Easton Connell

The new year is well under way and, having just shelved another newly read book, it’s time to look back at everything I read last year. I read a lot of comics, fell in love with some new authors, and added a whole lot of stories to the crowded shelves that line the walls in my home. A few favorites, and then the complete list.

Kraken – China Mieville

I began reading China Mieville’s books for the first time last year and he has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Kraken is my favorite book of his that I’ve read so far, and perhaps my favorite book that I read in 2014. Mieville presents a tale of gods lurking just out of sight, the hidden geography of the magical side of London, and the clash of cults at the end of the world. Fans of Neil Gaiman will love this story. If you read one new book in 2015, make it Kraken.

Doctor Sleep – Stephen King

The Shining is one of my favorite novels from Stephen King, and I must confess that I love the sequel even more. Set several decades after the events at the Overlook, Doctor Sleep finds Danny as an adult trying to drown his powers with booze. As he sobers up and meets a young girl who shines even more than he does, Danny has to battle demons both in his heart and in the external world. Stephen King sandbagged me yet again with another book with a spooky cover hiding a beautiful and mythic exploration of human nature inside.

Hip-Hop Family Tree, Vol.s 1 & 2 – Ed Piskor

I’d been reading this comic online for quite awhile before buying the print edition collected by Fantagraphics. It tells the story of the birth of hip-hop in New York in gritty, yellowed pages. If you love hip-hop or the history of American music you need to check this out.

Alif the Unseen – G Willow Wilson

I found this book on the sale table at Northtown Books. The cover was interesting and featured a positive review by Neil Gaiman so I figured it’d be worth checking out. And so it was that I managed to stumble on one of my new favorite books through a conspiring of circumstances. Wilson’s story touches on many of my interests: personal myth, the clash between and reconciliation of the modern world and ancient belief, the power of storytelling, Arab folklore, Islam, and the latent fantasy lurking behind the everyday. I’d love to read more of her work. (Apparently she has been scripting a kick-ass rewrite of Ms. Marvel. It’s on my list for 2015.)

Supergods – Grant Morrison

Equal parts history and personal narrative, Supergods relates the history of comics as a whole and Morrison’s own life through his experiences reading and writing comics. I also read Sean Howe’s Marvel Comics: The Untold Story last year and Supergods complemented it quite well. Where Marvel focuses mostly on the development of the industry and the medium, Supergods focuses on comics as modern myth and explores the magic they have wrought in our minds over the last 100 years. It also relates episodes of Morrison’s dabbling in chaos magick and hallucinogens in the context of comic books. Well worth reading for the well-versed comic fan or the uninformed Marvel/DC movie-goer.

American Shaolin – Matthew Polly

When Matthew Polly was 21 he left college and the comforts of living in the US behind to study kung fu for two years near the Shaolin monastery in Henan. He moved to China in 1992, just a few short years after the massacre at Tienanmen Square and well before traveling to China became popular and widely accessible for people in the west. Polly’s stories about training with the monks are engaging and offer an interesting perspective on the juxtaposition of ancient arts in the modern world. I began reading this book around the same time that I began studying hard-style martial arts. It was inspiring, motivating, and led to me spending a few weeks researching summer training programs in southern China.

And now – the complete list. 69 books in 365 days.

American Shaolin Matthew Polly

Seven Years in Tibet Heinrich Harrer

Astonishing X-Men Joss Whedon

The Book of Tea Kakuzo Okakura

Night Fisher R Kikuo Johnson

Prison Comics various

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story Sean Howe

Ronin Frank Miller

Shada Douglas Adams and Gareth Roberts

Rain on the River Jim Dodge

A Scanner Darkly Philip K Dick

The Hollows Sam Kieth

UnLunDun China Mieville

The Penultimate Truth Philip K Dick

Dial H: Into You China Mieville

Snow White Camille Rose Garcia

33 1/3: People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm Shawn Taylor

Punk Rock and Trailer Parks Derf Backderf

33 1/3: Dummy RJ Wheaton

The Book of Three Lloyd Alexander

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K Dick

The NeverEnding Story Michael Ende

Minority Report and Other Stories Philip K Dick

Wolverine: Blood Hungry Sam Kieth

Aliens: Inhuman Condition Sam Kieth

Wolverine Chris Claremont & Frank Miller

Rashomon: 17 Other Stories Ryunosuke Akutagawa

The Bees Carol Ann Duffy

Fup Jim Dodge

The Amateurs Conor Stechschulte

The Trial Franz Kafka

On Writing Stephen King

There is a Country various

Uncanny X-Men: Days of Future Past Chris Claremont

Stories ed. Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantino

Smoke and Mirrors Neil Gaiman

The Lottery Shirley Jackson

The Man in the High Castle Philip K Dick

Alif Unseen G. Willow Wilson

Carnet de Voyage Craig Thompson

Old Man Logan Mark Millar

1602 Neil Gaiman

Sex Criminals Matt Fraction

Supergods Grant Morrison

The Dark Knight Returns Frank Miller

Batman: Year One Frank Miller

Batman: Secrets Sam Kieth

Daytripper Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba

My Inner Bimbo Sam Kieth

Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again Frank Miller

All Star Future Shocks various

Doom Patrol Grant Morrison

Kraken China Mieville

Hip-Hop Family Tree Vol1 Ed Piskor

The Wu-Tang Manual RZA

The Tao of Wu RZA

33 1/3: Endtroducing… Eliot Wilder

Hip-Hop Family Tree Vol2 Ed Piskor

Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury

I Am Legend Richard Matheson

The White People and Other Weird Stories Arthur Machen

The Shining Stephen King

Doctor Sleep Stephen King

The Last Unicorn Peter S Beagle

Yes Please Amy Poehler

Paddle Your Own Canoe Nick Offerman

Caricatures Daniel Clowes

The Art of Asking Amanda Palmer

Hansel and Gretel Neil Gaiman

There you have it – everything I read in 2014. At the time of this post we’re already three months deep into 2015. This year’s list has begun, and the stack of as-yet-unread books has continued to rise. Time to keep turning pages and chipping away.