Cranky/creaky but still ass-kicking 'mature' "old man" Bruce is my favourite Bruce Wayne. ?

Normally I wait until issues of a graphic novel have been bound into a volume, but I was hungry for another Ram V/Filipe Andrade collab, and predictably, this was also incredible. All the food-related clichéd compliments apply: 'darkly delicious, a feast for the eyes'. Little ominous, hints of violence, but also beautiful and immersive. Gave me Gaiman/Sandman vibes. Demon gourmand: what more do you need? Hope my library gets the next issue soon!

I needed that. As much as I picked this up in the vein of 'I should', it ended up being a welcome antidote to my standard 'tightly wound' state. Tough love, emphasis on meditation without action being a superficial practice, encourages being engaged with the world; down to earth relating/reinterpretation and questioning of Buddhist teachings/traditional texts. 1/2

Poetic prose or verse novel? Some passages more poem like than others, as such, my reading comprehension ebbed and flowed.
The formatting is unique, but it does make the narrative feel disjointed.
If it was meant to expand my understanding, it partially succeeded.
I think the text vacillates between not being for me (white person), and being directed at white people specifically. 1/?

OMFG it's Fly Away Home shade! 🫢

Hope is the sound of trees. 😌

I never get tired of stories considering the place of death in life, stories with a personification of Death. Stunning. Impressively imaginative (never read POV of a cigarette before, or seen a temple speak), gorgeously illustrated (the colours chosen as much as the art itself 👨🏼‍🍳💋), wistful bordering on melancholic, and yet so vibrant and hopeful. I will be seeking out other works by both the author and artist. 👌🏻

Why does it make me happy? Is it the pink background? Statement of the obvious, seemingly confirmed by feathered friend?
To be fair, crows in art usually bring me joy. 🤷🏼‍♂️☺️

Visually I had troubles with this because I really didn't enjoy the art style, and the nature of the main character (complex inner monologue/hyper intelligent thought processes, plus any dialogue happening between other characters) means a high concentration of text boxes fighting the art for space. 1/3

Identifying strongly with Jamaal's relief at no longer having to head a meeting because a natural disaster interrupted the normal course of business. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Language = as "a way of seeing the world".
I like.

Full points for garnering an emotional reaction! So many things covered that make me angry and feel hard to forgive: misogyny, abuse, religious indoctrination. Xiomara handles it with more grace than I think I could muster. I appreciate the harmony evoked by the chosen ending, that it is probably a healthier way to resolve the issues covered, but Acevedo was so skilled in getting me steamed up I'm finding it hard to cool down.

😔

Warrior turned gardener (except for a brief reversion to violence to stomp the evil shrimp aliens [Kryl = krill? 🦐] who imprisoned them). ☺️

Baldree's ability to create endearing fantasy characters continues to shine. A marvelous audiobook to have for cozy catch up on a crochet project. It might be recency bias, or the fact that I love books not coffee, or am already invested in the main character, but in contrast to many reviews I've seen, I enjoyed this one at least as much as Legends & Lattes. It avoided the kind of dissatisfying ending that makes me leery of prequels.

'Twould be nigh impossible to be as eloquent as this character, so I think I'll settle for being angry on her behalf. 😤

Well we all know how I feel about cliffhangers...at least the next book in the series is also the last book in the series.
There are a number of elements about this series I enjoy, and thankfully there are audiobooks for the parts I want to speed up. 💁🏼‍♂️ Great fantasy elements; complex to the point of morally gray characters; thoughts on family loyalty vs monarchical fealty vs free will and personal identity; power and responsibility.

While I could still wish for a slightly different ratio of relationship development and mystery solving to political intrigue and interpersonal drama/sniping, on balance I found this entry in the series more fun than frustrating, and the ending more satisfying. Cogman is effective in goading my emotions, which does allow for a fully involved reading experience. Irene continues to be a badass par excellence. On to the next! ...in a week or four..

Moments, recollections, observations. Not just a travel journal. A memoir about a very specific window in this woman's life, where it benefitted her to write it all down. I can very much relate to the discussions about what it is to walk and want to complete a certain trail at not peak fitness/late 30s. I felt disconnected from the discussions of parenting a toddler and being autistic. I hope it helps others. ⚠️ Ableism

🐦♥️☺️

Solidarity with the conditional love for the outdoors. 🤦🏼‍♂️

🚶🏼‍♂️♥️

I'm torn. There are elements that make this book unique: reflections from someone who's spent serious time, living and working in Japan, talking to and learning from all kinds of people, that resembles a great memoir, a series of moments with a certain theme running through them. But much of the self-help advice feels like something I've read before, repackaged. It also feels like it might be more useful when read slowly/referred to as needed.

The manageability of sheep. 🐑🐏

I think this is the first time I've ever recommended the audio book as the best way to consume a novel. While I enjoyed the first in the series that way out for conveniences this second one confirmed: the narrator for this series is superlative, and as I'm not from London, the accent is a shortcut to steeping me in the geography, culture and history the author/main character regularly refers to. 1/?

I'm not sure I have the words to review this book. I think I'll be processing what I've read for a while. The writing is powerful, yet accessible. I appreciate how much hope it contains. I think everyone could benefit from reading it.

Oooo, now I want a night club on an illicit library theme - contains every banned book in history, open all night. Full of cozy nooks...

Well, shucks. There were parts of this I really liked. The scientific and poetic descriptions of Mars; working out some of the practical problems of space colonization, terra-forming; debating ideologies when it comes to preserving/studying a new environment vs. the pragmatic necessities of considering how to harvest resources/transform land in order to sustain human settlement; how to build a better society. 1/?

🫣 Relatable.

There's a point at which evocative surrealism eliminates sense-making and this is on the wrong side of that borderline. Also, gross and disturbing.
Would not advise eating while reading. 1/3

Having enjoyed the charming Acknowledgements, I now know that the questions raised by the last book for me, (and apparently many other readers!) were not addressed in tandem because the author wasn't sure they required answering and was worried about length. Having read The Last Colony and now Zoe's Tale, I can say I would have preferred if they were a singular, bulkier book. 1/?

Say it with haiku. 😆 Love is worth the risk of being cubed.

Dene own voices' story of choosing the path of generosity and healing over violence and greed. I will never get tired of stories that take the harder, more hopeful path.

Did not expect that to be a 'meh' experience, but nothing really grabbed me. Nothing felt fresh, more like old reruns without the benefit of nostalgia. I guess you could call it classic themes, but to me they appeared tired. Apparently not really a fan of Tim Sale's art style either. Welp, to each their own preferred Batman comics. 🤷🏼‍♂️

🙌🏻

Character design continuity: It's not Alfred's physical appearance that must remain consistent, but rather his SASS. 💅🏻

Creatchur. He is creaturing.

Dammit, I still CARE! Definitely still too plot heavy versus heartfelt moments and shenanigans, but there were snorts of laughter and a hopeful moment I'd been waiting for so, yes, I will be continuing to read every ridiculous book in this series. 🤷🏼‍♂️

As promised, gives insight into the mental processes that make it so hard to admit having made a mistake, and that often persuade people to double-down when a mistake has been made, to justify rather than confess culpability. 1/?

Why I consider "deregulation" one of the scariest words in the English language.

♥️

DRAAAAAMAAAAA! What else can one expect from Olympians, honestly? While I admit I occasionally get tired of the 'will they, won't they' that is the backbone of this series, it continues to have relatable conversations about relationships, and there was an important confrontation I'd been waiting on, in this volume. For now, still interested in continuing.

Love, Love, LOVED IT! Easily a new favourite. The representation, the messaging, the humour, the fashion, the romance, the sweetness, UGH. Delicious, start to finish. 🥰

A bit more classic fantasy epic than detective noir this volume, but still chock full of interpersonal drama, machinations and incredible art.

Newsflash: Just because it was groundbreaking in the 1950s, doesn't it mean it should be upheld today! 🙄

😲 And the award for most appalling portmanteau goes to...

👀

Took a moment with context cues to realize that isn't a typo for insulation.
InSOLation: the amount of solar radiation received on a given surface in a given time period.
Nifty! ☀️

Love the phrasing. 🧪🔬♥️

I went looking for other picture books illustrated by Joe Bluhm, and in that regard, I found one! The art was easily the best part. The narrative? Schmaltzy, cliched, felt less like an arc than an abrupt end, and I have concerns about Grandpa's grasp of reality. I think it was supposed to be about the power of imagination, the power to create stories and to change the world by creativity, but it lost me somewhere. 🤷🏼‍♂️