This is a fun memoir. It's really a series of vignettes of a life in food: grandma's pickles, a perfect croissant in Venice, Mom's chocolate-chip cook...moreThis is a fun memoir. It's really a series of vignettes of a life in food: grandma's pickles, a perfect croissant in Venice, Mom's chocolate-chip cookies, seared halibut with Dad. Lucy was born & raised a foodie before there was even such a term. Her mom worked at the very first Dean & Deluca in NYC in the 70s, and was behind the cheese counter for most of her pregnancy. They then moved upstate and Lucy spent her adolescence in farms, farmers markets, and working as a waitress for her mom's fancy catering company. There's great scenes about the power of food, from eating crazy things in Japan to being served awful "lemonade chicken" by a well-meaning but clueless friend. Lucy gives equal weight to a super-high-end molecular gastronomy restaurant and a marinated lamb shank at a family BBQ. She even has a soft spot for junk food, from pocky to McDonald's fries.
The memoir is kind of light, with not too much emotional depth, but it's still really fun. And each chapter ends with a recipe, which is awesome awesome awesome. At our Jugs & Capes meeting today, two different ladies made Lucy's chocolate-chip cookies, and they were spectacular. I hope she does a whole graphic-novel cookbook next!(less)
From the WORD Recommends list: Told in alternating chapters of comics and prose, this is a summer tale of sisters and social life, of growing up, of f...moreFrom the WORD Recommends list: Told in alternating chapters of comics and prose, this is a summer tale of sisters and social life, of growing up, of fitting in, or not, of boys, of jealousy, and a story that we sense, early on, will have tragic results. In the comics chapters (with Nate Powell's stunning artwork), the characters are Medusa, a mermaid, a centaur, and a minotaur who are returning to school in the fall. As the stories progress, it becomes more and more apparent that the mythological metaphors are pretty perfect and that the stories are, of course, linked. Grief and loss turn people to stone, and the minotaur is elusive in his labyrinth of emotion.
Lovely article about this book over at Treehugger. "In the middle of the ocean, all alone save for visiting sea birds and a giant squid, wanders the G...moreLovely article about this book over at Treehugger. "In the middle of the ocean, all alone save for visiting sea birds and a giant squid, wanders the Great Pacific Garbage Patch -- the sad monster protagonist of this charming yet profound graphic novel."
Plus: "The book will debut Archaia’s fabulous new printing initiative in conjunction with Global PSD. Through the efforts of American Forests and the Global ReLeaf Program, for each tree that is cut down for the printing of I’m Not a Plastic Bag, two trees will be planted."(less)
Very enjoyable, but very slight. The girls in J&C all gushed over the artwork, and especially the coloring, which is apparently quite advanced. (I...moreVery enjoyable, but very slight. The girls in J&C all gushed over the artwork, and especially the coloring, which is apparently quite advanced. (I don't know much about that, but I did think it looked great.) Sort of a simple quick teenage soap opera, but great characters and excellent subtle reinforcement of the sense of time (late 70s) and place (Ivory Coast). Very pleased with it, but we should have waited another month or so until the deluxe pb edition of all four books was released, because although I'd love to read more, these ain't cheap.(less)
Read for J&C basically the moment it came out. Floored but not decimated like I was with Fun Home. One day my life will slow down and I will have...moreRead for J&C basically the moment it came out. Floored but not decimated like I was with Fun Home. One day my life will slow down and I will have something more intelligent to say.
From Flavorwire: In an interview with CBR, Kidd explained, “I actually came up with the title first. I thought, ‘If it’s me and you k...moreWHAT??? Zomgmgmg.
From Flavorwire: In an interview with CBR, Kidd explained, “I actually came up with the title first. I thought, ‘If it’s me and you know who I am and what I do, then I’m going to come at this whole thing from a design standpoint.’ I’ve said for many years that Batman himself and especially the way he’s evolved is brilliant design. It’s problem solving. And we get into that in the story. Beyond that, it became about me going ‘What if?’ What do I want that I haven’t seen? And really, the overall Art Direction for the book is ‘What if Fritz Land made a Batman movie in the late 1930s and had a huge budget? Go!’ There’s the visual platform.”(less)
Thanks as always to Tuck for the rec! I'd kind of consigned Audrey Niffenegger to the pile of "too popular for me to ever care about," but man, this o...moreThanks as always to Tuck for the rec! I'd kind of consigned Audrey Niffenegger to the pile of "too popular for me to ever care about," but man, this one sounds really really cool.(less)
Apparently Naif Al-Mutawa, a psychologist from Kuwait, started this series a decade ago. It's got ninety-nine superheroes, all doing good based on Isl...moreApparently Naif Al-Mutawa, a psychologist from Kuwait, started this series a decade ago. It's got ninety-nine superheroes, all doing good based on Islamic values. Sounds amazing! (less)
I will hopefully write a real review of this, but in the meantime I put it on my CCLaP best-of-2011 list, and here's what I said there:
My hopes for th...moreI will hopefully write a real review of this, but in the meantime I put it on my CCLaP best-of-2011 list, and here's what I said there:
My hopes for this one were pretty low, as I'd found Blankets to be flaccid and hokey and saccharine and generally pretty boring. Habibi, though, is downright spectacular. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, complex and inventive and enthralling. The story is huge and sweeping, a sad tale of two people with insanely awful lives who find each other and save each other over and over, but interspersed with fables and parables and verses and stories, mostly from the Qur'an. Breathtaking in scope and emotional reach. Just absolute amazingness.
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Also, here is a blog post from another J&C lady, where she distilled our meeting into a set of discussion questions. It should serve as a teaser for you and notes for me at such point that I actually have time to write this review for real.(less)
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