It’s my own fault. There were no babies crying in the middle of the night. No emergencies. No fire drills. None of that.

Just me, an old friend, some books, Chinese learning materials, and a cache of DVR’d episodes.

As a result, I’ve been staying up until at least 2:30am for the last week or so (and to be honest, most of it has been until 3:30am). I am super tired. Hapa Papa has been a prince by letting me sleep in and occasionally, even taking naps. But of course, because I have been spending wasting all my time on other things, I have been a bad blogger and not written anything substantial.

(I do have to say that hanging out with an old college friend is DEFINITELY not a waste of time! It was fantastic and totally worth the lack of sleep!)

However, my loss should totally be your gain – even in the midst of my “filler” post. After all, it has been awhile since my last book recommendation, right? So, here then, is what has kept me up late this past week.

A high school friend recommended a graphic novel series called Locke & Key (affiliate link) by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. They are collected in six volumes of trade paperbacks and I can see why critics have been hailing the series as this generation’s Sandman.

It is a horror/fantasy series concerning the mysterious Keyhouse mansion in Lovecraft, MA, strange keys that confer awesome powers, demon dimensions, and the tragic family that lives there. Be warned: there is a crapton of violence, a staggering body count, and lots of swearing. (For some of you, that may be all the recommendation you need.) I didn’t realize Cookie Monster was looking over my shoulder and suffice to say, even a few of the panels had him asking me questions in which I did not feel up to explaining. This is definitely an adult book.

The other series I’ve just started is the The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. I’ve only read the first book of the trilogy (finished it this morning at 2:30am and then Glow Worm woke up at 5am – DOH) but I have on high authority that the rest of the trilogy is just as good. A noirish fantasy series (likely feudal/medievalesque backdrop), there is a lot of black humor and exhilarating fight scenes. I am basically going to be MIA from parenting the next few days due to finishing the next two books.

Alright. I think I have to feed my children or take them to school or something. Go to the Amazon, the bookstore, or the local library STAT and get these works into your brain, folks. Have an awesome Monday.