Review # 278: Huge Words by Huge People by Liam James Leaven / Illustrated by Katrina Kinder

Description: (from Amazon)

     From author Liam James Leaven and artist Katrina Kinder comes this collection of masterfully illustrated Huge Words by Huge People quotes.

     Delving deeper into the pearls of wisdom and inspiration spoken by others, Leaven works to unearth greater truths to present the world in a unique, irreverent, and always hilarious manner. Clinical depression has never been so much fun!

Review:

     I thought that Huge Words by Huge People had an interesting premise - taking the words of the greats and adding a unique modern spin to them. I have always been a fan of twisting words into puns and the like, so I was intrigued by author, Liam James Leaven's, work, especially since I knew that it was illustrated. I liked the fun, sometimes child-like, sketches that depicted each quote, many of them were laugh worthy, particularly the more literal ones. I also enjoyed the pastel/ black color scheme. As for the "Huge Words", my reaction was 50/50. Many of the mash-ups were very clever, even deep, but others seemed obscure and discombobulated. Here is one of the funnier compilations:

"Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom... people who land on trampolines, therefore, are generally more successful than those who land on large piles of bricks. So go get yourself a trampoline, and then hire a pygmy to follow you around holding the trampoline behind you, in case you fall." by George W. Patton & Liam James Leaven

Besides the odd quote match-ups, I really thought that Liam's blog/ book idea was uniquely novel, and a great conversation piece! The off-beat nature of the book definitely made it worth the read, and the length (68 pages) was perfect for toting around until break-time. Overall, I enjoyed my reading experience, I just wish that there had been more "Huge Words".

Rating: Bounty's Out (3.5/5)

*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

About the Author:

     Liam James Leaven is the name of a computer program that travels through the ethereal Space of Cyber, posting random musings at binary will at some of the world's most preeminent think tanks and thought gathering grounds. Recently, in a flash of Avatar-esque genius, Liam James Leaven's programmer recruited a goofy looking bloke to hook a motherboard and WiFi connection to his brain and be Liam James Leaven's tactile connection to the real world.

     While Liam James Leaven leaps from WiFi to cable modem to Ethernet connection, leaving a trail of woeful ruminations in his path, his avatar travels the streets, roads, paths and alleyways of the world, peddling hard copies of the program's RNG-generated musings. Together, Liam James Leaven and his avatar hope to one day conquer the world, take all the stuff, recede to their compound and build a big fence.