tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62749537386598946682024-02-29T00:43:01.621-08:00Dragon's LibraryIn which the author endeavors to exhaustively answer the ubiquitous inquiry...Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.comBlogger1698125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-59113155753345892132024-02-29T00:40:00.000-08:002024-02-29T00:40:42.412-08:00The Fourteenth GoldfishWritten by: Jennifer L. Holm<div><br /></div><div>First line: When I was in preschool, I had a teacher named Starlily. </div><div><br /></div><div>Why you should read this book: Ellie never spent a lot of time with her scientist grandfather, because he was a cranky old man who didn't get along with her mom, but now that he's discovered the formula to reverse the aging process, he's posing as her thirteen-year-old cousin, and Grandpa Melvin is everywhere. After a misunderstanding at his lab, Melvin is desperate to break in and retrieve the research that will make him famous and save humanity from its own mortality. Ellie is increasingly interested in science and research, and increasingly uneasy about her grandfather's discovery and what it means for life on earth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Why you shouldn't read this book: You are largely unconcerned with the fate of humanity. </div>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-6655925070128539762024-02-26T20:16:00.000-08:002024-02-26T20:16:18.461-08:00The Mysteries<p>Written by: Bill Watterson and John Kascht</p><p>First line: Long ago, the forest was dark and deep.</p><p>Why you should read this book: With its haunting illustrations and surreal text, it's an allegory about the fear of the unknown, and the respect this fear properly inspires, and the consequences of familiarity replacing that respect with contempt. I think. The main reason to read it is probably the fact that it was written by one of the most popular comic strip artists of the late eighties/early nineties.</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: Despite appearances, this isn't a kids' book; I'm not really sure what its intended audience is, except for "people who were sad that Bill Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes.</p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-25112519172307155822024-02-26T20:09:00.000-08:002024-02-26T20:09:40.892-08:00 The Whole Story of Half a Girl<p>Written by: Veera Hianandani</p><p>First line: I'm in school, sitting with my hair hanging long down the back of my chair, my arm around my best friend, Sam.</p><p>Why you should read this book: Sonia's father is Indian and her mother is Jewish, but until her dad lost his job and she had to transfer from her fun, hippie school to a public school, she never even thought about her ethnic identity, let alone questions of class and who to sit with at lunch. Now she's torn between the popular cheerleaders who don't understand her, and the kids who might understand her but aren't cool, while mourning the loss of her old relationships. And all this becomes meaningless when her father's mental health becomes the focus of her entire life. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: For a middle grade novel, it tackles numerous difficult issues. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-22525352213963170592024-01-29T17:00:00.000-08:002024-01-29T17:00:28.208-08:00Ryokan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan<p>Translated by: Burton Watson</p><p>First line: Though travels/take me to/a different stopping place each night/the dream I dream is always/that same one of home</p><p>Why you should read this book: It's a curated collection of the poetry of the late 18th/early 19th century Zen monk Ryokan, including the three Japanese forms of waka, sedoka, and choka, along with a selection of his Chinese kanshi, all beautifully rendered into English that evokes the complex simplicity of the subject matter. These poems tend toward observations of the natural world (often focused on seasonal changes or animla behaviors), musings on his own life as an ascetic who begs for his meals and also likes to play ball with the village boys, and his thoughts on the people and world he knows, including his memories of the past. Reading these poems may perhaps offer the reader an understanding of the unspoken ideals of Zen Buddhism, or at least Ryokan's particular take on his beliefs.</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: If you were next in line for a position of power, you'd take it. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-20483981721681144712024-01-29T16:49:00.000-08:002024-01-29T16:49:58.440-08:00Big Tree<p>Written by: Brian Selnick</p><p>First line: "Hello, stars."</p><p>Why you should read this book: It's the rare story told almost completely from the point of view of plants, and not just any plants: the main characters are two prehistoric sycamore seeds, desperate seeking a safe place to set down and grow roots before all their fluff falls off and they can't travel anymore. Merwin is the cautious realist who seeks to protect his impetuous dreamer sister Louise as they escape a forest fire, journey beneath the waves, and travel by butterfly, among other adventures. Is Louise communing with an ancient power, or does she just have a vivid imagination, and will her visions help them find a place to grow, and help fulfill a bigger destiny than any sycamore seed has ever imagined?