I have a LOT of books. I have favorites that I reread, books on music and history I keep for reference, children's books from my own and my children's past, and more. I also have some books that I have not read though they've been on my shelves for quite a while. So I set a goal of reading some of them, maybe eventually all of them.
I started with "Kill Shakespeare," a graphic novel. The intriguing premise is a truly fictional world inhabited by characters from Shakespeare's plays. Hamlet is the main character, who has to determine which of two warring sides is the "good side," while dealing with his father's ghost who wants to come back to life.
I struggle with graphic novels. I think they are a wonderful idea. I had students who hated to read, but would devour graphic novels. And I have people in my life with reading struggles who happily read graphic novels. But I have several personal issues with this genre. They go so slow because you have to look at the illustration to figure out what's going on besides reading the words. I find it hard to tell the characters apart from the illustrations. I like having "said Hamlet," and "King Richard glared at Iago," etc. I also like the written explanations of the action.
I did get to the end of the book where I discovered "to be continued." Grrr.
My next TBR is a normal novel. Though, come to think of it, it is part of a series. Oh well.
It's wonderful, that our world is filled with different genres, so we all can find what helps us live a reading life. Graphic novels aren't your jam, and you have figured out why, but good for you, for not giving up on them.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of graphic novels, but if they get reluctant readers to read then I am all for it. I would rather form illustrations in my head rather than see what someone else's interpretation of the character and action is. arjeha
ReplyDeleteI too like written descriptions of action, settings and characters. It helps me get lost in the book more.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of graphic novels either, different strokes for different folks. However, I do love novels-in-verse. I'm reading The House in the Cerulean Sea for my book club. How's your new read?
ReplyDeleteIt definitely took me some time to become a reader of graphic novels. At first, I found them so frustrating! But as I've read more of them, I've found what I like, and I really appreciate the experience of getting lost in a visual world, especially the more colorful ones. I haven't heard of Kill Shakespeare and it sounds intriguing. Have you tried Hey Kiddo, Page by Paige, or This One Summer?
ReplyDeleteI can so relate with your post! --How you feel about graphic novels in general, how you feel about them for personal reading, the stacks of books in the house, .... I've now done a few graphic novels as read alouds with my class (I'm lucky to have a document camera in the room), and we all get so much out of discussing these together. --That's helping me appreciate reading them with a group, but I'm still with you about them not being my go-to genre to read on my own.
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