“Faust: Part One” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (3/5)
Faust (Part One)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
ISBN 0-19-283595-5
“Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)” by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson (3/5)
Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)
Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson
ISBN 978-0-15-101098-1
“Imago: Prophecy” by L.T. Suzuki (3/5)
Imago: Prophecy
L.T. Suzuki
ISBN 142510302-2
ISBN 9-781425-103026
“Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (3/5)
Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
ISBN 9-780930-289232
The Watchmen is a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. It follows vigilante masked hero characters as they find themselves being killed off in a complex plot amidst a perceived Apocalypse brought about by the Cold War. It is available from Amazon.ca.
It took me a while to get used to the artwork (mind, I am largely used to manga-style graphic novels) but I did get used to them over time.
The characters are round, each with their own story line explaining their personality.
Looking at the Watchmen from a literary standpoint, many literary aspects make this book great. Suttle repetitions foreshadow future events, second meanings and intentions are weaved throughout the plot, and paying careful attention to the images reveals a lot to what is hidden in the story.
I liked the plot. I got a lot more out of it the second time through reading. There is a lot of political stuff happening in the book, so that aspect I missed out on. But the plot overall is quite enjoyable.
The ending, however... I will say I prefered the movie ending. The ending is creative and well thought out, but I don't think it is nearly as believable as what happens in the movie. I think the ending of the book makes a few large jumps between events that I personally don't think would lead to one another. Or I could be missing out on something causing me to misinterpret it...
Anyhow, overall, I liked the Watchmen and I recommend it to anybody interested in graphic novels, super heroes, morality, or the human condition. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
“Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost (3/5)
"Nothing Gold Can Stay"
Robert Frost
A copy of this poem can be found at:
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" is a poem written by Robert Frost. In 1923, it was featured in the Yale Review. It was one of the poems we read in ENGL 110.
“Acquainted With The Night” by Robert Frost (3/5)
"Acquainted with the Night"
Robert Frost
A copy of the poem can be found at: http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=119
"Acquainted with the Night" is a poem written by Robert Frost released in the Virginia Quarterly Review in October of 1928. It was one of the poems we read in ENGL 110.
“The Prince of Tennis” (Vol. 2) by Takeshi Konomi (3/5)
The Prince of Tennis (Vol. 2)
Takeshi Konomi
ISBN-13 978-1-59116-436-4
ISBN-10 1-59116-436-2
In the second volume of Prince of Tennis, the first ranking tournament takes place. The manga basically covers the games between Echizen and Kaoru Kaido (the buggy whip shot specialist), and then Echizen and Sadaharu Inui (the data specialist).
I like this manga, but I'm only giving it 3 out of 5 stars because it's still the introduction to the story.
“The Prince of Tennis” (Vol. 1) by Takeshi Konomi (3/5)
The Prince of Tennis (Vol. 1)
Takeshi Konomi
ISBN-13 978-1-59116-435-7
ISBN-10 1-59116-435-4
This is the first book in the Prince of Tennis series. The series follows Seigakuen High School as they attempt to make it to the Japanese National Tennis Tournament (with a freshman named Ryoma Echizen). That being said, the book largely covers tennis matches, although there are a few sub-plots along the way. There is also a lot of character development (so the characters are very round with their own personalities; a lot more than I usually read, but in this case it worked out well) and there is a bit of romance between a few characters.
In this first book, a few of the main characters are introduced. Plotwise, the story covers from Echizen's arrival at Seigaku to the beginning of the school's first ranking matches (to determine who gets to play as the regular members of the tennis team at the first tournament). It also shows matches between Echizen and Sasabe, and Echizen and Arai.
I guess I should note that I really didn't like the art when I first saw this manga. In fact, for that reason, I refused to read/watch it when I was first told about this series many years ago. However, after watching and reading the Prince of Tennis series, the style became an acquired taste and I got used to it really quickly. However, I think the two things that really drive this manga are the plot and the characters. That being said, I recommend this manga to any manga, tennis, or sports fans. I also challenge people to read it (not because it's difficult, but because it's a different type of manga to read; or at least it was for me) as this was the first manga that showed me that books about sports could be interesting.
It doesn't really get too far into the plot, though, so although I liked this volume, I'm only giving it 3 out of 5 stars.
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” by Judy Blume (3/5)
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Judy Blume
ISBN 0-440-90419-6
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is a novel by Judy Bloom (copyright 1970) about a grade 6 girl named Margaret Simon. It follows her through sixth grade as she moves from the city to a town, meets new friends, thinks about boys, experiences puberty, explores religion, advances through life, etc.
Margaret Simon is the narrator of the story and everything is told in the first-person point of view. She describes her life as a student, a member of the Pre-Teen Sensations (a group of friends--Nancy, Janie, Gretchen and Margaret) and the daughter of a Christian mother and Jewish father. The two major themes that stick out in the novel are puberty and religion. Blume describes the female puberty from the perspective of a young girl (along with the anxieties that come with it; thus, it is largely a coming-of-age story). She also explores the Christian and Jewish faith seeing as the story is set up that Margaret has no set religion because of a conflict between her parents and their parents about a religious conflict.
The plot is enjoyable. I would assume it is also fairly relatable for many pre-teen girls (although, I, as a male, also enjoyed the novel). The characters are fairly well developed. Many characters (eg. Margaret, Nancy, Grandmother) have developed personalities, although there are many characters whose personalities could be expanded on a bit further (though, doing so would have put pressure on the short length of the novel). The writing style was good--it was easy to read and comprehend, thus contributing to the enjoyability of the novel.
I personally enjoyed this novel. It has a fair amount of content within its short length. The plot is intriguing and I was able to relate to Margaret at several points in the novel.
Overall, I would recommend this book and I rate it at 3 out of 5 stars.
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