Recent Reads

146. Matilda
My 9 year old nephew, Jonah, told me the other day that this is one of the best books he has ever read. How can one pass up that kind of recommendation?

Having never read any books by Roald Dahl, and knowing how much he is beloved by kids and adults alike, I decided to start reading my way through his works with this one. It is hard not to love little Matilda, and her love of books and knowledge. She is an exceptional girl from an unexceptional family, and if that were not enough, she has to face Miss Trunchbull when she starts school. Thanks goodness for Ms. Honey. 

I can certainly see why my nephew loved this story of a young child who was able to get back at the adults who made her life miserable, and I quite enjoyed my time with Matilda, even though some of the melodrama seemed rather over the top. But then again, this is written for the middle grade reader, so the more drama the better I suppose. I listened to the audiobook which was wonderfully narrated by Kate Winslet. Rating: 3 stars.

147. Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals: A Mixed-Media Workshop with Carla Sonheim
I am not a fan of cutesy animals, but do like the whimsical quality of the author's art. This book has projects using various techniques and materials to help you to draw and paint animals that might have gone gone extinct due to natural selection processes. Rating: 2 stars.

148. How the World Was: A California Childhood
Book blurb: In 1994, French cartoonist Emmanuel Guibert befriended an American veteran named Alan Cope and began creating his new friend's graphic biography. Alan's War was the surprising and moving result: the story of Cope's experiences as an American GI in France during World War II.

Telling someone's biography in Comics form is an interesting choice, and this form captures a sense of emotion that would be harder to do in prose. The art is fantastic, and wonderfully atmospheric, but I was not really interesting in the biography of this person. The telling seemed like snippets of memory, place and time, and not a point to point narrative one would except with a biography, and was too fragmented for my tastes. However, this book is worth getting your hands on to simply gaze at the artwork. Rating: 2 stars.

149. An Age of License: A Travelogue
I keep travel journals while on on the road, and love travelogues of any kind. In this graphic memoir, the author records her experiences while on a European trip in 2011 that involves some business, lots of pleasure, delicious food and wine, and enough angst to make one's hair curl. 

I guess this book would fall into the "New Adult" genre. The publisher touts it as the Eat, Pray, Love for the GIRLS generation, and I would agree with that, sans the Pray part. My complaint with this book is that it does not dive deep, but snorkels on the surface of the author's emotional life. I did love the watercolors and sketches, and I think this might really appeal to 20 somethings. Rating: 2 stars.