Review: Learn to Draw True Beauty

By Yaongyi
Step-by-step artwork by Ryan Axxel

Available now from Walter Foster Publishing

Review copy

I enjoyed the True Beauty webtoon, so I thought it would be fun to go through the Learn to Draw True Beauty book. I feel like this is a great idea for a tie-in to inspire young fanartists, with perhaps information they can also carry on to other art.

I found it a little disappointing how much of this title is fluff. This book has 96 pages. Getting Started is on page 22, with a full-page title page and full-page image of Jugyeong (the main character), with the actual information starting on page 24. Before that is intros to what webtoons are, what the story of True Beauty is, and who the main characters are. The most useful bit in these pages is the palettes for the main characters, listed on each of their pages. In general, I don't find these pages very useful since this book is aimed at people who are already fans of True Beauty.

The step-by-step section begins on page 34, again with a two-page splash before the information starts. As far as step-by-step goes, this book is definitely written for artists who already know the basics and just want to focus on the details of these characters. This is not a book for beginners, which might disappoint some young fans.

This is a well-produced book. Good paper, beautifully printed colors, good imagery to follow. But I feel like about a fifth of the book is wasted and could've been used to give more detail on the actual drawing part. Some fans will enjoy this tie-in, but I think many fanartists can develop their own takes on the characters without its help. A little more focus on the basics and details to make this more friendly to beginners would give the book a wider appeal.

Review: Women in History: 300 Word Search Puzzles

Constructed by Rebecca Falcon

Available now from Chartwell Books

Review copy

I love a good word search puzzle to keep myself entertained. They're simpler than a crossword or sudoku (to me), but still keep me engaged while I'm working them. The theme of Women in History instantly had me giving this word search book a chance.

At $11, it is more expensive than the word search books I see in the grocery store checkout. I can tell this book has a more premium format, with thick paper and a spine that is able to lay flat so that the book doesn't close on my current puzzle.

The 300 puzzles in this book are arranged into three levels: easy (up-down or left-right only), moderate (up-down, down-up, left-right, right-left), and difficult (the only level with diagonal). On the easy levels, you find the names of women, grouped by theme. In the moderate, the puzzles focus on the accomplishments of singular women. The difficult puzzles focus on women's contributions to society.

Personally, the difficult puzzles are my favorite. I like finding words diagonally, so for me it was extremely disappointing that wasn't even an option for most of the puzzles. Overall, these are fairly simple puzzles, with not many words to find per puzzle. The puzzles are well-constructed, but a bit easy. The premium feel makes it seem like this book should be more advanced, for the serious word searcher, but most of the puzzles are super quick and basic.

Women in History does have a major editing error. Quite a few of the puzzles and clues aren't printed together - the clues on one page belong to the puzzle on the page before. This affects about 1/12 of the book.

This word search book has a great theme and would make a decent gift, but I wish the editing issue had been caught and that the puzzles were harder.

Review: Zendoodle Coloring: Baby Unicorns

Illustrated by Jeanette Wummel

Available now from Castle Point Books

Review copy

I enjoyed Zendoodle Colorscapes: Outrageous Owls: Wacky Birds to Color and Display by Deborah Muller enough to try out a different line of Zendoodle Coloring books with Zendoodle Coloring: Baby Unicorns: Magical Cuteness to Color and Display by Jeanette Wummel. Magical cuteness is right.

These unicorns, big and small, are adorable. Many of the scenes depicted are family scenes, and I think this would be a fun coloring book to work on with family. I find it fun to color with others - especially if it keeps the kids quiet for a bit! (Talk about stress relief.)

In Baby Unicorns, the art is only printed on one side of the pages to make them nicer for display. The paper is also thicker than an inexpensive children's coloring book and the pages are perforated along the spine. It is well done for those who would like to turn the pages into posters.

These unicorns come in a variety of poses (especially profile and straight-on view). The scenes vary, although few include more than two unicorns. These images don't have as much detail work as some. There are detailed areas, but the majority of each image is large areas. It's easier than some adult coloring books, which has its own appeal.

