Review: Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms

I never read manga. It is, for me, hard to read a book, even a graphic novel, backwards. Its obviously a skill that one learns and perfects, the more a person does it. So I'm not sure what prompted me to grab Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms by Fumiyo Kouno off the shelf. The cover, perhaps? I certainly had no idea that this was an acclaimed work, the recipient of multiple awards here and in Japan. Instead, I thought the cover illustration was sweet and eye catching. The illustrations, when I flipped through, were pleasant and sweet. Even when I read the back cover description, which clearly stated the book's serious subject matter, I think I expected the book to just be charming and enjoyable. It was, instead, a sock in the gut.

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is about Hiroshima and the impact that World War II and the atomic bomb had on the people of Japan. The first story, Town of Evening Calm follows a young woman in 1955, ten years after the bomb, as she tries to learn how to live - despite her guilt for being alive and despite the horrible poverty and illness her family must live in. Country of Cherry Blossoms, the second story, is told in two parts and is set in recent time. It addresses what it means to remember and to forget your past, with the shadow of the war looming over all.

This is the kind of book one can hold up when a detractor says that manga or graphic novels are "just comic books." It was a powerful work and one that I would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about Japan and her people.

Buy Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms on Amazon.

Friday Update 2/19

Every Friday, I update my library and share what new books I bought or received during the past week.

This week, my awesome husband remembered that I wanted a book that even I hadn't remembered I wanted: Mouse Guard Volume 2: Winter 1152.


Here's my review of the first volume, Mouse Guard: Fall 1152. The mice have not, I assure you, stopped being adorable.

Husband also got himself one of Stephen King's The Stand graphic novels. I've never actually read The Stand, so maybe I'll try the graphic novel instead.

Have a good weekend, my lovelies!

Friday Update 1/29

Almost every Friday, I update my library and share what new books I bought or received during the past week.

I'm still catching up on telling you guys what books we got for Christmas, so here are two new graphic novels:


Asterios Polyp

I don't really know what its about - it was a gift from my sister - but I know that he's an architect. Cool!



Witchblade Compendium, Vol. 1

Via Wikipedia:

Witchblade is an American comic book series from 1995 until present. ... The series follows Sara Pezzini, a tough-as-nails NYPD homicide detective who comes into possession of the Witchblade, a supernatural, sentient artifact with immense destructive and protective powers [that] has bonded with various other women throughout history. Sara struggles to hone the awesome powers of the Witchblade and fend off those with a nefarious interest in it, especially entrepreneur Kenneth Irons, [and] struggles to maintain a personal life.

Since I've read/seen all things Buffy at this point, my husband got this for me, thinking I might enjoy it, too. The only problem may be that it is huge - like 3,4 inches thick. I can't carry it around with me, so I can only read it at home.

Happy Friday!

Comic Book Sale

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and love comic books, I wanted to share a great sale going on now at Alameda Sports Cards & Comics. Patti lost her lease and is selling everything at huge discounts to clear the decks for her move. Its worth a trip to the East Bay.

Friday Update: Comic Book Store Therapy

Just about everyone enjoys a little retail therapy now and then. Sometimes, for me, its a new outfit, sometimes new shoes, sometimes food. And sometimes, its got to be comic books!


Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 7


Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5) (which Amazon is saying isn't even out yet. My comic book store takes care of me!)


In other news, I want to thank Ari at Reading in Color for giving me the Uplifting Blogger Award.

Wishlist: xkcd Volume 0

The webcomic xkcd has released their first collection, xkcd: volume 0. Even though I've probably read most of the comics in it, I'd still like to have it - its just such a funny, sweet, weird, nerdy comic!

My wishlist kept growing, though, when I visited the xkcd store and saw all the t-shirts and posters they had for sale. I know I am outing myself* as the biggest nerd ever, but I just love this tee:



* Or not, as my friends and family are either a) already aware of this fact, or b) even nerdier than I am, and therefore unable to judge.

Friday Update

Hello, fun seekers! I was socked out with some sort of nasty bug last weekend, but I'm feeling much better now and am having a good week. I hope you are, too.

