Books You Should Be Reading
Here's my second installment of books I've cataloged recently that I've found to be intensely interesting, and I wanted to share with the rest of you :) Inspired by touchofgr3y I've been keeping my own list of books I've read in 2010, most of them being graphic novels I've been given to catalog that just *~*mysteriously*~* take me an hour to do because I'm reading them instead, ha. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good comic book ever since I was a kid. Plus I would never know anything about what's going on in the DC and Marvel universes if not for these trade paperback collections. (Speaking on a tangent, I can never see Black Canary anymore without hearing Tim Gunn's voice in my head go "Yeah, but she's a tramp!")
Knight: the Medieval Warrior's Unofficial Manual: this book is AWESOME and I want it. It describes the training and responsibilities of a knight in medieval Europe, which has always been one of my areas of interest, but it does so in a handbook fashion which makes it particularly interesting. Discusses jousting and crusading and doesn't skimp on the unglamorous aspects of knighthood and medieval living, like lack of hygiene and medicine, the duty of a landowner, etc. It's also from a deeply historical point of view which I respect a lot, and includes a lot of sources and illustrations from illuminated manuscripts. Definitely a great read for anyone interested in medieval history but doesn't want too academic a read.The History of the World Through Twitter was a surprising read. I did not have high hopes from this book in the beginning. I had thumbed through a collection of literary classics retold through Twitter and it failed miserably (literary classics through Facebook profiles, however, is THE BEST THING I'VE EVER READ.) But I opened it to a random page and it already had me snorting with laughter (Gunpowder plot: The first rule of Gunpowder Club: YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT GUNPOWDER CLUB.) Some of them are lengthy and not all that interesting but that's about par for a humor book; you've got to take the bad with the good. Definitely for those who want to find a little humor in the meta of Twitter.
I catalog a lot of children's books in my daily work, and while most of them are inoffensive at best (and some I literally want to send through a shredder they're so awful), this one was really endearing to me and stuck in my head. Written by the Jordanian Queen Rania, it's the story about two best friends who eat different sandwiches--peanut butter and jelly for Lily, hummus and pita for Salma--and their fear and ignorance of something different tears them apart. So after a food fight, they put their differences aside and try each other's sandwiches. It's a great book for teaching tolerance of other cultures, which is what Queen Raina champions in the UN. The only thing that would make it better would be if they had kid-friendly recipes for both sandwiches in the back of the book; that way, the book becomes an interactive experience.I have to preface this graphic novel with the statement that Boom Kids sucks as a publisher. They act like most of their work--Disney graphic novels--are original works when they are really Italian translations, which apparently are HUGE in some fandom spheres but to us regular catalogers we are baffled. But this graphic novel, originally in English, is plucky, has an interesting plot, and still stays true to the source material--something I can't say for the uber-random Wizards of Mickey series. Set as a sequel to Monsters, Inc., Sully runs the factory now aimed to make kids laugh, not cry, and finds little joy in the paperwork of running a business. All the favorite characters are back with a brand new plotline and some really great art that's reminiscent, but not Pixar-derivative. I always thought Monsters, Inc. was an endearing movie and underrated, and I loved seeing a graphic novel that played with the characters, but did so in a manner respectful to the source.
I am not familiar at all with WildStorm's universe of comic book characters, so I had no idea what to look for when cataloging this book. What I found was PURE GOLD. Tranquility is a town inhabited by retired superheroes and villains alike, where they put aside their feuds--save for old men bickering over their fences--to live out their lives in peace. Only thing is, an immortal demon wants to destroy that peace. And for the past 50 years, he's worked his way making soul-stealing deals to do it--in the guise of an ageless music television presenter. THEY MADE DICK CLARK AN IMMORTAL DEMON. So of course the town must fight for their own preservation, particularly their sheriff, whose deadbeat grandfather was a blaxploitation superhero, and defeat Dick Clark. The storytelling is quirky and evocative, and even though I didn't read volume 1 I found it very easy to follow along. Everyone who loves potshots at the eternal mass media should read this; and if they ever make it into a movie, which is highly unlikely, my vote's in for Ryan Seacrest to play the part of the demon. :DOne last book, and it's a very easy read: the computer system was down for 45 minutes last week and I finished reading this in that time. If you're on Twitter you've probably heard of @ShitMyDadSays, an account set up by a 29-year old who had to move back in with his retired father, and recorded all of the crass, hysterical things he said. He got a book deal out of that, and created this. It has a lot of the tweet-ed quotes I remember from the account, but also a lot of others that wouldn't fit into 140 characters, and short vignettes about his childhood and his relationship with his father. The stories are what make this book great, because you get that curse-filled hilarity of the one-liners, but you also see the father's humanity in it and his love for his son. I've seen a lot of books published from blogs before, most of them without any substance, but I must say I enjoyed this one thoroughly.
