GNs and media

The night bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger.  Of course I have seen this title and cover before, but something about the description always put me off.  I picked it up because it is my turn to do the in-library display and I did graphic novels and something finally fell into place.

I read this, and when I got to the end, I went back to the front page and read it again.  The book goes in one direction, until a very abrupt turn towards the end.  Re-reading it, knowing what's coming, is a bit different from the first time around.

I wish the graphics were a little less cartoony, that the turn was less abrupt.  4 stars.

Age of reptiles: Ancient Egyptians by Ricardo Delgado.  I guess this won awards?  It was super-highly reviewed?  I don't see the appeal; like 1 and 1/2 stars.

This is a wordless graphic novel; it's very hard to follow the action because of the  very small pictures of various similar-looking dinosaurs.  In one of the introductions-- there are 2 by 2 different people-- the writer talks about anthropormophizing the animals and seeing emotion on their faces, making it such a deep story.  I looked really hard for that and couldn't find it.  I don't know if this isn't the book for me, or if I'm not right for this book.

Embrace with Taryn Brumfitt.  Our local movie theater never got this in-- and they never even replied to all the people who contacted them asking for it.  Poor form.  But this documentary is now on iTunes, so some friends had a little get-together for Girls' Night In.

Not very many of these ideas were really new to me; poking around online, having friends and family who are rockin' women, trying (and failing) to buy clothes in stores or online... no one should be surprised that our consumer culture, the fashion industry, and we ourselves have a very narrow definition of the ideal or even acceptable female body type, and that we should be consciously working to expand those definitions.  This film struck a really nice balance-- no, you don't need to meet these unrealistic measurements to be healthy and lovely, and no, you don't need to tell severely overweight people that they are healthy just how they are.  But however you are, why waste energy wishing you had other features?  Be heart-healthy and eat well, and ignore what the label in your jeans says.

(Don't ignore the washing instructions, though.)