Whatcha reading?

Sweet action for kids 'n' cretins. Marjoram and capers.
Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 12:03pm
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
If you've never read Snyder and Capullo's Batman run—esp. the Court of Owls and Death of the Family—I recommend it highly. I'm not a serious Batman fan, but I was engrossed by the stuff of theirs I read. Dark but mature, not despairing.
Nice - I've got Snyder's Wytches ready as my next comic.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 12:44pm
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
I liked Loeb and Sale's run of color-coded Marvel books if you haven't read those yet. Except the Capt. America one.
Interesting - any particular stand outs?
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

29) Monster She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction - Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson. Audiobook. 2019. A readable primer of some of the best genre writers of the last 500 years or so. Enthusiastic recommendations and capsule, non-spoiling plots synopses sit comfortably alongside brief biographies and further reading. I came away with at least half a dozen novels and short story collections that I had to get to as soon as possible. The prose is clear and the list-esque format meant I was never bored, but it was well paced enough that I didn't feel like any of the women got short shrift or less space than they deserved.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 3:13am
Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 12:44pm
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
I liked Loeb and Sale's run of color-coded Marvel books if you haven't read those yet. Except the Capt. America one.
Interesting - any particular stand outs?
I thought the Spider-man one was far and away the best, followed by the Hulk. The Daredevil one is good, but a bit of an echo of the Spider-man approach. Spider-man's reworks the fun of the early Lee/Romita stories, but with an undertone of what's going to happen to Gwen.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Kory
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 17319
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 1:42pm
Location: In the Discosphere

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Kory »

Silent Majority wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 3:13am
Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 12:44pm
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
I liked Loeb and Sale's run of color-coded Marvel books if you haven't read those yet. Except the Capt. America one.
Interesting - any particular stand outs?
Yellow (Daredevil) is the best one, followed closely by Blue (Spidey). I can’t quite recall, but I think Doc has that order reversed in his ranking.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Kory wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 1:47pm
Silent Majority wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 3:13am
Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 12:44pm
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
I liked Loeb and Sale's run of color-coded Marvel books if you haven't read those yet. Except the Capt. America one.
Interesting - any particular stand outs?
Yellow (Daredevil) is the best one, followed closely by Blue (Spidey). I can’t quite recall, but I think Doc has that order reversed in his ranking.
See above. Spider-man > Hulk > Daredevil > Cap. The best aspect of Daredevil, because thematically it echoes the Spider-man one, is that it isn't the Millerian grim DD.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Kory
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 17319
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 1:42pm
Location: In the Discosphere

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Kory »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 3:03pm
Kory wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 1:47pm
Silent Majority wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 3:13am
Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 12:44pm
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
I liked Loeb and Sale's run of color-coded Marvel books if you haven't read those yet. Except the Capt. America one.
Interesting - any particular stand outs?
Yellow (Daredevil) is the best one, followed closely by Blue (Spidey). I can’t quite recall, but I think Doc has that order reversed in his ranking.
See above. Spider-man > Hulk > Daredevil > Cap. The best aspect of Daredevil, because thematically it echoes the Spider-man one, is that it isn't the Millerian grim DD.
Whoops sorry, I’m on my phone. I like the art better on the DD one, I think that’s why it gets the push from me.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Kory wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 3:18pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 3:03pm
Kory wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 1:47pm
Silent Majority wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 3:13am
Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 12:44pm


I liked Loeb and Sale's run of color-coded Marvel books if you haven't read those yet. Except the Capt. America one.
Interesting - any particular stand outs?
Yellow (Daredevil) is the best one, followed closely by Blue (Spidey). I can’t quite recall, but I think Doc has that order reversed in his ranking.
See above. Spider-man > Hulk > Daredevil > Cap. The best aspect of Daredevil, because thematically it echoes the Spider-man one, is that it isn't the Millerian grim DD.
Whoops sorry, I’m on my phone. I like the art better on the DD one, I think that’s why it gets the push from me.
Of them all, I probably liked Sale's art most on the Hulk one, but of Spider-man vs. DD, I'm kind of even. The Spider-man story, I suspect, probably rings more true because Gwen's death is far more significant in its myth (too much, in fact), than Karen's. MM is not haunted by her death the way PP is. So as a framing device, it isn't as impactful. That final couple pages in the Spider-man one are perfect emotionally.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

30) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams. Audiobook. Read by Stephen Fry. 1979. Yeah, it's a good one. Still funny, with a burning undercurrent of fury at the arbitrary stupidity of random power structures, an element that would disappear as Adams grew more wealthy.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

