A Walk in the Sun

This week, I treated myself to a much needed library day at the Barbican Library. It’s quite a nice little oasis in the middle of the urban jungle which is the City of London. Unfortunately, I picked the hottest day of the week to make the 20 minute trek and I almost melted into a puddle by the time I got back to the office. You won’t catch me complaining about the heat, however, as we’ve been waiting for summer to come to Britain for quite sometime.

It was a pleasant walk (even in the heat) and I managed to find quite a few books that look interesting. I will let you know!

                  

The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone Bye

Seventh Printing 2008

It would seem that I’m going through a zombie phase at the moment. I actually started reading this graphic novel after having seen Seasons 1 and 2 of the The Walking Dead on tv. This worried me as I’m always a fan of reading the book before watching the tv/film. In this case, it really doesn’t matter as so far they are quite different from each other. Of course, I’ve only read the first one so I have no idea of what’s going to happen in the subsequent issues. I have noticed that my library has them lined up in numerical order as if they’re just waiting for me.

I’m not entirely sure what’s prompted my zombie obsession these days. I’ve actually read a lot of dystopia in the past year or so and am fascinated by the choices people have to make when the world goes to hell. At first I found the tv show to be sappy and overly sentimental whereas the graphic novel doesn’t dwell on the feelings as much (so far). It is inevitable that I think about the show as I’m reading the graphic novel and now that I’m further along in the series I can appreciate the personal and emotional drama much better. I’m getting really attached to the characters and am terrified for them every time they get into a confrontation.

One of the difficulties that I have with reading graphic novels is that I read super fast. I wouldn’t quite call it skimming, but it’s pretty close. When I first started reading them, I missed so much because the stories really do rely on the pictures (duh, right?) and I would flip through a book and have a only vague idea of what was going on. I love graphic novels and manga, though, so I’ve had to teach myself to slow down when reading them over the years. It’s really difficult to change one’s reading style. Pictures = slow the heck down, Buffy. It’s worth it though. I would have missed out on a lot of good stories otherwise.

I really enjoyed the first issue of this series and will probably pick up more than one on my next visit. I might also share my thoughts on several at a time so that I have more to say.