Tag: NetGalley

33 1/3 #135: Tori Amos’ Boys for Pele – Amy Gentry

Although I was really looking forward to reading about Tori’s Boys for Pele (I’ve been sort of obsessed for 24 years with all things Tori) I found myself glazing over whenever the discussion moved into a discourse about the nature of disgust or how the concept of taste can be, I don’t know, something about Kant and aesthetic philosophy. I blame myself; I saw Tori on the cover and neglected to read the blurb where it warned me that this book was a “blend of memoir, criticism, and aesthetic theory”.

Sure, I understood where the author was coming from when she explored disgust; the image of Tori suckling a piglet in the album artwork did elicit a WTF response from me when I first saw it in 1996. Perhaps you need to be smarter than I am to fully appreciate the connections between Tori’s music and the philosophical and sociological treatises mentioned in this book but it came across to me as kinda pretentious (sorry!).

In the end, Bourdieu’s sociological lens merely neglects what Kant purposely excludes: the body’s role in aesthetic experience.

I know a lot of people call Tori ‘pretentious’ as well but I just wanted to hear about her songs. I already knew the early Tori biography and had read a lot of the articles referenced. I also didn’t want to keep hearing about Wilson’s book about Céline Dion. I’ve got nothing against Céline (I quite enjoyed her Deadpool 2 music video) but I was here to read about Tori.

While it wasn’t what I was hoping for this book is definitely thoroughly researched and well written, and I expect a lot of Toriphiles will love it. The sections that actually deconstructed Tori’s songs were interesting and I did learn some new (to me) meanings behind lyrics and background information about the media’s portrayal of her. There were several passages I had to highlight including:

Process and product are never far apart in Amos’s music, which is, I suspect, one reason why her answers to questions about what the songs mean can often sound like additional lyrics rather than explanations. For Amos, it seems, to sing and play is to think through a complicated problem out loud, and that thinking is never really finished. Neither is the song; neither, perhaps, is the woman.

I was very disappointed that, in a book about a specific album, some of its songs were barely mentioned, including some of my favourites. In particular, Putting the Damage On is mentioned in passing twice and Talula is only mentioned once! Songs that aren’t even on this album were given more air time.

This series has been on my radar for a number of years and I expected that after reading about Pele I’d be bingeing the rest but it turns out they’re not for me and I’m really bummed about that. I usually have to buy any book written by or about Tori so this is a first for me.

Word of the Book: Abject. Abject and abjection are used a combined 47 times, although it felt closer to 100.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

It’s hard to think of a solo female recording artist who has been as revered or as reviled over the course of her career as Tori Amos. Amy Gentry argues that these violent aesthetic responses to Amos’s performance, both positive and negative, are organized around disgust – the disgust that women are taught to feel, not only for their own bodies, but for their taste in music.

Released in 1996, Amos’s third album, Boys for Pele, represents the height of Amos’s willingness to explore the ugly qualities that make all of her music, even her more conventionally beautiful albums, so uncomfortably, and so wonderfully, strange. Using a blend of memoir, criticism, and aesthetic theory, Gentry argues that the aesthetics of disgust are useful for thinking in a broader way about women’s experience of all art forms.

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Epiphany – Priya Sridhar

Illustrations – Meg Owenson

Kelli has known she can speak to objects and hear them reply for most of her life. Objects will even do what she asks them to. Since her parent’s divorce Kelli has kept quiet about her abilities but after doing paid surveys at the university where her mother works, Kelli’s abilities are suspected by researchers. Kelli joins a group of other children and young adults with potential ESP and telekinesis abilities for a three week study at the university. It isn’t long before the participants begin to disappear.

I enjoyed this book, although I am left with some questions (including why the blurb gave away so much of the story. Yes, I have too, but the blurb paved the way). I think my favourite character was Kelli’s pillow, whose role is to protect and comfort her. I can definitely imagine chatting away to an empathetic pillow when I have trouble sleeping.

I was annoyed by Kelli’s mother’s refusal to believe at the end of the book, despite all that she’d witnessed. She rambles to her daughter, “But Talia insisted on being part of that study anyway. And now look where that got her.” So much blame for Talia, so little responsibility for Kelli’s mother. Surely she would have found out all of the details of the study prior to allowing her daughter to participate.

