Building Stories by Chris Ware

Publisher: Jonathan Cape Books
ISBN: 9780224078122
Format: Boxset containing hardbacks, paperbacks, pamplets, etc
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 260
Publication Date: October 4, 2012

SYNOPSIS

In Chris Ware's own words, 'Building Stories follows the inhabitants of a three-flat Chicago apartment house: a thirty-year-old woman who has yet to find someone with whom to spend the rest of her life; a couple who wonder if they can bear each other's company for another minute; and finally an elderly woman who never married and is the building's landlady...'

The scope, the ambition, the artistry and emotional heft of this project are beyond anything even Chris Ware has achieved before.

REVIEW

This is my first real introduction to the work of Chris Ware. I've admired his previous books, especially the Acme Novelty Library series, from afar but I haven’t been brave enough to read one yet. At first glance they appear too daunting to just slip into. While lovely to look at, there is a lot of information for your retinas to process; panels and faces filled the pages from top to bottom and tiny font filled in all the remaining gaps. They always left me feeling a bit intimidated and mildly confused about how to decipher a path through the colourful mazes. To me, they seemed like mystifying logic puzzles in image form that I would one day work up the courage to work through.

Building Stories is his latest work, a graphic novel comprising of 14 distinctive printed works ranging from magazines, broadsheets, flip books and pamphlets. This unconventional 'book in a box' is the most fun and unique book format I've ever had the pleasure of coming across. When you slowly lift the lid off the container and cast your gaze over the assortment of colourful treats, it fills you with childish glee. There are papers and booklets of all sizes and shapes and it’s impossible not to feel a little excitement at the sense of wonder and discovery.

Building Stories in all it's glory...

The order in which you chose to assemble your narrative is entirely up to you. The stories are intricately connected and span over a time period of 2 to 3 decades, so there is a reading order in a sense since the passing of time is clearly visible for some characters, but each piece can be tackled in any order. In a way, I think it adds to the charm of the book. I like to imagine that if I pass this onto others they might end up following a different path from mine and may come out feeling differently about certain events or the whole book altogether if they manage to finish on a more uplifting segment than I did.

The craftsmanship behind each item and the intricate details contained in each colourful panel are some of the most impressive design work I've come across. The amount of meticulous precision, consuming passion and painstaking planning that has gone into the construction and execution of this enormous project is staggering. There’s actually no need to read through the text contained in most of the booklets, it’s an absolute marvel to look at. It somehow manages to defy logic and appear to be both densely packed without looking cluttered and rigid yet strangely chaotic all at the same time.

Building Stories has left me feeling divided. While I think that it’s a masterpiece and an instant classic for its genre, I'm not sure how much I truly enjoyed the stories it contained. It’s odd for me to absolute adore the aesthetics, but slightly loathe the unrelenting bleakness that surrounds the multiple storylines explored in this collection. Surprisingly, this is not a condemning statement to make about this compilation. Chris Ware has written himself on the back of the box that “this book is sure to sympathize with the crushing sense of life wasted, opportunities missed and creative dreams dashed”, so readers are warned in advance of the general sense of melancholy that characterizes this visual novel.


Most of my discomfort lies in the voyeuristic nature of this piece of work. It’s similar to the uncomfortable feeling you get living in a flat with paper thin walls and involuntarily overhearing a loud argument from your neighbours next door, only a thousand times worse. In this case, not only are you listening in to conversations and arguments about a range of personal and highly sensitive topics, but you’re also watching the whole thing in vivid detail, like an invisible occupant in the room perceiving the devastating effects of those string of insults and the instant remorse that flickers across the faces of characters who come to the realization that they can’t take back the harmful words.

Ware’s natural ability to empathize with his characters is remarkable. He gives voice to the insecurities and sometimes awkward socially unacceptable ideas and thoughts that crosses all of our minds, whether we like to admit it or not. All this is handled with a deft touch that allows us to sympathize with the characters without making them despicable. There were many moments where I cringed at certain storylines, but I had to stop myself and ask was it really because it’s so truly a horrid thought to have about another person or was it because there’s a small part of myself that recognized I would be a hypocrite for damning the character when I myself could easily have had a similar thought?

My favourite piece is the large blue accordion style booklet. On one side, it shows a meticulously drafted layout of each floor of the brownstone apartment with skilfully added touches of life like the addition of dirty laundry on the floor, stubborn old crumbs hidden behind couches and a small collection of dried leaves blown against the front doors. Those little details, so cleverly thought out, serve to create an inviting environment that our eyes can roam and explore out of what normally would be a very sterile and pristine architectural diagram devoid of occupants and colour.

I remember looking at the open fallen book on the floor of one of the bedrooms and thinking how badly I wanted to pick that up because it’ll crack the spine if it’s left like that (Yes, I'm one of THOSE people). Oh the horror! I think the brilliance of that piece is that even though the images contain no people, we still can find something familiar to identify with.

In contrast, the other side is brimming with small vibrantly coloured comics portraying the hidden thoughts and interactions between the residents of the building. Consisting of 4 panels, each with a fixed view of the front of the brownstone building in one season, it serves both as a backdrop for these little episodes and gives a sense of passing time. This booklet doesn't drive the story along like some of the others do, but that’s why I found it refreshing. It wasn't an emotionally charged episode or a bitter-sweet look into the past, it’s just a cleverly constructed and amusing glimpse into the lives of these characters.

While I admire Chris Ware for not shying away from the difficult and often mishandled topics of isolation, depression and the paralysing effect of losing yourself in thoughts of the past, I constantly found myself hoping against hope that the next booklet I picked up would contain a happier outcome for the protagonists.

In a previous post, I talked about picture books being an unappreciated and underrated form of storytelling. Comics and graphic novels are another genre that is greatly ignored in many literary circles. Hopefully, the addition of two graphic novels to this year’s Costa Award shortlist will go a long way to help the image that graphic novels are respectable forms of pictorial literature.

