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Summer Reading List (or, Books with Fewer or No Pictures)

Started by Artemaria,

9 posts in this topic

Artemaria

Artemaria

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Hi Everyone -

 

For the past couple of years after I joined these boards, I've started a thread like this one so that we can exchange ideas about good books related to our little hobby to read over the summer. With the Northeast doing its best impression of the Pacific Northwest, I'm not getting that summer vibe, but the calendar says June, and vacation season is upon us, so here are my suggestions for some good books to read this summer if anyone is intersted.

 

Strange and Stranger by Blake Bell - this is a gripping book about Steve Ditko, which I am in the middle of reading. In addition to a well written and thoughtful narrative, it collects in one place some of the nicest early Ditko art I've ever seen. It also mentions in the inside cover a good number of people who contribute to or read these boards. While I'm not the biggest Ditko fan (would that be you Mr. Trent?), this book gives some great insights and history about the man who co-created what is arguably one of the top three most recognizable superheroes in the civilized world.

 

In the past I've read Men of Tomorrow, which is an excellent non-fiction recounting of the early days of superhero comics, how they came to be, and the relationship between Siegel and Schuster and National/DC Comics.

 

When it came out, I read the Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay. This is a fiction book which apparently derives at least some of its inspiration from the experiences of Jack Kirby, Joe Simon and others in the early days of the comic industry. If I recall correctly, this book won the Pulitzer Prize, so you can use it to impress your non-comic reading friends ;)

 

At this point, I'm happy if I read one book a year. And if I can do that while learning more about the hobby, it is doubly enjoyable.

 

Any other suggestions anyone?

 

Best regards.

 

- A

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User 01001010

User 01001010

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Pride & Prejudice & Zombies- no explanation needed

 

Patient Zero-tracking a terrorist who dies numerous times, also the writer just had a comic released (Punisher Naked Kill

 

The Suicide Collectors-A mans journey through america after a wave of suicides decimates the population.

 

j

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Mac Man

Mac Man

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I'm reading a TON of American Romantic literature (Transcendentalists mostly, i.e. Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, Fuller, Whitman but also some others within that time frame i.e. Stowe, Poe, and Dickinson) but that is for a course I'm taking so I'm not sure that counts.

 

I've also got an even larger pile of contemporary, Non-Western literature I need to read and develop course curriculum for so I will be ready in August for my 12th grade English class. This is NOT going to be fun reading, for the most part, but I was able to sneak in "Persepolis" into the reading list, so I am happy about that. I'm saving all of that for August though.

 

For leisure reading, I've just started "Men of Tomorrow" which is comic-related as the OP mentioned. So far, it's a decent and easy read. In the back of my head, I am thinking I will get around to reading "The 10 Cent Plague" as I really love learning about the history of this hobby. Plus, I am teaching a 3 week compression course next winter, and I think having all of this comic history running around in my head will be helpful.

 

I've also been slowly putzing through "The Children Of Hurin" which is really quite easy to get through--which is why I'm surprised that I have only been reading it piecemeal instead of a more regular basis. It's a nice micro-view that you just don't get from "The Silmarillion," though to be fair, the intent of "The Silmarillion" was not to get up close and personal but to provide the macro-view of the history and mythology of Middle Earth. In any event, a solid read if you survived "The Silmarillion" but want a book that reads more in line with LOTR.

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