My choice to read Jane, the Fox, and Me was influenced by my participation in the Read Harder Challenge. Tasks 19 and 20 are to read a work originally published in another language and a graphic novel, graphic memoir, or collection of comics of any kind. I had some other books picked out for these tasks, and I have every intention of reading them, but when bonnie and the Chancellor’s reviews of this book back in January I knew that this was something I wanted […]
True Stories are Often MUCH More Interesting than Fiction (take that Melville!)
I was vaguely aware of the sinking of the whaleship Essex, and its role as the inspiration for Moby-Dick when I heard that there was going to be a movie about it staring one of the many Marvel Chrises and that the movie was based on a book* of the same name. In the Heart of the Sea is a book about 19th century history, sailing, oceans and a story of survival for some but not all? I was in. In case you are similarly […]
Wasn’t Magical for Me
My adventures in short story reading continue, and I’ve reached the point where I’m convinced they aren’t for me. Not even the glorious, melodious Neil Gaiman reading his own collection, M is for Magic, to me could do the trick. I appear to be broken in some way. That’s not to say that there aren’t good stories in this collection. There are several that are quite good, just not good enough to round the collections overall rating up from a 3 star. The stories in […]
Cannonball!
In conversation with some friends a couple months ago it occurred to me that I don’t know anyone who is transgender. Or, I might, but I don’t know. I also realized that I have a rather cursory understanding about the issues facing the Transgender community outside of the coverage of said issues in the media over the past few years. It was fortuitous then that as part of the Read Harder Challenge task number five is reading a book either about or by someone who identifies […]



