Shakespeare's First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book

Today's nonfiction post is on Shakespeare's First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book by Emma Smith. It is 320 pages long and is published by Oxford University Press. The cover is black with the first folio on the bottom opened to Richard the Third. The intended reader is someone very interested in the physical history of the copies of the first folio. There is no foul mild language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- This is a biography of a book: the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays printed in 1623 and known as the First Folio. It begins with the story of its first purchaser in London in December 1623, and goes on to explore the ways people have interacted with this iconic book over the four hundred years of its history. Throughout, the stress is on what we can learn from individual copies now spread around the world about their eventful lives. From ink blots to pet paws, from annotations to wineglass rings, First Folios teem with evidence of its place in different contexts with different priorities.
This study offers new ways to understand Shakespeare's reception and the history of the book. Unlike previous scholarly investigations of the First Folio, it is not concerned with the discussions of how the book came into being, the provenance of its texts, or the technicalities of its production. Instead, it reanimates, in narrative style, the histories of this book, paying close attention to the details of individual copies now located around the world--their bindings, marginalia, general condition, sales history, and location--to discuss five major themes: owning, reading, decoding, performing, and perfecting.
This is a history of the book that consolidated Shakespeare's posthumous reputation: a reception history and a study of interactions between owners, readers, forgers, collectors, actors, scholars, booksellers, and the book through which we understand and recognize Shakespeare.

Review- This is an interesting book but not easy to read. It is very scholarly and detailed but at times it can make your eyes cross. Smith follows the surviving copies of the first folio and traces their history. She writes about how people have interacted with their personal copies of the first folio. From the food stains to the notes in the margins, she examines the remains of these owners and the marks they left behind. It was very interesting to see what people did to the first folio and sometimes I was pulling my hair. Like a copy that a Jesuit monastery had they removed all the female roles from the text. They cut out pieces from a first folio! It was interesting to read this history of one of the most iconic books ever printed.

I give this volume a Three out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Rurouni Kenshin volume 19

Today's post is on Rurouni Kenshin volume 19 by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It is 192 pages long and is published by Shonen Jump. The cover has Kenshinon the bottom with Enishi on top and Tomoe between them. It is the nineteenth volume in the long running series. You have to have read the first eighteen in the series to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes historical stories, manga, and interesting characters. There is no foul language, no sex, but some violence in this series. The story is told from third person close following different characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- It began with a sin, committed by Kenshin, back during his bloody days as hitokiri or a government-sanctioned slayer of men. Although stopping most of the assassins who still come seeking revenge should be easy enough, what of the innocent--Sanosuke and Yahiko (Kenshin's comrades), everyone at Akabeko Inn (Kenshin's friends), Kaoru (Kenshin's...?). For once there was another love in Kenshin's life, one which--given his nature--must by definition have been tragic. Can Kenshin escape the shades of his past, and find the will to fight for the real world--for the living--for reality?!

Review- We finish the two fights from the last volume and at last Kenshin's past is going to be revealed. Kenshin meets Enishi as he is returning to the dojo after his fight. Enishi explains what he is doing. He wants Kenshin to suffer and he knows that just punishing or even killing Kenshin will not make that happen. He is going to destroy everyone who has even spoken to Kenshin in passing. Enishi's very presence is playing with Kenshin's mind. He is starting to see things like skulls all around him and Tomoe beside Enishi. Until now the villains that Kenshin has fought were driven towards personal goals, or greedy, or mad. But from I have seen of Enishi so far is he just insane. He talks to Tomoe and hears her response to him. I am very excited about this last arc in Rurouni Kenshin and to see where everyone is going to end up.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power

Today's post is on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power by Ryan North, Erica Henderson (Artist). The cover has Doreen on dreaming about being hero welcomed by the Avengers. It is 128 pages long and is published by Marvel. The intended reader is young adult, likes comic books, and over-the-top story lines. There is no foul language, no sex, and comic violence in this book. The story is told from third person close of Doreen and her roommate. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Wolverine, Deadpool, Doctor Doom, Thanos: There's one hero that's beaten them all-and now she's got her own ongoing series! (Not that she's bragging.) That's right, you asked for it, you got it, it's SQUIRREL GIRL! (She's also starting college this semester.) It's the start of a brand-new set of adventures starring the nuttiest and most upbeat super hero in the world!

