Josh Stoddard's Blog
July 30, 2020
Books in July
This month's reading started a little differently...with comic books!
For my birthday I finally got my hands on Spider-Man: Life Story written by Chip Zdarsky & illustrated by Mark Bagley & all the good things I'd heard were true. It's a fun & touching tribute to the history of my favourite fictional character & I was choked up by the end!
After this, I decided to read some comics that have been on my shelf for a while, beginning with the American Psycho-esque Snotgirl, Vol. 1: Green Hair Don't Care (co-created & illustrated by Leslie Hung) & the fantastic, fantastical time-travel graphic novel Seconds by the creator of one of my favourite series ever, Scott Pilgrim the Complete Series, by the multi-talented Bryan Lee O'Malley. I'll read anything by this man & I can't wait to read the rest of Snotgirl.
Then, after starting the Harley Quinn animated series & re-watching Birds of Prey, I went on a Harley Quinn hype & read the bonkers Harley Quinn, Vol. 1: Die Laughing by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti, then phased back to prose with Harley's fascinating origin story Harley Quinn: Mad Love by creator Paul Dini & Pat Cadigan. By the way, I couldn't have read either without Kindle Unlimited. There's so much quality stuff on there, I'd say it's worth the free trial at least. Anyway, all equally wacky & interesting takes on the character - I'd really recommend!
By this point in the month, I'd read about enough sociopathic women that I had an idea for one of my own & decided to revisit Gone Girl, the book & the film adaptation both written by Gillian Flynn for inspiration. It's one of my favourite stories by one of my favourite authors who's far too good at tapping into the dark side of humanity & I can't wait (well, I have waited - 6 years!) for her take on Utopia!
Anyway, after marvelling at Gone Girl for the millionth time, I ticked off the rest of her bibliography with the creepy, twisty but darkly comic short story, @The Grownup & (I'm going to use that word again, sorry) Dark Places which certainly goes there.
I'll probably start August by re-reading Sharp Objects but then, who knows? Come back next month & find out!
For my birthday I finally got my hands on Spider-Man: Life Story written by Chip Zdarsky & illustrated by Mark Bagley & all the good things I'd heard were true. It's a fun & touching tribute to the history of my favourite fictional character & I was choked up by the end!
After this, I decided to read some comics that have been on my shelf for a while, beginning with the American Psycho-esque Snotgirl, Vol. 1: Green Hair Don't Care (co-created & illustrated by Leslie Hung) & the fantastic, fantastical time-travel graphic novel Seconds by the creator of one of my favourite series ever, Scott Pilgrim the Complete Series, by the multi-talented Bryan Lee O'Malley. I'll read anything by this man & I can't wait to read the rest of Snotgirl.
Then, after starting the Harley Quinn animated series & re-watching Birds of Prey, I went on a Harley Quinn hype & read the bonkers Harley Quinn, Vol. 1: Die Laughing by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti, then phased back to prose with Harley's fascinating origin story Harley Quinn: Mad Love by creator Paul Dini & Pat Cadigan. By the way, I couldn't have read either without Kindle Unlimited. There's so much quality stuff on there, I'd say it's worth the free trial at least. Anyway, all equally wacky & interesting takes on the character - I'd really recommend!
By this point in the month, I'd read about enough sociopathic women that I had an idea for one of my own & decided to revisit Gone Girl, the book & the film adaptation both written by Gillian Flynn for inspiration. It's one of my favourite stories by one of my favourite authors who's far too good at tapping into the dark side of humanity & I can't wait (well, I have waited - 6 years!) for her take on Utopia!
Anyway, after marvelling at Gone Girl for the millionth time, I ticked off the rest of her bibliography with the creepy, twisty but darkly comic short story, @The Grownup & (I'm going to use that word again, sorry) Dark Places which certainly goes there.
I'll probably start August by re-reading Sharp Objects but then, who knows? Come back next month & find out!
July 1, 2020
June
This month I read a lot!
I started Pride Month by ticking off the rest of Becky Albertalli bibliography because her books are full of LGBTQ+ characters.
I went back to The Upside of Unrequited, completing the Simonverse trilogy before Love, Creekwood comes out.
Then, Yes No Maybe So, where Becky invented a new subgenre, the political rom-com, with Aisha Saeed and cultured this non-religious, British white boy through an adorable couple
And to top it off, she said my book Smalltown Boy "sounds amazing", which made my month.
