Lists 2010 - Comics

Another record! In 2010 I read 86 comics, compared to 54 and 80 in 2008 and 9 respectively.

Top 3 comics for 2010

1. Chris Ware - Acme Novelty Library #18
Chris Ware takes the first place again! In #18 is part of the ongoing "Building Stories" about the residents of a house. This is an extremely touching story, that reinvents how comics can be made (again).

2. Daniel Clows - Like a Velvet Glove Cast In Iron
This comics is crazy! Good! Surreal and amazing with a heavy nod to David Lynch.

3. Alan Moore & Ian Gibson - The Ballad of Halo Jones
Something about this early comic by Alan Moore just stays with me. It's a concentrated extract of all that makes sci-fi awesome.

Special mention goes to Alison Bechdels "Fun Home" which is also great.

Lists 2010 - Books

2010

• BOOKS READ 2010: 37

It's a new record! The number for 2007-9 were 36, 36 and 34.

• MOST READ AUTHOR: Bret Easton Ellis (3 books)

I read up on him for my review of his latest book "Imperial Bedrooms", and his visit in Copenhagen.

• FICTION/NON-FICTION RATIO: 23/11

Pretty high for non-fiction. Mainly books for my master thesis. 

TOP 3 BOOKS OF 2010
(not counting previously read books)

This is very hard for 2010, I read a lot of GREAT books fortunately. But three must be selected, here they are:

1. Jonathan Franzen - Freedom

It's an obvious choice, but without doubt the right one. This powerhouse of a social realistic novel can be compared to the likes of Tolstoj. Great great characters. 

2. Joe Haldeman - The Forever War

A sci-fi classic that has aged extremely well. It's powerful and frightening vision is as powerful today as it must have been in 1974. I know Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein is mandatory reading in American military academies, this book should be as well. The title alone is suitable for the US's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan (of course the book draws it inspiration from another glorious military engagement - The Vietnam War).

3. Karl Ove Knausgård - Min Kamp 1

Describing your life in minute details, and publishing it in six heavy volumes over a very short period of time, while pissing of everyone from your friends to your wife, and THEN naming the books "My struggle" sounds to obnoxious to be interesting right? WRONG, it's heavenly!

That's it for books, films and comics to follow.

Claus Beck-Nielsen's Funeral

Today, on a sunny but cold autumn day, the artist, performer and actor Claus Beck-Nielsen was buried at Assistentens Kirkergård in Copenhagen. A great many people went with him on his last journey from Glyptoteket to the cemetery. Here follows my photos from the event, as well as a video from the burial itself.

See the video in HD here

R.I.P.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

I just saw the new Scott Pilgrim movie - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - based on the wonderful and hilarious comic by Bryan Lee O'Maley - It was like totally awesome and stuff!

I love that adults made this.

Stealing content

Guatemalan Flight's Data-Recording Parrot Holds Clues To Crash

Theme: American literature

Oh my, there are so many great American books coming out.

I just read Don DeLillo's "Point Omega" (ok, not so good), then I was reading Richard Russo's pulitzer-winner "Empire Falls", but then I had to take a break from that because I had to prepare myself for Bret Easton Ellis' visit in Copenhagen (sold out I'm afraid), and read "Less than Zero", and now I'm reading "Imperial Bedrooms"(review forthcoming).

Mr. Bret Easton Ellis

Then Jonathan Franzen's superbly hyped new book "Freedom", just came to my door today - and last week I found William Gibson's new book "Zero History" in a bookstore. Oh yeah, and Paul Auster is out with "Sunset Park" (in Danish anyway) and Thomas Pynchon just wrote "Inherent Vice". Simultaneously I'm reading a new Danish anthology about American literature since 1980 (review forthcoming) - all in all choosing titles is not hard right now...

EDIT: And Philip Roth is out with a new book "Nemesis"

The Air is on Fire

I just saw the David Lynch exhibit in Copenhagen at Gl. Strand - "The Air is on Fire" - it was excellent. (Click photo for a slightly larger version)

"Pete goes to his girlfriend's house"

"Woman with dream"

"Arm of sores"

"Bob burns tree"

"Bob loves Sally until she is blue in the face"

(I'm not entire sure but something like "Bob meets Mr. Redman"

I highly recommend it, it runs until january.

The art of picking a new book to read

It's very hard for me to start on a new book. Choosing which book to read next, can take me hours. I will go through different phases; first, happily scanning the bookshelve, choosing whatever catches my eye. I will then read the first few pages, until I suddenly realize that I've chosen the wrong book! It's wrong, I can't read this now! I will put it back in it's place. Next, I'll choose one of the books I bought ages ago, but still haven't read. It sits there, pricking my bad conscience. I'll take it out, read the blurbs, count the pages, read the review extracts hailing it, I'll put it back, thinking 'next time'. Often, I read thematically, this is very advantageous for picking a new book. Recently I've read the great sci-fi classics, this narrows the list down drastically. Sometimes, I've just read a very easy and light popular book, then I'll want a more heavy 'literary' book, like a classic, and vice-versa. Often I just choose a thin book, that way, picking wrongly, won't have so big an effect.

Lists 2009 - films

Yes yes, let's finish up 2009 - make everything nice and neat.

In 2009 I watched 156 film, a step decrease compared to 2008 where I watched 255, but very close to 2007 (153). I think the high number in 2008 is an anomally, explained with me just moving to Berlin, and having lots of time for myself. 

Top 5 directors

Ingmar Bergman

1. Alfred Hitchcock & Ingmar Bergman (6 each)

3. Wong Kar Wai & James Ivory (4 each)

5 Akira Kurosawa, Takeshi Kitano & Krzysztof Kieslowski (3 each)

Top 5 films (only counting those I viewed for the first time)

1. The White Ribbon (Haneke)

2. Antichrist (Trier)

3. 2046 (Wai)

4. The Wrestler (Aronofsky)

5. Scenes From a Marriage (Bergman)

OK, that finishes the work left on my desk. More fresh posts to come