Monday, January 1, 2018

A Year in Review

I think I jinxed myself when last year I said that 2017 had a lot riding on it... because it decided to turn into the biggest dumpster fire you can imagine. Yes, suck it 2017, may I NEVER have a year like you ever again for as long as I live. I know a lot of you probably feel this way as well, but after multiple family deaths and all the chaos and cleaning that followed, I felt like most of my time wasn't my own, except when I could escape into books. Therefore once again I have to say thank you to literature, without you I wouldn't have kept my sanity, or at least kept a small sliver of sanity. So now let's look back on what I read in 2017 and see if I remember any of it!  

1) No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer: I read this book solely so I could read the sequel which is supposedly a really great Christmas murder mystery. This was NOT a great murder mystery and in fact I was rage reading near the end, which is when the murder finally happened and sadly was only one of the many unlikeable characters. 

2) Creature Comforts by Charles Addams: It's Charles Addams, he's my go-to happy place. Don't judge me that my happy place is dark and macabre, because it also has a wicked sense of humor. 

3) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: Interesting fact, I still haven't finished this series. Could it be because the first book is the best and it's all downhill from there? Yes. Yes it is. 

4) Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu: I can totally see why everyone is talking about this series. Not only is the art amazing with the anthropomorphized animals, but the mythology is wicked cool. Can't wait to read more because I have a feeling once I'm more in the world I won't be as confused as I was on this first reading. 

5) The Pirates!: In an Adventure with the Romantics by Gideon Defoe: It's the Pirate Captain! It's Mary Shelley and her obsession with monsters! It's just awesome. Read it. READ ALL OF THEM! PS, Gideon Defoe, I need more.

6) The Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab by Gideon Defoe: This was a re-read to write a review because this second adventure was all about whales and seafaring jokes and I loved it so much it was one of my top books of 2016!

7) Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie: Don't trust old ladies. Except Miss Marple. But Miss Marple isn't supposed to be in this one, grumble stupid TV adaptation, so read the book don't watch the TV movie, and don't trust old ladies!

8) Lumberjanes, Vol. 5: Band Together by Noelle Stevenson: Who knows what happened in this one, hijinks and bad spelling and grammar errors is my guess. 

9) We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson: I had MEANT to finish this re-read back in October, but I kept forgetting, so this wonderfully atmospheric re-read didn't get finished until 2017.

10) A Treasury of XXth Century Murder: The Lindbergh Child by Rick Geary: This was the first and SO not the last of the crime graphic novels written by Rick Geary which I just fell in love with this year. While I don't agree with his conclusions, I really liked HOW he told the tale.

11) Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha Christie by Anne Martinetti: All I really remember about this is that a young Agatha was reading The Hound of the Baskervilles at the same time I was, so it was neat synchronicity.

12) Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse #4 by Chris Roberson: A whole comic "season" of Firefly that could have easily been one episode.

13) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A House Divided (Season 11, #3) by Christos Gage: Dragons, government, blah blah blah.

14) Squirrel Power (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, #1) by Ryan North: Squirrel Girl is AWESOME! Mainly because she deals with baddies with psychology and only slightly kicking butts, but with eating LOTS of nuts. 

15) Squirrel You Know It's True (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, #2) by Ryan North: But THE BEST thing about Squirrel Girl is how she trolls Tony Stark on Twitter. 

16) The Hound of the Baskervilles by Artur Conan Doyle: Really, if you read one Sherlock Holmes story ever, make it this one. It's a classic for a reason.

17) Angel: Out of the Past, Part 1 (Season 11, #1) by Corinna Bechko: Bugs, Fred, Angel, traveling through the past, whatever. Season 11 has been pretty lame.

18) The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song by Frank M. Young: While a great grounding in the Carter family, I felt that it didn't do a proper job of showcasing their legacy. So in other words, a second volume is needed STAT!

19) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré: I think this is easily the most overrated spy novel of all time. It's dense and oblique and confusing, and seriously, not much happens. Maybe for my next le Carré I'll try The Night Manager. I loved that adaptation, so who knows... but if that book sucks to I don't think I'll ever read le Carré again.  

20) The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now by Ryan North: Is anyone else just really annoyed with the fan mail being included? It's just so intrusive to the narrative AND just seems to be too self-congratulatory.

21) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: It's amazing that, given how many times I've read this book that it still hooks me and makes me totally worried that Catherine and Henry won't get their happily ever after.

22) Sunny, Vol. 1 by Taiyo Matsumoto: Bleak graphic novel about kids in foster care. I'm glad the library didn't have any more volumes because I might have felt obliged to read them.

23) Tony and Susan by Austin Wright: Ugh, how did this book get published? Just bleak death and more death. Also, it was weird in how the book wasn't a hit in the US but was in the UK so when it was republished here to coincide with the movie based on it that they kept all the Anglicizations in.

24) Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson, #10) by Patricia Briggs: OK, who else was totally psyched that Mercy got out of the US AND got to meet the Golem of Prague!?!

25) The Uninvited by Cat Winters: Weird WWI tale about a small town where basically everyone died but they didn't know they died so they're going about still trying to live their lives. I didn't like it. 

26) Clean Room, Vol. 1: Immaculate Conception by Gail Simone: I literally have no idea what I read here, it was weird and dreamlike and I think I need to read the next volume to even get a grasp on it. 

27) DC Comics: Bombshells, Vol. 2: Allies by Marguerite Bennett: Yeah, the Bombshells aren't doing much and it's just all jumbled. Shows you can't write a series based on pinups of Superheroes... 

28) Angel: Out of the Past, Part 2 (Season 11, #2) by Corinna Bechko: Angel has sucked (haha) ever sense the writing team that made season 9 so good left to write Buffy. 

29) Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse #5 by Chris Roberson: Again, this could have easily been told in a far more concise manner.

30) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Desperate Times (Season 11, #4) by Christos Gage: Interment camps, magic is dangerous, too much politics, it's like The Initiative in season four, just too much real stupid shit, I read comics to escape. 

31) Angel: Out of the Past, Part 3 (Season 11, #3) by Corinna Bechko: More blah Angel. 

32) A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1) by V.E. Schwab: Regency England and magic!?! You KNOW I'm down for this!

33) The Saga of the Bloody Benders by Rick Geary: Oddly enough I had heard about these murderous innkeepers before... what I didn't know is how their "inn" was basically a spare bed in their house or that they literally just disappeared.

34) The Mystery of Mary Rogers by Rick Geary: The murder of a young New Yorker and how it grabbed people's attention. This sure grabbed mine.

35) Lovers' Lane: the Hall-Mills Mystery by Rick Geary: There was something about this murder of an adulterous couple in New Jersey that seemed so familiar to me. What really struck me was the destruction of the bibles in the church.

36) The Case of Madeleine Smith by Rick Geary: IF you're going to poison someone, be a little more clever about how you get your poison OK?

37) The Borden Tragedy: A Memoir of the Infamous Double Murder at Fall River, Mass., 1892 by Rick Geary: What I have found interesting is that in the last year or so there's been a real shift toward Lizzie Borden being innocent. This graphic novel makes a compelling argument for a different killer. 

38) A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2) by V.E. Schwab: And this series went downhill fast. I feel like she was told only trilogies sold and just made up this very long and boring magical duel to fulfill her contract.

39) Tehanu (Earthsea Cycle, #4) by Ursula K. Le Guin: Yes, I got sucked into Earthsea this past year... of the back end of the cycle this was easily my favorite focusing on Tenar's new life, but the ending was too rushed and sloppy for me to give it my full seal of approval.

40) Tales from Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #5) by Ursula K. Le Guin: Ah, short stories, what a mixed bag... as in some I liked and some were just WTF did I just read.

41) The Murder of Abraham Lincoln by Rick Geary: I totally didn't know that Lincoln had a dream that he was going to die. In fact this graphic novel would be great for schools, because I learned more about Lincoln's assassination than I knew before.

42) The Other Wind (Earthsea Cycle, #6) by Ursula K. Le Guin: Time for magic to change, women to get power, and people to turn into dragons... OK...

43) Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: Again, how can I become so invested in Austen knowing the outcome? What's interesting to me is how each time something else strikes me, this time it was that the "old man" Colonel Brandon was about my age!

44) Giant Days, Vol. 4 by John Allison: College trials, blah blah blah. Giant Days is amusing in the moment but easily forgettable.

45) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: What's interesting about Pride and Prejudice is that I think the book entirely hangs on Mr. Collins. He is the humorous glue that holds the whole book together.

