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- X'ed Out (34)
- By Charles Burns
- Finished on Jan 13, 2012
  
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X'ed Out

The size and length of this book made it seem very much like a European stlye comic book. It was large and hardcover and quite short. It was the story of a drug addict freaking out with flashbacks to his life before and hints of how things went down hill. It was nice but it was far too short. This i ... (continue)

The size and length of this book made it seem very much like a European stlye comic book. It was large and hardcover and quite short. It was the story of a drug addict freaking out with flashbacks to his life before and hints of how things went down hill. It was nice but it was far too short. This is the first part of the a new series and the next one will be released in September. It reminded me why I tend to read things that have already been finished as I'm not very patient and want all the story at once. But I did enjoy this and am looking forward to the next part.

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— Jan 14, 2012 | Add your feedback
- A Gay History of Britain (3)
- Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages
- By Robert Mills, Matt Cook, Randolph Trumbach, …
- Finished on Jan 11, 2012
  
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A Gay History of Britain

This book is divided into different chapters by different authors on different periods in British history. At first I was quite disappointed as instead of a history of gay men in Britian it rapidly descended into a history of bum sex in Britain. The first author's main interest seemed not to be desc ... (continue)

This book is divided into different chapters by different authors on different periods in British history. At first I was quite disappointed as instead of a history of gay men in Britian it rapidly descended into a history of bum sex in Britain. The first author's main interest seemed not to be describing what the gay culture was like in early modern Britain, but rather whether or not the people who were heralded as "gay icons" actually had bum sex or not. Which to me wasn't the point. I was quite started as I'd read quite a lot of books about the history of same sex desire among women and was shocked to see the gender stereotypes of "women being interested in relationships men being interested in sex" being played out in such a dramatic and obvious way in queer history.
Unfortunately, the second writer, Trumback was even worse. Rather than questioning everything as Mills did he made huge sweeping generalisations based on very questionable research. For instance because of some statistics about Florence he decided that EVERY man living in Britain in this time period was attracted to boys and women equally. It was just poorly done history. What he used as examples for "normal" behaviour done by everyone were taken from court cases where people were complaining that such behaviour was unacceptable in their communities. He also cited another case where someone was condemmed much more severly for raping a noble woman than they were for raping a common man, he put this down to the sex between older and younger men being considered much more acceptable and totally missed the class issue involved in the two cases.
He also wrote the next chapter which was just as bad. Here he claimed that men only slept with boys and that there was another group of "sodomites" who were men who slept with other men in their twenties and thirties and how this was different to the earlier habits of men only sleeping with boys. However, his examples of "boys" from the earlier period included men in their 20s so the difference seemed forced and artifical.
Thankfully Cocks chapter on the 19th century was MUCH MUCH better. He seemed to have done proper historical research and interpretation. It was full of interesting insight, looking at subcultures rather than just trying to form stereotypes. It looked at both working class and upper class cases and how things changed over the period. One of the things I didn't realise was that in the early 19th century it was still a capital offense and over 400 men were executed under sodomy laws. (And the earlier author couldn't understand why someone would be afraid of being blackmailed about being gay). What was interesting was to see that Manchester seemed to have what would now be called, a thriving gay scene, even in the 19th century, with a drag ball. There was detailed accounts of men who dressed as women, and Cocks pointed out how this effemiancy was not automatically linked with sodomy at that point. He talked about the development of the sexoligists and the changing attitudes and creation of "homosexuals".
Likewise the two chapters by Matt Cook about homosexuality in the 20th century were very good, if a little short. One thing that surprised me was it seemed like the period of greatest homophobia was the late 80s with the onset of aids. It was interesting to read about the acceptance around the time of the second world war. How even before the law legalising homosexuality was made people seemed to feel less persecuted and how it was actually after the law was passed that the greatest numbers of arrests were made. It was particularly interesting for me as someone who grew up queer in that period to see it portrayed as such a homophobic one. One thing that I thought was a little abrupt was him talking about how homophobic the 80s and early 90s were to the changes in legislation later without explaining any of the cultural shift that went along with that.
I must say while I was unimpressed by the first half of this book the second half more than made up for it.

