Jeff
About halfway done, and I think this is my fave Butler book so far, out of a handful of books I've read by her. It's got a very simple plot structure, but a fascinating central character.
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An odd thing happened as I finished up the book–it's a great start to a larger tale, but the writing weakened as it went on. Lots of wonderful ideas here, and it's sadly refreshing to read a book with lots of people of color, but in the end the execution is lacking, for me, in a way that all of the other Butler books I've read weren't lacking. It seems like a sketch for a story, rather than a story.
I do love the idea of Earthseed as a religion, even though I'm mostly anti-religion, and because of that I'll likely read the second book as well, even though the third book of the trilogy was never written...
I'll add that Butler's dystopia is perhaps a little too realistic for me: I think she sees what is actually coming, which makes reading this book chilling.
What a lovely little book, a bit of a treatise on (a few kinds of) love and (a few kinds of) death. This is a keeper, one to read every few years.
This was a letdown for me. There is some interesting day-in-the-life-of-an-American-soldier in WWII stuff, but the sci-fi aspects are mostly just frustrating and muddled. Definitely some cool ideas here, but I was left wanting in the execution. Probably should note that it has won major awards, so perhaps it's just not my favorite flavor of sci-fi...
Two stars is kind of harsh, but this was such a slight memoir. I can tell from Small's writing that she has lots more to say–I'm curious why the editor/publisher encouraged her to tell (mostly) just the facts. The last few pages of reflection are more interesting than any of the insider-porn descriptions (at least to me). Hopefully her next memoir will have more reflection on fewer events...?
I haven't ever ready anything quite like this. Chock full of ideas, surreal and satiric, I loved it. Sullivan uses the now-familiar trope of all-the-people-of-a-certain-gender have died off in the most ingenious ways, the whole while dropping in name-braded humor that really was Laugh Out Loud.
This is one of those books that makes me look at the world differently, knowing that my take on reality isn't as solid as I would like to think.
Can't wait to read her other stuff.
(Oh, and it's feminist as hell. I kind of can't believe that this book got published, given both it's ideas and it's prevalent use of “cunt” and “pussies”.)
Very cool ideas make this worth the short read. (The illustrations are fantastic as well.) I have loved Chiang's short stories for their minimalism, but this novelette reads more like an outline for a longer book. I kind of want Chiang to flesh more out here, so it wasn't as enjoyable a read as the other stuff of his that I have read.
It's poetry. I don't read much poetry. I will always and forever read Chelsea Martin's poetry. It's sad and makes me chuckle.
I supported the Kickstarter for this book, and what a great book it is. I'm glad to have a physical book in this case, because the layout is more of an illustrations-accompany-text than a traditional comic book format, so I think a .pdf layout would have been a problem. The drawings are lovely, the writing is mostly well done and straightforward. The few detours toward flowery language were appropriate, I think, given the interestingly complex character that Tesla was.
I learned a lot about Tesla, and enjoyed the illustrations–the one thing that was lacking was a more detailed, more involved description of the technical details regarding AC and DC, I thought. Just a preference–I would have dug a few intricate, close up diagrams of the actual AC engines–even though the kind of sparse schematic drawings were also cool and interesting.
I can't believe I put off reading this simply because I don't dig Batman that much. It's not about Batman at all. Or Catwoman. Mostly (for me) it's about Renee Montoya, a cop with a bad attitude and anger management issues who also happens to be queer. The queer elements play a part of the story without making her into an after school special. Can't wait to read the older Gotham Central books now...and Rucka's Stumptown.
This is a heartrendingly great read. Found it in the library, having no knowledge of either of its creators–seek it out and check it out.
This one was an odd mix of interesting art and story, but the limits of each kept me from thoroughly enjoying it–I would have enjoyed it more if we had either gotten more back story on Lem (his childhood flashbacks were quite engaging, but not utilized enough to move the character development or story along), or shifted it to more of an ensemble book (which might have made sense, given the format of mimicking a blues song in comic form). As it stood, we got just enough about Lem to care a bit, but not enough to help us through the brutal storyline.
Still, an engaging book, with some beautiful art. Glad my library carries it!
