1. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild - This is a non-fiction book about the time when King Leopold of Belgium owned the Congo and basically ran it as his own personal fiefdom. I've already read this one and it was absolutely amazing, one of the best history books I've read in a long time. There'll be a glowing review up shortly.
2. A Thousand Sisters by Lisa Shannon - Another book about the Congo. The subtitle of this one is 'The Worst Place on Earth to be a Woman' and it's about a Western woman who journeyed to the Congo and became involved in charity work there.
3. Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip - I've heard great things about McKillip and this was the only title of hers I could get hold of through my library system. It's a fairy-tale retelling and I'm looking forward to it.
4. Witness the Night by Kishwar Desai - A young girl is found tied up in a townhouse in India where thirteen are dead. It's up to a social worker to solve the case.
5. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman - I felt like a change this week, so I wandered into the graphic novel section of the library, somewhere I've never been before! I know this is a classic of the genre, so it seemed like a good place to start.
6. Watchmen by Alan Moore - Whilst I was in the graphic novel section, my husband practically forced this one on me. I've heard of it but haven't seen the film. I'll give it a go.
7. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - I also explored the YA section today! I've seen so many positive reviews of this, I can't wait to start it.
8. Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck - I've actually checked this title out before, but didn't get the chance to read it. It's a fantasy adventure about breaking a three hundred year old curse, which fits my reading mood quite well at the moment. Hopefully I will read it this time around!
Have you read any of these titles?
I'd love to know what you think of them.
OMG! You're reading Maus!!! It was the first graphic novel I ever read, and I really things it's the best place to start. Such a beautiful, nuanced book. I hope you enjoy A Monster Calls (it totally gutted me, but in a good way!), and I have Watchmen on my stacks.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to Maus, I hope it lives up to my expectations (which are very high!). If I love it, I'm sure I'll start to explore graphic novels a bit further - I want to read French Milk too.
DeleteOh yes! French Milk is so lovely. Love it.
DeleteMaus Maus Maus! I can't imagine you'll be disappointed. I love Spiegelman. He also wrote In the Shadow of No Towers about 9/11 which is just stunning. Need to find my copy!
ReplyDeleteIn the Shadow of No Towers sounds very good, if I love Maus I'll read that one as well.
DeleteIt is MASSIVE as in size not length! I'm sure they've made smaller copies now but my copy was larger than A4...
DeleteOh Maus and A Monster calls are both so fantastic! You'll be hard pressed to find anyone telling you otherwise :)
ReplyDeleteIt does seem that way :)
DeleteOhhh! Maus! Such an amazing book.
ReplyDeleteI'd really like to read the Hochschild, that sounds like something I'd love.
I would definitely recommend the Hochschild. It turns out that he's written quite a few history books and given that the writing was so good, I'm going to try some more of them. There's one about Stalin I'm excited to pick up.
DeleteOo, you are trying graphic novels - I don't know why they have never appealed to me, but possibly, out of curiosity, I'll read Maus too some day. A Monster Calls seems intriguing too, I hope you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThe only graphic novel I've ever read properly is Persepolis, so they are new to me too. I just felt like a change!
DeleteYour selections sound really good, I've been hearing about the last two in particular and look forward to your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI have seen The Watchmen the movie but haven't read the book, so don't know personally how they compare, but as a standalone I did not like it. Also, everything I've heard from people who have both read the book and seen the movie points to the movie not doing the book any justice.
My husband loved the movie, which is why he pushed the book on me! I'll try to read it with an open mind.
DeleteI haven't read any of these! Look forward to reading your thoughts on them though. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
DeleteA very interesting library haul. I haven't read any of them although I do plan on the Patrick Ness one day and really like the sound of,and look forward to your review ,of King Leopold's Ghost.
ReplyDeleteKing Leopold's Ghost was excellent, I really would recommend it.
DeleteHuge variety from that expedition. Interested to hear what you think of the graphic novels... Not something that's called out to me yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm about half way through Maus already, and it is excellent so far.
DeleteA Monster Calls is so good. Ridiculously emotional but amazing nonetheless. I have had Maus for ages and I really should get cracking with it. Looks like a great selection :)
ReplyDelete"Winter Rose" is phenomenal. I hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteThe Watchmen is pretty amazing and I've always meant to read Maus!
ReplyDeleteMaus is great. I would push that one on your husband because there is an interesting father-son dynamic going on that I'd love to hear men talk about. I recently read Watchmen as part of a graphic novel study. I found I really had to slow down my reading to follow it. The "experts" in the room said the movie did not to justice to the book. Adam Hochschild wrote a book on World War I that I just loved. I've been meaning to read King Leopold's Ghost and just put it on hold at my library.
ReplyDeleteOoh, Maus and Watchmen!
ReplyDeleteI've read the latter and really, REALLY liked it. I need to rewatch the film actually, so I can compare.
I've heard wonderful things about Maus but haven't got round to reading it myself yet. Good luck :)