Pages to Panels - Linkage (4)

I'm working on a new book to comic comparison post, but in the meantime I decided to share some of the links I've acquired over the last few months while working on this feature. They're all over the shop really, some are helpful recommendations for how to navigate the comic world and others are about comics and mental health or science. Definitely worth a read if you're wanting to immerse yourself into this world a little more.

 *From The Mary Sue a helpful guide to reading crossover events (Via The Mary Sue)

*Another handy guide from Jordan at TMS about the importance and unimportance of continuity in comics (Via The Mary Sue)

*Need some more help working out what comics to read? Here's a handy list of some of the web's best comic sites (Via Make Use Of)

*An interesting article on the portrayal of mental illness in comics (Via Slate)

*Varying slightly, this article looks at the use of comics and superheroes in children's therapy  (Via The Daily Beast)

*Moving into the science world, can comics ever replace scientific journal articles? (Via Science Nordic)

*Comic demographics are shifting and the increase in female audiences is having a huge impact on the comic world (Via Business Week)

*Wired wraps up the best comics of 2014 (Via Wired)

*shifting away from comics proper, Empire runs through 40 surprising films that have comic book origins (Via Empire Online)

*Marvel films had a bumper year in 2014 with the release of GotG and Cap America and their announcements for the future of the MCU. According to Devin Faraci, 2014 was the year Marvel redefined themselves (Via Badass Digest)

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Read my previous Pages to Panels posts: 

Pages to Panels: A Bookish Guide (1)

Pages to Panels: Superheroes (2)
Pages to Panels: Jump Right In (3)

August in Review

Boom. Goodbye August, you're outta here.

BOOKS:

What I Read:

*Fool by Christopher Moore - my review
*Black Widow by Nathan Edmondson, Phil Noto
*Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe by Cullen Bunn, Dalibor Talajić
*Aquaman by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado -my review
*Guardians of the Galaxy: Book of Kings 1 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Paul Pelletie
*Guardians of the Galaxy: Book of Kings 2 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Brad Walker
*Guardians of the Galaxy: Realm of Kings by Dan Abnett,Andy Lanning, Brad Walker
*Wonderwoman: Guts by Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, Tony Akins, Dan Green
*How to Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran (post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4, post 5 - Spoilers!)

Book Stats:

86% male / 14% female (ooof)
72% American / 28% International
89% ebook / 11% audiobook / 0% physical
100% fiction / 0% non-fiction
78% graphic novels /  22% novels

Well this was a bit of a rubbish month for books wasn't it! But while I haven't finished much (other than lots and lots of graphic novels) I have started a whole lot of other books. I am currently juggling Haruki Murakami's new book Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage with Gregory Maguire's Wicked. I'm also still slowly slogging away with Cheryl Strayed's Wild. Note to anyone interested in reading it, do not download either the Kindle or Google play editions. The Kindle version is an Oprah edition which basically means every second line is underlined because it's supposedly inspirational (ugh) and the Google play book has removed every comma as well as the space between the words that bracketed the comma. Shame on the editors or whatever the digital equivalent is, it's ridiculous and makes a book that I'm not particularly enjoying even harder to read.


FILM/TV                                                                                                                                                

This month marks 5 years since Tom and I first started dating so we celebrated in our usual fashion, dinner and a movie. This time we went and saw Richard Linklater's Boyhood and guys, it's freaking amazing. It's a very simple almost non-narrative film but it takes place over 12 years, 12 actual years and tells the story of a boy growing up. It's a fascinating character study and probably isn't for everyone but if you think it sounds like something you might like (read this review for a little more info) you should definitely put aside 3 hours to go see it on the big screen.  

I also went and saw a new big budget Australian drama/thriller (my review) These Final Hours which really knocked my socks off and I went and saw the Guardians of the Galaxy film. Which kind of explains the massive chunk of GotG comics up in my monthly reads. Guardians was awesome guys, which wasn't a surprise (LOOK AT THAT CAST. LOOK AT THAT RACCOON WITH A GUN!  I AM GROOT) but seriously, most fun I've had in a blockbuster in ages. Take that lazy Michael Bay and Expendables, big does not have to equal bad.

My Netflix account has been taking a hell of a beating. I like to have the tv going in the background while I work. I know most people use music, but for some reason music distracts me while television doesn't. I read the other week that Netflix reports that the average person takes 8 days to watch a season of a TV show, but I bet I've thrown all their figures out since I have it going for like 12 hours straight! I tend to favour shows I've already watched or that are trashy because then I don't get sucked into the narrative. So hello Scandal and Grey's Anatomy and Coupling! By the way, the relationships in Scandal and Grey's Anatomy are gross, like really gross. Which would be fine if the writers knew they were gross but they clearly don't. It's like the 50 Shades of Grey of TV, but the BDSM is all mental and just as unhealthy as 50 Shades. Speaking of 50 Shades*,  The Fall on the other hand is brilliant and my reward for a day's hard work. I'm only a few episodes in but so far it's great and I highly recommend it.                                                                                                                                                                                                            

