Nichole's List

Hi, I'm Nichole. This is my first book challenge, which I'm doing because Jenn invited me. 

I'm only going to do the Minor challenge since last semester of school left me with practically zilch in the time for leisure reading department (AGH!), and I'm not positive of what the next semesters of school will hold!

My library suddenly sprouted a small Graphic Novel section some months back (probably the new library director!), but it's very random. I picked up Sandman: Endless Nights because of it being Neil Gaiman, and I quite liked it. The middle-of-the-series collection of Sandman they had didn't interest me much though... there's a big difference in style between the two,and Gaiman's writing probably improved by Endless Nights. I've looked at a few others there, but since I can't recall anything specific, I guess they weren't noteworthy.

Here's my planned list:
1. The Complete Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
2. Clumsy - Jeffrey Brown
3. Blankets - Craig Thompson
4. The Plain Janes - Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
5. Fox Bunny Funny - Andy Hartzell
6. Abe: Wrong for All the Right Reasons - Glenn Dakin

Olga's List

Hi everyone! I'm Olga from Get Thee to a Punnery! I'm really excited about this challenge. Not only is it unique, but it's also super-cool. I've been a fan of comics since I was a wee girl, overdosing on Asterix and Archie when I should have been studying instead. As I grew older, my tastes broadened, but comics (and graphic novels) have remained a huge part of my reading list.

Given that I'm fairly certain I'll do well at this challenge (not to toot my own horn or anything, I just really love graphic novels), I'm opting for the Major level. Here are my picks:

1. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
2. The Umbrella Academy: Vol. 1 by Gerard Way
3. Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw
4. Watchmen by Alan Moore (re-read; it's been awhile since I've read it)
5. Too Cool to be Forgotten by Alex Robinson
6. The Sandman Vol. 1-? by Neil Gaiman (how many of them can I read in 2009?)
7. Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes
8. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
9. Loca: The Maggie and Hopey Stories by Jamie Hernandez
10. Berlin, Book Two: City of Smoke by Jason Lutes
11. Red Colored Elegy by Seiichi Hayash
12. Aya of Yop City by Abouet & Oubreri

Ambitious? Yes. Really fun? Most definitely. Some of these I have been dying to read for ages, though. Nothing like a challenge to finally cross them off my list! I thought about cheating and putting the two graphic novels I'm currently reading on the list, but I decided not to. There were too many choices as it were. I couldn't think of what to remove!

Here's to 2009—'the year of the graphic novel.

Kelly (Kailana's) List

Howdy folks! I put two names up there because right now I post as Kailana, but I plan to switch to Kelly for the new year... Anyway, I wasn't going to join this challenge because I don't have any graphic novels on my TBR pile right now. I got some for Christmas, though, so I changed my mind. I am going to do the minor level, just because I have to buy everything I read for the challenge, but I might read more!

My List:
1. Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
2. Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began
3. Fables: Legends in Exile
4. Fables: Animal Farm
5.
6.

John's Initial Choices

(Cross-posted at The Book Mine Set)

In 2008 I completed several challenges (The 1st Canadian Book Challenge, The Obscure Challenge, The Short Story Challenge, The Russian Reading Challenge, and The Shakespeare Reading Challenge). While I had fun with each, I wasn't exactly challenged. It's not to imply the requirements were too few, but basically I picked books I'd be reading anyway. I've always read Canadian, Shakespeare, and from the other categories listed above, so even had I not joined the challenges, my reading choices and habits wouldn't have looked any different. Next year, however, I'm truly going to be challenged. I'm joining the Graphic Novels Challenge. I've read only one book in my life that could even come close to being called a graphic novel: an anthology of works by Edward Gorey entitled Amphigorey. Nor was I really into comics as a kid. Joining this challenge should really broaden my horizons.

But not too much. Because it's my first foray into this genre, I'm working towards the bare minimum (6 books) and picking from what are probably obvious choices:

1. Art Spiegelman's The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
2. Seth's It's A Good Life, If You Don't Weaken
3. Chester Brown's Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography
4. Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis Boxed Set
5. Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira: Book 1
6. Joe Sacco's Palestine

This list could change depending on availability. I'm none too keen on buying books and I'll be looking to borrow, borrow, borrow if at all possible. Plus, the Spiegelman and Satrapi books could technically count as 2 each, so I haven't quite decided how to use them yet. Wish me luck!