Tag: Gary-Larson • BookLikes

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url 2014-04-25 13:36

Land of 10,000 Pages: Library Book Sale season

Reading Rainstorm

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void - Mary Roach

Aya - Marguerite Abouet,Clément Oubrerie

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - Michael Lydon,Robert Dimery

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 - Michael Azerrad

John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks' Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936 - Paul Maccabee

Scandinavian Ghost Stories and Other Tales of the Supernatural - Joanne Asala

Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass - Karen Blixen,Isak Dinesen

Hellboy: Odd Jobs - Christopher Golden,Mike Mignola

[Cross post with MSP Reading Time, the book segment of my local activities blog, MSP Adventure Time.]

Check out the latest entry in my local activities blog, MSP Adventure Time, in which I visit one of the best deals for used books in the Twin Cities, the Hennepin County Library branch booksales! I checked out the Westonka book sale and was pretty lucky this year, so I decided to share a few of my favorite discoveries! All this for only $12. Quite a deal... good thing it's only twice a year.

Packing for Mars, Our Band Could Be Your Life, and Aya were all on my reading list, so it was great to snatch the up for fifty cents a piece! 1001 Albums was a great buy as well, as it is chalk full of info, and I'm always trying to increase my inadequate music knowledge, It is pretty cool to pay just a dollar for such a hefty tome, the only problem is that it threatened to rip a hole in book bag.

I got some great nostalgic value from a pile of Far Side collections in great condition, material I haven't looked at in a decade. I have been reading a lot of Margaret Atwood lately, and I have heard that the Blind Assassin may be the best of her work, so I grabbed this heavy text as well.

I have been looking out for more Scandinavian literature as well, so Scandinavian Ghost Stories and Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa were great finds as well. Finally, John Dillenger Slept Here, which I mentioned in my blog on my favorite books featuring the Twin Cities was one that was missing from my library previously, so i was a hole I was very glad to fill.

There are HCL booksales this weekend at the Edina, Southdale, Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, and Hosmer branches this weekend, so I am itching to continue my excavations in the near future!

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review 2014-02-25 03:35

The Far Side Gallery by Gary Larson

Ronyell (a.k.a Rabbitearsblog)

Genre: Animals / Comedy / Comic Strips

Year Published: 1984

Year Read: 2/23/2014

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC

Series: The Far Side Gallery

Introduction:

After reading “The Far Side Gallery 3,” I was dying to check out more of Gary Larson’s “Far Side Gallery” series and I stumbled upon a collection of Gary Larson’s “Far Side Gallery” series in “The Far Side Gallery” (man, I am talking about the “Far Side Gallery” so much in this review)! Anyway, this collection of “Far Side Gallery” stories is just as memorable and hilarious as the “Far Side Gallery 3!”

What is this story about?

Basically, this “Far Side Gallery” collection contains comic strips from “The Far Side,” “Beyond the Far Side,” and “In Search of the Far Side” and the comic strips all contain hilarious situations that involve various animals and human beings.

What I loved about this story:

Gary Larson’s writing: Gary Larson’s writing is as usual hilarious and witty to read as the various characters in these comic strips are always making sarcastic comments about the situations they are thrown into. As usual, Gary Larson managed to make some of the puns such as “Hat Hunters” and “Water Buffaloes” come to life in a literal sense and I just rolled over laughing when I read these strips! Some of my favorite comic strips in this collection are:

“Big Bob says he’s getting tired of you saying he doesn’t really exist.” (When the boy’s imaginary friend grabs the boy’s father roughly by the shirt).

“We’ve made it, Warren! ...The moon!” (When two astronauts landed on the moon, but one of the astronauts accidentally hit the other astronaut’s helmet, cracking it).

The real reason dinosaurs became extinct (Showing the dinosaurs smoking cigarettes).

“For twelve perfect years I was a car-chaser. Pontiacs, Fords, Chryslers…I took them all on…and yesterday my stupid owner backs over me in the driveway.” (A dog tells another dog in heaven how his owner killed him with a car).

