Court

Marvelous introduction of the topic and gorgeous prints

Great introduction of Burton and his works up to that point. Enjoyed the discussion of themes and of course the art

Fun circus romp complete with clowns, a mime, a strong man, a woman with shifting tattoos (Ray Bradbury reference?), and boxing Kangaroos.

Read via Hoopla, none of the texts loaded so I'll have to read upon him (likely Wiki if not a bibliography). Fantastic art, especially loved the trees.

I was surprised, I thought most of it was going to be color blocking concept pieces but there were lovely portraits, naturescapes, windmills, and other slice of life works as well. Liked the pallet, good warmth and light.

I will not assert that I understood all of this. However, I appreciate that this form makes the report more accessible. Read on Hoopla.

Huh, I think this is one that's going to stick with me for a while.

There is a danger in diagnosing fictional characters. The main character is neurodiverse, I assume that it is the author's intent to make her autistic, however there are times when Murata seems to wander into “Callous and unemotional” territory, mostly due to the violence. Although perhaps that is me being rigid.

I sympathized with Keiko; she seemed relatable, authentic and then my heart breaks as she suffers due to a society that says she is not enough. There was this period of depression after quitting her job — it made me very concerned and confused that she didn't line up a job before quitting — and I assume that she's running out of money and that society will throw her away, that she'll reach an unsavory rock bottom. Her social circle already thought she was low, but there is sadly much farther one can fall.

For not lining up the next job I tried to rationalize: 1) maybe the author thinks Keiko doesn't have good executive functioning for this sort of task2) felt in a rush to act/societal pressure3) it's difficult to line a job up for her due to the reasons she had mentioned: age, education background, no other experience, etc.I made a mistake and thought the book had ended, but due to an error in the audiobook I still had 3-4 segments left. I was thrilled to see that Keiko was able to get an interview and better yet make her own path of sorts, choosing herself over society. I greatly value that.

I did not care for the main male character. I'm not supposed to and want to blame him for all of Keiko's problems, but cannot as Keiko had autonomy and chose to given in to societal pressure. He was crude and seemed to take advantage of her. I assume the author also intends for him to be neurodivergent; autistic, ADHD, maybe both or something else.

I liked the ending; 3.5

Possibly good for family member labels as it discusses father, mother, sister, and brother. I appreciated that the gifts were not stereotypical of gender.

Seasonal counting book

Ah! It seems like this is the conclusion (more or less), but I didn't understand it. Perhaps I'll dig around the web for an explanation.
The art and topic of duality is still compelling.

Very ambitious. I value representation and I detest an echo chamber; why was I not blown away by this? Maybe I was expecting more happiness? The vignette style was fine, made me think of the films Paris, Je T'aime & New York, I love You: short stories of various kinds of love all taking place in the same city on an ordinary day (not a holiday). Some of the vignettes connect, but the two story lines that I clearly saw connect seemed like they just should have been told together, or otherwise have been more cohesive. The zero and first chapter make nice book ends that tie together with the near penultimate and last sections, even if I didn't love their content.

chapters zero and 21 (the last) are about the person who is moving and they talk about love and break ups and on the last page they key their previous lover's car with ‘I still love you'.In chapter one we see a mom people watch and mentally set people up as her adult son is impatient with her and then in chapter 18 the talk of his father's death and the importance of laughter. I didn't care for chapter one and thought chapter 18 would have been stronger if had more of a connected topic with chapter one. But I did appreciate a familial love being shown as well as the topic of grief being covered.

Loved two of the chapters that discussed polyamory, chapter 7 where it wasn't the male character's preference and chapter 9 where one asks to be a part of a polyamorous relationship or a triad/thruple. Wasn't sure about the one in between ‘Fuck Buddies' - was the married man bi (or something)? Was he no longer attracted to his wife and just staying due to the societal pressure? He doesn't seem to care very much for the other man, while the other man seems to deeply care for the married man. So the situation is kind of interesting, but it makes both characters unappealing to me.

Maybe it is just the usual way of a collection of stories is bound (a necessary pun) to have a mix of things you like and things you don't.



Read this all in one sitting.

I've been looking for this book for years. It's okay, for every laugh though I'd say there was an eye roll. It's a humor book that seems to know it's a humor book.

