BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories edited by C. Spike Trotman, Kate Ashwin, and Kel McDonald

In the summer of 2024, Caramel read several books on Asian myths and legends. A few months ago he reviewed one of these books. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about another one: Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories, edited by C. Spike Trotman, Kate Ashwin, and Kel McDonald, and published originally in 2016. The edition the book bunnies read is from the 2022 printing.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, you have a graphic-novel kind of a book for us today.

Caramel: Yes, kind of. It is not quite a graphic novel though. It has lots of different stories, not just one.

S: Yes, that is true, it is not quite a graphic novel, because it is not a novel. A novel is a long-form writing, and there is a well-developed story that goes on from the beginning to the end. This one has several short pieces.

C: Yes. There are about twenty-three different stories, of ten to twenty pages each. And they are from all over the world.

S: Well, not quite. Not from all over the world.

C: Okay, they are from all over Asia. There are stories from Japan, China, India, Georgia, Turkey, Laos, Myanmar, Tibet, and Iraq.

S: That is not all the world, but it is quite a lot of different places.

C: Yes, and each story is hand-drawn by a different artist, so it is pretty cool to see that. Every artist has their own style. They are all black and white, but you can definitely see the difference.

S: How cool, Caramel!

C: Yes, very cool!

Caramel is reading Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories, edited by C. Spike Trotman, Kate Ashwin, and Kel McDonald. — Caramel is reading *Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories*, edited by C. Spike Trotman, Kate Ashwin, and Kel McDonald.

S: So tell me a bit about the types of stories. The title of the book is Tamamo the Fox Maiden. So I am assuming there is a story in the book with that title.

C: Yup. It is a story from Japan. It is kind of weird but it is a classic folk tale apparently. Here is a version of it, but the version in the book is not quite the same.

S: It does not seem like it is your favorite then?

C: No not really.

S: So which story is your favorite?

C: I don’t know. I really liked “Ghost Pepper”, a story from Laos, adapted by Molly Nemecek. It is about this guy who likes cooking but his mom does not like spicy stuff. He finds a demon thing who likes his cooking and then he marries her. I like the artist’s style, amusing and very effective.

S: Oh that is neat Caramel. Any others?

C: “The Great Flood”, adapted by Stu Livingston, is also cool. It is a Chinese story, part of a myth that has been retold by many people apparently. I liked this one because it had a good moral.

S: And what was the moral?

C: The boy is hard-working and kind and generous, and not greedy. And in the end good things happen to him. So the story is saying, be kind, hard-working, and generous, and don’t be greedy.

S: I like that. Simple but valuable.

C: Yep.

S: I am glad you enjoyed this book Caramel.

C: Yes, I did! It is always cool to learn about the stories people from other places tell their children.

S: That is so true Caramel. But it is getting late now. I think this might be a good time to wrap up our review.

C: Yes, I already said all I wanted to say anyways.

S: Okay, then, let us stop. But before that you want to say one more thing to our readers, no?

C: Of course! Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories, edited by C. Spike Trotman, Kate Ashwin, and Kel McDonald, and learning about the folk tales of many cultures from around the world. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories*, edited by C. Spike Trotman, Kate Ashwin, and Kel McDonald, and learning about the folk tales of many cultures from around the world.

Marshmallow reviews The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders

Today Marshmallow reviews The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders, published originally in 2005.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like clever, thought-provoking books akin to those of George Orwell, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Set in a truly bizarre world, this story starts in Inner Horner which is a nation literally so small that only one of its seven citizens can fit in it at a time. What do the other six unfortunate Inner Hornerites have to do in the meantime? They basically sit in this tiny area called the Short-Term Residency Zone, located in Outer Horner. The Outer Hornerites naturally feel very superior in comparison to their miniscule neighbors. Suddenly, Inner Horner shrinks to be even smaller so that only one fourth of a citizen can inhabit the nation. This turns out to cause quite the issue with the Outer Horner Militia who feel that this constitutes an “Invasion in Progress” as they say.

