Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

Lucy Knisley was born the daughter of a chef and a gourmet food connoisseur, so it should come as no surprise that this talented cartoonist and author of several graphic novelist would write and illustrate a memoir of her obsession with food. As hilarious as her other work, Lucy uses this book to frame many important life events around what delicious food she was eating, learning to cook alongside her mother, and what it means to thoroughly enjoy a meal with those one loves.

Each frame of Relish: My Life in the Kitchen is adorned with adorable illustrations, including the recipes Knisley shares at the end of each chapter, many of them for well-loved family dishes. For Knisley food is more than just survival, it's a large part of who she is and where she's come from.

A Bintel Brief: Love and Longing in Old New York by Liana Finck

With an influx of Eastern Europeans, particularly Jews, immigrating to the United States in the early 1900s, New York City became a melting pot of language, culture, and tradition. For the ever-growing population of Eastern European Jews, whose language was predominantly Yiddish (a mix of German and Hebrew), The Jewish Daily Forward became their lifeline to the world. Published in Yiddish, this paper focused on politics, social issues, and even had an advice column.

Long before Dear Abby's column, The Jewish Daily Forward anonymously published readers' letters asking for advice on topics ranging from marriage to family to religion as these new immigrants assimilated in the United States. These letters were featured in a portion of the paper referred to as the bintel brief, or a bundle of letters.

A Bintel Brief by Liana Finck is a graphic novel retelling of actual letters submitted to the Jewish Daily Forward. From a concerned woman who believes her neighbor stole her watch to a more acculturated woman who is ashamed of her recently immigrated husband, Finck does a wonderful job creating the dialogue and illustrations. Following the brief explanation of the letter is an abbreviated version of the advice offered in the paper upon publication.

With a throw back to nostalgia, Finck's graphic novel is enough to transport you back to a simpler time.

Something New: Tales From a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley

This adorable graphic novel by artist Lucy Knisley touches and illustrates just about everything it seems a newly engaged, bride-to-be feels at some point throughout the course of planning one of the most important days of her life. From the common issues such as finding "the one" to  dress shopping to choosing a cake, Knisley offers her often hilariously witty opinion and carefully crafts an illustration to go along with it. Aside from the traditional something borrowed, something blue traditions, Knisley shares not-so-common traditions including the slapping of the groom's feet with a fish and the German tradition known as Polterabend, in which wedding guests bring old dishes or glasses and smash them at the bride and groom's feet.

Though Knisley's Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride is filled will funny anecdotes, the book also touches on really important issues such as feminism, assumed expectations, gender stereotypes, family drama, and typical wedding chaos, including the importance (and cost!) placed on "just stuff." So whether you're a bride-to-be, a proud relationship partner, or still waiting for "the one" to sweep you off your feet, this book is reassuring that all of the feelings one has surrounding their wedding have surely been felt before.

The Comic Book Story of Beer by Jonathan Hennessey and Mike Smith

It's Milwaukee. That said, beer is just a part of our history and culture, so why not enjoy an entire graphic novel all about beer? Hennessey and Smith's The Comic Book Story of Beer is a fascinating read if you're interested in the science of beer brewing, the history of various ales, and how beer became one of the all-time most popular drinks. Hennessey, the writer of several other graphic novels and Smith, a longtime beer brewer have researched the history of beer dating back to the beginning of time (roughly 7000 BC), through the rule of the Romans, the era of exploration, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, World War I and II and up until the present. They trace the brewing science from barley, to mash, to bottle, and finally to consumption. With mention of major breweries like Miller, Pabst, and Anheuser Busch as well as newer craft breweries and beer pubs, Hennessey and Smith are clearly beer experts. For avid beer drinkers, home brewers, and historians, this is a fascinating look at an iconic beverage that has changed the world.

Battle Lines: A Graphic History of the Civil War by Ari Kelman

Less of a history than an examination of the lives of citizens caught in the maelstrom of the American Civil War, Battle Lines: A Graphic History of the Civil War uses its drawings very effectively to depict the horrors of war. Each chapter begins with a news report of Civil War events. The chapter then continues with an illustrated slice of life of ordinary people and the effect of war on their existence. Soldiers, wives, children, slaves, doctors, nurses, immigrants, gravediggers and farmers are some of the groups represented in the excellent drawings as they face fear, death, hunger, injury, amputation and all the other hardships that war brings to both civilians and soldiers. To write Battles Lines: A Graphic History of the Civil War, artist Jonathan Fetter-Vorm and historian Ari Kelman formed a partnership and created a brief but accurate account of the four year struggle between North and South. They have created not a "graphic novel" but a "graphic history" in which art, as art should, depicts not just the facts but also the emotions of war.

The Great War by Joe Sacco

World War I is a now a distant event in the American collective consciousness. Armistice Day has become Veteran’s Day, honoring all veterans rather than the end of The Great War which erupted in Europe one hundred years ago. All of its veterans are now deceased. We can only get our information from books and photographs. Graphic artist Joe Sacco has given us a detailed picture of what the war was like for 120,000 British soldiers who fought on one particular day in 1916.

