Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Review: Dear Committee Members


Dear Committee Members
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



That was hilarious. It says I started this back in January, but actually I didn't start it until yesterday and then I blew through it, often trying not to laugh out loud and wake Kait, since I usually read while she's napping next to me.

I think that academics everywhere should read this and it would be a good pairing with the novel Stoner. It's funny and at the end poignant.



View all my reviews

Review: Let's Eat Ramen and Other Doujinshi Short Stories


Let's Eat Ramen and Other Doujinshi Short Stories
Let's Eat Ramen and Other Doujinshi Short Stories by Nagumo

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I'm a newbie to graphic novels in general, but especially to manga. I think that this went a bit over my head, as I was rather confused by the extreme simplicity of the plots. A shy girl eats ramen , there's a few lesbians, and a sort-of ghost.



View all my reviews

Review: H2O


H2O
H2O by Irving Belateche

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was ok. The writing was a bit simplistic and the plot and world building could have used some work, but it was fairly enjoyable. I'm not sure where this came from, but I'm guessing it was a Kindle freebie.



View all my reviews

Sunday, May 03, 2015

Review: Explaining the Explicit


Explaining the Explicit
Explaining the Explicit by Julian Barnes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I've read this before: about two years ago I went through a minor obsession with Kindle Singles and downloaded almost anything with an author I recognized. I read and even made notes on this one, though I only vaguely recalled the essays as I reread them. And I've got no idea why if skipped reviewing it last time. Mostly what I got out of it was a list of further books to read in the future, but it was an interesting read.



View all my reviews

Review: Body and Soul: Short Story


Body and Soul: Short Story
Body and Soul: Short Story by Barbara Gowdy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was an interesting exploration of an elderly woman and several foster children she cares for. I've always meant to read some Gowdy and I'm now curious to see what her novels are like.



View all my reviews

Saturday, May 02, 2015

Review: Lilliput


Lilliput
Lilliput by Sam Gayton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



That was cute. I look forward to reading it with Kait one day. It's made me want to reread Gulliver's Travels, which I last read in my first year of university.



View all my reviews

Friday, May 01, 2015

Review: Snowdrops


Snowdrops
Snowdrops by A.D. Miller

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



That was engrossing. I stayed up reading it until 3 am in spite of the fact that I know I'll pay for the exhaustion later once Kait wakes up. I identified with a lot of the expat commentary, though Korea has nothing on the decadence of the Moscow expat - or maybe it does if you're a banker.



View all my reviews

Friday, April 24, 2015

Review: Stand Tall!: A book about integrity


Stand Tall!: A book about integrity
Stand Tall!: A book about integrity by Cheri J. Meiners

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really liked this introduction for children about having integrity. It covers making the right choices, sticking to your word, being kind, etc. There are lots of helpful activities at the back of the book to expand on the ideas. A great book to introduce as children start school.



View all my reviews

Review: Stand Tall!: A book about integrity


Stand Tall!: A book about integrity
Stand Tall!: A book about integrity by Cheri J. Meiners

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really liked this introduction for children about having inter girth. It covers making the right choices, sticking to your word, being kind, etc. There are lots of helpful activities at the back of the book to expand on the ideas. A great book to introduce as children start school.



View all my reviews

Review: Forgive and Let Go!: A book about forgiveness


Forgive and Let Go!: A book about forgiveness
Forgive and Let Go!: A book about forgiveness by Cheri J. Meiners

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A useful book to help children walk through negative feelings that provides strategies to feel more positive. Lots of helpful guidance questions and activities at the back. I'm not sure I agree with the step regarding imagining a person apologizing.



View all my reviews

Review: Stay!


Stay!
Stay! by Alex Latimer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I loved this! We need to buy a paper copy for Kait because Buster and Watson have a lot in common as bad habits go.



View all my reviews

Review: Voices Are Not for Yelling


Voices Are Not for Yelling
Voices Are Not for Yelling by Elizabeth Verdick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I think this would be a great resource for classrooms of younger children. The illustrations are inclusive. I liked that the book started out positively, then introduced the problem and solution. I did think perhaps there could have been coverage of when yelling is okay - for help, cheering for something, etc.



View all my reviews

Review: Nanny and Me


Nanny and Me
Nanny and Me by Florence Ann Romano

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The illustrations are beautiful and it fills a need in terms of explaining to children what having a nanny will be like.



View all my reviews

Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles


The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I read a ton of Poirot novels in my early teens. I can't recall if this was one of them, but since back then I was relying on small mall bookstores rather than the much bigger ones with better selection of today, I read them very much out of order and missed tons I'm sure.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable read and I might have liked it even more if I hadn't read it in tiny chunks while nursing Kait, which occasionally made it hard to follow along with Poirot's reasoning.



View all my reviews

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Review: A Land Without Jasmine


A Land Without Jasmine
A Land Without Jasmine by Wajdi Al-Ahdal

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was really interesting. The end was a bit annoying - I wanted more than a mystical bridegroom to explain what happened. I liked the shifting perspectives of each chapter, though I found Jasmine's the most interesting.



View all my reviews

Review: Gnome on the Range


Gnome on the Range
Gnome on the Range by Jennifer Zane

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was bizarre but enjoyable. A romance based around horse semen found in garden gnomes. I'm guessing I got this as an Amazon freebie and it was worth the read just for the outlandish situation.



View all my reviews

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Review: The Olive Tree


The Olive Tree
The Olive Tree by Elsa Marston

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The story was a bit meh, but I loved the setting and the illustrations.



View all my reviews

Review: The Other Side of the Wall


The Other Side of the Wall
The Other Side of the Wall by Simon Schwartz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



That was interesting. I hadn't realized that legally leaving East Germany was an option.



