Irregular Orbit

The Epic Of Gilgamesh

M.Ace — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:35:29 +0000

The Epic Of Gilgamesh by Anonymous (circa 2000-1000 BC) – My annual summer antiquity read, and I can’t go much more antique than this. Perhaps a bit flat to the modern reader, but it does contain themes and subtexts worth thinking about. Surprisingly humanist in some respects.

The Portable Frank

M.Ace — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:26:23 +0000

The Portable Frank by Jim Woodring (2008) – Some of the best comics of the last couple of decades are Jim Woodring’s wordless Frank stories. Dreamlike, idyllic and mind bendingly horrific visions are rendered with immaculate penwork and pacing. This tidy, near 200 page collection of black and white stories is sufficient to put a permanent dent in your brain pan. And, oh yeah, I heart Pupshaw.

Krazy and Ignatz 1916-1918

M.Ace — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:25:49 +0000

Krazy and Ignatz 1916-1918: Love In A Kestle Or Love In A Hut by George Herriman (1916-18) – Fantagraphics cycles back to the first three years of Herriman’s Sunday Krazy Kat strips. I do enjoy these early years of the kat kronikles — a bit more lyrical, a bit more varied, a bit less centered on the kat/mouse/cop routine. Yes, you need it. Of course.

A Maze Of Death

M.Ace — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:25:12 +0000

A Maze Of Death by Philip K. Dick (1970) – A less heralded PKD novel, but don’t sneeze at it. Human colonists trapped on a baffling world are their own worst enemies. Tighter and more streamlined than some of his work, but equally questioning.

Record Makers And Breakers

M.Ace — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:37:22 +0000

Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneers by John Broven (2009) – A massive history of the independent record companies who changed the sound of music in mid-20th century America. Truly a weighty tome, perhaps a bit dry for some civilians, but for any self-respecting record geek, endlessly fascinating. Many “aha” moments, where things I always wondered about were suddenly filled in.

The Most Of P.G. Wodehouse

M.Ace — Sun, 09 May 2010 19:20:51 +0000

The Most Of P.G. Wodehouse by P.G. Wodehouse (1916-1940) – A master of dry humor delivered with stylish prose. Though at 700 pages, this volume can leave one feeling a bit like a foie gras duck. I like the Jeeves stories best.

The Complete Milt Gross

M.Ace — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 19:24:50 +0000

The Complete Milt Gross Comic Books and Life Story by Milt Gross/Craig Yoe (2009) – A weighty slab of comix history documenting Milt Gross, an unjustly under-remembered cartoon genius of the first half of the 20th century. 40 pages of biography followed by hundreds of pages of wild funnybook hijinx. Roots of MAD, underground comix and much more.

Louis Armstrong, In His Own Words

M.Ace — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 19:36:36 +0000

Louis Armstrong, In His Own Words: Selected Writings by Louis Armstrong (1999) – A generous volume of virtually unedited writings by ‘Pops’. Warm, humorous, raunchy and historic.

Trout Fishing In America

M.Ace — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 19:35:49 +0000

Trout Fishing In America by Richard Brautigan (1967) – Brautigan’s breakthrough novel, even if not so much a novel as a suite of thematically related episodes. A reverie of bucolic surrealism?

The Sound Of The City

M.Ace — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 19:35:10 +0000

The Sound Of The City: The Rise Of Rock and Roll by Charlie Gillett (1970/1983/1996) – Latest edition of this pioneering history of rock ‘n’ roll. I spotted the rare error, and I may disagree on some judgement calls, but still highly worth the reading time. Most valuable for his depictions of the structure of the record business and its changes through the decades — how it influenced the music and vice versa.