On December 23, 1944, World War II was in its final months. Off the coast of Scotland the “Mad Monk” Gregor Rasputin and some Nazis embarked on a project intended to turn the direction of the war in their favor. A creature was summoned from Hell, a child. The child was deep red and in possession of some impressive horns on his head. Instead of becoming a pawn of the Nazis, as had been intended, he fell into the hands of United States Armed Forces. A paranormal researcher working for the government decided to adopt him. He named the child Hellboy.
In reality, on March 23, 1994, that story was introduced to readers by writer and artist Mike Mignola in “Hellboy: Seed of Destruction,” the debut issue for a comic book series that would go from cult favorite to cultural phenomenon. From that “seed of destruction” grew a fictional extended universe, referred to by some as the “Mignolaverse.” It spans a number of titles, both ongoing, one-shots and miniseries: BPRD, Lobster Johnson, Sir Edward Grey, Abe Sapien and more. Mignola and a slew of other talented artists and writers working with him have filled out backstories and propelled numerous story lines to their conclusions to create a rich world you can spend a lot of time inhabiting. Continue reading “Hellboy Day 2019”
I like my reading material like I like my nachos: with several delicious layers. “The Infinite Future” meets this criteria. In Tim Wirkus’s novel a character named Tim Wirkus runs into an old college classmate. Intriguing! What has the classmate been up to? How is it going? Do they remember the eccentric professor? There is so much to discuss when you see an acquaintance for the first time in years, but rather than mine their lives for stimulating conversation, the classmate urges Wirkus to run a manuscript by his agent. Wirkus has to spend time in an airport, so with his other reading material, laptop, tablet, phone, and e-reader lost or damaged (I assume), Wirkus settles on reading the unsolicited manuscript.
The manuscript begins with a translator’s note by Danny Laszlo (Wirkus’s former classmate). It’s the story of how Danny came to acquire the manuscript he translates. Danny goes to Brazil on a grant from an organization that wants him to write about Mormon missionary work there. Instead, with significant prodding from an obsessed librarian, he joins a hunt for a missing manuscript from an obscure science fiction author. Danny scatters summaries of the obscure author’s work throughout his translator’s note, and these are treats for anyone who has or would enjoy the work of Kurt Vonnegut’s Kilgore Trout. The librarian shows Danny a book proposal for a missing manuscript called “The Infinite Future.” The proposal sells it as a “prophetic text on par with the Holy Bible or I Ching.” Danny and the librarian buy the hype.
Change is inevitable. But change does not have to be random; it can be strongly influenced by people who speak up and take action. Activists are a key component of change, shining a light on the issues at hand, ensuring they are not forgotten until they are resolved. During this Women’s History Month, let us reflect on the role women have played as activists both in this country and around the world. As Margaret Mead is thought to have said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Julia Ward Howe is probably most well-known for writing the anthem “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in 1861. She was also an abolitionist and active in the women’s suffrage movement. Her activism was inspired by her marriage to Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe. Despite being an activist himself, Howe’s husband did not approve of married women working outside the house and he tried to stifle his wife’s ambitions of being a writer. In “The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe” author Elaine Showalter explores Howe’s unhappy marriage and how it helped shape her into an important early voice for women’s rights both in and outside of the home. Continue reading “Literary Links: Activism in Women’s History”
As a chronic overthinker, I spend a lot of time and mental energy asking, “What if?” Therefore, it is surprising that I haven’t really ventured into what is basically a What If genre. That’s the point of Read Harder though – branching out. Alternate history novels describe a re-imagined world in which an element of history is changed. DBRL’s catalog has a long list of alternate history novels to satisfy this Read Harder task, and I would like to highlight a few.
“The Only Harmless Great Thing” is unlike anything I’ve ever read. It imagines a combination between “The Radium Girls” and Topsy the Elephant, and I have to concur with my colleague The Gentleman that it can be hard to avoid the allure of a glowing elephant. The language in this book is remarkable. The prose reads so much like poetry in the sense that it is rhythmic and loaded with unexpected but shrewd imagery. In only 92 pages, Bolander sent me to a dictionary (okay, Google) four times. Though short, the books delves into the matriarchal social workings of the elephants and their clash with human greed and class struggles in a way that is compelling and heartbreaking.Continue reading “Read Harder 2019: An Alternate History Novel”
In the comic book series “Lazarus” by Greg Rucka, the world is divided into swaths of land each ruled by a different family. The nation states we currently know have been swallowed up by these families. Each territory is a feudal system with three distinct social classes — family, serfs and wastes. We do not see how the world became this way or, for example, how the Carlyle family came to control Duluth Minnesota. What we do see is a stark world of haves and have-nots where the haves use their ample resources to fight each other for more.
