Tag Archives: graphic novel

Comic-A-Week March 27-April 2 – Hereville by Barry Deutsch

By Lu Posted in Books, comic Tagged , , , , , , , , , , 10 Replies

Hereville: How Mirka Got her Sword was, in one word, charming. It’s a sweet comic described as “Yet Another Troll-Fighting 11-Year-Old Orthodox Jewish Girl” and if that doesn’t make you smile, well, I don’t know what will.

Mirka, obsessed with fighting dragons, one day finds a mysterious home in her small, orthodox community that she has never seen before. This fact alone makes it unusual, but most unusual of all is the fact that there is a pig in the front yard. Mirka and her siblings don’t even know what a pig is, since, of course, they practice orthodox Judaism. I don’t want to give away anything, but eventually something to do with this pig means that Mirka gets a wish. What does she wish for? To fight a troll. But you and I have read fairy tales and we know it’s never quite that simple.

There are a lot of things to love about Mirka and her story. I loved the integration of orthodox customs and the Yiddish words that were sprinkled throughout the text. I LOVED the unexpected role of Mirka’s step-mother in the plot. Most of all, I loved Mirka herself. She is 11. She can be selfish, she can be stubborn, she can be kind, she can be wild.

As for the art, I think I really do like black and white work better, but the subdued tones of Mirka’s world were subtle and lovely. The panels are fun and meaningful and Deutsch included at the end a series of panels that show the way he drew all the different designs for the troll. I love extras like this in comics!

So go read this!:  now| tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR

things mean a lot, 1330V, The Boston Bibliophile, Beth Fish Reads, Welcome to my Tweendom, Bart’s Bookshelves, Madigan Reads and Great Kid Books all have posts on Hereville. Do you? Link to it in the comments and I’ll add your post here.

 

Comic-A-Week March 20-26 – Mercury by Hope Larson

By Lu Posted in Books, comic, review Tagged , , , , , 8 Replies

I picked this one up on a whim from my library and I’m glad I did. Mercury is a charming story, filled with the real sadness, embarrassments and joys of adolescence, but with tragic undertones that hint at the “real world” that is right around the corner for most teens. It has a strong sense of place, specifically Nova Scotia, with common slang and locations explained, which honestly made the experience of reading Mercury that much more enjoyable.

While comics have been around for a long time, this is still a medium that is young. I love to see comics artists make innovative and interesting decisions. For example, this comic follows two storylines, Tara in current time and Josey in 1859; Tara’s storyline is on a white background while Josey’s is on black. In a comic meant for younger readers, this is a perfect way to mark the change. It’s simple and subtle, but one that most readers will pick up on.

Not only does Larson carefully combine the present and the past, but she also combines fantasy and reality. This was not quite as seamless as the the changing timeline. I could definitely get behind some of the more “traditional” magic, such as premonitions, but there was one part at the end that seemed particularly far-fetched. It’s not even necessarily that the fantasy itself was far-fetched (it’s a comic after all – anything can happen!), but that we were supposedly dealing with normal high school students. What happened did not freak them out and, unfortunately, that seemed odd and out-of-character to me.

Overall though, Mercury is a successful mix of humor, tragedy and everything in between. My problems with it are minimal and wouldn’t deter me from recommending it to a comic-lover of any age.

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve read everything else

Reading Rants!, Mama Librarian, The Boston Bibliophile, Stuff As Dreams Are Made On, Buried in Print, Sophisticated Dorkiness and The Zen Leaf all have posts about Mercury by Hope Larson. Do you? Link to your post in the comments and I’ll add it here.

Comic-A-Week March 13-19: Essex County by Jeff Lemire

By Lu Posted in Books, comic, review Tagged , , , , , , , , , , 6 Replies

I’ve been hearing good things about Essex County for a long time, so finally reading it almost felt like coming home to something I’d been missing. I can think of so many adjectives to describe Essex County: haunting, epic, real, beautiful, authentic. There are so many, and all of them good. It’s a sweeping family drama that starts at the end and slowly winds itself to the beginning and back again.

