Books of 2009 (46-50)

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050) The Bible Salesman by Clyde Edgerton, finished June 2

On the cover, David Sedaris has written "How good it feels to throw back one's head and howl with a great comic novel. The 'burial tuck' alone should make The Bible Salesman a classic." Yeah. Whatever, David. The burial-tuck scene was far from hilarious and it appeared in the first few pages, making me wonder if you even read this thing. But the beginning was intriguing, the story of a young man who's decided to make a living selling Bibles getting conned by a faux FBI agent into joining a car-theft ring. It had potential. But then the endless pointless flashbacks to his childhood and cutting away from a scene just as it's reaching its comic potential (the bra scene, for example; boy wearing bra so his cousin can practice taking it off when mother figure walks in then the author cuts away and never returns). The moments of sex and violence at the end brought some life back into the book, but not enough, and what looked like an interesting dialogue on biblical truth was never followed through on. In one sense this book made me feel good: at least it's not just Mormon comic novelists who can't get it right. I do have one question for you ladies out there (feel free to answer anonymously): I keep running into this in the weirdest most unexpected places and so I need to ask: Those of you with sufficiently large breasts and sufficiently flexible necks, do you spend a lot of time biting or licking yourself? Because I can't seem to get away from it of late and it's starting to seem . . . ubiquitous. twenty days

049) Superman / Madman Hullabaloo! by the Allreds, finished May 29

Short, sweet, delightfully fun. let's call it a week

048) Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting by Jim Posewitz, finished May 26

This short and plain volume contains the basics of what it means to be an ethical hunter. And I hope hunters follow this philosophy. I'm trying to think of my hunting cousins and believe that they behave this way and . . . it's not the easiest thing I've ever attempted. Portions of this book got me the closest I've ever been to wanting to hunt. Which I think helps to explain my next statement: Hunter-hating conservationists should read this book. It's not long. You could read it in a quiet afternoon. depends on whether or not you count all the false starts but at least six months and maybe three times that long

047) Brave and the Bold: Demons and Dragons by Mark Waid et al, finished May 20

Still silly but the old stories at the back were better. I was especially enamored of the one Waid did not write but cites as a reference. It had some definite problems, but a good story. In case you didn't read me talking about previous books in the series, The Brave and the Bold features teamups between characters in one-shot stories. For instance, this one had a Superman/Catwoman story. That sort of thing. a few days

046) Atonement by Ian McEwan, finished May 20

Taking eight months to read a book, as I did this one, means that it is difficult to say for certain how excellent its parts are. Perhaps some lesser parts have been lost to memory. But I can say with certitude that this is an excellent book and I can recommend it heartily. Reading Atonement lets me know which aspects of On Chesil Beach where typical McEwan. Long poetic descriptions, for instance. (Not boring per se, but long and poetic and descriptive.) I will be reading more McEwan. I think a short story collection next..... eight months

Previously:

045) Love and the Light: An Idyl of the Westland by Orson Ferguson Whitney, finished May 20 044) Tales Of The Batman: Tim Sale by Tim Sale and some motley group of writers, finished May 17 043) Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street by Ed Brubaker et al, finished May 13 042) Aztek - the Ultimate Man by Grant Morrison), Mark Millar, Keith Champagne, Steven Harris; finished May 11 041) Cypher by Brad Teare, finished May 7 040) My Faith in Frankie by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, Marc Hempel, finished May 5 039) Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, finished May 5 038) Batman: R.I.P. by Grant Morrison et al, finished May 4 037) 1000 Steps To World Domination by Rob Osborne, finished May 4 036) 110 Per¢ by Tony Consiglio, finished May 4 035) Mendoza in Hollywood by Kage Baker, finished May Day 034) All Star Superman, Vol. 2 by Grant Morrison, and Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant, finished April 22 033) All Star Superman, Vol. 1 by Grant Morrison, and Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant, finished April 20 032) Bound on Earth by Angela Hallstrom, finished April 19 031) Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul by Grant Morrison and colleagues, finished April 18 030) Madman Atomic Comics Volume 2 by Mike Allred with Laura Allred, finished April 14 029) For a Good Time by K. Voss, finished April 11 028) The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, finished April 11 027) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, finished April 6 026)Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey by Karen Wilkin (essay) and Edward Gorey (art), finished April 5 025) Owly: A Time to be Brave by Andy Runton, finished April 1 024) Blue Beetle: Endgame by John Rogers and Rafaele Albuquerque, finished March 29 023) Blue Beetle: Reach for the Stars by Rogers, Torres, Albuqerque; finished March 26 022) The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 by Charles M. Schulz, finished March 25 021) Blue Beetle: Road Trip by various, finished March 25 020) Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, finished March 18 019) Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block, finished March 17 018) The Proviso by Moriah Jovan, finished March 16 017) An Ensign to the Nations: History of the Oakland State by Evelyn Candland, finished March 7 016) Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, finished February 27 015) Batman: The Black Glove by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel and J.H. Williams III, finished February 23 014) The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston, finished February 22 013) Lex Luthor: Man of Steel by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, finished February 19 012) Blue Beetle: Shellshocked by Keith Giffen and Cully Hammer, finished February 18 011) The Joker by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, finished February 17 010) Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, finished February 18 009) Superman: Red Son by MJR&M, finished February 11 008) The Best American Comics 2008 edited by Lynda Barry, finished February 9 007) The Blot by Tom Neely, finished February 6 006) JSA: Darkness Falls by Goyer, Johns, et al, finished January 28 005) The Road by Cormac McCarthy, finished January 24 004) Poor Sailor by Sammy Harkham, finished January 19 003) The Waitress was New by Dominique Fabre and translated by Jordan Stump, finished January 19 002) Stagger Lee by Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix, finished January 12? 001) The Arrival by Shaun Tan, finished January 8

the first five, 1-5
the second five, 6-10
the third five, 11-15
the fourth five, 16-20
the fifth five, 21-25
the sixth five, 26-30
the seventh five, 31-35
the eighth five, 36-40
the ninth five, 41-45