Reading Challenge Update for 2015 (Part 2 of 2)

Every year, the number of books I read, the genres I read the most, and the challenges I pursue change. But one thing remains the same. . .I always forget how freaking long it takes to organize this post.

Beyond the PopSugar challenge I posted already, my other reading goals for 2015 were to read

• at least seven books that are either collections of poetry or books about poetry (Done!)
• at least one book by a Nobel-prize-winning writer whose work I'm not well-acquainted with (Nadine Gordimer)
• two Pulitzer-winning books, at least one of them fiction (This one I didn't manage. I did read two Pulitzer-winning books, but they were both poetry. I'd been trying to finish All the Light We Cannot See since before it won the Pulitzer, but there was a huge hold list for it at the library and I kept having to return it before I was finished.)
• literature from South Africa (Africa39, which contained three short stories by South African authors, and July's People by Nadine Gordimer)
• literature from Lesotho, focusing particularly (though not exclusively) on work relating to the Zulu people (Chaka by Thomas Mofolo is a fictional retelling of the history of a famous Zulu king) 
• Fifty books (I'll let you scroll down and see the list for yourself)

Key:

Fiction

Poetry

Nonfiction

YA or middle-grade 

Memoir

Play

Underline of any color= graphic novel/comic book  

1. Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas—various authors 
2. The Art of Fielding—Chad Harbach (reread)
3.  The Yiddish Policemen’s Union—Michael Chabon
4.  Relish: My Life in the Kitchen—Lucy Kinsley
5. Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal—written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Adrian Alphona
6. Batgirl, Vol. 1: Silent Running—written by Kelley Puckett and Scott Peterson, art by Damion Scott and Robert Campanella
7. Bone: The Great Cow Race—Jeff Smith
8. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic—Alison Bechdel
9. In the Open—Beatrix Gates  
10. Behind the Beautiful Forevers—Katherine Boo
11. Return of the Dapper Men—written by Jim McCann, art by Janet K. Lee
12. Justice League International, Vol. 2—written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, art by Kevin Maguire and Bill Willingham 
13. Bone: Eyes of the Storm—Jeff Smith
14. How Mirka Got Her Sword (Hereville #1)—Barry Deutsch
15. Gaijin: American Prisoner of War—Matt Faulkner
16. Diadem Me—Bethany Carlson
17. Shadow Hero—written by Gene Luen Yang, art by Sonny Liew
18. How Mirka Met a Meteorite (Hereville #2)—Barry Deutsch
19. Alpha Zulu—Gary Copeland Lilley  
20. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo & Me—Ellen Forney
21. Neurocomic—Dr. Matteo Farinella and Dr. Hana Roš
22. Batman and Robin, Vol. 3: Death of the Family—written by Peter Tomasi and Scott Snyder; art by Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Greg Capullo, Mick Gray, Vicente Cifuentes, Keith Champagne, Jonathan Glapion, John Kalisz, FCO Plascencia, etc.
23. Mister Orange—Truus Matti, trans. from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson
24. New Covenant Bound—Tony Crunk (reread)
25. Hawkeye, Vol. 2: Little Hits—written by Matt Fraction; art by David Aja, Steve Lieber, Jesse Hamm, Francesco Francavilla, and Matt Hollingsworth
26. Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy—written by Brian K. Vaughan; art by Adrian Alphona, David Newbold, Craig Yeung, Brian Reber, etc. 
27. Bone, Vol. 4: The Dragonslayer—Jeff Smith
28. At Home: A Short History of Private Life—Bill Bryson
29. Trillium—Jeff Lemire
30. Zita the Spacegirl—Ben Hatke
31. Through the Woods—Emily Carroll
32. Bone, Vol. 5: Rock Jaw—Master of the Eastern Border—Jeff Smith
33. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars—Jim Shooter (and many others)
34. Heavenly Bodies—Cynthia Huntington
35. The Museum of Extraordinary Things—Alice Hoffman
36. On Gold Mountain—Lisa See
37. The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer—Sydney Padua
38. Fangirl—Rainbow Rowell
39. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl—Timothy Egan