</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: Other than the art style, it doesn't have much in common with Hugo Cabret. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-89033431300789690612024-01-29T16:44:00.000-08:002024-01-29T16:44:29.843-08:00The One and Only Ruby<p>Written by: Katherine Applegate</p><p>First line: Nobody ever listens to the littlest elephant. </p><p>Why you should read this book: The third in what appears to be a trilogy, this book tells the story of little Ruby's Tusk Day (a special elephant holiday for a young elephant coming of age) and her anxiety in the days leading up to it. Although Ruby lives a safe and comfortable life in the park with a herd of loving elephant matriarchs, her gorilla uncle, Ivan, and her dog uncle, Bob, she still suffers from the unresolved trauma of the things she saw in Africa in her earliest memories. Although she trusts all her family, it's difficult for her to put into words her complicated feelings about her tusks, and the plight of elephants, and the sorrow of her past, but until she can share her truth, she's always going to be scared. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not as good as the first one, although it's better than the second one. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-32840645506545867632024-01-29T16:38:00.000-08:002024-01-29T16:38:43.415-08:00Jane Morris and Me: Learning to Listen<p>Written by: Jane Herlihy</p><p>First line: It is over. In the love of his friends -- not all, but some of his closest. </p><p>Why you should read this book: While recovering from a horrific case of Dengue fever, the author becomes fascinated with the Victorian artist's model Jane Morris, darling of the pre-Raphaelites, and the ways that women's stories are so often dictated by men who have no inkling of their rich inner lives, and begins to write a meticulously researched diary revealing a very different Janey than the one described by the artists who painted her. From there, the project blossoms into an examination of disability and illness, sitting quietly with information and waiting for understanding, opening oneself up to the freedom and possibility of the creative life, and grappling with permanent change, among other issues. This fascinating work of creative nonfiction is both biography and autobiography, nonfiction and historical fiction, traditional and feminist, and one hundred percent art. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: You've happily devoted your life to the care of invalid relatives, despite being something of an invalid yourself. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-15143322513770391422023-12-31T18:47:00.000-08:002024-01-23T18:58:50.593-08:00Year in Review: 2023, the Year I Forgot to Read<p>Every year I vow to review 100 books, but this was the year I failed most abysmally. Part of it was my health: I was sick in bed for almost the entire month of February, and then again for almost an entire month between November and December. But there's no excuse for the summer, when I pretty much just fell into my phone. I'm even 3 weeks late writing this post, but I'm going to back date it so it looks like I wrote it on New Year's Eve. </p><p>Anyway, here's my sad little list.</p><p>Dragon's Reading Year in Review</p><p>Picture books:<span> </span><span> <span> <span> </span> </span> 16</span></p><p><span>Middle grade/YA:<span> </span><span> <span> </span>2</span></span></p><p><span><span>Nonfiction:<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span>3</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>Graphic novels:<span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span>13</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Memoir<span>:<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span>1</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Novels:<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span>4</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Poetry:<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span>1</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Short story collection: <span> 1</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Total books reviewed: 41</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>I'm going to do better this year! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-47841310707310869652023-11-23T14:21:00.000-08:002023-11-23T14:21:51.609-08:00Invisible<p>Written by: Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriella Epstein</p><p>First line: I came as soon as I heard. </p><p>Why you should read this book: When the principal insists that Jorge "George" Rivera agree to community service hours "with students like you" so the school can win an award, he assumes that means working with the other gifted kids, not cleaning the cafeteria with the Spanish-speaking students who already think he's a gringo. Despite the principal's blithe categorization, the five members of this breakfast club seem to have nothing in common, until they bond over the common cause of helping a mother and daughter living in a car across the street from the school. Each child has their own secrets, fears, strengths, and weaknesses, but they all find that they're willing to risk punishment in order to do what they know is right. