Literature: Unsuccessfully Competing Against TV Since 1953

Sheldon

by Dave Kellett

Friends, it's time to get Literatured Up! Time to take on the classics with the special Sheldon collection Litature: Unsuccessfully Competing Against TV Since 1953. From Seuss to Shakespeare, Twain to Tolkien...all your favorite literary subjects are skewered: It's the perfect book for book-lovers.

"I can not LIVE without books."
- Thomas Jefferson
(...a man who later died)

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

96 pages

First published July 1, 2010

About the author

Dave Kellett is the cartoonist of "Sheldon" (http://www.sheldoncomics.com).

Reviews

[Simon Yoong · Rating 3 out of 5]

got this free e-book during covid-19 lockdown.

[J.I.]

Amusing and often very clever, this collection of mostly literature related strips is quite excellent. Where it annoys, however, is in its reflexive troglodyte hewing to the classics as somehow the only literature worth reading with the brief exception of contemporary fantasy (which is, of course, says the author, garbage, even if fun); not to mention an reaction against any new technology. Look, I know that a review of a comic strip is no place to raise this issue, but I am more than bored by silly people insisting that only Hemingway, Shakespeare, etc. are worthy of reading. I don't mean they aren't worthy of reading, but strangely enough, people are still producing excellent works of both fiction and poetry, damnit.

So, rant over, I still have to say how enjoyable this collection is. It is very enjoyable and if you are a true literature lover, once you get over the silly philia for only old literature (that marks someone who is distinctly not a literature lover, but who loves the idea of being one, who references only high-school reading lists, properly vetted) there is much to love in the references and the defense of reading. Oh, and it's funny. Very funny.

[Tom M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kellett's Sheldon comic strip is an intelligent and witty homage to the comic strips he grew up reading, whipped into some frothy nonsense from his own imagination.

I found Kellett's strip online and really enjoyed being able to spend time with the characters and their bizarre, humourous thoughts and musings.

An easy 5 stars.

[Jennifer Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quirky but very enjoyable comic series. This collection of literature comics was very funny.

[Amber Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little collection of Sheldon comics. Someday I gotta look up what is supposed to have happened to the kid's parents.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel that my rating can be partially explained away by saying that I had never read the Sheldon comic before picking up this book.

This arrived as a surprise in a package when my husband ordered another item for me, and I figured it could be fun to read. It was, in part. I liked the characters and thought some of the bits referencing literature I knew were fantastic. I was more bored in places where the author loaded up on references I was less familiar with, but I felt that was to be expected.

The only thing that really bugged me about this collection was that it was a bit pretentious. Literature is only good for the classics, and all else is trivial fluff - that's how it came off, at least.

Also, because this is a collection of literature related strips from a longer comic, don't expect any sort of flow from strip to strip. I'm not sure that took away from anything, but it's worth noting before you jump in.

I liked it, I just didn't love it, and I'm not sure I'd even remember it well enough to recommend it.

[Jason Salas · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked best was the poetry that was peppered throughout the book. Kellett is definitely a humorist in addition to being comedic. This was my first "Sheldon" book. I like the fact that Kellett was able to pull together an entire book on literature from his comic archives.

This book has good, clean humor and is suitable for all audiences. If there is one criticism, it's that there are numerous references to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you are unfamiliar with those books, it may be lost on you.

I love the fact that Kellet self-publishes and is successful at it. A true success story.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading the comic strip Sheldon online for 3 or 4 years now, but this is the first collection of comics that I purchased or read. It is awesome. Literature! collects all of the literature/reading strips from Sheldon into one convenient book. There is something for every kind of book lover here: Shakespeare, Melville, and Tolkien and lots more. My favorite strips in the collection are those that depict punctuation marks that did not make it into English.

If you need to buy a gift for a book lover, it would be hard to go wrong with this book.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the free online review copy for consideration in the 2011 Eisner Awards "Best Humor Publication" category. I am not, I admit, a regular reader of the Sheldon webcomic (though I really admire Dave and his contributions to the webcomics weekly podcast) but this collection compiling strips mostly about books and reading was great.
http://delicious-monster.com/download...

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful sample of Dave Kellett's whimsical and quirky humor. Chuckles to belly-laughs await the reader in this delightful collection of Sheldon comics. Go on — take a peek. You know you want to …

\o/

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love good comics and Sheldon is my favorite online comic. Nathan got me this Sheldon book for my birthday. Every comic in it has something to do with literature, from Shakespeare to Lord of the Rings to Gutenberg.

[Criss Rosenlof · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of the comic "Sheldon" has taken all of his comics that have anything to do with literature, and compiled them into one fun book.

Lots of fun to read!

[Clover White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheldon makes my day. Every time. Combine the Sheldon crew with literature jokes? Delightful.