Book Review Archives - Page 7 of 8

NovelTEA: The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta + Hummus Spinach Dip

By Jessica Roth May 27, 2018

This week, something rare happened. I was in the mood to read sci-fi.

Not unheard of, just rare, especially in the warmer months. I can’t be the only seasonal/mood reader, right? Thrillers ring my bell all year ‘round, but fluffy chicklit, contemporaries, and books of that nature dominate my TBR during spring and summer. Historical fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy rule the colder months. But, something even weirder happened.

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have an array of TBR-provided choices to scratch my sci-fi itch. (In fairness, most of my sci-fi stuff is now consumed in comic format. And in fairness, I’ve read most of it already.) I was digging through one of my four nightstand piles when I found it. (It’s okay, I know you’re not judging me for having four stacks and several shelves’ worth of unread books.) Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers. I’d meant to read it a long time ago, so I could hop on the HBO show’s bandwagon, but never got around to it. I checked on Goodreads* and found it was categorized as sci-fi and dystopia. (*Cheerfully ignoring the reviews, which ranged from middling to frustrated.)

Don’t Cosplay with My Heart

By Sumney Sigler May 26, 2018

After scheduling an interview with Cecil Castellucci, writer of Shade the Changing Girl, I was eager to start my research and learn more about her. In addition to her monthly series, Cecil published more than fifteen other original Graphic Novels and works of Young Adult Fiction. Her most recent, Don’t Cosplay With My Heart, seemed like it would be a good place for me to start.

Episode 016: Sartorial Geek Recs with Liz + Jordan

By Jordan Ellis May 23, 2018

This episode is sponsored by Jordandene and LoganArch.

Thank you so much for your sweet reviews! Not only do they help us look good to the iTunes gods, but they also help us realize what you most enjoy hearing from our show.

One of the most common reviews we’ve seen so far? You love all the cool nerdy things that get recommended here! So, we’re doing an entire recommendations episode!

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed: Book Review

By Hadas Ben-Tsur May 22, 2018

Has the internet made us vigilantes or just trolls?

What’s in it for you:

What’s it about?

Remember the woman who foolishly tweeted about gettings AIDs on her trip to Africa? She claimed to be sarcastic and making fun of racists. Tone is hard to read in text. Humor is hard to read in strangers. The internet rallied against her. She lost her job. She lost control of her image. Did she behave foolishly? Absolutely. Was the response appropriate? TBD.

NovelTEA: NewsPrints by Ru Xu + Unicorn Poop Cookies

By Jessica Roth May 20, 2018

One of the undeniable facts of growing up on a steady diet of Disney movies and Scooby-Doo reruns means that I’m all about bright colours. Yes, even in my 20s. It influences my taste in decor, my choice of fruit and vegetable (the brighter the better), and even the books I’m more likely to pick up, thanks to a psychedelic cover (Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids, anyone?) design. I mean, I’ll read pretty much anything, but vibrant covers always catch my eye over the grim, broody ones of yesteryear. This is especially true of comics— and picking up Saint For Rent creator Ru Xu’s all-ages graphic novel, NewsPrints, was just a natural consequence. I mean: have you seen that cover?

NovelTEA: Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell by Paul Dini and Joe Quinones + Oreo Pudding Shots

By Jessica Roth May 13, 2018

Well, I might as well get this out of the way before I get called out in the comments: this week’s NovelTEA features an older book. (It’s new to me!) But, the recipe is still fresh. Pitched in 2005, announced in 2006, and then delayed until 2014, Paul Dini (yes, Harley Quinn’s co-creator) and Joe Quinones’s Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell was a long-awaited project that survived a lot of changes.

Swapped artists was one of them. Originally, husband-and-wife super-team, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, were lined up to bring The Fishnets Brigade to life. Eventually, the baton was passed to Quinones.— an editorial mandate— remember The New 52?— and the test of time.

All Summer Long by Hope Larson: Book Review

By Sumney Sigler May 12, 2018

Hope Larson’s triumphant return to cartooning has arrived just in time for the start of summer with All Summer Long.

At the start of All Summer Long, our protagonist Bina finds herself feeling emotionally unprepared for all of the changes that are coming her way. Her childhood best friend Austin is trading their summer break rituals for an elite soccer camp. Then while he’s away at camp he stops responding to her texts. Does that mean he doesn’t want to be her friend anymore? They get a chance to figure things out when he’s home again, close to the end of the summer.

The Princess Bride Book Review: More Than Just “a Kissing Book”

By Merissa Modansky May 10, 2018

“When I was your age, television was called books,” the grandfather from The Princess Bride movie tells his grandson. Television and movies often start out as books, and The Princess Bride is no exception. It was based on the 1973 book The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure: the “Good Parts” Version and was written by William Goldman. William Goldman also wrote the screenplay for the movie, which makes for an interesting comparison between the two.

The Answers: Or What Happens When You Try to “Frankenstein’s Monster” Love

By Hadas Ben-Tsur May 8, 2018

What’s in it for you:

What’s it about?

The Answers centers around a famous director stuck working on the same passion project. He believes that he needs to be loved in order to find the motivation to finish his new film. With his mountains of money and influence, he creates a project to see if he can outsource all the different “roles” a romantic partner would play to different women.

NovelTEA: Then She Was Gone + Garlic-butter Baked Halibut

By Jessica Roth April 29, 2018

Spring is finally in the air! I am so, so excited because after a particularly harsh winter, spring feels like a new beginning. It also means new books, which is always fantastic.

Lisa Jewell is an author I’ve read before. I dipped my toes into the world of adult fiction with her novel The House We Grew Up In, an exploration of the insular nature of families and mental illness. I was really excited to get my hands on her latest novel Then She Was Gone. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and after a string of rather frustrating thrillers that have made me want to dump the genre altogether, I was really hoping Then She Was Gone would scratch that itch. Plus, NovelTEA being what it is: there’s a delicious (if I do say so myself!) recipe to go along with the book.