What We Read Last Week - June 29th

Last week I read the first three volumes (the only ones out in English so far) of an AMAZING manga series...

Pluto (and here's Volume 2, currently on order for the library) is a dark reimagining by Naoki Urasawa of the famous manga and anime series known as Astro Boy in North America, by the incredibly prolific creator who basically originated manga in Japan, Osamu Tezuka.  Those of you who may remember the Astro Boy cartoon (or be thinking of the upcoming animated movie)--this shares themes, settings and characters, but reimagines them in a mature story of murder, political intrigue and philosophical questions of the nature of humanity and memory.  One of the best manga series I've read.

As an aside, his rather cartoonish art style can be hard to get used to for modern manga fans, but Osamu Tezuka was an amazing creator--he basically invented manga as a distinct style and was enormously influential.  He's best known in North America for kid-friendly manga like Astro Boy, but he also created series for older readers like the medical thriller Black Jack (Tezuka was a trained medical doctor, though he discovered he liked creating manga more than treating patients!) or what I think is his masterpiece, his six-volume manga story of the life of Buddha.

I am a big Osamu Tezuka fan if it isn't obvious. :)

Alan H is a web librarian at Toronto Public Library.  He reads all over the place.

What have you read recently?  Let us know by commenting!

Comments

[Mary]

Oh my gosh wasn't astro boy used to be a show. if i'm right i remember watching it when i was younger loved that show. and i'm sure the manga is jsut as good. though i'm not much into action manga's anymore but i think i'll defiantely give it a try or atleast look at it

[janette]

i like the post that Alan wrote also i like black jack my favorite was Kung Fu Panda who thought that clumsy panda would be ruler but he was actually good when he tried harder and did it for the food anyway ive never seen that show astro boy but it might be good anyway good post

[Chloe]

I read Evermore by Alyson Noel. It's awesome!! Alyson Noel is a great author. I give her five stars!

[Allison]

Thats so cool, I never knew that astro boy had a comic book. Sounds good.

[Kat]

It might be getting a little old, but Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is still a hilarious read. Last week, I started to re-read the series. The book's got aliens known for their atrocious poetry, an improbability drive, a depressed robot, a mysterious planet and the words “Don't Panic” (very reassuring). Plus, once you've read it, the number forty-two will always catch your attention.
But if you're looking for a more recent read, I recommend The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. It's got romance, humour, well-planned pranks, and, at the centre of it all, girl who has become “possibly a criminal mastermind”. (Yep, that's the sentence that caught my attention and then I knew I had to read it.)

[Violet]

I love Osamu Tezuka's stuff! I've read Phoenix and Buddha a few years ago in middle school--definitely favourites of mine. I actually learned the most about Gautama Buddha, or at least an interpretation of his life, from "Buddha" than from anywhere else, which is a bit of a disgrace considering I'm a Buddhist... o.o but..whatever :D Better something than nothing.

Anyway, I just wanted to say, I read a comic called "WE3" by Grant Morrison. It was an action story about these three animals turned into deadly weapons, who escaped from their little..confinement... XD but yeah, the illustrations were amazing 'o', by Frank Quitely. It's probably not best for the weak-hearted or young teenagers because some of the comic is seriously [horrifically] gory and violent, but the story was sooooo unique, and amaaazzing, and heart warming, and ...like.. basically, it was PERFECT >=O. WE3 is like one of those comics where you wish it was longer, but know it shouldn't be because it shouldn't be changed. I hope some of you read the comic if you haven't already, and because since this summer reading thing is for teenagers, I'm sure most of us are mature enough to endure the violent gore :). Just..."Viewer Discretion is [strongly...] Advised" Order it from the library (that's how my sister got it)!

Anyhoo :) sorry i wrote so much, i have an issue ;D

[Alan H.]

Violet: I second the opinion on WE3. Amazing comic! Grant Morrison is a wonderful comics writer--try "Animal Man" (3 volumes), one of his earlier series, which deals with many of the same animal rights / human-animal interaction themes. It's more of a conventional superhero comic, though it becomes deeply weird at the end. :)

[Allison]

anyways i'm going talk about What have i've read recently. well i just started to read freefall by Wendy a. Lewis. so far its really good. Hope it contuines on this path.

[Edmee]

I think my favourite manga series (although I must admit, I don't read that much manga) is "Skip Beat" by Yoshiki Nakamura. It's such a sweet love story, and it's really funny too! The series isn't even complete yet, so although I can't do my usual crazed reading of a series from start to finish, I do have the wonderful chance to get super excited every time a new volume comes out! Hahaha. :D

[John C.]

I'm not sure if this is due to Wordout, but looking under the holdings section, all but two of the copies of Pluto are checked out!

P.S. Has anybody read DMZ yet? It's also a pretty dark and gritty story about the demilitarized zone(hence the name) that is New York. (Don't worry, it's also a graphic novel!)