I think many individuals don’t know how to approach reading a graphic novel and that can be a bit intimidating or off putting. There are a few people that I know personally who hold the opinion that graphic novels aren't a valid form of literature because they consist mainly of images and sometimes sparse use of text. I don’t think they’re giving them a fair chance. Graphic novels require a different approach to reading than that of a normal novel. Traditional books rely on our ability to associate the words on a page with our own experiences; to use our own imagination to conjure up every single item described in the book from the features of a character to the ominous shadows lurking in the cobbled streets found in the setting. With graphic novels, there’s less of a need for that, the images for the most part are provided there for you, but that doesn't mean there is less there for you to “read”.

Visual interpretation is needed to read the expressions on character faces and the subtle body language that instinctively shapes the course of most our social interactions. The slumping of shoulders, raising of eyebrows, the pursing of lips; these are all familiar sights in our day to day lives that help us to read the moods and intentions of the people around us. Instead of being utterly dependant on the author’s words and descriptions, we have to rely on our own ability to identify the signs hinted at by the artist in the splashes of colour and deliberate scribbles of ink. Chris Ware describes it as “the weird process of reading pictures, not just looking at them.” As we “experience the world as adults; we don’t really “see” any more after a certain age, we spend our time naming and categorizing and identifying and figuring how everything all fits together.” This reliance on our sense of sight and interpretation of images is what sets it uniquely apart from other formats.

It’s hard to give a proper rating or even a general recommendation to strangers for this collection. I can say without fear that this is a work of genius and many reviewers are already justifiably proclaiming this project as Chris Ware’s magnum opus, but I can’t say that it will hold universal appeal to everyone who picks it up. It provides a unique reading experience like no other that I've come across and that’s well worth the exploration since there is no guarantee that anything will come along that will provide the same sensation. I've opened the box over a dozen of times to pull out pieces to examine while I was writing this review and the novelty of opening up this huge box full of tiny books still hasn't worn off.

There are a lot of people who will be instantly put off by the seriousness of the issues tackled and the downbeat tone and that’s perfectly understandable, but to those of you that decide to take the chance and embark on the journey, I recommend sticking with it to the end. It’s deeply affecting, offering a lasting impression of ups and downs of living a modern life.

There’s no real conclusion to the multiple storylines in Building Stories; no happy endings for its inhabitants, but that’s the point. It’s a depiction of life in its rawest form: full of regret, haunting memories, failed dreams, unsaid desires, fleeting happiness, lingering sadness and flickers of hope. Giving these characters endings aren't necessary, their lives are still in motion; their fates undetermined. What we are left with instead are our reflections on our own lives and the loud, clear message to go out and live them.

Short and Sweet: The Twitter Review

A decade in the making, Building Stories is an ingenuous work of beauty and quality. A truly unique reading experience that shouldn't be missed.

Beautiful Book of the Month: December

The Hobbit By J.R.R. Tolkien

Published November 2012
ISBN:  9780007487301
Format: Special Edition Clothbound Hardback
HarperCollins
www.harpercollins.co.uk

I put off buying a copy of The Hobbit months ago, because I wanted something special. Something that will last for years. After all, if you're going to buy a classic why wouldn't you want something that will look beautiful on the shelf and periodically tempt you back to the lovely story within its pages?

Part of my obsessive enthusiasm for "beautiful books" is the fact that they are books that demand attention; they refuse to be ignored. With every fleeting glance towards the bookshelves, these extraordinary books stand out and coax me to come closer, to run my fingers gently over their covers and dare me to open their pages and read what's within.

No matter how tall or time sensitive my "To Read" pile grows, there’s always that nagging knowledge that some new shiny proof or book release that will inevitably push some books further from my mental priority list and lower and lower in that teetering pile. In the worse cases, they are moved to another stack of teetering books located in my bedroom with an even later promised read by date dustily associated with them. Heaven forbid they end up in the dark no man’s land that is the cramped space under my bed. I'm too scared at the prospect of hunting down a hidden gem in that poorly constructed labyrinth of lost reading material. It always conjures up an image of me being found 2 weeks later buried under a massive paper avalanche...or never being found at all.


In contrast, there’s an unspoken understanding exchanged and renewed each morning as I pass by my cherished bookcase that houses my special editions. that first initial spark of enthusiasm; that feeling of anticipation and excitement you get when picking up a new book; it never fades away in time with these books like it does with my other reading piles. I may read dozens or even hundreds of stories before I eventually pluck one of the enticing tomes off the shelf, but I know, without a doubt, that I will inevitably visit each of their worlds.

That’s the main reason why I took my time selecting an edition of The Hobbit. I didn't want a cheap throwaway paperback to read as quickly as possible before the upcoming film release. I'm already aware that the story is fantastic and to honour both it and my fond childhood memories, it had to be something deserving and desirable.

I was going to cave in and buy this edition of The Hobbit, when by chance I came across a new listing for this absolutely stunning hardback. Stunned is the perfect word to describe my reaction to seeing this lovely book. As I stood for a few seconds starring somewhat dumbfounded at the screen image, it slowly seeped into my pretty book occupied brain that it was absolutely perfect. Just what I always wanted and was waiting that extra bit for. It may sound a bit melodramatic, but that’s how it felt at that moment. Nothing is worse than the feeling you get when you finally settle for something, think you’re happy with it and suddenly the next day there’s that perfect item you were looking for, the one you gave up believing even existed, staring you right in the face. So am I excused for doing a little mental happy dance when I finally purchased this? There may have been a little discreet cover stroking and whispering of “My Precious” in a secluded corner of the shop as well. That may not be as excusable…

This collector’s edition is being advertised as a special film tie-in hardback with a design “inspired by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, but I'm happy that HarperCollins decided not to go the normal route of using either a promotional movie still or the official film poster image for the cover. Instead, we are presented with a modern, yet timeless illustrative scene of Mirkwood forest, complete with a delicate splattering of butterflies hovering above its towering trees.

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

                         ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Patience is not a virtue that I’m blessed with. I’m a notorious compulsive buyer of books; both the state of my flat and bank account can attest to that, but in this case I’m extremely glad that I decided to extend my search for the perfect edition. Not only did I end up with an unexpected surprise that will lead me on an unexpected journey, but I couldn’t have hoped for a more wonderful choice to guide me there and back again. 

