Woodford House

35,084 pages read and 2,065 team points

Team members

Di M

8,440 pts

(5,698 pages read)

Blankets

By Craig Thompson

5 stars

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel about family, first love and coming of age. The author is the winner of TWO Eisner awards, made clear by the skilled and varied panel transitions, confident and abundant drawn textures combined with an engaging story make it easy to read this vast book effortlessly. A book that will stay with you for a long while.
Incomplete Works

By Dylan Horrocks

4 stars

An inspirational collection of short (sometimes fragmented) comics that convey the breadth and depth of Horrock’s oeuvre.
Children of Lovecraft

By Edited by Ellen Datlow

2 stars

As a lifelong fan of H P Lovecraft, I was looking forward to this anthology of modern horror short stories inspired “in theme and plot by Lovecraft’s Mythos.” Most missed the mark but three nailed the creepiness and atmospheric dread to the point where I kept experiencing deja Vu: “Nesters”, “Little Ease” and “On these Blackened Shores of Time.” And you can’t do Lovecraft without evoking the smells…
The Pale North

By Hamish Clayton

2 stars

I found the first half of this book beautifully written but irritatingly mysterious. Set in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in the capital, it is essentially a love story for the city, as well as being about a love abandoned, and all mixed up with a ghost story. I was bored by the second half of the book…ultimately, Clayton’s first book, Wulf was much stronger.
Mansfield and Me

By Sarah Laing

5 stars

I enjoyed this book even more on my third read. It tells the story of Katherine Mansfield with many uncanny connections and parallels with the life of the author. It reads as a memoir and biography with some fantastical elements as well. Colour and sepia are used to delineate between Laing’s adventures and Mansfield’s life in this graphic novel.
Hicksville

By Dylan Horrocks

5 stars

A globally famous graphic novel with lots of layers and commentary about the comic industry set mostly in NZ and LA. I’ve both enjoyed and understood a lot more with my second reading.
30 Days of Night

By Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith

5 stars

My all time favourite horror graphic novel with incomparable, evocative and atmospheric illustrations by Ben Templesmith.
The Magic Pen

By Dylan Horrocks

5 stars

This graphic novel is an hilarious take on comic writer’s block and subverting the male view. Full of vintage styled lines like “viridian vamps”, “trembling Taniwhas” and “wailing wahines” - expertly illustrated.
In a Fishbone Church

By Catherine Chidgey

0 stars

Struggled to get into this one. Much prefer her more recent “The Axeman’s Carnival” although this first book shows how much Chidgey has developed her craft. A family story from five members with a sometimes epistolary approach.
Stories on the Four Winds

By Editors Brian Bargh & Robyn Bargh

5 stars

A collection of satisfying short stories, always with a twist that stay with you to ponder long afterwards. Of note especially Albert Wendt.
Wulf

By Hamish Clayton

5 stars

Wulf tells the story, through the eyes of two English sailors, of the the shrewd, but brutal chief, Te Rauparaha, who launched campaigns against southern enemies and commandeered much of the North island and top of the South Island in the early 1800s. Beautifully written prose and poetry evoke the landscape of bush clad nz and early interactions with traders. Although it took a while to embrace this novel, eventually I couldn’t put it down.
The New Zealand Wars - A brief history

By Matthew Wright

5 stars

Best book(let) I’ve read yet on this topic - concise and easy to understand. Outlines the sequence of events chronologically, conveys a sense of the key players on all sides and doesn’t shy away from the often tragic outcomes, although Parihaka lacked discussion.
The Colonial New Zealand Wars

By Tim Ryan and Bill Parham

3 stars

More research. Read 63 somewhat interesting pages out of 226. Loads of useful illustration, photos and sometimes repetitive descriptions of battles, weapons and uniforms.
The New Zealand Wars 1820-72

By Ian Knight

4 stars

A useful research book as it summarises the key events but most importantly for my interests, what all involved wore, what they were armed with and how they operated, supported by extensive descriptions and excellent visuals.
Lifel1k3

By Jay Kristoff

3 stars

As the cover says, “it’s Romeo and Juliet meets Mad Max meets X-men with a little bit of Bladerunner from the sidelines.” As a big fan of Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire series I can see how this post apocalyptic YA version builds his writing style and explores his typically strong female characters. Fast paced denouncement of AI robotics.
Tangi

By Witi Ihimaera

5 stars

Utterly beautiful prose about love, grief and losing one’s father.
Turncoat

By Tihema Baker

3 stars

Set in the future, Turncoat is sci-fi parody of colonialism’s impact on the colonised: in this world, humans and aliens; and how interpretation of a covenant (treaty) are enacted and breached in favour of the colonisers. Uncomfortable concepts to contemplate, alternating with laugh-out-loud observations that feel “strangely” familiar.
The Frozen River

By Ariel Lawhon

5 stars

Couldn’t put this one down. Raw and realistic portrayal of a midwife asserting her rights and dealing to gaslighters c. 1800 in small town Maine, USA.
The Graveyard Book volume 1

By Neil Gaiman

5 stars

Cute and engaging ghost story about a little boy growing up in a graveyard cared for by ghosts. Shades of Lincoln in the Bardo
The Handmaid’s Tale - graphic novel

By Margaret Atwood

4 stars

More telling and less traumatic than the tv series and a quicker way to read the book.
1984 The Graphic Novel

By George Orwell

4 stars

I read this book 50 years ago and saw the movie version in 1984. Always wanted to read it again and more so given changes in world politics- it hasn’t disappointed. The comic format reinforces the warning.
Rat

By Stephen King

4 stars
If it Bleeds

By Stephen King

5 stars

Builds on the Mr Mercedes characters and introduces a new series in between that I didn’t know I was missing. Suspenseful and classic King in novella format.
The Life of Chuck

By Stephen King

1 stars

Confusing. A story in reverse?
Mr Harrigan’s Phone

By Stephen King

4 stars

21 - 0 - 1

Add pages read

Woodford House

35,084 pages read and 2,065 team points

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78