Buffy & The Doctor: The Comics

Buffy Season 8 and the Doctor Who comics (Go comic version of David Tennant!) have become my new favorite comics. I've tried to read a few TV or movie based comics, but none really seemed to capture the essence, the joy of why I watched the TV show or movie in the first place. Buffy Season 8 and Doctor Who somehow have.

Somehow, Joss and team have given me more Buffy when I thought I had none. I loved the show, and I didn't really think they would be able to reasonably continue the story lines in comic form, nor did I think I would like it. I figured I would read a few issues and then say never mind, the soul is missing, the art isn't that great, etc. Man, was I wrong. I love the new story lines. The new season gave some space between the series finale and this new set of stories, so it was easier to remove myself into this new Buffy world, all while continuing with familiar characters I know and love. The dialog in the comic is still Whedon-esque, so much so that I can hear the snappiness and almost hear the actors' voices. The art captures the familiar glances and nuances of the Scoobies.

The Doctor Who comics have many of the same pluses - even though the Doctor's companion is Martha (not my favorite). The art, at least for the first few issues, was perfect to capture the goofiness and occasional darkness of the Doctor Who story lines. The artist also does a good job of capturing some of those really goofball expressions that make David Tennant my favorite Doctor. (I'm not a real fan of the artist in the 4-6 issues. It just doesn't feel the same.) The stories feel like mini episodes, which is what I am looking for. The dialog has the same feel as the Buffy comics do - it's enough like the TV show to make me feel like I am reading what I obsessively watch on my DVR and DVDs.

Buffy and Doctor Who are two of my favorite comics to watch for in my pull pile from Titan, and man, every time I see a new one I really have to make myself not clap in front of the other comic book geeks. But hey, if you can't clap with glee over a new comic while standing next to a giant Hulk statue and not be embarrassed, where can you?

Rating: 5 Purrs - I love my Buffy and Doctor - don't even ask to borrow them . Get your own.

Recent Acquisitions to the Library

My latest haul from Quality Paperback Books:

• An Incomplete Revenge: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear - I love these mysteries. 
• Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure by Rachel Fershleiser - This sounded so intriguing.
• Monster, 1959 by David Maine - A monster from the 50's comes to life. 
• Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield - I hear this one is a tear-jerker. 
• Obedience: A Novel by Will Lavender - A prof tells his students that their assignment is to save the girl he's got trapped somewhere by the end of the semester.
• The Vicious Circle: Mystery and Crime Stories by Members of the Algonquin Round Table by Otto Penzler - An anthology of mysteries from those sharp-tongued members of the Round Table.
• Secret Lives of Great Authors: What Your Teachers Never Told You About Famous Novelists, Poets, and Playwrights by Robert Schnakenberg - I love this series of books. 
• The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin - The second in the series of medieval CSI. 
  

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach

I wasn’t so sure I could believe the hype surrounding this book. I wondered how someone can write about what happens to cadavers when you donate them to science, make it funny, sometimes laugh out loud funny, and yet still be totally respectful of the dead. Somehow, Mary Roach is able to be all of that and more.

Stiff was hilarious. Mary Roach is matter of fact from the start, using her unique and funny voice to explain all the different ways your body can be used if you donate it to science. You might think your body would end up in some Gross Anatomy class, and it might, but there are plenty of other ways your cadaver can be used. Think car crash experiments. Think military gear tests, especially bombs and how they affect the body. Think practice sessions for plastic surgeons. Think the body farm, where forensic scientists see how well and how long, and generally how you decay. Before all of that though, she includes a chapter on the history of cadavers and medical science, including body snatchers and their place in this weird sphere.

Stiff seems like it might be just a wry take on what happens to you after you are dead, but really Roach includes an amazing amount of detail in such a small book. It can become a bit heavy, but just when you think you can’t take any more, Roach digresses into some odd fact or makes some kind of comment that makes you laugh. The important thing is, she never “speaks ill of the dead;” in fact, her tone can sometimes be almost reverent. She always makes sure you understand the purpose behind using the cadavers in experiments; she wants you to know what they want to learn, and how cadavers have played an unsung role in more than just medical history.

I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I think it’s probably one of my new favorites. It really is an amazing combination – funny, serious, informative. I'm definitely going to pick up Spook, her book on the afterlife, and Bonk, or everything you always wanted to know about sex.

Rating: 5 Purrs for someone who can write,

“It’s just that there are other ways to spend your time as a cadaver. Get involved with science. Be an art exhibit. Become part of a tree. Some options for you to think about.
Death. It doesn’t have to be boring.”

Recent Acquisitions to the Library

Part of my latest horde:

• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke - I loved Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell so we'll see how this one goes.
• Gatsby's Girl by Caroline Preston
• The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig
• The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats by William Butler Yeats
• The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey - Another Richard III mystery. 
• The Post-Birthday World: A Novel by Lionel Shriver
• The Nymphos of Rocky Flats: A Novel by Mario Acevedo - Vampires & nymphomaniacs. I couldn't pass it up. 
• My Lush Life by Douglas McEwan - Highly recommended by my wine bar guy. I had to pick this one up at Half Price. 
• The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor - I love Flannery O'Connor's short stories. 
• E.E. Cummings: Complete Poems 1904-1962 by E. E. Cummings - I've always liked e e cummings, but lately I have become borderline obsessed. 
• The Best of Roald Dahl by Roald Dahl
• Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories by Roald Dahl
• Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America by Eric Nuzum - I loved his book  The Dead Travel Fast, so I thought I would check out his earlier book on music censorship.
  

Susie, do you know anything about... witches?

