Book List 2006
I am crap at updating. I can't believe I'm only just now bumping posts from last February off my LJ. To be perfectly fair to myself, I do post pretty frequently in my LJ communities, and of course on X-E, probably because there's more ego gratification in getting lots of responses and I am a small, ego-driven person ok jk. Still, I want to do more. I'll start by talking about the few books I managed to make notes about since the last time I did this. I kept terrible notes, so I gots no dates for this:
The Black Dahlia, James Ellroy: Still digging the noir thing, or maybe I should say the neo-noir thing, because true textbook noir stuff is still a little too much for me in the BO-ring department (I'll get to Sin City in a mo). I really dug this book, it's got the whole LA/race angle, plus the true crime/unsolved mystery thing going on. I was dying for the movie to come out, but then the reviews were so tepid I just skipped it (and I think Hillary Swank is overrated and a terrible casting choice). I'll look for it on HBO.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller: I read this after a few Sin City books as a part of my growing Frank Miller addiction. I wasn't ever into comic books as a kid, so I have to make up for lost time. I thought it was awesome that Robin was this crazy fangirl chick with stoner parents, as opposed to some fruity circus boy with dead parents. Also, Batman should totally sport a mustache more often.
Vogue: I've read every Vogue cover to cover this year, excluding the November issue, which I managed to flip through at the store. I feel like a total poseur reading this magazine, because I'm not and am never going be even remotely "society", and that's who it's really meant for. That's not strictly true, since they honestly expect us plebes to look at and salivate over and mortgage ourselves for this stuff...I really do read the articles, and every other one talks about how these dresses and shoes that cost more than a CAR are "investments". They don't even list the prices for some of the wilder stuff, but it's not uncommon to see jewelry that is $20,000 or more. Nutsy. I can't get enough of it, though. I've always loved flipping through fashion mags and just looking at the ads, and nowadays there's a lot more celebs in them, which are fun to spot. Some of my fav highlights from the year: Liz Hurley for Jordache, Dakota Fanning (!) for Marc Jacobs, Nicole Kidman for Chanel No. 5, Naomi Watts for David Yurman, Angelina for St. John's, and Kate Moss for Burberry, David Yurman, Rimmel, Versace, Louis Vuitton...it was a big year for Kate...also Mischa Barton for Bebe, but it's only a highlight in the sense that I looked forward to how ridiculous each one would be. I could go on, but I think I've gone far enough on this. Somebody buy me a Chloé bag pls kthx.
Sin City 1-7 (The Hard Goodbye, A Dame To Kill For, The Big Fat Kill, That Yellow Bastard, Family Values, Booze, Broads and Bullets, Hell and Back), Frank Miller: Been reading these all year long. Just finished the last one, Hell and Back, right before Christmas. I don't really know what I can say about these books that wouldn't fail to measure up to how great they are. Recently, I dug out a couple of Johnny the Homocidal Maniacs and Squees, which made such a big impression on me when I was a teenager (I'm still squee, after all), and I was blown away when I realized how childish and amateurish the art looks in comparison. I'm not trying to knock Jhonen Vasquez, I just mean that Frank Miller's art is so incredible and that I don't know if anyone can measure up. Like I said, I'm coming in late to proper comic books, so I'm just sort of discovering this kind of stuff. Now I have to pick up 300 and read it before the movie comes out.
That's all I got. Obviously I read more than this during 2006, but that's all I managed to make notes on, and I had to get it out of my system. On to bigger and better!
The Black Dahlia, James Ellroy: Still digging the noir thing, or maybe I should say the neo-noir thing, because true textbook noir stuff is still a little too much for me in the BO-ring department (I'll get to Sin City in a mo). I really dug this book, it's got the whole LA/race angle, plus the true crime/unsolved mystery thing going on. I was dying for the movie to come out, but then the reviews were so tepid I just skipped it (and I think Hillary Swank is overrated and a terrible casting choice). I'll look for it on HBO.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller: I read this after a few Sin City books as a part of my growing Frank Miller addiction. I wasn't ever into comic books as a kid, so I have to make up for lost time. I thought it was awesome that Robin was this crazy fangirl chick with stoner parents, as opposed to some fruity circus boy with dead parents. Also, Batman should totally sport a mustache more often.
Vogue: I've read every Vogue cover to cover this year, excluding the November issue, which I managed to flip through at the store. I feel like a total poseur reading this magazine, because I'm not and am never going be even remotely "society", and that's who it's really meant for. That's not strictly true, since they honestly expect us plebes to look at and salivate over and mortgage ourselves for this stuff...I really do read the articles, and every other one talks about how these dresses and shoes that cost more than a CAR are "investments". They don't even list the prices for some of the wilder stuff, but it's not uncommon to see jewelry that is $20,000 or more. Nutsy. I can't get enough of it, though. I've always loved flipping through fashion mags and just looking at the ads, and nowadays there's a lot more celebs in them, which are fun to spot. Some of my fav highlights from the year: Liz Hurley for Jordache, Dakota Fanning (!) for Marc Jacobs, Nicole Kidman for Chanel No. 5, Naomi Watts for David Yurman, Angelina for St. John's, and Kate Moss for Burberry, David Yurman, Rimmel, Versace, Louis Vuitton...it was a big year for Kate...also Mischa Barton for Bebe, but it's only a highlight in the sense that I looked forward to how ridiculous each one would be. I could go on, but I think I've gone far enough on this. Somebody buy me a Chloé bag pls kthx.
Sin City 1-7 (The Hard Goodbye, A Dame To Kill For, The Big Fat Kill, That Yellow Bastard, Family Values, Booze, Broads and Bullets, Hell and Back), Frank Miller: Been reading these all year long. Just finished the last one, Hell and Back, right before Christmas. I don't really know what I can say about these books that wouldn't fail to measure up to how great they are. Recently, I dug out a couple of Johnny the Homocidal Maniacs and Squees, which made such a big impression on me when I was a teenager (I'm still squee, after all), and I was blown away when I realized how childish and amateurish the art looks in comparison. I'm not trying to knock Jhonen Vasquez, I just mean that Frank Miller's art is so incredible and that I don't know if anyone can measure up. Like I said, I'm coming in late to proper comic books, so I'm just sort of discovering this kind of stuff. Now I have to pick up 300 and read it before the movie comes out.
That's all I got. Obviously I read more than this during 2006, but that's all I managed to make notes on, and I had to get it out of my system. On to bigger and better!