Claire
Potentially a mildly spicy take but I just didn't vibe with the first half of this. Undoubtedly it's a me thing. Still I was strongly considering DNF-ing. But Bright Spaces pulled me into this collection's frequency. It is incredible and has me wanting to re-read those earlier stories (alas, somebody is waiting for their hold at my library and I feel the guilt already).
The premise is enticing and the story and themes were suitably entertaining but I did feel like either the writing style or translation were a barrier to me enjoying the book as much as I thought I would have.
Having said that I think if I had approached this book expecting almost a Light Novel, even middle grade experience, it would'be been a solid 4 star read. So I'm intrigued to see what a re-read would bring.
I realize there's probably no one left on earth who reads comics and hasn't read this one but if you're like me and slightly put off the fantasy genre - don't be! I honestly cannot believe I left it this long to get to reading this, especially after buying it years ago now and loving Paper Girls.
I'M SO DUMB!
I've recently got into Final Fantasy 16, a game which is decidedly similar to the game featured in ‘...Real-Life Boss', one-half of the relationship is oblivious almost beyond belief, and there's unrequited love. This manga combines all three of these and makes for pure Claire catnip.
The art is incredibly cute and the romance itself is so sweet it's likely to send you into a diabetic coma - but you'll absolutely have fun doing it. The mangaka has done such a wonderful job here that even the miscommunication between the two main characters is endearing, an adjective I never thought would ever apply to that trope.
I'll definitely be continuing with this series. Maybe even collecting physically what feels like it could become a new comfort read for me!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free copy of this manga in exchange for an honest review.
Prior to starting this book I was worried I - someone who has been obsessed with football all their life and having grown up in a football dominated culture - wasn't the intended audience for it. But I don't think that blunted my enjoyment of Mark Yakich's work at all. I read about football every day without even thinking about it but the author's self-confessed ‘casual' perspective, though with a clear passion for actually playing the game, makes for a fresh, engaging and often touching read.
Firstly, I haven't read the other books in the series but I'm definitely planning to now. I had a real love-hate relationship with the almost ‘forensic' writing style mostly deployed here. At times - particularly the closing chapters - I found it greatly added to the tension and conveyed the fractured states of mind of the main characters. At others I had to stop myself from skim reading. Ultimately, the respites from this style helped and the story triumphed.
4.5 stars
Beautifully told, heartbreaking story of the cruelty of humans and, ultimately, life.
My edition had a great essay on Harry Haft, sport in the concentration camps and short profiles on some other camp boxers. It really made me ‘eager' (for lack of a better word) to read more widely around the subject.
Maybe I - a millennial who is only a part of a few of the fandoms featured - is the intended audience for this collection, maybe I'm not. But I really liked it nonetheless. Not a word is wasted and all the poems do what I've been trying to do unsuccessfully for years - express how much animation of this period bleeds into who you become (or are) as a person. And how low-key cute Danny Phantom is.
I can't wait to buy this book and take a deeper dive, especially after I actually finish Avatar (!).
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I thought the art and colouring was the standout here. I've been reading Initial D for the first time recently and the in-motion cars don't pale greatly in comparison. As for the actual story, I'm afraid I can only echo other reviews in saying it's a great concept, the execution of which is just...okay.
Overall I think I'd give it 3.5 stars. It's a memorable concept with gorgeous artwork. I'm just not sure I'll be revisiting this comic anytime soon.
Nick Greene watches basketball with people from industries including everything from ballet to marketing, the sciences to the arts, and shows basketball fans old and new how to watch the game smarter.
I didn't grow up watching full basketball games, just reading about the Bulls and if I was lucky later on watching short clips over dialup internet. But I love watching it now, even if there are huge gaps in my knowledge of the game itself and its history. So a book with a title promising to show me how to watch like a genius? Sign me up!
Told with humour by not in any way that it detracts from the book's mission statement (as it were), it's a fantastic read from start to finish. I particularly enjoyed the opening chapter looking at the early rules of the game and their impact on what we see today (honestly, if Kawhi and PG13 were boosting each other over balconies to retrieve a ball that left the court I wouldn't miss a game). I also liked how vivid the descriptions were. I'm autistic and imagining in my head some of what's described via the written word can at times be difficult but I had no real problems in that regard here.
I highly recommend it for both basketball obsessives and newbies alike.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
“In Europe, trauma creates the necessity - the urgency - for a more....anchored...artwork”
These are the words of our protagonist, Uli, after he moves to New York to study dance after leaving Folkwang in 1950s East Germany, where he ran into barriers to his self expression, namely his love of musicals and Broadway dance.
