All this AND four days of the best meals I've had in ages...
4/26/12: I am stickying this so I can update the book list with reviews as I finish them. That way, maybe I'll actually READ them instead of stacking them up and forgetting how excited I am about them.
Also, I don't know exactly what the item id in the URL corresponds to, but look at this one. Dude. I'm pretty impressed with my timing.
Behind the cut is a list of all of the media I have acquired since Wednesday, which I am posting because it interests me to do so. This is what happens when I go to the Friends of the Library sale before visiting every purveyor of books in the entirety of Collegetown.
~ Again, Dangerous Visions - Harlan Ellison, et al
~ And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie (I just do not understand how it is that I haven't yet read this... The Doctor would be disappointed, and I don't want The Doctor to be disappointed.)
~ The Annotated Sandman, Vol 1 - Neil Gaiman, with Leslie S. Klinger (OMGOMGOMGOMG I HAVE ONE NOW)
~ Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part One - Gene Luen Yang, Gurihiru, and Michael Heisler (EEEE) Finished it! It's pretty much everything I wanted and more, and I need Part Two to be out right now.
~ Bad Girls: The Most Powerful, Shocking, Amazing, Thrilling, & Dangerous Women of All Time - Jan Stradling (purchased on Lovely Kat's recommendation)
~ Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories - Paul Dini and Bruce Timm (Harley and Joker comics! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT) Finished it! Dini and Timm (especially Timm) have a great talent for pacing and unfolding a story, the art is cartoon-beautiful, and it's always a treat to see so many female characters with distinct personalities kicking ass. That said, I quickly grew tired of Timm's pert-buttocksed ladies in painted-on costumes with pointy, concave breasts, and I felt that some of the stories were lacking in substance. Of course, after reading that one of them went from an idea to a finished comic in less than three weeks, I can kind of understand why some of them are not the deepest pieces of literature ever written. I think the takeaway message from all this is that Bruce Timm is an incredibly good show-runner, and that often translates well to writing and drawing comic books.
~ The Cabin in the Woods - Tim Lebbon Finished it! I was concerned in the beginning because so much of the narration is from Sitterson's point of view, and Sitterson is just gross, and I'm a little disgusted that the only scenes we got to see from Jules' and Curt's points of view were pretty much the scenes you would expect, but I loved the way the other main characters were fleshed out, and I'm definitely glad I read it. If, after seeing the movie, you are interested in knowing more about the characters and how they think, I definitely recommend the novelization. Otherwise, it's probably not worth it.
~ Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
~ Dracula's Heir: An Interactive Mystery - Sam Stall (a gift from Lovely Kat, because she *gets* me) Finished it! It's not especially well-written - it's epistolary, as one might expect, but all of the characters' voices are exactly the same, and the mystery isn't nearly as clever as the writer seems to think (I own that I have very exacting standards) - but I'm never NOT going to enjoy cheesy Dracula fanfic with supplemental material a la Cathy's Book. It's a fun, quick read, if you're a New Media/Stoker fangirl.
~ The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (I'm pretty sure this is the one that Hillary said she hated, but it was cheap, and I was apparently in a worldly mood)
~ The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
~ I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
~ I Can't Sleep: A journal for passing the time when insomnia strikes and my brain is circling in on itself, cannibalizing the trivialities of the day and exaggerating the ticking of the clock, reminding me that every minute spent awake is another minute closer to when I'll have to get up, though many of the great artists and sages were insomniacs and that's part of how they got so much done, so if I can't seep I might as well write and channel my misery into something productive. (a gift from Lovely Kat, because she *gets* me)
~ I, Claudius - Robert Graves
~ Juneteenth - Ralph Ellison
~ Lord Hornblower - C.S. Forester (slowly collecting the series...)
~ Monkey Brain Sushi: New Tastes in Japanese Fiction - Alfred Birnbaum, ed (You guys, this short story anthology has a manga in it! When have you ever seen an anthology of English-language authors that printed a comic alongside traditional prose?)
