Month: January 2019

The Biblio Files: Norroway by Kit & Cat Seaton
the biblio files

The Biblio Files: Norroway by Kit & Cat Seaton

Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

Last week I read Norroway by Kit & Cat Seaton from start to finish right before I reached my stop during my commute on BART. Seriously, the only good thing about my long ass commute is that it gives me an hour to read!

Norroway is about a young woman named Sibylla. As a young girl she seeks what her future holds for her from a witch and is told she will be the bride of the Black Bull of Norroway.  Sibylla longs for a life full of adventure; in fact, her original question for the witch was if she’d ever get to sail a ship, but was pressured by one of her sisters to ask the same question they did: who will she marry? So though the fate the witch revealed is rather odd, Sibylla accepts it. Years later the Black Bull of Norroway comes knocking on her door and much to her surprise he’s a literal bull… and so her adventure begins!

I don’t want to get too into the plot because I’d probably write a CliffNotes of the whole book, but if you’re a fan of fairytales I think you’ll really enjoy Norroway. When I looked it up, I found that the Seaton sisters had been wanting to work on a book together based on the Scottish fairytales they loved as children, and they had started working on Norroway back in 2013. If this book isn’t a labor of love, I don’t know what is! Though I’m not familiar with this tale, I thought they did an incredible job from the engaging writing to the gorgeous illustrations. I immediately Googled the fairytale to see how it ends, but I’m really looking forward to see how the rest of their retelling goes!

If you’d like to read it, you can find Norroway at your local comicbook/bookstore or online. You can also see if your local library has it.

Do you love fairytales? If so, what’s your favorite one? My sister and I were obsessed with Hansel and Gretel when we were little — we made our mom read it to us almost every night! Let me know your faves in the comments. 🙂

Cheers,
Nina

the biblio files

The Biblio Files: Runaways

Nina Penalosa7 Comments

Runaways is a series that’s been on my TBR list for over a decade. I remember my sister and brother-in-law telling me about it — the premise is these teens find out their parents are actually pretty damn evil after witnessing them do a heinous act, and thus find themselves on the run as they can’t depend on the law to be on their side. The original series was written by Brian K Vaughan and I remember around the time it was out, my sister and B.I.L. had been reading BKV’s Y: The Last Man (which I started and never finished, but thoroughly enjoyed).

Back in October I started reading the first volume of Rowell’s run since it was easily accessible, and as soon as I finished it I found myself falling down the rabbit hole as I read the entirety of BKV’s run, all the way to the Young Avengers three issue mini series on this website (WARNING: the ads are gross AF). I had to know what happened to this group of misfits and how they all got to where they are in the current series as it begins with all of them being dispersed. I still have a bit of a ways to go before I complete it all, but it goes without saying: I’m OBSESSED.

This series is so fun and filled with tons of humor, action, angst (a bit too much from Gert if you ask me), and there’s a dinosaur with a septum piercing named Old Lace! If you haven’t read Runaways yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. But don’t be like me — start from the beginning. I really wish I would’ve started there because the plot twists that come before are insane. I picked up the second volume of Rowell’s run last month and still need to read the rest of the original, but I’m still taking a bit of a break before I dive back in.

Have you read Runaways or watched the show (I have yet to see it)? Who’s your favorite character? Mine’s Nico! Let’s talk about it in the comments section 🙂

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

New Year, Who Dis?

Nina Penalosa5 Comments

Welp, 2018 has come and gone and it was filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, but I made it out alive (had my first bought of food poisoning the day before New Year’s Eve and wanted to die, but I’m here) so… yay?

I wrote a blog post last July saying I wanted to be better at writing on here, and after that I did a whopping 3 posts. ::cue sad trombone:: I’m gonna cut myself some slack though! On that note, I’ll try and be better this year. I feel like I did a lot of cool things in 2018 (went to Portland and checked out the Laika exhibit, went on my first business trip to NYC, read sooo many awesome comics, modeled in the Her Universe Fashion Show, oh and my hair is blue now!), so maybe I’ll do a few throwback posts throughout the year. We’ll see…

I’m pretty stoked for 2019 though — I have some fun things planned out already. Besides SDCC in July, I’m planning a trip to NYC in April!!! My plane tickets have been purchased and everything. My trip happened upon impulse after I had a mental breakdown about how I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, and I could probably do so many things, and I got really down on myself about my frivolous spending habits (this was sometime after Black Friday, and ooh lord, I spent sooooooo much). The amount I spend on food, clothes, Funko Pops, comics, and whatnot could totally be put towards traveling or going to shows. I cracked numbers in my head about how much I need to pay off my credit cards (even though I’m bad at math), and my friend Alice (Bodhi Brigade) had told me that tickets to Hadestown, a musical she had talked about on Twitter that I fell in love with, had discounted fan tickets before they’re sold to the general public. I didn’t know what day she got her ticket, but after my little breakdown, I picked a day and just fucking bought it.

I know. I KNOW! It all sounds crazy, stupid, and reckless, but Neil Gaiman said he hopes we make mistakes because when we make mistakes it means we’re trying new things and changing our world… or something like that. Anyway, my goal from that moment forward was to invest more in experiences. I want to do more things, not buy more things (except for books and the occasional clothing item).

Wanna know something else? I bought a ticket to watch White Noise, a play that Daveed Diggs will be starring in, at the Public Theater in NYC a week after I bought my ticket for Hadestown, so I was like, “Okay, yep. I am definitely going!” And by happenstance, my ticket for Hadestown is for the same day and time Alice and Cat are going. What are the odds???

Other goals I have this year are to create more, be more active, and read more books. Last year I told myself I wanted to write at least one thing and submit it for publication, and I did! Not sure of its status, but it felt so good to get back into writing anyhow. 🙂

::OUTFIT DETAILS::
t-shirt: Jordandene (buy here) | jacket: Old Navy (buy here)
skirt: Hot Topic | shoes: Dexflex Comfort | belt: Walmart
hat: H&M | glasses: Bonlook (sold out)

What are your plans for 2019? Have any trips lined up, goals, or resolutions? Are goals and resolutions practically the same thing? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

Cheers,
Nina

(photos by Jennifer Khut)

PS: I almost forgot! Jordandene has kicked off an official ambassador program and I’ve been asked to return! I’m hella excited to be working with them again because they’re one of my absolute faves; their shirts are soo comfy and the geek centric quotes printed on them often feel like armor. My Clever Girl scoop neck also looks hella dope with my fossil skirt if I do say so myself ;)You can use my coupon code LEFANCYGEEK to save 15% on a minimum purchase of $20