Monday Reviews - View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

I think we're all allowed one favorite in each categories of things that mark our lives. Pearl Jam is my favorite band. IPA is my favorite beer. I'm too moody to only pick one type of red wine as my favorite though. That said, Big Trouble in Little China is my favorite movie. Sometimes we choose our favorites and sometimes our favorites choose us. Neil Gaiman is my favorite author.

More than being the most talented author I read, I insist on saying he's my favorite... because the more I read him, the more I understand that what I do as a writer is the right thing. He doesn't pander or preach, he doesn't expect worship or shy away from giving praise... he's a nice guy. A nice guy with a wicked imagination and a writer voice that speeks to so many parts of me, that sometimes it's scary. Even those parts that I keep hidden. He speaks to them. Not many people get to know those parts. Those broken mosaics within. But he somehow connects. So he became my favorite... and I know I'm not alone.

But that's okay, because we all have the right as well as the opportunity to enjoy him and his words. This is a lovely collection of non-fiction pieces, read by Neil himself. They're real, honest, and make no attempt to cover. Quite the opposite actually. He reveals who he is and somehow in that act, we find a bit of ourselves.

I was debating whether to give this book 4 stars or 5. It is a collection of intros, essays, articles, and liner notes. The reason is that I don't want to seem skewed or influenced or as if I drank the "Gaiman" Kool-Aid as some people say... but influence he does, and influenced I am... because I am able to choose favorites... and Neil is mine.

Monday Reviews - hinting at Shadows by Sarah Brentyn

I honestly believe that what differentiates a 4 and 5-star rating for this collection is the mindset with which someone picks up the book. Here’s the thing, the title tells you exactly what to expect: short fictions. The writing is spot on and at least 85% of all the stories make you wish for more info on what’s happening. Instead, you get brilliant snapshots that work like poetry, but in prose, even if it’s not poetic prose.

Throughout the collection, the approach is like a really good joke, in the sense of premise, build up, surprise, except that instead of laughter, you run a variety of emotions that range from sadness, to wonder, to shock.

The fact is clear though, Sarah Brentyn can write and Hinting at Shadows is almost a sort of literary preview reel of great stories. There are some solid entries here that could easily be made into a fully fleshed short story or even a book. But that’s not the purpose of this collection, instead it’s meant to tantalize, to inspire, to serve as a snapshot or a glimpse within a much larger story that invites the reader to unleash their imagination. It definitely makes me wonder what she could bring forth with a long form work.

As for the rating, it’s a 5 because the quality of writing, ideas, concepts, and dialogue is there. The only 4 star thing is that feeling of wanting more… and as a writer, I don’t think there’s a better reaction one could hope for.

Monday Reviews: An Ogre's Tale by Lilian Oake

If you're ever in the mood to read a throwback fairy tale, might I recommend this wonderful quick read. An Ogre's Tale reads like something from another century and I'm not saying this as if the material feels dated or tired. Quite the contrary, rather than tackling a completely new aesthetic, An Ogre's Tale feels as if it had been included in a collection of classic fairy tales. It flows in that style, has clear moral lessons and offers food for thought. Although anyone from any age can enjoy this tale, I think it's ideal for those book loving kids that almost seem like small adults.

My reason for the 4 stars would be in part because it telegraphed certain plot points a bit too much, but even so, a highly enjoyable read and if I took a further step, I insist this is the perfect library book for kids. To be read on their own, to have it read to them, to read in a group, to pay late fees on because they don't want to take it back to the library.

My only other observation would be that I would have liked just a bit more development of the characters. I think a bit more development of the characters would go a long way to making something even more special. That said, it's still a wonderful read and Oake should definitely consider penning an entire collection of fairy tales one day. Although other works by her might have a different feel, there is a place for throwback classic fairy tales, and she can fill that space with style. 

If you'd like to get in touch, check here out in the following links:

Twitter

Youtube

Facebook

Monday Reviews: The Weightless One by Anaïs Chartschenko

Powerful. 

