Guilty Pleasures

Against ‘Guilty Pleasures’

Musical guilty pleasures aren’t about guilt

Guilty pleasures

GUILTY PLEASURES

Guilty Pleasures, The Body, And The Mind

Most of these posts are about music, and shockingly some of my favorite musicians are named in the guilty pleasure category. That's really neither here nor there, I've known for quite some time my secret love of Ace of Base means that I have terrible taste in music. I'm okay with that, and I've come to terms with it. However, I wanted to address this topic when it comes to books. 

A few weeks ago, I asked my Twitter followers about their guilty pleasures. The answers ranged from Harry Potter fan fiction, Archie Comics, and bodice ripping romance novels. I once had a professor admit that she drove 20 miles out of her way to a bookstore in another city to buy romance novels. She said she did this because the local bookshop was where she ordered all of her PhD material, and she didn't want to face the sly smiles from the staff. In my estimation, that's a bit much, but I can understand the concern and the judgment faced from peers. Having a respected opinion about certain aspects of literature, politics, or science means that an image has been created. Finding out that a person who's life work has been studying feminist literary icons, and also likes Fabio style romance novels lends itself to some small chuckles. Although, the Kindle makes that easier now.

I have recently discovered that my guilty pleasures aren't all that bad. My love for Young Adult literature is well known. My readers understand my love of comic books, dystopian fiction, science fiction and fantasy. For a long time I thought I was alone. Turns out, I am very much not. My concern is when we label something a guilty pleasure we may be shoving some out of literary conversation. Now, I may not care for a pink covered romance novel, but to discount that desire to read? That is a bad idea. That energy and passion can be easily transferred to a child. A new reader can be born. Lets take the guilty out of it and just spread the pleasure of reading.

(I couldn't resist)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I've fucking had it. Laini Taylor wrote another love story that makes me so angry I threw the book across the room. Twice. In this version of the abusive love story the sexy guy is an angel who tries to tries to kill the main character more than once, tosses her family into a magical prison, stalks her, and then attacks her in front of people she knows. Oh, he's 50 and she's 17. THIS IS NOT FUCKING OKAY! Why do we keep thinking this story is sweet and lovely? Why do we keep thinking that the star crossed lovers are some sort of ideal match?

Books like this normalize stalking and abusive behavior. Authors shove it out under the guise of it being a love story, but it boils down to excuse making. Oddly, we don't question it as readers. This book has over four stars on Amazon, it's being praised by other authors,  and it's fodder for reading summer reading lists. I'm exasperated. I'm not asking authors to be perfect, but I'm asking them to stop making this seem like it's the ideal. Give a young woman a partner not a stalker.

I'm moving on to Light in August by William Faulkner. Yes, I realize this book may be sexist and misogynistic, but Faulkner's excuse is that he wrote in the 1930's.  Taylor doesn't get one. She should know better.

Link Round Up

World Book Night has chosen it's books for the UK and Ireland, THE BOOKS 2012. For those who are unfamiliar World Book Night  is designed to  spread the love of reading. Givers sign up though the website and promise to hand out copies of their book to people who either do not have access or chose not to read. I will keep you posted when the US books are announced.

Book Riot did article, Reading Pathways: Haruki Murakami. This week his magnum opus 1Q84 was published in the US. I'm waiting for the paperback to come out, so I'll be reading it some time next year. Also, I did a write up of Kafka on the Shore. Murakami's body of work is astonishingly good.

Another Book Riot article, The End of Cosmos: Chick Lit in the Recession Age. I don't think that Chick Lit as a genera has gone away. Its morphed into something new. Carrie Bradshaw's cocaine* fueled shoe shopping expeditions have now become something slightly more realistic. As the economy improves I expect it to flip back to the fantasy that it once was.

Why do we love great literature? The article, Perfectly flawed is a fantastic analysis. Our favorite characters are flawed like we are.

Finally, Is Amazon Short-Changing Authors? This is a great read, I own a Kindle, and I'd like to think that Amazon is pay authors fairly. I'm going to wait for more criticism and more voices on this. It is a conversation worth having.

