false 17 32 27 true 5690779 read 2 true 3560903 currently-reading 3 true 3560902 to-read 10 false 4229289 comics-graphic-novels 5 false 7094801 rpg 3 false 4229304 fantasy-science-fiction 1 false 4229308 non-fiction 1 false 6436328 pulp-crime-fiction http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73661920 to: Monster Manual II (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ) by Gary Gygax
bookshelves: rpg
More old-school monster goodness from E. Gary Gygax & TSR. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35160904 to: The Yiddish Policemen's Union (Hardcover) by Michael Chabon
Chabon presents an alternate history, where after WWII the jews were resettled in Sitka, Alaska and Orson Welles made his "Heart of Darkness". A murder mystery provides us an in and a detective of the finest hard-boiled tradition. The Yiddish slang perfectly mirrors the kind of chatter you get in an old-fashioned pulp novel and the characters' chosen tongue also works well for the elaborate metaphors and fatalistic humor that's an essential part of the genre. The main conflict though is the struggle between the not-quite-American jew who would like to make a life of what he has, and those who still long to return to the ancestral homeland. Chabon's fantastical conceit works brilliantly. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69725927 Treasure Island (Kindle Edition) by Robert Louis Stevenson
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69724905 to: The Hunter: A Parker Novel (Paperback) by Richard Stark
bookshelves: pulp-crime-fiction
If you like crime fiction then you need to read this. If you've read it then you know that Stark/Westlake is the real deal and you'll want to read all the Parker novels. I need to re-read my Jim Thompson books and see how they compare stylistically (after I've read more "Parker"!) ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69724124 to: Asterios Polyp (Hardcover) by David Mazzucchelli
bookshelves: comics-graphic-novels
Lovely to look at and with formal tricks to spare, POLYP still felt weirdly familiar to me. I don't know much about Mazzucchelli but it reminded me of one of those semi-autobiographical tales where a famous writer/filmmaker writes a book/makes a movie about another famous writer/filmmaker. Asterios Polyp is an architect, which is somewhat original, but I still felt all the same story "beats". The art reflects the life which shapes the art and the protagonist is pretty self-absorbed about it all.

The ending is also kind of ridiculous and seems to come out of left field, despite some pretty heavy foreshadowing.

Despite its flaws, I think this is a step forward in American graphic novels and worth reading and discussing. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69723841 to: Bottomless Belly Button (Paperback) by Dash Shaw
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69723776 to: Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe (Paperback) by Bryan Lee O'Malley
bookshelves: comics-graphic-novels
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66286404 Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: A True Story of Faking It in Hair Metal L.A. (Hardcover) by Anne Thomas Soffee
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63905930 Scott's review of Richard Stark's Parker, #1: The Hunter
by Darwyn Cooke

Mark wrote: "You've seen the movies and read the comic, now it's time to read the damn novels. I'm really looking forward to checking out Cooke's take on Parker, but there is NO WAY it can be half as good as w..."

The first three books are already on their way to my house. ]]>