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: You only talk to people who share you exact ethnic background and financial circumstances.</p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-53631539922185439092023-11-23T14:11:00.000-08:002023-11-23T14:11:50.351-08:00Squished<p>Written by: Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter</p><p>First line: Welcome to beautiful Hickory Valley, Maryland...home to my family, the Lees.</p><p>Why you should read this book: Avery Annie Lee already has a rough time being the second-oldest child (and oldest girl) of seven siblings, but when her parents inform her that they're moving her toddler brother into the room she already shares with her sister (who plays multiple instruments badly and practices constantly in their room) because her older brother is "having a hard time," it really throws a wrench into the gears of her carefully-thought out plan to finally have her own space. Her next plan, to earn enough money to transform the basement, seems doomed, and all the while, she still has to deal with the trials of taking care of five younger siblings and all the tribulations of moving from elementary school to middle school. As Avery considers the emotions of the people around her carefully, she starts to feel less squished, and to see more possibilities in the world. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: You're morally opposed to large families. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-60717347105107482542023-11-23T14:02:00.000-08:002024-02-29T00:42:30.722-08:00The Waters<p>Written by: Bonnie Jo Campbell</p><p>First line: Once upon a time M'sauga Island was a place where desperate mothers abandoned baby girls and where young women went seeking to prevent babies altogether.</p><p>Why you should read this book: For Bonnie Jo Campbell's forthcoming (WW Norton, January 2024) novel, I have to abandon my typical 4-sentence format. If you're not familiar with my creative relationship with Bonnie Jo Campbell, you can learn a great deal about it <a href="https://qwertyvsdvorak.com/tag/bonnie-jo-campbell/">here on my visual art website</a>. If you do know about the 4 volumes of comics based on her work I've published, you probably won't be surprised to learn that I drew the map that will appear as the frontispiece of this new novel, and that I read an early draft (the version she sent to the publisher) last year and that I just finished reading the ARC. I'm deeply inspired and I've just been telling people for well over a year to keep an eye out for this book, because I think it's going to knock people's socks off. </p><p>Obviously, this is a biased account and not a true book review. Because I freaking love this book. </p><p>Like most of Campbell's work, it's set in rural southwestern Michigan, is deeply tied to the land, and features a quirky and colorful cast moving through circumstances that perfectly balance comedy and tragedy. It covers new ground by opening the world up to a fairy tale sensibility and the possibly of true magic.</p><p>Hermine "Herself" Zook, age unknown, has always lived on M'sauga Island, and has long been the resident witch of the town of Whiteheart, guided by the spirit of her mother, Baba Rose, who haunts her right arm and also the eternal flame of her stove. In addition to providing natural remedies to those who need healing, she also adopts unwanted babies, and, if approached properly, provides herbal abortions. And thus the tale unfolds. Now raising her granddaughter Dorothy "Donkey" Zook in her footsteps, Hermine finds herself increasingly at odds with a hypocritical world that want to use and control her strength even as the poison of modernity seeps into the swamp from every direction. </p><p>I have a million things to say about this book, which I'm saving for the comic I want to write about it. However, if you like rural noir, fairy tales, strong female characters, strange children, the state of Michigan, nuanced debates about ethics and religion, or detailed descriptions of the natural world, you will probably like this book. </p><p>Pre-order it from your local bookstore or public library and be the first to know. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-73646893415420748932023-11-10T14:19:00.001-08:002023-11-10T14:19:17.709-08:00The Dragon Prince: Bloodmoon Huntress<p>Written by: Nicole Andelfinger and Felia Hanakata</p><p>First line: You shall both be missed, Lain.</p><p>Why you should read this book: This is the second graphic novel in a series of prequels to the popular cartoon The Dragon Prince, depicting the young Moonshadow elf, Rayla, at a pivotal moment in her childhood. Filled with anger that her parents have chosen their sacred duty to Xadia as Dragonguards over family life in Silvergrove and left her in the care of foster parents, Ethari and Runaan, Rayla is more furious when she learns that Runaan is an assassin whose job is to kill those who threaten the elves. A chance meeting with a lost Skywing elf leads to a confrontation with an ancient evil, and Rayla learns what it means to sacrifice for your family and embraces her future career path. