Boxers and Saints (Gene Luen Yang)

So, this post is actually covering two books by Gene Luen Yang: Boxers and Saints.  As I'm writing this, I have just finished Saints, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about things.  This duo of books presents a story from two opposing viewpoints, leaving the reader to determine for themselves which side is right.  See, the story takes place during China's Boxer Rebellion, when the native Chinese rebelled against foreign invaders, including Christian missionaries.  Boxers is told by the young man who leads the rebellion.  Saints is told by a Chinese girl who converts to Christianity.

I'm very open about being Catholic.  I don't run around telling people for no good reason, but

if someone asks, or it comes up in conversation, I'm happy to tell people about my faith.  But, even so, I found this a difficult book series to read, not because I hated it, but because I was not sure who to side with.  When you read Boxers, it is obviously painting the Christians as evil, "foreign devils".  But, at the same time, Saints redeems the Christian image.  It was a very powerful read.

I liked each book for different reasons.  Boxers, hands down, had the cooler storyline.  I mean, with their homeland being invaded and their culture destroyed, a group of Chinese nobodies join forces and under the influence of a sacred ritual, become the living embodiment of their gods.  The art style was amazing, and each god's costume was beautifully and intricately designed.  The battle scenes drew you in and left you breathless as you waited to see what the outcome would be.  Saints was a story of faith and second chances.  While Bao was confident in his gods and his rituals, Vibiana struggles with her faith.  It's not a preachy "I'll be Christian!" story, but it shows the real struggles of being a religious minority in a time of persecution.  While Saints was not as visually pleasing as Boxers, the story was, in my opinion, deeper and richer.  I wish that it was a little bit longer.

All in all, this was a great series.  And I highly recommend it to any of you with an interest in history, religion, or China.

Anya's Ghost (Vera Brosgol)

I'm actually reading at a pretty steady clip right now.  I'm happy to report that Summer Reading 2015 is off to a good start.  At least until classes get underway.  Then we'll see how I'm doing, I suppose.

But, for right now, let's talk about my next read: Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol.  This is a graphic novel story of a high school girl (Anya) who is struggling to fit in with her classmates because her Russian immigrant mother keeps pulling her back into her heritage, encouraging her to attend Russian Orthodox mass and become friends with nerdy little Dima, who is also from Russia.  But, instead, she's something of a loner, smoking cigarettes behind the principal's back with her friend Siobhan, and wishing the cute guy in her class would notice her.  All this changes when she finds herself taking an alternate route home from school and ends up tumbling into a well.  She's not the only one there, either.  There are the skeletal remains of a young girl, about her age.  And the ghost of that girl is still down there.  Ninety years is a long time to be alone, and she's eager to

have found a new friend, although Anya's not so keen on being pals.  Still, when Anya leaves the well, she finds that this ghost is going to be a bit harder to lose.  But, that might not be a bad thing...or is it?

This is a sort of spooky tale.  It's a ghost story, after all.  And of course, this is one of those stories that I really can't say much about for fear of spoilers, so I ask that you bear with my vague descriptions.  But, if you're interested in paranormal stories, ghosts, mysteries, or comics, this is something you might enjoy.  Also, I recommend this to anyone who has ever felt like the outsider or been unlucky in love.

Since this was a graphic novel, I did want to comment on the art style.  I really liked the character design, and I thought the art was wonderful!  The characters were emotional and expressive and popped off the page.  The art actually reminded me somewhat of the art of Bryan Lee O'Malley, who writes the Scott Pilgrim books.  Obviously not the same, but it made me think of it.

Well, I have a whole stack of books lined up for continued reading.  I hope you'll stop in again to see what else I'm reading this summer.  In the meantime, I'm reading about management for a Library Science class....Bleah.