~ No Future - Paul Cornell (They actually had several of the New Adventures, and I probably should have also grabbed at least the one written by Terrance Dicks, but ah well. I am satisfied with my Cornell find.)
~ A Pagan's Nightmare - Ray Blackston (This is either going to piss me off something fierce, or it's going to be the best thing I've ever read. I honestly cannot tell which it will be, but I'm interested to find out.)
~ The Parasites - Daphne du Maurier
~ Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
~ The Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie
~ The Stand - Stephen King (now I just need to get a copy of the audio that I listened to originally, and I'll own it in all necessary formats. THIS STORY, YOU GUYS.) Already read it! Well, already listened to the original publication, and already read the comic adaptation of the uncut version. I highly recommend both of these things.
~ Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
~ A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
~ Babylon 5: Season One
~ Johnny Bravo: Season One (my Jeff Bennett obsession is back in a bad way)
~ Sharpe's Mission
~ Sharpe's Regiment
~ Sharpe's Siege
~ Love Is a Four Letter Word - Jason Mraz (HEARTS FOREVER)
Oh, yeah, I forgot to count the 3-page letter that came to me from BIZARRO WORLD. That one was *free*.
Now, time to get caught up with Mark Reads Sandman, read a bit of the Cabin in the Woods novelization*, and get some well-earned sleep.
* I do not know, you guys. I rarely ever read these things - The Daemons and Down with Love** are the only two I can even think of that I own - but I saw it in Books-a-Million today and realized I HAD to read it. The fact that the writer (Tim Lebbon) has won several awards (including a Bram Stoker) makes it so I'm not even the tiniest bit ashamed to include this one on that list with all of those Books You're Supposed to Read that I bought this weekend.
** I got this one as a gift before I had seen the movie, and it's too meta not to love it.
ETA: Here is an extremely interesting (AND SPOILERY) analysis of Cabin in the Woods from a perspective that I didn't consider while watching, but am definitely on board with. Do not read it if you have not seen the movie.
Also, I don't know exactly what the item id in the URL corresponds to, but look at this one. Dude. I'm pretty impressed with my timing.
Behind the cut is a list of all of the media I have acquired since Wednesday, which I am posting because it interests me to do so. This is what happens when I go to the Friends of the Library sale before visiting every purveyor of books in the entirety of Collegetown.
~ Again, Dangerous Visions - Harlan Ellison, et al
~ And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie (I just do not understand how it is that I haven't yet read this... The Doctor would be disappointed, and I don't want The Doctor to be disappointed.)
~ The Annotated Sandman, Vol 1 - Neil Gaiman, with Leslie S. Klinger (OMGOMGOMGOMG I HAVE ONE NOW)
~ Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part One - Gene Luen Yang, Gurihiru, and Michael Heisler (EEEE) Finished it! It's pretty much everything I wanted and more, and I need Part Two to be out right now.
~ Bad Girls: The Most Powerful, Shocking, Amazing, Thrilling, & Dangerous Women of All Time - Jan Stradling (purchased on Lovely Kat's recommendation)
~ Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories - Paul Dini and Bruce Timm (Harley and Joker comics! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT) Finished it! Dini and Timm (especially Timm) have a great talent for pacing and unfolding a story, the art is cartoon-beautiful, and it's always a treat to see so many female characters with distinct personalities kicking ass. That said, I quickly grew tired of Timm's pert-buttocksed ladies in painted-on costumes with pointy, concave breasts, and I felt that some of the stories were lacking in substance. Of course, after reading that one of them went from an idea to a finished comic in less than three weeks, I can kind of understand why some of them are not the deepest pieces of literature ever written. I think the takeaway message from all this is that Bruce Timm is an incredibly good show-runner, and that often translates well to writing and drawing comic books.