Review- This is a great comic book. It is so funny with interesting characters and fun plots. Doreen is just starting out in her life both as a superhero and a college student. She wants the normal college student life but there is no way that she is giving up being a superhero. So she has to learn how to manage and it is hilarious. She gets into fights with villains and wins because either is she outsmarts them or talks them out of whatever they were doing. I loved Doreen. She is so funny and she can think outside of the box. The best scene in this volume is when she is talking with Galactus about all the Five stars baddies she has beaten up. I cannot wait to read the next volume.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

Rurouni Kenshin volume 18

Today's post is on Rurouni Kenshin volume 18 by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It is 200 pages long and is published by Shonen Jump. The cover has Kenshin, Kaoru and Enishi on it looking very cool. It is the eighteenth volume in the long running series. You have to have read the first seventeen in the series to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes historical stories, manga, and interesting characters. There is no foul language, no sex, but some violence in this series. The story is told from third person close following different characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- He may be one of the "good guys" now (as Misao insists) but, even a month later, Kenshin still is haunted by Kyoto. How can he not be, when it was in Kyoto that, as the feared "Hitokiri Battôsai," he once made the streets flow red...? And yet, before he departs this place of so many memories, there are ghosts which must be put to rest. It's said that, when strong feelings are attached to a particular wound, so long as those feelings persist, the scar will remain. How did Kenshin get that cross-shaped scar on his face, and who was it that gave it to him?

Review- We finish up with Kyoto and start the final arc of Rurouni Kenshin. The finishing in Kyoto including Kenshin to someone's grave to pay his respects. Sano has really injured his hand and we will see how this comes into play for the final arc of this series. The villain Enishi does not come near Kenshin. He gets five others who have revenge to settle with themselves and sends them to the end of this volume. I really hate what is going on with Kaoru at the moment. She is very damsel in waiting and I am afraid that she is going to be that way for the rest of the series. But the plot is set and I am very curious to learn about this new villain. So more drama, more action, and more fighting ahead!

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

Th1rteen R3asons Why

Today's post is on Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher.  It is 288 pages long and is published by Razor. It is a stand alone novel. The cover has Hannah on it. The intended reader is young adult, likes intense stories, and realistic plots. There is some foul language, sex, and violence in this novel. The story is told from both Clay and Hannah's point of view. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- You can't stop the future. You can't rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret ... is to press play.
Clay Jensen doesn't want anything to do with the tapes Hannah Baker made. Hannah is dead. Her secrets should be buried with her.
Then Hannah's voice tells Clay that his name is on her tapes- and that he is, some way, responible for her death.
All throught the night, Clay keeps listening. He follows Hannah's recorded words throughout his small town...
...and what he discovers changes his life forever.

Review- This is not a bad book for what it is. It is book to help teens think about the way that their lives intersect with others. The choices they make, how they treat others and themselves, what could happen to them because of that. My main problem with this book is Clay. He does not deserve to be on the list. Hannah says that  but Asher wanted the reader to have someone who had not hurt Hannah to be the main voice for the book. I think it would have been more powerful if we has followed someone who had helped Hannah to her death. Having Clay as the main character may have helped the reader get through the story easier but I think that it losses some power because of that. That said it does tell the story without being preachy about it.

I give this book a Three out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Rurouni Kenshin volume 17

Today's post is on Rurouni Kenshin volume 17 by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It is 208 pages long and is published by Shonen Jump. The cover has Kenshin on it looking very cool. It is the seventeenth volume in the long running series. You have to have read the first sixteen in the series to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes historical stories, manga, and interesting characters. There is no foul language, no sex, but some violence in this series. The story is told from third person close following different characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The madness of Shishio Makoto may know no bounds, but what of his body? An eleventh-hour revelation suggests a possible weakness, but will the news come in time to help a critically wounded Kenshin, whose own strength is reaching its limit? In this new era of Meiji, it's getting harder and harder to tell the innocents from the outlaws. Perhaps, as Kenshin says, it should be for history to decide which side was right, and which side was wrong. The time for hitokiri such as Kenshin and Shishio has passed; let not the man decide the age...but the age, the man.

