What I'm reading
I used to do these book-tallying post regularly years ago. I must admit with shame I don't read as much as I used to, but I'm trying to get back into old habits so here's one of those book lists as usual. Now with added comics!
CURRENT NOVELS
Tove Ditlevsen: Man gjorde et barn fortræd. The title translates to something like "They wronged a child". A slow-moving, unsettling book. Reading a Norwegian translation (it's originally Danish).
Laurence Sterne: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. I've been meaning to read this for years, and spotted a dirt cheap copy (only 40 kroner) in a comic book shop this week. It's fascinatingly odd. Reading it the original English, which is less of a hassle than I thought it would be (then again, the last time I tried to read an 18th Century novel in its original English I was about twelve years old).
CURRENT COMICS:
52. I think this might be the first major comic book event I've read (not counting barely noticing the Death of Superman while reading Justice League). I'm not digging every single thread in it, but it's opened my eyes to several characters I didn't particularly care for before (Black Adam, Animal Man, Obsidian, etc.). I'm about halfway.
Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing. Mostly because I've always wanted to read the origin of John Constantine. He hasn't appeared yet, but I've been sucked in anyway. Also I'm rereading what I have of Hellblazer (that isn't packed in crates) just for the hell of it.
Late seventies' Judge Dredd. The movie piqued my interest, and I can't pass on Brian Bolland art. It's also pretty funny in a surreal way. I was recommended to start later in the run, but "The Day the Law Died" is the only Dredd storyline I've heard about previously, so I decided it was as good a jumping-on point as any.
Justice League Europe. Kinda regretting not reading this in conjunction with Justice League America, as there's a lot of crossovers. Decided to read it because I love Elongated Man and have started enjoying Animal Man, but the art by Bart Sears is really bothering me. Coming along slowly.
INTENDING TO READ:
Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire. I really want to read it before the next Hunger Games movie comes out. I really enjoyed the first book in the series.
Eddica Minora and the heroic lays in the Poetic Edda: I might have a fair grip on Norse mythology, but not the heroic legends that were included in the same legendary manuscript. There are also mythological legends in the Eddica Minora (oral traditions collected in the late 1800s) that I mean to read, like Baldr's dreams.
Formerly Known as the Justice League and I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League. It's the team that wrote Justice League International, including the original artist. It's Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. It's so much fun I can't bring myself to downloading it via the Android app, I really really really want to read a physical copy. It's also the last major storyline I want to read before I feel like I HAVE to read Infinite Crisis.
Showcase Presents Elongated Man. The Showcase books are monochromatic, which pains me, but they're also a dirt cheap way of reading old comics. I really really want to read me some Elongated Man where it's just him and his wife solving crimes. Now I just need to find a comic book store that'll sell me a physical copy, so I'll save on shipping too...
When it comes to rereading, I'm thinking about going through Hugo's Les Miserables yet again (I've realized I'm an adult and can skip stuff like the battle of Waterloo if I feel like it), and Gaiman's Sandman comics. They were my first introduction to DC comics, and I feel like I'll maybe understand more of the universe now.
A lot less ambitious than these lists used to be, but eh. Books are good.
CURRENT NOVELS
Tove Ditlevsen: Man gjorde et barn fortræd. The title translates to something like "They wronged a child". A slow-moving, unsettling book. Reading a Norwegian translation (it's originally Danish).
Laurence Sterne: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. I've been meaning to read this for years, and spotted a dirt cheap copy (only 40 kroner) in a comic book shop this week. It's fascinatingly odd. Reading it the original English, which is less of a hassle than I thought it would be (then again, the last time I tried to read an 18th Century novel in its original English I was about twelve years old).
CURRENT COMICS:
52. I think this might be the first major comic book event I've read (not counting barely noticing the Death of Superman while reading Justice League). I'm not digging every single thread in it, but it's opened my eyes to several characters I didn't particularly care for before (Black Adam, Animal Man, Obsidian, etc.). I'm about halfway.
Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing. Mostly because I've always wanted to read the origin of John Constantine. He hasn't appeared yet, but I've been sucked in anyway. Also I'm rereading what I have of Hellblazer (that isn't packed in crates) just for the hell of it.
Late seventies' Judge Dredd. The movie piqued my interest, and I can't pass on Brian Bolland art. It's also pretty funny in a surreal way. I was recommended to start later in the run, but "The Day the Law Died" is the only Dredd storyline I've heard about previously, so I decided it was as good a jumping-on point as any.
Justice League Europe. Kinda regretting not reading this in conjunction with Justice League America, as there's a lot of crossovers. Decided to read it because I love Elongated Man and have started enjoying Animal Man, but the art by Bart Sears is really bothering me. Coming along slowly.
INTENDING TO READ:
Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire. I really want to read it before the next Hunger Games movie comes out. I really enjoyed the first book in the series.
Eddica Minora and the heroic lays in the Poetic Edda: I might have a fair grip on Norse mythology, but not the heroic legends that were included in the same legendary manuscript. There are also mythological legends in the Eddica Minora (oral traditions collected in the late 1800s) that I mean to read, like Baldr's dreams.
Formerly Known as the Justice League and I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League. It's the team that wrote Justice League International, including the original artist. It's Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. It's so much fun I can't bring myself to downloading it via the Android app, I really really really want to read a physical copy. It's also the last major storyline I want to read before I feel like I HAVE to read Infinite Crisis.
Showcase Presents Elongated Man. The Showcase books are monochromatic, which pains me, but they're also a dirt cheap way of reading old comics. I really really want to read me some Elongated Man where it's just him and his wife solving crimes. Now I just need to find a comic book store that'll sell me a physical copy, so I'll save on shipping too...
When it comes to rereading, I'm thinking about going through Hugo's Les Miserables yet again (I've realized I'm an adult and can skip stuff like the battle of Waterloo if I feel like it), and Gaiman's Sandman comics. They were my first introduction to DC comics, and I feel like I'll maybe understand more of the universe now.
A lot less ambitious than these lists used to be, but eh. Books are good.