For those of you who are frequently struck, while walking down the street, with the overwhelming urge to tell strangers about my website but can’t rise to the herculean challenge of spelling my last name, there’s good news to share. On the suggestion of several loyal fans whose advice I generally don’t discount, I purchased a referring domain name that consists of two simple words: dannyd33.sg-host.com. Thanks to everyone who’s lived without it thusfar.
Persepolis 2 is as awesome as Persepolis. Marjane Satrapi has done wonders for the illustrated novel.
The non-illustrated novel I reported on last blog entry, The Quality of Life Report, turned out to not end as well as it started. But still sort-of worth reading, especially if you are a young female from New York. Or a big fan of Sex and the City. Or both.
Here’s a new trick I’ve discovered to decide if a book is good or not. Go to Amazon, look up the book, and see how many used copies are for sale at what price. Hint: this book has 109 copies starting at $0.02. Not a good sign. In contrast, Augusten Burroughs’ Magical Thinking (which I’m reading now) has 48 copies starting at $10.95. Good sign. Of course, it was just released, so maybe there hasn’t been time for his readers to spit the book back into the sales pool. Let’s see how his 2003 memoir Running With Scissors is doing: 142 copies starting at $5.00 in paperback. Still respectable. Do you think authors ever go on Amazon and watch their after market values? It could be pretty depressing. In contrast, when I’m feeling a bit blue, I go on Amazon and read my seller feedback. It always makes me feel better. “Fast shipping, great product, this seller is awesome.” Aw shucks, thanks.
A sweet and inspiring 1998 graphic novel love story, account of surviving WWII in Great Britian, is Raymond Briggs’ Ethel & Ernest. I read it in one sitting while in Seattle – couldn’t put it down.
I got to hear Art Spiegelman speak at Quimby’s Comics last week. Correction to my earlier post: the weekly comics that comprise his new book, In The Shadow Of No Towers, were originally published in a German paper, not French. Spiegelman said that the book came together not so much because he intended to write another book, but rather, he did the comics to help him “piece together the fragments of his psyche” after September 11th. I just finished reading it. I liked the beginning panels quite a bit, but he lost me when he channelled historic cartoon figures. That may be my lack of classic comic education speaking. I did enjoy hearing about his process in developing these comics. How inspiring is it to hear the father of comics with content say that he had to adjust what he was intending to do because he struggles with his drawing abilities! And also, inspiring to learn that it took him 13 years to draw Maus. Wow. There is hope.