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I NEED A GIFT
FOR...
COMICS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, COMIC-RELATED BOOKS
AN
ARTIST WHO LIKES BOOKS BUT DOESN'T NECESSARILY LIKE TO READ.
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Amazon
or
Powell's
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THE
ARRIVAL
By SHAUN TAN
Arthur A. Levine Books
The
Arrival is a wordless (yes, wordless) graphic
novel about an émigré who leaves his family
to travel across the ocean and find a job in a new land
where the native customs, strange creatures, and language
are a complete mystery to him. Shaun Tan creates a gorgeous,
somewhat whimsical world with his Art Deco illustrations,
and the power of his emotional storytelling is a reminder
that some things are, in fact, universal. (Yennie Cheung)
[See
the HBC review]
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A FRIEND
WHO THINKS SHE'S TOO OLD FOR COMIC BOOKS.
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Amazon
or
Powell's
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SHORTCOMINGS
By ADRIAN TOMINE
Drawn and Quarterly
Adrian
Tomine's tragicomedy of the relationship between two
young Asian Americans easily captivates the reader through
realistic dialogue and beautiful drawings. This sad
story about a flawed man and woman in the last days
of a romance will stay with readers long after they've
finished reading. (Marie Mundaca)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY
BOYFRIEND, WHO I SWEAR IS MORE OBSESSED WITH COMICS THAN BRODIE
IN MALLRATS.
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO
By JUNOT DIAZ
Riverhead
If
you think your boyfriend is obsessed, have him check
out Oscar Wao, the protagonist of this highly anticipated
debut novel. Oscar is a 300-pount pound Dominican boy
in New York who can't pull his nose out of his comics
and role-playing games long enough to lose his virginity.
This saga of political oppression, family strife, and
the ultimate in fanboy geekishness—not to mention
the perils of virginity—should be enough to scare
your boyfriend back into the real world. (Brian Hurley)
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A YOUNG GRAPHIC NOVEL
ENTHUSIAST.
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Amazon
or
Powell's
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THE
WALL: GROWING UP BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN
By PETER SIS
Frances Foster Books
Fans
of Persepolis and Maus will recognize
the themes of The Wall, an autobiographical graphic
novel about growing up in Soviet-ruled Czechoslovakia.
Many pages are simply black and white panels splashed
with bright punches of Communist red, but bold, liberating
color slowly creeps in as the Beatles and the rest of
the free world wield their influence. (Yennie Cheung)
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A PERSON WHO SECRETLY
DREAMS OF WRITING AN INDIE COMIC BOOK ABOUT HIS/HER LIFE.
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Buy
it from
(the real life) Hi
De Ho Comics
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BOOKS WITH PICTURES
(ISSUES 1-6)
By SINA GRACE
Hi De Ho Comics
In
this series, in which Melissa, 23, gets a job at Hi
De Ho comic book store in Santa Monica. Sample story:
Our heroine snaps at a customer, and the manager has
to decide how to handle it. Meanwhile, an employee suspects
that another employee is hitting on her. There's a great
dream sequence in which a pack of Hi De Ho customers
follow her into her imagination, and she has to fight
them off as Wonder Woman. She has boyfriend troubles,
braves the dusty Hi De Ho attic, and has other adventures.
It's funny. (Libby K. Hartigan)
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MY SARCASTIC FRIEND
IN RECOVERY.
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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MY NAME IS FUNKY…AND I'M AN ALCOHOLIC
By TOM BATIUK
Hazelden
Funky
Winkerbean, star of the much-maligned eponymous daily
comic strip, held a deep dark secret: He was an alcoholic!
This graphic novel shows Funky's three-year slide into
alcoholism and his eventual entrance into a recovery
program. The book features Funky's failing marriage
and an intervention by Funky's friends, all drawn in
Tom Batiuk's familiar style. I wonder if we're eventually
going to discover that Cathy is a crack ho. (Marie Mundaca)
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SOMEONE WHO LIKES STRANGE
CHRISTMAS STORIES.
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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IT ATE BILLY ON CHRISTMAS
By ROMAN DIRGE and STEVEN DAILY
Dark Horse Comics
Cult
favorite Roman Dirge (Lenore) writes while Steven
Daily (who also worked with Dirge on Peter the Pirate
Squid) paints this story of a monster that appears
one Christmas and eats the titular Billy. Although Lumie
knows she shouldn't let a monster eat her brother, she
finds that life is a little nicer with her brother gone.
