This was just what I needed (along with a big glass of pinot noir). Thank you Joe, for bringing it to my attention: I ranMore like 4 and a half stars!
This was just what I needed (along with a big glass of pinot noir). Thank you Joe, for bringing it to my attention: I ran over to the comic book store at lunch to get it and just devoured it! I am just crazy for the vintage 50’s look, but I also love a bit of murder-mayhem on the side, and “Lady Killer� gave me both at the same time! AND a heroine who looks just like my favorite Venture Bros. character, the amazing Dr. Girlfriend, to boot!
Josie is a housewife and mother who couldn’t look more respectful. But she is also a skilled assassin who will fool any mark with her flawless charm. She is balancing her family and professional life perfectly until her boss decides to "retire" her a bit earlier than she'd planned - for rather misogynistic reasons, I might add. But Josie isn't one to go away quietly...
The artwork by Joelle Jones is simply stunning, and I loved every frame of this deliciously dark and fun graphic novel. The social commentary on the era's views is maybe a bit more subtle than I would have wanted, but it was the perfect amount of playfully gory for me.
Josie is a fantastic character and I found her story very original and fresh. There's something quite appealing (to me, at least) in an elegant lady who is in control of her own life and choices, and who will not let anyone make decisions for her.
For "Mad Men" fans who desperately wished Betty would have stabbed Francine in her silly face. Stylish, fun and bloody! More like this please!!...more
Bernadette hates Seattle, its citizens, the company her husband works for and the fellow moms from the progressive charter school her daughter Bee attBernadette hates Seattle, its citizens, the company her husband works for and the fellow moms from the progressive charter school her daughter Bee attends; this hatred is fueled by the (literally) crushed dream that made her leave L.A., and the only thing the aftermath of that disaster hasn't tainted is the love she has for her precocious daughter. To shield herself from all those things, Bernadette hardly leaves their house, a dilapidated former reform school, and outsources everything she can to a virtual assistant in India. That seems to be working out for her until Bee manages to convince the family to go to Antarctica over the Holidays, escalating Bernadette's anxiety to a breaking point.
This unusual satire of upper-middle class West Coast ‘Murica is so cleverly put together: a collage of emails, memos to parents and other correspondences paint a picture of Bernadette, an extremely brilliant and misanthropic woman who runs away on Christmas eve, leaving her daughter Bee to try and figure out what happened to her and why she ran away. That very inventive format was one of the big hooks that reeled me in: I love usual storytelling, and mosaic-like structures. Maria Semple wrote for “Arrested Development�, a show that often relied on unorthodox narratives, so I was curious to see what she could do with a novel.
To be honest, this books threads a fine line: it has elements of chick-lit, but its also full of cringe-humor and seems to caution against women vanishing (in this case quite literally) into their family - while an oblivious partner thrives and fails to realize their spouse is unhappy.
Make of it what you will, but I kinda related to Bernadette. I spent years thinking I was an introvert only to realize I really just... don’t really like people. The way she eviscerates the ridiculous mothers of her daughter’s school mates (I'm not a mom, but I have colleagues, and I hear their stories, and I swallow back a lot of opinions), her abhorrence of leaving the house and interacting with other people (restaurants who deliver but don't have the option to order online annoy the beejezus me) and her desire to just be left alone had me nodding sympathetically. On the other hand, I take really good care of my house and I'm pretty good at bouncing back from bad stuff, so while I felt for her, I also wanted to shake her out of her self-pitying denial. She is unhappy and unfulfilled by her life, but won't do anything to try to change that until she has no choice but to pull a disappearing act. She is an excellent cautionary tale!
I was very moved by how much Bee loves her mother in spite of her numerous eccentricities and flaws. If anything, these quirks only seem to bring the two of them closer (that passage when Bernadette explains how Bee got her name... it gave me a lot of feels...). This is what unconditional love looks like.
I recently watched "Arrested Development", which I enjoyed but also have mixed feelings for. "Where'd You Go Bernadette" gives me that same feeling: I loved the format, the writing, the wit, the humor, the scathing portrayal of the Seattlites and the wannabe-elite parents (though the bashing on Canadians, I disapprove of). But at the same time, it makes me cringe. It features the same over-the-top characters - which you think are a satire, but you also feel are closer to the truth than you'd like, the insane and unlikely situations (the mudslide ruining the networking brunch), the fact that the child of the family is the only person in the house who has their shit together... And just like in the show, no one seems to be remotely capable of introspection, or simply to refrain from turning any situation into a huge melodrama... All of this can be uproariously funny, but it also repulses me a little. I don't hate any of the characters, but I also strongly hope I never run into anyone remotely like them.
4 stars because the good parts definitely outweigh the bad, and because even when it made me gag, it was still one of the more original novels I've ever read and remains very hopeful that sometimes your worse lows may actually be the springboard that gets you right back up again....more
Just a few pages in, I already loved this book. The irreverence and unflinching honesty was a refreshing attempt to break the Western stereotypes of ZJust a few pages in, I already loved this book. The irreverence and unflinching honesty was a refreshing attempt to break the Western stereotypes of Zen practice and of the monk’s life. People’s idea of Buddhism in general are often hilariously off the mark and I really appreciate Haubner taking a sledge hammer to those silly misconceptions.
