Review: Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship: Stories from India by Chitra Soundar

Synopsis: Can Prince Veera and his best friend outsmart the king’s trickiest subjects? Inspired by traditional Indian folktales, these stories are sure to delight. Being a wise and just ruler is no easy task. That’s what Prince Veera discovers when he and his best friend, Suku, are given the opportunity to preside over the court of his father, King Bheema. Some of the subjects’ complaints are easily addressed, but others are much more challenging. How should they handle the case of the greedy merchant who wishes to charge people for enjoying the smells of his sweets? And can they prove that an innocent man cannot possibly spread bad luck? Will Prince Veera and Suku be able to settle the dispute between a man and his neighbor to whom he sells a well — but not the water in it? Or solve the mystery of the jewels that have turned into pickles? Illustrated throughout by Uma Krishnaswamy, these eight original tales by Chitra Soundar task Veera and Suku with outwitting the kingdom’s greediest, wiliest subjects. Are the two clever boys up to the challenge? (from the online description)

Review: Told in a similar style to A Thousand and One Arabian Nights and Aesop’s Fables, this charming collection follows Prince Veera and his friend Suka, as they solve problems around the kingdom of Veera’s Father. They encounter everything from greedy merchants to evil Uncles, and each time they must use their wits to solve the riddle.

Told in a simply style, these stories have no great depth and tend to be moralistic – meaning, the good and evil are always clear, and the right way is easy to see. The two boys face no great obstacles and are often supported by adults (other than the “bad” guy in the story) who approve and assist with whatever scheme they devise. After the first few stories, this grows a bit tiresome. The stories lack real depth or challenge.

However, one of the more charming aspects is the frequent mention of Indian foods and customs. For Western readers, this is a delightful flavor, and encourages exploration and appreciation of another culture.

Over all, this collection, while shallow, is still fun, and will delight younger readers (ages 4-6) without boring parents. 

Note: I received this free through LibraryThing's Early Review Program, in exchange for my fair and honest opinion

Bookmarks: 3 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN:978-1-5362-0067-6
Year Published: 2019
Date Finished: 10-6-2018
Pages: 179

Review: Mama, Do You Love Me by Barbara M. Joosse, ill. by Barbara Lavallee

Synopsis: A young girl asks her Mother "Do you love me" and gives increasingly wild situations in which she might test her mothers love

Review: The characters and story use the Inuit Culture as a basis, and the art is done in a stylize way. The story is sweet and cute, and answers a big question children often have. Perfect for young children (2-5), the pictures are colorful and well done and the story is both silly and sweet.

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-8118-2131-5
Year Published: 1991
Date Finished: 10-5-18
Pages: 7

Review: The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time, Book Five)

Synopsis: In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times best seller The Shadow Rising, Robert Jordan again plunges us into his extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:
...Into the forbidden city of Rhuidean, where Rand al'Thor, now the Dragon Reborn, must conceal his present endeavor from all about him, even Egwene and Moiraine.
...Into the Amyrlin's study in the White Tower, where Amyrlin, Flaida do Avriny a 'Roihan, is weaving new plans.
...Into the luxurious hidden chamber where the Forsaken Rahvin is meeting with three of his fellows to ensure their ultimate victory over the Dragon.
...Into the Queen's court in Caemlyn, where Morgase is curiously in thrall to the handsome Lord Gaebril.
For once the Dragon walks the land, the fires of Heaven fall where they will, until all men's lives are ablaze. And in Shayol Ghul, the Dark One stirs. (from the online description)

Review: This is where the series begins to wear a bit thin. This book dragged, and probably could have been condensed with Book 6 to no ill-effect. Instead, we get 900+ pages where very little actually happens. The beginning, as we explore the Wastes with Rand and Co, and watch Nynaeve and Co, travel – but after a while, the story stagnates and it because tedious to read. You just want someone to DO something.

Jordan is known for his detail – and it really shows in this book. The story suffers as paragraph after paragraph is given over to minutiae. Trim the fat, please!

Despite this, the story does move forward (eventually) and we leave the characters in more danger than ever. I am eager to see what happens, although I hope the next novel does not plod like this one. 

