It's already April 9th and this is just my first post of the month. My apologies. It's been a relatively busy month so far and will only get busier. Three books to update, plus a few new ones that have arrived. So let's get to it.
Books Completed
I've completed two books since my last update and gave up on one more.
1.
The Girl and the Glim by
India Swift & Michael Doig (2022).
"I'm not sure where I heard of India Swift. I'm guessing in the back of one of the other graphic novels I've been enjoying. At any rate, I just received The Girl and the Glim illustrated and written by Swift and colored by Michael Doig. It came out in 2022 and is the story of Bridgette, a young girl about to start in a new town and a new school.
Putting on her lucky shirt and a brave face, off she goes, hoping to make a good impression. Of course, she's late for her first class, too short to write her name on the blackboard above everything else on it and soon is the butt of some of the other kids. It seems as well that there are things going on with the schools electrics; phones not working, lights shutting off.
The next day her troubles continue. At the Library to find a book on improving your self-confidence, she's discovered by the 'bully' (sort of a bully) and locked in a supply room. Bridgette escapes through a window and has to follow a difficult path that leads her to a tumble into the woods where she discovers some dark creatures. Running home, she then discovers a fluffy, glimmering little creature and after a brief tussle, they become friends. (Oh... only Bridgette can see the Glim and these other creatures)
The story follows Bridgette's efforts to save her school.. Let's just say, it's a fun, action-filled story, beautifully drawn and colored. Bridgette is adorable. The other characters are drawn with such excellent expression as well. It's not a unique story, new kid in school, trying to fit in and the troubles!! But it's still an excellent tale. And it left you feeling satisfied but at the same time thinking maybe there might be a sequel. We'll see. Check it out, or get if for your kids (3.0 stars)"
2.
Lost Girls by
Alan Moore (2006).
"Over the past few years, I've enjoyed many of Alan Moore's graphic novels, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and many others. I had heard of Lost Girls but for some reason, it's only recently that I bought it and decided to try it.
Firstly, this Warning about Lost Girls, it contains Extreme Adult Content. This is the gist of the story. 3 women famed as young girls; Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz, Wendy Darling from the Peter Pan stories and Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, have grown up and all arrive at a hotel in Austria. They are all running from there pasts and all meet up and gradually over the course of the story, begin to tell of their 'adventures' in their earlier lives.
Their adventures in the specific books are related to their own real lives. Their relationships in Austria become very close, even sexual as they take turns telling their stories. Call it Fanny Hill on steroids. The setting enhances their sexual experiences. The owner leaves erotic literature in each room and often as the women are interacting, portions of the 'white book' accompany their own stories.
The setting is early in the 1900's just when Crown Prince Ferdinand is assassinated and WWI is about to begin. This plays only a small role in the story. The women ignore it as everybody else departs the hotel, leaving it to them.
The premise of the story is quite interesting, especially the link between their literary stories and their 'real' lives, but I have to say the constant sexual activity, graphically presented in the artwork, gradually gets oppressive.. to me anyway. The artwork is excellent and the samples at the end of how images were created were also interesting. A cult work by Moore (maybe all of his work is cult work....) and interesting. Just beware if you want to try it. (2.5 stars)"
3.
Children of Chicago by
Cynthia Pelayo (Children of Chicago #1 / 2021). I did not finish this one.
"I'm afraid that Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo was a DNF for me, hence no rating (NR). After 110+ pages, I'm still not even sure what the book is about. This is what I've gathered. Lauren Medina is a police homicide investigator, following in her father's footsteps. She's a troubled cop, in that she's regularly getting into trouble. There is something going on in Chicago, something.... supernatural?? related to Grimm's fairy stories (the nasty ones). It involves murders of children / teenagers... There is a mysterious person / being, who is related somehow to the Pied Piper who is leading these child murderers??? You see my confusion?
I'm sure it's all explained very well, but for me it wasn't working. There is a follow-on book in this series. Anyway, don't go by what I say, judge for yourselves, please. Just because it didn't work for me, means nothing in the great scope of things. (DNF / NR)"
Currently Reading
1.
The Abominable Man by
Maj Sjowall (Martin Beck #7 / 1971).
"The striking seventh novel in the Martin Beck mystery series by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, finds Beck facing one of the greatest challenges in his professional career.
