More Graphic Novels
Thought about making a New Year's Resoultion of reading more actual novels, but decided to just continue with my weekly Economist and the occasional Graphic Novel. Here are some recent ones I've read.
Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home": A+
I really can't say enough about how good this is. It's an autobigraphical tale about Bechtel
growing up with her fastidious English-teacher in-the-closet dad. Besides just being a fascinating story, she does an amazing job of drawing connections between her father and famous novels (without it seeming forced or being pretentious). She also tells the story in a sort of circling-in style, where we know the basic ending, but she continues to fill us in more and more of the periphery. Great great read.
Marjane Satrapi's "Chicken with Plums": A
Short, interesting story by the author of Persepolis. Wouldn't say this is really better or worse than Persepolis, but certainly much smaller in scale. In it, she writes about her uncle, a famous Tar player who decides to lie in his bed until he dies after his wife breaks his beloved instrument. Not exactly a pick-me-up, but very good.
Larry Gonich "Cartoon History of The Universe": B
Cartoon History of US History is in my opinion a great history book, so I was beside myself when I heard that the same author had set his sights on an even bigger subject- the history of the earth. So far I've read the first 2 volumes (ranging from life on earth to rhe Roman empire) and I've enjoyed them, but not as much as his US one. He has so much to cover now, that at times I felt like got caught up in listing ruler after ruler w/o giving us a broader context. Nevertheless, I've got the third on order and will probably read all the ones that come out.
Vaughan and Henrichon "Pride of Baghdad": C
This one is about lions freed from a zoo during the American bombing of Iraq. I still never fully put the metaphor together and really don't care. The whole thing felt pretty cheesey to me and I just wish I could have read about actual people in Iraq.
Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home": A+
I really can't say enough about how good this is. It's an autobigraphical tale about Bechtel
growing up with her fastidious English-teacher in-the-closet dad. Besides just being a fascinating story, she does an amazing job of drawing connections between her father and famous novels (without it seeming forced or being pretentious). She also tells the story in a sort of circling-in style, where we know the basic ending, but she continues to fill us in more and more of the periphery. Great great read.
Marjane Satrapi's "Chicken with Plums": AShort, interesting story by the author of Persepolis. Wouldn't say this is really better or worse than Persepolis, but certainly much smaller in scale. In it, she writes about her uncle, a famous Tar player who decides to lie in his bed until he dies after his wife breaks his beloved instrument. Not exactly a pick-me-up, but very good.
Larry Gonich "Cartoon History of The Universe": B
Cartoon History of US History is in my opinion a great history book, so I was beside myself when I heard that the same author had set his sights on an even bigger subject- the history of the earth. So far I've read the first 2 volumes (ranging from life on earth to rhe Roman empire) and I've enjoyed them, but not as much as his US one. He has so much to cover now, that at times I felt like got caught up in listing ruler after ruler w/o giving us a broader context. Nevertheless, I've got the third on order and will probably read all the ones that come out.
Vaughan and Henrichon "Pride of Baghdad": C
This one is about lions freed from a zoo during the American bombing of Iraq. I still never fully put the metaphor together and really don't care. The whole thing felt pretty cheesey to me and I just wish I could have read about actual people in Iraq.Labels: Books
posted by chuckdaddy2000 at 4:35 pm
2 Comments:
To show how a strong review from a respected critic like ChuckDaddy can drive book sales, I promptly placed a hold on the Bechdel book ("Hold #193 of 193") at the county library. Note to others doing the same: it's "Fun Home," not "Fun House." Oh, and they've got tons of copies, so 193 holds isn't as grim as it sounds.
Shows how much I loved it. I can't even remember the name.
Well I just changed it to its correct name
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