2:100 Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Illustrated by Brain Stelfreeze

I have so much to say about this but it's hard to nail it all down.  Having read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and completely loved the Black Panther movie, I was super excited when I saw that Mr. Coates would be writing for the comic.  I was not disappointed.  The story was a bit slow in this as it was the first installment but that is because there was so much being set-up.  There is a lot of depth to T'Challa (from my understanding drawing from many different comic versions of the character), the "villains" are ones that are understandable even sympathetic, the questions being asked are not simply answered and force T'Challa to question so much of what he thinks he knows and understands.  Layers upon layers.  On another note, I also really enjoyed the art which I tend to be incredibly picky about (or why I don't read tons of comics).



Page count: 144p/496p ytd/311,401p lifetime

1:100 Night and Silence by Seanan McGuire

12th book in the October Daye series.

Things are not ok and Toby is not sure if they will ever be ok again after what her mother did (see previous book).  May's girlfriend, Jazz, is having nightmares and they are trying to work through it but its hard and slow-going.  Sylvester, Toby's liege and surrogate father, is not speaking to her.  Worst of all, Tybalt is avoiding her.  Always before, he has been there and now she feels that the earth under her feet is no longer solid.

So who shows up at her door?  Her ex- and his wife to inform Toby that her daughter is missing, presumed kidnapped, and (after accusing her of doing it) to ask for her help in finding Gillian.  Any other quest Toby may have refused but this is her daughter, even if they are estranged, and she can't walk away.  When she finds out that faerie is involved, she knows Gillian is in danger because of her and she will do everything in her power to get her daughter back.  She just has no idea, as usual, of just what or who she is up against.

Ms. McGuire manages to keep upping the stakes on Toby but not, like so many authors, make them ridiculously hard or just have Toby snap her fingers to acquire new powers (ok, there was a bit of that for a while but that has died down as I think Toby is now in the form she was meant to be in).  There was reason for what happened in this story (however twisted but it's there) and not just new baddies.  False trails and falser 'friends' all leads to a delightful tale.



Page count: 352p/352p ytd/311,257p lifetime

2018 recap and 2019 goals

So 2018 ended up being even more stressful than 2017 and a lot more chaotic than I could have ever imagined.  Work was a much bigger adjustment than I could have known it would be as I ended up taking on a bigger role than was first described which was good in a lot of ways as I'm enjoying what I'm doing a lot but it ended up taking more time than first thought as well.  And there were several deaths and a wedding which meant a lot of traveling, being emotional support for many, and helping in whatever ways I could. So yeah, a stressful  year.

I'm really hoping 2019 is less so.  I've got a better idea of what I'm doing at work now and since it's tied to the election seasons, I've got the first half of the year to deal with other things while work is slow.  I'm planning on enjoying it if I can ever get over this cold.  Mark has started a new job in a field he loves with people he has worked with before and enjoys doing something he is passionate about.  It will be hard work but of the kind that will be a joy for him to do.  Yes, he is still going to school but I'm hopeful there will be a better balance now.

So with everything that happened last year I did meet my goal of 100 books (Goodreads and I again disagree since I count Patreon short stories but not comics and Goodreads is the opposite) but only 30 authors and just under 19,000 pages so fell short on those goals but I'm still counting it as a success.

There is a lot to do this year to get things caught up after this last year so I'm going to keep it simple again.  100 books, 30 new authors (I want to read more by several of the new authors I've already read so...), and 20,000 pages (I'm going for an average of 200p per book I'm hoping to read from now on LOL).  My to-read pile has miraculously remained pretty stable, only up 3 to 1,396, and my read pile has now surpassed it with 1,411.  It's nice finally see those numbers swap.  Now to keep it that way.  LOL

100:100 Dr. Thirteenth by Adam Hargreaves

Yaz's birthday is tomorrow and the Doctor, Ryan, and Graham have no idea what to do for when the Doctor comes up with an idea for an amazing birthday cake from a marvelous bakery on another planet along with balloons and candles from the past.  Yaz is sure to be surprised.

It was a cute little story but very little character interaction, mostly just the Doctor running through the universe collecting things. Also, I haven't seen enough of the new Doctor to know if the voices were quite right for the characters which is usually my big test for these books.

Page count: 32p/18,889p ytd/310,905p lifetime

99:100 House of M by Brian Michael Bendis

Wanda Maximoff's powers have grown but as they have, her grasp on reality has become very loose.  Now, whatever she thinks or wants to be reality is the way things are.  Unfortunately, that ends up changing the reality for everyone and it is possible for others, like her father, to nudge her version of reality to match what they want.  Now the New Avengers and Astonishing X-Mex have come together at Wolverine's insistence that things are not right in the world.  It takes a lot of convincing but many of them have been having the feeling that things aren't right so they agree to find Wanda and try to stop her and put things back to the way it was.

Story was interesting, lots going on but yet still easy to follow, and I was even ok with the artistic style (usually my big issue with comics).

Page count: 224p/18,857p ytd/310,873p lifetime

98:100 Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

The Fowl family has fallen on hard times since Artemis's father disappeared.  Artemis may only be 12 years old but he is a genius so he has studied hard, done his research, and found that fairies are real and there is gold to be had for one who is clever and daring enough.  So he waits and watches and finally makes his move one moonlit night and captures Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. 

My 12yr old ran through this series as he loved it.  My oldest did the same thing at the same age.  I thought the premise was good but the plot was slow, little character depth overall, and the twists and turns were very predictable.  Fun for kids but I found the execution lacking and won't be reading the rest of the series.


Page count: 396p/18,633p ytd/310,649p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 1st Quarter 2019

My usual disclaimer:

Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

A lot of comics filled my reading time between all the kids' school reading and my book club reading but there were a couple of trips during this last quarter that allowed me to do some reading of the books that were just for me.  It was heavenly.  And for the first time in I don't know how long, my Read pile is now greater than my To Read pile.  Not sure how long that will last but since I made it past my birthday without that changing much, it might actually last out the year.

We kick off the year with the newest novel for the Wayward Children, In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire.  Lundy would rather follow rules and read than run around with the other children so when a doorway opens up into the Goblin Market she almost doesn't go through except she is still a child and curious.  What she finds is a place where fair value is strictly enforced by the Market itself and there is logic and rules to follow but so rarely do these things end well in the long run. I'm still a book behind, although with this series it's not sequential so it's unlikely the last one affects this one in anyway as this states that it's a prequel.  

Release date: January 8

The Winter of the Witch is the conclusion to the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden that starts with The Bear and the Nightingale. Vasya and Morozko must team up to try and save Russia, both the humans and the unseen ones, but the way is uncertain and the enemies are many. I only barely read the first book last month and haven't started the second yet but I was so enchanted with the first that I'm definitely going to finish this trilogy.

Release date: January 9

I keep trying to find time to get caught up with the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter and still haven't managed it.  I'm several books behind there and now there is the spinoff series which I haven't even got a chance to start yet but Circle of the Moon, book 4 in the spinoff, is coming out soon and I really want to get to know Nell better and see more of Rick. 

Release date: February 26

Ah, Mercy Thompson.  She opened her big mouth and, in Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs, people are taking her at her word that she and her husband's pack of werewolves will keep them safe even as they treat with the big and bad Grey Lords of the Fae.  She has given her word but can she keep it and what will it cost?  I seriously love this series and can't wait to see how our favorite coyote shifter gets out of this one.

Release date: March 5

Lastly, That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire is the next chapter in the Incryptid series.  We are still following Annie as she is still away from her family although building a new support structure with some new friends but she has also made a pact with the Crossroads and they always get paid.

Release date: March 5