Category: Impressions

Not quite reviews, I talk about books I read and enjoyed.

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Herding Cats: A Sarah’s Scribbles collection by Sarah Andersen

Impressions

Not quite reviews, I talk about books I read and enjoyed.

The first half of Herding Cats, A Sarah’s Scribbles collection is filled with Sarah’s comics and they’re so good I’m already threatening to send it to a friend.

The second half I didn’t expect at all: it’s a well-written explanation of what it’s like to be an artist on the internet in 2019 and how crazy-ass and required the internet is. (Said explanation has comics illustrating the main points, which is awesome.)

I’m definitely not a millennial, but I’ve seen everything that Sarah talks about on the web and it’s all true. If you want to give good advice to someone young who wants to be an artist (or writer or maker of any sort) and also wants to occasionally put those things somewhere that other people can see them, you can’t do much better than this primer on what to expect.

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The Twisted Ones, by T. Kingfisher

Impressions

Not quite reviews, I talk about books I read and enjoyed.

I read while I’m on the exercise bike because hey, a reason to be on the exercise bike. The last few days I’ve been reading The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher (pen name for Ursula Vernon).

Tonight I biked for 80 minutes and realized my legs would fall off before I’d finish the book. As I’d reached a point where not-finishing was not an option, I kept reading after removing myself from the bike.

I think my heart raced just as much after I got off the book as when I was on it.

Everything in T. Kingfisher’s books tends to be very logical… I find myself thinking “oh well of course”, and also “oh holy shit how did I not see that coming, of course that’s made of that other thing because why else would you have one of those?” and I’m telling you, if you like your horror to be made of bits and pieces of Chekov’s Gun running around with murder on its mind, this book is for you.

A few things I’d heard about the book that are true:
* Deer are not as safe an animal as you thought
* The dog is established to live through the whole book from the very beginning so there’s no wondering
* It is apparently possible to write a jump scare.

The dialog is fantastic. The characterizations are amazing. The world building is enough to make you grit your teeth and bike for 80 minutes without realizing you’d been on the bike 80 minutes. Thank heavens I didn’t have a dog asking to go out or there’d be a puddle on the floor.

I’m not sure when or if I’ll sleep again, and I’ve never been so glad to be living in the exurbs instead of the rural neighborhood of my parents.

Anyway, read. Then keep locked in the closet the rest of the time. That might work.

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Narbonic Perfect Collection Volume 1, by Shaenon K. Garrity

Impressions

Not quite reviews, I talk about books I read and enjoyed.

Narbonic Perfect Collection Volume 1 is the first in a two volume series capturing all of the webcomics in Shaenon K. Garrity’s Narbonic series in print.

Helen Narbon is:

  • A strong female character not afraid to be ruthless or gentle when needed
  • A scientist (okay, a mad scientist) with skills in biology, physics, and many other areas of study</li
  • A loyal friend and occasional mischief maker
  • My personal definition of mad scientist.

Seriously, I imprinted on her like a duckling on a roomba.

Dave Davenport is the actual main character of the Narbonic series, as he is Helen’s sanest henchman (that’s not saying much, the other two are a college student and a gerbil with an IQ of 250) and the progenitor of the plot line. The story starts with Dave becoming Helen’s “IT guy” and proceeds through numerous adventures involving gender swapping, taking over the moon, battling Helen’s mother, taking on the secret society of Daves, and going to Helen’s 10th class reunion.

It’s, um, complicated working for Helen.

But oh heavens do I look up to her.

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The Nib

Impressions

Not quite reviews, I talk about books I read and enjoyed.

The Nib is a daily comic publication and political magazine.

Okay, that doesn’t quite capture it, let me try again.

The Nib is a website that delivers a daily political comic. It also publishes a print magazine. But it’s not a words-magazine, it’s a comics-magazine.  By that I mean the whole magazine is the size of a short graphic novel, with various sections covering infographics about that issue’s topic, short comics related to the topic, feature (longer) comics about specific items, a “letters to the editor” of one-panels on a related topic or question, etc. etc.

It’s what you’d get if you converted a political magazine from strictly words and the occasional image to sequential art and then published it on a regular basis. For me, it’s about a 45 minute read per issue.

In the first three issues (I bought the back issues from Topatoco after I subscribed to the magazine), themed Death, Family, and Empire, they cover topics from how the Day of the Dead is merging with Halloween in Latino communities to the current humanitarian crisis at our borders to Filipino cheese pimento. In other words not only do these issues teach me about the politics of the world I live in, they educate me about the people I don’t see or hear from on a daily basis. And that’s pretty damn cool.

The Nib does a fantastic job of providing context to where we are and why we’re here, without being a five-thousand-word article. It makes politics approachable for young adult and adult readers. It definitely has a position, and that position is that we’re all in this together, on one earth, and families and working together and not being toxic assholes matter.

Readers can subscribe to the daily comic email for free, or become a member at a couple of different tiers.

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Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal by A.C.H. Smith

Impressions

Not quite reviews, I talk about books I read and enjoyed.

The Dark Crystal was a fascinating movie, and it’s just as fascinating book; the coming-of-age and saving-of-world story of a Gelfling, Jen, who didn’t know about the prophecy that his people would restore their world to balance until his master died.

The book follows the plot of the movie quite precisely. Jim Henson worked closely with A. C. H. Smith to ensure he had the information he needed to do so. More importantly, it captures the feel of the movie and the world precisely. This isn’t Earth. The things that happen on Thra couldn’t happen here, and so unexpected sights and creatures and events are the norm.

Still, the book isn’t one I’d hand over to any kid who loved the movie. It’s written with a voice that reminds me of midcentury authors. It’s very heavy in world building and exposition, and compared to the movie is a bit slow.

Definitely a book for fans, not necessarily a book you’d necessarily want to hand over to a reluctant reader, is what I’m saying.