glecharles's reviews
108 reviews

DARK PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the Environment by Grant Ennis

dark informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

Ennis does an excellent job of breaking down and illustrating the various ways corporations successfully manipulate and misdirect us, no matter how savvy we might individually think we are. His call for collective action is inspiring and pragmatic, but it's honestly hard not to think it might be too late.

Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence by Dan McQuillan

informative slow-paced

3.5

Enlightening at times, but overwhelmingly academic, it reads like an AI and Politics 401 textbook. Published before ChatGPT was unleashed and AI being aggressively pushed into everything, some of its proposed solutions seem a little outdated or inadequate in 2025, but are still worth examining.

Clock Striker, Volume 2: The Sharing Society by Saturday AM, Frederick L. Jones, Issaka Galadima

adventurous dark lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

A little darker than I remember the first volume being, but also fun and engaging. A good balance of world building and character development, the setting itself is as interesting as the main story, but it's the characters and dynamic art that... make it... tick.

12 Days manga by June Kim

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Re-reading the first manga I ever read back in 2006. A suitably messy slice of life told in vignettes weaving past and present, as several characters grapple with the untimely death of a loved one. The drinking ashes hook is both literal and metaphorical, but the heart of the story is what's said, and not said, throughout.

The Beautiful Ones by Prince

informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

A unique (auto)biography befitting a unique musical talent, offering insightful glimpses of the young man who'd become one of the greatest artists ever. The care that went into posthumously putting this beautiful scrapbook together makes it a worthy physical keepsake, too.

Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 11 by Kamome Shirahama

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Unexpectedly pays off a simmering character arc while moving the plot forward and adding a couple of new characters to the mix. 11 volumes in and Shirahama continues to get the pacing right, and her artwork remains stunningly beautiful throughout.

Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 10 by Kamome Shirahama

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The pace is ramping up, possibly concluding an Act (1 or 2?), but clearly setting up a bigger conflict.

Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 9 by Kamome Shirahama

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An earlier subplot comes to the fore in an exciting way, while new players appear on the board. Another delightful volume!

Tales of the Orishas by Hugo Canuto

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Combining Kirby's kinetic energy with Yoruban legends, Canuto pays homage to silver age comics while delivering an entertaining story on its own merits — that could also easily have been the starting point for an exciting superhero universe. If Thor, why not Shango?

Boogie Down Predictions: Hip-Hop, Time, and Afrofuturism by Roy Christopher, Steven Shaviro, Rasheeda Phillips, Kodwo Eshun
Did not finish book. Stopped at 64%.

Interesting concept, but too many of the essays are aggressively academic, and often trying too hard to connect to the intriguing Afrofuturist theme. I tried to push through, but it's time to cut bait.