted to share how I've been liking them.

It's mostly a mixture of fantasy and science fiction, so be prepared for that.


(All photos are courtesy of Goodreads)

Enjoy!

Top 20 Reads of 2013

Those of us on the west coast are still waiting for 2014 to ring in. And as I wait, I will quickly finish up this post I've been meaning to put up for the past several days. Let's hope next year involves less procrastination, yeah?

If you read my very-detailed post on everything I read in 2013, then you'll remember that I read nearly 130 books. Because of this relativity large quantity, I'm allowing 20 books to be chosen in this list of Favorite Reads of 2013.

Some notes on this post before I dive in:

• only new reads of 2013 will be included (this will keep all-time favorites from reappearing on every list)
• favorites will be split into categories based on genre
• other than the genre categories, the list is completely at random (i.e. I don't want to make the difficult decision of listing in any other order)

I love making lists such as these. So I hope you enjoy.


**all book cover photos are courtesty of Goodreads

December 2013 Reading Update

I can't believe this is the last reading update for 2013.

Time flies by too quickly.

For December. I spent most of this month rereading the entire Harry Potter series, so there wasn't much in terms of other novels.

However, I was able to finish off a few new novels that I have been meaning to read for quite some time.

I'll keep this reading update short and sweet since there are a couple more book posts left to post before the year is up.

As usual, links will be provided.
All photos below are courtesy of Goodreads.

Book Haul: Black Friday/Cyber Monday

If you've been following my blog for the duration of this year, then you'll probably remember that I tried to give up my intensive book buying by borrowing from the library more. The library has definitely helped to quench my book buying thirst, though I still do buy books (just not in large quantities all at once).

However, with Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, I couldn't resist but use all the coupon codes available to me.

I try to make "smart" purchases which, in reference to books, are either:

1. books I know I'll want to reread eventually

2. most adored/favorite books (and since they are of that nature, I'll obviously want to reread them)

3. limited edition versions of books

4. books I may want to pass on to future children ;)

5. collector's purposes



Anyway, I have ranted long enough.
Here are the book purchases I've made in the last couple weeks.
I added short descriptions for each book (courtesy of Goodreads) that I cut down to be more spoiler-free.

June & July 2013 Reading Update

So..I skipped my June Reading Update. Not intentionally. About a week into July I realized my mishap, shrugged (the chaos of June didn't allow much reading) and decided I'd just do a collective one for both months.

I've been trying to take charge with my dreams and passions lately and that, in itself, is a full time job. I still squeeze in time for reading, but it's not as much as I was reading before. You can't win at everything, right? Right? Wrong. I try anyway.

Anyway, if you read my May Reading Update then you know I started getting into more graphic novels/comics/manage/etc. I've definitely been incorporating more of that into my reading lately. It's just fun to experience different methods of storytelling. Prose, however, will always be my first and truest love.

On to the reading update!

(The usual: books listed in the order finished, blah blah blah, use links as needed)
*all images below are courtesy of Goodreads

May 2013 Reading Update

May is over. And man is the year passing by quickly.

I normally post these reading updates at the end of the month (as opposed to the beginning of the next) but I've been so busy these past couple weeks I almost forgot about these updates entirely.

This past month has definitely been the most sporadic month in terms of book choices. A large chunk of these books are comics/manga. We also have a couple picture books, a little bit of non-fiction, and of course my old reliable, YA. I can't get through a month without reading some of that YA. It's been a fun month.

As usual, I'll mostly talk about my reactions to each book. If you want a synopsis, use the links.

And without further ado, here are the books I read in May, in the order finished.

Book Haul: May 2013

If you read my April Reading Update and remember how I said I would go all of May without purchasing a book, you're probably wondering why I'm posting a haul.

All these books listed are books I purchased within the last week (to week and a half) of April. However, as online purchases usually go, some orders took a while to arrive at my doorstep.

Some purchases are still not scheduled to arrive for a few weeks. But I figured I'd get on with the haul anyway since a significant percentage of them have showed up and I am eager to dive in.

Judging by the pile you can see why I am trying to go all of May without any new purchases (aside from one new release that would only be painful to put off). I have a book buying problem.

Like I did with my April Book Haul, I'll include a photos of the books so you can see their covers as well. I recommend enlarging the photo since there was quite a large number of books to fit in one photo...

April 2013 Reading Update

Hi everyone.
Another month gone by, another pile of books read.

I always enjoy drawing some sort of theme with monthly reads, but I can't think of much for April.

I did read two books with two individual friends in the book club spirit (a first for me). I've never imagined being able to be part of a book club since my reading can be rather spontaneous and random depending on my mood, but that experience was rather enjoyable. So maybe a theme about sharing experiences...or....yeah I got nothing. Let's just get on with the update.

As usual, I'll list the books in the order finished, followed by my reaction and links if you're interested to learn more. Enjoy!

January 2013 Reading Update

Hey everyone!

I originally noted in my 2013 Reading List post that I would do quarterly reading updates, but as you can guess from the title of this post, I decided to change it to monthly. My decision to do this stemmed primarily from the desire to proclaim a "favorite book of the month." I found that I was reading at a decent pace and came to the conclusion that if I didn't update until the end of March, it would be difficult to give a fair amount of the books any spotlight. Even doing weekly book reviews can't accommodate for all the books I want to talk about. So, without further ado, I want to get into what books I read in January, which book was my favorite, and possibly some books that I wanted to add onto my reading list.

This post would turn into a painfully long read if I tried to do a mini-review on every book so I'll allow myself a maximum of 4 sentences on each.

Also, I won't be posting full book reviews on all these books (simply because there are still so many books I read last year that I want to do reviews for as well), so as you're reading through this post, if you come across a book you would like me to do a complete review on, then request it and it shall be done!

And without further ado, here are the books I have read so far in January 2013, in the order completed:

Fun Halloween Reads

Realizing that it was the weekend prior to Halloween, I thought it would be fun to suggest a list of books to put you in that Halloween mood. And while I acknowledge most would rather be out partying as opposed reading, I thought the idea was still fun for those like me who like to curl up in bed with a good book on a cold Autumn night. However, with that said, I wish I had put more thought into this idea ahead of time. My list is rather short (partially because I'm not particularly drawn to books that will scare me), so feel free to add any theme-appropriate books you have!

(pumpkin carved by yours truly)

Coraline: A Book Review

This book review contains NO SPOILERS. Enjoy!. (:

"it is always easier to be afraid of something you cannot see"

Though I am almost always excited to write book reviews, I am particularly excited to write today's book review on Neil Gaiman's Coraline because it is a good contender for one of my all-time favorite books (you can find a list of my current all-time favorites here).

I haven't explored the children's section of a bookstore in depth in quite some time and when I did so recently, I was overwhelmed with childhood memories of being taken to Borders every weekend and getting a book as a treat from my mom. I almost forgot how magical and creative children's books can be and I knew I had to pick one up. And as you can guess, I picked up Coraline.

I should probably mention that I have seen the film several times before purchasing this book and adore it. However, as a reader, I consider myself fairly good at blocking out assumptions/hype/preconceived notions when reading. It's part of why reading is such a calming experience for me. I am easily able to start from a clean slate and paint the pictures the words create for me. So when starting Coraline I wasn't the least bit worried that the film would cloud my judgement. And as I stated at the beginning of this post, I won't include any spoilers from either the book or the movie adaptation in case those of you reading are unfamiliar with both. 

(photographed: Neil Gaiman's Coraline)

Here's the back cover description for those of you who are unfamiliar with the film:

"When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.
But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.
Coraline will have to fight with all her wits and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life."