GentleRain – Page 39 – Cannonball Read 17

A Worthy Prequel to Bone

Rose by Jeff Smith and Charles Vess

January 25, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

Wrapping up my Bone series re-read with the prequel graphic novel, Rose. This is written by Jeff Smith but illustrated by Charles Vess, so you’re not getting Jeff Smith’s cartoony style here, despite the misleading cover. Instead, you get Vess’s beautiful full-painted art, which is unfortunately a little squashed and hard to make out the fine details in the edition I got. I think it would have been better served by a full trade binding, but I ended up with a library edition with a “Kidproof Cover,” […]

“You can’t force love, it unfolds.”

Men Loving Men: A Gay Sex Guide and Consciousness Book by Mitch Walker

January 25, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I really enjoyed this and it was uplifting to read after the Dahmer book I just got through, where the author was associating gay sex and being gay with corrupting people’s souls. Men Loving Men is partially a straight forward guide to gay sex, but it’s also a “consciousness book,” which in this case meant a lot of cheerful and thoughtful positivity. I had thought it was mainly going to be a sex ed book, as I’d somehow missed the subtitle, so I was pleasantly […]

Full of Bad Conclusions, But Readable Overall

The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer by Brian Masters

January 24, 2022 by GentleRain 2 Comments

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it’s a good overview of the case and conveys some of its complexity. It lays out Dahmer’s childhood and mental state well, and the narrative is clear without feeling overly voyeuristic. On the other hand, I disagreed with a lot of the author’s opinions and felt that his reliance on a Freudian model was a huge failing in the book. His main conclusion is that the hernia operation Dahmer had when he was […]

Morally Repellent and Ethically Bankrupt True Crime

The Making of a Serial Killer (2nd edition) by Danny Rolling and Sondra London

January 23, 2022 by GentleRain 6 Comments

Writers seem to think that by forming some sort of connection with a serial killer, they’ll get unprecedented insight into why these murders happen and why the killer is the way he is. But when they get that close, they lose the distance and perspective that would make the book actually insightful. And the issue with trusting a serial murderer is that they’re also usually compulsive liars and master manipulators. In this case, Sondra London fell in love with Danny Rolling and they got engaged, […]

An Unfunny Memoir Full of Sexism and Racism

Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders

January 22, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I understand from the back of the book that people appear to find George Sanders “personable” and the alleged humor in the book is described as “wit.” I personally found neither of this to be true and was reminded of Errol Flynn’s memoir (My Wicked, Wicked Ways). However, while Flynn is an evil person and a child rapist, Sanders is more of a 1950s garden variety irritating racist and sexist. This book, purporting to be his memoirs, very loosely follows his life and is more […]

A Perfect Book

The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst by Jaclyn Moriarty

January 22, 2022 by GentleRain 6 Comments

Most of us have heard of Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies), but did you know she has a sister who writes perfect YA and middle-grade novels? You haven’t? Well, I’m not surprised, because no one I’ve talked to has ever read any of Jaclyn Moriarty’s Australian school YA novels (The Year of Secret Assignments, Feeling Sorry For Celia, etc) or her fantasy novels (The Colors of Madeline series and others). But I am here as a lone voice in the book wilderness, having just read another […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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