Graphic Novelty: Through the Woods

Title: Through the Woods
Author: Emily Carroll
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: July 2014
Read: February 2015
Where It Came From: Library
Genre: Graphic-novel-horror
Rating: 4.5 Cold Hands

Let me just say: This. Was. AWESOME. I’d heard from various sources whose opinions I respect that this was an amazing and damn scary graphic novel with beautiful art, and I finally got around to checking it out from the library earlier this year. (To save money/space/irritation about having bought books that turned out to be shitty upon reading, I’m trying this new thing where I check a book out from the library instead of running out and buying it right away, and then afterwards deciding if I liked it enough to buy a copy for my personal library.) It sat in my library book tower until I went to renew it online one day and saw that—GASP!—someone else had placed a hold on it and I had to return it in two days. And that meant: Kick into high reading gear! So I curled up on a bright, sunny day-off afternoon to dive in.

The book consists of five short stories (they get increasingly longer as the book goes on), and a short intro and outro. They are seemingly unrelated, except for the common thread running through them, as hinted in the title—the woods are always involved, and strange things come from the woods. Each story is deliciously creepy…not horror in a gory, in-your-face way, but more insidiously unsettling. Spine-tingling, hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-standing-up kind of scary. The closest comparison in tone I can make is to those Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books that were probably the first experience many of us had with horror. The nerd in me absolutely loved the almost fairytale/folkloric slant to these stories—especially as related to the woods, that symbol of fear and the unknown from time immemorial. They’re stories that will probably leave you with questions. There are no easy answers or resolutions to be found here, which is absolutely fitting. The storytelling is deft, atmospheric—leaving you a little off-kilter, both anticipating and apprehensive of what will happen next. And the art! Beautiful. Graphic, bold, and seamlessly integrated with the text for an immersive story experience.

As I mentioned, I was reading this in the middle of the day, in broad daylight, with people home. As I made my way through the book, I thought the stories were creepy in that quiet, crawling, tingly creepy-pasta way, but I found myself thinking, “Well, perhaps I’d be as freaked out by them as everyone else if I was alone. Or it was night. Or something.” But then my dad suddenly appeared at my door to ask in his baritone if I wanted pancakes, and I jumped about 5 feet in the air. So…I guess I was subconsciously a little more freaked out than I thought. And then, when I went to bed hours after I’d finished the book, the images came creeping back and I suddenly felt very alone in the dark, wondering what might be lurking under my bed or outside my window…

Great read, and a quick one, too. You might tear through it really quickly, but I guarantee this is one that will stick with you. And that little coda at the end…so effing perfect. Love love LOVE. Highly recommended. And it definitely passed the test—I will certainly be buying a copy for my personal library.

Texting on Text: The Selection and Out of the Easy

Lest it seem like all we do is write lengthy rants posts about books we read (which, of course, ranks in our personal Favorite Things anthems), we're sharing our thoughts with you the way we usually do with each other. And by that, we mean unedited to make ourselves look less enthusiastic (exclamation points may also appear in our Favorite Things based on this conversation) or unnaturally insightful for text messages.

Thursday, 2 May, 12:00 am EST

Alyssa: Also, I started the selection!
Susan: :-D
Susan: I started out of the easy!

Friday, 3 May, 2:24 pm EST

Alyssa: Okay, I can’t stop reading the selection. XD very glad the sequel just came out
Alyssa: Not the best thing I ever read, but strangely addictive XD
Susan: Yay! It’s not just me!
Alyssa: Jeez, just put a hold on the elite for when it comes in. Contemplating reading the interim novella…
Susan: Yes i completely agree! I finished out of the easy at 7 this morning. Addictive as well! More meat too.
Alyssa: I srsly think it came out like just 3 days ago
Susan: I must do the same! I didn’t realize it was out yet. Bad fan, i am.
Susan: Alas! Fourth in the line at my library!
Alyssa: LOL. Me too! Long Island and Phoenix must have similar tastes!
Susan: Hahaha—we’ll see which place reads faster. I am worried about the sequel though—can a sequel match the pleasantness of the first?

The Haul: April 14

The Haul: Library Edition

So I went to the library today, and unsurprisingly returned home with more books than I had originally intended. Behold the haul:

Okay, okay, so it's really not all that many...it's been worse in the past. Most of these are possibilities for the WordNerds book club May pick, and I just wanted to be sure to get my hands on them so I won't run into the problem of the one we decide on being (of course) checked out when May 1st hits. I do believe the current front-runner is Gail Carriger's Etiquette and Espionage, although the longer a specimen of steampunk sits in the corner of my room, the harder it will be for me to resist reading it early. My main interest in the Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is that it was written by an alum of the university Susan and I (and most of our other book club members) attended. Out of the Easy has been tossed around by book club before and has gotten pretty solid reviews, and another book club member suggested How to Lead a Life of Crime. I WILL finish catching up on Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia series soon, thus A Conspiracy of Kings (I seriously think that one's been in my possession for nearly 4 months now, between renewals and quick-returning-it-to-the-library-and-poaching-it-again).

But the real prize this time is Catherynne Valente's Six-Gun Snow White. I was astounded that the library had it--I keyed it into the library's search engine last night just on a whim, and sure enough, it was supposedly sitting on the new shelf. This book was published by Subterranean Press, a small press publisher of genre fiction which releases lots of delicious collector's and limited editions. I don't think this one was even published with a trade edition available, just the autographed, numbered limited edition of 1000 produced. It was released at the end of February and I feel like it was $60 before they sold out? (I clearly stalk Subterranean a lot and drool over the awesome things they release.) Anyway, I was a little incredulous that my small local library had managed to get a hold of this one. But sure enough, when I visited today, it was indeed as the interwebs promised:

Like I mentioned, this is sold out. I wondered if maybe some librarian ordered it for the library, hoping that when it someday got weeded out they could take it home (this is probably what I would do if I were a librarian). I was so excited that I asked at the reference desk if there was some way to know when a book was getting removed from the shelves and headed for the Friends of the Library book sale, because I would be really really interested in giving this one a good home eventually, but she said sadly there was really no way to predict or track that. She also thought it was really unusual that the libes would get such a unique sort of book, and confirmed that it was from a vendor they don't use very much. But still, wow! I will have to keep my eye out to see if they get more Subterranean books on the shelves via this vendor, or if it was a one-off. Part of me wants to just never give this lovely little lady back... XD If you're interested in checking this one out and weren't lucky enough to order a hard copy before they sold out, I do believe there is an e-book version available here. Has anyone else picked these up yet?