poets & writers: children reading

so one of my favorite magazines to read is poets & writers. it has great tips about writing, and college's with mfa's, and anything really to do with the industry of writing. they list contests that are coming out, and they list the past winners of those contests. which i like for it gives those writers some exposer to a larger audience. well on 4/26 they posted their daily news on their website and they had an article about children reading. so i clicked on it and it was an article about how parents might be part of the problem children don't read as much. not just video games and other media things, which get blamed all the time, and i think a part of the reason, but not all of the reason (were there enough comma's for you?). the article stated that parents must let their children choose what they read and not force reading on the child. it goes on to give 5 tips that will help parents to help children read more. and i have to say that after reading the article i would agree with the statements made in the article.

reading was never forced on me as a kid, well besides stuff from school. and i read all the time as a kid and that still continues today. the only restrictions that were ever inforced on me as a kid reading, were the prices of the books. i could never get one book that was $30. but i could get a couple books that added up to $30. other than that, i never had any reading restrictions. and i think that is a big reason why i have no fear reading anything today. i read everything and anything. and from reading everything, i know the different types of books i like and the ones i don't like.

so all in all, i think that this is a good article for parents to read and i'm glad poets & writers posted the article.

walking dead

so i finished the walking dead comic collection that i had bought. it collected the first 48 comics of the series. it is currently on #71 (or right around there, i'm too lazy to look it up right now). i really like the comic. i had bought it at c2e2 for only $30. which is the cheapest i've ever seen it. on amazon you could get it for $45 which is a cut from the normal retail of about $70. so yeah, i got a crazy good deal.

i really like the comic for it's just in black and white. so to me it forcuses more on the story then the art. which as a struggeling writer, i like to see. don't get me wrong, i love good art. i wouldn't be getting comics if i didn't like art. but, i like when the story drives the comic instead of the art. and this comic has a good story. it's about the zombie apocalypse; it follows a group of people that have servived it and are now trying to live in a world filled with zombies. to me the charactors are well written and actually evolve. i like that the story isn't just about killing zombies; which you tend to find in comics and movies that are about zombies.

i recommend this book to any comic book readers out there. well to any readers out there. it's really good. i enjoyed it and now i am impatient to get the next collection. and just incase your wondering, i don't only read zombie books. honestly world war z and the walking dead are the only ones i have ever read. but the two i have read have been really good ones.

graham crackers

well some things have happened and i don't work at graham crackers any more. so i won't be writing any comic reviews for the website any more. i know i'll still be writing about comics on this blog, but it just didn't work out for me and graham. oh well, nothing i can do about it. so on ward i go. my love for comics is still there and i will definatly be still reading them. i could never stop reading comics!

riddle-master trilogy

patricia a mckillip wrote the riddle-master trilogy and it is an amazing series! i've read it before but it was so long ago i just remembered bits and pieces of it. so when christmas came around and i was given $75 in barnes and noble gift cards, i knew i had to buy this series. i bought it in a three-in-one collection meaning, all three books were put together in one gaint book. i like buying books like that for it makes reading the series much easier.

i've been finished with the book(s) for a week or so now, but i am just getting around to tell you all about it! it's an amazing series. mckillip has a wonderful talent of describing the world with such poetry. imagry is a really big part of the series, i would say the books are driven by imagry. yes there's dialogue, but that's not what drives the story. it's a beautiful story and i would strongly suggest it to anyone who likes fantasy. i've never read anything else mckillip has written but i'm definatly going to go out and buy something else of hers, she did that great of a job writing these books! so go out and read!

power girl

so i've come to the dark side. well not really but i've bought my first dc comic. and anyone who knows me will tell you that i'm a marvel girl all the way. well i have gone and bought power girl. and i must say that i love it! it's really well written. the only thing i don't like is that they draw her with really big boobs. i mean really big boobs. but other then that, i really like the comic. it is on it's 10th issue this month and i would really suggest everyone to go out and read it. for once there's a good female comic. they give her attitude and don't make her this dumb blonde. she can defend herself and she has some spunk to her. she looks good but man she has some punch behind her. so i guess i'm kicked out of the marvel club house (i have borrowed that statement from the nerdy bird) but i'm ok with that. power girl is a good read.

no new comic wednesday

so this week there was a blind side and i didn't write a review for graham crackers comics. my manager quit and i had a new manager. and as everyone knows that can be wierd. so i was working in the new mananger and getting to know him instead of working on my review. but fear not! in two weeks i'll be back to my old tricks (next week i won't be writing a review for i'm not working at the comic store. i traded days with my other job so i could have friday off so i could go see muse in concert!).

new comic wednesday

this week i reviewed the stand. it's based on the book by stephen king. i've never read the book so i have no clue if it's following the books story line. i only assume it's doing the best it can, but sometimes things just don't translate the best. so i hope you like this weeks review.

sharp objects

so i just finished the book sharp objects by gillian flynn and i have to say i liked it. the only objection i have to it was that the main character cuts and it's kinda randomly thrown at you. it's not lead up to at all. it's almost 4 chapters into the book until the main character tells you all about it, it's half way through a chapter and it's just like oh by the way i cut. i don't know if the author needed to do that. instead i think the author could have just strongly alluded to it, like just showing the readers the images of the cuts all over the body.  i think it would have been better that way. here the quote "what i like about a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers" - logan pearsall smith, would fit perfectly. i think if the author whispered the cutting i would have liked the book better. but i'm not the author and it's not my vision. i did enjoy the book and would suggest it for others to read. writing this review makes me think of a quote i found one day: "a critic can only review the book he has read, not the one which the writer wrote." - mignon mclaughlin. i can only review what i read, which is for sure different then what the writer wrote.

