Wants to read Tortilla Flat
book
Rated Professor Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Masquerade of Death 7/10
<div>Sort of the spiritual successor to <em>Oh No It Isn't!</em></div>
Rated Shuggie Bain 10/10
Outstanding. Truly. One of my favorite books I've read in a long while. There's so much said here about loneliness and empathy and difficulty. Glad I finally read it.
Rated Persepolis Rising 8/10
<div>Really solid progression of the series, and now with a jump in time, so I can see why the show is (initially??) ending with the previous book. However, I do wish some of the moving parts in this book re: the ending had been a bit more "on screen" than they were, but I suppose that neatly solves the problem of having to come up with those details? Writing hack, ha.</div>
Rated Real Life 10/10
What a beautiful, sad, true book. The way Brandon Taylor uses all five senses in his writing reminds me of Tessa Hadley, in that one can almost taste and smell and BE right there along with the characters. I loved this.
Rated Rivers of London 8/10
<div>This definitely doesn't pass the Bechdel Test, but there are at least a handful of women who are smart and capable. And the story is interesting and quick-paced. CW for child death though.<br><br>if you're listening to the audiobook, dude is a loud breather and the editing does not mitigate it, but otherwise, it's narrated well.</div>
Rated Pivot: A Novel 8/10
<div>A solid queer rom-com! It's fun, touches on the struggles of hearing loss, and also? Be still my heart — it contains competent event planners. If you're looking for something lighter to close out the year with, you'll have a good time. <br><br></div>
Wants to read Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk
Rated Poorly Drawn Lines: Good Ideas and Amazing Stories 6/10
Though the content somewhat becomes the same sort of joke when it's compiled into one book, I really enjoy this comic, so I didn't mind too much. The darkly funny flash fiction between sections of comics were interesting, though a mixed bag.
Rated Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Gods of the Underworld 4/10
<div>It's just... ok. Honestly, it's the first Benny story that I really was waiting to be done with. It's not without redeeming features; there's the usual humor and Lisa Bowerman does a good job with all the voices, and I was at least invested enough to finish the story, but it's definitely not among the best.</div>
Rated Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Mirror Effect 8/10
One of the more interesting stories in these earlier adventures.
Rated ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Everything: A Do-It-Yourself Primer 4/10
<i>ReadyMade</i> is one of those magazines I periodically buy, thinking that if I'm ever overcome with a fit of craftiness, it would help inspire my poor wallet and me to make something interesting out of stuff I already have, or can obtain on the cheap. Some of their projects veer a bit towards the "I'm bored and like making things, soo... behold! This strange and only semi-useful thing!", but others really are small strokes of "Aha! What an idea!" Unfortunately, this book version of ReadyMade is more like the former. Apart from a couple of projects featured in the book, most of the stuff is not only kind of stupid, but also rather ugly.<br><br>What I like about the magazine and its website are the ideas for reusing fabric, decorating ideas that look more spendy than they are, and interesting food/party ideas. The book has no food or party projects, but it does have just a couple of ideas in the fabric/decorating categories that I liked: a doormat made out of doll-head clothespins and a dog bed made out of old jeans. The dog looks so happy!<br><br>I'd link to either of these projects, but the website doesn't have them. In fact, I have the suspicion that <i>ReadyMade</i> is a bit embarrassed by their book because it is nowhere to be found on their site. Published in 2006, perhaps they've heard enough flack in the past 5 years to know they really squandered an opportunity. (A <i>lamp cozy?</i> Really?)<br><br>Flat-out irresponsible was how they detailed the way in which they first financed the magazine at its inception -- using credit cards, and then using other credit cards to pay those cards, and then assuming they would be able to pay off the balances in <i>X</i> amount of time. While this would work in theory for the responsible, planned business, and it did indeed work for them, 5 years later, we know that not everyone is that financially skilled. I don't know if those pages would have made it through the editorial process were the book published today.<br><br>Also wasting space in the book is accounts of semi-failed projects that were previously featured in the magazine, such as a chair made out of plastic bottles. "The noise when sitting on it," was one of the cons associated with the project, as if that even needed saying. "Remake This!" they ask of these projects -- but why in the world would you want to? Surely there are better discard materials with which to craft a chair.