April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers

Novels/prose books:

Gillespie, Tarleton: Wired Shut: copyright and the shape of digital culture
(I read this for a paper, but it's worth reading for its own sake: this is the most insightful book about DRM, aka Digital Rights Management, that I've ever read, and I've read a few. Gillespie's a scholar of communications, which means the whole model is right up my alley, but I think it's quite readable even if you didn't major in communications).


Graphic novels/comics:

Bechdel, Alison: The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For
(the fantastic review in the NYT that prompted me to go out and buy this the very day I read it, described this as "Doonesbury with more references to sex toys." I think that this is not inaccurate. I'm at a loss as how to expand on that review, so I'll settle for endorsing this as an excellent trade for $25. Every single time I read something--anything--by Bechdel, I'm ever more impressed with her as a creator).

Cooke, Darwyn: The Spirit, vol. 1
(Cooke is one of the only comics creators around right now who evidently gets it. Cooke's distinctive retro style--in both tone and art--is the perfect match for Eisner's creation, without being any kind of aping of Eisner.).

Simmonds, Posy: Tamara Drewe
(this has a lot in common with Gemma Bovary, and that's not a complaint. I love Simmonds' books; they're beautifully written, and she really makes that prose/illustration/comics panels mix work. It's so smooth that it never even occurs to me how easily it could go awry).

Towle, Ben: Midnight Sun
(unspectacular, but a good read).


Manga:

Hayashi Seiichi: Red-Colored Elegy
(Dammit, I was all set to lift my eyebrows at this being considered a classic work of its era, but somewhere after page 85 or so, it got to me. Semi-coherent, yes, dated, yes, but oh my god, those double-page spreads stunned me, and I had to stop and stare at them. I didn't entirely connect with it, but I want prints of those pages on my wall anyway.).

Mizushiro Setona: After School Nightmare vols. 5-7
(captivating, as usual. The gorgeous art, the weird atmosphere, the premise, which feels strange and unsettling even for manga--yes, manga, the holy source of pure cracktastic oddity--the touching moments of human connection).

Takahashi Rumiko: One Pound Gospel vols. 3-4
(this must be the most concise romance Takahashi's ever written. There's nothing particularly about the formula that begs a quick resolution--she could easily have stretched this out for another eight or twelve volumes, and it would have been no worse the wear for it than my beloved Maison Ikkoku--so I'm guessing that it just got canceled. I would have been happy to read more, but this is fine, too; it doesn't come across as unduly rushed).

Tezuka Osamu: Black Jack vol. 1
(Christ, this is awesome. I knew it would be, because Shaenon Garrity said so, and she's always right about this kind of thing.).

I'm a great cook. Why am I eating marshmallows for lunch?

Novels/prose books:

Heyer, Georgette: Behold, Here's Poison
(I loved the twist in the last fourth or so of the book, and the gradual reversals and the increasing darkness as they investigate the victim. Good even by Heyer's consistantly high standards).


Graphic novels:

Varon, Sara: Robot Dreams
(First Second. I wish someone had warned me that rather than being the fluffy story about the power of friendship that the cover would suggest, this book is actually a tale of heartbreaking betrayal, shattered dreams, horrifying instances of suffering and dismemberment, and the alienation of modern society).


Westerlund, Christian, and Robert Nazelby Herzig: Angel Skim
(NBM ComicsLit, also responsible for the far superior Paul Auster work, City of Glass.

~edit~ Oh hell, no they weren't. Neon Lit published the graphic novel adaptation of City of Glass. My bad. But NBM ComicsLit is responsible for publishing this piece of shit. End edit.

It would be untrue to say I read this, for I gave up nine pages in on account of the writing being laughably bad. Everything smells like semen-and-rot or cigarettes-and-whisky, or is decorated with water-and-insects or rusted-shopping-carts-and-rotten-cardboard-boxes. And nothing really conveys nihilism like drinking cold coffee, huh? The credits do not make it clear who wrote and who drew, I think because the art is fine, but neither creator wants to be held accountable for the prose).


Various: Four Letter Worlds
(An Image anthology of black-and-white shorts. Contributors include Steve Lieber, Scott Morse, Mark Ricketts and Phil Hester, Andi Watson, Anthony Johnston, B. Clay Moore, Steven Griffin, Jim Mahfood, Jeff Parker, Robert Kirkman, Matthew Roberts, J. Torres, John Bernales, Eric Stephenson, Mike Norton, Jay Faerber, Steve Rolston, Matt Fraction, Kieron Dwyer, Joe Casey, Mike Huddleston, Amber Benson, and Jaime McElvie. Stories range from excellent to why-in-hell-did-the-editor-think-this-was-worth-publishing?

( Highlights. )


Manga:

Takahashi Rumiko: One Pound Gospel vols. 1-2
(older Takahashi work is better Takahashi work. This lacks the underlying romance of Maison Ikkoku, but it's worth it for the shenanigans alone, whether or not you give a damn about Kosaku's crush on Sister Angela, which I can't say I do. Yay VIZ, for republishing this! I'm grateful to see it on the market again, since I was too callow to look at it the first time).


Nakamura Yoshiki: Skip*Beat vol. 14
( Mild spoilers for ongoing developments. )


Umino Chico: Honey and Clover vol. 2.

Iwahara Yuji: King of Thorn vol. 4
(whoa, he just changed all the rules. I am intrigued!).