How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

author: Charles Yu
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/01/15
date added: 2016/08/07
shelves: favorites, sword-and-laser
review:
I really give this a 4.5. It started a bit rocky for me, but thanks to positive reviews elsewhere, I stuck it out, and I'm so glad I did.

A brain-bender with occasional quirky humor, this book deals with how we try to relive moments of our lives, even the most painful ones, to the point where we can get stuck in loops of time.

Having gone through some immensely painful changes over the last few years, I could relate to the sadness and the type of pointless journey our protagonist takes.

I found this very thought provoking, very literate, and not at all what I expected it to be.

Thanks to my son Tristan who gave me this book for Christmas.


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Bedtime for Batman

author: Michael Dahl
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/06
date added: 2016/08/06
shelves: children-s
review:
In 'Bedtime for Batman' by Michael Dahl with illustrations by Ethen Beavers, we follow the parallel stories of a young boy going to bed and Batman. It's a wonderful picture book for toddlers and would make a good bedtime book.

We see Batman getting a signal and getting ready to go out at night and fight crime. We see a young boy get the signal that it's bedtime and he has to get ready for bed. The pictures parallel what Batman is doing with the young boy. Batman cleaning up Gotham while the boy brushes his teeth. We see Batman putting away criminals and the young boy putting away his toys.

The art is really great and I think any little superhero fan would love this story. I liked it too.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Capstone Young Readers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge

author: Monica Kulling
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/06
date added: 2016/08/06
shelves: children-s
review:
'Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge' by Monica Kulling with illustrations by Bill Slavin is a picture book telling part of the story of Nikola Tesla.

We learn that Nikola Tesla was born in Smiljan, Croatia, and came to America with only 4 cents in his pocket. He came hoping to work for Thomas Edison and he gets a job fixing the motor on a ship called the SS Oregon. We also learn of the rival thoughts about electricity, alternating and direct current. Tesla was a champion of alternating and Edison had already invested a lot in direct, so he set out to sabotage Tesla's ideas. Tesla eventually gets to fulfill a promise he made to his father when he builds a generator at Niagra Falls with George Westinghouse.

And then then book kind of abruptly ends. It's a review copy, so I thought that might be why, but the page count matches what Amazon shows. Before that abrupt ending, I found it completely engaging and I loved the art, but the ending left me feeling like I got thrown out of the story. If nothing else, this book successfully attempts to show a different side of Tesla and Edison.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Taco El Gato #1

author: Candy Briones
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.60
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2016/08/06
date added: 2016/08/06
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Taco El Gato #1' by Candy Briones is the first issue in a new series. I was pretty much lost and confused through the whole thing, but the art was at least unusual enough to keep me turning pages.

Taco Fluffy is an adopted cat who thinks he is a dog, or at least acts like one. He finds himself constantly in situations that go from bad to worse. We learn about the world he is a part of and how he was adopted. There are lots of seemingly not very nice people in this world. We don't learn how Taco got his name, but we do learn he is an uncle.

Story wise, it's kind of a mess. It doesn't feel very linear, and most of the time, I felt like there was more story I was missing somewhere. A non-linear plot can work, but you have to clue the reader in a bit more. As an introduction to a series, it's difficult to say I'd want to read more. The art is also a bit of a mess, but I found it at least more interesting. With a bit more development, this could be interesting, but as it stands, I have a hard time recommending it.

I received a review copy of this comic book from Rosarium Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this comic book.


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The Dementia Diaries: A Novel in Cartoons

author: Matthew Snyman
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/06
date added: 2016/08/06
shelves: young-adult
review:
'The Dementia Diaries' by Matthew Spyman interweaves the stories of four young people who have grandparents with dementia. As with most books from Jessica Kingsley, it seems to be a good resource for people who need to understand something more.

We meet the four kids and their respective grandparents in a series of chapters that interweave the stories. There are stories of the relationships before and after. The news they got about the onset of dementia. How they have to cope with living with a person with dementia and how things are different and yet the same. Sam likes dancing with his Nanny. Brie's Granddad was a pharmacist. Fred's Gramps moves in and forces him to move into his brother Simon's room. Sarah's Grandpa is a local celebrity, only because he's lived in the local town for over 50 years. As the dementia gets worse, the kids have to adapt to different circumstances, but they do it because they love their grandparents.

The book is fictional, but the situations seem very real. Having a beloved elder go through something like this can be frightening and this book attempts to make it less scary. The book is divided into chapters with each chapter ending with some activities to help with things that were discussed in the chapter. My grandfather had Parkinson's disease, which is more a disease of the body than the mind, but I remember feeling similar things to the kids in this story. It would have been helpful to have a resource like this to help process how I was feeling.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Jessica Kingsley Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Pay The Ghost

author: Tim Lebbon
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/06
date added: 2016/08/06
shelves:
review:
'Pay the Ghost' By Tim Lebbon is a short story about grieving parents and what they will do to get his daughter back. The story packs a lot into it's 27 pages.

Little Moll was 6 when she went missing last Halloween. It's now a year later and her father keeps remembering her asking "Will you pay the ghost?" He doesn't know what it means, but he will soon find out as he and his wife go in search of their daughter in some dark and haunted places. Whether they succeed I will leave up to you to find out.

This book was turned into a movie with Nicolas Cage. I didn't see it, but I watched the trailer. It looks like they add a lot that isn't in the book and change Moll to a boy named Charlie. It seems to me the book has a tighter pace just based on the length of the story. Everything you need is in these 27 pages. A father's grief. A missing child. A chilling hunt for answers. I liked it.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Endeavour Press, Venture Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Django/Zorro: The Official Sequel to Django Unchained

author: Quentin Tarantino
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/06
date added: 2016/08/06
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Django/Zorro: The Official Sequel to Django Unchained' by Quentin Tarantino and Matt Wagner joins two unlikely people in a fight for justice, and it works pretty well.

At this point in his life, Diego de la Vega, aka Zorro, is getting older. He is travelling to Arizona when he runs across Django, who is walking and carrying a saddle. Though wary at first, Django is kind of interested in this unusual man and takes a job with him as a bodyguard. What unfolds next is a story of deception and greed with the ARcthat Django and Zorro find themselves at the heart of concerning a wealthy land owner in Arizona and his young bride.

Django's style is more brutal than Zorro's, but both men find mutual respect. Django learns that racism extends beyond the world he knows, and he even dons the black mask to help Zorro.

These characters seemed so different to me that I wasn't sure how this would work, but I liked the story a lot. The art by Esteve Polls worked well. I enjoyed reading this one.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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