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: If you're a fan of the series, it's a fun, if lightweight backstory, but if you haven't seen the show, it probably makes very little sense. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-89146879217018499722023-11-10T14:06:00.002-08:002023-11-10T14:06:30.477-08:00Satan in Goray<p>Written by: Isaac Bashevis Singer</p><p>First line: In the year 1648, the wicked Ukranian hetman, Bogdan Chmelnicki, and his followers besieged the city of Zamosc but could not take it because it was strongly fortified; the rebelling <i>haidamak</i> peasants moved on to spread havoc in Tomaszow, Bilgoraj, Krasnik, Turbin, Frampol--and in Goray, too, the town the lay in the midst of the hills at the end of the world.</p><p>Why you should read this book: When news that the messiah has arrived in the form of a man called Sabbatai Zevi, a strange religious mania overtakes the beleaguered shtetl of Goray, where Jews have long adhered to the biblical traditions of their ancestors. Turning away from their rabbi and the old ways, the people embrace mysticism and prophets and follow kabbalists who declare that that the rules of decency and morality are suspended, creating a strange, lawless world in advance of the paradise to which they believe they will soon be delivered. But Zevi is no messiah, and their prophets are less holy than they had been led to believe, and the people of Goray will not be delivered to paradise.</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: If you haven't got a decent grounding in European Jewish tradition or history, a lot of this probably won't make much sense. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-20769759337230677632023-11-10T13:51:00.006-08:002023-11-10T13:51:37.266-08:00The Goody<p>Written by: Lauren Child</p><p>First Line: Chirton Krauss was a good child, the very goodest.</p><p>Why you should read this book: For a kid's book, this story gets pretty deep, depicting the ways that adults lazily typecast their own children, locking them into roles that cut the child down and prevent them from growing as individuals. Chirton is the "goody" who always does what he's supposed to do, regardless of how he feels about it, and his sister Myrtle does whatever she feels like doing, regardless of what she's supposed to do, and accepts that she's the bad child. When Chirton finally gets fed up with the inequality of the situation, both kids get to experience life from the other point of view and they, and their parents, come to accept that nobody fits neatly into a behavioral box, and nobody should have to, and that it's best for children to be seen as children and not be reduced to binaries. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: If you were always the good kid who always suffered while your siblings slacked off and you never addressed this with your family of origin, this book might be a bit heartbreaking/</p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-7261361639091717632023-11-02T11:25:00.011-07:002023-11-02T11:27:26.980-07:00The Complete Fairy Tales of George MacDonaldWritten by: George MacDonanld <div><br /></div><div>First line: Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children. </div><div><br /></div><div>Why you should read this book: There is something deeply appealing about these tales, whose foundations are rooted deeply in the ancient, mythopoeic tradition, but whose leaves and branches are nourished with the most modern ideas any Victorian gentleman could possibly lay his hands on. From a princess who is cursed to lose her gravity to shadow spirits lamenting the rise of gaslights and the decline of the real fires that allow them to dance among the humans, the fairy creatures of these stories are well aware that their world is in flux and the balance is tipping away from the past. Delightful and imaginative, but still adhering to the laws of the genre, this is a timeless work on par with the best fairy stories of any era. </div><div><br /></div><div>Why you shouldn't read this book: You would never go anywhere with or for a magical creature and have zero sympathy for teenagers in love. </div>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-86850494522510989012023-10-09T15:58:00.001-07:002023-10-09T15:58:22.746-07:00The Prophet<p>Written by: Kahlil Gibran</p><p>First line: Almustafa, the chosen and beloved, who was a dawn unto his own day, had waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for his ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth. </p><p>Why you should read this book: A beloved and enduring longform poem written one hundred years ago, The Prophet is a series of mind-expanding dialogs between the prophet and the people of Orphalese, who ask him to speak to them of various aspects of the human condition. The prophet answers with advice--some metaphorical, some concrete--on living fully, openly, joyfully, and honestly. Each short chapter offers musings on topics such as love, work, freedom, pleasure, and so on, turning the everyday experience of all humans into a spiritual quest wherein every individual can hope to achieve enlightenment in this world. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: The dust jacket of the edition I have in my hand suggests that if this book doesn't uplift, educate, and inspire you, that you are likely "dead to life and truth."