Baby Unicorns is an absolutely delightful coloring book!

Review: 30 Great Myths About Jane Austen

By Claudia L. Johnson and Clara Tuite
Available now from Wiley-Blackwell
Review copy

I appreciated that the introduction to 30 Great Myths About Jane Austen defined what a great myth is, because I was not sure. Myths are accepted beliefs about Austen, true or false, and great myths are those that affect how readers approach her work.

Each selected myth is covered in a short essay about five pages long. While both Claudia L. Johnson and Clara Tuite are professors and write in an academic style (complete with thorough citations), the briefness of each part keeps this work approachable for the non-academic who is interested in learning more about Jane Austen.

I did find that there was some repetition between parts. Expect that famous first line of Pride & Prejudice to come up multiple times. Usually, these quotes that come up repeatedly are analyzed in a different way each time. This could be a result of the book having two authors, or another example of how complicated it can be to glean meaning from a playful sentence.

30 Great Myths About Jane Austen is filled not only with literary analysis, but facts from the latest scholarship about Jane Austen's life. I've studied Austen in an academic setting, but that was ten years ago. There's still new research being done into her life and work. Although one factoid I found interesting was from a much older article. Did you know Austen mention more than a hundred named servants (Lady Balfour, "The Servants in Jane Austen," 1929).

To me, 30 Great Myths About Jane Austen was an interesting read, although a bit slight since the book only has room to provide introductions to the 30 topics. Its true value, I think, is that it is an introduction to a world of deeper research. But even if a reader goes no farther than these 30 essays, I think they'll know more about Austen and her fiction than when they started.

Review: On the Train Activity Book

By Steve Martin
Illustrated by Putri Febriana

Available now from Ivy Kids

Review copy

If you know a kid who likes locomotives or other moving vehicles, this is a great choice of activity book. It's packed full of a range of activities suitable for early elementary school kids. The paper is thick and the pages are colorful, unlike cheaper options.

I like that information is integrated with the activities in fun ways. Some activities only require a little imagination. Others require some English grammar or simple math knowledge. Most of them help develop problem-solving skills.

There is definitely a variation in skill level among the activities, from spot the difference to pattern recognition to logic puzzles. I think that would make the On the Train Activity Book a good choice for siblings who could share or work together. A younger child also might get more than one year's use out of the book as they work up to the harder activities.

Overall, I recommend this activity book, especially since so many children do like trains. It has quite a lot of appeal and will keep them busy for a while.

Review: Little People, Big Dreams Coloring Book

Created by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara

Available now from Frances Lincoln Children's Books

Review copy

The Little People, Big Dreams series created by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara now contains more than forty books, as well as various compilations, dolls, and other material - such as this coloring book. This coloring book takes material from 15 of the previous books, with each person's name, an identifying title, birth and death years, and a short bio opposite a page to color.

The biographies are cute and often make a thematic suggestion about how the page might be colored. Even after the pages are colored in, kids might want to reread their favorite bio (or have someone buy the full book for them).

The art has lots of nice, big spaces for young hands to fill in. The cartoonish styles from various artists are cute, but I think the majority don't look particularly similar to the people they are supposed to represent. They're most recognizable by the iconography around them. 

I think a nice range of figures are included. There are people famed for science, art, sports, activism, or some combination of notable work. There are men and women, white, Black, Hispanic, and Asian people. With only 15 people featured, I like that an effort was made to include such a variety of inspiring people.

I do think that at only 15 coloring pages (with the opportunity of the graphic borders on the facing pages), this coloring book is extremely slim for the price. The Little People, Big Dreams series easily has enough material to double the size of this coloring book.

Review: National Parks of the U.S.A. Activity Book

By Claire Grace

Illustrated by Chris Turnham

Available now from Wide Eyed Editions

Review copy

National Parks of the U.S.A. Activity Book is a companion to Kate Siber's National Parks of the U.S.A., but is perfectly enjoyable even without reading that informative book first. (Although some readers might be interested in seeking out more information after enjoying the activity book.)