I don’t know that I really want to go into the specifics of this comic, because watching the history of this family unfold is what is so beautiful about it. You don’t really know how things are connected until the very end and I loved that about it. You can guess, but all of the intricacies and twists of the family trees play out slowly throughout the course of the stories. This is a collection of shorter comics and each one focuses on a different person in Essex County. Geography initially seems to be the only thing connecting them, but it is much more.

I was recently listening to the Bookrageous podcast about taboo topics in literature and the topic of comics was brought up. Bookrageous contributor Josh was talking about graphic novels and comics when he said something that really expressed how I feel about the medium: the ability to express emptiness. He goes on to say that a blank page can be extremely powerful in a graphic novel and I couldn’t agree more. Essex County is filled with moments like this, of not necessarily blank pages, but nearly blank pages. The beginning chapter takes place on a farm, and every scene involving the corn and its progression were perfect in expressing a character’s loneliness, along with the passage of time. Or when another character returns to the farm, all lines denoting where the image ends and begins are abandoned and the landscape of the farm takes over completely, accompanied by a long, lonely shadow. Or more still, when the pane focuses solely on the ice. How do you draw ice in black and white? Lemire does it.

Another favorite part of Essex County? When one young character loves drawing comics and we get to see the comics he draws. They are amazing. As someone who has zero talent for drawing, I wonder what it was like to go back and draw in the style of a child. I love it when a comic pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a comic. It is such an open medium – why not include photographs? Why not include multiple styles?  Why not draw part of the comic as if you were 12? I also love a comic that has such a strong sense of place. See my review of Local. Essex County is so completely relates what it is like to live in rural Canada that I feel as though I have been there. Even though I have never stepped foot in a place more north than Rhode Island, I can feel the cold, I can feel the vast, openness of it.

I always find these comics after they have been collected into an omnibus. Where are the comics now that will be collected together in a few years? Can anyone point me in that direction? I want to be on top of this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. In the mean time, get out there and read Essex County. You won’t be disappointed.

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve read everything else

An Adventure in Reading (Vol 1 & 2), So Many Books, So Little Time (Vol 1, 2 & 3), Monniblog, Buried in Print, all have posts about Essex County. Do you? Link to it in the comments and I’ll add it here.

Comic-A-Week March 6-12 – Owly: The Way Home and The Bittersweet Summer

By Lu Posted in Books, comic, review Tagged , , , , , , , , 3 Replies

Listen, there is a time and place for me to be concerned with the state of comics and what makes a great one, a good one and an okay one. There is a time when I can hem and haw about how I felt about something, writing post after post about how my expectations just weren’t met, or about how my expectations were met and, possibly, exceeded. There are times when I can be as objective as possible and leave my emotions at the door.

This, my friends, is not one of them. Seriously, Owly is the kind of book you read when you are having a bad day and you need remember just how cute life can be. Look, I’m biased. I have a very fashionable affinity for owls. Even these creepy ones. Call it a throwback to Harry Potter. Blame it on this video. Blame it on this blog. Whatever the reason, Owly was probably written for me.

It’s about an owl. Who rescues a worm. Then they go on adventures together. If there ever was a definition squee, this would probably be it.

Andy Runton probably draws the cutest comics I could imagine. He doesn’t use many words, instead relies on his images and onomatopoeic words to tell Owly’s story. Some comics would suffer from this, but not Owly. Because you know what a lack of words does for this comic? Angry eyes! The cutest angry eyes I have ever seen. That’s the whole reason I chose the picture on the right. This isn’t even from The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer, but it was the best illustration of angry eyes I could find.

I will be reading this entire series, saving them for when life gets me down and I need a happy reminder that there are things in this world that are so adorable you audibly squeal with glee. (Wait, is that what squee is actually defined as? Because I just figured that out. Whoa! I just thought it was that sound everyone made when things were cute.)

In an interview with Connect Savannah (quoted at Largehearted Boy, the original article seems to be gone), Andy Runton said this:

Connect Savannah: Why do you think people relate to Owly?

Andy Runton: People relate to Owly because he’s this predator by nature, but he chooses to be kind and nice and make the world a better place. That’s rare these days. For me he’s sort of based on all the stuff I loved as a kid, wrapped it up into this little owl.

