Posted: 2019/06/03 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: audio book, E-Books, Fiction, Graphic Novel, NonFiction | Tags: Anthony Trollope, bears, boats, childrens book, E Nesbit, Earlene Fowler, Ellis Peters, Fiction, Fridtjof Nansen, graphic novel, historical, lists, magical realism, marriage, mystery, NonFiction, north pole, ocean, Patrick O'Brian, Rafi Zabor, Raymond Briggs, religion, series, Sloan Wilson |
I can’t even begin to describe May. My first time to the Southwest. My first time traveling with family. Many different firsts. But, enough of that. Here are the books:
Fiction:
- The Man in Gray Flannel by Sloan Wilson
- Mariner’s Compass by Earlene Fowler
- Bear Comes Home by Rafi Zabor
- Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
- Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Nonfiction:
- Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs
- Farthest North by Dr. Fridtjof Nansen
Series Continuation:
- Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
- Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
Posted: 2019/05/14 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust I, Graphic Novel, NonFiction | Tags: 2019, biography, book lust i, book review, childhood, graphic novel, may, NonFiction, Raymond Briggs |
Briggs, Raymond. Ethel and Ernest: a True Story. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.
Reason read: May is Graphic Novel month. I read that somewhere.
This is Raymond Brigg’s story of his parents as a couple from the moment they met until death did them part. Simplistic in graphic novel form but powerful in message. What started off as an accidental communication for the couple kicked off a poignant romance that lasted fifty years. Brigg’s loving tribute continues through his parents’s courtship and marriage, his mom giving birth to him at 38 years old (their only child), the war and the political aftermath, the ravages of aging, and finally each of their deaths. What makes the retelling so heartwarming is Brigg’s ability to communicate parental emotion. Every fear, hope, happiness and expectation they felt towards their son was delivered and exposed in loving detail.
Author fact: Briggs was removed from his parents (evacuated during the war for safety) when he was five years old.
Book trivia: Ethel and Ernest is a graphic novel.
Nancy said: Pearl called Ethel and Ernest a “touching story” (Book Lust p 103).
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Graphic Novels” (p 103). Interestingly enough, the title Ethel and Ernest and author Raymond Briggs are missing from the index.
Posted: 2019/05/01 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: audio books, E-Books, Fiction, Graphic Novel, NonFiction | Tags: animals, Anythony Trollope, bears, boats, books, childrens book, E Nesbit, e-books, Earlene Fowler, Ellis Peters, exploration, Fiction, Fridtjof Nansen, graphic novel, Isaac Asimov, lists, marriage, murder, Music, mystery, NonFiction, north pole, ocean, Patrick O'Brian, Rafi Zabor, Raymond Briggs, religion, science fiction, series, Sloan Wilson, travel |
I will be traveling for part of May so who knows how many books I’ll be able to read for this month. Here is the list I will attempt:
Fiction:
- Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Sloan Wilson – in honor of May being Wilson’s birth month.
- Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs – in honor of Graphic Novel month being in May.
- Mariner’s Compass by Earlene Fowler – in honor of May is Museum Month.
- Bear Comes Home by Rafi Zabor- in honor of May being Music Month.
- Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters – in honor of the first Thursday in May being Prayer Week.
- Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian – in honor of my father’s birth month. As a kid he read this book.
- Five Children and It by E. Nesbit – in honor of May being Nesbit’s birth month.
Nonfiction:
- Farthest North by Fridtjof Nansen – in honor of Peary’s birth month being in May. From one explorer to another.
Series continuations:
- Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov – to continue the series started in January in honor of Asimov’s birth month.
- Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope – to continue the series started in honor of Trollope’s birth month in April.
Posted: 2016/04/15 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: Book Reviews, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Lust To Go, NonFiction | Tags: 2016, april, book lust iii, book review, Bryan Talbot, Fiction, graphic novel, Lewis Carroll, NonFiction |
Talbot, Bryan. Alice in Sunderland. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Books, 2007
Reason read: April Fools
One word: savor. Savor this book slowly. It’s only 319 pages but let every page have it’s moment in time. This is a beautiful piece of art, chock full of culture, biography, history, creative use of the English language (“follow your spirit” with a picture of someone chasing a vodka truck), a comic book inside a graphic novel, brimming with literary references (Thirty-Nine Steps and Rugby, the same school made infamous by Tom Brown’s Schooldays, to name a few) and much, much more. This is a comprehensive walk through history with a myriad of people and places leading the way. In Book Lust To Go Nancy Pearl called it “one of the richest experiences of her life (p 68).
The premise is really quite simple. Bryan Talbot has researched his hometown of Sunderland and found every possible parallel connection to Lewis Carroll’s famed The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. It’s brilliant. Read this alongside The Annotated Alice for a healthy dose of all things Wonderland.
Best quote, “All the lives seen tonight…so many lives…” (p 290). Case in point: here’s the ridiculously long list of Who’s Who in Alice in Sunderland. How about a game? How many people do you recognize?:
- Abraham Lincoln
- Al Davison
- Alan Hargreaves
- Alexandria “Xie” Kitchin
- Alfred Jarry
- Alice Liddell
- Ally Sloper
- Andy Capp
- Arthur Racham
- Arthur Frost
- Bande Dessinee
- Beatles
- Bede
- Benedict Biscop
- Benny Hill
- Beryl Formby
- Bessie Wilcox
- Betty Boop
- Bill Shakespeare
- Blondin
- Bobby Thompson
- Bram Stoker
- Bryan Ferry
- Caedmon
- Capt. Edward Robinson
- Capt. Joseph Wiggins
- Capt. William Bligh
- Caryl Hargreaves
- Cary Grant
- Catherine Cookson
- Charles Dickens
- Charles Kingsley
- Charles Lutwidge Dodson
- Charles Weiss
- Charlie Chaplin
- Chaz Brenchley
- Chster P Hackenbush
- Chico Marx
- Chris Mullin
- Clarkson Stanfield
- Colin Wilbourn
- Craig Knowles
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Dave Stewart
- David Malan
- David McKean
- Dennis Potter
- Dick Turpin
- Disraeli
- Doctor Who
- Dorothy Williamson
- Dracula
- Duke of Wellington
- Earl Zetland
- Earl of Bute
- Edgar Allan Poe
- Edgar Atheling
- Edith Liddell
- Edward Bulwer Lytton
- Edward Burne Jones
- Edward Hylton
- Edward Schoeder
- Edwin Moss
- Eileen O’Shaughnessy
- Elizabeth I
- Elizabeth Liddell
- Ellen Terry
- Emily Pankhurs
- Emperor Claudius
- Eric Gill
- Florence Becker Lennon
- Frank Caws
- Franz Kafka
- Frederick Cotton
- Fredericka Liddell
- Friar Tuck
- George “Dubya” Bush
- George Formby
- George Hudson
- George Lightfoot
- George Lilburne
- George Orwell
- George Stephenson
- George Washington
- Gerald Frow
- Gertrude Bell
- Grace Slick
- Grant Morrison
- Harry Furniss
- Harry Lauder
- Harry Potter
- Henry VIII
- Hedworth Williams, Sr.