The gruesome murder of a police captain in his hospital room reveals the unsavory history of a man who spent forty years practicing a horrible blend of strong-arm police work and shear brutality. Martin Beck and his colleagues feverishly comb Stockholm for the murderer, a demented and deadly rifleman, who has plans for even more chaos. As the tension builds and a feeling of imminent danger grips Beck, his investigation unearths evidence of police corruption. That’s when an even stronger sense of responsibility and something like shame urge him into taking a series of drastic steps, which lead to a shocking disaster."
2. A Question of Proof by Nicholas Blake (Nigel Strangeways #1 / 1935).
"The annual Sports Day at respected public school Sudeley Hall ends in tragedy when the headmaster's obnoxious nephew is found strangled in a haystack. The boy was despised by staff and students alike, but English master Michael Evans, who was seen sharing a kiss with the headmaster's beautiful young wife earlier that day, soon becomes a prime suspect for the murder. Luckily, his friend Nigel Strangeways, nephew to the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, is on hand to help investigate the case."
3. On Freedom by Timothy Snyder (2024). As a matter of interest, Mr. Snyder and his wife just recently left the US for Toronto because of the current political situation in the US.
"A brilliant exploration of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival—by the acclaimed Yale historian and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Tyranny. Timothy Snyder has been called “the leading interpreter of our dark times.” As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political collapse and mass killing. As a public intellectual, he has turned that knowledge toward counsel and prediction, working against authoritarianism here and abroad. His book On Tyranny has inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom. Now, in this tour de force of political philosophy, he helps us see exactly what we’re fighting for. Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means—and this is leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state We think we're free if we can do and say as we please, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isn’t so much freedom from, as freedom to—the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible. On Freedom takes us on a thrilling intellectual journey. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences coming of age in a time of American exceptionalism, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes—the habits of mind—that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. We come to appreciate the importance of traditions (championed by the right) but also the role of institutions (the purview of the left). Intimate yet ambitious, this book helps forge a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity, and grace."
New Books
1. The Prince in Waiting Trilogy by John Christopher (1972). I've enjoyed most of the books I've read by Christopher.
"A thirteen-year-old’s expectations of royalty give way to adventure in the first book in the post-apocalyptic Sword of the Spirits trilogy from the author of The Tripods series. In Winchester, roles are clearly defined. Warriors fight battles every spring. Dwarfs make the swords and the shields. Grotesque mutants are the servant class. Seers interpret the wishes and predictions of the spirits. And the Prince is the ruler of the city. Thirteen-year-old Luke has no reason to suspect that any of this will change. It’s been this way for centuries...at least since the year 2000. But things are not what they seem, and soon Luke is thrown into a story of ambition and adventure in the primitive world of the future, Beyond the Burning Luke encounters rage, treachery, and revenge in the second book in the post-apocalyptic Sword of the Spirits trilogy from the author of The Tripods series. As the Prince in Waiting, Luke has been protected by the High Seers since his father’s murder and his half-brother’s ascension to the throne of Winchester. But after hiding for months in the underground Sanctuary, Luke discovers a shocking in a world where mechanical devices have been forbidden, the Seers themselves are secret technologists. Now restless, Luke seizes the chance to explore the world around him. His quest leads him to unimaginable dangers and unexpected delights...but the most dangerous part of his journey awaits him at home. The Sword of the in the conclusion to the trilogy set in post-apocalyptic England, Luke returns a triumphant Prince from his expedition in the North, although he loses the three things he cares about most."
2. Collected Poems 1951 - 1975 by Charles Causley (1975). I enjoyed a smaller collection of Causley's poems very much.
"Charles Causley is without question one of Britain's foremost living poets. He has been writing poetry for a quarter century that because it is perfectly crafted and easily comprehensible has moved and entertained a large and admiring audience. Causley is one of our language's last great popular his verse rhymes; he employs traditional forms such as the ballad; he writes of the sea, of children, of war, of Cornwall where he has always lived and taught. This volume presents the perfected version of every poem Causley has wished to preserve, together with 23 new ones. These are poems of vigorous rhythms and diction. They express deep compassion and rare insight. While never unsubtle, Causley is always direct and consequently always readable."
