This week, Supergirl Returns. I tried to get hold of Quick Ben, but he sent my muse back in tatters, so I fell back on a known quantity.
Supergirl: You know why I hate Flash? He’s a justice hog. Can’t count the number of times I hear about an invasion of mole people or something, only to arrive and find that the damned Flash has already taken care of everything. Then I have to just sort of keep flying and pretend I was going to some other catastrophe. I swear I’m going to grease his front steps some time. Thanks to Flash, I had to fall back on a tip I got from Robin that some second-stringer might be planning some kind of recruitment drive in a castle, so I’m staked out above it. All alone, at night in an Estonian February, wearing a miniskirt. Journaling on my phone and questioning my life choices.
Brad: Other than continuing to listen to the last few books in Bujold‘s VORKOSIGAN SAGA, I’ve been reading comics. I finally got around to reading the much – praised Wolverine story by Claremont and Miller. I also caught up on the latest monthly comics in the Witchblade universe (Witchblade, Artifacts, and The Darkness). Most of my time, however, has been spent reading manga: Blue Exorcist, 20th Century Boys, Mobile Suit Gundam, Gantz, Gate 7, and the stand-alone Stargazing Dog.
Kat: I am still trying to catch up with normal life after a busier than usual winter so far, and I haven’t reported in a couple of weeks. Here’s what I’ve read since the last time you heard from me: The New Space Opera 2: All-New Stories of Science Fiction Adventure, edited by Gardner Dozois. As is usual with themed anthologies, this was mixed — some excellent stories and some I didn’t care for. Next was Laini Taylor’s novella Night of Cake & Puppets, which was a charming young adult romance. I can’t wait to read more from Taylor. In contrast was the horrid paranormal romance Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan. I suffered through 2/3 of this book before giving up. Last was Frank Herbert’s novel Soul Catcher which is a disturbing treatise about the way the Native Americans have been treated in the United States.
Marion: I finished up Conquest, a YA science fiction novel by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard, and Bryan Talbot’s graphic novel Grandville; Bete Noire. Bete Noire is the third book in the series and I haven’t received the second one yet, so a review will have to wait.
I’m about one-third of the way through Rachel Cantor’s delightfully surreal A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or, A Neetsa Pizza Employee’s Guide to Saving the World. I won’t say the book defies description, but it might defy my descriptive abilities. It’s about multinational pizza corporations, blind rabbis, secret knowledge, time travel, and story-telling; also about families, loyalty, resentment, guilt and love. And I think it’s also about Jewish mysticism and the Internet. Oh, and call centers. Yeah, I think that’s about it. This book got me into trouble; I was so caught up in it I forgot to read some material for a writers group and I had to scurry to get that work reviewed by the deadline.
Ryan: I borrowed a copy of Blind Lake by Robert Charles Wilson from the library this week. However, after finishing Terry Pratchett‘s Jingo, I felt the urge to continue reading about Ankh-Morpork’s City Watch and so I’ve borrowed and begun The Fifth Elephant. It’s supposed to be a good Pratchett novel, and it’s followed by — from what I have read — what might be the best DISCWORLD novel, Night Watch. Exciting times.
Terry: I’ve been once again laid low by a cold or the flu or some sort of crud, which has both expanded and limited my reading. It’s expanded because I have to do something while I’m lying in bed besides groaning, coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose, and of course the something of choice is to read (though I hear there’s also this new invention that all the kids are using called “television”; somehow it just doesn’t do the trick for me). It’s been limited because it’s hard to stay awake and it’s hard to get in the hours of legal work I need to do. It’s an odd balance. I read Carrie Ryan‘s The Forest of Hands and Teeth, yet another zombie novel for young adults. It’s been out for a few years, and has gotten good reviews here and elsewhere, but I’m not a fan (though I love the title). I’m also reading a new book that came in the mail this week from JournalStone, a relatively new small publisher. The book is Joe Ledger: Special Ops by Jonathan Maberry. I’ve enjoyed several of Maberry’s JOE LEDGER novels, as well as the PINE DEEP trilogy, so these short stories are a lovely treat. I’m surprised to find how much I like them, as military SF usually isn’t my thing. Finally, last night I finished Adam-Troy Castro‘s new collection of short stories, Her Husband’s Hands. It’s fantastic, and is likely to go on my “year’s best” list come December. You have to read the title story and “Arvies” at the very least, though I could make the argument that every single story is a must read. Get your hands on this one. Or wait for my review (coming soon) and be persuaded that you want it then. Either way, you’ll thank me for this recommendation. Gosh, this has gotten long. Can you tell I haven’t been out of the house since last week Saturday?
Tim: This week, I read Marjane Satrapi‘s Persepolis and Alan Moore‘s Watchmen. Both were thoroughly enjoyable, though for very different reasons. My course is now moving ahead to romance, which means that I’ve now begun Untamed, by Nora Roberts. I’ve done Carolina Moon, by Nora Roberts; and shall also be reading Hidden Riches, by Nora Roberts. After that, we’ll presumably move on to I Can’t Believe No One’s Noticed I Write the Same Damn Book Each Time, an autobiography by Nora Roberts.
Tim, your entry made me laugh out loud. I know that can be said about Danielle Steele; didn’t realize Nora Roberts was in the same camp. Must be nice to be able to write the same book over and over and sell millions every time.
Tim, you are really reading romances? Strange. On the graphic novel front, I thought Persepolis was a great use of the medium.
Kat – Laini Taylor’s Dreamdark is a wonderful duology that I didn’t think got enough attention when it came out a few years back. I recommend it.