BookCon

I'm slowly, but surely getting myself back on track with this blogging thing. Last week as a graduation/anniversary gift The Husband and I went to Chicago for BookCon! It was my first time and it was crazy! I realize the event is only in its 3rd year, and its 1st year in Chicago, but there were a lot of logistical missteps on the part of the organizers. Probably the most glaring was that they seemed totally unprepared for the sheer number of people that arrived hours before the queue hall opened. The Husband and I arrived around 6:45 am - fresh off the plane - and we still ended up in line on the opposite end of the convention center - not the hall mind you, but on the opposite end of the building - a building that is also the largest convention center in the country.

Thankfully I'm older and more practical than some (read: many) of the younger patrons. I knew before we had even landed at O'Hare that it would be difficult to get a wristband for some of the bigger names, so I decided to focus on the authors I like who may not be as well known. Luckily it paid off and I secured myself wristbands to meet Naomi Novik and Lucy Knisely (and Gene Luen Yang). I even achieved my ultimate goal of meeting Ann M. Martin, an author I had been trying to meet for 23 years. She was only there for the panel and not available to sign autographs, but just seeing her on the panel was enough for me.

Of course I'm only touching on the surface of my BookCon experience and I plan on writing a complete run-down soon. However I am currently sorting through my ARCs and chaplets and trying to decide what to read first. If you want to see some pictures from my BookCon experience, head over to my instagram @klorenz2118.

I've been a bit busy

Sorry for the long hiatus, but I've been a bit busy! What have I been doing? I've been on a mad dash to finish 3 semesters worth of course work in 2. So it is with great pleasure that I can say I have finally finished my B.A. in History.

Still on Hiatus.

I'm still on hiatus from the blog - and for the most part social media. I finished and presented my thesis in December and somehow managed to get an "A". Which means the only books I've been reading for the last few months have been for research and not for fun. 

Depending on how the semester goes I might come back sooner than I anticipated, but I really loaded myself down with course work so I can graduate in May. I hope I can read some new material soon but lately the only way I can "read" fiction is by listening to the audio book in the car on the way to school or work.

It's Banned Books Week!

Book Review: Gotham Academy vol. 1: Welcome to Gotham Academy

Title: Gotham Academy, Vol. 1: Welcome to Gotham Academy

Authors: Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ (3)

First off, the art is great. The background art is fantastic and the color pallet is perfect; it really makes Gotham Academy look and feel like a creepy Gothic castle. However, I just wasn’t feeling it. The story felt like the Batman version of Scooby Doo, only without the dog (although there is a killer Croc). The series takes place within Gotham Academy, a boarding school that is funded by the Wayne Foundation. The main character is Olive Silverlock (who, incidentally, has silver hair), due to a mysterious incident over the summer she has become withdrawn, breaks up with her boyfriend, and avoids her once close friends. She also has a grudge against Batman, and to be honest, he’s not doing much to try to win her over. While all this is happening, there are reports of a ghost haunting the school. Olive is skeptical but is eventually roped in to the investigation by her ex’s little sister Maps.

If the intended audience was children, then I think the writers hit the mark. It’s a good series to get kids into the Batman universe without all the gratuitous violence and adult drama. I’m interested to see where the story goes because there is potential there, but I’m worried it’s going to become a story about a bunch of meddling kids unmasking fake monsters.  

Book Review: Core Scramble

Title: Core Scramble

Author/Artist: Euho Jun

Rating: ☕ ☕  (2)

First let me preface this by saying I read a lot of BL manga/manhwa, so I am well aware of the common tropes and story lines in this genre. Some I can tolerate and still enjoy the story, but then there are the tropes that grind on my nerves so much I have to restrain myself from throwing the tablet across the room. This story was the latter.

The initial premise is confusing at first because the reader is dropped into the middle of a battle with no background information as to why this battle is happening. We meet the soldier, Chaeun, as he is forced to fight the mass of bugs alone after his commander abandons him to meet his girlfriend and the rest of his team are pulled from the fight due to injuries. After 7 hours he finally manages to eliminate all of them, but what he didn’t know was that he was being watched by the mysterious Moonhoo, who then shows his appreciation for the exciting battle by giving him a drink of water – using his own mouth.