Review-  The Kyoto Arc is done. Kenshin holds true to his vow but Shishio kills himself in the end. All the side characters get a chance to go at Shishio and Shishio's final men get their chance too. Kenshin would have killed Shishio because Shishio makes him that angry by killing Yumi. Kenshin saw Kaoru in her and Shishio killing the woman who loved him just to get at Kenshin was more than he could stand. In the end Shishio's own body turns on him and he kills himself in a round about way. Kenshin also keeps his promise to Miaso that he will bring Aoshi back to her. The volume ends a month later with Kenshin mostly healed up and everyone getting ready to go back to Tokyo. I did enjoy this arc but I am glad to moving on the next thing.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

Something Strange and Deadly

Today's post is on Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennnard. It is the first in her Something Strange and Deadly series. It is 388 pages long and is published by HarperTeen. The cover has the main character on it wearing a lovely black dress. The intended reader is someones who likes historical fantasy, unusual plots, and mild romance. There in mild foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this book. The story is told from first person of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . .
Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.
Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper:
The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.
And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Review- A fun and unusual historical urban fantasy. Eleanor does take a little while to grow on you but she is really up against a wall for the whole story. Her mother has wasted all their money and now they need her brother to return and save them from the poor house. Eleanor is a young woman of her time with needs and wants that are greater than they 'should' be. She wants to be more than just a woman of her time. She wants to be her own. I think that nercomacy which is the magic for this series is very fun and that zombies are being done right. They do not just raise, someone has to control the body. If the nercomancer loses control then the zombies go on a rampage of destruction. But there are lots of plot things and character things happening that are going to be dealt with in the next book. I am curious about where Dennard is going with the story.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood

Today's nonfiction post is on Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood by Claire Hoffman. It was 288 pages long and is published by Harper. The cover is yellow with a picture of the author in the center. There is mild foul language, talk of sex, and no violence in this book. The intended reader is someone interested in memoirs or the Transcendental Meditation movement. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- When Claire Hoffman is five-years-old, her mother informs her and her seven-year-old brother Stacey, that they are going to heaven—Iowa—to live in Maharishi’s national headquarters for Heaven on Earth. For Claire’s mother, Transcendental Meditation—the Maharishi’s method of meditation and his approach to living the fullest possible life—was a salvo that promised world peace and enlightenment .
At first this secluded utopia offers warmth and support, and makes these outsiders feel calm, secure, and connected to the world. Claire attends the Maharishi school, where her meditations were graded and she and her class learned Maharishi's principals for living. But as Claire and Stacey mature, their adolescent skepticism kicks in, drawing them away from the community and into delinquency and drugs. Eventually, Claire moves to California with her father and breaks from Maharishi completely. A decade later, after making a name for herself in journalism and starting a family, she begins to feel exhausted by cynicism and anxiety. She finds herself longing for the sparkle filled, belief fueled Utopian days in Iowa, meditating around the clock.  So she returns to her hometown in pursuit of TM’s highest form of meditation — levitation. This journey will transform ideas about her childhood, family, and spirituality.
Greetings from Utopia Park takes us deep into this complex, unusual world, illuminating its joys and comforts, and its disturbing problems. While there is no utopia on earth, Hoffman reveals, there are noble goals worth striving for: believing in belief, inner peace, and a firm understanding that there is a larger fabric of the universe to which we all belong.

Review- This was an interesting read about a movement that I knew nothing about. Hoffman starts at a current place in her life trying to find herself as a new wife and mother. So she goes back home to Fairfield, Iowa to see if her past can help her find her future. Hoffman begins when she was three years old and getting her personal meditation word. We spend all her childhood with her from moving from New York to Fairfield. She does not spend much time in her teenage years when she began to leave the movement and try to have a life of her own. While she did so much with this memoir I felt that there was a lot that we did not get and that left some holes in the overall narrative. But still an interesting and at times moving story.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I was given this book by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. 

Rurouni Kenshin volume 16

Today's post is on Rurouni Kenshin volume 16 by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It is 192 pages long and is published by Shonen Jump. The cover has Kenshin and Kaoru on it looking very cool. It is the sixteenth volume in the long running series. You have to have read the first fifteen in the series to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes historical stories, manga, and interesting characters. There is no foul language, no sex, but some violence in this series. The story is told from third person close following different characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Is there such a thing as divine will or guidance...? Seta Sôjirô, stopping for a moment in mid-battle with Kenshin, may be beginning to think so. When Sôjirô made the fateful decision to ally with the monomaniacal Shishio Makoto, his family paid the ultimate price. But is the flesh of the weak truly the sustenance of the strong, as Shishio insists? Kenshin, whose Hiten Mitsurugi school places the protection of the helpless before all else, would surely disagree. In a world where might makes right only too often, what choice have "the wronged" but to wait for a savior? And when that savior comes too late...what then?

