Nearing the end of 2017, bookswise

.

137) The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel, finished December 27

Here's the skinny: a man disappeared into the Maine woods and except for one Hi early on, never spoke to another human in almost thirty years, getting by on stolen food and batteries. Then he was caught and brought in. This journalist gets him to speak with him but, as you might imagine, the hermit is not the most sociable of fellows.
And he's long since given up worrying about what other people think about him. I do, however, wonder what he thinks of this book....

The book was provocative to me. Giving up society has always attracted me. Giving up my wife, however, impossible. I'm not sure she would sign up for a just-us deal.
And if we did disappear? What about later? I don't think I would be mad upon our return. And I think she might turn mad before the return. Anyway. No way to know for sure.

As a book, it's pretty light stuff. But the questions it passes by are dangerously fascinating.

a couple weeks



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137) There Was a Young Lady Named Alice and Other Limericks edited by John Armstrong with drawings by Kovarsky, finished December 21

It's pretty much exactly what you're thinking. A bit repetitious, as sexist as it is sexy, best in small doses spread over a long, long time. Midcentury gags for men with martini glasses down at the club. Amusing, sure. Not much nutritive value.

piecemeal over maybe even three years



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136) Agnes Quill: an anothology of mystery by Dave Roman et al., finished December 21

Dave Roman had an idea for a young woman who sees the dead and solves their mysteries and he worked with different artists to bring that vision to life, from the gritty to a pre-Smile Raina Telgemeier. It does feel about ten years ago in terms of how Agnes is being produced right on the cusp of the comics explosion (this book is roughly co-moment with Flight). It's not hard to see how, just a few years later, this would have been done on Kickstarted rather than with Slave Labor Graphics.
Much of the structure of and thinking behind the book feel now in a slightly less standardized form. It's a fine book but probably most vital as a comics-history water mark.

perhaps a couple months



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135) The Complete Peanuts: 1999-2000 by Charles M. Schulz, finished December 20

I took a long time to start reading this volume because it kills me that it's all over now. I mean---sure, I'll get to start from the beginning again,
but it's over. Fifty years of Peanuts has come to an end.

There were signs. And I just don't mean obvious ones like the daily strip ending before the Sunday strip. I mean things like photocopied elements:

He never used to do this.

And lots of looks at mortality as well:

And although this isn't a particularly great example, over the last few years, the role of Franklin's grandpa has been a source of conversation about aging as well:

Then, suddenly it ends, and you realize, oh! gosh! we haven't seen Schroeder since September of '99! and you go backwards noting each last appearance when it shows up---the opposite of the early books when the appearance of Lucy! or Linus! or Sally! was a cause for Marvel.

I also want to strongly disagree with those who say Schulz was losing his touch in the final years. All you have to do is look at what he was doing with Rerun to know he had miles left in the tank and only death could end his phenomenal run.

* * * * *

Other notes.

Even though I already own them, adding Li'l Folks was a pretty good way to fill out this volume. Though I still would have liked a complete concordance.

Which reminds me: the index sucks in this volume. They started strong and got suckier quickly. You botched the indices, Fantagraphics. Why? why? why?

Now onto the final final volume of extras. I should feel rushed as Christmas is less that a week away, but what does it matter? No new volumes arriving from Santa this year.....

a monthish

Previously in 2017

note: due to a lucky digital error,
I was able to finish the aftermatter of #134;
the date has been appropriately updated






131 – 134

134) DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke, finished December 23
133) Stewart the Rat by Steve Gerber & Gene Colan & Tom Palmer, finished November 21
132) The Ephraim Chronicles by Lee Nelson, finished November 18
131) (In a Sense) Lost & Found by Roman Muradov, finished November 18

128 – 130

130) Batman: Haunted Knight by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, finished November 17
129) everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too by Jomny Sun, finished November 16
128) Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished November 12

124 – 127

127) Nat Turner by Kyle Baker, finished November 10
126) A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle , finished November 7
125) Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster): Life Lessons and Other Ravings from Dave Barry by Dave Barry, finished November 3
124) Munch by Steffen Kverneland, finished October 31

