The Publisher Says: The Salt Fields chronicles this day's journey of four African-American passengers—Minister, a soldier namReal Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: The Salt Fields chronicles this day's journey of four African-American passengers—Minister, a soldier named Carvall, and the young couple Lanah and Divinion, each searching for a new life, but none sure of what that means—as they travel through a myriad of locations, histories, and events that shape who they are, what they dream, what they are escaping, who they will eventually become, and what experiences they will have to endure in order to do so.
On the day that Minister Peters boards a train from South Carolina heading north, he has nothing left but ghosts: the ghost of his murdered wife, the ghost of his drowned daughter, the ghosts of his father and his grandmother and the people who disappeared from his town without trace or explanation. In the cramped car, Minister finds himself in close quarters with three passengers also joining the exodus from the South—people seeking a new life, whose motives, declared or otherwise, will change Minister's life with devastating consequences.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU. My Review: Beautiful, meditative story of the absolute Hell on Earth of the Jim Crow South, told from the PoV of some escapees as they leave 1947 South Carolina. The events that cause each one to leave, in 128 pages, are sketched in; maybe that's for the best, but it left this old white man thinking it might shoulda been a short story, or a novel.
I'm all for novellas, make no mistake; the form's got a sweet spot that just sings when it's hit. In this case, I felt Minister Peters, as the most opaque character, would work in a récit about him alone. Here, I want to know a lot more about his losses as they affected him when they happened, and why it took him so long to leave South Carolina.
Lanah and Divinion are also characters I got too little involved in their origin as a couple, so I was not terribly interested in their story. The perfect balance came from the very ordinary Carvall. I got exactly the right story fragment from him. I'm glad I read it because the sentences are so lovely. I think anyone interested in the Great Migration, or the Black culture of Jim Crow times, would love the read. ...more
The Publisher Says: These are some of the most fundamental and enduring questions we have about the mysteries of religion, and they Rating: 5* of five
The Publisher Says: These are some of the most fundamental and enduring questions we have about the mysteries of religion, and they may well hold the key to humankind’s future on this earth.
In this adaptation of Pascal Boyer’s classic work exploring these concepts, Religion Explained, artist Joseph Béhé harnesses the power of comics to provide clear answers to the basic questions about why religion exists and why people believe.
A distinguished scholar, Boyer drew from research in cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary biology to explore why religion exists and why the strength of human beliefs can drive us to be selfless sometimes and, at other times, to be fanatical and intolerant. His erudite book is rich with insight into the endless jumble of ideas that inform religious beliefs and practices across cultures. With detailed, illustrative drawings and carefully adapted prose, Béhé’s graphic novel brings a new perspective to Boyer’s work.
An eminently accessible approach to the notoriously thorny topics of belief, cognition, humanity, and religion, And Mankind Created the Gods is a thoughtful, inspiring graphic novel that will further and broaden the conversation with which Boyer’s book engages.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I feel very sad about this book. It needs explaining all the way from the subtitle, on to the purpose of the project. Plus this is a disaster of time to present something that is not a rah-rah Rasputin-style cheerleadin' on the subject of religion. Even if you've never heard of Religion Explained, you who are not first-timers to my reviews know that there is no way at all (no way in Hell!) I'd review something pro-religion even to dunk on it. Then we come to its length...over 350 pages...and its price...forty dollars. I do not foresee this wonderful, trenchant, tendentious read burning up the sales charts.
Damned shame, that. Look at this stareable art: [image][image][image] I'll happily do my bit here, trying for some interested sympathetic eyeblinks from among my smarter-than-average readers. Y'all give me hope, the numbers who come here to read about worthy, important books about subjects most polite people bury in order not to risk offending some ignorant little twidgee with a keyboard and a grudge against smart people.
So, Religion Explained: its subtitle is "The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought", and that is what it explores. Unlike the idea you'd get from my fondness for the book, it is not a screed against religion. It is a scholarly examination of Belief, as a phenomenon, not as a disorder. (I'm sure someone religious has used its facts to argue that it proves y'all's gawd designed Belief into humanity.) Like all things touching the cultural third rail that is Belief, this book has attracted both support and anger, as its surprisingly unpolemical Wikipedia page shows. It has existed this entire century. It is still in print via Basic Books. I myownself recommend you read it.
Why you should read *this* book, this sequential-art story about its concepts, comes down to the reasons anyone should read a story when seeking knowledge: A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, to quote the Sherman Brothers. I'm so old that I remember hearing Julie Andrews sing it to me in a dark, enormous theater.
