Stitches

Stitches: A Memoir is a graphic novel of David Small and his time growing up, his hardships growing up.

David Small is a Caldecott Award winner for his illustrations for The Gardener, one of my favorite picture books while I was growing up. Everyone should read and enjoy it. He has gotten many other awards for the work that he has done over his 73 years.

Stitches begins with his experiences in hospitals. His father was a radiologist and his mother always seemed to be cranky. He was often sick as a child and because his father worked in the radiology department, he was able to have x-rays done to see what the problem was. As the years went on, as he grew alongside his brother, he found he had a growth on his neck. It grew until his family was finally able to do the surgery. However when he woke up, he found he was unable to speak. The surgeons cut out his thyroid and half of his vocal cords. As, again, years passed he was able to gain a raspy whisper, but his voice, of course, was never the same. He found solace in drawing and later illustrating children's books.

There is far more to the story than simply his voice, though it is a major part. But there are trials when it comes to the crazies of families. Deciding whether or not to continue on in family traditions and conditions or not. His story makes me even more grateful for my own mother. The way he drew his mother and grandmother reminds me of one of my grandmothers, not the temperament but the style. The round glasses and uppy hair. But the way he drew her instantly made her instantly one of those scary old ladies that I was afraid of when I was little. So to have her as a mom, I'd be almost scared my whole life.

I very much enjoyed the book. Very well done.

Hyperbole and a Half

Hyperbole and a Half is a blog made book about life as an introvert and sometimes a selfish person.

This very comical book with hand/Paint drawn pictures accurately describes many differences feelings that go through many peoples heads.

I first picked this book up from a friend when I was trying to figure out what depression was like. I don't have depression, but many of my friends do and to try to understand what they are going through. I was directed to this book. So originally I read the chapters called Depression 1 and 2 and was very much enlightened. Allie Brosh explains very well, with humor as a bit of swearing, how devastating it can be.

This second read (a full read this time) I found that I enjoyed the rest of it. There were humorous chapters about her dogs  and dealing with things you can't rally change. Dogs are a great metaphor for her life and the lack of control she feels she has.

I'd suggest this book to pretty much all extroverts who have introverted friends. Certain chapters would be more helpful for understanding, but they are all entertaining.

My only caution would be the language. She tends to swear a lot more than I originally though.

Eliza: The Life of Eliza R. Snow

I'm normally not one for biography or non-fiction in general because often times they come across as dry, stuffy, and full of simply lists and dates and are presented one right after another in paragraph after paragraph. But this biography of Eliza R. Snow was well done.

Eliza was born in 1804 in Massachusetts and became a prominent member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was a force to be reckoned with. Later known as "Zion's Poetess" because of her amazing ability to use words. Her poetry is beautiful. I try, but I have the hardest time with any type of meter. So I commend her wholeheartedly for her ability.

It is a small book and I know there are a few major points in her life, that were horrendous that the authors didn't include. I'm assuming because Eliza didn't write about it herself, as I'm sure it was hard to relive through words.

But there was a lot of things about her that I didn't know. I hadn't done much research on her previously and this was my first step into understanding the woman who became that 2nd General Relief Society President. She wrote thousands of poems on the circumstances and people around her. They were amazing too. She was also someone who wouldn't step down from what she believed. Being a plural wife to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young after Joseph died. She was an advocate for women's rights and plural marriage as God directed it.

The most well known poem that she wrote "O My Father," which is given and is in the LDS hymnal. But they also give the circumstances behind why she wrote it. (You should check it out.)

While I learned a lot about her and I'd love to talk to her, the most inspiring part to me was her dedication to the church and her writing. She promised God that if she could have the truth confirmed to her she would use her writing to further God's work. She got that confirmation and changed from using pen names for the work she got published to using her own name. She used her talents to further do what she could for her God. And that is what we should all be doing. And we did it so well, so very well!

I would definitely suggest reading this book. I want to get her whole collection of poems and written works. The bits of her poetry that were in this book were beautiful and I would love to read more.

Persepolis

Persepolis is a biography in epic graphic novel form. Persepolis is about a girl, our author Marjane Satrapi, and her early years living as a girl in Iran in the 1980's and '90s. She was around before it was mandatory for women to wear the now stereotypical "Islamic garb" like the head scarves and covering every part of their body but their faces.

Marjane shows us the fears that she had as empires fell, Iraqis invade Iran, and war tromped through her peaceful life. She was part of this time in history that I knew nothing about and tore down a lot of the stereotypes that have resided in my mind because I didn't know better. Everyone sees these women covered from head to toe and we instantly "know" who they are, but we don't. Marjame makes it very clear that many people (men and women) rebel against what their government has forced upon them. She mentions Nazi's and control, and I found a lot of similarities between her descriptions of the Iran government in the '80s and '90s and what I know of Nazism.

In her story, Marjane, due to her boisterous and "I'm going to tell you how I feel weather you like it or not" kind of attitude, is sadly told to move to Austria for a time so then her words/attitude won't get her killed. We see her loving and very political family. We see how sad it is for them to let their daughter flee to another country. In here we get her experiences, love, drugs, friends/lack thereof, as she grows from being a 14 (?) year old to 18 when she decides to come back home to her family whom she misses dearly. She would rather be annoyed by the demands of her government than be completely alone in a country that doesn't care for her.

I found it eye opening (I thought I was open minded, but gladly things have really opened my mind more than I thought I needed to--which is probably the case for most people), just how rebellious so many of these women are. I, unknowingly, thought they stayed in their scarves and full length clothes all the time, in or outside, but every time Marjane stepped into the privacy of her home/not in public they were wearing tube tops/mini skirts or regular/"western" clothes. They threw parties and dumped their alcohol down the toilet when the cops showed up. She smoked. All things "normal" people do, because they are normal people.

This book greatly tumbles down the stereotypes that haunt that area and somewhat-forced culture. There are many things that are beautiful that come out of such a war torn country, this book and Marjane's family as a few.

I greatly recommend this book to everyone over the age of 15. There are a few swear words and suggestive scenes that may, hopefully, go over the heads of younger kids. But this is a story that needs to be seen, not just read. I thank Marjane Satrapi so much for creating us a beautiful piece of art and being willing to share her story. She does a beautiful job breaking down barriers and stereotypes and enlightening me to an era that doesn't get talked about in schools here in the U.S. (Check out my other blog on what I think about our education system.).

I really liked this book. There are so many things in it that people should have questions about. They should search and find the answers that this book brings up. This story has so much that it explains meaningful and helpful for those who may not understand much, which in most cases is all of us.

Please, read, understand, and enjoy. (Also comment please. I would love to hear your thoughts. :D )