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larryhammerReading? Wednesday? I do that meme sometimes.
Finished silently:
Supergirl: Being Super, story Marino Tamaki, art Joëlle Jones -- Interesting take on her slice of the mythos, and the teenage material was excellent, but overall I came away feeling that it was a bit thin.
Finished aloud to Eaglet:
Stranger Things, Looniverse #1, David Lubar -- A mildly entertaining early-chapter-book contemporary fantasy surprisingly marred by slapdash illustrations.
Science Comics: Dinosaurs: Fossils and Feathers, story M.K. Reade, art Joe Flood -- which is as much about the history of paleontology as it is about dinosaurs themselves, making the series title all the more apt. Fortunately, Eaglet is older enough, and has seen from other books that our perceptions of dinosaurs have changed, that this was actually interesting. (Especially, let it be said, the frame that shows the butt-head Richard Owen with a literal butt-head.) 5 stars, would read again.
Catstronauts: Slapdash Science, story and art Drew Brockington, being the just published #5 in the series -- The storylines have been getting increasingly complicated with each volume, and the teambuilding exercises thread is something younger readers don't really have context for, but remains entertaining withall. Not quite as good as #4 though.
King Stork, story Howard Pyle, art Trina Schart Hyman -- Not my favorite of Pyle's stories, what with the wife-taming theme, and I have a huge resistance to the idea of his stories being re-illustrated by someone else -- but Hyman at least had the chops for the task. I am vastly bemused at how redonkulously sexy the princess is drawn. (Eaglet: “But that’s okay. If she wants to dress that way, that’s just up to her.”) Eaglet has requested multiple rereads, and I am hopeful that this is a gateway drug to more Pyle.
In progress aloud:
Greek Myths: Stories of Sun, Stone, and Sea, story by Sally Clayton, art by Jane Ray -- Read about half of the dozen or so stories, chosen at random by Eaglet, but their preference is my own retellings over these (which are wordier and less colloquial). Stories about "Greek heroes" have been regular requests for a couple weeks now, after the gateway drugs of Hercules's Labors and Orpheus. (I'm amused that the most confusing part of the story of Theseus in Hades is why he and Pirithous didn't just marry each other. Normalization!)
In progress slowly, for reasons:
Chinese Lyricism: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century, Burton Watson, because it is making me be thinky about my translation practices, and Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature ed. Victor Mair, because it is a brick of a university survey course textbook. I do appreciate, though, that Mair found or commissioned recent translations throughout.
In progress slowly, because keeping current with translations:
Lady Cultivator, Phoenix Destiny, Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation, The Empress's Livestream, Rebirth of the Strongest Empress
DNF:
Seeking the Flying Sword Path, I Eat Tomatoes -- What the. I just dropped yet another of this guy's books, and I pick up another? I don't even. Whatever. Dropped this one, too, at around chapter 50 with a deep abiding Meh.
---L.
Subject quote from If You Could Read My Mind, Gordon Lightfoot.
Finished silently:
Supergirl: Being Super, story Marino Tamaki, art Joëlle Jones -- Interesting take on her slice of the mythos, and the teenage material was excellent, but overall I came away feeling that it was a bit thin.
Finished aloud to Eaglet:
Stranger Things, Looniverse #1, David Lubar -- A mildly entertaining early-chapter-book contemporary fantasy surprisingly marred by slapdash illustrations.
Science Comics: Dinosaurs: Fossils and Feathers, story M.K. Reade, art Joe Flood -- which is as much about the history of paleontology as it is about dinosaurs themselves, making the series title all the more apt. Fortunately, Eaglet is older enough, and has seen from other books that our perceptions of dinosaurs have changed, that this was actually interesting. (Especially, let it be said, the frame that shows the butt-head Richard Owen with a literal butt-head.) 5 stars, would read again.
Catstronauts: Slapdash Science, story and art Drew Brockington, being the just published #5 in the series -- The storylines have been getting increasingly complicated with each volume, and the teambuilding exercises thread is something younger readers don't really have context for, but remains entertaining withall. Not quite as good as #4 though.
King Stork, story Howard Pyle, art Trina Schart Hyman -- Not my favorite of Pyle's stories, what with the wife-taming theme, and I have a huge resistance to the idea of his stories being re-illustrated by someone else -- but Hyman at least had the chops for the task. I am vastly bemused at how redonkulously sexy the princess is drawn. (Eaglet: “But that’s okay. If she wants to dress that way, that’s just up to her.”) Eaglet has requested multiple rereads, and I am hopeful that this is a gateway drug to more Pyle.
In progress aloud:
Greek Myths: Stories of Sun, Stone, and Sea, story by Sally Clayton, art by Jane Ray -- Read about half of the dozen or so stories, chosen at random by Eaglet, but their preference is my own retellings over these (which are wordier and less colloquial). Stories about "Greek heroes" have been regular requests for a couple weeks now, after the gateway drugs of Hercules's Labors and Orpheus. (I'm amused that the most confusing part of the story of Theseus in Hades is why he and Pirithous didn't just marry each other. Normalization!)
