To Be or Not To Be: A Chooseable-Path Adventure by Ryan North

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was a fun read. I first did Hamlet Sr, then Ophelia, and then Hamlet. I decided to go with the Shakespeare option each time, essentially turning the book into a modern English version of Hamlet (with commentary). The main thing I learned is that Shakesspeare relies on a lot of silly tropes that only worked because they were new back then.

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first saw the movie adaptation in middle school. The youth ministry pastor decided to share it with us. I fell in love immediately. When I came across it again in college, I bought it and my wife and I have seen it so many times we can more or less recite the movie. Outside of Disney movies the only others we know so well are Snatch and The Birdcage. While I was in college I came to realize it was based on a book. At the time I was a huge Audible fan and I got it as an audible book. The weird narrative structure didn’t make sense to me as a audio book. So I put it off for about a decade. Then, I suddenly decided to check it out from the library.

Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reading this inspired a discussion in the Goodreads sword and laser group about what makes fiction YA. This book has a lot of adult stuff. Depending on your views you may wish to restrict it to older teens. (contains, among other things: mentions of erections, the word fuck, and bestiality)

I don’t care for zombies or unicorns. I can understand their metaphorical place in storytelling but other than the walking dead comic I don’t consume any zombies media. Yet I found this book supremely entertaining. It’s a great anthology that hits pretty much every emotional note; a well-balanced collection.

The Martian by Andy Weir

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On the third mission to Mars things go horribly wrong and Mark is left for dead. It seems like a pretty grim premise, but this book was a very fun read. I love Mark’s logs, which are - essentially - Mark’s inner monologue. This was not “watch one man go mad in isolation”; it was a test of one man’s ingenuity.

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has answered so many questions I had growing up reading the Bible. Assuming the acceptance of what the gospels said Jesus did- a lot of it is now put in perspective by understanding the world he lived in. I also have a better understanding of the seeming contradictions in the epistles. It is mostly due to a theological struggle between Paul and James.

A Once Crowded Sky by Tom King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you love or have ever loved reading comics, you need to read this book. It is essentially a love letter to comic book fans. This is a world in which the characters are slightly self-aware. They don’t really know they’re in a story, but it does still have some of the same vibes of Redshirts. The characters know that they always come back after death (view spoiler)[(a tragic fact considering how the book progresses (hide spoiler)] and they know they monologue and then save the world. But they don’t necessarily know they’re in a book or comic.

Walrus: Brandon Graham’s All Bum Album by Brandon S. Graham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you’re purchased comic artists’ sketch books before, you probably have a good idea of what you’re going to get. However, unlike other sketch books I’ve seen, this one contains little mini-comics scattered among the more traditional sketches. It’s also neat that he includes some sketches his wife has drawn since they often draw together. Also fun - his reinterpretations of some Marvel and DC characters.

I know I’m late to the game on this, but hurrah to JK Rowling for making the Harry Potter ebooks DRM-free! Just because of that, I’ll be sure to buy it this summer! Before I was scared about DRM-issues. I’ve been burned before - I have a bunch of Microsoft LIT books that I legally bought and can no longer read.

It’s definitely hard to read books when you have other obligations. This year I had two semesters of graduate school and the majority of the second year of Scarlett’s life. Now I know why my mother, who loved reading, would only make it through a couple books a year. Frankly I only got through this many books through a combination of reading during my lunch break and the fact that I’d rather read than watch TV most any time. (Links below go to my reviews of these books on Good Reads)

It’s December and I should have gotten all of my Kickstarter products by now. But that’s not exactly what happened. Every single one of my Kickstarters was late except the one I had the least faith and relationship with - Random Encounter’s Let Me Tell You a Story.

I Fight Dragons – Project Atma (music): Holy COW! This band - my first Kickstarter - nearly disbanded over the Kickstarter! I thought they were the surest bet. They’d self-published their first few albums and they had rented a studio and had a producer and everything. However, they clashed over the direction the producer was taking them and almost broke up.