I think this activity book is appropriate for elementary school children. Most of the activities are fairly simple, but some require strong reading skills. I do wish that the book hadn't been printed in cursive, since some schools don't even teach cursive any more and it is an upper-level skill for part of the age range. It might be best for siblings to share, especially since there is a game needing more than one player.

This is a shorter activity book (around 16 activities) and while a few will take longer - a game, designing your own park - most are fairly short. One is also a wildlife spotting activity, which can't really be done most places.

There are several facts included, especially in the true or false activity, but for there isn't much beyond a few tidbits per activity. Once the activities are done, National Parks of the U.S.A. Activity Book doesn't offer much further value.

However, I do still like this activity book because it is gorgeous. It is oversized compared to most, with a pearlized cover. Chris Turnham's art recalls classic travel posters for the national parks. It is showcased in borders, illustrations of animals, and a few human figures of multiple races. The best part of this activity book, to me, is the included fold-out poster and stickers. The poster is a map with little illustrations representing each park, and the stickers feature many plants and animals shown throughout the book. They're beautiful, and I think kids would have fun with both.

Review: Zendoodle Colorscapes: Outrageous Owls

Illustrated by Deborah Muller

Available now from Castle Point Books

Review copy

My current enjoyment of coloring books continues. Zendoodle Colorscapes: Outrageous Owls: Wacky Birds to Color and Display features one of my absolute favorite animals. There are more than 60 owls to color in this fun coloring book.

Like many coloring books aimed at adults, the art is only printed on one side of the pages. I do appreciate that Outrageous Owls has perforated pages in case I do want to remove any from the book cleanly. Perhaps if my niece or nephew colors one while visiting.

Many of the scenes in Outrageous Owls are fairly typical: owls on a branch with hearts, mother owls with baby owls, an owl with a moon. But many live up to the subtitles promise of wackiness. There is an acrobat owl, a pirate owl, a hippie owl, a rockstar owl, and more. The combo of fantasy and realistic situations helps this coloring book from feeling to samey for me, given that it only has one subject. I particularly like the ballerina owl and the several owls pictured with books. (If I were going to display any, those would be it.)

The paper is a nice weight and works well with both crayons and colored pencils. Each illustration by Deborah Muller goes almost to the edge of the page and involves a nice mix of large and small areas to color.

I think Outrageous Owls is an excellent addition to my coloring book collection!

Review: The Farm That Feeds Us

By Nancy Castaldo

Illustrated by Ginnie Hsu

Available now from words & pictures

Review copy

The Farm That Feeds Us: A year in the life of an organic farm is an 80-page nonfiction picture book. I feel that it has the most appeal to a narrow age group, probably first and second graders. The Farm That Feeds Us is too dense to appeal to younger children, but older children probably feel like they are beyond children's books.

Broken into sections by the four seasons, The Farm That Feeds Us covers various farming activities in no particular order other than the seasonal theme. Each spread covers one topic and then moves to the next. This is not a sun-up to sun-down description of activities, but covers everything from crop growing to animal husbandry to jam making. Every once in awhile there is some shorter, more poetic text to break up the larger informative paragraphs. Perhaps this text could be used by parents to make a shorter version for younger kids. I will admit, even I learned a few things from this book.

There are things to appreciate. The Farm That Feeds Us is very informative. It also has a focus on ethical consumerism and the advantages of patronizing smaller farms. It might also get kids interested in trying some new fruits and vegetables after they read about them. The art doesn't do much for me, but I think it has kid appeal and it is easy to tell what is happening on each page. I do like that a variety of people are shown throughout the book.

I think The Farm That Feeds Us has noble goals, but I wouldn't expect most kids to be all that interested.

Review: Search the Ocean, Find the Animals

By Bethanie and Josh Hestermann

Illustrated by Sara Lynn Cramb

Available now from Rockridge Press

Review copy

Search the Ocean, Find the Animals is a fun search-and-find activity book for younger children. Each spread features a different watery setting where children can find ten animals with included facts about them.

 Author Josh Hestermann is a terrestrial husbandry manager and Bethanie Hestermann is a writer. They combine their expertise to write simple but entertaining blurbs about the environments and animals featured in Search the Ocean, Find the Animals. I like that they start on the beach, a potentially familiar setting for children, before moving farther out. 