Beautiful Book of the Month: November

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 

By Lewis Carroll & Illustrated by Robert Ingpen

Published August 2009

ISBN:  9781840119688
Templar Publishing
www.templarco.co.uk


After quickly scanning through my numerous bookshelves and piles before writing this post, I've roughly counted at least 10 different editions of the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that I own so far and that’s not counting the numerous adaptations and reinterpretations that I have quietly amassed over the years.

While there is a small part of me that realizes that having so many multiple copies of the same book is incredibly impractical, both economically and spatially, I can’t help myself. There is a lure to this book that is incredibly hard for me to resist.

The stories that resonate with us are usually the ones from our childhood; the ones that sparked our first initial love of reading. Alice in Wonderland was the first book that fully captured my imagination. The first to conjure up imagery so exciting, so vivid and so ridiculous that I knew I wanted to be a part of it. It was the first fantasy universe that I wanted to escape into and first world that I truly wished with all my heart existed somewhere in real life.  From the very first moment Alice tumbled down that rabbit hole, I fell with her and I never wanted to wake up from the dream.

"Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!"

I have to remind myself that I'm not actually reviewing the quality of the story, but the quality of the actual physical book for this review. It’s hard not to get carried away by enthusiasm and just say “READ IT ALREADY!” to those that haven’t yet. It’s an absolute classic. I normally avoid brandishing the label “classic” to a book I'm trying to encourage others to read, mostly because to some it conjures up images of dusty old tombs that they either avoid like the plague or feel obligated to own on their shelves, but never intend to read. But this is a classic in the truest sense of the meaning. A 19th century reviewer, Sir Walter Besant said it best when he wrote that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland "was a book of that extremely rare kind which will belong to all the generations to come until the language becomes obsolete".  It a book that is meant to be read, to be enjoyed and it’s endearing and enduring story still evokes a sense of wonder and excitement with every additional reading. There’s always something new to discover in Wonderland.

While this may be blasphemous to many Alice collectors out there, I must admit that this is my favourite edition. Lewis Carroll’s wonderfully surreal tale is beautifully illustrated in this hardback edition. As much as I love the original illustrations by Sir John Tenniel, Robert Ingpen’s drawings just bring the world alive for me.

What I love the most about the artwork is the attention to the fine details. An astonishing amount of care has gone into each image; nothing suffers from even a hint of neglect.  Every element, from the individual strands of hair on Alice’s head to the slightly chipped and worn shell of the Mock Turtle, has been lovingly rendered in exquisite detail.  Flawlessly accurate but never rigid, the realism of Ingpen’s work adds depth and believability without detracting from the entertaining nonsense that is the heart and soul of the story.

The Mad Hatter	Curiouser and Curiouser	Alice embossed on cover

The Tea Party: Where I first pondered "Why is a raven is like a writing desk?"

Not only are the pictures in this edition elegantly and painstakingly drawn, but it’s also by far the most richly illustrated version I've come across. There are over 70 enchanting images to marvel and linger over. As an aspiring artist myself, I can’t help but be in awe of Ingpen’s sketches; so wonderfully textured with every pencil mark visible.    

Why is it always harder to write about the things you love? Is it because criticism comes much more naturally to us, or is it because no combination of words seems to do the subject matter justice? When I first toyed with the idea of creating a “Beautiful Book of the Month” feature, Alice instantly popped in my mind as an obvious first choice, but I just couldn't figure out what to say.  Months later and I'm still not convinced I've said the right things or nearly enough.

This is the book that I enthusiastically run from one far corner of the store to the next just to place in a customer’s hand. It’s one of the books that give me a warm happy glow inside whenever I manage to sell a copy to a fellow book lover. Not because it’s an extra sale for our shop, but because I’d like to imagine that this book will be a much loved and cherished addition to someone’s library. Just as it is in mine.

Other wonderful hardback classics in this series illustrated by Robert Ingpen

Adventures of Tom Sawyer Jungle Book The Night Before Christmas Peter Pan and Wendy The Secret Garden Treasure Island Wind in the Willows Wonderful Wizard of Oz

9781402767623 9781402782848 9781402781827 9781402728686 9781402778728 9781402775451 9781402782831 9781402775468

The Horologicon by Mark Forsyth

Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781848314153
Format: Hardback
Pages: 258
Genre: Non-Fiction, Humour, Reference
Publication Date: November 1, 2012

SYNOPSIS

The Horologicon (or book of hours) gives you the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to the hour of the day when you really need them.

From Mark Forsyth, author of the bestselling The Etymologicon, this is a book of weird words for familiar situations.  From ante-jentacular to snudge by way of quafftide and wamblecropt, at last you can say, with utter accuracy, exactly what you mean.

REVIEW

One of my secret, well soon to be not so secret, insecurities is my perceived lack of an extensive vocabulary.  While I know that there are very few people that can claim complete mastery of the English language, I do feel more often than not that I can articulate myself much better in the written form rather than spoken. Is it because I get somewhat overly excited at times and my mouth runs miles away from my thoughts? Or hopefully, it’s the opposite and my mouth is frantically trying to catch up to my rampant thoughts, stumbling over words and leaving a trail of half constructed and only semi-coherent sentences in its wake. Most people that know me quite well will describe me at best as a rambler; a person who lacks organization in her speech or writing, but hopefully I’m an interesting one.

I would love to have the linguistic ability to say exactly what I want clearly and concisely when needed.  It may sound geeky, but that would be the equivalent of granting me a much coveted superpower. Forget flying circles around my enemies, I would love the skill and knowledge base to talk circles around them instead.  Give me Socrates over Superman any day.  

So now make way for my newly discovered modern day hero, Mark Forsyth: demystifier of obscure words, phrases, rhetoric and prose and my personal harbinger of lexical efficiency. His newest book, The Horologicon, or Book of Hours, is a brilliantly crafted collection of strange and wonderful words appropriate to each hour of the day. And that is exactly why this book is pure genius.

