Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

I read Maus : My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

Maus is my pick as ell.. was recommended to me by a friend who knows I have no idea when it comes to comics

For something lighter, I read Princess Princess Ever After, which also counts as my one sitting book. (And I think could count as first in a NTY YA series, too.) It's really cute.

I'm going to read El Deafo by Cece Bell for this one.

Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars

As suggested by a friend of mine, I'm reading Royal City by Jeff Lemire

Planning on Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci (Turkish)

I read Univers! #5 by Albert Monteys for this one. It also works for a comic written by a person of color, a non DC/Marvel/Image comic, and my one sitting book!
The series is available on www.panelsyndicate.com for free along with some other great comics.

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 is a bit long, but an awesome choice.

Does manga counts?

Maria wrote: "Does manga counts?"

I believe in the other post they said they counted anything that was sequential art. So, that would be a yes.

I like all of Sarah Anderson's work (on FB as Sarah's Scribbles), I believe she's up to 2 books now.

I'm reading The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui and it's fantastic.

I'm reading Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano.

I'm reading Fun Home: A Family Tragicomedy by Alison Bechdel. For those doing multiple challenges, this was made into a musical.

I grabbed Essex County by Jeff Lemire from the library.

Would Hyperbole and a Half's: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened count toward this? Or is it more illustration than comic?

I read Spinning by Tillie Walden this weekend and it was a fantastic choice for this task!

Megan wrote: "I like all of Sarah Anderson's work (on FB as Sarah's Scribbles), I believe she's up to 2 books now."

I was going to choose one of Sarah Andersen's books for this task too! I have both on hold through Overdrive was going to pick which ever becomes available first. (I plan on reading both, though, because I like her comics).

I read (and really enjoyed) Relish: My Life in the Kitchen.

Double Tasking! Here's my pair for this task.
Grandville by Bryan Talbot
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 by Emil Ferris

Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir are graphic novels included in this category? I just read this moving graphic memoir, but I wouldn't call it a "comic"?

I've already read this book, but I would recommend Killing and Dying by Adrian Tomine

I found " The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984: A Graphic Memoir at Kramer's in DC and it is really fantastic and fascinating. I don't read a lot of graphic novels so finding this on my own felt like quite the accomplishment. It not only reveals things from a unique perspective but there's some real dry humor in there as well.

I am reading The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui So far it is very good. I still might also read My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 just for fun.

I'm reading Alex Robinson's Box Office Poison .

I read "Persepolis" and really enjoyed it. But for people who find this category way outside their comfort zone, you might check out the charming "Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt." It is not a traditional comic and has a lot of interesting references to people, artists, and events from the 1920s.

If you're interested in science / breaking your brain, physicist Clifford Johnson wrote and illustrated a book called "The Dialogues: Conversations about the Nature of the Universe." It's very approachable and also mind-bending at the same time, and the illustrations are gorgeous.

I highly recommend Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. Female protagonist, play on the heroic trope, charming illustration. Great story.

I'm reading My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 by Emil Ferris for this task, and My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf for the True Crime task, which could also count for this task if I wanted to double dip.

I read Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood also. Last year's challenge opened me up to the idea that 'comic' ≠ 'superheroes,' and the graphic novels I read were some of my favorites for the year. I really enjoyed how much emotion Satrapi was able to put into fairly simple self-portraits.

I would also recommend Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City for this task.

I'm currently reading The Tea Dragon Society for this one.

I read Second Generation - The Things I Didn't Tell My Father
by Michel Kichka for this one. Amazing story in the vain of Maus by Art Spiegelmann (but without the animal imagery). I really enjoyed it.

I have Not Drunk Enough on my list for this prompt.

Like Edie, I decided to read Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. I haven't read many comics since I was in college, but I've had this one on my radar ever since I heard it had been adapted into a musical, and I'm glad that this challenge pushed me to pick it up when I saw it on display at the library last week, whereas I normally would have just thought, "I should totally read that one day," and walked by.

The comic was a really interesting mediation on the author's relationship with her father and her sexuality. I would recommend Blankets by Craig Thompson (which would also fulfill this challenge's requirements, as well as the more general non-DC-or-Marvel-comic challenge) to anyone who enjoyed Fun Home--like Bechdel's book, Blankets is Thompson's memoir of growing up and coming to terms with his sexuality, although in his case it is a matter of religious repression. The two books are interesting to compare because they are both such intimate stories that accomplish their goals in different ways. Fun Home is almost more of an illustrated essay, where Bechdel cleverly uses her and her father's shared language of books to examine their relationship and to compare and contrast their experiences with homosexuality, whereas Blankets is more focused on letting the imagery do the talking and does an amazing job of showing how isolated from others Thompson felt because of the repression of his sexuality.

I finished My Friend Dahmer last night for this. I didn't realize before I started reading that the author went to high school with Dahmer. It was a fascinating read and not too gruesome (there were a couple of moments with animals, but I just turned the page fast.) My Friend Dahmer would also work for True Crime, and comic not published by DC, Marvel or Image if I need it to.

I also read Speigelman's Maus. Several years ago, I read the first Maus book for school and was fascinated by it. I found the second at the library a few days ago and read it last night. Equally engaging.

I read Slow Storm, which has two intersecting narratives that take place on the day of a massive tornado in Kentucky horse country. One narrative features a female fire fighter facing workplace discrimination and family issues, and the other focuses on an illegal immigrant who is doing under-the-table work on a wealthy farm. Underlying both stories is the idea that many of the worst cruelties come from people who are claiming to "help."

Danielle wrote: "My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 is a bit long, but an awesome choice."

Glad to see someone else chose this. I was afraid it didn’t count as a “comic”.

Kasi wrote: "I went with Nimona; it was recommended to me so many times and in so many places that I just decided to give it a go. I was afraid that expectations may have been built up too high - but it did not..."
Nimona is honestly one of my favorite books on the planet, and Noelle Stevenson is one of many comics writers/artists who I will follow to the end of time.

For this one I read The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. The book is utterly charming and hopeful, and the art is lovely!

Kerri wrote: "I have Not Drunk Enough on my list for this prompt.
"

I am not a comic book fan, so I was dreading these prompts. This one was so entertaining, though, that I plan to read the next volume when it is published!

Was browsing at my local comic book store on Friday, and stumbled upon Wrinkles by Paco Roca. Excited to read this one, although I'm sure it'll make me cry.

I went with MIND MGMT, Volume One: The Manager for this one.

I second Lucy Knisley's Relish: My Life in the Kitchen - I love reading about food and this was a new and enjoyable way to do that.

I highly recommend The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984: A Graphic Memoir by Riad Sattouf. It's a poignant memoir series in graphic novel about the author's childhood in Libya, then Syria. Extremely popular in the original country of publication (France). There was a great profile of the author and the series in The New Yorker.

I read Eleanor Davis's How To Be Happy for this prompt. Loved the artwork, wasn't super sold on all the stories. Interesting though. Unlike other graphic works I'd read.

I read Safari Honeymoon -- I received it as a gift and really enjoyed it. A quick read that makes you want to go back and look at the wild level of detail in the drawings.

I recently finished Tamara Drewe, written and illustrated by Posy Simmonds. I first started reading it online via The Guardian newspaper but found it too hard so I borrowed it from my public library. I ended up really enjoying it and am tempted to read more by her. Great story and illustrations.

I read Hey Kiddo, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka