12月 11

EL本棚紹介(22)Blankets, by Craig Thompson

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

Students often ask me about American culture. I always say that the US is full of many different cultures. I did not grow up in a religious family, so I cannot tell students about what it is like to be a Christian in the US. Blankets is not just a story about religion, but the characters’ home and social environments are all thick with Christian influence. This is a kind of “American culture” that is very different from what you probably know in Japan.

Blankets is about a high-school student named Craig and his romance with Raina, a girl he meets at a Christian ski camp. Both families are deeply religious. Craig’s father’s religion leads him to abuse his two sons. On the other hand, Raina’s parents’ religion leads them to care for children in need. Craig is an artist and Raina, a poet. Their relationship has ups and downs, and Craig rethinks his relationship with God.

My two cents: You’ve seen Blankets on the bookshelf, because it is the thickest comic book we have (and we have two copies)! However, I read it in two afternoons: the story goes quickly, and the language is not too difficult.

11月 19

EL本棚紹介(20)Kill a Man, by Steve Orlando, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Al Morgan, and Jim Campbell

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

20 years ago, Xaviar Mayne killed a man in the mixed martial arts (MMA) ring. Today, the dead man’s son, James Bellyi, is getting ready for his own championship match. What do these two men have in common? They are both shunned by the MMA community and even their families because they are gay. Now, they are forced to work together to train for the final fight.

The story is about prejudice and bigotry. The reactions to Bellyi’s sexuality may seem unbelievable to you, but even in 2020, when this book was written, there were very few openly gay MMA fighters (for examples, see: Being gay in MMA – This MMA Life. UFC & MMA Lifestyle and Community). Bellyi’s mother bans him from her home, and Bellyi himself says that his father would have killed him for being gay. On the other hand, Mayne’s relationship with his husband is a positive example of a loving family, even though they are haunted by the ghosts of Mayne’s past.

My two cents: We often think of prejudice as a very abstract thing affecting “weak” people. This book helps us see how even the most masculine and physically strong people can suffer from it.

11月 12

協力者募集（認知心理学実験）

If you are interested in participating in some research about exercise, memory, and learning phrasal verbs – click the below link to find out more about this research!

Click here for the PDF announcement

11月 12

EL本棚紹介(19)The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russel

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

The Sandman is a long and difficult series of comics that changed the comics industry, BUT…The Dream Hunters is NOT that. It is short and easy to read. The Dream Hunters is like a fairy tale or mukashi banashi. It is set in Japan and tells the story of a fox, a monk, and an Onmyōji. It starts with a tanuki and fox trying to trick the monk. Later, the fox falls in love with the monk, and must battle the Onmyōji to save his life.

When a comic is about dreams and magical foxes, sometimes it can get a little confusing (read The Sandman if you want to read about some crazy weird dreams!) There are some small parts of this story that may be hard to follow, but it is mostly not too difficult.

My two cents: Pick this up if you want to read a mukashi banashi written by a British person and drawn in a comic-book style.

11月 12

EL本棚紹介(18)Once Upon a Time Machine, by Andrew Carl and Chris Stevens

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

Don’t be scared by how thick this book is (426 pages!): it is actually a collection of 50 short stories and pictures. Each story is short, and you probably even already know many of them. Do you know “The Shepard and the Weaver Girl” (the story of Tanabata)? How about “The Tortoise and the Hare” or “Momotaro”? Now, imagine these stories retold as science fiction!

Once Upon a Time Machine is hard to describe because every story is written and drawn by different artists. If I were you, I would look at the table of contents, find a story I know, and give it a read. On the other hand, you could flip through the book until you find an art style that jumps out at you: every story has a completely different look!

My two cents: This is a good book to borrow for just one story or two. Enjoy the creative interpretations of stories you already know!

10月 29

EL本棚紹介(17) The Alcoholic, by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

The Alcoholic is about struggle. Everyone struggles with becoming the person they become. And most of us don’t become exactly what we want to become. The same is true for Jonathan A., the main character of this semi-autobiographical work.

This book follows the story of Jonathan’s life, beginning with his high school. It traces his relationship with his best friend, his career, and his addiction to drugs and alcohol. It also intersects with LGBTQ issues, the tragedy of September 11, grief and mourning, and more. As you read, you will keep asking why Jonathan repeats the same mistakes, but you might also recognize how universal his problems are (even if his “solutions” are extreme).

My two cents: This is a modern tragedy, but there are many ups and downs, twists and turns, that will keep you interested until the end.

10月 29

EL本棚紹介(16)Shortcomings, by Adrian Tomine

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

What do you think of when you hear the word “prejudice”? The first thing I (an American) think of is racism against black people, or maybe prejudice against LGBTQ minorities. However, prejudice exists in many different forms. Prejudice is more complicated than “black versus white.” It can exist even within communities, like how the different Asians in this book treat their relationships with each other and the non-Asians in their community.

Shortcomings is about Ben and Miko, two Japanese-Americans living in California. They live together but are falling out of love. Miko is an activist who sees Asian identity as being attacked by American culture. Ben, on the other hand, refuses to see racism anywhere. At the same time, he seems to want to become a “white American” himself. This causes many problems for their relationship.

Note: This book is about adult relationships, and the characters use some crude sexual language. However, there are no explicit images.

My two cents: Shortcomings is honest. The characters are very realistic, and so even if you don’t like Ben (he’s hard to like), I think you can see a real person behind the comic panel.

10月 25

EL本棚紹介(15) Batman: The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

One of my favorite pieces of pop culture when I was a child was Batman: The Animated Series. Even as an adult, I think it is a high-quality television show. One thing that I forgot about it was how often Batman is just fighting the mob, not supervillains. In The Long Halloween, Batman works with the police to stop what seems to be a mob war. Think: Batman mixed with The Godfather.

Each of the 12 chapters is about a different murder on a different holiday. If you read all of the stories, you might feel like you have become friends with the three main characters as they investigate the crimes. That’s what makes the surprise ending even more powerful. I also think you will be surprised by the crazy, ugly drawing style in this book. You can choose a story in the middle to see if you like it. If you read from the beginning, you might find the first chapter a little confusing or too difficult.

My two cents: This is a classic American superhero comic, but I think it also stands on its own. I think this is a good introduction to Batman.

10月 25

EL本棚紹介(14)The Killing Joke, by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

Everyone knows the name Batman. And many of you will recognize his rival, the Joker, with white skin and green hair. This is a comic book classic in which the Joker tries to force Batman and the police to become like him – to go crazy after “one bad day.”

Superhero comics can be difficult to read (even for me) because often you need to know all the characters and their background already. But The Killing Joke tells the story of the origin of the Joker, and you don’t need to know much about the other characters.

Warning: There is some sexualized violence which may be uncomfortable to read.

My two cents: If you want to read a good but short Batman comic that will stick in your mind, this is the one for you.

10月 08

EL本棚紹介(13) Maus, by Art Spiegelman

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

This is the book that changed how average Americans thought about comic books. Until Maus started becoming popular, comics were “just for kids.” After Maus, people started calling them “graphic novels.”

Maus tells the story of Art Spiegelman’s Jewish mother and father during the Holocaust and how they survived the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Don’t be scared, though: the story is about humans surviving terrible things, not about showing those terrible things. It also tells the story of Art’s relationship with his father in the 1980s, and there are some humorous parts, too.

Note: Art’s father does not speak American English, he speaks eastern-European English, so this is a good book to practice reading World English, too.

My two cents: This is a serious book, and it is a seriously good book. You should read it. Everyone should read it.