My first post about a book... and I call myself a librarian?

Why did it take me this long to blog about a book? Certainly books are among the good things in life, right?! But being a librarian sometime I have books I HAVE to read for work (for projects, programs, conferences, etc.) and I get bogged down. By the time I'm done with them, I'm either burnt out and don't want to read anything for a while or I'm completely starving for something of my own choosing.

Thankfully, this August I was starving... and so I read Blankets by Craig Thompson, a book I've had my eye on for a very long time in my library and in various bookstores and comic shops. It's a graphic novel that's 582 pages of pure perfection. I LOVED this book!

The author recounts his adolescence- with stories both painful and heartbreakingly beautiful, interweaving childhood flashbacks with a first-time love affair. He shares his thoughts on a lot of emotionally charged issues including an overbearing religious upbringing and the effects it had on shaping his life so far. Religion vs. spirituality plays a big role in this novel, as does the sweet love story- and the inevitable process of discovering who he is. It's a thoughtful, quiet book that takes it's time to unfold. And the artwork is amazing... especially since the author/illustrator seems to share my sense of awe with bare trees in winter.

Life is good... because of intelligent, thought-provoking, emotionally candid works of literature and art such as Blankets by Craig Thompson.

I highly recommend this book!