Another reason people like it is they can sense I enjoy it. There’s a certain amount of purity that comes with that. Other than that I really have no idea. He’s just a little owl and it’s just me.

Yup, that pretty much sums it up.

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve read everything else

Book Dads and The Book Vault have posts about Owly. Do you? Link to it in the comments and I’ll add your post here.

Comic-A-Week: Feb 6-12 Moving Pictures by Kathryn and Stuart Immonen

By Lu Posted in Books, review Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Replies

For the first time during this project, I have come across a comic that confuses me – I do not understand why the authors chose to tell this story with this medium. The story itself is interesting enough – Ila, a foreign curator at a French museum who decides to stay after German occupation begins, has a complex and tense relationship with the German officer who has been ordered to inventory the collection. While the story is unique, a feat for a market inundated with WWII fiction, the art does not add much to the story and misses out on an opportunity to incorporate more of the art in the museum.

I did not respond well to the minimalist style of this comic. The story is complex and rich, but the art does not reflect that. While the art in a comic does not always have to perfectly match the tone of the story, it should do the best job possible to tell the story.  I’m not convinced that minimalist, negative-space reliant art truly tells this story well. There was a lot that was skipped over and too much was left to the imagination. A little ambiguity is good, but honestly it just frustrated me here. There was, however,  a lot of good tension in this story, that unfortunately didn’t play out “on screen”, for lack of a better term. There were times when the art style benefited the story. It set the mood and the use of shadowing was brilliant. One of my favorite panels is when we finally see Rolf’s face. Before that he had been almost entirely in shadow. The opening sequence, without any words, was beautiful and used the simple style of the art in a way that benefited the story.

The more comics I read, the more I realize what makes a good one. Though there are wordless comics, for me what defines a comic is neither the art nor the words, but how they work together. For me, that means that the art and the words  have to add something different and complimentary. If they aren’t holding their own, it’s not worth it to me. The Immonen’s had an opportunity here to do a lot with the artwork in the museum and using that to illustrate their story, but aside from a few panels, they didn’t take advantage of that. Maybe I wanted too much out of this little comic. When I found out it started as a serialized comic, the structure made a little bit more sense. There were gaps in the story, which might have been less jarring if I was waiting a few weeks or months to read each strip.

Here’s something interested – while I was doing my research for I saw some of the illustrations on screen and I was much more impressed by them. This is a comic that was meant to be seen one panel or strip at a time on the internet – it makes more sense for the story, it makes more sense for the art and I think I would have appreciated this a lot more if I had read it as was originally intended.

Am I in a bad mood, or what? Everything I have disliked lately has been something almost universally loved. But I have been reading things that are just amazing, so when something doesn’t live up to that, I’m more critical. If I had read this graphic novel after reading, say, Mother, Come Home, I probably would have liked it more. Maybe I will revisit this one in a few months and see how I feel about it.

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR pile

Olduvai Reads also has a post about Moving Pictures. Do you? Leave a link in the comments and I’ll include your post here.

Comic-A-Week Jan 30-Feb 5: Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly

By Lu Posted in Books, review Tagged , , , , , , 10 Replies

When I picked up Local from my library, I knew instantly that I was in for a treat. There’s something about a graphic novel that’s lovingly constructed. Do you know what I mean? Heavy paper, deep, ink drawings (or beautiful color work), a sturdy cover and a cover illustrations that perfectly captures what the entire book is about but that doesn’t reuse any old image from inside. I know that’s a silly request. It is a book full of images! Why shouldn’t they use one that is already in there?

Well, because there is more to the story than that. In the same way that a book cover of a traditional novel is an extension of the story, so too should the cover of a comic be an extension of that story. It’s no easy feat to come up with one complete image that stands for the entire story, but Local‘s cover is perfect.

Local was a serialized comic that has been collected in an omnibus, which is the edition I read. Originally intended to be about different places across the country, Local eventually took on the narrative of Megan, a young girl who can’t seem to stay in one spot for very long. Essentially these are stand alone stories about Megan’s life, or sometimes about the people in Megan’s life, that are all connected by the desire to find a place that we create for ourselves, that is our own.

