Book review: Poets Square

Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats

This is another book I saw in a display of new books at the library. This was published in 2025 and the condition of the book itself seemed very new. It is a memoir about a woman who lives in Tuscon and cares for feral cats that live in her yard, as well as others throughout the Tuscon area. It was a very quick read and I finished it within three days due to how much time I had for each reading session, but it likely could be finished in one or two days if you have enough time. 

The writing style is adept and serviceable but not highly literary or anything. It worked for what this book is. The book primarily covers the time in the author's life after moving to Tuscon and beginning to care for the cats, though there are a few brief parts about things from her past. There are parts of the book that are somewhat sad. 

There aren't a ton of contextual/explanatory details about some of the settings and situations she finds herself in when trying to help feral cats throughout Tuscon. I wished there had been more context in some parts because I like knowing lots of details about things, but I guess it wasn't the focus of the book. 

I was curious to know more real-life information about the neighborhood the woman lives in that serves as the title of the book. It's a real neighborhood in eastern Tuscon, slightly north of the Air Force base. Streetview shows that it consists primarily of mid-century ranch-style single-family homes, though some have been renovated or rebuilt to look different. The neighborhood is indeed a square shape on the map and about four streets are named after poets, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be much linking to its name. I'm not familiar with Tuscon at all, so I can't say how this neighborhood fits into the context of the city. 

Towards the end of the book, the author and her husband are able to buy the home they had previously been renting because the landlord wanted to sell it. She received donations for the down payment from social media followers, since she had built up a major following by posting about the feral cats (@poetssquarecats) during her time living there. 

Out of curiosity, I looked up housing prices in that zip code. They seem to be in the (mid-upper) $200k to $300k range, with a few in the $400k or $500k range. The vast majority of the listings are for houses like the aforementioned ranch-style homes. 

Book review: some more graphic novels

In this post: Junji Ito, Cousin Joseph, The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks. 

I have been checking out a lot of books from the library's graphic novels section. They use the term "graphic novel" to describe anything in comic form, whether it's fiction or nonfiction. They have a pretty good selection of Junji Ito's manga, so I've been reading some more of that. Although his work is described as horror, I would describe it more like being surreal and unsettling. Strange and unsettling events happen in his stories. 

Most recently, I checked out the following by Junji Ito: The Liminal Zone, Sensor, Black Paradox and Venus in the Blind Spot. I haven't finished all of these yet. 

Aside from this, I also read a nonfiction comic titled The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks. This consists of a variety of stories based on interviews with various residents in Ukraine talking about their experiences in the Soviet Union, particularly the famine in the 1930s. There's also a section talking about a Russian journalist (Anna Politkovskaya) who was killed due to the content of her work criticizing Putin. 

On the whole it's all pretty grim, especially the part about the Holodomor famine. There are parts containing descriptions of cannibalism that occurred during the famine. Although I found the content very interesting, in some ways I thought it was a little hard to follow. There are sometimes Ukrainian or Russian words used that don't have any translation/explanation about their meaning. There are also places where a page/panel would benefit from additional context to remind/inform the reader when the events shown are taking place. 

The art style was fine, but not particularly notable to me. I would like to read more about the history of the Soviet Union as well as the post-Soviet era in Russia and other former Soviet countries. This comic was originally published in Italian, then translated and published in English in 2016, which was before the current war in Ukraine, although there had been some things happening prior to that. 

I also read a fiction comic titled Cousin Joseph, by Jules Feiffer. This is the same illustrator who did some illustrations for the children's novel The Phantom Tollbooth. His style is pretty similar in this comic to what I remember about the illustrations in that book. It consists of loose, pencil drawings with somewhat stylized-looking people. I liked his art style in this comic and it was interesting to see it in a different context than the illustrations from the children's novel.

As for the plot, it was in the noir genre and was interesting enough, but I'm not sure if I would have been interested if it were some other artist I didn't know of. 

This library branch seems to have a pretty decent selection of graphic novels, so I might end up reading more in the future. 

Activity review: Billy Goat Trail section A

Recently I attempted to hike this trail with a friend. We had been wanting to do it for some time, and eventually there was a day that seemed amenable regarding the weather and our schedules. I will talk a little about some of the gear I used/wore too.  

