![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Reading is hard.
Mar. 15th, 2016 10:25 amThere were a lot of Top 10 lists for books last year. On a whim, I added a few to my library request list. So far, the non comic books I've read that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise are:
1) I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. I enjoyed this one a lot. It is a Young Adult genre, I believe, about teen twins and switches between one twin's narrative and the other in two different years (one before their mom died and one after). These are incredibly artistic kids, also going through sexual awakenings. I enjoyed it, as it kept me guessing throughout and gave me new thoughts on split households.
2) Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I enjoyed this one, too, in a different way. Mycroft Holmes is Sherlock's older brother. This is written when Sherlock is still in school, so Mycroft is a young adult - and a pain in the ass. He somehow makes friends with a tall Black man from Trinidad, which is really Kareem's avatar, and they try to solve a mystery of spirits killing children. What I loved most about it is my own secondary knowledge of Trinidad. My parents' previous neighbors were from Trinidad and Guyana, and her Uncle Chung (of Chinese descent) and her own Indian heritage and racist views of the African heritage folks in Trinidad was well reflected in Mycroft's adventures in Trinidad. It was pretty in-your-face about racist white folks in London and how cruel they can be, from a Black man's perspective. But that was just a small part of the story. We learn there are plenty of racists outside of London, too.
3) The Royal We by Heather Cocks. I didn't know anything about this one before reading, but after reading it makes a lot of sense that this is by people who run a fashion blog that snarks on the UK royal family. This is basically fanfiction of Kate and William, and entertaining. My liver hurt from reading about all of the partying. It was pretty sex positive, though, which was nice. Nobody likes a slut shaming.
4) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I read this at the very beginning of the year, so it isn't so fresh in my mind. Ta-Nehisi always challenges my thoughts and my presuppositions in his The Atlantic articles. This did the same. This supposedly started as a letter to his teenaged son, warning him about how life is as a Black man in America. It gave me perspective on why my next-door neighbors (who are Black) might casually threaten to get a switch when their grandkids aren't listening. (Which also gives me some perspective on Adrian Peterson and how he beat his preschool child with a switch. Which doesn't make it right. But I can empathize better?) It sounds mostly like Ta-Nehisi had to get OUT of America and go to France in order to feel more free and less oppressed, although he admits that France has it's own issues with "the other".
The comic books I've read so far this year include:
1) This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki. I follow a lot of indie and professional comics artists on Twitter and this came down the pipe as recommended by them. I was frustrated reading this, as so much of the drama could have been alleviated if the parents had just TALKED TO THEIR KID about what was going on. Or even TALKED TO EACH OTHER. ARGH! It was beautifully illustrated and perfectly captured the Canadian cabin life, including the behind-the-scenes realities.
2) Smile, Sisters, and Drama, three comics by Raina Telgemeier. Raina's comics are apparently outselling DC and Marvel comics right now. Who knew that comics for pre-teens that had female protagonists might be salable? /sarcasm Anyway, she is also doing the comic versions of Babysitters Club, I believe, which are included in her blockbusting sales. These three books were enjoyable. They are autobio-based and talk about weird stuff, like losing your front two permanent teeth as a teen, parents losing their jobs, going on a summer road trip with your mom and siblings, cousins at a family reunion, and girl-drama as a teenager. They were good and I recommended them to my coworker's middle school aged daughter who seems to be going through some of this stuff, now.
3) Giant Days by John Allison. I started this series a year or so ago and am enjoying it. Three very different women (a goth, a mousy meek, and a rough-edged non-feminine) in university and their hilarious and insightful adventures. I really look forward to each new one as it comes out.
4) Avatar: The Last Airbender: Smoke and Shadow Part Two by Gene Luen Yang. I love Avatar: The Last Airbender. I finished rewatching the series this winter, which is made even more enjoyable with the discussions going on in Fanfare.metafilter.com. I've also read the comics they have out so far. I have yet to watch The Legend of Korra, but it is on my list. These comics are GORGEOUS.
