BOOKS I RE/READ AUGUST 2004
"Candyfreak" by Steve Almond
In the vein of "Fast Food Nation," here's another book that exposes the monopoly of big money and politics in the food industry. But it's actually much more personal than "Fast Food Nation," almost a memoir of one man and his life-long love affair with candy. Sweet, sweet candy. He's pretty unembarassed about it all too, there are scenes in the book where he's just sitting in his car or in some seedy motel room cramming free candy samples down his gullet.
"My New York Diary" by Julie Doucet
Of all her books, I think I like this one the best, probably because it's a graphic novel in longer narrative form, not just short one-pagers like in "Leve Ta Jambe Mon, Poisson Est Mort!". I also appreciate the art--I think she does lithographic prints, but I'm not really art savvy enough to say for sure.
"Beg the Question" by Bob Fingerman
Heh. "Fingerman." Another great slice-of-life graphic novel, similar to "Box Office Poison" in terms of the characters and the focus, only there's a lot more sex in it. I like his art, it's very substantial and he takes a lot of time with the little details, like layout and background.
"When I'm Old and Other Stories" by Gabrielle Bell
Eh, nothing especially memorable about this book. In fact, I'm having a hard time remembering enough to even talk about it.
"The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown
Even though I was all snooty and shamefaced about reading this book, because it's almost like a stereotype, someone reading "The Da Vinci Code" on the subway or in an airport lounge--I have to say this book was suitably thrilling to earn it's reputation. I mean, don't get me wrong, the characterizations were often hackneyed, and the writing wasn't brilliant or anything like that, but it was a page-turner and exciting and even somewhat educational. What else do you want from a book anyway? Free gum?
"Scrapbook: Uncollected Work: 1990-2004" by Adrian Tomine
I love Adrian Tomine and I will buy any damn thing he puts out. Period. I don't usually buy art books, but I do love his style which (as I've mentioned before) has a flavor of Edward Hopper. More on Adrian Tomine in my entry on favorite comics.
In the vein of "Fast Food Nation," here's another book that exposes the monopoly of big money and politics in the food industry. But it's actually much more personal than "Fast Food Nation," almost a memoir of one man and his life-long love affair with candy. Sweet, sweet candy. He's pretty unembarassed about it all too, there are scenes in the book where he's just sitting in his car or in some seedy motel room cramming free candy samples down his gullet.
"My New York Diary" by Julie Doucet
Of all her books, I think I like this one the best, probably because it's a graphic novel in longer narrative form, not just short one-pagers like in "Leve Ta Jambe Mon, Poisson Est Mort!". I also appreciate the art--I think she does lithographic prints, but I'm not really art savvy enough to say for sure.
"Beg the Question" by Bob Fingerman
Heh. "Fingerman." Another great slice-of-life graphic novel, similar to "Box Office Poison" in terms of the characters and the focus, only there's a lot more sex in it. I like his art, it's very substantial and he takes a lot of time with the little details, like layout and background.
"When I'm Old and Other Stories" by Gabrielle Bell
Eh, nothing especially memorable about this book. In fact, I'm having a hard time remembering enough to even talk about it.
"The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown
Even though I was all snooty and shamefaced about reading this book, because it's almost like a stereotype, someone reading "The Da Vinci Code" on the subway or in an airport lounge--I have to say this book was suitably thrilling to earn it's reputation. I mean, don't get me wrong, the characterizations were often hackneyed, and the writing wasn't brilliant or anything like that, but it was a page-turner and exciting and even somewhat educational. What else do you want from a book anyway? Free gum?
"Scrapbook: Uncollected Work: 1990-2004" by Adrian Tomine
I love Adrian Tomine and I will buy any damn thing he puts out. Period. I don't usually buy art books, but I do love his style which (as I've mentioned before) has a flavor of Edward Hopper. More on Adrian Tomine in my entry on favorite comics.
posted by Michelle Au at 8:59 PM
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