Definitely feel mixed about this memoir. It starts off strong with insights into Young's art, work and relationships with family, other artists and her partners–and she really bares her soul, which almost always makes an interesting memoir. Very intimate details about her relationships are given, with some thought, but something about the style of writing left me wanting a good deal of the time. The book begins and ends with much self-examination, and these are the parts I liked the best. The bulk of the book is a series of loosely related life events, which is kind of how we all live our lives, but that choice didn't give me the meaty, explicit connections that I like in memoirs.
On the other hand, it is this style that lends the books some of its strength–when we look back at our lives, we can try to force a simple, coherent narrative, but that's always a bit contrived. Young leaves her life messy in this memoir, and that's to be commended, even if as a reader it sometimes wasn't as satisfying.
I suspect that future memoirs, if she continues writing them, will be better than this one as she hones her writing craft–a book centering on the founding of Femina Potens would be most welcome, for instance, as the bits and pieces we get about it skim the surface. I want to hear (even) more about how feminism, art, submission and motherhood all play out for her.
I have avoided Clowes for no good reason, really, and I kind of regreat it now. Ice Haven is a deeply tragic set of stories, and has the kind of fascinating structure that the medium of comics can encourage, but rarely finds. A series of character vignettes, all of which revolve around a child abduction, all done is varying styles and tones. One of the most interesting books I've read in a while.
This one gets three stars just for ambition in scope (and the rad art). A bit deconstructionist, a bit punch-through-problems, I think this is worth a read to get a bit of insight into Hickman's development as a writer.
An intriguing concept, but not I wasn't able to get into it – something about the pacing seemed off, and was distracting too much from the characters and plot.
This one gets three stars because of the lovely juxtaposition of simple, cartoon-ish line drawings and the semi-serious story, which is a favorite conceit of mine. It felt like bits and pieces with not enough connective tissue for me to love it.
Started off giving this three stars, but I can't stop thinking about it, so it's one of those books that is better than I thought it was, in that it's having an effect on me.
I'm grateful for this story being told–it seems like the comic format mostly works really well for Carey's story, but it still remains difficult to convey the pleasure of music through comics, and that holds this one back just a bit.
This one gets three start just for the gorgeous art and interesting short-story format. I don't think any of the stories will stick in my head, but I could look at this artwork all day long.
A fascinating look into a fascinating experience: Being a pregnant butch woman. I like my biographies a little more tightly woven, but loved the art and the story is kind of a must-read if you're interested in gender presentation at all.
It's refreshing to read comics that aren't obvious screenplays for movies (though I like those too)–I'm confident this would never get made into a film, and that's just fine. A nice look at how theism might work if all the gods (or, many of them) actually existed and came back to earth. This book is a nice excuse to see Odin battling Zeus, and though it seems odd to me that Gaia is one of the “new” gods, the ending of this arc is still satisfying.
Aside from all that, this is a nice little treatise, in comic form, on theology and atheism. Gods coming back to earth seems like the logical endpoint of fundamentalism, and this is a fun exploration of ideas, while still getting to see Gaia kick Zeus' ass.
This is a great book. Understated and insightful, this is the sort of book one reads slowly on purpose, not wanting it to end. I'm fascinated by how MariNaomi manages to test out various artistic styles, yet still keep a minimalist vibe going. I don't know how it works, but it works really well.
The feelings invoked here are myriad and worth exploring–why are we alive, why do we fall in love, what's the fucking point, anyway–all conveyed through snapshot-ed moments from actual life.
(PS: It's also a lovely book-as-object: Uncivilized Books has put together a hefty volume with a stark but lovely cover. This book feels good in your hands. )
I didn't finish this one–didn't make it much past 100 pages. I “get” that this is an amazing work in various ways, and I'm not put off by the sex at all; I also get that there is a payoff in later chapters. I am not willing to work that hard for the payoff. Maybe someday.
This is a page turner, but with a few more flaws (e.g. thing I didn't enjoy as much!) than the other two books of hers that I've read. She manages to create modern Detroit as a background character in a wonderful way, even sort of mocking herself in a character who is new to the area, pseudo-exploiting it. The central characters are two women–a mother and her daughter–who have multi-layered personalities, but the other characters feel so one-note that they end up distracting from the main themes, given the multiple-perspective structure of the book. When we get away from Layla or Gabi's perspectives, my interest waned.
That said, it's a solid thriller with a few mystical-horror elements which worked well. I hope we get to see these characters again...?
A quick, fun read – and a nice hook with the fantasy-historical-fiction twist on Lizzie Borden.