Items about books I want to read, #24
Posted by: A. Rivera on: October 21, 2011
And we are moving right along with list #24 of reminders for books I want to read at some point.
- Via Blogcritics, a review of the new graphic novel Infinite Kung Fu. I did see this at a bookstore recently, but I just glanced. After reading this review, and seeing some positive notes in other places, I am adding it to my reading lists.
- Jessica, at Blogging for a Good Book, suggests a book on working people. The book is Gabriel Thompson’s Working in the Shadows: A Year of Doing the Jobs (Most) Americans Won’t Do. The book may be a good contrast and balance to the now classic Nickel and Dimed, which I have read.
- One of my guilty pleasures as of late is reading novels from the Warhammer 40,000 series. It’s a nice blend of escapism with military scifi in a very rich setting that I enjoy when I want to get away from it all. The Horus Heresy is a series within WH40K I have yet to explore. The events take place in the 31st Millennium. In the meantime, here is a review of one of the novels in the series, via My Favourite Books. The book is The Outcast Dead by Graham McNeill, who also wrote the Ultramarines novels that I recently read in the omnibus edition.
- I follow and read the PostSecret blog. I’ve been wanting to read the books based on the blog as well to see which secrets were selected. Rebekah, at Blogging for a Good Book, reviews one these books: A Lifetime of Secrets.
- I do like reading microhistories, so here is another one. Via the Powell’s Books blog, a review of John Reader’s Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent.
- Another website that I follow is The Oatmeal. The site’s author has a book out, 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth. Jessica, at Blogging for a Good Book, provides a helpful review.
- SeattleDan, writing at Jesus’ General, reviews Erik Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts: Love,Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin, the story of the U.S. Ambassador to Germany right before World War II. The review makes this book sound like an interesting read.
- On the one hand, this book may be a bit too academic for what I usually read. On the other hand, the topic sounds interesting enough that I may want to at least skim some of it. The book is People’s Pornography: Sex and Surveillance on the Chinese Internet. As of this post, the book has not been released. Global Voices has an interview with the book’s author. The book looks at “the culture of ‘Do It Yourself’ amateur porn on the Chinese Internet, as well as the interplay between pornography producers and consumers within the state’s censorship mechanism.”
- Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic, reviews a manga that is “dumber than a peroxide blonde, with characters doing and saying things that defy common sense” and yet, the author of that manga “demonstrates a genuine flair for writing popcorn-movie manga.” The manga is Cage of Eden, and Ms. Dacey reviews the first volume of the series. I guess if I am looking for some very light reading and don’t have much else, this may be an option. Actually, sounds more like something my daughter might read. According to the review, the author “Yoshinobu Yamada combines these two survival narratives to tell the story of a high school holiday gone horribly wrong.”
- From the Society of American Archivists, a review of the book Boswell’s Presumptuous Task: the Making of the Life of Dr. Johnson. It is not a mere biography of Boswell. It is rather a study of how Boswell wrote the biography of Dr. Johnson.
- There is a graphic novel about Professor Moriarty. Being the fan of Sherlock Holmes that I am, of course I want to take a look. The book is Moriarty: the Dark Chamber. Review from BlogCritics.
- Susie Bright has a new book out, which she describes as “about old-school porn and the erotic video revolution” and as “a ‘live’ history of erotic cinema before the Internet— from the Golden Age of lavish 35mm hardcore, to the video-inspired “Porno Spring,” initiated by none other than punk, feminist, and lesbian video-makers.” I will admit that I like old school erotic cinema, so I am curious about the book. The book is Susie Bright’s Erotic Screen: The Golden Hardcore & The Shimmering Dyke-Core, vol. 1. However, I may not get to it right away as she made it available only as an e-book (boo, hiss), which, while it may have some advantages, leaves those of us who usually do not read e-books out for the moment. Oh well, we’ll see. I still have many other things to read, so this will likely be very low priority.
- Via the Contemporary Japanese Literature blog, a review and discussion of a Japanese literary classic: Snow Country.
- Contemporary Japanese Literature also reviews an older book (published in 1997) on Japanese short science fiction. This kind of material is a bit more available now. The CJL blog adds two other books to the list, plus nowadays folks can also get books published by Haikasoru. The anthology in question is The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories.
- Mark Lindner, of Habitually Probing Generalist, reviews the book The Great American Pin-Up. I’ve always been a fan of pin-up art, so I certainly have to check this out.
