Joker (by Brian Azzarello)

This noir tale in violent bloody Gotham begins upon the release of the Joker from Arkham Asylum. Apparently he has convinced someone that he is sane. Heaven knows how.

Azzarello has a reputation as an excellent crime comic writer, best known for penning 100 Bullets.  Having never read any of the modern (or indeed any) Batman comics, I thought I'd give his work a try.  I liked that this was written as a complete graphic novel, rather than serialized as most comics still are, allowing the author to better guide the flow of the story.  Dark thoughts and actions are not my usual cup of tea so I'm not planning on reading anymore of his work, but the book is well done and will find itself a very satisfied readership.

NYX: No Way Home (by Marjorie Liu)

No Way Home loosely picks up where NYX: Wannabe left off, following a few teenaged mutants as they attempt to make a life for themselves under difficult circumstances.  The story is alright, but nothing terribly exciting. There isn't enough sense of where it's going to satisfy me.  Comic trade paperbacks work best when the arc captures a fully formed story, and this one feels  loose-endy.

For teenaged heroes, give me the Runaways anyday.

Ten Frogs (by Quentin Blake)

I read too many picture books to blog them all, but once in a while I find one that really excites me. Ten Frogs is a simple counting book that I first saw in London last summer, but hadn't seen on this side of the pond until yesterday.

For the many of us raised on Roald Dahl books illustrated by Quentin Blake, Ten Frogs is immediately exciting, familiar, and all around fantastic.  Three dogs leap off the page with palpable joy.  Eight chickens ruffle their feathers with chickeny perplexity.  And not to be limited to the standard count of 10, Blake concludes with a hundred wasps that vibrate across the last spread and fill me with glee.  I bought this for my niece, but by the time her birthday rolls around, I'm not sure I'll be able to give it up.

The Sorceress, by Michael Scott

The Sorceress is the third book in the series,The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.  The first book, The Alchemist, is one of the nominees in this year's Young Reader's Choice Awards (Pacific Northwest Library Association), and as usual, once I begin a story I am easily hooked.  I'd been hoping that this would be a trilogy so I could reach some closure soon, but it appears I'll have a few more years to wait.  There are at least three more books to come.

This is a fairly good teen fantasy series.  The premise is that a technologically advanced race of beings ruled the earth long before humanity evolved and rose to prominence.  Most of these godlike people were banished from the earth, but are attempting to regain power.  The protagonists, of course, seek to prevent this.  The story follows a set of American twins named Sophie and Josh, the eponymous Flamel, and his wife Perenelle.  I've been enjoying the absence of a love story.  I can't remember the last teen story without one, and it's refreshing.  The plot zings along just fine without one.  Once again, I'm also thrilled at the strong female characters amongst the protagonists, antagonists, and supporting cast.  It's a very gender-equal cast, to the point where the twins are equally prominent leads.

A few elements of the story rile my inner literary critic.  I'm impatient with series.  I like reaching the end of a story.  Some series, Harry Potter being an example, treat each book as a semi-independent story, so there's a sense of satisfaction upon reaching the end.  This series, however, leaves most of the plot open at the end of each book.  I feel like I've finished a chapter and now I have to wait a year for the next one.  The second element that irritates me is the suggestion that the current concept of the earth's history is incorrect, and that these powerful creatures have and continue to live on earth without our awareness.  I dislike plotlines that suggest that people are stupid or ignore evidence.  I find it difficult to suspend disbelief for what feels like authorial laziness.  When cameras are everywhere, dramatically magical events and mythological creatures will not go unremarked by mainstream society.

Lucifer, by Mike Carey

I had been hoping to finish reading Lucifer this week, a spinoff from Neil Gaiman's unrivalled Sandman series. As it turns out, my library's only copies of Volume 10 have been listed as "newly acquired" for about 2 months now.  I gave up on waiting and decided to skip right to the last volume. I'll plan on rereading volume 11 after 10 finally makes it into my hands.  The publisher's description suggests that it contains the climax to the whole series.

Lucifer is well done.  As in much of Western literature, Lucifer himself is portrayed as a complex and sympathetic if ruthless character.  I enjoyed following the life he created for himself after abandoning Hell towards the end of Sandman.   A rich cast of supporting characters fleshes out the series, and keeps the reader emotionally engaged.  Women figure prominently, from Lucifer's lieutenant Mazikeen, to the increasingly central half-angel Elaine.  I keep a warm place in my heart for authors who respect their female characters, and aren't content with relegating them to the sidelines.  Elaine is one of my favourite characters at the moment, and I am sad to be done with her.

I found, as the series progressed, that I was less interested in the plotlines as I was in character development.  Lucifer may take place in the Sandman universe, but emphasizes a judeo-christian worldview to an extent that is alien to Sandman.  The parent series revolves around universal  areligious entities, and suggests that all religions are equally valid when one chooses to follow them.  Lucifer seems to suggest that the judeo-christian god created the world.  As a fan of the Sandman worldview, this rubs me the wrong way.  I'm also a fan of consistency, and retcons have a tendency to make me a grumpy critical reader.

Volumes read this week: 6: The Mansions of Silence, 7: The Exodus, 8: The Wolf Beneath the Tree, 9: Crux, 11: Evensong.

Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull

This book was recommended to me by a child who repeatedly came to my library branch looking for it's sequels; there are now 4 books in the series with a 5th due out soon. 

Fablehaven is about a brother and sister who visit their reclusive grandparents, expecting a dull and awkward couple of weeks.  Through a natural course of events (and a few riddles) they discover that their grandparents are the caretakers of a preserve for magical creatures.  Adventures ensue. 