I like this idea better than the Interesting Books I've Cataloged series, which was mostly just me ranting about the ridiculous books I have to catalog and wishing for others to share in my misery. (Related to that: I now hate Gilbert Hernandez. Love & Rockets anthologies need to die.) This is much more positive and I hope others try to read some of these books instead of me just posting about books no one should read, ever. :)
Knight: the Medieval Warrior's Unofficial Manual: this book is AWESOME and I want it. It describes the training and responsibilities of a knight in medieval Europe, which has always been one of my areas of interest, but it does so in a handbook fashion which makes it particularly interesting. Discusses jousting and crusading and doesn't skimp on the unglamorous aspects of knighthood and medieval living, like lack of hygiene and medicine, the duty of a landowner, etc. It's also from a deeply historical point of view which I respect a lot, and includes a lot of sources and illustrations from illuminated manuscripts. Definitely a great read for anyone interested in medieval history but doesn't want too academic a read.The History of the World Through Twitter was a surprising read. I did not have high hopes from this book in the beginning. I had thumbed through a collection of literary classics retold through Twitter and it failed miserably (literary classics through Facebook profiles, however, is THE BEST THING I'VE EVER READ.) But I opened it to a random page and it already had me snorting with laughter (Gunpowder plot: The first rule of Gunpowder Club: YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT GUNPOWDER CLUB.) Some of them are lengthy and not all that interesting but that's about par for a humor book; you've got to take the bad with the good. Definitely for those who want to find a little humor in the meta of Twitter.
I catalog a lot of children's books in my daily work, and while most of them are inoffensive at best (and some I literally want to send through a shredder they're so awful), this one was really endearing to me and stuck in my head. Written by the Jordanian Queen Rania, it's the story about two best friends who eat different sandwiches--peanut butter and jelly for Lily, hummus and pita for Salma--and their fear and ignorance of something different tears them apart. So after a food fight, they put their differences aside and try each other's sandwiches. It's a great book for teaching tolerance of other cultures, which is what Queen Raina champions in the UN. The only thing that would make it better would be if they had kid-friendly recipes for both sandwiches in the back of the book; that way, the book becomes an interactive experience.I have to preface this graphic novel with the statement that Boom Kids sucks as a publisher. They act like most of their work--Disney graphic novels--are original works when they are really Italian translations, which apparently are HUGE in some fandom spheres but to us regular catalogers we are baffled. But this graphic novel, originally in English, is plucky, has an interesting plot, and still stays true to the source material--something I can't say for the uber-random Wizards of Mickey series. Set as a sequel to Monsters, Inc., Sully runs the factory now aimed to make kids laugh, not cry, and finds little joy in the paperwork of running a business. All the favorite characters are back with a brand new plotline and some really great art that's reminiscent, but not Pixar-derivative. I always thought Monsters, Inc. was an endearing movie and underrated, and I loved seeing a graphic novel that played with the characters, but did so in a manner respectful to the source.
I am not familiar at all with WildStorm's universe of comic book characters, so I had no idea what to look for when cataloging this book. What I found was PURE GOLD. Tranquility is a town inhabited by retired superheroes and villains alike, where they put aside their feuds--save for old men bickering over their fences--to live out their lives in peace. Only thing is, an immortal demon wants to destroy that peace. And for the past 50 years, he's worked his way making soul-stealing deals to do it--in the guise of an ageless music television presenter. THEY MADE DICK CLARK AN IMMORTAL DEMON. So of course the town must fight for their own preservation, particularly their sheriff, whose deadbeat grandfather was a blaxploitation superhero, and defeat Dick Clark. The storytelling is quirky and evocative, and even though I didn't read volume 1 I found it very easy to follow along. Everyone who loves potshots at the eternal mass media should read this; and if they ever make it into a movie, which is highly unlikely, my vote's in for Ryan Seacrest to play the part of the demon. :DOne last book, and it's a very easy read: the computer system was down for 45 minutes last week and I finished reading this in that time. If you're on Twitter you've probably heard of @ShitMyDadSays, an account set up by a 29-year old who had to move back in with his retired father, and recorded all of the crass, hysterical things he said. He got a book deal out of that, and created this. It has a lot of the tweet-ed quotes I remember from the account, but also a lot of others that wouldn't fit into 140 characters, and short vignettes about his childhood and his relationship with his father. The stories are what make this book great, because you get that curse-filled hilarity of the one-liners, but you also see the father's humanity in it and his love for his son. I've seen a lot of books published from blogs before, most of them without any substance, but I must say I enjoyed this one thoroughly.
I like this idea better than the Interesting Books I've Cataloged series, which was mostly just me ranting about the ridiculous books I have to catalog and wishing for others to share in my misery. (Related to that: I now hate Gilbert Hernandez. Love & Rockets anthologies need to die.) This is much more positive and I hope others try to read some of these books instead of me just posting about books no one should read, ever. :)