- I am all for a good libation now and then. Drinkhacker is reviewing a book on making punches. Yes, as in those drinks you mix in a big fancy bowl (or not so fancy bowl) to share. The book is The Punch Bowl: 75 Recipes Spanning Four Centuries of Wanton Revelry. Anything dealing with wanton revelry sounds fine to me.
- Via the Vintage Sleaze blog (warning, some content is lightly NSFW. Well, I consider it light, others may be a more sensitive), a review of Alex Chun’s The Pin-up Art of Humorama.
- Here is one to continue learning and growing in my profession as an Information Literacy and Instruction Librarian. The book is Information Literacy: Infiltrating the Agenda, Challenging Minds. I got the tip at the Information Literacy Weblog.
- The Powell’s Books blog highlights a book on sexual politics in America that is also a biography. The book in question is Adventures in the Orgasmatron: How the Sexual Revolution Came to America.
- Via Blogging for a Good Book, a book on the environment and our carbon footprint. According to the blog, Berners-Lee, the book’s author, “considers the carbon footprint of nearly 100 products and acts, from drinking a pint of beer to having a child to waging a war.” The book is How Bad are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything.
- Bob Sutton recommends in his blog this book for every manager. The book is The Progress Principle. I have expressed before my lack of enthusiasm when it comes to reading business and management books. Sutton is one of the few authors in that area whose works I like, so I will consider this book as well.
- PhiloBiblos reviews a book on the art of bookplates. This sounds like a cool topic to me given that I like all sorts of things related to books and read. The book is Ex Libris: The Art of Bookplates.
- Via Powell’s Books blog, a story of music in the U.S. “In the Jazz Age, so-called territory bands played out of hotel ballrooms and broadcast over low-watt radio stations but also traveled as far as their reputations (and broadcasts) carried them.” The book is The Chitlin’ Circuit.
- John Scalzi features in his blog author John Hornor Jacobs, author of Southern Gods.
Lists and bibliographies:
- From Ms. Yingling Reads, two nonfiction picks on American history, one about prohibition and the other about the Triangle Fire. These may be worth a look.
- Forwords Books hosted the September edition of the Jewish Books Carnival, “a gathering of blogs about Jewish books and other happenings in the Jewish world.” And over here is the October edition at Homeshuling.
- On a side note, Cher is getting the comic book treatment (via The Advocate). The comic is part of the series of celebrities and famous people produced by Blue Water Comics. I really would like to look at some of those titles in the near future.
- Marion Nestle, of the Food Politics blog, has a list of “five new books about global food systems.”
- Wayne Bivens-Tatum sent a couple of progressive history books over to the Occupy Wall Street Library.
- Here is the 2011 Eisner Awards list. I need to catch up on my graphic novel reading. A hat tip to Likely Stories.
- The Good Men Project has put together a list of “the best LGBT books of all time.” I will have to look it over and select a thing or two to read. A hat tip to Lambda Literary. However, the folks at GMP did one of those annoying things you often find on the web, which is breaking up a list into various web pages. I discovered that someone did take the time to put the list together in one place at Fawny (feel free to skip their rant about bad web developers though). So, use that last link if you just want to get to the point. I know I was glad I found it. If nothing, the list did attract comments at Lambda Literary about what made it or not.
- The Harvey Awards (link to the Harvey Awards site. For now, the list is on the front page) have also been announced for 2011. A hat tip to Comic Book Resources, which has the winners’ list.
- In science fiction, the 2011 Hugos have been announced.
- I am linking this in part for the list, and in part for the cover art on the books listed. ABE Books has a feature on their website of Retro Monster Books.
- Via The Guardian, a list of Top Ten Iranian books. Given this is not an area I know much about, this list might give me a start. I have read one book from the list already, Persepolis. A hat tip to The Literary Saloon, which has links to additional suggestions.
- On a similar vein, via the Arabic Literature (in English) blog, a list of “Views of Islamism in Egypt: 4 Books.”
- The Manga Critic is rerunning some short takes on mangas. I missed some, so I may have to see if I can find them. Here is another rerun review. A couple other reruns here and here. I have not read them, so they are new to me.
- The Dirty Librarian‘s book list for July 2011 has some items I may be interested in, especially graphic novels.
Tags: books and reading, lists