40. In Real Life—written by Cory Doctorow, art by Jen Wang
41. March, Book 2—John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, art by Nate Powell
42. Leaving Megalopolis—written by Gail Simone, art by J. Calafiore and Jason Wright
43. Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara—edited by Ellah Wakatama Allfrey (three authors from South Africa in collection)
44. Batman Incorporated, Vol. 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted—written by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham, Joe Keatinge, Mike Raicht, Dan Didio, and Ethan Van Sciver; art by Chris Burnham, Jason Masters, Nathan Fairbairn, Hi-Fi, Andrei Bressan, Jorge Lucas, Ian Hannin, Dave McCraig, Emanuel Simeon, Brett Smith, John Stanisci, Art Lyon, Dan Didio, and Ethan Van Sciver, etc.
45. Batman and Robin, Vol. 4: Requiem for Damian—written by Peter J. Tomasi; art by Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, Cliff Richards, Mark Irwin, Marlo Alquiza, John Kalisz, etc.
46. Delights and Shadows—Ted Kooser
47. Mink River—Brian Doyle
48. Diniwe in Dreamland—Desmond Dudwa Phiri 
49. The Cute Girl Network—written by Greg Means and MK Reed, art by Joe Flood
50. Asterios Polyp—David Mazzucchelli
51. Stitches—David Small
52. Cold Mountain—Charles Frazier
53. The Sculptor—Scott McCloud
54. Grayson: Agents of Spyral, Vol. 1—written by Tim Seeley and Tom King; Stephen Mooney, Jeromy Cox, Mikel Janín, Guillermo Ortego, Juan Castro, Carlos M. Mangual, etc.
55. Robot Dreams—Sara Varon
56. Batman and Robin, Vol. 5: The Big Burn—written by Peter Tomasi, art by Patrick Gleason
57. Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland—written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Adrian Alphona
58. Crashboomlove: A Novel in Verse—Juan Felipe Herrera
59. Wuthering Heights—Emily Brontë (reread)
60. Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: The Circle—written by Gail Simone; art by Terry Dodson, Bernard Chang, Ron Randall, and Rachel Dodson  
61. Cinder—Marissa Meyer
62. The Compleat Terminal City—Dean Motter
63. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake—Anna Quindlen
64. Griffin and Sabine Trilogy (Griffin & Sabine, Sabine’s Journal, and The Golden Mean)—Nick Bancock
65. Boundaries: When to Say YES, When to Say NO, to Take Control of Your Life—Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
66. Gemini—Carol Cassella
67. Batman Eternal, Vol. 1—written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Layman, Ray Fawkes, Tim Seeley, Kyle Higgins; art by Jason Fabock, Dustin Nguyen, Mikel Janin, Guillem March, Ian Bertram, Riccardo Burchielli, Andy Clarke, Trevor McCarthy, Emanuel Simeoni, Derek Fridolfs, Guillermo Ortego, Brad Anderson, John Kalisz, Blond, Jeromy Cox, Tomeu Morey, Guy Major, Dave McCaig, Dave Stewart, etc.
68. Hawkeye, Vol. 3: L.A. Woman—written by Matt Fraction, art by Annie Wu and Javier Pulido
69. Chaka—Thomas Mofolo, trans. Daniel P. Kunene
70. July’s People—Nadine Gordimer (Nobel Prize winner)
71. Absalom! Absalom!—William Faulkner
72. American Primitive—Mary Oliver (Pulitzer Prize)
73. The Diary of a Young Girl—Anne Frank, trans. Susan Massotty
74. The Winter’s Tale—William Shakespeare

Or to break it down:

32 works of fiction, 20 of them graphic novels/trade comic collections and 12 works of adult (non-graphic-novel) fiction

19 works of YA or middle-grade fiction, 15 graphic novels/comic collections and 4 novels (although deciding what counted as part of this category was difficult)

9 works of nonfiction, 8 prose and 1 graphic nonfiction

8 works of poetry

 5 memoirs (all of them graphic memoirs)

1 play

41 (!) comic collections and graphic novels

Favorite adult fiction:The Yiddish Policemen’s Union—Michael Chabon. This isn't much of a surprise to me; The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier and Clay is one of my favorite books. I love the playful way Chabon writes complex, verbose sentences, as though he is inviting you into a game rather than simply showing off. It's a murder mystery and a love story and a neo-noir alternative history of the 1980s. What more could you want?

Favorite work of nonfiction: Boundaries: When to Say YES, When to Say NO, to Take Control of Your Life—Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. A lot of the principles in the book weren't new to me (and it does have some of the flavor of a nineties self-book), but I still find myself wanting to hand it out to strangers on the street, like some kind of Oprah of good emotional/spiritual health: "You get good boundaries! And you! And you!"  

Favorite poetry: It's a serious stretch to pick just one. I read a lot volumes this year that I found myself recommending to others, including one by a college classmate (Diadem Me by Bethany Carlson). But my favorite was actually an old favorite: New Covenant Bound by Tony Crunk. We read it in my book club, and I worried that I might find my enthusiasm for the book had dampened over time. But I loved it every bit as much as the first time.

Favorite memoir: Again, I liked a lot of what I read in this category for 2015 (and I'm not a huge memoir fan—graphic or otherwise). But March (John Lewis, Andrew Ayden, and Nate Powell) wins. Don't avoid it just because you think you already know this story.

Favorite YA/middle-grade: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal. Origin stories can get repetitive, but G. Willow Wilson handles this one with expert care and humor. Kamala Khan is a character I feel like I've been subconsciously waiting for. A breath of fresh air.

The contest for my favorite book read in 2015 ended in a tie.

Asterios Polyp (David Mazzucchelli) is book I shouldn't have liked (an egoistical architectural professor has a midlife crisis) but that I ended up loving. If you think graphic novels can't be pieces of serious literary fiction, you need to read this book. I've never seen every bit of a graphic novel's visual art (lettering, coloring, line thickness, panel-size, etc.) play into the theme and character development quite like this before. Amazing work.

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (Sydney Padua) is technically fiction. But it is hands-down the best researched book I read in 2015. It's half footnotes. And the footnotes are delightful. It has all the fun of a steampunk adventure, and Padua's characters leap off the page (sometimes, out of their panels), but you will leave the book remembering more history about Victorian England and the first computer than if you had read a slew of biographies. I highly recommend this graphic novel, even if, like me, you think you aren't that interested technological histories.


Here, I usually list the "other books" I've read: things that were too short (or not "word/narrative heavy enough") to make the previous list. But given the number of individual comic book issues I read in 2015, this list is longer than usual. So I've included it below for consistency's sake, but I'm happy to leave you here. In my next post, I'll probably talk about my reading goals for 2016.

But what were your favorite reads of 2015?

Other:

The Power of Shazam! The Arson Fiend, #2—written by Jerry Ordway; art by Peter Krause, Mike Manley, Glen Whitmore, and John Constanza  

Power Pack: Star Struck, #58—written by Michael Higgins; art by Tom Morgan, Nel Yomtov, and Joe Rosen

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight: Infected, Part One—Warren Ellis and John McCrea

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight: Infected, Part Two—Warren Ellis and John McCrea

Raising Dion, #1­—written by Dennis Liu; art by Jason Piperberg

The Princess and the Pony—Kate Beaton

Cheetah Can’t Lose—Bob Shea

Robin: Buggin’, #23—written by Chuck Dixon; art by Aaron Lopresti, Stan Woch, Adrienne Roy, and Tim Harkins

Detective Comics: Rite of Passage: Shadow of the Sun, Part One, #618—written by Alan Grant; art by Norm Breyfogle, Dick Giordano, Adrienne Roy, etc.

World’s Finest: Worlds Apart, #1—written by Dave Gibbons; art by Steve Rude, Karl Kesel, and Steve Oliff

Green Lantern: Among My Souvenirs, #4—written by Gerard Jones; art by Pat Broderick, Bruce Patterson, Albert De Guzman, Anthony Tollin, and Kevin Dooley

Showcase 94 (Benedictions—Part 3: Vengeance and Forgiveness; Sparx!: Allure of New Orleans; The Atom: The Uncertainty Principle), #6—written by Chuck Dixon, Karl Kesel, and Len Kaminski; art by Phil Jimenez, Peter Gross, Tom McCraw, Scott Lee, Phil Allen, Brad Vancata, Fred Reyes, Rick Burcheett, Robbie Busch, etc.