The book is a collection of vignettes Haubner wrote over his years as a monk living in a Zen monastery in California. He exposes the workings of his mind and how his perspective widens, changes and deepens over the years. It was nice to read this from the voice of someone who is a mess, has a dirty mind and tends towards oversharing: that makes me feel like all hope is not lost for me!
Most people who have made sincere efforts at any kind of meditation practice � Zen or other � will understand: people think it’s just sitting there, but sometimes, it’s really, really fucking hard! You feel like you are doing it all wrong, you feel like everything about you is wrong. Because Zen is not about getting all blissed out: it’s about facing reality with complete honesty and dealing with it, warts and all. And Ranzai Zen is especially hardcore in its approach.
Haubner's stories about his hyper-conservative family, his interactions with difficult students, his interpretation of very modern dilemmas as koans: I found it all incredibly moving and thought-provoking. His descriptions of the less glamorous sides of monastic living are as inspiring as they are cringe-worthy.
I read a few of the negative reviews and they made me chuckle: this is definitely not a book for everyone. If scatological humour is not your thing, maybe don’t read this one (there is a lot of poop in here!). If you’ve read some Brad Warner books and enjoyed them, you should probably check this out! Just keep in mind that this isn’t an introduction or instruction manual on Zen practice, this is simply someone sharing their experience as a Zen monk. Hilarious, insightful and occasionally off-putting. In other words, pretty awesome!...more
My (American expat) husband found this at our favorite used book store: it was published the year he was born, and yet, a lot3 and a half, rounded up.
My (American expat) husband found this at our favorite used book store: it was published the year he was born, and yet, a lot of the hilarious passages in this delightful satire are shockingly relevant to his experience of being a English-speaker living in Montreal. I was born here and French is my first language, but I was raised in the more anglophone suburbs, so I've basically been a linguistic fence-sitter for as long as I can remember: I agree with both sides of the infamous Quebec language divide just as much as I am permanently exasperated with them. So let me tell you: I enjoyed this so much! Because my relationship with my home province is the same as the (mostly Montreal-born) authors': can't live with it, can't live without it!
This book's target audience is an often marginalized group: the English-speakers who live in Quebec and who love it... even when they hate it. There are many irritants to living here when you don't speak French, but then you venture to other places in Canada, and find out that frankly, it's not much better. Sometimes, it's even worse! Because there is something about Quebec: people have a joie de vivre, an enthusiasm that can become quite infectious. Other Canadians are very nice, but... it's just not the same. So you put up with the crazier Quebecois, because they are annoying, but also a lot of fun to rile up. Make no mistake, plenty of fun is made of the English-speakers too! This book doesn't spare any side of the fence.
It might be difficult to understand for someone who hasn't lived here for at least a few months, because it's full of very local references (most of which are out of date, at this point; the book was written in 1983, hot on the heels of a separatist referendum), but if you are curious about the strangely schizophrenic language issues the average Montrealer wrestles with and you happen upon this, you will find it enlightening. And hysterical. It is a wonderful compendium of all the little idiosyncrasies that make my city the best and the worse place ever. Thanks for the giggles, Jason!...more
This review might be longer than the actual book�
Geoff Berner is a Canadian singer-songwriter and accordion player that I discovered recently when my This review might be longer than the actual book�
Geoff Berner is a Canadian singer-songwriter and accordion player that I discovered recently when my husband sent me a link to his Bandcamp and told me: “You are going to love this!�. My husband knows me very well, because I fell in love with Mr. Berner’s music after just a couple of songs. He’s weird, he’s funny and he is incredibly inspiring! Imagine how thrilled I was when I saw that he was coming to Montreal for a gig! They sold this little booklet at the merch table, and I picked it up hoping to find a few practical tips on accordion playing, because I am trying to teach myself to play this strange instrument � with varied levels of success�
Well, as it turns out, this book is not really about playing the accordion, but it’s a wonderful glimpse into the slightly unhinged brain of Geoff Berner: his dark humor actually has a bit of a Zen bend to it. He puts a lot of emphasis on learning important life lessons from history� which may be applicable to playing the accordion, but maybe they can’t; it doesn’t really matter anyway. My favorite part is when he discusses the importance of not getting an accordion made by any people that committed genocide, and that you should never get a beige accordion because beige is the color of pure evil�
I might have to carry that tiny little book around with me and re-read bits of it for a while, because while it contains zero practical advice on how to play the accordion, it does have some moments of brilliant insight that deserve to be remembered.
If Geoff Berner goes to your town, go see him play. You will have the best time you’ve had at a gig in ages....more
I am very pleasantly surprised by how well the comic book "Rick and Morty" stories hold up to the animated series, which is probably my favorite thingI am very pleasantly surprised by how well the comic book "Rick and Morty" stories hold up to the animated series, which is probably my favorite thing on TV. The twisted humor, the ridiculous self-awareness, the existentialism, Jerry's perpetual insecurities...