One thing I loved on the beach spread was that one of the items to find is reef-safe sunscreen. It's a simple way to introduce kids to something they can use to help preserve our oceans. I also liked that some more unusual settings for a basic book, like a mangrove swamp, were included. The activity book also ends with a call to action, asking children to find ten pieces of trash that are polluting the ocean.

The art by Sara Lynn Cramb shows off the beautiful colors of the ocean. It isn't my favorite style, but it serves the purpose of the book well. I like that some of the animals are half hidden by other objects, such as a flounder partially buried in the sand. It helps show how these animals actually interact with their environment. (And the text up top gives clues to where each animal might choose to hide.)

If you're looking for a way to keep a child entertained, I think Search the Ocean, Find the Animals is a good choice. It is simple, as far as search-and-find books go, but it includes good information.

Review: The College Vegetarian Cookbook: 150 Easy, Budget-Friendly Recipes

Written and illustrated by Stephanie McKercher, MS, RDN

Available now from Rockridge Press

Review copy

Stephanie McKercher is a registered dietician as well as a food blogger. Her first cookbook, The College Vegetarian, focuses on dishes that are easy and quick and inexpensive to make, and that use few ingredients and tools. This focus means that the recipes are also handy for those of us who are well past our college years.

The first chapter of The College Vegetarian is a handy reference that covers  cooking techniques, how to store the ingredients and food, and other basics. It also introduces the main ingredients for a healthy, inexpensive vegetarian diet and discusses what nutrition each provides. (It also further convinced me I could never actually be vegetarian as I don't like beans, tomatoes, or mushrooms.)

The recipes contained within The College Vegetarian are quite simple. Most involve around five steps. Some in the drinks section only have two steps. There were a few recipes that struck me as perhaps too simple for even a basic cookbook. "Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Bowls," for instance, is instructions on how to add things to yogurt to jazz it up and add additional ingredients. But I can acknowledge that parfaits are a dish.

There were also times I felt McKercher went too simple. The "Vegan Gumbo" uses only vegetable broth. Gumbo is a roux-based soup. Now, you would need to adjust roux to make it vegan instead of just vegetarian, but with single search, I found three-ingredient vegan rouxs. I don't think it would've added that much complexity, and making a roux is an excellent foundational skill to learn for making all sorts of soups. 

I made a few test recipes. In general, I found that the times took about twice as long if you needed to chop your vegetables or do other prep that was taken for granted. Every recipe I tried was also distinctly underseasoned. I would add extra salt and pepper to taste. The strangest issue I ran into was making the "Broccoli Cheddar Strata," which called for an 8-by-11 inch glass baking dish. I have an 8-by-8 dish and a 9-by-13 dish, and another search reassured me that those were the two standard glass baking dish sizes (along with a 9-by-9 square). It's just an odd thing to mess up.

But I do think that these recipes are quite nice and a good intro to vegetarian cooking on a budget. I certainly have plenty of ideas to try out.

Review: A Smart Girl's Guide: Crushes

By Nancy Holyoke

Illustrated by Elisa Chavarri

Available now from American Girl

Review copy

The Smart Girl's Guide to Boys has been fully updated to become A Smart Girl's Guide: Crushes: Dating, Rejection, and Other Stuff. This book is a timely, relevant guide for young girls who are starting to become hormonal.

 The most obvious update to the material is the A Smart Girl's Guide: Crushes acknowledges that girls might have crushes on boys, girls, both, or neither (and that the same goes for boys). Most of the examples use boys and straight is generally assumed as the default, but there are nods to same-gender attraction throughout. (There is no trans inclusivity that I noticed, which is a lack.)

Elisa Chavarri's cartoons liven up the proceedings and also work to include all girls. There are boys and girls of many ethnicities shown, some variations in body types, and a very few disabled people. 

 I appreciate that the focus of A Smart Girl's Guide: Crushes is on how to handle crushes without losing sight of yourself and the things you value, such as schoolwork and friends. It covers many tricky situations, including how to say no clearly to someone who asks you out (without being mean) and how to dump someone (with signs of when it needs to be done).