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-812-55030-7
Year Published: 1993
Date Finished: 10-4-2018
Pages: 968

Review: Bacon & Butter: The Ultimate Ketogenic Diet Cookbook by Celby Richoux

Synopsis: For many of us, the idea of dieting conveys unpleasant notions of flavorless piles of lettuce and overpriced freezer meals. But the secret to losing weight isn’t starving yourself or eating processed “diet food.” With Bacon & Butter: The Ultimate Ketogenic Diet Cookbook you’ll begin dropping pounds immediately—and learn how to keep them off for good—by following a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet packed with tasty, wholesome meals that you’ll love. Your journey towards a healthier life and slimmer waistline begins here and now, with useful features such as:
-150 delicious ketogenic diet recipes that will keep your body in ketosis, complete with nutritional information for each recipe

-Clear guidance on what ketosis is and which foods are truly keto-friendly

-Knowledgeable guidance from Celby Richoux who has experienced firsthand the incredible, transformative results of the ketogenic diet

-Ideas for how to stick to your new ketogenic diet—from common social situations like office parties to holiday dinners.

Whether you've come to keto through the guidance of your doctor or you're looking for a sustainable way to lose weight, Bacon and Butter is your complete ketogenic diet resource for keeping your diet on track and your taste buds happy. (from the online description)

Review: As with other Keto-centered (or Low-Carb) cookbooks, this one starts with an overview of the science behind Keto and the reasons for adopting it. It then moves into recipes from breakfast, condiments, different proteins, vegetables, and desserts.

The first section, on Keto, is simple and lacks depth or any real science. However, having read most of the science, it is accurate, if overly-simplified.

The recipes that follow are nothing spectacular, but solid and tasty-looking. You can probably find variations on all of them free on the internet. A few that caught my eye were desserts that did NOT use fake-sweeteners, something rare in Keto-cooking. I copied those out for my edification, as well as several for stuffed chicken thighs and a salmon recipe with chipotle cream sauce.

The recipes are clear and concise, easy to follow, with no unique or special cooking techniques and do not require anything kitchen tools but what is generally found in the average kitchen.

Worth reading, if you want solid Keto recipes, but you might be better served by borrowing this volume from the library or a friend.  

Bookmarks: 3 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-62315-520-9
Year Published: 2014
Date Finished: 10-1-2018
Pages: 248

Review: Ninjak: Weaponeer (Volume 1) by Matt Kindt, Clay Mann, Butch Guice, Juan Jose Ryp

Synopsis: Then: Meet inexperienced MI-6 recruit Colin King on his first mission in the field as he learns the basics of spycraft and counterintelligence, and develops a volatile relationship with his first handler.
Now: Colin King is Ninjak, the world’s foremost intelligence operative, weapons expert, and master assassin. And he’s hunting the Shadow Seven — a secret cabal of shinobi masters with mysterious ties to his training and tragic past. (from the online description)

Review:  My first introduction to Ninjak was in the other Valiant Universe comics – namely X-O Manowar and Bloodshot. He was always an amusing character. And I was excited to find this volume in a used book shop!

It did not disappoint. Told in the present and flashbacks, both to his childhood and his start as a spy, we see where he came from and where he ended up. It is fascinating. Strong, fast-paced story, with dynamic art and bold colors, takes us on a whirlwind adventure from his boyhood home to jungles dark with danger to bright cities even more deadly. Complex villains and shadowy characters fill out the story, making it a fun and intriguing read all the way through.

My only qualm was that some of the story was rushed, and I ardently wanted more detail! But this is a good sign in a story.

Valiant comics are worth more attention, with equal quality and depth as a DC or Marvel character. I highly recommend if you want a small manageable universe to explore, filled with complex heroes and dangerous foes.

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 9781939346667
Year Published: 2015
Date Finished: 10-3-18
Pages: 100

Review: Introduction to Japanese Culture ed. by Daniel Sosnoski (L)

Synopsis: Featuring full-color photographs and illustrations throughout, this text is a comprehensive guide to Japanese culture. The richness of Japan's history is renowned worldwide. The heritage of culture that its society has produced and passed on to future generations is one of Japan's greatest accomplishments. In Introduction to Japanese Culture, you'll read an overview, through sixty-eight original and informative essays, of Japan's most notable cultural achievements, including:

Religion, Zen Buddhism, arranged marriages and Bushido

Drama and Art—from pottery, painting and calligraphy to haiku, kabuki and karate

Cuisine—everything from rice to raw fish

Home and Recreation, from board games such as Go to origami, kimonos and Japanese gardens

The Japan of today is a fully modern, Westernized society in nearly every regard. Even so, the elements of an earlier age are clearly visible in the country's arts, festivals, and customs. This book focuses on the essential constants that remain in present-day Japan and their counterparts in Western culture.

