July books

[dirtylibrarian]

Hocus Pocus
Kurt Vonnegut
Adult Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Veterans. Vietnam. Mental illness. Adultery. Teachers. Administrators. Prisons. Rebellions. Humor. Anguish.
Enjoyable, thought provoking, and entertaining.

Kampung Boy
Lat
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Childhood. Malaysia. Village life. Friendship. Family. Islam.
Wonderful read.

You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When It Monsoons: The World on One Cartoon a Day
Mo Willems
Adult Non-Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Travel. World cultures. Banana pancakes. Cartoons. Youth. Backpacking.
Very enjoyable travelogue. Fun, informative, and random.

The Making of a Graphic Novel: Featuring the First-Time Publication of the Original Science Fiction Graphic Novel -- The Resonator
Prentis Rollins
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Science fiction. Space travel. Mining. End of sleep. Drugs. Vices. Cats.
The non-fiction part is a bit slow going unless you are really fascinated with how graphic novels are made. But I adored the actual graphic novel.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Alison Bechdel
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Dysfunctional families. Funeral homes. Small towns. Homosexuality. Repression. Home restoration. Fathers and daughters. Secrets.
Absolutely excellent. One of the most literary graphic novels I've read yet, artistic and compelling. Highly recommended.

Anne Freaks (Volume 1)
Tomohiro Nagai
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Murder. Vengeance. Killers. Gangs. Teens on the run. Japan. Family. Death. Violence.
Not really my cup of tea.

The Snodgrass Conspiracy (The Lost Colony #01)
Grady Klein
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Historical fantasy. Villages. Islands. Slavery. Politics. Inventors. Robots. Dogs. Cats. Kids.
Stylistically interesting with lovely color, but falls a little short of what I consider compelling.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
Jeanne Birdsall
Tween Audiobook
Recommend?: Definitely!
Summer vacations. Cottages. Fancy estates. Gardens. Sisters. Fathers. Dogs. Rabbits. Friendship. Soccer. Tomatoes. Adventure. Imagination.
A really delightful, light summer read. Feels like a real classic.

The Return of Death Eric
Sam Llewellyn
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Family. Filthy rich with money problems. Rock starts. Snakes. Tours. Music industry. Schemes.
Fun, light read. The Ozbourns for the middle school set.

Hicksville
Dylan Horrocks
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
New Zealand. Writers. Comic culture. Small towns. Secrets. Mysteries. Movie starts. Fame. Betrayal. Romance. Friendship.
Great stuff. Not much teen appeal, but great for gn lovers.

Gray Horses
Hope Larson
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Travel. Chicago. Students. Dreams. Horses. Photography. Crushes. New friends. Adventure.
Lovely.

Sardine in Outer Space (Volume 2)
Emmanuel Guibert
Kids Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Short Stories. Pirates. Space travel. Supervillians. Kids. Orphans. Aliens. Christmas. New Years. Carpet salesmen. Milk. Bugs.
Great silly fun, with a just a touch of bathroom humor.

Chicken with Plums
Marjane Satrapi
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Iran. Families. Marriage. Musicians. Tar (instrument). Unrequited love. Loss. Children. Suicide.
Good telling of a sad story, but little teen appeal.

Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof (The Goon - Volume 4)
Eric Powell
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Thugs. Zombies. Robots. Insanity. Parallel dimensions. Lizard things. Prison. Fighting. Dickens parodies. Football.
I'm always surprised by how much this dark, violent and hilarious comic sucks me in.

Across the Wall: a Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories
Garth Nix
Teen Short Stories
Recommend?: Yes.
Fantasy. Politics. Merlin. Hansel and Gretel. Games. Australia. Inheritances. Westerns.
Solid enough collection of stories, but took me about a year to get through.

Down Paradise Way (Doom Patrol - Volume 3)
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: No.
Chaos. Weirdness. Superheroes.
I give up on this series. Authors can take too many drugs.

Teenage Revolution (Legion of Super-Heroes - Volume 1)
Mark Waid
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Science Fiction. Superheroes. Interplanetary civilization. Rebellion. Teens. Mind control. Child monitoring. Dating. War.
Not bad, but got too complicated at spots and dropped in fun.

The Sleepers
Elizabeth Heyert
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Yes.
Portraits. Nudes. Sleep. Dreaming. Couples. Stylized images.
Lovely and intriguing, but I wanted more.

Great Lies to Tell Small Kids
Andy Riley
Teen Comic
Recommend?: Yes.
Humor. Teasing. Lying. Oddity.
From the author of those Bunny Suicide books.

Wintersmith
Terry Pratchett
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Witches. Humor. Fantasy. Seasons. Myths. Gods. Romance. Heroes.
A wonderful, lovely read. If you aren't reading this series, you are really missing out.