Thursday, August 30, 2007

Book Club

by Bill Barnes & Gene Ambaum

This is the fourth collection of strips from Unshelved, the online comic about the Mallville Public Library. What can I say? As a geeky, fan-boyish bookworm it targets my demographic exactly. And it's funny. So, I want a copy on my shelf so I can read it again and again and again.
LibraryThing link

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Monday, August 27, 2007

Something Under the Bed is Drooling

by Bill Watterson

This, the second Calvin and Hobbes collection, is funnier than it's predecessor. In it you have a few more extended "storylines", such as Calvin's first dramatic role as an onion, Susie's birthday party, and class pictures, the strips that brought tears to my eyes. (I always wanted to do something like that but never had the nerve....) It's great stuff. If you don't have a copy on your shelf, go out and buy one.
LibraryThing link

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Sunday, August 26, 2007

The Fellowship of the Ring

by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ever since I started following Shamus Young's DM of the Rings, I've had an itch to reread the Lord of the Rings trilogy and finally bother to watch Peter Jackson's cinematic version. As circumstances had it, I was able to unpack the books before I ever made my way to the video store. The Fellowship, if you don't know, is the first volume of the trilogy. It tells the tale of Frodo Baggins, nephew and heir to Bilbo Baggins, the hero of The Hobbit. Amongst his inheritance is the magical ring that Bilbo acquired in the aforementioned story. It turns out that the ring is a lot more than it seems--'tis a thing of power and corrupting evil. And, it's creator, the evil Sauron, has started looking for it. The best solution is to return the ring to it's crucible of creation--the one place where it can be destroyed. Unfortunately for Frodo, it's a task that must be carried out by him. This volume starts the tale, as Frodo and various companions set out, pursued by the minions of Sauron. It's a sweeping epic, a rich tapestry of characters, setting and adventure. Why have I let it sit on my shelf so long?
LibraryThing link

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Thursday, August 23, 2007

The Great War: Breakthroughs

by Harry Turtledove

This sucks! No, not the book. The book is quite well written and interesting. In it, Mr. Turtledove wraps up the First World War. Well, the first world war of this particular alternate reality. You know, the one where the South had won the Civil War. Now the USA and CSA are fighting across the trenches, just like the European powers. Like the previous volumes of the trilogy, Mr. Turtledove tells the tale from the perspective of a variety of people: soldier and civilian; rich and poor; damnyankee, reb and canuck. That's where the problem lies. Some of those plot threads end somewhat happily, others, not so well. One... ah, one just sucks. It's good writing. It shows an important facet of life during wartime but... I won't spoil the surprise. I hated it. Still, seeing how I have the other two volumes of the trilogy, I'll track down a copy of this one to put on my shelf. sigh....
LibraryThing link

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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Calvin and Hobbes

by Bill Watterson

I just put this back on my shelf as we unpacked our books. I quickly pulled it off again to have a read. After 20 years it still makes me laugh out loud.
LibraryThing link

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Friday, August 10, 2007

Re-Entry

by Peter Jordan

We got this book as a parting gift from our agency. 'Tis a book giving advice for former lao wai who now have to face the task of returning to live in their native culture. It's geared toward returning missionaries, though I would imagine it might be useful to other foreign sojourners as well. Judging from the book, it seems that the two big problems for returning missionaries is that a) few people have more than a cursory interest in their life overseas and b) pastors don't really appreciate having missionaries come home and start criticizing the home congregation. Mr. Jordan's advice is essentially, "get off your ego trip and think about others." Sound advice. All in all I found the book to be waiting room material. Just about everything he mentioned was something I already knew or could have figured out on my own. Of course, in all the chaos of returning home, it's probably good to have such a reminder.
LibraryThing link

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Tuesday, August 07, 2007

The Great War: Walk in Hell

by Harry Turtledove

This one's the second in The Great War trilogy, following on the heels of American Front. It picks up the tale of World War I fought in a world where the Confederate States of America had won the American Civil War--oh, excuse me. I mean, the War of Secession. Anyway, the USA and the CSA are on opposing sides in this conflict and North America gets to experience the full horrors of the "Great War". Like the first volume in the trilogy, the tale is told through the eyes of various folk. It's well written, but didn't excite me as much as its predecessor. Still, I'm glad I checked it out and look forward to reading part three.
LibraryThing link

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Saturday, August 04, 2007

Batman Archives: Volume 1

by Bob Kane

I think my first realization of comic book continuity came from reading Batman: From the 30s to the 70s from the Roselle Public Library. I loved that book, reading it a number of times until it vanished from the shelves. In all my years of buying and collecting comics, I never managed to snag a copy of that book. Now, however, I have the next best thing. The Batman Archives reprints all of the Batman stories from Detective Comics, starting from his first appearance. In perusing this book, I read a number of tales I had fondly remembered from my youth. The stories are simplistic, and the dynamic duo spends time fighting gangsters rather than costumed villains, but it's still a great read. The best part about it is that since it's on my shelf, I don't have to worry about losing it to a dishonest library patron.
LibraryThing link

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