Edited by Daniel Sosnoski, an American writer who has lived in Japan since 1985, these well-researched articles, color photographs, and line illustrations provide a compact guide to aspects of Japan that often puzzle the outside observer. Introduction to Japanese Culture is wonderfully informative, a needed primer on the cultural make-up and behaviors of the Japanese. This book is certain to fascinate the student, tourist, or anyone who seeks to know and understand Japanese culture, Japanese etiquette, and the history of Japan. (from the online description)

Review: The edition I read, from 1996, was a bit dated, and contained nothing of the technology for which us, in 2018, know the Japanese. But the rich culture that defines the Japanese has not changed and Sosnoski's chosen authors explore and explain this with short but eloquent words. However, this is a simple book, intended as an overview and should not be taken as an indepth guide to any of the ideas stated within. Suitable for children, but I would recommend an updated version.

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-8048-2056-2
Year Published: 1996
Date Finished: 9-17-2018
Pages: 104

Review: The X Factor by Andre Norton

Synopsis: The novel's hero is Diskan Fentress, mutant son of a high-ranking military official who, feeling out of place in a life that requires a certain bearing and poise (he's pitifully overgrown and clumsy), steals a spaceship and runs off to an uncharted world called Mimir to begin a new life. Norton makes the theft of the spaceship ludicrously easy (it amounts to a variation on stealing dad's keys). But clearly Diskan is not the brightest bulb on the tree, either. Crash landing in a frozen, alien wasteland, with barely enough provisions to survive, Diskan soon encounters strange indigenes called the brothers-in-fur. Their ancestors, we learn, inhabited a once-magnificent city named Xcothal, the ruins of which poor Diskan soon finds himself led to. There he meets another human, a girl named Julha Than, and a wounded alien called a Zacathan. He learns that the ruins of Xcothal contain a treasure being sought by a band of outlaws called the Jacks. (from an online review)

Review: A pillar of the early Sci-Fi writers (and female authors in the genre) – Andre Norton wrote 50+ books, with a particular flair for the pulpy adventure-based sci-fi and fantasy novels popular during the early days of those genres.

This one is no different. The main character, an outcast on his own planet, runs away and travels to a planet his father once visited. Here, he travels across the inhospitable waste towards a city, drawn to it by strange dreams and even strangers meetings of the local natives.

There are the general laser pistols, strange native mysteries, dastardly off-planet robbers, the pretty, terrified, girl in need of rescue, and the enigmatic non-humans. As vintage sci-fi goes, this is an excellent example. But for modern eyes, it will seem dated. It’s fast-paced, with a strange ending, and the general drama of an adventure novel.

As with Norton’s other book, this is a fun and pulpy read. 

Bookmarks: 3 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: N/A
Year Published: 1965
Date Finished: 9-17-2018
Pages: 154

Review: Alex + Ada, Volume 1-3 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

 Synopsis: From JONATHAN LUNA (THE SWORD, GIRLS, Spider-Woman: Origin) and SARAH VAUGHN (Sparkshooter, Ruined) comes ALEX + ADA, a sci-fi/drama set in the near future. The last thing in the world Alex wanted was an X5, the latest in realistic androids. But after Ada is dropped into his life, he discovers she is more than just a robot. Alex takes a huge risk to unlock Ada so she can think for herself and explore life as a sentient android. Can they survive the consequences? (from the online description)

Review: Told in bold colors and modern art, this short series tackles the question of what makes a person. Alex, lonely and depressed, received an unwelcome and unexpected gift – a robot that will mold itself to be exactly what you want. But Alex wants a free being. His choice changes his life – and Ada’s.

The story is fast-paced and as complex as it can be in such a short series. It would perhaps benefit from a longer run which would allow more exploration of the side-characters and the topics addresses. As it was, the story was rushed, a bit, although complete. It could have gone deeper but lacked time. This doesn’t mean the characters lacked depth or completeness. But the story didn’t allow for the relationships to grow as would seem realistic.

