Graphic Novel Review: Philip K. Dick: A Comic Biography

Title: Philip K Dick  (A Comic Biography)
Arthur + Illustrator: Laurent Queyssi, Mauro Marchesi
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Genre: nonfiction, biography
Page Count: 144
Publication date: January 1st, 2019


Synopsis (from goodreads):
One of the greatest writers in science fiction history, Philip K. Dick is mostly remembered for such works as Blade Runner, Minority Report, and Total Recall. His dark, fascinating work centered on alternate universes and shifting realities in worlds often governed by monopolistic corporations and authoritarian governments. His own life story seems a tussle with reality, cycling through five marriages and becoming increasingly disjointed with fits of paranoia and hallucinations fueled by abuse of drugs meant to stabilize him. His dramatic story is presented unvarnished in this biography.

Review:
Disclaimer: I received this this in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through NetGalley

This was a wild ride. I didn't know much about Philip K Dick as a person going into this and so this was fascinating. I've read only one novel by him - Ubik, which I loved - and this made me want to dive back into his work all over again.

I love the art style and the attention to detail I felt like was present. I've never taken perception altering drugs, and I'm not just saying that, but I feel like some of these spreads made me feel like I assume that feels like.

Overall I'd definitely recommend this to people who are even a little curious, but he was a very interesting man. Not a very nice or maybe even good man, but he was trying. And it was a wild ride.

There's also inclusion of snippets of some of his own letters, which was really cool to see his words in his own experience since I've never read any of those. And, to be honest, am not super interested in reading through his letters without the context I feel like was given here.

To wrap it up - I'd recommend this book, for SciFi lovers or others, especially for writers it was interesting to me.

Goodreads

2015 Favorites | General Fiction and Non-Fiction

I read a lot in 2015 so, obviously, I read a lot of good things. Which I think I was actual pretty luck in, considering everything. So I've decided to separate the favorite posts a bit just to make it a little more manageable - honestly, mostly for me.

I'm going to go fiction first and then go onto non-fiction. "General Fiction" is hopefully including all the book-y things I read this year, novels - fiction, SciFi/Fantasy, Middle Grade anything, same for Young Adult. Just a whole bunch of good stuff. They're also in no particular order because that would of been way too hard.

(All of the tops I gave five stars, the honorable mentions were possibly also 5, because I am someone who rates on the high side and likes, apparently, too many things. Also there will be no rereads included in these lists, because I only reread favorites).

Fiction

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
This is one I read really early in the year, and kind of already want to reread it. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and just so damn good, in all. It's written in verse and just - I cried for a good part of it.

The Way of Shadows (Night Angel #1) by Brent Weeks
I'd never read anything by Brent Weeks before and I, for some reason, haven't continued onto something else yet. However - adored this one. High fantasy with some fantastic characters and a super interesting world.

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
I had never read an A.S. King book before this year, and now I've read two and they were both just fantastic, gave both 5 stars. They're contemporary YA but with a very specific magical realism twist, that I ended up just adoring. I read them almost back to back, because I just wanted more. And I definitely want to read more of her books. The other one I read was Ask the Passengers, also fantastic.

Redeployment by Phil Klay
I picked this up because I'd been hearing good things, it was a National Book Award winner, and I'd never read anything related to the Afghanistan war, really any contemporary war anything. (going to mention another related one in the misc category, which might be where I put things that, while were kind of not straight and narrow anything, was also a way to mention more books).

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
I bought this when it first came out and just didn't get to it until this year. And it was heartbreaking and breathtaking and gorgeous. The writing, and how everything was described, it was just incredible. And I honestly can't recommend this one enough. So damn good.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Steivater
I'm pretty sure I've sang my praises of the The Raven Cycle series enough that you guys might have realized I kind of like it. It's amazing, though, freaking incredible. And I'm sure it isn't for some people, but for some reason this series click with me and is just so damn gorgeous, and I love the characters.

The Marvels by Brian Selznick
I've loved both his other novels - love how they're illustrated and written, so well mixed - and this one, I was not expecting to cry for like the last 100 pages of or so, but I did. And it was so good. And I 100% recommend going in not knowing anything.

The Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
I don't think I'll go a year now without reading and loving a Sanderson. Also not for everyone, I'm well aware of that, so I will try not to spew at you guys too much. But I'm such a sucker for the interlinked kind of world thing, and references to people in the past. And I just love his writing, somehow it feels so easy to read and I love his characters. Also love the style in this series, the flintlock fantasy, kind of steampunk but western thing. Also the magic systems. Sanderson's magic systems in everything.

