The Christmas haul highlights: A shoe-horn, llama socks, spoons, AND a toothbrush holder! The dogs. The food. Mom makes cream puffs - and a chocolate cake. Finally, shoveling the patio is always a challenge with Lulu around -
Best Books of 2018 (General Fiction)!
I read 87 General Fiction books in 2018. These were my favorites... Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe Harley McKenna is the only child of North County's biggest criminal. Duke McKenna's run more guns, cooked more meth, and killed more men than anyone around. Harley's been working for him since she was sixteen--collecting debts, sweet-talking…
Best Crime/Suspense/Mystery/Thrillers of 2018!
I read 75 Crime/Suspense/Mystery/Thrillers this year. These were my favorites... #10 My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede's practicality is the…
Best Non-Fiction Books of 2018!
I read 48 non-fiction books in 2018. These were my favorites...11. A River in the Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji IshikawaHalf-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa…
Best Comic Books of 2018!
I read 88 graphic novels and countless comic books in 2018. These were my favorites... Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerards Scott Free is the greatest escape artist who ever lived. So great, he escaped Granny Goodness' gruesome orphanage and the dangers of Apokolips to travel across galaxies and set up a new…
Best Fantasy Books of 2018!
I read 24 fantasy books in 2018. These were my favorites... Ahab's Return by Jeffrey Ford At the end of a long journey, Captain Ahab returns to the mainland to confront the true author of the novel Moby-Dick, his former shipmate, Ishmael. For Ahab was not pulled into the ocean’s depths by a harpoon line,…
Best Science Fiction Books of 2018!
I read 54 science fiction novels this year. These were my favorites... The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi The Interdependency, humanity’s interstellar empire, is on the verge of collapse. The Flow, the extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible, is disappearing, leaving entire star systems stranded. When it goes, human civilization may go…
December 23, 2018: Big Food Day!
We woke up this morning to my mother hard at work on dinner... Mom made orecchiette (aka little ears pasta) because Akemi is a big fan. We headed over to our favorite coffee shop in Montreal - Victor Rose - for some mocha and their seasonal maple latte. Meanwhile, Lulu and Suji settled in. Suji, maybe a…
December 22, 2018: Back in my hometown of Montreal!
As much as I really love to travel, I really hate to travel. The planning, the rushing, the crowds, the flying. Akemi spent most of this morning running around, doing laundry and generally cleaning the apartment - to the point where I wondered whether she had rented our place out as an Airbnb during our…
December 21, 2018: Gearing up for holiday travels!
Tomorrow afternoon, we are Montreal-bound for 11(ish) glorious days of eating. And family time. Now eleven days may seem like an unusually long time to bunk at mom's (I'm sure it's just coincidental that Akemi's interest and enthusiasm for purchasing a condo in the city is inversely proportional to the dwindling days towards our departure),…
The Absentminded Professor
That's what my mother used to call me growing up. The Absentminded Professor. My father, on the other hand, would simply tell me: "You'd forget your head if it wasn't screwed on." And, in all fairness, it was hard to argue. I've been a habitual forgetter for as long as I can remember. Names, faces,…
December 19, 2018: Week’s Best Comic Book Covers!
These were my favorites! Captain America #6 (cover art by Alex Ross) Darth Vader #25 (cover art by Elia Bonetti, Giuseppe Camuncoli) Domino #9 (cover art by Gang Hyuk Lim) Friendo #3 (cover art by Martin Simmonds) Outpost Zero #5 (cover art by Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Alexandre Tefenkgi) The Life of Captain Marvel #5 (cover art…
December 18, 2018: My Top 20 Reads of 2018 Published Before 2018!
Given the insane number of books I read in 2018, I decided to forego my usual Year's Best rundown in favor of separate lists for varied categories. Today, for example, I'm offering up My Top 20 Reads of 2018 Published Before 2018. General fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, crime & thrillers, YA, graphic novels -…
December 17, 2018: My Top 10 Christmas Movies (revised)!
Just in time for the holidays! #10. A Charlie Brown Christmas Like Nutella and Fantastic Four comic books, the Charlie Brown holiday specials never fail to stir the nostalgia. #9. Stalag 17 An under appreciated classic. #8. On Her Majesty's Secret Service Speaking of under appreciated, there's this surprisingly poignant entry in the film…
December 16, 2018: Suji Sunday!
Snow dog! Bath time! Our little angel. Thinking... The 2019 Suji pins are on their way!