metalsonata
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- Jul 11, 2011
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Just Finished:
The Quran (632), translated by Marmaduke Pickthall
A fine (not that I'm in any position to directly compare it to the original) translation of a rather bizarre sort of religious text. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the Quran's internal structure should pick it up and flip through it sometime, it's pretty interesting. Not sure that I necessarily gleaned anything new from this re-read, other than I had completely forgotten how much the book assumes you have relatively complete historical knowledge of the first ten years or so years of the existence of Islam. I think most Westerners, Christian or not, have read through a good chunk of the Bible--if they haven't done the same with this text, it'd probably do them some good.
Saga (2012-), by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Read through volume 3 of the 5 that are currently out. I'll probably wait to read further until the next collected edition is published. The more you read the more its flaws are apparent and its initial joys begin to wear a little thin, but it's still great, fluffy comic book stuff--give me this over the convoluted and self-serious (or, almost worse, the re-engineered to be hip and young) mainstays that dominate the comic shelves at most bookstores any day. The biggest issue I have with it is that the best characters have a nasty habit of dying shortly after they are introduced. The primary protagonists (and antagonists) are all likable enough, but that's sort of Vaughan's thing. He writes *extremely* likable characters. They're just not that interesting, particularly since whatever quirks they have are in complete service to the overarching plot, or just feel a bit like storytelling cheats. Still, there's a lot of promise here, and the unleashed imagination of Vaughan and Staples is quite the thing to behold. Wherever this ride goes in the future, I'm on board.
Currently Reading:
The Incal (1981-1988), by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius
Probably not actually going to do a full re-read of this comic series--I just wanted to give it a re-skim (if you will), after hearing a comics critic refer to Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Alejandro Jodorowsky as being the Holy Trinity of comic book writers (she stuck Jodorowsky in the 'Holy Ghost' position). Which I think is one of those statements that doesn't actually mean anything terribly useful, but at least it sounds cool. Of the three, I've always preferred Moore the most (by far), though the other two don't exactly suffer from a lack of merits or anything. Jodorowsky in particular is especially vibrant and out-there, combining the quickest-paced plots in the business with symbol-laden mysticism. The key to Jodorowsky's off-kilter writing is that his various esoteric and occult leanings actually (in comparison to some other authors who shall remain nameless) contribute something meaningful (basic, but meaningful) to his scripts--and the more you read them, the more they reveal themselves. Someday I want to give a serious re-read/first-time read to not just the entire Incal cycle of comics, but the entire 'Jodoverse' cycle of comics, period. I imagine it ought to make for a pretty good time. And I've never dived into the man's non-Jodoverse comic work, though I've certainly been tempted. (Particularly when he paired up with Manara for Borgia. Yum!) Needless to say, I anticipate a lot of Jodorowsky cropping up in my future.
The Greek Myths (1955), by Robert Graves
Just reading the myths themselves, and skipping Graves's interpretations. Not because they're not valuable (they are), but Graves is just a bit too far out there for my liking--his imagination was certainly not lacking, but it often got in the way of his being able to approach anything from a more composed and scholarly position. There is quite a bit of invention in his take on the myths, and separating it from the real deal can be challenging enough without reading his beguiling and charismatic interpretations alongside his re-tellings. Never mind the fact that they seriously hinder the flow of the storytelling.
Not sure what I'm reading next or if I should be trying to read anything else concurrently! I've dropped off Faerie Queene for the moment--decided I was doing it a disservice by only reading it in small chunks here and there--think it (and myself) will be better served by reading it cover to cover without being sidetracked by other literature. I will say that I'm itching to do a full re-read of the King James Bible, followed up by dipping into the Nag Hammadi texts. I see this happening in my nearish future (starting within the next couple of months).
The Quran (632), translated by Marmaduke Pickthall
A fine (not that I'm in any position to directly compare it to the original) translation of a rather bizarre sort of religious text. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the Quran's internal structure should pick it up and flip through it sometime, it's pretty interesting. Not sure that I necessarily gleaned anything new from this re-read, other than I had completely forgotten how much the book assumes you have relatively complete historical knowledge of the first ten years or so years of the existence of Islam. I think most Westerners, Christian or not, have read through a good chunk of the Bible--if they haven't done the same with this text, it'd probably do them some good.
Saga (2012-), by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Read through volume 3 of the 5 that are currently out. I'll probably wait to read further until the next collected edition is published. The more you read the more its flaws are apparent and its initial joys begin to wear a little thin, but it's still great, fluffy comic book stuff--give me this over the convoluted and self-serious (or, almost worse, the re-engineered to be hip and young) mainstays that dominate the comic shelves at most bookstores any day. The biggest issue I have with it is that the best characters have a nasty habit of dying shortly after they are introduced. The primary protagonists (and antagonists) are all likable enough, but that's sort of Vaughan's thing. He writes *extremely* likable characters. They're just not that interesting, particularly since whatever quirks they have are in complete service to the overarching plot, or just feel a bit like storytelling cheats. Still, there's a lot of promise here, and the unleashed imagination of Vaughan and Staples is quite the thing to behold. Wherever this ride goes in the future, I'm on board.
Currently Reading:
The Incal (1981-1988), by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius
Probably not actually going to do a full re-read of this comic series--I just wanted to give it a re-skim (if you will), after hearing a comics critic refer to Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Alejandro Jodorowsky as being the Holy Trinity of comic book writers (she stuck Jodorowsky in the 'Holy Ghost' position). Which I think is one of those statements that doesn't actually mean anything terribly useful, but at least it sounds cool. Of the three, I've always preferred Moore the most (by far), though the other two don't exactly suffer from a lack of merits or anything. Jodorowsky in particular is especially vibrant and out-there, combining the quickest-paced plots in the business with symbol-laden mysticism. The key to Jodorowsky's off-kilter writing is that his various esoteric and occult leanings actually (in comparison to some other authors who shall remain nameless) contribute something meaningful (basic, but meaningful) to his scripts--and the more you read them, the more they reveal themselves. Someday I want to give a serious re-read/first-time read to not just the entire Incal cycle of comics, but the entire 'Jodoverse' cycle of comics, period. I imagine it ought to make for a pretty good time. And I've never dived into the man's non-Jodoverse comic work, though I've certainly been tempted. (Particularly when he paired up with Manara for Borgia. Yum!) Needless to say, I anticipate a lot of Jodorowsky cropping up in my future.
The Greek Myths (1955), by Robert Graves
Just reading the myths themselves, and skipping Graves's interpretations. Not because they're not valuable (they are), but Graves is just a bit too far out there for my liking--his imagination was certainly not lacking, but it often got in the way of his being able to approach anything from a more composed and scholarly position. There is quite a bit of invention in his take on the myths, and separating it from the real deal can be challenging enough without reading his beguiling and charismatic interpretations alongside his re-tellings. Never mind the fact that they seriously hinder the flow of the storytelling.
Not sure what I'm reading next or if I should be trying to read anything else concurrently! I've dropped off Faerie Queene for the moment--decided I was doing it a disservice by only reading it in small chunks here and there--think it (and myself) will be better served by reading it cover to cover without being sidetracked by other literature. I will say that I'm itching to do a full re-read of the King James Bible, followed up by dipping into the Nag Hammadi texts. I see this happening in my nearish future (starting within the next couple of months).
