What I’m Reading Wednesday – Bad Blood

Vampire stories have been pretty hot for around the past 5 years. Twilight had a lot to do with that. I admit I was never a huge vampire fan. I’ve read Twilight and I think it ruined things for me. But last year my friend started bragging about True Blood and I figured I would check it out. Holy hell! That show is fantastic. It showed me a different type of vampire story, one that was entertaining, and something I could relate to. I started to see why people are so hooked on the whole vampire thing.

So when Dark Horse decided to release a comic book series called Bad Blood, a story about a kid with cancer who’s blood is poisonous to vampires, I decided to check it out. I thought this was such an interesting concept, and something I hadn’t seen in any of the other vampire stories I’d read before.

Bad Blood touches on a lot of subjects relating to health and our environment. Are the things we’re putting into our bodies really good for us in the long run? How does the government try to control what goes in our bodies, and if this is a good or bad thing? This comic had me thinking about how different the world is now compared to even 40 or 50 years ago when food was processed differently and medication was not as easily accessible.

This is a pretty short series with only 5 issues, and I’m not saying I love the way it ended (actually I downright hated the ending), but I believe it is worth checking out. It’s sometimes nice to get an unexpected lesson when reading a book; to have someone make you think and challenge your opinion.

What’s your favorite vampire series?

I like big books and I cannot lie

At the beginning of this year I decided that I not only wanted to read over 100 books/comic books again this year, but I wanted to read some big books. I think anything with 450+ pages is a pretty damn big book. These require commitment, time, and often tears to finish.

This week I’ve start reading two big books: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer and A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. Combined these books total about 1300 pages! Ahh! I’m sure I’m a crazy person for trying to read these huge books at the same time, but they’re both so different. I find it much easier to read two books at the same time when they come from different genres. So when I need a break from the old fantasy world I can dive into summer camp in the 70’s.

So far I’m enjoying both stories. I’ve heard rave reviews from friends about The Interestings and I’ve been watching the past few seasons of GoT and knew I needed to read the books. I can’t wait to share full reviews with you in the next few months.

I find summer is a great time to dig into big books. I work shorter days at the school and find that lazy afternoons spent in front of a fan reading books isn’t a terrible way to pass the time. Also riding my bike to Laurelhurst Park and camping out in the shade with my kindle sounds pretty nice.

Do you have any plans to read some huge books this year?

What I’m Reading Wednesday – Girls In White Dresses

Have you ever started reading a book and just knew you needed to tell everyone about it?

I started reading Girls In White Dresses by Jennifer Close last week and even though I’m only half way done I can’t help but rave about this book.

I especially like the type of story telling in this book. Rather than it being from only one person’s perspective, or only covering one event, it tells the story of several people in the group of friends throughout their 20’s. You get to see these girls grow up. They experience love, heartache, broken friendships, and hungover mornings. It feels like reading a really funny and sometimes embarrassing diary. The girls are all so easy to relate to and it’s really easy to picture yourself in their situations.

These are the times that I get really frustrated that books are not real life because I want to be a part of their circle of friends. Even through their rough patches they still love each other. They reluctantly put on big smiles and pastel dresses and attend yet another wedding. They go pick up Bloody Mary ingredients and come over after a bad night. And they accompany you to the emergency room after you slice your finger off. They’re friends to the end. Like 4ever.

Now that I’m an old married lady I especially love reading books about single ladies because it reminds me of what a crazy and wonderful time that is in a young woman’s life. It’s tough to be single. I cried a lot. But I also met some of my best girl friends when I was single. We went through some real shit together and it’s made us stronger because of it.

GIrls In White Dresses is definitely a book I believe any gal in her 20-30’s could relate to. You’ll laugh, cry, and cringe all the way through, and I think you’ll enjoy every minute of it. I just hope the second half is as good as the first half has been.

What I’m Reading Wednesday – Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore

I often judge books by their cover. When I go to the library or a bookstore a beautiful cover can get me to pick up books I never would have thought to read. So when I saw the cover for Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore while browsing one afternoon at Powell’s I knew I needed to know more about this story, and after reading the synopsis I decided it would be my next pick for our book club.

I instantly fell in love with this story about a young man who loses his IT job when the economy tanks. He finds himself desperate for work when he spots an opening at this weird bookstore. But this bookstore is more than just a little bit weird, it ends up being the opening to a secret society that may have the key to something that can change the world.

San Francisco acts as the perfect backdrop to this story. It’s such a beautiful old town that is dripping with new technology around every corner. The characters in this book cross pathes with everyone from Google programers to old pot smoking hippies and even a brief visit from a dark and mysterious CEO.

Without giving too much of the plot away I will say if you love bookstores, mysteries, and have a love-hate relationship with e-readers you’ll most likely be a fan of this book. The moral at the end is so heartfelt that I couldn’t help but tear up while reading the final pages.

I’m very excited to discuss all the details with my book club in a few weeks, but if you’ve read this book already I’d love to hear what you think. Hit me up on twitter or in the comments below with your thoughts.

What I’m Reading Wednesday – Green Arrow

When I first started getting heavily into comic books I discovered Jeff Lemire and fell head over heels for his stories & art. So when I realized that he had started writing for the Green Arrow I knew I needed to check it out.

The best way to get caught up on comics when you decide to start in the middle of the series is to look for trade paperbacks. These usually consist of 5 or 6 comics in one book. The best thing is that you can usually get them from your local library, which is great if you’re unsure about spending $15 on a story you may hate.

Now Jeff Lemire didn’t start out writing the New 52 Green Arrow, and let me just be frank, it was awful in the beginning. The stories dragged on and just weren’t very interesting. But since I’m so familiar with Jeff Lemire I stuck out reading it until he finally took over the series, and boy am I glad I did. He really took Oliver Queen and gave him some substance. Now I’m feeling for this guy who lost his father, lost his company, and was stranded on a desert island for 3 year. He’s not just some a-hole with a ton of money to blow on some cool gadgets while he pretends to be a super hero.

I just finished reading the 4th trade paperback last night, Green Arrow Vol. 4: The Kill Machine, and it did not disappoint. I would almost suggest that you start with this one because it gives you a lot of his origin story and it’s not particularly difficult to understand what’s going on. Also, Andrea Sorrentino’s art work is superb and it gives this comic a very cool vibe.

So, did you know that it’s Free Comic Book Day this Saturday? I’m very excited because this will be my first time attending. Wook Jin Clark who does the art for the Adventure Time Flip Side comics will be there signing autographs and I may have a fangirl moment if I get to meet him. I’m sure I’ll mumble something about stalking his instagram and how great I think his art is and that we should totally be friends in real life.

Have I mentioned how cool I am in real life? Very cool obviously.