My copy of Mother of Tears just arrived at Pandabob's office. Oh how I wish I were over there so I could rip the package open and watch it *right the hell now.*

Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann

Three Bags Full is another one of those books I would never have found had it not been for Quality Paperback Books (QPB). I joined the book club on a whim back in college and have consistently found books there that were in a word, awesome. I mean awesome in the true sense of the word, too, not the overused "awesome" people say today. Three Bags Full is just another in that long line of satisfying impulse purchases.

In this very amusingly titled book, the sheep of Glennkill have a problem. One morning they are out and about, grazing the fields like normal, and they find their beloved shepherd, George, dead with a spade through the heart. Of course, the sheep can't rely on the humans of the village to investigate the murder thoroughly. The sheep know someone in the village had to have a reason to want George dead...if only they can put it all together. Now it's up to Miss Maple (named not so much to mimic Miss Marple, but she is the cleverest sheep in Glennkill) and her fellow flock to uncover whodunit. After all, George was more than just a shepherd. He was their friend. He read stories to them. He promised to take them to Europe. They want "justice."

What I love most about this book is that, yes, it can seem like a silly premise. It is funny. But the sheep truly care for George. The author thinks enough of her characters to create individual personalities for each sheep or ram in the flock, weaving together true sheep characteristics with human so that each character is memorable, each provides a part to the greater good of the flock, and each in their own way helps solve the mystery. The flock's interpretations of strange words and the villagers' actions sometimes are way off base but sometimes they are terribly accurate. The author uses these funny, sweet, goofy sheep to point fingers at her human characters, uncovering the darkness within, but also uncovering what makes each of us human. It's very effective, amusing, and sad. The mystery is simple (no Agatha Christie Then There Were None here), but the journey is what makes this story so worthwhile.

The best scene - when the sheep try to communicate "whodunit" to the humans at the "Smartest Sheep in Glennkill" contest. I was in tears I was laughing so hard. Seriously. Pandabob didn't know what to do - he didn't know if he should pull the car over so I could breathe (I read this on the way back home from New Mexico).

I won't forget Miss Maple, Zora, the winter lamb, Mopple, and their friends for a very long time. I never thought I would read a book that had me rooting for the sheep, but this one did. It was a perfect vacation read - funny, engaging, bittersweet, and worth every page.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars - it meandered a bit here and there but otherwise it was perfect

Ah vacation...

Vacation - the days where you can read a million books, take a million pictures, relax...

Well, I didn't quite get a million books read, and maybe not a million pictures, but I did read a whole heck of a bunch (I was only gone a week or so) and took so many pictures it's going to take me weeks of cropping, etc., before I can get them all posted.

I took about twice as many books as I actually read on my trip last week, which is pretty normal. My goal was to take things I wanted to read, even if I had read them before many times. I took some new stuff too, but I took some old favorites to revisit because I can never seem to convince myself to re-read things when it's "regular" reading.

What I read while I was gone:

• Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs - I picked these up because I love Bones. While the characters in the book are quite different from the TV Show, I still enjoy the dual mystery and forensics detailed in this series. I didn't think this was nearly as good as some of the former entries in the Temperance Brennan series of books. Here Dr. Brennan is trying to take a vacation with the hunky cop from Canada, but instead she find a big cache of bones that might be bear and might have some human there too. The investigation, death threats, and gore ensues. There's a lot of detail about endangered species here and you can't help but think that it's a topic close to Ms. Reichs' heart. I'd recommend it if you like forensics and want a pretty detailed look at the science.
  
• The Dispatch by Bentley Little - I like Bentley Little. His books are like horror cotton candy. They are tasty, fun, easy to eat up, but sometimes they give you a stomach ache after. This one is a bout a guy who writes letters. The letters he writes end up making things happen, and someone notices and wants to use him for something not so ethical. It's not his best work. I'd recommend The Walking or The Collection (short stories) first.
• The Maul and The Pear Tree by P. D. James and T. A. Critchley - A non-fiction work about the Ratcliffe Highway murders that took place in the early/mid 1800's. The book was very thoroughly researched, but the story felt sort of dry. Not nearly as engrossing as P.D. James' mystery stories. It's nice on a completist's perspective to have read this too, but I think I'll stick to her fiction from now on.
• The Mummy : or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice - I can't help it. I love this book. Always have, always will. Julie's dad dig's up Ramses' tomb, only to discover he's an immortal. An immortal who fell for Cleopatra. Chaos ensues. Romance blooms. Things blow up and people die. Seriously, it's not Pulitzer Prize material, but I love it anyway. It's my favorite Anne Rice book, ever.
• No Escape by Heather Lowell - It's a romance/thriller/mystery. I know. So sue me.
  
• Sunshine by Robin McKinley - Robin McKinley, one of my favorite authors of all time, writes a vampire novel. It's an interesting take - Rae, nicknamed Sunshine, likes to bake things. She's the Queen of Cinnamon rolls. She wants to just do that, but when some vampires kidnap her, she remembers what her Grandmother taught her - how to transmute objects. When she decides to save the life of Con, the vampire chained to the wall (she's supposed to be his lunch but he won't eat her), her life will never be the same. What I like about this book is that Con isn't a sympathetic, romantic vampire, at least not that much, and definitely not for most of the book. He's flawed, not really all that handsome, and Rae doesn't really find him attractive. In fact, she thinks something is very wrong with her for even helping him. I've read this before, and I picked it up again because of my sister-in-law getting me hooked on all of these Sookie Stackhouse vampire novels and those Twilight books. This one was much more complex and a completely different voice. I highly recommend it - and please Ms. McKinley, write the darn sequel.