IVE BEEN GONE FOR OH SO LONG: an update

So I started out this year excited about this blog and reading so much... its basically fallen apart for the time being.
I've had a lot of health scares including but not limited to seizures, uncontrollable migraines, and body pain.
I'm trying to get back into the mindset of being able to read, do art, do... anything really.
Its difficult. VERY difficult.
I thank you few readers for your continued support in reading my posts, im hoping im going to be able to get back into the swing of things as soon as I can.

I most likely will be filling in the dates that ive missed in my year of books. we will see how many i can get done as it would be nice to complete my newyears resolution.

Femme Fatale

I have been very unwell lately. Between a migraine that ended up sending me to the ER and lasted a week, migraines that have completely wiped out whole days, and trying to get out there and do modeling/work with new photographers... Its been trying for me. So i'm catching up on reading and posting when I can. If I manage to read more than one book in a night i'm trying to fill in back space where I missed days. I'm hoping to read at least 365 books/stories this year.

Title: Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the unknown life of Mata Hari
Author: Pat Shipman

Mata Hari is someone that is kind of unavoidable when reading about burlesque, strippers, and the like.  I'd often wondered about her, as i'd seen pics but never had actually read anything about her other than that she was popular. 

I found out due to this book, that I do not care for her as anything but a visual.

The woman was insufferable.

Shes basically Scarlett O'hara from the Gone withe the Wind movie (i've never read the book) as a real person.

She cared really almost nothing about anyone but herself, and anything of real value except for her own personal gain/money. She was highly promiscuous, a cheater, and most definitely a liar. She was counted as a spy for germany, france, and russia though it seems like she cheated them as well (for a paycheck without following through with orders) which finally caught up to her in the end.

She (and anyone she was with) was constantly in HUGE amounts of debt due to her spending habits, and it seems as though she suffered from syphilis from her first husband (which in the end led to the demise of her two children.). 

Basically the short of it is that she was spoiled rotten for her whole life.

((Weird side note: her head appears to have been stolen from its place in a museum a long while back after her execution.))

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Femme-Fatale-Love-Lies-Life/dp/0060817313

ISBN: 978-0060817312

Into the River

Title: Into the River
Author: Ted Dawe

I did not care for this book. I found it boring and it made me a bit listless as I had been (because of the cover insert) expecting some fantastical Maori folklore or superstition to be present. Nope.

This book is about a Maori boy who is quite intelligent and how he gets mixed up and away from his roots into the modern times at a college/boarding school in the city. 

It was very much a disappointment.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Into-River-Devon-Santos-Dawe/dp/1943818541/

ISBN: 978-1-943818-19-8

Bones of faerie

Title: Bones of faerie
Author: Janni Lee Simner

Bones of faerie is book one of "the bones of faerie trilogy".

There is a book that ive been wanting to read for years called "the spiders' bride" that every time i type that in to the library databanks, the next closest is this book. Well. I'm finally reading this one.
I wasn't disappointed.

Its younger young adult fiction. The book itself follows the story of a girl named Liza who lives in a town where magic is shunned. To the point that children found to be carrying faerie traits have been killed or left to die in the elements.
She knows this because her father did this to her baby sister after she displayed the typical glass clear silver hair of the faeries.
There was a war. In the war it seems the faeries used magic. We used what was handy to us: nuclear weapons. Faeries seemed to be dead and gone but their magic lingered and twisted nature against the human world. Angry trees, wraiths of shadow, stones that explode at slightest touch.

Liza runs away to find that shes special in unexpected ways and that she was running towards something. Not just away.

You really end up liking the kids in this book. The author does a good job of making the situations and responses things that kids actually would do as opposed to the stereotypical -hes 9 but makes decisions like a 47-year-old trope-.

I liked it and look forward to reading the next books in the series.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Faerie-Book-Trilogy/dp/0375845658

ISBN: 978-0-375-84565-9

Oishinbo: Japanese Cuisine

With this title i'm filing it as a back date as to fill up the gaps of days i've missed.
I've been very sick with brain issues lately and so I keep having to skip reading days.


Title: Oishinbo a la carte: Japanese Cuisine
Author: Tetsu Kariya
Artist: Akira Hanasaki

This is volume 1 of the Oishinbo series by Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki. It follows the story of Yamaoka Shiro, and his co workers as they go through trials and tribulations of finding the best foods for their newspaper column. This was the most boring so far of the Oishinbo series, as it had no real lessons or morals in it. In fact it seemed to mostly be Shiro having fights with his father (who is a master chef or something) and his father being a pompous windbag.  

As the series progresses (and i'm reading them out of order) it improves a great deal. Each volume includes recipes for a meal featured in its pages. This one so happened to be two recipes: Pine-skin seabream  and Kamishio seabream. 

Theres not much substance to this volume as i've said, but it touches on how "real chefs should not smoke" and how some things like strawberries should be enjoyed without toppings to cover their natural flavor.