Gary Larson’s artwork: Gary Larson’s artwork as usual is hilarious to look at as the characters have exaggerated bodies such as their bodies being larger than their heads. I also loved how hilarious the artwork becomes during the collection’s most hilarious moments such as the artwork of the astronaut smashing another astronaut’s helmet after pronouncing that they are on the moon at last.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who feels uncomfortable about dealing with the concept of heaven and hell, there are a couple comic strips in this collection that deals with heaven and hell, although it is not as frequent as it was in the “Far Side Gallery 3.”

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Far Side Gallery” is a fantastic collection of Gary Larson’s best work in the “Far Side Gallery” series and anyone who is a huge fan of Gary Larson’s work in the “Far Side” series will easily enjoy this collection!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

2014 reads animal characters best of 2014 fantasy Gary Larson graphic novels and comics my blog reviews young adult book

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review 2014-02-10 00:00

The Far Side Gallery

MartynVHalm

Larson's genius to often tell a whole story in just one or two frames is incredible. Although I enjoyed this collection, you need some understanding of American history and customs to fully appreciate the humour.

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review 2014-01-25 05:11

The Far Side Gallery 3 by Gary Larson

Ronyell (a.k.a Rabbitearsblog)

Genre: Animals / Humor / Society

Year Published: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984

Year Read: 2014

Publisher: Universal Press Syndicate Company

Far Side Gallery

Introduction:

Now, I have heard many good things about Gary Larson’s famous “The Far Side Gallery” series, but I never had the chance to read them, until now! Surprisingly starting with the third volume of the “Far Side Gallery” series, “The Far Side Gallery 3,” I found myself rolling on the floor with laughter throughout the entire volume!

What is this story about?

Basically, this volume contains many comic strips of Gary Larson’s famous series “The Far Side Gallery” and each comic strip has a character or an animal doing something hilarious in their situations.

What I loved about this story:

Gary Larson’s writing: Gary Larson’s writing is truly brilliant and hilarious at the same time as the various characters in these comic strips are always doing something hilarious or playing off of a pun in an intriguing way. I loved the way that Gary Larson takes puns such as “Primitive Fandango” and “Parakeet Furniture” and managed to twist them around by actually having the characters take the puns seriously, such as the parakeet furniture being shown as human fingers with the parakeets perching on them. In all honesty, I really enjoyed almost all of the comic strips in this collection as they were creative and hilarious at the same time and here are a couple of excerpts that I considered to be some of my favorites in this collection:

“For crying out loud, I was hibernating! Don’t you guys ever take a pulse?” (When a bear was mistaken for being dead at a funeral)

“So, then, when Old MacDonald turned his back, I took that ax, and with a whack whack here and a whack whack there, I finished him off. (A chicken tells an inmate about how he killed Old MacDonald and ended up in jail).

“Neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor hail, they said, could stop the mail…But they didn’t figure on Rexbo.”

“He’s dead, all right-beaked in the back…and, you know, this won’t be easy to solve.” (Solving the murder of a penguin among a group of penguins)

Gary Larson’s artwork: Gary Larson’s artwork is hilarious to look at as the characters look exaggerated with their bodies looking a bit wobbly and their heads being a bit larger than their bodies. I also loved the simplistic look of the artwork as it makes the comedic moments in this collection stand out even more.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Probably the only thing problematic with this series is that there are a couple of comic strips in this collection that mentions “hell” a dozen times and that might be a bit upsetting for some readers. Readers who do not like the mention of “hell” might want to skim over the comic strips that mention “hell” whenever they read this collection.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Far Side Gallery 3” is a truly brilliant series for fans of Gary Larson’s“Far Side Gallery” series and you will surely start rolling around the floor with laughter at this collection!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

2014 reads animal characters best of 2014 fantasy Gary Larson graphic novels and comics my blog reviews young adult book

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review 2013-07-29 00:00

The Far Side Gallery 2

travelin

People have referred to me as a "cartoon psychic". At least I think they have. I often know what a comedian is thinking.

So, of all the excellent Far Side cartoons I've seen as a young man, my mind always circles around the cartoon "Beware of Doug". I used to think that the genius of the Far Side is that cartoon characters have exceptionally wide eyes and therefore long reaction shots.

But I've recently read that Gary Larson credited growing up with a cruel older brother for his "paranoid sense of humour". Just because a cartoon is funny doesn't mean it's not telling you something...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eclectipundit/6715691973/