I wondered how Kelli’s pillow knew what advice to give her but, all things considered, I suppose the pillow could have been given information from the walls. While I witnessed glimpses of what some of the other participants could do they never became characters I was invested in so I’d like to learn more about them.

It made no sense to me that when Kelli sneaks into Talia’s office she uses the computer to message her friend to do research on the person running the experiment instead of just using the desk phone to call her mother for help. We find out in the next chapter that the phone is in the same office as the computer. If the baddie was as smart as they obviously thought they were then they’d have known it was probably not the best idea to experiment on the children of their coworkers. If you’re going to do dodgy experiments on kids then surely anonymity is fairly high on your wish list, right?

While I thought the reason behind Kelli’s powers fading as the experiment progressed was obvious I’m not exactly the target audience for this book. If I was 8 to 12 when I was reading this I’m fairly certain I would have been pleasantly surprised when I learned why this was happening and probably wowed by it.

This book made me think about supposedly inanimate objects. As a kid I believed that objects could feel, long before I’d heard of animism, and even now I find myself unconsciously apologising to my car if I stall her. (Yes, my cars have all had names and personalities. I’ll happily admit to my weirdness.) Anyway … about the inanimate objects in this book.

Do walls and doors talk to one another and if so, what are they saying about us? Since Kelli seems to be the only one who can hear them when they respond to her, do the doors, walls and pillows think humans are essentially rude for refusing to acknowledge them? How does a pillow heat itself on command and can I ask mine to always remain cool? I also wondered how Kelli could drag a bag along the sidewalk, knowing that if she ever spoke to it she’d probably hear about how inconsiderate that was.

Following the end of the story there’s a glossary, discussion questions and writing prompts. From what I can gather from Goodreads there may be at least another two books following this one and I’m definitely interested in hanging out with Kelli again. I really want to know what happens if she ever tells her best friend about her abilities and whether her mother will ever believe they exist.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Kelli talks to objects, and the objects talk back. However, Kelli has kept her powers of ESP and telekinesis hidden until a psychological study notices her potential. Kelli agrees to the psychologist’s program, interested in learning more about her abilities. She also meets other people with powers of their own. But when test subjects begin to disappear, Kelli discovers the curious psychologist is much more like a mad scientist eager for power.

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Us People – Maxwell Gruber

DNF @ 35%

I’ve been trying to read this book since 2017. I read the first 20% and gave up in December because I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I’d been interested in their story based on the blurb but found I didn’t care what happened to them once I started to get to know them. I hate that because I can usually connect with pretty much anything; if a character I like has an emotional connection to a blanket I’ll probably ugly cry if something happens to that blanket.

Since my first attempt I’ve gone back to this book many times and never made it much further. Thinking that surely some time and distance from it would change my mind I’ve tried again. I’m now stuck at 35% and I’m done trying to make this work.

My point of no return was when the main character wakes to a knife in their face and the person holding the knife explaining why:

“Well, when you grabbed that boy and tried to lift him off his feet, that made me feel a certain way. The type of way that makes you feel really, really good inside. So, me not knowing who you were, I wanted to get a better look at you. And let alone, my luck, my chance occurred. You walked right up to me trying to grab some bread. That was when I decided it was meant to be.”

That was when I finally decided that, try as I might, this is never going to be the book for me. I start every book planning on shouting about its brilliance from the rooftops and it always hurts when that’s not the case. I hope other readers do find the connections that I failed to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clovercroft Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. I’m sorry it wasn’t for me.

Once Upon a Blurb

How far is a person willing to go to escape their own personal demons – the bottle, a drug, possibly a vacation? A past mired with trauma and heartbreak, Sam Case seeks what he believes will be the safety of the streets. A place to escape the demons that once haunted him and tugged at the deepest parts of his mind. Struggling to survive with the aid of his best friend Cam, a mentally unstable veteran, Sam finds solace amongst the chaos. Initially an escape from his past, the horrors of insanity and heartbreak coax him back towards confrontation. Sam must make an impossible choice – a stigmatised imprisonment or the freedom of the streets. 

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Manga Classics: Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë

Story Adapter – Crystal S. Chan

Illustrations – SunNeko Lee

Jane Eyre was one of my Nan’s favourite books so I have intended to read it for the past 30 years. Over the years I’ve tried and failed to make it past Jane’s childhood. I was so mad at the way she was treated, especially by Mrs Reed and John, and when I finally made it to the beginning of her time at Lowood I was so infuriated by the injustice of her life that I discarded this story and moved on to something else; probably something with unicorns.