The comic is perfectly researched. I have only ever seen one of the cities in here, Richmond, VA, but judging just based on how perfect the Kelly got the Plan 9 storefront, I can safely assume that other cities were equally well-researched. Like most collections of short stories, there were comics that I liked better than others. My favorite was probably The Younger Generation, where Megan has grown up a little bit and is faced with a young woman not unlike herself 10 years ago. I also enjoyed Polaroid Boyfriend, The Last Lonely Days at the Oxford Theater, and Theories and Defenses (the comic that takes place in Richmond).

But those were just my favorites and the ones that played to my particular sensibilities when it comes to comics. Thereis a lot to love here, for all kinds of comic readers. As for Kelly’s art, I loved the way he drew Megan. You could tell that he had spent a lot of time with her and knew her every facial expression and he knew how to illustrate her movements. That being said, sometimes I had a hard time distinguishing between the male characters. There is one point when we see them all next to each other and I can tell the difference, but when their story lines were separated, once in a while I got confused. It never bothered me enough to take me out of the story, though. Kelly’s style is well-defined and makes beautiful use of shading and negative space. I’m always impressed by the way black and white comics manage to create such depth with no color.

An added bonus to this collection of Local is the endnotes. For each story, Kelly and Wood talk about the story and what it was like to write it or illustrate it. Also included is a collection of renditions of Megan by other artists and the covers for each of the issues of Local. It was a real treat. I will definitely be reading more of Wood and Kelly’s work in the future.

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR pile

Have you read and reviewed Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly? If so, add your link in the comments and I’ll add it here.

Comic-A-Week Jan 23-29 – Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush by Luis Alberto Urrea

By Lu Posted in Books, review Tagged , , , , , , , , , , 6 Replies

One thing I have learned so far during this Comic-A-Week project is that reviewing comics and graphic novels is hard. What is the most important element of the story? Is it the illustration? Is it the story? Of course, it’s both. It’s the way the dialog and story interact with each other, it’s the way the art adds to the words and vice versa.

After being a Spanish major for so long, it takes a lot to impress me with magical realism. I’ve read the best, so if you’re going to add to the genre, you better do a damn fine job. Fortunately Urrea and Cardinale’s Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush did impress me and, thankfully, it is an excellent example of the way in which art can perfectly compliment a story.

Urrea and Cardinale are pulling on a lot of traditions here, but they manage to create a story that is not only charming, but original. Like any myth, Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush takes a physical object and a real person, plus the fantastic elements, to represent something bigger, though I don’t want to give away what that is. The magical realism in Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush is playful and, well, magical.

The art is absolutely gorgeous. Christopher Cardinale also paints murals, so it’s difficult not to think immediately of Diego Rivera, husband of Frida Kahlo. Even though his art clearly evoked elements of Rivera’s style, Cardinale is very much his own artist. I loved his use of expressive, large faces and the color work is gorgeous. I often prefer black and white comics, but I probably wouldn’t if every comic were as beautifully colored as Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush.

I’ve almost been avoiding Urrea’s work because I have never been sure how I would like it. Now that I have read Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush, I fully expect to pick the rest of his work in the future.

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR pile

Devourer of Books and You’ve Gotta Read This! also have posts on Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush. Do you? Leave your link in the comments and I will add your link here.

Comic-A-Week 16-22 – Castle Waiting by Linda Medley

By Lu Posted in Books, review Tagged , , , 7 Replies

Finally. This is why I’m doing this, guys. Not so I can read a mediocre comic a week, but so I can read an awesome comic a week. Castle Waiting did that for me. I loved every page of this comic.

Castle Waiting begins as a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but that ends once the princess is woken by the prince. Feeling lost, confused, and just a little betrayed by their princess, her handmaidens decide to stay at the castle after the princess leaves with her new love. The castle becomes known as Castle Waiting, a mythical home for the weary who need a place to take them in. So we meet our young protagonist, pregnant and without a home. Her father once told her of the magical Castle Waiting and so she finds her way there and immediately falls in love with all who live there.

