When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle, #2)

author: Nghi Vo
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/28
date added: 2023/02/28
shelves:
review:
'When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Cycle 2)' by Nghi Vo is a book set in the world of 'The Empress of Salt and Fortune.'

Cleric Chih is on a journey with a guide and a large mammoth. When they stop at a waystation for the night, they are set upon by hungry tigers. Chih starts a dialogue that becomes a night of storytelling, but will it be enough to escape fate?

I have thoroughly enjoyed both books I've read in this series. There is a mood and element of surprise to each that is like an intricately wrapped gift.


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Air Girl (Zombillenium #4)

author: Arthur de Pins
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/28
date added: 2023/02/28
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Zombillenium 4: Air Girl' by Arthur de Pins is a graphic novel that takes place in a theme park run by the dead.

Things are going well in Zombillenium Park until Behemoth decides to bring ina witch to fight Gretchen in the skies overhead. Meanwhile in the secret tunnels, the damned have their own fight for freedom going on.

The volume ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but has the quirky charm and good art of previous volumes.


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Disney Manga: Beauty and the Beast - The Beast's Tale (Full-Color Edition)

author: Mallory Reaves
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/26
date added: 2023/02/26
shelves: graphic-novels, childrens
review:
'Disney Manga: Beauty and the Beast - The Beast's Tale' by Mallory Reaves with art by Gianluca Papi and Studio Dice is a manga based on the live action adaptation of the Disney animated film and shows the story from one side.

Beast wasn't always a beast in physical form, but he crossed the wrong person and got cursed. Now he thinks no one can love him and he's running out of time. Then Belle showed up.

I liked this full color manga and the art is really good. It's a good adaptation of one side of the story. I'm looking forward to reading Belle's side of the story.


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Bear

author: Ben Queen
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/26
date added: 2023/02/26
shelves: graphic-novels, childrens
review:
'Bear' by Ben Queen with illustrations by Joe Todd-Stanton is a graphic novel about a pretty special guide dog.

Patrick uses a cane to get around until he gets a service dog named Bear. Bear changes things for Patrick and gives him more mobility until Bear has an accident that leaves him doubting himself. He finds some unusual friends that help him find new ways to use his innate talents.

I really liked this story about loss and new ways of looking at things. The art is a really great style and was perfect for the story.


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Nettle & Bone

author: T. Kingfisher
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/24
date added: 2023/02/24
shelves: sword-and-laser
review:
'Nettle & Bone' by T. Kingfisher is a subversion of fairy tales and I loved its dark path.

Marra is a princess and the third daughter. She sees her older sisters married off from the safety of a convent, but all is not well. In order to save one of her sisters, she will have to kill a prince. In order to do that, she gathers a random collection of people and animals to fulfill her quest, but first there is a seemingly impossible series of tasks.

I loved this novel and didn't want it to end. The characters are all great, the humor had me laughing, and the main character, Marra, had me cheering her resolve and tenacity.


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Just Enough

author: Flavia Biondi
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/22
date added: 2023/02/22
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Just Enough' with story and art by Flavia Biondi is a graphic novel about a relationship in Bologna.

Manuel and Mia live in a very full house, but they want a place of their own. The problem is Mia has quit her low level job and is even having doubts about the relationship and Manuel is a writer waiting to be discovered.

I liked this story and the cast of characters. Love can be complex and this book doesn't shy away from it. The art is a nice style for the story being told.


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OK

author: Michelle McSweeney
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/21
date added: 2023/02/21
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'OK' by Michelle McSweeney is a book in the Object Lessons series: a series of short essays about everyday things.

This book looks at the word 'OK' and talks about its origin as well as how it may have become part of the common vernacular. It traces from a mispelled phrase then to use in a political campaign. It gained more speed with rail lines and picked up variants from the internet.

I enjoyed this linguistic journey. The length made it a quick read, and there were lots of facts along the way.