I went to the library yesterday to return some books and somehow found myself in the Friends' of the Library bookstore. Weird, huh? I browsed for a bit, and pulled down The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson to possibly buy. To my surprise, the gentleman standing next to me looked at me, looked at the book, and told me that he was a high school librarian, reading it right now, and finding it hard to get through. The story is good, he said, but it's written in period language and he thought it was kind of a slog to read. Not having much interest in slogging through reading for pleasure, I thanked him for his advice and put it back on the shelf. (Anyone read this one and want to weigh in? Is it worth reading? Is it a slog?)

A few minutes later, as I was thinking about leaving the store without buying anything (a horrifying thought, I know), he tapped me on the shoulder and handed me The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. It's great, he said, and if you are looking for some interesting YA, this was one of the best he'd read recently. Then we had a conversation about YA dystopian fiction - how much of it there seems to be right now, and I recommended he read The Hunger Games. You just have to love conversations with random strangers about good books to read! Especially when it's two adults talking about the best young adult books out right now.

In other fun news, Things from Another World has some deals now I thought I'd share with you.

Free Domestic Shipping on $30+ IN-STOCK ORDERS
Coupon Code: DOGDAYS
Ends 08/31/09

10% Off IN-STOCK ORDERS Over $50
Coupon Code: SCORCHER
Ends 08/31/09

Personally, I have my eye on the Serenity: Those Left Behind Trade Paperback. I suggest we all stock up on some comic books to read during August. Have a great weekend!

Happy Free Comic Books Day!

Get yourself to your local comic book store* and pick up some free goodies to celebrate Free Comic Book Day!

You can also celebrate by visiting Things from Another World, which is having their spring cleaning and lots of sales during the month of May. Here are two coupons:

Free Domestic Shipping on $25+ IN-STOCK ORDERS with Coupon Code: ROCKOUT
$5 off Any Order for $50+ IN-STOCK ORDERS with Coupon Code: CLEANUP

* For me, that would be Alameda Sports Cards and Comics, where they will sell you something awesome and drink you under the table.

a few random thoughts

I was getting incredibly bored with my previous template so have switched things up a bit. The next step will be to get a custom template but that will have to wait. Until then, at least this is not so white anymore.

Here's an interesting interview at Omnivoracious with Scott Allie, Senior Managing Editor at Dark Horse Comics. Not enough on Buffy, though, in my opinion.

Zoe's Tale comes out in paperback today. Yes, I will be stopping by the bookstore on my way home from work. You probably should, too. For a reminder of what I'm talking about, visit my review of The Last Colony.

Movie Mini-Review: Watchmen

Husband and I went to see Watchmen last night. As I wrote previously, I read the book pretty recently and liked it, but wasn't blown away by it. Similarly, I liked the movie, but didn't love it. It was even more violent than the book, well past what I thought was needed. My favorite thing about the book is the structure (the use of comic book and other texts to comment on the main story, etc) and that's the one thing that didn't translate onto the screen, not surprisingly.

The one thing that annoyed both my husband and I was, when did these characters become superheroes? In the book, it is clear that Dr. Manhattan has nothing in common with the others, in that he has actually super powers. The line to that effect kind of made it into the movie but didn't have the same impact. To me, the book is about normal people who, for whatever reason, put on masks to fight. In the movie, they are no longer normal -- too strong, too fast. To avoid a spoiler, I'll just say, since when can Ozymadias do *that*?

I do want to note that this is not a kid's movie. It is a hard R, with a lot of violence, graphic sex and very visible (blue!) genitalia.

That said, visually its a very sumptuous movie and interesting to watch. The end lasted a bit too long, in my opinion, but otherwise I though the pace moved well, despite the almost 3-hour running time. Watchmen fans have probably already gone to see it, so for those of you on the fence, I'll give a cautious yes to seeing it.

Kindle revealed!

I hope all of you fellow sci/tech nerds are reading xkcd, the webcomic. Today, they revealed the real reason to want a Kindle -


See more about the Kindle here or on Amazon here.

Review: Watchmen

From Amazon:

This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.

My husband loves Watchmen by Alan Moore and with the movie coming up, I thought it was time for me to read this graphic novel.

If there is anyone left in this world who thinks that comic books are for kids, one look at this classic graphic novel is going to disabuse them of that notion. This is a dark, violent book, filled with damaged people, doing damage to each other.

