Back in November 2015, I reviewed Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. At the time, a lot of people suggested that I read Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner, and I’m so glad they did. Understanding Comics is a wonderful Comics 101 course and Comics and Sequential Art kicks it up to the next level. Comics and Sequential Art presumes that the reader has a working definition of what a comic is and that the reader has … Continue reading Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner→
Full disclosure: I have a huge block when it comes to BDSM. As a result, I did not expect to like Sated, which is the third book in a trilogy about members of a BDSM club. I tried it anyway, because it had a lot of my personal catnip components, including diverse and geeky characters. Surprise, I LOVED IT. The book was respectful of geeks, people with disabilities, people of color, and the BDSM community, and … Continue reading Sated by Rebekah Weatherspoon→
This month’s Kickass Woman is Mary Wollstonecraft. I am sad to say that Mary Wollstonecraft never, to my knowledge, literally kicked anyone in or on the ass, although I’m happily writing fanfic in my head in which Wollstonecraft spends her days beating up her oppressors with Regency English Kung Fu. In real life, Mary was a kickass woman in the sense that she insisted on living her life on her own terms, she was a … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Mary Wollstonecraft→
Ascension features a protagonist (named Alana) who is a black woman who is also a lesbian, and who struggles with chronic pain. She also a spaceship engineer who dreams of sailing the stars. I truly could not ask for more from life than a heroine with these specific characteristics. By page 18, I was in love. The rest of the book was something of a disappointment, but boy did I adore Alana. The story involves Alana … Continue reading Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi→
I have never read a book by Alissa Johnson before, and after I read A Talent for Trickery I had that “Nomnomnommoremoremore” feeling which is a problem because Alissa has written a ton of other books and I don’t know when I’ll find time to read them all. But I do know that I want to read them NOW. Because A Talent for Trickery was so good, you guys. Really superlative. I ate it up. … Continue reading A Talent For Trickery by Alissa Johnson→
If the post-holiday doldrums have set in, cheer yourself up by reading Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, the new Marvel comic by Brandon Montclaire and Amy Reeder. In this comic, a brilliant African American tween girl named Lunella tries to use science (Inspector Gadget style) to avoid becoming an Inhuman. The Inhuman thing is part of the new Marvel mythos, but don’t worry about it – the point is that she’s super smart, she’s into … Continue reading Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur by Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder→
The New Deal is a light-hearted graphic novel with just a touch of noir. It involves a bellhop named Frank who has a crush on a hotel maid named Theresa. They work at the Waldorf-Astoria in 1936. One night, two particularly notable guests check in. One is a rich and powerful man to whom Frank owes a lot of money. The other is a beautiful, mysterious woman named Nina who is endlessly kind and generous … Continue reading The New Deal by Jonathan Case→
Patrick Ness’ book The Rest of Just Live Here turned out to be completely different from what I expected – but in a good way. This YA follows the narrator, Mikey, his friends, and his family as they try to get through their last months of high school. This is a story about all the kids in high school who are not Scoobies, Gryffindors, Cullens, or Chosen Ones. There is some romance, but the aspect … Continue reading The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness→
Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier were bright lights of the Lost Generation in post-WWI Paris. Although they were very private about their personal lives, their romance inspired and sustained both of them in their literary careers. Both were writers, publishers, and translators, but their greatest influences on literature were the result of their tireless economic and social support of the writers and artists of the era. Sylvia was born in Maryland. Her father was a … Continue reading Real Life Romance: Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier→
Every single year I see some shiny book at Barnes and Noble that looks historical and Christmassy and I pounce on it, deluded by the glossy stuff on the cover, only to find that it will not actually make me an expert on Customs of Christmases Past. This years’ epic fail is A Jane Austen Christmas: Celebrating the Season of Romance, Ribbons, and Mistletoe by Carlo Devito. It has a great concept, but not much actual content. … Continue reading A Jane Austen Christmas by Carlo Devito→
Rarely has a book with such a glorious title fallen so tragically flat. The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin tells of Pirate Captain Gayle, who abducts a seamstress, Celia. She does this because she needs someone to stitch up a wounded man, the ship’s doctor is dead, and none of the pirates can sew. Since I’m pretty sure a lot of pirates could sew quite nicely for practical reasons in real life, this … Continue reading The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin by Colette Moody→