Tiffany Reisz - not a book, but an author. And I read 6 books by her this year. 6. And they were incredible. Also not for everything. They're dark - really dark, at points - BDSM stories with fantastic characters. I'm so damn attached to these characters, and I really hope she's going to continue in some series after the last one that came out. The whole series is called the Original Sinners, but the two separate series are the White Years and then the Red Years. I will probably sing her praises continuously, hoping the read the last one in January.

Honorable Mentions(no order): Whistling in the Dark. The Enchanted, The Curious Tale of the In-Between, The Rest of Us Just Live Here

Non-Fiction

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
I can't speak enough praise for this book. I read it early in the year and kept thinking about it for months after it. It's more poems then prose, and it's just damn incredible.

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day
I'm a huge fan of Felicia, have been since the Guild (and Eureka, listen, I love Eureka and still slightly salty five years later). She's an incredible person and I just love so much of what she does. This is kind of her memoir, starting from her early years to now, and it's so interesting. Super interesting to see what she went through more recently. If you love her, read it, and if you don't - read it anyway.

March: Book One and Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
I don't know if I can say anything about this one. It's by John Lewis about the civil rights movement, and it's hard to read. It's painful to see what was happening then, and also related to what is happening right now. It's hard, but I can't recommend it enough.

Showa: A History of Japan, 1926 - 1939 by Shigeru Mizuki
I picked this up on a whim at an indie bookstore. And holy shit, it was so good. It's history, which I really enjoy, but it's just just plain history - a mixture of his person history, Mizuki's, but also the history of what was happening political, with a little bit of a twist at parts. So damn good, I can't wait to keep reading more, but I think I have to reread this one because I think my brain has mixed up some dates. Either way - highly, highly recommended. (Graphic novel)

Spook by Mary Roach
I need to read more of her, because this one was so damn good. I really enjoy her writing and how there's so much packed in to a book that isn't that long, or that hard to read. Can't wait to read more.

Honorable Mention: Quiet

I'd like to add that this is a tad bit late and, while I had company, I also could of written it up early. Only a few days late, at least, and with the fact I have two more of these posts to get up - that isn't that bad. (I'll have one with miscellaneous things and graphic novels/tradcs, and then another with single issues/basically my favorite currently running series.

Let me know if you did a best of 2015 post - book related, comics, or whatever - or just let me know your favorites in the comments. Also let me know if you've read any of these or are planning on it.

Happy New Year! And happy reading.

Book Review: Princesses Behaving Badly

Title: Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories From History Without the Fairy-Tale Ending
Author: Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 288
Publication Date: November 19th, 2013

Plot: (from Goodreads)
You think you know her story. You’ve read the Brothers Grimm, you’ve watched the Disney cartoons, you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after. But the lives of real princesses couldn’t be more different. Sure, many were graceful and benevolent leaders—but just as many were ruthless in their quest for power, and all of them had skeletons rattling in their royal closets. Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe was a Nazi spy. Empress Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian empire slept wearing a mask of raw veal. Princess Olga of Kiev murdered thousands of men, and Princess Rani Lakshmibai waged war on the battlefield, charging into combat with her toddler son strapped to her back. Princesses Behaving Badly offers minibiographies of all these princesses and dozens more. It’s a fascinating read for history buffs, feminists, and anyone seeking a different kind of bedtime story.


Review:
I bought this book kind of on a whim. It sounded interesting, like something I'd like, I kind of love history books (when I actually end up reading them, or finishing them I guess, they can be too dry sometimes). This one started with such a great little introduction to what it was all about, and even if this isn't your thing, I'm still going to suggest checking out the introduction if you can because so much yes.

Anyway - I loved this book and there were many reasons that caused that love for it. First, was the author's writing style, it was witty and I liked that she included the facts and then the gossip of the day, of now, and her own two cents. And that you knew the difference between all of those things. And the fact that she kind of told it how it was at points, where as others might not have wanted to quite hit that hard.

I'd actually only heard of less then five of these women, so it was so much fun to read about them and their misadventures. There was some serious mis-adventuring going on with these princesses, one became a swashbuckling pirate. So now before I ramble and fangirl about history more, let me finish up this review.

The writing was fun, witty, engaging but it was still factual and interesting, including what historians thought, their speculations on different things that can't be proven or disproven. And I know everyone isn't going to want to read a book about historical princesses doing things their families didn't approve of, but if that does sound like something you'd find good or amusing - then definitely check this book out, it was fantastic.