[I've been
reading]
« March, 2017 »
Axis

A follow up to Spin only with all new characters. The character that was the center of the last book is basically dead and one of the other main characters has a sot of side role in this book. I liked but did not love this story which had a new central figure, a quasi-interesting female dilettante who is trying to figure out what happened to her father. The plot is great some of the character development stuff (particularly with the female characters) is not so great but there’s less apocalyptic end of the world stuff which i appreciated.

The Encyclopedia of Early Earth: A Novel

I’m always looking for big graphic novels because I read quickly and I want them to last. This was on the shelf at the library where I was working and now I want to read everything that Greenberg has done. It’s based on a storytelling sort of structure. Characters who are in a story and the stories they tell within the story. Maybe even one story in a story in a story, I wasn’t quite sure. There’s a calm at the center of this book that I found really appealing as well as all the other stuff that is good about it.

The Three-Body Problem

I read this at the same time I read another book which was similar but different. I was ashamed to admit that I had trouble with some of the names, not the fact that some of them were the same, but not being able to determine nuances by what people called one another etc. I enjoyed but had a hard time with the hard science-y aspects of this book since I felt like there was a lot of telling-not-showing and ultimately it wasn’t about the human stories at all which were the parts I found most compelling.

The Spin

I read this at the same time I read another book which was different but similar. I had the feeling that the second book was “better” but I enjoyed this book more. More human relationships and a lot more thinking about what really WOULD happen if the end of the world were... sort of ... maybe ... telegraphed into the future. Worth thinking about. Never gets too gory. Enjoyable.

Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware The Kitten Holy

Liked this, but was expecting it to be somehow AMAZING and it was only very good. I think I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve had access to a bunch of great graphic novels with cool female leads that I have had a bunch to choose from. I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t one of my favorites of the genre. There’s clearly a whole culture built up around it and yay hooray for that.

Leaving Everything Most Loved

An interesting book in the series, this one shows a lot of changes happening. Maisie closing up her agency, her staff going separate ways and, of course, a mystery in the middle of it which talks about the history of Indian migration to England, somewhat. I found parts of this book a little too pat and I’m finding the “will she or won’t she?” aspect of her relationship tiresome, but otherwise I’m looking forward to new wind in the sails of this series.

I Will Bite You

One of the things I love about the graphic novel format is the author’s ability to take you inside some strange places you might not otherwise understand. A lot of Lambert’s stories are pretty strange and confusing (to me) but reveal a really interesting mind.

Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics

A super fun story-as-explanation of how you can write and illustrate graphic novels with only a small amount of what people might think of as “raw talent” I really enjoyed this book, geared towards children, of outlining the aspects of graphic storytelling with a “show don’t tell” approach. And a really nice shoutout to Ed Emberly who was always a firm childhood favorite

The Emperor of Ocean Park

Very much enjoyed this first novel by Stephen Carter which has been on my “to read” list for years. A great thriller about upper class Black legal society and the disruption sown when the father of the protagonist dies in what may be a mysterious way. The narrator, while reliable, is standoffish in a way that makes him interesting to read the perspective of and I liked the various settings (DC, Martha’s Vineyard, suburban whereveritwas) that populate the novel.

Fastest Things on Wings: Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood

Did not know much about hummingbird rehab before this. Loved this book. The author is an avid hummingbird fan and talks about the day to day life of her job and interweaves it with imagined hummingbird relationships.