(I took this picture. It's my current bookmark. Isn't it cute?) 

Kafka on the Shore

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

In the world of fiction rarely does a book live up to its hype. For the past six years I have dodged and weaved out of reading Kafka on the Shore because it was thrust into my hands by more than one person. Any time a book is recommended that many times to me I get nervous. It could be Harry Potter great or Twilight bad. Happily, Kafka is an amazing novel. Murakami prose carries the novel to a place where time and reality are not what we know or understand.

Generally, novels like Kafka end up being beaten to death by literary heavy weights. Professors, students, supposed learned men, and pseudo-intellectuals dissect it with in an inch of its life. Papers are written, classes are taught, and every bit of fun is sucked out of the novel and tossed onto a blackboard. Freshmen college English classes are bound up by novels like this. I feel like English departments at major universities do this to separate the wheat from the chaff. If a student can tolerate their third year post doc loudly pontificating about novels like this, then he or she can move on to an English major or minor. With that being said, Kafka deserves more than that. It should be read by people who do not read. It should be picked up and desired by high school students trying to figure out who they are. It should be lingered upon by grandparents who have memories made out sunlight. It is a book that is meant to be shared.

Be that as it may, there is a lot to be intimidated by when reading a book like this. First, the author's native language is not English. Murakami is Japanese, his English speaking fans often end up waiting a year or two after his books are published for a translation. No worries, I have read Japanese literature in the past, and J. Philip Gabriel does an amazing job. Gabriel makes the feel of the text innately non-Japanese. Second, there are a lot of illusions to Greek myth. Murakami does not send the reader diving back into old textbooks looking for meaning, he gives short, simple, and wonderful explanations while going along. The myth of Oedipus Rex becomes more of a gateway than a barrier. Lastly, it won a World Fantasy Award. Do not let the genera label of Fantasy get in the way. The book contains no wizards, castles, or Hobbits. It does contain talking cats, Colonel Sanders, Johnnie Walker, a large stone, and an old man that reminded me of my grandfather.

As I place Kafka on the Shore back on my shelf I realize that I have made a friend. I will revisit it later, in a few years, just so I can reflect on the story from a different perspective. Honestly though, is that not the sign of a great book?

My next read is Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I am reading it for a new book club called Forever Young Adult. Apparently, it is a book club for adults that like to read YA fiction. There is also a promise of cocktails at the meeting, so I was SOLD.

Right to Ride

Right to Ride: Streetcar Boycotts and African American Citizenship in the Era of Plessy v. Ferguson  by Blair LM Kelley

In previous posts, I have said that I had an excellent high school history teacher. He made history come alive and  taught my class the history of the United States like it was oral tradition. With that being said, I have gaps. When I first learned of Dr. Kelley's book it made my reading list due to that. My understanding of African American history goes something like this, President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil War ends, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat and is arrested, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott begins.  See that comma between the Civil War ends and Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat? That is the span of 90 years. I have some work to do.

Dr. Kelley's book took me to a part of history right after Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court Case was decided. It examines segregation on public transit and the way people fought against it. Right to Ride gives a look at the tradition of boycotts and civic action that are woven into the fabric of the United States. Our most famous examples may be Dr. Martin Luther King, but he was relying on a long tradition. The model for the modern Civil Rights movement happened in those years right after Plessy.

As for the book, Dr. Kelley's writing style makes Right to Ride a treat. It is easily read, coming in at just under 200 pages. It is also impeccably researched with reference footnotes.* The best praise for a book like this, is that Dr. Kelley gets out of the way of the story. Too many times non-fiction authors feel the need to interject themselves into the history, or give conjecture that is not necessary. History is fascinating enough without unnecessary commentary.   Right to Ride gives the compelling story minus any ego.  It very much worth reading and sharing with friends. It would make a great book club read, or just a discussion piece for a group of friends.

Moving on, my next book is Kafka on the Shore. I am reading some Haruki Murakami in preparation for 1Q84. I like to get to know an author before I read his opus.  