While the militia deliberate on what course of action to take, Phil comes in and suggests taxing the Inner Hornites for every day that they infringe on Outer Horner. Phil is described as “a slightly bitter nobody” who fell in love with Carol–an Inner Hornite who fell in love with and married another Inner Hornite, much to Phil’s despair. With the birth of her child, Phil’s despondency contorted to more closely resemble anger. Utilizing his constituents’ naïveté and gullability, Phil convinces the Militia that the Inner Hornites are inferior to the Outer Hornites, something that confirms most of the Outer Hornites’ inner thoughts.

As the book progresses, the Inner Hornites are treated increasingly worse and worse as Phil rises from a nobody to the leader of Outer Horner. While the characters are not humans (they are all amalgamations of objects, biological parts, and machinery it seems), the plot draws a line definitively parallel to some of humanity’s worst times.

Marshmallow is reading The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders. — Marshmallow is reading *The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil* by George Saunders.

Marshmallow’s Review: This book was really bizarre. The world, the nations’ names, the characters are all just weird, but all this weirdness makes the book stand out even more in my opinion. There is not very much description of the surroundings other than it seems like Earth. There are trees and rivers and dirt and apparently a cafe in Outer Horner, but, other than that, not much else is given. The citizens are all described and drawn as being some sort of strange creatures, but none of them are the same. For example, the president of Outer Horner is described as “consisting of a jumble of bellies, white mustaches, military medals, and dignified double chins, all borne magnificently aloft on three thin wobbly legs.” Suffice it to say, they all look pretty unusual.

But the differences between us and them pretty much end there. Phil’s rise to power and the suppression of the Inner Hornites honestly follows the same course human history has too many times (this disturbingly reminded me of what I learned about pre-WWII Germany). I wonder if the weird descriptions of the characters represent some deeper analogy. The plot is intriguing and the ending was definitely very interesting.

I read The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil in an hour and five minutes, so it’s definitely pretty short. There are some drawings that made me feel like this book is a little similar to The Phantom Tollbooth. Of course one also cannot help but think of Animal Farm, another short allegorical tale about the rise of tyranny.

Overall, The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil was a fascinating book and I would recommend it to almost all ages. It is slightly amusing yet intriguing in a bizarre way that is hard to explain; the way to best understand what I mean is to read it!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil* by George Saunders 100%.

Caramel reviews Flipping Brilliant by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan

Inspired by Marshmallow’s first book for the new season, Caramel decided to start his reviews with Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life, first published in 2008. The book brings together nature photographer Jonathan Chester’s images with accompanying text by Patrick Regan. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan. — Caramel reviews *Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life* by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I am glad you chose to talk about this book today, even though it may not be completely targeting a young audience.

Caramel: Yes, Marshmallow talked about an advice book, so I thought this would work well to follow it. And also because it is a really short book. Only fifty-nine pages!

S: That is short! And actually the book does not have much text in it.

C: Yep. Basically 39 out of 59 are all just photos of penguins.

S: Did you just count that?

C: No. But I am approximating. A lot of the pages are full of penguin photos and there are some words sprinkled here and there that match them.

S: I see. So there are some cool photos by the photographer, Jonathan Chester, and then the other person, Patrick Regan adds some pithy statement to each photo that makes sense.

C: Yes for example one of my favorites is a photo of four penguins walking in a line. This is on page 57. They look really funny. They look like the Beatles. Remember how they were crossing the street?

S: Yes, here it is:

Image from Beatles album Abbey Road, obtained from Wikipedia, under fair use conditions.

C: Yes, so the four penguins look just like that! And the words next to the penguins say:

“Be an original. There have been countless imitators, but there is a reason the Beatles will never be forgotten. Find your own road.”

S: That is cool Caramel!

C: Yes I agree!

Caramel is reading Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan. — Caramel is reading *Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life* by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan.

S: I think there are some notes about each of the photos in the back of the book. Right?

C: Yep. For my four penguins it says: “King penguins, Falkland Islands. King penguins, true to their name, comport themselves in a regal fashion. Their stateliness, beautiful mating ritual, and gregariousness make them a delight to observe.”

S: That is neat! So you get to learn the type of penguin in the picture and also where the photo was actually taken.

C: Yes. And a little fact about the penguins too. And you know I love my facts!