So please take this in. Despite swimming against the prevailing social current, despite having one of the most unpleasantly good-for-you subtitles in all of history, despite being in a medium I am not fond of, this story about a book I read almost a quarter-century ago told me something new about Belief. It did it without taking my side. It is a very clear-eyed evocation in story form of the source material's information.
The Publisher Says: Soul Beat, Volume 1 tells the story of a promising boxer who takes on the challenge of destroying the Devil by fRating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: Soul Beat, Volume 1 tells the story of a promising boxer who takes on the challenge of destroying the Devil by finding a series of ancient artifacts.
In Soul Beat, Volume 1, after a fateful encounter to save his friend, pro-boxer and 70s-loving soul brother Dante Alfonse will pursue his toughest challenge yet: defeat the Devil himself—or die trying!
Dante Alfonse is a promising boxer who’s more than capable of taking on any opponent, inside or outside of the ring. Whether it’s a bully in his neighborhood or even stopping a robbery, he’s quick to step in and hold down his city. Of course, when your name means “to endure," being an unstoppable force for good comes naturally! But sometimes, good deeds attract unwanted attention…
Such is the case when Dante tries to defend his friend and mentor, Ben, from being killed by the worst person imaginable: the Devil himself! Now targeted by the forces of evil for his interference, Dante must use the knowledge his mentor left him and hone his newfound spiritual powers, not only to save his own life but to destroy the Devil before more lives are ruined.
To his surprise, he’s not alone. A centuries-long feud between Heaven and Hell begins to surface in the Mortal World, and both sides have their reasons for wanting Dante on their side of the fight. Caught in the crossfire, he’ll have to figure out which side he’s on, uncover the truth surrounding his mentor’s mysterious past, and ultimately show the afterlife what it really means to have soul!
Soul Beat is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.
Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I grew up in the 70s. I don't believe in the Devil, or the christian theology it springs from. I don't like reading comics.
What the ever-lovin' hell is a four-star rating doing up there?! A black man fighting evil in the 70s is a message I'd like to amplify; a struggle against the whole world towards self-belief, ditto; stareable, emotionally charged artwork completes my trifecta of reasons. I also realize when I'm not the target audience, and judge things by a more accepting standard. No, I won't but one for myself; I *would* buy one for my (age-appropriate, thirteen up) grand. [image] [image] [image]
I think these three spreads will tell you what you want to know in advance of ordering a gift for the teen boy (I don't know any girls likely to enjoy this, of any age; it's violent and male-centered, so not really something I myownself would give to a girl). The message of self-belief and not listening to the naysayers is probably most well-suited to the teen boy in a social environment of deep negativity and racial prejudice....more
Real Rating: 4.5* of five (the "Pink Ding" taken off from five)
The Publisher Says: The best thing about rules is that you can break them: here are oveReal Rating: 4.5* of five (the "Pink Ding" taken off from five)
The Publisher Says: The best thing about rules is that you can break them: here are over 100 mantras for anyone interested in creating great art.
What can we learn from great artists? When we hold their practices up to the light, what do we see – and how might those encounters reshape our own thinking about art?
Delving into the attitudes, working practices and mantras of artists hailing from the eighteenth century to the present day, Art Rules distills over 100 insights into the lives of artists inside the studio and out. This book is animated by questions: How do artists think about creativity? What forms can process take? How might artists craft a personal definition of success?
Drawing upon art historical research and artist interviews, the accessible takeaways on these virtuosos’ varied practices pack a punch. This lively compendium offers up a wealth of perspectives from an international, intergenerational group of artists working across media. Art historical heavyweights including Louise Bourgeois, Marcel Duchamp, Frida Kahlo and Henri Matisse appear alongside relatively newer names such as Kerry James Marshall, Ana Mendieta and Mika Rottenberg, as well as exciting artists on the rise like Emilie Louise Gossiaux and Madeline Hollander.
Some of the insights may seem more practical, while others trend conceptual; some may unearth existing knowledge, while others may come as a surprise; some will stay with you forever, while others you’ll only need to try once. Art Rules allows readers to either dip in at random or read from cover to cover for lessons in how great artists think, make and work.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: There is a lot to be said for listening to the thoughts of experts in their field. In this case, artists talk about the nature and the process of creating art...more broadly applicable to creativity as well. The artworks shown are so beautiful it's easy to see a case for giving it (to self or others) as a browser's book of gorgeous stuff to look at!