Gave this another listen for book club. Originally, I had listened to this while I was recovering from something and had just thought that it was confusing because I had faded in and out. It was still a little confusing for me the second go, at least during the action scenes. The beginning was strong and Wen was well written. Although, Eric and Andrew bled together for me and at times was hard to keep them straight, less frequently this also happened with Sabrina and Adrian. I did appreciate the tension of belief: is the end coming, is it all made up, will we find out? The concept is great.
I didn't think that Redmond was O'Bannon but then again, does it matter? I did think that it was a good distraction, and in character for the accusation to be made.

I also watched the film this weekend and also felt mixed about it. Different than the book.

Three stories, with varying art styles: 1) Balloon ride crashes then meets some snow monkeys. 2) Scarecrow crossroads bargain fable. 3) Ghost horse misunderstanding, helps a village.

4.5
A simple pleasure. Wasn't sure of the second and third drawing styles, but then they grew on me as they seemed to be more fitting as the stories unfolded.

Read via Hoopla

Not my thing

Excellent, both the art and the attitude.

I like mod fashion, was amused by the scooters and French visitors, and appreciated the mention of modern architecture. Also the rockers were well done.

‘Read' on Hoopla, except the text did not appear, only the images were available.
Loved my Renaissance art classes.

I ‘read' this via hoopla, however only the images loaded, no text. But the art is fantastic.

I waited a while for this from my library, I was so excited because I quite enjoyed her short story “These Deathless Bones” and I love Japanese culture.
I thought the characterizations and descriptions were fantastic BUT it was hard to read in that the transitions were few and poor. I often had to go back and reread, usually without gaining any additional clarity. I often thought where am I, how did I get here?
So the setting was talked about in gorgeous detail and I thought the characters were rich, but it felt awkward in that these story elements seems disjointed. I was so confused about how the characters moved through the space/story.

I enjoyed the part when Cat and Lin discussed how they needed to be careful because Cat was bisexual and Lin was the ‘comic relief' or something like that and that's who usually dies first in horror stories. I tried to go back and find it, but couldn't because that's how muddled the book is for me. I'm also a bit disappointed and annoyed. Cat is bisexual, but we are only told of her experiences with men; she speaks favorably, admiringly of female bodies, but that's it. It felt disingenuous.

A 3.5 rounded up for how quickly I read it.

It is repetitive and could probably be skimmed without losing much; it was a light enjoyment. It was exciting due to its pace and the potentially scandalous secret; yet fluffy and frivolous, like a soap opera. The characters felt very slice of life authentic, with little use of suspension of disbelief.

Liv's ultra controlling father seemed a little far-fetched, maybe due to the extent of the blame it seems Liv's mom was using it, but it's worth it for the story line of their reconciliation.

I thought that the secondary characters were well done, likeable with the right level of depth. And the antagonist is unlikable in an easy, fun, and true way. True in that I related to, what I figure most people have at least one of, or someone similar, in their family or social circle.

I wish the book had had the name of the chapter, sometimes I forgot whose perspective it was, or would flip back to check the time of the book.

I was a little annoyed at the Adam's attitude of "but I would feel it if something had happened to her" as an excuse not to call the airline, but I also completely understand the cognitive dissonance, magical thinking, denial, etc. so it works as a plot tactic.

Gorgeous, clever art.
Annoyed though: carrots can be purple, flamingos are born grey, deer can be white.

Kiddo wanted me to read it again and again, I even read it backwards.

Fantastic themes

To start, I did not care for the artwork, but acknowledge that it might appeal to the intended age group.
I was so hoping that this book would have more information, either throughout the book or in a section in the back that is sometimes labeled as for parents/caregivers, etc. however there was none of that. The most ‘informative' piece of the book is on the last page with “Dr. Janet says it's only been a little while since doctors knew that kids could have bipolar disorder.” The book discusses his big feelings, but how is that different from ASD, highly sensitive person, ADHD, or other disorders? It does not discuss the how, when, or why the kid is diagnosed or if anyone else in the family has a known mood disorder. The book does briefly mention ‘all those pills' but I think that the topic of medicine could have been much better covered. Such a disappointment.

It's not perfect, but I loved the style and tone as well as a peek into how things are done ‘across the pond'.