- Henry George Liddell
- Henry Holiday
- Henry Hylton
- Henry Irving
- Henry Lambton
- Henry Stanley
- Houdini
- Hunt Emerson
- Ian Watson
- Irving Berlin
- Isabella Hazard
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel
- Jack Crawford
- Jack the Ripper
- James Herriot
- James Joyce
- Jan Svankmeyers
- Jeff Smith
- Jimmy Carter
- Joe Nattras
- John Bunyan
- John George Lambton
- John Humble
- John Lawrence
- John Lennon
- John Lilburne
- John Millais
- John Paul Jones
- John Proctor
- John Ruskin
- John Tenniel
- Jonathan Hanker
- Jonathan Miller
- Jordan Smith
- Joseph Conrad
- Joseph Swan
- Joseph Wiggins
- Joshua Wilson
- Karl Fisher
- Karl Marx
- Kate Adie
- Keanu Reeves
- Kelly Osbourne
- Ken Russell
- Kevin Cadwallender
- King Athelstan
- King Charles I
- King Ecgfrith
- King George I
- King Harold
- King James I
- Lady Montagu Wortley
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Leo Baxendale
- Leopold Hargreaves
- Les Dawson
- Lewis Carroll
- Lily Lumley
- Lizzie Webster
- Lord Ravensworth
- Luther Arkwright
- MacDonald Gill
- Manfred Mann
- Manuella Bute Smedley
- Margaret Thatcher
- Marie Lloyd
- Marilyn Manson
- Marilyn Monroe
- Mark Lemon
- Marlene Dietrich
- Mary Ann Robson Cotton
- Mary Shelley
- Mary Wortley
- Max Ernst
- Mervyn Peake
- Michael Bute
- Michelangelo
- Mike D’Abo
- Miles Standish
- Mother Shipton
- Mr T
- Nannie Scott
- Ned Kelly
- Neil Gaiman
- Nellie Melba
- Nicholas Hawksmoor
- Odo of Bayeux
- Olga Lowe
- Olive Hardy
- Oliver Goldsmith
- Oswald Moseley
- Oswald Stoll
- Ozzy Osbourne
- Patrick Lavelle
- Paul McCartney
- Peter Camm
- Peter O’Toole
- Peter Smart
- Peter Sutcliffe
- Prince Leopold
- Queen Elizabeth II
- Queen Victoria
- Ralph Steadman
- Ravi Shankar
- Reginald Hargreaves
- Rev. Charles Collingwood
- Rev. John Wesley
- Rev. Robert Gray
- Rex Hargreaves
- Rhoda Liddell
- Richard Nixon
- Richard Thornton
- Richard Wallace
- Rick Griffin
- Robert Bowes
- Robert Graves
- Robert Heinlein
- Robert Liltburne
- Robert Stephenson
- Robin Hood
- Robinson Duckworth
- Roger Skelton
- Roland Wilson
- Rudolf Toffer
- Saint Cuthbert
- Saint Godric
- Saint Hilda
- Sally Geeson
- Salvador Dali
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Sarah Junner Lawrence
- Sarah Michelle Gellar
- Scott McCloud
- Septimus Scott
- Sheri Holman
- Sidney James
- Sir Henry Havelock
- Sir Humphrey Davy
- Sir John Lambton
- Sir John Conyers
- Sir Walter Scott
- Sir William of Hylton
- Stan Laurel
- Steven Spielberg
- Stuart Dodgson Collingwood
- Suzy Varty
- T Arthur
- TS Eliot
- Tennyson
- Thomas Dixon
- Thomas Edison
- Thomas Edward Lawrence
- Thomas Henry Liddell
- Thomas Paine
- Thomas Randall
- Tom Taylor
- Tony Blair
- Tove Jansson
- Trina Robbins
- Ulysses S Grant
- Vesta Tilley
- Virginia Woolf
- Vladimir Nabokov
- WC Fields
- WH Auden
- Wee Georgie Woods
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Wilkie Collins
- William Bell Scott
- William Blake
- William Clanny
- William Hogarth
- William Hylton
- William Joyce
- William McGonagall
- William Mills
- William Morris
- William Mowbray
- William Reid Clanny
- William the Bastard
- William the Conqueror
- William Wilcox
- Windson McKay
- Winnie Davies
- Woody Allen
- Yehudi Menhin
Fun stuff: Ever wonder why all public doors are supposed to open outward? The answer is in Alice in Sunderland. Did you know there is a missing Alice chapter called Wasp in a Wig? Or that Grace Slick is such a huge fan of Alice that she created a whole series of Wonderland inspired paintings when she retired from music.
Favorite line, “Don’t confuse the genre with the medium” (p 187).
Author fact: Talbot has his own website here.
Book trivia: I know I said it before but this book is an oversized visual treat.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Comics with a Sense of Place” (p 68).
