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| I can read! I can read! |
I also think it's kind of silly when I look at some peoples' lists of books and notice how much they're trying to look like an intellectual. We get it, you're a smart cookie and your current taste in books is that of classic literature and smarty-pants poetry. But can anyone honestly say they weren't influenced or mesmerized by The Paper Bag Princess? What about Where's Waldo? Or the Official Gremlins storybook adaption of the major motion picture?
Books are books, and reading is reading. Growing up, my parents didn't care that I was only reading comic books. They were just happy I was reading. And these days I read a wide variety of things. I guess what I'm trying to say is you can still find plenty of merit in those classic children's stories, so check them out again as an adult.
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| Mine is blue. |
I grabbed this one off the 99 cent table at some random liquidation store when I was only ten years old. I'm a big Superman fan, so the title really intrigued me. What we have here is not a children's book at all. This book, organized as a collection of letters to Superman from a little boy deals with everything from child abuse to the Catholic Church. Some pretty fucked up stuff in there, but a definite good read.
10. "Bunnicula" by James Howe
I've always been afraid of vampires, but this little book from my childhood is a cute little read. A family adopts a new bunny pet who goes out in the night to drink all the juice from the carrots.
9. "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
I don't need to explain what happens in this book, seeing as how you've probably already read it before, but it's a rare example of required high school reading that I actually enjoyed. "Lord Of The Flies" can suck my balls.
8. "Star Wars: Heir To The Empire" by Timothy Zahn
This was the first real novel I ever read, way back in 1992. It takes place five years after Return of the Jedi and can be thought of as the story that got people interested in Star Wars again, spawning the resurgence of Star Wars fans all over the place a few years before the shitty Special Editions hit theaters.
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| Yummy |
We all know Full House is my favorite TV show of all-time, but did you know that I had a huge crush on Stephanie Tanner growing up? Looking into her life as a meth addict was something else, but I'm glad I did. It's not really that well written, as most lower-level celebrity autobiographies seem to be, but it's a solid tale from start to finish. And in a sick, demented, fanboy kinda way, I felt closer to my all-time celebrity crush than ever before.
And it has a really catch title.
6. "Mortimer" by Robert Munsch
Clang clang, rattle bing bang, gonna make my nose all day!
I emailed Mr. Munsch a few years back to tell him how much his writing meant to me as a kid and he responded with some kind words of his own. These days I'm very excited to say that I can read Mortimer, The Paperbag Princess, Love You Forever, The Snowsuit, and other Munsch classics to my own daughter at bedtime.
5. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"by L. Frank Baum
If you've only ever seen the movie, then you don't know the real story. Dorothy's slippers are silver. Get over it. Actually, if you're too lazy to read the book then go here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyhIe497qkU - it's the closest thing to a perfect adaptation I've ever found. The only thing that seems to be missing are the rants the Cowardly Lion makes about wanting to eat babies.
4. "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story"
by Arnold Swarzenegger
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| I'd like to own at least this many copies of this book. |
3. "The Meaning of Liff" by Douglas Adams
I first came across The Meaning Of Liff when I was about twelve years old and just seriously getting into real comedy. My friends James and Dale (who were also big Hitchhiker's Guide fans) each had a copy and would share it with me on bus rides to school. If you've never come across it, it's simply a dictionary of words that Douglas Adams made up, with full fledged meanings to go along with them, and in some cases territorial origins to boot. I've owned four copies of this book in my lifetime, have always lent them out and never had them returned. The books is that goddam good.
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| Fone Bone |
I came across a sixth printing of Bone #1 at a flea market for a dollar in the late 90s. It changed my life. The simple, but hilarious, ending to that first issue with the snow falling on Fone Bone made me addicted to Jeff Smith's incredible series. I've talked a lot about Smith and Bone's influence on my own cartooning over the years, so I don't need to dwell on that here, so let's just say I'm a big fan. If I could take any one book with me on a dessert island, it would be the black n' white one-volume edition of the complete Bone saga.
1. "Waiting For Godot" and "Endgame"
by Samuel Beckett
In grade 12 I had a book report assignment. This was when I had first started the Ryan Fan Club and was building a name for myself amongst the artsy/theater/music kids in school. I had always wanted to read Godot, having previously taken a course called Theater Complete the previous semester, so this seemed like the perfect time to read a play I hadn't had time to read before. My teacher didn't buy into though, and Mr. Pinkerton politely let me know that Godot could be read within 45 minutes and I should fucking do some actual fucking work in his class for a change (I skipped a lot of his classes, but always told him I was doing it). But I really wanted to read Godot. He just wanted to see me do some real learning, so he suggested I read Godot, and compare it with Endgame and a third play called, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" by Tom Stoppard. All three are excellent and I liked them so much I never gave the books back to the high school. Yep, I stole books from my high school. I'm a real bad ass. I didn't think anybody but me was ever going to read them anyway. And I'd do it again.
So there you have it. I can read!
- ryan
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