The content is carefully targeted to the age group and doesn't go past kissing and hand holding. The book gets raciest when talking about things to watch out for. For instance, if a boy sends a girl a photo of  a woman in lingerie, that is harassment, not flirting. A Smart Girl's Guide: Crushes also covers tough situations like if a friend's boyfriend is being mean to her or if friends report to you that your boyfriend is mean to people when you aren't around. Though domestic abuse is a heavy topic, these red flags are handled at an entirely appropriate level with sensible advice.

I also appreciated how A Smart Girl's Guide: Crushes handled the role of social media and texts in modern-day flirting and dating, with reminders that texts and photos can be forever through screenshots and forwarding. The example shown is an embarrassing photo wearing a face mask, but teaching children to stop and think before sending even innocent photos is a good foundation. The book also emphasizes that selfies should also never be sent to people you only know through online games, but only to people you know in real life.

A Smart Girl's Guide: Crushes also doesn't give in to silly romcom logic. If someone starts dating someone they knew you were crushing on, that's fine. A crush isn't dibs. You can date someone a friend used to date and broke up with. There's also some handy gentle advice on how to avoid getting sucked into drama.

I think A Smart Girl's Guide: Crushes is a handy book to pass on to any young girl in your life. I suggest reading it first, so you know the jumping-off points for anything you might want to talk about in more depth.

Review: Stress Relief Dog Coloring Book

Illustrated by Pimlada Phuapradit

Available now from Rockridge Press

Review copy

I have never stopped enjoying coloring and I am quite happy that the trend of adult coloring books is still going strong. I've found that it makes it simple to find a coloring book with subject matter that I like. Since I'm inside most days, I am going through the books I already own, which meant this dog coloring book came at just the right time.

This Stress Relief Dog Coloring Book contains 35 designs by Thailand-based illustrator Pimlada Phuapradit. Like many adult coloring books, the designs are only printed on one side of the pages. I personally prefer the double-sided style of children's coloring books, but I accept that it is a lost battle.

Of the 35 designs, most are breed specific. At the end of the book there are several mandala-like designs with little dog silhouettes worked throughout. They're super cute! I felt the designs had a good mix of small and large areas and also liked that some dogs were more detailed, some less. I can choose whether I am in the mood to color something intricate, or if I want to do something simpler. The table of contents also reprints all the designs in thumbnail form, making them colorable by someone who wants to work on a really small design.

I liked the texture of the paper. My colored pencils moved across it smoothly and laid down a nice layer of color. It is suitable for both wax crayons and colored pencils. The book itself is a little bendy. I'll simply be careful where I store it.

I am very happy with this coloring book. I think the dog designs are super cute. I look forward to coloring in all of them!

Review: Black Klansman: A Memoir

By Ron Stallworth
Available now from Flatiron Books
Purchased copy

One day, a nineteen-year-old guy who wanted to be a PE teacher applied to be a police cadet so that he could get his education paid for. Little did young Ron Stallworth know he would become the first black detective in the Colorado Springs police department, lead a successful intelligence investigation against the Ku Klux Klan, and go on to have a storied career.

BLACK KLANSMAN is the story of Stallworth's investigation into the KKK and various organizations that counterprotested them, especially the local Communist group. Stallworth has an interesting perspective on race relations as a peace officer. He is well aware of racism and other issues within the police. He reports things said to his face that white officers didn't even realize were offensive, and describes what happened when one of his colleagues shot an unarmed kid. At the same time, he believes in the duties of a police officer and in making a difference from the inside.

While the KKK are the villains of the story, Stallworth does not approve of terrorist action against the KKK. His goal in his intelligence investigation is to keep the peace within the community and protect the innocent. This is not a police story where a bunch of people go to jail in the end; however, it is one where no crosses are burned and no gay bars are bombed because of the police who infiltrated the KKK.

