Religion – Page 58 – Cannonball Read 17

Mortality of Death

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V

June 7, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

After (and during) reading The Many Deaths of Laila Starr I thought, “I do not know what I am reading/read.” This is a jumbled-up messy, chaotic graphic novel story that was fracking amazing. It dives into the concept of death, life and the things that move both. There is love, hate and something in between. There is an understanding of the fragility and strength humans possessed. Ram V. is an odd writer but knows what they are saying. I think. Maybe they are just crazier […]

Finding Home

Yossel’s Journey by Kathryn Lasky

June 7, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Yossel’s Journey seems like, at first blush, that it will be a typical Jewish family immigrates to America. And while the characters of Kathryn Lasky’s latest picture book (due in September 2022), leave Russia due to the pogroms of the 1880s, and stop for a spell in New York where things are familiar (houses brush up against each other, you can smell the food your neighbors are cooking), they do not stay. They travel by wagon to the Southwest where they run a trading store, […]

A Lazy Book Not Recommended As An Overview of Hasidism

The Pious Ones by Joseph Berger

June 2, 2022 by GentleRain 4 Comments

After a long stretch of positive but distracting life events (a new job, a move), I find myself with enough mental room to rededicate myself to book reviews. Fortunately I have a backlog to review so I’ll jump on in with a book that deeply irritated me since I find a scathing review can be easier to write. The Pious Ones is an overview of the Hasidic community for the general reader. This is one of my main special interest areas, so I know a lot […]

Hell is the least of your troubles

Curse of the Chosen Vol. 1: A Matter of Life and Death & a Game Without Rules by Alexis Deacon

May 19, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

According to an author snippet biography I read of Alexis Deacon, they are known for their picture books. Which I am now going to investigate after reading this bizarre graphic novel series called Curse of the Chosen. Originally know as Geis: A Matter of Life and Death and Geis II: A Game Without Rules, they will be reissued Curse of the Chosen Vol. 1: A Matter of Life and Death & a Game Without Rules (July 2022) and Curse of the Chosen Vol. 2: The […]

Another I want to put fantasy not History to

Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott

May 4, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Two comments about Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott I liked it 2. Read it But that is only fifteen words and I need 250. The story follows two Jewish girls as they survive Auschwitz as their families and others perish around them. The story is told in alternating chapters between the two voices in prose poetry. Some of the poems are thoughtful, some powerful, some sweet. And some are horrifically amazing at the sensation they create. Have you ever “seen” the smell of the […]

I’m thankful for good books

Harvest Days: Giving Thanks Around the World (World Celebrations) by Kate Depalma

May 2, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Every November for as long as I could remember, my family celebrated Thanksgiving. We did not really have the “adult” or “kid” table assignments, but we just naturally drifted to the table with the kids. I mean, I had older cousins, they were cool to hang out with. And maybe we did not celebrate being thankful for the harvest, like the people in Harvest Days: Giving Thanks Around the World (World Celebrations), but as I kid, I liked being with said cousins and as an […]

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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