Greg: Yes I did Crankshaw’s biography, I agree it was very good – Eyck’s biography is also worth a look.

I’ve been wanting to read Iron Kingdom, Chris Clarke’s History of Prussia, for ages now but my reading time is, sadly, pretty limited so 800 pages would be quite a commitment for me!

On the graphic novel front… I’m at a point where my unread pile is possibly taller than I am!
I’m reading a bit of everything.
Neal Adams Batman is pretty funny, Ennis’ The Tankies was a solid action story, and Dark Horse’s Noir comics collection was alright – Lapham, Azzarello and Brubaker show yet again that they are the best crime writers in comics.

Just finished CBR’s own Brian Cronin’s “Was Superman a Spy” this weekend – it was even better than I expected it. I tore through it quickly and found it engaging from cover to cover.

Huzzah!

Thanks, Neal!

Also just finished the Gotham Central Volume 1 hardcover, and am currently plowing through a big stack of pamphlets I’ve been neglecting for the past couple of weeks.

Next up are Willingham’s Fables novel, Peter & Max, the first Godland trade, and Gotham Central Vol. 2.

I’ll probably get caught up on Invincible and Viking today.

The Road was great, got a little dusty in the jjc household a few times during that one. Still reading Blood Meridian by McCarthy, parts of it are awesome, in other parts my mind wanders so far I have to reread whole sections.

Dan: I read Taylor’s book a long time ago. It wasn’t bad. I like Bismarck too – have you read Edward Crankshaw’s excellent biography of him?

Also reading V. by Thomas Pynchon. So far, it’s my favourite work of his — not as technically impressive as Gravity’s Rainbow, but more interesting and engaging on a narrative level.

V.’s not bad; there’s that one cool chapter in the middle that stands on its own as a good short story, but overall, as far as V’s go, I prefer “for Vendetta.” And as far as Pynchon goes, my heart cries Lot 49.

Also have been meandering through Fables:Peter & Max and really enjoyed Dark Horse Noir, especially the Stray Bullets and Criminal stories. Though not especially suprising because my love for noir can be traced back to Stray Bullets and Criminal, with early 100 bullets thrown in for good measure.

-neil

And I find myself wishing I had a new Bond novel or a new John D. MacDonald to read. This is that weird itch that sends me out prowling the bookstores. It doesn’t bode well for the Read The Damn Books In The Pile project, which continues to be a losing battle.

Also reading V. by Thomas Pynchon. So far, it’s my favourite work of his — not as technically impressive as Gravity’s Rainbow, but more interesting and engaging on a narrative level.

(I was not trying to make any parallels to G W Bush, here, regarding takeovers of countries under the impression they’d be easy. But I lost all respect for him as well.)

Now, excuse me while I lock myself away for days on end until I put myself into a literary coma.

The AVClub is all smart asses all the time (plus Bill Reed),

I think you mean “especially Bill Reed.”

Man-o-man, am I ever in heaven!

Finishing up my David Foster Wallace book and just started James Dickey’s To the White Sea for the AVClub book club. The AVClub is all smart asses all the time (plus Bill Reed), but the book club is an awfully great place to talk about books and generates genuine, intelligent discussions, and the posters don’t make fun of you (too much). Recommended.