It’s Monday! What are you reading?

[It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey]

Well, my personal reading time has been little as of late but I started Habibi by Craig Thompson last week and have gotten about half way through now.

This book is gorgeous and normally, I think I would have finished this in a day if I didn’t have so many distractions. It’s a graphic novel, done in stunning black and white drawings.

It’s about this:

Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, HABIBI tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, by circumstance, and by the love that grows between them.

At once contemporary and timeless, HABIBI gives us a love story of astounding resonance: a parable about our relationship to the natural world, the cultural divide between the first and third worlds, the common heritage of Christianity and Islam, and, most potently, the magic of storytelling.

The story starts with Dodola being  sold to her a man  into marriage by her father. She’s 9. I had to put it down for a bit and come back to it. Then I was ok and got wrapped up in this young woman’s story as a slave & courtesan.

The imagery surrounding everything related to pregnancy and childbirth is breathtaking, or maybe I’m so impressed because I’m a birth junkie. It might just be me because searching images on Google, most of the illustrations posted are not related to pregnancy or childbirth. There’s this one and it’s not the best:

But you can see how layered and detailed and laden with symbolism the artwork is. The story itself is well written but there is just as much in the illustrations to wrap your brain around.

[Jen & Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts also host a version of  It's Monday! What are you reading? for picture books to YA ]

As usual, lots of kiddie lit reading here,though.

Unfortunately, this is the one Loki wants me to read to him at bedtime the past few nights:

I would almost rather read  The Berenstain Bores .

It’s a good thing he’s getting more confident in his reading skills. Soon he’ll be able to read it to himself.

We have also read and reread this a few times….Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham and illustrated by Paul O Zelinsky

This is one of the best alphabet books I’ve ever seen.  It has more of a plot,unlike most ABC books. Zebra organizes his friends to perform the alphabet, like a play, directing them to appear on the page in order. Moose doesn’t follow directions very well (he’s very impatient) and then to top it off, Zebra forgot to put him in the line-up. Not good,Zebra. Not good.

Funny and actually entertaining…not your standard alphabet book.

We also read Love,Mouserella by David Ezra Stein. Loki actually didn’t want to read this one at first. Judging by the cover, he thought it was going to be ….”too girly.” Yes, we’re at that stage, it seems. I was actually shocked to hear those words come out of his mouth (because we are SO not into gender stereotyping in our house) but my little boy seems to have picked up a thing or two from his male classmates. Boo.

Anyway, I convinced him to give it a try and he really liked it. Amazing,huh? It’s not a “girly” story…it’s just simply about a little mouse who happens to be a girl, writing a letter to her Grandmouse. The format of the book is great. Pages are orientated so you read it “sideways” and the pages look like lined notebook paper. Her letter resembles more of a scrapbook feel, including her drawings ,photos and found objects. Very creative design and cute story.

There were a few others we read that were good but apparently not good enough for a requested re-read. I’ve posted them on my We Read These  pinterest board.

[My 2 Cents for Free] Cancer Vixen

[Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto]

This is a book that ended up on my “To Read List” after seeing it on someone’s “Best Graphic Novels of 2009″ list. I just so happened to pick it up in the midst of that ridiculous meme thingy on Facebook – you know, “Tell us what color your bra is”, which was supposedly “in support of breast cancer survivors”  but most people didn’t actually know that’s why they were doing it (awareness fail ) and as some breast cancer survivors pointed out, it didn’t really do anything to promote breast cancer awareness and um, hellllooo….some  breast cancer survivors don’t even have boobs to put in a bra anymore! (ouch)

Cancer Vixen is a memoir in comic form ,written by Marisa Acocella Marchetto about her experience with breast cancer. Not far into the book, I began to have this feeling that I was going to end up annoyed more than anything. (Ok, fair warning: I plan on being honest about my thoughts and I will undoubtedly sound like a bitch at points).  As one review said of Cancer Vixen, it reads as if one of the Sex in the City girls got breast cancer & wrote a graphic novel about it….and I am not into that whole Sex in the City thing. Sex in the Cemetery,sure. Not so much for Sex in the City.

