xkcd : volume 0

Randall Munroe describes xkcd as a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. While it's practically required reading in the geek community, xkcd fans are as varied as the comic's subject matter. This book creates laughs from science jokes on one page to relationship humor on another.

xkcd: volume 0 is the first book from the immensely popular webcomic with a passionate readership (just Google "xkcd meetup").

The artist selected personal and fan favorites from his first 600 comics. It was lovingly assembled from high-resolution original scans of the comics (the mouseover text is discreetly included), and features a lot of doodles, notes, and puzzles in the margins.

The book is published by Breadpig, which donates all of the publisher profits from this book to Room to Read for promoting literacy in the developing world.

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SAMPLE CUSTOMER REVIEWS –

1) More Than a Print Version of the Free Comic - The author admonishes you, in his foreword, that you must have some kind of poor economic judgement, to be buying this book when the comic is free online.

But that does more to illustrate the kind of wit he has, than represent the truth, because the book is NOT a print-out of the pics you can get online, but is apparently based on the original, pen/pencil drawings (at least in part), giving you a (faint) insight into the process of their creation, plus giving a feeling of something authentic, like buying a cell from some favorite animation.

If you have NOT read the comic online, the domain name is XKCD (as you can infer from the name), go read it. If you'd have liked the book anyway, you'll be back to buy it out of sheer joy for the sarcky satire you've experienced.

Who will like XKCD?

* Anyone who likes Big Bang Theory. This is the one source of "nerd/geek" humor superior to that one.
* All Wikipedians, except the anal-retentive ones who didn't even want us to redirect the word malamanteau to the XKCD article.
* Those who are disgusted with "SyFy" for being ashamed of science fiction. (google "syfy, we disown you")
* The kind of people who hear about MIT pranks and think "I could have done better".
* Problem-solvers who, upon realizing that the a-hole ops of #Linux answer every question with "RTFM", spoof another IP while running a hacked ID validator and give wrong answers to their own questions, baiting the experts into jumping in with corrections. And then go help run #linpeople to answer the questions right.
* People who, having studied linguistics, math/physics, logic, engineering, or some other intellectual discipline, determine that the greatest benefit is all the extra puns it allows them to notice.
* Sarcastic romantics
* Pseudointellectuals...OK, they won't, but they'll feel obligated to pretend.
* I will. Did. Do. And that's what counts.

By KAZ Vorpal, aka Michael Karl on August 18, 2010

2) A must have for fans - This doesn't give you any new comics, but it does have a lulzy introduction that makes fun of you (the reader) for buying a printed version of a free webcomic. Still, if you're a fan of the series it's a must have just for the showcasing reasons alone. Also, whenever I want to introduce somebody to the GLORY that is XKCD, I can now say "here, browse through this!" instead of giving them a web address they'll likely never go to. Also, if you've never bought anything from the XKCD store but have been reading the comic for years (like me), this is your chance to give Randall some money finally!

By A. Morgan on August 26, 2010

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xkcd: volume 0

If I Stay

The critically acclaimed, bestselling novel from Gayle Forman, author of Where She Went, Just One Day, and Just One Year.
 
Soon to be a major motion picture, starring Chloe Moretz!

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, this will change the way you look at life, love, and family. Now a major motion picture starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Elle in the US. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

SAMPLE CUSTOMER REVIEWS - 

1) Bittersweet Memory - If I Stay is a bittersweet memory of a family and their loved ones. It's told through the eyes of Mia, who watches herself being treated in the hospital as her loved ones surround her. And she has to make the toughest choice of all...

I really love the way the story was told, while Mia is watching over her own body in the hospital she is reminded of memories of her family and friends and through that we got to know them better. It was beautiful how the story of her life unfolds. I absolutely adored her family and friends, everyone was their own character with specific traits and quirks, and what a loving family as well! That made me that much more emotionally invested in the story, they seemed so real.

For as much as this book falls into the heartbreaking and sad category it was actually rather funny at times! It made the book so much easier for me to read. I also loved how much music played a part of the story, Mia with her cello, her boyfriend Adam with his band and her father's days in a band as well. Music was a beautiful background for this story.

All in all a bittersweet and rewarding book! I'm not always one for sad books but recently I've been finding out that there are some I actually really love and this is definitely one of them!

By Mint910 VINE VOICE on April 2, 2009

2) Simply amazing. - I have a feeling that If I Stay may be one of those books that sells millions of copies, wins numerous awards, and inspires people to pick up a pen and tell a story of their own.

It starts off with a lighthearted chapter that showcases the close relationship Mia shares with her Mum, Dad and younger brother Teddy. I instantly fell in love with these four characters, as they reminded me very much of my own parents and sister: happy, fun, and more like friends than family. However, by page eleven, the tone of the book shifts, and everything has changed.

Mia is left staring at her broken body, while her family lie sprawled around her. She finds herself in a kind of limbo, a limbo where she can see, hear and touch, but can't feel anything. From here she must make the difficult decision of staying on Earth and living, or dying and hopefully seeing her family again. This has to be one of the most difficult decisions anyone could ever be faced with, and I applaud Gayle Forman for writing about it so eloquently and vividly.

I loved how the past was interweaved with the present, as this allowed us to get a glimpse into Mia's life before the accident, and to really get to know her. Mia is a strong and appealing character, and one which I think a lot of people will identify with. I also have to mention Adam, Mia's boyfriend. He's caring, thoughtful and the kind of person that we should all get to meet at some point or another. In fact, I think he might be my favourite part of the whole book.

'Just Listen', Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

The above sentence is one of my favourites. To imagine that anyone's voice could sound like shrapnel has to be one of the most effective ways to describe someone dealing with unimaginable grief and fear.

By Jenny, Wondrous Reads on April 2, 2009

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If I Stay