Big Pile of Books: Micro Reviews

For much of my university studies my reading list touched a thousand pages a week. By the time I graduated I was tired of reading. I used to LOVE to read, but as a result of my time at university I stopped reading for pleasure. It had become a job, a chore. Years passed. Then, due to a serious injury combined with Covid lockdown, I had LOTS of time on my hands. I picked up books again. I read a lot during that time and to keep track (I have not yet catalogued my library though that might be soon) I started taking pictures of books I had read. I would then either put them back on my bookshelves for reference, or give them away, usually via one of the Little Free Libraries I pass when I walk the dog.

My latest reading pile is now big enough to photograph and divide into the keep or give away categories so I thought I would share it with you, my dear and loyal reader(s). I will also add some micro reviews, basically one or two lines on what I thought (or not), no big break downs of themes or tones or anything literary like that.

The official stack, featuring toys my daughter left on my desk.

The Napoleon of Crime by Ben Macintyre

I really liked his books Rogue Heroes and The Spy and the Traitor, so I was hyped for the Napoleon of Crime because it was about the world’s greatest thief, and I cannot express how much I love a good heist story. It was a fine biography, but maybe I was expecting more out of it? I was hoping for daring feats of cunning thievery and it wasn’t that. A fine book, but a little disappointing for me, but that might be my fault for expecting something it wasn’t.

The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell

A departure from Malcolm’s (he insisted I call him Malcolm) normal fare, this one is more straight forward history rather than his usual “here is a thing, I bet you’ve never looked at it from THIS angle before have you? Now I have shown you this angle, you will think about the world differently from now on. You’re welcome.” Not that I minded the departure from the norm, he is a smooth and steady writer and it was an interesting read.

The cover of The Bomber Mafia is quite plain, so here instead is a far more awesome full colour shot of a B-17 in flight being escorted by a P-51 Mustang.

Imperium by Robert Harris

I sustained a very bad back injury right before the Covid lockdown. I spent many months flat on my back with all the time in the world so I read anything that crossed my path. One of those books was Pompeii by Robert Harris. I really enjoyed it so thought I would give some more of his Roman period books a chance. Not as exciting or action-packed as Pompeii, Imperium is very informative and paints a good picture of the period. It is the first book of a trilogy, I am currently reading the second book Conspirata.

Tremendous by Joey Diaz

I read this book over three nights. It turns out I already knew most of the stories in it because I listen to his podcast. Still lots of fun. I’m going to keep it because I hope one day to get it autographed.

Kill Shot by Vince Flynn

Didn’t finish it. Stopped caring about the protagonist. He was humourless and maybe “too good” at what he did? It made him unrelatable, at least to me.

Sunburn by Andi Watson and Simon Gane

I believe this to be the first book I ever bought solely because of the art. I knew nothing of the story or Andi Watson’s writing. I bought it purely because I had never seen my family’s part of the world in a comic book, and done so beautifully. My father comes from an island very near to where the story takes place, and I could relate to so many of Gane’s images, even though I have not been to those specific spots, I know exactly the feel and the smells and sounds one would hear when taking in those views. I bought it for the art, which it turned out married with the story very well.

Every Greek island has a harbour that looks like this. Original art from this graphic novel is on my Christmas list.

Oh My Gods! And Oh My Gods! II: the Forgotten Maze by Stephanie Cooke, Insha Fitzpatrick, and Juliana Moon

I like stories where ancient gods are put into modern settings. Having recently read Marie Phillips’ Gods Behaving Badly, I was in the mood for more in that vein so when I saw the Oh My Gods! books at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) I picked them up. They were both fun to read, I am excited to pass them on to my niece and nephew who I think will enjoy them too, and I hope there will be an Oh My Gods! III.

Group of Seven: A Most Secret Tale by Chris Sanagan and Jason Lapidus

This one exceeded my expectations. Independent comics are often hit and miss and this one was, for me, a hit. Action-packed Canadian historical fiction like you would never have imagined. I dug it so so much I pressed Sanagan and Lapidus (mainly Lapidus) to hurry up and make a part two. Under the effects of the elephant-coma dose of sodium pentothal I secretly administered to Jason Lapidus, I learned things that I cannot share here. I can say there are new and exciting things coming from this talented pair of creators.

Note: Also in the reading stack are two G.I. Joe: Special Missions, bought on the advice of the aforementioned Jason Lapidus. Yo Joe!

Peregrines is from the same creative team that made Group of Seven, I hope to pick that up next time I see them, probably at the upcoming Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke (yes, THAT Ethan Hawke)

This is a book of lessons told in epistolary form, and as such is one that you cannot absorb in one reading. I read it quickly, though for full effect I imagine it would be better to read one story/lesson and then reflect on it for a while before reading the next.  

Dead Romans by Fred Kennedy and Nick Marinkovich

Based around the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, it tells the story of Arminius who, among other things, commanded the alliance of Germanic tribes that introduced never-seen-before levels of sandaled barbarian foot to Roman ass. I have the first six books as singles. When I saw Fred at Toronto Comic Con last month he was debuting a hardcover trade of Dead Romans which looked super sweet. I asked him if there was going to be more. The answer was yes, and I am excited by this because it’s a cool story and I want to see where he takes it.

When the horned war helmet goes on, it’s bad news for Rome.

Kickboxer: The Unauthorized Adaptation by Ricky Lima

For those who don’t know, Ricky Lima is a gift to the indie comic world. He is an absolute book creating machine and by that I mean ALL aspects of book making. At some point I expect him to chop down his neighbours tree to make his own paper from scracth and then bind the books he printed (on his own paper) by hand…with string that he made himself. He makes everyone feel like lazy wastes of oxygen, though not directly because he’s super nice, you just feel lazy when you hear what he’s been up to and you…haven’t. Bored while he waited for his super-awesome book Undergrowth to be distributed continent-wide by Top Shelf Comics, he created a whole new comic book called Soda Pop Pirates, and then to kill some more time he adapted the legendary Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie Kickboxer into a comic book. Because he needed something to do. He is the Nok Su Kao of this reading list.       

I got the J. Bone cover myself, but readers of Kickboxer: The Unauthorized Edition are spoiled for choice when it comes to awesome covers.

That’s it for now. I am currently reading four books concurrently like I used to when I was a teenager, so give it a couple of months and I will have a new book stack to share with you. Have a great week and remember, you can never have too many books. Also remember to support your local creators.