The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer My rating: 5 of 5 stars “If we really want to understand what humanity is, and how adaptable we are, we must see ourselves as a constantly living, evolving race—always on the very cusp of a vast … Continue reading Review: The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England

Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter by Russell T. Davies My rating: 5 of 5 stars "I only write to find out about myself, and I'll only achieve that if I'm honest." I'd always admired Davies. I was a big Doctor Who fan; while I enjoyed Moffit's tenure as show-runner, Davies will always … Continue reading Review: The Writer’s Tale – The Final Chapter

Usagi Yojimbo Saga Volume 4 by Stan Sakai My rating: 5 of 5 stars Stan Sakai: the most consistently excellent writer and illustrator currently in comics. Usagi Yojimbo is--for all the fight scenes, all the black-and-white blood, all the battles--a very quiet comic. It's about Miyamoto Usagi, a wandering ronin who travels the warrior's path … Continue reading Review: Usagi Yojimbo vol 4

Note: a client recommended this, and I no longer remember who. If you are that client, THANK YOU! The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón My rating: 4 of 5 stars “A story is a letter that the author writes to himself, to tell himself things that he would be unable to discover … Continue reading Review: The Shadow of the Wind

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough My rating: 4 of 5 stars The story of Artemisia Gentileschi happened a long time ago. Sadly, it could have happened today, and it probably did. Artemisia lives in her father's house, and she paints. She paints for her father, who's a talentless hack, and his name is signed … Continue reading Review: Blood, Water, Paint

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of the best books I've ever read. No, really. I read professionally, and I struggled to think of a catchy one liner to sum this up, and the first and last thing I could think of was "this is one … Continue reading Review: Strange the Dreamer

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov My rating: 5 of 5 stars This story is absolutely buck-wild. Woland (the devil) and his retinue arrive in athiest Moscow to wreak havoc on the city in general and the literary community in particular. To be clear, I haven't read any critical analysis of this story, so … Continue reading Review: The Master and Margarita

The Designer by Marius Gabriel My rating: 4 of 5 stars "The Designer" is a complex narrative--it's not quite about Christian Dior, nor is it quite about post-occupation Paris. It isn't quite a romance, nor is it quite a war story. Rather, it is all of these things, as seen through the eyes of the … Continue reading Review: The Designer

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh "The language of flowers is nonnegotiable, Victoria." I loved this book so. Damn. Much. At a basic level it's about a girl named Victoria and what she does with her life once she washes out of the foster care system. On a more thematic level, it's about damaged … Continue reading Review: The Language of Flowers

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë My rating: 3 of 5 stars Well...I finished. This is a good story--an excellent story, actually, given that I didn't want to put it down, and it inspired an almost compulsive need to know what would happen next. Better folks than I have written a lot more about this book, … Continue reading Review: Wuthering Heights