Books/Manga/Graphic Novels/Poetry You've Recently Read

[Reverend]

A thread exists for recently seen movies, so why not other media? Hopefully this one doesn't stagnate, books need love too!

Anyway, I just read The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

The survival guide was informative and clever, a must read for all zombie fans.

Hitchhiker's Guide was pure genius! Witty, smart, and the random tangents were the best thing ever!

[equalsign]

I'm mostly a comic guy nowadays. Lower time commitment. I have recently read Scott Pilgrim 1-3 by Bryan Lee O'Malley, Pokemon Adventures volume 1 by Hidenori Kusaka and Mato, and am a little over half way through A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi.

The Scott Pilgrim books were pretty funny. Definitely literary fluff, but that's good sometimes. I have been very impressed by the way in which O'Malley is able to keep his randomness and spontaneity in check and work within his world. They're pretty well made. One could easily overlook it, but much more thought and effort has gone into each panel than the author wants you to realize.

Pokemon Adventures was RAD. I have been waiting for this reprint for YEARS. If you consider yourself a Pokemon fan I'd definitely recommend picking this up. My friends and I LOVE it. Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri once said that "This is the comic that most resembles the world I was trying to convey." It has a FAR more interesting plot than the TV series ever did and can be a bit more violent to boot . It's what made me fall in love with Pokemon all over again and definitely brings back that happy nostalgia from when Pikachu was the king of the world (even if you didn't read it back then).

A Drifting Life is pretty good thus far. It's kind of refreshing to see a comic autobiography that isn't so depressing and self-absorbed. Yoshihiro Tatsumi is widely credited as being one of the fathers of modern manga, specifically for creating gekiga; books aimed at older audiences with more mature themes and images. It's really interesting to me to be able to see the evolution of manga throughout the book and to get an insider's view on the industry at these times before it became as wide and popular.

~~~

^(And Reverend, as a zombie fan I've been meaning to read the Zombie Survival Guide for a while now. I borrowed it from a friend a while ago but have never been able to really pick it up. I'm kind of afraid of it being 200 pages of info I already knew or could have guessed. I've also been a bit turned off of it by people using it as a sort of Bible at a couple zombie apocalypse training meetings and in general zombie conversation. Do you think I should give it a shot?)

[RCBH928]

Well if you want to know I am reading Hot To Get Rich by Felix Dennis
it won't make you rich but it is a really fun read.

The book, unlike others, does not tell you cheesy stuff like "The power in networking" and "if you believe in it enough, it will happen" and some other weird stuff like "if you share your fortune, it will turn back and make you richer" you know the types.

It is down to earth about the experience this self made millionaire had during his lifetime and how things work in real life. He says stuff like "You can get rich by stealing money, but that will get you in trouble" , its THAT down to earth.

It is a bit like autobiography, read for entertainment and to learn the truth about how business really works, but it won't make you rich.

[Zeonik Freak]

Ive got a list of stuff i need to finish/started/have not read.

So far, the last thing i read was "Masters of Doom" By David Kushner, great book on how id Software came to be, and how if you read it, you would have more respect for John Romero (unlike how people just hate him period).

Im sitting on trying to finish Initial D 32 and 33, ive got Battle Angel Alita, the Battle Royale novel, Watchman, Adam Warren "Bubblegum Crisis Grand Mal" comic, and many more.

And I just purchased Arcade Mania from amazon, ill give that a try...

[weasels]

I've just recently picked up the manga DOGS: STRAY DOGS HOWLING IN THE DARK which is kinda like a prelude to the series DOGS:bullets and carnage. its really good. i usually dont buy manga since i can read online but i loved the ova that was based off the manga so much that i really wanted to pick this up.

[latenitevacancy]

i just started reading the preacher series. i finished vol. 1, and vol. 2 and 3 just came in the mail. i'm really enjoying it. it's super fucked up, but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Ack]

i just started reading the preacher series. i finished vol. 1, and vol. 2 and 3 just came in the mail. i'm really enjoying it. it's super fucked up, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Yeah, you'll have fun with that. Cassidy and the Saint of Killers are two of my favorite comic book characters. The ending is phenomenal.

[Reverend]

(And Reverend, as a zombie fan I've been meaning to read the Zombie Survival Guide for a while now. I borrowed it from a friend a while ago but have never been able to really pick it up. I'm kind of afraid of it being 200 pages of info I already knew or could have guessed. I've also been a bit turned off of it by people using it as a sort of Bible at a couple zombie apocalypse training meetings and in general zombie conversation. Do you think I should give it a shot?)

I found parts of the book bothersome as well, but it didn't hinder enjoying it. The most annoying part would have to be that the author doesn't take into account the different kinds of zombies and makes up there own kind. Max Brooks shows how to protect yourself from slow zombies that are caused by a virus. There is nothing mentioned regarding fast, supernatural, or parasitic zombies. On a side note, the most useful part of the guide, for me at least, was the weapons section, particularly the advantages and disadvantages of each.

[Luke]

Last month I finished up Groucho and Me, by Julius "Groucho" Marx. Since I was a kid I marveled at how funny Groucho was. The guy said dirtier things on television than Howard Stern, but said them with such clever delivery and timing that it would go over the censors heads. He had a fairly sad life though, which is probably what made him develop such an unmatchable sense of humor. I highly suggest it.

Currently reading Living the Dream, by Dick Vitale. So far it's...Well, I'm giving it a try. It's not that intriguing, and his catch phrases are all throughout the book.

[vejita]

Im sitting on trying to finish Initial D 32 and 33, ive got Battle Angel Alita, the Battle Royale novel, Watchman, Adam Warren "Bubblegum Crisis Grand Mal" comic, and many more.

I'd go for Battle Angel Alita- a great series. The Battle Royal novel, to me, seems to get old after a while though it's still enjoyable...and I loved the movie.

And Watchmen...(or did you mean Watchman, by Robert Crais?)

There were at least two other threads for books already, but I guess those died out months ago (maybe a year?)

I'm flipping through my Signs of Bioart , edited by Eduardo Kac on the up-and-coming zeitgeist called "bioart." Pretty cool stuff- basically laboratory science mixed with art and theory. The book contains several artists and individuals with a hand in theory, art criticism, history, science, and poetry to express the movement.