Bout of Books 13: Readathon TBR

Because I'm so very excited to participate in my first ever readathon, I couldn't sleep and thought a good use of my time would be drafting up a (probably unrealistic) TBR list.

I have quite a few ebooks downloaded from NetGalley that need to be read before they expire, so they get priority, and I don't think they should take too much time to read, so this list of six ARCs seems feasible:

• Shadow Show: Stories In Celebration of Ray Bradbury by Joe Hill and others
• Page Count: 128
• Spread: No Hope (Vol. 1) by Justin Jordan
• Page Count: 160
• Low: The Delirium of Hope (Vol. 1) by Rick Remender
• Page Count: 144
• Jupiter's Legacy (Vol. 1) by Mark Millar
• Page Count: 136
• Monster Motors by Brian Lynch
• Page Count:  86
• Let's Eat Ramen and Other Doujinshi Short Stories by Nagumo
• Page Count: 120

Then, of course, there are the lovely physical books I own and have been meaning to read for ages. It will take much more time and effort to knock out these four:

• Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman
• Page Count: 320
• Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles
• Page Count: 240
• Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
• Page Count: 288
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• Page Count: 352

This may just be a pipe dream, but I'd love to read all ten of these books this week for the readathon. That would bring me to an average of 282 pages a day over seven days, hitting a total page count of 1974 pages! Ow. 

Wish me luck!

Oops, I think I did it again...

Don't judge me, but I may have downloaded even more graphic novels off of NetGalley. They are just so easily and freely acquired, I couldn't help myself.

• Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag 
• C.O.W.L. Volume 1: Principles of Power by Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel, and Rod Reis
• The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie 
• Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen) Adapted by Stacy King 
• Orphan Blade by M. Nicholas Almand and Jake Myler 
• Shutter Volume 1: Wanderlost by Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca 

...I said don't judge me.

Linked up here and here.

Galleys and ARCs and Proofs, Oh My!

NetGalley must be the Book God's gift to us mere book-worshipping mortals.

I just signed up at the beginning of the month, and I've already been accepted to review several graphic novels. Don't get me wrong, I've been rejected for a bunch, too. But, behold the six beauties I get to feast on before the rest of the lowly book-reading world: 

• Scott McCloud's Sculptor, Pub. Date: 2/3/145
• Andi Watson's Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula, Pub. Date: 2/24/15
• James Kochalka's The Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie, Pub. Date: 3/17/15
• Jay Hosler's Last of the Sandwalkers, Pub. Date: 4/7/15
• Penelope Bagieu's Exquisite Corpse, Pub. Date: 5/5/15
• Boaz Lavie's The Divine, Pub Date: 7/14/15

It's kind of ridiculous that I've been (intermittently) book blogging for almost three years, and I've only just jumped on the NetGalley train. What took me so long? I don't even want to imagine all of the ARCs I could have gotten my greedy little hands on.

Are you on NetGalley? What has your experience been like?

Linking up here, here, here, and here.

Book Review: Philippa Rice's Soppy: A Love Story

Soppy: A Love Story by Philippa Rice

Image via Tumblr

 

*I received a free digital ARC of this title via NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. What a charming, sweet, and understated graphic novel.

Mostly illustration, not a ton of text, the beauty of Soppy is in its subtleties. The illustration is deceptively simple in technique, and only three colors are used: black, white, and red. Even so, Soppy packs a major emotional punch.

Viewing the comic from the standpoint of being in a long-term, loving relationship, I find the content completely endearing. Rice depicts the tender, everyday, and sometimes under-appreciated moments between lovers. 

Image via Tumblr

Some scenes are so relatable that I laughed out loud: “I'll cook if you wash up. If you phone for the pizza I'll answer the door when it arrives.” & “Are you asleep? No. *both fall asleep*”

 

Having never read anything of Rice's before (even though she's kind of a big deal on Tumblr, apparently), I did not have any major expectations going in, and because I didn't have advanced knowledge of her work, I think I was able to enjoy Soppy all the more. It turned out to be such a delicious surprise.

I fully intend on purchasing a physical copy to add to my graphic novels shelf. 

My Rating: 5 Stars