Hellboy: The All-Seeing Eye | Mark Morris

Summary: 

When several dismembered torsos are found in random places around London, a rock monster is seen in a London tunnel, and the dead at a funeral home start moving, the BPRD are called in to help figure out what's going on. Specifically, Hellboy, Liz and Abe. While there, the team discovers a plot to open The All Seeing Eye and unleashing a world of chaos.

Review:

I'll admit, I have a weakness for Hellboy books, cannon or not. I absolutely love the world BPRD exists in and all the novelizations and collection of short stories are written by people who understand Hellboy. Morris is no exception to this and I am very grateful to him for getting the important elements right. 

This book is very well written and engaging. It actually took me away from my own world and left me feeling energized. The characters are intelligent, even the bad guys (which I love). The events are interesting and flow into each other so that, at no point did I feel like I missed anything. At the same time, though, the plot twist was still surprising!

I am happy to have this book in my collection and find it to be more encouragement to continue reading novelizations of Hellboy. If you're interested at all in supernatural mysteries, action, witty dialogue, or comic book heroes, I highly recommend Hellboy: The All-Seeing Eye. 4.5 hoots!

                                                   Hoot! Hoot!

                Hoot! Hoot!

                      Hoo

Read-A-Thon | Update #3 | Hour 18

Definitely starting to feel the pull of sleep. Doesn't help that Fluxxdog is snoring next to me. But I'm sure I'll find the strength to push through. 

My mini-challenge seems to have been a success. It's gotten over 500 views and over 50 participants. A couple of them even responded in rhyme!

Did some walking around the past few hours. At 10, Fluxxdog and I went out for some Chinese food. I ended up reviewing  a lot of the mini-challenge responses, so I'm still counting it as participating in the Read-A-Thon.

Still working on The Color of Magic, but I'm over half way through and should finish it in the next couple of hours. Provided the Internet doesn't distract too much. ^_^

Dewey Mini-Challenge: A Mad Tea Party

We're All Mad Here

Greetings dear Readathoners,

And welcome to my party.

Worry not about manners,

And be sure to eat hearty.

All of you are my great guests,

I hope you enjoy the tea.

But, pray, I must now ask you,

Who would your party guests be?

Which character you have read,

Is as mad as the March Hare?

Who is mad enough to host,

This completely mad affair.

Which character you have read,

Resembles the Mad Hatter?

Who argues that Time is wrong,

And gets trapped in the matter.

Which character you have read,

Is sleepy as the Dormouse?

Who has stories to tell you,

But is difficult to rouse.

Which character you have read,

Is out of place, like Alice?

Who does not know where she is,

But treats it not with malice.

I pray, dear Readathoner,

Tell me whom you would invite.

Match your characters to these,

And in the comments please write.

Should your Tea Party amuse,

You shall surely win the prize.
It need not be in verse form,
It just has to catch the eyes.

A gift from the Amazon,

Or from the Noblest of Barns.
The choice shall be yours to make,
O teller of the best yarns.

Welcome to my Tea Party,

All my Readathoners, dear.

I do hope this is funny,

And know that, we're all mad here.

Translation:

Hello everyone! I'm happy to be hosting another mini-challenge and I'm so glad to see so many of you here. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to tell me in the comments below about characters that you have read that you would invite to play the roles of the characters from the Mad Tea Party scene in Alice in Wonderland. 

First, there's the March Hare who is host of the party. What mad character do you know who is mad enough to host a tea party that never ends? Or just loves tea that much and is willing to invite other mad people?

Next, of course, is the Mad Hatter. Which character have you read about that fights the clock (i.e. aging, scheduling, bombs) and can't escape?

Thirdly, the Dormouse. Pick a character that you know that is generally quiet, or sleepy, but once they get to talk, they have a great story. 

Finally, we have to have an Alice. What character have you read that finds themselves completely out of place, surrounded by a world they know nothing about, but just goes with it. A fish out of water that hit the ground running, so to speak.

Your answers do NOT have to be in verse. I just did that as a challenge to myself. I'm going to let this contest run for the next 3 hours. Winner gets a $20 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble's (your choice). I can't wait to read your responses and get to know some characters! 

Read-A-Thon | Update #2 | Hour 9

Yes, I'm still working on Interview With A Vampire but I've got less than 100 pages left in it so I'm happy with my progress. Yeah, I know. I'm a slow reader.

I've also been getting sleepy a lot quicker than expected. I may have to drink a second energy drink. I do try to be careful with those and drink plenty of water as well. It's very easy to overdo it and become sick. 

Also, I did take a walk closer to 2 o'clock. Got some snacks from the 7-11 and the walk was very good for my back. 

Here's hoping I don't fall asleep to soon!

Read-A-Thon | Update #1 | Hour Five

*Image sent by Fluxxdog

It is now noon and I've barely read over 100 pages. Don't get me wrong, I'm greatly enjoying Interview With a Vampire. I'm just a slow reader, especially susceptible to distractions. 

Still, I'm making progress and I've made sure to do at least some walking around. I also did just a little Tai Chi to help my right hip. It had been complaining all day about being achy. Now I'm feeling the urge to do some real walking. Perhaps a trip to 7-11 or Taco Bell.