And speaking of Jerry, volume 3 gives him a chance to shine like the pathetic diamond he is: in the first story, his fiddling with Rick's toaster brings on a alien invasion that ends up setting up the Smith family in a weird Dune-like universe; in the second story, he experiences a "Freaky Friday" situation with Summer and in the final story, he accidentally ends up betting a large sum of some kind of galactic currency on Morty's chances of surviving a Thunderdome fight against bigger aliens who have more limbs and weapons than he does. In every story, Rick's obnoxious and highly destructive problem-solving skills saves everyone's bacon, but demolishes their self-esteem.
A great treat for fans of the series who need something to chew on between seasons!...more
Wubba lubba dub dub! Another wonderfully bizarre and deranged "Rick and Morty" comic! The first half of this volume is a story about a Morty who becomWubba lubba dub dub! Another wonderfully bizarre and deranged "Rick and Morty" comic! The first half of this volume is a story about a Morty who becomes a mad dictator in a Rick-less universe, followed by an installment of "Ball Fondlers" and a rather twisted spin on a classic and wholesome Christmas story.
Just as good as volume one, but still not quite as good as the show. Fans of the animated series will love this....more
My husband is a huge John Crowley fan, and one day, he very un-subtly left "The Translator" on my nightstand. I admit I was a little hesitant: I enjoyMy husband is a huge John Crowley fan, and one day, he very un-subtly left "The Translator" on my nightstand. I admit I was a little hesitant: I enjoyed Crowley's other works, but I also found him hard work to get through. But "The Translator" turned out to be very different from "Little, Big" or the "Aegypt" cycle. The prose is still gorgeous, but this time, it's fluid and almost cinematic as opposed to convoluted and dream-like. Crowley went very far from magical realism and dove straight into historical fiction, which surprised me. But this makes for a much more accessible and easy-going read!
In the early 90's, Christa Malone travels to Russia to talk with some people about her former college professor, exiled Russian poet Innokenti Isayevich Falin, who mysteriously disapeared in the early 1960's. His poetry was never published in his native language - hardly published at all in fact, until she published the English version of a few of them in a collection of her own poetry.
The novel is about their unfolding relationship in a small college town, just before the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it is also about the constant opposition between American and Russian culture, the power of words, in poems but also in different languages, the way they mean different things to different people. Crowley clearly has a remarkable understanding of poetry and of Russian literature, and he created a completely believable female lead. I found Kit authentic, vulnerable and touching. Her relationship with Falin was not what I expected at all, and could have only ever happened in that specific setting. I felt the 1960's very vividly in her recollections: the settings, the turns of phrase, the bright and shiny surfaces masking dark troubles that no one can bring themselves to speak aloud.
The idea of translation as inevitably imperfect, because some subtleties of language can never really be expressed in a different language, is something that I think about a lot. I navigate between French and English every day and I know all too well that some feelings can be expressed better in one language than in the other, that when I try to say one thing in one language and then in the other, it's just not the same. It's the main reason I never read translation if the original was either in English or French: I want to read what the writer really said. Russian is a beautiful, highly complicated language and while I can't speak or read it, I am all too aware that anything I'll ever read translated from the original will never fully capture what Tolstoy, Dostoevsky or Chekhov was trying to say - and to be perfectly honest, that makes me sad. Falin notes at some point that the English translation of one of his poem is actually not the poem at all; it is a poem, that is sensibly about the same thing, but it can never be the exact same poem...
This is my favorite John Crowley novel so far: beautifully written, absorbing - and it made me want to read Pasternak, who is mentioned several times. A solid 4 stars....more
Update after setting up my balcony garden for the second year running:
Yup, this book definitely helped make this little project of mine a success! ThoUpdate after setting up my balcony garden for the second year running:
Yup, this book definitely helped make this little project of mine a success! Though I must say that I probably learned just as much from making rookie mistakes last year than I did reading it, the material in "Girl's Guide" was still very useful and gave me many great ideas. My very own little green space actually inspired my neighbor and his daughter to do the same! I only wish my balcony was bigger!
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Original review:
Being a city slicker hasn’t entirely crushed my hippie father’s influence, and I have been dreaming about taking care of a lovely balcony garden for a while. This year’s attempt to grow stuff was foiled by awful spring weather, but as a (stubborn) optimist, I refuse to give up and started a detailed plan so I could be 100% ready to grow stuff next spring. I read “The Edible Balcony�, also by Mitchell (/review/show...), and while it gave me a bunch of good ideas, it didn’t have the very practical gardening tips I was looking for. Like, what kind of container and soil do I need for this? How often does it need to be watered (“frequently� is not really a precise indication)? Do I have to sing and play ukulele at the plant to it to make it grow, or do I just ignore it a while and come back to a pile of ripe fruits?
