This week I decided to explore some uncharted territory- the graphic novel. My suspicion is that a lot of people make the leap from comics to graphic novels. I’ve never been much into comic books, so it’s probably not that shocking that I never got around to graphic novels either. That said, for a long time I’ve had the idea that I should read the Scott Pilgrim series.
I’d read reviews of his work at the AV Club and other places, and it seemed like a fun place to start. Unfortunately, I had it in my head that if I were going to read these books, I wanted to buy them from an actual book store. This proved to be rather difficult, and I hadn’t been able to find them at any book stores until Sunday at the Borders on, I think, Grand and Michigan. After I’d somewhat surreptitiously picked up volume 1 of Scott Pilgrim, the friend I was with noticed I had a graphic novel and suggested I also pick up The Watchmen, which I’d heard over and over again to be not just an Important Graphic Novel, but an Important Novel. What with all the hype I’d read about the upcoming Watchmen movie, I figured I’d give it a shot as well.
Apparently the video I posted this afternoon was disgusting, so I’m getting it off the main page. I still think it’s awesome though. You should check it out.
Book of the Week- A Short History of Nearly Everything
Saturday , 17, January 2009 Books Leave a commentThis week’s book was Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything, which is pretty much just what it sounds like.
What’s the top result for “raver pants at woodfield mall”? Why, I AM, of course!
Thanks to my fantastic investigative reporting on Friday nights in a Chicago suburban mall.
Now, let us pray for the poor soul who was actually looking for “raver pants at Woodfield mall“.
Shiitake and cremini omelette.
I’ve got a bad/pretentious habit of always selecting big-L Literature when I’m looking for my next book to read. I often fail, pretending Japanese pop or turn of the century comedy are Important Works. I blame it on choosing to study Spanish Lit rather than English Lit in college. So, while I have impressive and useless knowledge of all the obras grandes of Spain and Latin America, I’m totally ignorant of everything else. Luckily for me, every Christmas provides me with a selection of books that I otherwise would never have chose to read. (A Shining Example.)
One such book, a gift from a photographer friend of mine, is Papillon. Papillon is an autobiography by Henri Charriere, chronicles his many attempts at excape from French(and other) jails in Carribean. Papillon had always been sort of on my radar, because several of my friends had recommended it over the year, and mkrbrk3, Fellow Projects Where’s the Wire? evan had a song titled “Papillon” . So upon receiving it this year, I was excited to read it. I’m generally not much for autobiographies, but this looked good.