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— Jan 15, 2012 | Add your feedback
- Alan Moore: Wild Worlds (10)
- By Alan Moore
- Finished on Jan 4, 2012
  
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Alan Moore: Wild Worlds

So after being less than impressed with wildcats I thought Id read this collection anyway as I'd already borrowed it from the library. It was a collection of different short stories set in the wildcats universe. The first story was ABYSMAL. Ok there were some nice Alan Moore turns of phrase, but it ... (continue)

So after being less than impressed with wildcats I thought Id read this collection anyway as I'd already borrowed it from the library. It was a collection of different short stories set in the wildcats universe. The first story was ABYSMAL. Ok there were some nice Alan Moore turns of phrase, but it was a spawn crossover and was really the WORST representation of comics I've seen in a LONG time. This was the reason that most women don't read comics. Ok, so I'm bisexual and can appreciate a finely drawn woman in comics. I have read and enjoyed Moore and Gibbie's porn efforts in this regard. But the sexualisation of the women characters in the first collection in this book was just so high as to be truly absurd! First of all the women's superhero costumes was a G-string! There were so many shots of women's butts with little triangles it was absurd! Next the women had huge FAKE breasts! They were large and obviously copied from implants and not real boobs cause real boobs don't look like that!!! Next even the old crippled superhero sitting in a wheelchair wearing a blanket, wore the blanet only to the tops of her thighs to show off her shapely hips and that she wasn't wearing trousers! I can't believe Alan worked with this artist.
The next story set in a dying universe was ok but so far removed from reality that it just didn't make any sort of impression.
The third story however was one I actually really enjoyed. It was about the character from the old team that I liked the most. The one who was part demon who left the team because of their racism and decided to go back to being a stripper, "because the costumes are less demeaning and people treat you with more respect". And yes indeed the issues about the strippers were much less demeaning than the ones about the female superheros! It was a wonderful story about her returning to New Orleans and hanging out with the legba (if that's the right word) without realising what they were. It was about letting go to do the right thing. It was still quite action-y trying to stop a monstrous man from killing strippers and bringing back the dead. But it was done in a really nice sorta spooky and sorta funny way and I really enjoyed it. It made me want to look into just getting the comics for this story, even though I'm sure it'd be cheaper to buy a copy of the graphic novel.
The last two stories after that I just didn't much care for even though one had maxine, she was just drawn too weired and the plot felt like a cliche.

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— Jan 6, 2012 | Add your feedback
- Alan Moore (1)
- The Complete WildC.A.T.S
- By Alan Moore
- Finished on Jan 2, 2012
  
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Alan Moore

This series on the otherhand I did not enjoy nearly as much. It was very much a normal superhero comic set in a world with characters and people created by other writers. It started off with two storylines, one set on Earth where a new superhero team was being assembled. This was kinda dull, except ... (continue)

This series on the otherhand I did not enjoy nearly as much. It was very much a normal superhero comic set in a world with characters and people created by other writers. It started off with two storylines, one set on Earth where a new superhero team was being assembled. This was kinda dull, except for the crazy homocidal character named Maxine who was totally old school cyperpunk. She was definitely my favourite thing about the comic. The other part of the story was the old superhero team ending up back on their homeworld and discovering it to be far from the utopia they'd envisioned. This storyline got more and more interesting as it went. The world was quite horrible and it was interesting to see how it affected the different characters. But then once everyone realised it was awful, instead of doing anything to make it better they all just buggered off back to earth. It seemed like a total waste. When they did get back to Earth it seemed like none of the things that had happened there had any lasting effects. Then began the second half of the comic which was either missing issues or exceptionaly poorly written. Whole epsidoes seemed to be missing. The team showed back up but we didn't see them arrive. Different characters became important. One issue ended with them saying, now we must go to the moon, and the next was, now we are back from the moon we need to get on with X. It was jumpy and a bit incomprehensible. The plot was kinda lame, a gang war vs. supercriminals and was mostly just about fighting. The plot twists were obvious. The only part I enjoyed was maxine hitting on a large cyborg while fighting. That was cute. But definitely not a series I'd recommend.