I usually hate anything that has the words “The Girl’s Guide To…� in the title because a) I’m not terribly girly and b) I’m not sure that non-girls necessarily have an easier time growing tomatoes. That being said, when I flipped through the book, I saw much more practical instructions than there were in “The Edible Balcony�. Sure, there were also a lot of annoyingly cutesy graphics, but not enough to make me gag, so I took a copy home with me, and I must say I am very glad I did.
The book is neatly laid out, with an introduction giving you some basics (required tools, types of soils, etc.), and is then organized by season, which makes sense, as you need to take care of a garden very differently from season to season. Some produce should be sown early, some when it’s warmer, and even in winter there is some care you must give your soil and plants to ensure a nice harvest the following year. Each produce has a difficulty rating and methods from growing it either in a pot or in garden soil. There are neat little sections on herbs and edible flowers. The book is also peppered with recipes, tips, definition of weird gardening terms people like me have never heard before (crocks are pieces of broken terracotta you add at the bottom of a pot to help the drainage! who knew?), and concludes with tricks on how to get rid of pests and a shopping guide.
"Edible Balcony" was inspirational, but this book is the practical, hands-on guide I had been looking for. The tone is friendly and accessible to beginners, and since it’s aimed at busy city people with jobs and lives, the projects are simple and not too time-consuming. It gets 4 stars because it is written for British climate, which is a bit different from Canadian climate, so some advice isn't really applicable. Looking forward to spring already!...more
This book is a great reference for gardening beginners and people curious about urban gardening. Since that's exactly what I am, I found the book infoThis book is a great reference for gardening beginners and people curious about urban gardening. Since that's exactly what I am, I found the book informative and inspirational: I've been meaning to start a small balcony garden at home for a while, but last year, the weather totally thwarted me (it was cold and rainy in Montreal until early July!) so this year, I decided to have a solid plan so that I could get started in early spring - in the hopes that the weather will be a little more friendly this time around...
"The Edible Balcony" gave me a lot of ideas about which plants and veggies to get started with and how to take care of them: I'm going to start slow and easy with tomatoes, spinach, jalapenos and some fresh herb! But honestly, that's where the book's practical usefulness ended.
There are quite a few chapters in this book dedicated to explaining why urban gardening is important, its benefits, ecological impact, long-term sustainability, etc. And don't get me wrong, I am 100% behind that, because I think it's important to educate people about the amount of work that goes into producing the food they eat and how they can make a difference by actively being part of the process. But I also assume that if you buy a book about balcony gardening, you are already aware of all that: hence the buying a book about urban gardening... I would have liked a bit more "how" and a little less "why", because preaching to the choir is all good, but giving them the tools to act is even better.
Alex Mitchell also seems to assume that everyone has a huge balcony or rooftop at their disposal, which isn't really the case. A lot of her advice and projects are great if you have a medium or large space to work with, but actual tiny spaces require a bit more ingenuity to be maximized - and there aren't many ideas that are applicable to 5-square meter balconies...
Still 3 stars, because the book gave me the kick in the butt I needed to get my balcony garden project going and gave me good pointers on how to start, but it's really more of a coffee table book than a gardening guide....more
Call me “Always Late on the Bandwagon� because it took me sooo long to realize that Earthsea was a book by my favorite sci-fi writer, and not just a tCall me “Always Late on the Bandwagon� because it took me sooo long to realize that Earthsea was a book by my favorite sci-fi writer, and not just a terrible Sci-Fi Channel series (that Le Guin disavowed, by the way). When that realization hit me, I got myself a copy of the Earthsea Quartet. I cracked it open bundled up in bed, with a cup of hot herbal tea in hand, and I just vanished into this beautifully crafted world. The big tome became my bed-time reading treat for the next couple of months, and I confess I went to bed early a few times to have an excuse to read more of it.
“A Wizard of Earthsea� is the coming of age tale of Ged, who is also known as Sparrowhawk, a boy who will one day grow to be a great and famous wizard. The first tome chronicles his childhood, education and training in the arts of wizardry and his early adventures. His power is discovered when he is a small child living on a small island in the north of Earthsea. His aunt, the village witch, teaches him a few basic skills, which come in handy when his island is invaded by raiders. He is eventually sent for an apprenticeship with a local wizard, and then goes on to complete his training at the magic school on the island of Roke. In this book, Ged will accidently summon a menacing shadow that he will have to face and defeat. This is actually an interesting metaphor on the theme of balance that Le Guin fans will be familiar with. The dark is part of the light and vice-versa, and there’s an interesting reflection there about what happens when you run away from your darkness, and when you decide to accept it as part of the whole you.