Castle Waiting is wonderful. Broken up into vignettes, we are told various stories about the inhabitants of Castle Waiting, though there are still quite a bit of mysteries that I hope are cleared up in the second volume. The bulk of the book is taken up by a story about a bearded lady’s convent. Yes, bearded ladies. Oh, it is wonderful. The art is whimsical and perfect for the story.

I loved Medley’s humor, her characters and her art. Which I believe makes the perfect combination for a delightful comic!

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR pile

Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog, Rebecca Reads, Stella Matutina, The Shady Glade, Book Nut, things mean a lot, A Striped Armchair, The Written World,  A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy, Biblioklepts and Olduvai Reads all have posts about Castle Waiting. Do you? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add your blog post to this list.

Comic-A-Week – Jan 9-15 – Mother, Come Home

By Lu Posted in Books, comic, review Tagged , , , , , 7 Replies

After Thomas’s mother dies, his father suffers from survivor guilt and depression.  He is hospitalized and this comic tells that story from Thomas’s eyes as a child.  I’ve read a lot of comics like this lately and I haven’t reviewed any of them because I so often find myself at a loss of words to describe anything about them.  Not how they made me feel or if I enjoyed reading them.

Honestly, I sometimes feel myself close off to comics like this.  The structure was so strange, it never allowed me to get involved in the story.  I wanted to care about Thomas and his father’s story, but I couldn’t. Overall, I thought the art here suited the mood perfectly, but the story was sometimes confusing, perhaps intentionally to illustrate grief and depression.  And the ending?  The ending was just strange when you compared it to the rest of the book, to be honest.

Though I didn’t want to talk about this because it’s unfair to compare, it’s really hard to ignore Chris Ware’s influences on Mother,  Come Home.  I just like Ware’s work much more.  They are different beasts in terms of storytelling – Ware’s most famous graphic novel, Jimmy Corrigan, Smartest Kid on Earth is huge and this is a slim book that covers a tenth of that space.  All the same, if you are interested in the art, I’d recommend Chris Ware over this one.

In any case, if you are an avid reader of comics, Mother, Come  Home should be on your list to read.  But be prepared, it’s a difficult one and one that doesn’t ultimately live up to its promises.

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR pile

Jenny’s Books also has a post about Mother, Come Home. Do you?  Leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it to this list.

Comic-a-Week – Jan 2-8 – The Night Bookmobile

By Lu Posted in Books, review Tagged , , , , 17 Replies

You’ve seen a lot of reviews of this one the past week and I’m not exactly sure why all of us decided to read this one at the same time.  I picked mine up from the library on a whim, after hearing a couple of bloggers express how much they loved it.

I love Audrey Niffenegger.  Like many people, Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my favorite books.  Beyond the fact that it is a lovely book, it is also one of the first books that my boyfriend recommended to me.  It marks the beginning of our relationship and will forever hold a special place in my heart.  While Her Fearful Symmetry left me somewhat disappointed and conflicted, I enjoyed reading it and I absolutely loved parts of it.  I’ve also read The Three Incestuous Sisters, Niffenegger’s other comic, and I enjoyed that one as well, though I didn’t really have a strong reaction to it either way.  The Night Bookmobile produced a reaction in me similar to Her Fearful Symmetry – there were parts that I loved, but others that left me feeling somewhat cold toward the book.

For one, the concept behind this comic is perfect.  The idea that each person has their own library with each book they have read and started to read  stored in a vehicle of sorts.  Alexandra, after fighting with her boyfriend and walking alone at night to clear her head, encounters her library and quickly becomes obsessed with it.  Secondly, the art is lovely and adds to the mystery and fantasy of the story.  It was short and sweet, with a memorable conclusion.

But a significant part of that conclusion really upset me, not because of what happened, but because of how abrupt it was.  Of course, I do not want to spoil anything, so I’m being purposefully vague.  It is a shocking turn of events that I honestly found difficult to understand.  I really wanted to love this book unreservedly, because the idea is so bookish and wonderful, but I just couldn’t.

I don’t necessarily want to deter anyone from reading this comic.  It really is wonderful for most of the time.  Apparently it is a part of a series that Niffenegger will be continuing in the future and I sincerely hope that as a whole the series is as lovely as the majority of The Night Bookmobile was.