Of course, the question now is what she feeds this brother-eating
beast. (Yennie Cheung)
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GENRE FICTION
MY BROTHER, WHO LOVES SCI-FI
AND IS READY FOR A CHALLENGE.
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Amazon
or
Powell's
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THE SWING VOTER OF STATEN ISLAND
By ARTHUR NERSESIAN
Akashic Books
Arthur Nersesian's book The Fuck Up was a surprise
hit for Akashic Books and was reprinted by the nascent
MTV Books in 1999, where it went on to become a hipster
classic. In his new book, Nersesian embraces both the
sci-fi and metafiction genres. Protagonist Uli lands
on 1981 Staten Island, the forgotten borough of New
York City, which is bizarrely populated with famous
counter-culture icons including Timothy Leary and Allen
Ginsburg. Uli soon begins to realize he is in a different
reality. Desolate, mysterious, and always engaging.
(Marie Mundaca)
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MY FRIEND, WHO DOESN'T
NORMALLY READ EXPERIMENTAL FICTION.
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Amazon
or
Powell's
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INTERFICTIONS
By DELIA SHERMAN and THEODORA GOSS, EDITORS
Small Beer Press
Interfictions is a collection of genre-defying
short stories that manage to leave readers feeling creeped
out and exhilarated. Stories range from ghost stories
to romances, offering a little something for every taste.
(Marie Mundaca)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY FRIEND WHO LOVES
DYSTOPIAN FUTURES.
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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THE
BOOK OF DAVE
By WILL SELF
Bloomsbury (paperback)
Imagine
the life of a bitter London cab driver. Now add a painful
divorce on top of his everyday hardships. Imagine he
had a diary. Imagine that diary were the basis for civilization's
future. In his book, a post-apocalyptic London finds
the writings of this imagined cabbie and makes it their
new scripture. Everything he opines about his divorce,
everyday life, and the like has become the basis for
a future civilization (which is assuredly as fucked
up as could be expected, being based on a hateful cabbie's
misogynistic, rambling screeds). This is part 1984,
part A Clockwork Orange, part A Modest Proposal,
and all funny. (Kyle Olson)
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THAT GUY WHO STANDS
ON THE CORNER OUTSIDE STARBUCKS HOLDING UP A SIGN THAT SAYS,
"THE END IS NEAR!"
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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GOD
IS DEAD
By RON CURRIE, JR.
Viking
Ron
Currie, Jr.'s dystopian vision of a world without God
comes to life in this oddly satisfying amalgamation
of short stories and novel. God is killed on Earth while
in the body of a refugee in Darfur, and despite His
death, the world goes on. Currie introduces the reader
to several characters with unique visions over a period
of years. Fans of both George Saunders and Chuck Palahniuk
will find themselves engaged. (Bri Lafond)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY GHOST FRIEND, WHO
WISHES THAT WESTERN SOCIETY HAD A GREATER TOLERANCE FOR MATERIAL
DIVERSITY.
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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MISTER
B. GONE
By CLIVE BARKER
HarperCollins
The
perfect book to share these feelings is Mister B.
Gone by Cliver Barker. It's a story about how a
young demon from the Ninth Circle, Jakabok Botch (or
Mister B for short), gets pulled up (literally) into
our world and trapped in a book. From one of the bigger
names in the horror genre, Mister B. Gone isn't
for the faint of heart—if there's a heartbeat at
all. (Kelly Spoer)
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MY FANTASY-LOVING,
BOOK-GEEK NEPHEW.
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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THE
CITY OF DREAMING BOOKS
By WALTER MOERS
Overlook
This
book screamed at me from a bookstore shelf. The cover,
done with the comic book-writing author's art, depicts
an alien figure reading among hundreds of books. It
seemed so inviting. The book, it turns out, is the tale
of a young writer (Optimus Yarnspinner) who receives
a mysterious book that charms and mesmerizes him with
its quality. In an effort to find the person behind
it, he must travel to Bookholm, the City of Dreaming
Books, which appears like a city-sized used bookstore.
The books, of course, contain a certain magic that makes
them a literal adventure to read. Soon enough, Optimus
is set upon by one of the city's many nefarious villains,
and exploits ensue. The madness of the novel comes across
like a mix of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
mixed with Alice in Wonderland and Shel Silverstein.