Batgirl: Fresh Blood—Part Four, Settling Up, #59—written by Andersen Gabrych; art by Ale Garza, Jesse Delperdang, Wildstorm FX, and Rob Leigh

The Return of Donna Troy: A Golden Age to Conquer, #1—written by Phil Jimenez; art by José Garcia-Lopez, George Pérez, Martin Breccĭa, Nestor Preyra, Lee Loughridge, and Ken Lopez

Power Pack: Whose Power?, #27­—written by Louise Simonson; art by Jon Bogdanove, Al Gordon, Joe Rosen, and Glynis Oliver

Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! a Vagrant Collection—Kate Beaton

Batman: The Cult—Book One: Ordeal—written by Jim Starlin; art by Berni Wrightson, Bill Wray, John Costanza, etc.

Batman: The Cult—Book Two: Capture—written by Jim Starlin; art by Berni Wrightson, Bill Wray, John Costanza, etc.

The SheepOver—John and Jennifer Churchman

Days with Frog and Toad—Arnold Lobel (reread)

Frog and Toad Together—Arnold Lobel (reread)

The Secret Remedy Book—written by Karin Cates, illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin (reread)

The Magic of Millicent Musgrave—Brinton Turkle


Images from HarperCollins, The University Press of Kentucky, Top Shelf Comics,  Knof Doubleday, and Knof Doubleday. 

50 Books List for 2014

Every year I try to read at least fifty books. What gets included on this list is bit arbitrary—for example, short picture books don't count, short poetry volumes usually do; individual comic book issues don't count, but trade collections of multiple issues do. I missed posting my list for 2013, but here's the list for 2014.

Key:
Fiction
Poetry
Nonfiction
Memoir
Underline of any color= graphic novel/comic book  

1. Robin: Year One—written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, illustrated by Javier Pulido and Robert Campanella
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince—J.K. Rowling
3.  Portraits of a Marriage—Sándor Márai, trans. by George Szirtes
4. Tell the Wolves I’m Home—Carol Rifka Brunt
5. Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 1: Orientation—Thomas Siddell
6. The Plain Janes—written by Cecil Castellucci, art by Jim Rugg
7. Sweeney Astray—translated by Seamus Heaney
8. Saints—Gene Luen Yang
9. Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 2: Research—Thomas Siddell
10. Batman & Robin, Vol. 1: Born to Kill—written by Peter J. Tomasi, illustrated by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray
11. Nightwing: Year One—written by Chuck Dixon, illustrated by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens
12. Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth—Warsan Shire
13. A Town Like Alice—Nevil Shute
14. In the Woods—Tana French
15. Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 3: Reason—Thomas Siddell
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—J.K. Rowling
17. Nightwing: The Lost Year—written by Marv Wolfman and Marc Andreyko; art by Joe Bennett, Jack Jadson, Jamal Igle, Jon Bosco, Keith Champagne, Alex Silva, etc.
18. Zot! Book 1—Scott McCloud
19. Surprised by the Voice of God—Jack Deere
20. The Fire in All Things: Poems—Stephen Yenser
21. The Book Thief—Markus Zusak
22. Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Pearl—written by Peter J. Tomasi; art by Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, Tomas Giorello, etc.
23. Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight—Travis Langley
24. Catching Fire—Suzanne Collins
25. Sex at Noon Taxes—Sally Van Doren
26. Nightwing, Vol. 1: A Knight in Blüdhaven—written by Chuck Dixon; art by Scott McDaniel and Karl Story
27. Batman: The Heart of Hush—written by Paul Dini, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
28. Mockingjay—Suzanne Collins
29. Streets of Gotham, Vol. 1: Hush Money—written by Paul Dini, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen
30. Streets of Gotham, Vol. 2: Leviathan—written by Paul Dini; Mike Benson; and Christopher Yost, art by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
31. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination—Elizabeth McCracken
32. Of Gravity and Angels—Jane Hirshfield
33. Comfort Me with Apples—Ruth Reichl
34. Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 3: House of Hush—written by Paul Dini, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
35. Nightwing, Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes—written by Kyle Higgins; illustrated by Eddie Barrows, Eduardo Pansica, Geraldo Borges, JP Mayer, Paulo Siqueira, Eber Ferreira, Ruy José, etc.
36. A Tale for the Time Being—Ruth Ozeki
37.  Everything is Illuminated—Jonathan Safran Foer
38. Batman Incorporated, Vol. 1: Demon Star—written by Grant Morrison; art by Chris Burnham (p), Frazer Irving (p), Bit artists (p), Nathan Fairbairn (c), Frazar Irving (c), etc.
39. JLA/W.I.L.D.Cats—written by Grant Morrison, (art by ?)
40. Batman Incorporated—written by Grant Morrison, art by Yanick Paquette and Chris Burnham
41. Doc—Mary Doria Russell
42. Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey—Nick Bertozzi
43. Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love—written by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack Jr., art by Randy Duburke
44. The Search—written by Eric Heuvel with Ruud van der Rol and Lies Schippers, art by Eric Heuvel, trans. by Lorraine T. Miller
45. Brown Girl Dreaming—Jacqueline Woodson
46. The Light Between Oceans—M.L. Stedman
47. Bone: Out from Boneville—Jeff Smith
48. The Search for Delicious—Natalie Babbit
49. Dogs of War—written by Sheila Keenan, art by Nathan Fox
50. March: Book One—story by John Robert Lewis and Andrew Aydin, art by Nate Powell
51. Lewis & Clark—Nick Bertozzi 