Unnerving. 

Impactful. 

Emotionally intense. 

Important to read.

All the words and phrases above serve perfectly to describe how I feel about the Weightless One. Yet again, Anaïs Chartschenko offers a brutally honest, intensely real, and disarming read. Unlike her previous collections, this is a poetic narrative that talks of a young woman who is battling an eating disorder, the reasons for it, the traumas that aggravated it, and the damage it can do in our lives. Language is never too elevated to ensure the point gets through... and boy does it. Some verses hit like a sledgehammer and the entire collection is written with the brutal unflinching honesty characteristic of this wonderful poet.

Chartschenko doesn't care if what she captures in words rattles you, makes you uncomfortable, unnerves you, or even hurts. She's not about making you feel comfortable... she's all about making you feel.

I think this is an important collection to share with people of all ages in the hopes that like some other works of art it helps people understand more about the challenges people with eating disorders face and how it can ravage not just one life, but several.

Raw, intense, real poetry for those who know that roses are not always red and want no puffery with their verses.

If you want to connect with this wonderful author, here are some links and by all means, tell her I said hi:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiw1y7_NUCoADdc5Xnn3whg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/anaisbelieve

Website: http://anaischartschenko.weebly.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anaischarts...

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Anais-Chartsch...
 

Monday Reviews: The Lost Knight by Candy Atkins

Although I adore fantasy, I also love reading something fresh and new and in that sense, Candy Atkins has deliver something wonderfully fresh in the Lost Knight. This tale may start off like your typical YA venture with a young protagonist living in unenviable conditions, but what feels familiar is quickly dissolved when Agatha sees something in an orb… what was it? She can’t tell but she knows her aunt and a visitor show great interest in this. And that’s when a specter shows up to take Agatha to safety. The shadow’s name is Jonah and this is one magnificent character with powers and a personality that make him as likable as they come.

It turns out that there are two world coexisting and the only person who can help connect both worlds if she wishes it, is Agatha. What ensues is an adventure where we see full reimaginings of elves, faeries, and countless other creatures.

One of the moments when Atkins truly excels is when she takes her time with a subject and character development. Some people may make a case that Agatha is too stroppy, but being a teenager, I think the angst is appropriate and if it annoys, by all means remember how “cool” you were at thirteen. On the other hand, characters like Jonah, Albína, Dathid, and the lovable Lenox all have wonderful developments and variety. Another is with her locations, I won’t ruin the discovery of them but there are places where she truly takes her time to flesh things out and this is always a good thing. When I lost touch a bit with the story is in instances when it feels like the story was rushed and situations resolved in a paragraph. It’s not something that always happens, but when it does and you compare it to those lush, gorgeous scenes in caves, and the ocean, when she really unleashes that imagination, you can’t help but wish those few parts that were rushed got the same treatment. The ocean scene in particular I think should be mandatory reading for all teens due to the craft as much as the message.

The only other critique I could offer the work is that it ends a bit abruptly and I feel we could have gotten a couple of more chapters even if we didn’t get the whole thing. It felt cut short and true I was left wanting to read more, but instead of hungry it was more like ugh, I wanted more before I wanted more.

Still, this is a wonderful addition to the collection of any lovers of fantastical worlds who are eager to find the Lost Knight.

Happy reading.

Monday Reviews - The Whisper Collector by Anaïs Chartschenko

Not all whispers are sweet, but these are beautifully raw

Anaïs Chartschenko has a knack for writing things that disarm me. Rarely if ever do you read anything that emotionally naked and disarming. But it is not vulnerable or weak. These whispers are barbwired, they’re raw, they’re deep, and they are intense. Chartschenko pulls no punches and if you’re looking for red roses and blue violets, look elsewhere. If instead you want poetry that bites, then read The Whisper Collector. 

There are five collections within this volume and each varies in intensity and format. Some have poems with long lines, others are short rapid fire lines that stab the flesh of your emotions. I am certain some people who are more sensitive will either be offended or shocked by the lines here. But for me, I was amazed at the raw beauty she once again captures. 

