msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

Omega The Unknown is an adaptation of Steve Gerber's classic Marvel '70s series , and in many ways, Jonathan Lethem has captured the weirdness of the original work in this parody of old superhero comics. Alieniation is the main character in this collection of OTU #1 -10. New York Times reviewer Douglas Wolk explains it best: There’s a pompous omniscient narrator...but he actually pops up in person a few times; he’s called the Overthinker. There’s a weird-science plot device turned quotidian — magic anti-­nanotechnological table salt. There’s a teenage protagonist, Titus Alexander Island, who stubbornly resists readerly identification. (Raised by robots, he’s so detached and obsessive that it’s suggested he’s autistic.) And there’s a costumed hero, Omega, who’s mute, abject and nearly inscrutable; eventually, though, he explains his intentions — in the form of a brief comic-book story (illustrated by the avant-garde cartoonist Gary Panter). Don't miss this one.

Patrick Carman has written an action-packed adventure set in Atherton, a world created by mad scientist Dr. Harding, otherwise known as Max. Edgar lives in TableTop, the middle land of the three levels of Atherton, home of the labourer and land of The Grove, The Village of Sheep, and The Village of Rabbits, all of which provide The Highlands with food. The Highlands are run by evil Lord Phineus, who controls the water supply for all of Atherton. When The Highlands begin to sink into TableTop, and TableTop begins to sink into the FlatLands (home of the carnivorous Cleaners), it's up to Edgar and his friend Isabel to save the planet. The cliffhanger ending will leave you wanting more - check out the sequel, Rivers of Fire , and the third book in the series, The Dark Planet. With references to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, Patrick Carmen has written a literary page turner that will appeal to fans of both Christopher Paolini, Cornelia Fun

Canadian graphic novelist Bryan O'Malley's art kept me turning the pages of Lost At Sea but the plot was a cliched old hat. Main character Raleigh has 'lost her soul.' Flashbacks to being told she was gifted, her parents' divorce, and an online relationship gone bad do little to create sympathy for her, and I kept waiting for O'Malley to reveal something truly cataclysmic in her past that would explain everything. Try his Scott Pilgrim series instead, and then see the upcoming film .

"Charlie Kaufman meets Sofia Coppola in this stunning debut from Sweden!" Top Shelf Productions. Second Thoughts by Niklas Asker. Web. 8 Sep 2009. 10 Sep 2009.

I admit it. I was planning on merely skimming New Moon in preparation for the upcoming film - but I ended up reading it in its entirety AGAIN. Poor, depressed Bella. Dark and handsome and sweet and young Jacob. Send me a lock of your hair? Damn that Edward Cullens! Why did he have to show up? Why did Bella jump off that cliff? And why does the whole Volturi storyline make me laugh so much (come ON)?

Teenage stepsiblings Ruth and Perry navigate their exceptionally troubled youth in this dark, troubling, and transcendent graphic novel. Powell captures the anguish of adolescence paired with mental illness in his shadowy panels and scratchy illustrations. You can hear the buzz of the insects that plague and obsess Ruth and the tension that builds as you wait for someone to put a name to her malady is delicate yet ruthless. Swallow Me Whole won the 2009 Eisner award for Best New Graphic Novel and was the first graphic novel since Art Spiegelman's Maus (see previous post) to be nominated for the LA Times Book Prize.

This is one of the worst graphic novels I have ever read. The oversimplified and tritely presented message: People die. It's hard to let them go. The art, presented in square panel after square panel, is equally unsatisfying. Do yourself a favor and read Craig Thompson's Blankets instead.

God's Gardeners (an environmental cult), Scales and Tails (a sex shop), AnooYoo (a spa), the CorpSeCorps (the ruthless police force) and Sea/H/Ear candy are just a few of the creations Atwood has brought to life in her new book, The Year of the Flood. The dystopian story is told in alternating chapters by Toby and Ren, both members of the Gardeners (and former employees of Scales and Tails) who have survived the Waterless Flood that has wiped out most of humanity. Several of the characters from Oryx and Crake make brief appearances and if you were left wondering what happened to Jimmy at the end of that novel you'll find out here. I'm a huge fan of Atwood; The Blind Assassin is one of my favorite books and I almost always recommend it to library patrons asking for 'just a really good book.' The Year of the Flood reminded me of how much I enjoyed her dystopian universes. The UK edition of the book is physically beautiful with a gorgeous illustration by Victoria Sa

An amusing graphic novel about a zombie attack on a university campus in Canada by the author of The War at Ellsmere (see previous post). Hicks' drawings are as hard to resist as her characters - Joss is a third year university student with a mountain of student debt, an obsession with all things British, and a Zombie movie fetish. Fans of Scott Pilgrim and/or zombies will enjoy this light read.

Michael's life is in a mess: his baby sister is in hospital, he's just moved into a new house, and there is something living in the dilapidated garage in the back yard. Is this creature an angel? A human? Or a bit of both? He decides to find out with the help of his new next-door neighbor, Mina. Skellig is both eerie and sweet. Fans of Rodman Philbrick's Freak The Mighty will enjoy this one.

Wow. Just as good as the first book, and, in some ways, even better. I've been waiting to read Catching Fire since I turned the last page of The Hunger Games , but I couldn't figure out how Collins was going to come up with a sequel. The games were over, Katniss and Peeta both survived, where do you go from there? Action-packed, thought provoking, and full of suspense, Catching Fire has left me hungering for the next and final volume in this amazing trilogy.