5) Far Out #1 and #2 by Gautier Langevin. This is a French Canadien webcomic that I discovered via my comics Twitter people and I signed up for the successful Kickstarter to get both of these books. They are gorgeous. Robotic western. The first one had me confused a bit, I'm not sure if it is the translation to English that lost some of the story for me or if it was intentional because there are multiple characters of the same robot model. The second was much easier to follow. I definitely want to sign up for the next Kickstarter when he publishes the newest comics.
I'm also reading more nonfiction, which is a stretch for me. It takes a lot longer to read through a 200 page nonfiction book than a 400 page fiction book, for me anyway. I feel like I'm not good at reading them. My brain has a hard time reading and enjoying it. Maybe I need to find different topics? I'm not sure. Maybe "Between The World and Me" counts as nonfiction. That wasn't as hard to read as it was a narrative. Or maybe it is because I am reading "self-help" books like "The Heart of Parenting: Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child" and "The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers". I'm used to reading fiction books cover-to-cover and I feel a little less accomplished when I skip chapters that don't apply to me.
Industry books, like studying to take the ITIL exam (a second time), are the WORST. Do people ever read these things by CHOICE? Ugh ugh ugh.
A Twitter comics artist suggested the book I am currently reading: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. It is a bit slow-going because it is written by a neurological professional, so I find myself glossing over a lot of the theory discussion and the many many many big technical words he uses. The people stories are interesting. But the "why" discussions are frustrating. Especially because there seems to be no resolution for many of the people and the wishy-washy nature of the medical practice is frightening. Basically, even now (or, the 1980s when the book was written), medical professionals are just GUESSING about major stuff. That gets me at the bottom of my stomach like I feel standing on the top of a tall wobbly ladder. Ack!
Because some of these books are those I come into blind, they are often on subjects I wouldn't have thought of reading about. And they can feel more challenging to read. Rereading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series is not a challenge. That is easing into a well worn pair of pajamas. Being in new topics is slightly uncomfortable. I don't know if I like it. But I'll keep on keeping on.
1) I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. I enjoyed this one a lot. It is a Young Adult genre, I believe, about teen twins and switches between one twin's narrative and the other in two different years (one before their mom died and one after). These are incredibly artistic kids, also going through sexual awakenings. I enjoyed it, as it kept me guessing throughout and gave me new thoughts on split households.
2) Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I enjoyed this one, too, in a different way. Mycroft Holmes is Sherlock's older brother. This is written when Sherlock is still in school, so Mycroft is a young adult - and a pain in the ass. He somehow makes friends with a tall Black man from Trinidad, which is really Kareem's avatar, and they try to solve a mystery of spirits killing children. What I loved most about it is my own secondary knowledge of Trinidad. My parents' previous neighbors were from Trinidad and Guyana, and her Uncle Chung (of Chinese descent) and her own Indian heritage and racist views of the African heritage folks in Trinidad was well reflected in Mycroft's adventures in Trinidad. It was pretty in-your-face about racist white folks in London and how cruel they can be, from a Black man's perspective. But that was just a small part of the story. We learn there are plenty of racists outside of London, too.
3) The Royal We by Heather Cocks. I didn't know anything about this one before reading, but after reading it makes a lot of sense that this is by people who run a fashion blog that snarks on the UK royal family. This is basically fanfiction of Kate and William, and entertaining. My liver hurt from reading about all of the partying. It was pretty sex positive, though, which was nice. Nobody likes a slut shaming.
4) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I read this at the very beginning of the year, so it isn't so fresh in my mind. Ta-Nehisi always challenges my thoughts and my presuppositions in his The Atlantic articles. This did the same. This supposedly started as a letter to his teenaged son, warning him about how life is as a Black man in America. It gave me perspective on why my next-door neighbors (who are Black) might casually threaten to get a switch when their grandkids aren't listening. (Which also gives me some perspective on Adrian Peterson and how he beat his preschool child with a switch. Which doesn't make it right. But I can empathize better?) It sounds mostly like Ta-Nehisi had to get OUT of America and go to France in order to feel more free and less oppressed, although he admits that France has it's own issues with "the other".
