Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Share and discuss book ideas for Task 13: Read a nonfiction comic

So many good graphic memoirs for this prompt:
Gender Queer: A Memoir is the first one that came to mind, but since I've already read it, I'm thinking about reading Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir this year.

^Both are really good graphic memoirs! I especially loved Gender Queer, but Tomboy is really good too.

This category is an area I've read extensively in. I absolutely adore graphic nonfiction. I have a huge list of ones I want to get around to, and I often pick up ones that I just come across at the library. My current shortlist consists of Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars by Raymond Tyler, Freedom Was in Sight: A Graphic History of Reconstruction in the Washington, D.C., Region by Kate Masur and art by Elizabeth Clarke, Sí, Se Puede: The Latino Heroes Who Changed the United States by Julio Anta and art by Yasmin Flores Montanez, The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling: A Hardcore, High-Flying, No-Holds-Barred History of the One True Sport by Aubrey Sitterson and Chris Moreno, What Remains: Colombia from home and a distance by Camilo Aguirre, Nuking Alaska: Notes of an Atomic Fugitive by Peter Dunlap-ShohlSuffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race and Voting Rights in the U.S. by Caitlin Cass, Guantánamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-Gharani by Jérôme Tubiana and art by Alexandre Franc, Run Home If You Don't Want to Be Killed: The Detroit Uprising of 1943 by Rachel Marie-Crane Williams, Movements and Moments by Sonja Eismann, Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832 by Wilfrid Lupano, Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf, and Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen by Kate Evans. This is my actual shortlist saved in my notes app, but now that I've typed it all out at once I'm realising this list is not actually short. lmao oops.

I posted a list of graphic nonfiction recommendations in Task 5: Read a nonfiction book about resistance. I'm going to add a list here of suggestions that don't typically appear on a lot of lists but are worth the read.

Disability memoirs: Brittle Joints by Maria Sweeney and Dancing After TEN by Vivian Chong, art by Georgia Webber

True crime memoir: The Murder Next Door: A Graphic Memoir by Hugh D'Andrade

Black Panther history: The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker, art by Marcus Kwame Anderson

Silent film history: Lon Chaney Speaks by Pat Dorian and Mary Pickford, Queen of the Silent Film Era: A Life in Stills by George A Walker

Political graphic essays: Lebanon Is Burning and Other Dispatches by Yazan Al-Saadi, various artists

Palestinian memoir: Power Born of Dreams: My Story is Palestine by Mohammad Sabaaneh

Biography: Red Rosa: A Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg by Kate Evans

Anthologies: Comics for Choice: Illustrated Abortion Stories, History and Politics edited by Hazel Newlevant, Whit Taylor, and Ø.K. Fox, Drawing Power: Women's Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival edited by Diane Noomin, and Nova Graphica: A Comic Anthology of Nova Scotia History edited by Laura Ķeniņš

I plan to read - Relish: My Life in the Kitchen Lucy Knisley - it’s well reviewed.

The Complete Maus is amazing
So is They Called Us Enemy

I just bought Solutions and Other Problems so it makes sense to read that. But I'm also interested in Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen

I'm thinking about Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History or Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands.

Gender Queer: A Memoir was already on my TBR from a previous challenge, so I'm going back to finish it.

Robin, I'm reading the same! It's been on my Banned Books TBR, so this is perfect. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

I've settled on Fun House a Family Tragicomic 1ST Edition

I just read Muybridge by Guy Delise. It tells the story of Eadweard Muybridge who was a photographer in the 18th century. You have likely seen some of his photographs. He was a complicated (no spoilers!) character. I have always loved Delise’s style and recommend anything he has done.

I am reading Musk “Elon Musk: American Oligarch" by Darryl Cunningham for this prompt. Note this book is relatively new and was originally only published in French as publishers were worried about litigation. It was published in English last fall.

I also liked his Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful - also by Darryl Cunningham.

There are so many wonderful nonfiction graphic novels/comics. It's one of my favorite genres, especially the graphic memoir. Here are a few of my faves:

Senator John Lewis' March: The Trilogy and Run: Book One
Art Spiegelman's The Complete Maus
When Stars Are Scattered
George Takei's They Called Us Enemy
Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer: A Memoir
Julia Kaye's Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition or My Life in Transition: A Super Late Bloomer Collection
Scott Chantler's Two Generals
almost everything by Lucy Knisley
Jonathan Fetter-Vorm's Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb
Marjane Satrapi's The Complete Persepolis
almost everything by Sarah Andersen
almost everything by Catana Chetwynd
almost everything by Debbie Tung
Derf Backderf's Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio or My Friend Dahmer: A Graphic Novel
Thi Bui's The Best We Could Do
Brian Fies' A Fire Story: A Graphic Memoir

and so many more.


Some I'm considering for this year:

George Takei's It Rhymes With Takei
Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths
Barefoot Gen, Volume One: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima

I've read so many nonfiction comics. I am pretty sure I'm going to read I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation for this prompt.

When I made my original list of maybes, I took it from the shortlist in my notes app. I totally forgot that I already had a number of nonfiction graphic novels checked out of the library (which is when I remove them from said shortlist), and so I got to one of those first haha.

I finally read Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translated by Janet Hong. It was harrowing. I highly recommend it though. It's a biography of Granny Lee Ok-Sun, who survived sexual enslavement by the Japanese military during WWII (also known as a "comfort woman"), so take care if you do read.