Lighter Than My Shadow

Lighter Than My Shadow. Katie Green. 2017. Lion Forge. 516 pages.

Rating: 5/5

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There is some pretty rough subject matter in this book. It details one woman's struggle with an eating disorder and sexual assault. I think the book does a wonderful job portraying these issues and shows why it can be so difficult for people that suffer from them to overcome them. While I don't imagine I would ever have to deal with these sorts of problems, I found myself identifying with her at some points.

I loved the art. The use of the "shadow" lingering around her pretty much non-stop was a great visual indicator of what was going on in her mind. It emphasized the struggle and horror of these events. Some of the images can be repetitive at times, which really serves to show how pervasive these type of issues can be in someone's life.

This wasn't an easy book to read, but when I gave it my full attention it move quickly. I have a lot of respect for the creator for putting this out there.

If Chin Could Kill Review

If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor. Bruce Campbell. 2015. Thomas Dunne Books. 368 pages.

Rating: 4/5

Why should you care about his book? Whether you are a fan of Bruce Campbell or don't know who the heck he is, his book shows off a different side of Hollywood. Sure, most of his anecdotes take place outside of the glitzy town, but the sentiment remains. As one of the "working stiffs", he puts the effort that goes into the making of movies and TV shows front and center, without downplaying the importance of the people behind the scenes.

I've seen a bunch of stuff with Bruce Campbell in it. This book showed me just how prolific of an actor he is, and it only goes through the late 90s! While he focuses on how he got into acting and the first Evil Dead movie, there are stories about so many different projects. I like that it gives a range because it gives a good idea about how similar and different putting together a movie or a TV show (or small scale vs large scale movies) are.

It helps to have seen Evil Dead to enjoy a large section of this book. If you haven't seen the film (or the sequels at least), there are references to the finished product that just don't make sense. Plus, it would be harder to appreciate all of the work that ended up going into the film without having an idea of how the whole thing turned out. Aside from that, it is a great view of how the regular people involved with these type of projects contribute. Campbell's knowledge of the various roles is readily seen and adds a lot to this insight.

March: Book One Review

March: Book One. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. 2013. Top Shelf Productions. 128 pages.

Rating: 5/5

March provides a wonderful insight into the civil rights movement in America. The book is set up in a frame narrative. There is the present day section that shows a couple of boys getting to meet John Lewis and hear some of his story. That story takes up the majority of the book and details how he got involved in the early days of the civil rights movement.

This gives a lot more depth than I've been exposed to previously on the topic. Plus, it shows how people reacted to the movement on both sides without focusing on the big names. The people you'd expect to see associated with the movement do make appearances, but this is about more than their stories. The struggle that these activists had to face are put front and center. They faced trade offs when deciding whether they should be involved or not.

The art didn't strike me in any particular way. It portrays the mundane really well. You can get a sense of the people and the places involved without the illustrations distracting from the message. I imagine that is a tough thing to pull off.

This is the first book in a trilogy, and it does a great job whetting the appetite for more. It makes the topic accessible and the impact is quite powerful. I will definitely pick up the rest of the set.

Self-Obsessed Review

Self-Obsessed. Sina Grace. 2015. Image Comics. 160 pages.

Rating: 3/5

Sina Grace provides a unique glimpse into an artist's history. This collects pieces from a ten year period, including some of Grace's earliest works. The early stuff isn't the greatest and contains a lot of self doubt from Grace. As a gay comics writer, he is in an unusual position.

The first half of the book took me a while to get through, but I felt like the second half made up for it. I saw a shift towards confidence in the work. What really made it interesting for me is when he begins to write about his experiences in the comic industry. There is some insight here that I haven't seen before and it was refreshing to see.

The art is all over the place. It's not unexpected considering the amount of time that the book covers. I think my enjoyment of the art built as I was able to see how it improved and how some elements that stayed the same over time. This is a pleasant reflection on his life, how he got into comics, and the decisions he has made within the industry. Someone that identifies more with his personal life would probably get more out of it, but it is worth checking out.

Emotional Rescue Review

Emotional Rescue: Essays on Love, Loss and Life--With a Soundtrack. Ben Greenman. 2016. Little A. 250 pages.

Rating: 4/5

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review.

As the title indicates, this book is centered around music and how it relates to aspects of our lives. I like the setup for the chapters. Each one starts with a heading page introducing the topic(s), the next page lists music selections the writer associates with the topic, and then there is an essay about it. Sometimes the topics seemed loosely connected to the music selected, although I was not familiar with many of the songs. That didn't stop me from enjoying the writing because the pertinent details of the music are discussed.

I ended up reading this book on my phone, which is the first time I've used it in that capacity. This book lent itself really well to doing so. Each chapter is relatively short, taking about 5 or 6 minutes to read. So it was pretty easy to open it up and read a small chunk when I had an opportunity without dropping out in the middle of a chapter. I could digest it in smaller chunks rather than trying to sit down and read the whole thing in one go. This gave me some time to reflect back on what Greenman was trying to say at times, which may have made it more enjoyable for me.

His writing reminds me a bit of Chuck Klosterman without being quite so cynical. There are times where his stories put me off, but the honesty behind them kept me reading. He talks quite a bit about how he relates to music. It really is about relationships though. Whether it is something that he experienced directly, or just something he noticed through song or from watching others, there is insight here that should resonate with readers. It is a very personal journey and I'm glad to have had a chance to tag along.