Although not the best graphic novel ever, the ideas and art make it worth reading. It will be particularly interesting to anyone who enjoys considering the ideas put forth by Asimov in I, Robot. 

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-63215-006-6 / 978-1-63215-195-7 / 978-1-63215-404-0
Year Published: 2015 / 2015 / 2015
Date Finished: 9-15-2018
Pages: 110 / 105 / 99

Review: A Midnight Opera, Volumes 1-3 by Hans Steinbach

Synopsis: Rock star Einblick DeLaLune tries to hide a dark secret that he is actually a centries-old werewolf. (from the online description)

Review: I picked this up on a whim at 2^nd and Charles, and although it received rather bad reviews most places, I thought it amusing, interesting, and fun. An immortal – something of a cross between a vampire and werewolf – after having ensured the safety of his people, decides to become a Rock’n’Roll legend! And yet, at the height of his career, those who once persecuted his people – the other immortals – return and he is forced to choose between his life and love, and his people. In the middle, is his brother, who never left the fight to free their people – and the evil, dark-haired immortal female who is all that humans feared in immortals.

Told in bold strokes and dynamic art, with lots of black and white, this is a fast-paced story that jumps between the Dark Ages and Modern Time. The author is German, and so the view of Europe has an authenticity that is pleasing after reading so many attempts by Americans to properly capture that land in writing.

While this isn’t a new or unique story, it is a fun take on an old theme, and  quite a perfect read for a dark and storming night.  

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN:1-59816-265-9 / 1-59816-417-6 / 1-4278-0007-3
Year Published: 2005 / 2006 / 2006
Date Finished: 9-12-2018
Pages: 95 / 101 / 89

Review: Light Brigade by Peter Tomasi, Peter Snejbjerg, and Bjarne Hansen

Synopsis: There's a war in heaven and Earth is the battleground in this original supernatural action adventure/horror story set during World War II. This epic tale revolves around a ragtag squad of U.S. soldiers that must recover the mysterious Sword of God, a heavenly artifact coveted by angels and demons, before the descendants of fallen angels disguised as Nazis. If they aren't successful, the world will be destroyed. It's a good thing they've got a mysterious, immortal Roman Centurion fighting on their side to even the odds. (from the online description)

Review: With classic artwork and dynamic colors, the authors of this work tell an interesting story. Angels, at war, have chosen for their battlefield, the snowy woods in Europe at the end of World War II.

The story is interesting enough to read, but by no means, new or unique. The idea of a War in Heaven is not new, going at far back as Milton, or even more. This is told from the viewpoint of the soldiers who get tangled up in the war. Chosen by one of the heavenly combatants as worthy and necessary, the human soldiers are asked to protect Holy Relics from the dastardly hands of the unworthy.

As I picked this up for 50 cents at a used book sale, I am inclined to be more generous to the story than otherwise. Amusing and worth the 30 or so minutes it takes to read it, it is neither good enough to recommend nor bad enough to condemn. It is merely a slightly altered version of an old and common story. 

Bookmarks: 3 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 1-4012-0795-2
Year Published: 2005
Date Finished: 9-7-2018
Pages: 100

Review: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Synopsis: Inspired by the author's childhood experience as a refugee—fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama—this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration. Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope—toward America. (from the online description)

Review: Ever read a book and feel your view point shift, like taking a step to the side and seeing the world from slightly different angle. This book. Told in short free-style poetry, we follow a ten-year old Vietnamese girl as she and her family are evacuated from Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and sent as Refugees to Alabama, in 1975. Viewing our world from her eyes shifted something inside me, a small something, but I know I finished the book a different person then when I started.

Looking at one’s own culture and country from other’s eyes can be jarring. It is vital, however, for growth. And seeing one’s culture through the eyes of a hurt and bewildered child is particularly eye-opening. It gives one a change to examine prejudices and ideas, to ponder them anew.

For children, I would recommend, although only if an adult reads with. There are some strong and hard truths about the world. But there are some great lessons to – particularly about how to treat someone who is different from you. In this day and age, that is a valuable lesson. 

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: National Book Award, Newbery Honor

ISBN: 978-0-06-196279-0
Year Published: 2011
Date Finished: 8-31-2018
Pages: 262