[Book] Skyward (Omnibus) by Jeremy and Kelly Dale

Before I start this: I met Jeremy Dale with Kelly by his side on several occasions at various comic book conventions.  I am always on the lookout for a well written all-ages comic book story, and I found Jeremy and Skyward when there were only two issues, self-published and in black and white.  Later, I saw him at a different convention and got issue 3, and he said that issue 4 should be out by NYCC....

25 Jul 2018 · 3 min · Gary Allen Vollink

[Book] Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

Book cover Fourteen year-old Doreen Green is back in this second adventure of Squirrel Girl.  Her parents are a little more used to the idea that she has super abilities, but are still nervous parents.  Her Best Human Friend Forever (BHFF), Ana Sofia, is also a friend of Thor, and Agents of SHIELD show up. Her Best Squirrel Friend Forever (BSFF), Tippy Toe, also joins in to help her solve the big mystery....

18 Jul 2018 · 2 min · Gary Allen Vollink

[Book] The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Book cover (paperback) This is the 1989 book that later became a movie (which I never saw).  This won the Booker Prize.  We follow a quintessential British Butler named Stevens sometime after World War 2 on a journey to look up an ex-employee.  The journey itself is beautifully and descriptively written. While the main thread is the journey, the bulk of the story is Stevens' recollection of his past....

11 Jul 2018 · 2 min · Gary Allen Vollink

[Food] Homage to Pizza Gone By

Gone Not too far from where I live is a "turn key fully equipped restaurant" for lease.  The restaurant that was there until a few weeks ago was called Pizzaniste. Pizzaniste had really good pizza.  Gourmet, all fresh ingredients, coal fired, whole-wheat crust as an option; even gluten free as an option.  Partly because they also made custom fresh salads, there were some unexpected ingredients: Real anchovies, fresh basil, artichokes, black beans, corn, cilantro, carrots, chickpeas, eggplant, hard-boiled egg, zucchini and two types of olives to choose from (along with all the other things you might expect every pizza place to have)....

7 Jul 2018 · 3 min · Gary Allen Vollink