Now I’ve finally learned the rest of the story thanks to manga! While I’m not the hugest fan of Jane’s story due to my romantiphobia (I would like to think that had I been in Jane’s shoes I would have bailed on both potential suitors and enjoyed my life as an independent single woman) I was engaged in her story from beginning to end. I appreciated Jane’s strong will and independent spirit, especially considering the adversity she faced, and I think it was Jane’s perseverance that would have drawn my Nan to this story.

I adored the illustrations in this book, although Jane’s gorgeous doe eyes made it difficult to take her seriously when she spoke of her plain looks. I loved that, in true manga style, this story reads from right to left and was surprised by how quickly I became used to reading this way.

Thank you to NetGalley and UDON Entertainment for the opportunity to read this book. I’m all doe eyes for manga right now and want to work my way through the rest of their Manga Classics series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

As an orphaned child, Jane Eyre is first cruelly abused by her aunt, then cast out and sent to a charity school. Though she meets with further abuse, she receives an education, and eventually takes a job as a governess at the estate of Edward Rochester. Jane and Rochester begin to bond, but his dark moods trouble her. When Jane uncovers the terrible secret Rochester has been hiding, she flees and finds temporary refuge at the home of St. John Rivers. 

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Monster Sharks: Megalodon and Other Giant Prehistoric Predators of the Deep – Brenda Gurr

Illustrations – R.J. Palmer

Monster Sharks: Megalodon and Other Giant Prehistoric Predators of the Deep is an interesting introduction to prehistoric sea creatures, providing facts and speculations about their lives based on fossils that have been discovered. The book begins with an overview of the three eras the animals lived in before focusing on various types: Megalodon and other prehistoric sharks, Dunkleosteus and other placoderms, Temnodontosaurus and other ichthyosaurs, Elasmosaurus and other plesiosaurs, Kronosaurus and other pliosaurs, Tylosaurus and other mosasaurs, Livyatan and other prehistoric whales, and an overview of other prehistoric sea monsters. Finally there is some information about modern sea monsters and a glossary.

My favourite facts were:

“T. rex weighed about the same as an African male elephant. But experts think that Megalodon might have weighed about the same as ten elephants!”

“Dunkleosteus had an impressive skill. It could open and close its enormous jaws in a fraction of a second. This was so fast that it created a vacuum that pulled its prey (along with plenty of water) into its mouth.”

“Its eyes are thought to be the largest eyes of any animal – ever. They were almost the size of dinner plates!” [this quote is about Temnodontosaurus]

“Kronosaurus [KRONE-oh-SAWR-us] is a pliosaur named after Kronos, a thoroughly nasty Greek god who swallowed all of his children. (Don’t worry, they turned out fine.)”

“Like a snake, Tylosaurus had a double-hinged jaw.”

“The name Livyatan comes from the Hebrew spelling of Leviathan, a biblical sea monster.”

“Its neck was about three to four times the length of an adult giraffe’s! It made up about half of its body length and contained more than seventy bones.” [this quote is about Elasmosaurus who looks suspiciously liked the Loch Ness monster but apparently isn’t]

I liked the conversational tone of the writing and the comparisons made between animals or objects kids would recognise and the size and weight of the prehistoric creatures described in the book. The length of each animal is illustrated against a coast guard lifeboat. Similar books I’ve read have compared animals to the height of an average adult; as a kid I would have found it easier to imagine an animal’s size if I was using a person as the comparison rather than a boat. Even now I appreciated the pronunciation help for some of the more unusual names.

The illustrations are detailed and the layout is interesting and varied. Photos are also used where possible to show fossils and animals children will be familiar with. A lot of the illustrations feature animals about to eat other animals or engaged in fights, which may be scary for some readers. Occasionally the white writing was difficult to read when it was against a pale background but I read this ARC on an iPad so this may have been fixed prior to publication.

I imagine I would have gotten a good grade if I’d used this book to research a school project and it’s the type of book I would still borrow from the library because you can never know enough cool facts about Megalodon and its meals. I definitely need to check out the Megalodon skeleton that comes with this book (instructions for assembling it are included – whew!).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – becker&mayer! kids for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Monster Sharks: Megalodon and Other Giant Prehistoric Predators of the Deep brings real-life sea monsters back from extinction and up from the ocean depths!