It's a compulsively readable story. Stallworth is not an expert writer (he thanks his English teacher at the end for helping him polish his memoir), but he tells what happened in a straightforward fashion. The simplicity helps keep the pages turning. There's suspense, such as the mounting tension in anticipation of David Duke coming to town. There's humor, as KKK members speak to Stallworth on the phone and make it obvious just how clueless they are. There's the horror of how David Duke in his suit and with his good manners made the hate of the KKK more palatable to the masses. The resurgence of the KKK under Duke, during the time period of BLACK KLANSMAN, has a direct line to the explosion of racism and fascist ideals in the US today.

In 2014, BLACK KLANSMAN was released without much fanfare from the small publisher Police and Fire Publishing. In 2018, it has been re-released from a Big Six publisher to coincide with one of the movies of the summer, BlacKkKlansman. I am thankful to Jordan Peele and the other filmmakers who saw the potential in the story of this once buried investigation and brought it to the forefront of the public consciousness. It's a fascinating story, and a reminder that all of us can act against hate.

Review: The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction

By Neil Gaiman
Available now from William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Review copy

I can't quite remember if I was in junior high or high school when I first read a Neil Gaiman novel. I remember instantly searching through the library for more, because I was hooked. I remember, on a school trip in eleventh grade, barely beating out a good friend for a signed copy of ANANSI BOYS. I saw it on the bookshelf first and grabbed it with alacrity; my then boyfriend paid for it. I let my friend read it once I was done (and another friend besides); I have never believed in collecting things that I won't actually use. I've since bought a more practical ebook for rereading, but I rest more easily knowing my signed copy has been loved.

As a long time fan, I know that Gaiman has experience with nonfiction, having worked as a reporter. The pieces in THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS are not reportage, but a collection of speeches, articles, essays, and introductions. They're taken from throughout his career and organized loosely within subjects, not chronologically. I personally found myself hopping from subject to subject, looking though the table of contents for which titles appealed most to me. I have only ever been a sporadic reader of nonfiction, and I tended to wander away from THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS if I read too much on one topic at once.

Many fans will be familiar with several of the pieces in THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS. Even non-fans are likely familiar with "Make Good Art," which is also available for purchase on its own. But there was certainly plenty I'd never read, from conferences I'd never attended and publications I'd never purchased and things that were simply written before that nebulous year that I first picked up a Neil Gaiman novel. I appreciated that there was context included for each piece, although the details available varied. The who and when a piece was written for are important, and I wish those snippets of context were at the beginning of each piece instead of the end, but I did like that they were included at all.

Gaiman has an easy manner to his nonfiction. There are some lovely turns of phrase, but it is approachable and friendly. It's a tone that feels thoughtful but not pretentious. (Not that a little pretension doesn't slip in here and there. I think any author has those slips of pretension, however.) I also loved coming across with gems in old material such as, "[The novel] has a working title of American Gods (which is not what the book will be called, but what it is about." 19 years later we know that not only did the novel stay titled AMERICAN GODS, but it is now a TV show by the same name as well. Sometimes the working title sticks, even though that wasn't the plan. There's no special attention brought to the line, since there is no commentary, but it still leapt out to me. Such lines are insights into Gaiman's process that go beyond the intentional.

THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS is an entertaining read for Gaiman fans. Non-fans might find some pieces interesting, especially the ones about Gaiman's relationships with other authors. Mostly, though, I think this is a book for the fans. But it is not a cheap cash in on their interest. There's good material, not all of it readily available, presented well. I enjoyed reading it.

Review: The Bitch is Back

Older, Wiser, and (Getting) Happier
Sequel to The Bitch in the House
Edited by Cathi Hanauer
Available now from William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Review copy

THE BITCH IS BACK is a collection of twenty-six essays by women in their forties, fifties, and sixties. Many of those women first contributed essays to THE BITCH IN THE HOUSE back in 2002, although some of the contributors are new.

I have not read THE BITCH IN THE HOUSE, but was still attracted to THE BITCH IS BACK due to the promise of stories about real, older women. When there is a repeat contributor, her essay is prefaced by a short explanation of her previous essay and how the two connect. I don't feel that I was missing context, but I do want to read THE BITCH IN THE HOUSE, which is noted multiple times to be the angrier of the two anthologies.

