Quick Reviews For a Neglected Blog

Graphic Novels:

24. Hellboy 1: Seed of Destruction
25. Hellboy 2: Wake the Devil
By: Mike Mignola

Hellboy in comic form is surprisingly different from the Hellboy movies. Ironically, the movies add more of a 'comics' feel to the original stories, which have a more serious tone and rely much more on a retelling of history through a "Lovecraftian" lens.

26. Y - The Last Man 1: Unmanned
27. Y - The Last Man 2: Cycles
28. Y - The Last Man 3: One Small Step
By Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

Y The Last Man is an interesting series about Yorik, the lone male survivor of a strange virus that suddenly wipes out the entire population of men on the planet. Why and how he survives in a world of women is the subject of this politically charged series. It doesn't quite have the compelling narrative of The Walking Dead, or the depth of Hellboy (looking at the other comics series I've been reading this year) but its enjoyably humorous, often poignant, and it uses the continuing narrative form of the monthly comic to tell a more complex story than could be told in a single book or film (and as television hasn't really caught on to the idea of telling extended narratives in 60 years its not even worth a comparison).

Professional Development:

29. Understanding by Design
By: Jay McTeigh and Grant Wiggins

A good book for setting up a framework for curriculum design. For me, it had a really interesting chapter on assessment strategies in which emphasis is placed on the student's own progress rather than his/her achievement as measured against the rest of the class.

For School:

30. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film
By: Richard M. Barsam

This is the textbook I'm using with my IB class this year. I was originally going to go with David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson's Film Art, which I used in college, but this book seemed more engaging. It also explains things a little bit better. Could have gone either way, both great books.

31. Film Art
By: David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson
Re-read the updated version. Still a good book, and will use parts of it in my class.

32. Film: A Critical Introduction:
By: Maria T. Pramaggiore
Not as good as Bordwell or Barsam's books, but it has a great section on film analysis.

33. Film History
By: David Bordwell
Pretty much an exhaustive history of film. To be fair, I skipped a few chapters as its not all relevant to the class I'm teaching. Interesting stuff though.

34. Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions
by Jennifer Van Sijll

Not really a 'sit down and read' book, but I'll take it. Each page explains a different film convention. Useful for my class.

35. Digital Photography for Dummies
by Julie Adair King and Serge Timacheff

Wasn't very helpful, no jokes please.

Non-Fiction

36. Stumbling on Happiness
By: Daniel Gilbert

Gilbert gives an excellent explanation as to why many people prevent themselves from being happy, and does it with an excellent sense of humor. Didn't really expect to like this book very much, but its really worth reading, especially when you're not feeling particularly happy.

37. The Power of Myth (reread)
By: Joseph Campbell

Re-read this for an article I'm writing about an art lesson I'm working on. Certainly on my top ten of all time.

Fiction:

38. The Eye of the World (partially read)
By: Robert Jordan

I know this is supposed to be the best fantasy since LOTR, but I've been struggling to get through this book for almost 8 months. I read a little and put it down every so often.