Lucas Blogs About Books

Oh my! How ribald! Eww. You're one of those people who  reads  plays? I should have seen this one coming. Yes, I agree that, ideally, I would go to the theater and see actors performing plays, rather than read them. And I may have seen a production of Lysistrata  before (it's been a while, it may have been some other Greek comedy). And I'm sure some drama society or another has uploaded their performance to YouTube . But, I saw this at the used bookstore and said, "Sure, why not." A ringing endorsement. So, what's this book's deal? The deal with Lysistrata (trans. Douglas Parker) is that it's a comedy by Aristophanes that was first performed in Athens in 411 BCE. You're probably familiar with the plot, Hypothetical Reader, but I'll humor you. Lysistrata convenes a meeting of the women of Athens with representatives from Thebes, Corinth, Sparta, etc. with the goal of ending the  Peloponnesian War . Her plan: the women of Greece will al...

The correct order to read these books follows a "Z" pattern from top left to bottom right, like Zorro! My feverish pursuit of MOAR content brought forth this feature: Simplified Series. Here's the pitch: quick synopses (I'll try and keep them spoiler-free, but, you know, most of these are past the statute of limitations on spoilers) of the entries in a series followed by the reasons you should or shouldn't read it. This week: The Harry Potter heptalogy, part 1 by J.K. Rowling (look, on Monday I talked about how  and the Deathly Hallows made me cry , and  this week I blog-viewed (hmm, needs a better word) a book about someone discovering their magical heritage  so this seemed to be the time to do Harry Potter, or at least the first 4 books (watch this space for books 5-7 in the near future)). Background Info: Look, we all know that Joanne Rowling was a single mother when she published  Harry Potter and the Philorceror's Stone  and proceeded to make ro...

Not pictured: any indication that this book is the first in a series. So, what's this book's deal? Oh? You mean besides being a book of lies? More so than any other work of fiction? I'll say. When a book is the first entry in a series that information should be clearly communicated on the cover, spine, or title pa- Wait, you're getting all bent out of shape over the fact that a fantasy  novel is the first book in a series? No. I'm getting all bent out of shape because the publisher (Harper Voyager) failed to mention this fact. If I'd known that ahead of time, it might have affected my purchasing decision. It's just common curtesy. Hmm. I'll bet you're just mad because it took you an embarrassingly long time to figure out that this wouldn't be a standalone novel, aren't you? What? No! Maybe! Shut up! This book's deal is that it's a fantasy novel by S.A. Chakraborty. Our protagonist, Nahri, uses her innate healing ab...

Books can affect you in any number of ways. Sometimes they  introduce you to new ideas and make your world bigger. Sometimes they speak to something deep inside you and make you feel like someone else understands. Sometimes they just wrench your guts out and send a cascade of hot tears down your face and make you wish you hadn't started reading that chapter on the bus. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  by J.K. Rowling HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! When'd I read it? July 21-22, 2007 (amazing how easy it is to pin down the specific date you read a worldwide publishing phenomenom). What's it about? So, this is the last book in the Harry Potter series and it's mostly about how Harry, Ron, and Hermione putter around aimlessly for hundreds of pages before J.K. Rowling figures out that her books are supposed to have plots. I kid, mostly. But it basically follows the main trio as they try to track down and destroy all of Voldemort's old Horcruxes (pieces of his soul)...

Where's The Silmarillion ? You might ask. Do you think I'm made of time? My feverish pursuit of MOAR content brought forth this feature: Simplified Series. Here's the pitch: quick synopses (I'll try and keep them spoiler-free, but you know, most of these are past the statute of limitations on spoilers) of the entries in a series followed by the reasons you should or shouldn't read it. This week: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings  by JRR Tolkien Background Info: I mean, you know what these are. Anyway, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a philologist, which is what a linguist was called before the academic underpinnings of modern linguistics were developed in the early 20th century. Ever since his youth, one of his hobbies was inventing constructed languages  (conlangs). And really, it was this hobby that lead him to begin writing his Middle-Earth novels and stories. After all, what good is a conlang without anyone to speak it? So, he started working on The Si...

So, what's this book's deal? Well, Hypothetical Reader, the deal with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 7 - I've Been Waiting for a Squirrel Like You  is that it's the seventh (eighth if you count the graphic novel The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe ) entry in Ryan North and Erica Henderson's  Eisner-award-winning  series about a super hero who eats nuts and kicks butts! Volume 7 finds computer science students Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl's alter-ego) and Nancy Whitehead (Squirrel Girl's roommate and best human friend) entering a programming contest that ultimately results in them winning a free trip to Marvel's Savage Lands where dinosaurs roam a tropical forest hidden in Antartica. Oh, and it includes an issue done up as a Zine with mini comics written and drawn by various Squirrel Girl characters featuring several guest artists. I hesitate to ask this, but aren't you kind of outside of the target audience for this...