At first Chaeun seems like a smart, honest guy. He cares about his colleagues and takes his job very seriously. His major flaw is his steadfast loyalty to his violent and reckless commander Gayoon. I understand why he stays with him initially, but as Gayoon’s violent attacks on Chaeun increase in number and severity, I have to wonder why he continues to stay on his team when there are other teams who are ready to take him. Basically, he is conforming to one of the most common BL tropes – staying with the violent, possible romantic lead because of some twisted form of admiration and love. The only trope more common than this one is the “Love Triangle” – which surprise, surprise is also hinted at. About halfway through this volume I was ready to call it quits, but I somehow managed to struggle on and finish it. I just didn’t like it. I’ve read too many stories like it in the past to find it interesting, and I can already predict what is going to happen in the following volumes.

The one redeeming feature in the entire volume was the art. The art was clean and the characters were handsome. The reference panels were also well executed. I just wish the story was tighter and original. Unless you are a huge fan and feel the need to read every BL story out there, I suggest you pass on this one and read something else.

How I've spent my free time this summer...

Book Review: Illusionarium

Title: Illusionarium

Author: Heather Dixon

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕ (4)

I have a little confession to make regarding Illusionarium. Actually, I have two confessions. First, although I like the steam punk aesthetic, I’ve never really read a book that had the steam punk classification. Second, I didn’t choose this book because of the theme, blurb, or even the author. To be honest, I chose it because I love the work of cover artist Nathalia Suellen. I’ve been following her on Tumblr ever since I saw the cover for Splintered by A.G. Howard. 

In Dixon’s Illusionarium, we meet Jonathan Gouden; in his own words he considers himself to be “sort of.” He’s “sort of” tall, and “sort of” smart.  He loves learning about medicine and science and takes pride in his job as his father’s apprentice, but he also looks forward to leaving his frozen home for the capital and the academy, where he will study to become a surgeon. But, before he can leave, a deadly disease takes hold of the entire country, including his beloved mother and sister. Jonathan decides to risk everything to find a cure and save his family, even if it means betraying his father and his country.

Jonathan is a great character: he’s impulsive, naïve, and doesn’t always see the big picture. Basically, he’s a 16-year-old boy. He’s so desperate to find a cure to save his mother and sister that he puts his trust in a strange chemical called fantillium that causes shared illusions –illusions that can be manipulated by those with the skill to do so. Throughout the story, Jonathan waffles between trying to do the right thing and becoming like the people he’s fighting against. I love that Jonathan doesn’t always choose to do the right thing, that’s human nature, humans make mistakes, and Jonathan makes quite a few, but he learns from them and tries to do better. 

To help him (albeit reluctantly) on his journey is a one-eyed soldier named Lockwood. In the beginning, he and Jonathan detest each other. Lockwood sees the world in black and white – he doesn’t understand why Jonathan is willing to go to any lengths to secure a cure for the disease ravaging the country. If it can’t be obtained through honorable (read: legal) means, then it can’t be done. At first I really disliked Lockwood. I couldn’t understand how someone could turn a blind eye (no pun intended) to the suffering of the citizens around him. Throughout the second half of the book we learn a little bit about Lockwood’s past, and how it has influenced his view of the world. He still ticked me off a bit, but as the story went on I started to like him more and more. If the author wants to write a prequel or sequel with Lockwood as the main character I will almost definitely read it because I feel there is more beneath the eye patch (and I would really like to know the rest of the story on how he got that eye patch…). 

I really enjoyed this book. The world building was great and I really loved how the author described Jonathan’s process for creating illusions. They didn’t just appear with a thought, there was a fairly complicated method involved in their creation. Dixon spent a lot of time on the illusions and the parts where Jonathan was on the run, which caused some parts to be rushed or underdeveloped. There are sections that I wished were fleshed out a bit more, especially those with Jonathan and Lockwood. I’m giving this book a 4 because it kept my attention (which is in short supply these days) and I really did love the story.

