This Month in Comics?

I have been reading stuff, just not reporting back

I know I’ve stopped doing a weekly comic review of what I’m reading. Mostly because with life getting in the way I’ve barely been able to keep up with my comics let alone everything else.

One of the squirrels on my deck who is very quiet allowing me to read undisturbed.

I have tried what many educators and parents might call “real reading”🙄 and have been using my local library app to catch up on some titles/series. The problem seems to be just when the book on my reading list becomes available, I’m in the middle of something and don’t feel it’s right to have multiple books going at once, since there are other people in line for that book.

When I was a teacher, many parents were concerned about ADHD or whatever trendy diagnosis was currently in the news. Please, understand I agree that ADD, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, etc. are real, and exist in many people including myself. I am not making light of those people who are on the spectrum for whatever issue that make a lot of things challenging. In some cases a lot more challenging than others. During these parent/teacher conferences would look at these parents, many with bright kids and say “I’m not a doctor, I grew up in a family where my siblings were all diagnosed, I never was… do you really think it skipped me? I developed a number of strategies to succeed. Start by talking to your physician, we can make accommodations here in the classroom as needed.” Sometimes the kids would be put on medication, other times not. It was a personal choice, not always as successful as they would like. I bring this up because while those strategies I figured out growing up have started to fail me in later life, I still use them. One is I read in a quiet (silent) room. The other is I focus on one book at a time. I used to remember everything I read, now… not so much. Then again I also have thousands of names and faces stuck in my head and anxiety that someone will come up to me and say “I was in your class! Remember me?”

So What Have I Been Reading?

You’ll notice many of these are from series so if I were you, I would start with the first book. Another one of those strategies I developed. You might also notice I tend to read Fantasy/Speculative Fiction stories, although I bounce into other genres, sometimes even 😱 non-fiction! Last month up until a few days ago here’s what I was reading (outside of the medium of comics- which many of these would make amazing graphic novels, some already have).

• Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree #2 in the Legends & Lattes series - a wonderful fantasy series usually about an orc who quit adventuring to open a coffee shop. This time around the bookseller who inspired her arrives in town then vanishes on her own quest to do a bit of adventuring and soul searching. What happens when you realize your entire life has been just doing what you were expected to do? It really hit home as I settle into retirement and try to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. Don’t worry I won’t follow a legendary warrior on an adventure, but I might have a few Whimventures of my own.

• Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? by Harold Schechter & Eric Powell - It’s a medium, not a genre. Yes this is a graphic novel, but that’s just the way it has been presented. After reading Dr. Werthless the tale of Frederic Wertham the man who wrote the book in the 50’s on how horrible comic books were (think video games, TikTok or whatever adults blame for kids behavior), I decided to read their first endeavor about the serial killer who inspired Psycho.

• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett #2 in the Ana and Din Mystery series- I read the first book in the series, a murder mystery in a world where Kaiju (Leviathans) attack each year and people are physically and mentally modified to best serve the state. Din has been altered to remember everything and this helps him and Ana, his superior, solve crimes. Ana’s brain can take those clues and determine what happened in a Sherlock Holmesian manner. It’s a fantasy world, so while the science of modifying humans using Leviathan bits and bobs is great, no flying cars or robots, more Middle Ages era. This time another murder and time to figure out everything in a town where Leviathan corpses are harvested, but that’s not the only thing going on. All the hierarchy and details of the empire and this world have been put together in such a way that it helps to really understand how this fantasy world works.

• American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett - after reading the most recent Ana & Din book I decided to see what else the author had written and came upon a story of an unknown town and pan dimensional beings. Basically a down on their luck former police officer with lots of baggage inherits a home in Wink, New Mexico. She was unaware of the home, the town, or her mother’s place in it all. Wink is a perfect Stepford Wives like place, with weird rules and secrets. She arrives as a town leader has died unexpectedly (it was murder). Unexpectedly because town leaders are pretty much immortal… yup, another fantasy story. Her only goal was to learn more about her mother and in the process uncovers some weird stuff going on in the past at the now abandoned research facility. By the end we’re dealing with the apocalypse.

• The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik #3 in the Schoolmance Series - I recall picking up the first book years ago on a trip. I had read some of her earlier works and figure I’d try it out the premise seemed interesting. As a teacher the idea of a school that’s trying to kill its students was an amusing concept. Definitely not Hogwarts. It seems that those inclined to use magic set up a school in another dimension (the void) inhabited by weird creatures who were dangerous. Over the years as result of funding cuts, negligence, or whatever the school fell into disrepair and the students had to fend for themselves to survive. Graduation was a race to the exit facing a gauntlet of all sorts of horrible beasts including two “maw mouths”that devour you, but don’t kill you. Ugh. Survivors all think is a character building thing, so nothing changes. The first two books take young Harry, Ron, & Hermione… wait wrong book. El has been prophesied as the one to bring down all the Wizard Enclaves causing societal collapse. She’s doing her best not to. Orion is the hero of the school saving people right and left from evil creatures. The end of the second book leaves us outside of the Schoolmance and back in the “real” world. El is trying to figure out what to do, and keeps getting called to help Enclaves in need. Vague enough? (see? no spoilers) we learn a lot of the background of this world and how adults tend to justify horrible acts “for the greater good.” “The needs of the many…”blah, blah blah, but what if that wasn’t the case? El is about to show them, but will they listen?

  

  How I read a lot now- from my phone. The first screen from Chapter 16 of The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik I mush have accidentally taken a screen shot, so you get to see it! Lucky you!

• Curling Rocks! by John Cullen - after the Rock League and the end of the curling season I realized (again) that I am clueless when it comes to curling in general. Sports fans grow up knowing names like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Michael Jordan, and a bunch of football players. For me, I know no one… or very little about curling and those important moments in the sport. So while searching my local library I came across this book. Written by the guy who put together the “Broomgate” podcast. Who knows maybe he’ll do a “Boopgate” podcast soon. Basically, this was a book I needed to gain a better understanding of curling culture. I got a little lost when he was trying to determine the best curlers since I have no idea or can’t visualize these folks. I know some of the current players thanks to the Olympics, U.S. Nationals, and Rock League. What I learned was I needed to watch things like the Scotties, the Brier, and the Grand Slam of Curling events. This on top of just becoming a better curler. Then again the last bit of advice was golden- “play with people you like.” Don’t worry about winning or losing, play with people you want to be around. While some memories happen on the ice, most don’t. I’ve been lucky enough to play with a lot of people I like, so maybe I am doing it right. Now if only I could figure out weight. This book is good enough I’m considering buying a copy to leave at my curling club, along with Rachel Homan’s Curling ABC’s.

  

  I’m not Canadian, which already puts me in the “Below Average Curler” rank no matter how good I get, I am trying and hopefully, new shoes and my travel broom will help. All American’s know that it isn’t skill or practice that makes you better- it’s gizmos, doohickies, and fancy stuff. That and wearing the right attire, if you look the part… that’s all that matters.