“The Tombs of Atuan� starts off much darker than the first book, which took me a bit by surprise � in a good way. It follows the upbringing of Arha, a young girl who is the reincarnation of the priestess of the Nameless Ones, who guards the Labyrinth and the treasure of the Tombs in Atuan, a remote land at the edge of Earthsea. Her life is austere and oppressive: she grows up surrounded by priestesses and eunuchs and is raised to be very suspicious of outsiders. She decides to explore the underground structure she is responsible for, and one night, happens upon an intruder wandering in her labyrinth: a mage named Sparrowhawk. By her people’s law, a man who enters the maze should die, but Arha cannot bring herself to let him starve to death. I found this installment to be an interesting reflection on making up your own mind and being your own self. Some traditions are good, but not everyone fits in them neatly, and Arha is given an important choice. She chooses to rebel against the role her society imposed on her when she realizes the cult she is a part of is not about faith but about power and control. She realizes freedom can be harder than blind obedience, but that it is also a better life for her.
“The Farthest Shore� takes place much later: Sparrowhawk is now Archmage and has gone on countless adventures. The son of a prince comes to see him on Roke, because his people have noticed that in their regions, magic seems to be dying and they believe the famous and powerful Sparrowhoawk can figure out what is going on and fix it. Through this travel, they will meet people who have never lived on land, converse with mighty dragons and visit the land from which none ever come back. This is basically some sort of Earthsea-apocalypse tale: the signs that the end of the world as they know it are coming abound, and the disappearance of magic from their world would cause this civilization to collapse.
“Tehanu� reunites us with Arha - who now goes by Tenar, many years after her escape from Atuan. She is now the widow of a farmer, who takes in a little girl who was being attacked and burned by a group of men on a Gontish road. She goes to visit Ogion, Ged's very first teacher, but the visit will not end as she had planned, and she will be reunited with an old friend. Of the four stories in this book, this one is the less "eventful" but the most subtle and nuanced. There's a strong feminist commentary in this story, but Le Guin is not being didactic: she is showing us what Tenar goes through, the way power is taken away from her, then given back, then taken away again and how she reacts to this ebb and flow. It ends on an open and hopeful note that makes me want to check out more "Earthsea" books!
The prose style has a soothing, comforting rhythm to it that brought me right back to the feeling of story time with my grandfather. One thing I have loved in all of Le Guin’s work is her anthropologist’s eye for creating entire worlds and culture in a coherent and believable manner. The world-building in Earthsea is just as strong as anything else she wrote, and while it does solidly fall into the high fantasy category, it doesn’t feel lofty and heavy-handed. There isn’t much in the way of exposition, but no Le Guin book I’ve ever read gave me much in the way of backstory, and it never lessened my reading pleasure. In fact, her minimalism is lovely, elegant and refreshing, while still giving the readers so many layers to peel and discover! Her characters grow and evolve completely naturally and it’s a pleasure to follow them and watch them evolve.
Le Guin was preaching to the choir with me, but I loved the Taoist aspect of her magic system, which puts emphasis on balance: every action has consequences, and that understanding is the keystone of the wizardry of Earthsea. That magic must be used as sparingly as possible to presence the delicate equilibrium of the world is brilliant, because it underlines the price of the kind of power gifted unto wizards, and the wisdom necessary to restrain and use it adequately. The importance of being true to yourself is stressed many times in those stories, as well as the importance of doing the right thing as the occasion arises. The power of True Names is a classic trope of fantasy and it used so well to drive the story. My only complaint would be that her endings always feel a bit easy� The characters go through all these trials and tribulations, and then things just sort of resolve themselves. I suppose that for younger readerships, that’s fine, but I felt like I wanted a bit more to chew on as each story concluded.
The subversion of certain stereotypes, and the open diversity within her cast of characters is also a breath of fresh air. The “Tombs of Athuan� was especially interesting: the gender relations and the coming of age of Arha were an usual choice of topic at the time it was written, and captures something quite true about the internalized isolation of women in some societies, the development that is more or less imposed on them instead of being a result of their choices. By the end of the tale, Arha sees herself more clearly, and gains an understanding of her value, same with Arhen.
It was interesting to realize that I enjoyed many famous works these books very obviously inspired: “Harry Potter�, Rothfuss� “Kingkiller Chronicle� and “How to Train Your Dragon� owe a lot to Le Guin’s creation....more
This itty bitty book caught my eye at the used book store. The gutsy title (I love bad words, what can I say?) and the basic 3 and a half, rounded up.
This itty bitty book caught my eye at the used book store. The gutsy title (I love bad words, what can I say?) and the basic idea behind it were very attractive: a thing I have struggled with a lot over the past 8-or-so years of studying Buddhism is that I am still cranky before my morning coffee, I still get annoyed at rude people and I still fantasize about throwing the printer out of the window when it jams. In other words, I'm a regular human being and I've spent a lot of time beating myself up about it. Shouldn't I be be more serene? Shouldn't those irritants just roll off my back? If they don't, it must be because I am doing something wrong in my practice! Right?...
There's a lot of that sort of reasoning going on with people practicing Buddhism (especially with Westerners who grew up in Christian households... something about feeling guilty is just so familiar and easy to slip back into...), and I've often had interesting conversations with people who looked down their nose at me because I have a potty mouth and because I don't really take kindly to bullshit. When my interest in Buddhism comes up, the expectation is that I should be a soft-spoken, mild-mannered vegetarian who lets people in the metro step on my feet and just smiles through the whole thing because, ultimately, we are all One.