117 – 123

121, 122, 123) Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare, finished October 26
120) Deceit and Other Possibilities by Vanessa Hua, finished August 24
119) Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare, finished October 23
118) Glossolalia by Marita Dachsel, finished October 15
117) Bowery Boys by by Cory Levine & Ian Bertram & Brent McKee, finished October 14

114 – 116

116) Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle by Jeff Flake, finished October 11
115) Stickeen by John Muir, finished October 4
114) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, finished October 3

109 – 113

113) Paper Girls Volume Three by Vaughn/Chiang/Wilson/Fletcher, finished September 29
112) Paper Girls Volume Two by Vaughn/Chiang/Wilson/Fletcher, finished September 28
111) Artichoke Tales by Megan Kelso, finished September 26
110) Adulthood Is a Myth: A Sarah Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen, finished September 20
109) The Hunt for Vulcan: . . . And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe by Thomas Levenson, finished September 19

103 – 108

108) Gast by Carol Swain, finished September 19
107) Paper Girls Volume One by Brian K Vaughan et al, finished September 16
104, 105, 106) Fences by August Wilson, finished September 15
103) Drama by Raina Telgemeier, finished September 11

100 – 102

102) Clean Room Vol. 3: Waiting for the Stars to Fal by Gail Simone et al, finished September 9
101) Clean Room, Vol. 2: Exile by Gail Simone et al, finished September 7
100) Clean Room, Vol. 1: Immaculate Conception by Gail Simone et al, finished September 7

96 – 99

099) Title by Rachel Hunt Steenblik, finished September 7
098) “L” Is for Lawless by Sue Grafton, finished September 6
097) How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff, finished September 2
096) Flight, Volume 4, finished August 30

91 – 94

095) What Was Left of the Stars by Claire Åkebrand, finished August 30
094) Laughing Gas by P.G. Wodehouse, finished August 30
093) Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by Skottie Young, finished August 30
092) Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang, finished August 29
091) Upside-Down Magic by Sarah Mlynowski & Lauren Myracle & Emily Jenkins, finished August 21

87 – 90

090) The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold, finished August 15
089) Mormonism for Beginners by Stephen Carter, finished August 15
088) Ben, in the World by Doris Lessing, finished August 15
087) Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken, finished August 9

81 – 86

086) The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey, finished August 4
085) Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen by Dylan Horrocks, finished August 3
084) Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk, finished August 3
083) CatStronauts: Mission Moon by Drew Brockington, finished July 29
082) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, finished July 29
081) The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing, finished July 15

76 – 80

080) The Novel by James C. Michener, finished July 12
079) Dodger by Terry Pratchett, finished July 11
078) Big Nate: Great Minds Think Alike by Lincoln Peirce, finished July 10
077) Living Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, finished July 7
076) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, finished June 30?

72 – 75

075) Norse Mythology by Neil Gaimain, finished June 19
074) Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes by Matt Kindt, finished June 16
073) Wyrms by Orson Scott Card, finished June 15
072) Cairo by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker, finished June 13

68 – 71

071) Abstract City by Christoph Niemann, finished June 9
070) The Wrenchies by Farel Dalrymple, finished June 8
069) Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham, finished June 5
068) Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, finished June 1

64 – 67

067) One Minute till Bedtime selected by Kenn Nesbitt, finished May 30
066) The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder, finished May 25
065) Wonder Woman: A Celebration of 75 years by (various), finished May 24
064) Leiathan with a Hook by Kimberly Johnson, finished May 12

60 – 63

063) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, finished May 10
062) Cover by Peter Mendelsund, finished May 10
061) Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia, finished May 8
060) Age of Reptiles Omnibus, Vol. 1 by Ricardo Delgado, finished May 4

57 – 59

059) Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, finished May 1
058) Little Tommy Lost: Book One by Cole Closser, finished April 28
057) Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett, finished April 24

53 – 56

056) Angel Catbird (vol. one) by Margaret Atwood, et al., finished April 21
055) The Dinner Club by Curtis Taylor, finished April 21
054) The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill, finished April 17
053) A Field Guide to Awkward Silences by Alexandra Petri, finished April 9