3. Dirty Snow by Georges Simenon (1948).
"Nineteen-year-old Frank Friedmaier lives in a country under occupation. Most people struggle to get by; Frank takes it easy in his mother's whorehouse, which caters to members of the occupying forces. But Frank is restless. He is a pimp, a thug, a petty thief, and, as Dirty Snow opens, he has just killed his first man. Through the unrelenting darkness and cold of an endless winter, Frank will pursue abjection until finally there is nowhere to go."
4. Clocks Without Hands by Carson McCullers (1961).
"Set in Georgia on the eve of court-ordered integration, Clock Without Hands contains McCullers's most poignant statement on race, class, and justice. A small-town druggist dying of leukemia calls himself and his community to account in this tale of change and changelessness, of death and the death-in-life that is hate. It is a tale, as McCullers herself wrote, of "response and responsibility--of man toward his own livingness."
5. Europa by Aurora Springer (Taxyon Space #1 / 2017).
"Science fiction thriller and romance. What alien creatures lurk under the icy surface of Europa? Dr. Nikki Bell’s plan to discover intelligent life on Jupiter’s moon hits a rocky start when her spaceship crashes on the icy surface of Europa. Seconds before she blacks out, she spies a man’s face in the water beneath the ice. When she wakes on the submarine Station, nobody believes her story. Convinced the mysterious stranger saved her life, Nikki searches for him while she explores the ocean and its alien inhabitants. Kiron Arqin Ramis chose exile as a Watcher on a remote outpost to redeem his family’s honor. He never expected to find an attractive Earther woman close to death. He violates the prime policy by rescuing her. Despite suffering the penalty, he strives to warn her about his hostile leaders. Nikki’s unexpected meeting with Kiron triggers a chain of disasters in Europa’s perilous oceans. Can the daredevil scientist and scarred Watcher forge a new alliance despite their people’s antagonism?"
6. East of West Volume 5, All These Secrets by Jonathan Hickman (2016).
"It's the fifth volume of the Eisner-nominated, best-selling East Of West. All These Secrets is the twisting road of lies that will lead to Armageddon.
Collecting: East of West 20-24"
7. Close to Hugh by Marina Endicott (2015).
"Close to Hugh is a glorious, exuberant, poignant comic novel about youth and age, art and life, love and death--and about losing your mind and finding your heart's desire over the course of seven days one September. As the week opens, fifty-something Hugh Argylle, owner of the Argylle Art Gallery, has a jarring fall from a ladder--a fall that leaves him with a fractured off-kilter vision of his own life and the lives of his friends, who are going through crises (dying parents; disheveled marriages; wilting businesses) that leave them despairing, afraid, one half-step from going under emotionally or financially. Someone's going to have to fix all that, thinks Hugh--and it will probably be him.
Meanwhile, beneath the adult orbit, bright young lives are taking form: these are the sons and daughters of Hugh's friends, about to graduate from high school and already separating from the gravitational pull of their parents. As bonds knit and unravel on cellphones and iPads and Tumblr and Twitter, the desires and terrors and sudden revelations of adolescence are mirrored in the second adolescence of the soon-to-be childless adults.
With exquisite insight and surefooted mastery, Endicott manages something surprising: to show us, with an unerring ear for the different cadences and concerns of both generations, two sets of friends on the cusp of simultaneous reinvention. And, as always in Endicott's wonderful fictional worlds, underpinning the sharp comedy and keenly observed drama is something more profound: a rare and rich perspective on what it means to rise and fall and rise again, and what in the end we owe those we love."
8. Coven by Soman Chainani (2025).
"Need your magical crime solved?
Call the Witch Coven.
Hester, Anadil, and Dot are legendary across the Endless Woods as vigilante detectives and protectors of the peace. The famed trio are not only talented witches but also ride-or-die friends who’ve never left a case unsolved.
That is, until the Coven answers a call for help from a mysterious new world—Red Isle, where the Light and Dark Lands are on the brink of all-out war, each blaming the other for a grim spree of deaths. Now the Coven must work together and unmask the killer before Red Isle tears itself apart. Little do they know: The real enemy might be hiding in plain sight . . ."
So there you go folks, all caught up. Hope you see something that interests you.
