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"What's particle physics?" asked Bod.
Scarlett shrugged. "Well," she said. "There's atoms, which is things that is too small to see, that's what we're all made of. And there's things that's smaller than atoms, and that's particle physics."
Bod nodded and decided that Scarlett's father was probably interested in imaginary things.
-- "The New Friend"
And they are, for the most part, done with the world. You are not. You're alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you're dead, it's gone. Over. You've made what you've made, dreamed your dream, written your name.
-- "Nobody Owens' School Days"
Finished: 8-February 2009
Story Synopsis:
This anthology of comics inspired by real-life missed connection ads posted on Craigslist and in local papers around the country will tug at your heartstrings and make you think. Lonely hearts, romantics, and even cynics pore over missed connection ads in search of love, to gawk and giggle, or out of curiosity. These posted stranger sightings and chance encounters lay bare the truths and oddities of real-life loneliness and attractions and bring out the voyeur in the best of us. I Saw You takes this phenomenon and makes it even better.
Commentary:
Found out about this comic through Shaenon Garrity, who drew one of the comics for this collection. When it comes to (indie) comics, I generally enjoy these anthology-type of works. I'm still not fully familiar with all of the big 'names' so by reading anthologies, I get a sampling of the artists whose works I like and who I may eventually look up and follow when I get the time.
The book's premise is actually cute. I know I've browsed through the missed connections section of Craigslist, and made up stories in my head about what the encounter was all about. This book takes that idea and lets the various artists run with it -- some of them funny, some creepy and plain out weird, and some even melancholy.
A quick read, and will be totally appealing to the people who just enjoy reading short little stories.
Finished: 09-February 2009
Story Synopsis:
Through delightful drawings, photographs, and musings, twenty-three-year-old Lucy Knisley documents a six-week trip she and her mother took to Paris when each was facing a milestone birthday. With a quirky flat in the fifth arrondissement as their home base, they set out to explore all the city has to offer, watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower on New Year's Eve, visiting Oscar Wilde's grave, loafing at cafés, and, of course, drinking delicious French milk. What results is not only a sweet and savory journey through the City of Light but a moving, personal look at a mother-daughter relationship.
Commentary:
I first discovered Lucy Knisley at her table at the MoCCA fest in 2008. Her art looked extremely cute, and being the wannabe foodie that I am, I was amused that she was selling a "cheese" shirt. So, I looked her up and found out that this book was coming out later in the year, which made me excited since it was about two of my favorite things: food and Paris.
Lucy's experience in Paris is something that I would want to try someday. And she does a great job of detailing exactly what makes Paris enjoyable -- the museums, the art, and of course, all the wonderful food. I truly enjoy reading these travelogue comics (such as Carnet de Voyage and A Year in Japan), so finally owning French Milk is a great addition to my library.
I will admit though, that sometimes, Lucy's feelings towards things make her sound like an ungrateful whiny brat. I mean, she has a wonderful experience of being able to spend SIX WEEKS in Paris, and she wastes precious time whining. Well, I guess we're all allowed our share of existential angst...
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 30-January 2009
Story Synopsis:
In this raucous collection of true-life stories, actress and comedian Chelsea Handler recounts her time spent in the social trenches with that wild, strange, irresistible, and often gratifying beast: the one-night stand.
Enter Chelsea Handler. Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men and lots of them. My Horizontal Life chronicles her romp through the different bedrooms of a variety of suitors, a no-holds-barred account of what can happen between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated, outgoing woman during one night of passion. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper to her even shorter dalliance with a well-endowed little person, from her uncomfortable tryst with a cruise ship performer to her misguided rebound with a man who likes to play leather dress-up, Chelsea recalls the highs and lows of her one-night stands with hilarious honesty. Encouraged by her motley collection of friends (aka: her partners in crime) but challenged by her family members (who at times find themselves a surprise part of the encounter), Chelsea hits bottom and bounces back, unafraid to share the gritty details. My Horizontal Life is one guilty pleasure you won’t be ashamed to talk about in the morning.
Commentary:
Okay, dirty secret time: I actually watch Chelsea Handler's show every once in a while. She's mostly funny, and she's pretty enough and I like her schtick with her midget assistant.
