Great Graphic Novels

After my post on graphic novels yesterday, I thought it would be fun to recommend some of my favourites!  There are a number of graphic novels that I'm wanting to read so hopefully this list will continue to grow!

1) Fables and Jack of Fables
Both by Bill Willingham

Both great series but I would recommend reading Fables first since Jack of Fables is a continuation / spinoff.  My favourite graphic novel series out there, my husband and I are always excited when a new comic comes out!

2) Archie: The Married Life
Who doesn't love Archie?!
My Review

3) Maus
By Art Spiegelman
My Review

A stunning series by a fantastic writer and artist!  A story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's story and history itself.
  
4) Hark! A Vagrant
By Kate Beaton
My Review 

Love love Kate Beaton!  

5) Smile
By Raina Telgemeier

I had the opportunity to meet Raina a few years ago and she is lovely! Her debut graphic novel is wonderful and definitely a great read for anyone who has ever had braces (not a requirement to read though!)

6) Bone
By Jeff Smith

All 9 comics in the series are wonderful! A great adventure story for readers of all ages!

7) Scott Pilgrim
By Bryan Lee O'Malley

"Scott Pilgrim's life is totally sweet. He's 23 years old, he's in a rockband, he's "between jobs", and he's dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes."

8) Castle Waiting 
By Linda Medley

The Story of an isolated, abandoned castle, and the eccentric inhabitants who bring it back to life.  Lots of fun!

9) The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel
By Diana Gabaldon, Hoang Nguyen

My favourtie novelists first graphic novel! Outlander from Jamie's perspective!

10) Marvel 1602
By Neil Gaiman

"All's not well in the Marvel Universe in the year 1602 as strange storms are brewing and strange new powers are emerging. Spider-Man, the X-Men, Nick Fury, Dr. Strange, Daredevil, Dr. Doom, Black Widow, Captain America, and more appear in the waning days of the reign of Queen Elizabeth."  
  
Happy Reading! 

Raise a Glass to Graphic Novels

I found this article on the Chapters / Indigo Blog really interesting and thought I would share it.  One of the editors discusses how their list "The Best Books of 2012" was chosen and why certain titles made the cut or did not.  I'm especially interested in the following blurb:

"We as a group weren’t all on the same page about the titles either – there were several heated discussions about the inclusion of some of them (I’m looking at you, Batman), and the exclusion of others. Obviously, most of our Indigo Spotlight titles are there (not all), but some titles that were pitched for Spotlight unsuccessfully did make the cut here.
But back to Scott Snyder’s Batman: The Court of Owls. Yes, it’s there. Thank you to those of you who love its inclusion, and apologies to those of you who question it. Again, I’m the guy who nominated it – and I got some grief when I did.  Truth of the matter is that I happen to think Scott Snyder is the best thing to happen to Batman since Christopher Nolan."
 (To read the rest of the article, go here. )

I love that a graphic novel made the cut and I find it fascinating that there was apparent controversy to its inclusion.  Graphic novels are still the underdog in the literary world and it makes me wonder what it's going to take for them to start getting the credit they deserve.  There are some AMAZING graphic novels out there; in fact, when Time Magazine did their list of "All Time 100 Novels" they included 10 graphic novels.  For anyone who has ever read any of them, you know that they are very worthy.

A really interesting literary issue to watch in the coming years!  I work in a book store and everyday I see more and more people (both kids and adults) buying graphic novels and, as I mentioned earlier, there are some really good ones out there! The stories are great, the art is beautiful, and they often take just as much time and energy to read as a good novel.

“What happens to you changes you. Fer good or ill, yer changed ferever. There ain't no goin back. No matter how many tears you cry.”

I LOVED Moria Young's debut novel, Blood Red Road, so I was super excited to read the sequel in this planned trilogy, Rebel Heart which just landed on the shelves this month.  I finished it a few nights ago and am still in the process of forming an opinon of it.  I gotta say, I'm feeling somewhat disappointed.  I find that with sequels I often have one of two reactions: 1) It is even better than the first book (ex: Catching Fire in my opinion), or, 2) It falls short of the first book.  Which is sadly what happened here. 

The books starts off on a high note.  We pick up right where we left off with Saba, Lugh, Emmi, and Tommo traveling west in hopes of a better life; Jack having left them to deliver the news of Ike's death to his sweetheart Molly.  There is a lot of interesting things going on with these people. Saba and her subconscious as her guilt over Epona's death (and many others) catch up with her.  The reader is also left wondering what is going on with Lugh; what really happened to him during his captivity and why is he having such extreme mood swings?  The character of Emmi is also becoming more intersting as we see her developing even more into a strong willed young woman.  We also see the side story of Tommo's developing feelings for Saba.  Most interesting is trying to figure out who exactly Jack is and what side is he on?