But, still, there is a lot of good stuff out there.  I'm looking forward to sharing my samplings of it with all of you.  And tell me what you're reading to!  As always, Happy Reading! ~em

Yotsuba&! (Kiyohiko Azuma)

Perhaps the hardest part about being a reader is when you finally finish a good book or series.  As all good things must come to an end, so too must this one.  Sure, rereading is a thing, but it's not the same as experiencing something for the first time.  Recently, I completed the manga series Yotsuba&!, and had that experiences, so, today, I'm going to tell you a little about it.

 

So, Yotsuba&! tells the story of a little girl named Yotsuba, her father, and their friends.  It's a slice of life manga that is part seeing the world through the eyes of a child, and part watching a child experience all these things for the first time--but from the perspective of a parent.  It's incredibly cute and sentimental.  Also, it's laugh out loud hilarious.  I was constantly cracking up!

So, what makes Yotsuba&! so great?  Well, the stories and adventures are never anything too crazy.  If you're not a fan of fantasy, and want a more realistic story, than this is good for that.  Adventures include riding bikes, getting a camera for the first time, and picking chestnuts.  If that sounds dull, then never fear!  Yotsuba's crazy antics are enough to turn any simple story into something much, much more.

Confession time: I really didn't want kids.  For years, I was pretty content with the fact that I don't get kids and kids don't get me.  Mostly, too, I don't think they like me.  I'm not doing anything wrong, but I think they can sense that I'm too serious or that I just don't know what to do around them.  This makes all of us uncomfortable.   But, sometimes, little things start to change my mind.  Reading Library Wars: Love and War, for example, has started to change how I think about romance.  I'm not a huge romantic, but there are a few anime and manga series that are making me reconsider.  When it comes to having children, Yotsuba&! makes me think that perhaps it wouldn't be all that bad.  In fact, it could be a lot of fun.

So, I suppose most of what I've been saying doesn't tell you too much about the series.  And I guess that's because this is one of those series that is hard to explain and do it justice.  It's a slice of life manga.  Okay.  It's about friendship and discovery, but mostly I think about love and family.  It takes everyday things and makes them absolutely hilarious and amazing and fun!

Oh, and the faces.  Oh, the faces.

I have not enjoyed a manga this much in quite a while.  Also, I will say, the first book might start off a bit slow, so give it time.  Soon, you won't be able to stop reading!  Sadly, there is no anime, at least not that I can find.  And I'm not sure if there will be one or not.  But, still...you should totally read this and tell me what you think!  If you have any specific questions, please feel free to post them in the comments, and I will try to answer as best as I can :)

Until next time, dear readers!  ~Emmy

I Kill Giants (Joe Kelly)

Confession time: when I was a kid, I sort of lived in my head.  I was imaginative, quiet, and always working up a new story or some adventure to daydream about.  I was that kid who would get called out by the teacher not for talking too much or acting out, but because I was staring out the window, thinking about what Pokemon I would want to take with me on my quest to become the Pokemon master, or what it would be like if I, like so many of the books I read as a kid, could go to some fantasy world and find all manner of strange and wonderful creatures and new friends.

Even now, at 24, I can still appreciate that part of child me.  Sure, I don't think that I'll be able to walk through a closet and end up in Narnia, but sometimes, I still think about what it would be like to go on an adventure, meet all manner of strange and wonderful creatures, and together fight off some great evil and save the world.  Or, more realistically, I would love to go backpacking across New Zealand, and meet some wonderful people who would remain close friends for the rest of our lives.

When I first picked up this book, I was looking for a simple fantasy story, but instead I found a deep and touching tale of growing up, coming of age, and dealing with the pain and suffering of life.  Let's be honest here: life is not always easy, but some of us have it easier than others.  For me, childhood had a lot of ups and down.  As a kid, I was very happy.  I was active, got along well with boys, and had a lot of fun.  When I got to be about 10 or so, I started having friend troubles, as girls do, because my classmates were getting into cliches.  And by the time I was in seventh or eighth grade, it had graduated from cliches to bullying.  There were years that I struggled because I was bullied to the point where I had no self-esteem.  For those of you who have never experienced it, there is no way to explain it.  It is the worst thing I have ever experienced, and I would never wish it on anyone.

Anyways, on to the book.  I think what attracted me to this book once I stared reading was the fact that I could see so much of myself in Barbara.  Here, we have a young girl who certainly stands out in her class.  She's quirky, she's odd, and she doesn't care.  When questioned, she claims that she kills giants, but this is all just a cover for coping with issues at home.  She's a smart kid, but you can see that she is struggling through something.  But, instead of making this an obviously mopey piece, in the hands of Joe Kelly, this becomes an amazing story full of heart and imagination.  It was incredibly engaging and difficult to put down.  We want to cheer on Barbara through her struggles, even though she makes herself somewhat unlikable.  But, she's a kid with a lot of emotions all bottled up inside, and like all of us, just wants to be loved and accepted.

The start is a bit slow, so make sure you give it some time to get involved.  And then, toward the end, there is some shocking stuff.  I'm not going to say anything more, but you don't want to miss out on this!  A great collaboration of drama, magical realism, and fantasy, this book is sure to blow you away!  Not gonna lie: there were a few parts where I got pretty choked up.  Which is saying something, since I generally try to be as emotionless as Mr. Spock, haha!  But, seriously--go and read this!  You'll be so glad you did!  And once you read it, come back and tell me what you thought about it!

The Last Temptation (Neil Gaiman)

I promise that this will be my last graphic novel book review for a little while.  I'm sure you guys are getting sick of them.  But, I just had to go on a little mini-rant about how awesome this book was.  First, it was written by Neil Gaiman, who writes nothing but awesome, except for his Sandman series, and possibly Stardust.  I don't remember much of that, except I didn't like it.  Second, it includes Alice Cooper!  That's right!  The Last Temptation was actually written in conjunction with Alice Cooper's concept album of the same name.  So, yay!

The story is about Steven, a high school kid who follows a creepy showman (who looks a hell of a lot like ol' Alice) into an abandoned theatre for a once-in-a-lifetime performance.  While there, the showman invites him to join the show...permanently.  And, being the charming master of dark creepy things that he is, the showman allows him some time to think things through.  He offers him a life of fun and excitement, free from pain and responsibility and growing old.  And in return, all Steven needs to give up is his potential.

It's a creepy story, certainly.  But, it was fun to read.  And it combined one of my favorite authors and one of my favorite musicians.  I never thought I'd pick up a Neil Gaiman book with Alice Cooper in it.  And I found it completely by accident, as I was checking in books at work. 

The version I was reading was in black and white, but there is apparently also a color version out.  I'll be trying to get my hands on a copy of that next.

The best part for me, however, was the concept album, The Last Temptation, that went along with the book.  I read the book first, then got the CD through inter-library loan (ILL).  I won't go into details here, but the music was WONDERFUL.  Gaiman suggests pairing the two together for the ultimate reading experience, but by the time I figured out that there was an album, I was already too committed to "starting this book today, dammit!"  

(Sometimes, I fear I take after Lost in Space's Dr. Smith.  "Smith!  Don't eat that!  You don't even know what it is!"  "Oh, nonsense, it looks delicious.  And if it were poison, I evolved palate would be able to detect it".  Or, in my case: "Em!  Don't read that yet!  You have to wait until the CD comes." "Oh, nonsense, this book looks awesome!  It won't be a big deal at all."  And maybe it was.  I won't really know.  If you do the "correct" thing and pair the two up, please let me know how it affected your reading experience.)

Overall, it was a fun book.  Was it the greatest graphic novel I've read?  No.  But, it was fun.  And that's really what's important to me.  Yeah, sometimes I felt it was a bit hokey.  And the "Lost in America" sequence dragged a bit, because the dialogue was straight from the song lyrics.  Nothing wrong with that, per se, but have you ever heard someone "say" song lyrics?  It just doesn't sound right.  And it doesn't read right, either.  But, the story was cool in that sort of vaguely creepy atmospheric way.  It reminded me of the time I tried to read Something Wicked This Way Comes, and then had to return it to the library because I ran out of renewals.  Or even of the feeling in the air at the end of September to late October when you sit outside in a lawn chair watching the leaves swirl around while reading books about vampires and other bogeymen.  Keeping that in mind, I plan on picking it up again this October.  Hopefully it'll be a fun read.

