It occurred to me a few days ago that I haven’t read a book in months. I’ve bought a few books in that time, I’ve checked out more than a few books in that time, and I’ve even gone so far as to open the front cover, but reading them, not so much. I can barely even recall the last book I read, it was probably science-fiction. I only read three genres, sci-fi, pulp fantasy, and pulp mystery, whatever that last book was, it fit in one of those categories. I haven’t even cracked open my newest volume of Prince Valiant that came in the mail months ago.

What I have been reading, is a lot of Legion of Superheroes. I’m not a huge fan of goofy silver-age crap in comics, I would say for the first ten years of LoSH, I didn’t really like any of it because the only reason to keep perfect replica’s of your superhero team is obviously so they can be blown up in a safety test of a new shuttle, a safety test where the shuttle is supposed to blow up. Because why not? I hate that stuff.

But I can’t put it down! I’m well out of the Silver Age now, working through the bronze age, and I’m loving it. This stuff is fantastic! They aren’t the best comics ever written I’m sure, I don’t know how well they sold back in the day, but I know how this ends, because my very first LoSH comic was their Zero-Hour tie in and I remember loving that. I can’t help but wonder if that’s why I’m enjoying this so much. I remember that issue very, very clearly, and the effect it had on me, how it got to me. In a lot of ways, it’s the feeling I’m chasing with this story, or any story really, to have that effect on people, where it crawls inside their head to live awhile, and you can’t help but think on it, mull over it, pick it apart to see what it all means.

I do feel the need to open a real book though, something with pages and a cover, and covered in words. Next week sees the release of Hell’s Foundations Quiver, the newest Safehold book. That’s a series that is decent, but a little predictable. The good guys always win, which I kind of like, but it’s not even that hard for them to win, they have too many advantages. (A complaint often leveled against Superman, and in which case I vehemently disagree because Superman is the best, he just has terrible editorial vision at the moment.) So I am looking forward to that book, but not breathlessly.

So I’m open to suggestions. A long while back The Circus of Dr. Lao was mentioned, and that was a weird little book well worth the reading of. If anyone else has any titles to recommend, please don’t keep them to yourself.