The comic books I've read so far this year include:
1) This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki. I follow a lot of indie and professional comics artists on Twitter and this came down the pipe as recommended by them. I was frustrated reading this, as so much of the drama could have been alleviated if the parents had just TALKED TO THEIR KID about what was going on. Or even TALKED TO EACH OTHER. ARGH! It was beautifully illustrated and perfectly captured the Canadian cabin life, including the behind-the-scenes realities.
2) Smile, Sisters, and Drama, three comics by Raina Telgemeier. Raina's comics are apparently outselling DC and Marvel comics right now. Who knew that comics for pre-teens that had female protagonists might be salable? /sarcasm Anyway, she is also doing the comic versions of Babysitters Club, I believe, which are included in her blockbusting sales. These three books were enjoyable. They are autobio-based and talk about weird stuff, like losing your front two permanent teeth as a teen, parents losing their jobs, going on a summer road trip with your mom and siblings, cousins at a family reunion, and girl-drama as a teenager. They were good and I recommended them to my coworker's middle school aged daughter who seems to be going through some of this stuff, now.
3) Giant Days by John Allison. I started this series a year or so ago and am enjoying it. Three very different women (a goth, a mousy meek, and a rough-edged non-feminine) in university and their hilarious and insightful adventures. I really look forward to each new one as it comes out.
4) Avatar: The Last Airbender: Smoke and Shadow Part Two by Gene Luen Yang. I love Avatar: The Last Airbender. I finished rewatching the series this winter, which is made even more enjoyable with the discussions going on in Fanfare.metafilter.com. I've also read the comics they have out so far. I have yet to watch The Legend of Korra, but it is on my list. These comics are GORGEOUS.
5) Far Out #1 and #2 by Gautier Langevin. This is a French Canadien webcomic that I discovered via my comics Twitter people and I signed up for the successful Kickstarter to get both of these books. They are gorgeous. Robotic western. The first one had me confused a bit, I'm not sure if it is the translation to English that lost some of the story for me or if it was intentional because there are multiple characters of the same robot model. The second was much easier to follow. I definitely want to sign up for the next Kickstarter when he publishes the newest comics.
I'm also reading more nonfiction, which is a stretch for me. It takes a lot longer to read through a 200 page nonfiction book than a 400 page fiction book, for me anyway. I feel like I'm not good at reading them. My brain has a hard time reading and enjoying it. Maybe I need to find different topics? I'm not sure. Maybe "Between The World and Me" counts as nonfiction. That wasn't as hard to read as it was a narrative. Or maybe it is because I am reading "self-help" books like "The Heart of Parenting: Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child" and "The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers". I'm used to reading fiction books cover-to-cover and I feel a little less accomplished when I skip chapters that don't apply to me.
Industry books, like studying to take the ITIL exam (a second time), are the WORST. Do people ever read these things by CHOICE? Ugh ugh ugh.
A Twitter comics artist suggested the book I am currently reading: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. It is a bit slow-going because it is written by a neurological professional, so I find myself glossing over a lot of the theory discussion and the many many many big technical words he uses. The people stories are interesting. But the "why" discussions are frustrating. Especially because there seems to be no resolution for many of the people and the wishy-washy nature of the medical practice is frightening. Basically, even now (or, the 1980s when the book was written), medical professionals are just GUESSING about major stuff. That gets me at the bottom of my stomach like I feel standing on the top of a tall wobbly ladder. Ack!
Because some of these books are those I come into blind, they are often on subjects I wouldn't have thought of reading about. And they can feel more challenging to read. Rereading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series is not a challenge. That is easing into a well worn pair of pajamas. Being in new topics is slightly uncomfortable. I don't know if I like it. But I'll keep on keeping on.
