Simon’s Cat

Rating:4/5

Category: Graphic Novel, Fiction

Photo from Teignbridge & Torbay

Synopsis

Okay, I’m human – I got a little behind on my reading this past week. But I still managed to procure a review for you all! In my opinion, graphic novels can be just as good as novels, and they’re a great way to get a more relaxed read in when you feel drained, stressed, and perhaps even bored.

This week I read Simon’s Cat: In His Very Own Book by Simon Tofield. For those who aren’t familiar with Simon’s Cat, the stories originally started out as a Youtube cartoon depicting an owner, Simon, putting up with antics from his lovable, always hungry fat cat. I got hooked to the series with “Santa Claws.” The series is so funny, and as a cat owner growing up I completely empathize with what Simon has to deal with sometimes. I encourage everyone to check out the channel if you haven’t already.

Now that the Youtube channel has gained popularity, a few graphic novels have been published further elaborating on the story of Simon’s Cat. The one I read for this post is the first in the graphic novel series.

What’s There to Like

Like I’ve mentioned before, the cat is so funny! And the drawing is great. Everything flows very smoothly, and I love that there’s no dialogue. It’s all bright and playful images.

What Didn’t Work

Because there’s no dialogue, the book could be difficult for little children to understand. But it’s still fun for them to look at and laugh along to images they do understand – and it’s a great way for them to learn and ask questions. Also, if you’ve watched a lot of the cartoons on Youtube like I have, a lot of the stories are repeated in this book (just slightly more elaborate). It can get boring at times if you’re already familiar with the joke.

Conclusion

This is such a cute book, and the series is fantastic. If you’re looking for something that’s quick and will put a smile on your face, look no further than Simon’s Cat.

The Faerie Queene

Rating: 4/5

Category: Poetry, Fiction

Background

I’m taking a trip back in time for this review, with a writer that either people know extremely well or not at all. I’m currently studying for the GRE Literature exam, and as I’m studying I wanted to provide my opinions on some influential works that I get to read leading up to the test. The first work I’ll start with is Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene.

For those who aren’t familiar with the author, Edmund Spenser is a writer from the Elizabethan Age and is famous for works like The Shepheardes Calender, Epithalamion, Prothalamion, and The Faerie Queene. Spenser is also coined for creating the Spenserian stanza, which is eight iambic pentameters followed by a six-foot line, each stanza rhymed ababbcbcc. According to The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Spenser has sometimes been referred to as “the poet’s poet” because so many English poets later on had learned the art of versification from him. Spenser’s influence is evident in works like Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Keats’s Eve of St. Agnes, Shelley’s Revolt of Islam, and Tennyson’s The Lotus-Eaters (Norton 239).

Photo from the Poetry Foundation

Synopsis

The Faerie Queene was first published in 1590 with three books; by 1596 it became a six-book series. It was so well received that it captured Queen Elizabeth’s favor and patronage, rewarding Spenser with a pension of £50 per year for life (Norton 240).

In his letter to Sir Walter Ralegh, Spenser describes The Faerie Queene as an allegory of “dark conceit” (Norton 247). In the most basic of descriptions, The Faerie Queene is about the adventures of various knights and their quests to defeat sworn enemies. Each knight is an embodiment of specific virtues; but the story becomes complex because their enemies are also a reflection of the knights, creating “dissociated aspects of the knights themselves” (Norton 247). What makes the story even more interesting (and dangerous for Spenser) is that the Faerie Queene character is the embodiment of Queen Elizabeth herself.

What’s There to Like

It’s clearly a romantic classic! Dragons, princesses, knights, medieval castles – what more could you want? It’s also interesting to see a version of the English nation at the time through a fairytale lens. Spenser was kind of a Romantic writer before Romanticism even existed as an official literary term and trend.

What Didn’t Work

Not that it can be helped, but the older modern English text the story is written in is a bit hard to follow at first. Read it as it’s written – understanding will come with time and practice! Also, it can be confusing as to what’s happening to whom, so watch the pronouns.

Conclusion

It’s a great story! It kind of reminds me of the Nibelungenlied (a famous German story for another time) and the Odyssey combined. I would recommend this story as a classic to anyone interested in this type of older, more complicated literature.

Works Cited

Greenblatt, Stephen, George Logan, and Katharine E. Maus, editors. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Sixteenth Century and Early Seventeenth Century. 10th ed. Norton, 2018.

Becoming

Rating: 5/5

Category: Nonfiction, Biography

Synopsis

I absolutely loved this book. It’s just what I needed to gain some perspective on my own life and get to know someone I truly did not know much about. Becoming is a nonfictional story that reflects on where Michelle Obama came from in Chicago, Illinois, and how she got to this point today where we as a society know her as the Michelle Obama. In this book she is candid, raw, blunt, funny, and (most importantly) genuine.

What’s There to Like

If you’re still skeptical or on-the-fence, I encourage you to take a chance with this book. I’m not too much of a nonfiction reader, so even I was hesitant to pick this up. But it’s easy to read and become engrossed in. And Michelle really doesn’t go too far into the politics that are difficult to avoid surrounding her husband. She focuses a lot on the emotional aspects of everything that’s happened in her life and reflects on issues in a very empathetic way.

Also, I loved how much I learned about the White House. Michelle was wonderfully descriptive with how mostly everything functioned (obviously, I’m sure there were details she wasn’t allowed to bring up for the sake of security). For example, each new presidential family elected into the White House is budgeted a $100,000 to decorate their living quarters the way they like. And the presidential family is not allowed to accept clothing for free from designers – they are allowed to accept the clothes as a rental, and then donate them to the National Archive. Otherwise, all clothing is purchased from the family’s own funds.

