The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

I loved this book. I started it Sunday afternoon and finished it last night. (I worked 13 of those hours so it slowed me down.) It is the kind of book that you want to stand on the street corners and preach about. It needs to be on your future reading shelf. Go buy it. I won't mind if you take a break from reading this to toggle over to your favorite online book seller to do so.

Enough gushing, it's time to get into the meat and potatoes of this book. Arnold Spirit is a young boy that lives on an Indian reservation in Washington State. The deck is stacked against boys like Arnold. Expectations for boys like him are low. Diary lets the reader in to Arnold's truth. He wants to be a comic book illustrator, he's a good basket ball player, and he was born with an abnormal number of teeth. As it moves along Diary becomes laugh out loud funny and lip biting painful. Being 15 isn't easy. Being 15, poor, being the only brown kid in an all white school, and being labeled a traitor by all your old friends makes life almost impossible. Arnold handles it with grace and humor. 

Alexie's writing style is completely accessible to young readers. He knows how to speak to the heart of a disaffected young person. My greatest wish is a book like this gets put in the right hands. I can see buying this book over and over again, giving it to that special young person who is reaching out for it. 

My next book is going to kick off the 2012 Reading Project for March. March's theme is children affected by dictators. Between Shades of Gray talks about a young girl who was deported during Stalin's invasion of Lithuania.  Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is the second selection. I can not wait to do the write ups for these books. 

   

Link Round Up

Reading a Book More Than Once as Mental Health Benefits, this is good to know.

The Market For Romance, Romance is the most popular genera today. Here is a look inside. I am proud of these women  they've been doing this for 30 years. Bringing joy to people though reading is always a thrill.

The Roald Dahl Survival Guide For Kids, A funny look at Dahl's world. It's a lot more violent that you think.

Book Is Judged by the Name on Its Cover, How predictable.

2011 Nebula Award nominees announced, The Sci Fi award season is starting to heat up! I can't wait. 

Badass Hall of Fame: Judy Blume, Judy is a badass. Her books helped me through so much. 

Romance Novels, The Last Great Bastion Of Underground Writing, I disagree. Fan fiction is the last great bastion of underground writing. Don't believe me? Google search term: Harry Potter Fan Fiction. Told you so. 

Scifi author spoils his entire book series for terminally ill fan, You may need a box of tissues for this one. 

Shooting Kabul

Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai

An NPR Backseat Book Club selection for February. Senzai's book was published in 2010, and is going to be put in the post-9/11 literature genera. A boy and is family flee from Afghanistan to America in the first part of 2001. An accident happens a the youngest sister is left behind. Yadda yadda yadda the family is reunited at the end. Don't get mad at me. I know I just ruined the end, but it won't matter in a few moments.

Shooting Kabul is delivered with the emotional heft of a paper cut.  The book has a sprawling world Kabul and San Francisco are both beautiful places filled with unique quirks that should be a writers delight. Senzai makes them appear flat and dull. A young boy blaming himself for the abandonment of his sister should be a gut wrenching narrative. It falls so flat that there were moments half way though the book where I forgot the girl was missing. The only moment I felt truly captured the book was when the main character was taking pictures. The writing came alive and was full of rich texture and detail. It feels like this book was holding back. Every time I saw the author try to turn a phrase or have here characters emote she simply dulled it down. If a family loses a child in war torn Afghanistan it is absolutely permissible to have one of them say the word fuck. Also, if a child is about to be the victim of a hate crime and he utters the word crud it makes me think the book was purposely edited to stay on shelves in libraries in conservative school districts. Honestly, I feel like this book went though a painful editing process. The bones of an astonishing narrative exist. They peak out behind all the goshes and darns. The author knows how to write a compelling scene. I just wish we could read the story how it was intended. The whitewash is readily apparent. 

Moving on, I'm going to read Skin Hunger (Resurrection of Magic) the book was up for a National Book Award in 2007. I'm only a few pages in and it feels great.

Habibi and Gingerbread Girl

Habibi by Craig Thompson

Every now and again I end up reading a watershed book. The kind of story that when I read reviews 10 years from now young comic book authors will site it as an inspiration. Books like Watchmen, Maus, and Persepolis are already mentioned in hushed tones as being some of the best comics has to offer. The next book to join them will be Habibi. Thompson's work, that took him six years to create, is not an easy read. It's graphic, sexual, and in some places maddeningly stereotypical. However, the book rises above all of it. Thompson creates a story that is so beautiful it is worth every single moment he spent drawing it. I absolutely love that everything I touch in the novel Thompson created. From the cover to the chapter breaks everything feels handmade. It has a Shop Class as Soulcraft feel to it. Pick up the hard cover version of this. It is worth every dollar.

I have gone out and read some criticisms of Hababi. People have said they were waiting for Blankets 2. In a way it is. Hababi feels more like the spiritual journey of an artist. It starts out trying to excuse the inexcusable and by the end it shows two people who love one another because of the journey undertaken.