Review- This volume has only two fights in it. The ending of the fight with Sôjirô and the first round with Shishio. Kenshin makes Sôjirô questions himself and we get to see his background and how he came to be with Shishio. Then at last the final fight begins with Shishio. Kenshin and Shishio trade verbal barbs before beginning. At first it looks like Kenshin is going to win then Shishio does a trick with gunpower and Kenshin is down at the end of the volume. Only one volume left in the Kyoto Arc and I just do not see how Watsuki is going to be able to rap all this up but I am sure that he will. More fights, more action, and more drama ahead!

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Blood Call

Today's post is on Blood Call by Lilith Saintcrow. It is 302 pages long and is published by Orbit. It is a stand alone novel. The cover is a picture of a cityscape with blood running over it. The intended reader is someone who likes horror, urban fantasy, and just a little romance. There is foul language, implied sexuality, and violence in this book. The story is told in third person close of the two main characters moving from chapter to chapter. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Anna Caldwell has spent the last few days in a blur. She's seen her brother's dead body, witnessed the shooting of innocent civilians, and been shot at herself. Now she has nowhere to turn—and only one person she can possibly call.
Since Anna dumped him, it seems waiting is all Josiah Wolfe has done. Now, she's calling, and she needs his help—or rather, the "talents" she once ran away from. As a liquidation agent, Josiah knows everything about getting out of tough situations. He'll get whatever she's carrying to the proper authorities, then settle down to making sure she doesn't leave him again.
But the story Anna's stumbled into is far bigger than even Josiah suspects. Anna wants to survive, Josiah wants Anna back, and the powerful people chasing her want the only thing worth killing for—immortality. An ancient evil has been trapped, a woman is in danger, and the world is going to see just how far a liquidation agent will go...

Review- This is a fast paced ride of a story. The supernatural elements do not come into the story until after the plot has been established then everything takes on an odd angle. I enjoyed the story mostly but Josiah was a bit of a dick at first. He has been waiting for Anna to call him and he acts like an ass the first chance he gets. But I am willing to forgive him because he is really useful. Anna at times can be trying but she just a normal woman who finds her brother murdered and now people are hunting her for things she does not have. The supernatural elements add just a touch of the weird this story and I liked that. If like you Saintcrow or are curious about her writing style then give this book a try.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

The Book of the People: How to Read the Bible

Today's nonfiction post is on The Book of the People: How to Read the Bible by A. N. Wilson. It is 244 pages long including notes and is published by Harper Collins. The cover is red fresco of Saints. The intended reader is someone interested in a casual history of the Bible. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book - From renowned historian, biographer and novelist, A.N. Wilson, a deep personal, literary, and historical exploration of the Bible.
In The Book of the People, A. N. Wilson explores how readers and thinkers have approached the Bible, and how it might be read today. Charting his own relationship with the Bible over a lifetime of writing, Wilson argues that it remains relevant even in a largely secular society, as a philosophical work, a work of literature, and a cultural touchstone that the western world has answered to for nearly two thousand years: Martin Luther King was "reading the Bible" when he started the Civil Rights movement, and when Michelangelo painted the fresco cycles in the Sistine Chapel, he was "reading the Bible." Wilson challenges the way fundamentalists—whether believers or non-believers—have misused the Bible, either by neglecting and failing to recognize its cultural significance, or by using it as a weapon against those with whom they disagree.
Erudite, witty and accessible, The Book of the People seeks to reclaim the Good Book as our seminal work of literature, and a book for the imagination.

Review- This was a strange book about the author, a friend of his, and where the Bible met between them. Wilson takes the reader from the beginning of the Bible and his friendship with the mysterious L all the way to end the gospels. Now Wilson does not go from a to b but jumps around from book to book and story to story. You would think that would make it interesting but it is not. The only parts of this book that I enjoyed were the parts with L. She was interesting but the rest of this book was boring. I was bored reading about Wilson's personal interpretations of the Bible and it's stories. I was bored reading about all the travel that Wilson has done. I look forward to seeing L, reading her words, and I was sad when I read of her death. If the above sounds interesting or fun to you then try this book. If not then do not read it.

I give this books Two out of Five stars. I was given this book to review by Harper Collins.