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Opening Moves (Children of the Resistance #1)

author: Dugomier
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/20
date added: 2023/02/20
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Children of the Revolution Volume 1: Opening Moves' by Dugomier with art by Ers is a graphic novel about the early German occupation of parts of Europe.

In Pontain-L'Ecluse, the Nazis have begun driving through town. Young Francois doesn't like it, and he is shocked that fellow villagers seem to be ok with it. He and his friend decide to resist, even if it's in small ways.

I liked this story told from this perspective. There is a nice essay at the end with history and real photos. The art is pretty great.


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Glory Days (1. Chaos)

author: Merwan
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.88
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/20
date added: 2023/02/20
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Glory Days 1: Chaos' with story and art by Merwan is a graphic novel following the the lives of three women.

Violet has decided to dump her boyfriend and is now driftless. Lila has slept with her best friend's boyfriend and is now out of her social circle. Helen finds herself trapped in an endless cycle of study and stress.

These stories all start separate then begin to connect. The stories are good, but probably get better. The art has a rough style that I liked.


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The Smurfs #25: The Gambling Smurfs

author: Peyo
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/17
date added: 2023/02/17
shelves: childrens, graphic-novels
review:
'The Smurfs #25: The Gambling Smurfs' with story and art by Peyo is a graphic novel that tells what happens when the Smurfs learn bad things from humans.

When some of the Smurfs are sent to the village to get some things, they observe the humans wagering. It manages to follow them home and causes havoc until Papa Smurf has to end it. When another threat emerges, they may have to ask their biggest enemy for help.

This was a fun story that kept escalating to a crescendo. The Smurfs are always a good read.


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Altered Carbon: Download Blues

author: Richard K. Morgan
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/17
date added: 2023/02/17
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Altered Carbon: Download Blues' by Richard K. Morgan & Hoskin, Rik with art by Ferran Sellares is a graphic novel set in the world created by Morgan.

Takeshi Kovacs is a violent man, and just the right man in the wrong place. He starts by investigating a ring of sex workers sleeved as celebrities, and then stumbles upon a more sinister conspiracy that leads to him fighting himself at one point.

The story isn't bad and feels like it's set in the right world. The art was kind of poor and angular and I didn't really care for it.


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Disney Manga: Pixar's Toy Story (Special Collector's Manga)

author: Tetsuhiro Koshita
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.79
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2019/07/08
date added: 2023/02/17
shelves: graphic-novels, childrens
review:
'Disney Manga: Pixar's Toy Story - Special 2-in-1 Edition' by Tetsuhiro Koshita is a collected edition of the first two Toy Story movies in manga format.

The manga is exactly as advertised. The adaptation is pretty good and includes enough of the dialogue to make fans happy. The manga art is also very good and the likenesses to characters are well done. What gets cut are the few songs, but dialogue and story substitute for the scene when Jesse gets left behind, for example.

These movies are classics, and this is a good treatment of the material.
I received a review copy of this manga from Tokyopop, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.


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Nhun the Huntress

author: Fırat Yaşa
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.70
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2023/02/15
date added: 2023/02/15
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Nhun the Huntress' with story and art by Firat Yasa is a graphic novel story that takes place a really long time ago.

Nhun lives with the Luvi Tribe. She is a talented hunter in a very male driven time. Her chief rival and love is Alu, but they are both pitted against each other.

I liked the art style and hated it. At times it's like cave art, but that means it doesn't flow easily as any kind of narrative. I wish it had held my interest a bit better.


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Benford Draws a Blank

author: Danielle Dufayet
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/15
date added: 2023/02/15
shelves: childrens
review:
'Benford Draws a Blank' by Danielle Dufayet with illustrations by Katia Klein is a book about a talented artist faced with a creative block.

Benford loves art, but when he gets a giant canvas as a gift, he is stumped as to what he wants to use it for. He ponders the idea for days, daunted by the blank surface, until finally something happens.

This is about the urge to create versus the confidence to make the first mark. I have the same feeling when starting a new blank notebook. The story is great as is the art.