31) Sunburn: The Unofficial History of the Sun Newspaper in 99 Headlines by James Felton. Audiobook. 2020. Felton is a decent comedy writer and goes over an informal history of the worst newspaper in Britain, if not the world, via its stupidest headlines and the stories inside and makes a case for its awful effect on the culture. So far, so throwaway. The book is made a thousandfold better by the reader in audiobook format, Alexei Sayle, who's voice hasn't aged since he yelled at the Young Ones about Trotsky!! in the eighties. He does a master's job of elevating the material, making this feel like a eight hour stand up show that you don't want to end.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

32) The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M Cain. 1934. Audiobook, read by Stanley Tucci. A queasy, amoral story of murder and romance. A great novel which is mercifully short because you wouldn't want to spend too much time with these people. Tough guy prose which is still elegant and believable, the world view and characterisation are as real feeling as the dialogue, which is some of the best I've ever read and somehow hardly dated nearly ninety years later. Honestly, it reads so genuinely, you can belive Cain sat around with tape recorders to capture the rhythms of these hard cases. It shares a melancholic mood with something like Ask the Dust by John Fante.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 6:46am
32) The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M Cain. 1934. Audiobook, read by Stanley Tucci. A queasy, amoral story of murder and romance. A great novel which is mercifully short because you wouldn't want to spend too much time with these people. Tough guy prose which is still elegant and believable, the world view and characterisation are as real feeling as the dialogue, which is some of the best I've ever read and somehow hardly dated nearly ninety years later. Honestly, it reads so genuinely, you can belive Cain sat around with tape recorders to capture the rhythms of these hard cases. It shares a melancholic mood with something like Ask the Dust by John Fante.
Quelle coincidence! The 1946 adaptation was on TCM last night, and it made me realize I'd never read or listened to the original novel.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 7:37am
Silent Majority wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 6:46am
32) The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M Cain. 1934. Audiobook, read by Stanley Tucci. A queasy, amoral story of murder and romance. A great novel which is mercifully short because you wouldn't want to spend too much time with these people. Tough guy prose which is still elegant and believable, the world view and characterisation are as real feeling as the dialogue, which is some of the best I've ever read and somehow hardly dated nearly ninety years later. Honestly, it reads so genuinely, you can belive Cain sat around with tape recorders to capture the rhythms of these hard cases. It shares a melancholic mood with something like Ask the Dust by John Fante.
Quelle coincidence! The 1946 adaptation was on TCM last night, and it made me realize I'd never read or listened to the original novel.
I recommend the Tucci reading. He does a fine job.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 8:07am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 7:37am
Silent Majority wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 6:46am
32) The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M Cain. 1934. Audiobook, read by Stanley Tucci. A queasy, amoral story of murder and romance. A great novel which is mercifully short because you wouldn't want to spend too much time with these people. Tough guy prose which is still elegant and believable, the world view and characterisation are as real feeling as the dialogue, which is some of the best I've ever read and somehow hardly dated nearly ninety years later. Honestly, it reads so genuinely, you can belive Cain sat around with tape recorders to capture the rhythms of these hard cases. It shares a melancholic mood with something like Ask the Dust by John Fante.
Quelle coincidence! The 1946 adaptation was on TCM last night, and it made me realize I'd never read or listened to the original novel.
I recommend the Tucci reading. He does a fine job.
Alright, smart guy, I'm gonna do just that!
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 8:25am
Silent Majority wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 8:07am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 7:37am
Silent Majority wrote:
07 Jul 2021, 6:46am
32) The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M Cain. 1934. Audiobook, read by Stanley Tucci. A queasy, amoral story of murder and romance. A great novel which is mercifully short because you wouldn't want to spend too much time with these people. Tough guy prose which is still elegant and believable, the world view and characterisation are as real feeling as the dialogue, which is some of the best I've ever read and somehow hardly dated nearly ninety years later. Honestly, it reads so genuinely, you can belive Cain sat around with tape recorders to capture the rhythms of these hard cases. It shares a melancholic mood with something like Ask the Dust by John Fante.
Quelle coincidence! The 1946 adaptation was on TCM last night, and it made me realize I'd never read or listened to the original novel.
I recommend the Tucci reading. He does a fine job.
Alright, smart guy, I'm gonna do just that!
Fine! It's no sap steer, Charley!
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Post Reply