For the longest time, friends were telling me how great NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" was. It wasn't until last year that I finally gave the Wait, Wait podcast a try. It was love at first listen. Now, I can (and often do) have 200 podcasts on my iPod but I will ignore them all if there's a new episode of Wait, Wait.
In the book world, I was always a little ashamed that I had never read Maus, despite all of the raves, accolades and recommendations from friends. Maybe I thought it would be too heavy or that I wouldn't be able to get through it. I was wrong on both counts. It was heavy, yes, but not too heavy. And I read both volumes in two days.
I am amazed at how well Art Spiegelman was able to balance the past with the present, giving you not only the story of his father during WWII, but also in his later years. Though the story was by no means light or happy, neither was it overly dark or depressing. It was real. And anyone who thinks a "funny book" is incapable of telling a moving, important story has never looked at this book.
Now I know why it won a Pulitzer, why it is taught in schools and why it may just be the most important graphic novel ever published.
What books have been recommended to you over and over, yet you still haven't read them? Don't worry, I won't judge.
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