Lucas Blogs About Books

Excuse me? You know, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, formerly a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and later Transfiguration at same, known for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, &c. I know which Dumbledore you are referring to. Okay, it's just that recent films have indicated that maybe there are more Dumbledores than was previously believed. Thanks for reminding me that JK Rowling's most recent writing credit is for that execrable movie. Speaking of, it turns out that JK Rowling recently confirmed that Dumbledore and Grindelwald were lovers. I mean, didn't she already basically confirm that when she revealed that Dumbledore was gay? Well, not exactly, she said that Dumbledore was in love with Grindelwald. Not that the relationship was reciprocal. But now she

Yes, in certain lighting conditions the title and author's name are difficult to read. So what's this book's de–Oh, hey! It's one of those mangaka you mentioned in our discussion of manga . So it is. And it's one of the manga that he's best known for in America. Anway, Shigeru Mizuki's Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths  is about a company in the Japanese Imperial Army in World War II and is based on Mizuki's own experiences as a soldier in the Pacific theater. This isn't one some kind of right-wing apologia  about the conduct of the Imperial Army in the period leading up to and including World War II? No, it is explicitly not that. In fact, it's pretty much just about one company in the army over the course of a few months. The manga itself is episodic with each chapter following a couple of members of the Baien Battalion as they go through the drudgery of daily life in the army. We see new recruits being beaten by their commanding office

I propose that over the course of a year and a month I will re-read the entirety of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events to see how a series of children's books holds up to being read by a man in his mid-30s. Hold up, I just ran the math and that would mean that these books started coming out when you were a freshman in high school. Yes, that is correct, but I don't believe I started reading them until I was a senior. That's worse! We've definitely already had this discussion  before. Anyway, I'll read one book in the series every month  and then on the 13th I'll post a write-up about it. We'll sort of play this one by ear from there. Oh, and consider this your SPOILER WARNING : These books have all been out for more than ten years, I will be discussing the plot of each book, including how they end. Book the First  - The Bad Beginning What did you remember about this before re-reading it? Okay, so I'm pretty sure I've

Characters need to be likable! No they don't! Yes they do! Wait, maybe we should figure out what we mean by "likable." Ya know, able to be liked. Okay, yeah, but what do we really mean by that? Likable in what way really? I feel like you're being intentionally obtuse. Likable as in you'd want to grab a beer with them? As in you'd want to be friends with them? As in you don't wish them any specific harm? All right, I'll play along. Let's say that I want to be able to sympathize with the characters. Well, but there are any number of books where you're specifically not meant to sympathize with the protagonist. You're not jumping straight to something like Lolita  or Fight Club , are you? Well, those are two that spring to mind. But lets put Humbert and Jack aside and talk about Frankenstein . wow! much professional very photoedit I'm always down to talk about Frankenstein . It's so good. I know, right?

What do any of these pictures have to do with each other? So, what's this book's de–Hey! The title of this blog post and the title on the cover are different,   though slightly similar. What gives? Well, you may have noticed that the cover also says, "Three Novellas," so I figured I could write up each one independently. And turn one book into three posts? Well, since the first two novellas are each more than one hundred pages long, I'd say they'd be better served by being reviewed separately rather than together. Also, you gotta generate content somehow. I'll allow it. How kind of you, Hypothetical Reader. I'm nothing if not understanding. See, it's a reviewable item, I think. Anyway, this book's deal is that it's a novella, originally published in the 90s and now collected as part of a new book by Nebula and Hugo award winning writer Connie Willis. It's a sci-fi western about a couple of human surveyors mappin