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— Jan 6, 2012 | Add your feedback
- Top Ten, Vol. 1 (50)
- By Alan Moore
- Finished on Jan 1, 2012
  
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Top Ten, Vol. 1

Having enjoyed Promethea I thought I'd borrow some of Alan Moore's superhero books from the library. This was definitely my favourite of the ones I read so far. For one thing it wasn't really superheros. It was cops and bad guys in a city where just about everyone has a superpower of some sort. It w ... (continue)

Having enjoyed Promethea I thought I'd borrow some of Alan Moore's superhero books from the library. This was definitely my favourite of the ones I read so far. For one thing it wasn't really superheros. It was cops and bad guys in a city where just about everyone has a superpower of some sort. It was also very funny. There was a giant blob of an alien that was an ex-porn star, a lesbian whose power was semi-invisibility. The characters were all great. They were odd and absurd but also quite real. For me they were the best part of the story, watching the little interactions, seeing how they had to deal with little things, like getting phone calls from paniced mothers at 3am while trying to hunt down serial killers. It was lots of fun. I'm not sure if I'll get my own copy I think I probably will as it's fun enough to want to read again but I'm looking forward to borrowing the rest of the series from the library.

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— Jan 6, 2012 | Add your feedback

- 1920s Britain (1)
- By Janet Shepherd
- Finished on Jan 26, 2012
  
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1920s Britain

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I started reading this at work to see if it fit in with our collecting policy. It didn't really but decided to include it anyway. Even though it was supposed to be about Britian in the 1920s it focused a lot on life in London. It was a good brief glimpse into the period and really challenged my idea ... (continue)

I started reading this at work to see if it fit in with our collecting policy. It didn't really but decided to include it anyway. Even though it was supposed to be about Britian in the 1920s it focused a lot on life in London. It was a good brief glimpse into the period and really challenged my ideas of what life in the "roaring" twenties was like. Unlike American there was real poverty in England in the 20s. This book touched, albeit lightly, on most aspects of life. Despite it's short length I found that I did learn quite a bit reading it.

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— Jan 27, 2012 | Add your feedback
- London Under (18)
- By Peter Ackroyd
- Finished on Dec 10, 2011
  
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London Under

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Without a doubt this is the shortest Peter Ackroyd book I've read. It was also not one of the best. He really tried to make the London Underground seem mysterious and exciting, as if it was something people never think about, instead of something that millions of commuters use each year! While there ... (continue)

Without a doubt this is the shortest Peter Ackroyd book I've read. It was also not one of the best. He really tried to make the London Underground seem mysterious and exciting, as if it was something people never think about, instead of something that millions of commuters use each year! While there are a lot of cities where no one things of what happens underground, London just really isn't one of them. The first and last chapters that tried to give off an atmosphere of danger and novelty just kinda failed. The book was part geography, part history and part folklore. (And as a history it really wasn't very good, how can you mention the danger of using the tube stations for shelter in WWII and not mention the Bethnal Green tube disaster?) The book started with looking at some of the Roman ruins and burials that had been found under the city, which was quite interesting. The next chapters covered springs, wells, rivers and honestly I found them a little dull. There was then an ok history of the tube that lasted for three chapters, but as I've already said left out some important events. This felt like a Christmas book, nothing really solid just little tid bits of interesting information or stories you could read out to people to be amusing or shocking. I must admit that I was quite disappointed! That's two of his books I've read in a row that I've not enjoyed so I think I might not read any more of his books.

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— Dec 13, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Octavia, Daughter of God (1)
- By Jane Shaw
- Finished on Dec 3, 2011
  
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Octavia, Daughter of God

I'm slowly developing an interest in early 20th century British history. This book combines all the things I normally love about Chinese religion, millenarianism, women in leading roles, apocalyptic visions, spirit writing, immortality etc but transfers them to a very middle class setting in Bedford ... (continue)

