August books

[dirtylibrarian]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Vol. 2
Alan Moore
Adult Graphic Novel
Alien invasions. Mutant creatures. Sex. Rape. Murder. Literary references.
Some of the charm and depth of research of the first, but grim and tawdry.


Set This House in Order: a Romance of Souls
Matt Ruff
Adult Fiction
Multiple personality disorder. Childhood abuse. Friendship. Road trips. Secrets.
Wonderful book. So glad I finally read some Matt Ruff.


Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things
Ted Naifeh
Teen Graphic Novel
Lame parents. Dark forests. Magic secrets. Talented uncle. School angst.
Well written, unique art, fun reads!


H-E-R-O: Power & Abilities
Will Pfeifer
Adult Graphic Novel
Ordinary people find themselves with superpowers.
Not a particularly new take on this subject.


Hot Gimmick. Vol. 1
Miki Aihara
Teen Graphic Novel
Japanese life. Teens. Blackmail. Class. Dating.
Soap opera type manga. Will be popular with teen girls…but doesn't really do much for me.


Shattering Glass
Gail Giles
Teen Book on Tape
Popularity. Outcasts. Abuse. Friendship. Betrayal. Violence.
While this book was at times gripping, I found it unbelievable on many levels.


Under the Wolf, Under the Dog
Adam Rapp
Teen Fiction
Loss. Grief. Family. Suicide. Insanity. Treatment. LSD.
Painful to read, a frank and disturbing book, that is none the less incredibly moving and powerful.


Dark Days
Steve Niles
Adult Graphic Novel
Vampires. Revenge. Rebirth. Sacrifice.
Sequel to 30 Days of Night…my favorite horror graphic novel.


The Eyre Affair
Jasper Fforde
Adult Fiction
Time Travel. Secret agents. Literature. Alternative universes.
Great fun!


Sparks: An Urban Fairytale
Lawrence Marvit
Adult Graphic Novel
Girl mechanics. Robot romeos. Spousal abuse. Alcoholism. Gun fights.
Sweet and thoughtful.


SPX 2002
Adult Graphic Novel
Mini-comics. Biographies.
Well suited for the back of the toilet. Won Eisner for Best Anthology.


The Lost Girl
N. Kanan
Adult Graphic Novel
Teen life. Family vacations. Good girl meets bad girl. Loss of innocence. Friendship.
A touch of creepy, but an enchanting, though brief story.


One Piece. Vol. 1 : Romance Dawn
Eiichiro Oda
Teen Graphic Novel
Manga. Pirates. Adventure. Humor. Japan.
Silly adventure manga. Not my thing.


Lucien Clergue : Poesie Photographique
Adult Non-Fiction
Photography. Nudes. Dead things.
Excellent photography. Inspiring to wanna-be photographers like myself.


SECRET


Am I a Mutant, or What! (Foxtrot Collection)
Bill Amend
All-Ages Non-Fiction
Families. Geeks. Siblings. Humor. Comic Strip.
Autographed gift from friend.


Target
Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson
Teen Fiction
Rape. Manhood. Identity. Friendship. Healing. Art.
Great book on a really tough subject. Not what I expected at all. Highly recommended.


Scotch and Toilet Water?: A Book of Dog Cartoons
Leo Cullum
Adult Non-Fiction
Cartoons. Dogs. Humor.
Decent bathroom reading.


V for Vendetta
Alan Moore
Adult Graphic Novel
Post-Apocalyptic. Fascists. England. Anti-heroes. Terrorism. Anarchy.
Though began over 20 years ago, this story still feels timely frightening in showing possibilities of power mixed with fear.


Arkham Asylum : Living Hell
Dan Slott
Adult Graphic Novel
Criminals. Prison. Insanity.
Interesting look at the bad guys of Batman.


Little Deaths: Powers Vol. 3
Brian Bendis
Adult Graphic Novel
Cops. Superheros. Murder. Groupies. Heartbreak.
I enjoy pretty much everything in this series. Bendis has a real gift for dialog.


Hanging on to Max
Margaret Bechard
Teen Fiction
Teen fatherhood. Babies. School. Friends. Family.
Good, compelling read on an under-visited subject. But I have to admit I like First Part Last better.


Supergroup: Powers Vol. 4
Brian Bendis
Adult Graphic Novel
Cops. Superheros. Murder. Government conspiracies.
Again, one of my favorite comic book series…quite enjoyable.


