April 2025 - Dogear Diary

Even More Lesser Spotted Animals

More Brilliant Beasts You Never Knew You Needed to Know About

by Martin Brown

Sequel, another book about practically unknown animals. Some because they are rare, others because they are just hard to find and rarely seen (even if quite comfortable in numbers). This one shoves aside the tigers, lions, giraffes and blue whales to feature instead the dibatag, black and rufous sengi, forest musk deer, dingiso ( a type of tree kangaroo) Blainville’s beaked whale and the altai argali (world’s biggest wild sheep). Quite a few in here were at least vaguely familiar to me: the patas monkey, tamandua, gray slender loris, Indian giant squirrel, maned wolf, ringtailed cat. I’d at least heard of them, but it was great to learn more about them. Plus the lively and amusing illustrations showing off their striking colors and patterns, their odd or curious behaviors and traits. Very fun book about some very interesting animals- wish this author would write more, I’d surely pick it up to read. I kept looking for a third volume in this set, but finally realized there’s only two books, the second one has just been published under different titles. There’s another edition called Lesser Spotted Animals 2, is all. It’s got the same creatures on the cover though.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 3/5

54 pages, 2019

More opinions: Waking Brain Cells
anyone else?

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Animals Nonfiction, Current Reads, Juvenile Nonfic

Lesser Spotted Animals

the Coolest Creatures You've Never Heard Of

by Martin Brown

Well, I’ve heard of some of them. I already knew a bit about the black-footed ferret, sand cat, onager and numbat. I’d never heard of Speke’s pectinator, the Russian desman, the long-tailed dunnart or the hirola. The pages about these lesser-known animals that very much deserve the same kind of attention that koalas, cheetahs and gorillas get, have amusing illustrations, quirky and curious facts, and of course, details on there conservation status, especially what is threatening them. Some, like the very numerous crab-eater seals, are not threatened or endangered at all, but they still deserve to be known! Lots in here that made me go looking for more information, about the solenodon and the fairy armadillo, the dagger-toothed flower bat and the zorilla (or striped polecat). This book is sure to get kids interested in rare or unknown animals, with the cute illustrations and jokes on every page (mostly puns). The animals all look shocked or anxious to be in the spotlight, or just plain bored! It’s great.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 3/5

54 pages, 2017

More opinions:
Luna’s Little Library
Waking Brain Cells
Books for Kids Blog
Through the Bookshelf

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Animals Nonfiction, Current Reads, Juvenile Nonfic

Wild Animals of the World

by Dieter Braun

Children’s nonfiction book about wildlife. I loved this one for the illustrations- they have a spare, graphic style with painterly texture. The panda on the cover not the best example, though it does grab your eye for being so familiar. Some of the illustrations are accompanied by short text blocks of interesting facts or traits. But many others just have the animal’s name, that’s it. They’re organized in the book by continent, so at least you have some general idea of where they live. It puzzled me why so many have no text. Why do I get to learn things about polar bears, mandrills and the cheetah, but kingfishers, sea otters and red pandas are only graced with their name?

Well, here’s some facts I gleaned. Did you know that peacocks eat snakes? You can’t ride a prezwalski horse, they are completely untameable. Musk deer climb trees! Male ostriches make a loud roar that sounds like a lion. The iberian lynx has tall ear tufts that apparently help focus and channel sound. The toucan’s large beak regulates its temperature. A walrus uses its beard hairs (stiff whiskers) to find food in the mud. The long-tailed duck has the most “melodious” call of any duck. I listened to it. It really is melodious. Some humpback whale songs go on for hours– the longest one recorded was 22 hours. Numbats are one of the cutest marsupials (in my opinion) but they have no pouch! the babies are born very small but they just have to hang on while they grow. Here is the okapi illustration, one of my favorites in the book:

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 3/5

214 pages, 2015

More opinions: Book Bairns
anyone else?

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Animals Nonfiction, Current Reads, Juvenile Nonfic

Dalí

by Baudoin

Same artist graphic novel series as the van Gogh and Gauguin ones. But this one did not sit well with me. I think because I do not really appreciate this artist- I was willing to give the book a try though, and learn more about him. I mostly recognize the surreal, dreamlike paintings (melting clocks), but if the art in this book is an indication, most of it is not really to my taste. Like the Gauguin book, the illustrator here mimicked the style well, and these pages are absolutely crammed with it- dense drawings filling every page, bleeding over the margins and overlapping each other. It’s presented as if two persons (man and woman) are sitting surrounded by Dalí’s art (in a gallery? museum?) looking at and explaining it. They tell each other stories about Dalí, and then there’s a breaking the fourth wall moment where the author comments on them. It was a bit hard to follow that way. I still need things to be rather straightforward in writing. Additionally, the text is all in a handwriting font not so easy to read, and the artwork itself is (no surprise) full of strange, bizarre and sometimes disturbing imagery. The things I learned about Dalí’s life made me not like him much as person. Even as a child he did unkind and distasteful things. So I shut the book and quit it. Why keep reading about this person I like less and less? I do admire the staggering imagination presented in his art, I don’t doubt that he was inspired and did great things, but it made me feel so tired to read about.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: Abandoned

160 pages, 2012

More opinions:
Book Munch
Mirrors of Christ
anyone else?

