BookTalkTuesday

This #BookTalkTuesday brings us For Lamb by @lclineransome - a stunning YA novel that deserves everyone’s attention. If this is what 2023 looks like for YA books, we’re in for an amazing year. #book #books #BookTwitter #BookBoost pic.twitter.com/2LYMssjruk — Daniel Valentin (@DanielJValentin) January 31, 2023

The mark of a great graphic novel is one that wants you to slow down. One that says as much with its visuals as it does with its text. Adaptations have done this: both Kindred and Parable of the Sower succeeded with Octavia Butler's work. Other books yielded somewhat mixed but largely successful results like Anne Frank and Sandman. So how does Bomb stack up? Simply put, it doesn't. Bomb tells the story of the nuclear weapons created for the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It also tells the story of the secrets, the espionage and the race to be the first to build a weapon of this magnitude.  There isn't anything egregious about the graphic novel version of Bomb. The framework is here, but because of the format, it simply reads too quickly. The problem is, this is a complicated book. There are a large number of players all vying to get this bomb made or steal the secrets. Time frame's become wobbly, main characters are introduced and skirted away, complications are lay

This #BookTalkTuesday gives us what will no doubt be one of the top 10 books of 2023: What Happened to Rachel Riley? by @claireswinarski - a must read for literally everyone. #book #books #booktalk #BookBoost pic.twitter.com/9bO5TYb4EP — Daniel Valentin (@DanielJValentin) January 24, 2023

The Survivalists Plays on Doomsday Tropes while Attempting to Tread New Ground There's a weird vibe throughout The Survivalists. It pulls back the curtains on survivalists who feel like the end of the world is nigh. But that curtain is surprisingly transparent. What you expect is an examination of the human psyche, what we get doesn't quite delve that far. When we first meet Aretha, she's gone on too many bad dates. There's always an escape plan. But when she meets charmer Aaron, she's swept off her feet--putting down any strength she had and looking the other way when disaster starts to percolate. Aaron seems too good to be true, but when Aretha goes to his house and sees that he runs a coffee company with guns on the cover, it's apparent Aaron isn't quite perfect. Then when she meet his roommates who are training for the end of the world, she somehow gets sucked into the lurid world of gun selling and soy eating lunatics. The premise here is fascinating an

This #BookTalkTuesday highlights Sam by Allegra Goodman. Startling in its depiction of people who are one paycheck from disaster. Gorgeous in its prose and coming of age story. Your next Book Club book. #book #books #booktalk #BookReview pic.twitter.com/pW551yGJ7E — Daniel Valentin (@DanielJValentin) January 17, 2023

Avengers: War Across Time is light on story and big on action. Released today, Avengers: War Across Time is just what I wanted after coming off of Captain America's: The Ghost Army . Where that graphic novel could never spend time with any moment, War Across Time spends nearly all its time on one single action sequence. And what an action sequence it is! You can almost hear the shots, wails and sirens that blare on each page.  War Across Time's premise is simple. Kang sends out a Robot Hulk to cause utter destruction against The Avengers. It seems Kang has obtained relics from The Avengers' past, and one of those items is The Hulk's green glowing heart. (What that means for The Hulk is anyone's guess.) Robot Hulk's destruction follows the events of Avengers issue #11 involving Robot Spider-Man's destruction, but don't worry if you never read that, there's enough background information and asides to fill you in on those events. I'm new to the worl

Captain America: The Ghost Army is a "good enough" diversion for middle grade readers. Over the past few years, we've had some real standout superhero graphic novels for middle grade and young adult readers. Books like Superman Smashes the Klan and Teen Titans: Raven showed that the medium has fresh and exciting ideas. And with author Alan Gratz (Allies, Ground Zero) penning the story, no doubt expectations were high. The Ghost Army doesn't quite reach the height of those books. Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable diversion that will easily consume an hour or two. Captain America: The Ghost Army follows Captain America and Bucky during World War II in the Tansia and Romania region. It's a fresh setting, not far from Dracula's castle, that is full of surprises. Although there are few moments of vistas or scenic scenes, each page is packed with the denizens of the assorted towns and camps. The result is a rich and populated world that you wish you could spend

This #BookTalkTuesday highlights the debut novel The Bandit Queens by @PariniShroff - delightfully twisted, it’s the first must read of 2023. #book #books #BookTwitter #bookworm pic.twitter.com/jertrR9I4B — Daniel Valentin (@DanielJValentin) January 10, 2023

My official #BookTalkTuesday highlights Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke and published by @SimonBooks - this delightful nonfiction book will give you more history than you can imagine in this book about butts. It’s certainly unlike anything I’ve ever read. #book #books pic.twitter.com/efDaDbS3TL — Daniel Valentin (@DanielJValentin) January 3, 2023

Bittersweet is a Brief, Albeit Discussion Worthy Book Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Can Make Us Whole by Susan Cain is my first foray into Cain’s world of nonfiction. A cross between a self-help book and a deep examination of life a la Gawande’s Being Mortal, Bittersweet is a fascinating albeit terse look at what it means to experience longing in wholly new ways. Unlike other nonfiction texts, Bittersweet begins with a reflection of you. And for me, this is one of Cain's specialties. She has a way of making it feel like the text is specifically about you. But Cain throws herself at this examination of self-help examining life, death, religion, spirituality and even a visit to an immortalists conference. Each one of these moments offers a glimpse to a world that is both completely unfamiliar and yet strangely intimate. In many ways, each one of these vignettes could be a book all its own. But because we merely visit these moments, the profundity here is often lacking. It ofte

Happy New Year! Book publishing never takes a break, so without much ado about nothing, here are the top 5 titles I'm watching for this January. 1. The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff Release date: January 3rd, 2023 I just started The Bandit Queens this morning, and what I love is a book with a conceit that doesn't waste its time. Within the first chapter you're introduced to Geeta, an Indian woman whose husband disappeared some five years ago. She is both looked up to and, simultaneously, a pariah of her social world. Rumors are abound about what Geeta did to her husband, but as far as I can tell, her husband simply vanished in the night. Now other women in the town are coming to her to ask for assistance on how to kill their husbands. It's already an exciting novel that reminds me a bit of My Sister, The Serial Killer. No doubt, a splashy debut for Parini Shroff. 2. Sam by Allegra Goodman Release date: January 3rd, 2023 Sam immediately begs your attention. I started