The central character is Forever Carlyle, the “Lazarus” of the Carlyle family. The lazarus for each family is a member chosen to represent them in combat. They have been trained their entire lives and artificially enhanced to be outstanding fighters. As Forever learns more about her family, her place in it and the way this world works she begins to question it. Continue reading “Know Your Dystopias: Lazarus”
Rachel Hollis has seen it too often: women not living into their full potential. They feel a tugging on their hearts for something more, but they’re afraid of embarrassment, of falling short of perfection, of not being enough. She knows that many women have been taught to define themselves in the light of other people– whether as wife, mother, daughter, or employee– instead of learning how to own who they are and what they want. With a challenge to women everywhere to stop talking themselves out of their dreams, Hollis identifies the excuses to let go of, the behaviors to adopt, and the skills to acquire on the path to growth, confidence, and believing in yourself.
A ground-breaking gripping account of the first 24 hours of the D-Day invasion told by a symphony of incredible accounts of unknown and unheralded members of the Allied – and Axis – forces by one of the world’s most lively historians. An epic battle that involved 156,000 men, 7,000 ships, and 20,000 armored vehicles, the desperate struggle that unfolded on 6 June 1944 was, above all, a story of individual heroics- of men who were driven to keep fighting until the German defenses were smashed and the precarious beachheads secured. This authentic human story – Allied, German, French – has never fully been told. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: March 2019”
I’m excited to share these LibraryReads with you! We have a great variety of books for you including fantasy and a graphic novel, but if those aren’t your cup of tea, fear not, there’s something for everyone. Check out these newly-published librarian favorites:
“Led on a dark path, readers will quickly guess that there’s more to Alicia’s story than what meets the eye. But the big surprises lie in the deep betrayals and the shock of an ending. Dark, twisted, perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware.” ~Amy Fellows, Multnomah County Library, Portland,ORContinue reading “LibraryReads: February 2019”
Posted on Monday, February 18, 2019 by Reading Addict
This task is rather hard to write about because it is so subjective. There have been a lot of books that people have handed me and said they were “just hilarious,” but I didn’t find them all that funny. I’ve also tried to pass on books I found funny to others just to have them flop. What can I tell you? A lot of humor comes down to timing. On the other hand, the task for the challenge is actually very easy, you just have to find a book, any book, that makes YOU laugh out loud. Maybe you can start with a comedian you really like and see if they have written a book, although that is no guarantee, either — Gilda Radner’s book was wonderful but it was NOT funny.
Posted on Sunday, February 10, 2019 by Reading Addict
William P. Gottlieb, Library of Congress (Holiday, Fitzgerald and Armstrong by William P. Gottlieb), derivative work: Piquito [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia CommonsJazz Appreciation Month is not until April, but let’s start early, especially since February is Black History Month, which should include jazz history, too. The very first jazz recording ever made was “Livery Stable Blues” by the Original Dixieland Jass Band on February 26, 1917. The entire band was white, led by coronet player Nick LaRocca, which allowed them the privilege of recording in a New York City studio just as the technology was being developed. Jazz actually began in New Orleans, and there were certainly black musicians who had been playing longer and better, but this first recording did allow the music to reach a broader audience. The form of jazz played by the ODJB is considered classic jazz and consisted of ensembles without an emphasis on solo artists. Just two years later, the band performed in London gaining an even wider exposure for jazz.
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and nothing says love quite like a totalitarian nightmare society or post-apocalyptic community of survivalists! The convergence of a romantic storyline and a dystopian world is actually not uncommon. Young adult novels often explore this territory, but it is not exclusive to that age group. Here’s a Valentine’s Day reading list where love is tested by bleak dystopias.
“1984” by George Orwell is a classic. It has contributed terms like Orwellian, thoughtcrime and Big Brother to our lexicon, but it is not commonly thought of as a story about romance. However, it is a romantic connection that brings the main character, Winston, into conflict with Big Brother. The government sees that kind of relationship between two people as a threat, and the feelings that develop between Winston and Julia in turn make the government a threat to them. I won’t spoil how it ends, but it isn’t with someone receiving flowers or with Winston holding up a boombox outside Julia’s window, although that would be very ‘80s. Continue reading “Know Your Dystopias: Romance!”