[Israa]

I like the book . "Angels in Winter",by Kathy Stinson. It is a great book but i would recommand people to read book 1 to understand what is going on.
"Angels in winter" is the last book of the whole series. Mary-Claire is the main character. She gets jealouse of this rich girl who saved her when she was hit by the girls wagon.I wouldn't want to spoil the book if you were about to read it but the ending is great.
i recommand this book to who ever is intreasted in Canadian Girls.

[Israa]

I just finished a great Manga book "Kilala Princess" by Rika Tanaka,and Nao Kadoka. I'm not really intreasted in princesses,but this is a great comic. I think i will try to find a way to read book 3 on the internet.

[Israa]

"Angels In Winter" is a book by Kathy Stinson.
this book is about Marie-Claire.Christmas is approching and Marie-Claire has so much to look forward to. Marie-Clair really wants to give her friend Laura a speacial gift. She turns out to make Laura a Angel made out of soap. Laura adores her gift,but when she gives Marie-Claire her gift Marie-Claire dosn't know if she should keep it or not. After thinking Marie-Claires accepts the gift.

[Julie]

"Throwaway Daughter" by Ting-xing Ye

this book about a girl in China adopted by a couple in Canada, and how the girl grew up and went back to China to find her birth parents.
I like how this book talks about thoughts and feelings through different people's perspective, especially the girl's confuse and mad feeling when she couldn't tell about her real birth date and place of birth. and when the girl grew up, she traveled half the earth-to China and finally found her birth mother and discover her identity.

[Peace]

The whole concept of Manga is an amazing work of art. Mainly according to me it's one of the styles of art out there today.

[Violet]

Oh, thanks for the recommendation Alan, I'll definitely check out Animal Man (after telling my sister about it of course, since I stole WE3 from her...). I can't wait to see how that one goes =D

[Supriya Singh]

I just finished reading a whole series by Cassandra Clare called the Mortal instruments. They are so breathtaking good, that you can't even put the book down! Each chapter is so addictive, that you find yourself madly turning the pages to find out what happens next! There are three books in total: City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass.

Each book reveals a new secret which in the end all fit together as a puzzle. If you were a fan of Twilight, this book is 10 times better! And if you didn't enjoy Twilight, this book is still a must read!

[Supriya Singh]

Ive been reading a lot this week! I read a book called Evermore by Alyson Noel. It was awesome. It explained a story of departure, and how to let go, and move on.

Ever and her family go through a car accident, and Ever feels as it is all her fault. All her family members and her dog die. She is left alone. But, she is given powers to read peoples minds, and by a single touch, look into the past of their lives.

But then, she meets Damen, who is a new student at her new school. He is attractive and appealing to almost all the girls in the school, and some guys. When Ever meets Damen, she can't read his mind at all. As she is falling in love with Damen, she is also learning how to depart from her sister Riley who visits her everyday because she is a ghost.

[Sahiti]

Look Again

I couldn't stop reading this book, I read it for four hours straight for one week. Yes, I am a slow reader, so what? I enjoy reading big and good novels. By the way, the ending of this book is PERFECT! It highly un-predictable but SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL. It captures the reader's heart with every moment of tension. There is crime, detectives, cat-fight, law, investigation, DNA... It is definitely a book I recommend every one to read, no matter the age, race, or gender.

[Sahiti]

Air Head

Recommended for girls, but boy can read it too. If you are into modeling. Every girl's dream- to be the world's super model- right? Well, Em Watt has a different story. She likes video games, and wears tees and jeans with converse- All the time. As you can guess, she is a manly girl but not in the physical way but the mental way. Suddenly she became the the super model- Nikki Howard. every one of us wants to be her, but surprisingly she hates it. Also the ending of this book is extremely cute (for girls).

[Sahiti]

Series - Abby Hayes

That a good series for middle school students and also junior high-school students. If you like school life stories and a little romance, you would love these series. And also the main character is a girl, so I recommend it for girls.

[Jenahaian]

Well, I just finished reading another CSI book, except this was the New York one. It was called "Deluge." Overall it was pretty good, and very fast paced so your never going to want to put it down. But, sometimes it is a bit confusing because it talks about 4 crime scene, all at one time and you don't know which one their talking about. Other than that it is a very good read, and I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of gruesome scene, because there are plenty in this book.

[danielle]

I read "The catcher in the rye" by JD Sallinger.
It was a novel with a deep meaning. The main character named Holden experiences with dropout, alcohol, family, women, money, and etc. Written in his prospective, we are able to relate to his sensitive mind and deep feelings for the smallest things. Holden tell us that we should not look at the world in 'black and white' but realize there are fuzzy gray sights as well. It's a book that makes you rethink of life in general. Check it out. :)

[wala]

cool i never thought that astro boy was a comic book .soungs good

[wala]

im currently reading yo can run by nora mcclintock

it's about a gurl which has alot of issues in life when she cant handle something she runs away fro home but now then her friend tries to find her .