Pretty sure if I had started with this first volume I would have abandoned the manga series from my reading list.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/OISHINBO-JAPANESE-CUISINE-Tetsu-Kariya/dp/1421521393

ISBN: 978-1-4215-2139-8

The Rat Prince

Title: The Rat Prince
Author: Bridget Hodder

First off, I absolutely hate the cover of this book. It is very offputting to me, and I might draw a different cover for it at some point. 

This book (despite the terrible cover that makes me feel like its aimed at 2nd graders) is very well done! The story is from the rats' point of view as well as Cinderella's herself. Gone is the super young marriage. Gone is the mother dying when the girl is very very young. Hodder does very well at covering all the angles that were previously untouched in other tellings of this story. Particularly the stepmother's past, why the father is absent, and how magic isn't always what you want but can sometimes be what you need.

I really don't want to go much farther into this other than to say that I absolutely love the names of the rats and mice. (SO MUCH LOVE!) This is a very good book, and you should totally read it if you are a fairy tale lover! 

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Rat-Prince-Bridget-Hodder/dp/0374302138

ISBN: 978-0-374-30213-9

Golden Girl

This book is the sequel to Dust Girl which is an American Fairy Tale.

I'm finally getting around to writing the post about this one. I've had to re read this over and over a few times now. Stress took over for a bit, and my memory was wiped a few times by migraines. I also had a bunch of library books taken (which I am still stressing over), and am working on popping out another kidney stone baby.
This stone is bad enough that I missed comic con because of it. Super lame.

Anyways, finally read this book in its entirety so here it is:

Title: Golden Girl
Author: Sarah Zettel

This book is book two in the American Fairy Trilogy, this series MUST be read in order. It cannot be skipped through or read in a mishmosh like some of the other series' I've read in the past, this one has continuity that you will miss or spoil the plot with if read out of order.

Where last we left Callie she and her friend Jack were on their way to Hollywood to scope out the Seelie Court.

I love how well the dichotomy of the Dark and Light courts are played out in this series. They are indeed uniquely american. The Unseelie court (to whom Callie's father was heir) is made up primarily of dark skinned people. Their power is held in music, specifically Jazz music. 

The Seelie court (the ones causing all the trouble for this poor girl) is made up of a bunch of shining white folks, primarily in the movie industry. Their magic seems to be mostly visual/glamour based.

Callie knows that the Seelie court has her mother, and she has suspicions that her father is there too. So she goes to Hollywood. She gets hired on quickly as a stage hand to the equivalent of Shirley Temple, and her world continues to spiral out of control. This is no place for a half fairy girl who doesn't know what she is up against.

I am highly impressed with Sarah Zettles' lists and attributes at the backs of her books. She puts up historical notes as well as complete song lists labeling the tunes that she mentions throughout the series. I am also impressed with the level of attention she pays to details that meld with true history. I will be happy to read the finale of this series (and hopefully during a time that I can pay attention.)

Find it here:  https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Girl-American-Fairy-Trilogy/dp/0375869395

ISBN: 978-0-375-86939-6

Fig

TRIGGER WARNING: Self harm and mental illness

((also, I did not know that I can post "in the past" so I will be filling up the few gaps in time with other book reviews.))


Title: Fig
Author: Sarah Elizabeth Schantz

So. For some reason I thought this book was going to have some supernatural or folkloric element to it. (I don't know why.) I was very very wrong. 

I rarely put trigger warnings on books but this is one that had I known exactly what it was going to be, I would have not read it.

This cover is a lie btw, nothing in here about birds or sewing or leaving the nest.

This is the story of a young girl and her mother's plunge into schizophrenia. This is the story of what harm can happen when illness is not properly explained to children, and the abuses that can happen as a result of living with someone unstable.

Young Fiona lives with her parents out in the middle of Kansas. She is HIGHLY intelligent. One day, when she is six, her mother has a paranoid mental break. Her world comes crashing down around her.

Her mother is an artist with a high strung personality. She is used to her being very particular about the environment, about societies' views on things, and about being a little bit paranoid.

Now this is all worse. It's all going wrong and her mom attempts suicide, and is sent back from the hospital on all sorts of downers. She doesn't seem like the same mother and because none of it is explained and none of it is taken care of properly the young girl internalizes all of her feelings toward the situation.

She soon becomes woefully neglected, and attempts to act as her mother's caretaker as much as possible. Learning that when she picks at scabs and previous injuries, that it feels calming for her. That seeing the blood helps her forget the mental pain she is experiencing. Soon that too goes increasingly wrong. 

There is a lot of self harm that goes on in this book. There is a lot of unstable mental illness. There is a lot of rampant child neglect. 

It was a hard read for me (having experienced a lot of the protagonists feelings if not situations.) and a good window into how this sort of thing spirals out of control.

It was very reminiscent to me of the book "Push" (which was turned into the movie "Precious") but featuring a different kind of mental and physical abuse.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Fig-Sarah-Elizabeth-Schantz/dp/1481423592

ISBN: 978-1-4814-2358-8 

Will Sparrow's Road

Title: Will Sparrow's Road

Author: Karen Cushman

Will Sparrow's Road takes place in Elizabethan England. It follows twelve year old Will through the trials and hardships that he faces and the decisions that he has to make all by himself to survive.

