Books bought in 2012


Hope For Animals And Their World
by Jane Goodall, Thane Maynard and Gail Hudson
Bought after Miss Goodall's lecture in Brussels, this non-fiction book details her never-ending efforts in the preservation of endangered species. What saddened me the most, was her account of my favourite fish. The coelacanth survived for millions of years as a living fossil, has been discovered in the sixties and has since become extremely rare. What nature kept intact for such a long time, men fucked up in a mere 50 years. We are bad.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
by Bill Watterson
The best comic strip of all time, by the world's best cartoonist. Bill Watterson is a god amongst mortals.

Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary
by Bill Watterson
A bargain at $10 (plus taxes, sadly) in New York City's The Strand. I actually bought this before I purchased The Complete Collection.

A Series of Unfortunate Events V and VIII
by Lemony Snicket
Another Strand steal, at $3.95 per piece. The American editions are impossible to find in Belgium, and the UK's covers and lay-out are quite ugly.

Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart
As a major Hook-fan, this prequel written by the movie's screenwriter sounds like something that demands to be read. At just $1 (again, in The Strand), I could not not buy it. Unfortunately, pages 1-24 are missing. I used Twitter to contact the author and asked if I could receive the missing pages in a PDF-file or something of that order, but he never replied. He did become my follower. Weird.

Toys & Prices 2009 by Tom Bartsch (contr. ed.)
A price guide from 2009. Not much more to say. I have no rare toys, but I like to check out some of the more ridiculous prices.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by David James
Subtitled "A Photographic Journal", this book is, eh, a photographic journal. Excellent snaps from the shooting of the fourth movie. Unmissable for fans and nerds alike.

The Cult of LEGO by John Baichtal and Joe Meno
A right up my alley-birthday present from a few friends of mine. A lovely book that explores the cult of LEGO. Yet another book with a very clear title.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Another birthday present, but one I still have to read. No opinion as of now. The critics weren't mild, but who's foolish enough to trust critics?

Name That Movie by Paul Rogers
Yet another birthday present, this is a superb cartoon-esque widescreen book. Each page has no more than six drawings from a certain movie, but never the most obvious. It's up to the reader to discover which movie Rogers is describing. Brilliant and challenging.


Julian De Backer, 12 December 2013