What I'm Reading Now


By Robert Kirkman


Anyone who knows me well knows that I haven’t been the world’s biggest fan of ​TWD comics in the past. I started with the show, and have always adamantly insisted that the show is superior in many ways. However, I’ve kept reading the comics all the same. They’re good, even though I would argue they’re not usually as . . .

Latest Review

The Walking Dead

(Compendium Two - Issue 168)

On Reading

​When I was in my early twenties, instead of a diary, I started keeping a journal to log the books I was reading. My entries were sort of mini-book reviews. I'd record the date I finished reading the book, the title and author, and my reaction to and feelings/opinions about the book. Sometimes entries would get very long; sometimes they'd consist of a single sentence. For something like ten years, I diligently recorded every book, every time in my barely legible handwriting.


And then I had a kid and got lazy.


But I miss it. I miss the pleasure of reflecting on why I liked or disliked a book, what about the book kept me turning the pages, what about the book seemed hackneyed or sloppy.  


​Maybe I'll start the journal back up someday. There's something nice about the tactile nature of scrawled writing in a physical journal, and I love flipping through the pages and finding  my reactions to long-forgotten books I read years ago. But in the meantime, I'm going to review some of the books I'm reading here. ​​


Just like I did in my journaling days, I'll be totally honest, and I'll tell you why I feel the way I do. And just like in my journal, length will be variable. If I have a stack of papers to grade, reviews may be pretty minimal. During the summer, on the other hand, I may spend a lot of time rambling on and on about why Rick Moody is brilliant, or why ​The Walking Dead ​comics are like a first draft of the more revised and polished TV show (sorry, Robert Kirkman).


If you want an author's uncensored opinions about the books she's actually choosing to read (and not being assigned to read and review by an editor somewhere), then these reviews are for you, my friend. And, hey, feel free to give me suggestions of books I should read (or books I should avoid) by clicking on the Contact tab in my website's main menu.