Graphic Novels and Comics Not Just for Kids

In the past few months, I've found myself being led back to graphic novels and comics. It had been years since I read one, so I thought I would give a few new ones a try. Man, was I glad I did! Now, I'm not talking about the ones that they publish based around your favorite movie, book or tv show (though the Doctor Who ones are pretty good!). I mean the graphic novels that are unique IPs, and if there is a movie/tv/book tied to them, the comic or graphic novel came first. I thought it would be fun to share my recent favorite that I've been sucked into.

Fables

Based in New York, it's the kind of story or premise that you wish you had come up with, or at least that's how I feel. In the graphic novels, we follow characters based off storybook characters we know from our childhood. Classics like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack from Jack and the Bean Stock, Little Boy Blue, The Big Bad Wolf, Snow White, Cinderella, etc. There are also characters that I actually had to research as to who they are, but that makes it even more fun!

Here is the write up from Publisher's Weekly:

This elaborate fantasy series begins as a whodunit, but quickly unfurls into a much larger story about Fabletown, a place where fairy tale legends live alongside regular New Yorkers. Years ago, fables and fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella "were a thousand separate kingdoms spread over a hundred magic worlds," until they were invaded and driven into hiding and, eventually, into modern-day Gotham. And so, on the city streets we find Beauty and the Beast in trouble with the law and Prince Charming reduced to a broke cad auctioning off his royal title, while his ex-wife, Snow White, rules over the de facto kingdom the fables created. When Snow White's sister, Rose Red, disappears from a blood-soaked apartment, the Wolf, reformed and now the kingdom's house detective, is assigned to the case. Willingham uses the Wolf's investigation to introduce readers to Fabletown's dissolute, hard-luck inhabitants, and he is at his best here, relishing one-liners and spinning funky background information of a world where fairy tale characters spend their time fretting about money and thinking up get-rich schemes. The mystery seems mostly an excuse to delineate Willingham's world, as the caper is easily resolved-in true fairy tale fashion-during a massive ballroom celebration. Willingham's dialogue is humorous, his characterizations are sharp and his plot encompasses a tremendous amount of information with no strain at all. The art, mostly by Medina and Leialoha, is well drawn and serviceable, if somewhat unremarkable, with occasional flares of decorative invention. But it's Willingham's script that carries the tale.

I can't say enough good things about this graphic novel series. They are still producing them in serials, but you have a ton to catch up on in graphic novel format, so you don't have to worry about buying them monthly. If you are interested in checking it out, be sure to read them in order, as the series builds off the previous. I do have to mention, some of the stories are a little graphic and I believe they are mature rated. Just putting that out there. There are also a few different spin offs, so when you're done with Fables, and waiting for the next one, you can still live in the world. Both my husband and I love it!

Reading the Classics- A Challenge

I don't know if it's just me, but I tend to read more when it's cold and rainy (or in some case for others, snowy). There is nothing like curling up on the couch with a warm blanket, cup of coffee or hot chocolate and a good book. Now that summer is drawing to a close, I can feel the leaves turning around me (or as much as they do in Southern California) and it makes me crave those days.

I have plenty of books on my TBR pile that will keep me busy all winter, and even through the next year, but that doesn't keep me from buying new ones. How can you resist the great books that are on the horizon in YA/Teen literature? I know I can't.

Too many books are already calling my name on my shelves, and each time I finish one, I can't decide what to read next. That is why I'm going to help myself and add a change to my reading...at least once a month.

Recently Barnes and Noble gave away a group of classics each week in ebook format. I think I've mentioned on this blog, I'm not a huge lover of classics but I hope to change that in the coming months. I downloaded many of the books they offered, excited to get a free ebook, no matter what it was! Of course, now that ebooks are everywhere, the classics are easy to come by for free. You only need to look as far as Google Books or Project Gutenberg to download most of them. You don't even need an Ereader (though if you have one, you can easily get these ebooks on your device), only a computer and in some cases Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) which is a free program. Because the classics are old enough for the copyright to expire, it is not stealing, but considered public domain now. The reason I was so excited about Barnes and Noble's offer, their books are formatted properly, fixing all of the errors that occur in the scanning process. Sites like the ones I listed above, do not--but here's a tip. Project Gutenberg is a little cleaner usually--but that shouldn't stop you from reading books that have shaped the literary world for decades, if not centuries.

So I give you my challenge. I will be reading one classic a month and then posting a review of each one. Hopefully I'm able to get through each in a timely manner (I seem to read classics a little slower than modern books).

Anyone interested in playing along?

Here is a list of the books I downloaded in the past few weeks that I will choose from each month. Looking at this list, it really is amazing how many of these books have been made into moves (some several times) and how many by Disney.