Gingerbread Girl by Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin

I'm wrapping up my stint of graphic novels on Gingerbread Girl. At 104 pages it seems like it would be a short and quick romp thought a fun story. Walking away from it, Gingerbread Girl does more in that space that some novels can't even attempt. It asks existential questions about existence and finding inner truth. It does it in a quirky self aware way that I was almost taken aback. Every character breaks the 4th wall. Animals step up and tell versions of events that humans miss. I have a feeling I will go back to Gingerbread Girl just so I can see how well it ages. It is very possible that it could be come a classic.

I'm moving onto Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai. It is part of NPR's Backseat Bookclub. Also, I must tell you about my new bookmark. Pink Tank has crafted this excellent NYC Landscape bookmark. It is beautiful, and I want all of you to order one when you get the chance. They make great gifts to the reader in your life.

  


  

Link Round Up

5 Myths About eBooks Debunked, I realize all of these are rather obvious, but it is still worth posting.

8 Unexpected Downsides of the Switch to E-books Cracked.com gives some unexpected downsides.

Deathless prose: the vampire novel of the century, I have had some really interesting discussions about this list. Salem's Lot is my absolute favorite. It's a classic vampire tale written by King in his early days.

“Losing My Religion” Memoirs, A really good list of books by people who have left the extreme branches of religion. Most come out of the experience still believing in a higher power.

There’s Never Been a Better Time to Be a Reader, this is absolutely correct. In the history of the printed page, 2012 will be the best time to be a reader. Readers have a several dozen ways of obtaining books, reading them, and then sharing their thoughts with others.

The Wonderful and Terrible Habit of Buying Too Many Books, *cough* I... *sigh* yeah.

Is Amazon Destroying or Democratizing Literature?, We need to keep having this discussion. There is no wrong answer to this question.

I Wish I Could Quit You: The Curse of a Chronic Book Finisher, If I get 100 pages into a book and it still doesn't have my attention I give up. It is not worth my time to struggle though a book I hate. Life is too short and there are always better books waiting for me.

Tomorrow I will have write ups for Habibi and Gingerbread Girl.

Troop 142 and The Stonekeeper

Troop 142 by Mike Dawson

I finished Troop 142 yesterday, and I have been attempting to write this post ever since I flipped the book shut. The words aren't coming to me. This graphic novel is so difficult to describe. It is a methodical exploration of boyhood and masculinity, but uses the guise of being a simple comic book. The closest literary comparison that I have  is The Body by Stephen King. Even that is a stretch because King makes it seem like boys go though an innocent period and then have a moment of corruption. Troop 142 shows a more realistic picture. Boys are complex emotional creatures. I encourage everyone to seek this comic out. It is worth the read, and the inevitable discussion that will take place.

I love that Dawson is using this medium to tell these stories. It's important works that reaches out to the right audience. Similar to comics like Blankets and Persepolis Dawson is taking readers to an emotional place that regular novels just can't go. I challenge authors like Dawson to keep creating. I need a lot more books like this in my collection.

The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

My biggest complaint with The Stonekeeper is that it rushes the plot. It seems like a series that is eager to get to the meat of the story with minimal exposition. Usually, I'm a fan, back story in comics can be filled in by my imagination. However, I love how this was drawn, so I wanted to linger in the world a bit longer. Kibuishi's art style reminds me of early 90s animated series. It may feel like Duck Tales, but the story runs a bit darker than the Disney inspiration. This is a great rainy day book. I also ordered the sequel, so I plan on reading that sometime next week.

Next up is Habibi by Craig Thompson. It has been sitting on my shelf since early January, it has been nearly impossible to resist. I can't wait to dive in.

In the Time of Butterflies

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Alvarez's novel is a fitting end for February's edition of the 2012 Reading Project. A wonderful author that is writing at the height of her craft. Butterflies is fiction, but reads like pure fact. It is hard not to imagine the Mirabal sisters any other way. That's the beauty of wonderfully written fiction. It leaves the reader with something. The world is slightly changed because of it.

Before I get too ahead of myself, I should really do a small plot breakdown of the book. Alvarez is writing from the perspective of the four Mirabal sisters. The book is broken into sections that clearly defines each sister, and is markedly different from one another. Where Alverez comes into her own is how she switches from one sister to the next. Each section can stand alone as its own book. Each section is rushing to the same doom. Penning a tragedy is full of perils. Penning a tragedy of female political dissidents can become overwrought and difficult to swallow. Alverez deftly misses all the traps and brings a sense of humanity and humor to the sisters that are so easily hero worshiped.

Butterflies is a must read. It will stand the test of time in any library. It opens the door to wanting to know more and more about the Dominican Republic. I want to discover more authors from that region. I want to read poetry and prose from their artists. I'm so glad I decided to focus on this subject, because I've really found an area of literature that I absolutely love.

Moving on, I have picked up Troop 142 by Mike Dawson. As many longtime readers will remember (yes, all four of you) I set aside February as Graphic Novel Month.  I will have fewer novels than last year, but I think I chose wisely.