Posted: 2016/03/31 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: books, Fiction, Graphic Novel, NonFiction | Tags: Barbara Kingsolver, Bernard Malamud, biography, books, Bryan Talbot, Eleanor Perenyi, Fiction, Food, france, gardening, graphic novel, Jayne Krentz, Joihn Gottman, Juliet Barker, list, Marilynne Robinson, marriage, mfk fisher, Morgan Spurlock, Neil White, NonFiction, Robert Caro, Tim Moore, William Burroughs |
I don’t know where March went. I’ve looked under calendars and in date books and I still can’t figure it out. The month went by so fast! Here are the books finished for March:
- Naked Lunch by William Burroughs
- The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
- Family Man by Jayne Krentz
- Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (AB)
- The Brontes by Juliet Barker (DNF)
- Means of Ascent by Robert Caro (DNF)
- Center of the World by Jacqueline Sheehan (Fun)
- In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White (would have been an Early Review book a long time ago)
On tap for April (besides a little Noodle 5k run):
- A Considerable Town by MFK Fisher ~ in honor of April being the best time to visit France
- The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman ~ for fun
- Green Thoughts by Eleanor Perenyi ~ in honor of gardening month
- Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot ~ in honor of April Fools
- Don’t Eat This Book by Morgan Spurlock ~ in honor of April being Food Month (AB)
- The Grand Tour by Tim Moore ~ in honor of Harvey Ball passing in April
Posted: 2016/02/01 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: Book Reviews, Graphic Novel, Lust To Go, NonFiction | Tags: 2016, book lust iii, book review, graphic novel, january, Josh Neufeld, new orleans, NonFiction |
Neufeld, Josh. A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. New York: Pantheon Books, 2010.
Reason read: Mardi Gras is held in New Orleans every February. Rather than read this in August (typical because of the date of Hurricane Katrina) I decided to twist it up a little. Just as Pearl did (see BookLust Twist at the end of this review).
Right from the very beginning you know you are in for something deeply moving and very special when reading the graphic novel A.D. (although technically it is not a novel. Novel implies fiction, right?). Neufeld starts the reader off looking at Earth from outer space. As we look down on North America we almost get a sense of the calm before the storm. On the next page the graphic orientates us to the tragedy to come as we get a bird’s eye view of the city of New Orleans. We are coming in closer. We see the city as one entity and the storm as another, as if they are two strangers being introduced at a party. As the days go by we follow the lives of seven New Orleans residents. This becomes a biography of each individual.
To me, what is incredibly sad is the emphasis on their naivete, their attitude of “this is no big deal” all because hurricanes in their corner of the world come and go. They have lived through them before. They are experts in the realm of weather. That may be true, but no one expected the levies to go…
Yes. You can read this in one day as posting this on the first implies. My recommendation? Read it several times. Read and share it. There is a message hidden in the comic.
My favorite StopYouInYourTracks quote: “At least then we wouldn’t have had to walk on top of the things I cared about the most” (Leo, on page 171).
As an aside: Neufeld wasn’t the only artist to be shocked by Hurricane Katrina. Many talented individuals expressed their grief through art. But, listen to Natalie Merchant. She wrote a song called “Go Down Moses” (on her self titled album) that addresses not only the city of New Orleans after the hurricane, but the Danziger Bridge tragedy as well. Danziger is what she was referring to when she says, “let your people cross over.” Sad.
Author fact: the author of A.D. is JOSH Neufeld. Josh, not Joshua as Nancy Pearl refers to him. He is Josh in twelve different places in the book: on the front cover, on the title page, four times on the copyright page, in the afterward, on the “about the author” page, on the back flap and three in separate instances on the back cover. Not once does the name “Joshua” appear anywhere. Call me crazy, but I think he wants to be called Josh. For more information on Josh and this project, check out this link.
Book trivia: this was a New York Times best seller. Of course it was.
BookLust Twist: in Book Lust To Go but not for the reasons you would think. You’re thinking this would be in the chapter “New Orleans” but it’s not. It’s in “Comics with a Sense of Place” (p 68).
Posted: 2015/10/01 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: audio book, biography, books, E-Books, Early Review, Fiction, General, Graphic Novel, history | Tags: biography, books, cookbook, Early Review, Fiction, Food, graphic novel, historical, librarything, lists, NonFiction, Poetry, reading, Running, science, travel |
This should be my favorite month because I’ve been so deeply tied to Just ‘Cause (think pink) and I love, love, love Halloween. But, all I can think about is the run. Here are the books, by the way!
Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan In a Strange City by Laura LippmanBy a Spider’s Thread by Laura Lippman Recognitions by William Gaddis Maus by Art SpiegelmanLady Franklin’s Revenge by Ken McGooganBrief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao* by Junot Diaz Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonEugene Onegin by Alexander PushkinShadow Rising by Robert JordanA Good Doctor’s Son by Steven SchwartzDrinking: a Love Story by Caroline KnappAncient Rome on 5 Denarii a Day by Philip MatyszakNero Wolfe Cookbook by Rex StoutTreasure Hunter by W. JamesonMaus II by Art Spiegelman (Jan)The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat In Xanadu by William DalrympleThe Assault by Harry MulischWild Blue by Stephen Ambrose Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore Greater Nowheres by David Finkelstein/Jack London Alma Mater by P.F Kluge Old Man & Me by Elaine Dundy Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy Good Life by Ben BradleeUnderworld by Don DeLilloHer Name Was Lola by Russell Hoban Man Who Was Thursday by GK ChestertonFires From Heaven by Robert JordanFinnegan’s Wake by James JoyceHerb ‘n’ Lorna by Eric KraftPolish Officer by Alan Furst –Lord of Chaos by Robert JordanWalden by Henry David ThroreauReservations Recommended by Eric Kraft Selected Letters of Norman Mailer edited by J. Michael LennonChasing Monarchs by Robert Pyle Saturday Morning Murder by Batya Gur Bebe’s By Golly Wow by Yolanda Joe Lives of the Muses by Francine Prose Broom of the System by David Wallace Crown of Swords by Robert JordanLittle Follies by Eric KraftLiterary Murder by Batya Gur Bob Marley, My Son by Cedella Marley BookerNight Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupery Southern Mail by Antoine de Saint- ExuperyMeasure of All Things, the by Ken AlderTwo Gardeners by Emily Wilson Royal Flash by George Fraser Binding Spell by Elizabeth Arthur Crown of Swords by Robert JordanADDED: Castle in the Backyard by Betsy Draine Path of Daggers by Robert JordanWhere Do You Stop? by Eric KraftEverything You Ever Wanted by Jillian LaurenMurder on a Kibbutz by Batya GurFlash for Freedom! by George FraserMurder in Amsterdam by Ian BurumaPetra: lost city by Christian AugeFrom Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas FriedmanCutting for Stone by Abraham VergheseFlashman at the Charge by George MacDonald FraserWhat a Piece of Work I Am by Eric KraftBattle Cry of Freedom by James McPhersonRuby by Cynthia Bond
Winter’s Heart by Robert JordanCrossroads of Twilight by Robert JordanMurder Duet by Batya GurFlashman in the Great Game – George MacDonald FraserAt Home with the Glynns by Eric KraftSixty Stories by Donald BarthelmeNew Physics and Cosmology by Arthur ZajoncGrifters by Jim ThompsonSnow Angels by James Thompson
So Many Roads: the life and Times of the Grateful Dead by David Browne
Short story: Drinking with the Cook by Laura FurmanShort Story: Hagalund by Laura FurmanLone Pilgrim by Laurie ColwinNot so Short story: The Last of Mr. Norris by Christopher Isherwoodshort story: Jack Landers is My Friend by Daniel Stolarshort story: Marriage Lessons by Daniel StolarLight in August by William FaulknerNot so Short story: Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher IsherwoodA Comedy & A Tragedy by Travis Hugh Culley
Feed Zone by Biju ThomasLeaving Small’s Hotel by Eric KraftFlashman’s Lady by George MacDonald FraserIn the Footsteps of Genghis Khan by John DeFrancisFaster! by James Gleick
Game of Kings by Dorothy DunnettADDED: Families and Survivors by Alice AdamsInflating a Dog by Eric Kraft
Castles in the Air by Judy Corbett
Flashman and the Redskins by George MacDonald Fraser
Queens’ Play by Dorothy Dunnett
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John IrvingPetty by Warren Zanes
Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
Homicide by David Simon- Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman (AB)
- Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett
- Flashman and the Dragon by George MacDonald Fraser
- ADDED: A Cup of Water Under My Bed by Daisy Hernandez (ER)
- ADDED: Crows Over a Wheatfield by Paula Sharp
- ADDED: Time Traveler: In Search of Dinosaurs and Ancient Mammals from Montana to Mongolia by Michael Novacek
- Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman (Nov)
- Flashman and the Mountain of Light by George MacDonald Fraser (Nov)
- Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett (Nov)
- Andorra by Peter Cameron (Nov)
DNF = Did Not Finish; AB = Audio Book; ER = Early Review; DNS = Did Not Start; EB = E-Book
Posted: 2015/02/27 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: audio book, Early Review, Fiction, Graphic Novel, NonFiction | Tags: biography, books, Early Review, Fiction, graphic novel, Letters, librarything, lists, NonFiction, reading, travel, world war ii |
Here we are, three months into a new year of the Challenge. March marks month four. Weird, I know. Here are the books. You will notice a few additions. That’s because I found out that Batya Gur wrote a series and Murder on a Kibbutz is in the middle.
Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (DNF)In a Strange City by Laura LippmanBy a Spider’s Thread by Laura Lippman (AB)Recognitions by William Gaddis (DNF)Maus by Art SpiegelmanLady Franklin’s Revenge by Ken McGooganBrief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao* by Junot Diaz (AB)
Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonEugene Onegin by Alexander PushkinShadow Rising by Robert JordanADDED: A Good Doctor’s Son by Steven SchwartzADDED: Drinking: a Love Story by Caroline KnappADDED: Ancient Rome on 5 Denarii a Day by Philip MatyszakADDED: Nero Wolfe Cookbook by Rex StoutADDED: Treasure Hunter by W. Jameson (ER)Maus II by Art Spiegelman (Jan)ADDED: The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat (AB)
ADDED: In Xanadu by William DalrympleADDED: The Assault by Harry MulischWild Blue by Stephen Ambrose
Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore
Greater Nowheres by David Finkelstein/Jack London
ADDED: Alma Mater by P.F Kluge
ADDED: Old Man & Me by Elaine Dundy
ADDED: Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
Good Life by Ben BradleeUnderworld by Don DeLilloHer Name Was Lola by Russell Hoban
Man Who Was Thursday by GK ChestertonFires From Heaven by Robert JordanFinnegan’s Wake by James Joyce DNFHerb ‘n’ Lorna by Eric KraftPolish Officer by Alan Furst – ABLord of Chaos by Robert Jordan (Mar)ADDED: Walden by Henry David ThroreauADDED: Reservations Recommended by Eric Kraft (Mar/Feb)- ADDED: Selected Letters of Norman Mailer edited by J. Michael Lennon – ER (Feb -?)
