Books Read in February

[orangerful]

Oops LOL, I did not get a lot of reading done this month. I blame the snow (which meant I could stay up too late instead of going to bed and reading) plus our Veronica Mars marathon. And the fact that, after Unsouled, I was having a heck of a time finding a book that grabbed me!!!

UnSouled by Neal Shusterman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The thing that makes me LOVE the "Unwind" series is how Shusterman takes what could have been a one-note songs and turns it into a symphony. Even though this takes place in a not-so-distant future, everyone who reads this book will be forced to think about a variety of issues we are facing right now, every day.

While the seed of Unwind is the "what if the abortion war ended with people being allowed to get rid of their teenagers" as the story has progressed the theme has gone on to question science, war, leaders, government, terrorism and so much more. It's what makes this series so disturbing yet so fantastic.

Of course, being that this is book 3, there was a lot of things being set up for the grand finale that will be book 4. Right now, this book gets a tentative 4 stars out of 5 because Book 4 will decide if this was all worth my while.

March by John Robert Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Book 1 in the autobiographical non-fiction graphic novel about Congressman John Lewis' activities in the 1960s Civil Rights movement. A fantastic introduction to this time in history and the issues that African-Americans were faced with and the men and women behind the sit-in movement.

Beautifully illustrated with black and white drawings, very easy to follow, even for those new to this format. I can't wait to read part 2!

Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins

This is less of a cover-to-cover book and more of a flip through and read a random poem, so I technically have not "read" the entire book yet. But I have several favorites so far -- "Hippo Holidays", "Marco Polo" and "More Than a Woman". If they taught Billy Collins in school, I think I would have enjoyed poetry more.





I'm a Frog! by Mo Willems

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another fantastic addition to this series. Piggie teaches Gerald about playing pretend.



Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1 by Zack Whedon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What a start to the series. So many feels in just a few pages. I cannot wait to see where this is headed.



View all my reviews

Comments

[facethestrange]

I only read Unwind, but I can totally relate to what you said about these books - even the first one was already so much more than just the premise. Which is one of the most ridiculous premises I've seen tbh, considering that abortion rights are about women's bodies and not going through pregnancy and not about getting rid of children after you go through pregnancy. Now this post made me want to read the rest of the series. :D

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

You should! I was VERY skeptical of the sequel when it came out but Shusterman clearly had a plot bunny brewing and could not deny it. And it is fantastic!

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

I still haven't started the Unwind series. GAH, so many books to read. I keep getting distracted.

I've also been meaning to read the firefly comics. I feel like it is my duty. But I read 99% of my books kindle-fied and it just doesn't work for graphic novels. I need to find the hard copies somewhere that doesn't break the bank.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Well, the last book wont' be out until the summer so depending on how fast of a reader you are, you might want to wait and just pick them all up this Fall. :) They are VERY quick reads, Shusterman knows how to write a page turner which is why I love him.

This series **just** started last month so it would be easy to find the issues at a local comic shop, $3.50 a piece. Or wait until the end of the year and I'm sure the trades will be out (and then you can bug your local library to buy it, so it will be free!). But I collected Buffy Season 8 as single issues and I'm doing the same for Firefly.

Do you have a Kindle Fire? You can probably buy the comics through the Dark Horse app?

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

I should check my local comic shop. I should find my local comic shop. My library does not seem to be overly accommodating to requests. Which is sad. My last town's Library was GREAT and would find anything you needed. It was a college town and had a big budget. My current library is smaller and with much less budget.

I have a normal kindle- the one that came before paperwhite. Although I do have the kindle app on my computer, do you think I could get them that way?

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

You don't need the Kindle app, you can just read them right on your desktop. And if you ever get a tablet, you can read them via the Dark Horse app

https://digital.darkhorse.com/browse/volume/833/

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

Haaaandy. You give me all the best things. Thanks!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

You are welcome. :D Like I said, I need more people reading these so I can squee with them in real time. It's so rare that I'm actually reading a comic book series as it comes out and not just waiting for the trade.

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

I'll get on it ASAP, then we can squee together. <3 firefly. Maybe to an un-natural level.

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

OK, now I am mad at you. I desire more. I never got around to reading the other series and can't find them anywhere online, just hard cover versions for lots of cash. Where can I get the older ones?

Also...I felt like everyone's voice was really well done except for Inara (and why was she wearing Zoe's clothes? Jayne in particular was very Jayne like, although I feel like he is perhaps the easiest character to write because he is so unique in his mannerisms (although to be honest it really bothered me he was not eating that apple off his knife as was his habit).

EDIT: Just kidding. I've now read all of them.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

LOL that reply was a roller coaster of emotions!

(and now you've read more than me because I still haven't picked up the one about Book).

I think Inara is wearing Zoe's clothes because Zoe can't wear them and they are in hiding so Inara can't go to the mall? How's that? I do find Inara and River a little hard to tell apart when it comes to the art style, especially since Inara is wearing the plain clothes.

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

I'm crazy like that.

I found that I like the art much better in "those left behind". I felt like it was more true to the series, probably because of the weird clothes everyone was wearing in the new ones. I still say that Inara could have been wearing the stuff she left in that trunk... If she has weapons in there I figure she's gotta have a dress or two. I don't see her entirely changing her entire sense of fashion because they are in hiding. Most of my annoyance was in the very first pages of "Leaf on the Wind" I thought that Inara WAS Zoe and they had just 'forgotten' to make her black. I was super pissed.

I actually didn't like the one about Book so much. It was the last one I read last night, and I was a little tired and had a few ciders in me at that point. I plan to re-read it again today. But I thought the back story was going to be more...involved, original, interesting? I don't know, pick an adjective.

[rhoda-rants.livejournal.com]

So many people have been telling me to read Unwind. It's on my List, but not in the TBR pile yet.

autobiographical non-fiction graphic novel
!!!!

Well THAT rules. O_O I need to seek out this book. This format needs to be explored much more often, clearly.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Some of my favorite graphic novels are autobiographical non-fiction. Have you read "Stitches" by David Small? It is one of my favorite books to give to people who scoff at the format, because he uses images in a way that is more powerful than even the most well chosen words could have been.

UWIND! READ IT! That is all.

[rhoda-rants.livejournal.com]

I feel like I've heard of that, but I haven't read it. I'll have to see if my library has it--the graphic novel section for adults is pretty small. But I know they have Unwind!

[thekaiserchief.livejournal.com]

That novel sounds fantastic.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I cannot say enough good things about the Unwind series. If you like YA Dystopian that makes you think (Hunger Games, Uglies etc) then you should definitely pick it up.

[girlwhowaited.livejournal.com]

I was just watching Firefly yesterday haha. I didn't know they had books out now!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

omg yes! They've had a few. They did a limited series as a prequel to Serenity, then the "Better Days" collection, and another one that was just about Book and another about Wash (written by Patton Oswalt, of all people) and now, after the success of Buffy "Season 8", Dark Horse has started the new Firefly series which picks up right where we left off after Serenity (so if you haven't read the other ones that came out, don't worry).

The single issues just started in January, so you can easily find them in a comic shop near you, or you can wait a few months and I'm sure the trade will be out. So far, I am really impressed with the story.

[pleasant-valley.livejournal.com]

I really need to read the Unwind series.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yes. Yes you do. If only so you can spazz with me about it. I need more Shusterman fans on here!!