</p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-80488596906452031742023-10-09T15:49:00.003-07:002023-10-09T15:49:42.117-07:00Daddy PoemsEdited by: John Micklos, Jr. <div><br /></div><div>First line: It was still dark when I woke up/and stumbled out of bed,/sleepily searching for my slippers/on my way to the bathroom.</div><div><br /></div><div>Why you should read this book: A beautifully illustrated and carefully curated collection of poetry for young readers about fathers, featuring a diverse sampling of poets. The book takes into account the complicated feelings of children whose parents are divorced, and includes a poem about a child's confusing feelings for his stepfather. These poems are full of emotion and love and joy and pain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Why you shouldn't read this book: Probably not a great choice for people with absent or abusive fathers. </div><div><br /></div>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-10995678265479299802023-10-09T15:43:00.000-07:002023-10-09T15:43:02.557-07:00The Goddess of Ugly<p>Written by: Deborah Nourse Lattimore</p><p>First line: Once, not very long ago there were twin sisters, Kiri and Mareweia.</p><p>Why you should read this book: Two little Maori girls look forward to their coming of age, when they will receive their chin tattoos, but first they must perfect their haka dance. However, one of the sisters cannot take her practice seriously, and their grandmother warns them that making ugly faces will leave them vulnerable to the Punga, the Goddess of Ugly, who once trapped Mudfish and Lizard in a lodgepole, to teach them a lesson about being ugly on purpose. Still not taking the warning seriously, the girls, naturally, have a terrifying run-in with Punga, where they quickly learn their lesson and get the best of the situation.</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: You're very shallow. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-71638082638098190612023-10-09T15:34:00.004-07:002023-10-09T15:34:54.167-07:00When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals.<p>Written by: Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy</p><p>First line: Somewhere in India, a blind river dolphin seeks her companion.</p><p>Why you should read this book: Biology has long held the idea of animal emotions in contempt, labeling "anthropomorphism" a sin against science and the idea that animals have only instinct and evolution to guide them, but the authors of this book remind readers that it's difficult for anyone who has ever had a relationship with any animal to discount what their eyes and ears perceive. Since such subjects cannot be truly observed in laboratory conditions, any evidence to the contrary is labeled "anecdotal," and yet, if it's possible to compile an entire book of such anecdotes, shouldn't we consider that a literature review? Citing dozens of field scientists, the authors explore hope, love, grief, and the entire range of emotional experience as witnessed in the behavior of animals in the wild, in captivity, and in domestication, creating strong evidence that other creatures share a similar range of emotional experiences with humans. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: I thought the section on shame and blushing was underwhelming compared to the rest of the book.</p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-19079062126103948032023-09-29T15:17:00.003-07:002023-10-09T15:35:32.112-07:00The Girl Who Married a Skull and Other African Stories: A Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales Book<p>Edited by: C. Spike Trotman, Kate Ashwin, Kel McDonald, and Taneka Stotts</p><p>First line: Once there lived a young woman.</p><p>Why you should read this book: Like the other five books in this series, it compiles a diverse collection of stories from all over the continent, some modernized, others seemingly ancient, illustrated by a variety of artists who put their hearts into the subject matter. Monsters, talking animals, culture heroes, and clever children populate the pages, teaching caution and perseverance, offering lessons and merriment, and showing young readers a road map for navigating the world. Joyful, uplifting, and entertaining.</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: You're, like, a talking skull or something. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-66470484229657377572023-08-25T19:52:00.002-07:002023-11-02T11:29:36.300-07:00V for Vendetta<p>Written by: Alan Moore and David Lloyd</p><p>First line: Good evening, London. It's 9 o'clock and this is the voice of Fate broadcasting on 275 and 285 in the medium wave. </p><p>Why you should read this book, in a dismal post-World War III future, England has fallen under the sway of brutal fascism, with an Orwellian cameras in every crevice and party propaganda broadcast from every corner. A shadowy anarchist known only as V wages a rather effective one-man war against the symbols of the government and the men and women who run it, while teaching a young woman named Evey his philosophy of self-rule and death to tyrants. With every resource of the country devoted to his death, V carries out an elaborate plan to hand power back to the people before his enemies catch up with him.