46) Baltimore, Vol. 2: The Curse Bells (Baltimore, #2) by Mike Mignola: I don't remember how many Baltimore comics I read this year... so this might have been the one with vampire nuns, but I can't be sure...

47) A Treasury of Victorian Murder Compendium: Including: Jack the Ripper, The Beast of Chicago, Fatal Bullet by Rick Geary: Oh look, proof that H.H. Holmes IS everywhere. Though oddly it was the assassination of Garfield and the creation of air conditioning that I found most fascinating.

48) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: Seriously, I don't know why this is Austen's most maligned novel. It's seriously one of my favorites and I related to it on a whole new level as I'm suffering from Caregivers Syndrome.

49) The Circle by Dave Eggers: If Google had more nefarious plans... the parody of tech was spot on, and that ending packed a punch, but that doesn't save it from being a very uneven book.

50) Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse #6 by Chris Roberson: Again, this story is going on too long. 

51) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Desperate Measures (Season 11, #5) by Christos Gage: I believe this is in the camp for magical people...

52) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Back to the Wall (Season 11, #6) by Christos Gage: And this is Buffy being a cop in that camp...

53) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Disempowered (Season 11, #7) by Christos Gage: And then having her power removed so that she could get out...

54) Angel: Out of the Past, Part 4 (Season 11, #4) by Corinna Bechko: I can only justify buying these comics for their amazing covers, because what's between the covers is barely worth reading. 

55) Angel: Time and Tide, Part 1 (Season 11, #5) by Corinna Bechko: Cover lust, that is all. 

56) Haddon Hall: When David Invented Bowie by Néjib: While I take issue with the title, because David was already calling himself Bowie at this point, there were things I loved, like the house being the narrator and how David took care of his mentally ill brother, the one who eventually killed himself. I'd actually like to read more of this, as in follow the house, not the people. Though I did read a book like that once and the house lacking a voice made it a slog.

57) Lumberjanes, Vol. 6: Sink or Swim by Shannon Watters: I'm assuming this is when they went to sea and it was all selkies and seafaring and rather meh. 

58) Harrow County, Vol. 4: Family Tree by Cullen Bunn: OMG! Emmy's family has totally taken this series to another level. Their "home" is like some Twin Peaks Black Lodge that comes and goes and they are all freakin' insane and evil! I. AM. LOVING. THIS!

59) Emma by Jane Austen: Huh. Last time I read Emma I wanted to beat her to death, this time I enjoyed it... which is why people should always re-read books! They change depending on who we are and our circumstances at the time.

60) Angel: Time and Tide, Part 2 (Season 11, #6) by Corinna Bechko: Angel/Angelus, I bought it for the cover.

61) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ordinary People (Season 11, #8) by Christos Gage: Buffy is powerless and yet I still think she'd have a little more power than this... she's been trained to fight almost all her life and even without the magical strength she still has her training!

62) The Daughter of Odren (Earthsea Cycle, #6.5) by Ursula K. Le Guin: I can literally remember NOTHING of this short story... 

63) Tales of H.P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft: OK, I get why he's considered a master now. While the more famous stories didn't grip me, At the Mountain of Madness kind of left me cold, some of his shorter stories are so memorable I think I'll never forget them. Especially The Rats in the Walls and The Shunned House. Though they do get a little repetitive. 

64) Black Dahlia by Rick Geary: While I thought I knew about the Black Dahlia from various things I've seen or read over the years, this added a lot of new detail I didn't know, such as her having different military men to lean on...

65) Persuasion by Jane Austen: Seriously, so good. How was Austen able to balance the truth of love and life with such humor. Again it's these humorous characters, AKA ALL Anne's family that make this book so perfect.

66) Angel: Time and Tide, Part 3 (Season 11, #7) by Corinna Bechko: Blurg, more Angel that I basically feel compelled to read at this point.

67) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Great Escape (Season 11, #9) by Christos Gage: I think this was Buffy and Willow going to get their powers back...

68) The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems: Pigeon is kind of a dick who doesn't want to share now does he? The best part of the Pigeon books are the front and end papers are different showing how he has progressed through the story.

69) The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems: The best part here is when Pigeon finally gets in the bath we have a montage of how he never leaves it and all the fun he has. 