Book Review: I Am Princess X

Title: I Am Princess X

Author: Cherie Priest

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕ (4)

In addition to my graphic novel/comic book kick, I seem to be reading quite a bit of YA recently. So it’s no surprise that I picked up I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest. What makes this book so interesting (or irresistible to me) is the combination of the story of friends Libby and May, and the comic that started it all. 

On a boring day at school, Libby and May created a rock’n princess in red Chuck Taylor’s they dubbed Princess X. Over the years the girls spent hours drawing and writing stories about their Princess X. But it all ended one rainy night when the car Libby was in drove off a bridge and into the water below. Years pass, but May still mourns the loss of her first best friend. She still feels there was something strange about how Libby died but she can’t figure out why. While she’s visiting her dad in Seattle, her past comes back to her in the form of a sticker, and the further she digs the more questions she has about the appearance of Princess X. Who put it there and why? Could it be that Libby is still alive and trying to send May a message? After a little sleuthing, May discovers that it’s not just stickers and patches; someone is writing new comics staring Princess X. It is the inclusion of the Princess X comics that really make the story unique. The story was more interesting because the reader was able to see what May was seeing. These new comics drive May to dig deeper until she runs into a dead end (read: a broken laptop).  Calling a tech support flyer she finds in her building introduces her to neighbor “Trick,” who not only tells her how to fix her laptop, he also decides to use his hacking skills to help her discover the identity of Princess X and find out what really happened to Libby. 

I love May; she’s shy and has a hard time opening up to people, even her parents. When Libby dies, she loses the person who understands her the most and brings out the best in her. Then things get worse when her parents decide to divorce and May moves back to Atlanta with her mother, while her father stays in Seattle. She loves her parents but she keeps them at a distance. I really love the friendship she cultivates with Trick. She knows that she needs his help, but she also values their growing friendship.

Although the friendship between May and Libby is the driving force behind the story, I must admit that my favorite character is Trick. He’s so smart but he’s also an impulsive teenager who has made some bad decisions, but he doesn’t let that stop him from acting like the computer genius he thinks he is. I think even he was surprised at how quickly he bonded with May and I believe he really cherishes their growing friendship.

The pacing is good, in fact I was able to finish it in a day, but because the pacing is so fast – especially toward the end, there are scenes that stick out because they are a bit too unbelievable. I also wish the author had fleshed out her descriptions of the places May and Trick visit in Seattle. Since I’ve never been to Seattle, it was hard for me to picture the places she talks about, although someone who has been there probably wouldn’t have an issue with it. I gave this book a 4 because I loved the unique plot and the mixing of the story and the Princess X comics. 

There's No Place Like Home...

I made a little bit of a tactical error today. The sun was out for the first time in over a week. I wanted to be outside enjoying the sunshine – preferably at a park, but the kids and The Husband wanted to spend their outside time playing at the community pool. I decided to send them on their way. My plan was to sneak out to a favorite metropark with my camera, a book, and my tablet. I was all set to leave when I realized that my husband’s car was getting serviced – which means he took my car to the pool. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

It was time to come up with some alternatives. The nearest park was next to my kid’s school, so I packed up my stuff and started walking. I made it about half way when a friend in the neighborhood asked me if I was going to the school to watch the cricket match. I turned around and went back home. Next I decided to try my husband’s favorite spot, the bit of shade under the tree in the front yard. This lasted about 10 minutes. Just long enough to be interrupted by three different neighbors. I was about to give up when I decided to try one more place. The kid’s domain – also known as the backyard. I weaved around the child-sized tables and chairs, kicked some toys to the side, and tossed a few soccer balls into the grass before setting up on the deck next to the lilac bush. At first I just sat there, it was quiet, it was peaceful, and it was mine.

Two beers and one hundred pages later and the spell was broken. The kids and husband were back and it was time to start dinner. I was sad to leave my quiet spot, but I was also happy because I had finally found my place outside and I didn’t have to go farther than my own deck.

Book Review: Batgirl Vol. 1: The Batgirl of Burnside

Title: Batgirl Vol. 1: The Batgirl of Burnside

Author: Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher

Artist: Babs Tarr 

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ (3)

Geez, I’ve been reading a lot of comics and graphic novels lately. I was given the opportunity to read the “soft” reboot of my favorite Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. This version has Barbara moving to Burnside for a fresh start as she pursues her PhD. It’s been three years since her spinal injury, but she’s back to her crime fighting ways and ready to take on the city. I was looking forward to reading this collection because it was rumored to have a lighter tone compared to Gail Simone’s New #52 Batgirl series. I loved Simone’s work but it was a little too serious for my daughter, so this seemed like a somewhat age appropriate way to introduce her to Barbara Gordon.

