maribou | Storybook Blade; Grease Geek; Unspeakable Gingerbread; Sixty Ladies

Fables 3: Storybook Love, by Bill Willingham et al.
My favorite so far - I'm really digging the depth of this comic, it's like when I started reading Sandman.
(73/250)

Blade of Fortriu: Bridei Chronicles Volume 2, by Juliet Marillier
OK, unlike Wildwood Dancing, this definitely reminds me of no one but Marillier herself. Satisfyingly complex, as escapist fantasy goes. Heh. Can't wait for the third one.
(74/250)

Grease Monkey, by Tim Eldred
Straightforward but extremely engaging graphic novel. Kinda bildungsroman-y. Want more plz.
(75/250)

She's Such a Geek, edited by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders
I really enjoyed this essay collection and while I feel like a bit of a dufus admitting to this, it was, in fact, inspiring. There, I said it.
(76/250)

Gingerbread, by Rachel Cohn
Short YA Novels = good for anxious maribous. Especially when they are rather awesome, as this one turned out to be.
(77/250)

Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East, by Brian Whitaker
Man, this book was way too dry for such an interesting topic. It was worth reading, but it wasn't the book I was hoping for when I saw the title and cover picture and picked it up.
(78/250)

Sixty Days and Counting, by Kim Stanley Robinson
As much as I love KSR, he took a turn back toward the didactic with this final book in his near-future global warming trilogy. I didn't care because a) I like huge chunks of infodump in my SF, b) it is an important issue and I do understand how one could get so het up about it that literary quality might suffer a bit, and c) the story that's there is exciting. But, you know, there is a line between 'info-packed SF that yes, does have a bit of a message' and 'the info/plot/etc are all there to back up the VERY LOUD MESSAGE that the world is going to hell in a handbasket'. Whether or not one happens to agree about the handbasket. Of course, the rest of the world (judging by reviews) does not seem to agree with me about which side of the line Mr. Robinson is on, so maybe it's just that he really wasn't targeting those of us who already have a good idea of the problem.
(79/250)

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, by Susanna Clarke
Both content and design were absolutely lovely, and I enjoyed every single story in the book (even the ones I'd read before). If a person had not yet read either this or her bookstop novel, I would recommend they try this first (though I think overall I slightly prefer the novel - but this makes a much better introduction). Witty and sly and perfectly turned. I laughed aloud several times and once or twice cooed audibly over the loveliness of one of Charles Vess's illustrations.
(80/250)