Back in December, I went to New York City for Christmas, meeting a friend there, seeing some shows, a concert, the city, and whatever else one does whilst one is in The City.
Along the way I stopped by the Bluestockings Bookstore, Cafe & Activist Center (there’s a mouthful) – which is a liberal, progressive, and queer-friendly bookstore in the (what I would call) Lower-East Side.
It was the day after Christmas, unseasonably warm, and I had just bought a new backpack at Topo Design’s NYC location – promptly taking off a sweatshirt and putting it in the backpack on my back. From there I headed east to the bookstore for my first visit.
I think that I bought 3 books in 10 minutes before I restrained myself and headed to the cash register to pay. According to my credit card statement, I spent $52.23 at the shop – of this, $16.99 (plus tax) was for the book on the left, Check Please! (Book 1: #Hockey), by Ngozi Ukazu.
For some reason, I’ve sort of latched on to hockey as a background sport to watch – you can see that in the previously featured Prince Albert Raiders sweater. I also have a Montreal Canadiens Sweatshirt that I picked up last September. Further, and this might be too confessional, I’ve read a couple of hockey romances – I can heartily recommend Him and Us, both by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy.
Ooops, I got off track – sorry.
Anyway, Check Please is a graphic novel written by Ngozi Ukazu – apparently she knew nothing about ice hockey before her senior year at Yale, when she learned a whole lot about in order to write a screenplay about the sport; knowledge that was used to launch Check Please comic. (She mentions in the forward to book one that she’s a first-generation Texan, with Nigerian roots. Talk about traits that seem diametrically opposed to knowing anything about ice hockey.)
The main character is a figure skater turned hockey player – who falls in love with the team captain.
I read the first book in January, shortly after getting it back home – and I found the book incredibly charming and engaging. I immediately preordered the second book – which was nearly delivered to my office (a place I have not been since March 13th). I had to cancel my order, ordering it anew to be delivered to my home.
Now that I have the sequel – and finished the book I was reading in bed before – I will start reading it.
I hope book 2 is as good as book 1.
During the Covid-19 crisis, I am going to try and make a point of writing a blog post about an object in my home.
We’ll see how long this lasts.
People Leave Comments: