City 1 is a surreal fast-moving episodic Sunday Comics-style manga. Nagumo (20) doesn’t have her rent money. She tried to double her money by playing the horses and lost. Her landlady, called the Granny, is insistent. Niikura, Nagumo’s best friend cannot loan her the rent money. Nagumo goes through manyContinue Reading
Droll rather than humorous, Hopjoy was Here is definitely different from the standard English village cozy. Inspector Purbright receives an anonymous letter from a neighbor of the male roommates Hopjoy and Periam about a fight in their bathroom. Hopjoy is working for a mysterious (CIAesque) agency. Was Hopjoy or PeriamContinue Reading
Self-centered, oversexed and unsympathetic French characters populate Body and Soul. Mrs. Lopez, a 50-year-old woman, is trying to use plastic surgery to maintain her youth. Her husband, Victor, is working himself to death. He is trying to get the rights to a book from an elderly woman named Mrs. Fruttero.Continue Reading
Dark sci-fi noir set only two years in the future. Magnus: Between Two Worlds pairs fantastic artwork with a unique storyline. In 2020, Artificial Intelligences (A.I.s) work as butlers, maids, pets and toys. In return, they receive a federally mandated four hours of time off each day. The A.I.s haveContinue Reading
Combine Lord of the Flies and Mean Girls. Stir in a pinch of the Stanford Prison Experiment and you have Damselfly, a new young adult novel. A teenage fencing team from an expensive prep school is stranded on a deserted island after the crash of their private aircraft. Soon theirContinue Reading
80% of the world’s population has had back pain. 25% have had to dial back their life to deal with it. 14% have had back pain that lasted longer than two weeks. Back surgery rarely works completely. Pain drugs often lead to life-altering addictions. So what is the answer toContinue Reading
Meditation produces calm, focus and mindfulness in just 5-10 minutes per day. Unfortunately, only about a third of the book teaches how to meditate. The rest is autobiography and an explanation of why the reader should meditate even though everyone will think you’re weird. All the guided meditations in theContinue Reading
Double Dog Dare is a comedy caper with all female leads. Set in a high-rise casino in Biloxi Mississippi, the complications keep coming throughout. First, Davis’ sister Meredith and her best friend’s dog are kidnapped by her hometown preacher. Then the best friend’s mother-in-law comes to make sure that theContinue Reading
Lydie is a short tear-jerker that rewards readers with beautiful artwork and a compelling plot. Set in a French cul-de-sac in an unnamed French town, Lydie tells the story of a set of neighbors that band together to help Camille, a mentally impaired French girl, in a very unusual way.Continue Reading
Alfred’s backstory is surprisingly interesting! Plus the always great team of Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque makes this a beautiful addition to the Batman story. All Star Batman Vol 3: The First Ally uses flashbacks effectively interspersed with the main Dark Knight plot line. The flashbacks tell Alfred’s origin storyContinue Reading
Drawing chibis (big heads and small bodies) that are seen in manga is easy and cheap if you use Chibi!: Official Mark Crilley How-to-Draw Guide. All that is needed is some nice bristol paper, a regular pencil, a pencil sharpener, several pens with a variety of tip sizes, a 15” clearContinue Reading
If you never took or only vaguely remember a college English 100 class, Sleuth: Gail Bowen on Writing Mysteries is a perfect read for aspiring or new writers. It is also extremely useful for book reviewers like myself. Within Sleuth: Gail Bowen on Writing Mysteries, Ms. Bowen extensively covers allContinue Reading
Skip Midnight Line and save $15 and a wasted six hours. Instead paint a room in your home and then literally watch the paint dry. It would be a better use of your resources and equally entertaining. The plot of this 22nd book in the Jack Reacher series moves slowerContinue Reading
Cute, funny, easy reader with awesome illustrations. Baby Monkey, Private Eye contains five cases for Baby Monkey, who is of course a baby monkey, to solve. This is a brilliant mash-up of picture and chapter book. The illustrations are more frequent than words and were my favorite part. Marketed toContinue Reading
Poems about middle school threats with excellent illustrations. Carson Clare’s Trail Guide to Avoiding Death has poems about everyday fears like bullies and sharks along with less common ones like Australia, old people and cars. Fears abound in the Trail Guide. Many are imaginatively described. Revenge is a zoo ofContinue Reading
Highly recommended adventure tale for tween girls. Beatrice and the Basilisk is an modern updating of an adventure tale. However, it seems so realistic that it could happen again tomorrow in your town. This book is perfect for tween or younger girls. While the heroine is 12, she acts moreContinue Reading