25: the final few

.


124) The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ primarily by Mormon, finished December 30

At least of my adult life (and not including certain board books, notably this one), this is undoubtedly the book I have read through the most times. But I think "reading it through" is something Lady Steed and I need to stop doing. We say that everytime we finish, then we just read it through again. We need to find a better way to study the Book of Mormon. What we were doing with the Bible a couple years ago worked pretty well, but really: we need a better plan. Something more in depth.

One option would be these volumes sound like they might be useful but I'm leery of the cost.

So we're not decided. But if we do make a decision rather than just go through the book again, you might not see the BofM here next year. We may be finally taking our time and trying to swim in deeper waters.

Wish us luck.

just shy of one full year

123) The Best American Comics 2007 edited by Chris Ware and Anne Elizabeth Moore, finished December 29

Although there was much to like in this collection, there was little to love and I must admit I am deeply disappointed in Ware's selections. Despite his the-lady-doth-protest-too-much introduction, it's clear he was checking boxes and felt obliged to include the Crumbs and Spiegelman and Panter and Barry and Hernandez, etc. This was the sort of plan he used when editing the excellent McSweeney's #13 and it worked there because it was that sort of anthology. But this is supposed to be the Best American Comics of a 12-month stretch, not an education in the best living comics artists, thank you very much. Moore's appendix of 100 notables looks much more consistently interesting than the ones Ware finally selected.

That said, although I didn't like this one as much as last year's (!), I'm still wonderfully happy to have read it and look forward to next year's issue--or rather, this years issue as it is already out.

For more thoughts on this subject, visit this post at Fobcomics.

But here's one shoutout to Chris Ware besides the fact that he himself is an awesome maker of comics: The best thing, the thing I like the most, about your editing is how you arranged the comics. Thematically, they melded one into another quite nicely (although this might just prove that the overall selection lacks variety) (and although in a couple cases this meant it was easy not to notice we'd switched comics) and little touches like throwing Spiegelman before everything and making Seth a coda were borderline brilliant. Well done.

under a week

122) Pinocchioby Carlo Collodi, translated by Geoffrey Brock, finished December 29

I've never read the book, don't much like the Disney film, and missed Coppola's when it came out. But Pinocchio is even crazier than I imagined. The book is unhinged, barely manages to keep itself under control as it careens through a mad world of fairies and sharks and puppets and whatever else happened to pass within five blocks of Collodi's imagination. Like Unberto Eco says in his intro, this book bares little resemblance to its Disney progenitor, but that's okay with me. This weird and wild book was a fun pass and one I'll be happy to pass to my kids when they're reading on their own. A good translation.

under a week

121) Schulz's Youth by Charles M. Schultz, finished December 26

Christmas was good for my Sparky-Schultz habit: this book and the newest box set from the Complete Peanuts. This is another collection of single panels; these came from Schultz's gags for a Christian youth magazine. Many of them, thus, are quite churchy:





but I think the strip's at its best when its just teenagery:





For a more details (and samples), see what I wrote at Fobcomics.

