Quick review: An Age of License

I finally opened up all of my little sticky tabs so that I could mark passages from the book I just finished. This is the first book that I've tabbed since I was in college. Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that this is one killer book, right? RIGHT. An Age of License: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley was a curve ball that totally surprised me. Did I mention that this is a graphic novel? O_O Yes, I've once more gone into the breach and emerged triumphant. (I hope you imagined a fanfare playing while you read that.) It's about a trip she took in 2011 to Europe and the shenanigans that ensued. I enjoyed not only her drawing style but her approach to storytelling. I never felt lost among her drawings like I have in other graphic novels. Her drawing style really appealed to me. An Age of License is the story of a woman who found herself one of the remaining single women in her friend group who was at odds within herself with what she really wanted. I may have related somewhat...oh and the FOOD. She has other books out which are even more food focused so I'm definitely going to be getting my hands on those. Not only did this book make me reflect on my own life and how I approach it but it also made me want more. I can't even explain to you how excited I became when I looked up her biography and...well I don't want to give it away. ::maniacal laughter:: I think if you're into memoirs, coming-of-age stories, food biographies, and/or you're looking to try graphic novels this is a great choice. 10/10

Here are the pages that I marked:

I think I must be living in the L'Age Licence.

I TOTALLY get this.

This just amused me.

**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. :-) **

Quick review: The Iron Giant

One of my favorite animated films is The Iron Giant so when I discovered that it was based off of a book by the same name...well I had to read it didn't I? Ted Hughes, late poet laureate, created something truly special with this book. It's incredibly short (79 pages to be exact) but so much is crammed within those pages that it spoke more to me than some books three times that length. It is the tale of an Iron Giant/Man who arrives in a small town and begins wreaking havoc among the farmers by eating all of their metal machinery. At first, the farmers believe he is a monster and they trap him in a pit. However, when he escapes a little boy named Hogarth speaks upon the Iron Giant's behalf and comes up with a compromise. For a time, there is peace. And then (here's where the movie deviates) a creature born from a star lands on Australia. This creature is gigantic and shaped like a dragon and it demands to be fed living things. The people of earth decide to go to war against this creature instead. (Remember this is a "children's" book and it has already tackled prejudice (the farmers against the Iron Giant) and now it's taking human beings predilection for warfare head-on.) The weapons unleashed are unparalleled in their ferocity and yet the creature only smiles. It delivers an ultimatum and the people of earth are terrified. Once again, Hogarth (and yet just like a children's book to put the power in the hands of a child) has an idea. He asks the Iron Giant for help. A challenge of strength is issued which the dragon creature accepts.

I don't want to give away the ending. In fact, I feel slightly bad having said as much as I already have. I do hope you'll check this book out. It's worth your time (it took me no time at all to read it), I promise. It's lauded as an exceptionally brilliant read for a reason. There is so much to be gleaned from the story.

PS I'm still working on The Secret Keeper but I'm trying to stick to a somewhat regular posting schedule so I thought I'd try out something a little different with this quick review. Let me know in the comments what you thought of it. :-)