Reading: DRAWING: MANGA: LEARN TO DRAW STEP BY STEP - Jeannie Lee

Until reading this book - a beginner's handbook on the basic building blocks of drawing your own manga - I had forgotten about Walter Foster. When just a kid, I remember that name being attached to a number of art and how-to books you could buy, for all ages, all of which (from what I could remember) were always pretty darn fairly thorough in approach to their subject matter. This one is pretty comprehensive and a great starting place, as well; there are tons of books on learning to draw, and the art of, this unique form of Japanese comics, but this slim volume literally starts from the beginning of how to draw shapes to materials to use when drawing, right up to the various body types, styles, facial expressions, inking and shading even the kind off trope-y characters that tend to inhabit the manga world. Full-color illustrations and step-by-step instructions make this a valuable tool for any age, and for manga fans like me who might just like the idea of "fiddling" with their own story or book, this is the ideal guide to start down that road. Even storytelling and scripting are touched on, making this an all-in-one that could keep a fan of this one-of-a-kind, fascinating style of animation and storytelling happy for hours. Loved it, and what a nice surprise to find Walter Foster books are still alive and well and helping creative types to exercise their skills and dreams.  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: THE PASSENGERS - John Marrs

I had bumped John Marrs's latest toward the top of my TBR list soon as I read its high-profile premise: in a near-future London, where self-driving cars are now the norm, a hacker has taken control of a handful of the vehicles with the intention of killing the passengers each one carries.  And indeed, from the beginning of the novel we are introduced to the individual passengers and given a bare-bones backstory for each as he or she has their car taken over ... as well as meeting the young, idealistic main character, Libby, who has her own bias against driver-less cars and AI when she is thrust front and center into the disaster as a hostile jury member, recruited to hear out cases where an accident involving a driver-less car ended in the death of a civilian. Once taking control of the cars, the hacker slowly unfolds his intentions not only to the jury room but the world - via live streaming online and over TV - even allowing the public to help determine the fate of each passenger and who may die first or not. As the novel unfolds, the reader slowly learns there is way more to both Libby and each passenger than meets the eye, even as the hacker manipulates everything and everyone like pieces on a chessboard. And though the action of the novel is pretty much limited to the jury room and (occasionally) the interior of each individual car, which feels a bit stale and static after awhile, I was still enjoying riding along with the story, tension building as a couple deaths ensue even as the passengers all head toward the head-on collisions planned for them. But then "the twist" occurs, a not wholly-unexpected one by the time you get there, and while even that worked for me to a degree - as it opened up more questions than it answered - there is still a whole lot of book after The Twist. And that's where this one lost me, the plot eventually wearing away what suspension of belief I'd been able to work up until the more pages I turned, the sillier things became.  Sadly, I also had an issue with Marrs's skills as a writer, particularly the last third of the book - although throughout it felt like the subject matter/technical aspects of the story were being laid out by a novice trying to speak on a subject he wasn't knowledgeable about, without much confidence.  Still an okay thriller for the first two-thirds, and I know I am going against the tide of hype this book has gotten, but while I look forward to trying more of Marrs's work this one, unfortunately, fell flat for me.  2.5/5 stars 

Reading: AMY WU AND THE PERFECT BAO - Kat Zhang (writer), Charlene Chua (illustrator)

Amy Wu, in this colorful and lively picture book, is determined to finally learn how to make the perfect bao (the filled bun/dumpling-type sweet popular in Chinese cuisine). Her parents and grandma make them perfectly round and full every time, but with Amy they always come out either too small, bursting with filling, carrying too little filling, or in some other way not perfect. But she loves bao, loves eating them, and seeks to perfect how to make them even when help from her parents and grandmother doesn't seem to do the trick. When she accidentally stumbles on an idea that might work, Amy is determined to try - but can she, at least, make the perfect bao? Kids should love this upbeat story of try, try again until you succeed, Charlene Chua's adorable, bursting-with-color illustrations perfectly suited to a delightful story by Kat Zhang. Highly recommended!  4.5/5 stars

Reading: COURTING MR. LINCOLN - Louis Bayard

I grew up with a dislike for history that took a turn only after I got out of school. As an adult, able to find my own fascinations with certain periods of history like the Holocaust or Civil War or the Civil Rights movement (among others), through it all I have had a fascination with Abraham Lincoln that led me to this incredibly-crafted and well-researched novel; my first Louis Bayard, but certainly not my last. I had a cursory knowledge of Mary Todd Lincoln before reading amazing book, which amounts to a story about Lincoln and the two people who loved him most: his wife Mary, and his dearest friend Joshua Speed. The novel opens with Mary, newly-arrived in Springfield and less than thrilled with the newly-minted capital city of Illinois. Thrown immediately into the dating pool, Mary's extremely open (for the time) personality and knowledge of politics make her immediately popular, earning her the nickname "The Belle of Springfield" and guaranteeing her entrance to any social event in the area. During her introduction to the city, Mary soon meets Joshua Speed, a man of noble bearing who owns his own dry goods store, and the two strike up a friendship that at first has Mary wondering where (or if) things may go further ... until she meets Speed's best friend, Abraham Lincoln, the small-town lawyer who has already gained immense popularity in political circles.

