LATE DECEMBER
The Complete Peanuts: Volume Two, 1953 to 1954, by Charles M. Schulz (2004)
Collecting the Peanuts strips from 1953-1954, which saw the introduction of Linus and Snoopy occasionally beginning to think.
The Complete Peanuts: Volume Three, 1955 to 1956, by Charles M. Schulz (2004)
Pig-Pen was introduced, and Shermy, Patty and Violet are beginning to become minor characters. Snoopy pretends to be a rhinoceros.
Sideways Tales from Wayside School, by Louis Sachar (1979)
Bizarre whimsical children's stories about a very peculiar school.
Total read this month: 3, bringing total to 3.
JANUARY
Watchmen, written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons (1987)
This graphic novel is an interesting look at what could happen if superheroes were real.
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein (2008)
An elderly dog recalls the events of his life as the pet of an aspiring sports car racer. Heartbreaking with a too-shiny ending, but worth reading.
Total read this month: 2, bringing total to 5.
FEBRUARY
Civil War, written by Mark Millar, illustrated by Steve McNiven (2006)
The Marvel Universe is ripped apart by the Superhero Registration Act.
The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier (1969)
Somewhat tedious sci-fi novel, but that ending makes it worthwhile.
For Love of the Game, by Michael Shaara (1991)
An aging pitcher throws a no-hitter while thinking over his life.
Dirt Bike Racer, by Matt Christopher (1977)
He was cashing in on the popularity of motocross, which got started in the 1970s.
Total read this month: 4, bringing total read to 9.
MARCH
Civil War II, written by Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by David Marquez and Justin Ponsor (2016)
Is police profiling ever okay? The Avengers are split after encountering an Inhuman who sees visions of the future.
Secret Invasion, written by Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu (2008)
The Skrulls invade Earth.
House of M, written by, illustrated by Oliver Coipel (2005)
Scarlet Witch creates an alternate reality where mutants no longer exist and her family rules as the royal family.
Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Dexter Soy and Emma Rios (2012)
Carol Danvers revisits her past and makes some new friends while coping with taking the reins of the rebooted Alpha Flight.
Troy High, written by Shana Norris (2009)
A young adult retelling of the Illiad set inside a modern-day South Carolina high school. It worked pretty well, actually.
Total read this month: 5, bringing total to 14.
APRIL
Bobby Baseball, by Robert Kimmel Smiith (1989)
A young boy gradually learns why your dad shouldn't be your baseball coach, sometimes girls can be good friends, and that your athletic talent is usually a lot less than you think it is.
Total read this month: 1, bringing total to 15.
MAY
A Case of Need, by Michael Crichton, written as Jeffrey Hudson (1969)
A Boston pathologist digs into the medical hierarchy of the city in order to solve a murder case.
Total read this month: 1, bringing total to 16.
JUNE
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman (2001)
Confusing and dark but interesting, as most of Gaiman's writing is.
Superman: Birthright, written by Mark Waid, illustrated by Lienil Francis Yu (2004)
A Smallville-inspired reimagining of Superman's origins.
The Infinity Gauntlet, written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by George Perez (1991)
The comic book storyline Avengers: Infinity War was based on. It was pretty terrible.
The Death of Captain America, written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Steve Epting (2008)
Following Civil War, Steve Rogers was assassinated.
The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton (1920)
A richly written story of New York high society of the 1870s, and what happens when convention is pitted against desire.
Superman: Red Son, by Mark Millar (2003)
What if Superman had landed in the USSR? This was excellent.
Not Without Laughter, by Langston Hughes (1930)
A deeply poetic novel about growing up black in a small city in southeastern Kansas early in the twentieth century.
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, by Karina Yan Glaser (2017)
A noisy, energetic large family tries to save themselves from eviction after their landlord decides to kick them out of their Harlem neighborhood in this wonderful children's novel.
Total read this month: 8, bringing total to 24.
JULY
Batman: Year One, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli (1987)
A reimagining of how Bruce Wayne became Batman.
Ironweed, by William Kennedy (1983)
In 1938 Albany, New York, a homeless alcoholic who played professional baseball long ago grapples with the errors of his past. Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize.
'night, Mother, by Marsha Norman (1982)
A middle-aged woman argues with her difficult mother on the night she plans to commit suicide. Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize.
Chapter Two, by Neil Simon (1977)
A widower and a divorcee find themselves navigating married life again after a whirlwind romance.
The Odd Couple, by Neil Simon (1966)
Two friends try not to kill one another after becoming roommates when their marriages fall apart.
A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron (2010)
A dog is reincarnated several times, including as a female search-and-rescue dog, eventually returning to reunite his boy, now an old man, marry his high school sweetheart. Nicholas Sparks with dogs, essentially, which isn't a bad thing, necessarily.
Total read this month: 6, bringing total to 30.
