1st quarter book list 2016 — Karlee Bradbury

My first quarter reading list is smorgasbord of fiction in all shapes and sizes.

Short stories, long fantasies, and everything inbetween. But the most fun I've had this quarter, is jumping into the world of comics.

I've always been curious about comics, but any time I would think about dipping my toes in the waters, I would get a little overwhelmed. Whenever I think of comics, in general my mind goes straight to the classic Marvel and DC characters. Superman, Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman. But most of those characters are at least 75 years old, and a lot of material has accumulated over the decades. I found myself asking, where do I even begin?

I decided to start with an area I was more familiar with. I have been a huge fan of The Walking Dead since it first aired, and that seemed as good a place as any to begin. Rather than single issues, I went with the trade paperback editions, which bind up several issues into single volumes. They feel more like a book that way, with a longer story arc. Plus, they fit nicely on my shelves. It's also been fun to compare and contrast the comics with the tv series. (Opinion so far - I prefer the tv series).

Then in March, I discovered that a comic book store opened in my town several months before, and was less than five miles from my house. I popped in after work one day, and the owner was very welcoming and helpful, giving me a lot of great suggestions. I left with Volume One of Saga, as well as the first volume of The Wicked and the Divine on order.

Saga proved to be exceptional, and I was back in the store before the week was out purchasing Volume Two.

I also kicked off the year with a couple of rereads. The first two books in the Harry Potter series. I haven't revisited Harry since book seven was released, and I got the itch to hang out with him again after receiving the new illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for Christmas. Plus, I'm really looking forward to the publication of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child this summer and this seems like a great way to prepare.

I've read a lot of great books so far. Illuminae is a giant space opera told entirely through data files, texts, emails, interviews and the like. Worlds of Ink and Shadow took the Bronte siblings and threw them into a dangerous and magical world of their own creation. It was difficult to narrow down my top favs, but the ones I list here were really exceptional.

Here are my top picks. The full reading list follows after.

Top Picks

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

This book bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love it. (Points if you know what movie I stole that line from). Truthwitch is a YA fantasy, set it a world where some people are born with "witcheries", or certain types of magic that they can control. Safi and Iseult are two witches, who are also best friends. In the Witchlands, several different Empires vie for ultimate power, and Safi and Iseult find themselves locked in the middle of the power struggle.

I loved the magic in this book. I also loved that the story centers around the friendship of Safi and Iseult. Lately I've been getting my hands on books that celebrate female friendships and the strengths that women can derive from such relationships. (Uprooted by Naomi Novik is another recent find). I loved that this novel revolves around the friendship between Safi and Iseult. Of course, there are other things happening - romances brewing, kingdoms falling, wars breaking - but the relationship between these two girls is front and center always.

This is a great start to a promising new series.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

This comic series is deliciously weird and entertaining. In a galaxy overtaken by the war between one planet and its moon, two soldiers from opposing sides (and races) fall in love and are now on the lam. Hunted for desertion, forbidden love, and the child that resulted from a mixed race union, Alana and Marko struggle to flee authorities on both sides of the war, and to protect their daughter, Hazel, who also narrates the series.

I know I haven't read many comics, but this one is my favorite so far. The story, the pacing, the characters, the dialogue - all superb. But the artwork is astoundingly beautiful.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

I've been meaning to read this book ever since it was released a couple of years ago. I even bought the paperback copy at the beach last summer, and it sat on my bedside table (along with an embarrassingly large stack of unread books) until just recently. Station Eleven is a beautifully written and crafted literary fiction novel set in a post apocalyptic world, twenty years after most of the human population succumbed to a deadly virus called the Georgian Flu.

Kristen Raymonde was a child actor in Toronto when the epidemic hit and she lost her family. She joins up with a traveling troupe of actors and musicians who call themselves the Traveling Symphony, and they lead a rather nomadic life, traipsing between settlements and performing for a living. Along the way, they come to a settlement overtaken by a cult and, after offending the leader, known only as The Prophet, they flee with the cult hot in pursuit.

The story flashes back and forth between the years leading up the flu epidemic, the period just after everything falls apart, and the present with Kristen and the Travelling Symphony struggling to outrun The Prophet and find a safe haven.

Excellent writing and an exquisitely crafted story make this book a must read.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

I have been wallowing in an epic fantasy void ever since I finished reading A Dance with Dragons a hundred thousand years ago. (Ok, I know it hasn't been a hundred thousand years since A Dance with Dragons was released, but it feels like it). After getting the disappointing announcement that the sixth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series would not be published before the sixth season of Game of Thrones (I'm dying. What do I do?!? Do I watch it?? Do I not watch it?? Help), I decided to start on a new series I've been wanting to read for a long time.

The Wheel of Time series is massive. I think there are 14 books in all, and they are huge doorstopper kind of books each of them. But the good news is, the series is complete! That's right. It's finished. The last book was released several years ago.

The world is massive and sprawling, much like Thrones, and I was going to try to summarize book one, but this blog post is already getting out of hand. The book link I've included above takes you to one of the wiki sites for the series and has all of the info you could possibly need. I'm already looking forward to diving into book 2.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Illustrated Edition - by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay

Guys, it is gorgeous. Gorgeous.

Hagrid's Hut

Quidditch

Diagon Alley