I'm slowly developing an interest in early 20th century British history. This book combines all the things I normally love about Chinese religion, millenarianism, women in leading roles, apocalyptic visions, spirit writing, immortality etc but transfers them to a very middle class setting in Bedford with old English ladies creating their own heterodox cult. It is a fascinating piece of history. A group of women who came to contact each other over the writings of Joanna Southcott came to believe that one of them was the daughter of god, a female messiah who had come to give immortal life in this world and they set up their own religious community in Bedford. Some of the women were ex-suffreagettes, there was a vicar's widow and women who didn't marry. To me the first section of this book was the most interesting. It looked at the way the women started getting in touch with each other, formed their relationships and started to form the ideas behind their new religion/cult. (Which they saw as just another part of the C of E and not at all heterodox). The community that they built through letter writing reminded me a lot of the online communities of women that exist now. People from all different places that communicate ideas by writing that they'd not be able to express with the people around them. It was interesting to see how their ideas were shaped and how they seemed to grow out of the lack of place for women in the Church of England at that time. (The book was written by a female Anglican priest who twice wrote how in another time Mabel/Octavia might have just become a priest). But their beliefs seemed to grow out of the horror from the first world war, with a belief that the prophecies of Joanna Southcott would be able to change the horror, and the very restricted place of women in the Church. Their idea was that as women had caused the fall only women would be able to save the human race and thus there was a need for a female saviour to complete the work that Jesus began.
One of the things that was most interesting about the women and their community (for eventually men did join them). Was that apart from their quite radicall beliefs they were painfully normal and very conservative in most other ways. They held tea parties, and in her instructions Octavia would give strict instructions on decorations, cakes (not skimping on the sugar!) and clothing that was appropriate. Even the right kind of table manners were very important. The people who joined the community had to be independently wealthy, be able to support themselves without working and be able to buy a house to live in within the community. Members who wanted to join but couldn't affoard this became servants. They weren't allowed to worship with the rich members, would have to serve them 6 days a week and were treated pretty terribly. The women also supported fascists and didn't believe in any kind of social care at all.
After a few years they started a healing ministry (selling little pieces of cloth that Octavia had breathed on). These were used to heal and sent out to people, it was requested that everyone write back and let them know how they were progressing with their healing, the healing process was meant to gradual. Shaw explained how Octavia discovered her healing gift, but not how they decided to start a whole new healing ministry, which I thought was a little disappointing. Most of the book was very much concerned with the day to day living of the community. The sexual problems, the problems of Octavia's children, but for me I would have enjoyed a bit more analysis of how they got to their beliefs and practices. Rather the author focused on the way they lived. For me the fact that they were so ordinary and conservative in almost every respect, except for the very strange religious beliefs was fascinating. It made me wonder why this one aspect was so different? Which of course made me question whether they really were so very ordinary in every other aspect. It seemed like at times the author was trying to portray them as very typical examples of women of their class and age, but of course the fact that they were part of this community and had their beliefs and practices meant that they really weren't. I would have liked to have seen more exploration of this difference and perhaps some theories as to why.
Overall though I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a very interesting community. At times it sounded like it was very damaging to its members, but they also seemed quite likeable in many ways. Because it as so recent and the author had so much material to draw from you really got a sense of the personalities involved which made it very interesting indeed.

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— Dec 4, 2011 | Add your feedback
Limeho-
use days
- Limehouse days (1)
- a personal experience of the East End
- By Daniel Farson
- Finished on Dec 19, 2011
  
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Limehouse days

I found this book as my boss mentioned that it was about the landlord of a gay pub in the East End. It wasn't. It wasn't even a personal reminiscene of the East End. But rather someone who was in no way a historian talking about the history of different parts of Limehouse and the East End. The chapt ... (continue)

I found this book as my boss mentioned that it was about the landlord of a gay pub in the East End. It wasn't. It wasn't even a personal reminiscene of the East End. But rather someone who was in no way a historian talking about the history of different parts of Limehouse and the East End. The chapters that I found most interesting were about the music halls and the penny gaffs. When he "discovered" who really was Jack the Ripper I found my interest waneing. As I read more he just got more obnoxious and self important. Finally I got to the chapters about him owning the Waterman's arms, but it was just full of 60s celebrities. There was one paragraph that mentioned a different pub, the City Arms that was a drag pub. But that was it. I'm very glad I just read the library copy of this and very glad I did it at work! Not one I'd recommend at all.

