J's Pages

on my shelf
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Labels: FrankKing, GasolineAlley, OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 8:00 PM 0 Comments

on my shelf
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Labels: OnMyShelf, PaulSchafer

// posted by John @ 5:13 PM 0 Comments

on my shelf
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Labels: OnMyShelf, PaulSchafer

// posted by John @ 5:10 PM 0 Comments

For the second time in my life, I have officially stopped buying new comics. To commemorate the event, on my last trip to the Grumpy Old Man's Comics, I purchased this volume. This was a collection I had checked out of the library numerous times back in the 1970s, and when I first saw it at the store I figured I'd eventually buy it and put it on my shelf. (I had picked up its companion volume Batman from the 30's to the 70's years earlier because I'm more of a Batman guy than a Superman guy.) It's mostly a black and white book, with a few color sections, reprinting a selection of stories from the first 33 years of Superman's run. Since it has been over 40 years since I last read it, it was almost like reading a new collection.

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Labels: DCComics, OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 6:15 PM 0 Comments

It's on my shelf!
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Labels: FredericDurbin, OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 6:15 PM 0 Comments

The gang is back together as Torg's plan to raid Hereti-Corp and purge all their data related to Oasis is put into action. Of course, given that it's Torg's plan and considering the team he's assembled, things don't work out that simply. Hijinks ensue and giggles abound. The question is, at the end of the day, will they succeed or not?

It's on my shelf
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Labels: OnMyShelf, PeteAbrams, SluggyFreelance

// posted by John @ 8:49 AM 0 Comments

This Sluggy Freelance collection picks up directly from the previous volume. In fact, Mr. Abrams warns you on page 4 that you better have read 4U Green - 4U Blue before diving into this book. (I did reread it, as it took me a lot longer to purchase this tome than I had planned.) The first story thread picked up is Torg and his team of minions as they infiltrate Dr. Steve's lab, finding it has been taken over by Hereti-Corp. The book soon switches to the 4U City dimension as the revolution begins. Riff proves to be an unpredictable player in that drama as he tries to unravel the mystery of the city. Eventually he is returned to his home dimension, where he joins Torg and company in laying low, waiting for the opportunity to try and take down Hereti-Corp. Together the team deals with a social media game that goes horrifically wrong. 

It's finally on my shelf! 
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Labels: OnMyShelf, PeteAbrams, SluggyFreelance

// posted by John @ 8:36 AM 0 Comments

One day when I was skimming the Front Porch Republic blog, I read that someone had crafted a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. I knew that I had to read this book, so I got in the very long hold line at the Seattle Public Library, and, eventually, I had this tome in my hands. 

I didn't read the blog close enough. James is far more than an Elseworlds version of Huckleberry Finn. In Mr. Everett's book, the Jim we saw in the original was a sham. The enslaved folk, of course, are as fully intelligent and resourceful as the dominant white people. But the black people exploit the white folks' prejudices to maintain the fiction that they are less intelligent, capable, and wise as they really are. Jim has taught himself to read. Jim has surreptitiously made use of Judge Thatcher's library and has wrestled with the ideas he has encountered in those books. Like the original, when Jim gets wind that Miss Watson is planning on selling him, he elects to escape. Huck, attempting an escape of his own, stumbles across Jim's hideout. The two then head downriver. When circumstances separate the two from time to time, Jim has his own adventures. 

At first, my mind tried to read James as a version of Huckleberry Finn. It would question and nitpick details. But eventually I realized that I needed to be reading Mr. Everett's tale and not worry how well it kept continuity with Mr. Twain's book. James is the story of a man and a people trying to navigate through oppression and violence. Many tales set in antebellum times try to make the society more palatable. This one exposes the ugliness of racism and oppression. And it made me wonder to what ugliness in our own society am I blind. I think I need to get a copy of this book on my shelf. 

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Labels: OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 9:27 PM 0 Comments

In the third collection of Spacetrawler a band of liberated eebs are running amuck, seeking revenge against the galaxy that enslaved them by torching entire planets with their powerful telekinesis. The six humans who were instrumental in freeing the eebs are faced with the choice of hiding out or trying to stop the genocidal rampage. Of course, with these humans, neither choice will go as planned... 

On my shelf!
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Labels: ChristopherBaldwin, OnMyShelf, Spacetrawler

// posted by John @ 5:15 PM 0 Comments

First read in May of 2016. 

Also on my shelf!
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Labels: ChristopherBaldwin, OnMyShelf, Spacetrawler

// posted by John @ 5:10 PM 0 Comments

First read in May of 2016. 

