Category: Books

Book Review #3: The Mortal Instruments – City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

culturetasticLeave a comment

This review is for the audiobook version of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, read Mae Whitman.

Title: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Written by: Cassandra Clare
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Year:  2007 (2014)

This book exceeded my expectations – I had little expectations to begin with and was set on disliking it. So enjoying this book was a really nice surprise for me. I had previously watched the movie adaptation which was quite okay, actually, and I am currently watching the TV show Shadowhunters which is based on the Mortal Instruments book series.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones tells the story of Clary Fray, a 15-year-old girl who discovers a world beyond our own: the Shadow World. On a night out in the local club Pandemonium with her best friend Simon, Clary witnesses what she thinks is a murder. It turns out that she is the only one able to see the three Shadowhunters who killed what they claim to be a demon. That same night, Clary’s mother is kidnapped from their house, leaving Clary a voice mail on her phone, begging her to stay away from their appartment. Panicked, Clary rushes to their home to find it in ruins. It turns out her mother was kidnapped by a man who is searching for the Mortal Cup, an instrument that is used to create more Shadowhunters. Clary’s mother stole the Cup and hid it. Thus begins Clary’s journey into the Shadow World…

Read More »

Comics Review #6: The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden

culturetasticLeave a comment
The Story of My Tits Cover (source: comixology.com)

Title: The Story of My Tits
Written and Illustrated by: Jennifer Hayden
Publisher: Top Shelf
Year: 2015

In The Story of My Tits Jennifer Hayden takes the reader on a journey through the complicated and sometimes painful coming-of-age story of a young girl, the women in her life, and their battle with cancer. This graphic novel is based on Hayden’s life and her experiences with growing up, love, sex, but also illness and death.

Read More »

Book Review #2: Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

culturetasticLeave a comment
Rivers of London cover (source: patrickknowlesdesign.co.uk)

This is a review of the Kindle version of this book.

Title: Rivers of London (alternate title: Midnight Riot), Peter Grant Series #1
Written by: Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Gollancz
Year: 2011

Peter Grant, police constable, stumbles into a world of murder and magic. Ben Aaronovitch created an interesting world in his Peter Grant series, a world that is open to more exploration but also more explanation. The first book of this series, Rivers of London, while beautifully written, leaves the reader unsatisfied in the end.

Read More »

Femme Friday #9: Poem by Jackie Kay

culturetastic2 Comments

George Square

My seventy-seven-year-old father
put his reading glasses on
to help my mother do the buttons
on the back of her dress.
‘What a pair the two of us are!’
my mother said, ‘Me with my sore wrist,
you with your bad eyes, your soft thumbs!’

And off they went, my two parents
to march against the war in Iraq,
him with his plastic hips. Her with her arthritis,
waved at each other like old friends, flapping,
where they’d met for so many marches over their years,
for peace on earth, for pity’s sake, for peace, for peace.

by Jackie Kay (source)

Comics Review #5: The Invisible Lesbian by Oceanerosemarie

culturetasticLeave a comment


Title: The Invisible Lesbian
Written by: Océanerosemarie
Art by: Sandrine Revel
Translated by: Edward Gauvin
Publisher: Delcourt
Year: 2013 (French)/2015 (English)

This French graphic novel by Océane Rose Marie (Océanerosemarie is her pen name) was originally published by Delcourt in 2013 and is now available in English through Comixology. The story revolves around Océanerosemarie who considers herself an “invisible lesbian” and her journey from childhood to adulthood. As a reader, we follow the problems and insecurities that come with growing up as a lesbian.

Read More »