Books bought in 2011


New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
by Stephenie Meyer
Literature purists and highbrow readers tend to bash Stephenie Meyer and I won't imply that her novels are masterpieces, but I did enjoy reading all the chapters in the Twilight saga. I found them to be highly enjoyable, literal pageturners. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, however, wound up unread on my shelves. No idea or clue as to why.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by J.K. Rowling
Universally beloved and critically acclaimed, I seem to be having a lot of trouble getting into Miss Rowling's crowning achievement: after three unsuccessful tries, I'm still stuck at page 10.

The Beatles + The Rolling Stones 365 Days
by Simon Wells
Two excellent photo collections. To avoid needless (and, frankly, pointless) discussions about The Beatles versus The Stones, both books were bought.

Action Figure Field Guide by Mark Bellomo
A handy pocket by the legendary, larger-than-life New York-based toy collector Mark Bellomo. His personal collection (35,000 pieces and counting) can be seen up close in a series of 18 YouTube clips, courtesy of Flophouse Films. Highly enjoyable and thus recommended.

Michael Jackson - The Magic & The Madness by J. Randy Taraborrelli
The same book I bought in 2009, but this time in its original English language. And even more dirt cheap at €1.45. Crazy.

Michael Jackson - The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story by J. Randy Taraborrelli
And, eh, the same book yet again, this time updated to include the unfortunate passing of Mr. Jackson.

The Simpsons A Complete Guide To our Favorite Family by Ray Richmond
The extremely excellent episode guide, featuring all episodes from Seasons 1-8. My parents took this book home from a trip to New York in 1998, and the book has since become one of my all-time favourites. Now in a complete state of decay (glue that has come off, wrinkled pages), I decided to purchase it again. Just to have a spare copy, indeed, but why not when the asking price is a mere €2.75?

Woodstock Peace, Music & Memories
by Brad Littleproud and Joanne Hague
A fascinating and revealing look behind the scenes of the music festival that changed the world and ended the sixties. Have you heard the adagium:
"If you remember the sixties, you weren't there"? This book rectifies the situation for those who were there, and those who were born after the fact.

The Beatrice Letters by Lemony Snicket
This gift from Pim Verhulst and Peter De Voecht nicely accompagnies my A Series of Unfortunate Events collection.

Love Begins in Winter by Simon Van Booy
Belgian actress Manon Verbeeck (who got an Oscar for her first lead role) recommended this book to me. I struggled through the first story and haven't taken the time to read the others.

500 Essential Cult Movies by Jennifer Eiss
Exactly as it says on the tin, and on the cover: a rundown of 500 essential cult movies. Right up my alley, even though I don't watch that many cult movies.

Treasure Planet - A Voyage of Discovery
by Jeff Kurtti
The "Art of" companion to one of Disney's most underrated movies. The movie flopped, so this catalogue was never reprinted. Thus, hard to find and expensive. Cue "just a lifelong obsession" (to quote John Silver) to acquire A Voyage of Discovery, which finally paid off when Parisian store "Pulp's Art" sold their copy for €50. Hardly the loot of a thousand worlds, but one awesome artbook all the same.

Liefde in tijden van cholera
by Gabriel Garcìa Màrquez
Birthday present from Evelien Claeyé, who knew about my love for his classic Cien Años de Soledad. Liefde in tijden van cholera is the Dutch version of Love in the Time of Cholera.

De Vijanden by Hugo Claus
A so-called "cinéroman", which combines the story with pictures from the movie adaptation. Belgian director Robbe De Hert, one of my heroes, played one of the leads in the movie.

The Art of Walt Disney by Christopher Finch
A phenomenal encyclopedia, stuffed with info, tidbits and photos. Sure enough, it's a reprint, but don't let this fact put you off. Fully updated for the 21st century - as well as featuring Pixar's incredible contributions to the Mouse pantheon - and as relevant as ever.




Julian De Backer, 12 November 2013