After being sold to an innkeeper by his father (who blamed him for the depart of his mother) to settle a drinking debt, he decides to run away instead of becoming a "climbing boy".

-A climbing boy is the term for a small person or child who was send up to work as a chimney sweep. This was a very dangerous position as there were no safety regulations.-

On his way he meets many disreputable people and learns that the only one he should truly trust is himself. He also learns to judge people not by what they look like or appear to be, but by their actions towards oneself and others.

I was surprised at this book, as Cushman generally writes with female main characters. This was a very welcome addition to her writings. I really enjoyed the bits and pieces added in about buskers and sideshows. 

Great work as always.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Will-Sparrows-Road-Karen-Cushman/dp/0544336321

ISBN: 978-0-547-73962-5

Flight of the Dragon Kyn

Title: Flight of the Dragon Kyn
Author: Susan Fletcher

Flight of the Dragon Kyn is book two of the Dragon Chronicles by Susan Fletcher.

This version does not have the cover art that I like and when I buy this series it will be with the cover art I so desire.

Dragon's Milk (the first book in the Dragon Chronicles) covered Kaeldra and her ability to communicate with birds and dragons. She also cared for a clutch of dragon hatchlings and made sure that they were reunited into the safety of their flight (a group of dragons). 

This book focuses on Kara and is a prequel/explanation, what all led up to Kaeldra and her story. Kara is the first one with the ability to talk to and with birds and dragons. This is an ability that she procured after being left for dead after she was consumed by Vermilion Fever (which is mentioned again in book 1.) The dragon's milk turned her eyes fully  green. Because of this power to ken with birds, the king calls upon her to try and call down the dragons so that he may hunt them for revenge on his bride-to-be's brother. 

This book is full of birds, dragons, and bravery. (and I love the girl's bird friend.)

Find it here: (their description is wrong in all but the library binding versions, but I reported it to amazon as having improper details already.)   https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Dragon-Kyn-Chronicles/dp/141699713X/

ISBN: 978-1-4169-9713-9

The caretakers guide to Fablehaven

Title: The caretaker's guide to Fablehaven
Author: Brandon Mull
Artist: Brandon Dorman

This is sort of an artbook companion to the Fablehaven series (juvenile fiction, very similar in subject to the Spiderwick chronicles) It's not super in depth, and i would have liked it not to have been so... stiff? seeming. Many different fonts and only a few different "handwritings". I do not like the way that the added in/layered pieces work, as they have no real semblance of 3d (unlike other illustrative "guides" ive have seen do.) The descriptions are pretty dull as well.

A bit lackluster and I could have done with reading the series without this companion at all. Kids might find it interesting though, especially if they read the books.

Not gonna get this one for myself. Might think about it if I gift the series to my nephews at any point though as I do love to give whole sets not just partials.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Caretakers-Guide-Fablehaven-Brandon-Mull/dp/1629720917

ISBN: 978-1-62972-091-3

A Tale Dark & Grimm

Title: A Tale Dark & Grimm
Author: Adam Gidwitz

I picked this one up because as i've mentioned in previous posts, I have a thing for fairytales. I myself happen to own a copy of Grimm's household tales that was one of the first printings in english in the USA. A beautiful old book.

This one, based on the cover, I imagined to be for younger people, and young teens. It is not so. It is enjoyable for all ages I think.
The first thing that I have to say about it, is that it is spattered throughout by the author/narrator egging on the reader. He very much reminds me of the grandfather in "The princess bride", how he stops to ask the child if he's okay and such. I adore it.

This book is based on many of the original Grimm tales (many of which were toned down yet bloody versions of folk stories.) and does not spare in the gory details. Instead of telling the stories each on their own, or rewriting them directly the author spins them into a longer continuous tale with Hansel and Gretel as the main characters.

The stories included and manipulated include: Faithful Johannes, Hansel and Gretel, The Seven Ravens, Brother and Sister, The Robber Bridegroom, and The Devil and his Three Golden Hairs.

It is well done, and I may end up getting this for my nephews at some point, if not for myself.
It is also part of a (three I believe) book series. Quite curious.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Dark-Grimm-Adam-Gidwitz/dp/0525423346

ISBN: 978-0-14-241967-0

Oishinbo: The Joy of Rice

Title: Oishinbo a la carte: The Joy of Rice
Author: Tetsu Kariya
Artist: Akira Hanasaki

This is volume 6 in the Oishinbo series, it seems readable in any order and each appear to have a real recipe from the book IN the book so that you can try your hand at making the cuisine illustrated therein. (The one featured here is Scallop Rice. I don't eat seafood or anything from the water and thus it is lost on me.)

This book once again makes a very good point of bringing the environmental cause to center stage, making people look at cause and effect; showing them aspects about their food that they may never have thought of before. The last volume I read Vegetables, didn't teach me much that I didn't already know of the cooking and the culture. This one however taught me a little bit about rice. Including but not limited to: How brown rice can be nutritionally detrimental due to pesticide residue, how healthy deciduous forests can make oysters taste better, how different areas of Asia eat rice at the table, and what a "matsutake of the sea" was. 

