Review of Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh is a collection of hilarious short stories and essays about the author's life that range from her crazy antics as a child to her current outlook on life as an adult. I was a fan of the author's blog and was excited when I found out she had published a book as well. There is all new hilarious content in the book not available on the blog which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I was a bit disappointed that some of the stories from the blog did not make it into the book. Here's hoping the author puts out a second volume.

This book made me laugh so much and I'd highly recommend it. To get an idea of what is in the book, visit the author's blog at http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/. Don't let yourself be scared off by the juvenile illustrations. I assure you that it's all a part of the humor. If you enjoy the blog then you should definitely read the book.

"I don’t like when I can’t control what reality is doing. Which is unfortunate because reality works independently of the things I want, and I have only a limited number of ways to influence it, none of which are guaranteed to work."

~Allie Brosh, Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

Review of Space Sushi by L. R. Currell

Space Sushi by L. R. Currell is a short science fiction story set in around a hundred years in the future. The main character is a food critic who has been assigned to review an alien delicacy that has the potential to be deadly if not prepared properly much like the Japanese dish fugu. Despite the fact that he is good friends with the chef and trusts him to prepare the dish safely, he is still quite nervous about trying it. Will this exotic delicious meal be his last, or will he live to tell the tale?

The story was ok, but it didn't really draw me in that much until the end. I'm not saying it was a bad story, but I think perhaps it just wasn't my cup of tea. I do think it was very well written except for some scattered typos and grammar errors, but nothing that made the piece unreadable. I found the end of the story to be very predictable, but I enjoyed the drama of it. Overall I rated this story three stars.

Review of A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeleine L'Engle

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeleine L'Engle is a comic book adaptation of the original book. In this story two children, Meg and Charles Wallace, along with their friend Calvin, meet three extraordinary extra-terrestrials who take them on a journey to save their father who is being held prisoner on another planet. The children must learn to use both their strengths and their faults and think outside the box in order to succeed in their mission. I would consider this story to be a combination of science fiction and fantasy. Although the methods of space travel are based in scientific theory, there really isn't any explanation for how it is supposed to work or any technological devices used, so the effect is pretty much the equivalent of magical teleportation. The graphic novel version of this book was fun quick read. The drawings were nice, but they were rather monochrome and I would have preferred more color. I found that the illustrated version helped me visualize some things better than I could with the original book. I also liked that there was less emphasis on religious themes than there was in the original book. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of the original, but I'm not sure there's enough explanation of certain aspects of the story to really understand everything if you haven't read the original beforehand. A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeleine L'Engle is a comic book adaptation of the original book. In this story two children, Meg and Charles Wallace, along with their friend Calvin, meet three extraordinary extra-terrestrials who take them on a journey to save their father who is being held prisoner on another planet. The children must learn to use both their strengths and their faults and think outside the box in order to succeed in their mission.

I would consider this story to be a combination of science fiction and fantasy. Although the methods of space travel are based in scientific theory, there really isn't any explanation for how it is supposed to work or any technological devices used, so the effect is pretty much the equivalent of magical teleportation. The graphic novel version of this book was fun quick read. The drawings were nice, but they were rather monochrome and I would have preferred more color. I found that the illustrated version helped me visualize some things better than I could with the original book. I also liked that there was less emphasis on religious themes than there was in the original book. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of the original, but I'm not sure there's enough explanation of certain aspects of the story to really understand everything if you haven't read the original beforehand.

Wiser words were never said.

And then another chapter and another...