SMILE - What on Earth Am I Doing Here On This Beautiful Day?!

My thanks goes to Calvin and Hobbes (Not heard of them? GO! GO NOW!!!) and, of course, Pinterest!

If you want to follow all my boards on Pinterest, go to http://www.pinterest.com/pewterwolf/. Or, if you only just want to follow my SMILE board, go to http://www.pinterest.com/pewterwolf/smile/.

GoodRead - The Authoritative Calvin & Hobbes

Here is my antidote for all the scary Halloween reads. Oh yeah, I'm a real rebel (note the gentle sarcasm in those words). Anyway, this was super cheap on Amazon (1p plus £2.80 P&P) hence me buying it and talking about it now.

So, as you are aware if you have read my previous Calvin and Hobbes reviews (It's A Magical World and The Essential Calvin and Hobbes), I fully blame Laura from SisterSpooky for introducing me to these characters so BLAME HER, FOLKS!

Calvin and Hobbes: your average six year old boy and his best friend in the whole wide world, his toy tiger, trying to make sense of the world around him by asking the big questions: "Why are we here?", "Are we destroying the planet?", "How does one survive camping when it rains NON STOP?" and taking the mickey out of politics, sports, and life in general.

I liked this collection (for those of you wondering, this omnibus contains Yukon Ho! and Weirdos from Another Planet). There were things I sniggered, went "awww!" and remembered what it was like to be that age (I shudder to think what my family would say about me at that age) while getting the humour Bill gave Calvin's parents.

But I didn't love it. And I have NO IDEA WHY!!! I think it's because I adore It's A Magical World and The Essential Calvin and Hobbes so much that it was going to be really hard for this book to match up to them.

But I think anyone would read this and love it. Well, if you read any Calvin and Hobbes, I think you will fall under its spell. This is wonderful cartoon series and I dare anyone to not fall in love with these characters. Now, I WANT A TOY TIGER!!!

Now, here is a random strip I know is in the edition, just to wet your appetite. Enjoy!

GoodRead - The Essential Calvin And Hobbes

You can go and blame Laura (aka SisterSpooky) for my recent attack into the world that is Calvin and Hobbes. But, saying that, I really should be thanking her. Either way, let's chat about this beast.

Calvin and Hobbes are your average six year old and his toy tiger (aka best friend in the WHOLE world). While trying to make sense of life (and enjoying it!), they ask big moral questions such as "Is there life after death?", "How do you know if a girl likes you?", "How do I get out of bathtime?" and "How do I get out of eating vegetables at dinnertime?" (yes, THESE are the big questions in life!).

This is a collection of comic strips (well, they were published in newspapers but this treasury is two collections put together: Calvin and Hobbes and Something Under the Bed in Drooling) and, like this first collection I bought (It's a Magical World - review's here), I loved it. I FORCED myself to read this over the course of a week (while reading Fuse by Julianna Baggott - my ramblings is here) and everytime I picked it up, within a few minutes, I was either smiling, laughing, snorting into my hand or tweet pics, going "THAT'S ME!". Bill Watterson just "got" what it was like to be a carefree six year old with an overactive imagination where you would daydream about space battles, ask your parents awkward questions such as "Where do babies come from?" and getting an made-up answer but you believe them without a moment's hesitation. All the while, he pokes fun at the world around us.

This is an instant cheer-up book! Perfect for when you're down in the dumps. Even the raccoon strip near the end was sweet! This book was just made me happy when I was reading this!

Oh, Laura, if you are reading this, I might get another edition of Calvin and Hobbes in the coming months. Any suggestions on which one...?

GoodRead - It's A Magical World

You may blame Laura (aka SisterSpooky) and my grandparents for me having this. Laura has become a fan of Calvin and Hobbes since last year when someone told her she would love them. And that person was right. I chat to Laura on and off about Calvin and Hobbes for the past few months. And then, for Christmas, I was given a WHSmiths giftcard from my grandparents and I treated myself to a Calvin and Hobbes collection. I always liked the cover to It's A Magical World so I bought it.

So, Calvin and Hobbes. One boy and his toy tiger trying to make sense of the world around. Make sense with moral and ethical questions about life, growing up, friendship and bigger questions such as avoiding bathtime, eating vegetables and turning any game in Calvinball.

This is a collection of comic strips, which was published in newspapers all over the world (with Sunday's edition being in colour) and I LOVED them. I smiled, snorted, laughed and related to my life most of the situations that featured in the book. I just loved how Bill Watterson made Calvin and Hobbes fun and relatable and yet, at the same time, poking fun at the world around them with humour (both child-like and grown-up).

It was only after my first day of my two day DEVOURING session (and laughing myself stupid - that's right, two days!) that I discovered that this is the LAST collection and it contains the last EVER Calvin and Hobbes strip, which is very bittersweet to most fans and yet, is perfect! I want a print of that on my wall somewhere! That last page was one of my faves within this collection. I just adore it!

Laura, if you are reading this, you have made me a fan of Calvin and Hobbes. So much so, I have ordered another collection to devour (I can't take my time over them. I WON'T! TOO GOOD!): The Essential Calvin And Hobbes (A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury), which Laura has read and actually reviewed (click here if you want to read her reactions and click here to read her post, declaring her love for the boy and tiger...). So, yeah, loved it! If you can get your hands on this (or any of the Calvin and Hobbes), do it!

PS - I know this isn't a real Calvin and Hobbes picture, but I saw this on Pinterest (yes, am Pinterest. If you want to follow me...) and I HAD to show you! I love it (am using that word a lot in this review. Normal service will resume next time. Honest!)

Source: themetapicture.com via Andrew on Pinterest