Seventh Five of 2008 (comix/frenchspinsters)

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In this last couple days, this set of five unexpectedly filled up with comix -- and not highbrow stuff either; DC, Marvel and daily strips. But you know what? I enjoyed it all. And a heckuvalot more than the crap Colette book I read, I'll tell you that much.

035) The Complete Peanuts 1965 - 1966 by Charles M. Schulz, finished April 29

It's hard to express exactly how much I love these books. This one had the beginning of Snoopy's writing career (he began as a success!!!), the first appearance of Peppermint Patty, and the horrifying burning down of Snoopy's house (he lost his Van Gogh!). Schulz deserves all the accolades. Peanuts is better than Krazy Kat or Calvin & Hobbes. It's simply the best strip that ever there was. Time to buy the next box set! month and a half

034 Nextwave: Agents Of H.A.T.E Volume 1: This Is What They Want by Warren Ellis et Stuart Immonen et al, finished April 29

I don't really know what possessed me to check this book out from the library. Nothing about it looked good. But sometimes just being on the New shelf is enough. I'm glad I did. It was a riot. Here's some clips: afternoon to evening

033) Batman: Hush, Vol. 2 by Jeph Loeb et al, finished April 29

So volume one was underwhelming. Volume two was more intriguing but not that impressive till I was slapped with the biggest twist I can remember in a superhero comic. I don't read a lot of superhero comics -- especially now that I don't have a Master Fob around to lend me any -- but they're a genre with potential occasionally tapped. I can't say this was great literature, but it was definitely entertaining. I'm glad I had enough background knowledge to appreciate it as I did(can you identify all three Robins?), and I'm glad I'm not fifteen anymore. Jim Lee's women are really hard to manage when your blood is 25% testosterone. (Although the sexiest Harley is still the animated one. And the funny thing is, her anatomy might even be possible.) Anyway, I wish I had more to say about such a heralded title. The cover design is terrific. The story is enjoyable. The twists were surprising. It avoided most of my complaints about flagship titles. I'm glad a student lent it to me. That's about it. one day of testing

032) Batman: Hush, Vol. 1 by Jeph Loeb et al, finished April 28

Jury's out till I finish the second volume. Though my biggest impressions so far are these: Catwoman is hot; that flying dog is the most ridiculous thing ever. a bart ride

031) Chéri by Colette, finished April 17

The first few pages of this book were confusing. A man and woman getting out of bed in the morning and arguing over pearls. Seemingly. I was perplexed until I figured out that Chéri, the title character, was a man. I guess, in retrospect, the lack of a terminal e should have made that plain, but highschool French was a long time ago. Also, I thought the title character would be the woman on the cover: Anyway, I hated the book. The two main characters have no virtues other than their physical beauty and they live completely immoral lives. There was not a character in the book I could care about. That said, I should say that the last five pages of the book almost redeemed the 135 that preceded it. Almost. But still, I hated this book. It is not of good report, not from me. A "small masterpiece" the cover claims. Perhaps. It does show the wages of sin fairly accurately I would say. four days

Previously:

030) Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, finished April 13 029) Animal Farm by George Orwell, finished April 8 028) Macbeth by William Shakespeare, finished April 7 027) On the Road to Heaven by Coke Newell, finished April 4 026) The Great American Citizenship Quiz: Can You Pass Your Own Country's Citizenship Test? by Solomon M. Skolnick, finished March 23 025) Long After Dark by Todd Robert Petersen, finished March 23 024) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, finished March 21 023) Robot Dreams by Sara Varon, finished March 10 022) The Complete Peanuts 1963-1964 by Charles M. Schulz, finished March 9 021) Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, finished March 7 020) Unorthodox Practices by Marissa Piesman, finished March 5 019) Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta, finished March 4 018) A War of Gifts: An Ender Story by Orson Scott Card, finished Leap Day 017) Watership Down by Richard Adams, finished February 26 016) Old Boy Volume One by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, finished February 25 015) Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, finished February 18 014) Ultimate Spider-Man: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, finished February 15 013) Trusting Jesus by Jeffrey R. Holland, finished February 11 012) Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham et al., finished February 11 011) Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach, finished February 4 010) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, finished February 3 009) American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, finished LDotFMotNY 008) Zombification: Stories from National Public Radio by Andrei Codrescu, finished January 22 007) Marriage Lines: Notes of a Student Husband by Ogden Nash, finished January 22 006) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, finished January 20 005) The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time by Douglas Adams, finished January 14 004) Lord of the Flies by William Golding, finished January 10 003) Rising Sun by Michael Crichton, finished January 7 002) The Marketing of Sister B by Linda Hoffman Kimball, finished January 2 001) Animal Farm by George Orwell, finished January 1
The First Five ( 001 / 005 ) The Second Five ( 005 / 010 ) The Third Five ( 011 / 015 ) The Fourth Five ( 016 / 020 ) The Fifth Five ( 021 / 025 ) The Sixth Five ( 026 / 030 )