Sorry buddy, that's just not me. We might all be One, but if you rear-end me with your shopping cart at the store, you better apologize - because that's what decent human beings do.
Van Buren's book aims to get the reader to realize that there is nothing inherently wrong with how they are, and that making themselves feel guilty for not being perfect all the time is just a distraction from the present moment. And the whole point of a meditation practice is the present moment. Self-improvement is not about perfection because perfection is by definition unattainable! Change is something that occurs naturally if you take time to take a very honest look at yourself and at life.
He uses the teachings of various inspiring sources (from the Buddha himself to fortune cookies, by way of T.S. Elliot and Charles Schultz) to discuss impermanence, karma, compassion and meditation practice.
I liked his analogy for karma as seeds planted by thoughts and actions; just like in a garden, they don't sprout right away and sometimes take a while before you see the results, but once the seed is planted, you have to deal with whatever grows out of it. I liked that he takes time to discuss some common misunderstandings about meditation (nope, this isn't just vegging out!). I liked that he warns readers about becoming a little too enthusiastically involved in their meditation practice and taking themselves too seriously, and that practicing mindfulness and loving-kindness should never ever mean being a doormat.
"Be Your Shitty Self" is a very basic little book, and to be honest, a fairly superficial one. Anyone who has read any book on Buddhism in the past won't learn anything new. And while his approach is fresh and blunt, he doesn't have Brad Warner's panache. But I have to give it to Van Buren: this can be a fine introduction for someone who has no idea what the practice of meditation is and how it can make a significant impact on their lives. A nice, casual resource for beginners!...more
"Your own shit, when used wisely, becomes the fertilizer of your enlightenment." If this quote turns you off, please move on. However, if it made you "Your own shit, when used wisely, becomes the fertilizer of your enlightenment." If this quote turns you off, please move on. However, if it made you chuckle, carry on.
I was very excited about reading the follow up on Warner's commentary on the Shobogenzo "Don't Be A Jerk" (/review/show...) - which I guess makes me kind of a nerd. But Warner truly has a gift for taking the complicated and abstract teachings of Dogen and making them as accessible and straightforward as one can possibly hope. His irreverent humor lightens up the work without ever devaluing it, which is quite a feat in an of itself. It starts of as only a Brad Warner book can: with a weird pun on the concept of the ineffable!
Each chapter is a paraphrasing of a chapter from the original work by Dogen, which is then meticulously analyzed by comparing different translations and interpretations, putting the writing in historical context, and discussion of the teachings' relevance in a modern world.
I think the part I was most excited to read about was Warner's commentary on Dogen's most popular writing "Instructions to the cook", a document that was intended as guidelines for the monastery's chef; which also contains some of the most amazing teachings, that are directly applicable to daily life. I was also happy to find a lot of material about compassion, something Zen writers don't discuss as much as other schools of Buddhism, but which remains an essential component of the practice.
As Warner himself likes to point out, Buddhism is a philosophy of actions. An intellectual understanding is important, but it is what we do with this understanding that truly matter, because if we just read the words, then we are wasting our time. Books like this help refine the intellectual understanding, but also remind us constantly that without practice, it doesn't mean much (especially in a chapter titled "A Needle in the Butt of Zazen").
I also want to mention a moment of pure joy that I had when Warner makes a parallel between interconnectedness and the "Rick and Morty" episode "Auto Erotic Assimilation": this is just too beautiful and nerdy to go unmentioned.
If you enjoyed his previous work, I would enthusiastically recommend "It Came From Beyond Zen", but I also think reading "Don't Be A Jerk" first might be a good idea. Zen nerds will be delighted!...more
Neil Gaiman wrote a Japanese fable and apparently fooled a bunch of fans and academics, who all believed he had adapted an actual folk tale within hisNeil Gaiman wrote a Japanese fable and apparently fooled a bunch of fans and academics, who all believed he had adapted an actual folk tale within his Sandman universe. Even his illustrator, the amazing P. Craig Russell thought this was just a really seamless absorption of a Japanese story into Morpheus' realm, but nope, it's 100% Gaiman. I read a lot of zen fairy tales when I began reading about Buddhism years ago, and while I am no expert, I can see why readers were fooled: the tone, rhythm and motif of the story within this lovely comic's pages are that strange and beautiful blend of whimsical and heartbreaking that are a trademark of many of Japanese folk tales.
A fox and a badger make a wager: if they can get a young, solitary monk to leave his tiny, remote temple, they will share his humble abode, as it is more comfortable than their dens. They try to fool the monk into leaving, but he sees through their deceptions. The badger eventually gives up, but the fox becomes unexpectedly attached to the young man, and when she hears demons whisper about a plan to kill him through his dreams, she undertakes a long journey to try to save the man she loves.