- Chasing Monarchs by Robert Pyle (Mar)
- ADDED: Saturday Morning Murder by Batya Gur (Mar)
- Bebe’s By Golly Wow by Yolanda Joe (Mar)
- Lives of the Muse by Francine Prose (Mar)
- Broom of the System (David Wallace (Mar)
Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (Apr)- ADDED: Little Follies by Eric Kraft (Apr/Feb)
- ADDED: Literary Murder by Batya Gur (Apr)
- Two Gardeners by Emily Wilson (Apr)
- Royal Flash by George Fraser (Apr)
- Fifties by David Halberstam (Apr)
- Binding Spell by Elizabeth Arthur (Apr)
Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (Apr)Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan (May)- ADDED: Where Do You Stop? by Eric Kraft (May/Feb)
- Murder on a Kibbutz by Batya Gur (May)
- Flash for Freedom! by George Fraser (May)
- Murder in Amsterdam by Ian Buruma (May)
- Petra: lost city by Christian Auge (May)
- From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman (May)
- Jordan by E. Borgia (May)
- Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill (May)
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (May)
- Flash at the Charge by George MacDonald Fraser (May)
- ADDED: What a Piece of Work I Am by Eric Kraft (Jun/Feb)
- Castles in the Air by Judt Corbett (Jun)
- Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson (Jun)
- Thirty-three Teeth by Colin Cotterill (Jun)
- Millstone by Margaret Drabble (Jun)
Winter’s Heart by Robert Jordan (Jun)Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan (Jul)- At Home with the Glynns by Eric Kraft (Jul/Feb)
- Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (Jul)
- Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme (Jul)
- New Physics and Cosmology by Arthur Zajonc (Jul)
- Grifters by Jim Thompson (Jul)
- Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (Jul)
- Snow Angels by James Thompson (Jul)
- Ararchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (Aug)
- ADDED: Leaving Small’s Hotel by Eric Kraft (Aug/Feb)
- Flashman’s Lady by George MacDonald Fraser (Aug)
- Possession by AS Byatt (Aug)
- In the Footsteps of Ghanghis Khan by John DeFrancis (Aug)
- What Just Happened by James Gleick (Aug)
- Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett (Aug)
- ADDED: Inflating a Dog by Eric Kraft (Sep/Feb)
- Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (Sep)
- Flashman and the Redskins by George MacDonald Fraser (Sep)
- Queens’ Play by Dorothy Dunnett (Sep)
- Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (Sep)
- Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (Sep)
- Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Sep)
- Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman (Oct)
- Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill (Oct)
- Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett (Oct)
- Flashman and the Dragon by George MacDonald Fraser (Oct)
- Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman (Nov)
- Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Collin Cotterill (Nov)
- Flashman and the Mountain of Light by George MacDonald Fraser (Nov)
- Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett (Nov)
- Andorra by Peter Cameron (Nov)
DNF = Did Not Finish; AB = Audio Book; ER = Early Review
Posted: 2015/02/02 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: audio book, Early Review, Fiction, Graphic Novel, NonFiction | Tags: audio books, biography, books, challenge, Early Review, Fiction, graphic novel, librarything, lists, NonFiction, reading |
This is the second month of this strike-through technique and I’m not sure I like it. I am really bothered by the fact that any additional books get crossed off almost immediately. Sigh. I will say this, though – I like how the crossed off titles look against the full list. Impressive!
Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (DNF)In a Strange City by Laura LippmanBy a Spider’s Thread by Laura Lippman (AB)Recognitions by William Gaddis (DNF)Maus by Art SpiegelmanLady Franklin’s Revenge by Ken McGooganBrief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao* by Junot Diaz (AB)
Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonEugene Onegin by Alexander PushkinShadow Rising by Robert JordanADDED: A Good Doctor’s Son by Steven SchwartzADDED: Drinking: a Love Story by Caroline KnappADDED: Ancient Rome on 5 Denarii a Day by Philip MatyszakADDED: Nero Wolfe Cookbook by Rex StoutADDED: Treasure Hunter by W. Jameson (ER)Maus II by Art Spiegelman (Jan)ADDED: The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat (AB)
ADDED: In Xanadu by William DalrympleADDED: The Assault by Harry MulischWild Blue by Stephen Ambrose (Jan)Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore (Jan)Greater Nowheres by David Finkelstein/Jack London (Jan)ADDED: Alma Mater by P.F Kluge (Jan)ADDED: Old Man & Me by Elaine Dundy (Jan)- ADDED: Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy (Feb)
- Good Life by Ben Bradlee (Feb)
- Underworld by Don DeLillo (Feb, maybe)
- Her Name Was Lola by Russell Hoban (Feb)
- Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton (Feb)
Fires From Heaven by Robert Jordan (Feb)- Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce (Feb)
- Herb ‘n Lorna by Eric Kraft (Feb)
- Polish Officer by Alan Furst – AB (Feb)
Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan (Mar)- ADDED: Reservations Recommended by Eric Kraft (Mar/Feb)
- Chasing Monarchs by Robert Pyle (Mar)
- Murder on a Kibbutz by Batya Gur (Mar)
- Bebe’s By Golly Wow by Yolanda Joe (Mar)
- Lives of the Muse by Francine Prose (Mar)
- Broom of the System (David Wallace (Mar)
Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (Apr)- ADDED: Little Follies by Eric Kraft (Apr/Feb)
- Two Gardeners by Emily Wilson (Apr)
- Royal Flash by George Fraser (Apr)
- Fifties by David Halberstam (Apr)
- Binding Spell by Elizabeth Arthur (Apr)
Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (Apr)Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan (May)- ADDED: Where Do You Stop? by Eric Kraft (May/Feb)
- Flash for Freedom! by George Fraser (May)
- Murder in Amsterdam by Ian Buruma (May)
- Petra: lost city by Christian Auge (May)
- From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman (May)
- Jordan by E. Borgia (May)
- Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill (May)
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (May)
- Flash at the Charge by George MacDonald Fraser (May)
- ADDED: What a Piece of Work I Am by Eric Kraft (Jun/Feb)
- Castles in the Air by Judt Corbett (Jun)
- Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson (Jun)
- Thirty-three Teeth by Colin Cotterill (Jun)
- Millstone by Margaret Drabble (Jun)
Winter’s Heart by Robert Jordan (Jun)Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan (Jul)- At Home with the Glynns by Eric Kraft (Jul/Feb)
- Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (Jul)
- Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme (Jul)
- New Physics and Cosmology by Arthur Zajonc (Jul)
- Grifters by Jim Thompson (Jul)
- Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (Jul)
- Snow Angels by James Thompson (Jul)
- Ararchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (Aug)
- ADDED: Leaving Small’s Hotel by Eric Kraft (Aug/Feb)
- Flashman’s Lady by George MacDonald Fraser (Aug)
- Possession by AS Byatt (Aug)
- In the Footsteps of Ghanghis Khan by John DeFrancis (Aug)
- What Just Happened by James Gleick (Aug)
- Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett (Aug)
- ADDED: Inflating a Dog by Eric Kraft (Sep/Feb)
- Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (Sep)
- Flashman and the Redskins by George MacDonald Fraser (Sep)
- Queens’ Play by Dorothy Dunnett (Sep)
- Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (Sep)
- Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (Sep)
- Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Sep)
- Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman (Oct)
- Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill (Oct)
- Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett (Oct)
- Flashman and the Dragon by George MacDonald Fraser (Oct)
- Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman (Nov)
- Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Collin Cotterill (Nov)
- Flashman and the Mountain of Light by George MacDonald Fraser (Nov)
- Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett (Nov)
- Andorra by Peter Cameron (Nov)
DNF = Did Not Finish; AB = Audio Book; ER = Early Review
Posted: 2014/12/31 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: audio book, Early Review, Fiction, Graphic Novel, NonFiction, Poetry | Tags: adventure, Baltimore, fantasy, Fiction, graphic novel, mystery, nature, new jersey, NonFiction, Poetry, postmodern, russia, world war ii |
A new year deserves new things; new ways of thinking and new ways of doing. Here is the list I promised in December. Instead of separating the list into “finished” and “still to go”, I thought for this go-round I would just cross off the titles I finished. This system will force me to stay on top of the books I add, but we’ll see…Just testing something…
As an aside, I gave up completely on Robert Jordan. Sorry.
Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (DNF)In a Strange City by Laura Lippman- By a Spider’s Thread by Laura Lippman (AB)
Recognitions by William Gaddis (DNF)Maus by Art SpiegelmanLady Franklin’s Revenge by Ken McGooganBrief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao* by Junot Diaz (AB)
Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonEugene Onegin by Alexander PushkinShadow Rising by Robert JordanADDED: A Good Doctor’s Son by Steven SchwartzADDED: Drinking: a Love Story by Caroline KnappADDED: Ancient Rome on 5 Denarii a Day by Philip MatyszakADDED: Nero Wolfe Cookbook by Rex StoutADDED: Treasure Hunter by W. Jameson (ER)- Maus II by Art Spiegelman (Jan)
- Wild Blue by Stephen Ambrose (Jan)
- Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore (Jan)
- Greater Nowheres by David Finkelstein/Jack London (Jan)
- ADDED: Alma Mater by P.F Kluge (Jan)
- Good Life by Ben Bradlee (Feb)
- Underworld by Don DeLillo (Feb)
- Her Name Was Lola by Russell Hoban (Feb)
- Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton ((Feb)
Fires From Heaven by Robert Jordan (Feb)- Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce (Feb)
- At Home with the Glynns by Eric Kraft (Feb)
- Polish Officer by Alan Furst (Feb)
Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan (Mar)- Chasing Monarchs by Robert Pyle (Mar)
- Murder on a Kibbutz by Batya Gur (Mar)
- Bebe’s By Golly Wow by Yolanda Joe (Mar)
- Lives of the Muse by Francine Prose (Mar)
- Broom of the System (David Wallace (Mar)
Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (Apr)- Two Gardeners by Emily Wilson (Apr)
- Royal Flash by George Fraser (Apr)
- Fifties by David Halberstam (Apr)
- Binding Spell by Elizabeth Arthur (Apr)
Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (Apr)Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan (May)- Flash for Freedom! by George Fraser (May)
- Murder in Amsterdam by Ian Buruma (May)
- Petra: lost city by Christian Auge (May)
- From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman (May)
- Jordan by E. Borgia (May)
- Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill (May)
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (May)
- Flash at the Charge by George MacDonald Fraser (May)
- Castles in the Air by Judt Corbett (Jun)
- Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson (Jun)
- Thirty-three Teeth by Colin Cotterill (Jun)
- Millstone by Margaret Drabble (Jun)
Winter’s Heart by Robert Jordan (Jun)Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan (Jul)- Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (Jul)
- Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme (Jul)
- New Physics and Cosmology by Arthur Zajonc (Jul)
- Grifters by Jim Thompson (Jul)
- Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (Jul)
- Snow Angels by James Thompson (Jul)
- Ararchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (Aug)
- Flashman’s Lady by George MacDonald Fraser (Aug)
- Possession by AS Byatt (Aug)
- In the Footsteps of Ghanghis Khan by John DeFrancis (Aug)
- What Just Happened by James Gleick (Aug)
- Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett (Aug)
- Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (Sep)
- Flashman and the Redskins by George MacDonald Fraser (Sep)
- Queens’ Play by Dorothy Dunnett (Sep)
- Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (Sep)
- Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (Sep)
- Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Sep)
- Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman (Oct)
- Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill (Oct)
- Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett (Oct)
- Flashman and the Dragon by George MacDonald Fraser (Oct)
- Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman (Nov)
- Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Collin Cotterill (Nov)
- Flashman and the Mountain of Light by George MacDonald Fraser (Nov)
- Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett (Nov)
- Andorra by Peter Cameron (Nov)
DNF = Did Not Finish;AB = Audio Book; ER = Early Review
So, right off the bat I see something I don’t like. When I add new books they don’t get their “day in the sun” so to speak. I add them to the list and then cross them off immediately. That doesn’t seem fair.
Posted: 2014/12/09 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust I, Graphic Novel, NonFiction | Tags: 2014, Art Spiegelman, biography, book lust i, book review, december, graphic novel, NonFiction, world war ii |
Spiegelman, Art: Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale. My Father Bleeds History. New York: Pantheon Books, 1973.
Maus I is such a curious conundrum. On the one hand, you are mostly looking at pictures. The very idea of a “comic book” is something out of childhood and inherently considered “light reading.” Definitely not something to be taken seriously. On the other hand, you have Spiegelman’s story itself: a son interviewing his father to get the perspective of a Polish Jew who survived the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. Fear, starvation, distrust, torture, suicide, execution, genocide. All pretty heavy subject matter and without a doubt, difficult to read in any context. Even in his characterization Spiegelman plays with our perceptions. He uses enemies in the natural world to drive home the story; using cats for the Germans and mice for the Jews; pigs for the police.