What Didn’t Work

Quite honestly, I can’t really think of anything that didn’t work – and I usually find something. If anything, I’d say it’s sad she’s not ever going to run for president. But after reading this, I totally understand. She will continue to make a difference regardless!

Conclusion

Read this book! Michelle Obama is thoughtful, funny, and won’t let you down.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Rating: 3/5

Category: Fiction, Children’s Fiction

Synopsis

Okay! Before you beat the door down on this rating, hear me out. I’ve read this series before and I thoroughly enjoy it. It’s a great concept that is enjoyable for most ages. However, the stand alone first book is really not that good. It’s an introduction to everything and kind of takes forever to really get things moving with the plot.

For the very few who’ve never read the book or seen the movie (they do exist – I’ve met a few), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a about a young orphaned boy, Harry, who discovers he’s a wizard. Harry gets the opportunity to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and learn how to become a full-fledged wizard in seven years. But everything isn’t as innocent as it appears in the Wizarding World – dark forces are on the move, the same that killed his parents.

What’s There to Like

This is such a great book to truly introduce young minds to the broader scope of reading. The characters are enjoyable and lovable, and you feel connected to their mission and their views. Having grown up a bookworm, Hermione was always my favorite character. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all add their own specialties to the group.

Also, it’s a magical world! Who doesn’t love medieval castles and fairytale creatures? It’s every little kid’s dream to be enveloped into a world like this.

What Didn’t Work

For this book, getting to the Wizarding World and Hogwarts takes a long time – nearly 60% of the book. This is unreal, considering so much happens after Harry arrives at Hogwarts. I understand the need to introduce everyone and get a sense of their characters, but I don’t think it was necessary to linger on the Dursley’s (the family relations that take care of Harry) that long. The reader understands pretty quickly how horrible they are; and the reader understands that Harry is a good person in a miserable situation. I’d rather learn more about Hogwarts and how it works in the Wizarding World.

Also, for me personally, I really dislike Peeves. He’s annoying and unnecessary to the series, as the movies have shown.

Conclusion

Again, this is a great series overall and a fantastic introduction to more complicated reading for younger audiences. However, the first book does lull a bit. If you power through this one, most of the rest are well worth the read.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Rating: 3/5

Category: Stage Production, Fiction

Synopsis

Well… it was interesting… In all seriousness, though, it’s not the worst play I’ve ever read, nor is it the best (hence the in-the-middle rating). Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is essentially about a late-night gathering gone wrong. Set sometime in the mid-1900’s in Carthage, New England, impromptu hosts Martha and George have a younger couple, Nick and Honey, visit them for a nightcap and “games.” Right away the audience (since this is a play, I will use this term rather than the usual “reader”) knows there are strange marital problems between Martha and George, so normal social pretenses are immediately out the window and weird relational chaos ensues all through the night.

What’s There to Like

You have to give it points for originality! The story is odd, but the dialogue is fast-paced and consumes the audience pretty quickly. I personally enjoyed that there are only four characters to follow in the dialogue – it makes the scenario a lot more intimate and even awkward at times because the audience feels like a third-wheel bystander through all the arguments.

What Didn’t Work

The story/relationship between Martha and George was extremely difficult to follow at times. I could never fully grasp if they were actually trying to kill each other. Nor could I fully understand George’s character – did he want the audience to feel sympathetic for him? Or is he actually crazier than Martha and lies through his teeth in the most neurotic of ways?

Conclusion

It’s a Broadway classic, so read it at your own discretion. And let me know your thoughts! I may need to read through it again at some point to make sure I grasped everything correctly, but overall it’s definitely an interesting read.

Americanah

Rating: 4/5

Category: Fiction

Synopsis

What a great read to begin this blog with. Americanah (by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) is about a young woman, Ifemelu, who leaves military-ruled Nigeria for the United States in hopes of getting her life started on the right track. But Ifemelu’s perceived glitz and glamor of American life comes to a startling halt when she realizes her academic success won’t take her as far as she thought it would, mainly because she has to confront what it means to be black in America. Full of determination, heartache, perseverance, and regret, Americanah is a tantalizingly heartwarming novel that will be sure to keep you wanting more.

What’s There to Like

Ifemelu is a great character to follow. She has a lot of personalities traits that I related with: thoughtful, questioning, resilient, and even self-deprecating. She’s not perfect! Ifemelu felt like a real person to me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she is a small reflection of Adichie herself.

As books should be written, Adichie keeps you guessing on where the storyline will go. It was thoughtful the way the book was laid out, by switching back and forth between present and past. And the book kept an air of uncertainty with Ifemelu’s choices, making the read feel precarious and potentially devastating at times. But ultimately, Americanah remained a humorous read! I particularly loved the moments when Ifemelu’s blog posts were presented at specific points in the book – it brought out the comedy and the thought-provoking conversations in otherwise bleak situations.

What Didn’t Work

Obinze (Ifemelu’s childhood love interest) really didn’t interest me much. He actually felt rather flat. This confused and slightly disappointed me, because based off the summary on my book copy (Anchor Books 2013), I expected both characters to be equally compelling and fiery, written about just as much as the counterpart. But instead, I felt almost uncaring for Obinze. Was this the intent in comparison with Ifemelu? I don’t believe so.

Conclusion

Read this book! It will make you laugh, cry, and ponder over the societal cultures of the world (the bad and the small rays of good). Adichie’s novel warmed my heart and fired up my soul. I believe it will do the same for you.