Taggraphic novel

The Coldest City

Cover of the book The Coldest City

After reading Logicomix on the Kindle app, I decided to try one more from my wishlist. The Coldest City was more fun to read because it was formatted specifically for the the app. Each “page turn” would pan between frames and then show the entire page before moving to the next one.

Actually, no! It wasn’t formatted like that. I just checked; it was static pages. I read it almost two years ago and this how my brain decided to remember it because of the art. The understated black and white style really drew me in. Most of the book doesn’t have much action, but drawing and layouts added so much action even in the static frames. See for yourself:

Panels from the book The Coldest City

I am looking forward to reading more work by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, and will start with the free version of Fuse #1 (sorry for the Amazon link 😞). Hoping to get some printed versions soon.

Logicomix

Knowing that I’ve been trying to learn about Bertrand Russell and logic, Amber recommended this book to me. Since I was travelling at the time I decided to read it on the Kindle app instead of shipping a paperback home. This was the first time I read a comic on the phone and was surprised at how good the reading experience was. I sometimes had to zoom in to read the text, but most pages weren’t dense, so it was fine.

I did not like the meta comic when I started the book but it grew on me. By the end of the book, I was waiting to read more commentary, and learn about the process behind the book.

My favourite panel was when Russell visits Frege for the first time:

This other panel is very close to a theme my dad often takes in his conversations. I was happy to see that others share his point of view.

The book helped me learn a complex concept while keeping me entertained. Alecos Papadatos next work, Democracy is certainly on my wish-list. Paperback this time, but only because I want it on my shelf πŸ™‚

Maus

I read Maus in two sittings when I was alone at home in January. If I had known that the book was about the Holocaust, and that the main character, Mr Spiegelman, would remind me so much of my Dadi, I would have avoided reading it.

I secretly laughed at Dadi’s need for order, and perfection. And not just any order, but one of her design.

I got irritated when she accumulated trash and treated it like treasure.

I felt scared when she had one of her restless nights, not able to lie down nor sit up, only feeling better after Papa put a nitroglycerin patch.

And I cried when she told me how much she still missed Baba.

Even though I have the second part of the book, I am not going to be reading it for a long time. I miss Dadi.