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vreadsabook's reviews
672 reviews
Strange Embrace by David Hine
5.0
Ryan recommended this to me, saying it was one of the craziest graphic novels he had ever read. Boy was he right. The story was very intense and unexpected, and leaves you with chills. I don't really know what to say about it, other than that it is the story of a very messed up family, told through a very strange lens.... I recommend for anyone to check it out, but note that it's definitely not light reading.
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell by Jim Royal, Ryan Sook, Dan Slott, Wade Von Grawbadger
2.0
This was also really good, if you're interested in the Arkham Asylum part of Batman at all. Read with the first Arkham Asylum in mind, however, it's a little lackluster. The art isn't half as good, and there's no Batman in this story. Still, it's fascinating to see how Arkham can change people. So, if you're into Arkham, check it out, but it's definitely not a must-read if you're a huge Batman fan.
Who Was Marco Polo? by Joan Holub
4.0
I volunteer through a pen pal service to get and discuss books with fifth graders. This is the biography that my pen pal chose. I must say, I found this book to be really well-written for the age group. While obviously it was not particularly enlightening reading for myself, I was surprised by just how much information was crammed into the compact little book. It also seemed very interactive with the special sections. I was particularly impressed by the "What life would be like if you were a..." sections. I found them engrossing and could very well encourage to children to understand what life might be like in other cultures and time periods they are unfamiliar with.
Mein Jahrhundert by Günter Grass
2.0
This book was ultimately very okay, which is less than I expected from a Nobel Prize winner. The book is a series of 3-4 page 100 short stories in which Grass, who lived for a majority of the 20th century, tells the tale of Germany throughout the period. It is not that the book isn't interesting, but it is perhaps that Grass uses certain tricks too much. For the first 25 or so years, the stories are fascinating. After that, his trick of planting you in the middle of a story where you have to locate yourself gets very old, particularly since one has to do it roughly 70 times. As well, I didn't like how he avoided some topics. Grass engages WWI and WWII only second-handedly, told through writers and journalists looking back on the period. The Holocaust, for example, is handled only by a photographer who is angry that one of his photos at the emancipation of one of the camps was never paid for. This could be compelling if it had a point. Grass never really seems to make one, however, except that perhaps time marches past certain events (which is swiftly negated by his extensive coverage of some arbitrary events). I wish he had dealt with a few of the major events with seriousness, even if he wished to use such a trick for others. Also, I do think that the book can be a little too self-centered on Grass. That is not to say that Grass should have removed autobiographical elements, but many parts of the book are puzzles that are unintelligble to the average reader (such as understanding Grass's references to "Willy" in later chapters) and may render the book dated very quickly. Ultimately, I found a lot of the book to be too heavy-handed and gimmicky. That said, it was still an interesting read to talk about modern German history, especially if one were already familiar with most of the major historical events.
Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-Free Alternatives for Independent Brides by Ariel Meadow Stallings
4.0
Let it be known that this book isn't a how-to guide, as any book about having a unique, personal wedding can't be. It is mostly the story of the author's wedding and many vignettes she has heard from friends. If a how-to is what you want (I certainly didn't), don't purchase this book.
That said, this was a really fantastic book for brides who want to create their wedding on their own terms. If you're skeptical of the wedding industry, be it certain traditions or the idea that you have to spend a million dollars to have a good wedding, this book is a calm voice saying, "It's okay if you think that's dumb, and it's fine to like it if you do." It has definitely inspired me to stand my ground on a lot of issues that I think are important about my own wedding, and I'd recommend it to anyone else who is a little skeptical of the idea of being told what a wedding "must be.
That said, this was a really fantastic book for brides who want to create their wedding on their own terms. If you're skeptical of the wedding industry, be it certain traditions or the idea that you have to spend a million dollars to have a good wedding, this book is a calm voice saying, "It's okay if you think that's dumb, and it's fine to like it if you do." It has definitely inspired me to stand my ground on a lot of issues that I think are important about my own wedding, and I'd recommend it to anyone else who is a little skeptical of the idea of being told what a wedding "must be.
Girl Trouble by Holly Goddard Jones
5.0
I began reading this book as a recommendation from a professor at my school, who read the work after Jones guest-taught at my college for a semester. I was completely blown away, and read the book from start to finish over three days, in spite of it being possibly the most stressful time in my college career.
The book is about a fictional small town in central to western Kentucky, called Roma. I myself am from a very small town in western Kentucky and found myself utterly gripped by just how accurately Jones writes about life here. So many times I felt myself wanting to scream, "I know!" at the book, just on the pure basis of it being so much like my own childhood. It's also a very good setting for the book, which in very subtle ways is about the interconnectedness of people that is often too sharply in focus in small-town life. I am curious, however, to see how these various elements read to someone who is not familiar with small-town Kentucky life, and whether they resonate or are simply foreign.
That said, the book is ultimately a book about betrayal, typically betrayals in the relationships we tend to place the most value on, those between men and women. The sensitivity with which Jones writes, however, makes the betrayal subtle, just as natural and accidental as most betrayals are. In fact, I was halfway through the book before I realized that was one of the key unifying themes. Jones even manages to somehow put into her text a betrayal I, and surely others have often felt: the deep-seated guilt of a betrayal in thought alone. The type of guilt derived from thought is perhaps one of the hardest ones to express. Jones clearly feels a deep understanding and sensitivity toward all of the characters in her stories, and all of the betrayals, in spite of the blame, become tragedies and loss for everyone. The victims and the perpetrators are left equally broken and all that can be lamented is the sadness of being human. This is not at all a happy book, but it is very deep and true. I am very pleased I read it, at times felt as if Jones was literally writing my own thoughts. I hope to read it again in the future.
