Consumption – Page 23

Book review: 100 Bullets: The Deluxe Edition Book I

February 15, 2019August 15, 2019 CaptainFezLeave a comment

100 Bullets: The Deluxe Edition Book I by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars.

What would you do if you were cornered by a craggy-looking dude with a briefcase? A briefcase that’s meant for you? A briefcase that contains some papers, a pristine gun and a number of untraceable bullets? With the assurance that anything you did with those items would be completely free from legal consequence?

DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE, MOTHERFUCKER.

(I mean aside from whacking your most hated YouTube celebrity repeatedly.)
Continue reading “Book review: 100 Bullets: The Deluxe Edition Book I” →

Book review: Leonardo da Vinci

February 8, 2019August 15, 2019 CaptainFezLeave a comment

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Walter Isaacson’s made no bones about his interest in genius. I mean, he’s written biographical surveys of Albert Einstein (undoubtedly), Benjamin Franklin (yep), Steve Jobs (well…) and, er, Henry Kissinger (ahem) among others. Now, he turns his gaze towards a guy who we normally gaze towards – well, his works, anyway. Leonardo da Vinci.

Ah stuff it. Ignore the terrible segue and look at this ripped geometric dude instead.

You’d think someone so artistically significant would look a bit more enthused with his immortality.

Whew, crisis averted. Continue reading “Book review: Leonardo da Vinci” →

Book review: Oishinbo: Izakaya

January 19, 2019August 15, 2019 CaptainFezLeave a comment

Oishinbo a la carte, Volume 7 – Izakaya: Pub Food by Tetsuya Kariya and Akira Hanasaki.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Well, I guess it’s over.

This is the final volume of translated tales from Oishinbo. And what better way to end than with a beer and an attempt to teach an actor how to drink sake properly?

Oh, and some food created by a homeless gourmand? And some headhunting? And a relationship-fracturing food fight? And the choice of educational pathways? And the birth of some children? Continue reading “Book review: Oishinbo: Izakaya” →

Book review: Oishinbo: The Joy of Rice

January 18, 2019August 15, 2019 CaptainFezLeave a comment

Oishinbo a la carte, Volume 6 – The Joy of Rice by Tetsuya Kariya and Akira Hanasaki.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.

We’re getting to the pointy end now. This is the penultimate volume of Viz’s collections of extracts from Oishinbo, and so it’s time for something subtle. Something both representative of Japan and its culture, and of hearth and home. Something to get excited about.

Jesus, steady on. It’s *rice* for fuck’s sake.

Something like rice.
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Book review: The Elementals

January 17, 2019August 15, 2019 CaptainFez2 Comments

The Elementals by Michael McDowell.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

I’d never read any Michael McDowell before cracking The Elementals. I’d seen some of his other work, unknowingly – he was the scriptwriter for Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice – and I’d seen that he was very well regarded by Stephen King, so I figured I might as well give it a shot.

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Passing time in the tombs

January 16, 2019 CaptainFezLeave a comment

So I’ve recently spent some time spelunking, digitally speaking. Breaking through walls. Putting arrows through heads. And it’s mostly been enjoyable, but has come to an end that makes me realise I’m a terrible person who spoils everything.

What do you mean there’s ancient artefacts just lying around? I’M ON MY WAY!

Yes folks, I’m Lara Croft. Continue reading “Passing time in the tombs” →

Book review: Oishinbo: Vegetables

January 13, 2019August 15, 2019 CaptainFez1 Comment

Oishinbo a la carte, Volume 5 – Vegetables by Tetsuya Kariya and Akira Hanasaki.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.

Five volumes in and I guess we turn to the topic that kids aren’t excited about: veggies. Thankfully for me, broad beans are given a swerve, but there’s some good reps given to eggplant, a purple fiend I’m only sort of friends with.

I AM SHOUTING BECAUSE I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS TURNIP YOU SIMPLETON.

What I’m saying is that I guess it seems hard for readers – and for me – to be as wound-up excited to read a volume about greens when we’ve formerly had some great, in-depth knowledge shot at us from the Oishinbo food cannon. I was prepared for this to be a bit eh.

Thankfully, it’s not.

Pretty sure that guy on the right is related to that enthusiastic sommelier from a previous volume.

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Planning the pages: 2019 edition

January 9, 2019January 9, 2019 CaptainFez5 Comments

Another year, another list.

Buncha words. I still should mop the floor.

As I did last year, I’ve decided to try and remove a fair bit of the indecision that surrounds my reading. I’ve got a metric fuckton of unread books to go through, and I get paralysed with choice when I finish something. Which of the thousands – yes, literally – comes next?

So, I made a list. This one might be a bit more legible than last year’s one, but it’s probably just as unattainable, completion-wise. That doesn’t matter, though: the list provides some structure, and something that gives a good endorphin burst each time I can put a red read line through anything. Continue reading “Planning the pages: 2019 edition” →

Book review: The Inland Sea

January 8, 2019August 15, 2019 CaptainFez1 Comment

The Inland Sea by Donald Richie.
My rating: 2 of 5 stars.

In terms of travel books written about Japan, this is a classic. It’s a pretty simple work: Ohio-born outsider tools around the Seto Inland Sea and, in the manner of a flâneur, offers his take on the place. Pre-gallery Naoshima. Pre-bridge islands. A world of fishing boats and lazy afternoons.

Let’s put it in perspective from the outset: the area that he’s talking about is glorious. It’s hazy and hypnotic, and completely suited to romantic introspection if you’re a traveller who’s impressed by views. I mean:

Right? Right. It’s somewhere I wanted to learn a lot more about.

The problem is that through this book, you learn a lot more about Donald Richie than you do the area. And what you learn, ultimately, is that he’s pretty much a dickhead.
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Book review: Oishinbo: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi

January 6, 2019August 15, 2019 CaptainFez1 Comment

Oishinbo a la carte, Volume 4: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi by Tetsuya Kariya and Akira Hanasaki.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Into the seas and rivers, the lakes and streams! This volume of Oishinbo covers all things fishy – as long as your definition of ‘fishy’ includes life-ending parasites.

(For the purposes of this instalment, it does. Also, yuck.) Continue reading “Book review: Oishinbo: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi” →