• 866 and counting …

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    Finished Quiver by Kevin Smith. There are some mild spoilers below, so if you haven’t read this, you might want to skip ahead to the next post.

    This is a graphic novel about Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, one of DC Comic’s characters. The novels deals with the resurrection of Oliver, who was killed off saving the world (as comic book superheroes so often do). Oliver wakes up one day basically homeless one day and think it’s really several years ago. The rest of the book focuses on how he was resurrected and what he really is now. There’s also a side plot about a murderer on the loose in Star City that eventually dovetails in with the main storyline.

    I’ve never read any of the Green Arrow comics before and picked this one up at the used bookstore on a whim. I’m glad I did. I enjoyed a lot of things about the book, mainly Oliver’s attitude. He’s far more carefree and cheerful than Superman or Batman, which was a refreshing change of pace. (Too much angst gets old after a while). Oliver also likes to punch first and ask questions later, and he runs his mouth a lot. It all made him a rough, loud, lovable character. 

    Kevin Smith is a big comics fan, and you can tell from the number of references he drops into the storyline. There are so many mentions of different storylines there are actually asterisks in the book and references to specific comics/volumes. My significant other read the book and complained about all the other references. But I like tying things into other storylines, so that didn’t bother me.

    In fact, one of the things that really made the book work for me was a reference Smith made to the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman. I’m reading along thinking some of these people/events sound familiar and wondering why. I turn the page and there’s Dream, still encased in his prison. That was a very cool reference and way to tie the two stories together.

    I have a couple of quibbles, though. One, I figured out who the bad guy was halfway through the story, and I don’t think Smith made it that easy on purpose. Two, I didn’t understand why the demon the bad guy was trying to control just didn’t eat him before the end of the book, if he had the power to do it all along. (The demon dispatches the bad guy rather swiftly at the end). 

    Three, the way Oliver is resurrected is kind of gross. His friend Hal (a former Green Lantern) is the one behind the resurrection. How did he resurrect Oliver? By fishing his DNA out of Superman’s suit (Oliver died in an explosion Superman witnessed).

    So Superman basically just didn’t wash his superhero suit well enough to get all the itty-bitty pieces of Oliver out of the material. Ewww! Couldn’t he have gotten Ma Kent to make him a new suit? I wouldn’t want to walk around wearing something my friend had got blown up on. But that’s just me.

    Overall, if you’re looking for something to read to tide you over until Iron Man and The Dark Knight hit theaters this summer, you might want to check out Quiver.

    Thumbs up.

    Up next: Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughn.

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    Bookish guilty pleasures …

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    I’ve talked about television, movies, and music. Now, let’s look at books and guilty pleasures.

    Probably my main guilty pleasure when it comes to books is westerns. I. Love. Westerns! In my younger years, I read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books too many times to count. (Although for some reason, Alonzo’s book was always my favorite).

    I also discovered the Wagons West series by Dana Fuller Ross at my library. These books are part historical fiction, part action, and part soap opera about the settling of the American West. Most of the titles are state names, like Oregon, Oklahoma, Tennessee, etc. There’s something like 24 books in this series, and I read them all — again and again and again. In order. Ross also wrote a couple of spin-off series, but I never read those. Maybe I will now …

    And I used to read historical romances set in the American West like crazy. I’d go to the library and get as many as I could find. Cowboys! Cattle rustlers! Epic love stories! Sigh …

    Then, there’s fantasy. Another love of mine (as if you couldn’t guess). I’ll read just about any fantasy book if there’s a) magic, b) swords, or c) dwarves it in. When I discovered fantasy, I started with folks like Tolkien, Terry Brooks, and David Eddings. Now, most of my TBR pile is fantasy, paranormal romance, or some combination of the two. I’m especially digging the surge of urban fantasy books and folks like Jim Butcher and Kim Harrison.

    I don’t really care for sci-fi, though. I know it’s really just a different kind of fantasy, but spaceships and aliens have never appealed to me. I’ve read some of the Star Wars sci-fi books, but that’s about it.

    I also like cozy murder mysteries. You know the kind I’m talking about. The ones that take place in a quaint, charming small town that just happens to have the highest murder rate in America — where the same person stumbles over a dead body every other week or so. M.C. Beaton writes a couple of murder mystery series set in England, and I’ve read most of those books, along with all the old Agatha Christies.

    Then, there are folks like Robert B. Parker, who writes the Spenser private investigator series, among others. I’ve read every single one of those, even though the characters don’t really change or grow that much and it’s really easy to figure out who the bad guy is (Spenser almost always knows by chapter 10). But the books have great dialogue and one-liners. So whenever there’s a new one, I always get it from the library.

    What about you? What are some of your bookish guilty pleasures?