Scott Pilgrim 1-6 (Bryan Lee O'Malley)

I've been reading a lot of graphic novels lately.  (As I'm sure some of you surmised from my post on Sandman, quickly followed by one on Scott Pilgrim.  I guess a lot of people have been recommending them to me lately (first those two girls at work, and now my brother).  While I was pretty lukewarm about the Sandman series, however, I loved Scott Pilgrim.

Why?  Well, it's a fun series!  And it takes full advantage of its medium as a comic book.  The

plots are over-the-top and outrageous, but great fun to read.  Imagine this if you will: Scott Pilgrim is your average 20-something post-graduate bum.  He lives with his gay roommate, Wallace Wells, sponging off his stuff instead of getting a job, and has just started dating a 17 year old (Scott is 23), much to his friends' disgust and amusement.  Then, everything changes when Scott meets Ramona.  She's the girl of his dreams.  Literally.  Ramona has an uncanny way of wandering through Scott's head on her delivery route for Amazon.ca.  Then, they finally get to meet during the day.  And start dating.  But, before they can get too serious, Scott first has to fight Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends.  All seven of them.  But, Scott has a few skeletons in his own closet, as well.  Drama and hilarity ensue.

I first heard about this series because of the Michael Cera movie that came out a few years back.  I had liked Cera's performance in Juno, and so when my brother told me about Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, I was curious.  And it was a really good movie.  I love video games and comic books, so the film's combination of the two was pretty awesome.

But, this isn't a review about the movie!  We're talking about the book (if you're interested in the movie, you can read my movie review at Cinema Sweetheart's Film Reviews.

If you liked the movie, I would highly recommend the books, since there is so much more to the plot and to the characters in the books.  And if you weren't a huge fan of the film, I would still suggest checking out at least the first couple of books. 

I really loved that the characters were more developed in the graphic novels than in the movies (since there was more room to let them run free).  Plus, there are extra characters who don't make it into the movie at all!  I hope that by this point, most of my readers know how important characters are to me when I'm reading a book.  Plot is certainly important, but highly developed characters are like crack to me.  I was especially pleased with the characters of Roxie, Kim, Wallace, and Joseph.  Roxie is that little pigtailed girl in the picture just above this.  I found her more sympathetic in the books (still evil, but more sympathetic).  Kim comes across as a bit of a bitch in the movie, but in the comics, honestly, she was probably my favorite character (after Wallace, Scott's gay roommate.  That man is perfect).  And of course, I don't think Joseph even makes an appearance in the film.  But, he's bearded and sarcastic, and perfect.

But, it's not just about the characters.  Do you like action?  Well, how about fights with seven evil exes?  Or mysterious sword-wielding Chinese man with sunglasses and an epic black duster jacket?  There are battles of the bands, love triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids.  Every time I would crack open the next book, I was surprised.  It was just a great collection of books.  I want to go into more details, but I'm afraid I'll start giving spoilers, so I'm going to shut up now.  But, check out the books!!  The first one is Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.

Sandman 1-3 (Neil Gaiman)

I have a sort of love-hate relationship with Neil Gaiman.  On one hand, I think he is brilliant.  I love his novels, and his short stories are simply to die for!  On the other hand, his writing is pretty dark.  Actually, it can get very dark.  And that's where I have some issues with him.  Not because he's dark (like chocolate, sometimes I like my books dark), but because he can be too dark.  And then I get uncomfortable or depressed.

I think that's sort of where I am right now with Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.  Out of 10 graphic novels, I've read 3.  And I'm seriously considering stopping here.

