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claudiadcd's reviews
159 reviews
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
4.0
Tripped me up because I forgot to go slow with it. The language tried to get me to slow down, I love the images and the way Gaiman is able to narrate maybe this is happening, maybe it's not, that fine line of magic where if you wanted, you could push it away, but it would be no fun. I'd recommend you approach it episodically, like a TV show. I was wanting the big bad to be found out, investigated and gone after way too quickly. This is practically a whole life, or at least a whole childhood in a book. Take each chapter as its own tiny book, a story to read to a child at bedtime to get them to believe in ghosts again, spooks and haunts and how those are when they're on your side.
The Little French Bistro by Nina George
5.0
Comfort escapism that lets you enjoy the little things in life again. I love Nina George's way of viewing tiny moments and adding the symbolilsm, embuing the moment with some sort of conclusion on life. But that's the characters she's writing. They are on the search for meaning, for comfort, intially for an escape but then a path forward, a path through. It's light enough to just enjoy but not so saccharine as to ignore that life can get complicated and sad at times, and we're all just muscling through as best we can. I liked this one for it's small town and the many lives around that seemed so simple at first and then opened up into a complicated mess. If you want to go visit a seaside town and get a bit embroiled in the love lives of a few individuals, enjoy some art and food, I would definitely grab this one.
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
5.0
I definitely grabbed this for the romantic notion of a tiny parisan bookshop and living in one/owning one. And boy did it deliver. The bookshop is on a ship no less! Even better, a bit of a tour while living amongst shelves and shelves of books. This bookworm is in heaven. And it's not just a life of pleasure. There's a mystery, a sadness literally locked away, that the main character is looking around for the courage and the key to clean things up again. There are lines here that will make you just pause and think a bit, hold the book close to you and just think on life a bit. I am partial to books like that. So maybe not the quickest read, if you read it like I do. But it will definitely leave an impression and offer something more symbolic, something to leave an impression on your soul, something about living life to the fullest, when you're done with it.
The Radleys by Matt Haig
4.0
I like vampires. I know some people are over it by now, but if it's done slightly differently, with a new theme, I love where the monster and theme collide and what new explorations we might find. This new one: suburbia. The writing was so fluid, I fell right in and couldn't even look back. The tension pulled me through to the quintessential scene, for me, when the teenaged girl realizes what she is. That will always rock my world. The hidden symbolism, the power she felt, I felt. It was cathartic as hell and if you want a touch of realism with your fantastical but still get that real catharsis, I'm telling you, just give this one a try. It's not as deep as an Anne Rice nor is it just tapping into the magnetism of these creatures. A healthy dose of Santa Clarita Diet with just of 80s grunge nostalgia from childhood memories of The Lost Boys. There's something to be said about how we all have to grow up and evolve, even if we don't necessarily have to grow old doing it, but that's a bigger theme for deeper readers. It was fun, a quick fix, since it had been awhile since I had my vampire romanticism sated.
I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider
4.0
Inspired and solidified my love for reading and writing. Some comics are too detailed and visual. I personally like his poetry more and can go pages without looking too much at the pictures too closely, to the point where reading it with someone else makes it Where's Waldo fun, where we're each pointing out visual gags that tickled us. But if you need a reminder of why you love reading, books, writing, the English language with all it's weird idiosyncrasies, this will do the trick.
Mis(h)adra by Iasmin Omar Ata
4.0
Heartbreaking. I had to reread it because it is just so real that there's no neat box to wrap this all up into. And I may have wanted to ignore the ending. I rewrote it, making a happier ending, though at the same time invalidating the true dangers of having a chronic condition that isn't fully handled or supported by others. It takes a village shouldn't just refer to children. It is super validating so if you have any chronic condition, or neurological one, this would be a good read if you feel alone. But if you feeling hopeless, wait for a good day for this one. There's an ending, that's all I can say. It is a step up, a step towards enjoyment, but only half a one, in my opinion.
Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun
5.0
I picked this up for a fun, lighthearted fun thing to run thru. Drawn like a children's book with images huge on each page, not a lot of words, quick poke fun at feeling like an outsider at most and looking at earth through a different lens at least. Nope, this broke me! I have pictures on my phone of pages like favorite lines I want hung up on my walls. I cried! Not a sobfest but still, an oh no, aw, poor everyone! It hit when I wasn't even expecting it to hit. It is counsel for grown ups, for those not embraced by our society and those embraced too much. For those understood or trying and struggling and not quite knowing who you are but at least moving towards what you like to do.
Honestly, if the author came in heavy-handedly with: these are all the life lessons I impart to you, it wouldn't have worked so well. Only by halfway thru my first choked up tear did I read the back and Lin Manuel's glowing review of the resonance these comics had. It's just an aliebn trying to study earth, that's all, no big things here. Just enjoy the trip for me.
Honestly, if the author came in heavy-handedly with: these are all the life lessons I impart to you, it wouldn't have worked so well. Only by halfway thru my first choked up tear did I read the back and Lin Manuel's glowing review of the resonance these comics had. It's just an aliebn trying to study earth, that's all, no big things here. Just enjoy the trip for me.
Spiritual Protection: A Safety Manual for Energy Workers, Healers, and Psychics by Sophie Reicher
3.0
The World of Critical Role by Cast of Critical Role, Liz Marsham
4.0
I love these guys and it was super fun to have best highlight moments get narratized and little behind the scenes stuff added in the details. I've watched their first campaign and the behind the scenes stuff from that time pretty extensively, so not a whole lot of knew things. But I fell behind on the Talks Machina and behind the scenes by second campaign so it feels good to be back on the same page with everyone.
I love learning about the creative process, the storytelling process, all the thought behind it, all the details, and this fit all that perfectly. Some great lines from the interviews the author did with them. I really enjoyed the thoughtful questions she had in there, especially at the end about what they think or want to impact of their work to be.
I love learning about the creative process, the storytelling process, all the thought behind it, all the details, and this fit all that perfectly. Some great lines from the interviews the author did with them. I really enjoyed the thoughtful questions she had in there, especially at the end about what they think or want to impact of their work to be.