At times lyrical, you could easily envision poems in song form or spoken over a dirge-like piano and I wouldn’t mind these collections coming as a booklet in a CD. These are poems that are vivid though quite often very direct. What’s amazing in these collections isn’t in the metaphors but in the pure emotion you find within these verses. Once again, Chartschenko proves that there is beauty in scars, in darkness, and in whispers.

Estrada Radio Reviews: Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool

Trying to say one Radiohead album is the best is an effort in futility. Each album has its own appeal and vibe and truly explores different musical experience. So naturally opinions will vary in regards to the value of The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, In Rainbows or any album for that matter. 

But if there is something I can say with no ifs ands or buts about A Moon ShapedPool, it’s this:

This is the most beautiful Radiohead album ever

Johnny Greenwood did a fantastic job with the string arrangements to create a landscape where once again the band enters and exits seamlessly. Ask yourself this, what does each band member do in every song? This is the reason why Radiohead is such a good band, they gel and mesh into a dynamic musical stream that invites you to drift along with the music without it mattering who is playing what.

Delicate strings are juxtaposed with electronic beats and instrumentation varies a lot to create an album that is immediately accessible yet possesses enough depth to be listened to 13 times in two days. The album has moments that echo The King of Limbs, In Rainbows, Hail to the Thief, Kid A, and Amnesiac. I’m sure that as I listen more I’ll find hints and nods to the Bends and Ok Computer. I mention this not because it merits mentioning as if this were a throwback album; quite the contrary. There are echoes of these past great albums while pushing forward to create one of the most lushly textured albums by this band.

It is a mellow, gorgeous, humble, yet confident album, where everyone is on point. Thom Yorke’s vocals are beautifully melancholy and haunting, without being depressing. 

It’s like a sunset on Pluto, cold, crystalline, beautiful. 

It’s the good type of lonely, the one where you can get to grips with what’s tumbling in your head.

Album Rundown:

The album opens with the upbeat drumming strings of Burn the Witch, which includes brilliant lyrics including a “low flying panic attack”. Afterwards the album melts into Daydreaming, a crystalline track that sounds like the beautiful side of a broken dream. Decks Dark starts off with some low electronic beats and a beautiful piano that brings small echoes of Hail to the Thief. Desert Island Disk is a mellow song that reminds of Give up the Ghost (In Rainbows), but more ethereal. Ful Stop is one of the few gritty tracks and the droning beat definitely shows a change of pace. It’s a song that is a bit like 15 Step (In Rainbows) is dynamic and really takes its time to set the stage and build. Glass Eyes goes back to the tone set by the second track, but where glassy sounding electronics play next to a haunting strings that ease in and out of the track, appearing where they have to, while allowing the track to breathe even if it’s one of the shorter ones. Identikit brings the electronic beats back to the forefront, with Thom’s vocals in the background working more as an instrument than vocals for almost a minute. Then near the 2 minute mark, the song opens up a whole lot more and is one of the highlights of the album for the sheer variety of the track. Next up is The Numbers, another standout track with a mellow guitar riff and drums that serve as the perfect backdrop to Yorke’s haunting lyrics and just when you get comfortable with the song, around the 3:42 mark, strings like Zeppelin’s Kashmir really surprise and take this track to a whole other level. Present Tense is one of the mellower numbers on the album and serves as a wonderful track to balance out the album before leading into Tinker Tailer Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief, another showcase of a song where the string arrangements swing for the moon. But then as if that weren’t enough, the album closes with True Love Waits, an old song treated with such tender love that it is as fitting a way to close an album as you can envision and that even if we had to wait 21 years for an official release of this song, the wait for it and this album was completely worth it.

