What We're Reading - January 2017
Naturally, we're avid readers at Frostbeard (pushes nerd-glasses slowly up bridge of nose), so here's a look at a few staff picks from our January reading list.
Roxie: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
I started off the year with Rachel Rowell's novel, Attachments. I've read and enjoyed her Young Adult books Eleanor and Park, Fangirl, and Carry On but Attachments is the first adult fiction book of hers I've read.
Attachments is everything I've come to love from Rowell- witty dialogue, great characters and mildly silly plot. It's a quick read about an office romance and work-wife friendship. If you can get past the creepiness of some Big Brother email spying, I'd recommend this book for anyone looking for a quirky non-traditional romance. Just in time for Valentine's Day (Or Galentine's- seriously this book would make a great gift to your BFF).
Rachel: The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Many people are already aware of the cult classic film The Princess Bride, but fewer are aware that it was first an under-celebrated book of the same title by William Goldman. Goldman is most famously a screen writer (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men to name a few) and in fact wrote the screenplay for the film.
Goldman's penchant for screenwriting leaks into the narrative style of his book. There are many asides to the reader, bizarre jumps from scene to scene and chapter to chapter.
Reading The Princess Bride deepened my love for the movie and the characters that inhabited. My favorite characters were always Inigo and Fezzik and there's much more backstory and interaction with those two than in the films as well as some post script shenanigans not included in the movie. All in all I recommend it for fans of the film and for a little light reading.
Tom: Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley
I'm halfway through the Scott Pilgrim series and really enjoying it. Brian Lee O'Malley is a charming writer and illustrator, combining Japanese and American art styles with a sweet and surreal story. This graphic novel follows the romantic misadventures of Scott Pilgrim, a 20-something slacker/musician living in Toronto. His new girlfriend, Ramona Flowers, has seven evil exes that insist on challenging him to battles.
The series is full of references to nerd culture (video games, especially) and has fun with its cast of characters. O'Malley is able to make the plot both realistic (it takes place in an actual city and focuses on relationships), but adds magic and weirdness (battles break out at thrift stores and music clubs). If you're interested in a comic about indie bands, Canada and nerdy romance, give it a read.
