Booklog 2008: Catch-Up Post the Sixth
Apr. 30th, 2008 12:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityofone51. No Castles Here, A.C.E. Bauer — A sweet kids’ book about fairy tales and growing up. Good characters, a bit of magical realism. I remember quite liking it at the time—it was a cozy, warm-cup-of-tea read—but it hasn’t stuck in my mind very well. There’s nothing about it that I would call particularly notable. It’s just…pleasant.
52. Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days, Brian K. Vaughan — Another Vaughan series I am trying to track down. (Damn you, library, for only having the first arc of Runaways!) This has a very interesting beginning: it’s a mix of superhero dynamics and post-9/11 politics. I’d really like to read more.
53. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Maggie O’Farrell — One of those family sagas full of stifling drawing rooms and deep secrets. This book had some interesting aspects to it: the historical facts about mental institutions and what women could be put away for were incredibly chilling, and the parts of the story told in stream-of-consciousness by a woman with Alzheimer’s were different and well done. The rest felt kind of paint-by-numbers, though: abuse! secret babies! quasi-incestuous stuff! Is this a serious literary novel or a vintage bodice-ripper? (Answer: it’s a serious literary novel because it’s partly told in stream-of-consciousness by a character with Alzheimer’s and has an unhappy ending). The whole, I felt, added up to less than the sum of its parts.
54. Born to Rock, Gordon Korman — Leo Caraway, Harvard-bound Young Republican, discovers that his biological father is famed punk rocker King Maggot. He ends up going on the road with pop and his band Purge for a summer reunion tour, and wackiness ensues. This is some highly enjoyable wackiness, folks. I had a great time reading this book—though I really do wish the ending had been less rushed.
55. One For Sorrow, Christopher Barzak —![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
resonant8 gave this one a thumbs-down and I really should have listened to her. But I was like, “It’s a homoerotic ghost story! There’s gotta be something in there I’ll like!” Uh, yeah. No. There really isn’t.
All the characters in this book make incredibly irrational decisions, which is especially annoying in the case of the narrator, whose head we’re supposed to be in. Yet we never get to see any of his thought processes. It’s a really baffling way to tell a story—I felt so disconnected from what was happening. The adults are also all dumb as posts, leaving me without a single real-seeming person to follow through this slow and meandering narrative. Adam’s a high school student who hates his family and hates his life, so he befriends a ghost and starts to fade away himself. I could see how this could have had a nice tragic, melancholy feel, but instead it’s just so frickin’ emo—like a Dashboard Confessional album that NEVER ENDS.
You know, Vintage, which I read last year, actually has a very similar plot. I had some issues with it, too, but they are so very minor in comparison. If you’re looking for a queer ghost story, I would definitely point you in that direction instead.
56. Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me, Ed. by Ben Karlin — The former executive producer of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report edits a collection of essays/stories that for the most part aren’t lessons so much as accounts of guys being stupid about sex and/or love. And for the most part, they’re pretty funny. Nick Hornby’s introduction had me laughing aloud, and there were plenty of other hilarious moments (although I was kind of disappointed by Stephen Colbert’s entry, which was a one-gag piece). I think Karlin did a good job of mostly not letting things stray toward the nasty or the misogynistic; Dan Savage’s piece about how he discovered he was not that keen on vaginas is probably the most squirm-worthy, but hey, it’s 1) by Dan Savage, 2) entitled “I Am a Gay Man,” and 3) still disclaimer-heavy. With the mood the internet is currently in (and I’m including myself here), this may not be the best book to pick up—Open Source and some incidents at work have kind of put men on thin ice with me at the moment—but when I read it, I enjoyed it and had some laughs, so. Guys, maybe if you stop being assholes, I can enjoy sex-related humor again! WORK ON THAT KTHX.
57. Flight (Vol. 1), Ed. by Kazu Kibuishi — As with the other two volumes I’ve read, I found the majority of the art very beautiful, but the stories they illustrate kind of bland and forgettable. My favorite from this volume was the one about the girl who grows wings (yes, wingfic, ha ha), but for me that was really the only standout.
58. X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga, Chris Claremont — I'm not sure I could have been an old-school comics fan: the dialogue is appalling, and there's lots of that much-parodied (but these days, rarely seen) thing where the characters explain what they're doing: "But by extending my claws made of adamantium—the strongest metal on earth—I can defeat you!" Also, I don't like the implication that Jean Grey/Phoenix's powers are in some way tied into her sexuality (because women who are interested in sex = evil!). And why is Storm always the first one defeated in a fight?