~ The Cabin in the Woods - Tim Lebbon Finished it! I was concerned in the beginning because so much of the narration is from Sitterson's point of view, and Sitterson is just gross, and I'm a little disgusted that the only scenes we got to see from Jules' and Curt's points of view were pretty much the scenes you would expect, but I loved the way the other main characters were fleshed out, and I'm definitely glad I read it. If, after seeing the movie, you are interested in knowing more about the characters and how they think, I definitely recommend the novelization. Otherwise, it's probably not worth it.
~ Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
~ Dracula's Heir: An Interactive Mystery - Sam Stall (a gift from Lovely Kat, because she *gets* me) Finished it! It's not especially well-written - it's epistolary, as one might expect, but all of the characters' voices are exactly the same, and the mystery isn't nearly as clever as the writer seems to think (I own that I have very exacting standards) - but I'm never NOT going to enjoy cheesy Dracula fanfic with supplemental material a la Cathy's Book. It's a fun, quick read, if you're a New Media/Stoker fangirl.
~ The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (I'm pretty sure this is the one that Hillary said she hated, but it was cheap, and I was apparently in a worldly mood)
~ The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
~ I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
~ I Can't Sleep: A journal for passing the time when insomnia strikes and my brain is circling in on itself, cannibalizing the trivialities of the day and exaggerating the ticking of the clock, reminding me that every minute spent awake is another minute closer to when I'll have to get up, though many of the great artists and sages were insomniacs and that's part of how they got so much done, so if I can't seep I might as well write and channel my misery into something productive. (a gift from Lovely Kat, because she *gets* me)
~ I, Claudius - Robert Graves
~ Juneteenth - Ralph Ellison
~ Lord Hornblower - C.S. Forester (slowly collecting the series...)
~ Monkey Brain Sushi: New Tastes in Japanese Fiction - Alfred Birnbaum, ed (You guys, this short story anthology has a manga in it! When have you ever seen an anthology of English-language authors that printed a comic alongside traditional prose?)
~ No Future - Paul Cornell (They actually had several of the New Adventures, and I probably should have also grabbed at least the one written by Terrance Dicks, but ah well. I am satisfied with my Cornell find.)
~ A Pagan's Nightmare - Ray Blackston (This is either going to piss me off something fierce, or it's going to be the best thing I've ever read. I honestly cannot tell which it will be, but I'm interested to find out.)
~ The Parasites - Daphne du Maurier
~ Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
~ The Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie
~ The Stand - Stephen King (now I just need to get a copy of the audio that I listened to originally, and I'll own it in all necessary formats. THIS STORY, YOU GUYS.) Already read it! Well, already listened to the original publication, and already read the comic adaptation of the uncut version. I highly recommend both of these things.
~ Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
~ A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
~ Babylon 5: Season One
~ Johnny Bravo: Season One (my Jeff Bennett obsession is back in a bad way)
~ Sharpe's Mission
~ Sharpe's Regiment
~ Sharpe's Siege
~ Love Is a Four Letter Word - Jason Mraz (HEARTS FOREVER)
Oh, yeah, I forgot to count the 3-page letter that came to me from BIZARRO WORLD. That one was *free*.
Now, time to get caught up with Mark Reads Sandman, read a bit of the Cabin in the Woods novelization*, and get some well-earned sleep.
* I do not know, you guys. I rarely ever read these things - The Daemons and Down with Love** are the only two I can even think of that I own - but I saw it in Books-a-Million today and realized I HAD to read it. The fact that the writer (Tim Lebbon) has won several awards (including a Bram Stoker) makes it so I'm not even the tiniest bit ashamed to include this one on that list with all of those Books You're Supposed to Read that I bought this weekend.
** I got this one as a gift before I had seen the movie, and it's too meta not to love it.
ETA: Here is an extremely interesting (AND SPOILERY) analysis of Cabin in the Woods from a perspective that I didn't consider while watching, but am definitely on board with. Do not read it if you have not seen the movie.