Friday, August 19, 2011

Books I've Read This Week

I used to do a weekly in depth review of a book I'd read the previous week. Starting this Friday I'm going to give some quick hits of books I've read in the previous seven days. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a running feature here on my blog.

Continuing my re-read of the Akira series I've reached the penultimate chapter in Volume 5. Some fantastic storytelling and line work in this book by Katsuhiro Otomo. I'm always struck out how much of Japanese popular culture was influenced for decades by the dropping of the atomic bomb. Akira in it's post apocalyptic world is another reflection of those fears.

I grabbed the The Geek Dad's Guide To Weekend Fun while attending OSCON at Portland's amazing book store Powell's. It is full of a number of good projects and I'm planning on brewing some root beer and creating a PVC drum set with my daughter.

Blackout by Connie Willis is a book set in the London of World War 2 during the Blitz with time travelling historians who've arrived during this critical period so they can record it for posterity. Great book and I'm looking forward to picking up the follow up All Clear.

Japanese Manga sure knows how to keep people coming back for more. This is the 45 volume of Naruto I've read and I look forward to every one. The story keeps rolling forward at a frantic pace which is a welcome change from the current spate of North American comic story telling.

Well that's it until next Friday.

2 comments:

Jake Shore said...

I found your blog through LoM, and am trying hard to find books in common to discuss, but so far we have pretty divergent tastes. But the Geek Dad book looks fun and worth a tumble. Glad you made it to Powells. I'm fortunate to live so close. The place rocks. I'll keep looking for a book we've both read.

Simon MacDonald said...

@Jake

No worries, I read a lot of books so we'll probably come across something in common.

I really can't wait to get back to Powell's next year. I frigging loved that place and wished I had more room in my suit case for the way home.