Childhood is, on a whole lot of levels, a time when we figure a whole lot of stuff out. It’s messy, it’s fun, it’s complicated, it’s not; what it is above all though is a training ground for the rest of life, figuring out who we are, what we Continue Reading
Books
Book review: Release by Patrick Ness
As a young gay man growing up in a Christian household back in the ’70s and ’80s, there was a distinct moment, most likely several really, when it dawned on me with a sickening sense of dread that I was not like everyone else around me. All the good Continue Reading
Book review: Yuki Chan in Brontë Country by Mick Jackson
Grappling with the death of parent from known or unexpected causes is hard enough; but when they die in mysterious circumstances, most likely at their own hand, it’s even harder to find a way to deal with their loss, their absence, and the void upon empty void that is Continue Reading
Presto and Zesto in Limboland: New Maurice Sendak book found
The loss of Maurice Sendak in 2012 was a cruel blow for anyone who delights in brilliantly-imaginative stories for children. He was a fearless writer and illustrator, happy to buck trends and go for broke, unwilling to simple churn out the same old same old because that’s what had Continue Reading
Rip’d from the pages of my childhood: The Adventures of Asterix #BastilleDay
When you’re growing up, you don’t really have the insight or emotional maturity to fully understand why something matters to you or why you like it so much. But when you reacquaint yourself with a much-loved childhood book series like Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix, originally written by René Continue Reading
Book review: Feed by Mira Grant
It is generally agreed that being in the middle of a zombie apocalypse is something you should avoid at all costs, what with the end of civilisation, degradation of humanity and threat of imminent death. But what if the apocalypse came and went, and left society mostly functioning, compromised, Continue Reading
Book review: Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
When you pick up a book and the back cover blurb happily proclaims that J. Ryan Stradal’s novel is “joyous, quirky and heartwarming”, you fully expect it to be all those things. After all, a blurb writer at a publishing company wouldn’t just make that sort of stuff up Continue Reading
Turtles All the Way Down: John Green has a new book a-coming!
SNAPSHOT Though the title might suggest a focus on the hard-shelled animals, publisher Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, says the novel “begins with a fugitive billionaire and a cash reward. It is about lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction, and Continue Reading
Comic book review: Animal Noir (issues 1-4)
It is oft said that you should never discuss politics, religion or social issues. As truisms go, this is one that still carries a great deal of cautionary weight, especially in today’s world where people have retreated to hermetically-sealed belief towers into which no other line of thought should Continue Reading
Book review: Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
However you choose to play it, life has a way of constantly mixing it up, turning the tables when you least expect it, reversing roles, and exposing the richness or paucity of your character when you least expect it. We all know this on some level, and yet whenever Continue Reading