(Image brought to you by: xkcd)

Link Round Up

An infographic: Who Reads More

Where Are the Teen-Lit Protagonists Who Just Happen to Be Gay? To an extend they don't exist yet, but we are getting there. I feel like J. K. Rowling making Dumbledore gay was a first step. Normalization is another generation away. My thought is that it will happen when gay characters on TV stop being gay characters and simply turn into characters.

La Casa Azul Bookstore. If anyone can pitch in on this project it would be much appreciated. I love ideas like this, and I really want to see it happen. Besides, a crowd sourced bookstore in Harlem? Where else in the USA could this be possible.

The new film ‘Anonymous’ says the Bard was a fraud. Don’t buy it. The best thing about movies like this is that it brings renewed interest into the Bard's work. I can't wait to see some of them done.

Read More Canadian Literature!: Genre Edition. I agree. Just do it. You will thank me later.

Delirium

Delirium

I am so tired of this story. Lauren Oliver has rewritten Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Titanic, and Twilight. This time the love story is set in a dystopian Portland, Main and it ends how one would expect. *sigh*

The plot to the above stories goes something like this:

1. Take one female character and make something terribly wrong with her. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is a Capulet, West Side Story, Maria is Puerto Rican, Titanic, Rose is rich, and Twlight, Bella is human. This brings us to Lena in Delirium, her flaw is that she has low self esteem.

2. Take one mysterious guy who is kind of a jerk, and make the male and female characters fall in love. Romeo is a violent, but somehow Juliet still finds him sexy. Tony has similar qualities to Romeo, but yet again Maria finds him irresistible. Jack treats Rose like complete crap, but she comes back to him because he is cute. Edward is a flat out asshole to Bella, but that does not stop the two of them from falling in love. This brings us to Alex. On the most important day of Lena's life he creates a disruption so large that it screws up the results of a vital test. 

3. Start changing the girl because the fundamental flaw is so terrible that she unacceptable the way she is. Juliet and Romeo have sex and then get married, thus making Juliet a Montague. Maria and Tony do something similar. These are notable because of the transformational mythos around sex. Men can have as much sex as they want, women, however, can only have sex if it changes them. Jack takes Rose slumming it though the poor part of the boat, because it is totally impossible for Rose to have been written with any sort of empathy. Edward and Bella go though some push me, pull you, I love you, I don't love you, stay away from me, fine lets get married emotional abuse. Alex takes Lena to the Wilds and shows here that life can be totally different, but only with him. 

4. Kill them off. Romeo and Juliet both die. Tony dies thus leaving Maria alone and broken. Jack freezes to death leaving Rose emotionally traumatized. Edward changes Bella into an undead monster. (See what happened? She didn't actually die, she was just completely changed from what she was.) Alex gets shot, leaving Lena emotionally incapable of dealing with her new world. 

We push these stories on young girls and hold up these relationships as some sort of ideal love. That idea is so abhorrent to me. It is not love, it is abuse. I'm going to leave you with the words of Dorthy Parker:

 "This book is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with great force."

I am now moving onto A Fine Balance. Crossing my fingers that this is better.

(Image brought to you by: prettylittlepaperbacks)

 

  

Going Bovine

Going Bovine

Libba Bray's book is full of darkness. Her main character, Cameron, is dying of Mad Cow Disease.  He also must save the world. What happens is a two week long adventure that includes a sugar addicted angel, a positive thinking cult, a talking garden gnome, a magic trumpet, and one ancient Cadillac. Bray creates an adventure of epic proportions it zooms back and forth between the magical realism of Cameron's adventure and his hospital room. Untimely, the lesson of the book is live each day to its fullest, and Bray's crafting of the story makes that seem not as trite as it seems.

Going Bovine is a fantastic introduction magical realism. Bray makes the genera completely accessible to a teen audience. Literature is all about building blocks. Having a young adult read and enjoy a book like Going Bovine can create a rich love of a work like One Hundred Years of Solitude. Or it could even get slightly more dangerous and that same young adult could go digging for works by Alejo Carpentier. Be that as it may, Bray does unique justice to the genera her characters are fully realized, and feel like high school students. Much of the YA literature that I read falls far short of that. It is mostly an adult projecting what a modern teen would feel. Bray captures the emotional response, the emotional limitations, and the wonderful perspective that a 16 year old has. Also, what best to test his psyche than give him a talking garden gnome as a best friend? Genius.

