Sunday, November 27, 2011

Rest

I took a long break from reviewing books.

Why?

I'm reading Nodame Cantabile and I can't seem to stop until I'm finished with the series. 

I got hooked to the free comics in Comixology. 

I discovered Web comics from Comixology and am catching up with my reading there. 

I explored the free books from ibooks and I love it that they have Beatrix Potter's books there. 

Lastly, I had a very exciting week where in my cat got lost and was found again.


Hopefully...

I will be updating soon with all of my reviews and comments about the books I've read. They're quite a lot. Till next time. 

Monday, November 21, 2011

B.P.R.D. Being Human by Mignola, Arcudi, Davis, Corben, Allie, Moline, Owens, Stenbeck, and Stewart



From: Dark Horse Comics
Via: NetGalley.com


My rating: 4 / 5 stars

I've been following Mike Mignola's works ever since I read the first volume of Hellboy a few months ago. Since then, I've read quite a lot of his works that I could get my hands on but, I read the Hellboy series in order of their stories so this is actually the first time I read any B.P.R.D. book/ issue by Mignola.

Well, it was good that the first volume I read of the B.P.R.D. are origin stories of some of its key members. I love origin stories because they always keep me on the loop with the characters of the story. Anyways, the writing style is a trademark Mike Mignola, Easy to understand and fast paced. The illustrations also compliments the narrative quite perfectly.

The only thing I didn't like about this volume was the Abe Sapien part entitled "Casualties" it was so short and is quite out of place for me in the theme of the volume.

All in all, it's a must read for anyone who wants to get into reading Mignola's works.


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Little Black Dress and Zoot Suits by Alison Marie Behnke


From: Twenty-First Century Books 
Received Via: NetGalley.com 


My Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
For me, reading a good book hooks you till you finish it whatever topic it maybe. That experience happened to me a few minutes ago while I was reading this book. I'm not that interested in Fashion but, I have a lot of fashion designer friends when I attended art school and sometimes we couldn't avoid the topic. Still, with all the talk and the jargons I was hearing I'm often left clueless on some parts of the conversation. Guess I have to read a book or something, maybe just google the terms I guess. 

Months passed, I bought a book on the history of fashion and never actually read it. Why? It's way in the bottom of my TBR (To be read) books because it's so huge and tick and despite how fast I could read my attention span sometimes is faster to lose. 

Enough about the long introduction but I just wanted to stress that I just needed a short, concise and straight to the point book about fashion and, this is just the book I needed to read to gain a bit more knowledge on the topic. 

This book was about American fashion from the 30's to the 50's and it was interesting to read because it explained through a few sentences and mentioned scenarios why the fashion of the time was like that. 

Who would've thought that Bikinis were actually promoted because of wartime rationing? Caught your attention? Me too. 

By the way, the book is just about 68 pages with a lot of pictures. :) 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan McLeod




Top Shelf Productions
Received Via: NetGalley.com 

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

I grew up watching "Once Upon A Time in China" starring Jet Li. I was so addicted to the movie that I even enrolled in Tae Kwon Do lessons couldn't find Kung Fu lessons in the Philippines. I love Kung Fu movies but I love Kung Fu novels more. After being introduced to "Return of the Condor Heroes" by Jin Yong, I tried to read whatever Kung Fu novel I get my hands on that is in English. I was such a Wuxia fan back then but it stopped after I couldn't find anymore Kung Fu novels that I could understand.

Reading Infinite Kung Fu reminded me why I love watching those movies and reading those books. This is more of an attempt in merging the modern and ancient world but focusing on the legends of the times. I think Kagan McLeod added some Zombies in the mix not only because it was such a famous theme right now but also it added more action and gore in the story. Whatever is the reason, it was a nice mix.

It was an epic story with more than 400 pages of sequential art and has an establish history and purpose that I just continued reading until its done. Some parts are a bit confusing, but you just have to read the narrative often and you're gonna be back on track.

All in all, it was a fun and long story. :)

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Sweat Shop Paris by Martena Duss and Sissi Holleis



Published by: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date: November 15, 2011
Received Via: NetGalley.com



My Rating: 4/5 Stars

I love this book not because it's about sewing but because it inspired me to do something that I loved. It also gave me the idea that I can encourage and help others who share these passion to continue on doing it.

This book is perfect for those who loves art, crafts, sewing and fashion. I also encourage all those who want to start a business doing something they love to read this book because it contains some of the recipes the "Sweat Shop Paris" use to be successful. It contain some handy sewing designs with DIY step by step instructions, it also contains recipes of the food they serve there. Lastly, it also contains some of the must visit places in paris where you can find some good deals like vintage stores, markets and shops that the authors found while looking for items to be used in their shop.

