Book Review: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

If there was ever a book I could not see myself enjoying, it would be one about cats and rats. However, insert Terry Pratchett into the equation, and what results is a great book about Maurice (the cat) and his educated rodents. Talking cats and rats invade a town to scam them, along with a piper, but instead end up taking on a couple of crooks who have been conning the town and creating monster rats. It’s a crazy scenario, but in true Pratchett fashion, mocks our own modern world, pointing out in his own subversive manner, lessons about getting along and doing what’s right. I don’t think Pratchett is capable of writing a bad, or even average, novel. Every one is well worth reading. Immediately and without delay.

Book Review: Full Court Pressure by Lynn Galli

A surprisingly great book about an ex-female basketball pro player, turned men’s college basketball coach. Lynn Galli’s characters and experiences are completely believable and she addresses the challenges a woman might face when coaching a group of college-aged boys. This book touches on coming out as a gay woman, a woman trying to be taken seriously in the world of male sports, and even race and class relations. Galli creates characters that defy typical stereotypes and instead have an intelligent and thoughtful outlook on life and the issues they face. The story moves well and completely engaged me as I finished it over the course of 3 hours or so. Full Court Pressure is a wonderful book that takes “lesbian fiction” to a deeper level of engagement.

Book Review – Best American Comics 2009

I always enjoy the Best American Comics series, but 2009 was a bit of a disappointment.  I suppose I’m just not of the same mindset as Charles Burns, the series editor.  He seems to go for more dark, male-oriented, “dumb” jokes type of comics.  There are some good choices that I enjoyed, such as Skim by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, Freaks by Laura Park, and the comics by Dash Shaw and Ben Katchor.  The rest, however, seemed fairly mundane and didn’t grab me on an intellectual level.  But, I think the point of the series is to highlight a variety of comics.  You will gravitate towards some and quickly forget others.  I wish I liked a few more in this series, but it was a fun read nonetheless.

Book Review – The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

The Lonely Polygamist is the story of a man, his four wives, and 28 children.  Brady Udall manages to convincingly get inside the head of all his main characters and tell a story that is touching, funny, and relatable.  Udall seems to have researched his material well, as the details and emotions each person feels come across as authentic and varied, whether male, female, young or old.  If there is one complain, perhaps the ending is a bit weak.  For all the intricateness of the story, Udall seems to tie things up in a nice, simple package.  Nevertheless, the strength of this book is the varied thoughts and emotions from all his many characters, showing a huge range of humanity, without being overly judgmental.  The Lonely Polygamist is certainly worth a read.

Book Review – Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley

As much as I like Christopher Buckley, I thought it might be hard to get into a book that revolves around smoking. Indeed, this was the case. While still an excellent novel, it didn’t grab me like the other Buckley books. The book moved a bit too swiftly, without enough depth given to the characters. However, they were great characters with an interesting story to tell. Overall, a decent book well worth reading, but only after exhausting the other Buckley books.