Over the weekend I've read all four of my volumes of "East of West." It's a sci-fi western comic about an alternate history United States after the Civil War went a bit differently. It involves the four horsemen of the apocalypse, of which Death is the protagonist, political intrigue, and a plot that comes about slowly and methodically without feeling like it's being dragged along. The art is colorful and consistently well done and it's just a good read overall. I kind of picked it up on a whim for Dala who hasn't read it yet, so I don't want to write any spoilers, but I'm happy that it's something I'm enjoying as well.
As for "real books," I'm currently reading "What If?" by Randall Munroe and loving every bit of it. It's amazingly well written in that it's both witty and easily accessible.
- There's no material safety data sheet for astatine. If there were, it would just be the word "NO" scrawled over and over in charred blood.
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.As for "real books,"
I hope his style has been saved through the translation. I did some cursory checking before posting the above comment and failed to find the book the title of which was on the cover; it's "Кровавое золото", or Blood Gold, in Russian. Some of the digging later, I notice that a lot of the names are changed for the translation. Here's what I think is the list, minus whatever "Blood Gold" is: - The Broken Gun ("The Mystery of the Broken Revolver" in Russian) - North to the Rails ("Road North") - Ride the Dark Trail ("Ahorse on the Dark Trail"; clear enough) - Brionne ("The Dangerous Adventure of Major Brionne")
Western is definitely a genre that attracts my attention. I'm yet to see the 1960s classics, but I believe I've seen many of the popular modern ones. I like Appaloosa very much; it's one of my favourite films ever. It's a touching story of two lawmen travelling from town to town and not bending a knee before whoever might terrorise the citizens. Everyone just nails their characters. If one was to apply "slice-of-life" to a western, it would be Appaloosa. It's more grounded interesting than many of the modern westerns I've seen with the way it deals with things about itself: it has its own quirks and doesn't fall under the Rule of Cool.
My copy says I'm on Part 3, Section 4 of Volume 1. Someone has a hold on my copy at the library, so I won't be able to renew my checkout when the 20th gets here. :( Thus far, Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky really reminds me of my grandfather.
Finally finished my copy of the Jefferson Bible, and marked it all to shit. Now I'm going to re-read it with my 'edits' and see how it makes me feel. The Sermon on the Mount is perfect except for a few verses on sociosexual norms and mores that are irrelevant to the modern world. I think I'm able to say I'm off the angry atheist high horse now.
Teaching Plato in Palestine. I mostly agree with the review I linked.
