Monday, October 17, 2011

And this is how i stay sane

Binged again at Landmark. 
I outdid my previous outings and bought 17 books this time. 
Not to mention the six I bought yesterday. 


I think I know what the problem is.
I have money to spend. And I have no life.
Plus I think I am subconsciously satisfying my urge to possess. 



Anyway, 


I bought the following books yesterday. 


American Born Chinese - Gene Leun Yang - My library has a paperback which I had borrowed and read, but this hardcover feels nice in my hands. It is a multi layered story about trying to fit in. It has a Monkey King who wants to be taken seriously as a god, a Chinese boy who is trying to fit in to his new school in the USA... 






Notes for a War Story - Gipi - Wow, Such lovely watercoloured panels. Its by an Italian Artist known as Gipi, about the lives of three boys in a war torn country in Europe.




Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide - It was 99 bucks and I thought it would make a nice companion for the year ahead. 


Astro Boy - Osamu Tezuka - Finally I have something by the genius. It's a small book and I think it covers about two episodes in the super long, extremely famous series. 


Arzee the Dwarf - Chandrahas Choudhury - I had ordered a copy from flipkart but it's not with me anymore and I wanted to read the book so I picked this up at 99 bucks. It's about a short man who works in a cinema theatre. I think it will be a good read. 


Anthropology: 101 True Love Stories - Dan Rhodes - this caught my eye and is turning out to be a nice read. It has 101 stories with each having exactly 101 words. They are fictional stories from the point of view of a guy. There are a lot of girlfriends with strange and quirky names and some of them are hilarious. 


Try this one for example. 

As part of the getting-to-know-me process, Nightjar told me all about her ex-boyfriends. She went through her shoe box full of photographs. 'His penis was much bigger than yours,' she would say, 'but he had bad breath.' Or, 'He was quite old but he could still go all night.' When, at last, she had finished, she asked me about my romantic history. I told her I had been waiting all my life for that special someone, and how glad I was now I had finally found her. 'Ah, I see.' She rolled her eyes.

'You're one of those.'


I laughed so hard after reading that. I think this one's a keeper.


So all those I bought yesterday. 


And these I bought today. 


Yarns and Shanties (And Other Nautical Baloney): The Twelfth Sherman's Lagoon Collection - Jim Toomey
Sharks Just Wanna Have Fun: The Thirteenth Sherman's Lagoon Collection - Jim Toomey


These two books are collections of comic strips about "the misadventures of an overweight, lazy Great White shark named Sherman, his controlling, hot-tempered wife Megan, and the friends and foes they share their tropical home with." 


They were 49 bucks a piece. 


Beware in the Graveyard - Satyajit Ray's Feluda mysteries in graphic novel format. 49 bucks, and I thought this might be interesting. 


Rude, Crude & Tattooed - Zits Sketchbook - Jerry Scott, Jim Borgman. - This is again a comic strip collection. I love Zits! It is hilarious. About a teenage boy Duncan and his friends and family. It's sort of like a grown up Calvin & Hobbes. 






Thats just a sampling of what Zits is about. Go read it online. There are truckloads of it archived everywhere. 
49 bucks again. 


Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East - Joann Sfar - This was the most expensive buy of the day @ 249. I always wanted to read/own something by this guy. He is supposed to be one of the biggest French Comic Artist today. This one is about Jews during the War.


Lie - A traditional tale of Modern India - Gautam Bhatia - Indian Graphic Novel. @ 99 bucks. Had to get it, didn't I?




Forge - A CrossGen Anthology. NO idea what this is about. It came for 49 bucks and looks super colorful. 


Commando - 3 in 1. For action and Adventure. -Again at 49 bucks, I had to get myself this comic for its very mention makes Bala and Chinni go nostalgic. I think a lot of people grew up reading Commando. Did you?


Strangers In Paradise - Treasury Edition - Terry Moore. - Oh this is special! So Strangers in Paradise is a b/w comic about these two girls, women actually, Francine and Katchoo and their friend David Qin. It explores the complex relationship between the two. And this treasury edition is simply gorgeous. Rs.199




Britten and Brülightly - Hannah Berry - Turned out to be the discovery of the day. It's a murder mystery and it looks so mindblowingly beautiful. Rs.199


The Little Man: Short Strips 1980-1995 - Chester Brown. I simply had to buy this one. I am sure very few know/remember this little piece of trivia. This blog got its name from one of my favourite graphic novels by Chester Brown, I Never Liked You. And this book is a collection of his short pieces. Aaaah. I can't believe I own a  Chester Brown! @ Rs.199




Superspy - Matt Kindt - this is again a super buy. "Super Spy is 52 interwoven short stories about cyanide, pen-guns, heartbreak and betrayal. Each story follows the life of a spy during World War II. Spanning the globe from Spain to France and Germany, this book takes the reader on a tour of the everyday life of the spy." @ Rs.199




Animal's People - Indra Sinha. I bought this book because it said Shortlisted for Man-Booker Prize in 2007, and it came for all of Rs.49. It is a work of fiction set in the backdrop of Bhopal Gas Tragedy. (ha. I can't help snigger everytime i say gas. :-( Sigh...) 


Sin City - Hard Goodbye - Frank Miller - Rs.199 and I pounced on it. 


Eisner/Miller - So these two guys, legends in their own right, Will Eisner, and Frank Miller met up for a conversation over a long weekend and spoke about comics. And this book is sort of like a recording of their conversations. Intrigue made me buy it. And the price tag - Rs.199.


Wimbledon Green - Seth - Can't believe it. This is my second Seth! And Wimbledon Green is about a comic book collector told from various perspectives and many different formats. Rs.199 


Push Man & Other Stories - Yoshihiro Tatsumi




I teared up a little bit when I found this book on sale. It was such a surreal moment. I still can't believe that I have been reading comics for about 3 years and all of them downloaded from the internet... and suddenly I am the proud owner of a lot of comic books. And some of my favourites too. 
It feels strange. And very unreal. 
If you had to wake me up and tell me it was all a dream, I have just one request to you. 
Please tell me I have been dreaming 
for 
over 
three months. 

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