This book may appeal to the usual fantasy readers & Harry Potter crowd, as it involves both magic and empowered children exploring their world and solving problems.  I particularly appreciated that breaking every rule one comes across was not the key to heroism, but that observation, thoughtfulness, and selfless bravery were.

Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl

I thought it was about time I reread this one, before I wander off to the movie theatre. 

A good romp, but generally I like a story with a little more meat to it.  Probably why I've been reading so many more teen than children's books in the last year.  I'm also not as good at disengaging my logical mind while reading the ridiculous as I used to be.  Particular gripes: I thought the other animals should be a little more upset with Mr. Fox than they were, and Mr. Fox's solution seems short sighted. 

I wonder how I felt when I read this as a child.

Serenity: Better Days

Reads like an episode of Firefly, pre-Serenity.  With a script by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews (who also wrote for Firefly), and drawn to mimic the cast's stance and expressions, this will give fans a nice little fix.

Rapunzel, retold by Stephanie Peters

This children's graphic novel is from a series featuring classic fairy tales.  I loved the tones of Jeffrey Stewart Timmins' illustrations, and the use of shadows, circles and sharp lines.  The images are simple, but rich.  I am less fond of the grotesque depiction of the witch, and the abruptness of the storytelling. To me, it reads more like a storyboard than the story itself.  However, I did appreciate that the story maintained grimmer aspects of the original tale that are often whitewashed from versions written for children.

Fables, Vol 12: The Dark Ages

Today I finished reading The Dark Ages (Fables Volume 12) which begins a new arc for the series.  It'll take me a while to acclimatize, and to warm to the new villain.  That said, the characters are still compelling, the art is as good as ever, and now that I'm buying these instead of waiting my turn at the library, I'll only have to wait another month until my next fix.

Twisted, by Laurie Halse Anderson

I'm working my way through this year's nominees for a couple teen readers' choice awards.  Contemporary high school trauma isn't my usual kind of read.  This was a good book, but I'm not inclined to seek out others like it.

Twisted tells the story of Tyler, a 17 year old who was overlooked as a geek before he vandalized the school for recognition, and built up some muscles over the summer. Now he's getting some attention from his crush and beginning to gain confidence, but soon enough life crashes down harder than ever.  This book considers bullying, drinking, violence, family dysfunction, self-hatred and suicidal thoughts.  Twisted may be good choice for high schoolers who want to see their own world reflected, but it's not for everyone.  Despite the positive note at the conclusion, Tyler's unhappiness weighed on me more heavily than I'd like.

Best Books of 2009

(Being books read in this year rather than those published)

 The Graveyard Book is one of the few novels I've read in the last year that I plan to reread, rave about, and lend to everyone who will borrow it. Far from being grim, this story is gentle and captivating.  It's been months now since I've read it, and still I feel a calm joy when I think about it.

Nobody Owens spends his childhood amongst the graveyard ghosts, learning the culture and ways of the dead, and eventually about the living world outside.  His story parallels that of Mowgli in the Jungle Book, which adds a little metaliterary fun, but would not weaken the story for those who haven't read it.   My own memory of Kipling being rusty,  I think I'll reread those stories before picking up the Graveyard Book again.

Gaiman has won some serious kudos for this book, including the 2009  Newbery Medal, so I'm hardly unique in loving him for it.  Happily for me, the feeling seems mutual.  His journal entry for the day he received the award is tagged, "God I Love Librarians".

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The best comic title I read this year was Bill Willingham's Fables series.  I'll admit that when it first crossed my path I found the premise gimmicky, but after several years of  hearing word-of-mouth praise, I succumbed to curiosity  and soon joined the chorus.  Fables relates the stories of fairy tale figures, forced to flee their own world and build a clandestine refugee community in our own New York City.

The familiarity of the core characters creates an emotional shortcut for readers to settle into this world, and as the stories progress they're given time to develop beyond their origin-tales.  The Frog Prince is a particular favourite of mind, which I would not have anticipated at the beginning of the series.  Fables is a good all-around comic, with excitement, intrigue, romance, mystery, and all those other elements we look for to entertain and charm us.   Happily for us all, Fables has now published 92 issues and is still going strong.

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Working as a children's librarian, I skim through innumerable picture books, keeping an eye out for new storytime favourites, or titles to recommend to parents when they come to me with questions.  However, my favourite picture book from this year is not one that has made the children laugh, although I hope it has, but one that fills me with ridiculous glee.

Beware of the Frog tells the story of a little old lady who lives at the edge of a "big dark scary wood" with nothing to protect her except for her pet frog.  One by one, we watch as monsters approach her quaint little cottage and chuckle at the "Beware of the Frog" sign before being efficiently and neatly dispatched by the eponymous pet.

Fantastic, detailed images are part of the charm, but may be too intricate to present to a group of kids.  Consequently, I don't use this book in storytime, but I can't wait to share this with my niece and nephew once they're old enough to enjoy it with me.

I Read...

In 2009 I read 84 comics or graphic novels, 55 novels, 4 informative nonfiction books, 2 collections of anecdotal short stories, and innumerable picture books. I'm sure there were a few more I forgot to record. It was a good year.

I requested 197 books (or other materials) for work, and another 142 on my personal library card. Thank goodness for unlimited requests for staff.

When I'm reading this much, I forget details and impressions. This year I want to try keeping better notes & annotations so I remember more clearly. I read for fun, and simply because I'm addicted to stories, but everything I read is also helpful for work.

I love being able to suggest a good book to someone who isn't sure what s/he is looking for, or who has finished a favourite series and doesn't know where to go next. Conversely, it drives me crazy when I can't. This year I may try to explore a little more outside of my comfort zone to acquaint myself with genres that I wouldn't naturally gravitate towards.