By assigning a certain hour and the common activities associated with that time of day to a single chapter and placing you, the reader, firmly as the main character of his narrative, Forsyth has already cunningly set the ground work for making all these seemingly daunting and strange words identifiable. He injects unfamiliar words seamlessly into familiar activities without jarring the reader away from the engrossing and intentionally educational depiction of their life.      

How many times have you thought “There HAS to be a word for that?” when going about a commonplace routine or daily activity? Ever seen some delicious morsel of food on a friend’s plate that you suddenly wish you had ordered yourself? Stared longingly after it as they painstakingly devour the object of your desire one slow bite at a time and with it the tiny slivers of hope you had of obtaining a sample. There’s a word for that!

Groke: To stare wistfully at somebody while they are eating in the hope that they will give you some of their food.

Maybe knowing exactly the word to describe your anguish will soften the blow for you when it happens next time. Probably not, but it gives you something else to focus on rather than that diminishing dessert.

While I can’t even begin to comprehend how to pronounce this next word, I still think it’s utterly brilliant and perfectly describes my entire time at University in one succinct word.

Shturmovshchina: The practice of working frantically just before a deadline, having not done anything for the last month.

The Horologicon draws from an interesting compilation of source material ranging from the expected; the Oxford English dictionary, to the obscure; Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English, to the downright amusing; the Anatomy of Melancholy.  My personal favourite is The Vocabulary of East Anglia; An Attempt to Record the Vulgar Tongue of the Twin Sister Counties, Norfolk and Suffolk as It Existed In the Last Years of the Eighteenth Century, and Still Exists by Reverend Robert Forby, possibly because I’ve lived in Norwich now for about 6 years and there are still an alarming number of strange words I get introduced to every year. Keith Skipper has made a living from compiling several volumes solely on the oddities of the traditional Norfolk language, much to the delight of both tourists and locals.

What is surprising is that despite the endless stream of new terms thrown at you in rapid succession, the book remains an easily accessible and addictive read that rivals any fiction page-turner. It's been a while since I've last encountered a non fiction book that I've thoroughly enjoyed reading from beginning to end.  An absolute joy to read and to top it off I actually learned a useful thing or two from it. Mark Forsyth’s writing is witty and informative without ever succumbing to sounding smug or conceited. He’s charismatic, intelligent and inventive, but you never once hate him for it. Well, maybe a little. As much as I admire him as a writer, I can’t help but be envious of his ability to turn a phrase.

“It is for the words too beautiful to love long, too amusing to be taken seriously, too precise to become common, too vulgar to survive in polite society, or too poetic to thrive in this age of prose. They are a beautiful troupe hidden away in dusty dictionaries… They are the lost words, the great secrets of old civilisations that can still be useful to us today.”

A perfect companion to your daily routine, The Horologicon provides intrigue to even the most minuscule and mundane of life’s little chores. So embark on this linguistic journey to shed a new perspective on your everyday activities, rescue a new found favourite word from obscurity and then go forth and unleash your new found linguistic prowess on the unsuspecting masses. Your life and your vocabulary will be richer for it.

Short and Sweet: The Twitter Review

Exceedingly clever and endlessly entertaining. Filled with weird and wonderful forgotten words, The Horologicon is a rare reference book that begs to be read cover to cover in one sitting.

Beautiful Books of the Month: October

Now that the end of October is fast approaching, I've decided to make good on a posted promise made a few optimistic weeks back.  What happened you ask?  Did I run out of pretty books to post about already?  Never.  If anything, it's always a struggle to figure out which book to pick next.

I don't want the 'Beautiful Book of the Month' to be purely about special hardback editions of established books or reissued paperback cover designs.  There will be plenty of those anyway because I usually can't resist buying them, but this is meant to be a celebration and exploration of truly remarkable books from all genres and topics.  I have a wide variety of interests and I want that reflected in this blog and in these posts.  

I love books about everything and anything, so it'll be an interesting challenge to see if my eclectic tastes work well on this blog or if it'll just end up a confusing jumble of random stuff.  Much like how things are usually organized in my head. 

For the sharp-eyed readers that may have noticed the slight variation in this month's post title, that is not a typo.  One reason for delay, other than my tendency towards procrastination, was that I wanted to include a book that wasn't released quite yet and I couldn't post about the other two without including the third since they make such a lovely set.

Dolly, The Small Hand & The Woman in Black 

By Susan Hill

Published by Profile Books

Three fantastic hardback ghost stories just in time for Hallowe'en!

This is slightly shameful for me to admit to since I've been a bookseller for about 13 odd years now (both odd in the sense that I think it's about that long and odd that I'm even admitting to a fact that ages me quite a bit), but I haven't read any of Susan Hill's extensive back list before deciding to pick up The Woman in Black to read before seeing the film adaptation.  Like many other book lovers, I couldn't bring myself to watch the film before reading the book.  After all, the book is almost always better than the film.  What better excuse to buy the adorably small and exquisitely lush hardback edition I had my eye on for the last few months?  Better yet, why not also purchase the matching copy of The Small Hand that somehow I talked myself out of buying 2 years ago because my strong desire for it was based solely on the pretty cover?

While I would never fully endorse judging or choosing a book by its cover, since one of my favourite books has a rather horrific cover image, surprisingly enough over the past year I've been pleasantly surprised that buying some random books purely on their aesthetic appeal hasn't steered me wrong.  I've read some fantastic fiction this year thanks to clever eye-catching designs.  Because of the overwhelming competition between new releases, the constant threat of ebooks and the rapidly shrinking shelf space in bookshops, publishers have realized the importance of giving a bit of extra care and attention to titles that they truly believe in.  Customers do notice that extra effort whether they are conscious of it or not.  If you're presented with a table of similar looking objects that are basically built in the same fashion and there is a single object that stands out; one that seems to have been crafted differently, wouldn't you want to know why someone chose to do that?  What made that other object distinctive enough to warrant special attention?