Lincoln is shy, almost withdrawn, with Mary - and as time and circumstances put them together at various social events, she finds herself intrigued by him more and more. Courting Mr. Lincoln would have stood up well as the story of Abraham and Mary, how they met and came to fall in love/marry, but Bayard also gives us just as strong a bromance in the relationship between Lincoln and Speed, in many ways just as forged in steel. Some historical records suggest there may have been more than just friendship between the two men - that, in fact, Lincoln himself may have been bisexual - but while Bayard touches on a few leanings of such possibilities here, he wisely leaves it up to the reader to discern just how close these incredibly close friends may have been. The novel goes back and forth between Mary and Speed's points of view, never Lincoln's, but Bayard's skills as a writer not only easily transport you back to the mid-19th century, to the tiniest detail, but through the eyes of both wife and dear friend readers are treated to a portrait of a personable, endearing, flawed, and wholly-human sixteenth president of the United States before he got there, in a way that reads infinitely more real than much nonfiction. A beautiful, touching novel that easily makes my list of Best Books I've read for the year, already; had I read something like this back in high school, I would never have wasted all those years disliking history!  5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Author photo (c) Tim Coburn Photography

Reading: HAIR LOVE - Matthew A. Cherry (writer), Vashti Harrison (illustrator)

I fell in love with the short film Hair Love when first seeing it a couple months ago, and its Oscar couldn't have been deserved more. Coming across the picture book was pure accident, I had no idea director/screenwriter Matthew A. Cherry had authored this slightly edited version of the story, but the heart and amazing artwork (truly, Vashti Harrison, who also did the illustrations for Lupita Nyong'o's Sulwe - a review of which can also be found on this blog- is an amazing talent whose illustrations would stand alone as framed art on your wall) go hand-in-hand in this sweet story of a father and daughter in the African-American community, and what happens when the little girl needs her hair done for a special occasion and mama's away on a trip. I wish more stories like this existed - fathers bonding with their children and enjoying the privilege - so hopefully between this and the film, which add so much humor and heart to the story of a dad who seeks only to make his little girl happy (even if he has no idea what he's doing), more such stories will emerge both in print and on screen, paving the way for such scenes to occur more in everyday life, as well.  4.5/5 stars

Reading: PARKER LOOKS UP: AN EXTRAORDINARY MOMENT - Parker & Jessica Curry (writers), Brittany Jackson (illustrator)

When budding four-year-old ballerina-to-be Parker Curry takes a trip to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. with her mother and baby sister, her first surprise on getting there is meeting up with her best friend Gia and Gia's mom, both also along for the ride. The exuberant young girls pass in awe through the halls of the museum, viewing portraits of famous figures and beautiful scenes alike, Parker in particular dancing along with her friend Gia to a painting of ballerinas as graceful as Parker herself one day hopes to be. It's a beautiful day among beautiful artwork, Parker very happy but still very unprepared when she passes a portrait and - looking up last-minute - spots ... a queen queen. It's the Gallery's portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, and the impact the painting has on little Parker is that of a lightning bolt. As her mother tells Parker who the painting is of and what the woman stands for, Parker becomes entranced with seeing this portrait of such a regal, important woman on the wall that looks so much like her; unable to look away, the image at once imbues Parker with a sense of knowing that she can have it all - do, or be, whatever she wants to be in life, limited only by her own imagination - and though this short, wonderfully-illustrated picture book ends there, readers learn that the story was inspired by author Parker Curry's own experience in viewing the portrait as a child; so impactful, she wrote her experience into this book with her mother, recounting that day vividly. Brittany Jackson's marvelous, colorful illustrations - real works of art, themselves - bring story, characters, and even the National Portrait Gallery vividly to life. A perfect picture book to gift to young girls craving this same inspiration and empowering message of living your dream, particularly in a world that too-often tries to squash that dream.  4/5 stars

