As you can see from all the shelves I put it on, this book is a little bit of a lot of things. Very informative, well-researched, extremely creative, and humorously annotated. Warning: it's not very linear, which is good if you like that sort of thing (I do).

I was first drawn to this as I recalled Babbage from a mentioned from a LIS prof. Lady Lovelace is new to me (shame on me). It was immensely entertaining AND informative. ( )

This might be the nerdiest thing I have ever been into.

I think scholars can learn a thing or two from Padua. She has a passion for the subject that just jumps from the page and it is very infectious, also, she is hilarious. If I have just one criticism, it is that the footnotes during the comic, and the enormous notes after each story plus the historical appendicx made each story a little unhinged. It was hard to know what to read and in which order. On the other hand, this will make me read the book again at least one more time which I already look forward to. ( )

That was so much fun. Brilliant. ( )

The book was definitely worth reading, especially the extensive footnotes and addenda. The combination of cartoon with fictional elements and history was a bit confusing. ( )

Oh my goodness, read this!!
(Caveat: if you consider yourself to have an inquiring mind. If you have the teensiest interest in math or computers or history. Then read this!!)

I should start by saying I'm not into graphic novels. But this captured me completely. It's the story of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, the 19th-century duo that almost invented the computer 100 years early. (It would have been steam-powered.) But unfortunately their plans never quite came to fruition. Babbage's "Difference Engine" was only constructed as a fragment, and Ada's brilliant mathematical mind led her to write some stellar notes for software programming and then she died young.
UNTIL NOW! The cartoonist, Sydney Padua, admits to being so infatuated with these people that she couldn't stop researching them and drawing them. This giant book is the result. Sealed off in a "bubble universe" where their Analytical Engine is a reality and anything is possible, Lovelace and Babbage can have endless new adventures, assisted by their loyal footman Minion. (I particularly like when Minion starts impersonating Microsoft's much-maligned Clippy.)

This book is equal parts comic strip and supplemental material. There are footnotes and endnotes enough to keep even the geekiest happy. It's delicious!!! I've passed it on to my dad and he's glued. ( )