Did you know that the prehistoric mega-shark called Megalodon was thirty times larger than a great white shark? If Megalodon were still alive, it would be able to destroy entire boats and swallow people whole! This nightmare-inducing shark continues to fascinate – and horrify! – shark fans everywhere.

Monster Sharks: Megalodon and Other Giant Prehistoric Predators of the Deep brings to the surface everything there is to know about this famed monster and explores other giant sea monsters from the past, including Tylosaurus (the deadliest marine hunter of its time) and the Elasmosaurus (a swimming reptile with a neck four times longer than a giraffe.)

Bring Megalodon to life with this 17-piece, 8.5″ long, intricately detailed Megalodon skeleton, complete with a 2-part stand. Assemble it yourself! 

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Three Rancheros #2: Louisiana’s Way Home – Kate DiCamillo

“It is a long and tragic story full of dark alleys and twists and turns and many unexpected happenings,” I said. “And also curses. There are curses in the story.”

When Louisiana’s Granny wakes her at 3am, bundles her in the car and starts driving, Louisiana assumes this is just another one of Granny’s “middle-of-the-night ideas”. But this time Granny keeps driving and Louisiana wonders if she’ll ever see Raymie and Beverly (her two best friends), Archie the King of the Cats or one eyed dog Buddy again.

Louisiana’s story should be devastating and believe me when I tell you that parts of it are (have tissues on hand), but Louisiana’s perseverance, determination and courage transforms her story into one of hope. My main niggle was that while Louisiana did express sadness, anger and confusion about her circumstances, the extent of those very understandable feelings appeared to be glossed over on occasion in the rush to find the positive.

This is Louisiana’s second appearance in a Kate DiCamillo book but the first of Kate’s books I’ve read. After falling in love with Louisiana I’ve ordered Raymie Nightingale from the library (I love my library!). While I could easily jump straight into reading Louisiana’s Way Home without having already read Raymie Nightingale I want to get to know Raymie and Beverly. I‘m keen to find out what Louisiana was up to two years ago and am very interested in learning more about Louisiana’s relationship with her Granny.

Louisiana is simply adorable and I was equally fond of many of the people she meets along the way. I also appreciated the roles the cantankerous characters played and I loved that the author was able to bring all of the characters to life, even those we only meet briefly. I want to tell you all about the different characters that I fell in love with but I don’t want to spoil anything for you so instead will encourage you to discover them all for yourself.

In some ways, this is a story of woe and confusion, but it is also a story of joy and kindness and free peanuts.

Louisiana’s story is ultimately one of family, friendship and deciding who you want to be. This young girl is going to find her way into the hearts of so many readers, children and adults alike. I already know that I’m going to want to reread this book once I’ve read Raymie Nightingale and I expect that I’m going to need to read more of this author’s books as soon as possible.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Reread 12 June 2019

I am absolutely in love with this book! I didn’t think I could love Louisiana more than I did when I first read her story but I was so wrong. I want to hug her and make her feel safe and wanted and loved, and never let her go. This story is about deciding who you are, something we all need to do. Louisiana just has to make that decision earlier than most people. It’s a heartbreaking and heartwarming story and it’s gorgeous!

I appreciated the Allen family more with this reread too. All of the Burke Allen’s and the sole Betty Allen are my new favourite people; I want to bake with Betty and hang out with every Burke. I want to meet Clarence and let him know he can trust me.

I finally read Raymie Nightingale and jumped straight into this reread. I realise now that there are spoilers in this book for Raymie so I’d recommend reading the Three Rancheros books in publication order. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to read Beverly’s story early and will be starting Beverly, Right Here right now!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are – and deciding who you want to be.

When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return.

Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town – including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder – she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana’s and Granny’s heads. But that is a story for another time.)

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Book Love – Debbie Tung

Book nerds rejoice! Debbie Tung doesn’t just understand us; she’s one of us! Debbie first drew scenes from my life in her debut Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert’s Story and now she’s gained access to the bookish part of me which, let’s face it, is pretty much all that’s left once you take away the introvert part.