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Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon

author: Suzanne Slade
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/14
date added: 2023/02/14
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon' by Suzanne Slade with illustrations by Thomas Gonzalez is the story of the Apollo missions leading to landing on the moon.

Told with beautiful illustrations and a free form poetry style. The result is beautiful and moving. After each mission, photos and short biographies of each astronaut crew are given.

This was a really nice read and I liked the art and free form verse very much.


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The Little Book of Lettering & Word Design: More than 50 tips and techniques for mastering a variety of stylish, elegant, and contemporary hand-written alphabets

author: Cari Ferraro
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/08
date added: 2023/02/08
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'The Little Book of Lettering & Word Design' by Cari Ferraro & John Stevens is a book that offers more than 50 tips and techniques for mastering a variety of stylish, elegant, and contemporary hand-written alphabets (as stated in the books sub-title).

The book starts with traditional calligraphy, followed by illuminate and colored lettering then hand-lettering. Along with lots of sample alphabets and tools and techniques, there are also practice pages and lettering projects.

This is a good lettering reference for learning and inspiration. There are a wide variety of styles and easy to follow pen strokes.


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Questions of Travel

author: Michelle de Kretser
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.09
book published: 2012
rating: 1
read at: 2023/02/07
date added: 2023/02/07
shelves:
review:
'Questions of Travel: A Novel' by Michelle de Kretser is the story of two people who travel: one voluntary, one not.

Laura Fraser is from Sydney. Ravi Mendis is from Sri Lanka. When Laura inherits money, she uses it to travel the world, eventually leading to a travel writing job. When Ravi's life takes a tragic turn, he finds himself fleeing to Australia.

The prose and structure is fine, but after 480 pages, I found nothing interesting about these characters and their story.


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Seeking the Truth (Through Lya's Eyes, #1)

author: Carbone
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/07
date added: 2023/02/07
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Through Lya's Eyes' by Carbone with art by Cunha Justine is a graphic novel about a young woman who wants to find out the truth about the accident that has left her in a wheelchair.

Lya was left in a wheelchair. She learns that someone bought her parent's silence. Now she is going undercover at a law firm armed with her case number and the help of some new and old friends.

It's not a bad beginning to a story with likeable characters and some good suspense. The art was a nice surprise.


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The Master Chocolatier (1. The Boutique)

author: Chetville
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.40
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/07
date added: 2023/02/07
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'The Master Chocolatier' by Benedicte Gourdon and Eric Corbeyran with art by Chetville is a graphic novel about a talented young man and a business proposal.

Alex Carret makes chocolate in Brussels. He works for a boss who takes all the credit. When the friend of a friend offers him the chance to strike out on his own, can he overcome the weird feeling he has about this shady person?

It's a part 1 and it felt a bit slow to me. The art is good, and I did like the chocolate business parts.


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Shubeik Lubeik

author: Deena Mohamed
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.48
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/05
date added: 2023/02/05
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Shubeik Lubeik' with story and art by Deena Mohamed is a graphic novel about a place where wishes come true. Be careful what you wish for.

The title is a fairy tale rhyme that means "your wish is my command" in Arabic. This book tells the story of three wishers and danger that comes with literal wishing.

My review copy followed the first story and a woman named Aziza. The story was compelling as was the art. I'd like to find this in full and finish the three stories.


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Hedy Lamarr

author: Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/05
date added: 2023/02/05
shelves: childrens, non-fiction
review:
'Hedy Lamarr' by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara with illustrations by Maggie Cole is volume 59 in the Little People, BIG DREAMS series.

Hedy Lamarr, originally named Hedwig, was born in Austria and loved to hear stories of machines and engines and even work on her own inventions. She moved to America and became a famous actress. She invented a radio-signaling device with a man named George that would become the basis of wireless internet technology.

Hedy Lamarr has a great story, so I was happy to see her as part of this series. The illustrations by Maggie Cole are really good, too.


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Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon

author: Suzanne Slade
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/01
shelves:
review:



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