Walking away, Going Bovine is going to be a book that is around forever. I can see young people (and adults) connecting to Cameron on a very emotional level. The book is funny, tragic, joyful, painful, and one of the best life lessons I have had the joy to read. At the end of the day, I have become a huge Libba Bray fan, and will be adding more of her books to my reading list.

Next up is Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Another YA dystopia, I know I know... I have a thing for the genera.

(Image brought to you by: kelly-lea)

Link Round Up

More Intelligent Life did a great write up on why The Great Gatsby has never lost its allure called, The Book of Illusion. Fitzgerald’s novel is timeless. It reflects modern society so well. Please read this if you have not.

Amazon has published the Best Books of October, 2011. I am downloading some that are on this list on they will be in future write ups.

Book Riot discusses the all too important topic of You Don’t Have A Favorite Author. I agree with the article, I do not have a favorite author, but I do have favorite books.

Another great article from Book Riot, In Defence of Darkness. I have talked about this previously in regards to YA Lit, and the article sums it up well.

The Daily Dish asks How Long Can Fantasy Remain Mainstream? So, I guess I must have been knocked unconscious because I didn't really realize fantasy has become mainstream. Sure, The Game of Thrones books are now a TV show. However, I doubt most fantasy is going to reach basic cable or regular network. A show on a premium cable network is not exactly mainstream.

The Daily Beast tossed out a lovely article called, Ode to the Bookstore.

Lastly, Cracked wrote this article that is slightly hyperbolic. I am going to pen a response later on this week. 6 Reasons We're In Another 'Book-Burning' Period in History

(Image brought to you by: La Ola)

Variant

Variant by Robison Wells

When I initially downloaded this book it was due to the comparisons with Ender's Game. I absoultely loved Card's novel about Ender Wiggan, and I though a fresh perspective on it would be nice. Wells' novel is decent enough take on the M. Night Shyamalan school of twists and turns, but it falls flat. Benson’s character seems a tad one dimensional, and the story hits a few snags and hiccups. All in all, Variant is not a terrible YA book, it is just not one of the best I have read in recent months. It is good enough to toss to an 11 or 12 year old over a long weekend, but I have a feeling, if asked about it six months later, recalling plot points may be a problem.

With that being said, I was reading an author bio of Wells, and it said that his books are aimed towards LDS  youth. I took a step back, Variant did not feel like a specifically religious book.* Also, this is not the first time I have picked up a YA Science Fiction book and had it come from an Mormon author. Upon doing some further research, I came across this article, “Is It Something in the Water?” Why Mormons Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. This somewhat concerns me, because books like Variant may be targeted  towards LDS kids, and placed in a religious section. There is really no need for that. It may suffer the same fate that GLBT teen lit faces being buried in a dusty part of a bookstore, avoided by all but a brave few willing to go into its catacombs. I will have to watch this author, being categorized as a religious book for teens would be very unfair.

(image brought to you by: adesignersnest)

*I am an Atheist, and I have been known to walk away from overtly religious texts. Using religion to further a plot, and as an element of story telling? Fine, C. S. Lewis did it well. Use it to bash me over the head and make me fell guilty? Not so fine. The Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley is the biggest offender. 

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

When Barbara Ehrenreich took up the challenge from her editor to see if she could survive on low income jobs, she did not know where it would take her. Six jobs and three cities later, she wrote this book. It is a small examination of what it is like to be among the working poor in the late 1990s and early 2000s.* It is an eye opening experience. Things like housing, food, and worker treatment are thrust in her face. When Ehrenreich becomes part of the invisible class, she discovers that the existence is difficult, and finding a way out is almost impossible. Books like this are a fantastic primer into studying poverty and income inequality. Ehrenreich's prose makes the book very accessible, and she tackles a difficult topic with great ease.