Here’s the underlying truth, the war never leaves Spiegelman’s father. Even though he survived the war, survived the concentration camps, survived to tell his tale, he lives in the shadow of memory. He worries constantly about money; is distrustful of his own family’s intentions (trying to steal from him). Betrayals of the past run deep and dictate how he trusts others.
Reason read: Pearl Harbor anniversary is Dec 7th (Remembrance Day). Confessional: I started this in November in honor of Veterans’ Day.
Stop and think line, “He survived me my life that time” (p 80). Even though we would normally say, “he saved my life” I think this phrasing, saying the word “survived” carries more weight.
Author fact: Check out the author info in Maus I. There is a lot going on in the illustration.
Book trivia: My favorite part was the comic within the graphic novel. The styles were so vastly different. The importance of the comic was clearly illustrated.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter “Graphic Novels” (p 103).
Posted: 2013/12/01 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: audio book, E-Books, Early Review, Fiction, Graphic Novel, NonFiction, Poetry | Tags: audio books, biography, books, e-books, Early Review, Fiction, graphic novel, librarything, lists, memoir, NonFiction, Poetry, reading, short stories |
Another year over.
FINISHED:
- Abide By Me by Elizabeth Strout
- Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
- Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day by Philip Matyszak
- Apollo: the epic journey to the moon by David West Reynolds
- Apples Are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins
- Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton (I started this last year. No, sorry – two years ago)
- Ariadne Objective by Wes Davis
- Ariel by Sylvia Plath
- At Home in the Heart of Appalachia by John O’Brien
- Author, Author by David Lodge (audio)
- Bang the Drum Slowly by Mark Harris
- Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner
- Before the Knife by Carolyn Slaughter
- Bellwether by Connie Willis
- Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengist (audio)
- Beyond the Bogota by Gary Leech
- Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
- Billy by Albert French
- Bit of Wit, A World of Wisdom by Yehoshua Kurland (Early Review book from LibraryThing)
- Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
- Brass Go-Between by Oliver Bleeck
- Breakfast with Scot by Michael Drowning
- Brush with Death by Elizabeth Duncan
- Brushed by Feathers by Frances Wood
- Burma Chronicles by Guy DeLisle
- Burning the Days by James Salter
- Camus, a Romance by Elizabeth Hawes
- Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd
- Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy
- Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun
- Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford
- Churchill, a life by Martin Gilbert
- City in the Sky by James Glanz
- City of Thieves by David Benioff
- Conspiracy and Other Stories by Jaan Kross
- Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
- Death in Verona by Roy Harley Lewis
- Descending the Dragon by Jon Bowermaster
- Diamond Classics by Mike Shannon
- Diary of a Mad Housewife by Sue Kaufman
- Difficult Young Man by Martin Boyd
- Dining with Al-Qaeda by Hugh Pope
- Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
- Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope
- The Evolution of Jane by Catherine Schine
- Edward Lear in Albania by Edward Lear
- Fanny by Edmund White
- Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
- Final Solution by Michael Chabon
- Fixer by Joe Sacco
- Flamboya Tree by Clara Olink Kelly
- Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
- Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Zabat Katz
- Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez by Gerald Martin
- Galton Case by Ross MacDonald
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
- Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
- God: a biography by Jack Miles
- Gold Coast Madam by Rose Laws
- Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
- Good City edited by Emily Hiestand
- Good Thief’s Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan
- Good Thief’s Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
- Good-bye Chunk Rice by Craig Thompson
- Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels
- Guardians by Geoffrey Kabaservice
- Her by Christa Parravani
- Hole in the Earth by Robert Bausch
- Hole in the World by Richard Rhodes
- Home Before Dark by Susan Cheever
- House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre
- Iliad by Homer
- Idle Days in Patagonia by William Hudson
- Imperfect Harmony by Stacy Horn (for LibraryThing’s Early Review program
- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
- Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
- Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
- Keeping it Civil by Margaret Klaw (Early review book)
- Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street by Michael Lewis
- Light Infantry Ball by Hamilton Basso
- Lives of the Painters, vol 2, 3 & 4 by Giorgio Vasari
- The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
- Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou for the Early Review Program
- Mortality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
- Naked to the Waist by ALice Dark Elliott
- No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
- Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin
- Now Read This I by Nancy Pearl
- Now Read This II by Nancy Pearl
- Of Human Bondage by William Maugham
- Old Friends by Tracy Kidder
- Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
- Outbreak of Love by Martin Boyd
- Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
- Panther Soup by John Grimlette
- Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
- Patrimony: a true story by Philip Roth
- Pick-Up by Charles Willeford (part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
- Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam
- Points Unknown edited by David Roberts
- Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
- Ready for a Brand New Beat by Mark Kurlansky
- Real Cool Killers by Chester Himes (part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
- Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell
- Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
- Scar Tissue by Michael Ignatieff
- Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
- Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham – did not finish
- Star Beast by Robert Heinlein
- Star Trap by Simon Brett
- Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
- Suzy’s Case by Andy Siegel (as recommended)
- Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (Part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
- Tatiana by Dorothy Jones
- Tattered Cloak by Nina Berberova
- Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
- Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
- This is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakawila for LibraryThing
- Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- Ticket for a Seamstitch by Mark Harris
- Time, Love, Memory by Jonathan Weiner
- True Crime: Real-Life Stories of Abduction, Addiction, Obsession, Murder, Grave-Robbing and More edited by Lee Gutkind (Early Review)
- Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers
- Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery
- Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin
- What you Owe Me by Bebe Moore Campbell
- When Blackbirds Sing by Martin Boyd
- White Devil by John Webster
- Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer
- Widow for One Year by John Irving
- Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
- Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan
- Working Poor by David Shipler
- Year in Provence, a by Peter Mayle
POETRY COMPLETED:
- “Golden Angel Pancake House” by Campbell McGrath
- “Lepanto” by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
- “Listeners” by Walter De La Mare
- “Mandalay” by Rudard Kipling
- “Road and the End” by Carl Sandburg
- “Sea-Fever” by John Masefield
- “Winter” by Marie Ponsot
- “In My Craft or Sullen Art” by Dylan Thomas
- The Long Hill” by Sarah Teasdale
- “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
SHORT STORIES COMPLETED:
- “Here’s a Little Something” by Dan Chaon (from Among the Missing)
- “Big Me” by Dan Chaon (from Among the Missing)
- “Servants of the Map” by Elizabeth Barrett (from Servant of the Map)
- “The Cure” by Elizabeth Barrett (from Servants of the Map)
- “In the Land of Men” by Antonya Nelson (from In the Land of Men)
- “Goodbye Midwest” by Antonya Nelson (from In the Land of Men)
- “Ado” by Connie Willis (from Impossible Things)
- “At the Rialto” by Connie Willis (from Impossible Things)
- “A Tiger-Killer is Hard To find” by Ha Jin (from Bridegroom: stories)
- “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” by Ha Jin (from Bridegroom: stories)
- “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri (from Interpreter of Maladies)
- “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri (from Interpreter of Maladies)
- “A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies” by John Murray (from A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies)
- “Watson and the Shark” by John Murray (from A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies)
SHELVED UNTIL NEXT YEAR:
- House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
- Rose Cafe by John Hanson Mitchell
- Ocean of Words by Ha Jin
Posted: 2013/11/03 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: Book Reviews, Graphic Novel, NonFiction | Tags: book review, burma, comic, graphic novel, guy delisle, NonFiction |
DeLisle, Guy. Burma Chronicles. Translated by Helge Dascher. Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly, 2008.
