2018 Reading Challenge - Discussion Thread

[Silvion Night]

Far from it!

16 people have signed up to join you and 14 of those have been filling out their “cards” so far. I think @Silvion Night is sandbagging.

I enjoy observing all the different sort of books we read, crossing categories off my list, and hoping someone gets close to checking all their boxes.

Hehe, I will read one more Malazan book and then I will start scratching off on my list.

 

[Darth Tater]

@TomTB

Just read a book I loved and as a surprise bonus 3 dragons reared their ugly heads. Now I withdraw my nightingale plea.

OK, so whike I haven’t read anything I wouldn’t normally, per se, this HAS motivated me to check ou books that I planned to read but kept outting off or check out books that were “in the back of my mind”.


Sooo... can anyone who has read a graphic novel please tell me in your opinion whether they are any good? I was looking at a 228 page one (The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen part 2). Is there one large picture per page usually or are there several panels? Do they come out clearly on a Kindle? Do I lose much without the color?

Here’s the bottom line:

1. Challenge or not, if that book was available in the regular firm I would read that instead. But it’s not.

2. It isn’t worth $10 to me to buy a book that will take me an hour to complete. That’s why I am asking about one big page or separate panels. At least with panels it will be more material.

3. If it’s lame on a Kindle I’ll pass.

I tried to check out a sample on Amazon but it says the file us too large to download. So I’m not being lazy. I really DO need and would appreciate help. Wirse case scenario I can buy it, check out a couple pages and return it immediately if it is lame. But I would prefer to avoid that tactic if possible. Maybe that’s what I should do to judge it for myself?

 

[Bierschneeman]

I'm reading Sandman right now. it's a NEIL GAIMEN, so if your a fan this is one of his best, sometimes referred to as #1 . it can be either really short or really long depending on how long you want to take it.
it deals specifically with dreams heavily.

the tv show Lucifer is based on the graphic novel series of same name the character is taken from Sandman with permission. (Mike Carey author, Mike carrey ruined xmen so I never got around to lucifer)

watchmen is a quick one and you might be able to watch the comic, they have a thing where they animate each individual panel with a voice overlay. it's called a motion comic and there's a good one out there, but beware there is a glut of bad videos , not animated properly, that claim to be a watchmen motion comic. there is also a prequel series that sucks and was published against the will of the original creator. Alan Moore . if you buy it , it is valued at about $10.

there is a michael Moorcock elric graphic novel if you enjoy that, I have not read it.

look up your favorite authors, fantasy authors often publish a graphic novel or comic series that can be picked up in collected novels. a for instance my wife loves reading "monstress" by Marjorie liu

check comixology . it'
now purchased by amazon, but they have thousands of of comics and graphic novels available digitally.

I'm a huge fan of ed brubakers run of captain America, the movie winter soldier is loosely based on it, the book is better and is certainly one of the top 5 best ever published. really anything by brubeker would be great, he tends very noir, mystery , spy, detective kind of stuff.

also bendis run on daredevil is really good starting 2001 with wake up., stay away from mark waid it's just plain bad. cheese a goofy like Batman and robin movie.

in general just avoid marvel of the last 10 years. they are all not very great, even the best get interrupted before they get a chance to finish their story. marvel is obsessed with making sure there are too many crossovers that interrupt and ruin perfectly good runs.

also moon knight seems up your alley, specifically noir and mystery heavy. start with "the bottom" 06? finch is a marvel at art, and Huston turns the character on the heel of every previous work on the character without needing any prior knowledge.

 

[Bierschneeman]

you might like a twist on superman, "red son" is an alternate universe superman that landed in the farmlands of the Soviet union.

Scott Snyder s Batman starting 2011 is also in my top 5 of all time.

and my wife loves the very fantasy series Saga.

 

[Bierschneeman]

Disclaimer for above recommendations.

although everything mentioned is among my favorites and I would likely recommend most of them to most of of you. it was completed with @Darth Tater in mind. he and I seem to have very similar tastes (that differ greatly sometimes) and specifically I geared this list towards mysteries, noir, and the like.


if I were to recommend to someone who specifically loves horror I'd point towards "wytches" by scott Snyder (it is one book, or six issues long) or "Sabrina" ( which may not be in graphic novel form, but invloves Sabrina the teenage witch is a very occult heavy, R rated horror. (or a specific lovecraftian horror series) I might even add various swamp thing runs , Scott Snyder's and Alan Moore . or I might add "American vampire" or "30 days of night" the book that inspired the movie.

if someone who loves good hearted young adult mysteries (tater might actually like this) I'd recommend Gotham academy.

if you like awkward teenagers, and heartwarming stories about second generation Americans (or Muslim americans) that deal with the real world difficulties of balancing old world traditions and new technologies and culture of America. the new ms marvel takes it on with a delightful superhero twist. first book is amazing, but the series got derailed with crossovers and is no longer heartwarming, funny , or relevant. it's rather generic superhero now.

for someone who love shiny do no wrong paladins who pirouette in the sun...theres a superman comic I'd recommend umm.... something something son? if asked I can look it up.

if you like D&D or fantasy roleplay games with a vulgar humor and well written female cast. Rat Queens.

et cetera

 

[Khartun]

Hey @TomTB, on the 5 fantasy short stories would the stories in Stephen King's Night Shift count? That book also checks off a book released in 78.

 

[TomTB]

Hey @TomTB, on the 5 fantasy short stories would the stories in Stephen King's Night Shift count? That book also checks off a book released in 78.

Yes, absolutely

 

[Bierschneeman]

updating goodreads, I found something interesting.

the Isaac Asimov universe of series in foundation includes the following challenges: (I already have most of these, so I am just extending courtesy in case someone is interested.)

time travel (end of eternity)
1988
series of two (foundation prequels)
series of three ( galactic empire)
series of four (robot detective series)
series of five. (foundation series)
series of six (robot anthology series)

possibly 1978, and 1968, but these are skipable

 

[Jakyro]

Does ‘Ready Player One’ fall into the category of YA ?

 

[TomTB]

Does ‘Ready Player One’ fall into the category of YA ?

Yes, I'd say so.