I knew heading in that the second book in the Divergent series was kind of a train wreck, but I am a completist. I am persistent and stubborn and I was on a strong female protagonist kick! I wanted something better, but it was as bad as I had been warned. This second novel seemingly takes place immediately after Divergent ends, although it is hard to know for certain, as Roth is not very good at giving the reader a sense of the time passing. […]
Lumpers and Splitters
In my archaeology classes, we talked a bit about lumpers and splitters, how people tend to split up species, tool styles, etc – lump them together, or split according some generally subtle difference. I myself tend to waver a bit, but lean towards lumping. This book, which probably has already been read and reviewed by many, premises that a community will split itself up based on differences in personality, detectable and defined by a mysterious drug induced scenario test. But what happens if people can’t […]
The things that divide us are stronger than the things that unite us
This particular series was a gift from my husband for Christmas, a complete surprise. To be honest, I am not sure I would have picked this one up on my own, but I am game for pretty much anything Image Comics is selling. This is a mash up of genres – science fiction, western, dystopian fiction (I am pretty sure dystopian fiction is a genre by now, right?). The lead characters are the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, regenerating every once in a while in […]
Less tasty than normal
This series is another one of Image Comics’ great titles, along with some of my other favourites such as Saga (READ IT), Rat Queens and East of West. This one is quite a bit further along than the others, as this is the fourth large hard cover trade, released in mid-2014. This is one of the few graphic novel series that my husband is willing to read – he just isn’t a fiction reader and isn’t generally enchanted by the medium, but really likes this […]
Adventure writ small
I received this book from my brother in law this past Christmas, as he knew I liked graphic novels and is always willing to take a stab in the dark. I had actually already seen this book, although not read, as my son had already borrowed it from the library. He had been trying to get me to read it, and we ran out of time, so was very happy to have it cross my lap again. The Mouse Guard is a unit of mice […]
Sweet Perfection
For this past Mother’s Day, my family got me the ice cream maker attachment for my beloved KitchenAid mixer. I had been kind of kicking the idea of getting one for some time, but had always been shot down by my husband, who did not have fond memories of homemade ice cream as a child. His mother refuses to follow recipes, generally, so I would gently point out there might have been a flaw in the system, but never got anywhere until this genuinely surprising […]