Friday, March 18, 2011

Meanwhile by Jason Shiga

Meanwhile: Pick Any Path. 3,856 Story Possibilities.

I picked up Meanwhile by Jason Shiga at Serendipity, which was all graphic novel artists this year. Meanwhile is a choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel, but you don't turn pages when it's time to make a choice. The panels are all connected by tubes, and you follow the tubes as you read. Sometimes the tubes branch off, and you have to decide which way you're going to go. The first choice to make is chocolate or vanilla. Oh yeah, there are also secret codes to find.

So far I have time travelled, killed myself, and destroyed alternate universes many times over. I once very nearly met myself in the past. Occassionally I catch tantalizing glimpses of other possibilities as I flip pages. I could be chased by an axe-wielding ice cream man! Or beat my past self up! Or maybe that's my past self beating me up. Either way, I am currently stuck in an endless loop and can't move on to other endings. I really need to find that secret code so I don't destroy the world. Again. Technically, I haven't finished the book yet, but since there are 3,856 story possibilities, that probably won't happen any time soon.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Welcome

Once upon a time the two of us worked at the same library. We spent a lot of time talking about books, but then we once took six books on a three day road trip. We are that sort of people. Now that HollyMay has abandoned civilized BC for the wilds of Baltimore, getting together for caffeine and book talk is impossible. This blog is our attempt to keep in touch and make sure we don't miss out on any really good books. Because the only thing better than finishing a good book is being able to share it with someone.