Reading List: Summer 2008

I think I acquitted myself pretty well. Especially made a dent in my ever-growing pile of unread books that I've bought.

preacher book 8: all hell's a-coming*, garth ennis and steve dillon
preacher book 9: alamo*, garth ennis and steve dillon
i shall destroy all the civilized planets: the comics of fletcher hanks*
granta 97: the best of young american novelists 2
tracer, frederick barthelme
the double hook, sheila watson
the sound and the fury, william faulkner
ham on rye, charles bukowski
iliad, homer
mcsweeney's mammoth treasury of thrilling tales, edited by michael chabon (mass market reprint of issue 10 of mcsweeney's quarterly concern)
the starman omnibus vol. 1*, james robinson and tony harris
invisible man, ralph ellison
snow white, donald barthelme
robinson crusoe, daniel defoe
the king, donald barthelme
man in the holocene, max frisch
the catcher in the rye, j.d. salinger
nine stories, j.d. salinger
the call of cthulhu and other weird stories, h.p. lovecraft
franny and zooey, j.d. salinger

*comic books

Reading List: Winter 2008

Here's what I read Winter Term (January-May). A lot less than expected considering I had internet for the nearly the entire time unlike the summer. Then again, there's a lot more comics bloating it to mass.

the golden age*, james robinson and paul smith
all-star superman vol.1*, grant morrison and frank quitely
catch-22, joseph heller
superman: whatever happened to the man of tomorrow?*, alan moore and curt swan
batman: year one*, frank miller
batman: the dark knight strikes again*, frank miller
jla: earth 2*, grant morrison and frank quitely
y the last man vol.1: unmanned*, brian k. vaughan and pia guerra
y the last man vol.2: cycles*, brian k. vaughan and pia guerra
y the last man vol.3: one small step*, brian k. vaughan and pia guerra
y the last man vol.4: safeword*, brian k. vaughan and pia guerra
y the last man vol.5: ring of truth*, brian k. vaughan and pia guerra
y the last man vol.6: girl on girl*, brian k. vaughan and pia guerra
jla/jsa: virtue and vice*, david goyer and geoff johns and carlos pacheco
catwoman: the dark end of the street*, ed brubaker and darwyn cooke and mike allred
special topics in calamity physics, marisha pessl
crisis on infinite earths*, marv wolfman and george perez
extremely loud & incredibly close, jonathan safran foer
u.s. war machine*, chuck austen
chronicles: volume one, bob dylan
the age of reason, jean-paul sartre
the outsider, albert camus
preacher book 1: gone to texas*, garth ennis and steve dillon
preacher book 2: until the end of the world*, garth ennis and steve dillon
preacher book 3: proud americans*, garth ennis and steve dillon
preacher book 4: ancient history*, garth ennis
preacher book 5: dixie fried*, garth ennis and steve dillon
preacher book 6: war in the sun*, garth ennis and steve dillon
preacher book 7: salvation*, garth ennis and steve dillon

*comic books

Reading List: Summer 2007

Going to be working for at least four months
away from my traditional haunting grounds
That being the case, expect to read a lot more
just like the situation was in the Summer of 2007
Here is what I read then

welcome to the monkey house, kurt vonnegut
nine stories, j.d. salinger
women, charles bukowski
the dead father, donald barthelme
"the call of cthulhu," h.p. lovecraft
lullaby, chuck palahniuk
survivor, chuck palahniuk
haunted, chuck palahniuk
stranger than fiction, chuck palahniuk
the final solution, michael chabon
pop art, [author unknown]
understanding comics, scott mccloud
howl, allen ginsberg
goya a&i, sarah symmons
coming through slaughter, michael ondaatje
motherless brooklyn, jonathan lethem
jitterbug perfume, tom robbins
fight club, chuck palahniuk
tipping point, malcolm gladwell

in approximate chronological order

New Year's Resolutions

I don't know consciously and realistically make resolutions. In fact, I don't even really believe in New Year's. It seems rather arbitrary. Just the same old passage of time. Out with the old year, in with the new year, a lot like the old year.

But I am on a certain path. One paved with an idea of constant self-improvement. And self-improvement is not just masturbation.

I think I can characterize 2007 as a year of loss. Loss in that I lost a lot of weight. Okay, maybe not actual weight loss, but I'm now just in better shape. Although, I did downgrade shirt sizes, from medium to small. Unless that's just a result of everyone else being relatively fatter and the industry making a secret pact to adjust sizes accordingly, lest we all shop at the Big & Tall Store.

Another improvement I seem to have made is I managed to read a lot more and consume other artistic entertainments as well. I see a lot (more) films in theatres now (plenty of "independent" films included) rather than discovering them on video. I actively hunt down new, credible music. Most importantly, I've read easily more than twenty books this year, which may not necessarily seem like a huge improvement but it feels like one. I don't usually count, though, so I can't be sure of any numbers, but did keep a listing of my summer reading. And that summer reading is likely the majority of my improvement.

So I'm further along down the road of my infinite self-improvement. It may be one giant infinite regress, but it still feels like progress. And thusly I will persevere and maybe that means I can do something about the fact that I'm still a bitter, misanthrope.