Amanda

Dumb fun. Probably not all that interesting without some background knowledge of wrestling, but I'm a relative noob to all that and really enjoyed this. Quick read. The stuff about Benoit and Guerrero was some of the most interesting material.

Some weird hiccups in the audio edition - sounded like they were trying to do an effect to differentiate footnotes from regular text, but it wasn't used consistently. Sometimes it'd be in the middle of a sentence or just a clause that didn't make sense grammatically as a footnote.

Anyway, as to the text itself. The earlier stuff about the territorial era was interesting, but I got a little bit lost in the acronyms. The very early stuff about the beginning of wrestling was great. Some of the later chapters were stuff that had been expanded from the Deadspin columns, which isn't bad, just a note. As a fairly new wrestling fan, this was a good overview of wrestling history, with a focus on (mostly) well-known names. I wish there'd been some non-dead wrestlers profiled, but most of them you get enough information on from their mentions in other chapters.

I loooooooooooooved this book! Loved Theo and Sara-Kate and Ruthie and Phil and how different they all were while still being realistic. I loved how the book dealt with serious issues without being preachy, and I really loved the resolution of the romance plot. I can't wait to see what [a:Brandy Colbert 5425858 Brandy Colbert https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1364079953p2/5425858.jpg] writes next!

A little bit much as an audiobook - some of the grosser chapters were pretty rough going, and it's a lot harder to skim in an audiobook. I don't think I'm especially squeamish, but the chapter about grafting live puppy heads onto living dogs was making me sick, which isn't great for driving. That was one chapter of 12, though, and I love Mary Roach's style otherwise.

Really enjoyed the writing and the stuff with Georgie's kids and everything at her mom's house. Could not stand Neal. Can't say much else without spoiling it, but I sort of feel like Rowell's (INCREDIBLE) talent was wasted on a story about a dope like Neal.

Favorite of this series, with The Heiress Effect a close second.

Meh. Dropped this for a few months, came back to finish. Not really worth it.

So cute. It's fluff, really, but cute and well-done and I liked every character (except Sam).

I miss the pre-reboot DC universe. This was a quick fun read with two great women characters. I love Joe Quinones's art!

Meh. Nothing new if you've read the column/listened to the podcast for any length of time, and if you haven't done either of those things, I sort of doubt you'd be interested enough to pick up the book. Bumped up a star for the stuff about his mother's death and the final chapter, which are both more personal (and way more effective) writing.

Slow starter, but more than paid off.

Wanted to like this more than I did - I love Black Widow and Hawkeye, and like all the other characters (except Daisy, who I had literally never heard of before starting this book). I'm not really sure why the whole mind-wipe thing needed to be part of the book's premise, because it's creepy in general and even more so with characters like Natasha, what with her backstory. The book mentions that, but doesn't really explain why they went along with it, so ... not convinced. I guess Secret Avengers isn't supposed to be the most lighthearted book, but if I wanted grimdark all the time, I'd go read DC.

My favorite Sarah Vowell book. Hilarious and educational!

June 2014 reread: yep, still the case.

Kind of a slog. Very well-written, but I cared a lot less about most of the story post-high school.

Nice quick listen - nothing earth-shattering, but I laughed quite a bit.

The first 12 issues are the strongest part of this collection. The rest is good but somewhat disjointed. I enjoy a good one-shot, but some connection to the rest of the book, please. Juan Bobillo's art is adorable; I love how he draws both Jen and She-Hulk.

Read this. It's hilarious and fun and I stayed up way too late to finish it.

This was so much fun.

Don't read this until you've read Middlemarch, but this is a really interesting biography/memoir/companion piece to that book. Reminded me of my British Novel class in college, in a very good way.

Loooooooooove. Have been a trade-waiter, not sure I will be anymore.

March 2014 reread notes: Yeah, trade-waiting means I had to reread this when the third trade came out in order to remember who Gwendolyn was.

I would like a Sophie and Lying Cat book immediately please.

Holy shit, this is amazing. I want to reread it immediately.

(Also, somehow this was nearly impossible to find on Goodreads. Um, guys, just because they market it as the Twilight Saga doesn't mean that's what I want when searching for “Saga.” Also, shut up, Twilight.)

Notes, March 2014 reread: Yup, still amazing.

Star deducted for sexual harassment apologia by the authors, Rush Limbaugh and Tony Kornheiser's self-serving bullshit, and the bizarre paean to Michelle Beadle (of all people) toward the end. Really liked that they didn't ignore race/gender throughout, but got a bit bogged down in all the corporate stuff. The offscreen drama between personnel was the best part.

I think this arc reads better in trade than it did as single issues. Or maybe I'm the only one who always ends up reading crossovers in the wrong order. I really enjoyed this trade - only deduction is for the really inconsistent art.

Really interesting, and weird in the best way. I learned so much from this book about Latin American history and the 20th-century diaspora. I found Lola more compelling than Oscar. Reading in audiobook was excellent, though I probably missed more of the Spanish this way (my fault).