I have recently been reading a lot of Image graphic novels lately. One such comic that I’m loving right now is Papergirls. The references to the ’80s, pterodactyl-like creatures flying around Cleveland, and female teenagers being the protagonists in an alien invasion make Papergirls a must-read for 2017.

Papergirls follows Erin Tieng waking up in the early hours of the morning to deliver newspapers. After being harassed by some local boys, she is defended by Mackenzie, KJ, and Tiffany. The quartet notices some strange occurrences including locating an alien capsule, ninjas from outer space and flying pterodactyl-like creatures. These four are the only hope that Cleveland has in preventing the destruction of planet Earth.

I will purchase any comic with mostly all female characters. Zodiac Starforce, Rat Queens, and now Papergirls have all-starred female ensembles. I can’t choose a favorite character because they all add to the story and further the adventure.

Papergirls was such a fun graphic novel and I can’t wait to read the third volume.

My bibliophile confession of the day is I am a leisurely reader. I prefer to read two or three chapters before bed versus finishing a book in one day. However, there are a couple books that I spent hours finishing because I simply cannot stop reading. Last weekend I power-read through This is Our Story by Ashley Elston and without a doubt, this book is on my list of being one of the best books I read in 2017.

Five Boys Went Hunting . . . Four Came Back. 

Four privileged high school students surround the body of their dear, dead friend Grant. Henry, Logan, Shep, and John Michael made a vow that day to not reveal the name of the boy who pulled the trigger. Kate Marino is the intern at the smaller district attorney’s office and gets assigned to the case. The River Point boys as they are called all tested positive for either drugs or alcohol in their system at the time of the shooting. This begs the question as to whether Grant’s death is the result of a drunk kid accidentally firing a rifle or was there an alternative motive behind the shooting?

Curiously, Ashley Elston gives each of the four boys a motive behind wanting Grant dead. I unfortunately cannot talk about these motives without spoiling the story. I never knew who committed the crime until I skimmed the last twenty pages. I became too impatient so I read until I found out the truth.

This is Our Story was such a good Young Adult thriller.

 

Last October I was chilling with friends while crafting thanks to this book that was sent to me. After writing my post, I emailed the link off to the woman responsible for marketing the feminism crafting book. Exactly one month later she emailed me about the probability of reviewing a geek-centered retelling of Cinderella and wondered if I would like an advance reading copy. I gleefully typed my response saying I was looking forward to receiving this book. As I returned to my cozy college house I noticed the purple package on my bed and tore it open to find Geekerella within the purple paper. This morning while sipping on coffee, I finished the book. I was disappointed because I didn’t want the book to end.

Elle is the Starfield fangirl. She blogs writes fanfiction, and cosplays and her dad started a convention surrounding Starfield. It wouldn’t be a Cinderella-esque re-telling without Catherine the fake step-mom and Chloe the beauty vlogger stepsister. Darien fits as prince charming who so happens to be the prince in the movie reboot of Starfield. Sage is the fairy godmother in the form of jarring green hair and multiple facial piercings. I don’t want to say much more than that since the book hasn’t been released yet.

This book captures what a fangirl means and why I put so much of my heart and soul into a fictional series. I relate to Elle in the way she speaks of her relationship with her father and her passion for Starfield. Darien is a great character because he presents a new side of what it means to be in the public eye. He often feels alone and distrustful of those in his inner circle. Elle and Darien have this healthy geek relationship that often mirrors how I view my relationship.

Without a moment of hesitation, I rated Geekerella five stars on Goodreads. I wish I could erase my memory of this book so I could re-read it and be entranced with the story.

Perpetual Page Turner is the book blog that starts this end-of-year book survey and I’m very happy to fill it out. Unfortunately, 2016 was not my best reading year compared to 2015. I still read a substantial number of books, but in 2015 I was blown away by my reading number. I cut out some questions because it was getting a little too long.

2016 Reading Stats 

Number Of Books You Read: 33

Number of Re-Reads: 0. I’m not a re-read type of person.

Genre You Read The Most From Graphic novels, only because this genre doesn’t take me that long to read.

Best in Books 

1. Best Book You Read In 2016?

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll is my pick. Initially, I thought I wouldn’t like this book because the main character was miserable to be around. However, once I read more of her backstory, I started to sympathize with her. The main character is different by the end of the book and she starts focusing on her happiness and dreams.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Every book blogger could not stop raving about this book. I read it and I was not impressed. The fact that St. Clair kept doing shady things with Anna behind his girlfriend’s back was not romantic and ruined it for me.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Operation Stop Hate by Jessie Chandler. This book was intriguing because it analyzed a hate group that was based in Minneapolis. There were parts that I read that I was angry with because this group was just awful in general. It saddens me that people in the world truly believe this way. This book was really well written and I’m on the lookout for more in the series.

4. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?

I read the entire Brilliance trilogy by Marcus Sakey. Overall, I liked the series.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?

Rainbow Rowell is my favorite author. I read more of her books in 2015, but I usually always love everything she writes.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Transgender 101 by Nicolas M Teich. I don’t typically read non-fiction novels, but I have always been interested in sexuality and gender. This book is informative and educational.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Justice for Sara by Erica Spindler was a thrilling mystery. I discovered this book by browsing the mystery section at my local library. This book demonstrates how your family isn’t always the members related by blood.

