Currently Reading

  • 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
  • Patience & Fortitude by Nicholas A Basbanes
  • Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman
  • a People's History of the United States: 1492-Present by Howard Zinn

Monday, July 14, 2008

[TSS] Comic Books & Bibliophilia

Ended up giving up on Dracula for now, just couldn't get into it. Instead, I started the Amazing Adventures of Cavalier & Clay, a book I saw on the Summer Reading table at Barnes and Noble and was about to buy before realizing that not only was I broke, but I already owned a copy that I'd picked up for 50 cents at my church.

The book is amazing. Its a novel about two friends that are active in the early days of comics in the 30's and 40's. Joseph Cavalier is a teenager from Prague running from the Nazi occupation, to his relatives, the Clays, and their son Sam, who live in New York city. I've only finished two chapters, but I've definitely had trouble putting this one down. The book mixes WWII history, comics, and well written characters, all three things I quite enjoy.

I've also started Patience & Fortitude, the sequel to Nicholas Basbanes's book, a Gentle Madness. Its the second book in a trilogy about books, bibliophilia, and libraries, some of my favorite subjects as a book collector. This one starts out with a discussion of ancient libraries in general, with a focus on the famous Library at Alexandria. Haven't gotten very far in this one either, but I'm looking forward to digging into it.

1 comment:

Julie said...

I loved Kavalier & Clay! And I'm all the more impressed with Chabon's storytelling because I can't stand comics, yet I still loved the book.