So go read  this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR

1330V, Bart’s Bookshelves, The Written World, nomadreader, Reader’s Corner, Words and Peace and Stuff As Dreams Are Made On all feature posts about The Night Bookmobile.  Did you?  Leave a link in the comments and I’ll include it in this list.

2010, what a wonderful year!*

By Lu Posted in Books, Life Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 21 Replies

*for reading that is!

2010 seems like the longest year of my life. When I look back to what I was reading at the beginning of the year, I can’t believe that that was still 2010.  You mean I only read Anne of Green Gables this year?!  I only just read and fell in love with Blankets in 2010? That wasn’t last year? Are you sure?

Blogging has had its share of ups and downs this year, but I’m pleased to be ending the year on a strong note, with only more hopes for more excellent reading and blogging in 2011.  Over the past few days I have gone back and reread a lot of my posts from the early days of Regular Rumination and I think that my little blog and I have really come into our own over the last few months.

In terms of reading, there have certainly been some hits and some misses, but for the most part, I would say that my reading of 2010 was great.  So here we are, the 2010 Regular Rumination Awards.  These are the books that struck me as particularly wonderful, that still stick with me all these months later, that I think you should be reading to make your 2011 as excellent a reading year as my 2010 was.

To avoid this just being a normal old top ten list, I’ve added made-up superlatives.

The book that was so good, I had to reread it immediately

Is anyone surprised by this choice?  When I read Blankets back on the 2 of January, I was blown away.  When I turned the last page, I went back and started it all over again.  I stayed up until the wee hours of the night rereading and reliving the relationship between Craig and Raina – in fact, I’m pretty sure I’d like to name a future daughter Raina.

What makes Blankets the best graphic novel I read this year?  The drawings absolutely took my breath away, but so did the story.  Thompson weaves together the story of his relationship with his brother and family with the story of his first love.  It’s heartbreaking and beautiful and changed the way I read graphic novels forever.  I can’t wait for Thompson’s newest, Habibi, to be released.

Honorable mention: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Best Precocious Child Narrator

This book was a total surprise.  I don’t even know how it came into my hands, other than the fact that we all know I’m enticed by a blue cover with adorable pictures on it.  What I wasn’t expecting was one of the most intelligent, endearing middle-grade fiction books I have ever read.  Bapu is Anu’s grandfather and one day, while they are out walking, he collapses.  What follows is Anu’s journey to find his grandfather again after he has passed away.  This book with simultaneously crush your heart and heal it again.  Anu has such great friends and such a great family and such wonderful insights that somehow never seem out of place coming from such a young person.  I want everyone to read this book, it is wonderful.  It deals with such heavy topics, but is also so funny.

Honorable Mention: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Most Underrated Book By A Book Blog Darling

This is a book that I don’t think I ever expected to end up on this list, but here it is: Flight by Sherman Alexie.  Alexie has had his fair share of coverage on a lot of book blogs, especially for his most recent foray into YA with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  I loved that book, but this one is better.  Most critics didn’t like it, but I say, they are crazy.  This book is great.

Zits, our narrator, is a homeless and poor Indian boy who, in a fit of desperation, decides to blow up a bank.  Instead of dying when the bomb goes off, he is transported back in time to inhabit some famous historical figures.  Yes, the premise is different, but that is why I loved it so much.  I couldn’t get enough of it.  If I had one complaint it would be that this book is too short.  Probably one of the best compliments you can give a book, now that I think about it.

Honorable Mention: A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle

Best Book Worth All the Hype

Look, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen, is my favorite book of 2010, BUT it is a book that I think is worth the hype it received.  Is Franzen the greatest American novelist? Um, no, but he is a great US novelist.  This book so perfectly captures a specific time in our history and has made me even more eager to pick up The Corrections, Franzen’s first novel.  Maybe that will make my list next year?