My favorite thing about this beauty as a gift is that it doesn't have the "are you blocked? let me help you" vibe that lots of creativity-focued books do. It can sneak in under a resistant recipient's radar. That is no small feat. Author Packard has a deft touch, honed in many of the art world's best wordy venues. A partial list of her credits: Art in America, Artforum, BOMB, frieze, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Quality venues, one and all, and her prose shows it. Here are some sample spreads to show the æsthetic of the object you're gifting:
[image] The Contents page...a clear statement of clarity and quality.
[image] Introduction's part-title. What's the deal with pink this year? Me no likee.
[image] Is there ever a bad time to include a Cézanne image of Mont Sainte-Victoire? I do no think so. The advice to seek inspiration in your surroundings, in nature, in the physical place you live, is timeless and always correct.
[image] Never underestimate the generative power of showing off. You might not have a vernissage...yet, but you can gather some folks and show 'em what you got. Florine Stettheimer's painting is both lovely and inspiring.
[image] The shorter pieces are mostly like this, simple and designed to be absorbed without deep contemplation of the art. They're still both pithy and useful, as the whole book is, while being very clearly designed with the visual person in mind. Absorbing advice is always easier when it comes packaged in your preferred wrappings.
Terrific way to support a fearful or blocked aspiring visual artist or visually-oriented creative soul. Booksgiving never had a clearer winner....more
The Publisher Says: Through Fences follows the ups and downs of Latino kids and young adults in the US–Mexico borderlands:
San YsidroRating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: Through Fences follows the ups and downs of Latino kids and young adults in the US–Mexico borderlands:
San Ysidro, Calexico, McAllen, and back and forth across the border. A young girl’s journey north goes wrong, and now she is in a forbidding new place, away from her parents and brother, where she doesn’t understand what the adults in green are saying even as she tries to obey their rules.
Rocky, one of the few white kids in town, stands by and watches as Miguel is jumped by two of his friends. Maggie and her parents are separated at the border in a tragic accident.
Alberto’s son doesn’t understand his Mexican father’s hatred for “illegals” or his work as a border patrol agent. Alicia is a TikTok influencer who doesn’t want to grow up to be a hospital cleaning lady like her mother, but COVID complicates things. Whatever their challenges, the kids, teens, tweens, and adults in these pages are just trying to survive their everyday lives.
Vibrantly illustrated by Oscar Garza, each of these short stories brings a different perspective on the perils of living on the border while brown.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: The stories told here are tough. They're honest, they're emotionally charged, and they do not pander to or play out for the gaze of oh-so-sensitive/delicate fleur wypipo who whine every time anyone tells them the unvarnished truth about what the system their privilege enables them to ignore actually does in their collective name and to their collective benefit.
I don't recommend this for under-fifteens. I do think it's a good idea to give the book to your comic-loving teen nibling/grand boy. [image] [image] [image] [image] These are indicative of the visual idiom of the entire book. It's intense and kinetic art, it's intense storytelling, and it can't be lightly glossed over or cynically dismissed easily. Young white men in particular could use a dose of this reality. Apart from urging you to get the work in front of all the teenaged white lads you can find, I'm out of polite words to say....more
The Publisher Says: Monsters at Christmas is a zany picture book, packed with festive, mischievous monsters preparing for Christmas!Rating: 5* of five
The Publisher Says: Monsters at Christmas is a zany picture book, packed with festive, mischievous monsters preparing for Christmas!
Merry monsters, hairy monsters, monsters trailing slime. Shiny monsters, tiny monsters, all at Christmas time!
Children will love this super-fun title packed with hilarious monsters preparing for Christmas! Follow the monsters as they play in the snow and slide on the ice, decorate the house, and go shopping for presents...and watch out for Santa monster hiding in every scene!
There is plenty to spot on every page, with playful, bright artwork, and lots of festive, amusing mishaps.
Energetic, wacky, and characterful monsters are drawn in a vibrant, contemporary style by Ukranian illustrator Nina Dzyvulska—spot Sprinkle monster baking up a storm, Teeth monster decking all the halls, and Roar monster trying out Santa’s sleigh!
The simple narrative with fun wordplay and a gentle rhyme is perfect for reading aloud, ideal for preschoolers and early readers as they build up their vocabulary and reading confidence.
This bold, bright, and playful book is sure to be enjoyed time and time again by young readers as they are thrilled by the merry escapades of the Christmas monsters!
