[BHE 175] Launch of September-October Reading Theme: Crazy about Comics!

Myra here.

Every Sunday, we are excited to share the books that have found us over the past few weeks or so: either through underhanded or legal means; from library shelves or discounted bookstores; bought from retail bookstores or left in our doorsteps; sent to us via owls and faeries or just your plain old ordinary postal mail.

Today is even more special as we are launching our new reading theme for September – October. As we are all veritable comic book lovers here at GatheringBooks, we thought might as well devote a reading theme to just graphic novels/comics! 🙂

If you have recommended titles for us, we’d be more than happy to hear from you so we can include them in our book hunting expeditions. These are the graphic novels that spoke to me from the public library shelves.

Comic Crazy: Nonfiction Titles and Memoirs

Bill The Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman by Marc Tyler Nobleman and illustrated by Ty Templeton.

Critical Insights: The Graphic Novel edited by Gary Hoppenstand and The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels by Andy Shmidt.

Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu and Andres Vera Martinez, I remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached.

Graphic Novels: Fiction

Ms. Marvel Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson, I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale and illustrations by LeUyen Pham.

Ms. Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson, Ms Marvel: Crushed by G. Willow Wilson.

Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Eternal.

Explorer: The Lost Islands edited by Kazu Kibuishi, Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi.

I also borrowed Kazu Kibuishi’s other graphic novel series: Flight Volumes One to Five.

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet, Return of the Dapper Men by Jim McCann and Janet Lee.

The Graveyard Book Volumes 1 and 2 by Neil Gaiman and graphic adaptation by P. Craig Russell.

Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova, Nimona by Noelle Stevenson.

The Merchant of Venice by Gareth Hinds, The Reason for Dragons by Chris Northrop and Jeff Stokely.

Jedi Academy: The Phantom Bully by Jeffrey Brown, Mercury by Hope Larson, The Amulet of Samarkand adapted by Lee Sullivan and Nicolas Chapuis.

Graphic Novels for Older Readers

Dark Satanic Mills by Marcus Sedgwick, Julian Sedgwick, John Higgins, and Marc Olivent, This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki.

An Enchantment by Christian Durieux, Monsieur Lambert by Jean-Jacques Sempe.

A Far Side Collection: Last Chapter and Worse by Gary Larson, Scenes from an Impending Marriage: A Prenuptial Memoir by Adrian Tomine.

Books that Welcomed Me Home

When I arrived back here in Singapore after two weeks in Europe and the UK, these are the books that welcomed me home.

Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle. Thank you so much, dearest Margarita. I really look forward to reading this beautiful and lyrical memoir.

All About the Philippines: Stories, Songs, Crafts and Games for Kids by Gidget Roceles Jimenez and illustrated by Corazon Dandan-Albano.

I also just received this middle grade novel a few days ago in the mail: The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly. Book cover art by Isabel “Pepper” Roxas. I am beyond excited to read this book.

Book Purchases from Kinokuniya

I also splurged on brand new titles over the past weeks. I bought two brand new books as we will be discussing these novels for my Saturday Night Out for Book-Geeks (SNOB-Geeks) book club this September/October.

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F. H. Batacan. I will feature this for our Crime/Whodunit theme later this year.

I went to Kinokuniya not really to purchase this title but to borrow a review copy of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara from a good friend (see left book cover). However, when I saw the soft-bound version and book cover found on the right, I just knew I had to purchase a copy for myself. It was only later that I found out from another friend the book cover on the left was actually one of Robert Mapplethorphe’s photographs (see here for Patti Smith’s Just Kids memoir and tribute to Robert). Now, I regret not having purchased that version instead.

How about you, fellow bibliophiles? What are some of the books that found their way into your hands over the past weeks?