So clearly there is a lot happening here so I should be jumping up and down with excitement.  And I will admit, I was loving parts of this novel.  However, I really am not sure how I'm feeling about a side story that Young brought in halfway through the novel (and clearly is going to be a big plot point in the next book) involving the former Tonton leader, DeMalo.  It just felt somewhat out of place to the rest of the story as well as how out of character for some.  I don't want to give to much away for those of you who haven't read this yet so I will leave it at that!  I think I might need to reread this in a few months and see if a second reading changes my mind.  Despite everything I'm still really looking forward to the third book since I'm interested to see how Young ties up everything.

"I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life”

I am in love with young Flavia de Luce, the young heroine of Alan Bradley's debut novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. 

When I first read about the premise of the novel, the first in a series of mysteries staring an eleven year old aspiring chemist with a passion for poisons, I just wasn't' sure what to make of the concept.  Most novels I have read that have a young adult as the main character either read like a YA or Teen novel or just read poorly, as if the author really has no idea how to write in the voice of a young person.  Alan Bradley does a wonderful job tapping into the mind of Flavia!  He gives her a unique voice that manages to make her seem wise beyond her years yet still give the impression of her youth.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie takes place in the summer of 1950 when a series of unexplainable events occur at Buckshaw, the falling apart English Mansion that Flavia's family calls home.  A dead bird is found on the doorstep with a postage stamp pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw.  

A delightful series for cozy mystery fans! I'm looking forward to having more adventures with Flavia!(and what a great name, right?)

Flavia de Luce Series

1. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009)
2. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag (2010)
3. A Red Herring Without Mustard (2011)
4. I am Half Sick of Shadows (2011)
5. Speaking From Among the Bones (2013)
6. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (2014)
 

October / November Reads

I've been so busy reading good books that I've barely had time to write about them!  Here's what I've been reading in the last few weeks:

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver

Imagine a book that is a mix between Neil Gaiman's Coraline and the children's classic Alice in Wonderland and you have Lauren Oliver's newest YA novel.  I would really love for her to publish an illustrated version of this because the imagery she creates with her words would be fantastic in large scale pictures.  Creepy and delightful, this was a very fun read!

Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart

My mom has been talking about this mystery series for years because she loved the book shop that the main character, Annie Laurance, runs.  After having read the first book in this mystery series I have to agree with her; I'm hooked!  What a fantastic book shop that our leading lady runs! All she sells are mystery books of all kinds!  One of the ongoing themes of the series is a contest whereby the first customer who correctly identifies a series of five mysteries from the clues in a painting hanging in the shop wins his or her choice of a novel.  There is also a coffee shop with hand painted mugs featuring the titles of famous mystery novels.  The location is amazing, the characters are fun, and the mystery at hand keeps you guessing till the end.  A fun series for cozy mystery fans!

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

The first book in the Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series, this novel centers around an abandoned baby found on the steps of the local church one snowy night and the murder of a young woman found half frozen in the local river.  I found the angle of having the lead characters as a priest and a police chief quite interesting and look forward to reading more in this series!

The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts

The final book in Roberts' Inn BoonsBoro series, this story deals with Innkeeper Hope and the third Montgomery brother, Ryder.  As per usual, Robert's delivers excellent dialogue (especially between women), a beautiful setting, and a tender and engaging love story.  A great end to a lovely series.

Ready Player One By Ernest Cline

One of the best and most fun book's I have read this year!  My inner geek screamed with happiness for pretty much the entire novel.  So many excellent 80's references! From video games, to sci-fi and fantasy novels, to films, and music, this book had them all!  Well written, engaging, fun, and action packed, Ready Player One is going to be on my favourite reads of 2012 list!

The Fabulous Susin Nielsen!

I have the opportunity to meet YA author, Susin Nielsen, this week and in preperation I decided to read a couple of her books.  Can I just say, WOW! 

Nielsen's latest novel, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, deals with big issues such as bullying and teen suicide.  It is the heartbreaking yet humourous story of Henry, the little brother left behind to pick up the pieces of his family and his life after the incident that left them all broken.  Written in diary style, this was such a fantastic read and one that I really recommend to both adults and teens.  I'm clearly not the only one who thinks books is great; it was nominated for the Governor General Award this year!

Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom is Nielsen's second novel and very much a lighthearted and charming read.  After Violet's parents divorce and her dad moves to L.A. with his new wife and family, Violet begins to think life is never going to be normal again.  It doesn't help that her mom keeps dating all these losers that Violet knows aren't right for her.  So what does she do? Writes a letter to Hollywood heartthrob, George Clooney, to try and convince him that he is perfect for her mom.  While all this is going on, Violet is also dealing with a falling out with her father and his wife and new children (in a hilarious and horrifying scene) and mean girls and cute boys at school.  A great read for anyone who has had unexpected and unwanted changes in their life and for anyone who has ever had to deal with the trial and tribulations of growing up.

Next up: Susin Nielsen's first novel Word Nerd!