As a blogger focusing on comic books I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. You can call it a graphic novel, an illustrated memoir, or whatever you'd like, but make no mistake, it is a comic book, and a pretty good one at that. Roz Chast is a cartoonist for the New Yorker magazine. In this book she tells the story of her elderly parents slow deterioration and her struggle to deal with it and help them. The subject matter could easily slide into maudlin sentiment, but Chast is uncompromising in her examination of the complicated relationship she has with her mother and father and the relationships they have with each other. Chast never portrays herself as a noble caregiver, but instead shows all the selfish thoughts that many of us try to hide during similar situations. The book is alternately hilarious, terrifying, and tragic - sometimes all on the same page. At times I was laughing uncontrollably at Chast's storytelling and cartooning abilities, but at one point near the end I literally had tears in my eyes. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? is a brilliant work of art, and its choice as a finalist for the National Book Award was well-deserved.