  • Musical guilty pleasures …

    9 Comments

    Time to talk about musical guilty pleasures. I have to admit I’m not a big music person in that I don’t read or think or critique music the way I do book, movies, and television. I listen to radio and my CDs, but I very rarely buy new CDs — I’d say less than five a year. But I still enjoy music, so here goes.

    Most of my CD collection is of Jimmy Buffet. I’ve got all his albums, even this soundtrack he did for an obscure movie called Rancho Deluxe. Funny story. I actually started listening to Buffet in high school so I’d have something to talk about with this guy I had a crush on (who was a Buffet fan). I think my love of Buffet has probably eclipsed his by now, though.

    Buffet’s easy, breezy songs about island life really appeal to me. They’re just fun, and Buffet doesn’t take himself too seriously. However, I have to say I’ve been really disappointed with Buffet’s last few albums, which have been more country than his classic sound.

    I’m also really into The Killers. My significant other wanted one of their CDs for Christmas, and I ended up listening to it, too. It just snowballed from there. I also like some stuff by The Pretenders, Green Day, Tom Petty, and Kelly Clarkson. 

    Then, there’s my favorite song — You’re So Vain by Carly Simon. Love, love, love that song. She’s got some other cool songs, too. Another one of my favorite songs is American Pie by Don McLean. I don’t know what it means, but it’s great to sing along with.

    But my biggest guilty musical pleasure is oldies. I love oldies, especially from the ’60s and ’70s. Stuff like Horse With No Name by America. Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot. So Far Away by Carole King. Both Sides Now by Judy Collins. And all the bands with the weird names, like Paul Revere and the Raiders, who sang those quirky songs. Monster Mash, Poison Ivy, Secret Agent Man, etc. And yes, I even like John Denver. Sadly, I can’t really get an oldies station in my area anymore, since the one that played oldies switched to another format. Sigh.

    Okay, I’ve gushed enough about my musical guilty pleasures. What about you? What songs or artists or albums do you love? Share in the comments.

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    Big screen guilty pleasures …

    8 Comments

    So, this is my second post about guilty pleasures. I’ve talked about television already, so let’s look at the movies.

    Of course, I’ve seen all the James Bond movies too many times to count and am eagerly looking forward to the next one in November (eight months and counting down!). Hopefully, it will rock as much as Casino Royale did. Fingers crossed! 

    But there are also lots of other movies I’ll watch any time they’re on, no matter how many times I’ve seen them already — or how well I can quote the dialogue. One of my favorites that FX has been running incessantly is The Italian Job with Mark Wahlberg and Jason Stratham. I love heist movies, and this is one of my favorites, along with The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.

    I’m also fond of action movies, like Die Hard, The Fugitive, and The Negotiator, and I’ll watch anything Clint Eastwood is in. I’ve seen The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and the rest of that movie trilogy way more than is healthy.

    I also love the Star Wars movies. The original trilogy – not the new ones, which frankly, suck out loud. I’m probably far too excited that there’s another Indiana Jones movie coming out, and I wish the Pirates of the Caribbean folks had stopped after the first, perfect movie.

    And, of course, no movie list of mine would be complete without the one film I probably quote the most — The Princess Bride. Inconceivable!

    So those are some of my movie obsessions. What are some of yours?

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    If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right …

    9 Comments

    They’re making an A-Team movie! It is sad how insanely happy this makes me. The movie will probably be terrible, as so many of the television show movie remakes have been in recent years (The Dukes of Hazzard, anyone?), but I’ll be one of the first people in line to see it.

    Which brings me to my topic of the day — guilty pleasures.

    We all have them. Books and movies and television shows that we love, even if they’re not considered hip and cool by other folks. I thought I’d share some of mine in the next few posts, starting with television shows.

    Now, you know of my love of The A-Team. I also have to admit that I’m a Matlock junkie. I’ll watch it anytime it’s on — even if I’ve seen the episode before. I just love trying to figure out who the killer is before the end. I’ll also watch Murder, She Wrote and the Perry Mason television movies on occasion, but I like Matlock much better. Probably because it’s set in the South. And Andy Griffith is a lot funnier than Angela Lansbury and Raymond Burr.

    I usually catch Matlock on Sunday afternoons, during the Hallmark Channel’s Crimetime Sunday marathons, which I am also becoming addicted to. Murder mysteries and crime shows. All. Day. Long!

    I also like Walker, Texas Ranger (also shown on the Hallmark Channel, curiously enough). Sure, it’s a cheesy action show, and Chuck Norris basically has one expression. But hey — I love me some cheesy action. It’s kind of fun when the dialogue is so cliched you can quote it before the character does. :rolleyes:

    And I will always watch the Project Runway marathons on Bravo, no matter how many times I’ve seen the episodes already. It’s a sickness, I know. But I also love me some fashion throwdowns.

    What about you? Got a guilty pleasure or television show you love? Share in the comments.