October 2012 ISBN: 9781846685743	September 2010 ISBN:  9781846682360	September 2011 ISBN:  9781846685620

The above three do exactly that.  They inspire curiosity about their contents, lure you in with their beauty and fill you with desire for ownership.  All those feelings stirred before you even reach down to pick up the book to read the blurb on the back cover.  Oh those clever and crafty publishers get me with that all the time.

Not only are Susan Hill's charming miniature hardbacks a visual feast for the eyes, but they are a real treat to touch.  The book jackets are created using slightly heavier paper stock with the cover design embossed on top giving the novellas a pleasing tactile feel.

Detail of Woman in Black Cover

They also make a wonderful gift set for any book lover or horror enthusiast.  With Hallowe'en  and Christmas just around the corner, there isn't a better time to give a love one the grisly gift of chills, thrills and ghastly kills.  Just suggest reading with the lights on.  

This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers

Publisher: HarperCollins

General Edition ISBN: 9780007263875

Special Edition ISBN:  9780007492480
Format: Hardback

Pages: 32

Genre: Children's, Picture Book

Publication Date: August 30, 2012

SYNOPSIS

Wilfred owned a moose.  He hadn't always owned a moose. The moose came to him a while ago and he knew, just KNEW, that it was meant to be his.  He thought he would call him Marcel.

Most of the time Marcel is very obedient, abiding by the many rules of How to Be a Good Pet.  But imagine Wilfred's surprise when one dark day, while deep in the woods, someone else claims the moose as their own...

Is Marcel really Wilfred's pet after all?

REVIEW

Oliver Jeffers has been one of my favourite children's illustrators ever since I first came across his second picture book Lost and Found nearly 5 years ago.  If you've never read the book, I highly recommend reading it and also watching the 24 minute Bafta award winning animated adaptation created by Studio AKA.

What really impressed me about Jeffers' work was how much character expression he could convey with an uncomplicated wire frame body and two tiny dots for eyes.  The dots may be easy to create, but their positioning is crucial.  That's what I love about his work. It's simple, clean and minimal, but it's deceptively so.  It requires a lot of precision to accomplish something that appears that effortless.  That's why I would never say that creating a picture book is easy.

I had extremely high expectations for his latest picture book partly because being a Canadian comes with a strange instilled patriotic fondness for moose and my first glimpse of the cover design showed an impressively detailed mountain scene that was unlike anything I've seen in Jeffers' previous works.

This Moose Belongs to Me explores the mature themes of friendship, ownership, independence and acceptance, but presents it in a funny, inventive and addictive narrative that is both accessible and readable for younger and older viewers.  The clever choice of featuring an uncommon wild animal as a "pet" makes it easy for children to understand why Wilfred could never really truly own "Marcel" and make him abide by his long list of rules.  There's a lovely message about the compromises we sometimes have to make when we want to have certain people or animals in our lives.

My favourite 2 page spread

It's always refreshing to see an established illustrator evolving their signature style and trying something a little different.  It's easy to stick to the same formula that has a track record of proven commercial success, but I've always loved artists that attempt to branch out and experiment with their methods. What I love most about the artwork in This Moose Belongs to Me is the variety of textures and mediums used for the landscapes and backgrounds of every page.  There's a sense of richness and abundance that flows from the pages that mirror the vast open wilderness setting of the story.  With so much detail to admire and marvel over, words aren't even necessary.  The strength of the artwork not only drives the narrative along its intended path, but makes this book must own collector's item for admirers of illustration.  I have to admit that I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the standard hardback edition a week later from the publisher to review, but as soon as I snuck a peek at the special edition and read through the story, I fell completely in love with it.  I left work happy a few hours later albeit a few pounds lighter than I should have been.      

Special Edition slipcase and hardcover Book

Limited Edition numbered print included in Special Edition

Picture books are an underrated form of storytelling that deserve wider acclaim and appreciation. While many people see them as a quick distraction or as a means of simple entertainment, many provide pivotal life lessons ranging from learning to identify different colours or first words to difficult topics for parents to discuss like moving house or losing a love one.  The ability to pass on a strong message or moral in only a few images and words is an remarkable accomplishment for anyone, but the added ability to make it charming and engaging at the same time is one of the reasons why Oliver Jeffers continues to be an author whose work I not only respect and love, but believe should be an essential addition to every child's library.

Short and Sweet: The Twitter Review

An irresistibly charming story about a boy and his moose. Fair warning to all: one small peek between its pages and you'll be hard pressed to leave it behind in the shop.

Procrastination and Progress

I've been a little bit distracted lately.  I would love to say it was because I was preoccupied with pondering solutions for the great mysteries of life or trying to better myself by enrolling in numerous courses that will finally provide me with a skill set that will set me up for life or even just busy constantly baking warm, mouth watering goodies in the kitchen, but I can't.  I've been busy shooting anonymous randomly generated humanoid creatures in the face.

I'm feeling a little bit guilty about abandoning my consumption of books for the pursuit of character levels/"Bad Ass" points and trophies that aren't real, but are.  It's like every time I pick up that controller I'm cheating on my growing pile of books stacked high by the couch and the sad paperback with the bright urgent red bookmark poking out on the top hasn't budged from its spot for the past week.    

But all hope is not lost, I did make some progress on something I really wanted to complete before writing my next review.  After 2 frustrating hours of trying to find or figure out how to write code that would enable me to add a rating system for my future reviews, I decided to make my own.  No messy code. Just good old fashioned Photoshop images and I don't care how archaic that makes me.  Before some savvy long time user points out the fact that Blogger has a built in rating option for posts, I made the silly mistake of using a custom built template and tweaking the coding myself.  I don't know what the original coder did or what the hell I did, but the rating system doesn't work no matter what I try.  But enough about my apparent lack of programming skills, my triumphant unveiling awaits!

Ta-DA!

I've created this by reworking a design from a lovely girl on deviantart called ~EchoingDroplet who creates custom screen icons/themes for desktops.  I've been sketching out random ideas for a more creative looking rating system, but I love the idea of rating books with books instead of stars.  A little extra advice on what typeface to go with from the wonderfully talented Greg Pye and voilà! My shiny new book rating system!  

