Escapism

While out walking yesterday, I came upon this motley crew. These dinos each had a sign. Triceratops carries one saying, "Be cool. Sanitize." T-Rex says, "Wash your hands." We're finding all kinds of sidewalk chalk art - some of it really sophisticated stuff, some of it equally delightful is clearly drawn by our neighborhood kids. All of the artwork comes with encouraging messages. Someone's also been busy painting palm-sized stones in the neighborhood and leaving them scattered about for everyone to find and enjoy. So when we talk about my go-to entertainment, apparently my options are wider than I'd once believed. Still. When we thought up this exercise, it was pre-plague. I have a ranking system to accommodate my preferences for entertainment. It goes thusly.

1. Books
2. Games
3. Comics
4. Movies/TV

I've loved all aspects of being entertained and this list has been renumbered over and over through out my life, but I don't think books ever fell out of the number one spot. That said, I will say that this game is getting a lot of play right now because it is so topical. Don't go watch the game trailer. It's -- hard to watch right now.

 When the game gets a little too real, I retreat to World of Warcraft or to writing my own stories as a means of escape. And I'll tell you. Some days, there's nothing quite like a mindless decorating show on TV to fill you with a sense of ease and normalcy. Maybe because I get to hold a cat while I do it.

My Consumption: Entertainment not TB

BROM: Lost Gods (a novel with illustrations)

Man, I love some of the topics my fellow bloggers choose.

"Books vs Comics vs Movies vs Games"

Yes, please. I'll take a bushel from column A and a tower from column B and...

It should be no surprise I love books. Hello, author here. Historical fiction, spec-fic, romance, gimme All The Books. Movies, I prefer action flicks but I won't turn down a good sci-fi. Mysteries and magical-realism? Yep, my ass is warming the seat. As for games, I can't call myself a "gamer." I'm more a Cribbage and Quiddler kind of gal. I've never played D&D (Gasp! I know! I think I lose my fantasy-author credentials for that.) Video games? Uh, no. I don't have the skills. Or the patience. Or the dexterity.

Now, comics...comics....~rubs hands with glee~

My love of comics/graphic novels comes from the evolution of learning to read. As ankle-biters, we start with picture books. Big pretty pictures and a dozen or so words per page. Comics have more pictures and about the same number of words on the page. I went from The Littlest Raindrop to Archie to Classics Illustrated. My Flash Gordon (the movie) comic survived traveling the world and my childhood. Asterix & Obelix taught me German. Monstress shares a shelf with Sandman and Snow, Glass, Apples. I really want to build out my mythology collection with more non-Western sources. (If you have suggestions, drop them in the Comments, please!)

I'm the fangirl who keeps checking my favorite webcomics to see if/when they're going to end up in paperback. So yeah, you could say I like comics. I am in awe of the talent of the artists, the colorists, and the letterers. My not-so-secret author wish is to collaborate on a graphic novel series. (Yo, Universe, puttin' it out there!)

Then there's the middle ground between the novel and the graphic novel: the illustrated novel. Has the word count of a novel, but way fewer pictures than a comic. Regardless, the illustrations are amazing. The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits and The Child Thief are glaring across my living room at The Fairy Bible.

So, uh, there you go.

Hope you all are staying healthy, washing your hands, and practicing physical distancing. We like our readers and want you to hang around for a long time.