updatage: book sale, comics, dvds, novels
So tired...first cut will explain why...
First of all, they moved the booksale. The last time they did this, attendance went WAY down. This time it upped it, at least one Saturday, or so I'm told(upside is that, with a slight detour, I was able to justify driving the length of one of the prettiest streets in town) Downside is that the air conditioning is out and it was 100 degrees...
Now, you guys know me and books. So do these booksale people. To the point where I walked in and picked up a bag and one person pointed to the left and another took the bag from me and shooed me over to the boxes(which were to the left of the entrance. The man with the cart thought I was kidding when he saw my boxes and asked where the rest were. Why? Two measely boxes...
I'm told that they had just as many books, in relatively the same proportions as last year, just a lot more traffic on Friday and Saturday. Good for them, iffy for me. Found 2 books I was looking for and maybe a dozen that I thought sounded really good. The rest is books I "might" get to someday, like some Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark.
I was thinking about goingf back tomorrow morning for the "free" day, but will likely pass. Sale was good for the library, but not as good for me. And let me reemphasize: 100 degrees. 100~ people. Inside. No air conditioning. 3 hours.
"Proven Guilty" by Jim Butcher: Yes, I caved and bought it HC...I fear I may have set a bad precedent for myself. Wasn't too sure about it at first, but I think it's one of the best. Long lost friends come back(FINALLY!) and missing persons from the last book are here. And now, Harry has to be responsible and parental.
"Morningstar" by David Gemmell: If Robin Hood were a worthless thief/conman/everything-but-rapist who got stuck making a one time con his life. One of Gemmell's first "I have this idea...I'll write one book and never go back" goes. It has the same problem of some of his earlier books of having too many characters for less than 300 pages, but was quite, quite good.
"Tears of the Furies" by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski: Better than the first(which is good) Doesn't read like a film or comicbook script that got turned into prose at the last minute. Also, extremely drenched in greek mythology, which gives it several boosts.
"Every Which Way But Dead" by Kim Harrison: Not quite as funny as the first two and there are a number of missing supporting cast members, but still quite good, even if I can see where a few things are going when I probably shouldn't.
Last few months of reading have been almost exclusively Fantasy and especially urban fantasy. I think it's time for a break. Or at least, a reduction.
Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset TPB: As much as I really, really enjoyed this, I wish the Greyshirt stories from "Tomorrow Stories" had been included, just to give added context to the mini. The story itself holds up quite well, but I think the hints and allusions from "Tomorrow Stories" make it even better.
Rurouni Kenshin Vol 21-27: Geeez. In comparison, Enishi in "Samurai X: Reflections" is like a cute, cuddly bunny. Good stuff, especially Sano's book.
52 Week #2-3: Much more cohesive than the first issue. There's a lot of storylines going on, and I'm actually interested in all of them.
Annihilation Nova #2/Annihilation Ronan #2: Nova was great, especially since they managed to keep nuDrax cool. Ronan...hrm...maybe it's because I know squat about the character outside of the mini, but I just can't make myself care. CXurious about what's going on with gamora, though.
Aquaman Sword Of Atlantis #42: Please, please, please hire an inker for guice...he's killing himself in every since that occurs to you when you read that phrase. Otherwise, good stuff.
Birds Of Prey #94: HeeHeeHee...Shiva had to wear the fishnets. I will forgive the outfit for that.
Blade Of The Immortal #113: Uhm...nice Magatsu pinup in the back. Can we have a new storyline now?
Blue Beetle #3: *patpat* poor Jamie. Mean Scarab.
Captain America #18: A bit of a *finger twiddling* issue...nothing really seemed to happen, just moving people into place.
JSA Classified #12: See above...
Manhunter #22: YAY! FIVE ISSUE REPRIEVE! YAY! Oh, and good issue. Parentage storyline is playing out well.
Moon Knight #2: Y'know, I like this story, I like this approach to the character, and I'm curious to know how it ends. But by the time we get there, I'll have fortgotten how was started...
Secret Six #1: Not big on the art, but it's nice to have these guys monthly again, even if it's just temporary.
Shadowpact #1: Also a gang I'm happy to have back, and I think it's the better of the two. The expressions and body language Willingham gives people alone are worth it.
Supergirl And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #18: I'm enjoying this storyline, but I'm rather ready for it to be over. How has no one punched Supergirl yet? "You felt that, right? So it's not a dream." "I didn't really feel anything..." "Hang on, let me try again."
Teen Titans #36: Oh Tony Daniel, thank you for getting past that phase. Undecided about the Doom Patrol stuff, but am liking the new Titans.