Reading: THE WOMEN IN BLACK - Madeleine St John

This charming debut novel - originally published in 1993 - is set in 1950's Sydney and centers around four very different women who all work for the fictitious upscale department store Goode's. The book's title comes from the black frocks each of the female employees wear at work (which can vary somewhat in style, though all must represent dignity and elegance befitting Goode's) - in this case the four main characters being: Patty, married to Frank and in her thirties and a mainstay at Goode's for  years, who is unhappy and longs to have a baby; Fay, younger and single and trying to find love in all the wrong places, as the men she tends to date don't see her as wife material; Lisa, the young and petite newbie who's only working at Goode's on a break from school, waiting to see if her examination scores are good enough to enter university even though her father is against her going; and last but not least ... Magda, head of the couture gowns department and an immigrant from Slovenia, who looks down her continental nose at nearly everyone until she decides to take Lisa under her wing. How I loved this book, which evokes completely an innocence and naivete of the 1950's that gives the reading experience the warm fuzzies of nostalgia. In that context, the stories of Patty, Fay, Lisa and Magda don't necessarily come off as feminist or "modern," and yet there is a terrific core of strength in each of these ladies you'll grow to admire, even in the interactions - friendships - they build with one another. The book's narrative flows seamlessly between characters, telling each lady's story as the novel itself gears up toward Goode's Christmas and huge post-Christmas sales rush, and with author Madeleine St John's skills at writing in a style completely evoking the period the book is set in, it doesn't take long for you to laugh, love, and care about these four ladies and their journeys. A truly feel-good novel that, in the end, I'd genuinely grown to love. (Available February 11)  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: SULWE - Lupita Nyong'o (writer), Vashti Harrison (illustrator)

Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) pens her first children's picture book, and wow is it a beauty both inside and out. Recipient of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award, Sulwe is the story of a young, dark-skinned little girl whose skin tone doesn't reflect that of any other member of her family (her mother, father, and sister are all lighter) - or, for that matter, anyone in her school, either, where the mean kids have given her nicknames poking fun at her being dark. Because of this Sulwe is becoming withdrawn, keeping to herself behind the building at recess as she watches her light-skinned sister watching and playing with friends, almost as if ashamed of her "midnight" skin. Then one night, a prayer before bedtime asking for bright skin like her mother or sister begins a journey for Sulwe she never could have expected; one of magic and light where she learns that brightness comes from within, and that even in the darkest of dark there is always a light that shines. Nyong'o's text is powerful in this story about self-acceptance and colorism and finding the beauty inside you; never corny or overly-sentimental, and backed by equally beautiful, powerful illustrations by Vashti Harrison that are as breathtaking as Sulwe's journey. The perfect book for any child, but especially a child of color struggling with understanding that he or she is just as beautiful - shines just as bright - as anyone else around them.  5/5 stars

Reading: BIG NATE: SILENT BUT DEADLY - Lincoln Peirce

The nineteenth book in the laugh-out-loud-often Big Nate comic collection series finds everyone's favorite sixth-grader dealing ever more with bossy schoolteachers, disagreeing friends, and even his arch-rival Gina, the school suck-up who gets great grades and epitomizes "teacher's pet" - and the one fellow student Nate wants to take down most, even to the point of calling her out, in class, in relation to the title of this collection (ahem). In this one Nate also helps to school a detention newbie, shows off his almost supernatural sense of smell, shreds the egos of a couple teachers as a reporter for the school paper, and even hosts a battle of wits between Gina and his best friend Francis called the Fact Town Smackdown. Another witty, funny collection featuring Big Nate taking down the establishment, even when they get some good, mostly-deserved licks in on the kid themselves.  4/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: THE WOLF IN UNDERPANTS FREEZES HIS BUNS OFF - Wilfrid Lupano (writer), Mayana Itoiz & Paul Cauut (illustrators)

When I was a kid I would have killed to read any book with the title The Wolf in Underpants Freezes His Buns Off, so as an adult it was a no-brainer to pick up, especially with that cover. Second in a series, mind you! Surprisingly, for a book with such an over-the-top title, author Wilfrid Lupano has written a terrific, timely story that is so much more below the surface than the snow and cold currently blanketing the forest in the book, where all the animals are freezing but make the most of it whether by bundling up and playing, eating cheese fondue around a giant pot, ice skating, etc. Only this season, something is very, very wrong with the wolf who wears only underpants; each day he walks through the forest, past all his fellow creatures having fun, and when asked what's wrong grouchily replies only "They're freezing!" No one can figure out what is wrong with the wolf - what, exactly, is freezing - but being the biggest carnivore in the forest they are determined to ease his anger instead of potentially inciting his hunger by trying to figure out his mysterious declaration. It's only when they give up and all approach the wolf at his home as a unit, do they find out the meaning behind "They're freezing!" - and here the book takes on such a deeper, stronger meaning about being kinder/more considerate of others, that what seemed like a silly, funny children's book instead turns into something deserving of being in every kid's library. The artwork, in wintry tones of white and blue, cover the page and are busy enough to easily captivate the youngest child and hold his/her interest, while the story itself unobtrusively sends its own message without sugar or sentimentality. A real surprise, and even bigger treat.  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: BIG NATE GOES BANANAS - Lincoln Peirce