Honestly, I can be really odd about the little things when it comes to organizing projects that I care about.  I can't go forward without obsessing over a tiny detail that doesn't really matter to the overall result. I just want things perfect straight off the bat.  Is that so much to ask?  While this blog isn't perfect and there's not much to it right now, what little content it has so far I'm extremely proud of.  This may only be adding a small decorative touch to an otherwise unremarkable little site, but I always like to think that it's attention to the tiny details that make the difference.       

With some luck and a massive amount of willpower, I'll pry myself away from the game console long enough to finish off the two reviews I've been working on and since we're in October there's another Beautiful Book of the Month to look forward to selecting.  I hope it'll be an eventful month for the site, but no promises. *smiles*  

Beautiful Book of the Month: September

This month's beautiful book is one that I happened to stumble across accidentally.  About a year ago, I met someone while I was down in London for a week helping to open up a new shop.  When I mentioned how much I loved art books and quirky graphic novels, he recommended a comic book shop called Gosh!  I've been meaning to check out the store for ages and when I finally managed to make a trip to it in July, I promptly mentally kicked myself for all of the lost time I could have spent roaming its abundantly stocked shelves.  It's located near the slightly seedy part of Soho, but if you've never been I highly recommend a trip down to London just for it.

Now back to the book.

Everything is its own reward By Paul Madonna

Published June 2011
ISBN:  9780872865150
City Lights Books
http://www.citylights.com/

Everything is its own reward is the second hardback collecting images from Paul Madonna's popular long-running weekly serial "All Over Coffee", which he likes to refer to as a 'strip'; a comic strip without the comic.  While there is the occasional addition of text in the forms of a single sentence or a short piece of flash fiction, the fluid pen and ink wash landscapes are the true stars of every panel.

#489 p. 89 Page Street, San Francisco

Each image is completely devoid of people, but not of life and that's exactly why I love it so much.  It feels like it could be anywhere and everywhere.  I've always loved uncovering the hidden places and spaces that can be overlooked in sprawling urban landscapes and Madonna's work is a reflection of all the unappreciated beauty that surrounds us that we rarely take the time to pause and appreciate.  

One of my favourite things to do back in Toronto was to set out early in the morning with a camera in hand and wander around the city taking unfamiliar routes to favourite places or setting out to new areas never explored.  It's the best way to discover something new somewhere that's become completely familiar.      

#398, p. 211 15th Street, San Francisco

Maybe I'm slightly biased, because I used to live in a large city.  I miss the feel of wandering through the long seemingly endless streets of my concrete jungle.  Miss feeling the comfort of being hidden in the canopy of shadows cast down from the towering buildings and skyscrapers.

"Madonna's book reminds us that the reason so many of us love cities is because they give us permission to be voyeurs, to observe others, to see other lives on display in front of us in the coffee shop, the supermarket, the traffic jam, the commuter train, the neon-lit street. They are full of stories."

-Herald Scotland

Paul Madonna's Everything is its own reward is a beautiful collection of strikingly detailed hand drawn illustrations.  A great way to explore the city for the day in the comfort of your own home.

Meeting Idols

Last Monday, as some of you will know from my over enthusiastic tweeting, I went to an once in a lifetime event with two of my favourite illustrators, Shaun Tan and Quentin Blake.  I was surprised and oddly, slightly outraged that the event wasn't heavily advertised.  I mean, it's Shaun Tan and Quentin Blake.  Two titans of the illustration world whose work I've admired and ravenously clamoured after for years.  If my wonderful boyfriend hadn't found out about the event by sheer luck, I would have been devastated at the missed opportunity to meet them both.  If both names are unfamiliar to you (I really, really hope not) here's a bit of basic information.

Shaun Tan in his studio

Shaun Tan is an Australian author and illustrator. While best known for his meticulously detailed and beautifully rendered wordless graphic novel, The Arrival, Shaun has also gained recognition from winning an Oscar last year for the fantastic animated short "The Lost Thing" which was adapted from his picture book of the same name.  I fell in love with Shaun's work after being introduced to his books by a lovely fellow bookseller 6 years ago and have been an obsessive fan ever since.  "The Arrival" is my favourite work and has been a reliable source of comfort every time I feel a little twinge of homesickness.    

Quentin Blake is renowned for his illustrations of Roald Dahl’s much-loved stories, but has collaborated with many other notable authors over the years such as Michael Rosen (The Sad Book) and most recently David Walliams (Billionaire Boy, Gangsta Granny, etc). So far, Quentin has illustrated over 300 books, including 32 of his own works.  While I love his solo works, his illustrations and name will always be inextricably linked to my childhood memories of reading Dahl's stories.  His drawings brought to life some of my most feared villains and beloved heroes and heroines.

The event itself was a rather intimate, informal chat between the two illustrators as they observed slides of each others' works and differing approaches to illustration.  The absolute highlight of the evening was watching both Shaun and Quentin engaged in some impromptu sketching using themes suggested by the audience.

Can someone let me know what the proper grown up etiquette is when meeting someone you spent years admiring?  I'm assuming squealing, jumping up and down and pointing frantically while asking the inane question "Do you know who you are?" isn't the right thing to do. While I did manage to refrain from turning into the scary fan girl that every semi famous male is terrified of encountering, I wouldn't say that I left with my dignity completely intact.  I think at one point while talking to Shaun Tan, I lost the ability to communicate properly, blanked on the word "bookplate" and for what seemed like the longest 5 seconds of my life, frantically racked my brain for the right word while making charade like hand gestures to try to jerk my brain into some sort of glimmer of recognizable association with the image in my head.  I managed to not make a complete babbling idiot out of myself long enough to get my books signed.

Signed Copies of "The Arrival", "Tales from Outer Suburbia" and "Eric"

It was a tough choice choosing which three books to bring with me for the signing.  I'm extremely glad I brought my Canadian edition of "Tales From Outer Suburbia" since Shaun actually noticed the edition and had a bit of a longer chat with me!  It was quite amazing watching him draw little illustrations in each of the books.  

