Skip to content

A novel roundup

It’s been a month since I last posted (other than yesterday’s debate review), but I’ve read a lot of books in that time.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

I learned a lot about Tina Fey’s life, for one, I learned that she has a big scar on her face. When she first started discussing it, I assumed she was joking, apparently she actually has a big scar on her face.

Definitely a lot of laughs in this book, but also a lot of insight into Fey’s mind. This was the first book I read on an iPad, as such I highlighted some of my favourite text.

Donna was an enigma wrapped in bacon wrapped in a crescent roll.

 

I never went to summer camp, as I was neither underprivileged nor Jewish nor extremely Christian, nor obese.

A childhood dream, realized (not the one where I’m being chased by Count Chocula)

It’s the same reason I don’t get Hooters. Why do we need to enjoy chicken wings and boobies at the same time? Yes, they are a natural and beautiful party of the human experience. And so are boobies.

My proudest moment as a child was the time I beat my uncle Pierre at Scrabble with the seven-letter word FARTING.

HA!

Red Snow by Susumu Katsumata

This collection of short stories didn’t thrill me, actually this one I disliked very much. The stories were dull, and seemed to have no point. I actually gave up on this one after about a hundred pages.

The drawings weren’t anything to keep me interested, and with lackluster stories, there was nothing to keep me, not even the tasty teas at Broadview Espresso.

I need to kill space so that the bottom of this image doesn’t overlap the next title.

My Most Secret Desire by Julie Doucet

Julie Doucet’s My Most Secret Desire is a series of short stories about her dreams. Much like Red Snow, the art wasn’t anything that appealed to me. Her giant-headed humans were awkward and the backgrounds were too detailed that they took away from the foreground.

Her stories were interesting at first, but they got to be too much of the same as the book went on. Her most interesting dreams were the ones where she was a man, mostly because the absurdity of them.

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine

I adored this book. It’s the story of a couple in California who go their separate ways as she moves to New York.

It’s a sad tale of the man of the couple trying to figure out what to do with his life, and how to learn to relate to others.

He’s absolutely hopeless in all areas of his life, and has a sense of entitlement.

It’s a good 20-something coming of age story.

500 Years of Resistance by Gord Hill

This book is touching on an extremely important subject, which overshadows all the other books in this list. 500 Years of Resistance is the story of the First Nations’ resistance to the European invasion which nearly wiped out the people and cultures.

While it could be an extremely depressing story, it instead turns to show you the resilience of the a people. However, while Chester Brown’s Louise Riel told the story of of the Manitoba Metis so very well, this one in only 80 pages tells 500 years of history. Each story is a glazed over too quickly to give the reader any meat.

Overall, I would definitely suggest someone read this, but warn that the reader might then want to go and find more material to further their understanding of the events.

Leave a Reply