FANTABULOUS!! Rarely do I find myself speeding through a book or even reading for 5 hours in bed when I should be getting my beauty sleep. But this first novel by renown graphic designer, Chip Kidd, was a definite page turner. Though classified as fiction, the book reads much like a brief autobiography, as it draws on Kidd’s real life experiences during his art studies at Penn State. I found myself reliving my own college days in Art/Graphic Design classes, relating to many of the goings-on throughout the book (though not quite as electrifying!) Continue »
SOLID! Set in post-Revolutionary War America (Philadelphia, late 1700s) at a time where our Founding Fathers and entrepreneurial schemers ran the race to wealth, power, and molding the country’s destiny, this book had a definite parallel to the situation we now face today. His Excellency George Washington is president and Alexander Hamilton is the Secretary of the Treasury, and our 2 central figures (Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott) soon embark on their individual paths to effect their respective plots. Once a valued spy for Washington’s army, Saunders has been stripped of all glory and honor by the accusation of selling vital documents of war to the enemy. He is later approached by Hamilton to investigate a scheme against the U.S. Treasury, but is reluctant to help the government that defaced his name. Only when Hamilton’s rival, Thomas Jefferson, tries to recruit Saunders’ skills does our fallen hero realize that something big is in the works. Continue »
Well, well, well, hello there. Hope everything is froody with you guys and gals. Things are churning along quite nicely here. Been busy with this and that and a coupl’a those. Currently reading a book that just will not end no matter how much I groan. It’s a good book and all (or rather 6 in 1), but 800 pages is a bit of a haul, especially for British humor. Oh, the book is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by the way, and I’m ever so close to finishing it, but I think I’ve lost too much enthusiasm for it to be anything more than a simple accomplishment. I mean, I’ve already forgotten what the first segment was about. It’s still entertaining to a degree, but it has certainly lost every bit of jazz it had during the 1st 400 pages. Continue »
Recently, I finished reading my coveted copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, illustrated by none other than Jae Lee, and found it a rather enjoyable read. About midway through I remembered there had been a movie made for it by the acclaimed Francis Ford Coppola back in ‘92, but I couldn’t seem to remember having ever seen it. I think I did. But maybe I didn’t. I dunno. Anyway, I finished the book and thought I’d go rent the movie and check it out. Couldn’t find it anywhere! Neither Movie Gallery nor Hollywood Video carried it. They carried Dracula 2000, though, and even Blackula! But definitely not the classic Bram Stoker version, if you can believe that. So instead of venturing further out in a seemingly hopeless search for this movie, I decided to just buy it from Amazon. Continue »
SUCKED!!! Just kidding. This book was an all in all good read, however, I think there are 2 hemispheres to consider. The first half of the book was simply brilliant! Mr. Stoker did a fabulous job of capturing the reader within the many suspenseful events that contributed to the overall introduction of the count. Now, I’ve read a wee bit of horrific fiction in my day, such as the Resident Evil series, and had some uneasy feelings while doing so, but this book took on such an eerie feel, that I have no comparison. Continue »