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.
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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 Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks 8/10
Enjoyed reading this to my son, but can you believe I've yet to see the episodes matching this story?
Rated Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness 8/10
<div>Smart, depressing, captivating art.<br><br>All the content warnings for the monkey science portions. I had already read an excerpt online when this first came out, and that part was difficult enough then, so I chose to skip over those pages now that I finally read the whole thing. It is a testament to how interesting the rest of this book is that I still wanted to read the rest. "Graphic novel" doesn't seem quite the right category for this memoir mixed with research into loneliness, but that's where you'll find it in the library.</div>
Wants to read Role Models by John Waters
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>
Wants to read Serafina and the Black Cloak
Rated Simon's Cat Vs. the World! 10/10
Both very funny and full of detail.<br><br>Full review to come.
Rated Somewhere in France 6/10
If the relationship had occurred differently and if the pacing were tightened, I think I would have liked this book quite a bit. I’ve been reading and watching a lot of WWI and WWII content set in England lately, and I am interested for reasons I don’t yet fully know. Robson has a great love for historical subject matter, and it shows. Her insights into period details are very, very good, and the descriptions of the hospital and the war feel true, even coming from semi-naive Lilly. There’s an excellent book floating around in here, but as it stands, Somewhere in France is merely adequate.<br><br>(My full review appears at <a href="http://persephonemagazine.com/2014/02/book-review-somewhere-in-france-by-jennifer-robson/">Persephone Magazine</a>.)
Rated Song So Wild and Blue: A Life with the Music of Joni Mitchell 9/10
<div>I really loved this. If you know how personal being a great fan of music can be, and perhaps in a larger sense, how love has a way of shifting and changing over decades, then you will find reflections that feel very familiar here. <br><br>I'm also quite jealous that Lisicky and his partner got to go to the Joni Jam at the Gorge, but I did enjoy hearing about his experience of being there.</div>
Rated Spin 6/10
<i>Spin</i> is cute, yes, and nicely satisfying in a not-totally-insulting romantic comedy way, even though this is a story more about addiction than wanting to make out with someone. It’s about all relationships a person can have, and how a person’s behavior affects those relationships. While it's not my usual literary neck of the woods, it made for a nice palate cleanser after reading heavier material.<br><br>(My full review can be found at <a href="http://persephonemagazine.com/2012/03/book-review-spin-by-catherine-mckenzie/">Persephone Magazine</a>.)
Rated The Cassandra 10/10
This was really great. I wish I knew more about the myth so I could've gotten even more out of it.