Section A is the most strenuous part of the trail. Section B is closed indefinitely. Section C is open and apparently less strenuous, but we didn't do that part. The weather forecast showed a high temperature of about 76 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sky was partly sunny. I'm glad there was some cloud cover; it would have been worse if it were fully sunny. 

We got started on the trail (entrance to Section A) at 13:10 and it took us about two hours to complete the first half of that section. There were some places we stopped to observe the view, and others where we stopped to rest for a little bit.  

After finishing the first half, there is a short exit trail you can take so you don't have to do the final section of the main trail. We used the exit trail because I felt that I wasn't prepared correctly to continue on the main trail. Signs before the start of the trail recommend not hiking during 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the hottest part of the day.

I wore Teva Hurricane sandals, which was a less than ideal choice. It wasn't a catastrophic mistake, but in the future I would want to wear closed-toe shoes with a good amount of traction in the soles. Probably some kind of trail running or approach shoes, something like that. 

I do not recommend wearing original Teva sandals because they don't have as much traction on the soles compared to the Hurricane version. The Teva Hurricane sandals have been suitable for other short hikes, but this trail was considerably more strenuous than others and involves portions of rock scrambling where it's better to have closed shoes so you can jam your foot in places and not worry about getting scratched up.  

The rocks also have edges/points that you sometimes have to step on, so it's better to have a shoe with a stiffer sole so you won't feel a rock edge jabbing into your foot as much. The Teva Hurricane shoes are the absolute bare minimum type of shoes you should wear, but ideally wear something else (trail running or approach shoes, or even full hiking boots). I saw some people wearing regular sneakers or even canvas shoes (similar to Vans) but I personally would not wear shoes like that for this hike. 

Information online from the NPS suggests bringing 2 liters of water per person for this hike. I would heed this suggestion, as it's better to be prepared instead of getting dehydrated and needing to be rescued because you can't make it any further. There are water fountains near the closest parking area (admission to the park is $20 for vehicles, and $10 for pedestrians or cyclists), but otherwise there are no other places you can get drinking water. Another source recommends bringing twice much water as you usually drink (this is kind of vague) and consistently drinking the water every few minutes.  

Personally, I drank about 2 liters (possibly a little more) by the time we reached the turn for the exit trail, where there is a sign suggesting you take the exit trail if you're running low on water and/or feel tired. If we had completed the full main trail, I think I would have finished at least 3 liters of water. Keep hydration in mind and bring enough water so you don't run out, especially if it's a warm or hot day. I brought 5 liters of water in a water bag (in addition to a full 1 liter bottle), which was inside my backpack. I shared some of the water with my friend, but he didn't drink that much in total.    

Other things I would do differently are to use bug spray and sunscreen. I thought the trail would be relatively shaded, and while there are parts in the shade, the rock scrambling sections are pretty exposed to the sun. I got a number of itchy bug bites. I would also want to start the trail earlier, possibly around 9 a.m. or something like that. Additionally, going on a day when it isn't as warm could be better. I would also want to bring a brush to brush off the dirt from certain areas so you can get a better grip. Bringing a small (i.e. lightweight) pair of binoculars could also be interesting so that you can get a better view of some of the scenery in/across the river. 

There were numerous sections of the rock scrambling areas that I found difficult because of the distance between good foothold or places to step. To some extent, better shoes could have helped with this because it would increase the amount of locations that I could comfortably put my feet, but some of it was just due to me being short (5'0") and my legs weren't long enough to comfortably reach the next foothold in a stepping motion. The alternative was to do more of a jump or hop, which felt too treacherous especially with the shoes I was wearing, or to do a more complicated pivoting and/or crawling maneuver. 

It was good to do the trail on a day that wasn't very busy so we didn't have to worry about a lot of people waiting behind us on the trail during the scramble areas, or for us to have to wait behind other people. 

In the future, I might just want to take the exit trail inwards to the midway area, then resume the main trail from that point. 

Although my preparation for the hike was less-than-ideal, it wasn't so inadequate that it was catastrophic. However, apparently many people have to get rescued from the trail, so I wanted to be mindful about bringing more than enough water, and using the exit trail when I realized I should have prepared differently. It would be embarrassing and a hassle to have to be rescued from the trail. 

I could also be in better shape, weight and endurance wise. I wouldn't recommend this trail if you are too unhealthy and/or inexperienced with hiking, especially more complicated terrain with a lot of elevation and scrambling. 

