2023 Reading Wrap-Up

I didn’t get as much read this year as I would have liked. But I did put a good dent into things.

I managed to get 39 books read. I continued working my way through and finished the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. That was a lot of fun. I’m really glad I finally read the series. I’m fighting the urge to reread it because I’m trying to read more new books than old ones. Most of this year was new reads. The only real exceptions were a few for research. I also got caught up on the October Day, Wayward Children, and InCryptid series. I did only one reread, but I hadn’t read Telegraph Avenue since 2014 and I wanted to read a physical book. I’ve gotten through 3 audiobooks in the past month after realizing that I’m going to have 8 hours in the car each week going to and from work and I might as well listen to audiobooks.

I also got 56 comic books read. I honestly wish I had read more. I did end up starting a Tumblr to help me keep track of the comics as well as jot down any thoughts I had on them. Goodreads has some comics, but not all of them, so I figured a Tumblr would be an easy way to keep track of them. I’m a little behind posting there because I did a massive read just before the moving really kicked in. Usually I try to get them posted the day I finish. Hopefully I’ll get it updated soon. I have to admit, I’m really liking the direction Spider-Man is going. Especially now that they’ve explained the whole “missing time” thing they had going with Peter. I’m looking forward to getting started on Straczynski’s Captain America. Aside from being an amazing writer, he holds a special place in my heart. He was the writer on The Amazing Spider-Man when I first bought a comic. I’m really looking forward to his take on Cap.

A total of 95 books isn’t a bad thing at all. Here’s to hitting (or surpassing) 100 next year!

Reading, reading, reading

Every year I start out trying to get caught up on my comics and stay caught up. Every year something happens and a huge stack develops that I take the time to get caught up with and the cycle continues. I don’t know if I’m going to break that this year, but I’m getting through that stack right now.

In this first week of 2023, I have read 15 comics. I still have at least 30 to read before I can simply read what I pick up later this month. But I have to say, having somewhere to keep track of the reading and be able to write a little something if I feel like it is really nice. Initially I thought I’d just find the cover online and post that, but I’m taking a pic of the comic and posting it instead. Honestly, it’s got to be faster than trying to find it online. Also, it’s nice to go “That’s the comic I just read!”

I’ve also been working on shortening my “Currently Reading” list. Honestly, half of what’s on that list are academic books that I’m picking away at. But I did get two manga finished this past week and moved to the “Read” list. I also got through a new book for my research. Something tells me I’ll be meeting my goal of reading 100 books this year, not counting the comics. Goodreads and StoryGraph don’t include all the titles I read, which is why I have the Tumblr. If I can’t include it on their sites, I’m not including comics in my yearly goal.

Granted, continuing through Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series will help keep my number high. I think I’m about halfway though the series and nearing the end of Thief of Time. It’s at that point where it’s hard to put down. I should finish it tonight!

New year. New opportunities!

In the various posts friends were making at the end of the year, this one caught my eye:

I’ve been trying to think that way recently anyway, but I still love the sentiment. It’s always a new opportunity for something. Whether that be measured in months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, or seconds. It’s always a new opportunity.

I’ve set my personal goals and hopes for this year. I’m hoping I’ll be able to achieve more of them than last year, but I did have some great things happen last year and that’s what I’m focusing on.

Not only did I get a job, I got two! And I really enjoy both of them. I’m still sad I had to leave The Dragon’s Lair, but teaching is the only thing that would have done that, and well… Teaching ASL still makes me anxious, but less so now that I have one class under my belt. I’ve got a much better plan for my other class that will cover the required information and topics in a way that I think is more effective than last semester.

I did get the first draft of my dissertation off to my chair. It is far from perfect, but that’s what a first draft is for, right? Getting it done has helped me move on to work on chapters 2 and 3. And I’m feeling like getting the interviews done will be productive, finally. I just need to get around to setting them up. That’s one of my goals for this year: get the interviews done!

One thing I have started already is create a new Tumblr so I can keep track of the comics I’ve read. Goodreads doesn’t have all the titles I read, so I try to keep track on a spreadsheet, but I’m not great about it. I figure if after I get the issue done, I can take a picture, and start a draft of a post on Tumblr. That way the date is in there and I can hop onto the computer to put in the basic information and post the photo. It’s an experiment I’m hoping will work. I’ve already read 6 comics from my backlog. Definitely a good start.

So, here’s to 2023; a year full of possibilities and opportunities!

