Book Review: The Dark Knight: Golden Dawn by David Finch
With Bruce Wayne finally re-donning the cowl, David Finch creates a new tale about the original Dark Knight fighting crime in Gotham City in his new graphic novel Golden Dawn. The art style and visuals are detailed and crisp and adds a new edge to the lore of Batman.
The Louden Singletree does it again
The Louden Singletree, that prestigious collection of literary works which has brought a certain level of sophistication to our university, has once again outdone itself. This year’s publication, which was officially launched at AfterMath last month, marked the fourth edition since the literary magazine was conceived in 2008.
Book Review: A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
A Dance with Dragons has some of the best characters of the series, but is ultimately a huge disappointment; the fifth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series is nearly as dull as the fourth.
Book Review: Just Kids by Patti Smith
Renowned folk artist Patti Smith relays her past in the 2010 National Book Award winning memoir, Just Kids in passionate, delicate prose.
Book Review: Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
In his vividly-illustrated graphic novel Footnotes in Gaza, Joe Sacco gives readers a glimpse into the present day lives of disenfranchised Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
Book Review: Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
By using the viewpoints of four troubled teenagers as a back drop, Hopkins has taken parental expectations, school pressure, sexuality, addiction and, above all, the desire to be perfect, and thrown it all over the pages.
Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue
Room is a very authentic novel in its presentation of a young boy’s assessments of the world around him. The novel is notably written in a vernacular that would be common to a five-year-old. Due to Jack’s lifelong isolation and obvious familiarity with “The Room,” objects such as “Door” and “Floor” are presented and addressed throughout the novel in personified forms.
Book Review: Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard by David Petersen et al.
Relatively unknown, yet remarkably brilliant, David Petersen’s world of Mouseguard is an entertaining read for graphic novel enthusiasts and fantasy readers alike.
Book Review: The Night of the Gun by David Carr
In this candid memoir about his troubled past, New York Times journalist David Carr opens up about his life before finding success.
Book Review: From Shy to Social: The Shy Man’s Guide to Personal & Dating Success by Christopher Gray
Now immediately I would ask said catalysts of this satisfaction and happiness—women—to stop reading. The whole point of the book is to persuade the estrogen-inclined into providing “satisfaction,” and it would be deeply unfair if you were wise to all our tricks before we (the testosterone-inclined) even tried them. Remember that, at least for the purpose of this work, you are like carefree, prancing gazelle on the African savannah, and we are like starving, lust-crazed cheetahs, anxiously developing our plan to stalk through the long grasses, separate you from the rest of the herd, and possibly obtain your phone-number.
Charles Dickens’ bicentenniel: Tales of urban poverty still relevant
I will be celebrating his bicentennial, if only by checking another one of his novels off my reading list and putting a “happy birthday” message into the social network universe. But not many people enjoy such enduring recognition as to have their birthday recognized centuries later. What makes Dickens so special, then?
Book Review: Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger by Nigel Slater
Toast is a tale told through vignettes, all of which revolve around some element of 1960s British cuisine (be it an idiosyncratic Sunday dinner or a much cherished chocolate bar), and he relates each food item masterfully to the milestones in his own life that have led him to become the person he is now.
Book Review: The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje’s new book The Cat’s Table is an intimate tale of a young boy’s journey from Colombo to England on the ocean liner, the Oronsay. The boy, oddly enough named Michael, is accompanied by his two friends Cassius, who is somewhat rambunctious, and Ramdhim who is known for his emotionality. Together the three children accompany a group of wayward adults at the back corner of the dining hall at the table known as “the cat’s table.” Each of the adults has their own stories to tell; about their pasts or their interactions with each other. All of these histories and actions are viewed through Michael’s eyes, giving the book a childish spin on the adult world around him. The children begin wandering about the ship, learning as they go and meeting other men and women from other classes of the ship. As the journey continues they begin to learn more about themselves and slowly mature as their perceptions of the world around them begin to change. Throughout the book they become open to the worlds of intrigue, villainy, self-preservation, sexuality and other people.
Book Review: Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
P.D. James, well known for her mystery and thriller novels, blends an artist’s passion for Jane Austen and her skill for mystery writing, creating a rich, evocative story.
Book Review: Me & Lee: How I Came to Know, Love and Lose Lee Harvey Oswald by Judyth Vary Baker
Me & Lee, by Judyth Vary Baker, is a controversial non-fiction account of a woman’s personal relationship with a man who was made infamous by being accused of being the assassin who shot and killed President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Book Review: The Magician King by Lev Grossman
This novel has the hallmarks of one written without a clear plan – the plot meanders, heads off in odd directions, and grows organically. This results in not everything necessarily adding up in the end, but not in a glaring way.
Book Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
In her book, readers learn a little bit about Kaling’s unathletic childhood, how college ruined her, and her many jobs in New York including babysitting and working for a TV psychic. But most surprisingly is her big break that got her attention from the show biz world
Book Review: While Mortals Sleep by Kurt Vonnegut
In While Mortals Sleep, Kurt Vonnegut’s altruism is resonant, but lacking the punchy style that we have come to love the famous novelist for. While Mortals Sleep is a posthumous collection of short stories – most of them early works. Unlike Vonnegut’s novels, which revolve around rich, eccentric alcoholic millionaires, and apocalyptic scenarios (as well as time travel) and American-born Nazi double agents, the stories focus on the common man – regular people in regular situations that could happen to any of us.
NaNoWriMo: How to write a novel in 30 days or less
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The movement began with only 21 people in July 1999, all with a singular goal: to write a novel of 50,000 words in just one month.
Book Review: Salinger: A Biography by Paul Alexander
There are few literary icons as enigmatic and mysterious as the reclusive JD Salinger, author of highly-lauded coming-of-age novel The Catcher in the Rye. There is very little known about Salinger because he rarely granted interviews, and when he did he did not allow video or audio recording; thus, he went into hiding for much of his life. There are no primary sources when it comes to an investigation into the life of JD Salinger, for JD Salinger did not want to talk, and most of the people who knew him still to this day respect his wishes for privacy. Paul Alexander seeks to tear down these high walls of solitude that the hermit author constructed during his time on this earth in order to gain a better understanding of who the man was and what happened to him in his book entitled Salinger: A Biography.
Book Review: Troika by Alastair Reynolds
Troika is a steady-paced science fiction novella, of a similar vein to Michael Crichton’s Sphere, and Arthur C. Clark’s A Space Odyssey. It carries itself with a healthy level of mystery, all the while exploring the prospect of our near future and our humanity. As we come to the age of the closing of the American Space program, the world in Troika seems to be a haunting reflection of our own choices in the world of science.
Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth
Much like the series The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins, Divergent, Veronica Roth’s first novel and the first in what is also to become a trilogy, shows a division of society in a post-apocalyptic world.
Creative Writing: A novel idea?
This fall, the UFV students in English 311: Novel Writing have been attempting to prove that something as deeply personal as a novel can be successfully written in a classroom setting.
Book Review: The House At Riverton by Kate Morton
The House at Riverton is an engrossing page-turner. While Morton’s plot risks taking itself too seriously at times (events are occasionally drawn out with much more significance than necessary), readers will note that this is a novel written with heart and revelry in the material
