May books

[dirtylibrarian]

A Dirty Job
Christopher Moore
Adult Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Thrift stores. Death. Fathers. Daughters. Used CD stores. San Francisco. Supernatural. Darkness. Goth chicks. Cops. Hellhounds.
Excellent fun book, with lots of feeling too. I adore CM’s stuff and whole heartedly recommend it to all adults. Especially if you like to laugh out loud, and aren't afraid of elaborately set up puns.

A.L.I.E.E.E.N.: Archives of Lost Issues and Earthly Editions of Extraterrestrial Novelties
Lewis Trondheim
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Comic books. Aliens. Wordless stories. Cruelty. Senseless violence. Cute monsters.
Looks cute, but is awfully brutal. Great design.

Art: 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century (Volume 3)
Susan Sollins
Adult Non-Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Art. Innovation. Creativity. Social commentary.
Great stuff. Very thought provoking. Well worth checking out.

Arthur Conan Doyle (Graphic Classics - Volume 2)
Arthur Conan Doyle
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Sherlock Holmes. Mysteries. Fairies. Poetry.
A fairly enjoyable collection of retellings of Doyles work in black and white by various artists. Good introduction for teens.

Banana Sunday
Root Nibot and Colleen Coover
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Talking monkeys. High school. Cliques. Dating. Friendship. Reporters. Bananas.
A fun book with lots of surprising turns.

Bee Season
Myla Goldberg
Adult Audiobook
Recommend?: Yes.
Families. Siblings. Spelling bees. Jewish mysticism. Kleptomaniacs. Hare Krishnas.
Good recording, but a bit depressing overall.

Billy the Kid's Old-Timey Oddities
Eric Powell
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Old West. Horror. Billy the Kid. Travel. Freak shows. Frankenstein. Psychics. Monsters. Friendship.
Well done, dark, and fun.

Butterflies in Flight
Roger Camp
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Shrug.
Butterflies. Photography. Digital trickery. Odd shaped books.
This book is one extremely long page between two covers (shelved in a box). Neat design, but I was disappointed to find these are not live butterflies photographed in flight, but rather dead ones manipulated to appear in motion. Bah.

Dead West
Rick Spears
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Old West. Massacres. Native Americans. Prostitutes. Pregnancy. Gunslingers. The Calvary. Zombies.
Amusing, but not amazing.

Deogratias, a Tale of Rwanda
J. P. Stassen
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Genocide. Rwanda. Survivors. Madness.
Amazing book, with many disturbing images and twists…all necessary to make more people aware of this terrible event, and how easily it could happen again unless we make some big changes in this world.

Edward Burtynsky - China
Edward Burtynsky
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Yes.
Documentary photography. China. Environmental issues. Recycling. Dams. Overpopulation. Reconstruction.
I love the scale and ability of EB to take so much in with his photographs, but they are also chilling environmental messages, too.

Escape To New York (Runaways - Volume 5)
Brian K. Vaughan
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Superheroes. Outlaws. Runaways. Teens. Androids. Spiderman. NYC. Aliens. Romance. Secrets. Drug dealers.
This continues to be an amazing series…I'm totally hooked. Plus, it is fun to see how the kids trash on the established Marvel universe heroes.

Fresh Fruits
Schoichi Aoki
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Definitely!
Japanese culture. Teenagers. Fashion. Wackiness. Punks. Gothic Lolitas. Creativity.
Sequel to Fruits, this is a delightful collection of photos of teens on the streets in Japan showing off their great outfits. Totally inspiring for anyone aiming to dress unconventionally. Though it does beg the question…at what point does unconventional become the convention?

Girl Stories
Lauren R. Weinstein
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
High school. Girls. Morrissey. Piercings. Body image. Family. Dating. Mortification.
A fun collection of comics, which should appeal to teen girls.

Gorgeous Carat (Volume 1)
You Higuri
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
France. Aristocrats. Lost fortunes. Jewels. Schemes. Romance. S&M.
If you are looking for boy-on-boy tension in a historical context, I suppose it would be ok.

House of M
Brian Michael Bendis
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Marvel universe. Superheroes. Mutants. Alternate realities. X-Men. Avengers. Spiderman. General weirdness.
A bit confusing, but fun overall.

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Faith Delusion
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Definitely!
Food. Earth. Economies. Diversity. Environment.
I confess, I did not read this book but only looked at the pictures. And they made me hungry. An interesting book to browse.

La Esperanca: Volume 1
Chigusa Kawai
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Manga. Japan. Boarding schools. Catholics. Boy flirtation.
I'm sure many teen girls will be crazy about this, but the genre does little for me.

La Perdida
Jessica Abel
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Mexico. Tourists. Expats. Culture shock. Differences. Friendship. Romance. Travel. Danger. Isolation. Crime. Betrayal. Integrity.
A masterpiece, that really takes you a difficult journey.