This is not to say that the book is above criticism. First, Ehrenreich skips a vital part of being someone who is working poor. In each city, she allows herself to rent a car. This is a fantastic luxury. Transportation and transportation costs are one of the largest concerns among low income earners. She glazes over it, and never addresses it. I feel like the book could have been a richer and deeper experience had she had to coordinate a bus route to her job. That is part of the daily experience of many people I know.

Second, I absolutely hated the way Ehrenreich quit her jobs. She simply walked out on each and every one of them. I realize that she was using the experiences as part of a book, but it just struck me as so deeply unprofessional and privileged to toss a job aside like that.  Two weeks notice is something that everyone, no matter what part of the socioeconomic strata, should give. It grated on me so much that I nearly refused to finish the book. The jobs she was working were not something disposable to her coworkers. They did not have the privilege to walk away when they were tired of it. Ehrenreich not acknowledging that is terribly frustrating.

Lastly, there were moments in the book where Ehrenreich's tone felt patronizing. Most of the companies that she sought employment with used pre-employment screening to weed out undesirable candidates. The vast majority of the time this was a personality test. At one point, she screams at another co-worker that "anyone" could pass that test, it was easy. No. Not everyone Barbara. Not women who are functionally illiterate who never graduated from high school.

Circling back around, this book is worth reading. It gives a great starting point for understanding the plight of the working poor in the United States. Yes, there may be some frustrating aspects to it, but the overall theme of the book still rings true. Before I wrap up this write up, I would like to direct my readers to Spent. It is an online game that allows one to experience, in less than ten minutes, what it is like to live as a low income worker. The choices are difficult, the game is rigged, but to some it may be an eye opener. Click the link and let me know how it goes.

Moving on, I need a break, so I am delving back into the world of YA Lit. Variant just came out a few days ago, and it is begging for a write up.


*Part of the reason I noted the dates is due to the fact this book is 11 years old. Ehrenreich wrote and experienced this book during one of our last economic booms. The plight of the working poor is much more difficult today than it was 11 years ago.

(Image brought to you by: shannoneileenblog) 

Tinkers

Tinkers

Paul Harding has a problem. Tinkers, his first novel, won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. When he publishes his second novel constant comparisons will be made. Harding will have to wade though that mire, and come out the other end. He has to, because his stories are begging to be told. They tap into something very basic and make it poetic. The novel made regular men jump out of reality, and exist in a place right next to us. George Washington Crosby teaches the reader to live though death and memory. I do not think I can sing the praises of this novel enough. Its use language and imagery is impressive. Coming in at 190 pages, Tinkers is in novella territory. Do not be fooled by its size, the story is expansive and highly detailed. This is a book that made me want to exist within its pages. I wanted to stand where the characters stood, and experience the world as they did. I have a feeling that I will be revisiting Tinkers in the future, the book will stay with me, and it will mean different things to me at different points in my life.

I realize, in the past, I have been critical of fiction. Most of the time it is because most fiction is inaccessible. Books need to be enjoyable, fiction doubly so. Tinkers has the ability to be both accessible, and then not at the same time. The story weaves in and out of time, much like  Slaughterhouse-Five. The fantastic elements of Tinkers come mainly though projection and symbolism. It would be a great book for a the fifth or sixth meeting of a book club, or possibly, a book read over a long weekend.

Next up is Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. This is a book that's been sitting on my shelf for years. It has been recommended more than once and I feel like I need to get it out of the way.

(Image brought to you by: mabelsfables)

Link Round Up

NPR did a lovely story on What Borders Left Behind. I am assuming lots of empty spaces and newly unemployed people. However, some are saying that the big box space is being filled. I'm going to watch this closely, because we have an empty Borders location near my apartment.

Why I Read Young Adult Literature, gives some great arguments on why one would want to pick up YA Lit, and read it. Honestly, genera writing in general has out done and paced regular fiction for years. Pick up a book on this list. I am sure it will be a surprise.

The Cursed Dearth of Literary Sports Novels. This article made me laugh. I have not been exposed to too many sports novels. It is my understanding that this genera has not taken off because of the target market. Most sports minded men do not read a lot of fiction. I will go seek some sports books out, just so I can get a feel for them.

Want to swap books with strangers on the internet? Well, click on Paperback Swap. I may try this.

