Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Boozy Book Club No. 12

The library has come through for me big time this year. I continue to exploit its online services to check the stacks, make requests and then just go pick up my books.

Last time, I mentioned requesting that they purchase Strange Attractors, a new graphic novel by Charles Soule, and the book finally came in this week.

The library also serves as my version of Netflix, as the wife and I have been catching up on TV shows like Person of Interest and Wonderfalls.

Meanwhile, I've been reading parenting books and thinning out my monthly comic book purchases. Let's get to all the gory details.

Civil War Reading List
Yeah, no.

Unlisted Reading List
After going a bit overboard on bringing home books from the library, I've tried to dial back how many books I request at a time. I had to return the Jack London and Philip K. Dick collection before finishing them. I just re-borrowed the London book, but in the meantime I read a very enjoyable parenting memoir.

Drew Magary is a foul-mouthed, smart-aleck columnist for websites like Deadspin and Gawker, as well as GQ magazine, and the author of Men With Balls and Postmortal. In his recently released memoir, Someone Could Get Hurt, his touchstone humor and propensity to use ALL CAPS are in full bloom, as he illustrates his argument why he's a terrible parent.

However, interspersed with these tales of child-rearing gone diaper-explodingly wrong, he manages several heartwarming sentiments that make you realize why parenting is worth all the mishaps. It was a perfect read for this dad-to-be, but I'm sure seasoned veterans will find it enjoyable as well.

Comic Book Pull List
Two miniseries I was following ended earlier this month and another is due to finish up next week. Those three subtractions — Daredevil: End of Days, Fashion Beast and Masks — will bring my average weekly comic expenditure closer to my goal of $10. The financial burden of fanboyism ...

I've only read the first few pages of Strange Attractors so far, but it's already got my interest, unlike Dobson, seen to the left, using the book as a pillow. I also recently borrowed the first volume of Matt Fraction's Hawkguy Hawkeye series. It's so damned funny. I highly recommend it.

In anticipation of seeing Man of Steel one of these days, I've requested a spate of Superman books from the library. Find out next time whether they were worth the read.

All right, teammates, your turn! What have you been reading? Any good summer reads to recommend?

1 comment:

KW said...

I'm reading two books right now. The first one is The Walking Dead Conpendum 1. I love the show and wanted this badly for my bday on the grounds that I wouldn't hate it in comparison to the show (since it's nothing like the show). It's funny, but for once, I like the show better. I know that I will be burned at the stake for saying it, but it's true. If I would have read this on its own without the love of the show, I probably would have stopped reading. The inconsistencies with how people are from literally one page to the next drives me nuts. However, the Governor has just done some brutal stuff and it's definitely keeping my interest.

The second book I'm reading is Tackling Life by Jonny Wilkinson (my favorite rugby player ever). I got this for my bday, too and immediately started reading it. I really needed some inspiration after dealing with this back injury and life around me and big decisions. It's good, but it's not great. It's very inspiring and really has helped me get out of my negative funk. However, it's a coach and a sports guy writing a book. It's a little all over the place and most of the times half the stories in the chapter do not match the chapter heading.

And that's about it.