Tags: 0/5- Abandoned, Art, Bios / Memoirs, Current Reads, Graphic Novels

Country Road

Artist: Kevin Daniel
Maker and Year: Sure-Lox, 2014
Count: 500 pieces
Final size: 18 x 11″
Piece Type/Variety: Ribbon cut, one shape
Piece quality: Poor
Skin irritation: Yes

More puzzling at the library. Background switches halfway through because I did this one over two days, so then it was on sheets of paper. The cut was off, but had one missing piece, and another damaged (picture layer torn off). I shouldn’t have been surprised, it was the only puzzle in the box that had been opened and re-bagged.

A bit disappointing that, because while these puzzles with soft, indistinct edges or impressionist style painting are more difficult to do, they are very satisfying in the end. When that final piece goes into place and suddenly it looks like a seamless piece of art. I never got that for this one.

Progress:

Final:

a thrift store find

Tags: puzzles

Vincent Van Gogh

by Susie Hodge

This series has the same name as the graphic novel ones I’ve been reading: Art Masters. But it’s a completely different series, and not a graphic novel. I didn’t realize until I had it in hand after requesting from the library, and it looked like an easy enough read- not too dense- so I gave it a try. Really nice complement to the briefer, narrative book of van Gogh’s life I just finished. The artworks in here are beautifully reproduced- I spent long moments just absorbing each page visually. Paintings, sketches and drawings, mostly by van Gogh but also by other artists whom he admired and emulated. There are a ton of pieces in here I’d never seen before, depicting his early works and later ones, showing the steady progression of his skills and distinctive style. A lot more detail in here about his life. I had forgotten that he studied theology before taking up painting, that he became a dedicated artist later in life (similar in that regard to Gauguin), and many small incidents (such as that villagers in an area he stayed in declared him mad because he gave away his belongings and lived poor among them) were new to me (or I had once learned them and forgotten). There is also a steady arc unfolding of his difficulties with poor health and mental illness, more close speculation in this volume than the last. Mostly though, I enjoyed slowly perusing all the art, both the familiar paintings of sunflowers, a bridge and boats on the beach as well as many new to my eyes- a seascape, studies of various private gardens, many many portraits. I would definitely read more books in this series, too. It’s just about the right level of factual information I can absorb.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 4/5

96 pages, 2024

Tags: 4/5- Great Book, Art, Bios / Memoirs, Current Reads

The Station

I expected the thin pieces all two knobs, two holes, and some finger pain. What I didn’t expect was the very poor cut. Lots of pieces not cut all the way through, so I got plenty of “freebies” attached to each other- which I just left as-is, you can see some of them in the first picture. In addition, there were a lot of “arms” or tabs that were very thinly connected. Some of them looked ready to just fall off. I handled them very carefully and disassembled the puzzle gently, but I have no confidence this one will stand up to repeat use without loosing some bits.

It’s another one from the Sure-Lox set. Assembly pics from the library table, last one taken at home (with more even lighting).

a thrift store find

Tags: puzzles

Vincent

by Barbara Stok

From the same graphic novel series as Gauguin, this one is of course about Vincent van Gogh. It centers around the time period he spent in southern France, when he lived in the little yellow house, leading up to and after the incident when he cut off his ear. A fact which used to horrify and shock me when I was younger, but now reading more about his probable mental illness, I just feel sad and dismayed at the enormous distress he must have been in. This book doesn’t speculate much on what his illness actually was though. It depicts his life and some conversations, interactions with his brother Theo (based on his many letters), with other artists and some of the general public. He was consumed with the desire to paint, to share his vision, to capture the beauty of the landscape he saw around him. Struggling to make ends meet, mostly supported by his brother, unable to keep himself or his rooms tidy, often driving people away with his ranting about ideals on art and his vision. At least, it seemed like that to me- the story shows Gauguin coming to stay with him in the little yellow house, where they worked side by side for a while, until Gauguin couldn’t take the intensity anymore and left. Vincent had episodes of depression and then frenetic energy, shown with the panels darkened by lots of black or grey dots diffusing everything, or his nonstop talking, and sometimes jagged lines surrounding him in a kind of aura. I interpreted that as showing his anxiety. It also depicts a period of time he spent in an asylum, though of course the treatment for his illness was probably rudimentary. This book doesn’t have a visual style mimicking that of the artist as closely as the Gauguin one did, but there were numerous scenes, sketches and paintings I recognized, and near the end quite a few shown with the many small energetic brushstrokes that look so familiar. I’m glad I read this one- it was quick and easy to get through, it felt expressive even though the drawings are simple in style, and I feel like I know quite a bit more about Van Gogh now.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 3/5

