yawninglion

49. WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD by Jincy Willett.
50. THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz
51. THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH by Leo Tolstoy

so I’m reading lots of graphic novels…

46 – DYKES AND SUNDRY OTHER CARBON-BASED LIFE-FORMS TO WATCH OUT FOR by Alison Bechdel. This is mainly because FUN HOME is OUT at the library, I can’t afford to buy the hard cover edition, and I’ve only been able to get through the first 3 chapters before book stores toss me out on my ear.

47 – ONE HUNDRED DEMONS! by Lynda Barry. I loved this. Here’s one reason why: (about Oola the dog) “She got better. We kept her history in mind and she revealed her nature to us. Under the fear and defensiveness was a sweet and noble character. A good dog. A great dog. All she needed was to find the right home. But that’s true for all of us, isn’t it?” and “Which was worse girlness that was insisted upon or girlness that was forbidden? Frilly clothes you couldn’t play in or ratty clothes you were ashamed of? Her mom or my mom?”

48 – PERSEPOLIS 2: THE STORY OF A RETURN by Marjane Satrapi. I liked this better than the first Persepolis (which is being made into a movie – not sure what I think of that). Here’s one reason why: “If I’d had anything fun to do, I don’t think I would ever have read as much as I did. To educate myself, I had to understand everything. Starting with myself, me, Marji, the woman. So I threw myself into reading my mother’s favorite book… I read “The Second Sex.” Simone explained that if women peed standing up their perception of life would change. So I tried. It ran lightly down my left leg. It was a little disgusting. Seated, it was much simpler. And, as an Iranian woman, before learning to urinate like a man, I needed to learn to become a liberated and emancipated woman.”

43 – TWO OLD WOMEN by Velma Wallis. Two Athabaskan Indian women are left behind in a bitter Alaskan winter (is there any other kind?) in hopes that their absence will allow the tribe to prosper, but these two women are fiesty and determined to make it through.

44 – HAROUN AND THE SEA OF STORIES by Salman Rushdie. Suggested to me by Zoe, and an excellent recommendation. Fanciful, perceptive and multi-layered. Irreverent, funny, and wise. I simple love books that are well-described by sets of 3 adjectives.

45 – SKIPPING CHRISTMAS by John Grisham. I have not seen the movie, “The Kranks,” but I loved this book. It’s short, sweet, and funny. I laughed out loud far more than once – and in public at that!