The backpack I used was an Osprey Sirrus 24 (liter), which was a decent size to carry the 5 liter water bag plus a few other things (small pouch, 1 liter Nalgene in the side pocket, a bucket hat, a small sketchbook, a pee funnel that I did not need to use, but just in case...), and it felt pretty comfortable to wear. 

Although there were some people we saw on the trail who didn't bring substantial backpacks, I wanted to make sure I had enough water, plus get a chance to use this backpack. It has a frame and the back panel of the bag is suspended about an inch from a mesh panel that touches your back, so you can get some airflow there. It has a hip belt and sternum strap, both of which help to stabilize it. The hip belt is comfortable and helps distribute the weight. I found this backpack on sale at REI for about $50, but full price is $180.  

The Sirrus is a women's-specific design and I found it a good size for me at 5'0" (in terms of the backpack relative to my body). It is a little bulky due to the frame and hip straps so I don't think I'd necessary want to use this in an everyday (non-hiking) context, even though that was what I was looking for when I went to REI. At REI, they have a cabinet in the backpacks section with weight bags so you can test how a given amount of weight will feel in a certain backpack!! It's kind of dangerous to go to REI since there's so much stuff there that I'm tempted to buy.... 

I wore a new Columbia shirt (thin quick-dry fabric) and old, lightweight Under Armour running shorts that have pockets. I'm glad I didn't wear thick or warm clothing because the weather was rather warm. I brought a bucket hat but didn't wear it. I did wear a bandana to keep the sun off my hair though. This is a necessity for me in the summer if I'm going to be outside in the sun for awhile.   

In addition to the Billy Goat Trail section A, there are a few other things you can look at in this area. There is a Great Falls overlook right off the canal towpath near the parking area. There's also a boardwalk trail that goes on Olmstead Island and is pretty scenic. In the future, it might be nice to do the boardwalk Olmstead Island trail by itself and stop at the overlook to draw, but we were too tired to draw since we had already done part of the Billy Goat trail before going to this area. 

Book review: Craftfulness

I saw this book in a display at the library last month because apparently March is crafts month or something to that effect. The full title is "Craftfulness: Mend Yourself by Making Things." I expected the book to be different than what it ended up being like. It was okay, and I managed to finish it, though it was a drag to read and many times I'd read just a few pages, then stop. It was disappointing. 

It seemed to be aimed at a reader who is unfamiliar with and/or doesn't really understand the value of partaking in craft projects and making things. I am not that person, so I found the book bland and off-base and didn't think it offered much insight. It was a rather surface-level exploration of the subject matter -- I wish it had gone more into some kind of sociological/cultural analysis of crafting, its role/view/impact in society, that sort of thing. There were many brief excerpts of statements from various crafters where they talked about the crafts they pursue and what it means to them, etc. Many of these statements were not actually that interesting. 

At the end of the book, there are instructions for six beginner projects in different crafts (weaving, knitting in moss stitch, bookbinding, drawing, writing, clay, darning). I have no interest in darning (a form of mending) and the other things I already know how to do and/or could easily figure out (at a beginner level) without the use of this book's instructions. There's also an appendix section recommending further reading or resources, which was possibly the most useful part of the book. 

Although this book was rather boring and underwhelming, I guess it counts towards my reading challenge because it's written for an adult audience. It was pretty short, but felt like a slog to read. At least it was good for something to read in very short intervals when the circumstances weren't right to really dig into something with more substance.   

Book review: vintage Nancy Drew

I went to a little free library yesterday and there were two vintage copies of some Nancy Drew books. These copies mentioned a copyright date of 1940-something and 1950-something (the books were not directly subsequent parts of the series) so I was wondering if they were original editions. After looking it up online, I found out that these editions were published in the 1960s, so they're still pretty old. 

These books were further along in the series than I remember reading as a kid, so I was curious about what I'd think of them now. The editions from the 1960s contain only one illustration at the beginning and one on the cover, compared to more recent editions (from the 1980s to present-day) that contained a few illustrations interspersed throughout the book. 

This does not count towards my reading challenge, as these books are not primarily written for an adult audience. I remember reading books from this series in 3rd grade, possibly a little before or after that too.

This book, The Clue in the Jewel Box (#20 in the series), was a very quick read; I probably finished it within an hour or so. The general tone of the book was as I remembered it, and the primary recurring characters (Nancy's best friends, father, housekeeper, and boyfriend) were familiar. 

In the past, when reading them as a kid, I didn't pay much heed to trying to analyze the setting or that kind of thing. Apparently, the town that Nancy lives in (River Heights) is fictional, but I was wondering where it was supposed to be based on. 

If I had to guess, it might've been based on a town in upstate New York. It's mentioned that the town is on a river, and there's another town across the river, as well as ferry service on the river. The town isn't portrayed as extremely small. In this particular book, a building built during the revolutionary period is mentioned, which also implies that the location is somewhere that was part of the original 13 colonies. 

The books are still interesting and entertaining enough, albeit rather brief to read now. There's also a nostalgia element. I can't say whether children nowadays would be interested in this series, since maybe they can't even read well enough to even read a book in the first place.  

Book review: more graphic novels

I'm continuing to work away at the stack of library books from the graphic novels section. I was pleasantly surprised that this library branch has a decent selection of some slightly more obscure or indie comics, rather than just a bunch of manga and superhero stuff. I don't know how the selection in this library compares to other branches in the same library system, but I guess I could check the online catalog. 

Here, by Richard McGuire: I happen to be drawn to more experimental comics, such as this one. It consists of somewhat disjointed scenes of what happens in a specific location over the course of decades, hundreds, thousands and even millions of years. It doesn't have a super clear plot, but some of the characters are seen repeatedly at different parts in the book. 

The colors in this comic are somewhat muted and mostly monochromatic (rotating through different color schemes), but rich. I liked the art style. It seemed to have been drawn in maybe pencil or crayon, something like that. I'd like to own a copy of this book. Thematically, it's a little bit similar to the premise of "Sunday," which I saw at SPX last year but did not buy at that time because it was too expensive. Additionally, it's also reminiscent of the sound sculpture "forest (for a thousand years)" 

If you like experimental comics, this one is good, but if you don't like experimental comics, you probably won't like this one. 

Keeping Two, by Jordan Crane: This comic wasn't that experimental, but it was more indie (turns out it was published by Fantagraphics, an indie comics publisher that had a table at SPX). It depicts two different couples (who don't seem to know each other) as they undergo difficulties and arguments in their relationships. From the bright and cheery looking green cover, I assumed this would be a more upbeat and positive story than it actually was. The art style is done entirely in a monochromatic but bright green palette, and the characters are drawn in a more cute-cartoony way rather than ultra-realism.  

Part of the comic depicts events in the "present day" for each couple, but other parts are memories, flashbacks or imagined scenarios. The "present day" panels are outlined with a solid line border, but the panels depicting memories or imagined scenes are not outlined. It was a little hard to determine whether some of the panels were memories of things that actually happened, or imagined scenes -- these were not differentiated between in terms of style, at least not that I could tell. 

Overall, it's basically a reflection on relationships and the strains that can arise in them. The difficulties the couples face were presented in a very realistic way, in terms of plot and dialogue. It's kind of depressing and heavy despite the vibrant green colors (an interesting juxtaposition, perhaps?). I liked it decently, but not enough to really want my own copy unless I found it for free or very cheaply in a thrift store.      

Commute: an illustrated memoir of female shame, by Erin Williams: This was a memoir-type comic with a simplistic and slightly wonky art style. It was also hand lettered, and the letters were a bit wonky as well. 

It describes the experiences of a woman who was an alcoholic and had sex with a bunch of different men during that time. The recollections of all that are framed against the background of her commute (on a train) to and from work. 

It was a little bit experimental, I suppose? The tone of it was rather stark, with the recollections about traumatic experiences and alcoholism interspersed with mundane things observed during her commute.  

This comic deals with some rather mature themes, like alcoholism, sex, sexual assault, and contains some explicit imagery, so it's aimed at an adult reader. 

I couldn't really relate to some of the main themes in this comic (the alcoholism, having sex with lots of different men while being alcoholic, being sexually assaulted), but it was still interesting I guess. Come to think of it, I can relate to being on a train, but I usually think about different things than what the author thought about during her commute, and/or think about them from a different lens. 

Some parts of the comic were even a bit funny in like a darkly humorous way, such as a scene describing a sexual encounter with a professor she met at her grandfather's funeral: "His skin hung on his body like old plastic bags." Towards the end of the comic, she does start to describe her experiences post-alcoholism and getting sober, and eventually having a baby.    

