Amy Reads the Week (of July 27th, 2008)

Unfortunately, Gentle Reader, that title is A Misnomer. I have not read that much at all, as I am still deep in the throes of teaching, teaching, teaching. But I have seen the new X-Files movie, and while I found it Not Bad, I did not find it All That X-Files-Y (if that makes sense). What I did find it was Fantastically Distracting, and a Welcome Relief from my current pedagogical efforts.

And, of course, a Welcome Relief from my current Less Than Two Weeks Before Graduation And Thus Something Must Be Wrong Anxiety--a misplaced form, an unpaid bill, a forgotten application somewhere--which is, of course, Part and Parcel with the fabulousness of One Amy Reads. Please continue to post those Comic Con Reviews, Friends, so that I might live vicariously!

Amy Reads the Week (of July 20th, 2008)

I have four words for you, Gentle Reader:

Comic Con San Diego.

Four more words, then?

Alas, Amy cannot attend.

Max Brooks! Ed Brubaker! Jim Butcher! John Cassaday! Darwyn Cooke! Joe Hill! Geoff Johns! Jim Lee! Brad Meltzer! Mike Mignola! Grant Morrison! Greg Rucka! Gail Simone! Joss Whedon! Connie Willis!

I do not think there has ever been such a gathering of my favorite people in all the world. And to think that I have taught or will teach works by six of Those Esteemed Authors! And that is No Exaggeration, Friends. O, to ask them questions! To hear their answers! To bask in the glory that is some of the best talent of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries!

Amy Reads is Very, Very Sad.

Very Sad Indeed.

For those of my Most Constant of Readers who are, perhaps, More Fortunate than This Humble Author and have the ability to attend Comic Con San Diego, I wish you Great Joy and Love. Please report back on action figures (for Mr. Reads) and on Wonder Woman news (for Dr. Reads).

The Dark Knight

Too tired for a Proper Review, Gentle Reader. Just a note to say it may very well be the best superhero movie I have ever seen. Mr. Ledger was sublime. There is no other word for such superb and superior acting.

The same can be said for Mr. Bale, of course, and Mr. Eckhart, and to Mr. Oldman, and to the entire cast of the movie. The directing, the cinematography, all of it was wonderful.

But best, Gentle Reader?

The screenplay.

One tiny moment of Geek Out for This Humble Author: never, never place me next to people who are discussing comics continuity, and do not have a true grasp on What Is Happening. I am afraid that I made a Bit of a Fool of myself over My (superior) Knowledge of Comics.

*ahem*

The Thoroughbred of Sin!

And he has done it, Once Again, Gentle Reader, with Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. As I told Mr. Reads this morning, only Joss could say, "Gosh, I am Rather Bored during this here writers' strike. Let me write a musical" that is, in This Humble Author's opinion, smarter and better produced, directed, and acted than 85% of television out there.

Having taught Buffy, Firefly, and Angel several times, I can say with Great Certainty that Joss Whedon is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

And how.

Off to teach, Gentle Reader! Ciao!

Amy Reads the Week (of July 13, 2008)

Or watches the week, Gentle Reader, as Mr. Reads and I went to see Hellboy II yesterday. While I enjoyed the first half immensely, I felt the second half lacked something. Perhaps a stronger brushstroke from Mr. Mignola, perhaps? Too much Mr. Del Toro, I believe. But it was pretty. Oh yes, it was Very Very Pretty.

Posting will be sporadic for the next three weeks, Friends, as my summer II teaching takes priority. But I will Read the Week with you when I can!

Amy Reads on Vacation

It is true, Gentle Reader. I read. A lot.

Mr. Reads, Pup Reads, and I left on Sunday and came back on Tuesday. In that space of time, I read three, yes, Three Books, and Mr. Reads read One and a Half (granted, one was Duma Key, which is Ginormous, so there we are).

The first two were numbers three and four in Will Thomas's Barker and Llewelyn series, which is marvelous. And this praise, from a Victorianist! Upon first discovering these novels, I was afraid they would be too close to Holmes and Watson for my liking, as these are two detectives in late-nineteenth-century London (I do dislike the notion that imitation is the best form of flattery). But Lo, Friends, indeed that was not the case. This series is smart, savvy, and loads of fun. Bonus Treat, it gets darker and darker as it progresses. The fifth book The Black Hand has just (!) been released, and I look forward to reading it very soon.

The third book was Tana French's In the Woods, a book amazon.com, in its Great Wisdom, has recommended to me For Some Time, and I finally (!) read it. I began it Monday after lunch, and other than a break for dinner, did not put it down until 1:30 a.m. Her sequel, The Likeness, is due out very shortly, and I eagerly await it, as well.

All in all, a lovely vacation, a delightful getaway that was so utterly Pup Friendly that we have already made reservations to return this winter. Expect a review of the new Wonder Woman this weekend. Alas, our comics were not ready at My Local today (thanks to the Holiday!) and we return tomorrow to get This Week's Offerings.

Amy Reads at the Movies (and the television)

What a week for movies it has been, Gentle Reader! Sister-in-law Reads is in town visiting, and We Reads have done lots to keep her entertained. Yesterday we went to see Wall-E, which is, in Mr. Reads's words, a movie that will be a favorite for the rest of our lives. Today we went to see Hancock, which despite its glaring and Rather Large Flaws, was Super-Fun, and actually, in the end, Rather Smart. The problem is, of course, that the Rather Smartness of it wars with its Super-Funness, so that neither gets the appropriate amount of screen-time, and both in the end feel a bit jumbled.

That is not to say that it was not good. It was, Friends. Very good. I enjoyed it Quite A Bit, actually. The mythos, the world-building was Rather Remarkable. But seeing it a mere day after seeing Wall-E, it could only expect to Fall Short in Eyes Reads.

Other viewings have included DVDs Vantage Point and more Wire in the Blood, and we will most likely continue Wire in the Blood and finish it before summer scheduling begins. That means, of course, Project Runway, Burn Notice, Eureka, and Generation Kill.

In other news, We Reads are taking a mini-vacation, and as such, I will not Read the Week this week. Please join me next week when I review my last week as a Free Woman before second summer session begins! Until then, have a lovely American Independence Day, a happy Belated Canada Day, and enjoy the three-day weekend!