I'm also still looking forward to 8PM EDT when my mini-challenge will go live. I'm actually kinda proud of it. ^_^

Read-A-Thon | Opening Meme | Hour Zero

Yay! It's almost time for the Read-A-Thon to begin! Some adjustments to the schedule are already having to be made (poor hubby isn't feeling well). But As soon as the clock strikes 8, I'm opening my first book of the day, Interview With A Vampire. Yeah, I've never read it before! I've also copied and pasted the questions that the Read-A-Thon is asking from their website.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Ypsilanti, Michigan!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett. I've been told by several people I need to get into the DiscWorld series.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

It was a Taco Bell breakfast but since hubby isn't going to be able to go out and I want to start the Read-A-Thon on time, I'll switch my answer to the chocolate ice cream I have in the freezer, just for me.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I am perfectly nor...norm.. A heck, I can't say it with a straight face. I am blessed to be weird. 

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

What's different this Read-A-Thon is that I've really toned down my number of books to read and have given myself a deadline to switch to comic books and web comics. I know at around 5-6 AM it gets almost impossible to read regular books, so the comics really help out.

Dewey Readathon Plan

It's that time again! One of my favorite holidays of the year: The Dewey 24 Hour Readathon!!!!!!!!!!

I have submitted an idea for a mini-challenge, and received the approval. That will be going live at 8 PM. I'm also hoping to, again, donate a couple of Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift cards. 

So, here is my proposed schedule for Saturday, April 23:

7 AM - Wake up and prep with a good breakfast.

8 AM - Begin the reading!

12 PM - Walking/exercise, cheering, and update post.

4 PM - Exercise, cheering and update post.

8 PM - Mini-Challenge goes live!!!! 

12 AM - Exercise, cheering and update post.

4 AM - Walking, cheering and update post.

5-6 AM - Switch to comic books and/or webcomics.

8 AM - Sleep!!!!!!!

Seems pretty repetitive, but I can't predict how long it's going to take me to read a book, so I try not to schedule those in. I've added the switch to comics at 5 or 6 AM because, every Readathon, around that time, it becomes virtually impossible for me to read a traditional book. I actually re-read the same sentence 4-5 times last Readathon before I realized what I was doing. 

As far as reading material for the rest of the day, I'm taking part in the #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks challenge, so I'll be working on the books I've set aside that I haven't read yet. I think, for this Readathon, I'll focus on the "classic" books that I've never read but have. This includes Anne Rice's Interview With a Vampire, Terry Pratchett's The Color of Magic and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. And then I have about an inch and half stack of comic books to be read starting at 5 or 6 AM.

Of course, I am still recovering from health issues. I'm significantly better than I was, but not 100%. Therefore, if Fluxxdog thinks I'm pushing myself too much for my health, he has the authority to "pull the plug". However, I'm also considering throwing in some 15 minute naps here and there. Though I still really want to keep my record of staying awake the full 24 hours going. We'll see what happens.

So, that's my plan for the next Readathon. Hope to see you there!

School of Deaths | Christopher Mannino

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Death is not one person, it's a collective of men taken from the world of the living and trained for years to reap the souls of the living. There hasn't been a female Death for a million years because, last time there was one, bad things happened. Imagine everyone's surprise when Suzie is called to take her place as a Death.

Review:

I was hesitant to accept this book because I've had some really bad experiences with YA books and teen, female leads, but this ended up being a good read with a couple of surprises. Despite the main characters being 13 and 14 years of age (give or take) the characters are smart, and sometimes even clever, and mature in their actions. Then again, in a world where the main sport causes pain and paralysis in it's players, you kinda have to grow up fast. 

As good a read as the story is, I find the world to be even more intriguing. I greatly appreciate that the Deaths are not the reasons people die, they are just there to transport souls to the afterlife. The Deaths take their work seriously. Heck, they have to be licensed before they can work by themselves after all, "this is a profession."* The book introduces us to Elementals ('Mentals) and references the land of Dragons, keeping both of these open for the next two books. 

Some parts of the story were predictable. I'm not going to say them because, well, spoilers. But I still walked away from this book feeling good about what I had read. Publicists for this book compare it to Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Percy Jackson, and, while I can kinda see why, I don't think these comparisons are quite right. I feel that this book is good enough to stand on its own feet. It doesn't need these kinda weak comparisons to be successful. This is a good YA fantasy book for just about anyone, and I don't care for a lot of YA books, so that's saying something. 

School of Deaths has an attention keeping story, and intriguing world, and good characters. While the whole "million years" aspect seemed a bit silly, the rest of the book was solid. I'm genuinely curious enough about other aspects of this world that I want to read the next two books. 4 hoots!

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*Chapter 3

The Imitation Game | Jim Ottaviani

*This book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

This book is a graphic novel interpretation of the life and research of Alan Turing, told from the perspectives of the people who new him best as well as his own correspondences. 

Review:

I really liked this book. The artwork was well done, the book was well researched, and the story was very intriguing. This isn't just a book about math or logic. This is a book about World War II history,  breaking the German Enigma machines, and the gender bias in British Army. This book even has the first computers! That's how intriguing Turing's life really is, it involves so much world history.

Yes, there are long(ish) segments where Turing talks through his ideas on logic, but they are written in a natural language that makes a lot more sense to a layman than a logic book. What's funny to me is that the artwork for these streams of consciousness, it often shows Turing moving on ahead while his acquaintances are left behind, having problems keeping up with him. Considering how few people seemed to understand him, it makes sense in the moment and overall.

 This is not just a book for mathematicians or logicians. This is a good read for people interested in cryptography, World War II, LGBT history, or even just real life drama. The art style is appropriate for the story and the dialogue is easy to read. I happily give The Imitation Game 4.5 Hoots!

                                          Hoot!Hoot!

                Hoot! Hoot!

                    Hoo