A Geek Gift Guide, Part IV: Books, Comics and Graphic Novels

While games and gadgets are great, holding a book in your hand still takes the cake; at least for this particular geek. And while I'm going to recommend some good old-fashioned books for your perusal, I'm also going to talk about one of other true passions (outside of technology and investing): comic books. Before you stop reading, remember that many of today's biggest movies and TV shows are either based on long-standing comic characters (e.g., Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, 300) or long-time comic book writers (e.g., Lost, Heroes).

Books

I'm going to recommend some books that I've either read recently or am hoping to read very soon. For the most part, they've been published in 2007 but this shouldn't be confused for a "Best of 2007" list. Just books I liked and think are worth buying for your favorite geek this year.

Business & Investing

• Anatomy of the Bear: Lessons from Wall Street's Four Great Bottoms by Russell Napier
• The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• My Start-Up Life: What a Very Young CEO Learned on His Journey by Ben Casnocha
• Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott
• Your Money & Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich by Jason Zweig

Fiction

• Boomsday by Christopher Buckley
• Like You'd Understand, Anyway by Jim Shepard
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Non-Fiction

• God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
• The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis
• The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever by Christopher Hitchens
• The Science of Sherlock Holmes by E.J. Wagner
• unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity by David Kinnaman
  

Reference

• Pro Football Prospectus by Aaron Schatz
• The Book of General Ignorance by John Mitchinson
• The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden
• The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest by A.J. Jacobs

Comics, Trade Paperbacks, Graphic Novels and Other Illustrated Work

The comic book industry is no longer exclusively beholden to a monthly, serialized format. Many ongoing comics are written in arcs with the explicit intent of reprinting them in a collected edition. That has changed the type of stories being told (sometimes for the better, others for the worse). As I discuss some of the comics I think your geek should be reading, keep in mind that in many cases you can do so monthly or through collected editions; I will denote if I have a preference on a given title.

• Avengers (New Avengers and Mighty Avengers) by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and various pencilers
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Joss Whedon (writer) and Georges Jeanty (pencils)
• Captain America Omnibus by Ed Brubaker (writer) and Epting, Perkins, Lark, Martin and Weeks (pencils)
• DMZ by Brian Wood (writer) and Riccardo Burchielli (pencils)
• Exterminators by Simon Oliver (writer) and Tony Moore (pencils)
• Fables by Bill Willingham (writer) and Mark Buckingham (pencils)
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (writer and illustrator)
  
• Nightly News by Jonathan Hickman (writer and illustrator)
• Planet Hulk Hardcover by Greg Pak (writer) and Pagulayan, Lopresti, Santacruz, Frank and Miyazawa (pencils)
• Scalped by Jason Aaron (writer) and R.M. Guera (pencils)
• Sinestro Corps War
  • Green Lantern by Geoff Johns (writer) and Ivan Reis (pencils)
  • Green Lantern Corps by Dave Gibbons (writer) and Patrick Gleason (pencils)
  • Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special  by Geoff Johns (writer) and Ethan Van Sciver (pencils)
• Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore (writer and illustrator)
• The Completely MAD Don Martin by Don Martin
• The Immortal Iron Fist by Matt Fraction & Ed Brubaker (writers) and David Aja (pencils)
• The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (writer) and Charlie Adlard (pencils)
• Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan (writer) and Pia Guerra (pencils)

I'm ALWAYS looking for other reading recommendations so PLEASE share your recommendations for stuff that came out recently.

Up Next: DVDs (Movies and TV)...

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