There is no overarching theme to the essays, although they're roughly arranged into four groups (midlife crisis, sex, rocky marriages, starting over). Each one is a personal essay that tackles what the author wants to say about her life and her choices. The contributors all have strong voices, although some of them have stories we've heard before.

Part of the reason there is no overarching theme is because editor Cathi Hanauer solicited  stories from a range of women. Jennifer Finney Boylan is a transgender woman, who writes about maintaining her relationship with her wife through her transition. Kathy Thomas is poor, her life of hard blue collar work a sharp contrast to some of the more privileged contributors. Veronica Chambers is black Latina, and writes about how her relationship with religion isn't traditional but still conflicts with her husband's atheism.

What I appreciate about this anthology is that it not only shows how many ways there are to be a woman, but that life continues. Most of these women have been through terrible things, including divorce, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, but they're still living and breathing and doing.

I wouldn't read all of THE BITCH IS BACK at once, because the essays can get monotonous. But it is nice to dole out these women's stories, because they've been through interesting times.

Review: The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray

A Critical Appreciation of the World's Finest Actor
By Robert Schnakenberg
Available now from Quirk Books
Review copy

Bill Murray is a cultural touchstone.  He's had a large influence on comedy, critical success with drama, and enjoys starring in strange anecdotes.  I like many of his performances, although I wouldn't consider myself a fan.  I haven't followed his career in any real capacity.

I'm certainly not Robert Schnakenberg, who has exhaustively researched Bill Murray and knows what sports and music he likes on top of the history of his performances.  THE BIG BAD BOOK OF BILL MURRAY only draws from secondary sources, but Schnakenberg clearly researched those exhaustively.

It's honestly a bit too exhaustive for me.  THE BIG BAD BOOK OF BILL MURRAY is laid out as an encyclopedia, covering the movies Bill Murray has been in, people he's associated with, movies he was considered for, and more in alphabetical order.  I started losing steam somewhere around the D's.  This is more a book to idly flip through than read front to back.  (And it is wonderful to flip through!  Quirk Books specializes in gift books, and this one is nicely designed indeed.)

I was shocked by the entry on Butler, Jennifer "Jenny."  Jenny Butler was Murray's second wife, who put out a restraining order on Murray during their divorce and alleged that he abused her.  I'd never heard any of this before.  I do think it is commendable that Schnakenberg didn't stick to hyperbolic praise throughout the whole book.  There's some less-than-flattering anecdotes in THE BIG BAD BOOK OF BILL MURRAY in addition to the love for his performances.

I think THE BIG BAD BOOK OF BILL MURRAY will delight fans of the actor.  It is quite thorough and quite lovely.  I might still not be a fan, but I feel like I know more about the man now.

Review: Kid Athletes: True Tales of Childhood from Sports Legends

Part of the Kid Legends series
By David Stabler
Illustrated by Doogie Horner
Available now from Quirk Books
Review copy

The duo behind KID PRESIDENTS is back with KID ATHLETES.  One great thing about them moving into sports is that they can highlight a diverse range of inspirational people.  As great as the presidents are, only one of them isn't a white man.  The people chosen for KID ATHLETES range from reigning gymnastics Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas to sumo legend Jesse Kuhaulua (Takamiyama Daigoro).  There's a nice blend of current competitors and historical figures as well as a variety of sports represented.

The stories are kept short and simple.  I wasn't familiar with any of them, but I'm not a sports fan.  I found Jackie Robinson's childhood particularly interesting.  Each chapter ends with some career highlights, so I was sad that Billie Jean King's didn't mention the Battle of the Sexes.  Doogie Horner's sketch-like illustrations add a huge amount of appeal to KID ATHLETES.  They're very cute and give the book a personality beyond biography for kids.

I think KID ATHLETES would make a fantastic gift for any child interested in sports.  Not surprising, since Quirk Books has the books-that-make-great-gifts market cornered.  The biographies presents aren't particularly special, but the figures highlighted are truly interesting people and the presentation hits the sweet spot between bright and adorable.