LINKS

*A chapter that was cut from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been released and it's dark, but dark in your typical brilliant Dahl kind of way. (Via The Guardian)

*Medium published an article about paedophilia which, while confronting, presents an interesting point of view I'd never thought of before. The author interviews several teenaged and young adult paedophiles that have never offended and don't want to - which raises the question, what is paedophilia? Is it a psychological illness, a form of sexual identity, something genetic? It's a really heavy article, but I'm glad (appreciative?) I read it. (Via Medium)

*I adore this illustration (infograph?) of authors and the walks they took to inspire their work (Via The New York Times)

*A really relevant article about the recent leaking of celebrity nude photos and why you shouldn't look at them since some people apparently don't understand why they shouldn't. (Via Daily Life)

*Since the actor Jamie Dornan is playing a super creep in both.

Monday Links

*Gif footage of Tom Hiddleston auditioning for Thor? Also, in the comments someone combined Hiddles and Chris Hemsworth and the result is droolworthy. DROOLWORTHY. (Via i09)

*So everyone has heard the controversial "Hermione should have married Harry" statement JKR made right? I know not everyone who did the readalong was team Hon (Ronione?) but has JKR forgotten what series she wrote? Harry and Hermione would have been worse than Harry and Ginny - which was already pretty terrible. I'm interested in seeing if the full article puts the statement more into context (Via Yahoo)

*30 powerful photos. I teared up a little a lot (Via Bored Panda)

*I posted the The Fault in Our Stars trailer the other day, but if you were after a more positive reaction you'd do better following this link. (Via Forever Young Adult)

*Glen Tickle schools us on how we've been incorrectly reading Romeo and Juliet. (viaGeeko System)

*Are any movies good enough to win the Oscars? An interesting piece about the backlash against nominated films (Via Flavorwire)

*OiTNB cast had a roller-skating party? I want to go to there. (Via Jezebel)

*More OiTNB news! Lori Petty is joining the cast! FUCKING TANK GIRL!! (Via Auto Straddle)

Crafty Christmas Ideas and Links

I have always enjoyed crafting my own Christmas decorations or gifts, so here are a list of awesome Christmas craft ideas that are amazing, creative, fun, and potentially great gifts. Have fun!

1. Wall Pocket Advent Calendar. It's probably a little to late to try and get this made for this Christmas, but I absolutely love how this project looks and it reminds me of the (much smaller scale) calendar my mum made for our family, which used to house milky ways, skittles and bouncy balls on each day leading up to Christmas. I'm definitely going to make this one next year though, I think it could be a lovely new tradition to start up.  (Via The Crafty Crow)

2. Rolled Paper Ornaments. These look a little trickier, but the effect is sensational. If you have the patience and the skill, these could be a real winner. (Via Paper Plate and Plane)

3. Book Page Flower Ornament. I know some of you wince every time I mention a craft idea that involves cutting up books, but seriously these look wonderful. Although they aren't particularly christmas-y, not all decorations have to be your typical angel, bell or santa! (Via  Under the Table and Dreaming)

4. 49 DIY card ideas. There are some really great ideas here (the photobooth ones are my favourite) that if I hadn't already sent out my cards I'd be doing right now. Whether you like to stamp, sew, craft, cook there is an idea for you! (Via Buzzfeed)

5. Hot Cocoa tree ornament. Possibly one of the cutest gift ideas I've ever seen. I've always loved the gifts of cocoa or cookie recipes layered in a jar ready for use, but this one really hits another level! Placing the cocoa in a transparent tree ornament with a little snowman? To die for! Just a pity the humidity would never allow me to try this one out :( (Via Lucy at Craftberry Bush)

6. Origami Garland. This particular tutorial could be replicated as is, or you could do your own thing and take the stars and make them into single decorations to hang from the tree or window, or into long sweeping garlands draped across doorways or mantels. The possibilities are endless! (Via Cee Lew)

7. Recycled CD Holiday Ornament. For those of you who like to recycle and reuse old items, this one would be perfect! Again, it's more a guide to show you the possibilities, but whether you replicate their idea specifically, or do your own thing I'm sure it'd look a treat. (Via Fave Crafts)

8. 33 Creative Ornament ideas.  Some of these are dead easy, some look like they need high levels of patience and skill, but either way they'd make gorgeous additions to any tree or home. (Via Buzzfeed)

9.  Christmas Carol Ornament. This pretty silver ornament uses sheet music to create a personalised decoration, but you could just as easily use a book, or even a comic for something a little brighter and wilder. This one is quite similar to the tutorial I'm going to put up soon, so I think I'll try this one out since it'll match so well with my other homemade decorations! (Via Fave Crafts)

10. Mosaic Decoration. I have my own bauble DIY coming up, but I had to share this one too because they look amazing. In fact, these could easily be made on a larger scale and used as decorations throughout the year if you really wanted. Match them to your Christmas colour scheme, or make them in your family/friend's favourite colour as a personalised gift.