The kind of art I'd frame and put on my walls

Thanks to Jen Campbell over on BookTube I was turned onto the magic that is Shaun Tan. Thus far, I've only read one of his books but I already know I'm going to have to READ ALL THE THINGS. (Note: I've just picked up two more and put another one on hold.) Until that day, however, here's a review of Tales from Outer Suburbia. :-)

You guys know how much I love all things creepy and dark. You also know that 2016 has turned out to be the year of the graphic novel for me. So it's no wonder that Shaun Tan is right up my alley. Tales from Outer Suburbia is a collection of short stories and illustrations of a typical suburban neighborhood turned on its head. Think The Burbs meets Home and you're in the right neighborhood. (Didn't even plan that little pun out. You're welcome.) It was his art style that caught my attention but his writing is really haunting and beautiful. It's also super snarky with political undertones. His "style" is a mixture of fine line drawing in pencil, bold paints, watercolor, and just plain unique which is why I feel like he can't really be pigeonholed into one genre. From the inside cover to the very last page this book is full to bursting with creepy, weird, and beautiful art with short stories to match. Some of the pages have no words at all which I've learned is one of his fortes so get excited for that in the near future. XD If you're a fan of Grimm's Fairy Tales or Neil Gaiman then this would very likely appeal to you. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about I'm including a few pictures below. This was a definite 10/10 for me.

This is from the inside cover. No two drawings are alike.

You see what I mean about vaguely political?

This little dude is adorable.

This book is in the children's section by the way.

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

For the shark lovers in your life

Thanks to a newly discovered YouTuber, Mercedes, I was made aware of what promised to be a very beautiful and interesting graphic novel by the name of Everything Is Teeth. Written by Evie Wyld and illustrated by Joe Sumner, this is the story of Evie's childhood obsession with sharks. It was the artwork that drew me in. Both cartoonish and realistic, the characters (most especially the sharks) seem to come to life with every turn of the page. The story follows her as she travels with her family to Australia to visit relatives and there her fascination with sharks truly blossoms. It's a rather surreal portrayal of a little girl who seems to live in a world which is invisible to all others. As she walks down the sidewalk to school what follows along in her wake? A shark. As she lounges on the couch why must she keep her legs from touching the floor? A shark. It's bizarre and at times slightly disjointed. I'm still not entirely sure I understood her relationship with her family or what exactly was going on with her brother. Maybe that's the point? I'd say this book is worth looking into for the artwork (not the cartoonish bits which I didn't really like as much) alone. However, I must caution that there are some rather gory bits if that's not your cup of tea. 😈

The cover

The inside cover

An example of the cartoonish mixed with realistic

Probably my favorite page

This is the mildest of the gore

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Holy cheeseballs, it's a competition!

Yes, this is a mid-week posting and no it's not a book review. Instead I come bringing good tidings and joy, dear readers. *sleigh bells ring in the distance*

Australian author of Bird of Chaos, Susie Mander, has extended an exclusive invitation to her book promotion where you could win a $100 Amazon Gift Card. I would like to extend this invitation to you. Yes, you! Enter before January 10, 2016 to take advantage of this great opportunity to win a truly awesome prize!

Susie Mander is an Australian-based author and mother of one. She has been published in Australian Doctor, the Hills Shire Times and the District Reporter, and was recently shortlisted for the AlburyCity Short Story Award. Bird of Chaos is her first fantasy novel. It follows the story of Princess Verne Golding the Third who has to decide whether or not to initiate a coup against her mother, a cruel and manipulative woman who blights the young Verne’s life and threatens not only her future reign but the survival of their kingdom.

To celebrate the anniversary of the publication of Bird of Chaos (as well as Christmas!) Susie Mander is giving away a $100 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky winner.

“I am really excited about the opportunity to give back to readers,” Mander says. “I think this is a great prize because you can spend it on whatever you like and it comes just in time for the festive season.”

 Click here to enter now before time runs out!

Gotta love a good thought experiment!

Some books that you read make you question everything. Alan Weisman's The World Without Us is definitely one of those books. The book seeks to answer the question 'What would happen to the world if humans were to disappear?' I've read books that look at it from the flip side of the coin where humans have destroyed the planet to such a degree that humanity can no longer be sustained. It was interesting to look at the reverse. Weisman looked at the issue from a variety of viewpoints. He looked at the evolution of humans and their impact on the megafauna and megaflora of the planet. His point there was that although much of the animals and plants were eradicated by us, variations of these have survived into present day. Therefore, if humanity were to disappear nature would find a way to carry on and maybe another kind of humanity would take our place. He also looked at the damage we have done through chemical processes (I'm talking nuclear) and whether or not the planet's remaining inhabitants could survive. He went to a variety of places where it was as close to being primeval as possible (Kingman Reef) and also those places which were irrevocably changed by us (Chernobyl). He spoke to scientists of all disciplines (many of which sound like amazing careers that I need to look into immediately). It was a thoroughly researched and thought provoking read and I encourage anyone interested in conservancy and ecology to go and give this book a shot.