Chapter titles can't be spoilers if they're listed in the Table of Contents, right? Right? Books can affect you in any number of ways. Sometimes they  introduce you to new ideas and make your world bigger. Sometimes they speak to something deep inside you and make you feel like someone else understands. Sometimes they just wrench your guts out and send a cascade of hot tears down your face and make you wish you hadn't started reading that chapter on the bus. The Brothers Karamazov  by Fyodor Dostoevsky HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! When'd I read it? I first read this over the course of about a year in my senior year of high school and freshman year of college. It's actually a pretty easy book to divide into chunks and tackle over a long period of time (the second time I read it a few years ago, it took about a month). What's it about? Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov has three sons (well, four): Dmitri Fyodorovich (Mitya), a former military officer and current ...

That old man hologram is a much more important character than you'd initially expect. My feverish pursuit of MOAR content brought forth this feature: Simplified Series. Here's the pitch: quick synopses (I'll try and keep them spoiler-free, but you know, most of these are past the statute of limitations on spoilers) of the entries in a series followed by the reasons you should or shouldn't read it. This week: The Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov Background info: Asimov was a prolific author of science fiction and non-fiction books on a variety of topics. You may know him from adaptions like I, Robot or Bicentennial Man . Anyway, today we'll be talking about the Foundation trilogy. That's right, I said trilogy, this will only cover Foundation , Foundation and Empire , and Second Foundation , not any of the prequels and sequels he wrote in the 80's and 90's. I've read most of those as well, but this post would just be too long. Plus they sta...

Pages big enough to hide my face but still light enough to hold comfortably in one hand? I need to review more comics on this blog. So, what's this book's deal? That's it? After The Inquisitor's Tale  and Ocarina of Time , I expected more pushback on this one. Wait, so now it's a big deal when I don't give you crap about your reading choices? I'm sorry, Hypothetical Reader, I shouldn't have assumed. Thank you. So what is  this book's deal? Well, BUG! The Adventures of Forager  is a six-part miniseries written by Lee Allred with pencils and inks by Michael Allred (Lee's brother) and colors by Laura Allred (Micheal's wife). It's the story of Forager (also known as the Bug) who wakes up to find himself in a haunted house with a talking teddy Bear and a silent little girl. Together, they travel between improbable reality shards, assisting various heroes while trying to stop another reality-hopping villain from collecti...

Books can affect you in any number of ways. Sometimes they  introduce you to new ideas and make your world bigger. Sometimes they speak to something deep inside you and make you feel like someone else understands. Sometimes they just wrench your guts out and send a cascade of hot tears down your face and make you wish you hadn't started reading that chapter on the bus. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! When'd I read it? This was an assigned reading book in 9th grade. I specifically remember it was around Thanksgiving, because that was the year I was in Illinois for my grandparents' 50th anniversary. What's it about? Oh like you don't know. In case you haven't attended a middle or high school in the United States, To Kill A Mockingbird recounts a few years in the life of Scout Finch, her older brother, Jem, and their neighbor, Dill, in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s. In addition to spending their time speculating about/mock...

Not pictured: the dozens of mediocre intermediary Star Wars EU books. My feverish pursuit of MOAR content brought forth this feature: Simplified Series. Here's the pitch: quick synopses (I'll try and keep them spoiler-free, but you know, most of these are past the statute of limitations on spoilers) of the entries in a series followed by the reasons you should or shouldn't read it. This week: The Thrawn trilogy and the Hand of Thrawn duology by Timothy Zahn Background info: So before Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4.5 billion, Star Wars had a sprawling expanded universe of tie-in novels and comic books that were all (sort of) in continuity with each other and the films. Timothy Zahn opened and closed what I'll call the 90s phase of the Star Wars EU. His bestselling Thrawn trilogy introduced fan favorites like Grand Admiral Thrawn, Captain Pallaeon, and, of course, Mara Jade. Plus such fan-tolerated additions as vornskrs, ysalamiri, Joruus C'Baoth, and, of...

Huh, how considerate of that reader to hold the book so that his webcam could see the title and author. Charlie Jane Anders'(s?) All the Birds in the Sky  is one of those books that makes you feel sorry for whatever you read next (Seriously, how is anything in the to-read pile supposed to top that ?). It makes you want to sing along to your iPod while you ride your bike home from work. Or you know, some other thing that makes you feel weirdly alive. I'll cut to the chase, this is the best novel I've read in a while. Not one of the best. Not the best in a particularly genre. The best. Certainly the best novel I've reviewed since starting this blog. Which reminds me,  this'll be a normal review. Hypothetical Reader's not in this one (sorry to Hypothetical Reader's hypothetical fans). My enthusiasm for this book is so unabashed, there's no need to temper this review with a rhetorical device. This is the story of Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armste...

Books can affect you in any number of ways. Sometimes they  introduce you to new ideas and make your world bigger. Sometimes they speak to something deep inside you and make you feel like someone else understands. Sometimes they just wrench your guts out and send a cascade of hot tears down your face and make you wish you hadn't started reading that chapter on the bus. Feed by Mira Grant HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! When'd I read it? It was the summer of 2010, Borders was still a thing, and I picked up a couple of paperbacks that looked fun and pulpy, Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold  and Mira Grant's Feed.  One of them made me cry. What's it about? It's the not-too-distant future and the zombie apocalypse has become the status quo. Everyone's a carrier of the zombie virus. On the plus side, no one gets cancer or the common cold anymore. On the minus side, whenever someone dies (or their viral load exceeds safe levels) they transform into a ravening zom...