It feels like something geared toward a younger audience,
but anyone should be able to appreciate it. (Kyle Olson)
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MY FRIEND, WHOM I'D LIKE
TO WEAN OFF BAD CHICK-LIT.
|
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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EAT,
PRAY, LOVE: ONE WOMAN'S SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING ACROSS
ITALY, INDIA, AND INDONESIA
By ELIZABETH GILBERT
Penguin (paperback)
Gilbert's
memoir has the drama of chick-lit (successful Manhattan
writer breaks up but can't move on) with the intrigue
of progressive nonfiction in this three-part book about
finding meaning in life. Needing a little something
different in her life (and paid by an advance for the
story), Gilbert travels to Italy, Indonesia and India,
experiencing not only the cuisine but the unique aspects
of each culture that slowly allow her to find spirituality
and balance in an otherwise hectic life. It may sound
cheesy, but it reads much better than tired chick-lit.
(Samantha Storey)
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A
FRIEND WHO WANTS MORE THAN JUST ROMANCE IN A NOVEL.
|
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Amazon
or
Powell's
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WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
By SARA GRUEN
Algonquin Books (paperback)
A
book that follows the life of a Depression-era circus
veterinarian, Water For Elephants is so steeped
in gritty historical fact that readers might even overlook
the motif of love behind it. It's got it all, from the
illicit passion of an adulterous affair to the simple
trust between man and animal. Whether you're interested
in animal rights, romance, or just the good ol' traveling
circus, this book is sure to catch—and keep—your
attention. (Stephanie Chao)
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MY AUNT, WHO LOVES
ROMANCES BUT WANTS SOMETHING WITH MORE LITERARY MERIT THAN
A HARLEQUIN ROMANCE.
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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FIRE
IN THE BLOOD
By IRENE NEMIROVSKY
Knopf
In
Fire in the Blood, another of Irene Nemirovsky's
long-lost works, the author writes three interconnecting
stories of love and desire in a rural French town. If
your aunt has read the bestselling Suite Française,
she should be just as pleased with this slender volume.
If she hasn't read either, get her both. (Yennie Cheung)
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SOMEONE
WHO WANTS A MODERN DAY TWIST AND/OR UPDATES OF FAIRY TALES
IN THE VEIN OF FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK OR GREGORY MAGUIRE.
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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INTO THE WILD
By SARAH BETH DURST
Razorbill
Into
the Wild is straight out of the children's/YA section,
and it definitely provides a modern, feminist twist.
The book follows Julie, the daughter of Rapunzel. The
characters from fairy tales have escaped into the real
world, and the enchanted forest of the fairy tale world—known
here as the Wild—is stored under Julie's bed. But
when the Wild is set loose on the modern world and entraps
fairy tale creatures and everyday suburbanites alike,
Julie eschews princes to play the modern heroine. (Yennie
Cheung)
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it from
Amazon
or
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ST. LUCY'S HOME FOR GIRLS RAISED BY WOLVES
By KAREN RUSSELL
Vintage (paperback)
Russell's debut collection of short fiction starts off
with "Ava Wrestles the Alligator," in which a young
girl tries to understand her sister's behavior around
her new boyfriend. What makes this fairly typical situation
unique is that the boyfriend is a ghost who possesses
Ava's sister nightly. Then there's the title story,
in which feral children are put in an institution to
become acculturated to the human way of living, to various
degrees of success. There's a magical realist touch
to each of these ten stories that's sure to satisfy
any Block or Kelly Link fan. (Bri Lafond)
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|
Buy
it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
Buy
it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS
By SHANNON HALE
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
WILDWOOD DANCING
By JULIET MARILLIER
Knopf Books for Young Readers
While neither book provides a modern twist, both are
retellings of Grimm Brothers' stories (Hale takes from
the lesser-known "Maid Maleen," while Marillier uses
"Twelve Dancing Princesses") written for younger readers.
These are also meant for middle-grade and teen readers,
but don't let that stop you from giving them out as
presents. If the HBC's middle school correspondents
[see
the related article] don't sell you on their writing
ability, at least consider Shannon
Hale's Newbery Honor distinction (for The Goose Girl,
another fairy tale update) and Juliet Marillier's Aurealis
Award (for Wildwood Dancing). (Yennie Cheung)
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