Book Love by Debbie Tung

Title: Book Love
Author: Debbie Tung
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ISBN: 978-1449494285
Genre: Comics, Humour
Pages: 144
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 stars

What better moment for readers than to see themselves in a book? To relate to it so hard and strong that with every turn of the page, you know every situation because you have been in that or multiple situations more than once.

Book Love by Debbie Tung is that kind of a book. It is a book about loving books (as evident by the title), but more than that it is about readers and how we function around books and our relationship to them. Book Love is the much-needed warm blanket on a winter’s night. It is the cup of tea that hits the right notes and lingers long after you’ve drunk it.

Being a book lover, I just didn’t want the book to finish. It is a book of comic strips depicting our collective love of books and reading. This transcends everything – colour, race, skin, creed, caste – just about it all. Because when it comes to reading, you and I, and all of us, are the same people. We are the tribe of readers and Tung has a way of putting that beautifully through her comics. The words and images combine to present a beautiful gift to the reader. I know I am getting all sappy, but hey this is a book about books and I shall get this way.

Debbie Tung’s concept is not new, but the execution is brilliant and well-done. The book captures it all: book lovers in bookshops, in libraries, in their favourite reading spots, how readers feel when a good book ends, and how we pack for a vacation. With every turn of the page, all I did was nod my head in agreement, because there was nothing else to do. Most readers are guilty of what Tung expresses and only more happy for that.

Tung knows how readers are and that can only come to you if you are a reader and feel the same. Tung’s illustrations always manage to hit home and that’s the beauty of a book such as this one. Where essays could be written about every situation (and that is also quite delightful to read), simple drawings depicting who readers are does the trick and more. Book Love makes you want to reach out to your favourite books and hug them for being a part of your life. A must-read for all lovers of books and reading, and also for ones who are just starting out.

Adulthood is a Myth: A “Sarah Scribbles” Collection by Sarah Andersen

Title: Adulthood is a Myth: A “Sarah Scribbles” Collection
Author: Sarah Andersen
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ISBN:978-1449474195
Genre: Comic Strips
Pages: 112
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 Stars

I am old. Not that old. But I am old enough. I am in my early 30s and I am still waiting for the day when I become an adult. Mostly because I believe, mostly because I know that the decisions I make are not “adult-like”. I have been told that several times and I am aware. I don’t need to be told. I don’t need to be nagged by almost everyone around me. It isn’t fair. And yet life is not that bad either. Life is passing by and everything else with it. These are the times when you need someone like Sarah Andersen to tell you that life is okay, you are okay the way you are, and even if it isn’t okay, then it is alright.

“Adulthood is a Myth” is a collection of Sarah Andersen’s rad comic strips – which are funny mostly, depicts the times we live in – the dating scene, the lonely ones, technology and everything else rolled in between. Above all, it speaks of how okay it is to not grow-up in a world where everyone just wants to prove something or the other.

This book is perfect for everyone and hence makes a great gift! It will resonate with almost everyone who has had a tough patch or the other or for who even waking up on a Monday morning to get to work is tough. The situations are from life, the embarrassments are real, and the annoyances of life are just too vivid and we have all been there, done that.

The book makes you feel that you aren’t the only one who feels and thinks that way. There are perhaps millions of people who feel the same but never communicate it, till Sarah has. Read her comics online and most certainly pick up this book!

Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than

Title: Zen Pencils
Author: Gavin Aung Than
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ISBN: 9781449457952
Genre: Graphic Novel, Comics, Cartoon
Pages: 176
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

If you have to read a self-help book this year, that is not condescending at all, but only helps you move on page by page, then you have to read “Zen Pencils”. It is a book made after the very famous website created by Gavin Aung Than and there are these cartoons there along with many more. I bumped on to the site after reading the book and could not have been happier than this.

There is something so reassuring about reading these snippets of self-help and motivation. Maybe that is what is needed in times such as these, which is ridden with cynicism and utter hopelessness. The anecdotes and quotes are from famous people – from Neil Gaiman to a Tibetan monk to Henry David Thoreau to Confucius, their words are heart-warming, sobering and mostly just there to shake your existence.

“Zen Pencils” makes you realize that perhaps it is not all that bad and that there is so much hope still for all of us on this world. These quotes otherwise maybe scoffed on and probably ridiculed as well, however when combined with some fantastic art-work, it is literally work of genius. One can relate to it and also think of applying what can be to life.

“Zen Pencils” is a definite read for almost everyone if you ask me. The graphics and the cartoons are simply charming and the book will surprise you for sure – more so when you sense that you are crying and if any book can make you do that, more so a book in a graphic format, then it is worth your time. I will reread this book perhaps multiple times and cherish it as much. Gavin’s work has enabled more people to think beyond and look at life differently.

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Buy Zen Pencils: Cartoon Quotes from Inspirational Folks

Zen Pencils: Cartoon Quotes from Inspirational Folks