Very informative while keeping with the basic storyline.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Oishinbo-Carte-Vol-Joy-Rice/dp/142152144X

ISBN: 978-1-4215-2144-2

Tales of the Peculiar

Title: Tales of the Peculiar
Author: Ransom Riggs
Artist: Andrew Davidson

 

The artwork that is the head page for each story is absolutely lovely. Mr. Davidson does mostly block prints and etchings I believe, and is masterful in his work. (as an artist, I can tell you that I have not the patience for that level of detail.)

There are a few in this book I actually wouldn't mind if they released as posters. I believe they'd make lovely wall pieces.

The cover of this particular book is one I like a lot. It is cloth/canvas/faux cloth bound with gold colored stamping and feels very nice in one's hands. A very good contrast to the Plasticine, shiny book covers that frequent the markets today. 

The stories within (as it is a collective of short stories) are all within the "world" of  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . This is a world that intersects our own, and thus makes it more believable in some senses. 

I am a major sucker for fairy tales and folklore. Doubly interested if it's a "new" story or something I've not read before. This is one of those books. The stories rather reminded me of Aesop's fables in that they had lessons hidden within them (about greed, vanity, love, kindness, etc.) but if you're looking at it from the Peculiar's point of view (which I believe is the point, to immerse yourself in the world.) serve as warning stories very much like those of Grimm and Anderson. 

I rather liked this collective of ten stories, seemingly put together by a boy who is a character in the Miss Peregrine's book. I probably will end up acquiring a copy of this for myself at some point.

BTW, the page on which you would normally find the information of ISBN, publisher, copyright, number of pages, etc. IS WORTH READING. It is a fun little easter egg that i'm sure most people would ignore due to that page usually including non content.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Peculiar-Ransom-Riggs/dp/0399538534

ISBN: 978-0-399-53853-7

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Title: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Author: J. K. Rowling

I picked this one up because I quite like the Harry Potter series, having grown up with it and read it since its beginning. I am not amused.
It is written for a much younger age group than the Harry Potter series, and I had been hoping for something within its reading range and above. This book has five stories and 111 pages, half of which are taken up by commentary from Dumbledore. The pages are no bigger than that of a chapter book, but with the formatting of the original series which minimizes the amount of writing to the equivalent of less than half a page's worth of writing for each page.

It was a very quick read, and did not hold my attention.

One good thing about this book is that when it is purchased through schoolastic, its net proceeds go to the Children's High Level Group, which is a charity that promotes the rights of children, and tries to make life better for vulnerable youth.

This charity was changed to "Lumos" in 2010? So disregard the chlg.org website as it is down. I wish they had the ability to change the website on the actual book, and have no idea if they've done so on the newer copies.
Here is the link to Lumos: https://wearelumos.org/

Find it here through schoolastic: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/the-tales-of-beedle-the-bard-by-j-k-rowling/

ISBN: 0-545-12828-5

Baby Doll

Title: Baby Doll
Author: Hollie Overton

This isn't a book I would normally pick off the shelves to read but I've been trying to branch out and not be discriminatory in my reviews. The cover compares it to "Gone girl" which if I remember correctly is a murder mystery. Murder mystery (and mystery) is a genre that I dislike intensely. I do however have a weakness for stories of power, and tales of victims generally fall under this category whether it be the victim coming into their own, or being the catalyst for a bigger change that may not save them.

This story follows the tale of a young woman, part of a set of twins, who was abducted eight years prior to the beginning of the book. She was taken as a high schooler and during her abuse riddled captivity had a child by this man. The book opens with her one chance to escape, which she takes, and follows her as she attempts to reclaim her life. Only to return and find out that her world had fallen apart without her.

The villain of the tale is well written. A wolf in sheeps clothing hidden in plain sight. He is a respected member of the community. He is a teacher at her high school, everyone's favorite. He is married. (as he says in the story, when you're married and it seems a happy marriage; people are less likely to suspect you.) He even (as it turns out) spearheaded some of the search parties that were sent to look for the missing girl that he had secreted away.

It is written in such a way that it is indeed a story all the way through, but not from a singular perspective. (This is a thing that made it hard for me to follow as I have memory issues and couldn't remember who's point of view it had switched to.) Each chapter switches to a different character (4 in total I believe) and what they are going through each time.

It was a surprisingly compelling read (and the authors first book) and if I hadn't had to sleep, I would have read it through last night.

Not good enough for a second read/to put on my shelf (I cannot keep all the books I enjoy) but a decent enough read overall.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Doll-Hollie-Overton/dp/0316268712

ISBN: 978-0-316-26871-4

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I must admit this book was a bit of a challenging read for me this week. I ran into a few days where my migraines got bad enough that I passed out and in turn lost days worth of short term memory. ITS JUST GONE. I finally am back to remembering and my flatmates and boyfriend caught me up on all the things I didn't remember.
To show how quickly the memory was leaving, I received a late birthday present and not only didn't recall receiving it... I didn't recall receiving it four separate times. At least I seem to be consistent though, as I apparently had the same reaction to it each time. haha.
I shall be trying to do more reading and watching of movies this week while I am out dogsitting.



Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs

This book is quite well done. The first thing I have to say about it is that it is worth checking out if for no other reason than the photos within it.

I am a complete and utter sucker for these kind of vintage and manipulated photos, as well as pitch cards from sideshows and circuses around the world. This book has at least 30 such images. I love them all.

The story follows a boy named Jacob who is sixteen. He gets sent on an adventure to uncover the truth about his grandfathers past and discovers many strange and compelling things. Both about his grandfather and himself. I am quite happy to say that this story focuses less on the hocus pocus sort of magic but more on the unknown, and in doing so makes the magical elements seem not commonplace but instead misunderstood and still within the boundaries of our world.

I will definitely be reading more of this series, and I hope to watch the movie to compare very soon. It is a quite wonderful work of young adult fiction.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Miss-Peregrines-Home-Peculiar-Children/dp/1594746036/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404317948&sr=8-3&keywords=ransom+riggs

ISBN: 978-1-59474-603-1

OISHINBO: vegetables

Title: Oishinbo a la carte: Vegetables
Author: Tetsu Kariya
Artist: Akira Hanasaki

This was a quick and easy read. It looks as though you may be able to read this series in any order, as each book is a different food subject.
As an informative comic this one does an ok job. It is a bit heavy handed with the willingness to eat simply as well as the enforcing of "everything tastes better without genetic modification or pesticides."
The characters are likable enough, and it even includes a recipe or two outlining foods found within the book.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Oishinbo-%C3%A0-Carte-Vol-Vegetables/dp/1421521431

ISBN: 978-1-4215-2143-5

Dragon's Milk

Title: Dragon's Milk
Author: Susan Fletcher

Dragon's Milk is book one of the Dragon Chronicles. 

This book is one that I first read in fourth grade when I spent my recesses working in the library. I wasn't allowed to do recess due to health problems and so instead I spent my time among the stacks; reading, putting books where they belong, checking out books to others, inventory. The whole shebang. I picked it specifically because I recognized the cover art as that by artist Rebecca Guay (who also has done art for Magic the Gathering cards, -embolden- -blessing of leeches- shes done more than 20 at my last count.)

Anyways, this book is about a girl who is an outsider in her own world. Her name is Kaeldra. She is the opposite of those around her. They are medium height, dark straight hair, dark eyes. She is tall, blonde, and has green eyes.

No one has green eyes. 

Late one night, as her favorite younger sibling lays dying of vermillion fever she hears a sound. IN her head... and her whole world comes crashing down around her.

Her grandmother through magic shows her that the unthinkable has happened. Up on the hillside near her town, a dragon dam has returned for a hatching. Dragons have not existed in this world for lifetimes, as they had been hunted furiously and decided to leave in a great migration for their own safety. 

No one can call the dragons back, or talk to them except for the girls of a lineage belonging to Kara. A girl who was nursed back to health and raised by dragons. A girl who's eyes were turned green due to dragon's milk.  

Kaeldra is related and has the green eyes, and realizes that the only chance of saving her little sister is to go and try to barter with the dragon.

In doing so, she forms a bond and gets tricked into the bargain of milk in return for child care while the dam goes hunting. To keep her sister alive. She agrees.

Three baby draclings to watch and learn from and take care of.

Milk for her sister to heal.

And then the dragonslayer arrived. Looking for the girl with green eyes, and the lair to the dragon that she must know of.

This is a very exciting book. I'm not going to spoil it, there is much more that goes on in the story (and it's part of a 3 book series, though if i recall correctly there might be an additional book that is another story of the world)

IT IS VERY SAD.

There are two or three parts in this book that have terror and sadness occupying the pages. So be warned.

You get really attached to the draclings as you read too. I think that is wonderful.

I don't recall reading the rest of this series, but i'm going to do so soon. This is a book that if I don't already have it, I will be purchasing for my bookshelves.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Dragon-Chronicles-Susan-Fletcher/dp/1416997121

*NOTE* the book link is not the same cover art as the one I read. I was unable to find a reliable link for the cover I have shown here.

ISBN *of the cover shown here* -  0-689-71623-0

The Midwife's Apprentice

Title: The Midwife's Apprentice
Author: Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman has a habit of writing books that can really draw in young girls. Whether or not this is her goal (to get girls into reading) or not, she does a wonderful job of it.

Her stories are often have young people finding out who they are, and the woman really does her research and applies it in such a way that it is easy for a younger reader to understand. I highly recommend her as an author to look into.

The midwife's apprentice follows the story of a young peasant girl who has never known home nor family. She has known, however, what is necessary to survive. She shows this when she enlists herself as help to a village midwife who is a formidable woman. Soon she starts coming to the realization that she is a person, and that she too deserves to be thought of as such; finding herself a name, some friends, and the fortitude to stand on her own two feet against the world.