<br><br>Somewhat interesting, however, was the historical pages on wood, cloth, metal, paper, and plastic. Talking about how these materials came into wide use is probably not interesting to everyone, and it certainly doesn't help with project inspiration, but it makes sense to start the different sections with these introductions.<br><br>There's really not much more to say about this book other than don't bother spending full price on it. I checked it out from the library, and I suppose it would be an okay used bookstore purchase if it were under $10, if for directions on the dog bed project and a couple of the wood building projects alone. Still, calling this book a guide on how to make almost everything is really misleading. Rather than <i>{Almost}</i>, it should read <i>{Hardly}</i>.<br><br><i>(This review originally appeared on <a href="http://www.glorifiedloveletters.com">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)</i>
(This is one of those times I wish I had half-stars because this is more of a 2.5)<br><br>I'm with Horan on the interesting nature of his project, and the potential it has for reforesting the descendants of old trees, as well as reminding us that some moments cannot be contained to a "sterile" museum. However, I wish <i>Seeds</i> were a better book. He needed to either go the straight history route, or — as I suspect straight history would be difficult for him to write — he needed to be more complete with the memoir side of his project. Though he says that these people were important to him, we don't know a lot about why. Bits and pieces, sure, but like I said, it's all very on the surface. I know what it's like to be engrossed in a fun, personal project, and so I want to know all that very personal stuff. So it's not that <i>Seeds</i> is a bad concept for a book; it's that I wished the approach and execution were different. As it stands, it is a decent library check-out, but likely a disappointing purchase.<br><br>(My full review appears on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2013/02/seeds-by-richard-horan.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>)<br>
Rated Self Portraits: Fictions [Hardcover] 6/10
I’m not going to lie — This book went a bit over my head. Though I did not feel dumb while reading it, I spent the entire time feeling as though I did not have the right points of reference. Filled with allusions to art and literature, Frederic Tuten’s Self Portraits: Fictions would likely be loved by a reader on the same mental trip, but that reader, despite some effort, was not me. <br><br>(Read the full review over on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2010/12/self-portraits-fictions.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Wants to read Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction
Rated Shadowshaper 8/10
<div>I've had this book hanging around forever, and just finally got to it. A really great YA fantasy that uses metaphor without beating readers about the head with it.</div>
Rated She'd Waited Millennia 8/10
I love the succinct way Hutton creates images. I see the wiry muscles, the flowering yards, and swirling nights out. We feel the speaker’s yearning throughout, her desire to bring just a bit more (yet <i>so much more</i>) life into the world. This boy, <i>her</i> boy. Her descriptions of motherhood and marriage, while they do not necessarily resemble my own, feel very real.<br><br>(My full review appears at <a href="http://persephonemagazine.com/2012/09/19/book-review-shed-waited-millennia-by-lizzie-hutton/">Persephone Magazine</a>.)
Rated Shift 6/10
Bensel has a talent for creating very specific images that imply multiple meanings. It is easy to see the places in which these poems exist. There is also a definite connection to nature, with birds and water making frequent appearances, and the temperature is often chilly.<br><br>Not every poem was amazing for me, and a few like “Get Nailed” and “Instructions on How to Write a Screenplay” seemed out of place amidst the gritty diner-types and army vets <i>“gettin’ raw.”</i> It’s not that they are bad poems, of course, but they felt like inserted afterthoughts because they were available.<br><br>Still, Bensel has written a very promising chapbook that suggests great writing to come. I do hope we one day see a more expansive collection with her very capable command of theme.<br><br>(My full review appears at <a href="http://www.wordriot.org/archives/4774#">Word Riot</a>.)
Rated The Escape 8/10
<div>Very much enjoyed this prequel look at the Snowpiercer story. It's a little different than the TV version (which I also like), but the basic premise is the same: Man from the tail manages to work his way to the front of the train, and shady stuff is going down with some of the citizens the whole way through. The art is good and adds to the sense of cold temps outside, and I'm looking forward to reading the following collections in this series.</div>