What I've been reading

"The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story," a graphic non-fiction book by Vivek J. Tiwary (author) and Andrew C Robinson (illustrator), with additional illustrations by Kyle Baker. As far as I could tell, all three men who worked on this book are heterosexual, but they treated Epstein's sexual outsider status sensitively. I thought it was interesting what they chose to leave out (no mention of Pete Best) and what they included (Epstein's disconcerting encounter with Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker), but you can tell it was lovingly researched. Highly recommended.

http://thefifthbeatle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/FIFTHBPG043-044.jpg

and

"The Round House" by Louise Erdrich, as an audiobook. The viewpoint character is Joe, a 13-year-old boy who lives on a South Dakota reservation with mother and his father, who is a tribal judge. At the beginning of the book, Joe's mother is viciously attacked and so traumatized she can't talk about what happened. Joe decides to investigate, despite being discourged from doing it by his father, and later decides to serve up vigilante justice. It's a really grim premise, but Erdrich add some comic relief. I've enjoyed or loved everything else I've read by the author, and Erdrich has knocked another one out of the park with this novel.

My full comments on both books here.