I wanted to love this, I really did, but somehow it just fell flat for me. This was indeed a “lighter” storyline and, aside from a few panels, I would feel comfortable handing it over to my daughter to read. The art was fun and colorful. I really liked Batgirl’s motorcycle jacket-style costume, it was practical, functional, and definitely more realistic than some of the other superhero costumes out there.

Since this the first volume, there isn’t much character development for the new supporting characters, but I already love Barbara’s research assistant Nadimah Ali. In some ways Barbara is still recovering from her injuries. In a fight, sometimes she is slow to react, and while I appreciate that the writers aren’t automatically showing her in top form, I also feel she is missing the emotional side of her recovery.  I also liked how they used social media in the storyline, it was almost a character in its own right. The writers did well showing all the great things that can be achieved with social media and coding, but they also show how dangerous this technology can be when it’s in the wrong hands. 

This reboot got off to an okay start, and I hope the story gets better as it progresses but I wouldn’t be surprised if it continues to fall flat. I love Barbara Gordon as Batgirl (and Oracle) so I hope we get to see more dimension in her character and the supporting characters.

**NetGalley provided me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Book Review: Are You My Mother?

Title: Are You My Mother?

Author: Alison Bechdel

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ (3)

Once again I picked a book based on the number of times it ended up on my shelving cart at work.  Though I am someone who enjoys reading both biographies and graphic novels, I rarely read graphic novel memoirs; not that there are many to choose from, and so I decided to give this one a shot. Admittedly, I hadn’t heard of author Alison Bechdel before I picked up this book, so I didn’t have any preconceived notions about her story telling style. And after reading Are You My Mother? I feel like I would have benefited from reading some of her non-autobiographical comics beforehand. 

The art in this book is wonderful. Bechdel manages to put so much detail into each panel without making it look cluttered or messy. I also love how she uses only gray and red for her color pallet, I felt that the red enhances the storytelling and adds an extra dimension to the relationship between the author and her mother, tying the past and the present together.   

Bechdel’s graphic memoir is an interesting blend of accounts of her memories and conversations with her mother and the dissection of those interactions with the help of her psychoanalyst over the course of many decades. I feel that in addition to the memoir, I was given a crash course in psychoanalysis, a field of study I have very little knowledge of outside of the basic Freudian theories I learned in Psych 100, which I took over 10 years ago. At the core though, is the complex relationship Bechdel has with her mother. The author often tries to explain the hows and whys of her complex feelings through the words of others, most prominently Virginia Woolf and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. 

Aside from the heady background material, I had a hard time relating to Bechdel and her need to pick apart every conversation, every dream, every action, etc.  I grew up in a very average family and I have a wonderfully uncomplicated relationship with my own Mom, so I had a hard time understanding the relationship between Bechdel and her mother. It seems that Bechdel was also puzzled about their relationship, which is probably why she decided to chronicle the journey to define what her mother is to her. By the end of the book, I felt like I learned more about Winnicott and the Mother-Daughter relationship than about her mother.

It took me a little longer to get through this compared to other graphic novels. Most of this was because of the citations from the many books on psychiatry and psychoanalysis. There were times when I had to stop and reread a passage because I wasn’t sure what I had just read. For some, I even looked up the original source material in order to gain some further insight. Overall I enjoyed reading it and gaining insight to Bechdel’s journey to find out what her mother means to her.  

Book Review: DC Super Heroes Origami

Title: DC Super Heroes Origami

Author: John Montroll

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ (3)

My son loves origami. Actually love isn't a strong enough word, more like he's obsessed with origami. So it's no surprise that when I mentioned that there was a book of origami featuring DC characters he insisted I let him read it as well. Admittedly I’m not as into origami as my son, in fact lately I’ve been avoiding it like the plague since my son decided to use origami crafting for his economics project (I guess they teach economics in elementary school now). But I really enjoyed the Star Wars origami book, as well as Tom Angleberger’s Origami Yoda series, so I decided to give this book a shot.

