ewee (7/26): The Will of the Empress, by Tamora Pierce

[ok, a book without pictures, as instructed by kayan. an easy read, but no pictures!]

continuing in my line of low-brow consumption, pierce's book provided plenty of diversion after a long day of work and a longer evening of bad television. it's fairly standard fare -- magical youngsters come of age, and learn to be adult magical folk. they come to terms with mean people (the empress), with family (each other), and their jobs (magic). they heal from earlier hurts (earlier in the circle of magic series). they conquer their fears. they overcome childish pouting and tantrums. and they prevail in the end (wait, was that a spoiler?...oh come on...).

nothing really extraordinary. nice attempt to diversify the characters, bit stiff, but in the very male world of sci-fi/fantasy, the presence of color and gender is a welcome addition. in general, pierce seems to specialize in strong female characters who do good but don't simper.

overall, entertaining and engaging enough to provide a lovely escape. good for the commute, or lunchtime reading if you're already inclined to read this stuff.

swingbeat 1/26: Baudolino by Umberto Eco

(wow, my first book for this year's challenge)

I read this book with anticipation, after The Island of the Day Before. I was expecting a whole bunch of magic and fantasy and intellectualism that only Umberto Eco could deliver. I was sadly disappointed. Maybe my expectations weren't in line.

The book is about Baudolino, a man who went in search of Prestyr John, a mythical(?) priest-king in Asia. Like The Island of the Day Before, Eco uses Baudolino's life to tell some stories, but unfortunately these stories aren't as interesting. In the end, I found myself just waiting for the book to end.

Not Recommended.

ewee (6/26): Optic Nerve (issues 1-10), by Adrian Tomine

[yep, this is the last from my weekend of retail therapy. will have to go back to the library soon. wallet can't take much more.]

Optic Nerve by Adrian Tomine isn't technically a book, but since I could have bought the collections and read them, i'm hoping i'll get away with it. (anyway, the collections only have four issues per book, so this is undercounting. really.)

optic nerve captures life with such truth that it kinda creeps me out. tomine's characters are plagued with a malaise so familiar that i find myself disturbed and depressed. yet they're somehow also inspiring, hard to put down, and linger long after i've finished reading them. the characters are subtle, the landscape is familiar (he's in the bay area, after all), and the stories are painfully real. the overall effect is haunting and understated, a good combo for halloween, perhaps?

aah, i'm not feeling particularly eloquent today, so i'll just link to what other folks have to say...

From bookslut's interview:
With D&Q now taking the burden of distribution, Tomine was free to concentrate on what he does best: write and draw the stories that have continued to hit the nerve of a growing literature hungry audience. Whenever I meet someone who believes that comic books begin and end with men in tights and women with back breaking breasts I pass them a copy of Optic Nerve.

From Time.com's review:
What makes Tomine's work difficult for some is the naturalism. He tells stories that feel more like short exposures of ordinary people's lives, rather than plot-heavy adventures or overt comedy. These stories don't begin and end so much as fade in and out.

More links:

• asian week's review
• nichi bei times' review
• buy his art

Tina: 4+5+6/26: Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants I, II, III

For those that snickered at the first sight of this book or movie, thinking it was "another teenage movie"...well, it is and it's not! :o) I had some utmost skepticism when I first heard of the book. I remember saying to my friend that it must be 'frou frou' book and "I wouldn't want to read that"....well, to my surprise (obviously to the I, II, and III I pointed out above) it turned out really good. I finished each book within a day and a half on average. For all the ladies that used to read 'The Babysitters Club' - you'd enjoy these series. It's more than the trivial issues that every angst teenager face, but the stories on friendships that make you reaching out for the telephone to your best friend, old and new friends alike. If you want a fast and light read - something for the commute, I highly recommend these books for the open-minded and youthful ladies out there!

ewee (5/26): American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang

[another from my weekend of book gluttony. let's hear it for credit cards and retail therapy!]

ok, first off, i've met gene yang, tho i'm not sure he'd remember me. but he was one of a handful of graphic artists at my very tenative first public zine experience. [who knew that that was also the first time i got to check out dhamaal? -- apature has been very good to me...]

but enough who's who, back to the book.

this book is beautifully crafted -- it's obviously a work of love. everything from the drawing to the color to the writing to the actual book itself is gorgeous. it has much of the elements i love in graphic novels -- interesting story/character development, crisp clean design, beautifully drawn panels, and clever use of comics as a medium. the three stories are defty woven together, combining mythology, personal history, and even a bit of christianity (in a lowkey- gentle- palatable-to-agnositic-fools way) into one intriguing book. highly recommended. but hey, don't believe me? check out some pages yourself!

downside: no dog representation. (oh well. monkeys are cool.)

ewee (3-and-4/26): Rose and Isabel (parts 1 and 2) by Ted Mathot

[more from my happy zine-feast this weekend...again from super7 in jtown]
...

well, lessee, i'm a big supporter (in my way) of local artsy stuff. and that especially goes for local folks who've pulled it together to publish indie comics/zines. this set (two books, really, so i'm counting it as two...), gets an ok from me. not mad that i spent the twenty-odd bucks on the two books, but i'm not protective over these (i.e. feel free to borrow them. even outside of my apartment.), they're just ok.

overall, this is an ambitious tale, with the tease of more stories to be woven into the mythology of these women. and Mathot does his best to imbue his characters with complexity and richness. there's a real sensitivity that can be glimpsed from time to time. the story is mostly very compelling, the artwork mostly well-done and at moments beautiful.

but (isn't there always a "but"...?) the story's frenetically violent pace eventually unravels the depth Mathot has begun to build in his characters. it is meant to be part of a global mythology of amazons and female power, but the action-packed american boy-wonder comic book sensibility wins out in the end. but, all-in-all, worth the read. and if i could craft a book that was half as well-drawn and well-written, i'd consider myself lucky.

[for a much better review, check out kqed]

ewee (2/26): Wall and Piece by Banksy

[well, since i missed this year's apature zine thing, i had a bit of an alterna-zine fest of my own. not sure if these all count, but i had a lovely weekend of reading, so i'll post 'em and let the critics have at it ;-P]
...

browsing in super7 this sunday, and came across a couple books that seemed cash-worthy. banksy's book, Wall and Piece was one of them. if a book pulls me in and makes me drool, laugh, and forget the people around me, it's usually a good candidate for purchase. but when it's a pricey hardcover, it's got to have something more. in this case, what this book brought to the [coffee] table was a brilliant dose of inspiration and a good kick in the pants...

The time of getting fame for your name on its own is over. Artwork that is only about wanting to be famous will never make you famous. Any fame is a by-product of making something that means something. You don't go to a restaurant and order a meal because you want to have a shit.
--from Wall and Piece

if there's a way to classify what inspires me, drives me to believe in art, it'd be best described as the art of the contrarian. revolutionary, breaking rules, sometimes breaking laws (but in a 21st century robin hood kinda way). speaking the truth with humor and gentleness for the oppressed, scathing for the folks at the top.

All artists are prepared to suffer for their work but why are so few prepared to learn to draw?
--from Wall and Piece

rarely do i find a book that makes me believe in the power of the individual, in the power of art, in the power of truth. this book gives me hope for the future, strength to face my own dreams, and motivates me make some shit. so yes, a book with mainly pictures, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, this should actually be worth a coupla books, right? and i'll read it again tonight, pull out my sketchbooks, and see what change and truth i can see...