Perhaps, before continuing, a bit of background is in order?  The Sandman series reads almost like a dream, confusing, convoluted, and fascinating.  The plot lines sort of run all over the place, but the main focus centers around one character in particular: Lord Morpheus, or Dream.  That's him to the left.  Morpheus is one of the Endless, a group of beings who existed before the "gods" of Neil Gaiman's world, and will exist after they have faded away.  There are 7 of these (Death, Desire, Dream, Delirium, Destruction, Destiny, and Despair).

In theory, it's an interesting series.  In Book 1, Morpheus is captured by a scholar who wants to live forever, and believes the best way to achieve this is to capture Death.  But, he captures her little brother Dream instead.  During his 70 years of imprisonment, Dream is unable to control the forces of dreaming and waking, and much of the world falls into chaos.  When he escapes, all hell breaks loose in his attempt to seek revenge and set things right.   The rest of the stories seem to jump around a lot.  Sometimes they are in the present, and sometimes in the past.  Dream meets Shakespeare, serial killers, and ordinary people who have no idea what they are getting themselves into.

I'm just not as into it as I thought I would be so far.  And that's always a disappointing

feeling.  Especially since this series got such high recommendations from two of my co-workers, one of whom enjoys similar books to me.  But, I suppose you can't win them all, and after 3 books of Sandman, I think I'm ready to move on to something new.  With work and classes, especially, I find that if I'm not really into something, then it's best to just pass it on and read something else.  I have time, but I don't have the luxury of infinite time to read as much as I might want to.

(You should see the stack of books lying on my bedroom floor!  Eek!  I'm not sure when I'll have time to read any of them!)

One thing I really liked about the series was in Book 2.  I'm not sure how much I've talked about him here, but I really like the works of British Christian author GK Chesterton, and was delightfully surprised to see him featured in the second installment, Doll's House, as a physical manifestation of a piece of the Dreamlands.  He was actually pretty cool, too, coming across as very heroic, larger than life, and very human for something that is really only the stuff of dreams.  So, that was a nice little tidbit for me.  While I won't be reading much Sandman anymore (or probably NO Sandman, I think I will be picking up more Chesterton.  Just for a change of pace.

Summer Reading Wrap-up Review #2 (Getting Graphic)

So, this is the first of a few "Multiple Book Updates" that I'll be using to catch up on all my Summer Reading posts for this year.  Even though I didn't read too many of my school books, I did get to read some fun graphic novels.

First, I touched on the Lupin III manga series.  I've been interested in Lupin for a few months now, mostly watching the anime and the movies.  And it's a lot of fun.  So, after a few hours of animated excitement, I started to wonder why I hadn't read any of the graphic novels.

Jigen & Lupin III from Castle of Cagliostro

 Unfortunately, my library doesn't have ANY of the Lupin III books.  They have the Castle of Cagliostro movie, but no anime TV series, and no books.  One Inter-Library Loan later, and I got my first Lupin III graphic novel.  But, it was not Book 1.  No....It was Book 3 (despite my requesting book 1)!!

Luckily for me, the stories are all sort of disjointed and stand-alone.  So, starting with Book 3 didn't leave me with too many questions.  Sure, I did have questions, but I would have been just as confused even if I had read Books 1-2 beforehand.

I will say, however that despite being a fairly decent series, I was disappointed to discover that the Lupin III graphic manga is just not as good as the anime.  Sure, it was fun.  But, it lacked the same appeal of the anime.  On Goodreads, I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.  Not bad, but not great either.  Honestly, I wouldn't mind reading the rest of the books, but I don't want to deal with the frustration of trying to track them all down via Inter-Library Loan.

Next up is a hilariously bizarre collection called Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton.  This collection was quirky, and pretty strange, to be honest.  But, it was funny, and appealed to my strange sense of humor.  Which is, of course, why it earned 5 of 5 stars on Goodreads.

The topics cover literature, history, and just the random squibblings of Miss Beaton's mind.  This can (and proves to be) very funny, but at times, produces the strangest comments and plots imaginable.  As a future librarian, I loved the literature references, especially Sherlock Holmes, E.A. Poe, and the Bronte sisters.