I cried reading this. It was a precious and tragic love story, illustrated in a style reminiscent of traditional Japanese water colors, but with Art Nouveau curves and stunning colors. Its a wonderful addition to the Sandman cannon, as well as a great little standalone story. Any fan of the series will enjoy this, as will anyone who enjoys Gaiman's work or who simply loves old folk tales... even if they are not 100% authentic......more
I was going to wait for these to come out in a collection, but I happened to be at the comic book store in Brockport and they had the first 6 issues oI was going to wait for these to come out in a collection, but I happened to be at the comic book store in Brockport and they had the first 6 issues on the shelf, with the P. Craig Russell covers. Sorry, credit card�
I love “American Gods�: it is easily one of my top ten favorite books of all times, and P. Craig Russell knows just how to turn Neil Gaiman’s words into beautiful illustrations (just see “Murder Mysteries� ), so I definitely picked this up with a favorable prejudice. But as you may know, when you love a book, you can easily get fiercely defensive if you feel the transition to another media doesn’t quite work�
This graphic novel really can’t be referred to as a comic book because it really is an illustrated version of the first chapter of the original novel. Not quite word for word, but it keeps Neil’s beautiful prose, making it rather text-heavy for a comic book, and guides you through the story with the illustrations. Now Russell is a bit abstract as far as comic artists go: if you are used to very sharp and highly detailed illustrations, you might find this a little vague and water-color-y. I personally really enjoy his style specifically because it is so unique and so different from traditional comic art, but it really is a question of personal taste.
If there’s any nitpicking to be done, I’ll go ahead and say that my only problem is that the characters look nothing like how I pictured them in my puny brain when I read the original novel (same goes for the cast of the TV show, and I loved it passionately anyway, so obviously it’s a minor nitpicking). As I read the book, I wondered: can I really hold it against an artist that they didn’t draw those characters exactly the way I had imagined them? I could, but that would hardly be fair: the poor guy is not in my head, and that’s not his job. So what if his Mr. Wednesday is not exactly like MY Mr. Wednesday? Isn’t it perfectly appropriate that we should all see him a bit differently?
Highly recommended to curious Gaiman newbies and fans of the book....more
I got this book during our summer vacation. The local Barnes and Noble didn’t have the book I was looking for, and a very determined clerk combed the I got this book during our summer vacation. The local Barnes and Noble didn’t have the book I was looking for, and a very determined clerk combed the store to find something that I: 1) hadn’t read (her first question was “Have you read “American Gods�?�; bless her!) and 2) was weird enough to pique my curiosity. “Meddling Kids� is what she finally handed me, and I’d be lying if I said the eye-searing cover art had nothing to do with my buying it. She certainly helped me make up my mind by telling me that this was a mashup of Lovecraft and the Scooby Doo gang-type investigation. But yeah, look at that ridiculous cover. It’s amazing.
In the 70’s, a rag-tag group of young wannabe detectives solve a strange mystery surrounding the spooky case of the Sleepy Lake Monster. This results in the arrest of a man scheming to get rich quickly by impersonating a creepy lake monster. As triumphant as that exploit might have been, the kids were nevertheless scarred by their adventure, and carried a fair amount of damage into their adult lives: Peter the ringleader went on to become a movie-star and died of an alleged overdose, Kerri the bookworm dropped out of college and earns a living as an alcoholic bartender, Nate the shy nerd checked himself into Arkham (ahem!) Asylum because despite Peter being dead, they still have regular conversations, and Andy the tomboy was told by the military that she had aggression issues� Obviously, their famous last case had a bunch of weird loose ends, and the mystery that took place twenty years ago at Deboen Mansion might not be as solved as they thought; when they reunite and return to the small Oregon town where it all took place, they can tell immediately that they were not the only ones damaged by whatever lies in Sleepy Lake�
There were, however, a few rather serious flaws. The bizarre narrative structure can be a bit hard to follow at times, which was not a hindrance to my enjoyment of the book, but I did find myself wondering why Cantero thought this was a good idea. It goes from third person narrator to script format and back again all the time, as if he had taken his notes about the dialogue and forgotten to convert them to the narrative format he wanted. The different character’s voices also all sound much too similar; when there’s dialogue (that’s not laid out like a movie script), it can be hard to untangle who is supposed to be speaking. I get that those characters are a spoof on some classical genre archetypes, but they could have used a more little fleshing out.
Overall, “Meddling Kids� was fun, silly, not particularly well-written, but dotted with occasional moments of hilarious brilliance to be enjoyed. But it would be better as a movie ;-)...more
“The deepest cavern in the world is the human heart.�
Don Miller is missing some memories. Now that he iUpdated review after a re-read in March 2020.
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“The deepest cavern in the world is the human heart.�
Don Miller is missing some memories. Now that he is about to celebrate his sixtieth wedding anniversary, people shrug it off as an early onset of senility, but these blanks started a long time ago, before old age could be considered a factor of memory loss. It doesn’t bother his beloved wife Michelle, but then, she is pretty unflappable: a world-famous anthropologist, she still travels the world to attend conferences and conduct field research on mysterious lost civilizations, with no indication that she plans on slowing down or stopping. But eventually, the fog in Don’s mind lifts enough for him to realize that certain things, such as secret occult societies, conspiracies that span millennia and the strange powers of old bloodlines might just be best left forgotten.