Still on my shelf!
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Labels: ChristopherBaldwin, OnMyShelf, Spacetrawler

// posted by John @ 5:04 PM 0 Comments

I picked up this one at a seminar. (I've been doing a lot of seminars with the new position, so I forget what that one was about.) The sponsors were handing out books and I grabbed it for my office library. Well, it might be more accurate to say that the two books I grabbed established my office library. Anyway, Words of Power is a guide to de-escalation. It's written to help folks recognize when another person's anger is escalating, understand what's going on physically and mentally with that person, and then how to try and help them get to a calmer state. This particular volume is geared toward the generic person--Mr. Amdur has a number of other books on this same topic, geared toward folks in particular professions. I found the book to be easy to read and understand, fascinating and helpful. I have received de-escalation training from my employer, so some of the book was a review of things I've already learned. But my training didn't go into the physiological and emotional processes that a person goes through when experiencing anger and aggression. I think that knowledge will be helpful the next time I have to deal with an angry guest. If nothing else, it will help me maintain self-control if I understand what's going on with the other person. 

Glad to have it on my shelf.
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Labels: OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 8:43 AM 0 Comments

Labels: OnMyShelf, PeteAbrams, SluggyFreelance

// posted by John @ 10:44 PM 0 Comments

I confess that I'm a cynical man--all to quick to roll my eyes when stories start effusing about things like goodness and love. I'll usually skip any story that might make it to the Hallmark channel. That said, goodness and love are worth effusing about, and a good story can feature them without having to mix in a dark edge to the plot and characters. For example, you have this book.

Bright Valley of Love is the true story of Gunther and the place where he grew up. Gunther was born in Germany in 1914. He was handicapped, due in part to neglect by his birth family. When Gunther was seven, his family brought him to Bethel, a community for the physically and mentally impaired. In a world where disdain and neglect was common for many handicapped people. Bethel offered a loving community dedicated to physical and spiritual care for its members. The book takes us through Gunther's childhood, as he finds a new family at Bethel and thrives despite his handicapped body. The tale then goes on as Hitler gains power in Germany and Gunther and his brothers and sisters are threatened by the Nazi's twisted plan to "purify" Germany. 

I'm not sure how this tale pierced my cynical shell--maybe it was all the quoted hymn verses--but I'm sure glad it did. I may have to find a copy for my shelf. 

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Labels: OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 5:36 PM 0 Comments

So this was the book I was looking to read for my new position. I'm glad I read Finding Your Way to Change first, because that was written for regular folks and served to put the basic concept of Motivational Interviewing into my head. This book is written for professionals--folks who actually know what they're doing. But the book was clear enough for this under-educated dude to follow along.

Motivational Interviewing is a way of doing counseling--a mindset as much as a technique. Drs. Miller and Rollnick describe it as a dance, where counselor and client work together to help the client achieve their goal. Simply put, it involves engaging the client in working out their own issue. The counselor would then help the client focus on specific goals, encouraging them to decide and then plan to make the changes they need to achieve those goals. The book came across as a very comprehensive explanation of MI and a guidebook for using it. Of course, my opinions as a newbie don't carry much weight, but considering that this was the third edition of the book, I feel confident in recommending it to folks who are interested in this sort of thing. I, myself, am strongly considering getting a copy to put on my shelf. (And then hope I don't get fired a week later.)

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Labels: OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 11:19 PM 0 Comments

In this Sluggy Freelance collection, Torg and Riff's search for information on Oasis puts them on a collision course with Dr. Schlock and the evil Hereti-Corp. It leads up to a significant change in the strip. (And I don't mean the introduction of Zombie Head on a Stick.)

It's on my shelf!
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Labels: OnMyShelf, PeteAbrams, SluggyFreelance

// posted by John @ 6:03 PM 0 Comments

(Of course I had to read the next Hornblower right away.)
First read in February of 2017. 

On my shelf.
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Labels: CSForester, HornblowerSaga, OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 1:51 PM 3 Comments

When putting Doonesbury Deluxe away, I happened to pick this one off the shelf. It's a collection of comics from the late Cornerstone magazine from about 1985 to 1992. The strip features Oboe, an apartment building manager, and the people in his life. Most the characters are born-again Christians with a Baptist-flavored theology, so the book is a humorous peek into the life of folks in that sub-culture at that time. (As a Lutheran, I get most of the jokes, even if they don't always hit deep.) While many aspects of the strip have become dated, the humor and stories still work and the characters are appealing. Definitely a keeper for me. 

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Labels: OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 9:04 PM 0 Comments

First read in January of 2017.

On my shelf.
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Labels: CSForester, HornblowerSaga, OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 10:59 AM 0 Comments

In this collection, the Walden crowd has graduated and moved on to begin their careers. Mike and JJ relocate to New York where Mike works at an ad agency and JJ tries to make a place for herself in the NY art scene. BD and Boopsie are on the other coast, where Boopsie is an actress and spiritual channeler and BD is third string quarterback for the LA Rams. Mark is now working for National Public Radio, and Zonker enters medical school. Well, at least that's what his Uncle Duke calls it. In the background are the events of the mid-1980s: homelessness, musical artists raising funds for Africa, the Star Wars defense, Iran-Contra, and the AIDS epidemic. 

It's on my shelf.
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Labels: Doonesbury, GarryTrudeau, OnMyShelf

// posted by John @ 10:49 AM 0 Comments