I suppose posting about this sort of gives a window into what I think is funny.  And that may or may not be a good thing.  I guess I'll leave that up to you guys to decide, haha.

While I'm on the topic, I also want to mention that Kate Beaton also has a website full of even more strange and funny comics.  You can find a link to it HERE.  Enjoy!

My third and final graphic novel is a bit more highbrow, I suppose you could say.  It's called Oishinbo, and it's all about food.  The series follows the staff at a Japanese newspaper, as they attempt to put together the Ultimate Menu, of the greatest foods that truly represent Japan.  In the installment I read, The Joy of Rice, author Tetsu Kariya takes us on a journey into all the finer points of eating rice.  I learned about preparation, toppings and fillings, rice balls, and how to physically go about eating the rice.  There 

was even a recipe in the front (or back, depending how you look at it, since manga traditionally reads right to left) for making scallop rice.  I don't really even like seafood, but I have to admit that it did look pretty delicious.

Excerpt from Oishinbo.  Remember to read right to left ;)

All in all, I was pretty pleased with my collection of graphic novels this summer.  And with Oishinbo earning 4 of 5 stars, that means my graphic novels earned a 3, 4, and perfect 5 out of 5.  Not too bad, I'd say.

Continuing on into the fall, I would love to see if Kate Beaton has made any more books.  And of course, I want to read the rest of the Oishinbo series.  As for Lupin III, I'm not sure.  Of course, I love the anime, so I'll be watching quite a bit more.  But, I'm just not sure if the manga is really for me. 

Keep on the lookout for more of these big themed posts while I sum up my summer reading.  I'm expecting to have even more fun stuff to talk about come fall.  I promise I'll try to post more often.  Thanks, guys ^_^

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Authorized Adaptation Graphic Novel (Douglas Adams/John Carnell)

Cover of Book 2 of 3

I have loved the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series from the moment I started the first book.  After having polished off all five in the inaccurately named trilogy, I started to look for other sources of Douglas Adams hilarity and fun.  And that's when I stumbled upon this little gem, back in my freshman year of high school.

One of the biggest complaints about this book is that it's so abridged.  That's of course, to be expected, seeing as any adaptation usually loses a little of the meat from the original piece.  Still, what we are left with is a full and funny story, although, it does not hurt to be more than a little familiar with the original book before starting to read this version.  And if one does start with this version, it shouldn't the the only Hitchhiker's  experience you have.  There are so many hilarious jokes and blunders left out (not enough room or not conducive for the medium), and it would be a shame to miss out on all of them!

While it might not be the most accurate, I still cannot help but have a great time whenever I read this collection.  Instead of one full book, I had to purchase mine in the three installments in comic book form.  Still worthwhile reading, of course, but it's a bit more time consuming when you have to track down all three comic books and take them out of their plastic sleeves to read them (wow....that sounds really lazy, haha!)

If you're a fan of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I would recommend checking this book out.  If you haven't read the original series yet, I cannot recommend the books more highly.  Go check those out and them come back to read this one.  You'll be glad you did :)

Deadly Storm (Richard Castle)

I just finished reading Deadly Storm.  And it was amazing!  I'm normally not one for detective fiction....usually I just can't find a series that really catches my attention.  Either the writing is too bland, or I don't like the detective, or it's too violent, or some other reason.  But, as always, Richard Castle never fails to please.  I love the show, and I own all the books (even though I've not had the chance to read them yet).  Condensing this story into a graphic novel was a great idea; it made it super easy to read; and I was so engaged in it, I was done before I even knew what happened.  I really, really recommend it!

When Derrick Storm, private detective, takes on a case to find a woman's missing husband, he has no idea of what he is getting himself into.  Before long, he finds himself running for his life, getting arrested, and getting tied up with a CIA agent who might actually be rogue.  It's a fast paced story of drama, intrigue, and action.

I'm afraid I can't tell much more; it's short enough that I don't want to start giving away the more juicy bits of the plot; besides, you should totally just read it for yourself instead of relying on me to tell you about it ;)