...Which, sadly, also sums up my feelings about her book.
I really thought that this book was going to be the rauchiest, most embarrassing and cringeworthy thing that I'll be reading all year. Sure, there were some sections that had me snorting to myself on the train, but overall, I felt that this book was just okay. Not bad, not good, just okay.
And maybe this is a dilemma with humor books as a genre -- while many writers are able to convey humor through their words, there are people who can convey it better either in spoken form or acted out. I think Chelsea Handler belongs in the latter. Her stories are probably hilarious when she tells them in her stand-up since you're experiencing the whole person communicating the story. But if I'm just experiencing everything through her words, I felt like there was something missing.
Finished: 28-September 2008
Story Synopsis:
Joel hates Korea. Why he agreed to teach there defies his comprehension. He can't wait to return to normal life. His year of teaching is almost over and then he'll finally be free. But Joel's life is about to go from dark dreams to cotton candy kisses and it's all because of Hana. The very sight of this girl sends him flying straight to cloud nine, but won't another year in Korea send him crashing back down?
Commentary:
Young Canadian boy Joel decides that he's had enough of Korea. His job teaching at a Korean english language school is no longer satisfying, and things about the country that formerly amused him are now incredibly annoying. He's decided that he's going to quit his job and go back to Canada -- that is, till he develops an infatuation with the beautiful Hana, who just happens to be the English school's new secretary.
This romance-comedy comic, despite offering to show a portrait of current Korean culture, managed to find every single way to annoy me. I'm not a particularly militant or angry Asian-American, but this book takes all the known stereotypes about Koreans (and Asians) together and lumps it all in what may seem at first glance to be a sensitive book about the difficulties of a cute White boy dealing with this 'quirky' culture. Maybe it's not the Koreans who have a problem, maybe it's you.
I also don't care so much for the romance aspect of it. It's so incredibly shallow. I'm supposed to believe that even though he hates the culture and most everything about it that he's willing to overlook that because of this hot girl? Who doesn't even do or say anything particularly entrancing to convince me, the reader, why she's worthy of his attention in the first place. Is he suddenly hit with an incurable bout of yellow fever?
I had pretty high expectations for this comic since I saw it at MoCCA Fest earlier this year. I thought it was supposed to be something new, something different, something really worthy of all the praise that Oni Press lists on the page. But personally, this is the same old story wrapped up in a gaudy package.
Finished: 17-September 2008
Story Synopsis:
The Italian Renaissance was a cultural explosion of art, architecture and learning, but it had a darker side. Two powerful families, the tyrannical Medici and their biggest rivals, the Pazzi, are tangled in a bloody struggle for ultimate power. Caught in the whirlwind is Flora,the last daughter of the Pazzi. As her beautiful older sister is being painted by the famed artist Botticelli, Flora is dreading her fate.Destined for life in a convent, Flora is determined to take matters into her own hands, even as her world crumbles around her. When Flora decides runs away, she has no idea that the decision will save her life. As her family falls to their murderous enemy, Flora must find anew life and a new identity.
Inspired by actual events, Primavera is a dazzling coming of age story set during a time of beauty and wealth, ambition, rivalry and brutality. Historical art references to Boticelli and his famous painting, Primavera, give this book an appeal similar to Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Commentary:
I was totally blown away by how good this book was. I wasn't expecting much; at the very least, it would have been a refreshing little romp through Renaissance Florence. However, you can tell from the crafting of the story that the author did her history homework. Florence under the Medicis wasn't all music and art and poetry. There's a lot of politics and machinations and brutality in there as well. And the author was able to capture the essence of that time without being too preachy or without softening her story to not offend.
Having read Girl with a Pearl Earring, I think that it's almost an injustice that this book be compared to that. Primavera is an honest-to-goodness refreshing book that does start with references to famous figures/items from history, but in this novel, there is less focus on the painting but more on the actual life of the protagonist, Flora.
I highly recommend this book. I don't feel that it's almost unfortunate that it was marketed as a young adult book, because adults who wouldn't ordinarily read YA have missed out on it.
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--
