The Bookworm Challenge discussion

Another popular category, back again! (ya'll can thank Melki!)

Read up to 5 Graphic Novels.

I started the year with one I really enjoyed - Lena Finkle's Magic Barrel: A Graphic Novel

Ok, my first graphic novel ever thanks to this challenge and I guess Melki. I picked it mainly because my local library (as small one) had it on the shelf and I was somewhat familiar with the story line. Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel Anthony Horowitz

Got my first two of these with Black Butler, Vol. 01 and Baltimore, Vol. 3: A Passing Stranger and Other Stories

Well, this is really a comic strip collection, but the library cataloged it in "graphic novels."
Unshelved

Hilarious reading, especially for anyone who works at a library.

Finished another one with Above the Dreamless Dead: World War I in Poetry and Comics, very moving with lighter moments of soldiers songs

Second one ever completed: The First Samurai Geronimo Stilton I am enjoying these nice lite reading break from my normal reading list.

Third Graphic Novel: Unshelved by Bill Barnes I think I am starting to get hooked....

Michael, I totally got hooked. Have now read three of them. Guess I should enter them for credit.
Library Mascot Cage Match
Read Responsibly

Fourth one down with The Walking Dead, Book Nine

Just finished (but didn't like):

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger

Finished number four:

Avengers Assemble, Vol. 1 by Kurt Busiek

by Kurt Busiek

Finished:

Baltimore, Vol. 1: The Plague Ships by Mike Mignola

Horror comics, who knew?

And here is number five:
Wolverine: Old Man Logan by Mark Millar

by Mark Millar

This completes my graphic novel challenge I believe.

Michael wrote: "And here is number five:
Wolverine: Old Man Logan by Mark Millar

by [author:Mark Millar|..."

You are correct, sir, five and done!

Stephanie wrote: "Finished:

Baltimore, Vol. 1: The Plague Ships by Mike Mignola

Horror comics, who knew?"

Love this series, waiting impatiently for my library to get volume 4 in.

Got my fifth and last for this with Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair

I finished all 560 pages of From Hell last night. Technically, it's a kitten-squisher AND a graphic novel. I'll count it here, since I'm sure there are more hefty tomes in my future.

First 1 in this category: Dark Entries by Ian Rankin

I finished the so-so Famous Players.

My 2nd one in this category is a Canadian one about 2 young aboriginal boys growing up on the streets and how they change their lives.
The Outside Circle by Patti Laboucane-Benson

#3 for the graphic novels is a graphic memoir.

Nylon Road: A Graphic Memoir of Coming of Age in Iran by Parsua Bashi

I read Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir
Interesting. I can relate, mostly.

#4 for me is House of Odd by Dean Koontz

Connie wrote: "#4 for me is House of Odd by Dean Koontz"

I loved the Odd Thomas series, I may need to hunt these down...

I liked the last Odd Thomas book so much I read another one. Last one for this category is In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz.

And for #5, Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula.

Okay, two for me, at the recommendation of fellow Bookworm Challengers:

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz, illustrated by Queenie Chan

What did you think of Tomboy, Stephanie? I was fascinated, because her tomboy experience was so different from mine.

I wasn't really a tomboy, but I was raised by a high school football coach (in Texas) who fathered three daughters before he FINALLY got a son... We jokingly called ourselves Steve (Stephanie), Brandon (Bridget), and Bucky (Becky) because our dad wanted a son so bad and we got to role-play to fill that need up until our little brother was born. But we were also girly-girls, we liked to dress up, we liked makeup and hair, so I don't know... I guess we didn't really think about it, we did boy things and we did girl things. We didn't really think about it.

But Liz, poor Liz, that girl overthought everything. I was just stunned at the depths to which she questioned her gender and the roles she felt were being pushed on her. I also was appalled at the bullying, or maybe I just can't relate to the bullying stuff. We got teased but nothing that was outright ugly, as Liz described.

It was very interesting, as you said, though I wondered why her mom didn't give her a little more guidance, since it sounded like perhaps she was also a bit of a tomboy, or maybe just not "hyper-feminine". If anything, it made me want to give young Liz a hug, and I was sorry she had to go through that. Clearly she is a smart and determined girl and has made it despite her early challenges.

Yeah, I was also shocked by the bullying, the apparent intolerance of a girl who isn't "girly." That wasn't my experience, and believe me, I was NOT girly! It made me almost feel like gender roles have gotten MORE inflexible, not less (I think Liz is about 20 years younger than I am).

We are of a similar age, and I too, never experienced or heard of that kind of intolerance. Though thinking about this some more, the music of the 70s and 80s seemed to be more tolerant of androgyny or gender-free sort of behavior, think Ziggy Stardust, Culture Club, 4 Non-Blondes, etc. Perhaps we were more tolerant because of these bands or what have you. Then consider the hyper-sexualized females that we seen in pop culture today and how our youth are marketed to from infancy on up, and I can see where Liz might have struggled, and today would be even worse for tomboy.

Yeah. I'm thinking that the 60s were also in part about ditching gender roles, so maybe we experienced some positive fall-out from that. Certainly our pop culture today does seem to be very focused on sexuality, and fashions for girls sing that out loud and clear (and boy, have I gotten in trouble for suggesting that some clothes might be inappropriately sexual for tweens!)

I finished the delightful El Deafo yesterday.
Loved the story AND the art.

Got my fifth one:

Locke & Key, Vol. 2: Head Games by Joe Hill

Oh my gosh, this one was really creepy... I don't normally read graphic novels, but these are really good!

It took me most of the year to read it, but here's number five for me - Action Philosophers - The tenth anniversary Uber edition.

Whew!