We got this pack at Shoppers in Ongpin, Manila. It’s nice to drink something warm and tasty while reading. Mmm.
So, what have we been reading?
Local by Brian Wood & Ryan Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A collection of twelve interconnected short stories. Every chapter represents one year in the life of protagonist Megan McKeenan, from age 18 to age 30. Beautiful, beautiful stories, and with great art, too. The art truly shines in the quiet frames, particularly in the largely wordless “Polaroid Boyfriend”. My other favorites are “The Last 10 Lonely Days at the Oxford Theater” and “Megan and Gloria, Apartment 5A”. “Two Brothers” was a violent surprise.
Batman, Vol. 3: Death of the Family by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have read all three volumes, and the third one’s the best, sure to go down in history as one of the most disturbing Joker stories. Scott Snyder’s writing is moving.
American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I want to talk a lot more about this book, but I dove into this blind (as I’m wont to do with both books and films), and I would love it if you did the same thing. All you need to know: Mona Bright, ex-cop, inherits a house from a mother who committed suicide when Mona was still a child. The house is in the town of Wink, which was created when a science laboratory was built in the area. The laboratory has been closed for thirty years, and Mona finds Wink an idyllic but strange town. Of course there are secrets. Of course there are strange things that go bump in the dark. I thought it would be a full-on horror novel, but I got something whimsical, and true, and special. Oh, you are in for a treat. If this book were a person I would hug it.
Read it and let’s meet up and talk about it, okay?
I have also read The Ruins by Scott Smith but it wasn’t very good, and 100 Bullets by Brian Azarrello and Eduardo Risso – all 100 issues of it! – which ended up muddy for me, but still an enjoyable read.
Eliza Victoria 