Signed copy of "Matilda"

I was a bit disappointed that I could only get 1 item signed by Quentin.  I felt a little bit bad about not getting "Clown" signed, but "Matilda" just means so much to me that it couldn't have been any other book.

Originally, I mainly thought of this trip as an fantastic chance to meet two of my favourite artists, but as I read and re-read through the collection of books John and I brought to be signed, I realized I forgotten that I'm not only meeting world renowned illustrators, but world renowned storytellers.  Sometimes it's nice to just settle down and take the time to slowly re-read an old favourite rather than flip nonchalantly through familiar pages and images.          

Decisions, Decisions....

A few days ago I posted my first book review on this site and to be honest, I was terrified.  Not because I've never done a review before, I've done many over the last 12 years, but the bulk of them were written on tiny throw away review cards, temporary dumpbin or table headers or posted on our ever changing website.  Nothing seemed very permanent and while I do see many people squinting to read through my tiny bite sized reviews each day and pick up the corresponding titles to purchase, I never felt like I've ever said enough to do justice to the wonderful stories that sometimes need that extra push into willing hands.

Don't get me wrong, there is an art to writing review cards.  Making them interesting enough to engage and hold the reader's attention, reveal a bit about the book or what to expect while reading the book and then the ability to comprise it in a way that sounds passionate;  not gimmicky and a sincere recommendation; not a sales pitch.  All that in 4 sentences or less, depending on how small you can write and if you're using a biro vs a sharpie.  No small feat.  

And while I do make that extra effort to put my honest opinion of the book on the every card I write, I am constantly aware that I am a bookSELLER.  It's my job to sell books and being positive about the books I'm promoting is a key factor in being a good bookseller.  I try never lying about liking or having read a book to a customer, because I'd like to think that most people can see through those type of insincere comments, but I won't intentionally rip apart a book when I think a customer might honestly enjoy reading it.  Maybe I'm an idealist, but I think every book has its audience. Big or small, niche or mainstream, serious or smut, literary or silly throwaway holiday read, they all have their place in our shop and who am I to judge? At least people are reading. That's what matters. 

I think that was part of the problem I was confronted with while writing my review for 'Days of Blood and Starlight'.  I think too much like a bookseller.  Even though I absolutely adored the novel, I was constantly nagged by the fact that the publication date is a few months off and I didn't want to give away too much of the plot beforehand.  If I had summarized too much of the previous book it would have spoiled the devastating revelations that are revealed in the closing moments of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone and that contributes so much to the absolute brilliance of it and the compulsive need for the next instalment.  It's the difference between a day one must have hardback and a wait for paperback release and I'm aware of that fact. I want the book to do well on its initial hardback release, because I believe it's one that deserves to do so, but I know in reality that paperbacks tend to be the easier sell when it comes to hand selling unknown/ unestablished authors.  

So what is a reputable reviewer to do then?  Be good and wait until the book is nearly or already released before reviewing it thoroughly and honestly?  Spoilers and all? And what's the etiquette regarding sequels?  Pretend that the readers have already read the previous titles in the series and jump right into the review without the added history? Or do you have to give the necessary background information just in case and then keep calm and carry on with the awareness that new and old fans might be reading your words?       

  

Maybe I'm putting too much thought into all of this.  This is after all something new I'm trying out and hopefully as I gain a bit more experience I'll come up with a style or set of guidelines that I'm comfortable with.  My own code of book reviewing conduct.  Right now I'll settle for rambling away my exhausting thoughts on such matters to whoever will listen to or willingly read them and write up another more extensive review for 'Days of Blood and Starlight' for posting on its November release date.  I'll post a link back to the original review for those who don't want too know too much about the plot, but hopefully this new critique will give me free reign to gush about all the lush things I had to skimp out on previously like character development, the dynamics of the parallel world Eretz and my hopes for what may lie in the upcoming final chapter of this enchanting trilogy.  I'm not sure if I want to carry on with writing one non-spoilerific review and a spoiler laden one for each book I come across in the future, but I think I owe it to this book.

What are your thoughts on the matter?  Have any of my fellow booksellers or blog reviewers tackled this conundrum before and have any advice to pass on? Or am I asking too much since this is my fourth post on an otherwise relatively unread blog?

So here I am... left here eagerly awaiting some kind of response, but expecting none.  A good excuse to do some reading. :)     

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

ISBN: 9781444722673

Format: Hardback

Pages: 516

Genre: Fantasy

Publication Date: November 8, 2012

Please note that this review refers to an uncorrected advanced proof edition and the listed details above are for the upcoming hardback edition out this autumn.  

SYNOPSIS

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living.

One without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mother's arms to take their turn in the killing and dying. 

Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon's secret temple and dreamed of a world that was like a jewel-box without a jewel - a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.

This was not that world.

REVIEW

I thought it would be a long well drawn out contest to see which book would be the first one I reviewed for my brand new blog, but as soon as I opened my delightful puffy blue parcel bag from Hodder, I knew there wasn't anything else I could consider reading or writing about. 

Days of Blood and Starlight is the sequel to Laini Taylor's refreshing novel Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  I deliberately chose the word "refreshing", because when I first requested a copy of the book I had no knowledge that angels would make an appearance between its pages and after my first encounter with the Seraphim I approached the book with a new, extremely wary outlook.  The Young Adult and Dark Fantasy markets are now flooded with stories of doe-eyed vampires, frolicking fairies and romantic angels interested in more than just merely saving your everlasting soul, so it's hard to approach a book containing one of those archetypes without some preconceived prejudice or preference for them.  But I was extremely pleased to discover that it was a book with a lot of depth to it: fantastic well rounded characters, interesting storyline that flowed seamlessly from one chapter to the next and a slyly hinted hidden realm whose full history is yet unexplained.  If you haven't read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I strongly recommend you do.  It's a rare gem of a book that accomplishes something unique within its genre and hopefully it will inspire both readers and writers to try something a bit different in the future.

Laini Taylor's follow up novel not only lives up to the high expectations her previous book demanded of it, but outshines it in almost every possible way. It's almost a shame that it cannot be read as a standalone novel since there is little to no summarization of the events from the previous book, but because the author assumes that the reader has the much needed background information the novel starts straight into the narrative without the burden of long drawn out exposition.