9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Nailbiter Volume 1. SO GOOD.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016?

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson. The Steelheart series has the best book covers.

11. Most memorable character of 2016?

Suzie from Sex Criminals. Her plans are over the top and she’s devoted to saving her library from demolition. If Suzie existed in the real world, I feel that we would be best friends.

12. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016?

I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly. This graphic novel surprised me because I wasn’t expecting how it would turn out. I won’t spoil anything, but I liked Barbara as a character.

13. Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

Anna and the French Kiss…. and I really really didn’t like this book.
14. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

I read Zodiac Starforce and thought it was upbeat and nicely written. I liked the bright colors and all of the characters had their own strengths and personalities. Can’t wait for the second volume.

Blogging/Book Life 

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2016?

I always follow Super Space Chick for book reviews. I haven’t discovered a new book blog, but I like blogs that are broader versus writing something so specific.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2016?

Feminism Crafting Book. I’m not usually a crafty person, but when I was sent this book to review, I will admit throwing a crafting party added to the experience of writing the review. I made the empowering underwear that I’m still wearing.

3. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

Minnesota Comic Book Association Spring Comic Con. I met Phil Juliano and I ended up supporting his Kickstarter campaign. This is a great con to do networking in the Minnesota Comic Scene so I’m glad I went.

4. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2016?

Met my goal of 30 for Goodreads, so that’s pretty good.

5. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

My biggest issue is that I want to read before I sleep, but sometimes after a long day, I just want to go to bed. I want to schedule a time to read before I reach that feeling of fatigue where all I can think about is sleep. I also would love to do more reading during the day instead of just at night.

6. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I only use Goodreads because I like how organized the site is and how it keeps track of what I’m reading.

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2016 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?

Finishing the Steelheart series and maybe doing a Harry Potter series re-read.

2. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017? 

50 books are going to be my new goal for 2017.

November is slowly coming to an end and I’m about halfway done with Christmas shopping. I don’t usually create a Christmas list because as I grow older I realize I’m fortunate to have my family, friends, and my cat to keep me happy and that’s really all I need. However, I always desire new books and comic books to read to help me fall asleep at night. Here is my ongoing Comics Christmas List:

Nail Biter Volume 2 Bloody Hands 

I reviewed Nail Biter way back in the summer but it’s my favorite graphic novel I have read this year. I love the horror/gothic aspect to it and the first volume left a cliffhanger which I love and hate because I have no idea what’s going on.

Sex Criminals Volume Three The Hard Way 

This sex-positive comic series is also one of my favorites. It’s so weird and funky, but I really enjoy it.

Mind Wave Comics 

Mind Wave Comics is a local comic company in the Twin Cities where I’m from. I heard about them from an episode of Panels & Pizza, a podcast I listen to. They have comics about a superhero titled Wonderboy, Bolt, and Totem, featuring a Native American hero. Representation is really important in comics, so I’ll have to pick up Totem for sure.

Diet Land by Sarai Walker 

This isn’t a comic book, but I like the premise of the story. From reviews, it seems like it talks about the beauty standards that the media sets and portrays body positive emotions. Our bodies are awesome and are capable of amazing chemical reactions that keep us breathing. We should celebrate our bodies’ various shapes and sizes. This has been on my Goodreads list for a while so I hope I will finally pick it up soon.

What is on your to-be-read list? Find me on Goodreads! Bizarre Brunette Good Reads

Crafting is such a fun, relaxing way to chill with friends. A couple weeks ago I was contacted to review a new crafting book titled Crafting with Feminism 25 Girl Powered Projects to Smash the Patriarchy. The author shown above is a feminist of course and she’s wearing some of the above crafts you can make. I was emailed a $30 e-gift card for supplies and sent the book for free. Unfortunately, you can’t use the e-gift card in stores only online so I actually haven’t used it. I plan on using it to make a more expensive craft in the future so I can order supplies online. Me & my group settled on the empowering underwear and the tampon crafts.

As a crafting beginner, I wish I would have done more research on making underwear. Apparently, you can’t use a bleach pen on spandex which I didn’t know. Two of the girls in my group ruined their underwear accidentally. So if you use a bleach pen, don’t use it on spandex!! I used cotton underwear and it worked really well. Here are some of the pictures of the finished underwear:

 

Bleach Pen with Spandex Underwear Before:

Bleach Pen with Spandex Underwear After: 

As for the tampon craft, the tampons look kinda creepy. I think we used too thick of a pen because we called them the “Joker & Harley tampons” So using a thin point sharpie probably would make the tampons look a lot better. I have attached the Joker & Harley tampons here:

Joker Tampon is on the left, and Harley Quinn is on the right. 

Overall, I thought this book was fun. I still really want to make the coffee mug, the feminist-empowered flask, and the candles. However, there are some crafts that just aren’t appealing to me.  I have no interest in sewing a uterus pillow, decorating vagina decorations on the Christmas tree, and making anything revolving with tampons. Granted I’m not good at sewing so that’s part of the reason why I don’t want to do some of the crafts. If you’re a self-declared feminist like myself, I think you will love the crafting book.