Last year I read thirty-six works of fiction, six volumes of poetry, five works of nonfiction, and three memoirs. Of those, twenty-three of the fictional works were graphic novels or comic book collections, as were three of the nonfiction texts and one of the memoirs. This means that over half (twenty-seven books) of my fifty books were comic books.

I shouldn't be surprised, especially given my recent project. 

I could tell I wasn't reading many (text-based) novels (something I'd like change this year), but I was bewildered to see so few nonfiction books on the list. I'd felt like I'd read more nonfiction last year. Then I realized. . .I read a lot of nonfiction last year, but mainly things that I can't count on this list: articles and blog posts, books I haven't finished yet, books I read huge sections of (for research), but not in their entirety (or in order). For example, Shelley Taylor's The Tending Instinct was one of the most interesting books I read last year, but I only completed about 80% of it.

Favorites:

My favorite novel of 2014 was, no contest, Mary Doria Russell's Doc—sharp and tender, full of pithy descriptions and heartbreaking characters.

My favorite nonfiction book was Surprised by the Voice of God by Jack Deere, in part because it was exactly the book I needed to read at the time. I had read parts (if not all) of it before, but what struck me this time through was the graceful humility with which it was written.

My favorite poetry read was a tie between Of Gravity and Angels (I always end up loving Jane Hirshfield's work) and The Fire in All Things, which made me promise myself I'd read it again in a few years and see if I understood different elements.

My favorite memoir was March: Book One, which surprised me because I hadn't expected so much artistry from a book so closely connected to a politician. But the story is well-told and captures John Lewis' personal journey and hallmarks of the Civil Rights movement in a way feels simultaneously broad and intimate. It left me eager for the next installment.

My favorite "capes" comic collection was Batman & Robin, Vol. 1: Born to Kill. This was the first Batman and Robin of the New52 reboot; a change I wasn't looking forward to. (I had been upset when the New52 broke up the duo of Dick Grayson's Batman and Damian Wayne's Robin for the "return" of Bruce Wayne.) But now I want all my superhero comics to be as thoughtful as this volume. The tension between father and son is so believable that it keeps the story grounded in psychological realism, even as the crime-fighting enters the typically bizarre world of Batman villains. Tomasi was wise enough to focus on the characters first and the heroics second. And Gleason's artwork is full of atmospheric shadows and heart-rending visual parallels.

My favorite non-capes comic collection was Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 2: Research because that was the volume where I realized I was absolutely addicted to the strange scientifically-magical/magically-robotic boarding school Thomas Siddell had created. Siddell had also grown into his art style by this volume. I have not caught up to the online comic yet, so I can't recommend it in its entirety (and if the inclusion of same-sex relationships ruins stories for you, this will not be your favorite read). I think of Gunnerkrigg Court as "Harry Potter with female protagonists and adorable robots." If that sounds awesome to you, check it out.

In an upcoming post, I'll write a bit about my reading goals for this year. But I want to know: What were your favorite books for 2014? And do you have any reading goals for 2015?