Recent Reads

7. Shōgun
I like big books and I cannot lie. I finished this one a couple of days ago, and I've been lingering in the afterglow.

So here's the back story. This is one of Susan's fave books ever. One she has read multiple times, and every time I start a new book, I get the same question: are you reading Shogun? For years, decades even, the answer has been no. Why? I do not know. I could make up a story, but honestly, I think the right book finds you are the right time. Then last year, the Boston MFA had an exhibit on Samurai that amazed me. Next I heard that a TV mini-series is in the works for 2014. A trifecta! And just like that, I knew it was time to start Shogun.

This historical saga set in Japan during the 1500s is about the cultural clash of first contact, a time and place where local struggle for power intertwines with passion, religion, trade, betrayal, duty and war. This is the original Game of Thrones, and I wonder how much GRRM was influenced by it. It is huge in scope with many characters, and plot lines, and it takes all of its 1134 pages to tell it. And in my opinion, it could have been longer. 

I've been inhabiting feudal Japan for several weeks. I've learned much about the culture and attitudes, and have been highly entertained along the way. I've lived this story. What more can one ask of a book? I've added James Clavell to my book god pantheon that include Michener and Uris. And he has a backlist. I am one happy reader. Rating: 5 stars.

8. The Sandman: Endless Nights
This is book #12 in the Sandman graphic novel series. 

Blurb: Born at the beginning of time, Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Delirium, and Destruction are seven brothers and sisters who each lord over their respective realms. In this highly imaginative book that boasts a diverse styles of breathtaking art, these seven peculiar and powerful siblings each reveal more about their true being as they star in their own tales of curiosity and wonder.

I have loved most of this series, and this is a prequel of sorts. Seven short stories that dive deeper into the endless and why they are who they are. The creative imagination that is Neil Gaiman's mind is incredible, and the artists who interpret his words into art are fantastic, but I did not love this one. It felt fragmented, and there was a bit too much T&A for my taste. Not that I have anything against tasteful T&A, and if there is to be nudity, then both genders should be equally represented no? Rating: 3 stars.

9. Sailor Twain
I’m conflicted about this graphic novel. I really liked the charcoal artwork which wonderfully illustrates the gritty steamboat on the Hudson setting, however I found the characters and their motivations muddled and unclear. Rating: 3 stars.