Lastly, some criticism of the Nobel Prize for Literature. I have a list of authors 15 deep that deserve this honor, but none ever receive it.

Oh, I have a Tumblr now. So, you know, follow it.

(Image brought to you by: noseinabook)

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

What can I say about Mark Twain's classic novel? PhDs have written volumes on it, students have had it for assigned reading, libraries always have copies. It is the kind of book every English teacher has on a shelf in the classroom. Every at home library seemingly has a copy, and Amazon has made it a free download on the Kindle. Huck Finn is so ubiquitous it is almost easy to skip. Most teachers or professors assume the book has already been read, and most students do not mind missing out on it as an assignment.

Twain's novel echos though literature today. It is hard pressed to find a boy character that does not owe a debt to Huck in. Whether it be a love of adventure, or the ability to get into and out of a sticky situation nearly unscathed, Huck created that mold. I found myself involved in a discussion about Huck, and it was gently pointed out that Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn laid the groundwork for great American novels like On The Road and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Twain gave the go head for American males to question their place in society.   He gave them the ability to question the values and  traditions of their fathers. Tom and Huck's adventures may seem rather blithe and common today, but they were revolutionary at the time.

As I walk away from this book, I have decided to add more Twain to my reading list. Next year I want to get though more of his essays and short stories. His writing style and voice is so unique and distinct that I want to read more.

My next book is Tinkers. Can not wait to start it.

(Image brought to you by: geekconfessions(

Leviathan

Leviathan

Scott Westerfeld's steampunk, young adult, alternative World War 1 history is not my cup of tea. That is to say, I've never been fond of action adventure books. To me, that has always been an area where comics and animated features step in, and take over, the medium lends itself to that scope of a world. Obviously, this is personal preference. Westerfeld's book is written well, the characters are charming, the world is fully realized, and the story is compelling. It would be a great novel for a kid that can not stop watching Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or Firefly. Also, it's the first book in a trilogy, so I am sure over time the story line would become far more detailed.

Part of the reason I picked up this novel was due to the Austin Teen Book Festival. I'm glad to say that I went. It is the second year for it, and I'm happy to say that it is expanding. Young Adult Literature is one of break out genres of the last 15 years. Between Twilight and Harry Potter more and more adults are turning to YA Lit for a reading fix. Be honest, can we blame them? Check out the most recent Pulitzer Prize winners. Most of these novels are challenging to academics, let alone the average reader. YA Lit gives adults an outlet that normal fiction can not. It allows for a story to be accessible, easy to read, and fun. All things a great book should be.  Authors like Westerfeld will enjoy more and more success as the years go on, because he can create a world where people want to visit.

Up next is a selection for the Required Reading Revisited Book Club. I am ashamed to say I have never read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain has been a blind spot for me for far too long. I hope it is as good as everyone says that it is.

Also, I wanted to give a list of my next few books:

Tinkers

Island Beneath the Sea

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

A Fine Balance

(Image brought to you by: journal.florali)

Link Round Up

Internet Archive adds its three millionth scanned book. The progress of this project is astonishing.

MetaMaus by Art Spiegelman -- book trailer. Some of my readers will remember my write up of Maus from Graphic Novel Month. I've got MetaMaus on pre-order. I can not wait. 

Book Features Grim Reaper At Birthday Party, Upsets Parents. It's good to know that Maurice Sendak is still upsetting parents. Where the Wild Things Are was once thought to be to scary for children. 

Snooping in the Age of E-book. I loved this article. With the advent of e-readers it is difficult to snoop bookshelves. What? We all do this, please stop pretending that you don't. 

Former Borders Employees Reveal Secret Book Store Gripes. Hysterical. 

A Visual History of Literary References on 'The Simpsons'. I love that most involve Lisa. 

The Top 10 Books Lost to Time. Most of these have been removed from the literary cannon to make way for other books. In one way, it is sad to lose them, in another it was bound to happen. Literature is one of the most fluid art forms.

Are Books As Sexy Without Their Covers? Not really. The cover art of e-reader books is evolving. I am sure a new artist will come along and see this as a challenge. 

(Image brought to you by: bookriot)