Book Love
Debbie Tung
Andrews McMeel
Nonfiction, Collection/Comics/Humor
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: It starts with the cover that catches your eye from across the bookshop, and ends with a hard-crash return to reality as the last page is turned. This collection of comics celebrates the love of books, from the smell of a brand-new volume to the multitude of worlds contained in the pages, from holing up in a blanket fort with a mug of tea and a stack of paperbacks to accosting strangers on the street trying to share a favorite story.
REVIEW: As one might expect, I could relate to the subject matter (mostly - I have never developed a taste for tea, and human acquaintances with which to share books tend to be as fictional as the characters I read about, current reader of this review notwithstanding.) Tung's simple drawings and text extol the virtues of reading on many levels, from the tales that transport us to other worlds to the physical feel of a nice, solid book in one's hand; like many bibliophiles, she seems to have an aversion to eBooks, though I personally find them just as absorbing as any printed book and much less likely to get dog-eared when carried in one's purse all day. Minor differences of opinion aside, though, the love of books comes through loud and clear, with several delightful entries that any reader can understand. I clipped it a half-star for repetition; several of her cartoons hit the same notes in very similar ways, which probably wouldn't have been as noticeable had I read them individually, but in a single volume it stands out enough to distract. Taken all together, Tung does a decent job exploring the wonders of books and reading.
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