This one was rather different from other comics I've read, but it was interesting enough, as the experiences described in it are mostly foreign to me. I was surprised that many of the goodreads reviews for this one were negative, since the criticisms they made were not things I really noticed or took issue with. I don't really put much stock in goodreads reviews anyways, but occasionally it can be interesting to see what people are saying on there. 

Book review: graphic novels

I recently was at the library and decided I should get a library card. This library has a selection of graphic novels/comics/manga, so I found a number of books there that seemed interesting. Comics are especially better to read in a physical book, so having a library card now means I can read the various comics they have available there. 

I'm unsure as to whether to count any of these graphic novels towards my reading challenge. I think I should probably keep them in a separate section since they aren't quite the same as regular text-only books. 

One of the comics was a manga recommended by my friend. This one was 'Uzumaki' by the famous horror manga artist Junji Ito. It was very surreal in that uniquely Japanese way that I don't really see in American media. The story just got more and more surreal as it progressed. I didn't find it scary exactly, but it was very intriguing, riveting and suspenseful. It was a relatively quick read even though it was a fairly thick book. It has to do with spirals wreaking havoc on the residents of a town in Japan. 

A minor yet interesting detail in this manga is that apparently hurricanes are described with numbers in Japan. There's a section of the manga where various hurricanes strike the town, and they're described in the news as "hurricane 1" or "hurricane 4" and so on. In the US, hurricanes are described by names, with each subsequent storm getting a name in alphabetical order. 

I also saw a graphic novel adaptation of a short story by the now-disgraced author Neil Gaiman. I'd never read any of his work before because it just didn't interest me, but this one looked short enough that I was willing to give it a try. I read this one in about 10 to 15 minutes while at the library. 

This story, titled 'How to Talk to Girls at Parties' was more of a magical realism type of thing, which is not a genre that interests me. I see magical realism as being different than surrealism, though perhaps it could be said that magical realism is a subset of surrealism. In any case, magical realism isn't a genre I like. I prefer surrealism that's more science-fiction based and/or dystopian and unsettling in some way. 

Something about the story seemed rather hollow to me. I'm not sure if all of his work is like that, or this was just one of his weaker works. The story was written by Neil Gaiman, but illustrated into a graphic novel by some other artists. The premise of the story, which is revealed gradually, is that the girls in question are not actually human. They're some kind of alien (insect?) creatures that are just inhabiting human-looking bodies. 

The art style wasn't really my favorite either, I just wasn't very impressed by it. Maybe it felt like it didn't fit the plot of the story? There were some other graphic novels with stories by Neil Gaiman but I'm not all that inclined to read more of his work. Not necessarily because he's a scumbag, but because it just doesn't interest me in terms of genre. 

The third graphic novel was called 'Upgrade Soul' by an author/cartoonist (Ezra Claytan Daniels) I hadn't heard of before. This one interested me because the premise had to do with people having a new version of themselves created that was physically and intellectually superior, but disfigured. The whole concept of having a new version of yourself is a theme/premise I find interesting (The Substance and Mickey 17 or Mickey7), so I wanted to see how this comic would approach it. 

I found this comic rather weak in its execution. The cover art was also done in a very different style than the actual comic. The execution of the plot wasn't great and I also didn't like the art style very much. The plot was too hard to follow, as there were various flashback scenes that didn't seem differentiated enough from whatever was happening in the "present day" of the comic. 

The characters, I don't know if they needed more development (i.e. making the comic longer) or if they just needed a better author to develop them over the same span of the existing comic. Between The Substance, Mickey 17 or Mickey7 and Upgrade Soul, I found Upgrade Soul to be the worst or most poorly executed. Although its premise is interesting, the author just wasn't able to present it in a way that felt well-done.  

I'm glad I didn't spend money on this book, but I wouldn't mind owning a copy of Uzumaki if I found one used at a good price. Some other reviews on Goodreads compared Upgrade Soul to Flowers for Algernon, and I guess I can vaguely see it, but Upgrade Soul is pretty underwhelming and mediocre, at best. 

In the future, I should be more picky about which graphic novels I choose to read and only choose ones with premises and art styles that I like. I'm still pretty happy about my SPX purchases even though I haven't fully read either of them... I better work on saving up money for the next SPX so I can buy more independent and experimental comics. 

I still have some more graphic novels to read, so I'll do another review of that batch later.