![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Clubbing, by Andi Watson et al; The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci et al; Confessions of a Blabbermouth, by Mike and Louise Carey et al; Janes in Love, by Cecil Castellucci et al; The New York Four, by Brian Wood et al; Water Baby, by Ross Campbell et al; Good as Lily, by Derek Kirk Kim et al; Token, by Alisa Kwitney et al; Emiko Superstar, by Mariko Tamaki et al; Burnout, by Rebecca Donner et al
I went on a bit of a tear. These are almost all the comics put out by Minx books .... muchly the same, aimed at teenage girls and quite melodramatic and relationship-focused. For the most part I got exactly what I was looking for. Be wary of Confessions of a Blabbermouth, it makes one kid think another kid is undergoing something incredibly awful as a red herring for only undergoing something quite awful. My favorite was Water Baby, mainly but not only because the protagonist reminded me of someone; and next favorites were Token and Emiko Superstar.
(92, 93, 95, 97, 99, 100, 106, 107)
Skin Game, by Jim Butcher
NOMNOMNOMATEIMEANREADALLTHEJIMBUTCHERNOMNOMNOM. Fascinating revelations and exciting plots continue apace.
(94)
Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists, edited by Courtney E. Martin and J. Courtney Sullivan
Essay collections like this one fall into ... "grape reading" territory for me. Not *popcorn* reading exactly, but I also don't usually remember much about them other than recognizing the names of authors I particularly liked when they come up later. I don't remember which ones I liked best, but I will later :). Overall, I prefer book-length visits with one or two authorial voices, in terms of connecting with what I read - but sometimes I just want to skip along the surface of a book rather than diving into it. Lots of good essays in here, so it made good grape reading.
(96)
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, by Timothy Egan
This biography of Edward S. Curtis surprised me with how much I liked it. I feel the difficulties of being his wife were given short shrift in favor of pointing out how hard she made it on him.... but that was a small (and sadly predictable) flaw in the gripping biography of an impressively open-hearted, adventurous, and maniacally dedicated man. And, central-casting of his wife aside, I really appreciated how Egan took the time to talk about people OTHER than Curtis and explore their stories as well.
(98)
The Giver (reread), Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son, by Lois Lowry
I remembered how much I loved The Giver as a young teenager (I think I read it three times?) but not really anything about it. And I'd never read the sequels. And I was super-excited that I will be listening to Lowry speak soon. So I decided to reread the book and then read all the sequels. I expected to enjoy them; I did not quite expect them to be so unputdownable that I tore through all four of them in two days. I was a little crotchety about the ending of Messenger, but given what Lowry was going through herself at the time, I can see why she ended the book the way she did. Taken as one work, these four books are astoundingly good.
(101, 102, 103, 104)
The Novel Cure, by Ella Berthoud
Books about books are the most comforting books for me, although I would get frustrated quickly if that were all I read. This one does a very good job of walking the line between earnest and tongue-in-cheek, and where I knew the books under discussion, I agreed more often than I disagreed. And lots and lots of the books I hadn't read sounded like they would be just my cup of tea.
(105)
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Checked this out because it was part of a "books about Las Vegas" set of recommendations. It is only very slightly about Las Vegas. Also occasionally eye-rollingly obvious that the author himself is a middle-class white guy with the privileges pertaining thereto. That said, I've been meaning to read it for ages and it was really fun. Glad to know there are lots and lots more to read.
(108)
100 Crushes, by Elisha Lim
Splendid splendid splendid comic / set of illustrated musings and interviews. So captivating!
(109)
Expat, edited by Christina Henry de Tessan
Well, for the most part the comments above about Click! apply to this book too - a collection of women's essays about living as an expatriate. I am an expatriate of nearly sixteen years myself, so these ones did cut a little closer to home... but I reckon in a few days I'll have forgotten them, and will only be reminded when when something flashes off a spark of recognition.
(110)
I went on a bit of a tear. These are almost all the comics put out by Minx books .... muchly the same, aimed at teenage girls and quite melodramatic and relationship-focused. For the most part I got exactly what I was looking for. Be wary of Confessions of a Blabbermouth, it makes one kid think another kid is undergoing something incredibly awful as a red herring for only undergoing something quite awful. My favorite was Water Baby, mainly but not only because the protagonist reminded me of someone; and next favorites were Token and Emiko Superstar.
(92, 93, 95, 97, 99, 100, 106, 107)
Skin Game, by Jim Butcher
NOMNOMNOMATEIMEANREADALLTHEJIMBUTCHERNOMNOMNOM. Fascinating revelations and exciting plots continue apace.
(94)
Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists, edited by Courtney E. Martin and J. Courtney Sullivan
Essay collections like this one fall into ... "grape reading" territory for me. Not *popcorn* reading exactly, but I also don't usually remember much about them other than recognizing the names of authors I particularly liked when they come up later. I don't remember which ones I liked best, but I will later :). Overall, I prefer book-length visits with one or two authorial voices, in terms of connecting with what I read - but sometimes I just want to skip along the surface of a book rather than diving into it. Lots of good essays in here, so it made good grape reading.
(96)
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, by Timothy Egan
This biography of Edward S. Curtis surprised me with how much I liked it. I feel the difficulties of being his wife were given short shrift in favor of pointing out how hard she made it on him.... but that was a small (and sadly predictable) flaw in the gripping biography of an impressively open-hearted, adventurous, and maniacally dedicated man. And, central-casting of his wife aside, I really appreciated how Egan took the time to talk about people OTHER than Curtis and explore their stories as well.
(98)
The Giver (reread), Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son, by Lois Lowry
I remembered how much I loved The Giver as a young teenager (I think I read it three times?) but not really anything about it. And I'd never read the sequels. And I was super-excited that I will be listening to Lowry speak soon. So I decided to reread the book and then read all the sequels. I expected to enjoy them; I did not quite expect them to be so unputdownable that I tore through all four of them in two days. I was a little crotchety about the ending of Messenger, but given what Lowry was going through herself at the time, I can see why she ended the book the way she did. Taken as one work, these four books are astoundingly good.
(101, 102, 103, 104)
The Novel Cure, by Ella Berthoud
Books about books are the most comforting books for me, although I would get frustrated quickly if that were all I read. This one does a very good job of walking the line between earnest and tongue-in-cheek, and where I knew the books under discussion, I agreed more often than I disagreed. And lots and lots of the books I hadn't read sounded like they would be just my cup of tea.
(105)
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Checked this out because it was part of a "books about Las Vegas" set of recommendations. It is only very slightly about Las Vegas. Also occasionally eye-rollingly obvious that the author himself is a middle-class white guy with the privileges pertaining thereto. That said, I've been meaning to read it for ages and it was really fun. Glad to know there are lots and lots more to read.
(108)
100 Crushes, by Elisha Lim
Splendid splendid splendid comic / set of illustrated musings and interviews. So captivating!
(109)
Expat, edited by Christina Henry de Tessan
Well, for the most part the comments above about Click! apply to this book too - a collection of women's essays about living as an expatriate. I am an expatriate of nearly sixteen years myself, so these ones did cut a little closer to home... but I reckon in a few days I'll have forgotten them, and will only be reminded when when something flashes off a spark of recognition.
(110)
