52. Percy Gloom

By: Cathy Malkasian

Earlier this year I decided that I disliked surrealism in fiction. Percy Gloom has caused me to reconsider.

Poor Percy, all he wants is to be left alone and secure a job as a Cautionary Writer. However, his journey to a secure a new job has placed him in a strange foreign land where, although he speaks the language, has a hard time finding his daily diet of freshly squeezed lemon juice and muffins (which is the only thing that he can digest that won't give him nightmares). In this new town he meets Tammy, a cultish leader in the town who demands babies from Gloom - as soon as he sees to having his lazy eye fixed. Tammy's goal is to destroy death (although she never learns that Percy cannot die), so as people in the town get closer to death, they get smaller until they disappear. Oh, and Percy's head turns on and off like a light bulb, although the significance of this is negligible.

Confused? The book can hardly be defined by its plot. Rather, look to the beautiful illustrations, the mood and tone that Malkasian creates- one that would certainly fail in any other medium, yet makes this book stand out as a keystone of the fictional surreal.

51.The Engines of God

By: Jack McDevitt

Its been a long time since I've reread a book, but when I found out that McDevitt has written a number of 'sequels' to The Engines of God, I wanted to start from the beginning again. I first read EoG when it first came out about 10 years ago, and was riveted by its portrayal of archeology in the future. McDevitt creates a captivating story around aliens who have been dead for thousands of years- a pretty challenging feat, as most sci-fi goes straight for the excitement of contact.

Engines of God follows a team of Archaeologists who are investigating the history of a race which they refer to as "The Monument Makers", a culture which have left inexplicable monuments on various worlds. The most bizarre of these is a giant city of solid blocks, that indicates no functionality.

With the archaeologists is pilot Priscilla Hutchins, who becomes caught up in their expedition as the mystery of the monument makers grows more and more complex. The group is in a race against time however, as their key site for exploration is also scheduled for tera-forming because of its earth-like habitat. Time is of the essence because earth is becoming more and more uninhabitable. However, the mystery of the Monument Makers may reveal the key to a puzzle that is just as crucial to the survival of the human race.

Stephen King's quote on the book cover claims McDevitt as the logical heir to Asimov and Heinlin. It is an appropriate title to bestow upon him, as his books delve into the human aspect of a believable future with an eye towards scientific advancement and human fallibility.

10 out of 10- I started digging into the first sequel, Deep Six as soon soon as I put down the first.

50. Making Comics

By: Scott McCloud


Ed note: cross posting this at Carrot Revolution, just mention this because otherwise some of the references don't make sense.

Making Comics is Scott McCloud's third book in his trilogy of non-fiction medium-exploring graphic novels. Like Understanding Comics, (and to a slightly lesser extent Reinventing Comics), Making Comics is an amazing resource for artists and art teachers alike. It is also a resource that will likely go largely unnoticed outside his audience of comic artists and graphic novel readers.

That is unfortunate, because McCloud's books supply lessons that go way beyond their genre. As I mentioned in a much earlier post, McCloud's books provide a unique view on the nature of art and the artistic process.

For example, in his new book, McCloud identifies five choices that cartoonists regularly make with each new panel (and often between panels); and many of these choices are ones that we want our students to make as well in the planning stages of their projects.

Choice of moment. What point in time is shown, and why choose that point?


Choice of frame. Choosing the distance and angle of your composition.


Choice of image. What style best represents your theme?


Choice of word. How words are used in a composition to convey information


Choice of Flow. How compositions relate to one another.

The last two probably aren't as universal considerations for artwork outside of the comics genre (although are important to consider in work that does integrate written words or appears in a series.

One of the most interesting sections of Making Comics is McCloud's description of the process of rendering facial expressions. He asks his readers to consider a larger range of facial expressions in their artwork than "happy" or "sad". Through mixing simple emotions and varying intensity, new emotions can be represented. Anger + Sadness = Betrayal. Joy + Sadness= Faint Hope. Of course, these equations have no definitive mathematical results, but thinking about them can help students examine a deeper range of facial expressions in their work, whether they're doing drawings, paintings, or comics.

49. Water for Elephants

By: Sarah Gruen
There's something about Bestsellers. Not all, some get there because they're just as good as they can be. They're groundbreaking, lifechanging, unique, whatever. But some bestsellers, it seems, are just bestsellers because they're safe.

And that's not to say that this is by any means a bad book. Quite the opposite, its enjoyable, well written, and extreamly well researched. Its just a safe book. I don't even know why I'm thinking that's such a big deal to even mention that here. Its just has "best seller material" written on every page. Good story, page turning, safe. WfE the story of this guy who loses his family and joins the circus. He's dropped out of vetrinary school, and luckily he stumbles upon the caravan just as their prize horse is developing some hoof issues. There he falls in love with a performer who is in an abusive relationship, makes friends with a grumpy dwarf, and train an elephant. The story begins and ends on a circus tradgedy in which animals escape and people get killed in the ensuing chaos.

Gruen does a fantastic job of creating a well researched and believable depression-era story. She weaves what were real circus stories and events into a fictional framework, and paints a great picture of one slice of life in a very different time. She also does a very good job at educating her readers about elephants.

Smart animals, them.

48. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

By: David Sedaris

As Kim and I were trading this book back and forth during our flight for our Chinese National holiday, she remarked how that now she can't read Sedaris without hearing his voice. Not only do I agree with that, but for me, it makes the experience of reading his books ten times better. When I read his second book Naked, I had no idea who he was- or hadn't made the connection between the author's name and the stories I'd heard on NPR. However, reading Me Talk Pretty One Day at some point later was an entirely different experience. I was by then familiar with Sedaris' style and had often heard him on the radio. Now, reading DYFICAD i can hear Sedaris' voice in my head- I'd even bet that I'd get the pauses and reflections right, as well as the passages where he dips into his sarcastic voice.

Perhaps that's what has made DYFICAD my favorite Sedaris book so far (although I'd have to go back and read the other ones for reference again). Although it could certainly be the content as well. Two of his stories I've got on the ol' ipod and have listened to a dozen times, and so in reading them, I could hear his voice completely. Six to Eight Black Men explains how in the Netherlands Santa is accompanied by, wait for it, six to eight black men instead of reindeer (you think they'd be able to get an accurate head count in the last few hundred years, Sedaris explains). They may bring you candy, they may pretend to kick you, and they may kidnap you and bring you back to Spain with them.

Another favorite story Repeat After Me is about his sister Lisa, and her parrot, who is trained to repeat motivational sentiments and immitate the espresso machine. The story goes on to be a slightly postmodern examination of how his family responds to being the consistent subjects of his unflattering books, and his unkept promises to leave out certain details. Without giving anything away, he ties his own struggles with his family, and the presence of the parrot together in a beautiful finish.