How Do We Look by Mary Beard
When the more recent Civilization was shown on PBS, they edited it a bit from the British version because we can’t have nice things in America since we elected an orange. But they edited out much Mary Beard which is so not right. Really not right. So if you are wondering why Mary Beard wrote a book that functions as a companion to the series that’s why. The book is a look at how the viewer interacts with art. She focuses on ancient and religious […]
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
I’ve always enjoyed fairy tales and became a bit obsessed once I discovered the darker original Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson collections. This book evokes those tales but the stories have been spun in different and interesting directions, in part because it was created as a volume of fairy tales that the characters in the Grishaverse (the world setting Leigh Bardugo created) would know. In 2012 Leigh’s publisher asked if she would write a prequel story for her first novel Shadow and Bone. But instead […]
Claudia & Moth by Jennifer Hansen Rolli
I was all into Claudia & Moth right up until Claudia paints the moth (literally). My thought is “Wouldn’t this kill the moth?” At the very least, even non-toxic paint for humans could be toxic to a moth. It is only at the end that Claudia learns that the moth has its own beauty that she decides to paint the month in a special way. I would have written a different ending, but this is Jennifer Hansen Rolli’s choice. However, their illustrations are quite lovely. […]
This is my Home, Something, Home read. Jessie Haas is a Vermont author and a patron of the bookstore I work at. She and her husband, Michael Daley (also an amazing author), stopped by the store one day and I had the pleasure of becoming friendly with them both. Saige is a very typical an American Girl story. This young girl is spunky, nervous, must deal with family and friends issues. Plus, she will grow and make mistakes along the way. She has interests […]
This is my SHINY SHINY SHINY book While I really enjoyed Echo’s Sister by Paul Moiser, the writing is in a “debut author” style (meaning it can be a little “unsmooth” at times) even though this is his second book. It is also overly optimistic and “sweet” while dealing with a tough subject. With all that said, it is aimed perfectly at the audience of ages (high reader or concept understanding) 8 or 9-year-old up to about 10 years old. However, a slightly older […]
I love comics; I’m heartily devoted to the MCU (and, to somewhat a lesser degree, the DCEU); I am all about the fanfic that springs up around all of my favorite mainstream comic characters, but I have a confession: I don’t actually usually enjoy reading comic books all that much. I don’t know what it is about the medium – I know I’m a text over pictures kinda gal, but I love so much of the art of comic books, that I don’t think that’s […]