July 1, 1916 was the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The Great War by Joe Sacco is a twenty-four foot accordion-page book illustrating that day. It begins peacefully with the British General Haig attending church, taking his usual walk and going for a ride on his horse. Meanwhile, guns and ammunition and troops are being moved into place for the battle. As the book unfolds, the battle begins. The artillery fires, the soldiers leave their trenches, advance and incur horrendous casualties. The battle rages on as the book opens up to a continuous twenty-four foot panorama of illustrations, showing the various aspects of the battle. An accompanying pamphlet annotates the major points of the drawing. An essay by Adam Hochschild, author of To End All Wars, explains the decisions that led to this disaster.  General Haig had prepared his troops for this battle as if it were to be fought in a previous century.  He underestimated the strength and resolve of the Germans and expected his infantry and cavalry to eventually fight the enemy in the open. But the Germans were not driven from their trenches and did not come into the open to engage the British troops as they advanced across no man’s land. Instead they picked off the advancing soldiers with machine gun fire. By the end of this first day of the Battle of the Somme, the British had suffered 57,000 casualties.

For history buffs, graphic art fans, fans of Downton Abbey and curious readers of all ages, The Great War illustrates a day in a battle in the first modern war. The black and white drawings are detailed but not graphic in their portrayal of the horror of war.

Check out The Great War by Joe Sacco @ the library!

Letting it Go by Mieiam Katin

In this book, graphic artist Miriam Katin explores hatred and resentment and the difficulty of Letting it Go. Katin was born a Hungarian Jew during World War II. She and her mother endured much hardship trying to survive. For this reason, she has hated Germany and particularly Berlin nearly all her life. Eventually she immigrated to the United States, married and had a son. When her son informs her of his intention to live Berlin, she must struggle between two emotions: her love for her son and her hatred of Berlin. After two visits to Berlin, she finally realizes that Germany and Berlin have changed and she must do so as well. She observes that just as the evil of the past must be acknowledged, so must the changes brought about by a new generation and new attitudes. Graphic books are not only for children and teens. Many are thoughtful examinations of adult experiences.  Letting it Go is a graphic memoir in which the author uses skillful pencil drawings as well as words to explain her struggle to leave the past behind. 

Check out Letting it Go @ the library!

Unicorn Being a Jerk by C.W. Moss

This book was the perfect thing to jump-start my Friday.  When I saw a while back that a book titled Why Unicorn Drinks was coming out, I immediately thought: What a fabulous title, I have to read that!  Then I realized that there was a previous Unicorn book called Unicorn Being a Jerk so obviously I needed to read that one first.  Technically this book would probably be shelved with the graphic novels, but I like to think of this as a picture book for grown-ups.  Each two-page spread is filled with a drawing and description of Unicorn doing some jerk-y thing.  Such as:

Bringing a guitar to a party.

Or my personal favorite: 

Tearing out the last page of a library book.

His exploits range from the annoying (ignoring the item limit sign in the express line at the grocery store) to the extreme and sometimes downright crass (smoking in a car that contains a pregnant woman).  Moss's delightful watercolor pictures  will have you chuckling before you know it.  

Happy Friday, Y'all!  

Dotter of Her Father's Eyes by Mary Talbot and Bryan Talbot

At first glance, this title, Dotter of HerFather’s Eyes, seems to imply a loving father doting on a favorite daughter, as in “apple of her father’s eye.” But the book tells two intertwined stories of father-daughter relationships in which the daughters do not live up to the fathers’ expectations; they are not the “dotters of their fathers’ eyes.” Those would be other “dotters,” more conformist and compliant. These daughters, Lucia Joyce and Mary Talbot, are connected by their fathers’ professions. Lucia was the daughter of renowned author James Joyce. Mary was the daughter of renowned Joycean scholar, James Atherton. Although born several generations apart, both young women struggled against the expectations of parents and society. Lucia’s story is the more tragic of the two. Born in 1907, she grew up on the European continent, poor but surrounded by famous intellectuals and scholars. She loved modern dance and planned to pursue a career.  But her passion was not taken seriously and her ambitions were thwarted. Her father, considered the most influential of modernist writers, did not allow his daughter to become a modern woman.  Mary’s story has the better outcome. She was eventually able to escape her father’s abusive control and create her own life, family and career in academia. She, a successful writer, and her husband, a well-known graphic artist, have partnered to create this elegantly told story of two lives. It is the first graphic work (not graphic novel, since the book is part memoir and part biography) to win the Costa biography award.

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

"Luke, I am your father."

Darth Vader's got his hands full keeping the Rebel Alliance quashed for the Emperor - but it turns out he's also got his hands full with a 4-year-old Luke Skywalker.  This short, laugh-out-loud hilarious series of graphic vignettes revels in all the joys and frustrations of fatherhood with a precocious son who is strong in the Force.  My favorite?  Poor Vader's frustration with Luke's looooooove of the band The Ewoks.  Imagine 'Jub Jub' on repeat.  For four hours.  Makes Yo Gabba Gabba look pretty good!

If you're looking for a laugh and have ever hung out with a 4-year-old, whether it was your own kid or someone else's, you've got to take 5 minutes and crack up over Darth Vader and Son!