10 good books that I read this year:
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
My reaction was similar to James Kochalka’s.
Harry Potter 7
by J.K. Rowling
Always a fan of the movies, this year I let go of my HP snobbery, looked past the clunky prose, and let myself fall into the dream..
The Early Comic Strip
by David Kunzle
A long-out-of print collection of ancient precursors to the comic strip that I got my hands on through interlibrary loan.
Posts about the book:
- KUNZLE’S HISTORY OF THE COMIC STRIP, VOLS. 1 & 2
- R. CRUMB ON COLLECTING AND DAVID KUNZLE’S THE EARLY COMIC STRIP
- EXAMPLES FROM KUNZLE’S “THE EARLY COMIC STRIP”
Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow
by Anders Nilsen
Maybe my favorite book last year by my favorite contemporary cartoonist. My “review.”
The Political Brain
by Drew Westen
A book that got me interested in politics again.
Secret Knowledge
by David Hockney
A book about the use of optics in painting from the 1400s on, which changed a lot of my ideas about perspective, realism, comics, and collage.
Related Posts:
- DAVID HOCKNEY’S SECRET KNOWLEDGE: COLLAGE AND THE RETURN TO AWKWARDNESS
- WHAT VANISHING POINT? SOME REALLY BRIEF THOUGHTS ON COMICS AND PERSPECTIVE
King-Cat Classix
by John Porcellino
A retrospective collection of Porcellino’s King-Cat mini-comics. I also read his Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man and Perfect Example. Those clean, Zen lines!
The Gospel According to Jesus
by Stephen Mitchell
Reminded me how much I love the teachings of Jesus and how much I hate contemporary Christianity. A lovely book.
Related posts:
Saul Steinberg: Illuminations
by Joel Smith
This was the catalog of a gallery show we saw while we were on our honeymoon, and it kick-started the Year of Steinberg, in which I became obsessed with his work.
Posts about Steinberg from this year:
- NOTES ON SAUL STEINBERG
- SAUL STEINBERG’S REFLECTIONS AND SHADOWS
- AN ARTIST NOT-IN-RESIDENCE
- A WRITER WHO DRAWS
The Braindead Megaphone
by George Saunders
A collection of essays from my favorite living fiction writer. We got to meet Mr. Saunders twice this year: once at Oberlin College and once at the Texas Book Festival.
I’m so enjoying your blog – even your facebook status notes. So I just took your recommendation and ordered “Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow.” Appreciate all you put out there.
Thanks, Janet!