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— Dec 19, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Albion (15)
- By Alan Moore, Leah Moore, Shane Oakley, …
- Finished on Dec 3, 2011
  
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Albion

I got a copy of this from the library. Based on a plot by Alan Moore the book is written by his daughter and her husband. It's fairly standard comic book fare but quirky enough to be fun and interesting. The book takes all the heros from early British comics in the 60s and 70s and puts them all in t ... (continue)

I got a copy of this from the library. Based on a plot by Alan Moore the book is written by his daughter and her husband. It's fairly standard comic book fare but quirky enough to be fun and interesting. The book takes all the heros from early British comics in the 60s and 70s and puts them all in the same world (actually prison) and the book focuses on a geek and one of their daughters breaking everyone out. What this book really illustrates is the difference between American superheros and the strange and odd characters that were around in British comics (which I think was its entire point). While there are remote control robots, brains, super strength, this in no way resembles anything put out by DC or Marvel (though ironically is published by DC). It kinda reminds me of the difference between Misfits and Heros. It was a fun story but one I think would be much more appreciated by people who'd read the original comics. At the end of the comic there were example stories of the original incarnations of the characters from the 60s and 70s. I have to say I almost preferred the original artwork style as it was much more realistic and detailed and much less cartoonish that current comic book art. But it was a fun book amd I hope Leah and John have written more.

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— Dec 4, 2011 | Add your feedback

- Chinatowns in a Transnational World (1)
- Myths and Realities of an Urban Phenomenon
- By Ruth Mayer
- Finished on Mar 3, 2012
  
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Chinatowns in a Transnational World

This book is a series of academic essays about different Chinatowns throughout the world. Because I am particularly interested in London's Chinatown and Limehouse I read the three essays on that topic first.
Curious kisses the Chinatown fantasies of Thomas Burke. After reading Burke's other shor ... (continue)