This is a very short story at 112 pages (in a small sized book) and an easy read. It has no "hero" and no "villain" but peeks into the girls mind in a year of her life. A time of great change.

I highly recommend this book to children capable of reading chapter books and beyond.

This is one that I might get a copy of if I don't already have one, and one that I may do fanart of in the future.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Midwifes-Apprentice-Newbery-Cushman-Hardcover/dp/B015X54I90/

ISBN: 0-395-69229-6

Meat cake

Title: Meat Cake

Author: Dame Darcy

This book was promising to me on the shelf as it proposed that it was reminiscent of the lines of Edward Gorey but alas. At least Gorey's stories make sense (even if its NONsense.)

Some of the art is nice, it is definitely of a style. 

I was hoping that it would have some good horror or alternative storylines due to the work being vaguely reminiscent of Molly Crabapple's work. Boy howdy was I wrong.

This is the first book that I have come across in a very long time that I have no issue saying is absolute rubbish. There are no real storylines, the characters are extremely lackluster (though some had promising names), and the whole thing is a confusing mess. 

Its not the kind of mess I like.

There are some things that I do like to be confusing or nonsensical or bizarre... but this does not to appear to have been done on purpose and is very much more the kind of random things one would write/draw in class on the sidelines of homework to pass time.

I definitely will not be reading more of Miss Darcy's work.

I may from time to time check in to see what non comic based art she has done though as her visual style is aesthetically pleasing.

She does not appear to carry the version of the book that I checked out from the library, so 

find that here: https://www.amazon.com/Meat-Cake-Dame-Darcy/dp/1606993461/

ISBN: 978-1-60699-346-0

Gold pollen and other stories

Title: Gold pollen and other stories

Author: Seiichi Hayashi

Gold pollen and other stories has some interesting visuals. The tale of Gold pollen itself has a Goddess who takes form as a giant skeleton which is based on the Gashadokuro of Japanese lore. Others are just as striking due to the two tone printing process.

The stories themselves I find lackluster and I am a firm believer that the story/words within the visuals should be able to tell you almost everything you need to know. You should not require an essay to explain what just happened in the story (unless its a cultural thing. Which these are not.)

This book is split into two parts, the manga (majority) which is read in the traditional right to left, and at the other side the essays explaining the manga which are read traditional american... left to right. There is no boundary in the middle telling that this switch over has occurred and the way I figured it out was the formatting and the roman numerals that began to descend as I tried to read the (at the time) nonsense. The *back* of the book has the page that explains which format should be read how. I think this would make more sense in the center of the book betwixt. Forming the boundary between.

While a few of the images in the Gold pollen story were inspirational to look upon (as I love yokai, the things that go bump in Japan's night...) This book overall did nothing for me, and I can barely tell you what the stories were about at all.

It is chock full of symbolism that is not clear for those who have not studied Japanese culture, and to people who have not, i'm sure it comes off as READING an Andy Warhol painting. 

The essays held therein are ESSENTIAL for those people, and are what I found more interesting than the actual manga.

Seiichi Hayashi is a well known artist from the 60s and 70s in Japan. His work is the Japanese portion of "pop art"

I do not think I will be reading any more of his comics, but I may look at them for visuals in the future.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Seiichi-Hayashi-Pollen-Other-Stories/dp/1939799074

ISBN: 978-1-939799-07-4

Among the Living

Title: Among the Living
Author: Jonathan Rabb

This was a really well thought out book. I didn't mean to read another holocaust book so quickly but a glance at my library renew list showed that it is due today and cannot be renewed due to other holds on it.

So I read it today.

This is the story of a man named Yitzhak who is a survivor of the holocaust. After he gets out of a sanatorium he travels to Savannah, GA to find his last remaining relatives and start his life anew. Life blooms with a few hiccups along the way, and new love. Soon the least expected thing imaginable happens and he finds himself face to face with the girl he thought dead: his fiance from before the concentration camps.

This was a descent read. I rather liked it. 

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Among-Living-Jonathan-Rabb/dp/1590518039

ISBN: 978-159051803-8

My Russian grandmother and her American vacuum cleaner: a family memoir

Title: My Russian grandmother and her American vacuum cleaner: a family memoir
author: Meir Shalev

This book was a hard read for me because of the authors' writing style. Meir Shalev does a good job explaining the family tales that surround the mystery of his grandmother's vacuum cleaner as well as the fundamentals of what the village she lived in was like. He does a decent job at showing what his family life was, and how everyone came about in telling family stories from their own viewpoint but all around the central hub of his grandma Tonia.

I do not think I could have hung around with his grandma, much too structured in ways that I find unfamiliar. She was obviously the keystone of his and his families lives and a legend in the area.
Strewn throughout this memoir among glimpses of grandma Tonia, stories that are passed down either through physical practice (industrial cleaning of the family houses) or through tales passed down (including that of the title piece... Her American vacuum cleaner.).

