A Long Story of my Affair with the graphic book *Armchair BEA Week*

As any long time reader of this blog will probably know, I am a big fan of books in the graphic medium. Not comic books, but literary fiction and memoirs in the graphic format. I don't know exactly how I came to love this medium.

Which is the first graphic book I ever read? I don't know.

When did I read my first graphic book? I don't know that either.

Did I always love graphic books? Pretty sure, I did not.

I do know that the first graphic book I remember reading is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

For the longest time, I had the misconception that graphic books = comic books, of the Superman and Batman variety. Not that I have anything against them, but they are not exactly my cup of tea. And then, I found the book Persepolis in my best friend's bookshelf. I have to say - that moment was certainly very momentous for me, because that was probably the day I started looking for graphic books actively. I devoured Persepolis in two sittings, and I wanted to reread the book right away. Persepolis was a wonder of a book. A memoir. A war as the backdrop. A teenage girl with teenage issues. Tragedy. Comedy. All in graphics. The facial expressions of the characters were so vivid that I laughed and cried with the characters. Their yearnings and dreams were etched so hard on their faces that I cheered for them every single page.

I didn't read graphics books for a long time after that. Mainly because I didn't quite grasp the uniqueness of what I had just read, but also because I didn't know any other avid book reader with whom I could gush about Persepolis, and try to get more recommendations from. I hadn't heard about book blogs then, and when I finally did enter this sphere of the interwebs, it had not occurred to me that I could talk about Persepolis and similar books.

More than three years ago, I came across a graphic novel challenge that I considered joining. Mind you, even then I hadn't fully embraced the graphic medium, and books like Persepolis were still an exception in my mind. Somehow, by the middle of the year, I had read 14 graphic books - most of which I loved. By the end of that year, I had added about another 10 to that number. I can tell you that by then, I had no doubt in my head,

1. which genre or category Persepolis belonged to,
2. that Superman and Batman are not the only books narrated through pictures and aimed at the YA/adult audience,
3. and that, saying "I love graphic books" doesn't necessarily mean that the person reads comics.

So yeah, it took me a long time to get to a point where I began to live and breathe graphic books. So, if you tell me that you haven't read graphic books because you don't like comics, I can totally understand that. No problem. This medium is one of the most stereotyped media in the book industry, and it doesn't help that there are not many articles out there to refute that false impression. So I am asking you to consider giving this medium a try. Maybe you already did try something in the past, and it did not work for you. Or you never tried it because the only graphic books that are prominently displayed in stores are comic books.

What I have learned since my "induction" into this world of graphic book lovers, is that there is a graphic book for every genre. 

You like crime? Try Green River Killer.
Memoir? Try Persepolis, Maus, Smile, Blankets, Vietnamerica, Stitches, The Arrival, and more!
YA fiction? Try Anya's Ghost, Drama.
Psychological books? Try Lucille.
Historical Fiction? Try Boxers and Saints.
History? Try Anne Frank.
Dystopia or Zombies? Try Walking Dead.
Childhood Classics? Try Baby-Sitters Club (yes, the graphic version)
Fantasy? Try Lost and Found, American Born Chinese.
Humor? Try The Diary of the Wimpy Kid series.

I can give you a lot more recommendations, but I'll run out of space listing them. You can see more of the graphics books I've loved right here on my blog or on Goodreads. If you need different suggestions, comment below and I'll find you one. But just. read. a. graphic. book. (I do understand that maybe in the end, the graphic medium may not be for you. Just like, the verse format is probably not for me. It's okay.)

If you are already a graphic book fan, which one is your favorite in this medium? What is your graphic book history? 

If you are not, why not? Which book failed to win you over?


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