Reading in 2021

I have been using Goodreads to track what books I’ve read every year since 2010. I like participating in their yearly challenges because it motivates me to read, and some years I really do need it. But last year, I decided to keep track of more than just the books I read. I also tracked the issues of comics and the number of journal articles I read. Reading is about more than simply books. So here’s how last year breaks down:

66 Books total. 34 were fiction; 32 were non-fiction. I read all of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. I read Mira Grant’s Parasitology trilogy. I started Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

41 Comic book issues total. 25 The Amazing-Spider Man (which is not surprising since they come out twice a month now); 7 Captain America; 4 Black Panther. I also read the 5-issue Maneaters: The Cursed. I fell behind on my reading and have a decent stack before I’m caught up to current.

21 Journal articles. 9 for the dissertation; 7 for other projects; 5 just because. I got distracted by books for my research.

I’ve set myself a goal of 60 books for this year. I’ll probably go over it again, but I can raise the goal later if I need to. I’m aiming to read 52 journal articles over the course of the year; they really shouldn’t be ignored for books in my research. For comics, I just hope I can stay caught up. With Spider-Man coming out twice a month, it does make it hard. But if I can get caught up on my reading, and get caught up with the buying, it should help.

I’ve already finished the first book of the year, which I clearly started at the end of December, but Goodreads counts it anyway: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (Discworld book 6). Having all of the Discworld to go through is going to keep me occupied for most of the year. Luckily I have plenty of non-fiction and trade paperbacks/graphic novels to read in addition to them!

#WorldBookDay2020

According to Twitter, today is World Book Day. I thought about just listing all the books I’m reading right now, but then I realized that I have a blog where I can talk about all of them and post the entry to Twitter! Because I am currently reading 13 different books. Well, reading may be a strong word to use for some of them…

The Sum of All Fears
by Tom Clancy

At the end of last year I decided to read Cardinal of the Kremlin because I didn’t remember reading it of those early Jack Ryan books. After I finished it, I just went for a read from the in-series chronological order. Right now I’m up to The Sum of All Fears which I don’t think I read before. As with most of the Jack Ryan books, I’m really enjoying it.

Unlearn: 101 Simple Truths for a Better Life
by Humble the Poet

I picked this up for free on Kindle between it being on sale and having credits. This is great for reading a chapter or two when I need a break from everything. It’s a great read. It is spiritual and so refreshing.

Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow

This has been on my “currently reading” list for the longest. I picked it up back in March 2016. The only reason it has taken so long to read is I don’t have time to get absorbed by the amazing writing and spend hours reading it. Chernow is a wordsmith and is able to bring history to life in a way that I had not experienced before.

Introducing Cultural Studies
by Ziauddin Sadar, Borin Van Loon, and Richard Appignanesi

This is part of the Graphic Guide series that gives an introduction to different scholars, areas of study, and theories in a graphic novel way. I love the combination of illustration with the words, as well as another scholar’s take on things. This book has really been interesting because it talks about Cultural Studies in different countries, not just the idea of cultural studies in one context or another. It’s given me a better grasp on what Cultural Studies can mean, as well as what most people think of here in the US.

They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing
by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

This is the one book that I have assigned to read this semester. In it they talk about how to bring in sources into your argument while still maintaining your voice in your work. It is going to be really helpful when I get to that point in my dissertation writing. Right now it’s a lot of the “I Say” side of things, which is just as important as the “They Say” and bringing the two together. I highly recommend it for anyone who is doing academic writing.

The Craft of Research, 4th Ed
by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. FitzGerald

I also recommend this for academic writers. It was recommended to me by my theory professor way back when I started my PhD work. This is actually my second or third time going through. They break research down into the steps and then break those steps down and give really useful advice. It makes the research process feel less overwhelming and more possible to do. I’m probably going to reread it every time I have a research project, because each project is different and I get something different from it each time I read it.

From Dissertation to Book
by William Germano

This book was recommended to me by the editor of a publishing company that I really love. I had asked for advice about turning my thesis into a book and she, and the rest of the panel, suggested this book. I haven’t read much, but it has also been helpful in helping me with my dissertation. What I’ve read so far talks about the differences between a dissertation and a book. I turns out I had been thinking about my dissertation like a book instead of a dissertation. Seeing those differences explained really helped me get started in the writing process and just getting the chapters figured out.

Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean
by Douglas Wolk

I’ll admit, it’s been a while since I got back to this book. I do remember it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it’s really interesting for a comic scholar.

Batgirl Vol. 3: Death of the Family
by Gail Simone

This is an important chapter in Barbara Gordon’s life, especially in this post-New 52 world. This addresses the trauma that she went through and how it still affects her. It is really important for me to read, especially since I’m writing a book chapter on Oracle!

