June 2023 archive

Gay Poems For Red States by Willie Carver

or Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr as he’s credited on the cover of this volume. In 2022, Willie Carver was named Kentucky Teacher of the Year. A homophobic vendetta led by just one woman caused him to decide, only months later, to leave the public school system, but not before testifying before Congress about the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/15/gay-poems-for-red-states-by-willie-carver/

Constellations by Kate Glasheen

My only regret is that the ARC I received of this wasn’t completely in color. This is understandable — graphic novels ain’t cheap! — but I was so in love in with the illustrations on the few pages that were full-color glossy that I know I lost a little bit of the story’s impact by …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/13/constellations-by-kate-glasheen/

Owl And Penguin: Best Day Ever by Vikram Madan

Do y’all have any books that you immediately whip out when you want to soothe your young readers? Maybe your kid is having a bad day and just needs some cheerful illustrations and easy text to take their mind off things. Or maybe you want to sneakily show them how sometimes the best way to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/09/owl-and-penguin-best-day-ever-by-vikram-madan/

The Ultimate RPG Tarot Deck by Jef Aldrich & Jon Taylor

Well, hello there, intersection of two of my favorite gaming interests! I mean, how much do I love the intersection of roleplaying games and Tarot? I wrote an entire book incorporating Tarot cards and interpretation into an original RPG! So I was really pleased when this came across my reviewing desk. Not only did I …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/07/the-ultimate-rpg-tarot-deck-by-jef-aldrich-jon-taylor/

The Good Asian — Deluxe Edition Vol. 1: 1936 by Pornsak Pichetshote & Alexandre Tefengki

with colors by Lee Loughridge and letters by Jeff Powell. Most forewords don’t do a whole lot to adequately contextualize the books they’re introducing, but David Choe absolutely hits it out of the park with his no-holds-barred examination of what it meant to be a Good Asian in the West in the 20th century. In …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/06/the-good-asian-deluxe-edition-vol-1-1936-by-pornsak-pichetshote-alexandre-tefengki/

The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes

The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes

It’s not difficult to guess Orlando Figes’ brief for The Story of Russia: write a history of Russia, accessible to the interested and educated public, acceptable to specialists; keep it under 300 pages; emphasize links between Russia’s deeper past and the government of Vladimir Putin. There is value in the book’s relative brevity, though I …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/04/the-story-of-russia-by-orlando-figes/

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Well, I was charmed. What do D&D adventurers do when they’ve decided that they’ve quested their last quest and crawled their last dungeon? In the case of Viv, the orc barbarian who’s ready to hang up her greatsword Blackblood, her heart’s desire is to bring to the city of Thune the wonders of a fabled …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/03/legends-lattes-by-travis-baldree/

Kids Ask About: Bears by Christopher Nicholas

with terrific wildlife illustrations by Pedro Julio Gonzalez. If your kid ever goes through a hyperfixation stage on bears, then this is absolutely the book to get them. Chock-full of fun facts and interesting data, this slender volume is the perfect gift for any kid who wants to know more about the omnivorous mammal. Presented …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/01/kids-ask-about-bears-by-christopher-nicholas/