However, the panel where a pre-teen Kitty Pryde helps a hairy, naked Wolverine climb out of a giant golden bird cage was pretty sweet.
59. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold — I’m still trying to work out why this book never grabbed me. It’s well-written and well-plotted, as Bujold always is; her books are consistently smart. Unlike the Vorkosigan saga, however, I couldn’t get caught up in the world she had created here. This may partly be due to the fact that I tend to be more of a fan of space opera/science fiction than I am of high fantasy/faux-medieval stuff, but am I wrong in thinking the Vorkosigan saga more humorous, and its characters more vivid? Caz had a suitably angsty backstory and seemed like a plausible dude, but I was never moved by his plight, like I was for Miles’, and as for his love interest, Bertriz…who was she again? Even after things finally got rolling—it takes about 200 pages—I never felt swept up. Will try the next book, Paladin of Souls, as I already have it and, well, even eh-Bujold is a great deal better than most everything else out there; but I’m not feeling particularly rushed to do so.
60. The Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby — Reread. Like a cozy-warm blanket, is this book. I think Nick Hornby writing about books and reading is pretty much the ultimate comfort read for me. In this volume, he's funny, unpretentious, and genuinely curious about the world and the people in it. I wish I saw what he sees in Dickens, however.
Total Reviews: 60/70
52. Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days, Brian K. Vaughan — Another Vaughan series I am trying to track down. (Damn you, library, for only having the first arc of Runaways!) This has a very interesting beginning: it’s a mix of superhero dynamics and post-9/11 politics. I’d really like to read more.
53. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Maggie O’Farrell — One of those family sagas full of stifling drawing rooms and deep secrets. This book had some interesting aspects to it: the historical facts about mental institutions and what women could be put away for were incredibly chilling, and the parts of the story told in stream-of-consciousness by a woman with Alzheimer’s were different and well done. The rest felt kind of paint-by-numbers, though: abuse! secret babies! quasi-incestuous stuff! Is this a serious literary novel or a vintage bodice-ripper? (Answer: it’s a serious literary novel because it’s partly told in stream-of-consciousness by a character with Alzheimer’s and has an unhappy ending). The whole, I felt, added up to less than the sum of its parts.
54. Born to Rock, Gordon Korman — Leo Caraway, Harvard-bound Young Republican, discovers that his biological father is famed punk rocker King Maggot. He ends up going on the road with pop and his band Purge for a summer reunion tour, and wackiness ensues. This is some highly enjoyable wackiness, folks. I had a great time reading this book—though I really do wish the ending had been less rushed.
55. One For Sorrow, Christopher Barzak —
resonant8 gave this one a thumbs-down and I really should have listened to her. But I was like, “It’s a homoerotic ghost story! There’s gotta be something in there I’ll like!” Uh, yeah. No. There really isn’t.All the characters in this book make incredibly irrational decisions, which is especially annoying in the case of the narrator, whose head we’re supposed to be in. Yet we never get to see any of his thought processes. It’s a really baffling way to tell a story—I felt so disconnected from what was happening. The adults are also all dumb as posts, leaving me without a single real-seeming person to follow through this slow and meandering narrative. Adam’s a high school student who hates his family and hates his life, so he befriends a ghost and starts to fade away himself. I could see how this could have had a nice tragic, melancholy feel, but instead it’s just so frickin’ emo—like a Dashboard Confessional album that NEVER ENDS.
You know, Vintage, which I read last year, actually has a very similar plot. I had some issues with it, too, but they are so very minor in comparison. If you’re looking for a queer ghost story, I would definitely point you in that direction instead.
56. Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me, Ed. by Ben Karlin — The former executive producer of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report edits a collection of essays/stories that for the most part aren’t lessons so much as accounts of guys being stupid about sex and/or love. And for the most part, they’re pretty funny. Nick Hornby’s introduction had me laughing aloud, and there were plenty of other hilarious moments (although I was kind of disappointed by Stephen Colbert’s entry, which was a one-gag piece). I think Karlin did a good job of mostly not letting things stray toward the nasty or the misogynistic; Dan Savage’s piece about how he discovered he was not that keen on vaginas is probably the most squirm-worthy, but hey, it’s 1) by Dan Savage, 2) entitled “I Am a Gay Man,” and 3) still disclaimer-heavy. With the mood the internet is currently in (and I’m including myself here), this may not be the best book to pick up—Open Source and some incidents at work have kind of put men on thin ice with me at the moment—but when I read it, I enjoyed it and had some laughs, so. Guys, maybe if you stop being assholes, I can enjoy sex-related humor again! WORK ON THAT KTHX.