Next, I read Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds because it sounded like it was made for me, combining my 3 favourite genres - YA, romance and time-travel. Honestly, this needs to be made into a movie! I loved Jack King - you've never read a hero with such perseverance.
Then, I finally the original books of adaptations I love -
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - and realised some uncanny similarities between them and Smalltown Boy.
And last but not least, the long-awaited debut, Out of Love by Hazel Hayes. I've been following Hazel's work for YEARS now and I couldn't be happier for how well this reflective love story told in reverse is doing. It's like 500 Days of Summer and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind sprinkled with Hazel's signature dry wit. A summer must-read!
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I'm doing these posts every month! If you missed May's, check it out and follow to keep up with what I'm reading.
I started Pride Month by ticking off the rest of Becky Albertalli bibliography because her books are full of LGBTQ+ characters.
I went back to The Upside of Unrequited, completing the Simonverse trilogy before Love, Creekwood comes out.
Then, Yes No Maybe So, where Becky invented a new subgenre, the political rom-com, with Aisha Saeed and cultured this non-religious, British white boy through an adorable couple
And to top it off, she said my book Smalltown Boy "sounds amazing", which made my month.
Next, I read Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds because it sounded like it was made for me, combining my 3 favourite genres - YA, romance and time-travel. Honestly, this needs to be made into a movie! I loved Jack King - you've never read a hero with such perseverance.
Then, I finally the original books of adaptations I love -
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - and realised some uncanny similarities between them and Smalltown Boy.
And last but not least, the long-awaited debut, Out of Love by Hazel Hayes. I've been following Hazel's work for YEARS now and I couldn't be happier for how well this reflective love story told in reverse is doing. It's like 500 Days of Summer and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind sprinkled with Hazel's signature dry wit. A summer must-read!
---
I'm doing these posts every month! If you missed May's, check it out and follow to keep up with what I'm reading.
June 4, 2020
May
I've started making posts on Twitter and Instagram about the books I've read each month and thought I'd share them here too.
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So, May was all about writing inspiration.
My next book is about vampires so I finally ticked 'Salem's Lot off my list. I've realised I love writing backstory like Stephen King and hopefully, it pays off as it does in his books.
Also, King wrote this at 23 and is the 2nd book he published. I'm 23 and I'm writing my 2nd book. There are also references to where I live and where I got my writing degree. Just a coincidence? Maybe, but this is the Stephen King universe we're talking about - there's no such thing!
Next, I went back to editing Smalltown Boy and saw Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson was on sale - . Like my book, it's about an odd couple in the past, their missed opportunities and - yes you guessed it - mixtapes!
Then, I went onto Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - another one that's been sat on my to-be-read pile for a while. It took me no time at all as I love POV. Bridget reminds me of both my characters - Kat for her attitude and Finn for being a ditzy, hopeless romantic.
Last but certainly not least, I finally got round to One Day by David Nicholls. The premise was enviable enough but damn, I wish I'd written it! You genuinely feel like you’ve grown up with the characters of Dex and Em, Em and Dex. My girlfriend and I read it together, which was nice too. But yeah, it's heartbreaking - you’ll need your tissues for this one!
Anyway, have you read any of these? Have you got a recommendation from the last month? Let me know! I'll see you next month.
---
So, May was all about writing inspiration.
My next book is about vampires so I finally ticked 'Salem's Lot off my list. I've realised I love writing backstory like Stephen King and hopefully, it pays off as it does in his books.
Also, King wrote this at 23 and is the 2nd book he published. I'm 23 and I'm writing my 2nd book. There are also references to where I live and where I got my writing degree. Just a coincidence? Maybe, but this is the Stephen King universe we're talking about - there's no such thing!
Next, I went back to editing Smalltown Boy and saw Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson was on sale - . Like my book, it's about an odd couple in the past, their missed opportunities and - yes you guessed it - mixtapes!
Then, I went onto Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - another one that's been sat on my to-be-read pile for a while. It took me no time at all as I love POV. Bridget reminds me of both my characters - Kat for her attitude and Finn for being a ditzy, hopeless romantic.
Last but certainly not least, I finally got round to One Day by David Nicholls. The premise was enviable enough but damn, I wish I'd written it! You genuinely feel like you’ve grown up with the characters of Dex and Em, Em and Dex. My girlfriend and I read it together, which was nice too. But yeah, it's heartbreaking - you’ll need your tissues for this one!
Anyway, have you read any of these? Have you got a recommendation from the last month? Let me know! I'll see you next month.