</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: While I'm obviously very opposed to fascism and in support of anything that opposes fascism, reading this book 35 years after its original publication and maybe 25 years after the first time I read it, it feels kind of overblown, like an child's fantasy about Batman saving the world. <br /></p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-52807714233771307982023-07-31T01:30:00.001-07:002023-07-31T01:30:08.897-07:00Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass<p>Written by: Frederick Douglas</p><p>First line: I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot County Maryland.</p><p>Why you should read this book: In language that is eloquent and evocative, yet straightforward and blunt, Douglas details the horrors of slavery through the eyes of his own childhood. Never stinting in his description of the brutality, cruelty, and hypocrisy, Douglass explains, clearly, that there can be no moral foundation to the unconscionable idea that human beings can possess other humans beings, and that the practice degrades everyone involved. I first read this book when I was little girl, when it seemed pretty obvious to most people that slavery was wrong and horrible and indefensible, but these days some people apparently need to have this concept spelled out for them, in which case, this book is a good resource.</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: Bad things happen. <br /></p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-49354970287796258532023-05-30T15:55:00.001-07:002023-05-30T15:55:37.435-07:00Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruins of Ymr<p>Written by: John Crowley</p><p>First line: There has come to be a great mountain at the end of the world.</p><p>Why you should read this book: When a grief-stricken man rescues a sick crow, he is surprised to learn that the crow can communicate, and that the crow has led a mytho-poetic and seemingly immortal life, traveling with various spiritual humans back and forth into the spirit world. From prehistoric times to modern day, Dar Oakley has observed humans, learned from them, helped them when he felt it was in his own best interest or he seemed compelled to do so, and frequently been confused by their symbolic language and strange obsession with defeating death. Dar Oakley has changed the fate of all crows, but not as much as humans have changed their own fates, and, in their quest for material goods and fortune, closed off their own access to the immaterial world that once brought them hope. </p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: You think birds aren't real. <br /></p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-73763669499614846812023-05-30T15:47:00.003-07:002023-05-30T15:47:53.588-07:00Carmilla<p>Written by: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu</p><p>First line: In Styria, we, though by no means magnificent people, inhabit a castle, or schloss.</p><p>Why you should read this book: This is a vampire novel—a gothic vampire novel—a gothic LESBIAN vampire novel—a gothic lesbian vampire novel, which predates Bram Stoker's <i>Dracula</i> by a quarter century, which is likely enough information to sway the type of readers who would enjoy this book. The narrator, an innocent but isolated girl who craves the friendship of other girls, is enchanted by the random beautiful stranger who appears on her land while she's mourning the death of another girl she had hoped to visit. While constantly praising her new friend's looks and engaging in constant shows of physical affection, the protagonist begins to suffer a mysterious illness exactly like the strange malady that killed her old friend.</p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book: Can't handle the thought of girls engaging in trembling embraces and soft kisses.<br /></p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6274953738659894668.post-10480209445691110612023-05-30T15:17:00.001-07:002023-05-30T15:17:12.947-07:00The Sandman: Overture<p>Written by: Neil Gaiman and JH Williams III</p><p>First line: It was a small planet.</p><p>Why you should read this book: It's the prequel to the other Sandman books, published nearly 2 decades after the end of the series, which tells the story of the dangerous but important mission that took Morpheus away from his domain and led to his weakness and capture at the beginning of volume 1. Dream, at a convention of Dreams, comes to understand that the universe is in great peril, and it's entirely his fault for not doing his job correctly in the past. He comes to understand that there's nothing he can do to fix his mistake, which is then rectified pretty much by a literal deus ex machina and the literary equivalent of clapping for Tinkerbell.<br /></p><p>Why you shouldn't read this book; While following many of the successful conventions from the preceding books, including spectacular world-building and a brooding protagonist who basically tries to be a decent being despite also being a self-involved jerk, and containing appearances from many beloved secondary characters, as well as introducing Dream's mother and father (!), this story doesn't ever seem to have anything at stake. </p>Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01212364350265703322noreply@blogger.com0