new comic wednesday... kinda

last week i was lazy and just didn't write a review for graham crackers comics. well this week i did write a review and my boss forgot to post it on the website. thanks jimmy. well i will have to reprimand him today and make sure he posts it. i wrote a review for the new pet avengers comic that came out this week. i like the pet avengers, it's the only kiddy comic that i read. my favorite charactor is frog thor. there's just something about the comic that makes me want to read it. well once i've yelled (not really, i'll just text him) at my boss i'll post the review on here.

update: here's the review i wrote for the pet avengers.

philosophy in today's world

so i've just finished the book xmen and philosophy. it was amazing! it used real world questions - such as what makes us human - and applied them to the comic books and movies of the xmen. it's a very intelligent book and makes one think about many of the hard questions of life. the book is compilation of many different essays written by philosophers from all over the country and in canada. it's such a great book and it's the second one i've read in the blackwell philosophy and pop culture series. the other book i've read was south park and philosophy. the next one i want to read is battlestar galatica and philosophy.

to me it's such an amazing book to read because it makes me want to take some philosophy classes and learn more about philosophy. normally when i think about philosophy i think about stuffy old men asking silly questions that no one cares about. but that's just not true. what makes us human, should we try to cure all diseases, what's wrong with genetic experimentation and other questions are very modern and part of today's world (all questions asked in the xmen and philosophy book).

just on the news today i heard about a new genetic test that people who want to be parents can take that will test for 106 different diseases to see if their baby will be born with it. and then if both parents are postive for a certain disease, you can control what eggs are fertilized, so that eggs without those genetic deffects will be fertilized only. this would be questioned and tried to be answered in the philosophy books. and this specific question is some-what asked in the xmen book. the questioned was based around fixing or curing the 'x' gene in mutants. but the same idea can be applied (as it is in the book) to deafness. should we cure deafness, is there something to cure, should we only fertilize eggs that don't have the genes that make people deaf and so on.

these questions and more are asked in these philosophy books and i just can't stop gushing about them. they are wonderfully written and really make you think. i strongly suggest everyone going out and getting one. there are about 30 different books in that particular series. i'm sure there is at least one book that would appeal to you.

new comic wednesday

i wrote another review this week. i wrote one for captain america reborn #6.  this is definatly a weekly thing now. i'm having fun picking the different comics i will write about every week. and this is my first captain america review, which is totally exciting! and anyone who knows me, knows how in love i am with cap! so hope you like this weeks review. can't wait to see what i'll write about next week.

wwz

so i wrote a review for the blog bookersatz on the book wwz (world war zombie). the people there were really nice and easy to get a hold of. it took them about a week to get back to me which was totally nice. i love it when i don't have to wait around wondering if my stuff is going to get published (whether its on a blog or a mag.). so here it is. hope you like it. and you really should go and read the book. it was an amazing book!

new comic wednesday!

so it is new comic wednesday and as you know i work at the comic shop on wednesdays. well once again i was asked to write a review. so this time i reviewed avengers vs. the agents of atlas. this is my third time doing it and i defiantly think i'm getting the hang of writing these comic reviews. i'll probally be doing them way more often now since i'm more comfortable with it. hope you enjoy.

the poet's companion

so i'm definatly geeking out about my new poetry writing book called; the poet's companion: a guide to the pleasures of writing poetry by kim addonizio and dorianne laux. i've been reading it and have already done one exercise. it's an easy read and the exercises aren't over complicated. for each chapter there are multiple exercises to choose from and each stress the point that is being made in the chapter. i would strongly suggest this book for writers looking for a book that gives you helpful ideas and helps you impliment them. A+ to the writers!

dr. horrible review

i wrote another review for graham cracker comics this week. it's for the comic dr. horrible. i think it is written much better then the last review i wrote. like i had said before, the more i do it, the better it will get. plus the comic was great so it was easy to write about. hope you like the review and hope you like the comic.

comic review: this time for reals

so this week at work at graham craker comics (which by the way, is a mouth full when you answer the phone and have to say that) my boss asked me to write a review for one comic and he promised he would send it out this time. well he came through and sent it and i got published on the website! i wrote a review for marvel holiday spectacular (the link takes you to where my review is). i haven't written a review in a long time so it's a little ruff. i like the review but i think i could have ended it better. the more i write though, the better i will get at it. either way i'm happy to present it. hope you enjoy it and hope it makes you want to go and read the comic.

no comic review

well graham cracker comics did not use my review for the dark avengers i wrote. i was a little sad when i saw that but there's nothing i can do. they used someone else's review for the comic. this person's review was way meaner then mine was. so whatever. reviews and i don't get along anyways. i don't like critics and that's what i am when i write a review. but now that they didn't post my review, i'm determined to write another one and have them post that one. i will have them post one of mine! once they do i will put the link here so you all can read it. i will have a review with graham cracker comics posted!

edit: so i talked to my boss and the reason my review didn't get published for graham crackers is because he didn't send it in. way to go jimmy (my boss).

comic review

so i've written my first review for graham cracker comics. i wrote a review for the dark avengers #9. when it's up, i'll put a link so you all can go and read my review. i'm not a huge fan of writing reviews. i feel so weird putting my opinion out there saying whether something was good or not. who am i to say that. but my boss asked me to do it this week and so i did. i liked it enough that i'll probally do it more often.