Another housekeeping note, the books for March and April for the 2012 reading project.

March's theme is children of war. The selections are: Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Between Shades of Gray.

April's theme is books I've been accused of reading but haven't. The selections are: Rules for Radicals and The Feminine Mystique.    

Link Round Up

GENRE KRYPTONITE: Ditzy, Bad-Ass “Bitches”, Book Riot discusses strong female characters. 

Pink Tank makes metal bookmarks. I bought one when it was on sale. They are wonderful. 

Would You Shop at an Amazon Bookstore? Good question, I have a feeling it would be more a competition for Best Buy than my local bookstore. 

The Whirling Sound of Planet Dickens, The New York Times looks at Dickens' legacy. I include The Wire as part of the Dickensian cannon. 

I'm still reading In the Time of Butterflies. So far it is fantastic. I may be able to get a write up done tonight. 

The Feast of the Goat: A Novel

The Feast of the Goat: A Novel by Mario Vargas Llosa

This was the first book in February's installment of the 2012 Reading Project. I chose this book because it was mentioned in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Also, though no fault of my own, I know next to nothing about the Dominican Republic. It wasn't something I chose to learn about in school and the history of the island nation was waiting to be discovered. The Feast of the Goat is dense and filled with postmodern structure. Llosa interlaces dialogue from one era to another, so keeping track of who is talking as well as when they are talking can be a challenge. It is an interesting way to have a novel keep a very dreamy sense of reality. Reading this book was like buying a pair of shoes where one is slightly taller than the other.  At the outside everything seems normal, examined closer everything is a disaster.

I feel it is important to note that this book compares the rape of a child to the rule of a country by a dictator. Rafael Trujillo was a terrible man. Human rights were nonexistent during his rule of the Dominican Republic. The country suffered deep and strict sanctions after Trujillo attempted to overthrow Rómulo Betancourt. The comparison between that and the rape of a child is apt. The country he claimed to love suffered greatly and for a long time. I realize at the outset that the comparison may be difficult to swallow. However, due to the amazing craftsmanship of Llosa it doesn't feel overwrought.  It is also important to note that this book is extraordinarily dense. It may give the impression that it is of average length, but it took me twice as long to read it.

Next, I'm moving onto the second book in February's installment of the 2012 Reading Project. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. I have been avoiding a discussion of the Mirabal sisters and how their death brought down Trujillo until I read this book. Butterflies is a specific examination of this topic by a master author. I have a feeling I'm going to really like this book. Also, this book is part of the NEA's Big Read project. I stumbled upon that website a few months ago and wanted to get it some attention. Big Read books are a great way to get introduced to some classics, and to some books that may have slipped past quietly in the night.

Link Round Up

Boing Boing is doing some great posts on fair use. I'm a huge fan of this article, Best practices for fair use in libraries

The best part of fairy tales is that they are constantly evolving. Folklore and stories constantly reflect the current fears. I have a big problem with people thinking they need to save them. We don't need to do that, we need to examine why the story changed. Are Fairy Tales Worth Saving For Teen Girls?

Libraries big and small, Little Free Library, Toronto

Barnes & Noble Won’t Sell Books From Amazon Publishing, this is going to get interesting.

The Bookstore’s Last Stand, it is nowhere near as bad as the title suggests, but expect to see more of this.

Rumors Resurface About Amazon Opening Physical Stores, didn't I tell you it was going to get interesting.

Ebooks vs Democracy? Again, I don't think things are this dire. Sullivan brings up good points about why he has switched almost totally to e-books.

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World I thought I'd end on a beautiful note. 

Franny and Zooey

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

I should have trusted my gut when I started reading this book. Prior to this my exposure to Salinger was though Catcher in the Rye. I hate Holden Caulfield with the passionate intensity of a thousand suns. He described the entitled, whiny, overly privileged teenager that seems to exist in wealthy white upper middle class suburbs. I went to high school with a pack of Holdens, I went to college with even more of them. Each time I met one I laughed to myself. I realized that reality must be so dull that these boys must create their own pain. Now, I thought that Salinger would back off on his theme of alienation, but he doubled down. Franny and Zooey is just as maddening. I threw it across the room when I was done with it. It is a book with no moral value. Overly privileged white kids  pontificate about "phoney" people. It is an inner term oil that is completely fabricated out of nothing. Life is so good for the protagonists in this book that they have to create their own inner world of pain to have some sort of conflict. Most of their problems are easily solved, but going for the most direct answer is never pleasing. They seem to want the pain to linger just so it can be experienced. I don't have the time or patience to deal with that. This will be the last Salinger book I ever read. I'm glad he left the world with only three major works. Had he been prolific I fear that I may have been overrun in college.

I'm moving onto my February reading project. The first book up is The Feast of the Goat and the second is In the Time of the Butterflies the theme is the Dominican Republic and the rule of Rafael Trujillo. More specifically it was inspired by The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Wao was such a stunning novel that it made me want to read more Dominican authors.