Still looking for something to do for Valentines Day? Well, you should have thought ahead, but don't worry. I'm here for ya and I've got five pairs of theater tickets to the preview of "The Sheep and The Whale" spread out over three days. (Tuesday the 13th to Thursday the 15th at 8pm.)

For some especially lucky readers I also have some copies of a thematically similar book, "The Stowaway" by Robert Hough. All you have to do for your chance to win is email me at ryanoakley at blogto dot com with your contact info and the night you'd prefer to attend and I'll see what I can do.

Neil Smith (Bang Crunch) and Colm Toibin (Mothers and Sons) will be in town this Wednesday as part of the Harbourfront Reading Series. I have one pair of tickets and two copies of each of their books to give away to the first people to email me at ryanoakley@blogTO.com. It might make a nice Valentines date for the librarian in your life. Just let me know if you want the books, the tickets or, if you're first, both and I'll hook you up. That's just how I roll.

"Spent" by Joe Matt is a little book with big problems. It's about a self-loathing, chronic- masturbating, penny-pinching comic book artist who is writing a book about a self-loathing, chronic-masturbating, penny-pinching, comic book artist. And it does a pretty good job of encapsulating everything that is wrong with underground comics.

I kept waiting for a story - any story - to emerge. None ever did. The whole book consists of the main character, Joe Matt, dubbing porn, complaining and urinating in a jar. If I wanted to spend time with someone like that, I wouldn't read this book. I'd visit my grandfather. At least he has some funny stories.

The bulk of the book takes place in mid-nineties Toronto, during the years that Joe Matt was living illegally here. But, really, it could take place anywhere. The settings are as irrelevant as the non-existent story. The characters are the focal point but Matt doesn't do anything with them that we haven't seen Robert Crumb or Harvey Pekar do much better.

Toronto author Karl Schroeder's new book is described as a "far-future steam-punk space opera with pirates!" But "Sun of Suns" is actually just good, old-fashioned pulp that takes place in an incredible setting. It is a story about revenge and ambition, about the mistakes made in pursuit of both. Needless to say, I liked it.

It takes a while to understand the world that Schroeder has created but it's ultimately worth the effort. By the book's second half, the story is ripping along. It might just be my recent bouts of insomnia talking but I found his writing evocative to the point of hallucination. The guy can really put you in the middle of a space-pirate battle.

The characters took me about the same amount of pages to like or, really, to believe in. At first they seemed clichéd and thin but, as the book wore on, they developed into realistic people. Schroeder has a light touch and he is adept at slowly adding dimension to his settings and people. The details trickle in.

Perhaps this is because "Sun of Suns" is not a stand alone book but the first part in his "Virga Trilogy." I had quit reading trilogies because they read like one long novel broken up into three volumes. But Schroeder is astute enough to resolve the main conflicts of this first book while laying the basis for the next one. He leaves you hanging without leaving you wanting. That's a rare trick in a book full of rare tricks.

Random House is launching "My Wedding Dress" on Monday night at Nicholas Hoare Books. It's a collection of twenty-six true stories about wedding dresses by new and established writers. The editor, Susan Whelehen, will be speaking.

Although I'm not the "marrying type" I do have a couple of copies of "My Wedding Dress" to give away. Just email me at ryan oakley at blogto dot com and tell me the names of two contributors. The first two people to answer correctly will get a free copy

Like many Torontonians, graphic novelist Jeff Lemire is originally from a small town. While his Xeric Award winning book "Lost Dogs" presented rural life as an idyllic counterpoint to urban danger, "Tales From the Farm" deals with the reasons so many come to Toronto. That is, alienation.

But the main characters do not escape into the big city. Lester, a 10-year-old orphan who lives with his uncle on a farm, is too young and his unlikely friend, former hockey player and current gas station owner, Jimmy Lebeuf, is too damaged. The story focuses on their strange, sometimes disturbing, relationship and on the world of fantasy both have constructed. It is into these fantasies that they retreat.

From the first page I was pulled into Jeff Lemire's distinct art and quiet story telling. This book plays to his strengths as an illustrator and writer. As he proved with "Lost Dogs", he has a talent for capturing the perspective of the outsider. In "Tales From the Farm" he provides us with an image of farm life as seen through the eyes of a young, cape-wearing misfit, who would rather be fighting aliens than doing his chores.

The book's best images are those where Lester's small frame is contrasted with the empty enormity of the country or with the hulking Jimmy Lebeuf. "Tales From the Farm" is startlingly effective at making the mundane appear indifferently hostile. Even so, the book remains fundamentally optimistic. After all, even under a big scary sky, it's nice to know that a little kid can wear a cape.