I don’t know why I have waited so long to read or at least listen to his book. It’s just a fun world that Neil Gaiman has created. We have Dream. A cranky, emo boy who gets himself kidnapped and then has to rebuild his world and meet the most interesting and somewhat unhinged characters. Even though some of the stories are short and at times not connected to each other it was still a lot of fun. The audio production with voices of James McAvoy, Kat Dennings and Michael Sheen really brings out the story and brings even more life to the story.
I think I what I liked the most about the story is how messing Morpheus is. For a being that is eons old. He has no idea about who people are or who he is either. He has a long history of falling in love with human history only to spurn them when they don’t reciprocate his feelings or do as he wishes. The most egregious example is the story of Nada, an African Queen. They fall in love but when Nada realizes who he is and how impossible their relationship would be tries to break up with him and eventually kills herself. Upset that she choose to end her own life instead of being his Queen, he condemns her to torture in hell. For Thousands of years she suffers and he still feels that she wronged him until he is finally called out by his own family and he goes to free her. Speaking of her family, the Endless are the dysfunctional family we all love. They equal parts love each other as much as they hate each other. While they support they also scheme against each other and it’s fun. Not to human characters who get stuck in the middle but for us as readers. Desire, doesn’t have a big of a role so far as I thought they would but they are a treat all the less. They like the drama and I’m here for it. So yes, I do hope that Audible releases a volume 3 soon because I do love listening to it.
In July, one of favorite authors, Rainbow Rowell announced her next project would be writing a new series of Marvel’s Runaways, we were intrigued. True I was hoping she would be releasing a new novel. It’s been over a year since Carry On came out. I wasn’t all that familiar with Runaways. I knew of them from all the years shelving graphic novels while working at Barnes and Noble but never really paid much attention. Well, the Runaways are having a moment. Not only are they being revived by Rowell but next year Hulu is premiering a TV show based on them. I’m a big fan of Rowell’s. I enjoy her writing so for the first time I’m going to read issue by issue instead of waiting for Trades to come out because let’s be honest, even with a star writer and an only cult following there is no guarantee that they will come out in trade. I didn’t even know you could pre-order comic books like you can book books! It’s a whole new world for me people. I’ve decided that even though Rowell’s Runaways is a reboot so I don’t need to be a fan to runaway, I would go ahead and read the previous stories. So far, I’ve made it through the original series by Brian K. Vaughn and artist Adrian Alphona (2003-2004) and they are delightful. I can see why so many people latched on to them. It follows a group of teenagers with seemingly nothing in common except for once a year they are forced together as their parents get together to catch up and fund raise for charities. Alex, Nico, Karolina, Gert, Chase and Molly discover that their parents are not who they think they are. They are in fact super-villains and they call themselves the Pride. They runaway as they try to figure out what to do next. They also discover that some of them have powers of their own. Molly is mutant with super strength. Karolina is actually from another planet and has the ability to fly and glow. Nico is a kind of a sorceress who can cast spells. Gert has a psychic connection to a dinosaur. That’s right a dinosaur! Being a teenager is hard enough but being a teenager on the run from your evil parents while trying to figure out how to use your powers is down right stressful! It’s a full cast of diverse characters with different backgrounds and different personalities. I’m quite enjoying them. Now on to the next series.
Today is the last day of February and as such the last day of our group read of John Lewis’ March. Were you able to finish all three volumes of March? What are your final observations? What will you take away from John Lewis’ story? I was really moved by his story but it also illustrated my own privilege. There are many small things that I have taken for granted. Obviously, I was raised in a different time and place but I’ve never had to worry about where I had to sit on a bus or be concerned about what truck stops to stops at when traveling with my family. My life would never be threatened because I wanted to register vote. Even now,. as more and more states tighten of voting laws, I don’t feel that my constitutional rights will be threatened but I do worry for minorities and marginalized groups having their rights stripped away. We have not come as far as we think we have. Old prejudice are hard die and I worry about how much farther we will fall back. It’s also makes me think about what I’m willing to go to jail for or willing to be beaten for. I’m not really sure. This year, I’ve already participated in my first protest march and have called my Congress representatives more then I have ever in the past. I’m not sure I have the bravery of John Lewis and Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and so many others. I seriously hope that it won’t come to that. That we will be able to keep our protest peaceful and those we opposed will to as well. The importance of this book is so we don’t forget the mistakes of our past. To remind all of us about our history so we are not doomed to repeat it. Knowledge is truly power.
2 Women, So Many Books 