Latest Books I... Haven't Read

Do you ever go through spells where you just can't find the right next book?  I'm going through quite a prolonged period of this right now (with some notable exceptions).  Our library has a feature of it's online account where you can track all of the books you've had out, no matter for how long.  Let's have a look at mine for the last few months (since I last posted a book review).

The Demi-Monde:  Winter by Rod Rees

Have only had a peek at this one, will reserve jugement.  It does seem a little like Ready Player One...

Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher

Not sure.  Last night I ripped my bookmark out of the book, convinced I don't want to read it.  But we'll see - a girl can change her mind, can't she?

Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S Choi

What was I thinking?

The Art Forger by B A Shapiro
Present tense.  Need I say more?

Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio

Love the graphic novel (Girl Genius), but the books was a bit slow (probably just because it's the same story as the graphic, so, to me, it's a repeat).

The Selection by Kiera Cass
Teen science fiction/fantasy romance.  Ugh.

Kirinyaga:  a fable of Utopia by Mike Resnick

He killed a baby.  He got returned to the library.

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchet and Stephen Baxter
Fan-freaking-tastic (review will come eventually, promise!).

Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds
I love Alastair Reynolds' Century Rain, House of Suns, and Terminal World.  But I couldn't get into his Revelation Space series.  I couldn't get into this book either, and I see now that it's the first in a series...

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Present tense.  Again.  I just can't stand present tense in novels!

Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

I don't even remember this book at all.

Origin by Jessica Khoury
First person, she was a bit annoyingly perfect and boringly innocent.  Seemed a bit creepy too.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this book yet.  SO so good.  Like Ender's Game good.

Among Others by Jo Walton

The girl was a witch or something.  Living in a boarding school.  She had issues, too much baggage.

Do you start to understand when I tell you that I am picky?  Have you read any of the books I have tried and failed to finish (or in some cases, really start)?  Would you like to try to convince me to give them another go?  Leave a comment!

Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to fiction and writing style like I do with present tense?  I am really the only one who wont read novels in present tense?  I will write a post about that soon.  I might even make a comment on the state of teen fiction right now - fantasy/science fiction/horror but all with romance?  Sigh...

Book Review: Girl Genius (Vol 6) - Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite by Kaja and Phil Foglio

I've talked about Girl Genius before when I lamented the end of Freakangels, because it's an awesome webcomic published three times a week (here). Because I'm so far behind and our internet is often annoyingly slow, I was delighted to find that our library has certain volumes in brand new shiny hard copy. If you read Girl Genius online, I suggest getting your hands on a printed volume, they are so beautiful - the colours are more vibrant, lush, and everything is sharper. That's not to say that if you don't have access to hard copies, you shouldn't read the online version, because either way, the story and the graphics rock. As usual, there are spoilers behind the picture, so don't click on it if you haven't read Volume 5 or if you don't want to know the gist of Volume 6 (and it really is only the gist, it's only one paragraph and I don't think the spoilers for Volume 6 are too major).

Volume 6 continues where Volume 5 left off - with Agatha possessed by Lucrezia, her mother and the Other. What follows is three threads of story - Agatha/Lucrezia trying to escape/take over the castle; Lars, Krosp, the Jagers, Zeetha, and two plumbers navigating the city beneath the city (the sewers/labs/zoo beneath the city) searching for a way into the castle to save Agatha; and the drama aboard Castle Wulfenbach when Klaus and Gil find out that the remains that were presented to them as Agatha's are in fact, not her, and that she is likely still alive. These threads culminate in a huge battle, a cocky escape, and the return of a very important piece of jewelry! It's all go go go without a moment of rest for the whole book; and very exciting!

My only criticism of Girl Genius overall is that there is a LOT of backstory that we are learning along with Agatha and her friends. While, with characters as ignorant of the story as the readers, this would be okay, but Agatha is finding out what is true and what is false in the legendary stories of the Heterodyne Gang that she already knows, and filling in gaps of her own life. At times it feels like we are being asked to to bridge a gap between one fact and a part of the legend we don't know, or have only been introduced to once in passing. This may be my problem, as I do tend to avoid epic stories in written format (preferring them in television show format [Star Trek, for example]) because I get a bit lost, so I'd love to hear from anyone else reading Girl Genius!  If you're not reading it already, get to!  You have quite a bit to catch up on before we can talk about it together.