The book claims to have projects of varying degrees of difficulty, and while I agree that there are projects for both beginner and advanced skills, I felt like some of the easier projects were put in because they were easy and not necessarily because they fit with the DC theme. For example the “easy” projects in the Batman chapter included the Penguin’s umbrella and the Riddler’s walking stick, and while both items are representative of said characters, if the projects were taken out of context they are just an umbrella and walking stick without anything else to tie them to the characters they are supposed to represent.

The projects on the difficult side are challenging and visually pleasing. I really liked the Batwing, after I was finally able to finish it. It was a bit more difficult to put together than I initially thought, but the end result was cool to look at. My favorite projects were from the Wonder Woman and Justice League chapters because they could be used for dress-up. Who wouldn’t want their very own Green Arrow hat or Wonder Woman tiara?

My son, on the other hand, was less impressed. Like me, he enjoyed the projects in the Justice League chapter and he had a blast making a hundred maces and swords. But he wasn’t impressed with all the preprinted character sheets, and after putting together Clay Face, he abandoned the rest of them. He was more interested in the creative or functional projects.

I’m giving this book a low 3. It was fun and creative, but the novelty of it wore off fairly quickly in our house. I think this is a fun activity book for families with younger children (ages 4-7) or for fans of the DC Universe (Disclosure: The Latte-Books Family do appreciate the DC Universe, but are hardcore Marvel fans).

**NetGalley provided me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Book Review: Phoebe and Her Unicorn

Title: Phoebe and Her Unicorn

Author: Dana Simpson

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕  (5)

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a little girl who fell in love with the movie The Last Unicorn. Fast forward 20 odd years and the now grown-up girl shared this love with her own daughter. Her daughter was even more in love with the movie than her mother and had several t-shirts featuring the beautiful unicorn. This past Saturday was the first day of the Summer Reading Program at the library I work at, so I brought my kids in to sign up and pick out some books. My daughter, Nora, was wearing her favorite “Last Unicorn” shirt. One of the Children’s Librarians saw her shirt and gushed to the point of frightening my very very shy daughter. To smooth it over she told us about this new graphic novel she had just read, Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson. Nora has found her new favorite librarian.

After waiting patiently for my daughter to go to bed the other night, I snuck into her room and grabbed the book to read it for myself. I knew I was going to like it when I opened to the first page and saw that Peter S. Beagle, the author of The Last Unicorn, had penned the introduction. At that point I was sold before even reading the first panel. After some mild internal fangirl screaming, I started reading.

The story begins with Phoebe skipping stones on a pond. One of those stones strikes Marigold Heavenly Nostrils the Unicorn on the head, freeing her from being held captive by her glorious reflection in the water – apparently this is a common problem for Unicorns. In return for saving her, Marigold offers to grant Phoebe any wish that is in her power to grant. Phoebe wishes that she and Marigold could be best friends, Marigold reluctantly grants her wish.

Marigold, like all Unicorns, knows that she is beautiful, intelligent, skilled….basically she’s perfect in every way. And she makes sure that Phoebe understands how amazing and wonderful she is. Phoebe knows that Marigold can do amazing things, but sometimes her attitude needs an adjustment, which Phoebe is more than happy to provide. Phoebe can be a little on the weird side, which baffles the perfect Marigold, but over time she grows to love her new friend, even if she is an ugly pink human.

To say I loved this is probably an understatement. Peter S. Beagle himself compared Phoebe and Marigold to Calvin & Hobbes, which in the beginning seemed like an overly ambitious statement. But after reading it, I can see why he came to that conclusion. The book is funny, sarcastic, and appeals to both children and their adults. There were plenty of moments where I would laugh out loud to the bewilderment of my husband. I can’t wait to read more of Phoebe and Marigold’s adventures! Lucky for me Nora, volume 2 was released on May 26th.

Mini-Hiatus

I'm taking another mini-break. The end of the school year is coming up and as a parent I have tons of stuff to do.  I'll get back on schedule at the beginning of June.