The weekend has arrived, and that means Weekend Reading 123! As usual, The Beat team is holing up with a stack of good books.

What will you be reading this weekend? The Beat wants to hear from you! Give us a shout-out, here in the comments section or over on social media @comicsbeat, and let us know.

Weekend Reading 123
Weekend Reading 123: Bloodmarked.

KELAS LLOYD I picked up an ARC of Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn, the sequel to Legendborn, at SDCC. The first was a solid, interesting YA Arthurian retelling. I’ll reread Legendborn and then read Bloodmarked right after, which I’ve got time to do because it won’t come out officially until November. I also need to catch back up with Saga by Brian K. Vaughn, I fell behind.

Weekend Reading 123
Weekend Reading 123: Sandman Vol. 5.

TAIMUR DAR: During lockdown when I finally had time on my hands I finally had time to devote time to read Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comic series. Without a doubt, worth all the acclaim and hype I’ve been hearing all these years but never had proper time to enjoy. I only got halfway through the series before I got sidetracked by various other things. So with the Netflix television adaptation debuting this weekend, it seems appropriate to pick up where I left off with The Sandman: A Game of You trade. 

Weekend Reading 123
Weekend Reading 123: TMNT

DEAN SIMONS: Over halfway through Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Dogs of War. The book pretty much reminds me of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s WE3 in the first third but things get super interesting from there. For a few nights before I fell asleep during the week I was staying up just to read another chapter or three – so that is definitely my go-to this weekend. As for comics, I am grazing little bits of several things I started in recent weeks/months – James Robinson & Tony HarrisStarman, Kazuki Takahashi’s Yu-Gi-Oh! (now at Duelist vol. 2 or – vol. 10 in original Japanese numbering), and TMNT: The IDW Collection (now at vol. 6).

Weekend Reading 123
Weekend Reading 123: Chilean Poet

ZACK QUAINTANCE: This weekend I’m cracking a novel by one of my favorite authors — Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra. I have loved his previous books and short stories, and I am very excited. I also have to go fast through this one, because I went to renew it from my local library and was alerted that someone else has placed a hold (yikes!). As for comics, progress continues on Mike Grell’s Green Arrow, and I’m also finishing up Clyde Fans by Seth, a big book well worth the time investment.

Weekend Reading 123
Weekend Reading 123: Bog Bodies

AVERY KAPLAN: This weekend I’ll be reading Bog Bodies by Declan ShalveyGavin FullertonRebecca Nalty, and Clayton Cowles, in preparation for a piece for the upcoming PanelxPanel #62!

Weekend Reading 123
Weekend Reading 123

REBECCA OLIVER KAPLAN: When you live in a town with a single stop sign, there aren’t many places to buy books. So, I stopped at the local vintage shop for something weird to read. I found several odd books, beginning with I Owe Russia $1200 by Bob Hope (others to be shared over subsequent weeks). I am also waist deep in Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” series, which is bittersweet because King’s narrator was in a bike accident at the end of recording Wolves, and I am just beginning Song og Susannah. As for comics, I am finally reading Ambrosia: Trans Masc & Non Binary Erotic Comics Anthology, edited by Tab Kimpton and Jade Sarson, which includes many great creators, but I bought from A.C. Esguerra at Q Con