You can get the first omnibus of Girl Genius (Volumes 1-3) here, Volume 6 here, and the latest volume (Volume 10) here or here.  You can also buy all sorts of neat Girl Genius things here (can someone please get me the Heterodyne pin?  Kthanxbai)

Links of the Week - August 6

Craft:  A Boy's Best Friend...  at Feeling Stitchy

The moment I read the title of this post I thought of the song "A Boy's Best Friend" By the White Stripes, for which the last line is "A boy's best friend is his mother or whatever has become his pet".  That's not what this embroidery is about, but I'll have that song playing in my head whenever I think of Hitchcock for a while now, I'm sure.

Steampunk:  Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Geek Crafts

Usually steampunk is very...  punky.  But this is beautiful whether you're into steampunk or not.  And I am.  So it's extra beautiful.

Science:  Facial Recognition at Io9

Yes, I have sneakily popped two links into this one entry.  The first is all about how facial recognition software could allow facebook to invade your privacy even more (or allow people to use facebook to invade your privacy themselves) and the second is about a neat phenomena that means that we don't process oddities about faces when they're upside down.  Both are interesting to me, despite my having studied this stuff for my masters.

Recipe:  Sugar Plum Crepes with Ricotta and Honey at Smitten Kitchen

Does anyone need any convincing to go and check this out?  No?  Good, I will tell you a little* story instead then.  We had an amazing plum tree at our old house.  Every year about Christmastime we would have a glut of plums, they would be tart when not quite ripe, then sweet when ripe, then rich when a little overripe, but edible at all three stages.  When we moved, we thought it would be okay not to take a cutting or any plum stones because my uncle (the one with the puppies) had lots of little baby plum trees on his farm that we'd given him, and he'd just dig one up for us.  No luck - he lost them (it's a farm, it's big!).  But I bumped into our old neighbours recently and they say the plum tree is still there, and the new owner is lovely - she'd be happy to have me call to collect a few plums to grow a new tree from.  So there is hope!

Art/Webcomics:  The Final Episode of FREAKANGELS at FREAKANGELS.com

I can't read it.  I just can't.  It can't be over.  I hate Warren Ellis.  I love Warren Ellis.  Waaaaahh.

 Art:  Keep Calm and Carry On...

(Wait, what?  That's not right...)

*Since when have I ever told a little story?

Webcomics/Graphic Novels

I discovered FreakAngels by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield not long after it started in 2007, and I was devastated to hear from Warren's twitter a few months ago that it was coming to an end.  So now I have to find some kind of replacement.  Here are some of the webcomics I have had recommended through others' blogs and twitter feeds that have taken second place to keeping up with FreakAngels.  By the way, go back and read FreakAngels now!  It's amazing, trust me.  By the time you've finished with the archive, the last episode will probably have posted, so you don't even need patience to find out what happens!

Wonderella

 

Wonderella is awesome!  I do keep up with this comic because it is a one-page, once a week comic.  Wonderella is a superheroine who seems to wish she wasn't...  She'd be much happier to use her powers to acquire more cocktails and to change channels on the tv without a remote.  She's also VERY funny.

PHD:  Piled Higher and Deeper

This comic is about a group of postgraduate students and the dramas and comedy that happens when you pursue higher education.  It's very funny, but it's even funnier when you have experience in this world, because you can see yourself in the characters even if the specific situations haven't happened to you personally.

WormWorld Saga

This is totally different to the other comics listed here in style of artwork, format, and updating schedule (in that there doesn't seem to be any).  The story is about a little boy who, with his Dad, goes to his grandmother's for Summer.  That's pretty much it so far, but I keep checking back because the artwork is so gorgeous, and there's something quite compelling about even the tiny hints the work so far has for the rest of the story.

Girl Genius 

Lastly and most likely to take over the mantel; Girl Genius.  Agatha is a Spark, which means she can do just about anything with machines and mechanical things.  But she doesn't know that.  An amulet given to her when she was very small keeps this talent suppressed.  Until the this story begins.  As you can see, the artwork is fantastic, and it's a 'gaslamp fantasy' (which is closely akin to Steampunk, but without any focus on historical accuracy), which I love.  There is a huge archive, and as the authors stress, it's a continuing story so it's best to start from the beginning.  Which I am...  I'm only up to volume 5 so far, which was put online in 2005.  But at least I wont suddenly find out there are only a dozen episodes left (seriously Warren Ellis, you break my heart!)

Do you follow any webcomics?  What about print comics or graphic novels?  I'd love to hear about them, particularly if you look at the comics listed above and think we might just have similar tastes!

As usual, I have posted these because I like them and I'm not affiliated with or paid by anyone to do so.