In progress slowly, for reasons:
Chinese Lyricism: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century, Burton Watson, because it is making me be thinky about my translation practices, and Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature ed. Victor Mair, because it is a brick of a university survey course textbook. I do appreciate, though, that Mair found or commissioned recent translations throughout.
In progress slowly, because keeping current with translations:
Lady Cultivator, Phoenix Destiny, Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation, The Empress's Livestream, Rebirth of the Strongest Empress
DNF:
Seeking the Flying Sword Path, I Eat Tomatoes -- What the. I just dropped yet another of this guy's books, and I pick up another? I don't even. Whatever. Dropped this one, too, at around chapter 50 with a deep abiding Meh.
---L.
Subject quote from If You Could Read My Mind, Gordon Lightfoot.
no subject
Date: 4 September 2019 04:51 pm (UTC)Can I recc a comic about dinosaurs?
Dinosaur Empire! (Earth Before Us #1) : Journey through the Mesozoic Era
funny, informative, great art
"Ronnie is just a normal fifth-grader trying to pass her science class's impossible quiz on the history of dinosaurs . . . until she happens upon her neighbor - Ms. Lernin - a retired paleontologist. With the assistance of Science Magic, Ronnie and Ms. Lernin travel back through time and space to experience the Mesozoic Era firsthand. They visit three important time periods in the development of the Mesozoic Era: the Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous. Along the way, Ronnie finds herself face-to-face with real-life dinosaurs and reptiles, like stegosauruses, velociraptors, and thalattosaurs. With the help of her neighbor's trusty knowledge of prehistoric times, she learns the differences between herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, as well as between dinosaurs, insects, and reptiles. This insightful and informative graphic novel uses engaging art to bring facts to life, giving kids the tools to understand the evolution of these prehistoric creatures and the important effects this era had on our world today."
https://www.bookdepository.com/Dinosaur-Empire-Earth-Before-Us-1-Abby-Howard/9781419723063?ref=grid-view&qid=1567615852497&sr=1-1
no subject
Date: 4 September 2019 10:01 pm (UTC)Recs gleefully accepted. I think we came across that a year or two ago and decided it was pitched a little too old for Eaglet-just-then. Looks perfect now, though -- and oh hey the library has it, and the sequel (but not the yet-to-be-published rest of series). Holds placed.
Thanks!
no subject
Date: 5 September 2019 02:43 am (UTC)Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards about Cope V Marsh
"The Wild West provided the setting for some famous battles, but the gunfight at O.K. Corral doesn't hold a candle to the Bone Wars. Following the Civil War, the (Re-)United States turned its attention to the unexplored territories between the Mississippi and the Pacific. The railroads led the way, and to build them we blasted through mountains and leveled valleys and exposed rock that hadn't seen the light of day for millions of years. This is the story of Edwin Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, two scientists who found and fought for those bones, and the artist Charles R. Knight who almost single-handedly brought dinosaurs back to life for an awestruck public. Guest starring Chief Red Cloud and hundreds of his people, the gun-totin' and gamblin' Professor John Bell Hatcher, colossal and stupefying Dinosauria of the New World, and featuring special appearances by The Cardiff Giant, P.T. Barnum, Buffalo Bill Cody, Ulysses S. Grant, Alexander Graham Bell, and a plentiful supporting cast of Rogues and Gallants from the Eastern Scientific Establishment and The Old West, the colorful supporting cast makes for a rich blend of history, adventure, science, and art."
https://www.bookdepository.com/Bone-Sharps-Cowboys-Thunder-Lizards-Jim-Ottaviani/9780966010664?ref=grid-view&qid=1567651291999&sr=1-1
no subject
Date: 5 September 2019 03:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 4 September 2019 07:04 pm (UTC)Hey, write a version where they did.
no subject
Date: 4 September 2019 09:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 4 September 2019 09:26 pm (UTC)I haven't seen it. Mary Renault certainly didn't.
no subject
Date: 4 September 2019 09:30 pm (UTC)(Besides, if they do marry, how do we get Theseus stuck to a rock in Hades, waiting to be pulled off by the Herc, so leaving the skin from his butt behind?)
( ... whatever happened to that skin, anyway? What are the consequences of leaving the skin off your butt, or any other body part, in Hades?)
no subject
Date: 4 September 2019 09:31 pm (UTC)No, but I don't read shallowly in this field.
( ... whatever happened to that skin, anyway? What are the consequences of leaving the skin off your butt, or any other body part, in Hades?)
Other than that your ass literally belongs to Hades?
no subject
Date: 4 September 2019 09:58 pm (UTC)I defer to your experience.
I defer to ... er, nevermind.
(Why would Hades want ... er, nevermind.)
no subject
Date: 5 September 2019 05:31 am (UTC)<3
no subject
Date: 5 September 2019 03:00 pm (UTC)