Witchblade #98: On the one hand, this was a very good two parter. On the other, that really wasn't Ian Nottingham, and the whole thing was just to clear the way for Marz to do Sara/Gary Stu-JakeV2("Gary Stu" is the male version of "Mary Sue")
Stuff I got but haven't got to yet:
Basara Vol 18
Firestar Digest
Fray TPB
Gotham Central Vol 3 Unresolved Targets
Hana Kimi Vol 12
Hikaru No Go Vol 6
Love Hina Novel Vol 1
Nancy Drew Vol 5 The Fake Heir
No Man’s Land Vol 1
Saiyuki Vol 7-9
Seven Soldier of Victory Vol 1
Top Cow/Marvel Crossover Collection TP
Ultra Maniac Vol 5
The Wood Boy/ The Burning Man TPB
Also been rereading fables in preparation for #50, but the love is already well established
Buffy: Season 7: Pretty much a mass of good ideas that fell flat. Uber-vamps? Cool. Until it gets really easy to kill them. Potentials? Also cool, until there are so many of them identified and in training that it seems silly that the only person in thousands of years to think or try to override the "no activation until death thing" is a 22 year old witch with only a few months of actual formal training and a lot of raw talent. The original evil of the universe being an incorpeal force that uses your own fears and loves to control you through self doubt? Also cool, until it just prances around making speeches and sending the (fun) preacher out to do its dirtywork.
Angel: Season 5: Far better than Season 4, but much too much "The Cult of Fred" for me to give it high rankings. Certainly doesn't compare to the first two seasons. I think I was happy Fred died, and started loathing the character when Lorne announced that he was in love with her out of the blue. I'd say the series ended on a high note if it weren't for the "yes, we're still the white hats, but we condone and encouraged the premediated murder of temporary allies who have every reason to continue playing nicve after the fight is over."
Knight Hunters: Eternity: Complete Collection: *shakes head at all the redesigns* Seriously...all half work, but the only ones that don't need help are Ken and Aya. Better than I was expecting, given what I've heard about it. But then, unlike other, I went in expecting it to be very different. Of the new characters...well, Kyo was cool, but Sena lived too long. Also, I find it disturbing that Aya seems to be a lot more well balanced now, but refreshing that Ken is now more obviously psycho.
Rurouni Kenshin, vol 1: This was one of the very first anime that I watched, but it was way too much of an anime at the time. I liked it much better this time. (Also, Dave, I rather like the opening and closing themes)
Saiyuki: Double Barrel Collection, vol 2-4: Nothing to say, really, that I haven't said in my other posts about this series, both anime and manga. It veered off into original material around ep 17-20, though, and I suspect I'll have something to same about the Homura story once it's played out.
S-Cry-ed Collection vol 3: Took me forever to get this, and about half as long to get around to watching it. Good wrapup to a very fun series. Now if only 2 certain guys would just grow up already...
First of all, they moved the booksale. The last time they did this, attendance went WAY down. This time it upped it, at least one Saturday, or so I'm told(upside is that, with a slight detour, I was able to justify driving the length of one of the prettiest streets in town) Downside is that the air conditioning is out and it was 100 degrees...
Now, you guys know me and books. So do these booksale people. To the point where I walked in and picked up a bag and one person pointed to the left and another took the bag from me and shooed me over to the boxes(which were to the left of the entrance. The man with the cart thought I was kidding when he saw my boxes and asked where the rest were. Why? Two measely boxes...
I'm told that they had just as many books, in relatively the same proportions as last year, just a lot more traffic on Friday and Saturday. Good for them, iffy for me. Found 2 books I was looking for and maybe a dozen that I thought sounded really good. The rest is books I "might" get to someday, like some Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark.
I was thinking about goingf back tomorrow morning for the "free" day, but will likely pass. Sale was good for the library, but not as good for me. And let me reemphasize: 100 degrees. 100~ people. Inside. No air conditioning. 3 hours.
"Proven Guilty" by Jim Butcher: Yes, I caved and bought it HC...I fear I may have set a bad precedent for myself. Wasn't too sure about it at first, but I think it's one of the best. Long lost friends come back(FINALLY!) and missing persons from the last book are here. And now, Harry has to be responsible and parental.
"Morningstar" by David Gemmell: If Robin Hood were a worthless thief/conman/everything-but-rapist who got stuck making a one time con his life. One of Gemmell's first "I have this idea...I'll write one book and never go back" goes. It has the same problem of some of his earlier books of having too many characters for less than 300 pages, but was quite, quite good.
"Tears of the Furies" by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski: Better than the first(which is good) Doesn't read like a film or comicbook script that got turned into prose at the last minute. Also, extremely drenched in greek mythology, which gives it several boosts.
"Every Which Way But Dead" by Kim Harrison: Not quite as funny as the first two and there are a number of missing supporting cast members, but still quite good, even if I can see where a few things are going when I probably shouldn't.
Last few months of reading have been almost exclusively Fantasy and especially urban fantasy. I think it's time for a break. Or at least, a reduction.
Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset TPB: As much as I really, really enjoyed this, I wish the Greyshirt stories from "Tomorrow Stories" had been included, just to give added context to the mini. The story itself holds up quite well, but I think the hints and allusions from "Tomorrow Stories" make it even better.