Because I just couldn't help myself I grabbed another Phryne Fisher mystery, Raisins and Almonds. (I realized after starting it that I definitely went out of order as I missed a lot of backstory so I do encourage you if you're reading the series to continue with Flying Too High after Cocaine Blues.) This time Phryne has taken a new lover by the name of Simon Abrahams and his father hires her to absolve a woman of murder. The entire affair is mixed up with the Jewish culture of Australia (and the rest of the world actually). Greenwood even included a Yiddish dictionary at the back of the book as it was used liberally throughout the story. I have to be honest here...I didn't find this one as entertaining as the first of the series. The characters weren't nearly as vivid and the mystery itself was pretty dull. However, learning about the Jewish culture was very interesting so I'm going to let it pass with a solid C.

**If you're interested in a book like the ones I've reviewed here, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks. This is one of my favorite websites for purchasing used books. Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following this link. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Two unusual detectives and the blogger who loved them

I'm a great lover of mystery novels. (If you randomly search throughout this blog you'll see that I'm a great lover of many different genres but I digress.) I was recently turned onto an Australian television program entitled Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (if you're a fan of mystery programs then you should check it out on Netflix) and when I discovered that it was based on a series of novels I immediately started looking for them at the library. The first book in the series by Kerry Greenwood is Cocaine Blues and it introduces the reader to Phryne Fisher, a most unusual choice for a detective. She's brash, fearless, wealthy, and (if you didn't catch on) a woman. The series is set in late 1920s Melbourne, Australia and features an interesting assortment of main characters which include but are not limited to working class taxi drivers, a dutiful maid, a stolid detective inspector, and Phryne at the center of it all. In the first book of the series, Phryne manages to solve 3 crimes (only two of which feature the illegal substance mentioned in the title of the book). A young girl is given a back alley abortion that nearly kills her by a man that the police have yet to pin down, a woman seems to be a victim of poisoning by her husband, and the cocaine trade is rampant in Melbourne and the King of Snow is at the heart of it all. Picture an attractive young woman sailing onto a crime scene bedecked in the latest fashion of 1920s London carrying a small pistol in a tiny purse who effortlessly solves crimes while simultaneously beguiling all of the attractive men (and women) in the vicinity. So why aren't you reading this series already?!

Continuing my foray into mysteries, I returned to one of my favorite mystery writers (and detectives). Rex Stout, creator of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin *swoon*, This has been a favorite of mine ever since I discovered the A&E series with Timothy Hutton *swoon*. (Maybe I should start a blog where I review television series and movies. hahaha) Death Times Three includes 3 novellas featuring the famous armchair detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. All of the Nero Wolfe mysteries take place in Manhattan through the 1930-70s. The first in this compilation, Bitter End, starts out with contaminated liver pate and continues with the search for a murderer. Following after that is Frame-Up For Murder where Archie is entreated by a beautiful young woman to help her brother save his fashion business only for the waters to be muddied by an ill-timed death. It closes with Assault on a Brownstone which is singular as Wolfe's sanctuary is beset with Treasury officials and Archie meets someone who gets the jump on him. It's a quick, fun read and if you love mysteries it will whet your appetite for longer works from Stout. You won't regret it, I promise.

**If you're interested in a books like the ones I've reviewed here, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks. This is one of my favorite websites for purchasing used books. Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following this link. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Crikey, that's a lot of cricket!

Well, as you might have guessed by the new post, I've finished up Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.  I suppose if I'd have looked at the author's biography, I could have guessed at the backdrop of this story.  However, I never like to look too much ahead and therefore I was completely at a loss until page 74 when it was explicitly stated that the story was unfolding in Australia.  That explains all of the cricket talk.  I mean there was a lot of talk about cricket. The game not the insect, of course.  I wouldn't have minded except that it was always discussed in great detail and in terms I had no way of being able to follow which I found detracted from the real meat of the story.  I have to say that while I didn't necessarily dislike the book, it is most definitely not going to top my list of favorites.  There were many twists and turns to the story which were quite thrilling but instead of thrumming up the anticipation of the main event (I don't want to give it all away), the author kept focusing on other things...like cricket.  So all in all it wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

The next book to be conquered is The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A true story of adventure, heroism & treachery by Steve Sheinkin.  This book has been awarded the YALSA-ALA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction seal.  Also, the edges of the pages have been made to look ragged and therefore ancient (I have a weakness for old books and this has already endeared me I'm afraid).  I'm pretty excited because over the last months I've come to love nonfiction books and I don't know much about Benedict Arnold other than that he's a traitor.  I'm hoping this might delve a little deeper (oh look I'm branching out into humor now).  The back cover has quotes from several different men, included George Washington, which range from lauds to censure on his character.  I can't wait to get started on it!!