100 Books 2014: 27-35

I'm still chugging along with my book goal! I have really liked almost every I've read so far this year, which is weird and awesome! Here are some recent ones I added to my list. I was able to get a kindle with some trade in credit at our local used book store so I've been reading everything on there lately. 

Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones: I picked up the first one because I LOVE the Studio Ghibli film version. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for! The book was wonderful, and different enough that it was fun to read. The last half is actually pretty different from the movie. The two sequels are interesting because they don't focus on the characters you met in the first book. The House of Many Ways was probably my favorite. It reminded me of something I would have read and become obsessed with as a child. I'm going to pick up some more books by Diana Wynne Jones this year for sure!

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog: This one is on lots of vegetarian/vegan reading lists all though it isn't written by a vegetarian and it doesn't try to convince you one way or another on the issue. It reminded me of a Mary Roach book. Each chapter/section focused on a different way we think of animals. I found the animal research chapter especially fascinting. This book challenges you to think about WHY we think about certain animals, certain ways.
Loteria: A Novel by Mario Alberto Zambrano: It's hard to tell from this screen capture but the actual book is really beautiful! The paper is thick, the illustrations are vibrant, and the covers are imprinted. I picked it up from a table at the library based solely on looks. The story starts with a young woman in a shelter and the social worker wants her to write her story using the Loteria deck to jog her memory. The story unfolds in a really interesting way and I enjoyed it.
My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf: I have always been uncomfortable with the glorification of serial killers so I wasn't interested in reading this at first. But Travis really liked it and convinced me to give it a try. The graphic novel takes place before Dahmer commited his famous string of murders. Backderf went to high school with him and the story is an interesting portrait of what he was like.

Saga: Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan: Like I said earlier this year, this is the best comic series going on right now in my completely uneducated opinion. I'm waiting for the volumes because I can't stand to be done reading after five minutes like you are if you go issue by issue. Again, it's the story about two aliens from waring races running across the universe to keep their child safe. But it's so much better than it sounds! I can't wait for volume 3!
Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip: I've seen Moomin online before and always thought the characters were so cute! But I didn't know anything about the comics they came from. The stories are so strange and wonderful and the illustration style is killer! I'm looking for the next volume to read now!
Wet Moon 6 by Ross Campbell: I've been reading Wet Moon books since early college and I love how Ross Campbell draws. His women are so varied and beautiful. I was bummed about this book though. They take FOREVER to come up (over a year!) and book 5 ended on a huge cliff hanger. This one is all waiting around a hospital. Don't get me wrong, I"m still happy to see the characters, it just feels like, that's ALL you are going to give us after so long?