A "Grown Up" Geek Girl

Been a few weeks once again but here we go :)  Things that I’m in love with right now.

1. Once Upon a Time

I have been hearing about this series for awhile now but not really wanting to fall in love with yet another show that would most likely get canceled I didn’t let myself watch it.  When I heard that not only was there going to be a Season 2, but that it was one of the most welcomed panels at SDCC this year I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try.

I love this show.  From the very first episode I have been entranced.  The story telling is amazing, and I love how well they transition from the real world to the land of Fairy Tales.  The actors are wonderful and I can see them as their true “selves” as well as who they think they are now.  I am almost done with Season 1 and can not wait to continue watching it and start on Season 2.  Now I just have to keep my hopes high that it will continue to not only be a hit but have good story and not fall into insane story lines just to keep going.

2. Books, books, books!

The past few weeks have been very rough for me personally and as I have always done in the past, since I was born if you ask my Father, I have turned to books to help me cope.  I’ve mentioned this before but Bookman’s here in Phoenix is one of my favorite book stores.  They deal in used books, movies, comics, music.. it is like a Barnes and Noble but everything is half price plus they have random items you would never see at a B&N.  So this past week I collected a few things I didn’t mind trading in so that I could get some credit and find myself some books!

This was what I got about two days ago with what was left of my credit, I also bought the BF two Robert Heinlein books and one Asimov. So two Robin McKinley books, The Hero and the Crown to replace the one that I have read so much it split at the seems, and Beauty the re-imagining of Beauty and Beast, which I haven’t read before but I’m sure it will be great. Also the first two books in The Crownthistle Chronicles by Cecilia Dart-Thorton, neither of which I have read before and Wolfsbane by Patricia Briggs.  Wolfsbane I’m sure will be a quick fun read like Briggs other novels.

This one is from last week, I had less time to look around so I grabbed up a few Anne McCaffrey books that I had been missing as well as one new one to try. Anne McCaffrey is the reason that I read sci-fi/fantasy, I read one of her Pern novels in 8th grade and never looked back ;) Now don’t get me wrong, I will read anything, but McCaffrey holds a special place in my little geeky heart.  So I picked up To Ride Pegasus and Pegasus in Flight, the first two books in her Talent series.  Also got Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott, I have not read that one either.

With the purchase of the McCaffrey books I have completed her Talent series, there are eight books total, it only took me about 15 years to buy them all for some reason. ;)

3. New 52!

Yes yes I am behind in my comic book reading but life has been hectic this past year and I just got the chance this past Thursday to hit up my comic book store and take a bit out of my day to read through some of the stuff I have been missing out on.  The first three titles I decided to check out were Batgirl, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman.. all three have their first trade paperbacks out so I sat down and had a read ;) 

Alrighty.. of the three that I read Supergirl will be the one that I most definitely keep reading! I not only liked the writing but the art is great too. I like the take on the character and it kept me interested right away. The creative team on this one is:

Daniel “Dan” Green, Dave McCaig, John J. Hill, Mahmud A. Asrar, Matt Idelson, Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Paul Mounts (Bongotone), Rob Leigh, Wil Moss

Wonder Woman on the other hand, I was most looking forward too but honestly the art turned me off pretty quickly, and I am fairly open to most styles, this one though I just couldn’t get into.  The story seemed all over and I’m not yet sure if I will keep reading it but of course I’ll give it a chance. Creative team:

Brian Azzarello, Chris Conroy, Cliff Chiang, Daniel “Dan” Green, Jared K. Fletcher, Matthew Wilson, Matt Idelson, Tony Akins

Batgirl.. hmm what to say? I am not a huge fan of the Batverse, but I loved Oracle.  I felt that Barbara Gordan gained so much personality and strength after she had been shot by the Joker.  I can see why they decided to go with her as the 52’s Batgirl and the story was decent and the art was good so I’ll keep reading to say where they take it.  For now I hold judgement on this one as well. Creative team:

Brian Smith, Dave Sharpe, Ed Benes, FCO Plascencia, Gail Simone, Greg Capullo, Ulises Arreola

I’ll let you guys know as I get to the other titles and start reading the others.  I have to say it is nice being able to pick these up and not be completely lost though :) I have been sadly been out of the scene other than keeping on eye out on comic news online, so at least with these I have a chance to keep up on the story.  I still have a lot of catching up to do as far as some of the other titles that I had to postpone buying for the last few years, I’ll get to them at some point ;)

4. Jesse James Comics

Up until the past year my comic shop of choice was Atomic Comics here in Phoenix, I even worked for them quite awhile back, but unannounced and out of nowhere they closed down.  This happened right after I had moved back down to Phoenix a little over a year ago and I was shattered. 

So I started looking into a new shop and thankfully I found Jesse James.  It is very close to my house and he is a great guy!  Not only is the shop very welcoming but they seem to genuinely care about their customers and every time I have been there I was very glad I had gone :)

That is all for now.. It has been a long month and I only foresee things getting harder before they finally get better, so these few things that make me happy can only make things better right?  Have a great week!