Modern Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering Hand-Lettering

author: Lucy Edmonds
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.75
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/06
date added: 2020/05/06
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'Modern Callgraphy' by Lucy Edomonds is a guide to the tools and techniques to create beautiful lettering.

Starting with the tools you'll need and the strokes to create, this book guides the reader through alphabets and projects along with lots of examples and practice sheets. Included are tips on using brushes and brush pens and what different surfaces work best with each. There are ways to kind of fake letters depending on needs, and tips for doing jobs like addressing envelopes.

I loved the style and approach of this book. The author is encouraging and helpful. Included in the back are an FAQ and resources for supplies and further inspiration.

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


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The Mandelberg Circuit

author: Denis Robert
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2020/05/04
date added: 2020/05/04
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'The Mandelberg Circuit' by Denis Robert with illustrations by Franck Biancarelli is a graphic novel with a science fiction story from the not too distant future.

A famous basketball star and a dying billionaire would seem to have little in common. A scientist with a weird invention will bring them together. The basketball player has his own baggage with a group of gangsters he's disappointed, and a dying father. The offer he gets is intriguing, but will he take it?

It's not a bad story. It takes a little long to tell, but I didn't mind that at all. The art works well.

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


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This Is How You Lose the Time War

author: Amal El-Mohtar
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/04
date added: 2020/05/04
shelves: sword-and-laser
review:
'This Is How You Lose the Time War' by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is a novella about time travel, a war, and a forbidden relationship.

Two agents, known only as Blue and Red, are opposing agents in a war. They spend their time travelling through time and trying to rewrite history to the detriment of the other side. A strange correspondence starts between the two agents, taunting at first, then flattering, then more. The danger of talking to the other side is ever present, so the notes are left in unusual methods.

The story is a character study about the evolving relationship between two people. As such, I loved the sly bantering between these two characters. There are inside references and lots of wry wit for those who look carefully.

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


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Bowie: Album by Album

author: Paolo Hewitt
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2017/10/01
date added: 2020/05/04
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'David Bowie: Album by Album' by Paolo Hewitt looks at the life of David Bowie through every album that he put out during his life.

The book starts with a great introduction written by English writer Robert Elms that focuses on the phenomenon that was David Bowie. Each chapter, starting with the album 'David Bowie,' has a quote from David Bowie about the album. There are photos from that era that are either from concerts or photo shoots. There is a timeline for the time period showing when singles, albums, movies or art shows occurred. Then there is a commentary on the album with some light personal information about relationships with friends, family, record companies, and bandmates among others. The album is briefly discussed song by song. The book ends with Bowie's last album Black Star.

Bowie was an artist who was constantly remaking his art and reshaping what perceptions about him were. He was not afraid to ditch the past and move toward the future, which many acts that are of the same era are reluctant to risk.

Those are things that are known without reading this book, but the discussion of albums and all those photos make this a memorable read about a truly interesting individual.

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


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Dahler & Nicholls Strike Again!

author: Dixie J. Whitted
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.14
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2020/05/03
date added: 2020/05/03
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Dahler & Nicholls Strike Again!' by Dixie J. Whitted is a collection of one panel comics about a couple police detectives.

The gags are all single panel and follow a couple detectives and the not so bright criminals they pursue. One detective is clumsy, but a real ladies man. The other wears a hat, and that's all I really got from him.

I wanted to like this. It's the kind of thing I should like. Only, I didn't find it very funny. I also felt like if there were jokes or a narrative, I was missing out somehow. The art is passable for this sort of thing, but I also wanted that to be a bit better as well. I find it hard to recommend this to anyone.

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


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I'm Not Your Sweet Babboo! (PEANUTS AMP! Series Book 10)

author: Charles M. Schulz
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/03
date added: 2020/05/03
shelves: childrens, graphic-novels
review:
'I'm Not Your Sweet Babboo!' by Charles M. Schulz is the 10th volume in the Peanuts AMP series.

This time around Patty can't concentrate at school and wants to go to a private school. Snoopy directs her to a dog obedience school, then gets in trouble. There are antics with the cat next door. Snoopy decides to get married, and Charlie Brown finds a team of little baseball players to coach that have never heard of him.

Sometimes these collections can feel a bit dated with the humor, but this one felt pretty fun and fresh. You can't go wrong with Peanuts.

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


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The Loud House #9: When the Girls are Away...

author: The Loud House Creative Team
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/02
date added: 2020/05/02
shelves: graphic-novels, childrens
review:
'The Loud House #9: When the Girls are Away..." by The Loud House Creative Team is a graphic novel about a large family and a storyline that works better than some I've seen in the series.

Mom takes all of Lincoln's sister off to learn to haggle at the flea market so Lincoln and Dad are left in the house. Both think this is the perfect time to play games with their friends: Lincoln has a video game, and Dad has a role playing adventure with a strange pork theme. Of course, things don't go perfectly.

Meanwhile, mom and the girls are having their own adventures with parking, finding treasures rare and spooky, and the search for fleas.

It's a bunch of silly fun, and a plot that works as a whole. Everyone gets a chance to shine, although Lincoln and Dad do get more page time. The art is fun.

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


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