S: I do! But when I first saw you read this book, I thought it was going to be something like Penguins Hate Stuff, which you reviewed a long time ago.

C: Yeah, that was a good book, too. But that was mostly funny. And the images were hand-drawn. Here the images are real, and the words say meaningful stuff. But of course I can laugh at them too. For example, there is one which says “It’s better to be smart than cute. (And best to be both.)” And that is kind of funny!

S: But it is also true. You are both smart and cute. So it applies to you!

C: Hmm, I don’t know how to respond to that without sounding too full of myself or too humble.

S: Okay, you do not have to say anything.

C: Okay, so maybe we can say we are done with the post?

S: Sure. Let us wrap it up then. What would you like to say to our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan and recommends it to all little bunnies who love penguins. (After all, penguins are among the cutest animals, besides bunnies.) — Caramel enjoyed reading *Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life* by Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan and recommends it to all little bunnies who love penguins. (After all, penguins are among the cutest animals, besides bunnies.)

Marshmallow reviews Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown by Pema Chödrön

The book bunnies are back! Today in her first review for the new 2025-2026 season, Marshmallow is writing about Pema Chödrön’s short but impactful book, Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown, published first in 2015.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about self-improvement, contemplation, and dealing with challenges, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): The book starts with a foreword by Seth Godin, in which he introduces an interesting phrase from the author: “getting all the frogs in the bowl.” This essentially means that, despite all efforts, if you’re trying to get frogs to stay in a bowl, there will always be some that hop right out–which I presume is a metaphor for the occasional, unavoidable failure. He describes his own past with failure, citing the plethora of publishing rejections he experienced. But Chödrön, he says, teaches one how to dance while the frogs continue to jump. This piqued my interest.

Godin also mentions the “infinite game” (one you play not to win, but simply to play). He ties this into the jumping frogs, claiming that perhaps the jumping frogs are the point, rather than the orthodox objective of just getting them to sit still in the bowl. I found this point a little more difficult to tie into the objective of the book. Rather than focusing on how to grow from failure, it suggests that the entire purpose of existence is failure. I felt that this is a separate thesis that is harder to defend. But the foreword made me excited to start.

The central core of the book is derived from a speech Chödrön gave at her granddaughter’s college graduation. In it, she explains that she wasn’t sure her topic choice would be appropriate since preparation for failure (her topic choice) is superfluous–teachers and students hope–if one is taught to avoid mistakes in the first place. Yet, she says that the “fine art of failing” may be the most important lesson that these new graduates will learn in their entire lives.

Most of her speech centers on the topic of “welcoming the unwelcome.” Through this, Chödrön explains, one can turn towards their pain and their failures and learn from them by letting go.

Chödrön describes the two main responses we have towards failure: we often blame other people or other factors for it, and we almost always begin to experience some sort of self-identification with failure. The author describes how she hit rock bottom after leaving her second husband and found guidance with the founder of the college she is speaking at, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. She also recounts an old story which I found fascinatingly eye-opening. The speech then ends, and rather abruptly, but she delivers her message effectively and really does not need to say much else.

The third and final part of this book is an interview with the author conducted by Tami Simon. This section really goes way deeper on all the ideas introduced more briefly in the speech (which was shorter and interspersed with little calming illustrations).

Marshmallow is reading Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown by Pema Chödrön. — Marshmallow is reading *Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown* by Pema Chödrön.

Marshmallow’s Review: I found this to be a very engaging book. I agree with many of the ideas, and actually found that some of my own ideas appeared in this book. The author certainly has many novel, wise suggestions and is clearly trying to make the world and the reader better. I liked how the solution presented is more about addressing the pain of failure rather than how to prevent it because there are many amazing books about that too (see for example all the books by Cal Newport that I have already reviewed for our blog). But overall, the speech itself is like a calm, easy-to-read intro to the ideas that are expanded more in the interview.

I thought this was a very intellectually and emotionally engaging book. Overall, Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown is short, but engenders deep contemplation that will last for a long time.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 98%.

Marshmallow rates Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown by Pema Chödrön 98%. — Marshmallow rates *Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning into the Unknown* by Pema Chödrön 98%.