The story of the cleaner however holds the whole thing together and continues through to the end of the book itself, in a rather surprising ending. (In fact, there is a point near the end that made me both laugh out loud and cringe dealing with the woman and her "sveip-per")

Overall it was an okay book. I think if I had been able to skip straight through and only have the tale of grandma Tonia's vacuum I would have liked it more, but I understand that in being a memoir it was not the only part of the tale to tell. I probably will not read any more of the authors works due to his writing style which is too jumpy for my brain to be able read properly (linear is WAY easier for me to retain). That should not dissuade you though, as like I said, the book itself a okay.


Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Russian-Grandmother-American-Vacuum-Cleaner/dp/0805242872

ISBN: 978-0-8052-4287-4

KIKI de montparnasse

Title: KIKI de Montparnasse
Author: Catel & Bocquet

This book is based on the life of a real person. (As you can see in the above image, the photo to the right is the REAL Kiki, also known as Alice Prin. She was a lively woman, who happened to live a life full of art, prostitution, cocaine, and DADA. She seemed to enjoy herself thoroughly and to have lived at the edge of her seat in an "I do what I want" fashion. 

There are no real words to describe how she was, though this comic does an excellent job of portraying her in a proper timeline. She had not the best of morals, but she isn't painted in a bad light. More of that she had a joy of life that let her go seamlessly about her way.

I was surprised at the end of the book to find that she was a real person. (Though the artists mentioned throughout I already knew to be real.)

Find it here:  https://www.amazon.com/Kiki-Montparnasse-Catel-Muller/dp/1906838259

ISBN: 978-1-906838-25-6

ONCE

I'm a sucker for books having to do with the holocaust, so this is easily another one where the cover drew me to it.

Title: Once
Author: Morris Gleitzman

This is part of a trilogy, which I will be finding the other books in the series to read. It was a bit of a hard read for me because it is from the point of view of a very young child. That being said after you start reading it from that standpoint and block out any outside knowledge of the holocaust, it becomes a gripping tale of confusion and trying to look on the bright side of things.

The view point is that of a ten year old polish Jewish boy who has been sheltered thus far from the holocaust. He is living in a catholic orphanage waiting to be reunited with his parents during 1942.

Soon he runs away and embarks on his own, seeing through his unspoiled childs eyes, learning slowly the terrors of what lay in store for people who shared his faith. 

This is the story of a very strong little boy, and i'd say that it is safely juvenile fiction. It might be highly upsetting to children as they continue reading it though because as he starts realizing what is happening it all becomes very clear, the Nazi agenda. 

I really love that it is from the standpoint of such a young child. It really brings a whole new aspect to the reality of the holocaust and may even drive the point home more of: these were PEOPLE. People just like everyone else, who were singled out. To them, they were no different than anyone else. Just as if you were to have this happen. There would be no real understanding from your part, and definitely not from the children. It's terrible that it happened in the first place, but its a good lesson to look back upon so that we do not repeat our mistakes of the past. 

Find it here:  https://www.amazon.com/Once-Morris-Gleitzman/dp/0312653042

ISBN: 978-0-8050-9026-0

Threadbare: clothes, sex & trafficking

Trying to keep up with the blog, it is difficult. Four years ago it would have been much easier, before all the memory problems set in. I used to be able to read very quickly and retain everything. Now i'm relegated to 4 hours for a simple manga, and a day for a thin book. Makes me a bit frustrated.

I used to be able to go and pick up 40 odd books from the library and finish/return them within the week. Now... Not so much.



Today's book is:

Title: Threadbare: Clothes, sex & trafficking
by: The Ladydrawers and Anne Elizabeth Moore

This is a comic book style informative project. It reminds me very much of the comics you see in asia that explain everyday scenarios and objects. (A few of those books were available at the library this time around so I was able to get those as well. Those are always exciting to me -yes i know. So bland. haha) 

There are a lot of artists in this one, I'll write out the names of the ones it lists on the back of the book. (pardon me if I miss any)  

Leela Corman

Julia Gfrorer

Simon Haussle

Delia Jean

Ellen Lindner

Melissa Mendes

This is a pretty rad book. It looks into the intertwining aspects of the sex industry, womens rights, and the clothing industry. 

It has four sections broken up into 5-6 comics apiece; with notes at the end of each "chapter" so that you can look up the topics on your own, a sort of bibliography. 

The sections are:

The United States

Austria

Cambodia

The World

It seems to start off with the modeling and clothing industries and slowly niggles its way into the more taboo topics of prostitution and sweatshops. There are a lot of things that I learned reading this book, the majority of which were found in the Austria section. I just had no idea. 

This book is full of taboo and controversial topics but is definitely a  good, informative read. I will be looking up other books by this group of writers. =)

Find it here: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/6190/

ISBN: 978-1-62106-739-9

A Thread of Silk

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
YAYYYYYYYY. I am turning 27 officially, and we are practically snowed in. My guy is coming over today and we will be making pizza and my friends and I will be dressed up. We meant to go out dancing in portland tonight but our car will not make it on the roads, so instead, we are staying in.



This is a short story in a compilation by Eugie Foster called "Returning my sister's face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice".