Honorable Mention: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Best Book I Want To Put in the Hand of Every Girl/Woman I Know

It was tough to choose between the two Robin Brande books I read this year, Fat Cat and Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature, and while I thought Mena was such an amazing role model and the combination of religion and science in Freaks of Nature was brilliant, I had to pick Cat.  Maybe it’s because I saw a little bit (okay, a lot) of myself in Cat.  I wish Cat was real so we could be best friends.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I cannot wait for Brande’s next book, because I know it will be amazing.  It’s as simple as that.  Not enough people are reading these books.  Why aren’t you reading these books?  Hmmm?  Why?

Honorable Mention: Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande and Reading Women: How the Great Book of Feminism Changed My Life by Stephanie Staal
Best Memoir in a Year Full of Excellent Memoirs

 

I read so many great memoirs this year that I didn’t even get a chance to review them all and going back to pick my favorite was difficult.  I finally decided on Flyaway by Suzie Gilbert because it’s just so unique and I learned so much.  Gilbert is a wild bird rehabber and her journey is just so interesting and full of humor.  I dare you to read Gilbert’s memoir and not be charmed.

Honorable mention: Harry, a History by Melissa Anelli

Biggest Disappointment

I don’t think Great House by Nicole Krauss is a bad book, but I had such high expectation for it and it floundered under those expectations.  I don’t know if that’s my fault or the fault of the book.  It was such an even book that it was even more disappointing.  There was real greatness here, but it was ruined (for me) by the inconsistencies.

Honorable Mention: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

But let’s end this on a happy note…

Favorite Classic of 2010

Mrs. Dalloway is beautiful and contains easily some of the most amazing writing… ever.  I would have quoted the entire book if I could have.  I’m so glad the Woolf In Winter readalong made me read it, because I loved it.

Honorable  Mention: Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (a very close second!)

2010 was a great year for reading, but here’s to hoping 2011 is even better!  Happy New Year, everyone!  I’ll see you next year, lolol.

The Eternal Smile will show you the way

By Lu Posted in Books Tagged , , , , , , , , , 4 Replies

The Eternal Smile is a collection of short comics by authors and artists Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and Derek Kirk Kim (Same Difference and Other Stories).  The comics follow different characters and even have very different drawing and writing styles, but all have the same theme: nothing is really ever how we perceive it and it only takes one event (or one scene, or one word) to change our world view.  All three sections had a lovely twist at the end that really solidified the strength of these stories.

Duncan’s Kingdom is  about a young soldier who is determined to marry his sweetheart, who just happens to be the princess of the land.  When her father, the king, is killed by the Frog King, the princess announces that whoever avenges her father’s death with the head of the Frog King will earn her hand in marriage.  Duncan, with the help of his adopted guardian The Patchwork Man, goes on a journey to avenge the king.  Along the way things are out of place and Duncan begins to question the very foundation of his kingdom.  The twist at the end of this story was not necessarily unexpected and I liked it, but I think it was the weakest of the three stories.  This is not necessarily a fault of the story, but the other two were so strong.

I thought that Gran’pa Greenbax and the Eternal Smile was going to be my least favorite comic.  At first I really didn’t like it and was going to skip it entirely.  I just didn’t love the story and thought it was kind of boring and I didn’t understand the point.  And then I did understand the point and it ended up being my favorite of all.  I don’t want to give anything away, but if you are reading this and consider giving up the story, don’t.   I think it’s the strongest and most imaginative of the three.

If Gran’pa Greenbax and the Eternal Smile is the most imaginative, then Urgent Request is the most beautiful.  I really loved it and the message it sends is a good one.  Janet Oh works at a boring, dead-end job and her life is as gray as the color on the pages.  However, when a Nigerian prince emails her and asks for her help, her life suddenly turns colorful for more than one reason.  I loved the twist at the end of this one.  It was much more contemplative than the other two stories and the beautiful watercolors added to that. There is one particular panel of this story that is just gorgeous and I would love  to have it on my wall.

Though this collection is not necessarily as strong as American Born Chinese or other graphic novels I’ve read lately, it certainly deserves a spot on your list of books to be read.  It’s a quick, enjoyable read and has me really interested in Derek Kirk Kim’s other work.  Fans of graphic novels will find a lot to love here.

So go read this!: now | tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR

Other reviews: Chasing Ray, Book Addiction, things mean a lot, Stuff As Dreams Are Made On.