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Apparently I am a "children" as desribed in the synopsis for the book because I loved "this super-fun title packed with hilarious monsters" so much I spent the whole time I was reading it giggling. [image] Is that not something that makes you wish for a lap-reading aged child?!
[image] I wish baking was actually like this. It would be even more fun.
[image] Glorious, daffy fun for you and the kidlet on your lap...all too seldom can one say that about a kids' book, usually the experience is pretty much the same-ol' same-ol'...not here!
[image] If you can think of a better way to spend an evening of play with a kid than laughing along with this inspired daffiness, good on ya, but try this one out anyway. I'll wager every kid you read it to (or even better, who reads it to you!) enjoys it...and finds Santa every time, too....more
The Publisher Says: Meet the motley crew of dangerous, cheeky, and fantastical beings of Greenland!
The world of Greenlandic mythologRating: 5* of five
The Publisher Says: Meet the motley crew of dangerous, cheeky, and fantastical beings of Greenland!
The world of Greenlandic mythology is inhabited by creatures that have played a vital role in Inuit beliefs and stories throughout the ages. The Bestiarium is a collection of what is generally known about these diverse beings, spirits, and animals. Their stories are gritty, cruel, and reflect from the harsh landscape and lifestyle of ancient Greenland.
Descriptions are paired with illustrations by contemporary Greenlandic illustrators that transport these mythological beings into the 21st Century. A brief history of Greenland and the shaman tradition launches the reader into the ancient world of Greenland and how myth and legend told generation after generation can mould and depict a place that was dark and grim as mischievous and lively and full of natural wonders.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: A world of mythology I was utterly unaware that I was unaware of has gripped my imagination. [image] where we're going [image] what we're speaking [image] how we know what we're talking about is legit
[image]some explanations of how this all goes down [image] She seems nice. Not. Also, aren't you cold, ma'am? [image]NIGHTMARE! [image] Poochie's got some 'tude. [image] They're creepy, and they're gorgeous. [image] An amazing tale; an artwork that's stare-able.
Who on your gifting list loves mythology? Loves to poke into cultural corners not already familiar? Is there a budding Greta Thunberg who would like to know what it is we're protecting when we shout at the PTB to stop playacting at solutions to the emissions debacle?
A book like this one will fill that slot under the Yule tree with only a minimum of tutting about its technological origins. I think you'll get big points for reaching outside the easy, ordinary ideas, too....more
The Publisher Says: A micro-biography of horror fiction’s most influential author and his love–hate relationship with New YoReal Rating: 4.25* of five
The Publisher Says: A micro-biography of horror fiction’s most influential author and his love–hate relationship with New York City.
By the end of his life and near financial ruin, pulp horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft resigned himself to the likelihood that his writing would be forgotten. Today, Lovecraft stands alongside J. R. R. Tolkien as the most influential genre writer of the twentieth century. His reputation as an unreformed racist and bigot, however, leaves readers to grapple with his legacy. Midnight Rambles explores Lovecraft’s time in New York City, a crucial yet often overlooked chapter in his life that shaped his literary career and the inextricable racism in his work.
Initially, New York stood as a place of liberation for Lovecraft. During the brief period between 1924 and 1926 when he lived there, Lovecraft joined a creative community and experimented with bohemian living in the publishing and cultural capital of the United States. He also married fellow writer Sonia H. Greene, a Ukrainian-Jewish émigré in the fashion industry. However, cascading personal setbacks and his own professional ineptitude soured him on New York. As Lovecraft became more frustrated, his xenophobia and racism became more pronounced. New York’s large immigrant population and minority communities disgusted him, and this mindset soon became evident in his writing. Many of his stories from this era are infused with racial and ethnic stereotypes and nativist themes, most notably his overtly racist short story, “The Horror at Red Hook,” set in Red Hook, Brooklyn. His personal letters reveal an even darker bigotry.
Author David J. Goodwin presents a chronological micro-biography of Lovecraft’s New York years, emphasizing Lovecraft’s exploration of the city environment, the greater metropolitan region, and other locales and how they molded him as a writer and as an individual. Drawing from primary sources (letters, memoirs, and published personal reflections) and secondary sources (biographies and scholarship), Midnight Rambles develops a portrait of a talented and troubled author and offers insights into his unsettling beliefs on race, ethnicity, and immigration.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: S.T. Joshi's two-volume I Am Providence is the go-to biography of this awful human being whose fiction output changed what we know as horror fiction. It's a much more...worshipful isn't too strong a term, but let's use the slightly less judgmental term "positively inclined"...take on his entire life.