I admit it: I'm a Nate-aholic. Have now read maybe five or six collections of Big Nate comics by the very talented, very funny Lincoln Peirce, and have yet to grow tired of this pint-sized problem child and his friends - not to mention evil Social Studies teacher, arch-nemesis in the form of Artur (the handsome student currently dating the girl Nate pines for), or even Kim, the ... "interesting" girl who seems to think Nate is her ex-boyfriend, and uses that to inspire jealousy (and potential beatings) in her current bruiser of a boyfriend, Chester. This collection is filled with more shenanigans in which we learn Nate's very strict banana-eating policy and whether or not he wins the Hunny Bursts cereal mascot contest with a goat as his entry. Hard to believe this is the 21st collection of Big Nate comics in the book series, but truth is I laughed out loud enough reading this, I'd love to have them all on my shelf for whenever the day gets too long; not sure I could think of a better cure.  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: DOVER TWO - Joyce Porter

I had never heard of this writer or series before coming across this title. Debuting in 1964 with Dover One, Porter's hugely popular (at the time) series spanned something like fourteen novels and more than a few short stories - and having read the second in the series, I can understand why. Detective Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover, of Scotland Yard, is a fat, slovenly, overbearing, lazy, narcissistic, foul-mouthed and bad-tempered boor of a man who is unhappy (though not nearly as unhappy as his young assistant, the capable Sergeant MacGregor) to find himself assigned to a murder case in the tiny village of Curdley, mostly the Yard's move to get the annoying detective out of London. In Curdley, a young woman was shot twice in the head outside the local vicarage eight months prior; she'd been lying in a coma since, until the local newspaper printed an article saying the girl seemed about to awaken, therefore possibly naming her killer ... prompting someone to enter the hospital and summarily smother the girl to death with a pillow. Dover's been assigned to the case and from his arrival hates Curdley, managing to irritate just about everyone there - though none remain more irritated than him - and as the detective fumbles his way through the investigation, taking credit for every break in the case and blaming MacGregor for every fumble, Dover finds a new suspect around every corner, determined to close this one (he hasn't closed all that many) as soon as possible so he can get out of Curdley, whether there is evidence to back up his case or not. You'd think Dover would be so annoying it would make this highly-entertaining, wonderfully-written novel hard to read, but Joyce Porter dollops in the humor and actually keeps the irascible Dover just shy of being too much to take. The mystery is well-written and well-solved, characters lively and fresh as the first day of spring, Dover himself just absolutely fascinating on the page, even when you want to strangle him. Original and terrific, Dover Two makes me sorry to have not started at book one (which I now have), anxious to dive into more cases featuring this eccentric, self-serving denizen of Scotland Yard.  5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVES - Michael Dahl (writer), Patricio Clarey (illustrator)

The first book in the new Secrets of the Library of Doom chapter-book series for kids is a very short, sort of prologue to the series that opens with a band of marauders, decked out in armor, who infiltrate the Library of Doom to coerce a young boy working there - a Silent One, as he's taken a vow to never speak - to lead them through the library's maze-like chambers to the Lost Archives they seek to raid. Sworn to silence, the young boy cannot even call out to summon the Librarian - a superhero-like figure with magic powers, whose destiny is to guard the Library of Doom and all it contains - for help; will the Librarian learn of the invasion and arrive in time to evict the raiders and save the boy? Patricio Clarey's illustrations here are darkly beautiful, with great detail, worthy of reading the book alone - but in truth, even at 40 pages the book goes incredibly fast due to a tremendous amount of white space and very little story on the pages; befitting of a chapter-book, surely, but overall disappointing when you're reading and the story suddenly cuts off with very little to it, trying for a cliffhanger to get you to the next book instead. Not a bad story at all, very interesting, but it just feels a bit of a "cheat" as you don't get much bang for your buck when you suddenly find yourself on the last page, turning it anyway and expecting more. (Available August 1)  3/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. 

January Wrap-Up: (Unintentional) Movie Madness!

Well, January starts off interestingly enough with a trip to the hospital. Five days there finally brought a potential solution to a couple long-standing issues, and afterward films seemed to take over as comfort food for the soul; just sitting or lying there watching mindlessly, letting the story unfold and take you away as opposed to reading, resulted in seeing a whopping eighteen films in January ... and reading only a handful of books! Definitely got to flip the script for February; would prefer having read eighteen books for the month and seeing a handful of films instead, any day!

As always, please keep checking back for reviews. Also as always, please click any image here to enlarge, as needed. Saw some terrific films in January, including more than a couple Oscar contenders, as well as read a sweet-natured, romantic manga and a tiny little Christmas board book for kids containing illustrations that stole my heart.

Some changes coming up for me, life-wise, will keep you posted - and expect a swing back to the books-over-films ratio very soon.

Happy February!