70) The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems: Duckling annoys me with the over cute and sweet disposition. Maybe Duckling is secretly a serial killer? One can hope.

71) The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems: This is the one I related to the most. Because my cat LOVED horses, but I think he thought they were like an inch tall. The scene where Pigeon meets a puppy is EXACTLY how I always thought Spot meeting a horse would go.

72) Nanette's Baguette by Mo Willems: It all rhymes! Also it's 3-D with the drawings and assemblages, but in the end it felt too try-hard.

73) A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1) by Madeleine L'Engle: God, this book really has no plot. The preview for the movie made me basically go, "I know I've read this book many times and yet I have no idea what happens." So I picked up the book and realized how shit it is. What annoyed me the most you ask? Aside from there being no ending? That Meg's stupid ass little brother would NEVER talk like that. I spent July hanging out with my friends kids who are that age and he's too unrealistic to bear.

74) There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems: I'm guessing there was a bird on Gerald's head?

75) We Are in a Book by Mo Willems: I love the meta nature of this one with breaking the fourth wall and talking to the readers. Too cute. 

76) Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems: I might relate a little too strongly to Gerald who spends so much time debating sharing his treat that it melts and he has no treat to even share.

77) I'm a Frog! by Mo Willems: Piggie thinks she's a frog... and that's about all I remember, what I can gather from the front cover.

78) Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems: Yes, waiting isn't easy. At all. 

79) The Thank You Book by Mo Willems: Why did the Piggie and Elephant books ever have to end? 

80) The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville: Yeah, this wasn't a good book to introduce me to Miéville. He came across as so smug with how he knows so much about abstract expressionism and art and then humble brags later that he doesn't really. It could make a wonderful little animated film with the two leads wandering through a shelled out Paris with their artwork come alive. But as for a book it's a fail. 

81) Snotgirl, Vol. 1: Green Hair Don't Care by Bryan Lee O'Malley: Trying too hard to be woke. Also, I'm missing Bryan's drawings. It doesn't feel like his voice is coming through with just the writing. It's making me question if I really like his writing...

82) Snotgirl #6 by Bryan Lee O'Malley: Starting to like the characters, but still, more forward momentum needed, less just wasting time. Especially as this comic only comes out every other month they should at least try to make an effort at advancing the narrative.

83) The English Wife by Lauren Willig: Best part of this blog? Getting to read books, like Lauren's latest months early! It's twisty, it's turny, it has shades of Du Maurier, and this January when it comes out is the PERFECT time to read it!

84) Harrow County, Vol. 5: Abandoned by Cullen Bunn: The best stories are when things happen that you didn't in the least expect. Holy shit! She's had family nearby all along!?! 

85) Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand: I didn't expect to like this little Gothic tale about 70s folk artists so much. Yes, it ended abruptly and awkwardly, but it was the perfect book to read in the waning days of summer.

86) Angel: Time and Tide Part 4 (Season 11, #8) by Corinna Bechko: Eh, more Angel. 

87) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Crimes Against Nature (Season 11, #10) by Christos Gage: Was this when Buffy took her power back from the other slayers? Because that is easily my most favorite part of this season! 

88) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: I hate Offred. Really, she's not a nice person. BUT I find the story itself about women losing all their rights eerily relevant and I just keep thinking about it more and more.

89) The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) by Philip Pullman: The best of the original trilogy. Full of snow and magic and armored bears! You can see why this book captured so many peoples imaginations. There's something about it that made it an instant classic.

90) Kill or Be Killed, Vol. 1 by Ed Brubaker: Guy kills other bad guys in order live because otherwise a demon that saved him will destroy him. But is the demon real? Now THAT is what I'm most interested in at the moment. Our antihero's mental state.

91) Giant Days, Vol. 5 by John Allison: Is this the one where they move off campus? Because having never lived in a dorm, this is more the college life I can relate to!

92) Once Upon a Time in the North (His Dark Materials, #0.5) by Philip Pullman: Lee Scorsby's first meeting with Iorek! But that doesn't happen until the end of the story. Before that we have manipulative politicians, interesting characters, and the true gentleman that is Lee Scorsby!

93) The Collectors (His Dark Materials, #0.6) by Philip Pullman: Two cursed artifacts in our world from another. I liked how this shed light on the differing timelines between worlds, but more importantly, while Mrs. Coulter was evil, with her daemon she had an everlasting bond that is almost sweet in how sinister it is. 

94) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Revelations (Season 11, #11) by Christos Gage: Buffy now fighting the baddies? I think that's what is going on now... also, the Big Bad as what, secretary of state? Lame.  

95) Angel: Dark Refelections, Part 1 (Season 11, #9) by Corinna Bechko: Angel tries to change his past. Don't be stupid Angel. But then again, Angel was always kind of dumb, Angelus was the smarter of the two.

96) Clean Room, Vol. 2: Exile (Clean Room, #2) by Gail Simone: Confusing, jumbled, bad people trying to take over the world, but is there redemption, it's very muddled, and yet I can't stop reading it!

97) Truths, Half Truths and Little White Lies by Nick Frost: I NEVER want to read about a kibbutz EVER again. Because while Frost's stories about his family are great as are his later stories about meeting Simon Pegg and how they shot to stardom together, there's just so much boring routines on a kibbutz in between that it drags down the narrative. Though his ghost story is top notch and makes up for a lot of failings. In fact can we get a book of just him and Simon ghost hunting? Or maybe a TV show!

98) In The Pines by Erik Kriek: Taking old murder ballads and making them into a graphic novel? I would have been like, I don't think it will work, and I would have been wrong. This was just so well done, and dark, and showing that grim glimpse of Americana. Everyone should read this. EVERYONE.

99) Jessica Jones, Vol. 1: Uncaged! by Brian Michael Bendis: So Jessica is now being dragged into that whole stupid Hydra/Captain America thing? No thanks. This is where I and the Jessica Jones comics forever part ways. They're nowhere near as good as the TV show anyway. And not just because of David Tennant.

100) Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez Gomez: A girl's drawings come to life as nightmares who want her to draw more? Seriously, I am not joking that if I had read this as a young kid I would NEVER have drawn again. It's nightmare inducing, that's for sure.

101) Harrow County, Vol. 6: Hedge Magic by Cullen Bunn: OK, so I read this after getting my flu shot, so my memory might be even more fuzzy, but this was more about Emmy's friend and how she balances Emmy in Harrow County. Just please, let them stay friends and fight evil together, not each other!

102) Harrow County #25 by Cullen Bunn: Read the same day as the TPB so not quite sure what part of the narrative this covered...

103) Harrow County #26 by Cullen Bunn: But I know this covered that bitch Kammi coming in and deciding to kick Emmy's ass for killing her.

104) How to Talk to Girls at Parties by Neil Gaiman: The drawings in this were so weird. The characters looked like overly garish glam rock stars who don't know how to pluck their eyebrows. As for the story... I haven't read the original short, but there was hardly any dialogue. Exactly how did they make this into a film?

105) The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2) by Philip Pullman: I don't like how Will kind of forces his way into being the protagonist with Lyra taking a backseat. But there are so many moments that are amazing that I am able to forgive a lot. Though Lee Scorsby's death STILL haunts me.

106) Thornhill by Pam Smy: Half the story is diary entries and half the story is drawings and all the story is lame. It's too obvious what's happening, the foreshadowing is so heavy handed that I felt like Smy was bashing me over the head with that Susan Hill poster. Those who are bullied can become bullies and become evil. Thanks for that uplifting message Smy.

107) The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3) by Philip Pullman: And so, for now, Lyra's journey comes to an end with most of the story being about Wheeler like creatures, and I HATE Wheelers. 

108) Lyra's Oxford (His Dark Materials, #3.5) by Philip Pullman: What I love SO MUCH about this little short story is how Oxford as a city looks to protect Lyra from whatever harm might come her way.

109) La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1) by Philip Pullman: I tried to rein in my expectations for this book and I really didn't need to. Pullman has delivered the BEST book he has written about Lyra yet. It was so perfect, from Malcolm and his lovely life with his boat, to the spycraft of those working against the Magesterium. If it wasn't for all the Austen I read this year this book had a chance at the best read of the year. Though it is still totally on my longer list!

110) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: One Girl in All the World (Season 11, #12) by Christos Gage: And Buffy gave the other slayers their power back!?! NO! ALL THE NO IN THE WORLD! One Girl! ONE GIRL! They had finally got it aligned back up with Fray and now this!?! NO! PS, I am OK with Faith having her powers because she has really redeemed herself in the comics, probably because I don't have to actually listen to Eliza Dushku.

111) Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Vol. 1: The Crucible by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: This was just odd. It wasn't really spooky or weird and had lots of random cannibalism. I will be interested to see how Netflix makes it into a series though.

112) Angel: Dark Refelections, Part 2 (Season 11, #10) by Corinna Bechko: Angel and Ilyria!?! NO! NO! NOPE! She would never. NO!!!!!

113) Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood (Monstress, #2) by Marjorie Liu: Oh, the story is getting more interesting. Off to a mysterious island to learn the truth about gods!?! Yes, it's coming together nicely, though not so nice for me is that I've caught up! There's no more to read until the end of January!!!

114) Monty Python's Book of Silly Walks by David Merveille: Pointless book. A drawing of John Cleese in one of his silly walks poses in different situations. Also there was a MAJOR typo in the sparse text.

115) Snotgirl #7 by Bryan Lee O'Malley: It's always difficult merging different groups of friends, sometimes they hate each other, sometimes they get along, and sometimes they use their very embarrassing nickname for you in front of everyone and then you're forever screwed.

116) The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter: The main story, a retelling of Bluebeard was spot on, and was obviously such a source of inspiration for the movie Crimson Peak, the rest... the rest fell pretty flat. Again, why I usually don't like to read books of short stories, they are too uneven, and here kind of repetitive. 

117) The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost: I HAVE ANSWERS! I know things now that the Twin Peaks cliffhanger left up in the air! Annie! Ed and Norma! Also, Laura really didn't die now! WTH, I SO want another season, but so many of the cast died and I don't think they can all be teapots.

118) Harrow County #27 by Cullen Bunn: Just fucking kill Kammi. KILL HER!!!

119) The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick: A true science fiction classic. Such a wonderful way to explore an alternate ending to WWII through the eyes of a few characters we grow to love. Plus the wonderful TV series that was based on it. Seriously, so much awesome has come into my life with this book.* 

120) The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley: The blurb doesn't do this book justice. It makes it sound stolid and boring, when it's about magic and myths still existing when you get off the beaten track. While I've never really wanted to go to Peru, this made me for sure never want to go, altitude sickness would kill me. I am not joking. 

121) The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero: I read this book in three sittings, and at each sitting the book got worse. It became less Gothic, more stupid secret society, until the ending was basically a whimper not a bang. Start strong, end strong, that's how a book should be. Also I was really looking forward to this author's new book, now... not so much.

122) Snotgirl #8 by Bryan Lee O'Malley: Time for the "girl" or in this case, "girls" to take a break and let the guys have an issue, wherein not much happened, but that's kind of the slow way this series is playing out... 

123) Angel: Dark Refelections, Part 3 (Season 11, #11) by Corinna Bechko: And they're back from all the time traveling and everything is still fucked. Stupid season eleven. Oh, can I send Eleven after the writers to kick their asses?

124) FukuFuku: Kitten Tales 2 by Kanata Konami: Oh, kitties! I love cats so much, but now the kitten is all grown up so there's no more adorable tales for me to read until Kanata Konami decides what to do in the post-Chi world!

125) Kill or Be Killed, Vol. 2 by Ed Brubaker: So, we're leaning towards crazy right? Right!?! Also, that new girlfriend had NO right to do that gallery show, even if it provided our antihero with his "oh shit" moment. Also, the whole manhunt seems to be played out IMO.

126) Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Vol. 1 by Ichirou Ohkouchi: Yeah, this was just so dumb I've basically forgotten everything and I literally just read it! 

127) Herding Cats (Sarah's Scribbles, #3) by Sarah Andersen: Sarah Andersen is a genius, a national treasure, she somehow is able to read my mind and my soul and make it into art. How does she do that!?! So TOTALLY be sure to pick up this book when it comes out later this year.

128) Bandette, Volume 1: Presto! by Paul Tobin: Like French Adam West Batman with the soul of Amelie. I adored this slim volume about a master thief and can't wait to read the next two volumes!

129) Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield: Why does this book have no plot!?! HOW WAS THIS BOOK PUBLISHED WITH NO PLOT!?! It's 100 pages of Bellman working in a mill, another 200 pages of him making his own "Mr. Selfridge's of Death" and then he dies. That isn't a book! No matter that it's bound and printed and all that, that isn't a book!!!