This book is a series of academic essays about different Chinatowns throughout the world. Because I am particularly interested in London's Chinatown and Limehouse I read the three essays on that topic first.
Curious kisses the Chinatown fantasies of Thomas Burke. After reading Burke's other short story collections I wasn't so interseted in reading his Limehouse Nights about Chinatown and the relationships between English women and Chinese immigrants. But this article presented the stories as a much more balanced look into the relationships than I had imagined. While it is a short article it presents Burke as going against the inherant rascism of the time and talking about a subject that was largely ignored or reviled by people of the time. However, this attitude that Burke is going against is more assumed than proved. Still a very interesting and useful article.
Ruth Mayer - Greatest novelty of the age Fu Manchu Chinatown and the global city - looks at the creation of Chinatown in the imagination of the works of Sax Rohmer both as his novels and in the Hollywood re-interpretation of the 1930s. It has some great quotes to take into consideration. As Rohmer's books have so little to do with the actual Limehouse Chinatown it is quite interesting to see how much they have shaped people's views both at the time and today.
"the novels are clearly not an authentic Chinatown, and they are certainly not interested in representing the small Chinese dispora in London at this time. The stories fail dramatically in their effort at local colour effects and tend to represent Chineseness as one clear-cut and repetitive feature in the larger conglomerate of (almost invariably neagtive) 'oriental' characteristics - 117.
Evil, bohemians, The dreary docks countered with the glamourous oriental interiors. Says much more about orientalism than it does about any Chinese persons lives in Chinatown.
It is not London's Chinatown that calls forth Fu Manchu in this fictional universe, but that conversely Fu-Manchu manages to call forth Chinatown wherever he goes - 126
Movies 30s and later becomes imbeded in the yellow peril. "The setting of London's Chinatown is no longer central in these re-narrations. And indeed, what is London's Chinatown agaist the vastness of the world in terms of visual glamour?" - 128 Bela Legousi's movie where he is mixed and trying to create anarchism rather than a supreme Chinese race. Slightly less racist as "Pure chinese of chinatown by contrast, are made out as morally upright figures on the side of law and order, though clearly incapable of clearing up matters on their own. Their harmlessness is underlined at the very beginning of the film, when we see a group of tourists shopping in a chinatown store, engaged in a friendly conversation with a Chinese salesperson, well-versed in English. This scene of harmonious exchange will then be disrupted by a group of white gangsters in fake-Chinese makeup." 130
London's Chinatown and the changing shape of the Chinese diaspora Rosmary Sales et al. - focuses in on the current Chinatown in Soho. But it has quite interesting things to say on the nature of migration and the diasporia community.
"While Chinese people focus on their "yellow skin" as the physical indicator of difference, for Western people the shape of the eyes tends to be seen as a distinguishing feature" [though there is no reference to how they came up with this generalisation] "This illustrates how differences are socially constructed even when based on supposedly inherent physical characteristics" - 201
P. 202 has a great paragraph on space and place and how it relates to Chinatowns.
The essay seems to pay very little attention, beyond mentioning in passing, the plight of illegal Chinese immigrants and the huge difference in the perception of Chinatown to the new illegal immigrants and the established business owners and community organisations. Indeed most of the discussions seem to focus in on the "respectable" Chinese. This is empahsised in the quote
"I think we should organize classes to let these waiters and waitresses learn to behave properly in public... Foreigners don't understand Chinese people... if they see people in Chinatown who have bad manners, it will affect the image of Chinese people". 211
This seems to indicate some internal differences and struggles that would be considered class struggle in English society. But it is not something that the authors pick up on. Indeed they tend to ignore the divide altogether, focusing only on the divide between Chinese and foreigners (British). While they mention that Chinatown "provides a range of support for new migrants, particularly the more vulnerable, for whom Chinatown is an essential element in their daily lives". It neglects to mention how, by forging work permits, cheap labour, providing jobs for fees, and through bogus employment agencies. Rather it prefers to paint Chinatown as a place for established Chinese "for meeting, for socialising and for celebrating family occasions". 213
Ruth Mayer's introduction looks at different Chinatowns, the large San Fransisco Chinatown, brought about after anti-immigration laws and rebuilt as a tourist attraction after the earthquake of 1906. The sporadic German Chinatowns, that never wholly existed as purely Chinese, and the extent people went to to portray them as distinctivly Chinese and exotic. She then goes on to talk about London's Chinatown. Both the modern commercial district and Limehouse. She points out how the Chinese community in Limehouse was always a minority and how it's numbers were exaggerated. "By the 1910s, when, according to John Seed, no more than a hundred families of Chinese descent could possibly have lived in Limehouse, rumours had it that "The Chinese population had grown from 1000 to 8000 and a large number of Biriths seamen were pushed out by them" (East end News quoted in Seed 2006, 75" - 17
There are several references to Limehouse Chinatown, and in particular it's portrayal in ficiton.
witchard, anne 2007 a threepenny omnibus ticket to limey-housey-causey-way' comparative critical studies 4 (2) 225-40
case, shannon, 2002 lillied tongues and yellow claws, challenging modernism. new readings in literasture and culture
seshagiri, urmilla, 2006 modernity's yellow perils, cultural critique 62 (winter) 162-94
It seems that more has been written about the fictional Limehouse Chinatown than the reality but as Mayer states "the obvious gap between myth and reality alwys tended to be negotiated throuh the mythical repotaire and it was assumed that Chinatown looked disappointingly drab and harmless (and empty), because the Chinese presence was sly, hidden and underground (Seed 2006, 79)".
Chinatowns in transition between ethnic enclave and global emblem - Flemming Christiansen
This essay did address some of the inadequacies discussed earlier. It looked at the problem for illegal immigrants and the perception of them as well as the difficultites they faced. It looked at both the global and local level of London's Chinatown and how Chinatowns are changing. Christiansen discussed how many Chinese people complained how the Chinatown had become commercialised and was just for non-Chinese tourists.
Overall this was a very intersting series of essays about the nature of migration, disporia, Chinatowns and Chinese people living abroad. It covered a wide range of topics from historical perspectives, literary interpretations as well as looking at the reality today. It was also a great source of bibliographical references for further reading on the topics I was interested in. I would definitely recommend it to people interested in studying these topics.

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— Nov 28, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Black Hole (168)
- By Charles Burns
- Finished on Nov 14, 2011
  
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Black Hole

I was recommended this by a friend and got a copy from the library. It's a very strange but very good graphic novel. It's one that's half teen coming of age half horror. I guess the closest thing to it would be wet moon, but instead of adorable young goths and emos this is full of early/mid seventie ... (continue)

