Baby's in Black

Baby's in Black: Astrid Kirchher, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles in Hamburg by Arne Bellstorf  199 pp.

Back before The Beatles became an international phenomenon, they played in grubby dives in Liverpool and Hamburg, Germany. At the time the members were John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe, Paul McCartney, Pete Best, and George Harrison. While in Germany, Sutcliffe met a young photographer named, Astrid Kirchher who took many of the early photos of the group. The graphic novel chronicles the little known love story of Stuart and Astrid. Eventually Stuart left the band to pursue his first choice of career, art, and stay in Germany with Astrid, now his fiancee. Stuart Sutcliffe died in April 1962 of a brain aneurysm. For those who are familiar with the early Beatles, this book gives a little more insight to those early days of the group. Those not so familiar will be wondering where Ringo is. (He didn't join the group until later, after drummer Pete Best was fired.) The artwork is basic black and white, reflecting the title which is taken from a song on their fourth album, "Beatles for Sale."

August Totals

Tallying up the totals for August.  There were fewer readers this month (what happened to everyone??), but those that read, read a LOT.

Books/Pages:

Christa:  7/3226
Annie:  14/3544
Linda:  9/3240
Kara:  8/2272
Karen:  11/3147
Kathleen:  2/546

Totals:  51/15,975

Kathleen wins our random drawing this month, and Linda wins best post for her Maeve Binchy post. 

The Hero of Ages/Brandon Sanderson

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn book 3); fantasy; 576 pages

At the end of the last book, Vin unwittingly released Ruin on the world.  Now, ash falls almost constantly, and killing mists come during the day as well as as night.  Emperor Eland hopes to unite the land so that humanity can hold on just a little longer, but Vin knows that any hope of survival means defeating Ruin.  However, Ruin's plans have been brewing for centuries, and even the Hero of Ages may not be able to stop him. 

Still loving this series!  This is definitely the bleakest of the books--it's one thing to fight and evil overlord, but what can you do when the very planet is self destructing?  There were a lot of points here where I didn't see how Sanderson could possibly save this world or its people, even though I knew he did (aside from book four, which I hope to start soon, there's the snippets of the Hero's memoirs at the beginning of each chapter, which suggests someone was still alive at least!).  The ending wasn't what I had hoped for, but it felt right, despite the loss of a few favorite characters.  I'm really hoping that Sanderson can bring back at least some of them in the fourth book, though that might be wishful thinking.  A great series for fans of epic fantasy. 

Double Cross

Double Cross:  The true story of the D-Day spies by Ben Macintyre 399 pg.

If you like spy stories, this one is a doozy and it is true.  This great book tells the story of the double agents during WWII who wove a web of lies that helped point the Germans away from Normandy as a landing place for troops and to a site far enough away that it gave the Allied forces long enough to gain a strong hold in Europe.  These people risked life and limb to create an illusion that saved countless lives and undoubtedly shortened the war.  A rather motley crew of men and women who had been recruited by the Germans were turned into double agents by the British and then fed loads of misinformation back to the Germans.  This book tells of the handlers, the spies themselves and a couple other plans to cripple the German war effort by ruining their stock of homing pigeons.  Great stuff!

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Everything that rises must converge

Everything that rises must converge/Flannery O'Connor 269 pg.

A short story collection by the great "Southern Gothic" writer.  I listened to this on audio and each story had a different reader.  So much of what she writes seems funny but then you get to the end and there isn't much uplifting.  Lots of death and disappointment.  In one story the character ends up disappointed that he isn't going to die but will be stuck living out his days at home with his mother instead of being a successful writer in New York.  Maybe this is a case where the tragic lives of others makes you appreciate how good you have it. Even though these were all stand alone short stories, I wanted to listen to the next one immediately.

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Batman & Robin: Dark Knight vs. White Knight/ Paul Cornell

Batman & Robin:  Dark Knight vs. White Knight by Paul Cornell, et al. (Batman & Robin vol 4); graphic novel; 208 pages.

While Bruce Wayne is away forming Batman, Inc., Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne continue their partnership as Batman & Robin in Gotham, facing down two new villains, and an old nemesis.  

Again, this is really several story arcs rolled into one--in this case, there are three distinct stories:  The Sum of Her Parts introduces a new player in Gotham's crime scene:  Una Nemo, now Absence, who's hellbent on getting revenge on Bruce Wayne.  Tree of Blood introduces the title character, a strange glowing figure who's targeting the family members of Arkham inmates, feeling that he needs to rid the world of the tainted bloodline before other lunatics can arise.  The Streets Run Red is another Red Hood story, and does a better job of portraying him than Morrison did back in Batman Reborn. 

Of the three stories, the Red Hood arc was my favorite (of course).  Tree of Blood was interesting from a plot standpoint (the killer dresses his victims as angels, then brainwashes them into throwing themselves of buildings, so the city literally rains angels at one point), but we never get any kind of explanation as to why the White Knight is glowing all the time, or how that happened...

