(#49) / Girl Stories / by Lauren R. Weinstein / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

Girl Stories / by Lauren R. Weinstein

ISBN-10: 0805078630 / Henry Holt and Company  

p. 240 / $7.18 (Amazon)

2006

Body of Content

Summary: The comic book is a compilation of individual comic strips from writer Lauren Weinstein.  The vast majority of the book contains comic narratives – short humor stories in comic strip form – that might stretch from four to fifteen pages worth of information each.  The artistic style is rather simplistic – with the human faces bearing little difference between people.  The style of the comics, thus, contains a sketched, draft intentionality by the author.  The comics are in color – but the shading and tonality of the hues differs from one story to the next.   Overall, the book offers over 35 comic stories – stretching over 240 pages.  The basis of the comic series is the adventures experienced by the self-portrayed author at a younger age – as she relives 8^th grade and high school experiences – centering on teen issues like relationships, school work, interactions with her parents, and general experiences endured by teenagers. 

Critique: While some comics rely on puns or physical comedy, Girl Stories fully embraces the awkwardness of the teenage years in a person’s life.  This is painfully evident as the author discusses relationships with boys.  In one comic, the author writes about an awkward breakup experience – deciding to end the relationship – after returning from a visit to Washington D.C.:

            Lauren: “Well, I got a present for you, too!”

            

            Boyfriend: “A bag of dirt!?”

           

            Lauren: “Yeah, like soil from our nation’s capital!”

            

            Boyfriend: “Oh.”

           

            Lauren: “Um, I think we should just be friends.”

Boyfriend: [turning as he leaves, says] “I can’t believe you gave me a bag of dirt and then broke up with me!”  (pp. 167-168)

From covering up hickey marks after a “math study session” to enduring secret rashes caused by belly-button piercings, Lauren goes through the tumultuous teen years – trying not to die of embarrassment.  In another comic, frustrated by lack of success with boys, Lauren creates a home-made boyfriend from various household items:

            Robot Boyfriend: “Lauren, I am sexually attracted to you, may we kiss?”

            Lauren: “Yes, Robot Boyfriend, yes!”   … [Wait] … “STOP!”

            Robot Boyfriend: “What is wrong? Do you need space?”

Lauren: “No! I just don’t want to make out with someone whose tongue I made with a remote control!”   (pp. 222-224)

Lauren stumbles through the awkwardness of life and relationships.  Her teen audience can likely sympathize with her ordeals – given similar experiences that likely reside in their own personal backgrounds.

Teaser: Life is strange – and these stories are full of both life and strangeness.

Information about the Author: The 36-year-old cartoonist hails from Brookline, Massachusetts.  Educationally, she graduated from Washington University (St. Louis) before settling in New York City around a decade ago.  Her comic strips first appeared online – through gURL.com, along with Seattle Stranger.  Weinstein pick up a Xeric award – for her comic strip Inside Vineyland – an award given to non-mainstream comic artists.  Her next project was the aforementioned Girl Stories.  Over the last five years, her work has also fared in compilation books – The Best American Comics (2007 and 2010 editions).  In her personal life, Weinstein also dabbles in a rock band – as the lead singer to Flaming Fire – a band that has released three albums over the last decade (Wikipedia, 2011). 

Supplemental Material

Genre: Comics / Humor / Drama / Romance

Curriculum Ties: Art Class – drawing techniques, narrative writing

Booktalking Ideas: 1) If you think Weinstein’s humor is a little bit strange, her music is beyond description! 2) Relive the awkwardness of various romantic first-times.

Reading Level: The book probably has more of an interest from females – given the angle of the comics.  Reading level extends to all high school grades – i.e. ages 15-18.

Challenge Issues and Defense: The comic has some suggestive humor, along with some romantic/sexual situations.  The book is not horribly crass – but librarians should be aware that it is not squeaky clean.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I wanted a humor genre source from a female perspective (for the sake of balance).

Last Thoughts

References:

Wikipedia. (2011). Lauren Weinstein [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Lauren_Weinstein_%28comic_book_artist%29

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Joy Williams / Album – “Genesis”  

(#44) / Mental Floss / (founded) by Mangesh Hattikudur & Will Pearson / (Magazine)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

Mental Floss / (founded) by Mangesh Hattikudur & Will Pearson

ISBN-10: 7547008896 / Mental Floss, LLC

p. 72 / $4.99 (Retail)

2011 (March/April issue)  

Body of Content

Summary: The magazine often covers a few areas in great depth – as opposed to diverse, article-heavy entries like many magazines.  In this issue of Mental Floss, the magazine takes an in-depth look at topics concerning the human brain and technology.  Further, it highlights a geographical concern – by looking at “8 Things You Didn’t Know about Congo”.  Smaller articles also include looks at a visionary Japanese artist, a Russian playwright’s forgotten play, a look into Turkey’s Islamic yet democratic government, and the magazine signature trivia column, “The Quiz”.  The magazine is cerebral and cognitive in nature – with a nice visual look – with only a few advertisements dotting its pages.   

Critique: The magazine is a bi-monthly publication (6 times annually) and often contains a major theme that unites large sections of its pages.  In this issue, the motif is technological applications in cognitive areas – or more simply, modern issues surrounding the human brain.  The magazine calls this topical umbrella “Hacking the Brain” – with five persons (i.e. articles) standing underneath – “Cyborg Monkeys and the Future of Prosthetics” – “The Art of Building a Better Lie Detector” – “Why Cockroach Brains Will Save Your Life” – “Growing One Animal’s Brain inside Another Animal’s Body” – and “The New Science of Confronting Fear” (p. 38). 