Auschwitz
Pascal Croci
Adult Graphic Novel
Auschwitz. Nazis. Family. Loss.
Bleak. Well done.


The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America
Michael Ruhlman
Adult Book on Tape
Food. Education. Cooking.
Entertaining enough to get through 9 tapes, but poorly edited. I'm not terribly fond of this narrator.


Anarchy: Powers Vol. 5
Brian Bendis
Adult Graphic Novel
Cops. Superheros. Murder. Distrust. Paranoia.
Continues to be entertaining.


Eastern Standard Tribe
Cory Doctorow
Adult Fiction
Near future. Technology. Tribes. Communication. Innovation.
Quick. Confusing. Entertaining.


Mister Negativity: And Other Tales of Supernatural Law
Batton Lash
Adult Graphic Novel
Lawyers. Zombies. Writers. Mummies. Dating.
Fun graphic novels series about lawyers helping all kinds of creatures.


Saffy's Angel
Hilary McKay
Tween Fiction
Family. Adoption. Grandparents. Friendship. Siblings. Travel.
Very nice story, with quirky family.


Edge of the Earth, Corner of the Sky
Art Wolfe
Adult Non-Fiction
Photography. Nature. Landscapes. Lava.
Some really amazing photos in here, my favorites capturing light and movement of mists.


Pet Shop of Horrors
Matsuri Akino
Teen Graphic Novel
Manga. Monsters. Destruction. Loneliness. Pets.
I hate to admit it, but the more I read manga, the less interested I am in them. At this point, I'm mostly reading first volumes so I can recommend them to teens.


First French Kiss and Other Traumas
Adam Bagdasarian
Teen Short Stories
Fathers and sons. Memoirs. School. Siblings. Laxatives.
Boring.


SECRET


The Beloved Dearly
Doug Cooney
Grade School Book on Tape
Kids. Business. Funerals. Pets. Grief. Family. Friendship.
Ok, but avoid the book on tape.


Drawn & Quarterly, Volume 5
Adult Graphic Novel
International comics. Monsieur Jean. Michel Rabagliati. Canadians. Albert Chartier.
Great stuff. Well worth reading.


Alias Vol. 3: The Underneath
Brian Michael Bendis
Adult Graphic Novel
Private investigators. Spiderman. Daredevil.
I love this series!


Heir Apparent
Vivian Vande Velde
Teen Fiction
Video games. Fantasy. Adventure. Problem solving.
Fun read, will be good for booktalking.


On the Road to Perdition #2: Sanctuary
Max Allan Collins
Adult Graphic Novel
Gangsters. Hit men. Fathers and sons. Crime. Bank robbers.
Extra stories to fill in where the original (and movie) left gaps. And illustrated by the wonderful Steve Lieber.


Street Logos
Tristan Manco
Adult Non-Fiction
Art. Graffiti. Posters. Logos. Anti-advertisements. Street life.
Great documentation of some amazing street art. I adore the modifications of advertisements, and transformations of ugly urban spaces. Fun!

Comments

[bobhowe.livejournal.com]

Edge of the Earth, Corner of the Sky looks cool, and is now on my to-buy list. (By the way, you have a bad link there; a string on characters before the HTTP.)

[dirtylibrarian.livejournal.com]

Ok...for the life of me, I can't figure out why this is happening. The link to Steve Lieber is fine, but all the rest are inserting my livejournal homepage in front of the address. I went back and check, and my July list is having the same problem. I can't figure out why it is doing this...anyone have any ideas?

[dirtylibrarian.livejournal.com]

Here is what LJ helper monkeys told me:

The quotation marks you are using to highlight the links to the books are not
the default "" marks, but rather “ ” , which is causing the links to be
misinterpreted.

Ack...it is that damned microsoft word autofix or whatever that I compile the list in...thinks it is so smart! And I can't think of a quick way to fix it...I did replace all, but it just reverted. Bah.

[bobhowe.livejournal.com]

I don't know which version of Word you're using, but try this:

Under Format, choose AutoFormat..., and click on Options in the dialog box. Under the tabs AutoFormat As You Type and AutoFormat there are Replace options for "Straight Quotes" with "Smart Quotes". Deselect those options.

You can also try saving the document as plain text, or just use a text editor instead of MS Word to create your posts. I use XJournal, downloaded from the LiveJournal software collection, and that works pretty well.

[dirtylibrarian.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much...this was quite helpful. I am using an editor for most stuff. I just use MS Word to compile my book lists, as it can merge the info out of the Excel file I record them in :)