Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 28-July 2008
Quickie review: Found this while browsing through the shelves at the NYPL. Seemed appropriate, considering that the Olympics are just around the corner, and also because I know that my cultural knowledge of China is actually pretty insubstantial. This book does a good job of surveying various aspects of Chinese history and (pop) culture, as well as inserting various tidbits that correct people's presumptions of this nation. Some of the entries do become repetitive after a while, but overall, it's a good starting point for someone with even a passing interest in China.
Obtained: Forbidden Planet
Finished: 25-July 2008
Quickie review: I've been reading a lot more American comics this year than I ever have in my life. This is the series that first took hold and hasn't let go. This volume, which focuses on Flycatcher (aka the Frog Prince), is probably the first story arc in Fables that's more or less closed. I enjoyed this arc immensely, even though I could've done without the short chapter about the wolf cubs... I also wasn't crazy about the art change for that particular portion.
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 31-July 2008
Quickie review: A collection of short stories about Russians living in Brooklyn and their life situations involving food. Mikhail (the boyfriend) first found out about this, and you know that since I've now moved into Brooklyn, I had to read this book out of anthropological (or sociological) curiosity. The author was able to catch nuances of the Russian personality that I've seen for myself -- but not necessarily making excuses for them, which is cool.
Evolution does not require that we know why we do what we do -- just that we do it. [Source]
[Image stolen from MTV]
If there's one thing that I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, how matter how tempting they make it. It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the Internet--
Finished: 27-June 2008
Story Synopsis:
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse -- Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon, a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
Commentary:
Okay, let's get this out of the way now -- yes, this book will remind you a lot of Harry Potter. Even the author, Rick Riordan, is perfectly aware of the comparisons between Percy Jackson and J.K. Rowling's boy wizard.
But barring that, The Lightning Thief is a good book and a fun read nonetheless. I think most people enjoy Greek mythology, and Riordan's riff on the Olympians living in the modern world is just plain inspired. Anybody who's even remotely familiar with the mythology will pick up on the references right away; it's even more fun to try to the guess on the character before he/she/it is fully introduced.
Riordan's writing is also faster, snappier than your average YA writer's. He doesn't waste time explaining all of the intricacies of his universe -- that'll come along eventually -- but takes you head-first into the action. Percy's not a bad protagonist either. He's somewhat reckless and impulsive, but hey, he is a 12-year old boy. I had a teensy bit of whiff of some Gary Stu traits (e.g. how awesome he is with the sword, etc.) but I guess it's easily explained by the fact that he is a demigod.
Liked this a whole lot, and it may be worth checking out the rest of the series.
Finished: 23-June 2008
Story Synopsis:
Famously referred to as one of the "Axis of Evil" countries, North Korea remains one of the most secretive and mysterious nations in the world today. In early 2001 cartoonist Guy Delisle became one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortresslike country. While living in the nation's capital for two months on a work visa for a French film animation company, Delisle observed what he was allowed to see of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered; his findings form the basis of this remarkable graphic novel. Pyongyang is an informative, personal, and accessible look at a dangerous and enigmatic country.
Commentary:
Lately, I've been having mixed feelings about travelogues. Sure, it's nice to read about somebody else's adventures in a foreign land and to vicariously experience their travels with them, but there have been a few times when I would read a travelogue and become disgusted with the narrator's ignorance and negative biases instead.
I'm still working through what I feel about Delisle's observations of his time in North Korea.
In this era of political correctness and popular democracy, North Korea definitely sticks out like a sore thumb. Even China, once the shining paragon of communism and its ideals, has realized that it needs to loosen up a bit to the West if it wants to play. North Korea, at least from Delisle's comic, doesn't want to leave its sandbox. It's perfectly happy with the status quo, even though the status quo has been irrelevant for many, many years.
Delisle describes the monotony and sheer ridiculousness of the culture (whatever left is there to call culture) -- vast monuments built to honor the Eternal President Kim Il-Sung, and additional buildings built for the son Kim Jong-il. Speaking from a Westernized viewpoint, North Korea is a slowly stagnating wasteland, where the people are so afraid of thinking counter to what the government tells them that they're willing to put up with poverty and starvation merely to avoid the "re-education" camps.
I'm hesitant to recommend this comic as mere entertainment fodder. While I don't feel that the work is super politically charged, I think that this work should just be a start to other books that you may want to read about the state of affairs in North Korea. A comic should not be one's mere source of perspective for something as important as that.