We don't get that tone here. The author focuses on Lovecraft's New York years. It's pretty much impossible to make the time he spent in the place that inspired the utterly despicably racist story "The Horror at Red Hook" anything but dark and negative. [image] Rheinhart Kleiner introduced his mutual friends H. P. Lovecraft and Sonia H. Greene during a boat tour of Boston Harbor in July 1921. The three were attending an amateur journalism convention in the city.
That is both true, and misleading. This narrowly focused life of Lovecraft isn't a hatchet-job. It is, instead, a careful look at the whos, whats, and whys of Lovecraft coming into himself as a person and a writer.
That he wasn't a very nice person, well, you know what? Facing up to the real person who typed the words that formed the stories you love or loved is not something we can avoid in the twenty-first century. The fascinating part to me was that there needn't have been this curdling of his heart. There was a window for someone to reach into his heart and pull out a kinder human being. Sonia Greene certainly tried this feat. [image] Greene grew more intrigued by Lovecraft throughout the Boston convention. This marked the beginning of their relationship.
A brief moment of happiness. It beggars belief to me that this smiling boy is H.P. Lovecraft, whose sour unsmiling visage is reproduced on so many book covers. [image] While Lovecraft strolled through Brooklyn Heights one evening, a neglected garden captured his attention. This might have been the grounds of the James S. Rockwell House.
His environs always influenced his creative process, naturally. Seeing such sights in Brooklyn, an urban space, would've charged up his future use of the surprising, hidden facet of his stories' settings. As a matter of fact he seems to have found the experience more formative than most others he would have while living in New York. [image] Lovecraft regularly wandered New York City’s nighttime streets to discover buildings reflecting the architectural styles of colonial and early America. He described Greenwich Village’s Gay Street as a “quaint, curving little alley.”
That it is! Still looks like this, too. It doesn't seem to have sweetened his world-view.... [image] When exploring New York City, Lovecraft sought pockets of nature largely unblemished by urban development. Today’s Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan stood as such a space.
Holy carp! That's INWOOD?! My goodness, a hundred years makes a big difference.
I think my point's made. This is a terrific book about the nasty guy who refined and codified the tropes and topics that now make up "cosmic horror." He is seen here on the cusp of all the floods of words that would make this enduring contribution to our culture. I was drawn into this story by the details I did not know, despite the trajectory and ending being already familiar.
I'm convinced your young Lovecraft/horror reader will be as taken with this read as I was. I can't get all the way over the hump to five stars because I dislike Lovecraft that much. That's probably a testimonial to how well Author Goodwin did his job....more
The Publisher Says: Mom makes every day special! Help a child tell her everything they love about her with the playful prompts in thRating: 5* of five
The Publisher Says: Mom makes every day special! Help a child tell her everything they love about her with the playful prompts in this fill-in-the-blanks book. Kids can open the pages and enjoy an afternoon of imagination—drawing pictures, selecting checkboxes, and making lists—all while celebrating everything they love about their mama. When complete, Mom will have a heartwarming keepsake that captures their little one's personality and appreciation.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: An idea to put before your husband, wives. Or grandparents, give to your grand's mother...with the appropriate hand-holding, of course.
[image] [image] [image] [image] My, let's start the kids on gender stereotypes early, shall we? Its saving grace...making up a bit for the pinkness of it...for me was the playfulness of the idea. Let the kid say it with a little prompting. And, as above, entirely appropriate for queer couples or single moms....more
The Publisher Says: There is no better way to brighten Dad's day than heartwarming words from their little one. Help a child tell thRating: 5* of five
The Publisher Says: There is no better way to brighten Dad's day than heartwarming words from their little one. Help a child tell their dad just how great he is with this fun fill-in-the-blanks book. Kids can open the pages to draw pictures, make lists, and check off boxes as they express their love for their papa. When complete, Dad will have a one-of-a-kind keepsake that captures their child's personality, creativity, and love.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I think this little keepsake is completely adorable. I have some reservations about teaching kids to write and/or draw in books, but honestly they're going to anyway so lean in on this one occasion. It's also very nice that the way it's presented means it could be used by queer parents, too...no presumption of an opposite-sex spouse.
[image][image][image][image] Seems likely to me that SOMEone out there will use this as a jab at the ex, but that's on you, not the author and illustrator. Cheap'n'cheerful way to give Dad an ongoing hug from the six- or seven-year-old who will be a surly teen one day soon...and guaranteed it'll come long before you're ready...so stock him up on the good memories now....more