AUGUST
The Fast and the Furriest, by Andy Behrens (2010)
In this MG novel, an unathletic boy and his equally overweight Beagle fall head over heels for agility.
The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett (1896)
A woman writer goes on vacation in rural coastal Maine, and documents her experiences. Not much happens, but it's pleasant and worthwhile.
WLT: A Radio Romance, by Garrison Keillor (1991)
A history of the fictional AM radio station WLT .out of Minneapolis. It was interesting, though the ending is all wrong.
Spaghetti Breath, by Page McBrier (1989)
The third book of the Treehouse Times series, middle-school girls in suburban St Louis try to use their neighborhood newspaper to bring justice to a landlord withholding heat from his tenants in the middle of winter.
The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan (1989)
Four elderly Chinese immigrant mothers try to relate to their grown American daughters and vice versa. Interesting look at culture differences.
Total read this month: 5, bringing total to 35.
SEPTEMBER
The Road to Yesterday, by L.M. Montgomery (1970)
This posthumous short story collection was an abridgment of her final manuscript, which wasn't published in full until the late 2000s.
The Pillars of the Community, by Henrik Ibsen (1877), translated by Una Ellis-Formor (1950)
What makes a good man? Society's declarations that he is so, or his conscience?
The Wild Duck, by Henrik Ibsen (1884), translated by Una Ellis-Formor (1950)
In this depressing play Ibsen explores what makes life worth living.
Hedda Gabler, by Henrik Ibsen (1890), translated by Una Ellis-Formor (1950)
"Why do humans need some level of freedom mixed with their interconnectivity and dependence on others?' is the topic explored here.
The Shadow on the Dial, by Anne S. Lindbergh (1987)
Two siblings repeatedly time travel through history to improve the life of their great-uncle, becoming better people in the process.
A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin (1968)
A young wizard battles depression in this classic fantasy novel, the beginning of a pioneering trilogy in Young Adult literature.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg (1989)
A woman in a nursing home tells stories of her hometown during the Depression in this charming work of Southern Gothic literature.
Total read this month: 7, bringing total to 42.
OCTOBER
The Fala Factor, by Stuart M. Kaminsky (1984)
The ninth book of the series featuring detective Toby Peters, who gets tasked by Eleanor Roosevelt to track down Fala the Scottie.
All the President's Pets: One Reporter Refused to Roll Over, by Mo Rocca (2004)
From a routine political journalism memoir into an outlandish spy mystery in seconds? I'd expect nothing less from a staff writer of Wishbone. Entertaining but dumb, this wasn't actually that good of a novel, but I still like him.
The Circle, by Dave Eggers (2013)
A new employee at a Big Tech Company unthinkingly leads the world into a tyrannical hostage situation in this dystopian novel.
Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale, written by Joss Whedon and Zack Whedon, illustrated by Chris Samnee (2010)
This graphic novel short story tells the backstory of Shepherd Derrial Book, which is as fascinating and complicated as would be expected.
Total read this month: 4, bringing total to 46.
NOVEMBER
The Complete Peanuts, Volume Four, 1957 to 1958, by Charles M. Schulz (2005)
The Great Pumpkin is introduced, and Snoopy is a vulture.
The Complete Peanuts, Volume Five, 1959 to 1960, by Charles M. Schulz (2006)
Sally Brown is born, and Charlie Brown gets a pencil pal.
Daredevil, Vol. 1, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Klaus Janson (2008)
A collection that spans 1978-1980, the beginning of the definitive era for the character of Matt Murdock/Daredevil. Especially for the time, very deep and satisfactory for a comic.
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman (2001)
A very creepy and well-done fairy tale about a little girl who exhibits remarkable bravery. G.K. Chesterton would approve.
The Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith (1956)
A perfect British fantasy about talking dogs out to save their puppies.
Total read this month: 5, bringing total to 51.
DECEMBER
The Penderwicks at Last, by Jeanne Birdsall (2018)
The fifth and final book of the series, this takes place about sixteen to eighteen years after the first, and deals with the preparations for Rose's wedding.
The Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen (1879)
A thought-provoking study of marital roles in society.
Titus Andronicus, by William Shakespeare (1590ish)
This was Shakespeare's first work, and exceptionally violent.
Love's Labours Lost, by William Shakespeare (1598)
Clever language is used to the utter exclusion of all action here in this comedy where nothing happens.
All Cats Go to Heaven, edited by Beth Brown (1960)
This is an anthology of short stories and essays all about cats. It was amazing.
Buffalo Girls, by Larry McMurtry (1990)
Calamity Jane and her friends struggle to cope with the reality that the Old West is nearly gone. in this introspective and bleak novel.
Total read this month: 5, bringing total to 56.
Total nonfiction estimated read this year: 47, bringing total for the year to around a hundred books.
No comments:
Post a Comment