Title: A Thread of Silk
Book: Returning my Sister's Face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice
Author Eugie Foster

As I am stating on each of these, this is a review for one of the short stories in this anthology and thus the image will be the same for each of these. This is not a repeat.

This is a Japanese tale that weaves together the present and past; and is one of the longer stories in the book. A woman seeks revenge in the Heian Era (my favorite era of Japan) against a man of her family who has attempted to slay her brother and has destroyed her lands in the process. She admonishes the God of War to help her in her conquest, and he gives her a sideways gift for not asking the right questions. She also attracts a Goddess who is much more dangerous and whom gives her a gift that is also a downright curse.

I must say. The main male antagonist in this is the most goth japanese character i've come across ever. Tall dark and handsome, swathed in dark colors, emotional. Elegant, poetic, chivalrous. It is hard not to like him. 

Very soon you come to see the workings of the Goddess and why indeed hers was not a blessing.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Returning-My-Sisters-Face-Eastern/dp/1607620111

ISBN: 1-60762-011-1

The Tiger Fortune Princess

This is a short story in a compilation by Eugie Foster called "Returning my sister's face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice".

Do you know why I like compilations/anthologies? I like them because they include a veriety of stories (sometimes united by a common theme) and I do not have to expect that I will be sitting here reading twenty stories that are exactly the same. Its a lovely feeling.


Title: The Tiger Fortune Princess
Book: Returning my Sister's Face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice
Author Eugie Foster

As I am stating on each of these, this is a review for one of the short stories in this anthology and thus the image will be the same for each of these. This is not a repeat.

This tale takes place in China, and begins with the Chinese Empress Meiying. As far as empresses in stories go, she is the same. Being beautiful, wise, and compliant. 

She follows tradition to a T, and does everything correctly when she finds herself with child. Enter the "angry fairy" trope. This comes in the form of soothsayer who is casting the future baby's horoscope. The soothsayer gets interrupted by an outside force and because she is now annoyed, changes the fortune to a curse. The Empress Meiying allows this, because fate, and  does her damnedest to keep the curse from happening. 

"Your daughter will die unborn

unless she rides the dragon's tail.

If she survives the dragon,

she will be devoured before she meets her husband,

and without a son in law,

her father will die of unhappiness."

Meiying does her best to make sure that while allowing the curse room, does not allow it to happen, while allowing its course to run. She does everything in her power to make this go smoothly including living as a peasant in the countryside alone with the baby.

This was a very good story, had a very "sleeping beauty" feel to it.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Returning-My-Sisters-Face-Eastern/dp/1607620111

ISBN: 1-60762-011-1

The Tanuki-Kettle

This is a short story in a compilation by Eugie Foster called "Returning my sister's face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice".

Title: The Tanuki-Kettle
Book: Returning my Sister's Face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice
Author Eugie Foster

As I am stating on each of these, this is a review for one of the short stories in this anthology and thus the image will be the same for each of these. This is not a repeat.

The Tanuki-Kettle is a lighthearted Japanese based tale, very short; about a Tanuki (raccoon-dog) that likes to chase chickens and meddle in the affairs of his savior: a tea girl named Hisa. Usually Tanuki are only tricksters, here he brings her luck and good fortune.

I cannot wait to see what else this book has in store for me. I think I might do illustrations for at least this story, as I would rather like to illustrate a tanuki-kettle. 

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Returning-My-Sisters-Face-Eastern/dp/1607620111

ISBN: 1-60762-011-1

Persian Girls: A memoir

The cover is what drew me to this book. The last time I went to the library, I started in the Biographies section. Its strange to me that biographies are put into the fiction section, and though this is more of an autobiography... I guess it somewhat makes a small amount of sense as names had to be changed and timeline is probably minorly skewed so that people didn't get into trouble.
I do love the mirror image of the cover though along with the colors. It puts to mind sisters in a far off time.

Title: Persian Girls, A memoir
Author: Nahid Rachlin

My first critique of this book is that I really really really wish that the author had included a glossary. She uses many terms and words that are in Farsi, without proper context on to what they could mean. It made it hard to become accustomed to the story. (For me at least)

Mrs. Rachlin does make for a compelling writer, and makes feelings known throughout. I rather enjoyed reading about her family and her view on her life, but this is a genre I generally appreciate. I like the ability to see things from a different perspective that is equally valid. 

Her life story takes place from 1955-the 2000's but she tries to explain the ecopolitical circumstances in Iran and America of the varying years so that we may understand how drastically her life changed with these upheavals. This takes place around the same time as Persepolis (which I reviewed earlier in the year). Wasn't my favorite book of the new year so far but I may look into at least one of her other books. Just to see if there is a difference.

Between the two, (persepolis and persian girls) Persepolis was much easier to understand and follow. Though this may be that I am largely visual in my ability to understand and quantify.

Review for Persepolis: http://thelibraryofmixeddesires.blogspot.com/2016/12/persepolis.html

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Persian-Girls-Memoir-Nahid-Rachlin/dp/1585426237

ISBN: 1-58542-520-6