I was recommended this by a friend and got a copy from the library. It's a very strange but very good graphic novel. It's one that's half teen coming of age half horror. I guess the closest thing to it would be wet moon, but instead of adorable young goths and emos this is full of early/mid seventies teens. Teenagers who have sex get hideous mutations. It's an STD that transforms you. At first it seems like it's fatal, that it forces you out of normal society. But as the book progresses and more and more drugs are consummed by the teens it just ceases to be horror and becomes a metaphor for teens who go and have sex and do drugs. It's not at all preachy though. It's, despite the horror, quite realistic and a very good way of showing the fear and uncertainity of being a teen. How some through their lives away and some pull through, in a quite gruesome and atmospheric kinda way. (There's an adorable part where one of the girls whose become a monster gets quite horrified by her friend whose into Bowie - they listen to Diamond dogs which I guess dates the story to 1974). The other part that I really liked was that it was set in Seattle, and the monster kids hung out behind Ravenna park. I really enjoyed this book. I think I will definitely end up buying my own copy as I'm sure I'm going to want to read it again.

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— Nov 19, 2011 | Add your feedback
- The Red Tree (69)
- By Shaun Tan
- Finished on Nov 12, 2011
  
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The Red Tree

I've had this book on reserve for about 3 months at the library and it finally arrived! And took about 10 minutes to read. It's a lovely picture book for kids but it's also great for grown ups as it is such a good illustration of being depressed. The illustrations are gorgeous and I loved the way he ... (continue)

I've had this book on reserve for about 3 months at the library and it finally arrived! And took about 10 minutes to read. It's a lovely picture book for kids but it's also great for grown ups as it is such a good illustration of being depressed. The illustrations are gorgeous and I loved the way he mixed in English and Chinese and spent a long time trying to figure out what the Chinese meant. I found that there is a Chinese version in Taiwan and I really want to get a copy of that someday. But very beautiful and touching despite being so few words.

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— Nov 14, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Blankets. (12)
- By Craig Thompson
- Finished on Nov 6, 2011
  
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Blankets.

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I sat and read this last Sunday afternoon. It was very nice to sit and read in one go. I must admit I didn't like it quite as much as Habibi, there was the same style of lyrical writing but ultimately I found the ending a bit disappointing. The book was (I'm presumming) autobiographical about a youn ... (continue)

I sat and read this last Sunday afternoon. It was very nice to sit and read in one go. I must admit I didn't like it quite as much as Habibi, there was the same style of lyrical writing but ultimately I found the ending a bit disappointing. The book was (I'm presumming) autobiographical about a young Christian named Craig drawing comics and trying to decide if he should join the ministry. There was a lot I really identified with, the strong Christian family, the small town and the hypocrisy that seemed to inhabit most of the Christians that were around. (As well as the not enjoying singing). The story mostly focused on his early relationship with his brother and then his first love. It was sweet and touching without being dramatic, looking back not much happened but it did capture the feeling of being isolated and lonley very well. I think one of my favourite moments was when Raina asked why the only time he ever talked about his brother was when they were little and how he went back and built up that relatinship again. I also really liked his depcition of Raina's special needs/DD sibilings. I loved how realistic it was, that the Downs brother wasn't a happy go lucky guy, but was moody, angry and jealous and had proper emotional reactions to what was happening in his life. I think it was the most realistic portrayal of someone with Downs I've ever seen. There were a lot of things that I really enjoyed about this book, but overall I didn't love it. I think the ending was a bit of a let down for me. Still one I'd recommend.

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— Nov 14, 2011 | Add your feedback
- The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (12)
- As Narrated by the Chroniclers of Zone Three
- By Doris May Lessing
- Finished on Nov 6, 2011
  
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The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five

I liked this book much better than Shikasata. While it started out as a fairly typical fantasy style novel instead of plots and magic it was people sitting around in rooms talking and having sex and trying to figure out what was going on with their cultures. I really liked that. It was all about the ... (continue)

I liked this book much better than Shikasata. While it started out as a fairly typical fantasy style novel instead of plots and magic it was people sitting around in rooms talking and having sex and trying to figure out what was going on with their cultures. I really liked that. It was all about the characters and their development and I really enjoyed the characters and the way they started to interact with their different roles in society. I still didn't like the way the characters had no free will at all. The way they were manipulated and how anytime they had their own idea how to do something it was considered a disaster. But despite that I enjoyed this book enough to go ahead and try the third in the series.

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— Nov 11, 2011 | Add your feedback