I may not be doing the Graphic Novel challenge this year but I’m still reading these. I have to say that graphic novels continue to surprise me and entertain me and so I’ll definitely keep reading them. So, which ones have I read recently?

First is Life Sucks by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria and Warren Pleece. Dave is stuck at the ultimate dead-end job, a night manager at the Last Stop convenience store. To make matters worse he is a vampire and his boss is his master. Yes, eternal life sucks, but there may be a glimmer of something good for Dave when he meets Rosa, a pretty girl who is into all things goth.

Of course there are all sorts of complications that come up, mainly another vampire who is trying to get the girl too but why don’t you read the story to find out what happens. An entertaining read which actually left me wanting more. Here’s my review.

My next read is Lynda Barry’s book What It Is. It’s a bit hard to classify this book because it can be anything from a memoir to a how-to book but it’s one I highly recommend and one I hope to add to my personal library.

This is one of those books you could probably open to just any page and take something from it. Bold and bright illustrations along with the story of how the author fostered her own creativity make this book a joy to read. You can’t help but want to pick up a pen and paper and write or draw, no matter what the outcome because there is no room for criticism here. It’s all about taking delight in the artistic process. Here’s my review.

I do have another graphic novel waiting for me, Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs, so that’s something to look forward to. And, I’ve just found out that the folks at Bookreporter.com have a new site for those of us who can’t get enough graphic novels: Graphic Novel Reporter. It’s filled with reviews, resources, a blog and more. I can just see my wish list exploding. Got a good graphic novel to recommend? Let me know and I’ll add it to my wish list.

Last week I mentioned that my reading so far this month seemed to be going pretty slowly and I think I know why I felt this way, because I’ve encountered a couple of DNF books.

The first one was The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver. I had wanted to read a book by this author of the popular Lincoln Rhyme series so I started this standalone book. This story starts off when someone calls 911 from a vacation cabin after a home invasion. Maybe I shouldn’t have started off this book in the evening or I don’t know but after about 35 pages I just couldn’t go on. So it goes back on the shelf.

The next one was Birdman by Mo Hayder. Again, another author I’d heard so much about but after about 30-40 pages into the story I just felt like I had walked into the middle of a well-established series. I lost track of characters and it was getting quite gruesome and probably not exactly what I should be reading right before going to sleep.

To be honest, I think it was more of “me” and not the books. I had finished a couple of thrillers recently and probably should have ventured into a different type of mystery – maybe a cozy for a change of pace? Ah well, I am sure I’ll go back to these books eventually but for now they’ll wait.

I did read The Automatic Detective by A.Lee Martinez and that was a nice change of pace, for a while at least. I was amused by the beginning of the story with the set up of a world inhabited by highly evolved robots, mutants and even a talking gorilla. This is so not my type of book but again I was entertained. However, around the middle there’s a big reveal and then I got a bit tired of suspending disbelief. This is one I read for my mystery book group so I did finish it, but I’ll tell you more about it later.

For now, I think what I really need is to just revisit with one of my favorite sleuths. How about you, any false starts lately?