Love Roma (Volume 2)
Minoru Toyoda
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Manga. Romance. High school. Friendship. Ghost stories. Plays. First jobs. Christmas.
Super sweet teen romance, but quirky enough to not be nauseating.

Mark of the Succubus (Volume 1)
Ashly Raiti
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Demons. Succubae. High school. Musicians. Romance. Friendship. Betrayal. Doom. Death. Targets. Art.
Terribly cute and fun on the surface, but with an awfully dark premise underneath the surface.

Ocean
Warren Ellis
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Science fiction. Interplanetary travel. Corporations. Weapons inspectors. Badasses. Sexual frustrated astronauts.
Excellent one shot (for adults).

Psychotic (Powers - Volume 9)
Brian Michael Bendis
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Crime fiction. Superheroes. Trophy wives. Bad cops. Vengeance. Murder. Secrets.
I love this series and really thought it had leveled out, but I'm totally excited about the new directions it is going in!

Rubber Bandits (Plastic Man - Volume 2)
Kyle Baker
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Plastic Man. Superman. Lincoln. Sidekicks. FBI. Vampires. Goth teens. Librarians. Mice. File sharing.
Super odd and fun. Though I am disturbed by the implications that Plastic Man had sex with a mouse and gave birth to his children.

Sebastian O
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Alternative historical science fiction fantasy. Victorian England. Dandies. Murder. Intrigue. Asylums. Conspiracies. Assassins. Fancy clothes.
What if Oscar Wilde had mad ninja assassin skills?

Seven Soldiers of Victory (Volume 1)
Grant Morrison
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Origin stories. Team ups. Dark magic. Lost knights. Mascots. Flying horses. Dark tribes. Subway pirates. Giant spiders. Cowboys. Support groups. Guilt. Zombie slave relatives. Apprentices. Mobsters. Alternate dimensions.
Like most Morrison books, this is both fascinating and confusing. This feels like the very beginning of some serious world building, but I might wait for the series to end before attempting to figure out what the heck is going on.

Tales of Supernatural Law (Volume 1)
Batton Lash
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Monsters. Supernatural. Lawyers. New York City. Conventions. Haunted houses. Old flames. Dating. Werewolves. Vampires. Frankensteins.
Always enjoyable and fun.

The Boyfriend List
E Lockhart
Teen Audiobook
Recommend?: Definitely!
High school life. Private schools. Seattle. Family. Performance artists. Dating. Friendship. Relationships. Rumors. Anxiety. Therapy.
A great reading and fun book about a teen who gets overwhelmed by her social life.

The Clouds Above
Jordan Crane
Kids Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Friendship. Cats. Fantasy. Clouds. Birds. School. Bad teachers. Revenge.
Charming book with lovely illustrations, that will have some trouble finding its audience.

The Lost Issue (Emily the Strange - Volume 2)
Cosmic Debris
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Goth culture. Cats. Insanity. Mass marketing.
While EtS definitely has something appealing about it, it depresses me a bit that it feels like such a merchandizing tool. Visually pleasing, but lacking.

The Painting That Ate Paris (The Doom Patrol)
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Superhero teams. Freaks. Dark forces. Dada. Extreme weirdness.
Dark, disturbing, and highly enjoyable.

Tower of the Future (Volume 1)
Saki Hiwatari
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Manga. Dreamers. Friendship. Strange children. Fantasy authors. Family. Crushes. School pressure. Loss. Secrets. Japan.
Not bad. Good emotional stuff without being melodramatic. Has lots of potential.

Vampire Loves
Joann Sfar
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Vampires. Romance. Monsters. Witches. Cruises. Cats. Mummies. Heartbreak. Ennui.
Surprisingly dead on about relationship issues, in a fun gothy way.

Welcome to Wahoo
Dennis Carr
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Filthy rich teens. Boarding schools. Trouble. Gambling. Drinking. Gangsters. Going underground. Okalahoma. Small town life. Libraries. Lessons learned.
Ok, it was a cheesy book, but it was awfully fun.

Comments

[fluxions.livejournal.com]

Do you think Banana Sunday would be appropriate for a children's collection (that includes serving middle school kids)? Or is it really for more of a teen audience?

[dirtylibrarian.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...I can't recall anything of the top of my head, though I can't remember how strong of language it uses. There is a really mean bitch of a girl who picks on the girl with the monkeys, but no sex or nudity.

[fluxions.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I remember adding it to the list because it sounded good, but the recommended age group was for the teen bracket.

[dirtylibrarian.livejournal.com]

I guess I didn't really finish answering that question. I would give it to kids in 7th grade or up. But it might appeal younger too, what with those talking monkeys.