This is my second (but not final) read of this graphic novel and once again Debbie’s nailed it. Her illustrations perfectly capture the bliss of escaping into a book, the allure of a book sale, the horror of finishing a book and knowing you have to wait a whole year before you can dive into the sequel, and the special kind of magic you experience when your book order arrives. Debbie explores the bookish nightmare of a favourite book being massacred by its film, the horror of price sticker residue and the devastation you feel when someone ruins the end of the book you’re reading.

Debbie talks about how we read, where we read, why we read, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so understood.

Every turn of the page resulted in validation of my bookish experiences.

There was only one page I was glad I couldn’t relate to – when you have to choose between books because you’ve reached the maximum amount you can have on loan at any one time from the library. Thankfully my wonderful librarians consider the loan limit a suggestion, not a strict rule, where I’m involved; just one more reason why my library is the best in the world!

I cannot get enough of this book and only wish it had been several hundred pages longer.

I wonder what part of my life Debbie is going to tackle next … Whatever it is, I need to read it immediately!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for introducing me to Debbie with Quiet Girl and giving me the opportunity to remember why I need every book she ever publishes.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Bookworms rejoice! These charming comics capture exactly what it feels like to be head-over-heels for hardcovers. And paperbacks! And ebooks! And bookstores! And libraries!

Book Love is a gift book of comics tailor-made for tea-sipping, spine-sniffing, book-hoarding bibliophiles. Debbie Tung’s comics are humorous and instantly recognisable – making readers laugh while precisely conveying the thoughts and habits of book nerds. Book Love is the ideal gift to let a book lover know they’re understood and appreciated.

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Riley Thomas #1: The Forgotten Child – Melissa Erin Jackson

I loved the beginning of this book. It has banter between friends, TV series binge watching and an upcoming road trip to a haunted ranch that used to be the home of a serial killer. The main character is a true crime enthusiast who’s also more in tune with the spirit world than she’d like to be. Ever since the “Great Ouija Board Fiasco” in her childhood Riley has tried to squish, deny and otherwise ignore her ability to see dead people.

I was all in during the lead up to the weekend at the ranch and I loved the ooky spookiness of her time there. I loved Pete, the ghost boy she meets over hot chocolate; Pete became my favourite character. I even enjoyed the banter between Riley and Michael, a sceptic who was dragged along to the ranch because he lost a bet.

Michael, or Mr Perfect as I came to think of him, was a nice addition to the story during his initial banter with Riley but I ended up finding him nauseatingly perfect and hoped he’d turn out to be a serial killer in disguise. I was creeped out that Mr Perfect called Riley “my girl” and she goes all swoony about it when the serial killer also called his victims his girls. I also wondered how it was possible that Michael didn’t know what a séance was when he kept talking about his cousin who works as a medium.

Once the story left the ranch my excitement began to fade as this serial killer ghost story morphed into more of a romance (yes, I’m a romantiphobe), one that seemed to be a way for the characters to pass the time while they were waiting for people to respond to their murder investigation phone calls and emails. Naturally there’s the obligatory sex scene along with the follow up description of the next night – “They were two insatiable beasts”. Ugh! Trashy romance novel jargon is also borrowed, mentioning the serial killer’s “manhood”. Ugh! Eye roll!

I enjoyed the chapters that helped tell the story of the serial killer; the way he thought, what he was trying to accomplish and the history of some of his victims. I thought I would really like Mindy, the girl who lived, but was disappointed that she was mostly typecast as ‘helpless victim’. Fair enough, considering what she’d experienced but I wanted more for her. It also didn’t seem plausible that this woman who’d been in hiding since her escape would be so easy to find or that she’d respond to Riley in the way that she does.

I liked Riley’s character and really enjoyed the scenes when she was fangirling about her favourite TV series with another character as I could relate to that (maybe a little too well). I mostly enjoyed it when Riley chatted with her best friend Jade but Jade’s habit of spouting sexual euphemisms, while intended to be funny, had me practicing my eye rolling. The best (worst?) one was “cattle-prodding your oyster ditch with his lap rocket”. Seriously?

I did find Riley’s transition from denying her ability to embracing it a tad rushed but considering her experience at the ranch it was fairly understandable. I also found the wrap up of the story predictable right down to the police arriving fashionably late. I was really irritated by some of Riley’s actions including baiting the suspected murderer, leaving a key under her door mat for Mr Perfect when she was being stalked and mindlessly contaminating a crime scene even though she was obsessed with true crime and should have known better. Then again, it would take some of the fun out of reading a horror/mystery/paranormal book if the main characters didn’t do stupid things that you want to yell at them through the pages about.

