Books
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer - I’d been avoiding this because of all the hype, but Safran Foer is a good prose stylist and I always enjoy novels that are written from multiple perspectives of a few characters.
The Blond Baboon by Janwillem van de Wetering - A quirky mystery set in Amsterdam, where the police attempt to solve a murder case while dealing with their many foibles.
The Dog of the Marriage by Amy Hempel - I always like her short stories.
Manga & Graphic Novels
Honour Among Punks
This was an interesting story in an alternate history London setting where packs of punks roam the streets. An American medical student becomes a housekeeper for a former police officer turned punk who still enjoys solving mysteries. This was my bedtime reading for several weeks, and it had a bunch of fun Sherlock Holmes references.
Hellblazer: Original Sins - I finally got around to reading Hellblazer, even though I saw the movie version with Keanu Reaves. I much prefered the graphic novel, and now I understand why people were complaining so much about Keanu.
V for Vendetta -I’m glad my sister bought this so I could read it while she was visiting me! I can’t believe I’ve gone for so long without reading this before. I dread the movie version.
Dramacon #1
Basara #14
Yotsuba&! #3
Tokyo Boys and Girls #2
Sugar Sugar Rune #1
From Far Away #3 and #4
Devil Does Exist #3
Tsubasa #6
Fruits Basket #12
I thought I was the only one who liked “Everything is Illuminated.” I’m glad you enjoyed it! I didn’t like his 2nd novel though…
I haven’t read his second novel, but the subject that it covered didn’t really seem to grab me. I might give it a try sometime though.
Everything is Illuminated is actually quite good. And I’m easily put off by 20-somethings who, bc they went to Princeton, think they’re brilliant. Unfortunately, I had to revise my snippishness and groove on the narrative. I think he’s sounding a bit repetetive w/ “Extremely loud and very close” or what ever the title of the sophomore effort is. Foer is much better than Gary Shteyngart, who wrote _The Russian Debutante’s Handbook” and/or Dave Eggers, the author of the oh-so-promising-but-god-how-it-sucks _A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius_, in which the intro is a clever piece of lit theory that the book cannot even dream of living up to.
My 2 cents.
Jennifer
HWOSG was a very disposable book. I can’t see myself wanting to read that again, but I might pick up Everything is Illuminated again in a few years.