th15th 5 Books, 2007

.

075) Jack the Ripper: A Journal of the Whitechapel Murders 1888-1889 by Rick Geary, finished November 3

This is part of the same series of fact-based graphic novels as the Lizzie Borden book from earlier in the week. Also like Lizzie, it's dry but reasonably interesting with a good use of shadow. And they both are based on purported anonymous diaries from the time from interested observers. I'm too lazy to look into it, but I consider the possibility of so many recently uncovered diaries to be a gimmick rather than a fact.

If you only read one of these books, read this one. If you don't read any of them, you'll survive.

acupla'ars


074) Summer of Love by Debbie Drechsler, finished November 3

Boy. I'm sure glad I'm not a teenager. And I'm really glad that when I was a teenager, I had a strict no-girls policy for myself. Sheez.

Threepointfive days


073) The Borden Tragedy by Rick Geary, finished October 31

The back of this book lays out the Striking Similarities between Lizzie Borden and O.J. Simpson. And this book does make it plain that nothing is plain in the Borden case. But the telling was dry. Even worse, I think I've read it before....

Stop me if you see me checking it out again.

two days


072) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, finished October 29

My classes have been reading this which was a great opportunity to reread it myself--first time since I was also a high school freshman.

The book's as good as I remember, but from my current perspective, I can notice a couple clumsy lines that scream First Novel! But that doesn't take away from its power.

I just read on Wikipedia yesterday that Lee's second novel was stolen from her home in 1970. This makes me very sad.

(ps: this copy's much prettier)

three weeks


071) Monster by Walter Dean Myers, finished October 26

For months and months now, kids--mostly teenaged boys--mostly teenaged boys who otherwise claim to hate reading--have recommended this book to me as hella raw and pretty much the best book ever. And so I've now read it for myself. And I'm surprised. I knew it was about a boy--a teenaged boy--on trial for murder. What I expected was that he would be a vicious killer, a hardened gangster. But what Steve actually is is a kid swept away by events, who (may have) done something stupid and now might lose his life over it. I didn't expect a book with so much subtlety and humanity. Even with all the medals on the cover, I didn't expect to feel so much for the "hero".

What I've learned: I had no idea what hella raw could really mean.

'bout a week

....previously in 2007....

070) Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, finished October 15
069) Whirligig by Paul Fleischman, finished October 15
068) Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Silver Spider by Robert Arthur, finished October 12
067) Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card, finished October 12
066) Hybrids by Robert J. Sawyer, finished October 6
065) How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card, finished October 1
064) Downy Duck Grows Up by Adda Mai Sharp and Epsie Young, finished September 30
063) Humans by Robert J. Sawyer, finished September 28
062) Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer, finished September 23
061) Making Comics by Scott McCloud, finished August 20
060) Tales of the Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov, finished September 14
059) The Pearl by John Steinbeck, finished September 11 and again on September 12
058) The Dog Is Not a Toy: House Rule #4 by Darby Conley, finished September 3
057) Brother Brigham by D. Michael Martindale, finished August 29
056) The Foundation Trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov, finished August 27
055) Ode To Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka, finished August 20
054) Polygamy Was Better Than Monotony by Paul Bailey, finished August 10
053) Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, finished August 7
052) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling, finished July 24
051) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling, finished July 21
050) The Ruins by Scott Smith, finished July 13
049) Favorite Stories by Margret Rey, illustrated by H.A. Rey, finished July 12
048) Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins, finished July 2
047) Flight Volume Three edited by Kazu Kibuishi, finished June 27
046) Nobody Is Perfick by Bernard Waber, finished June 14
045) First Paragraphs: Inspired Openings for Writers and Readers by Donald Newlove, finished June 12
044) The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking, finished June 11
043) Dune by Frank Herbert, finished June 9
042) The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels by Thomas Cahill, finished June 8
041) The Roald Dahl Omnibus by Roald Dahl, finished June 6
040) Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo, finished May 31
039) The End by Lemony Snicket, finished May 23
038) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962 by Charles M. Schultz, finished May 22
037) The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket, finished May 21
036) The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket, finished May 18
035) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, finished May 15
034) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, finished May 14
033) Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006 by Chip Kidd, finished May 9
032) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, finished May 7
031) The Complete Peanuts 1959-1960 by Charles M. Schulz, finished April 25
030) Devils & Demons edited by Marvin Kaye, finished April 23
029) Talk Talk Talk: Decoding the Mysteries of Speech by Jay Ingram, finished April 23
028) Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman, finished April 20
027) The Long Chalkboard: and Other Stories by Jennifer Allen and illustrated by Jules Feiffer, finished April 19
026) Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis, finished April 19
025) Frank by Jim Woodring, finished April 12
024) The Complete Concrete by Paul Chadwick, finished April 3
023) The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde, finished March 30
022) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, finished March 28
021) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller et al, finished March 23
020) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, finished March 16
019) Batman: Gothic by Grant Morrison et al, finished March 13
018) Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, finished March 7
017) Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald, finished March 7
016) 50 Professional Scenes for Student Actors: A Collection of Short 2 Person Scenes by Garry Michael Kluger, finished March 6
015) Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda, finished March 5
014) Frindle by Andrew Clements, finished March 1
013) Brain Wave by Poul Anderson, finished February 27
012) The Best American Comics 2006 edited by Harvey Pekar and Anne Elizabeth Moore, finished February 26
011) Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, finished February 15
010) The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ edited by Mormon and Moroni, finished February 7
009) Lisey's Story by Stephen King, finished February 1
008) The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, finished January 26
007) Empire by Orson Scott Card, finished January 24
006) Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, finished January 22
005) Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, finished January 17
004) Superman Adventures Vol. 1: Up, Up and Away! by Mark Millar, finished January 16
003) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, finished January 12
002) Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, finished January 11
001) Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut, finished January 10

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The First Five (001 - 005)
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The Third Five (011 - 015)
The Fourth Five (016 - 020)
The Fifth Five (021 - 025)
The Sixth Five (026 - 030)
The Seventh Five (031 - 035)
The Eighth Five (036 - 040)
The Ninth Five (041 - 045)
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The Eleventh Five (051 - 055)
The Twelfth Five (056 - 060)
The Thirteenth Five (061 - 065)
The Fourteenth Five (066 - 070)