What I read in July

I read pretty aggressively, regularly making my way through over 100 books a year. With that many books in a year, it’s pretty easy to get into a rut when you read that much, always gravitating to the same stuff every time you go to grab a book. Maybe you’re like me; you’re reading regularly, but are in need of some ideas for what to try next.

Throughout 2016, I’ve been sharing what I’m reading each month. I do this because I can’t review everything I read in detail, and because I hope there’s something on the list that you might like to try. In July, I read a fair bit, but what I read was substantially lighter than normal. Moving will do that…

Anyway, I wound up reading 10 books in July, although I abandoned one because it was so awful. Here’s what I read:

1. Unparalleled by Jared C. Wilson
2. Batman and Robin: Eternal Vol 2 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, et al.
3. Mozart in the Jungle by Blair Tindall
4. Grayson Vol 2: We All Die at Dawn by Tom King, Tim Seeley, and Mikel Janin
5. DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke
6. Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin by Charles Soule and Marco Checchetto
7. Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
9. Grayson Vol. 3: Nemesis by Tom King, Tim Seeley, and Mikel Janin
10. The Accidental Feminist by Courtney Reissig

The Golden Age, Grayson and another jaunt in a galaxy far, far away

I’ll admit: I wound up reading a lot of comic books this month. Like, a lot a lot. I try to stick with a couple max for this list, but because I was kind of fried after all the moving, I wound up craving super-simple books to read. That said, DC: The New Frontier is not a simple story. It is one of the best stories produced by the late Darwyn Cooke. The story is compelling and the art is lovely, recalling Bruce Timm’s designs from Batman: The Animated Series, but with Cooke’s unique flair.

My major complaint with the first volume of Grayson was its distracting (and thoroughly PG-13) sexual content. The second and third volumes more or less move away from that, and focus on telling a good story, which is a welcome change. There’s lots of intrigue in these two volumes, a few genuinely unexpected twists, and still more story to tell as the former Robin turned super-spy story moves toward its final act (and a fourth and fifth collection which are due out later this year). Meanwhile, Batman and Robin: Eternal vol 2 was a solid conclusion to its series, adding a new bit of color to the history of Batman’s sidekicks.

Finally, Obi-Wan and Anakin takes place between the first and second prequels, and continues to remind us all that the prequels could have been great—if someone who cared about storytelling had been writing and directing. (Should I have put a trigger warning there?)

Harry Potter and the salacious tales of an oboist

I couldn’t get more than about 50 pages into Mozart in the Jungle. It was a terrible, terrible book. I bought it on a whim, hoping I’d read something interesting on a plane ride, but I was wrong. I found virtually nothing of redeeming value—despite my hope that it would turn out otherwise, it is gossipy and salacious. I should have been smarter and picked up the Dee Ramone memoir instead.

And then there’s Harry Potter. I read another volume in this series and enjoyed it for the most part. However, this book is clearly the one in which Rowling’s publisher decided to allow her to embrace her inner “I do what I want”-ness. This book needed a serious edit. There’s too much going on, and much of it fails to move the story forward. I’d have loved to see a 400-ish page version, trimming out the house-elf liberation subplot.

Dandelion Fire is one that Hannah and I have been reading together for ages. In fact, we finally reached the conclusion shortly after we moved to Franklin. The content in this one does mature a bit, but not so much that the two of us couldn’t enjoy it together (although I did have to play down a few details here and there). She squealed with delight at one of the crucial moments of the story, when a long-lost character made his return so I can tell she’s enjoying it. Even so, reading it out loud is really hard…

Feminism and why Christianity is more compelling than you can imagine

After many months of occasionally reading it, I finally finished The Accidental Feminist. Those who are familiar with the subject matter will probably not find much new. Those who disagree with the basic premise of the book will not be convinced to change their minds. Overall, it’s a decent introduction to a much larger discussion.

My first thought as I read Unparalleled was that it was not a book written specifically with a person like me in mind. And that is very, very good. It’s the kind of book I would want to go through with someone willing to explore the Christian faith, which I think is probably the highest compliment I could offer.

Have a suggestion for a book for me or someone else to read or want to share what you’ve read? Connect with me on Twitter or Facebook and let me know!

Here’s a look at what I read in:

• January 2016
• February 2016
• March 2016
• April 2016
• May 2016
• June 2016

• Category: Books
• Tag: Books, reading