Thanks for this!Quoting Sven (view post)
Lane's writing makes me happy.
Thanks for this!
Lane's writing makes me happy.
Ah yes. I hope it has served you well. I still whip out our trusty trade cloth every here and there.
Very cool, idiosyncratic list thus far. Lovecraft and McCay! Have you seen that Nemo book that reprints the strips in their original super-size (the size of a full newspaper page)? It's damn expensive and now out of print, but that would be pretty awesome.
I am impatient of all misery in others that is not mad. Thou should'st go mad, blacksmith; say, why dost thou not go mad? How can'st thou endure without being mad? Do the heavens yet hate thee, that thou can'st not go mad?
lists and reviews
28. Bambi v. Godzilla
David Mamet waxes poetic, philosophical, and esoteric about the ins and outs of the filmmaking world. Starts out entertaining, but soon spirals into heady madness.
27. Lords of Chaos
Death metal rampage. A great journalistic read about the crimes perpetuated and endorsed by certain factions of Nordic death metal musicians and fans. If you're interested in disaffection, music, crime, and/or religion, you'll probably enjoy this book.
26. The Bear by William Faulkner
I'm not sure if this version is the one I read because I know he rewrote the story.
Certainly one of my favorite short stories... tough to say anything specific about it quickly beyond its beautiful evocation of the woods and of youth trying to comprehend something greater than life.
"Bambi vs. Godzilla" is fantastic reading.
I have not read any Faulkner.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
25. M-W by Osamu Tezuka
This changed the way I look at Manga. I'd never, until I read this, seen such simple cartooning and ecstatic expression used to explore such depraved depths. It feels the way a straight-faced adaptation of a Bergman film starring the Looney Tunes characters (+ a couple of explosions) would feel--stretchy and crazy, but always horrifying and personal.
Having started reading Astro Boy (and loving it), I've been wondering what other Tezuka to pick up. I think I've got my answer. Thanks!
Be forewarned: serial killing, genocide, necrophilia, pedophilia... all abound in M-W.
Ok.
I've realized that it is more difficult than any other text I can think of to gauge the tone of a written "Okay" (and its variants).
And that was a surprisingly difficult sentence to craft.
24. Where's Waldo in Hollywood? by Martin Handford
Explaining my attraction to the films of Robert Altman, I'm a total sucker for community. The Waldo books are perfect examples of community in action, a system of functions, sub-functions, and tertiary functions. It's also fun to see if you can find the guy! I've had this book since I was a child and I've still not exhausted it.
So true. In fact, I usually write out "Okay," but without being able to precisely understand why, it didn't look right when I wrote that post.
Basically, I was saying--you know me, Dawg. I'm cool widdat.
23. Two Hearts by Peter Beagle
Fan art of the climactic scene of Two Hearts
I love The Last Unicorn and all, but this 50 page sequel is really where it's at. Fantastic and exciting and moving. Made me cry, no joke. Supposedly he's working on a "proper" sequel, which is cool, but I doubt it will top this.
Faulkner rules, though I haven't read The Bear, or anything else in Go Down, Moses. That Tezuka comic sounds good too.
I am impatient of all misery in others that is not mad. Thou should'st go mad, blacksmith; say, why dost thou not go mad? How can'st thou endure without being mad? Do the heavens yet hate thee, that thou can'st not go mad?
lists and reviews
22. League of Extraordinary Gentlement, Vol. II by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
Close to Moore's masterpiece, I think. My interests in pulp bolster that position, but it stands that the artwork and pacing alone make for one of the more exciting science fiction spectacles that I've ever encountered. The invisible man stuff is amazing from a narrative standpoint and the Dr. Moreau stuff is conceptually dizzying. Why can there not be more epic science fiction films as exciting as this?
How can I convince you to post all 500 of those films here?32. 500 Essential Anime Movies: the Ultimate Guide by Helen McCarthy
Like its graphic novel equivalent, this is a surprisingly well-informed and fun-to-look-at book, with many great recommendations of underseen, underappreciated films. As you can see, Steamboy adorns the cover and I quite like that film.
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
When you say death metal, I'll presume you're actually indicting the early '90s black metal scene.For a pretty good comprehensive assessment of the extreme metal movement and its sociological implications, I rather like this book by English sociologist Kieth Kahn-Harris.
And I really need to try some of Moore's League... series. That and From Hell are the missing links to feeling full about his work for me. Well, those two and Voices from the Fire, which I should take from the bookshelf and read someday.
The Boat People - 9
The Power of the Dog - 7.5
The King of Pigs - 7
Hey, dude. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm totally going to check this one out.When you say death metal, I'll presume you're actually indicting the early '90s black metal scene.
Also, good call on my boner.
...
riiiiight, anyway, yeah, I wasn't thinking. But let it be known that I'm very much not an expert on these things.
Still interested in the upper portions of this list, should you ever wish to continue, Sven.
Hey, you few interested parties! I'm sick of having this over my head, so now I am going to post the rest in a flurry of hurry. Remember: this is in no way an attempt to be a "best of" list. It is rather a list of books that, when I think about them, conjure up wonderful memories.
21. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
One of the few fiction books I've read more than once. The strength of the imagery is enough to recommend it, but it helps that it is also a resonant tome that is not only about the passion one can have for literature, but is well-written enough to originate such a zeal.
20. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Religious without being didactic. This is the way to introduce your orthodoxy to public discourse, people. Take note.
19. Small in the Saddle by Mark Stamaty
Pure bonkers. Reminds me of the kind of thing I'd like to do were I ever to get it into my head that the world needs more surrealist children's entertainment.
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