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July 19
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Paul
gave
 
to:
The Cone Sisters of Baltimore (Hardcover)
by Nancy Hirschland Ramage
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Paul said:
"Thoroughly enjoyable look at art and art collecting. One historical aspect that always fascinates me is groups of artists or intellectuals hanging out together, so a book that includes two sisters vacationing with Alice Toklas and Gertrude Stein whil...more
Thoroughly enjoyable look at art and art collecting. One historical aspect that always fascinates me is groups of artists or intellectuals hanging out together, so a book that includes two sisters vacationing with Alice Toklas and Gertrude Stein while buying artwork from their friends, Matisse and Picasso, is right up my alley.
And quite fascinating to see just how much a part of their lives the Cone sisters considered art to be. The many photograps of their average sized apartment crammed full of art (Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, etc.) were absolutely amazing.
Amazingly, I even came to respect Matisse and Picasso as artists, which I did not so very much do before reading this book. I've long held a "fine art died circa 1895" opinion, but now can admit (oh so begrudgingly) that Picasso's early period was fine, and that Matisse's early and mid periods had strength and value as well.
Oh...some modern arts are quite enjoyable as well (John Currin. Lisa Yuskavage. Dave Cooper. Ryden before he became a self parody) so I suppose I should disclaimer this area and say that fine art, for me, now died circa 1920, but has recently been perhaps somewhat reborn.
But I'm digressing. This was a charming book, and the sisters were obviously charming women, and educated and emancipated and damned powerful creatures. I really didn't know of them before reading this book, but now I wish I could have attended a few of their salons and walked through their apartments, agape and stupefied. ...less
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Paul
gave
to:
Flashman at the Charge (Flashman)
by George MacDonald Fraser
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Paul said:
"One of the most magnificent cad/bounder scenes in literary history takes place during an "escape by sleigh" scene. Bravissimo, you despicable wretch!
And, as always for the Flashman books, a very well drawn look at a place and time: Russ...more
One of the most magnificent cad/bounder scenes in literary history takes place during an "escape by sleigh" scene. Bravissimo, you despicable wretch!
And, as always for the Flashman books, a very well drawn look at a place and time: Russia, in this case.
Additional goodness: the Charge of the Light Brigade section was quite thrilling. It's hard to adequately portray chaos in prose, but this was well done. My favorite Flashman book to date (I've read the 1st four).
...less
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Paul
gave
to:
If You're Reading This, It's Too Late (Hardcover)
by Pseudonymous Bosch
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Paul said:
"This is the first book of this series I've read, so that may account for some of the "jumpy" feel of the book, but even so, it WAS jumpy. I swear. Transitions and segues were flickery things, fluttering and sparse. I suppose the author was ...more
This is the first book of this series I've read, so that may account for some of the "jumpy" feel of the book, but even so, it WAS jumpy. I swear. Transitions and segues were flickery things, fluttering and sparse. I suppose the author was trying to keep his (her?) frenetic pace, but at times the story suffered for this.
The main characters were well thought out and brought out, and I enjoyed them, but the background characters were a bit thinly painted. Nothing makes a good hero like a good villain, and the villains here were a bit generic.
My favorite character was the homunculus, who started out of the gate rather rippingly, but fluttered and disappeared at the end.
And to me, Bosch's constant footnote observations began to be a bit tedious...not in their frequency, but rather in their frequent similarity.
Ackk---all I'm doing is bitching! There was much to praise as well. It WAS a fun romp, and while it was a light read, it was meant to be a light read, so I can hardly spank the book for any transgressions in that arena. All in all, I like this book to check out the next one in the series, and see if the author has corrected some of the faults. ...less
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Paul
gave
to:
The Complete Green Lama Volume 1 (Green Lama)
by Mac Raboy
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Paul said:
"I own one original issue of the Green Lama comic, so much of this volume didn't come as a surprise, but I was a little surprised to see how consistently these stories are, oh, shall we say, "inspired" by other comics. Green Lama hims...more
I own one original issue of the Green Lama comic, so much of this volume didn't come as a surprise, but I was a little surprised to see how consistently these stories are, oh, shall we say, "inspired" by other comics. Green Lama himself is a thin Captain Marvel rip off, and the Boy Champions are a riff on the Boy Commandoes, or maybe the Tough Kid Squad, or the Young Allies, or...geez, there's a lot of them.
Rick Masters, the aviation strip, falls short of being a rip off of other aviation strips just because the stories are so darned silly. It's interesting that---in a comic where the lead character dons green pajamas and flies around and has bullets bounce off of him and can lift a battleship out of water---it's the aviation strip where I most needed to have suspension of disbelief.