Track Listing:
1. Burn the Witch
2. Daydreaming
3. Decks Dark
4. Desert Island Disk
5. Ful Stop
6. Glass eyes
7. Identikit
8. The numbers
9. Present Tense
10. Tinker Tailer Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief
11. True love waits

TOP TRACKS: Burn the Witch, Daydreaming, Ful Stop, identikit, The Numbers, True Love Waits

Monday Reviews: The Wind Rises

Some people turn their noses up at animated films stating that they can’t carry the weight and beauty a “real movie” can. In regards to such an opinion, I can simply share that The Wind Rises is an animated film and I cried on at least 3 occasions because I felt so moved by the love and loss seen in the movie that it was impossible for me not to relate.

For decades, Hayao Miyazaki has proven that animated films can be just as powerful as live action films. It is a wonderful medium and one I have always been in love with. I have especially taken a liking to Miyazaki during the last couple of years because in an era of CGI and 3D, his films are still beautifully hand drawn.

I have a passion for hand-drawn animation because it is not convenient, it is not easy, it is painstaking and requires a degree of love for a project that is often absent in many modern day CGI films. Please note, I’m not saying Finding Nemo and Toy Story aren’t masterpieces, of course they are… I’m just saying that there is a place for hand drawn animation, though this is a discussion for another day.

Going back to the movie in question, the Wind Rises is a powerful movie full of superbly drawn scenes, and some interesting questions about the value of a dream and pursuing it, even if it means others will use it for destructive purposes. The story centers around Jiro Horikoshi, the creator of the main airplane models used by Japanese air fighters in the Second World War. Just in case, this is not a biopic, it has fantastic elements in scenes where Jiro is shown dreaming and has lovely whimsical scenes of young love.

On the flip side, it shows scenes of air fighters, the destruction caused by the Japanese Earthquake of 1923 and handles mature topics, not to mention having a slow pace. So obviously this means that this is not a movie for kids. This is an animated feature for adults who enjoy a good movie. And it is a very good, although sad movie. Unlike all other Miyazaki films I’ve seen, the end of this movie tugs at my heart strings and really hammered through the pain of loss.

It is powerful, emotional and heartfelt. It also happens to be hand drawn and unreservedly human. Two things I admire and strive for in my work as well.

Monday reviews: Ten Yen True by Amanda Armstrong and Christina St. Clair

Have you ever had a lucky coin? Or a lucky anything? Do you remember how you came upon it? Some people have things they put meaning to because they want to embed it with something powerful, a memory, a feeling, a promise even... then there are things we find that for some reason impact our lives or change them forever... that’s the origin of Ten Yen True, a wonderful story of how close we are to connect with other people and how little is required to establish that connection.

You see, it’s not every day I read something that when I finish it I have a hum in my diaphragm and a knot in my throat. It’s not every day I read or listen to something and think about life in a deep cosmos-engrossing sort of way either. But lo and behold, last week, I finished Ten Yen True while sitting at a cafeteria and realized how small I am and how connected I am to the world.

This book is a story of people who aren’t connected who suddenly do connect due to life (and death). It explores how deep we can create bonds out of nothing and how love can blossom from the weirdest of places. In other words, Amanda Armstrong and Christina St. Clair have done a marvelous miracle within 304 pages: they made me care about characters to the point where I found myself writing the names in text messages and notes in my job.

There are characters you can't help but love and other's you'd just love to help (some you really get to hate even). Having had my father go through a battle with cancer, this book does touch some very vivid memories and old scars who have luckily had the chance to heal... although they still tingle with the memory of the experiences me and my family shared and I’m sure it can connect with other people who have lived through something like this.

That being said, TYT has some truly beautiful moments that chimed deep in my gut and brought out a smile because I got it... even if the authors intended something else, I understood for what it means to me and I loved every minute of that feeling.

A definite highlight of my reading year so far, Ten Yen True is a story that I can best compare to the movie Crash or the animated comic series, Broken Saints. You love, you hate, you cringe and sure... you cry. You also live and this book is a wonderful reminder to do just that and allow yourself to connect to others.

Feel free to get yourself a copy... and maybe see if you can find a ten yen coin to keep nearby.

Peace, love and maki rolls.

JD