I passed my copy onto my niece, who is in the second grade, because I thought she might enjoy it.  She's pretty athletic herself and does competitive dance.  She's been reading one biography a night and has one left to go.  When I took her out for breakfast this Sunday, she was excited to tell me how much she was enjoying the book.  She's also been reading parts of it out loud to my nephew, who is in Kindergarten and was MVP of his touch football team.  He likes it too!  There's definitely a range of appeal.

Review: In Order To Live

A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
By Yeonmi Park
With Maryanne Vollers
Available now from Penguin Press (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

I don't often read memoirs.  But when I heard about Yeonmi Park, I wanted to read her story.  She wrote IN ORDER TO LIVE: A NORTH KOREAN GIRL'S JOURNEY TO FREEDOM with Maryanne Vollers, an experienced journalist.  Vollers previously collaborated with such luminaries as presidential Hillary Clinton, and she helps tell Park's story with clarity and a sense of openness. 

Park was born and raised in North Korea along the Chinese border, a closeness that helped her father smuggle goods - until he got caught.  Park experienced both good times and bad times in North Korea before defecting. She escaped to China only to be trafficked with her mother.  Her sister Eunmi went missing when she crossed earlier.

Park's story is one of a family struggling to survive and come back together.  It is also one of illumination.  Very little is known about North Korea due to its isolation.  IN ORDER TO LIVE vividly describes everyday life, from food to traditions to fear of who might be listening to careless words.  Human trafficking is an issue that people like to ignore, sweep under the rug because it is ugly.  Park writes about how the crackdown in China during the Beijing Olympics affected her ability to live as someone without documentation, in fear of being sent back to North Korea. 

She writes about finally reaching South Korea, and the difficultly of making choices and overcoming childhood brainwashing, as well as the difficulties of trying to get an education after being denied it for so long.  She and many other North Koreans find themselves living a life they weren't prepared for, in a country that doesn't have resources for all of the refugees.

I think the subject matter of IN ORDER TO LIVE is fascinating, particularly since much of it isn't available outside of such primary sources.  It is definitely enough to make me overcome my reticence about reading memoirs.  I think Park's story is valuable, and understand why she is driven to share, despite the risk to herself and her family.

Review: Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own

By Kate Bolick
Available now from Crown Publishing (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

I'm finding it hard to review SPINSTER: MAKING A LIFE OF ONE'S OWN.  Kate Bolick is a gifted writer.  She weaves together biography and sociology and history in a compelling blend.  I certainly learned things about her five "awakeners" - Maeve Breenan, Neith Boyce, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edith Wharton, and Charlotte Perkins Gilmore that I never knew.

Much of the book is devoted to biography of those five women, discussing how their writing and their unique, vivid lives inspired Bolick and helped her through tough times in her personal and professional life.  Those chapters are absolutely fascinating, both for the literary criticism and the glimpses of feminist history through the past century or so.

However, they don't actually have much to do with spinsterhood, no matter how Bolick tries to spin it.  All five women were married at some point in their life.  They led unconventional lives and made art, both worth celebrating in their own way, but that does not make them unmarried women.  Bolick has good taste in personal heroes, but that doesn't make them on topic.

I do like that Bolick acknowledges both the benefits and disadvantages of single life.  You might get to decorate your apartment entirely as you like (and pick out the one with all the details you want), but you've got to pay for it on one income.  It doesn't mean never dating.  (Although for a book about life on one's own, Bolick writes a great deal about her many long-term relationships.  She might not be married, but she's rarely single, and often seems like she doesn't know how to be.)  She also acknowledges one of SPINSTER's weaknesses - that it can't even begin to approach the way that being permanently single is different for white women than black women, or for other women with less privileges.

SPINSTER is a wonderful story of Bolick's life and of the ways women have struggled to have their own independent, sufficient lives even within the bonds of matrimony and motherhood.  It is not really about single women, as it promises, but it is a fascinating look at the changing ideals of femininity.  I've also made a list of some new books and collected columns that I must read.  I liked the book, but it definitely isn't the book I was sold on based on the covers.