There is so much packed into this 200+ travelogue about living in Burma. DeLisle’s wife Nadege is a French aid worker with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) on assignment in Burma. Guy and infant son Louis travel with her and Guy spends his time teaching about comics, touring the country and writing about his observations. Burma Chronicles is Guy’s account of their time in Burma from every angle from weather to architecture to malaria and AIDS to politics.. From the very beginning there is subtle humor (just look at the square for mom, dad & son and their luggage on page 3), but at the same time he tackles the politics of the country (his infatuation with seeing Aung San Suu Kyi’s house is cute).
Favorite squares: page 8 (father and son sleeping – oh so cute).
Reason read: Aung San Suu Kyi was released in the month of November.
Author fact: DeLisle has his own very cute website here.
Book trivia: There is a lot going on in Burma Chronicles. My advice is to read it twice.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Comics with a Sense of Place” (p 68).
Posted: 2013/07/17 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust II, NonFiction | Tags: 2013, book lust ii, book review, graphic novel, Joe Sacco, july, NonFiction |
Sacco, Joe. The Fixer. Quebec: Drawn & Quarterly, 2003.
Have you ever wondered how journalists get such up close and personal information about foreign affairs? How they get behind enemy lines to get the real scoop? This is the story of Neven, the sketchy Serbian “fixer” who, for a price, can be hired to take war correspondents behind the scenes. Joe Sacco befriends this fixer, Neven. Sacco tells his story in a short graphic “novella,” bouncing back and forth between the early 1990s and 2001 to bring to light the Balkan conflict. Neven helps Sacco paint a grim picture of the bloodthirsty warlords who ran the country and how the Bosnia government responded. Even though Neven was a mastermind at manipulating Sacco (and his wallet) they developed a friendship.
Best zingers, “Pussy is not soap” (p 8). True. “But you can’t drink bananas” (p 9). Again, true. “I must admit that I haven’t got a favorite hand-to-hand weapon” (p 33). Me neither.
Reason read: July is the best time to visit Bosnia…or not.
Author fact: Sacco is a pretty humble guy. This time, in The Fixer he makes himself out to be a meek journalist who can’t say no.
Book trivia: I could call this a graphic novella because it is a mere 106 pages.
BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Graphica” (p 104).
Posted: 2013/05/17 | Author: gr4c5 | Filed under: Book Reviews, Graphic Novel, Lust To Go, NonFiction | Tags: 2013, book lust iii, book review, graphic novel, Joe Sacco, may, NonFiction |
Sacco, Joe. Footnotes in Gaza. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2009.
The first time you crack open Footnotes in Gaza you are taken aback by the powerful imagery. True, it is a graphic novel so it is supposed to be full of black and white squares full of images but keep this in mind, it’s nonfiction. It messes with your mind. You associate comics with the Sunday funnies…you know, comedy, light-hearted. So, to see images of war in a comic-strip format is confusing. But, your mind adjusts. From the very first pages you get a sense of what you are in for, “It is the story of footnotes to a sideshow of a forgotten war. The war pitted Egypt against the strange alliance of Britain, France and Israel in 1956” (p 8). Footnotes in Gaza has a strange effect on the reader. More graphic than a dry newspaper account, Sacco’s illustrations shove the violence and hatred into the forefront. And, yet despite being less graphic than actual photographs, the images linger in your mind…
This is another book that sprung from a journalist assignment (see The Long Walk). This time, Joe Sacco was asked to visit the Gaza Strip for Harper’s Magazine.
Head snap quotes, “And this begins the aggravating mismatch pitting hapless cartoonist against wily ex-guerrilla” (p 41), “I cannot untangle the twining guilt and grief that envelope a person who survives what so many other did not; nor can I explain what might induce a traumatized individual’s to recall a brother’s death if he was not there – assuming he was not” (p 116) and, “We come up with some sufficiently earnest bullsh!t” (p 125).
Reason read: May is National Graphic Novel month…
Book trivia: Footnotes in Gaza is just one of Sacco’s graphic novels about the middle east.
Author fact: Joe Sacco is the creator of war-comics and should not to be confused with the hockey player who used to play in Denver, Colorado. Never mind.
Other stuff: hookah = hubbly-bubbly.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “A Mention of the Middle East” (p 144).
