Apologies, Gentle Reader, but as there is a (as of now) Category 4 hurricane brewing in the Gulf, We Reads are expecting several family members to descend upon us in the wee hours, as they evacuate New Orleans and the surrounding areas. No time for blogging, as We must Clean, and Cook, in preparation.
Wish us luck, Friends, and send some New Orleans' way.
Happy Fall Semester, Gentle Reader! If you are Academically Inclined, chances are you begin courses tomorrow. As We Reads are of such, we are Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed for the new semester. Nothing but wonderful words to share with the Nation's Youth as We Reads try to impart a love of learning, reading, and writing to our students.
But, and this is more important, Friends, Our Dear Friend Mister Fanboy was Quite Generous with his SDCC (San Diego Comic Con for the non-comics-inclined) haul and This Humble Author received the Glory of Glories, a copy of Adam Hughes's Gorgeous Women of DC Poster signed by This Humble Author's Favorite Comics Writer, the fantastic and fabulous Gail Simone, signed right next to the center image of the fantastic and fabulous Wonder Woman (whose comic is currently being penned by Ms. Simone, to the delight of This Humble Author, indeed!). Along with other delights (Dark Horse preview! Flash ring! Sandman poster!), the package proved to be the highlight of This Humble Author's week. Thank you, Mister Fanboy, for thinking of those of us Too Far Away to revel properly in the Wonder that is Comic Con! Mister Reads and I are to the Hobby Lobby this week for a lovely frame for my lovely poster.
I have returned to Comics, Gentle Reader, but only just barely, and only the slightest hint of a toe in the water. That Is To Say, I have read Some, but Not Much, and nothing really Of Note. A Batman here, a Catwoman there, but nothing really Blogworthy.
Part of that is, of course, due to the fact that I am resuming Full-Time Teaching after six, yes, Six Years, Friends! of Graduate Student Teaching. Not that one is More Important than the other, but the former requires more courses than the latter, and I have many books to read for my multiple classes.
Mr. Reads and I bid a Fond Farewell to The Wire, finally, after a very (!) long wait for the last season to either 1) finish re-airing on HBO, or 2) come out on DVD. We had utilized the first but had only two episodes left, and since the DVDs came out on Tuesday, we finally, and sadly, finished one of the best shows ever to grace a television screen. This means that our television watching is Rather Slim until Fall Lineup begins: Burn Notice, Project Runway, Venture Bros., Eureka, The Middle Man, and the mini-series Generation Kill.
Have I mentioned we watch a lot of television in Chez Reads, Gentle Reader?
Thank goodness for the DVR, no?
Off to make delicious enchiladas for the Supa-Family and our scheduled dinner this evening. More soon! Ciao!
Not really, Gentle Reader, but I did *graduate* the week after many years of *reading*. Does that count?
This week resumes "real life" preparations: syllabi writing, frantic pre-course reading, moving offices, and hopefully, the return to comics. Until then, Friends, ciao!
And Gentle Reader? I have The Fancy Paper to prove it.
Graduated this morning. Huzzah to me, and Much Joy to you all.
Off to celebrate with Family Reads!
I am on the verge of graduation, Gentle Reader, so this week has been occupied with cleaning house for the impending Family Visit. Also, too, getting back into the non-teaching groove of things, only to find that destroyed a few mere weeks from now, when I return to the teaching trenches.
But I have been reading, Friends. I have finally (!) finished Tana French's delightful, engaging, heartbreaking, stunning novel, The Likeness, a sequel to her Edgar winning first novel, In the Woods. Constant readers may remember that This Humble Author finished French's first novel while on vacation earlier in July, and eagerly anticipated the release of her follow-up. The Likeness is stunning, Friends, truly. There are few other words. I will endeavor, after graduation, to write a more complicated review, but until then, let me say that French is a gifted and wonderful writer, both of prose style and of plot. If forced to compare her to Other Writers--an activity I find draining and complicated, but occasionally fun, I would liken her novels to a cross between Raymond Chandler and Flannery O'Connor: the same sense of pacing, of will, of drive, with a superb backdrop of place, atmosphere, and idea. Add in a slight dash of Stephen King and Jane Austen claustrophobia of social scene, just for good measure, and you have Ms. French.
I strongly urge you, Gentle Reader, to pick up her books forthwith.
