The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Books in 2011 Best Book I read for the first time this year: Dawn , by Octavia E.Butler Runner-up: Elric: The Stealer of Souls , by Michael Moorcock Very different books, but similar in their sense of depth and ability to shake me with their awesomeness. Favorite Graphic Novel I read for the first time this year: Batgirl Rising (Bryan Q. Miller, et.al.) Runner-up: Blue Beetle: Reach for the Stars (John Rogers, et. al.) Best Book I read this year that was published in 2011: Reamde , by Neal Stephenson (review in queue) Runner-up: Either Snuff , by Terry Pratchett or Stray , by Andrea K. Host . All three very different books, enjoyable in very different ways. Most fun bookish moments: Browsed some awesome used bookstores in Seattle this summer. I can put library ebooks on my Kindle now. This is super-exciting! Comic Books in 2011: Favorite Issue of a Series: Batgirl #18 Absolutely gorgeous Valentine's Day themed one-is...

Favorite Issue this Week: American Vampire #22 Issues were new in stores on 12/28/11 American Vampire #22 (Death Race Part One) Writer: Scott Snyder, Artist: Rafael Albuquerque, Colors: Dave McCaig YES! This is what I was waiting for. This issue was a fantastic return to form for this book. It starts a new story about new characters in a new time, but the dialogue sparks, the art is outstanding, and the story just races along. I loved this. Princeless #3 Story: Jeremy Whitley, Art/Colors: M. Goodwin Princeless continues to be pretty adorable, although this issue wasn't as good as the first two. I like the new character of the smith, but there are way too many tired references and obvious old jokes in this issue for my taste. The art is still fantastic, though, and some of the dialogue still inspired.

Paranormality: Why we see what isn't there Richard Wiseman, 2011 Premise: In this delightful volume, professor and skeptic Wiseman walks us through the science behind many seemingly paranormal experiences, and even explains how you can fake the paranormal yourself! I don't buy many books for my Kindle for more than three dollars, but I happily made an exception for this one. The big US publishers passed on Wiseman's enjoyable work, reportedly “some suggesting that I re-write it to suggest that ghosts were real and psychic powers actually existed!” So Wiseman, in conjunction with his UK publisher, released it himself. This is a fantastic book, which I devoured in pretty much one sitting. It's fun to read, it's funny, and it's educational. What more could you ask? Wiseman examines seven main subjects: Fortune-telling, Out-of-body experiences, Mind over Matter (Telekinesis), Communication with the dead, Ghosts, Mind Control (hypnosis/brainwashing),...

Cross-posted from Mainlining Christmas In my quest to experience as much Christmas as possible, I picked up a couple of holiday-looking issues during a sale at my local comic shop. The Larfleeze Special I got when it came out last year. These are all really fun issues. Happy Holidays and Merry Reading! JLA #60  (Released 2001) Writer: Mark Waid, Pencils: Cliff Rathburn, Inks: Paul Neary, Colors: David Baron “Twas the Fight Before Christmas!” This is an incredibly silly little one-shot story, in which Plastic Man tries to convince a kid that Santa is on the Justice League. His explanation of how this came to be involves Neron, demon elves, evil gingerbread men, and Santa's surprise super-powers. The kid often knows more about the League than Plastic Man, and corrects the hero, like any good comic nerd. It's extremely zany, and I definitely enjoyed it. DCU Infinite Holiday Special  (Released 2006) Various Writers/Artists Wow! I definitely got my money's wort...

All DC's New 52 books have to work against the tide with me recently. I'm just burnt out on the whole damn way-too-dark-and-depressing universe. Favorite Issue this Week: Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! All books new in stores 12/21/11 Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! Writer: Grant Morrison, Artist: Cameron Stewart (Chapter 1), Chris Burnham (Chapter 2) Color: Nathan Fairbairn STEPHANIE! I MISS YOU! Seriously, this issue is the last two issues of Batman Inc - well, the last two issues of the first half of Batman Inc. Happily for everyone , it takes place pre-New52-reboot. The first part (Batgirl Steph Brown infiltrates a finishing school for girl-ninja assassins) was supremely fun. I loved it. The second half made no flipping sense, and I don't care. It made a little more sense after I read the sum-up in the back to remind me of all the previous Batman Inc. shenanigans. Even though it was extremely surreal and I didn't always understand wha...

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus L. Frank Baum, 1902 Cross-posted at Mainlining Christmas This is a rather unique little... novella, I guess I would call it by the length. Probably one of the earliest attempts to really codify a “logical” life story for Santa Claus. I found it interesting, though, that even given a few animated specials that adapt this story directly, very little of this story has directly migrated into the popular conception of Santa. This could be one of the things that pulled the idea of Santa into the framework of “fairy tale” rather than “religious/mythic figure”, but I couldn't find out much about its original reception or effect. Eschewing any references to Saint Nicholas, the historical figure, this Santa is a foundling raised by wood nymphs and fairies, called Claus because it means something like “small one”. Most of the story is pretty cute: the fairies raise Claus, and since all manner of immortal spirits are his friends and protectors h...

A Clockwork Christmas Carina Press, 2011 Contributors: Stacy Gail, P.G. Forte, Jenny Schwartz, J.K. Coi New Release! Copy for review provided by NetGalley. Premise: A collection of 4 novellas each set at the holidays, each set in a steampunk world. I didn't actually realize when I requested this that they were all also romance, but maybe I should have assumed. Okay, I know steampunk is big right now, but maybe it should stay in visual mediums. I hated the first story: Crime Wave in a Corset , by Stacy Gail. I mean, I hated it a lot. I hated the characters, I hated the plot, I hated the fact that the steampunk bits were completely irrelevant. Something about the uber-melodramatic romance completely rubbed me the wrong way. With a different set-up, a different couple, maybe I could get into this, but I didn't buy this pair. The narration says the woman is brilliant, but we never get to see her be brilliant. The guy is presented as an absolute nightmare at first, and ...