48 – 52

052) The Ghost by Robert Harris, finished April 7
051) Injection, Vol. 1 by Warren Ellis & Jordie Bellaire & Declan Shalvey, finished April 7
050) Letters to a Young Mormon by Adam Miller, finished April 2
049) Fences by August Wilson, finished March 30
048) Art Ops Vol. 2: Popism by Shaun Simon and a crapton of artists including a panoply of Allreds, finished March 29

44 – 47

047) The Natural by Bernard Malamud, finished March 28
046) Let Me Drown with Moses by James Goldberg, finished March 26
045) Kaptara Volume 1: Fear Not, Tiny Alien by Chip Zdarsky and Kagan McLeod, finished March 25
044) The Big Book of Exit Strategies by Jamaal May, finished March 22

40 – 43

043) Casanova: Acedia Volume 1 by Matt Fraction and Fábio Moon and Michael Chabon and Gabriel Bá, finished March 18
042) Wolfie & Fly by Cary Fagan, finished March 15
041) Cyrus Perkins and the Haunted Taxi Cab by Dave Dwonch and Anna Lencioni, finished March 13
040) An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, finished March 10

36 – 39

039) Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, finished March 9
038) In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown by Amy Gary, finished March 5
037) Ritual and Bit by Robert Ostrom, finished March 3
036) Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman, finished March 3

33 – 35

035) Under Brushstrokes by Hedy Habra, finished February 24
034) Rapture by Sjohnna McCray, finished February 20
033) The Destroyer in the Glass by Noah Warren, finished February 19

29 – 32

032) Old Boy, Vol. 8 by Garon Tsuchiya & Nobuaki Minegishi, finished February 18
031) Ms. Marvel Vol. 6: Civil War II by G. Willow Wilson et al, finished February 18
030) White Sand by Brandon Sanderson & Rik Hoskin & Julius Gopez, finished February 18
029) Honest Engine by Kyle Dargan, finished February 17

24 – 28

028) Best American Comics 2016 edited by Roz Chast, finished February 16
027) Old Boy, Vol. 7 by Garon Tsuchiya & Nobuaki Minegishi, finished February 16
026) Old Boy, Vol. 6 by Garon Tsuchiya & Nobuaki Minegishi, finished February 12
025) Old Boy, Vol. 5 by Garon Tsuchiya & Nobuaki Minegishi, finished February 11
024) Old Boy, Vol. 4 by Garon Tsuchiya & Nobuaki Minegishi, finished February 10

19 – 23

023) Ms. Marvel Vol. 5: Super Famous by G. Willow Wilson & Takeshi Miyazawa, finished February 9
022) Ms. Marvel Vol. 4: Last Days by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona, finished February 7
021) Ms. Marvel Vol. 3: Crushed by G. Willow Wilson & Takeshi Miyazawa & Elmo Bondoc, finished February 7
020) Ms. Marvel Volume 2: Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson & Jacob Wyatt & Adrian Alphona, finished February 6
019) Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona, finished February 5

14 – 18

018) Curses by Kevin Huizenga, finished February 4
017) Precious Rascals by Anthony Holden, finished January 31
015 & 016) Anthem by Ayn Rand, finished January 31
014) Old Boy, Vol. 3 by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, finished January 30

9 – 13

013) On Jupiter Place by Nicholas Christopher, finished January 30
012) Old Boy, Vol. 2 by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, finished January 29
011) Old Boy, Vol. 1 by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, finished January 28
010) Summerlost by Ally Condie, finished January 27
009) Heat Wake by Jason Zuzga, finished January 24

4 – 8

008) How the End Begins by Cynthia Cruz, finished January 19
007) Delinquent Palaces by Danielle Chapman, finished January 19
006) Pilot by pd mallamo, finished January 19
005) Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, finished January 16
004) I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young et al, finished January 14

1 – 3

003) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, finished January 12
002) F in Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers by Richard Benson, finished January 10
001) States of Deseret by William Morris, finished January 10

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