I'm glad that I read Watchmen. It is not a fun book, but its an interesting one that raises many questions. I especially enjoyed the Pirate story spliced into the main story as commentary.

Buy Watchmen on Amazon.

Calvin

I'm probably going to get in trouble (copyright or some such) for posting this, but I do love this Calvin & Hobbes Sunday strip:



I used to spend hours cutting up pieces of paper (which I usually neglected to clean up) to make little sculptures. They were usually fantasy princesses, dragons, knights in shining armor, etc, though I made the occasional castle. I even made a horse (for the knight) complete with saddle and bridle, all made out of paper. My mom kept a lot of them and it's a trip to look at them now. I was a weird kid, but I think it was inevitable I ended up as an architect.

TFAW Contest

Things from Another World, the Dark Horse comic online store, is having a contest for its customers! It started in November, but it's not too late to get in on this.

Through the end of the year TFAW.com is giving away $100 in gift cards every day. More info:

For the most part, we'll be giving five random customers $20 gift certificates each day, but just to keep things interesting, we may shake it up and hand out the whole $100 to one lucky winner occasionally, too!

The fine print is that you have to buy something. So click here to find out more and get shopping. If you don't know what to buy, I recommend some new Buffy comic books (like Wolves at the Gate, which I reviewed here). I also love the Nick and Dent program TFAW has, where you can get the same great comics and TPB's for up to half off the regular price.

Good luck!

Wish List (2)

More great books that I learned about from my fellow bloggers.

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund, from Presenting Lenore

Recommended for anyone who likes their princesses with some backbone to go along with their whalebone corsets.

Sounds like a fun read. Awful cover, though.

Seeing Venice: Bellotto's Grand Canal by Mark Doty, from Bermuda Onion

Reading the essay and seeing the painting makes me want to go to Venice so I would recommend this charming book to lovers of art and Italy.

This ones seems especially apt since who know how much longer Venice will look the way Venice does? (Example: NY Times article on recent floods.)

Artificial Light: A Narrative Enquiry into the Nature of Abstraction, Immediacy and Other Architectural Fictions by Keith Mitnick, from Fantastic Journal (via Bookslut)

This last reaction sets the tone for Keith Mitnick's adult relationship with architecture; troubled, anxious, occasionally nauseous. ... This is a fabulous book - strange, eccentric and intelligent. For once the over familiar claim that preconceptions will be challenged rings true, and architecture seems new again.

From the review, this one sounds challenging but worth it. And it's got a lot that seems up my alley: architecture! Dark humor! the Jersey Shore!

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, from Presenting Lenore (I'm beginning to think we share similar taste in books!)

I love the creativity and world creation of his Thursday Next series and the premise of this one - A brilliant new novel about a world where social order and destiny are dictated by the colors you can see - sounds highly original.

This one doesn't come out until July 2009, but I had never heard of this author and it sounded so good, it inspired me to pick up The Eyre Affair, the first "Thursday Next" Novel. It's on my TBR shelf (aka my bedside table) so I am hopeful that I will be able to get to it soon.

Gemma Bovery by Posy Simmonds, from Shelf Love

Posy Simmonds has created a marvelous graphic novel in Gemma Bovery, a fresh, sharp, modern take on Flaubert’s Madame Bovary.

Phew, that's quite a lot of reading to be done! And quite a range of topics and styles, too.

Review: Buffy Comic, Wolves at the Gate

The best husband in the world bought me a present this weekend. It was the latest Buffy the Vampire Slater "Season Eight" comic trade paperback, Wolves at the Gate. In a word, awesome. Sad, funny, gory, sweet, geeky: all the things I love about Joss Whedon and the Buffyverse.

[Edited to add: FYI, it is an adults only comic book. In addition to the blood, there are some very adult things going on in this one.]

Here's a link to buy it on Amazon (for which I get, what? 2 cents?) or, even better, mosey on over to Things From Another World, the online Dark Horse comic books store, and check out all the great sales they are having today.

Edited to add: TFAW is offering free shipping through the end of the year. So now you should really go buy this there.