130) Harrow County #28 by Cullen Bunn: Kammi's dead let's do a dance of joy! Oh shit, Hester's back and I'm not getting a new issue for a few months!?! How will I survive!?!

131) The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2) by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling: After reading the first book I at least knew this series is more about the characters than the crimes, and I do genuinely care for Cormoran and Robin... the rest of it all? It dragged and in the end I couldn't care less who the killer was. But I still enjoyed reading it. Like the journey was better than the destination.

132) Bandette, Volume 2: Stealers Keepers! by Paul Tobin: Nice finish to the Finis storyline (see what I did there!) I'm seriously in love with this series I want it to last forever! 

133) Bandette, Volume 3: The House of the Green Mask by Paul Tobin: If I thought the first two volumes were awesome, they were NOTHING compared to the awesomeness of this volume. Secret societies, art history, chocolate! Everything a girl could want.   

134) Bandette #14 by Paul Tobin: Oh, a new adventure, and one involving art that was used to convey secret messages! It's like this series was written just for me. If only Pimento was a cat, not that I'd ever suggest to Pimento that he should be a cat!**

135) Bandette #15 by Paul Tobin: I don't really remember what happened here just because as I was about to write my review I found that Goodreads had removed my previous review for #14 and thrown down the "comics aren't books" gauntlet once again and I saw red.  

136) Brian Kesinger's Inked Tales by Brian Kesinger: Oh, how I love Brian's art, but here, reading this book, I had totally forgotten how obsessed I used to be with mermaids. I think mermaids are FAR more of a universal phase girls go through than ponies... All the little jokes, all the amazing varieties! Brian you are a genius, I can't wait until I get my hardcover copy this year!

137) Brian Kesinger's Penned Dragons by Brian Kesinger: How funny that I backed this project for the Dragons and yet it's the mermaids I was drawn to reading first... But I still totally want a dragon. Maybe I want to be a dragon? One with a nice big book horde...

138) Angel: Dark Refelections, Part 4 (Season 11, #12) by Corinna Bechko: And THANK Illyria that's over with. I mean, seriously, this was a BAD season. Nothing redeeming it. And the fact that the stuff they brought back with them was needed to destroy the creature? Lame. So they HAD to go back in time to then destroy it? Nope. Doesn't make sense to me.

139) Burn Bright by Patrica Briggs: While I love me my Mercy Thompson, I just relate more to Anna and Charles. Their newest adventure might just be my favorite. Not just because it's thankfully almost horse free, but because it digs into pack politics and also works on healing Anna's wounds. Also art and magic and witches! Seriously, I adore this series.

140) Giant Days Vol. 6 by John Allison: Daisy gets the girl! Sigh, this makes me very happy. Even if the girl is a crazy German...

141) Giant Days #25 by John Allison: Christmas! Very timely no? Also, Susan makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE when seen through the lens of her family.

142) Giant Days #26 by John Allison: Dean Thomas (no, not that Dean Thomas) finds love in a MMORPG! Of course things don't go according to plan. Hehe.

143) Giant Days #27 by John Allison: Esther gets woke. Which, yeah, it kind of works, but still, kind of unbelievable...

144) Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer: Start the year with a shitty Heyer, end the year with a great Heyer! Just what I needed to fit my holiday mood. A humorous and snarky holiday murder, where yes, I did see who the murderer was from a long way off, but the banter kept the story going for the most part. Perhaps a wee bit of editing could have helped and maybe gotten the book into my top ten... 

145) Clean Room, Vol. 3: Waiting for the Stars to Fall (Clean Room, #3) by Gail Simone: Huh. For a series which kind of prided themselves on being almost inscrutable this was oddly a clean and concise wrap up of the first arc. Though it oddly did give me nightmares. Literally.

*This is where my number count is off from Goodreads because The Man in the High Castle was in an omnibus where I didn't read the other three books. 

**This is where my number count gets even more divergent from Goodreads due to our continued disagreement on comics being books. I believe they are, they believe they aren't. I'm hoping time will prove me the victor, like it did with our Terry Pratchett numbering fiasco. 

0 comments:

Newer Post Older Post Home