Book Review: The Manhattan Projects, Vol. 1

Title: The Manhattan Projects, Volume 1
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Nick Pitarra
Publisher: Image Comics

Synopsis (from Amazon):
What if the research and development department created to produce the first atomic bomb was a front for a series of other, more unusual, programs? What if that department was staffed by some of the greatest geniuses that ever lived? And what if those geniuses were not exactly er... right in the head?
(Collects The Manhattan Projects issues #1-#5)

What I Liked:

• Science. Bad. Very Bad.
• A bad-ass Einstein with a posse of other super-geniuses who lean more towards evil than good? Now THAT'S an awesome concept.
• I'm a sucker for stories that take real-life people or characters and put them together. This reminded me of BPRD and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but with super-genius scientists!
• I also loved the way Hickman incorporates all the scientific stuff and history into the story, as well as the way he twists all those historical figures into a Fringe-like alternate version.
• Oppenheimer. Holy crap.

What I didn't like:

• Not much I didn't like, really.
• Ok, it DOES remind me too much of Fringe, but that's not really a BAD thing.

Where to Buy it:
Kinokuniya KLCC lor. Where else?

Book Review: 5 Very Good Reasons To Punch A Dolphin In The Mouth

Title: 5 Very Good Reasons To Punch A Dolphin In The Mouth (And Other Useful Guides)
Author: The Oatmeal

Synopsis (from The Oatmeal)
In the spring of 2009 Matthew Inman debuted his website The Oatmeal which became one of the most popular comics on the web, garnering millions of readers and nearly a quarter billion pageviews the following year. His website was subsequently turned into a book, and 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth is that book. It contains a year’s worth of comics, with a mixture of classic Oatmeal comics such as Why it's better to pretend you don't know anything about computers and How to use a semicolon, as well as plenty of brand new material that isn’t available online.

What I Liked:

• IT's The Oatmeal! What's NOT to like!
• Free poster!
• Greatest self-help book ever!
• It's got all sorts of awesome guides! Like how to prepare your pet for war! And why rabies is better than babies!
• Very educational. Like the 20 things you need to know about beer. and Coffee. and CHEESE!
• But some were damn stupid as well. Like how to use an aposthrophe. (Like, cm'on, who do nots know's how to use an aposthrophe, huh?) Oh waits.

What I didn't like:

• Ok, some of the comics were just too 'mou lei tou' to be funny.
• Not the free poster I wanted!
• I'd read most of the comics online before so at times I did feel a little er.. cheated.

Where to Buy it:

I got mine at Kinokuniya Singapore. Not sure if the KL bookstores have it (I haven't been to Kino KLCC in ages and Borders or MPH are usually hopeless), but I'm guessing you can probably order it from Kino, or alternatively, just buy it online from Amazon or The Oatmeal website itself.

Book Review: Vodka Classified (Stuart Walton)

Has it REALLY been almost two years since my last book review? Instead of 'Hopefully Weekly Book Reviews', I should start calling them 'Hopefully-bi-annually Book Reviews' instead...

Anyway, I've been doing a lot more reading these days, thanks to my not being able to sleep much in planes; so I decided to relaunch the book review section. And to ease things off, here's a simple one, a non-fiction book, more like a reference book in fact, on one of my favorite subjects... VODKA!

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Title: Vodka Classified: A Vodka Lover's Companion
Author: Stuart Walton

Synopsis:
It's about vodka - from the history, how its made, where its made and how to drink it. Also has a guide to over 80 of the world's best-known vodkas, and a list of cocktails.

What I Liked:

• VODKA! WHEE!
• Very educational. Good reference for the column.
• Also very interesting and simple to read. Didn't feel like I was reading an encyclopedia.
• I love the guide on all the brands. Now when I see a particular brand in the airport, I know exactly where its from and what's so special about it...
• Nice BIG pictures of the vodka brands' bottles. Sure helped me in identifying them when I was in the airport...
  
• VODKA! WHEE!

What I didn't like:

• Not much really, but I wish the cocktail section was a bit more detailed, and that each brand had a 'recommended cocktail' section.

Summary:
Do you like vodka? Want to know more about what you're drinking? Then this is the book for you. I LOVE vodka, and I've always wanted to find out more - how to appreciate it, the differences between the different brands and also HOW to drink vodkas properly.

This book is great because it was easy to read, and it also had all sorts of information about vodka. It's great for reference for my column, AND it's also made me curious to try more of the vodkas mentioned here, especially the once I've come across while traveling.

Oh, and it's about VODKA! WHEE!

Where to get it: Bookxcess has it for RM37+ I think. The original price at Kinokuniya is about RM80...