House of X/Powers of X
by Jonathan Hickman

When they announced that this big change was coming, I made the conscious decision to wait for this book before moving forward. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep reading, especially as a researcher. It is an interesting read so far. They alternate the series by number, so it’s the number one of each, then the number two, and so on. I think I’m getting what’s going on in this part, but I’m continuing, hoping that I get an idea of where the franchise is going and whether I want to start reading any of the comics again.

X-Men comics were one of the first comics series I read. But now it’s become more of a search for how it works with my argument about their correlation to Deaf Culture. There is little to none of that when they’re not in relation to humans. Then again, I always like the storylines that were more about the X-Men and their culture and everyday lives than the stories that took place in space or were focused on on baddie.

Metaculture: How Culture Moves Through the World
by Greg Urban

This is the main theory that I am working with in my dissertation. I am working on building on it, making connections to other related works to expand on it, using Hamilton as my example, as the focus of those connections. It has taken me years to get his work to click, but when it did, I realized that this has been a huge part of my research. I simply didn’t realize it. It is a very intense read.

Signifying Rappers
by David Foster Wallace and Mark Costello

My dissertation chair/advisor strongly suggested reading this, because of its perspective on rap and hip-hop by white guys in Boston. I’ve only gotten through the first chapter so far, but its an interesting read. I just need to figure out how it fits into things.

Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture
by Philip Auslander

Another book recommended by my chair/advisor. He recommended this back when I was arguing about the importance of seeing it live, in the theater and how that differed from other ways of seeing it. I think I can still use it to talk about that difference, but in a different way. I think realizing the bigger picture that I am writing about has changed how I interact with this text. I may have to start it over again.

This whole pandemic and quarantine has changed so many things. It’s part of why my list has grown. I keep forgetting how many books I already have started and pick up something new. I’m trying to get refocused, get these books read so I can make that progress and move forward.

Successful Sunday Shopping!

Every year for Christmas, one of my presents from my father-in-law includes money to go spend on myself. Fun stuff, no paying bills. It’s a tradition that my mother-in-law’s father started with her. He would do the same thing. My father-in-law has kept this up. Sometimes it’s cash, sometimes it’s an Amazon gift card. Sometimes it’s both. This year it was both.

Yesterday, I decided to take a quick trip to Columbus to make use of my cash. First was a stop at the jaw-dropping newly remodeled Jo-Ann’s up at Polaris. If you are in the Columbus area and you haven’t been, go! It is amazing! Anyway, I picked up 5 frames that I have really needed. I have had three 11×17 pieces, an 8.5×11, and a 6×9 that needed frames. So I finally got them! Well, actually I got a 8×10 floating frame for my 6×9 piece since it’s kind of an off size. I also got some fabric and spray paint for a costume. Now I just need to put in the work and it’ll be done!

The better things happened next when I went to a few local businesses. I know I was late, but Small Business Sunday works too! I stopped by my comic book store to pick up my pull and ended up with a trade paperback recommended by one of the wonderful staff members. We were talking about X-Men and how we are so tired of all these crossovers. She suggested a one-off story about the worst X-Man ever. I’m looking forward to reading it.

After that I was going to go down to Lucky’s Market when I decided to stop at a local consignment store, Rag-O-Rama to look for jeans. It’s a great store. I started looking through my size in the men’s pants section and found myself not one, but two pair of jeans for less than $40! This doubled my amount of jeans in my wardrobe. Then I decided to check the women’s section for some tan/khaki pants for the costume I mentioned earlier. I found a pair that stretch, so they fit to my legs, which is what I was looking for, but they’re not tight (they’re actually a little big)! I couldn’t believe that I found all of this for less than $60!

Finally, to finish off my day of “I can’t believe I found that!” I went on to Lucky’s, mostly because I ran out of body wash. I also picked up a bottle of Rose from an Ohio winery that is so delicious. That reminded me to look in the beer section. When we were up at my father-in-law’s this weekend, we made our usual stop up at the local Malley’s Chocolates to have some dessert and so my father-in-law could restock his ice cream at home. I noticed a six-pack of beer sitting on the candy counter. Turns out that a Cleveland beer company, Platform, was inspired by one of the candies and made a stout. We didn’t have time to get some before we headed home, but they also have a brewery in Columbus, so Lucky’s probably would have them. They do! And, after looking around carefully, I found it! It was the perfect end to my shopping trip. I got to spend so much on myself and then found something for the both of us. It was a great way to go into the Christmas holiday!