Journey to the Center of the Earth- Jules Verne
Oliver Twist- Charles Dickens
Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens
Tale of Two Cities- Charles Dickens
Man in the Iron Mask- Alexandre Dumas
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume I & II- Arthur Conan Doyle
Gulliver's Travels- Jonathan Swift
King Soloman's Mines- H. Rider Haggard
Canterbury Tales- Geoffey Chaucer
Cannecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court- Mark Twain
Fairy Tales- Hans Christian Andersen
The Jungle Books- Rudyard Kipling
Prince and the Pauper- Mark Twain
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde- Robert Louis Stevenson
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea- Jules Verne
Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Writings- Washington Irving
Time Machine and The Invisible Man- H.G. Wells
Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde
Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
Woman in White- Wilkie Collins
Main Street- Sinclair Lewis
Portrait of a Lady- Henry James
Wings of the Dove- Henry James
This Side of Paradise- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Beautiful and Damned- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Metamorphosis and Other Stories- Franz Kafka
Uncle Tom's Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Scarlet Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne
Persuasion- Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey- Jane Austen
Room with a View- E.M. Foster
Wuthering Heights- Emily Bonte
Mansfield Park- Jane Austen
War of the Worlds- H. G. Wells
Great Expectations- Charles Dickens
Emma- Jane Austen
Peter Pan- J.M. Barrie (this one isn't very fair to have on the list. I adore this book)
Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett
Wind in the Willows- Kenneth Grahame
Treasure Island- Robert Louis Stevenson
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- L. Frank Baum
Tarzan of the Apes- Edgar Rice Burroughs
Adventures of Tom Sawyer- Mark Twain
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass- Lewis Caroll

So, let me know what I should read as the first book of the challenge starting in October. Should I go for something that fits along with Halloween like the Legend of Sleepy Hallow or Frankenstein?

What are some of your favorites from this list?

What I've Been Reading: The Iron Fey Series

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, especially since I've been sick for the past few days. I just completed the second book in the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, and thought I would share my thoughts on the first two books.

The Iron King: (sysnopsis from bn.com) Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Until recently, I didn't read a lot of fantasy, but for some reason I seem to be on a solid run of them. I've picked up several in a row including this series and the Graceling books (Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore) and it gives me a perspective when reading a lot of them so close together. I have to be honest, the cover of The Iron King intrigued me, one reason I picked it up. I started the book and was instantly pulled in. I have to admit, the concept and even the world the concept is built in isn't the most original, but I loved it anyway. I loved the characters. Meghan is a strong woman (girl?) who makes her own decisions and follows her own path. You can sympathize with her. Despite the book being based around Midsummer Night's Dream with characters and the Summer and Winter Courts, it still felt original in the little details that Kagawa weaved in. As soon as I finished, I knew that I would have to pick up The Iron Daughter.

The Iron Daughter: (synopsis from bn.com) Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of The Iron Daughter from Netgalley about a week before the book came out. I started it as soon as I finished The Iron King, which was really refreshing because normally you have to wait so long between books that it takes awhile to get back into the story. I didn't have any trouble at all, and The Iron Daughter picks up right where The Iron King ends. I thought this was the perfect sequel, building off the world that Kagawa took the time to really develop in The Iron King, yet she was able to expand on it and open the readers onto new things. I don't want to give too much away about the sequel if you haven't read the first one, but the romantic triangle that starts in the first book, only grows stronger. Meghan has to decide which guy is best for her, even if the answer is neither. We learn more about each court and the fey that live within the world of NeverNever. There is a great pace to The Iron Daughter that will keep you reading late into the night.

I would highly recommend both books in the series. The writing is beautiful and the characters are endearing, even when they are not always up for the challenge. Meghan is a strong main character who you will laugh and cry with, as if she were a good friend you're watching take the tough journey she is on. I can't wait for the third book to the series, The Iron Queen.

To Live the First Time Again

In our teen years, a lot of firsts come into our lives. Our first kiss, the first time we drive, a lot of times the first time we move away from family, first major peer pressure, the first real job and usually the first broken heart. These things aren't easy to go through, and at times felt as if my world was crashing down. I started to remininse about all of these things I lived through as a teen the other day. It made me realize as an adult we don't have very many firsts in our lives. It's hard to keep things fresh and that much easier to get into a rut.

What does this have to do with writing or reading? After I had fun walking down memory lane, I thought of the amazing feeling I get when I read a really good book for the first time. There's nothing like discovering new characters and counting the minutes until you can pick it up again to complete their journey. It's always heartbreaking getting to the last page, especially in a long series that you've invested so much time with, you feel as if the characters are your friends. You could always go back and read the book(s) again, yet it's not the same as the first time you read them.

If you could go back and read any book(s) again for the first time, what would they be? It can be a book you love, or one that changed you for some reason.


Here's my list:

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- I've professed my love of this book a few times here on the blog, and I'm going to do it again. Catcher in the Rye was the first, if not the only book I LOVED that was assigned reading for school. I usually dreaded said assignments, but once I cracked open Catcher for the first time and met Holden Caulfield, I couldn't put it down. I finished it well before I was supposed to at school and thought about it for weeks if not months afterward. It made me trust some of the great classics out there that I wouldn't have read otherwise. I read (and blogged) about this book recently, but it didn't have the same magic as the first time. Not because I didn't like it as much, but I knew what to expect. It was like visiting with an old friend instead of discovering someone knew you have a ton in common with.



Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling- I can't explain my love for these books. It goes beyond words, but I'm going to try and explain it a little here. I wasn't one of the first HP adopters (sadly), but I was early enough in the series to get into it before the HP market completely exploded. When I first picked up HPatSS, book 3 was about to come out. The hype was big, but it wasn't in your face. I was curious to understand what people were talking about. The cover intrigued me. I wasn't a huge fan of fantasy back then, so I'll admit i had a little trepidation when I started. After reading the first few pages of book 1, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down and knew that I would be a Harry Potter fan for life. I blazed through the first three books and waited anxiously for the 4th to come out. I saw each movie opening night (well, except for the 5th movie. I was in the hospital with pneumonia), went to midnight releases for the final three books and own quite a bit of HP merchandise. Despite being a little older (I was 21, about to turn 22 when book 3 came out), I couldn't get enough and at 30 yrs old, almost 31 my love for HP is as strong as it was almost 10 years ago. I wish I could rewind time and go back to the days I just discovered the Harry Potter cast of characters. Heck, I wish I could go back a few years to feel the excitement of being handed HP7 shortly after midnight and staying up to read the beginning. I don't think I have (or ever will) feel such excitement for a book as I have when holding a new HP book and wondering what is inside.


Looking for Alaska by John Green- I loved Looking for Alaska, but it really isn't so much the book to me as what it means. I remember browsing the mystery section (I used to read any mystery/thriller I could get my hands on...Harlan Coben FTW) and remembering a book I saw everyone talking about on the internet. The cover stuck in my mind, the smoke billowing from a blown out candle against a dark background. At this point in my life, I hadn't read many YA/Teen books (except when I was a teen), but for some reason, Looking for Alaska spoke to me from the shelves. I went in search for it and found it on the end cap of the teen aisle (at that point, the YA/Teen aisle in my local B&N wasn't very big. Now it's the biggest section in the whole store, minus the general Fiction area). I didn't really know what to expect. I had read a little bit about John Green, including his blog and I must say, he intrigued me. He was around my age, so I was curious to see what the book was about. I started writing around that time (you guessed it, I wrote mysteries and thrillers) and let me tell you, I was NOT very good. I got home and instantly started reading LfA and half way through, I knew I needed to write teen fiction. So, I guess you can say, I can thank LfA and John Green for my life today. I may not be a published YA author (yet), but my life is immersed in the teen fiction world every day. It's what I write, who I am and what I spend my time reading. To feel that light bulb go off again, knowing I had to write YA fiction, I would give anything.

Tips to Staying Sane and Entertained- What to Do When You Get Laid Off

Considering people are losing their jobs left and right, I thought I would share a few tips I used when I got laid off last February that kept me sane. I was jobless for six months and with the help of unemployment and a few small things I did to spread the money around, I was able to keep myself entertained.

1. When you run errands, do them all in one day. No need to go out every day and waste gas restarting your car. Plan your day so you don't back track.

2. Put aside a few dollars toward your favorite coffee shop/place to write and get a gift card. That way, you can keep track of how much you're spending. I did this with Panera. I would put $10-15 on a gift card and could only spend that amount in a week there. I would sit and write for hours (my favorite place to write) with a cookie and iced tea. It was heaven. Once I ran out for the week, I had to wait until the next week.

3. Instead of buying books, use your local library. If they don't have the book you're looking for, sign up for PaperbackSwap (US residents only I believe). For only the price of shipping (media mail rate so around $2) you can get any book that is available (including hardbacks). I've belonged to the site for 3 years now and LOVE it. I've said almost $500 (based on used book prices) since joining. They also now have Swap a CD and Swap a DVD, too!

4. Look for places around your house that are free/cheap to go that you haven't been in awhile. My husband and I went to areas of the city we never thought to check out. Outdoor activities are always free. Usually, local museums have days that are free/cheaper. Check your local city's offical page. You'd be surprised.

5. One word: Netflix. They have a free trial on their site. After that, plans are starting at only $4.99. As you know, from my post from last week, going to the movies is expensive! Instead, you can have the movies delivered to you at a fraction of the price. When I was laid off, I would watch a movie almost every day (we have the 3 movies at a time plan). It was a great way to stay entertained and catch up on all the movies I never saw.

6. When shopping for groceries, be smart. Look for things on sale, buy meat/veggies in bargain sizes and use coupons. You'd be very suprised how much you can save with a few coupons and price checking.

7. If you go out to eat, try Happy Hour (if you're old enough for Happy Hour). You'd be surprised how cheap and how many items are available during happy hour at a fraction of the price.

8. Most important, this gives you time to write, write and write. You can never spend too much time writing. I wrote half of my current book while I was off work. If you don't use the time wisely, you'll regret it once you're back to work.

9. A lot like #9, this also gives you a ton of time to read! I was a reading machine while I was off of work. Now that I'm back at work, I miss having so much time to read.

So, if you're going through hard times, how are you keeping busy? What are your tips to saving money, but still having fun?