The headline categories within each article often feature word puns or instances of irony.  In the robotic monkey article, the headlines include “Monkey See, Monkey Do” and “The Giant Leap to Mankind” (p. 42-43). In the lie detector article, the headlines include “Anatomy of a Lie” and “Paying for the Truth” (p. 45).

Overall, the magazine contains a humorous, cerebral quality to it – and the magazine completely embraces this identity – of finding interesting article ideas and spinning them with intellectual and humorous information.    

      

Teaser: “Fun facts have never been more interesting or useful – read Mental Floss for an academic, fun-time experience.”

Information about the Author: Mangesh Hattikudur is a co-founder of the magazine, along with Will Pearson.  Both were students – enrolled at Duke University – when they began the magazine.  He graduated in 2001 and over the last decade, Hattikudur and his cohorts have established a magazine that includes commercial spin-off products – such as t-shirts and board games – along with an accompanying web presence via their online site (Wikipedia, 2011).  The various editors of Mental Floss have also written eight books coinciding and based upon their magazine (Amazon, 2011).  

Supplemental Material

Genre: Entertainment / Trivia

Curriculum Ties: History – geography / Technology – machines, robots / Anatomy – neuroscience, animal science

Booktalking Ideas: 1) “Do you want to beat a lie detector test – or find out about robots who can read your mind? Check out this issue of Mental Floss”.

Reading Level: Later teens will appreciate the more difficult sections of cognitive information – best for 16-19.  

Challenge Issues and Defense: This magazine is a pretty safe choice for any library – I would not expect any challenges.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I wish I had read this magazine when I was in high school – a lighter version of Popular Mechanics with a little bit of Jeopardy mixed in.

Last Thoughts

References:

Amazon. (2011). Mangesh Hattikudur [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/

Mangesh-Hattikudur/e/B001IGNZDO

Wikipedia (2011). Mangesh Hattikudur [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangesh_Hattikudur

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Vanessa Carlton / Album – “Rabbits on the Run” 

(#43) / John Elway: Armed and Dangerous / by Clay Latimer / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

John Elway: Armed and Dangerous / by Clay Latimer

ISBN-10: 1-886110-53-0 / Addax Publishing Group

p. 240 / $14.95 (Retail)

1998

Body of Content

Summary: The book is a biographical look into the life and career of John Elway – the legendary quarterback for the Denver Broncos football team – predominately playing through the 1980s and 1990s.  The book starts with his personal life – noting his strong relationship with his father, a college football coach on a rival team.  The book goes through the NFL Draft and early Super Bowl losses.  As the book talks in more depth, Latimer walks readers through Elway’s style and talent under the coaches of Dan Reeves, Wade Phillips, and Mike Shanahan.  The book takes readers through the highs and lows of Elway’s storied career – filled with interviews and quotes.  The book is predominately narrative in themes and content, but it does include 20-30 pages worth of pictures of Elway in action.  

Critique: The book is largely narrative in form.  It does contain a few metaphors throughout its course.  One heavily emphasized simile was the comparison of John Elway to a “gunslinger”.  The imagery is used throughout – the book even devotes an entire chapter to his favorite weapon – “The Arm” – demonstrating the key to his NFL success (p. 10).  Elsewhere, the western simile continues to find resonance as the author notes that Elway was “John Wayne in cleats” (p. 18). Elsewhere, Elway is comparable to other quarterbacks who are fellow “gunslingers” – like Packers-great Brett Favre (p. 202).  The imagery helps produce a picture of Elway – of an independent, football-throwing player capable of wild-west ideals and miraculous fourth-quarter comebacks.  Elway was the face of the franchise for many years and continually carried mediocre teams deep into the playoffs with his gunslinger of an arm.      

Teaser: A storied quarterback’s humble beginnings to his Cinderella conclusion – the career of NFL-great John Elway.

Information about the Author: Currently, Latimer is a freelance writer, though he worked as a sports writer for the Rocky Mountain News for the better part of three decades.  While a newspaper writer, Latimer covered Nuggets basketball and Broncos football.  Education wise, he attended the University of Colorado (Linkedin, 2011).  

Latimer other works include biographies about the lives of Mia Hamm and Muhammad Ali, along with Special Delivery: The Amazing Basketball Career of Karl Malone.  Other topical books in sports include It’s 3^rd & Long So … : 101 Ways to Improve the Game of Football and VIP Pass to a Pro Basketball Game Day: From the Locker Room to the Press Box (and Everything in Between) (BookFinder, 2011).

Supplemental Material

Genre: Sports / Biography

Curriculum Ties: Math – statistics / Physical Education – football, game theory, coach-player dynamics

Booktalking Ideas: 1) Before Tim Tebow, there was one quarterback in Denver who held the sway over the hearts of all those within Colorado. 2) How many wide receivers can you name who caught a pass from John Elway? 

Reading Level: Male teens will likely generate more interest to this football title than female teens – best suited from all ages of high school (15-18).

Challenge Issues and Defense: The book is pretty clean – I would not expect any challenges – though some may come from Raiders fans – though those challenges are not based upon the book’s content, per se.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I grew up watching the Broncos play.

Last Thoughts

References:

BookFinder. (2011). Clay Latimer [Webpage].Retrieved from http://www.bookfinder.com/

search/?st=xl&ac=qr&src=dir&author=Clay%20Latimer

Linkedin. (2011). Clay Latimer [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.linkedin.com/pub/clay-

latimer/10/687/245

Listening to (Music):

Artist – David Crowder Band / Album – “Church Music”