Obtained: New York Public Library
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: Diana Wynne Jones is possibly one of the more well-known fantasy writers of her generation, and this reputation is well-deserved from reading the two books that comprise this first volume of The Chronicles of Chrestomanci. Her characters are deftly written, and are quite lovable despite many wacky quirks (see: Christopher Chant). I'm personally not fond of her usual retreat into a deux en machina ending, but after reading a few of her books, I'm thinking that this is probably a common occurrence and I should start getting used to it by now.
Obtained: New York Comic-Con
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: For such a small and short title, this book took me forever to finish. I think pulling out my wisdom teeth was a shorter and more pleasant experience. Momo is a shinigami, aka the Japanese version of the Grim Reaper. Except she's not very grim at all. She shows up, the bell on her scythe tinkling, to let people know that it's time. The book is composed of several stories of people who are going to die, or who have somebody close to them dying, all of their tales linked by Momo's appearance in their lives. The idea could have been so incredible and poignant, but my enjoyment of this book was marred by the not-so great writing. I hate the book's omniscient narrator. I hate omniscient narrators, period. This is a rare case where the translation is probably perfect, but the problem really lies in the original source material, which isn't that awesome to begin with.
Obtained: Queens Public Library
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: I think Marjane Satrapi is one of those people who are blessed with many moments of genius. I enjoyed Persepolis, but there were some parts of the books that dragged. So that's why I approached Embroideries with a bit of caution, not really wanting a repeat of my previous experience with her work.
For the record, I don't think I've laughed harder at any comic that I've read in these so many months. Satrapi is great when she's naughty and chatty, like the same ladies that she depicts in this book. When she gets too serious and political, it feels to me that she's doing that merely for the sake of being serious and political. I think she gets the point across either way, so if humor is the way to get it done, then she should stick to that. I wish she would have a follow-up for this book too.
Obtained: New York Comic-Con
Finished: 22-April 2008
Story Synopsis:
Twelve-year-old Julie has grown up hearing about the dangerous world of
fairy tales, 'The Wild', from which her mother, Rapunzel, escaped.
Now The Wild wants its characters back. Julie comes home from school to find her mother gone and a deep, dark forest swallowing her hometown. Julie must fight wicked witches, avoid glass slippers and fairy godmothers, fly griffins, and outwit ogres in order to rescue her mom and save her Massachusetts town from becoming a fairy-tale kingdom.
Commentary:
So what happens when fairy tale characters don't stay inside the books? What happens when they're real, living people -- possibly our neighbors even -- inhabiting our world right here and right now?
No, this isn't Fables. But it definitely draws from the same idea pool that seems to be prevalent in popular literature right now.
Julie Marchen is Rapunzel's daughter. She knows her mom is THAT Rapunzel, and that her grandmother is the witch who imprisoned her in the tower, but other than a few other sketchy details about their past and about the Wild (which is a crazy plant-like parasite living under bed), she essentially knows nothing. Julie's an interesting study because she isn't too heavily upset or worried about her family's "secret." It is what it is. It's more of an annoyance than anything else, but hey, all teens have to deal with some sort of craziness in their lives, right? Some people have skeletons in their closet, she just happens to have a beanstalk.
When the Wild goes, umm, wild and takes over their town, Julie has to decide whether to rescue her mother (and in the process, break every rule that she was told about dealing with the Wild) or to run away as far as she can. Guess which one she picks?
Silly personal anecdote: when I was waiting for Shannon Hale to sign a poster of her upcoming graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge, I realized that Sarah Beth Durst, the author of Into the Wild, was standing behind me. I think I fawned for a bit, and said that I was looking forward to having her sign my copy of her book.
It's cute how these two authors are doing their own interpretations of a character who has not been my favorite. In Durst's novel, Rapunzel is practically a revolutionary, the one who led the other fairy tale characters out of captivity, out of the repetitive and never-ending cycle of redoing their stories. And that's possibly why I've been drawn to reading all these fairytale retellings -- it's fun to see how many versions of these archetypal tales writers could churn out, and how they redo the stories based on their experience or imagination.
I was able to get an ARC of the next book. I started it yesterday and it already looks as good as the first.
When you are lost or looking for someone suspected lost, the CROWDS of people form a threatening undertow, undermining your every effort.
You're just afraid to die, aren't you? You're afraid! Oh, you think your life's so important.
It is. Even more so because he saved it. And when I no longer need saving, when I no longer need protection, when my life is entirely my own, I'll think about how I'm going to live it. I'll worry about regrets and repentance, then.
Right now... right now is for living.
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Recent Comments
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LittleGreenBook said:
Oh, how was this? It sounds interesting. read more
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LittleGreenBook said:
Oh wow, that sounds like a very fun trip! Do you think you will visit the countryside though? From what... read more
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on Of Love And Other Demons (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)