April 2004 Books Read

[dirtylibrarian]

Louis Riel : a Comic-Strip Biography
Chester Brown
Adult Graphic Novel
Canadian history. Rebels. Visionaries? Miscommunication on a grand scale.
You thought the American government was bad to Native peoples and minorities?

Breath
Donna Jo Napoli
Teen Fiction
Rats. Cystic fibrosis. Plague. Medieval Germany. Magic vs. Religion. LSD.
Great historical fiction. Who knew things were so crazy then?

Esperanza Rising
Pam Munoz Ryan
Teen Book on Tape
Backwards Cinderella story. Mexican princess. Sneaky, evil relatives. Migrant workers. Strikes. The Great Depression.
Good reader for book on tape. Hope will be a good discussion book.

Luna
Julie Anne Peters
Teen Fiction
Family. Transgender brother. Identity. Responsibility. Freedom.
Good book on a tough subject.

SECRET

The Sacred Heart: an Atlas of the Body Seen Through Invasive Surgery
Max Aguilera-Hellweg
Adult Non-Fiction
Fascinating and horrific. You don't want to believe these photos are real.
I should have known anything Mike Patton would use for an album cover would be this disturbing.

Central Park
Bruce Davidson
Adult Non-Fiction
Photography collection. Central Park and the people who go there.
Very nice.

The Art of George Rodrigue
George Rodrigue
Adult Non-Fiction
Art. Blue Dog. New Orleans culture.
Nice to see more than just the Blue Dog stuff.

In the Floyd archives : a Psycho-Bestiary
Sarah Boxer
Adult Non-Fiction
Cartoon animals + Freud.
Perhaps if I was really into Freud, this would be highly amusing.

Lost America : the Abandoned Roadside West
Troy Paiva
Adult Non-Fiction
Photography. Dead buildings. Dead drive-ins.
Interesting lighting effects.

Hellboy: Weird Tales Volume One
Various
Adult Graphic Novel
A wide variety of artists write Hellboy stories.
I found this to be very fun, and especially liked the variety…plus my pals Sara and Steve wrote one!

Feet of Clay
Terry Pratchett
Adult Book on Tape
Discworld. Police. Golems. Werewolves. Dwarves. Free will. Women's rights.
I love this series whole heartedly, especially when read by Nigel Planer!

Double Helix
Nancy Werlin
Teen Fiction
Coming of age. Genetics. Secrets. Huntington's disease. Loss. Intimacy.
Strong book by a good author…lots of issues for teens to chew on.

SECRET

I Like It Like That
Cecily Von Ziegesar
Teen Fiction
Rich girls. Shopping. Skiing. Romance. Heartbreak. Hippie parents. Streaking. Rehab.
My favorite TRASH series!

Comments

[aras-55555.livejournal.com]

Louis Riel : a Comic-Strip Biography
Chester Brown

Last fall I was in the audience at a panel discussion on graphic novels that included Chester Brown, Seth, and a few other figures...quite interesting. Okay, to be honest all I really remember was the people running it didn't think it was any sort of priority to actually have the microphones and speakers working properly so anyone could make out what was said...but still :)

I remember doing a school report on Louis Riel - I got carried away and read a lot more about it all than I needed to. One of the few enjoyable memories of school activities. Very interesting stuff.

[dirtylibrarian.livejournal.com]

I hadn't even heard of him until a Canadian librarian turned me on to this graphic novel. What most Americans know about Canadian history you could fit in a shot glass. I've been trying to get a little more educated in this area, though.