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Archive for November, 2011

Nov 30

superman-comic
10 Comments

Four Comic Books That Matter

I feel so out of my element here.

Me telling you about comic books that matter is like Justin Bieber offering his take on rock and roll. I should probably stick to normal books and Justin should probably stick to bubble gum pop music. Sorry, that was a blatant shot on a 14-year-old boy. I’m awful.

But here I am, about to tell you four comic books that matter. Before I start, I’ll tell you that I did a little research on this one, as my first instinct was to simply list Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and….um, maybe Captain Universe?

Anyway, as I’ve repeatedly said since I started reading Watchmen, I’m pretty much an idiot when it comes to superhero knowledge. That said, here goes…

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Nov 29

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Alan Moore Talks Superheroes

So it’s my understanding that Alan Moore is like the Obi Wan Kenobi of comic book writers. Or maybe he’s more like Anakin Skywalker with a creepy beard.

Anyway, the guy revolutionized the comic book genre when the Watchmen series began in 1985. He took the whole idea of superheroes as superhumans born on another planet, or implanted with superpowers by spiders, and flipped that idea on its head.

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Nov 28

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8 Comments

Ranking The First 30 (Plus 1)

Somehow I let this post slip by.

For newcomers, I usually stop and explain my latest rankings after each set of five books. Book #30 (Animal Farm) came and went and I totally forgot to recap. So today’s post is a quick explanation of my rankings for the last set of books (26-31).

Remember, these are my highly subjective and totally opinionated rankings of the first 31 novels.

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Nov 24

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1 Comment

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you live in the States, here’s wishing you a happy Thanksgiving that hopefully includes football, a good book, and maybe a nap. If you live outside the U.S., well, Happy Thursday! I’ll have some turkey for you.

In honor of food and pilgrims, 101 Books is off the rest of the week. I’ll return live on Monday.

Now, off to fry a turkey. Have a great one.

Nov 23

Watchmen.graphic.novel
20 Comments

Next Up: Watchmen

A comic book, huh?

This is the fourth novel of the current series of five books you guys picked for me to read. And, with this one, I just don’t know what to think.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a comic book. Probably 25 years. And by the way, just saying that makes me feel old. It’s hard to believe I could be doing anything 25 years ago, much less reading.

Anyway, I’ve got nothing against adults who read comics, but it’s just something I lost interest in early on in life. With the exception of the NEW Batman movies, I’m not that impressed with superhero movies, either. So, obviously, I’m not DC Comics’ target demographic.

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Nov 22

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37 Comments

Book #31: Never Let Me Go

First off, I’ll say that this book is impossible to review without explaining one major part of the plot, a part that I’ve kept under wraps in my previous posts about Never Let Me Go.

So if you want to read the book, and you want to go in totally blind like I did, then you may want to skip this review. That said, I don’t plan on spoiling the ending or sharing any groundbreaking stuff. I will simply explain what the book is about.

So what’s Never Let Me Go about?

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Nov 21

Kazuo_Ishiguro_by_Kubik
17 Comments

Kazuo Ishiguro On Clichés

Clichés are a writer’s sworn enemy.

They take up unneeded space, offer no originality and very little insight. But they’ve become clichés because everyone uses them, which makes it difficult for a writer to get out of that habit.

When it comes to clichés, I’m guilty as sin (Did you see what just happened there? The irony!) But I would expect more experienced, award-winning novelists to avoid clichés like the plague (Oh no. It happened again.)

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Nov 18

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46 Comments

5 Things I’ve Learned About Book Blogging

So I’ve been at this for nearly 15 months now, and I’m still enjoying it as much as the day I started.

If you didn’t know (and why would you?)  this is my third attempt at a blog. The first was a rambling personal blog that I didn’t promote and really didn’t care to. The second one was a golf blog that I updated 1-2 times a week and, at least for awhile, felt like I got into a flow of niche blogging.

But I’ve never enjoyed blogging like I do now. I don’t think you can write posts 5 days a week unless you enjoy doing it. If you’re not having fun, you’ll burn out and begin dreading sitting down at the computer. Believe me, I know.

But even though the blog is just part of this project–the other, of course, is reading 101 books–I feel the blog is almost more fun, just barely, than reading the books.

And along the way, I’ve learned a lot about blogging–and, more specifically, book blogging. This isn’t life-changing stuff you’ve never heard. But experience really is the greatest teacher, and this experience has taught me a lot.

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Nov 17

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10 Comments

You Can’t Judge A Book (Or A Movie) By Its Title

Why is the title of this novel so bad, so cheesy?

I’m halfway into Never Let Me Go. As I told you on Tuesday, I’m really enjoying the book to this point. The premise of the novel is eery and uncomfortable, but that’s what makes it so intriguing. However, I still can’t get over this title.

In my preview, I said the title sounded like a cheesy Britney Spears lyric. Come to find out, “Never Let Me Go” is actually a lyric from a song in the book. I guess I was almost right.

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Nov 16

to-kill-a-mockingbird
13 Comments

The First 30: A Look Back

After each set of ten books, I write a brief recap that highlights some of my favorite and least favorite aspects of the novels I’ve read to that point.

Today’s post is my third recap. If you’re interested, here’s my recap of the first 10 and the first 20.

Now, without further ado, here’s a breakdown on the first 30 novels–the 101 Books Awards, if you will. 

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