#252

Haruki Murakami just released a new set of short stories. He’s my favourite author!

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#253

I wonder to what extent the title might refer to the John Ford film of the same name.

I haven’t read anything by Murakami in over 15 years, but of the five or six books I did read, I could never shake the feeling that his first volume of short stories was actually his strongest work. I read them twice.

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#254

Really enjoyed this series. The Iain M. Banks comparison is right on. As good as the Ancillary series was though, they pale compared to just about any Banks book. What a loss. Really loved his work.

I’m reading Left Hand of Darkness for the first time right now. I can see how Banks was influenced by LeGuin. Such a good book. I read the first two books of the Earthsea books, but am liking her SciFi even more. Speaking of which - Earthsea, Ansible…both from LeGuin books. Whitewhale - Moby Dick. Where does Meadowphysics come from?

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#255

i’d say David Foster Wallace ?

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#256

Murkami’s short stories are definitely a highlight. I really did enjoy his latest set and I feel it stands up with his earlier work. In terms of novels, they definitely require patience. In particular 1Q84. I always read his novels more than once because they are so quirky and interesting at many levels. I would say Wild Sheep Chase is my favourite in this regard.

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#257

Well look at that. Meadow physics.

Thanks!

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#258

Just finished Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. One of the best books I’ve read recently, and a quick read at only ~160 pages.

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#259

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#260

I finished reading five books and a heap of graphic novels in May.

The music-related books were: Electri_City: The Düsseldorf School of Electronic Music, an oral history of the 1970s through the mid-80s by Rüdiger Esch. I read it as an ebook, so I’m not sure how big it is (the online descriptions put it at about 450 pages), but it seems very long, not in a bad way, but prepare for a very long read. Also: Reasons for Knocking at an Empty House: Writings 1973-1994, by Bill Viola; and Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World by Robert Sheffield. I also read the first two novellas in The Expanse series: Gods of Risk and The Churn.

In graphic novels I read Battling Boy by Paul Pope, Lucille by Ludovic Debeurme, Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Lévy, IDP:2043 (a group effort overseen by Denis Mina, with Hannah Berry and Irvine Welsh among others contributing), Luke Healy’s How to Survive in the North, Hannah Berry’s Adamtine, Leela Corman’s Unterzakhn, first and second volumes of Tom King’s run on Batman (Batman Volume 1: I Am Gotham, art mostly by David Finch; Batman Volume 2: I Am Suicide, art by Mikel Janin), Batman: Night of the Monster Men (multiple authors and illustrators), The Punisher Volume 1: On the Road by Becky Cloonan and the late Steve Dillon, the second/final volume of Tom King’s The Vision (art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta), Grant Morrison’s Nameless (art by Chris Burnham), Jonathan Hickman’s Secret: Never Get Caught (art by Ryan Bodenheim), Ed Brubaker’s Kill or Be Killed Vol. 1 (art by Elizabeth Breitweiser and Sean Phillips), and volume 2 of Brandon Graham’s Prophet series (Prophet Volume 2: Brothers).

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#262

I’m loving Prophet. Reading volume 3 now. After the first volume I assumed it was going to be fairly plotless as it proceeded, a kind of glorious atmospheric Moebius tribute disguised as a work-for-hire reboot (or maybe vice versa), but the storytelling gets more complex in volume 2.

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#263

I know you weren’t asking me, but - I picked up Prophet based on this thread. Man, that’s a tough one to get into. I’m half way into the first volume. He just mated with the giant talking vagina headed alien. Then I took a bit of a break.

I will return, because I trust you all. But wow…really pushing the boundries there :wink:

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#266

I have zero familiarity with the original Prophet series. I guess maybe I should go back and read it? I was never a fan of Liefeld’s art during the early breakout period he was experiencing, all the overly muscular stuff. I imagine I’m missing enormous amounts of the connections back to the original story. It’s a bit like how I read Copra before I ever read any Suicide Squad. Pretty much everything I know about Suicide Squad comes from a few episodes of Arrow, and half of the movie (after which I turned it off). I’ve been reading a bit of the original Suicide Squad, just to have a sense of what the source/origin/impetus.

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#267

It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure, but if you can get into its galactic pace and settings, then it’s very rewarding.

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#269

I can relate to everything you just wrote.

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#270

I never read the original Prophet, but I also love the Brandon Graham era, and his work in general - Multiple Warheads, Island, etc.

And speaking of Supreme - I never got into it really… but, Warren Ellis’s reboot as Supreme: Blue Rose was phenomenal. So so good.

Ellis is on a roll right now IMO. Injection, Wild Storm, Trees. All fantastic.

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#271

Yeah, I read everything Ellis writes. I got to see him speak when he came through town late last year on tour to support his novel Normal.

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#272

Nice. His email newsletter is also one of my favourites.

Transmetropolitan was one of the first series I read as an adult that got me back into comics.

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#274

I’ve gone deep down the rabbit hole. I have a massive pull file at my local shop and read a lot of monthly comics.

I read anything by Ellis, Jeff Lemire, Rick Remender, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Sarah Vaughn. And a lot from Brian K Vaughan and Brian Wood, but not everything.

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#275

this this this. especially today. especially now.

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#276

It was an excellent read.