Part of  my own personal issue while reading was failing to connect or be interested in The Cancer Vixen herself. Marisa describes herself as shoe-crazy,lipstick obsessed,fashion-fanatic…..yadadayada.Her cartoons are published in The New Yorker & Glamour mag.  Her fiance owns the very popular Da Silvano restaurant in NYC (he is Silvano) and drives a Maserati. Me? I own 3 pairs of shoes -  a pair of plaid Chuck Taylors, black slip ons and a winter boots picked up second-hand (kids’ size 4, previously owned by “Troy”, as indicated in permanent market labeled on the heels by Troy’s parental unit). I like peppermint lip balm & buy my clothes at yard sales. I get to stay home and be artsy in my pajamas on a daily basis but I don’t get paid for it (or anything else for that matter, even though one would think one should get paid just for being fabulous!). The man I happily live in sin with works in a grocery store and rides the bus. All of which I am perfectly contented with & would be miserable if I switched places with the flip-side.

I was also thinking,”Ok, it’s terrible for anyone to get breast cancer and I’m sorry about the speedbump that life has thrown this chick but what about women like ME? Uninsured, low-income women… with children they could leave motherless!” Because listen,people…if I were to be diagnosed with breast cancer (or any other cancer), I’d be totally fucked and NOT in a way I usually enjoy. The bad way.

FORTUNATELY, Marisa does mention this concern at some point in the story and on her website, there is a page devoted to The Cancer Vixen Fund, a fund dedicated to providing screening for women who could not afford to have otherwise ,since early detection is the key to higher survival rates. As stated on the page, “49% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer and don’t have insurance have a greater risk of dying from the disease.I also added up the cost of treatment I would have paid out of pocket. The total? $192,702.04. Who the heck has $192,702.04?” . Indeed. Not I.

Cancer Vixen has it’s funny moments, as one might expect since the author is a cartoonist. I appreciated the honesty with which she tells and illustrates her story but I still felt like there was something missing – like a depth of emotion.Even in scenes depicting being in the middle of NYC on 9-11, I didn’t feel the tragedy of that day . In all dealings with anything cancer related, I obviously felt sympathy (albeit detached)  but I didn’t get the impression that this was a woman grasping the fragility of her own mortality  – that this was a mere inconvenience that halted and threw glittery & sparkly plans askew. I can’t believe that the authoress did not wrestle with really deep fears during this time in her life and I would have loved to get a glimpse at that. Those who aren’t familiar with a lot of graphic novels may say,”Hey, it’s a COMIC.It’s not supposed to be deep!”, but on the contrary, “comics” can (and often are)  be VERY deep and delve into matters beyond the superficial.What I’m saying is, I appreciate dealing w/ a serious subject by using humor. After all, humor is an amazing survival technique when dealing with harsh reality but it felt too “fluffy” and not emotional enough.  To me. Others might appreciate a very light take on a breast cancer survivor when so many memoirs dealing with the topic are obviously dark,sad & emotional.  Hormonal & Pregnant Me only cried ONCE during the whole book – and I cry about EVERYTHING these days.

The saving grace of the book is the activist aspect. Like I said before, Marchetto has started a Cancer Vixen Fund and is outspoken on manners relating to breast cancer awareness.  She is in a great and powerful position to give a voice to breast cancer awareness and it’s always awesome to be the person who can stand up for the cause and help prevent women from being cancer’s bitch.

When she's on her best behavior Don't be tempted by her favors

[Listening To] Coverville has become part of my morning routine, at least on the mornings that there’s a brand spanking new podcast up. I’ve always loved cover songs and hearing an artists interpretation of what another artist created so no brainer – I love Coverville. The latest is a listener request edition, started off with “Never  Turn Your Back On Mother Earth”, both the original & Neko Case’s cover. In  other words, it’s started off great.