two days

/previously/

120) A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel by Charles Dickens et al, finished December 23
119) Strange Stories for Strange Kids edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, finished December 23
118) Justice Be Done by James Robinson, David S. Goyer, and Steve Sadowski (et al), finished December 20
117) Manhunter: Unleashed by Marc Andreyko et al, finished December 15
116) The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E. L. Konigsburg, finished December 12
115) Manhunter: Origins by Marc Andreyko et al, finished December 11
114) When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt, finished December 11
113) Witchblade Volume 1 by Ron Marz, Mike Choi, et al, finished December 11
112) Manhunter: Trial by Fire by Marc Andreyko et al, finished December 9
111) A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel by Charles Dickens et al, finished December 8
110) The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, finished December 2
109) Re-Gifters by Mike Carey et al, finished December 2
108) Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater, finished November 30
107) Old School by Tobias Wolff, finished November 28
106) Madman Atomic Comics Volume 1 by Mike Allred et al, finished November 23
105) The Brave & the Bold, Book 2 by Mark Waid et al, finished November 16
104) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, finished November 15
103) Dali & I: The Surreal Story by Stan Lauryssens, finished November 15
102) Brave & The Bold Vol. 1: Lords Of Luck by Mark Waid and George Pérez, finished November 13
101) The Black Whole edited by Jacqueline M Jones, finished November 13
100) Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin, finished November 10
099) Batman and Son by Grant Morrison et al, finished November 9
098) The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, finished November 7
097) Manhunter Vol. 1: Street Justice by Marc Andreyko et al, finished November 4
096) Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can't Kick Militarism by Joel Andreas, finished November 4
095) Our America: Life And Death On The South Side Of Chicago by by LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman with David Isay, finished October 22
094) Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt, finished October 21
093) Carrie by Stephen King, finished October 14
092) Barnaby by Crockett Johnson, finished October 9
091) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, finished October 8
090) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, finished October 6
089) The Colorado Kid by Stephen King, finished October 3
088) Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark, finished October 1
087) Concrete: Fragile Creature by Paul Chadwick, finished September 28
086) Lone Wolf and Cub Vol. 1: The Assassin's Road by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, finished September 27
085) A Lion and a Lamb by Rand H. Packer, finished September 20
084) What Jesus Meant by Garry Wills, finished September 20
083) The Lost Ones by Steve Niles et al, finished September 18
082) Dorian by Nephi Anderson, finished September 17
081) If You Want to Scare Yourself by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, translated by Rene Vera Cafiero, with illustrations by Helga Spiess; finished September 12
080) Madman Gargantua by Mike Allred with Laura Allred, finished September 9
079) Star Wars by George Lucas, finished September 9
078) Angel Falling Softly by Eugene Woodbury, finished September 1
077) The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin finished August 29
076) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, finished August 25
075) Added Upon by Nephi Anderson, finished August 24
074) The Last Flower by James Thurber, finished August 19
073) Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form by Scott McCloud, finished August 17
072) The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories by Nicholas Gurewitch, finished August 12
071) The Dreamer by Will Eisner, finished August 12
070) The Blot by Tom Neely, finished August 6
069) Strange Stories for Strange Kids edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, finished August 6
068) Survival Rates by Mary Clyde, finished July 30
067) A Week in October by Elizabeth Subercaseaux, translated by Marina Harss, finished July 29
066) Lehi in the Desert & The World of the Jaredites by Hugh Nibley, Ph. D., finished July 29
065) A Son Is Forever by various, finished July 29
064) Good ol' Snoopy by Charles M. Schultz, finished July 13
063) Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi, finished July 13
062) A Doré Treasury edited by James Stevens, finished July 12?
061) Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.; finished July 8
060) The Enoch Letters by Neal A. Maxwell, finished July
059) Sock Monkey: The Inches Incident by Tony Millionaire, finished July 3
058) The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 by Thomas Ott, finished July 2
057) Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi, finished July 1
056) 300 by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, finished June 16
055) Fox Bunny Funny by Andy Hartzell, finished June 16
054) Where Did I Leave My Glasses?: The What, When, and Why of Normal Memory Loss by Martha Weinman Lear, finished June 15
053) The Mystery Guest by Grégoire Bouillier, trans. Lorin Stein, finished June 14
052) The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer, finished June 10
051) Good Bones and Simple Murders by Margaret Atwood, finished June 10
050) Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's, Humor Category edited by D. Eggers, K. Shay, L. Epstein, J. Warner and S. Kleid, finished June 9
049) Bikeman by Thomas F. Flynn, finished June 5
048) Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, finished June 5
047) The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, finished June 2
046) Sixty Poems by Charles Simic, finished May 30
045) Replay by Ken Grimwood, finished May 28
044) The Age of the Conglomerates: A Novel of the Future by Thomas Nevins, finished May 27
043) W;t by Margaret Edson, finished April 19
042) Halo and Sprocket Volume 1: Welcome to Humanity by Kerry Cullen, finished May 17
041) Storm Front by Jim Butcher, finished May 16
040) 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill, finished May 9
039) I Am the President of Ice Cream by Geoff Sebesta, finished May 4
038) On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, finished May 3
037) The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester, finished May Day
036) The Drifting Classroom Vol. 1 by Kazuo Umezu, finished April 30
035) The Complete Peanuts 1965 - 1966 by Charles M. Schulz, finished April 29
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
033) Batman: Hush, Vol. 2 by Jeph Loeb et al, finished April 29
032) Batman: Hush, Vol. 1 by Jeph Loeb et al, finished April 28
031) Chéri by Colette, finished April 17
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 )
The Seventh Five ( 031 / 035 )
The Eighth Five ( 036 / 040 )
The Ninth Five ( 041 / 045 )
The Tenth Five ( 046 / 050)
The Eleventh Five ( 051 / 055)
The Twelfth Five ( 056 / 060)
The Thirteenth Five ( 061 / 065)
The Fourteenth Five ( 066 / 070)
The Fifteenth Five ( 071 / 075)
The Sixteenth Five ( 076 / 080)
The Seventeenth Five ( 081 / 085)
The Eighteenth Five ( 086 / 090)
The Nineteenth Five ( 091 / 095)
The Twentieth Five ( 096 / 100)
The Twenty-First Five ( 101 / 105)
The Twenty-Second Five ( 106 / 110)
The Twenty-Third Five ( 110 / 115)
The Twenty-Fourth Five ( 116 / 120)