Asterios Polyp

I liked Asterios Polyp too, but maybe all the hype had gotten to me-- I was expecting something bigger. The different fonts and colors assigned to different characters was a neat idea, but it seemed like such a basic conceptual use of the medium. All the reviewers are saying that Asterios Polyp is such a big deal because Mazzuchelli is taking advantage of what the graphic novel can do that a written novel can't, and it definitely had the feel of a book written for a set of ideas. In the end, I wanted more than that, and the story itself didn't really compel me.

But I loved the ending.

Books We've Read

Emma and I both read the raved-about Asterios Polyp, a graphic novel by David Mazzucchelli. It's a relatively quick read, and a good one - especially for first-time graphic novel readers like myself. The story line has some nice twists but the pictures are definitely the best part! All the characters have their own colours and font style, which makes it a lot easier to keep track of everything that's going on and adds a unique flair to the novel.

"Asterios Polyp, its arrogant, prickly protagonist, is an award-winning architect who's never built an actual building, and a pedant in the midst of a spiritual crisis. After the structure of his own life falls apart, he runs away to try to rebuild it into something new. " (Amazon)

Then there's The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. I was pretty excited to read this one since it had great reviews on Amazon and Indiebound. It's a wonderful, well-written book, but it didn't live up to my expectations (which, granted, were probably too high). If you're looking for a fun read, this is a book to consider! It's an uplifting novel, told from three perspectives in 1962: Eugenie Skeeter Phelan, an (unhappily) tall white woman with a bossy mother and married-with-children friends, Aibilene, a maid who's raised seventeen chidlren, and Minny, who's smart mouth has lost her more jobs than she can count. An aspiring journalist, Skeeter decides to anonymously publish a book about the lives of "The Help" in the South. An amazing debut novel!

The cafe

The Wellington Square Bookshop cafe is now open!!!!! Come by for a cappuccino, espresso, latte, Americano, French press or plain ol' coffee. We have pastries, too.

All our coffee is supplied by Terroir, a division of the famously delicious George Howell Coffee Company. Terrior produces sustainable single-origin coffees grown in partnership with coffee farmers.