K's Books

Except for Calvin & Hobbes, I wasn't allowed to read comics as a kid - they were "for boys." I got into comics & graphic novels during college and afterwards tried to uncover what I'd been missing out on. Again and again, Eisner's name came up - the industry's most prestigious award is named after him. When I discovered that he created the first graphic novel, and that's it's very similar to Ralph Bakshi's films, I knew I had to read it. In early '13 I was living in Milwaukee and my partner had just moved to Nashville, he was driving trucks and offered to bring me to South Padre Island. My idea of a "beach read" is more intense than the usual, so I got a copy of this from the library to bring down. I loved it, and I got some odd looks at the beach which only improved the experience!  This book had been on the list of books I want to own ever since, but I never found a copy in a secondhand bookstore. Finally I ordered a used co...

I've often summarized my early education about Native Americans in this way:  - My K-8 school taught that all Natives had been killed and it was a good thing because they were all evil sinners; -  My high school taught that all Native Americans had been killed and it was a bad thing that white people should atone for; - My college had Native students, which blew my sheltered mind! When I was a kid my half-sister often sent me children's books, many of which refuted my K-8 school's judgement but instead treated Natives as a more spiritual race lost to the past. And this was by far my favorite Gumby episode: https://youtu.be/ij5LtI4JFsg?si=yZ6Yfo-TVCj_aoOM Since my K-8 school also taught me that I was a horrible sinner and should be dead, I felt very drawn to all things "Native." I also just wanted to spend more time outdoors in general, but that was forbidden so stories about connections to plants and animals were as close as I could get. The Field Museum's sec...

I was shelving novels at the bookstore at O'Hare in 2011 when I first encountered this book. I'd never heard of it, I'd never heard of the author, but it felt like it was alive in my hands. Although we weren't allowed to read at work, I snuck it immediately. They didn't pay me enough for me to afford a copy where I worked, so I bought a cheap one at Half Price Books. When my partner and I went from the San Antonio airport to South Padre Island, then all through the Deep South up to Nashville in 2013 I read it out loud since I couldn't find an audiobook of it. That cheap used copy fell apart, I loved it so much. Up until I moved to Austin a decade ago, I was obsessed with moving to the southwest. I thought that being in the hot desert would heal my PTSD (I was right), and until I was able to make that move books and artwork were my only options. I was so overjoyed after making it to Austin, I finally bought a copy of Ceremony that would be mine forever. After it ...

I studied art therapy at Alverno College in the 00's, Sister Helena's work was scattered across campus but rarely commented on. At that time I was very anti-Christian, first obsessed with Wicca and then taking a break from spirituality altogether. I needed distance from my mother and her church before I could understand the difference between other Christians and her (I wasn't aware that's what I was doing at the time). So even though I was surrounded by Sr Helena's work and now it's obvious to see it's artistic impact on me, I was not a fan at the time.  Only after sufficient distance & healing, and then returning to Catholicism on my own terms could I fully appreciate her artwork.  Although she played a large role in the art scene in Milwaukee throughout the 20th century, most people have never heard of her. This book was on my wish list for a decade before an inexpensive copy was available a few weeks ago! The only reason I knew this book existed was ...

While I was pursuing a Masters of Pastoral Studies degree at Loyola University New Orleans, I was so bored & frustrated that I added to my courseload so that I could actually use my brain. The material was very white, and when I asked about it I was told there wasn't time during class to discuss that.  When I Googled "Native American liberation theology," Vine Deloria Jr and George E. Tinker came up first. I bought, read, and highlighted copies of their works and I think my copy of God Is Red was the first. At the time it blew my mind, and during this reread I remembered so much during that I wound up skipping some pages. In the 7ish years since first reading it I've referred to it many times, and I wish his name was better known among white people.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/254349.God_Is_Red