The Defenders

On Friday, the culmination of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist – so far – came out: The Defenders. I have been looking forward to this since they announced it. But even more so since Iron Fist. I felt like IF wasn’t bad, but he would be better in this group setting, especially with Luke. If they did it right. But I’ll go into that later.

I’ll keep the spoilers for later and clearly marked. I know not everyone has had the chance to sit down and watch it yet. But between my love of these shows and friends who were planning to marathon it on Friday, I’ve watched it all and I love it! There are so many things to love and some of them aren’t going to spoil anything about the show.

First is the opening credits. Thanks to being a Cultural Studies scholar – specifically Popular Culture – I have many friends who look at the shows differently. One friend wrote and presented a paper on how the city of New York is a character in all of the shows. He explains it much better than I ever could, so I won’t even try. But because of him, I almost squealed with joy over the opening credits. The use of the maps and overhead views of the city in the characters’ silhouettes, which are in the color scheme of the character are brilliant.

Also, when we see each hero on their own, the scene maintains their color scheme. Matt/DD’s scenes are more reds. Luke’s are warm and yellow. Jessica’s are cool and purple. Danny/IF’s are greens; a color scheme I wasn’t quite able to identify in the series, but is clear to me now. They also maintain their own feel, including music. Granted, that’s the most obvious with Luke, but it’s there with all of them. It’s great that they let each character maintain their individuality when they’re not involved with the others. It makes it feel like we’re jumping between shows, instead of just between characters in a show.

Which leads me to the last non-spoilery well-done thing. It’s the combination of the two. When they do the transition scenes between characters, they keep the color scheme. It definitely tones down when it’s more than one character. But if you pay attention, you’ll know who they’re going to next. It’s so well done!

After this point, there are spoilers for throughout the series. Keep reading at your own discretion.

Look Around List!

“Look around! Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!”

It’s been a while, to put it mildly, but I’ve been so busy with school. But that doesn’t mean I forgot to look around!

Comic books. I am having so much fun going on comic runs again. I probably could just do them once a month, but right now the two X-Men series – X-Men: Gold and X-Men: Blue – are alternating weekly releases. Aka, there’s a new one every Wednesday. But I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. At least 3 new comics tomorrow!

Bitch Planet. If you like good writing and some serious commentary on patriarchy, read it! The first trade paperback has been out, the second is coming, and next week’s issue is #10. I can’t wait!

Native deodorant. I’ve been using it for over a month now and I have no intention of stopping. I do have sensitive skin under my arms, so I have to be careful how much I use so I don’t dry out the skin, just absorb the sweat. It’s awesome! I highly recommend it to anyone. If you click here, both you and I get a free travel deodorant if you order!

New Playlists! Since the last time I posted, Lin has created 8 new playlists! His awesome wife has created two of her own inspired by his! Both of them are exposing me to music I would probably not have found on my own. I love it!

Moana. Every time I watch it, I need tissues. Sometimes due to the plot. Sometimes due to the accuracy and reverence for the culture. This is Disney’s best movie yet! Hopefully this is just the start.

Finishing my thesis. Yes. It’s done! I had to make some formatting changes, but it’s done! I’ll probably post about it sometime soon. I’m so glad to have finished it. I just hope that I can use it as a starting point for a more in-depth book on the topic later.

My church. This year there were 15 individuals who joined the Catholic church through the RCIA program at my church. 15! When I mention that, most people are surprised at the high number. I like to think that is because of the openness and welcoming nature of the St. Thomas More Newman Center at The Ohio State University. There’s a reason I’m going to miss going there every week when I start working on my Ph.D. at BGSU.

My hubby. There is a lot that has been going on, which is mostly why there have been no posts, and he has been my rock through all of it. I don’t think I’d be sane at this point if it weren’t for him.

Just remember, no matter how crazy the world may seem, look around and remember how lucky we are to be alive right now!

Comic Books!!!!!

It wasn’t until I was in college that I got the courage up to go down to the comic book store by campus. I initially went to check out the manga section, since this was before bookstore chains actually had manga sections. I am of the generation that would come home from school and watch the Spider-Man and Batman cartoons. I’d only watch Superman if I didn’t have a choice. I’ve never been a big Superman fan.

But anyway, eventually I decided that it didn’t matter what anyone thought, I was going to buy myself comic books! I had been raised with the “comics are for boys” mentality. But I wanted to read these stories. Of course I picked up The Amazing Spider-Man. I was already a fan of the character and it is the main title for the character. Eventually I started reading Uncanny X-Men, inspired by the first movie, and, like Spider-Man, it was the title. Then, because Marvel loves to have stories run across titles, I added The New Avengers and Excalibur (Vol. 3) to my monthly runs. Of course there were the limited stories like House of M and Civil War which would inflate my monthly runs.

