I have been away for quite a while, both from reading and from writing in this blog.

But not anymore.

So, what have I been up to?

Let me start with what have I been reading.

I finished a couple of fantastic graphic novels, the first one is Viva la Vida: Los Sueños en Ciudad Juarez, it is a harrowing retelling of one of the most violent and painful periods in the history of my fair city.

This is capture thru the eyes of two French illustrators, Baudoin & Troubs, I am not sure if an English version of the book exists, but it is worth the effort to translate and enjoy this beautiful piece of work in which, the citizens shared their hopes and dreams in exchange for a portrait.

The second graphic novel I finished was a collection of fantastic artist reinterpreting the songs, this in comic book form, of one the most influential singers in history, Bob Dylan, illustrating 13 of his most iconic songs, it is a must in the collection of any comic book or music lover.

Here the many facets of the legendary singer and Nobel Laureate.

After these two less traditional comic books, I went and read the newest installment of the now legendary Batman story The Dark Knight, for this particular story we get treated to an epic creative team.

Helmed by the original writer, Frank Miller, who needs no introduction, and joining him for the writing duties another legend of the world of comic books, Brian Azzarello.

And to put the cherry on top, Miller does a bit of the artwork with the collaboration of Andy Kubert, one of the most iconic illustrators to ever work with the Dark Knight, and as if this wasn’t enough, Klaus Janson, the legendary inker of the original series, now also contributing with some fantastic artwork .

And here some of the covers.

Right now, I am working on a couple of things.

First off I keep on pounding away on the third book of the Neverwinter Saga, Charon’s Claw, as always it feels like home when I go out and run around with the legendary drow Drizzt Do’Urden.

I am currently on page 90 of 442, moving slowly and loving every minute of it.

The second thing is the fourth volume of Batman: Detective Comics, part of the DC Universe Rebirth, in which we get to indulge in the adventures of many sidekicks of the Dark Knight, including Clayface himself.

I particularly enjoy seeing the character Azrael back in action, crazy as ever.

In between all of this reading, I took some time do a couple of things I love, eating and going to a live show, all in the same day.

I went to see an impressive group, Le Butcherettes, in a great venue in our sister city of El Paso, The Low Brow Palace, this small club always delivers some iconic performances.

And to close out the night I went to my favorite hamburger joint, What-A-Burger, arguably the best burger chain restaurant and a true Texan icon.

I did not take a picture of the burger, it was devoured diligently.

Now I will like to talk about my currents number, both in this year of reading and my overall total and also a bit of a forecast of what I think the year has in store for me.

To start off, for the eleventh year of reading I have a total of 18,210 pages.

I have steading my pace but still behind my reading schedule by a whopping 28 days, but with the upcoming spring vacation, I think there will be plenty of opportunities to kick back and read an hour or four.

As for the forecast for this year, and if all things keep on the same course, I am looking for a total of 21,521 pages by the half-way point of the year, which is in exactly 30 days.

With these numbers, I am expecting to finish the year with little over 43,000 pages, but the real goal is to surpass my best year, 47,705 pages in the first year of reading, but always aiming of at least gracing that 53,000 page goal.

As for my overall total, it stands at 251,257 pages, and according to my calculations, and again if everything holds steady as now, I will be reaching the next significant milestone of 500,000 pages by the 10 of July of 2029, which to start of it is not acceptable and I am working on bringing down.

So far I have shaved approximately 15 days of this date and will keep on working to reduce the distance to such a significant achievement.

I have a long weekend ahead of me, here in Mexico we have the day off on Monday, this in celebration of the birthday of the famous president from which our fair city gets its name.

For me, this means extended periods of reading and trying not to get out of bed, and with the forecast of possible snow for Saturday, that only gives me more reasons not to venture outside the warm comforts of my blankets.

Well there you have it, a kind of long post, but given the circumstances, I had to bent some things that have been roaming around my head for the past week or so.

Tomorrow, I’ll visit one of my favorite coffee house, same great coffee but they updated their accommodations, and I have been itching to write a new caffeine pilgrimage entry for so long, what better way to get back on the saddle than with an old favorite.

As you can tell, I have a slight case of insomnia.

Better put it to good use and run alongside some dwarfs and elves, and hopefully, they will carry me off to dreamland.

azr.