Of the last two strips, Lieut. Hercules is basically Supersnipe, and that takes us down to the only remaining strip, Angus MacERC, which is the Green Lama comic's sole strip with any originality. Angus is a mean little bastard, though. Perry Williams, the artist for this strip, is completely unknown to me, but very talented. In fact, all in all, the art team for the comics is well above average, and it's sad they couldn't have been matched up with more talented writers. ...less
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July 18
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Paul
gave
to:
Royal Flash (Flashman)
by George MacDonald Fraser
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Paul said:
"Flashman's character is becoming more cohesive in this book. I felt that in the 1st book Fraser didn't quite know how to handle his creation, and Flashman fluctuated between being a cad and an outright unlikeable bastard. This time he's a coward, sur...more
Flashman's character is becoming more cohesive in this book. I felt that in the 1st book Fraser didn't quite know how to handle his creation, and Flashman fluctuated between being a cad and an outright unlikeable bastard. This time he's a coward, sure, and a bully if he sees the chance, and of course if you put a skirt on a hay bale then he'd probably sleep with it, but he still never dips below likeable scoundrel.
A few slow points where Fraser dips a bit too far into the history aspect, but much of it also lends these novels their authenticity, so they become overall bearable. ...less
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Paul
gave
to:
Marvel Monsters TPB (Paperback)
by Steve Niles, Eric Powell, Jeff Parker
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Paul said:
"I love the Marvel Monsters so much that it was dashedly difficult for me to rate this book. I've been putting a lot of the monsters in my own writings, in books like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and Age of Sentry, and so I largely failed to remove...more
I love the Marvel Monsters so much that it was dashedly difficult for me to rate this book. I've been putting a lot of the monsters in my own writings, in books like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and Age of Sentry, and so I largely failed to remove myself from thoughts of "hmmm, I would have handled that differently."
So...three stars. Overall, I found the stories to be stuck in between on the "reverency" level. Either they were too loyal to the source material, or else too far out of bounds. Either way...most of the stories fell flat for me. The Googam story was probably my favorite...but it ran on too long, and by the end of it had not only recycled itself, but lost direction. Damn, I do loves me that Langridge art, though. ...less
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July 15
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New comment on Paul's review of
Essential Avengers Volume 6 TPB
(see all 3 comments)
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July 13
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Paul
gave
to:
Essential Avengers Volume 6 TPB (Paperback)
by Steve Englehart, Roy Thomas, Jim Starlin
bookshelves:
research-and-or-pleasure
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Paul said:
"How jumpy are the plots? How about the moment when a doctor, talking to some parents who have just had a baby who glows with radioactive rays, and the doctor (in order to just move the plot along) says, "Don't ask me how. These things...happen.&...more
How jumpy are the plots? How about the moment when a doctor, talking to some parents who have just had a baby who glows with radioactive rays, and the doctor (in order to just move the plot along) says, "Don't ask me how. These things...happen."
Sure they do! All the time!
And how ridiculously overwritten is this? How about the example wherein the Black Panther (who, for those of you who don't know, does have noble, but always straightforward speech) answers Thor's question of whether the Panther would like to come back to the Avengers with this amaaaaaazing bit of comic book writing.
"Thor, the fine fool's gold of stark velvet morning seems to light the mottled tapestry of desire and disaster that comprises the legend of life for my people and myself in this hidden half-slumbering nation-state we proudly proclaim Wakanda--but the amber eyes of reason widen as mauve shadows of regret creep across the outside worldscape, and scream the bleeding need for Panther's presence at this time."
Now, if I was Thor, I'd have been screaming "Dude! WTF!" while slamming my hammer into the Panther's cranium.
Nuff said. ...less
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July 11
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Paul
gave
to:
Flashman: A Novel (Flashman)
by George MacDonald Fraser
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Paul said:
"Ahhh, what a grand cad, this Flashman. And yet, I've found to my surprise that the books are a curious mix of the scandalous adventures of a successful boor, and pinpoint satire of 19th century life. What's amazing is that Fraser has done a commendab...more
Ahhh, what a grand cad, this Flashman. And yet, I've found to my surprise that the books are a curious mix of the scandalous adventures of a successful boor, and pinpoint satire of 19th century life. What's amazing is that Fraser has done a commendable job (see, here I am commending him!) of research. Events / politics / mores and the everyday society of the times are all here in the books.
And though Flashman is a bounder of the highest order, he's a likeable chap, probably because he so readily admits to his failures. And, I suspect that if we delved into the greatest of history's heroes, we'd find a few hidden Flashmen among them. ...less
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July 08
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New comment on Paul's review of
The Book of the Dead
(see all 2 comments)
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