Review: The Last Days of Krypton

I’m not particularly a fan of Superman, so I primarily approached The Last Days of Krypton as a stand alone book. Oh, I’ve seen the various Superman movies and I’ve even seen a few of the old black-and-white television shows. But in comparison to fans that have read all the comic books and seen the various movies and TV shows multiple times, I knew little of the official Superman back story. I also had never read a book by Kevin J. Anderson before (here's an interview that highights just how much he's written). I do, however, read science fiction, so I know how much of it gets published and how little of that is any good. It’s no surprise then, that I approached this book with some apprehension

I was happily surprised, then, to find that this book was quite enjoyable to read. The bare bones of the plot are from the familiar (even to me), existing Superman story: Superman was born on the planet Krypton to a scientist named Jal-El, and his father sent him out into space before the planet exploded. Anderson has done a very good job of fleshing out well-known characters, and of creating a well-paced story that I think works both well for Superman fans and by itself.

The book, of course, has flaws. The writing in the book is good, though not great. Some of the characters, like the secondary villains of Aetyr and Nam-Ek (basically the same baddies from the movie Superman 2), aren’t particularly developed, despite their near-constant presence in the long middle portion of the book. And the constant introduction of disasters—would this be the one to destroy Krypton?—became almost comical. Fortunately, I think even Anderson knew this possible complaint, as he used it to explain why the governing council ignored Jal-El’s final warnings about Krypton’s imminent destruction.

After reading this book, I did some online research to see what die-hard Superman fans had to say about it. Reaction seemed pretty mixed, with a vocal contingent who disliked how Anderson viewed the average Kryptonian (not great). I have to imagine, though, that no matter what Anderson wrote, someone was going to dislike this book, just for daring to tackle a beloved storyline. I’m impressed with how much of the existing Superman canon he managed to incorporate, without overly bogging down the story.

So, who will like this book? Certainly, sci-fi readers, casual fans of Superman and comic book fans in general will all really enjoy The Last Days of Krypton. Will it convert anti-science fiction types to the genre? Probably not. But I think other readers, who find might themselves tempted to stray out of their comfort zone and pick this one up, will be pleasantly treated.

Oh, and the hologram cover? Very cool.

Review: Mouse Guard: Fall 1152

There is a secret world that humans never see, where mice have cities hidden away. These cities, and the trading routes between them, are protected by the Mouse Guard. They are fearless and intelligent… and they are totally adorable.


This is the world of Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, a graphic novel by David Peterson. I was first drawn to this book by the exceptional illustrations. Visually, this book is a real treat. I was especially impressed with the coloring – quite lush and rich—and the expressive faces of the characters. Peterson employs various styles, within a unifying color palette, to make the artwork evocative and portray mood. His work is excellent.

The story is good, though maybe not quite as good as the artwork. It moved very quickly and was occasionally jumpy, though in general was just a very simple story. What I liked, though, was the world that Peterson has created. You get the sense of history and of layers of stories still to be told. Maps, wall hangings, etchings, details fill each panel. Clearly, there are many more Mouse Guard stories to be told. I really look forward to reading future installments from Peterson (including the second volume out now).

New Books

I recently got two new books that I am looking forward to reading and reviewing. The first is Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger. Pflueger was a well-known turn of the (last) century architect in San Francisco who has been largely forgotten in recent years. But his work is getting a revival, as many of the fabulous movie theatres he designed are being restored. Luckily for me, one newly restored Pflueger theatre is the Alameda Theatre and Cineplex, which is just minutes from my house and a great place to see new movies.


The other new book I am really excited to read is Mouse Guard: Fall 1152. I had never heard of Mouse Guard, which is an Eisner-winning series of comics about a secret colony of mice. When I saw this book on the shelf (its actually a reprint, but is new in hardcover, I believe) and saw how cute the mice in it are, I just had to have it! Fortunately, my husband rocks and he got it for me. I've flipped through it and the story looks great, but haven't had the chance to sit down and read it yet. I'll let you know what I think when I do.

Currently Reading

I have two books I'm reading right now to review. One is Adventures with Purpose by Richard Bangs -- its an adventure travel book in which the author visits places in order to bring attention to either an ecological or humanitarian crisis there.

The other book I'm reading is Last Days of Krypton by Kevin Anderson. Its not something I would normally pick up (I actually got it for my husband to read, but he is too busy with school starting) but I'll see how it goes!