The story so far is sweet but I particularly like how the lingering trauma of the Second World War, of Uli's contemporary life, of racism and homophobia, is conveyed in the art and, especially the noticeable change in movement after Uli's move.
Overall, very good start to this series. I can't wait to buy this and read more!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
The cover just spoke to me. With my rational rain it said, “Look at all this food you probably can't eat.” With my other, more oft-used brain it said, “Now you an combine your love of anime food and food porn in general. Go for it!” I'm also trying (fooling myself more likely) to learn how to cook properly while in lockdown. Suffice to say, I was excited to read this graphic novel. I haven't read Volume One yet but the introducing panels I feel guided me into the tone of TDTE well.
How could I not love a book with an opening to the first chapter that I found so relatable? Well, while I'm interested to try some of the recipes and found some of their presentation and discussion entertaining, I didn't always connect with the anecdotes that the comic relies on and found the panels too small (although Long fits a lot in to his illustrations).
Still, for a book I only figuratively picked up for #foodporn purposes I was mostly pleasantly surprised and impressed particularly with how the author bridged the gap between hardcore foodies and beginners like myself. Recommended, if only with tempered expectations.
I was provided with a NetGalley ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When I was in university I literally had a dream that after graduating I'd go on to become a bestselling author just by rewriting (hark at me) the many dry sociological texts I had to read. Unfortunately, this book would have been an excellent candidate for that treatment. I was set it as required reading for an assignment I never ended up doing, found it in the loft before we moved and decided to give it a read before parting with it.
It covers the alleged birth of the British obsession with the concept of the deserving and undeserving poor and the underclass in the 1880s, as well as its reinvention all the way through to the New Labour government of circa 2000. There's also brief detours in the United States and Europe, though generally focusing on the influence of the underclass debate back and forth across the oceans.
Overall, Welshman provides a decent overview in under 200 pages and there's some bits in it that I never knew or forgot, like the not altogether surprising role of the eugenics movement in in the debate. But it is told very matter of fact and drags a little, however the latter really can't be helped when you consider the evolution - or lack thereof - with regard to the issue at hand. Still, if the writer had taken me up on my dream career, the book would have turned out different...
3 out of 5 stars.
I first read this book as a member of its target audience: an A(S) Level student of the Russian Revolution in the late 2000s. I came across it again recently during a clear out and thought - it's only 100 or so pages, why not give myself a simple refresher on Lenin?
The book takes a chronological look at the Bolshevik leader's life, thought and reputation. It does so in a simple, cogent way it it's very surface level and non committal. Having read about the topic more widely since my sixth form days I could've been left disappointed but it's OK for what it is.
Captain America & The Korvac Saga follows Captain America and The Avengers as they take on the cyborg Korvac. I feel like it had a lot of potential - particularly with regard to the connection between Korvac and Cap - but it's just so short and wrapped up before it even really gets a chance to get going. Two stars out of five say it all really. Not the worst comic I've ever read but certainly not as good as it could have been.
Last Shot sees Labdo Calrissian and Han Solo reunited between ROTJ and TFA.
It's funnier and different than any other Star Wars novel I've read and a blast to read. I wasn't expecting much having read some other reviews but this book exceeded my meagre expectations and then some.
Han and Leia are Han and Leia, the former struggling with fathering baby Ben and Labdo is forced to confront his feelings for the Twi'lek Kaasha. These two threads make up some of my favourite parts of the novel. Others include the LGBT nod (if this annoys you, get over yourself. It's a tiny part of the story that helps us feel recognized in a saga that features umpteen galaxies) and the frankly iconic “Uncle Wanwo!”
On the other hand I would have liked to have seen a little more of the relationships between the two main characters and their significant others, but that's a minor thing. There wasn't really too much I disliked about Last Shot on reflection. The multiple time lines didn't really work for me for the majority of the book and made things difficult to follow sometimes when picking it up after a day or two.
Generally, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this and am curious to see what the author does with The High Republic era.
I seem to be reading a lot of books with different timelines and perspectives. This book tells the life story of Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele, interspersed with short conversations with some of the surviving twins of Auschwitz, ‘Mengele's Children'. It doesn't have universally good reviews on GR for a reason and there's some controversy over it here but I enjoyed (as much as you can a book about the Holocaust) it.