As for "real books,"

Books are books, comic books are comic books and visual novels are visual novels, and some of the visual novels and comic books are better than many books. What you call them is what you think of them, and it's a disservice to a fairly mature venue of art that includes The Sandman and Watchmen to diminish them by considering them not "real books".

I was glad to find "What If?" in English in a Russian book shop. It costs hefty for my student budget. I may want to get to it in the future.

Planning to read at least five books this year. Already have part of the list assembled: Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, Nietzsche's Also sprach Zaratustra and Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. Might give Louis L'Amour's books a try, since I've gotten a collection of his novels through bookcrossing last year. Also planning to re-read Pozner's books, Parting with Illusions (which I read between classes in the uni) and One-Storey America (as well as the Ilf and Petrov's original). 1984 by George Orwell is on the English reading list for the Language Practice classes, as well; might make it the fourth book.