Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post—feel free to steal the button—and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries! Want to share your loot? Eva has the Mr. Linky this week!So call me crazy (or just plain obsessed), but I’m still on my graphic novel kick. Last week, I went over to my friend Michael’s place—he used to work in a comic book shop, so he has an extensive collection of graphic novels. Here’s the pile I borrowed from him:
Click on the photo to enlarge it.
From top to bottom, the books are:
- Owly: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer (vol. 1) by Andy Runton
- Owly: Just a Little Blue (vol. 2) by Andy Runton
- Demo: The Collected Edition by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan
- Tricked by Alex Robinson
- Y: The Last Man — Unmanned (vol. 1) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
- Y: The Last Man — Cycles (vol. 2) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
- Y: The Last Man — One Small Step (vol. 3) by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Paul Chadwick
- Y: The Last Man — Safeword (vol. 4) by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Goran Parlov
- Y: The Last Man — Ring of Truth (vol. 5) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
- Y: The Last Man — Girl on Girl (vol. 6) by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Goran Sudzuka
- Y: The Last Man — Paper Dolls (vol. 7) by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Goran Sudzuka
- Y: The Last Man — Kimono Dragons (vol. 8) by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Goran Sudzuka
- Kinetic by Kelley Puckett and Warren Pleece
- Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon
- Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine
- Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker
By accident, I left one book out of the photo: Superman: Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen. (I’m not really into superhero comics but this one came highly recommended.) Michael doesn’t own the last two volumes in the Y: The Last Man series and since I’ve already read the first eight, I just had to make a trip to my local library earlier this week...
This was actually the first time I borrowed books from Montreal’s main library (known as the Grande Bibliothèque, which just means “Big Library”) and for some reason it took me forever to figure out their filing system. I finally did locate volume 9 of the Y: The Last Man series (the last volume was out) and grabbed a bunch more comic books while I was at it (plus one YA book, which is at the top of the pile). This is what I came home with:
Click on the photo to enlarge it.
From top to bottom, the books are:
- What Girls Learn by Karin Cook
- Dykes and Other Sundry Carbon-Based Life Forms to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
- Lillian the Legend by Kerry Byrne
- Maus: A Survivor's Tale — My Father Bleeds History (vol. 1) by Art Spiegelman
- Aya de Yopougon (vol. 1) by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie (in French)
- Aya (vol. 1) by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie (translated by Helge Dascher)
- Y: The Last Man — Motherland (vol. 9) by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Goran Sudzuka
- The Summer of Love by Debbie Drechsler
I decided to borrow Aya in both English and French to compare them (and so that if I review it I can let you know what I think of the English version).
Has anyone else read any of these books? Can you recommend any other graphic novels to me?
I did enjoy Y: The Last Man and Pride of Baghdad. I did read Demo but I can't remember loving it.
ReplyDeleteGreat loot!
Wow! You've got a lot to keep you busy.
ReplyDeleteI am really impressed by all those graphic novels. I have managed to pick up four graphic novels this week. I read two of the Nana series and I also picked a Neil Gaiman one and a Tove Jansson one of the Moomins comic strip.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Y: The Last Man, though I haven't read the last two volumes, I think. And I recently read a graphic novel by Becky Cloonan (East Coast Rising) and really loved her art! Though it doesn't look like she drew Demo?
ReplyDeleteWarren Pleece sounds like a fake name a superhero would use as his secret identity. Wonder what his parents were thinking?
Yay!! You got Maus!!! You'll love it but it will tear your heart up!! Some for Pride of Baghdad...great loot!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a generous friend to lend you that stack!
ReplyDeleteI've read only one graphic novel, a sweet/funny/rollercoaster story about an international adoption called THE SHINIEST JEWEL. I do want to read MAUS.
It's good to see the excellent Maus there. It's difficult to read but by the end it leaves quite an impression. As for other great graphic novels, there's always the Sandman (Gaiman), but it's very Gaiman so it does depend a lot on your reading tastes...
ReplyDeleteI have given you an award!
ReplyDeleteOut of all of those the only one I've read is Maus, and it's excellent. Other graphic novels that I have read and enjoyed include: Persepolis and the Emma series by Kaoru Mori.
ReplyDeleteOhhh!! I've been reading more and more graphic novels lately, so this post has me salivating-so many ones I've never heard of! I've read Aya, which I liked but didn't love. Looking forward to your translation comparison!
ReplyDeleteI can understand the graphic novel phase. I've had manga phases and they get addicting, only to the point where there are no more books left in the series or, in my case, when I can't find the next book in the series and don't want to jump ahead to the next book. Yup, that's the beauty of library books. They're never always there because we're not alone.
ReplyDeleteI get confused with the whole system at La Grande Bibliotheque too sometimes. Sometimes, the same book is found in two different areas of the library and I end up not knowing where to look. (I want the best looking copy, lol!)