Favorite Reads of '05: Part I

Originally, I was going to post on all of my favorite reads of the past year, but it was getting too long, and I wanted to put up a post this week. So here's the eagerly anticipated first installment of my Favorite Reads of '05.

I read in my free time every day, but I've never been a big book reader. Don't get me wrong, I love books and have read quite a few in my day, but I seem to have a hard time starting something that I know will take up a substantial amount of time. Books will generally take at least a couple of days to read, and if they're any good, you'll spend the time that you're not reading them, wishing that you were. Therefore, I generally gravitate towards movies, comics and graphic novels, because I know that at most, I'll be done in an afternoon. Recently, for one reason or another, that's changed. I think that mostly it's due to losing TiVo and now just having basic cable, coupled with not being into video games as much I used to be either. Now, with less of a "need" to sit in front of the TV, I find myself reading a lot more. And before you start thinking 'I've grown up and matured or something, I still read lots of comics and watch cartoons and kung-fu movies. So, there you have it.

Anyhow, in celebration of actually getting more "real" book reading done, I've decided to post on my favorite reads of 2005. But, since I read a lot more than just books, I didn't think that it would work to break it down into a Top 5 List, like my two previous posts. So, bear with me in the change in format.

2005 Favorite Reads

Favorite Web Comics

3. Perry Bible Fellowship
I found this strip through Rich Johnston's Lying In The Gutters on-line comics gossip column. It's soooo f*ed up. Think Gary Larson's The Far Side, on acid, with better art, and you're almost there. What strikes me the most is not even how "out there" it is, but rather how un-p.c. it is and despite that it runs in The Guardian in the U.K. This would be unthinkable in such a widely circulated newspaper here. The closest thing I can think of, would be if say, The New York Times ran articles from the Onion or Vice Magazine every week. Anyhow, if you have a really twisted sense of humor, which apparently I do, I highly recommend checking it out.

2. Achewood
Ben actually got me into this one a while back, but it continues to be a strip that I religiously check every day. I started at the beginning, read through the entire archive, and I continue to be impressed. This one's a little hard to pin down, but I'll try anyway. Achewood centers around talking stuffed animals and talking housepets and what they do when we humans aren't watching. It gets pretty raunchy at times, as they drink, swear, and "have relations" and whatnot, but that's what makes it great. It's really about what we would do if we were all talking stuffed animals. What impresses me the most, is the actual development of stories and character that creator Chris Onstad has created in his world. Plus, when he's on he knows the right buttons to push to create genuine feelings of endearment and concern for the cast of characters. And they're freakin' funny animals! Go figure. Oh, and it's more often than not, funny as hell.

1. Quickstep
Yeah, yeah. It's probably in poor taste to pimp your best friend's online webcomic. But this is my blog dammit and I'll do whatever I want. And in all honesty, I thought it was great. I thought it was great to see Max stretch himself artistically and to try something different. It was a fun, all-ages tale of a dancing mouse. The art was top-notch and story was sweet and simple. Some stories, and web-comics in particular, seem to really lack direction. It was nice to read a story that actually had an arc to it and was strong from start to finish. The only drawback to that of course, is that at the end of the story I was sad to see Lorenzo go. On the plus side, though, maybe now that Lorenzo's story has run it's course, that Max can go on to bigger and even better things. And as good as Quickstep was, that will definitely be something to see.

Favorite Non-Fiction
*Editor's Note: In the interest of full-disclosure, I should point out that I didn't actually "read" any of the non-fiction entries. I listened to them as books on tape. I did this for two reasons. The first, is simple multi-tasking. If I'm reading a book, I can't be working on something else, and as I stated before, I can sometimes have a bit of an aversion to simply sitting down and reading. Second, I like to hear the author's actual voice in certain cases, especially as in the case of Sarah Vowell, when I became aware of their work through hearing it rather than reading it.

3. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Sarah Vowell's travelogue of her vacation visiting sites dedicated to assassinated presidents and their assassins. Hilarious, educational, and intriguing. It's because of this book that I have a renewed interest in presidential history and plan to read more about Theodore Roosevelt and U.S. Grant (even though neither were assassinated.) By the way, Sarah Vowell is awesome, and I thoroughly recommend all of her books, as well as the greatest radio program ever: This American Life, on which she is a regular contributor.

2. The Man Called Cash: The Life, Love, And Faith of an American Legend- the Authorized Biography [UNABRIDGED] by Steve Turner and Rex Linn
For some reason, Johnny Cash is probably more popular now than he was when he was alive. For example, a new greatest hits compilation called The Legend of Johnny Cash is tearing up the sales charts. Some might attribute this recent popularity with the recently released Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, but I think there's more to it than that. Did Ray Charles see this kind of posthumous popularity after Ray? No. And I think it's because Johnny Cash is a much more interesting figure. Here was a man that was very spiritual and who tried to do right by God, but was constantly wrestling with personal demons and his own dark side. This book delves deep into Cash's struggles and ultimately his triumphs. You can tell a lot of research went into this book, with interviews and first-person accounts that are used to support and sometimes debunk Johnny Cash's own accounts. I knew a lot of Johnny Cash history before delving into this biography, and still found it immensely entertaining and informative. I highly recommend it especially for people who enjoyed Walk The Line, but want to know what Johnny Cash did with the rest of his life. In my opinion, that's when the Johnny Cash story got even more compelling.

1. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
One of the most fascinating non-fiction books I have ever come across. Larson simultaneously recounts the tales of two men during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The first is Daniel H. Burnham, an architect who was largely responsible for putting the fair, and ultimately the city of Chicago itself, on the map. The second man is H. H. Holmes, a pharmacist who is credited with being the first serial killer in America. The dichotomy of Burnham raising Chicago to new heights and Holmes killing perhaps hundreds of women is astounding. Told in a novel-like format, it makes for a very compelling story.

Stay tuned for part 2 next week for the final installment of '05 Faves!