Rurouni Kenshin Vol 21-27: Geeez. In comparison, Enishi in "Samurai X: Reflections" is like a cute, cuddly bunny. Good stuff, especially Sano's book.
52 Week #2-3: Much more cohesive than the first issue. There's a lot of storylines going on, and I'm actually interested in all of them.
Annihilation Nova #2/Annihilation Ronan #2: Nova was great, especially since they managed to keep nuDrax cool. Ronan...hrm...maybe it's because I know squat about the character outside of the mini, but I just can't make myself care. CXurious about what's going on with gamora, though.
Aquaman Sword Of Atlantis #42: Please, please, please hire an inker for guice...he's killing himself in every since that occurs to you when you read that phrase. Otherwise, good stuff.
Birds Of Prey #94: HeeHeeHee...Shiva had to wear the fishnets. I will forgive the outfit for that.
Blade Of The Immortal #113: Uhm...nice Magatsu pinup in the back. Can we have a new storyline now?
Blue Beetle #3: *patpat* poor Jamie. Mean Scarab.
Captain America #18: A bit of a *finger twiddling* issue...nothing really seemed to happen, just moving people into place.
JSA Classified #12: See above...
Manhunter #22: YAY! FIVE ISSUE REPRIEVE! YAY! Oh, and good issue. Parentage storyline is playing out well.
Moon Knight #2: Y'know, I like this story, I like this approach to the character, and I'm curious to know how it ends. But by the time we get there, I'll have fortgotten how was started...
Secret Six #1: Not big on the art, but it's nice to have these guys monthly again, even if it's just temporary.
Shadowpact #1: Also a gang I'm happy to have back, and I think it's the better of the two. The expressions and body language Willingham gives people alone are worth it.
Supergirl And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #18: I'm enjoying this storyline, but I'm rather ready for it to be over. How has no one punched Supergirl yet? "You felt that, right? So it's not a dream." "I didn't really feel anything..." "Hang on, let me try again."
Teen Titans #36: Oh Tony Daniel, thank you for getting past that phase. Undecided about the Doom Patrol stuff, but am liking the new Titans.
Witchblade #98: On the one hand, this was a very good two parter. On the other, that really wasn't Ian Nottingham, and the whole thing was just to clear the way for Marz to do Sara/Gary Stu-JakeV2("Gary Stu" is the male version of "Mary Sue")
Stuff I got but haven't got to yet:
Basara Vol 18
Firestar Digest
Fray TPB
Gotham Central Vol 3 Unresolved Targets
Hana Kimi Vol 12
Hikaru No Go Vol 6
Love Hina Novel Vol 1
Nancy Drew Vol 5 The Fake Heir
No Man’s Land Vol 1
Saiyuki Vol 7-9
Seven Soldier of Victory Vol 1
Top Cow/Marvel Crossover Collection TP
Ultra Maniac Vol 5
The Wood Boy/ The Burning Man TPB
Also been rereading fables in preparation for #50, but the love is already well established
Buffy: Season 7: Pretty much a mass of good ideas that fell flat. Uber-vamps? Cool. Until it gets really easy to kill them. Potentials? Also cool, until there are so many of them identified and in training that it seems silly that the only person in thousands of years to think or try to override the "no activation until death thing" is a 22 year old witch with only a few months of actual formal training and a lot of raw talent. The original evil of the universe being an incorpeal force that uses your own fears and loves to control you through self doubt? Also cool, until it just prances around making speeches and sending the (fun) preacher out to do its dirtywork.
Angel: Season 5: Far better than Season 4, but much too much "The Cult of Fred" for me to give it high rankings. Certainly doesn't compare to the first two seasons. I think I was happy Fred died, and started loathing the character when Lorne announced that he was in love with her out of the blue. I'd say the series ended on a high note if it weren't for the "yes, we're still the white hats, but we condone and encouraged the premediated murder of temporary allies who have every reason to continue playing nicve after the fight is over."
Knight Hunters: Eternity: Complete Collection: *shakes head at all the redesigns* Seriously...all half work, but the only ones that don't need help are Ken and Aya. Better than I was expecting, given what I've heard about it. But then, unlike other, I went in expecting it to be very different. Of the new characters...well, Kyo was cool, but Sena lived too long. Also, I find it disturbing that Aya seems to be a lot more well balanced now, but refreshing that Ken is now more obviously psycho.
Rurouni Kenshin, vol 1: This was one of the very first anime that I watched, but it was way too much of an anime at the time. I liked it much better this time. (Also, Dave, I rather like the opening and closing themes)
Saiyuki: Double Barrel Collection, vol 2-4: Nothing to say, really, that I haven't said in my other posts about this series, both anime and manga. It veered off into original material around ep 17-20, though, and I suspect I'll have something to same about the Homura story once it's played out.
S-Cry-ed Collection vol 3: Took me forever to get this, and about half as long to get around to watching it. Good wrapup to a very fun series. Now if only 2 certain guys would just grow up already...