I’m interested in reading the next book in the series because there was a lot to like about this book. I enjoyed the engaging style of writing and became hooked almost immediately. I was captivated until Riley left the ranch and turned into a swooner (is that a word?) who worries if her new boyfriend will yell at her for doing something stupid. It probably seems like I wouldn’t want to read on after essentially pulling this book apart but after such a strong beginning I have faith in this author’s ability to become one of my favourites. It feels like there’s potential for the characters to grow and given Riley’s still learning about her abilities I’m curious to see how the series progresses.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Ringtail Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The dead can speak. They need her to listen.

Ever since Riley Thomas, reluctant medium extraordinaire, accidentally released a malevolent spirit from a Ouija board when she was thirteen, she’s taken a hard pass on scary movies, haunted houses, and cemeteries. Twelve years later, when her best friend pressures her into spending a paranormal investigation weekend at the infamous Jordanville Ranch – former home of deceased serial killer Orin Jacobs – Riley’s still not ready to accept the fact that she can communicate with ghosts.

Shortly after their arrival at the ranch, the spirit of a little boy contacts Riley; a child who went missing – and was never found – in 1973.

In order to put the young boy’s spirit to rest, she has to come to grips with her ability. But how can she solve a mystery that happened a decade before she was born? Especially when someone who knows Orin’s secrets wants to keep the truth buried – no matter the cost.

CW/TW: Adult language, sexual situations, discussions about sexual assault

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Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to The X-Files – Zack Handlen & Emily Todd VanDerWerff

Illustrations – Patrick Leger

The first X-Files episode I clearly remember watching was Squeeze. I was wedged into a beanbag on the floor of a darkened lounge room. Behind me was an open door leading to the kitchen which, like the rest of the house, was dark and Eugene Tooms creeped me out enough that several times he had me looking over my shoulder. My love of the weird and the wonderful and all things spooky began that night and I’ve been an X-Phile ever since, collecting episodes on VHS and then DVD and an assortment of books and memorabilia.

As soon as I saw Monsters of the Week I knew I had to have it. I loved the picture of Mulder and Scully on the cover and the title called to me. I suspected immediately that reading this book would lead to an overwhelming urge to binge watch the entire series (again!) but the reason why I need to surprised me. I’d expected to binge read this book and then slowly reread it as I rewatched each episode but in my rush to get my hands on this book I somehow missed the critical part of the subtitle.

There was always going to be some disagreement between myself and the authors; you can’t be this invested in a series for so long and not have strong opinions about it. While the writers shredded some episodes that I count amongst my favourites, most of their comments were a fair balance of the good, the bad and the creepy. However, sometimes the criticism was so critical that it had me wondering at times if this pair even liked The X-Files. My stubborn has kicked in so my upcoming binge will now be about confirming to myself that the episodes I always loved are still worthy of my adoration.

I adored Patrick Leger’s cover artwork and the illustrations accompanying each section of the book. There are several of these that I’d love to have framed. I do appreciate how much time and effort has gone into this book. Besides watching or rewatching 11 series of TV and two movies between them, Zack Handlen and Emily Todd VanDerWerff have tackled all of the monsters and mythology in a fair amount of detail; ranging from half a page to over three pages of commentary per episode. The authors also really like footnotes; most pages have several, ranging from really interesting extra information to seemingly random.

As a huge fan I wanted this read to feel as passionate about the series as I am and it was to a point. There were some quotes I loved:

Mulder’s defining trait is his willingness to charge headlong into danger if he thinks he will find the answers he seeks, and Scully’s defining trait is her willingness to ultimately trust her partner, even when she doesn’t believe him.

The X-Files is a cop show, yes, but it’s also one in which you could wake up in a safe, standard reality, then turn the wrong corner and end up becoming a thing that goes bump in the night. No one is safe, and any given door could lead to madness.

this isn’t a show about aliens as much as it is about our need to believe in something, lest the night become too dark and terrifying. There’s so much darkness in the night sky, but there are also so many stars. And maybe one of them is looking back at us.

If Deep Throat was a cheat code to the quest for the truth, X is a walkthrough written by somebody who doesn’t want to share his secrets, doesn’t like you, and might not even be playing the same game.