The book is about a fictional small town in central to western Kentucky, called Roma. I myself am from a very small town in western Kentucky and found myself utterly gripped by just how accurately Jones writes about life here. So many times I felt myself wanting to scream, "I know!" at the book, just on the pure basis of it being so much like my own childhood. It's also a very good setting for the book, which in very subtle ways is about the interconnectedness of people that is often too sharply in focus in small-town life. I am curious, however, to see how these various elements read to someone who is not familiar with small-town Kentucky life, and whether they resonate or are simply foreign.
That said, the book is ultimately a book about betrayal, typically betrayals in the relationships we tend to place the most value on, those between men and women. The sensitivity with which Jones writes, however, makes the betrayal subtle, just as natural and accidental as most betrayals are. In fact, I was halfway through the book before I realized that was one of the key unifying themes. Jones even manages to somehow put into her text a betrayal I, and surely others have often felt: the deep-seated guilt of a betrayal in thought alone. The type of guilt derived from thought is perhaps one of the hardest ones to express. Jones clearly feels a deep understanding and sensitivity toward all of the characters in her stories, and all of the betrayals, in spite of the blame, become tragedies and loss for everyone. The victims and the perpetrators are left equally broken and all that can be lamented is the sadness of being human. This is not at all a happy book, but it is very deep and true. I am very pleased I read it, at times felt as if Jones was literally writing my own thoughts. I hope to read it again in the future.
Maus: A Survivor's Tale. I, My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman
4.0
There is nothing to say but wow. The story is intense because of its intimacy. Spiegelman, of course, when he says that knowing of his father's life in all shades makes the story more personable. The history of his father is harrowing within itself, of course, but perhaps of even greater interest to me is the relationship between Art and his father as well as Art's father and his wives. I find the fallout that occurs between survivors and their families to be fascinating. The only problem I have with it is that I wish the story were even longer, particularly toward the end of this volume. I realize, however, that this is problematic with serialized comics. I am excited to read the second part.
Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
5.0
This was an -amazing- graphic novel, the first in a series of about 10. The premise is that fairy tale characters have been exiled from their homelands into real-life New York City. This particular set is the introduction and focuses on finding the killer of Rose Red. I love that the style is so pulpy, even the characters and their newfound New York attitudes. It managed to do the "fairy tales lost in the real world" without seeming gimmicky or trying to make too much of a message. I was also pleased how this book was a complete story arc; it's never fun when a graphic novel leaves books off in the middle of a plot. I was also very amused by certain scenes, particularly in small details in the art style, so much so that I laughed out loud at some portions. Ultimately I can't wait to read more of the series.
Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen by Heinrich Heine
3.0
I really enjoyed this book. It's actually a fairly easy read for non-native speakers and parts of it are incredibly funny. Its disjointedness was a little strange, but ultimately interesting as one tries to understand Heine's point.
1001 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married by Monica Mendez Leahy
3.0
My fiancé and I used this book in lieu of real premarital counseling, as we are separated by about six hours. We did the book over a serious of several months, beginning I believe in December and working our way through it. Ultimately, it certainly fulfilled its job in coming up with many questions we didn't think of or thought were too obvious to ask. I'm not sure we gained a great insight into each other in that we already knew most of the other person's answers (a good thing!), but it was certainly fun to re-hear the stories and understand how the person sees them in relation to the question. I certainly think working through the book together was helpful for us. If anything, it was simply a big project we undertook and completed together.
That said, some parts of the book I thought were absurd. Some of the questions I felt were truly over the top, so much so that I can't imagine anyone who might answer them in the affirmative was thinking seriously of getting married, much less had convinced someone else to agree and is then working through a premarital questions book. Nonetheless, I'm willing to give the book a benefit of the doubt. I was also a little annoyed sometimes with the wording of the questions. While for many question, Leahy tries to remain politically correct and make them work both ways, some questions have slips where it is assumed that only a man might have an issue with the problem in question. For instance, one question focused on a "bachelor" party and how "he" should behave, versus including women. It was easy to reverse and re-ask in the opposite way, but was annoying to read.
Ultimately, I think the book was certainly helpful and not bad at all for its purpose and I would recommend that any couple looking at getting married complete this or a similar book if they cannot obtain premarital counseling.
That said, some parts of the book I thought were absurd. Some of the questions I felt were truly over the top, so much so that I can't imagine anyone who might answer them in the affirmative was thinking seriously of getting married, much less had convinced someone else to agree and is then working through a premarital questions book. Nonetheless, I'm willing to give the book a benefit of the doubt. I was also a little annoyed sometimes with the wording of the questions. While for many question, Leahy tries to remain politically correct and make them work both ways, some questions have slips where it is assumed that only a man might have an issue with the problem in question. For instance, one question focused on a "bachelor" party and how "he" should behave, versus including women. It was easy to reverse and re-ask in the opposite way, but was annoying to read.
Ultimately, I think the book was certainly helpful and not bad at all for its purpose and I would recommend that any couple looking at getting married complete this or a similar book if they cannot obtain premarital counseling.