57. Flight (Vol. 1), Ed. by Kazu Kibuishi — As with the other two volumes I’ve read, I found the majority of the art very beautiful, but the stories they illustrate kind of bland and forgettable. My favorite from this volume was the one about the girl who grows wings (yes, wingfic, ha ha), but for me that was really the only standout.
58. X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga, Chris Claremont — I'm not sure I could have been an old-school comics fan: the dialogue is appalling, and there's lots of that much-parodied (but these days, rarely seen) thing where the characters explain what they're doing: "But by extending my claws made of adamantium—the strongest metal on earth—I can defeat you!" Also, I don't like the implication that Jean Grey/Phoenix's powers are in some way tied into her sexuality (because women who are interested in sex = evil!). And why is Storm always the first one defeated in a fight?
However, the panel where a pre-teen Kitty Pryde helps a hairy, naked Wolverine climb out of a giant golden bird cage was pretty sweet.
59. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold — I’m still trying to work out why this book never grabbed me. It’s well-written and well-plotted, as Bujold always is; her books are consistently smart. Unlike the Vorkosigan saga, however, I couldn’t get caught up in the world she had created here. This may partly be due to the fact that I tend to be more of a fan of space opera/science fiction than I am of high fantasy/faux-medieval stuff, but am I wrong in thinking the Vorkosigan saga more humorous, and its characters more vivid? Caz had a suitably angsty backstory and seemed like a plausible dude, but I was never moved by his plight, like I was for Miles’, and as for his love interest, Bertriz…who was she again? Even after things finally got rolling—it takes about 200 pages—I never felt swept up. Will try the next book, Paladin of Souls, as I already have it and, well, even eh-Bujold is a great deal better than most everything else out there; but I’m not feeling particularly rushed to do so.
60. The Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby — Reread. Like a cozy-warm blanket, is this book. I think Nick Hornby writing about books and reading is pretty much the ultimate comfort read for me. In this volume, he's funny, unpretentious, and genuinely curious about the world and the people in it. I wish I saw what he sees in Dickens, however.
Total Reviews: 60/70
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-02 04:43 pm (UTC)YES. Which doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to point it out when I encounter it, as it was one of the things that dampened my enjoyment of a comics arc that is supposedly a classic.
In that respect, and especially considering the DP saga came out in I believe the 80s, they're not doing anything different. Whether or not they should have is another complaint entirely.
It's not like I was surprised to discover sexist shit in comics, from the '80s or now. Frankly (and I mean this in the nicest way possible) I'm confused why, when seem to agree that "feminism has a ways to go in our culture," you seem to think that we have something to be arguing about here. What exactly are you objecting to in my pointing out that there's some misogyny in Jean Grey/Phoenix's portrayal? I'm sorry if I seem snappish, but this has been a sore subject lately, and I'm genuinely confused.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-02 08:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-02 08:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-02 08:27 pm (UTC)Yes, you can point out that such views exist, as I am well aware. However, what I don't understand is why you feel the need to. No one was saying the writers are terrible people or deliberately keeping women down or anything like that. You seem to be excusing/arguing on their behalf while insisting you are not doing so.
I don't mean to be harsh with you; I know you are a good guy. And maybe I myself am not being clear. I suggest you read this (http://cereta.livejournal.com/189901.html); it's far more articulate than I could ever be.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-02 09:12 pm (UTC)Either way, we should probably stop having it now. I think we will just end up giving each other stress headaches. ;-)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-02 09:27 pm (UTC)In this example, do you see what's wrong? How the enjoyment and pleasure of a majority group is privileged over the offence of a minority group? That's just what you're doing, only with gender instead of race. You're saying that the misogyny is there, but that it's okay because it's common and because most people—by which you mean 'the target comic book audience', by which I presume you mean straight white guys—wouldn't be offended. And then you're saying that women are too sensitive to these things. That's like a checklist of unexamined thinking right there.