One of the cool things about quitting a job that sucks your soul every day to the point where you want to cry in a dark corner every morning screaming “why why why” did i do this to myself is you get the freedom to do things that you never thought you would do before. Case in point, reading comic books. I’ve always thought they were all fantasy, all based around big breasted Japanese girls in short skirts who fight huge monsters shaped like a car that’ll switch to a boat, a jet plane, a toaster…whatever. My brother has always defended comic books as more than just fantasy and I finally I believe him. They’re so much more. This was definitely proven to me when I read Blankets by Craig Thompson. A painfully romantic and beautifully drawn comic about how wonderful and horrible it is to fall in love as a young adult. It’s awesome, it’s 592 pages and it’s DAMN GOOD. Also recommend Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson. Since I worked in a bookstore for 2 years, the book touched a nerve when it described all the insanely ridiculous customers who would ask questions like:

I need a book but I can’t remember the name or the title. It’s purple with these dots on it. Can you help me find it?

Do you have a copier? I don’t want to pay for this book but I want to make some copies.

or my favorite…

Hi, do you have a first edition of J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye?” I want to get it for my girlfriend for her 16th birthday.

…oh sure…let me just check our stock room. you got it.