All in all, its one cool and informative book. Something I would suggest all budding fashionistas to have. :)

You can check out Sweat Shop Pairs here
and check out there blog here http://sweatshopparis.blogspot.com/

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Any Empire by Nate Powell





My Rating: 3 / 5 Stars



Received from: Top Shelf Productions
Received Via: NetGalley.com


The cover intrigued me. A kid holding a gun. Well, this book is definitely not for kids. I'm not very familiar with militarism unlike other people so I couldn't relate to some parts of this book. The plot is a bit confusing because of the flash forward scenes wherein the character's past experiences tried to merge with that of the present.

The illustrations are superb. The party scene kinda reminded me of Craig Thompson's illustrations. I just hoped that the characters doesn't look a like much or they should've have more distinct features so that I can easily identify them in the black and white output.

All in all, the story is quite confusing but still an interesting read. This is the first time I read a work by Nate Powell I would like to read some more.


check the book here http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11242668-any-empire

Friday, November 11, 2011

Hades by George O'Connor


My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Received from: First Second 
Publication date 1/31/12 
Received Via: NetGalley.com 

I love the idea of people making graphic novels for kids. Not only can it encourage kids to read but some of these books can even make kids remember facts easier especially when said facts are included in a story they enjoyed. 

I've read a lot of children's literature recently and I can see that this book is balanced. The facts and narrations are actually written where kids can understand them easily and all the more when someone is there to explain and elaborate for them. 

The illustrations are a little bit common for my taste but I like the way it compliments the narrative of the story especially on how it portrays emotions of the characters. 

The added fact, discussion and bibliography pages are a plus because they help its readers understand the book more. 

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and I would love to read more graphic novels for kids. :)

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini


My Rating: 5 / 5 Stars

I've waited years for this. It's kinda exciting when you don't know whatever will happen to the book series you're reading then suddenly you hear news about a new book for the series. That's what I felt when I saw the book cover of "Inheritance" in Shelfari.com. My observations with Christopher Paolini's writing is that he really takes his time. I don't know if its writers bloc but I guess that's the way he writes. It's always a long wait.

Anyways, reading Inheritance was quite an experience (Well every book in the series is). Like Eldest and Brisngr, it's really long. It took me a while to gather my thoughts in reviewing this book properly. It's because when I read the book, I have some sets of expectations and questions that will hopefully be answered. One of which is how do they kill Galbatorix, the main Antagonist of the story.

Now, I certainly agree with adding a 4th book and not just ending with a trilogy. Some scenes in the book are totally unexpected like new facts and twists. One of which is the Answer to Solembum the Werecat's riddle to Eragon and how did the Werecat got the riddle,  Will Murtagh die?, Will Eragon and Arya finally be together? How will the Dragon riders continue after the war, and Who will be the new ruler of Alagaesia after Galbatorix is killed?

This book is full of answers as well as more questions for us readers. I read a couple of rants about the ending of the book because I guess they were looking for a happy ending. I don't mean to say the ending will be tragic, I guess its more of a realistic kinda way in a fantasy output where people have to perform their duties and responsibilities above themselves.

In this book, many new facts about the world of Alagaesia was given, Christopher Paolini has created a world that has some solid history, culture and environment. What excites me is that on the Acknowledgement page, Paolini mentioned that he might continue the story of the world of Alagaesia in the future. He doesn't know when or how soon but he will.

Reading that Acknowledgement made me realize after that the ending of the book is just fitting. Knowing that there will be more is comforting even if it'll take a while.

Thank you Christopher Paolini for a really Epic series. The Inheritance Cycle is one of my all time favorites.


Sunday, October 30, 2011

Destined and Devoted

I read two paranormal books this week. Each of them are part of an ongoing series. One is "Destined", the 9th novel of the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kirstin Cast and the other book, "Devoted" is the sequel to "Elixir" by Hillary Duff and Elise Allen. I'll just put some of my thoughts here.


My Rating: 3.5/ 5 Stars


This sequel is interesting to read. It plays with your emotions then leaves you wanting more.






My Rating:  4/5 Stars


It sounds like the series is almost finished. When I started reading the House of Night books years ago, I thought it would contain so many books in the series since each of the books contains Zoey's adventures for a very short span of time. Then, the next book will describe what happens a few days after that adventure. It's as if there's no end or very many books in the series. Despite all that there are House of Night novels that are really good and some boring.

This book I'll say is in the good side. It's one of the fast paced house of night novels I read. I recommend reading all the previous novels before this one.

I don't recommend this book to those who aren't interested in reading long Paranormal series but, if you want to experience again, a new version of vampires, this is it.



(Disclaimer: I got the images over the web. Just googled them. Thanks to whoever posted it online.)

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Book Blog

Hi! I'm Vim. I'm a bookworm and this month I decided I wanted to let people know about my comments and observations on the books I read. I'm an eclectic reader, the books I read vary from children's literature, graphic novels, classics, etc.

Rantcommentgush says it all. I may like or hate the books I read and I'll share it here.

Cheers!