144 pages, 2015

More opinions:
Bookish Beck
ComicAlly
Vulpes Libris

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Art, Bios / Memoirs, Current Reads, Graphic Novels

Beauty

illustrated by Kerascoët

by Hubert

Adult fairy tale. A scullery maid, constantly put down for her unattractive features and pervasive smell of dead fish (her main job is scaling fish in the kitchens, thus her name Coddie), unwittingly frees a fairy from an entrapment and is granted a wish. She wishes to be beautiful. The fairy (maliciously?) makes her the most beautiful woman in the world, and immediately her troubles begin. Men are driven mad with desire when they see her, they want to woo or win her, to marry or simply own and use her. She has to flee for her safety, and finds her first haven in the castle of a nearby lord. She thinks this is great- it’s such a huge step up from her previous living conditions- but the fairy visits her again and points out that her station could be greatly improved. This young lord has to hunt daily to provide for his table, his castle is in disrepair, his lands are suffering. So she moves on, grasping for more. Before long she is caught up in wars and schemings, as one powerful man after another vies for her hand (or rather, the possession of her body). Even women turn against her, driven by jealousy and anger. The only one she can really trust and work together with, turns out to be her daughter. Having a child causes all sorts of new problems- because her beauty is only in the eyes of all those who behold her. The fairy couldn’t change what she was, but only how others saw her (this is reflected in the pictures, which sometimes show her looking awkward and homely, other panels she looks graceful and lovely). So when her daughter is born, the baby takes after her mother’s true looks, and the father (she was married to a king at the time) instantly suspects an infidelity (after all, he is an attractive man), so this throws her life into chaos again. In the end, Beauty (so called by everyone now) is imprisoned in a ruin of a castle by a man gone half crazy who refuses to let anyone else see her. She’s literally walled up in one room with her daughter. But the fairy visits again, and this time Beauty has her wits about her. She’s learned in the intervening years more truths about this fairy (and fairies in general) and has a plan. . .

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It’s quite complex and has a lot to say about appearances (of course), abuses of power, inequalities how men and women are treated, fairness, compassion, and so on. Coddie is rather shallow and spiteful at first (you can’t blame her, seeing how she lived and how cruelly other children treated her at the time) and she acts this out quite a lot once when she is suddenly beautiful, noticed by all, and has some power over others for the first time in her life. But she changes throughout the course of the novel, and by the end is able to act justly, to use her cursed gift for good. It took some doing. I liked the ending a lot. The artwork is amazing, and so expressive. Not for the squeamish or faint of heart, and definitely an adult book. There’s depictions of sexual assault, quite a bit of nudity, and plenty of violence (lots of beheadings). Brutality and unfairness abound. Which makes the few moments of compassion and kindness in the story really stand out. It’s dismaying that so many characters end up getting killed, but it feels very blunt and realistic in that regard (to what I assume living in medieval times was like). The fairies are curious- half-bird or animal, half-human creatures. And it’s nice that some of the side characters have their own story arcs too, making this far more involved a read than I would have expected for a graphic novel under 200 pages. I did have to remember to have my reading glasses with me whenever I picked it up, there are multiple panels on most pages and some of them are quite small. It’s the kind of artwork where you want to appreciate the details, too.

I have to look for more graphic novels by this duo. Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 4/5

152 pages, 2013

More opinions:
SFF Book Reviews
Abstract AF
Broken Frontier

Tags: 4/5- Great Book, Current Reads, Fantasy / Sci Fi, Graphic Novels

In-Between Days

A Memoir About Living With Cancer

by Teva Harrison

It’s difficult to know what to say about this one. The author tells, very frankly and with plenty of humor at times, what is it like living day-to-day with a terminal cancer. The pain, suffering, odd hours visits to hospital, what the doctors do and don’t tell her, the awkward things people say to her, or how complete strangers comment on things unknowing. She had no outward signs of being ill- people on the bus or street wouldn’t guess she was living with cancer, often too exhausted to even get out of bed. It really made her think deeply about how many other people are walking around with problems or illness that are just invisible. How we ought to be so much kinder to each other. How unfair it all was. And she faced it so bravely. She was a gardener and an artist and loved cooking. There was a lot in here I simply didn’t know, about what it is like to go through cancer treatment- in her case mostly palliative measures- it was very eye-opening and solemn and much of it just made me feel sad. And yet she still had hope through most of it, and lived each day the best she could. Admirable.

Please read some of the other reviews, linked to below. Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 4/5

163 pages, 2016

More opinions:
the Indextrious Reader
I’ve Read This
Seven Ponds
Nancy’s Point

Tags: Bios / Memoirs, Current Reads, Graphic Novels, Medical/Health

Month: April 2025

More Brilliant Beasts You Never Knew You Needed to Know About

the Coolest Creatures You've Never Heard Of

illustrated by Kerascoët

A Memoir About Living With Cancer

RATINGS / SUBJECTS: