Books I've read and am currently reading: November and December 2014

from top to bottom:

• Will O' the Wisp : An Aurora Grimeon Story - Tom Hammock, illustrations by Megan Hutchison

 I've been trying to get my hands on as many graphic novels as I can lately, and when I stumbled across this one at the library, it just had my name written all over it ;)
It's an interesting and mysterious story written by Tom Hammock,  inspired by the tales and folklore that he grew up with involving a certain type of "magic" known as Hoodoo. (Similar to Voodoo!)

Aurora Grimeon is a young girl who is sent to live with her estranged grandfather on a swampy island in Louisiana after her parents die. Weird things begin to happen and she starts to wonder if she is cursed, and the overly superstitious people that live in the tiny island village don't exactly help matters. She learns some Hoodoo spells and rituals from the local witch/priestess and investigates the strange occurrences that seem to get worse and worse each time. I really admire this character's bravery and knowledge, and there is also the CUTEST pet raccoon friend that she has named Missy. (I totally need a pet raccoon in my life).  And don't even get me started on the fantastic artwork. I recently discovered Megan Hutchison's work, and it's so amazing. The wardrobe she gave Aurora is right up my alley in terms of style, and I want to own every outfit she wears. I truly hope my own artwork can be as good as Megan's one day! (Check out her awesome Etsy shop here).
 

• Prince Lestat - Anne Rice

I only just got my hands on this book, so I haven't really cracked it yet. I've read through the handy "Blood Genesis" and "Blood Argot" intros to refresh my memory on the whole Vampire Chronicles series and the major events that are leading up to this book. It would seem that the world of vamps is being threatened by a "voice" that they hear, and they're all destroying each other and the world. I wonder what Lestat's role in this is...

• The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

I've also only just started this, but I'm a couple of chapters in. When I first read the synopsis of this novel, it sounded intriguing, so I finally decided to give it a chance. It's a story about a young man who never really got over losing his mother as a teen, and a deepening mystery surrounding a painting that he more or less stole from a museum because it was her favorite. Overall, Donna Tartt is a brilliant writer that weaves words together beautifully, but certain sentences do tend to get a bit wordy and repetitive. Like I said, I'm only at the beginning, but it's sort of starting to drag on. The story at this point is very touching and sad. You really feel for (the character) Theo and want to comfort him after losing his mom so tragically. I'm kind of a deeply sensitive person, so it's actually been kind of hard to put myself in his lonely shoes. This is a dramatic novel, for sure. I'm looking forward to see what's going to happen.

• Alice in the Country of Hearts : The Mad Hatter's Late Night Tea Party - QuinRose, art by Riko Sakura

and

• Alice in the Country of Clover : Knight's Knowledge - QuinRose, art by Sai Asai

More graphic novels! (Technically these are mangas?). I haven't even touched these yet! They both looked interesting and I happen to  love anything 'Alice in Wonderland' related, so I wanted to see what this manga series is like. I'm not sure which one is supposed to come first, as I think they're both the first volume in two different series, but we'll see. As usual, the main thing that bothers me with these printed mangas is that the cover will be so colorful and eye catching, and then the inside is all grey scale and blah. Especially with a world like "Wonderland", I would expect all colors all the time! ;)  But that's just a personal gripe. I guess it's just the way these are printed.. saves time/money in the end, eh?


*NOT PICTURED, but also read:

• Hopeless, Maine: Personal Demons - Tom and Nimue Brown

 Similar to Will O' the Wisp (above), this was a cool and dark little graphic novel that I absolutely fell in love with. The artwork was also gorgeous, and the overall story was so imaginative and spooky and fun. It was about a little girl (and natural born witch, it seems) named Salamandra who ends up at a boarding school in a very remote and always dark and foggy village in Maine. She is an outsider who is haunted by a demonic spirit disguised as another little girl. Salamandra has to find a way to trap and defeat her, before she hurts somebody!




Until next time,

G.