After college, partially due to living at home with no comic book store in town or a car or enough money to keep buying comics, I stopped buying them. But I would save up for trade paperbacks and tried to keep up that way. The titles I buy and the frequency have gone up and down over the years. Right now I’m getting back into it.

At the beginning of the month I went in search of America #1, both due to interest in the story and for the Hamilton variant cover. My local shop, Laughing Ogre, didn’t have the variant because of the requirements the distributor put on ordering it (and I can’t blame them at all!), so I picked up the regular cover…along with the first four issues of Buffy Season 11 and an Alexander Hamilton comic.

Today I went on another run up to my new other local shop, Seann’s Anime & Comics. I had to argue with myself over what to get. Well, after I picked this beauty up:

They had the Hamilton variant cover!!! Honestly this is more for having it to reference when I get working on my dissertation later. Seriously, if you haven’t picked this book up yet, you should! This has the potential to be an awesome storyline!

Anyway, after looking around and falling in love with the store, I decided to pick up a few other comics. First, they had $1 comics that are #1 in their series. I saw three I had to grab:

I’ve been interested in Wolverine and the X-Men since I found out about it in researching for my thesis. We just had Laurenn McCubbin at The Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies as the PCSA keynote speaker. She worked on Bitch Planet, and reading this issue has me wanting to hunt down the rest in issue form. I know I can get them in trade paperbacks, but there’s something awesome about having the issues. I’ve also been wanting to read Sex Criminals and the chance to get the first issue for $1 was something I couldn’t pass up! So much so that…

I picked up almost every back issue of Sex Criminals they had. I had to leave two and the most recent due to running out of funds. Also there are a few issues missing here that I need to find, but I am loving it so far! I had a feeling I would since Matt Fraction is one of the authors and his run on Uncanny X-Men is part of my thesis and I’m writing about Hawkeye and his run is a vital piece of that.

So I guess all of this is to say there’s going to be more comic talk coming! Marvel is launching ResurrXtion later this month and I’ll be getting probably three of those titles every month. And who knows, I may get back into Spider-Man again. I got spoiled. J. Michael Straczynski was the writer when I started and it hasn’t been the same since. Anyway….comics!!!

New Semester High!

This is going to be a great semester! It started on Monday, but the two classes I’m taking meet on Wednesdays, so today was really the first day of class for me. I am feeling so good for so many reasons.

First, my students. I’m in an interesting classroom that has four tables for my students to sit at. It’s great because they’re already grouped up, which facilitates discussion so much easier. They don’t have to move their seats into groups and then back once they’re done discussing. They also have really great answers to my questions. Granted, today was the first day we discussed anything, but it was a great first day. I have a feeling this semester is going to be fun.

Second, my classes. I’m taking International Popular Culture and Superhero Comics & Critical Theory. I have been looking forward to taking these classes. International Popular Culture is a required class for the degree, so I’ve known it was coming. Superhero Comics is a class I have been vibrating with excitement over as soon as it was hinted at being taught! It’s a Comic Studies class! My thesis is Deaf Studies meets Comic Studies! I finally get a class that directly speaks to my thesis. It helps that the professor is on my thesis committee…for that reason, actually. He is the Comic Studies person of the department. We have a long list of graphic novels we are going to be reading in addition to almost as many articles. Tonight, he told us to just relax and enjoy reading the comics. He also said we should feel free to reference other comics as we see appropriate. We were basically going over the syllabus, but it felt like we were at a convention panel, not graduate class! It is going to be so much fun!!!!

But, before that I had International PopC. I knew I would enjoy this class. I’ve known what I’m going to write about for the final paper for a while now. But I honestly did not expect that we would be talking about so many theories that I can use in my thesis! It is going to be a good semester for my thesis. Which is great because I’m going to need all the help I can get to finish it on time!

Anyway, the last reason I am feeling so good…I’m not broke anymore! I have been lining up bill payments, getting books ordered for classes, ordering a ton of tea, and generally relaxing about money. It’s so nice to not panic about it. And I am really looking forward to that tea getting here. I have a bunch of blends that I put together but I haven’t had the money to order and test out yet. So many of those got ordered. I am looking forward to tasting them all and knowing that they’re good. I could go on about tea forever, so I’ll save it for another post.

But at least I’m off to a great start! Bring on the semester!