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne/Grant Morrison

Batman:  The Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison; graphic novel; 232 pages

Following his capture by Darkseid in Final Crisis, Bruce Wayne becomes unstuck in time, stranded without memory, and flung throughout history without any knowledge or control of his situation.  Still, he struggles to find his way back to his own time, not knowing that Darkseid had another purpose:  Bruce's movement through time is slowly building up omega radiation which, when brought to the 21st century, will result in the destruction of the universe. 

This was a fun series of stories.  Each chapter shows Bruce Wayne at a different point in history:  with a prehistoric tribe, in Puritain New England, fighting pirates, gun slinging in the Old West, and donning a fedora in 1940s Gotham.  Despite the fact that he has no memory of previous events, Bruce Wayne is still very much Batman in each of these stories (detecting the real events behind the "witchcraft" in New England, figuring out booby traps in a pirate cave, and even donning the skin of a giant bat in caveman days).  I thought the ending here was especially neat, given how tangled the story had become by that point. 

I'm not sure exactly how this fits into the chronology of some of the other series:  there's mention here of Gotham being under quarantine, with suggests it's concurrent with the events of Batman & Robin Must Die, but The Road Home shows Bruce taking a leisurely tour of old acquaintances before meeting up with Dick and Damien, so who knows?   Still, this was one of my favorite of the recent Batman arcs. 

Batman & Robin Must Die/Grant Morrison

Batman & Robin:  Batman & Robin Must Die by Grant Morrison, et al. (Batman & Robin vol. 3); graphic novel; 168 pages

The new Batman and Robin face off against Doctor Hurt, former member of The Black Glove, and newly appeared wearing Thomas Wayne's face.  His goal is to usurp the Wayne family power and fortune, and with the real Bruce Wayne still missing, no one can stop him except Dick and Damien. 

I admit I'm not a huge fan of the Black Glove storyline, but added to the fact that we have yet ANOTHER character impersonating a Wayne (remember Hush is still running around with Bruce's face in the Streets of Gotham storyline), I thought this plot was a little thin.  Of course, Hurt brings with him the 99 Fiends, a band of fighters named after the various Dukes of Hell (okay, does anyone else think of the Crazy 88 when they hear this??).  Adding to the chaos are the Joker, who has taken Robin captive, and Professor Pyg, the mad scientist from back in Batman Reborn.  The real game-changer here, though, is the return of Bruce Wayne (for real this time), and his revelation of that return to Dick and Damien.  An important part of the story, but only so-so as a standalone volume. 

Batman & Robin: Batman vs. Robin/Grant Morrison

Batman & Robin:  Batman vs. Robin by Grant Morrison, et al.; graphic novel, superheroes; 160 pages

Following the events of Batman Reborn, Dick and Damien are recovering from their battle with Red Hood, aka Jason Todd.  Damien's injuries were serious enough that his mother, Talia al Ghul, feels the need to step in for some cutting edge medical techniques that can save her son.  Meanwhile, Dick travels to England with a dark mission of his own in mind. 

This book collects two arcs:  Blackest Knight, in which Dick attempts to resurrect Bruce Wayne with a Lazarus Pit, and Batman vs. Robin, where the full extent of Talia's "medical help" appears in the form of mind control--designed, of course, to turn Damien into the perfect assassin against Batman. 

First, Blackest Knight:  Okay, Dick.  I understand that you're grieving and that you miss Bruce, and that you're willing to try anything to bring him back.  But let's take a moment to consider the last member of the Bat-family brought back to life in a Lazarus Pit.  It shouldn't be too hard to think of, since you were fighting him in the last book.  Yeah, Jason Todd wasn't the most stable person to begin with, but the Pit didn't do him any favors--he's a super-villain now!  And now you're taking the risk that Bruce might come back the same way????  I take some comfort in your realization that you were wrong, and your willingness to back up Tim Drake now, but I'm beginning to question your judgement as Batman....

I enjoyed the Batman vs. Robin story much more:  the twist at the end was classic Morrison, and we got to see some character growth from Damien, so that I was less inclined to punch him that in previous volumes. 

Gone girl, by Gillian Flynn

Wow!  Who knew sociopaths could be so entertaining.  A breathless read with intertwining stories from the husband and the disappeared wife.  Amy, of Amazing Amy fame, a beloved children’s series written by her parents, and Nick (that’s Lance Nicholas Dunne) are a beautiful, wealthy and successful married couple living in a fabulous Brooklyn brownstone.  When both lose their jobs, and Nick’s mother is dying in the small town near Hannibal MO where Nick and his twin sister Margo grew up, it seems prudent to cut their East Coast losses and move back to be near family during this crisis.  But much is not what it seems, and when Amy disappears on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, a couple of years after they have relocated, suspicion fall on Nick – it’s always the husband, right?  What follows is a roller-coaster ride of a book with a succession of surprises at the end.  One wonders about a sequel, 20 years or so later, that might rival Rosemary’s baby.  415 pp.