View all my reviews

Review: Fishfishfish


Fishfishfish
Fishfishfish by Lee Nordling

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was interesting. I'd like to see the various stories kids could tell using the illustrations.



View all my reviews

Review: A Dog's Breakfast


A Dog's Breakfast
A Dog's Breakfast by Annie Graves

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I loved this! It's the kind of book you can enjoy yourself while reading to children because of the snark.



View all my reviews

Review: Sing Freedom!


Sing Freedom!
Sing Freedom! by Vanita Oelschlager

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I learned things about Estonia reading this and it's a good introduction to the history of the USSR.



View all my reviews

Review: Me, Too!


Me, Too!
Me, Too! by Annika Dunklee

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



If I had a child who felt left out by a friend or had a new student joining my classroom, I could see reading this.



View all my reviews

Review: Look Where We Live!: A First Book of Community Building


Look Where We Live!: A First Book of Community Building
Look Where We Live!: A First Book of Community Building by Scot Ritchie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A nice little introduction to the basic ideas of good citizenship.



View all my reviews

Review: My Family Tree and Me


My Family Tree and Me
My Family Tree and Me by Dušan Petričić

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The story is simple but the illustrations are wonderful.



View all my reviews

Review: Eat, Leo! Eat!


Eat, Leo! Eat!
Eat, Leo! Eat! by Caroline Adderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



So sweet. Perfect to read to a picky eater, while a big pot of pasta is cooking or on the way to grandma's.

And now I'm hungry!



View all my reviews

Review: Eat, Leo! Eat!


Eat, Leo! Eat!
Eat, Leo! Eat! by Caroline Adderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



So sweet. Perfect to read to a picky kid, right before a dinner of pasta or on the way to visit grandma.

And now I'm hungry!



View all my reviews

Review: Pop Goes the Circus!


Pop Goes the Circus!
Pop Goes the Circus! by Kate Klise

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was cute. I'd totally read the previous books in the series. I'll have to look out for these once Kait's old enough.



View all my reviews

Review: Gronk Volume 2


Gronk Volume 2
Gronk Volume 2 by Katie Cook

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Gronk took two volumes to grow on me because at first I had a hard time seeing who the audience was - it seemed at times like something you could read with a five year old, but the nerdy references are clearly for my generation (or at least Wyatt's.) But it's really cute - the cat, the dog , the monster who acts like a toddler... It brought to mind Calvin and Hobbes a few times.



View all my reviews

Review: Gronk Volume 1


Gronk Volume 1
Gronk Volume 1 by Katie Cook

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Gronk took two volumes to grow on me because at first I had a hard time seeing who the audience was - it seemed at times like something you could read with a five year old, but the nerdy references are clearly for my generation (or at least Wyatt's.) But it's really cute - the cat, the dog , the monster who acts like a toddler... It brought to mind Calvin and Hobbes a few times.



View all my reviews

Review: A Day in Canada


A Day in Canada
A Day in Canada by Per-Henrik Gurth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Super cute! I'd like all of these books for Kait one day!



View all my reviews

Review: Cailyn and Chloe Learn About Conjunctions


Cailyn and Chloe Learn About Conjunctions
Cailyn and Chloe Learn About Conjunctions by Megan Atwood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



If I were still in Korea teaching grammar, I'd love to use this rather than the boring, dry grammar books we always had. Great tie in with writing as well.



View all my reviews

Monday, February 16, 2015

Review: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops


Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was quick and cute. I laughed (quietly though, the baby was sleeping) a few times.



View all my reviews

Review: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic


Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Reread Feb 2014 - I thought I'd reread this on my kindle (my paperback copy is somewhere in the bookshelves and boxes and piles that my poor, long-suffering parents keep for me in Canada) since I have are You My Mother? and I thought a refresher would be nice. And now I'm feeling compelled to tackle Ulysses or at least some Colette.



View all my reviews

Review: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic


Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Reread Feb 2014 - I thought id reread this on my kindle (my paperback copy is somewhere in the bookshelves and boxes and pikes that my poor, long-suffering parents keep for me in Canada) since I have are You My Mother? And I thought a refresher would be nice. And now I'm feeling compelled to tackle Ulysses or at least some Colette.



View all my reviews

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Review: The Dovekeepers


The Dovekeepers
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



That it took me so long to finish this is not because I didn't like it. It's just that with four separate narrators, it was easy to allow myself to be stalled as each section finished. I'm curious to read some non-fiction about Masada having era this. I found the stories of the women and their children quite moving, tinged with the sadness of knowing how their story would likely end.



View all my reviews

Sunday, February 01, 2015

Review: The Royal Cup


The Royal Cup
The Royal Cup by Bastien Vivès

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



2.5 stars. Admittedly, I haven't read the first book and that might have bumped it up to 3 stars for me, because I'm not into fight scenes in almost any media, so if I had a better sense of the characters motivations, that might have helped. It got interesting at the end though.



View all my reviews

Review: Suffrajitsu: Mrs Pankhurst's Amazons


Suffrajitsu: Mrs Pankhurst's Amazons
Suffrajitsu: Mrs Pankhurst's Amazons by Tony Wolf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



That was a lot of fun. Great illustrations (and I've been to both of the settings, London and Glasgow.) The storyline is interesting and I'm curious to see where it will go next.



View all my reviews

Review: Surf War!: A Folktale from the Marshall Islands


Surf War!: A Folktale from the Marshall Islands
Surf War!: A Folktale from the Marshall Islands by Margaret Read MacDonald

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This would be a great story to read while learning about the Marshall Islands. I liked the illustrations and it's got a nice message.



View all my reviews