Rated Weetzie Bat 8/10
Bits of this don't hold up, compared to my teenage love for this book, bit it's still an unusual fairytale. I could do without Weetzie's exotizing of other cultures, and since this novella is just the beginning, there's not a lot of firm plot to speak of, but this reminds me of a certain time and place. My nostalgia is forgiving. This book is a teenage fantasy, and it's a reminder of how far we can grow.
Rated Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race 8/10
I recommend this to nearly every white person, even if they think they know what's what when it comes to racism, both overt and invisibly structural. Some of her past moments made me cringe, and some moments made me think more deeply, though there were a few places where I wish she had explored more deeply herself. A very good book.
Rated Whiteout Volume 1 – The Definitive Edition 8/10
Rated Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail 10/10
This book is as amazing as everyone says that it is. There has been and likely will be a lot of hype surrounding this book, and the more contrary among you might want to resist the hype and not seek out <i>Wild</i>. Resist your contrary nature, just this once. The hype is well-deserved. Cheryl Strayed has written an outstanding book, one that is now easily counted among my favorites. Get thee to a bookstore or your library and soak it in. And then tell others to do the same.<br><br>(My full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2012/03/wild-from-lost-to-found-on-pacific.html">Glorified Love Letters.</a>)
Full review at <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2010/09/why-we-need-love-by-simon-van-booy.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.
Rated Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters 10/10
<div>This is an outstandingly good collection of essays on ("Big Mama") Willie Mae Thornton's life and career. I knew a little about her before reading, but not much, and some of that is because this is only the second biography written about her. Massively influential to early rock n roll, Thornton had a full blues career that spanned from the 1940s until her death in the 1980s. If one of the goals of the book is to make people want to investigate her music further, then consider it a success.</div>
Finished reading The Thursday Murder Club
Rated Winter Counts 9/10
<div>A really good Indigenous noir. I first read Weiden in Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, and I liked his short story enough that I immediately looked up what my local library had by him. The audiobook version is well-narrated. </div>
Rated Young Mungo 10/10
<div>Easily the best book I've read so far this year. The pacing, the characterization, the details and dialogue, all of it is top notch, even if some of the plot points might make your toes curl with worry. Douglas Stuart is fast becoming one of the my favorite writers. For every bit of darkness, there is also a lot of tenderness.</div>
Rated Wrath Of Fantomas 8/10
I was not familiar with Fantômas as a character before reading this, so I probably missed some of the references contained in this story, but I enjoyed this. Julie Rocheleau's artwork is gorgeous, and easily the best part of the whole experience.
Finished reading Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home
Finished reading Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Finished reading Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures - Hidden Depths
Finished reading Doctor Who: The Wishing Beast / The Vanity Box
Finished reading Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road
Finished reading The Illuminated Language of Flowers
Finished reading The Year of Martha Jones