That’s all you need to know about the plot. I was lured in with what I first thought was a simple retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin folk tale, but after just a couple of pages, the tone changed and I was hooked. The narrative structure puts us right in Don’s shoes: slightly confused, aware of something dark just at the periphery of our perception. “The Croning� is weird, ominous, and bizarrely sensual in just the right way: you couldn’t have pried the book out of my hands, and the images it evoked are still seared into my brain. The different strands of the story are brought together perfectly at the end, and that final view of the whole tapestry made me appreciate how brilliant Barron is, and how carefully he assembled this novel. What a beautiful spiral of monstrous insanity!
This was my first Laird Barron book, and I think I am absolutely in love. His gorgeous, chilling and atmospheric prose, the way he lays out his creepy story, the intriguing characters he summons� Wow! His style obviously appeals to the Lovecraft fan in me, but honestly, this is just amazing writing that goes beyond genre. It’s dark, beautiful, blood-soaked and irresistible. He’s also not quite as nihilistic as my buddy H.P., which makes his universe even creepier. Cthulhu and the Elder Gods don’t care about humanity and never have, but the Children of Old Leech love us�
How did he cram so much awesomeness into such a short book?! But then again, I might have exploded if the book had been any longer. This is still the best horror novel I’ve ever read. It is quite simply a masterpiece. Apologies to Lovecraft, Ligotti and all the other little wannabes out there: you guys are great, but Laird is definitely the King with a capital K because he made me afraid of the space between the stars. This book is literary, rich, intoxicating, surprising and haunting and everyone should read it and have nightmares about it....more
Arabian Nights meets « Vikings » : how did I put off reading this book for so long when I loved “The 13th Warrior� and when I have a huge weakness forArabian Nights meets « Vikings » : how did I put off reading this book for so long when I loved “The 13th Warrior� and when I have a huge weakness for Vikings? I don’t know. Maybe I have way too many unread books piling up everywhere in my apartment, so some titles slip through the cracks. But my husband had not seen “The 13th Warrior�, so we sat down to watch it the other day and I realized I had a copy of “Eaters of the Dead� somewhere, that was patiently waiting for me to get around to it� No time like the present!
This book is a fictionalized account of (actual historical figure) Ibn Fadlan, an emissary of the Calif of Baghdad, sent on a diplomatic mission in northern Europe, and enlisted more or less against his will in an adventure to rid a Viking village of a mysterious an terrifying enemy. He travels with Buliwyf and eleven other seasoned Viking warriors to the kingdom of King Hrothgar, where they are told that the Wendol have been attacking the village and eating the flesh of their victims.
The style of this book is not exactly breezy, but what Crichton did was to try and imitate the style of the 10th century travelogues. Ibn Fadlan is an absolute outsider: he doesn’t speak the Northmen’s language (he communicates with them in Latin, with the help of Herger, one of the warriors who speaks that language fluently), he can’t really get over their women’s behavior, or the culture’s rather particular views on cleanliness. But the record of his observations and adventures give the world an early version of the legend of Beowulf� except, historically plausible. Crichton took off with the idea that all myth have a core of veracity somewhere, and that centuries of embellishments by bards, troubadour and so on have left us with only fanciful stories that don’t seem all that believable. The tone might turn some readers off: it is written in a very old-fashioned style, so it’s often repetitive, but it’s filled with great descriptions and interesting footnotes meant to help the reader interpret this translation of an ancient text. I personally found it fascinating, just like discovering an ancient manuscript that gives you a glimpse of a world long gone. If Chrichton had tried to stretch this out any longer, it would have been ponderous and annoying, but at about 200 pages, its perfectly constructed to be a diverting and surprisingly informative read!...more
This was a present from a buddy who understands my very, very sick sense of humor a little too well.
These comics are gross, politically incorrect, darThis was a present from a buddy who understands my very, very sick sense of humor a little too well.
These comics are gross, politically incorrect, dark, feature incest, zoophilia, bodily fluids and waste and other horrifying things. And I might just be a terrible person because it made me laugh really hard. It's disturbing, existentalist, gives-zero-fucks humor. So definitely not for everyone.
4 stars because some motifs get a little repetitive, and because it makes me question my mental health, as well as the cartoonist's....more
I was really looking forward to more Lady Mechanika, and when I got my hands on the third story, I couldn’t help but Oh, book, why are you so short!!!
I was really looking forward to more Lady Mechanika, and when I got my hands on the third story, I couldn’t help but notice how thin it was. The artwork is as gorgeous (and as focused on her boobs) as usual, but it is almost half the length of the previous installments!
Regardless of how short the story is, its still a rather good one, this time exploring the Jewish myth of golems and how they fit into this steampunk universe. There’s more of Mr. Lewis in this volume, which made me very happy: I like Lady Mechanika’s drunken tinkerer sidekick!
I hope the next one is a bit more fleshed out!...more
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