[Read] Les is 10 and his Mother has died from cancer.As the local gas-station owner/damaged & broken ex-NHL star Jimmy says, “That’s fucked up”, and it is. Les is fatherless so he now lives w/ his Uncle on a farm in Southwestern Ontario. Les wears a superhero cape & a mask, spends most of his time alone in his room creating his own comics or reading comics or acting out fantasies that involve alien invasions & Lester features as The Hero. Jimmy feeds into the fantasies,becoming his only friend and his relationship with his custodial Uncle goes through awkward & strained development. Black & white illustrations are  emotionally charged & evocative. This received a thumbs up from both me & my 12 year old, who can’t wait to read the next one.

[Watched] Shine a Light

Ok, truthfully – I did not watch the whole thing. I appreciate that it’s Martin Scorcese AND The Rolling Stones but for me, it was all about Jack White.

[Backyard] Along w/ the lilacs,the hostas are full-fledged now.

Why do I have an urge to replicate these using paper? I'm such a Craft Geek

[blog title from "Never Turn Your back On Mother Earth", originally by Sparks]

Jupiter Reviews: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Review Disclaimer: Simply put,  I tend to suck at reviews. Maybe some day, I’ll die and be reincarnated as a writer for Rolling Stone & have that certain eloquence needed for writing a stellar review.Right now,in this life, I struggle beyond “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it”.Also, expect spoilers.

Persepolis was one of those books that I heard time and time again,”You have to read this!”. I planned to but I didn’t make it a priority. There’s this awkward thing that happens sometimes  when someone I know recommends a book with gushing enthusiasm. Eventually I read it. Typically, I hate it or at best, feel meh about (yes,meh is a feeling).  The book will come up in discussion with the recomendee at some point and I’ll be forced to admit that I hated it and it’s just an awkward moment I like to avoid. I could lie and say either that I never got around to reading it or that I did read it and oh,yes…I loved it! but I can’t lie to save my own skin, even when it comes to a little thing like that.

I also tend to find that when someone recommends a book ,it’s because they picked-up on some esoteric aspect of the book and thought of me. Or just that I’m the only person they know in real life that has some distant connection to the subject of the book.For example, upon learning I was Pagan, a friend suddenly insisted The DaVinci Code be required reading on my To-Read List. Likewise, everyone who learned that I love graphic novels combined with my obvious interest in women’s studies, history, world cultures, etc…. Persepolis was the book that suddenly became my new Must Read book.

So,finally…on a whim, I picked up Persepolis at the library one day. That same evening, I tucked the kids into bed and with no intention to start reading that night,I picked up the book and browsed through it. With graphic novels, I really can’t help but do this browsing…a quick skim through the pages, kind of as a preview of what I’m getting myself into. The artwork in Persepolis is simple black and white drawings, which I mistakenly translated to mean “easy read”. Somehow,I got sucked into Persepolis immediately and read the entire thing that evening, but not at all because it was a “fluffy” easy read. It was just that enthralling.

I did not expect to as emotionally drawn in or affected in any way beyond cerebral but time and time again, I found myself with that choked spot in my throat and eventually succumbing to tears at some points. I would pause and not fully understand why I was so affected.I even wondered out loud, “Is it normal to cry when reading this?”.

Marjane Satrapi tells her story as a girl from that childish perspective ,growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The viewpoint through youthful eyes shows the impolite truth of matters and a freshness untainted by pre-formed opinions and ideology. Raised with a backdrop of a country in political and cultural upheaval, Satrapi still had to come of age, regardless of the chaos in her country.

I believe her own personal story itself is not what touched me the deepest. It’s the stories surrounding her – the violence and repression against women, the rapes and murders of innocents, the torturous imprisonments and executions of men solely for their political alignments and simply the loss of daily freedoms and of course, the chaos and devastation of war around them. Her family’s story is intriguing,yes but overall ,the whole story of Iran’s Islamic Revolution is what is more profound. I cannot help but walk away from this book with the feeling that most people here (in the United States) are lacking this knowledge of global events in comparatively recent history and if they did know it, they wouldn’t take so many of their freedoms and privileges for granted or carry with them a sense of entitlement.

Certainly, when I was a kid and listening to Kim Wilde, I didn’t have to buy the tape off the black market and risk a whipping if caught with it. If I wanted an Iron Maiden poster, no one had to go to extraordinary lengths to smuggle one home to me.