What you get instead is a fiercely addictive read that is incredibly hard to put down due to its cunningly scripted chapter endings that tease the reader into reading "just one more chapter". It's "stay up into the wee hours with a pot of coffee and a pillow" good.    

While it does read like an compulsive, mesmerizing modern fable, Taylor takes the time to lovingly create characters that are so well fleshed out that readers can't help but become emotionally invested in them. It's a rare treat to come across an author that takes such care to render her characters in such exquisite detail that you come to care about even the most minor of players in this epic struggle between Seraphim and Chimera.  There were times when I felt every betrayal like a slap to my own face and there were some unjust events that brought a dark flush to my face and a tiny angry fist shake in the air.

Days of Blood and Starlight is a devastatingly beautiful and remarkable read.  Highly imaginative and beautifully written, I would gladly trade a bag full of teeth just to get my hands on the last book in this so far outstanding trilogy.

5 out of 5 Stars

(I will hopefully sort out the stars next time around! *smiles*)

Short and Sweet: The Twitter Review

A compulsive and mesmerizing modern fable that breathes new life into old legends while weaving its own captivating tale.

Beautiful Book of the Month: August

It's a well known fact among my friends, family, colleagues and regular customers that I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with beautiful books.  I even implemented a book case full of them in the shop with a bay header proclaiming them as "Beautiful Books" for all to see.  

This is why I can never bring myself to buy an e-reader. I have nothing against the electronic format. I understand its place in our industry and its usefulness with regards to travelling, student textbooks and the practicality of it when it comes to lack of shelf space in homes, but I love the printed word on tangible paper.

There's something special about a well designed cover, beautiful illustrations, surprisingly uncommonplace end papers and unique title pages that give books an added splendour over their cold, soulless electronic counterparts.  Okay, I might be a little bit against e-books... but the absolute pleasure I get from gazing across my heaving bookshelves and running my fingers along their spines until I can no longer resist the pull from one of my beloved tomes and take it out to read. That's priceless. That's magic.  I've never felt the same thing scrolling through a list of titles on a screen or even flicking through rows and rows of book covers displayed on a virtual beige bookshelf.

I'm a bit off topic now. My Beautiful Book of the Month feature will be a celebration of the finely crafted literary treasures I've had the honour of purchasing or pining hopelessly over the years.

Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan Doyle

Published October 2009
ISBN:  9780955881879
White's Books LTD
http://www.whitesbooks.com/

Despite being one of the most recent additions to my book collection, this lovely series of books is one I've admired and coveted as a bookseller and book lover over the past few years.  Its my first purchase from this fantastic collection, but I'm sure it won't be my last.

This stunning clothbound edition of Sherlock Holmes is part of the 'Fine Edition' series of books created by a small publishing house called White's Books founded by former Penguin Books designer David Pearson.

Front Cover and Spine

Instead of the traditional dust jacket found on other hardbacks, the distinctive wrap around cloth cover is printed using brass printing blocks and the fantastic image is designed by celebrated illustrator, Michael Kirkham.  Combine that with decorative endpapers, elegant typesetting printed on thick luxurious acid-free paper and this is a something that must be held between your fingers to truly appreciate it.

Endpaper Design

Who, What and Why...

I never really know where to start off with a blog. There's a lot of underlying pressure to come across as interesting and funny in the hope that people will come back to read the following posts or a faint hope that in a few years time, newcomers will stumble across this site and inexplicably feel the need to go back and read the first entry.  I think I'll attempt to ignore all that and just get right to the basics of a good introduction. The Who, What and Why...

I had to start off with the most difficult of the three. Who am I? A question pondered by countless generations of philosophers and hormone raging teenagers. While most people assume that everyone's favourite topic is themselves, I always find it awkward to chat about myself in an introductory fashion.  Basically, I've been a bookseller 12 years and counting, an avid reader, lover and rabid collector of beautiful books, but also an artist, a gamer and all round geek.  I don't like telling people what to think, so I'll show bits and pieces of myself along the way and you can decide for yourself who I am. *smiles*

What is all this?  This is something I've always wanted to do, but have put off for various reasons.  Honestly, I think EVERY bookseller at some point in their bookselling career has toyed with the idea of starting a book review or book related blog.  I've never been brave enough to take the plunge before this.  This will be a site for me to express my opinions on books, old and new and comment on anything and everything book related.  

So why now? Recently, I've been pushing myself quite hard at work. My shop has just undergone a large refit that overhauled the entire layout and look of our store in just under a month.  Its been an endless series of stress filled days and honestly I don't see my working days getting any easier in the near future, but just before the renovations I promised myself that I would take some more time for myself and enjoy my working life more.  I would make the time to read and engage in more conversations about the one constant love in my life.

I absolutely adore books.  From my very first vague memories of flipping through picture books to finding an understanding voice to soothe my turbulent teenage angst to my current need to seek out new worlds to explore and friends to cheer on.

I'm count myself extremely lucky to work in a profession that allows me to be surrounded by books. To work with something I feel so passionately about.  I not only have the opportunity to pass on my own favourites to other enthusiastic readers, but I get the chance to discover lovely new stories I can't wait to read on a daily basis.  Also, if I ask really, really nicely, there are occasions when amazing publishers and reps pass on advanced reading copies for me to review.  I've tried my best to recommend these books to customers, write review cards for the bookshelves and tweet my views on these titles, but it can be frustrating being aware of having to make a sale, the confinements of  the small company issued cards to write in or the restrictiveness of only having 140 characters to express my views in.

While it's rare that I come across a book that I despise and feel the need to rant to the world about its perceived horribleness, I've also rarely come across a book that I can say is without its faults or weaknesses. Normally, it has no huge impact on how enjoyable the overall read is, but I would love to undertake the challenge of writing a comprehensive review.  I might be getting a bit ahead of myself.  I will be experimenting over the next few months with different ideas and layouts I have in my head for these reviews before settling on something that works for me.

So bear with me, stay tuned and maybe you'll discover your next must read.