While I loved most of their take on the first few seasons I found the book became a bit of a slog to get through towards the end as it became more focused on the negative when discussing the later seasons:

The mythology episodes would come to feel more and more poorly motivated, and eventually, you’d start to wonder how Mulder could believe in any of this bullshit.

you won’t just be wondering why you decided to watch this episode; you’ll be wondering why you decided to watch a show that could produce an episode this bad at all.

Other people die, but those deaths don’t have any weight, and the point the episode tries to make is too unwelcome and backward to really care about.

Like nearly everything else in the episode, there’s no real joke here, just a joke-shaped hole where comedy could have theoretically existed.

The X-Files has been reheating its leftovers for several seasons now

The X-Files is frantically trying to find a new reason to justify its own existence as it circles the drain.

But then I’d find sentences like these and know they understood after all:

we wouldn’t still be talking about the series if it didn’t hit more than it missed.

“The Sixth Extinction,” parts one and two, are ridiculous television, but dammit, they’re our ridiculous television.

I acknowledge that had I written this book most reviewers would be commenting on how annoying it was to keep reading, “This is one of my favourite episodes!” almost every time they turned the page. It was a really nice trip down memory lane and it reminded me of so many episodes that shocked, horrified, intrigued and amazed me. I’d forgotten or maybe never realised that the Lone Gunmen made their appearance before Skinner did. I did keep waiting for the commentary about how each time Mulder pulls his gun on someone he loses it but sadly it never happened.

I had some objections when criticisms were made based on what is or isn’t acceptable today without consideration for the time that the majority of this series was made, when we thought computers were going to do some really scary things once the clock stuck midnight at the end of 1999. In particular the embarrassment the writers supposedly felt by being two white men critiquing a TV show written predominantly by white men irked me. By focusing so much on the gender, racial and cultural inequalities of the show they missed the obvious; Scully, being such a strong lead, inspired so many women to study and go on to work in STEM.

If you’re not already a fan you probably won’t pick this book up anyway but if you are just beginning your journey to find the truth out there I’d definitely recommend watching each episode prior to reading the commentary about them to avoid spoilers.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Abrams Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

In 1993, Fox debuted a strange new television show called The X-Files. Little did anyone suspect that the series would become one of the network’s biggest hits – and change the landscape of television in the process. Now, on the occasion of the show’s 25th anniversary, TV critics Zack Handlen and Emily Todd VanDerWerff unpack exactly what made this haunting show so groundbreaking.

Witty and insightful reviews of every episode of the series, revised and updated from the authors’ popular A.V. Club recaps, leave no mystery unsolved and no monster unexplained. This crucial collection even includes exclusive interviews with some of the stars and screenwriters, as well as an original foreword by X-Files creator and showrunner Chris Carter.

This complete critical companion is the book about The X-Files, the definitive guide whether you’re a lifelong viewer wanting to relive memories of watching the show when it first aired or a new fan uncovering the conspiracy for the first time.

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ABC What Can She Be? – Sugar Snap Studio

Illustrations – Jessie Ford

This colourful board book goes through an alphabet of work options available for girls when they grow up. I really appreciated the diversity in this book, in the jobs explored and the girls pictured. The jobs traverse traditional male and female jobs, from pilots and teachers to yoga instructors and quantum physicists.

Because girls from around the world are represented, young girls looking through this book should be able to identify personally with at least one girl. There are girls with blonde hair, red hair and dark hair. One girl is wearing a hijab. Another is in a wheelchair. Girls are wearing dresses, skirts, pants and uniforms.

I would have liked P to be for president but the end of the book does specify that the jobs mentioned are only some of the options so I’d be adding that one if I read this to a young girl.

O is for Optometrist. She checks our eyes to make sure we see clearly.

Because this is a board book I had hoped it would be told in rhyme and was disappointed that it wasn’t. It was written in a down to earth way that makes the different jobs easy to understand but I found it a bit too matter of fact. This is the type of book I expect people would buy for a baby shower but I couldn’t imagine myself wanting to read it over and over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster Jr. for granting my wish to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

ABC What Can She Be? explores 26 different career paths. Each page introduces a letter of the alphabet with bright artwork and highlights a career that is fun, challenging, and makes a big impact in its own way.

A boldly illustrated, fun family read, ABC What Can She Be? is a great way for parents to introduce their small children to the bright futures before them.

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