Stuff I’ve read lately

Esther Pearl Watson, “Unlovable, Vol. 1″
I love Esther Pearl Watson’s gruesome tales of the life of ’80s teenager Tammy Pierce, and I think any girl who ever experienced high school will be able to identify—if only a little bit—with the unlovable protagonist. It’s a big, pink, sparkly square book full of cartoons. Get it!

Debra Gwartney, “Live Through This”
I’m not usually one for modern memoirs, but this one’s really good. It’s a mom’s account of losing control of her teen daughters in the grunge era. (Hence the title’s nod to Hole.) Gwartney weaves past and present into a circular story that’s honest and hopeful.

Brian Eule, “Match Day”
Awesome nonfiction book about the day med students find out where their residencies (and the next three-plus years of their lives) will take place. It focuses on three female med students and their individual challenges and relationship struggles during the year.

by the way…

Finished writing my book yesterday at 2:30 p.m. I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is to be done. Well, you know, done aside from the rounds of editing coming over the next few months. Hurrah!

Graydon Carter, George Kalogerakis and Kurt Andersen, “SPY: The Funny Years”

I found an old issue of this acerbic, New York-centric magazine for a dollar and fell in love with it. Got a good deal on this hardcover from Copacetic Comics in Pittsburgh!

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2006, 304 pp.
Obtained via: Copacetic
Date started: 2.10.09
Date finished: 2.30.09

What I liked: The mid-’80s seem like such a heady time to start a magazine. The economy was good, and the technology was laughably low-tech. The founding editors, Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen, are recognizable names now—Carter’s the editor of Vanity Fair, and Andersen is a novelist and the host of Studio 360. It seems like everybody who got in on the ground floor at SPY went on to do great things. Sounds like heaven.
I also loved the page scans of notorious articles, and the pranks the staff would pull using only a fax machine and moxie.
What I didn’t like: Once I finished reading, I remembered how dismal the current magazine industry is. Around 1993, the original staff had fled, and the last few years of the magazine were decidedly less funny, hence the title.
What I learned: Staying true to your ideals works for a while. But when the ride’s over, it doesn’t mean you stop moving.

Hurtling towards my book deadline

Current word count: 27,818 (out of 30,000)

Trying not to freak out too much about the fact that my book is due in less than a MONTH. I’m starting to break down the remaining stuff to do into manageable chunks. I made up a calendar with weekly goals written on it, for example, my goal for this weekend is to polish up the introduction and first chapter and get the appendix done.

I’m taking a few days off of work in the next month to give myself more time to work on the book. I’m also trying not to completely get cut off from the rest of the world. (Sorry, friends!)

One big problem in getting done with the book is that I keep finding more people I want to talk to! Gotta stop that… After next week, promise.

PS: I’m not writing recaps of books I read for now, but I am still updating my list.

2008 stats

I liked the stats I did last year, so hear’s the final tally for 2008:

Total pages read: 11,127
Average pages per book: 218
Longest book: 472 pages
Biggest reading month: July, with 12 books
Slowest reading months: September and October, 1 book each

Having the goal of reading 50 books a year has really worked for me, so I’m going to keep it for 2009. Cheers!

Harvey Pekar, “The Quitter”

One last book for 2008.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2005, 104 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 12.30.08
Date finished: 12.30.08

Holy crap, my book’s almost real

Current word count: 25,035 (out of 30,000)

A little more than a month left until my manuscript deadline, and I have reached my Jan. 1 goal of 25,000 words a few days early! It’s incredible to see the progress I’ve made. The book still has some holes and placeholders, but my to-do list is manageable, and the end is in sight. Of course, after I turn in the manuscript in February, there’s still a few months of editing to come. :)

Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly, “The New York Four”

By the dude who did “DMZ” and from the DC imprint Minx. A shy girl starts college in Manhattan and balances having friends for the first time with a txt-based relationship.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2008, 176 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 12.29.08
Date finished: 12.29.08
What I liked: I am all about Minx. Good comics for real girls.
What I didn’t like: Wasn’t sure if this is to be continued or not.

PS: This was No. 50 for 2008!

“Rejected,” edited by Jon Friedman

Comedy writers and other funny people share stories rejected by SNL, the Onion and Comedy Central, as well as stories of general disapproval. Absolutely hilarious.

(”Rejected” is slated to be released Jan. 27, 2009. Gotta love preview copies!)

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2009, 272 pp.
Obtained via: Free table at work
Date started: 12.4.08
Date finished: 12.20.08
What I liked: I was especially fond of the stories from Kristen Schaal, Wendy Spero, David Wain and Michael Ian Black, Joel Stein and Janet Ginsburg.
What I didn’t like: There were only one or two stories I wasn’t cracking up at.
What I learned: Sometimes the outtakes are funnier than the main act.

M.T. Anderson, “Feed”

In the not-so-distant future, everybody’s hooked up to the feed—like internet 4.0 incorporated directly into your brain and navigated with your thoughts. Everything’s possible: anything you dream of can be delivered to your house within minutes, trips to the moon are commonplace, mind-to-mind chatting replaces direct conversation. A teenage boy starts to question America’s instant culture after meeting a girl who doesn’t buy into the consumerism.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2004, 300 pp.
Obtained via: Pat
Date started: 11.26.08
Date finished: 11.30.08
What I didn’t like: My main issue with this book was the protagonist, a douchebaggy teenage boy. I was dying to know more about the life of his romantic interest and her father, who teaches ancient languages (like Basic and proper English).
What I liked: I do appreciate that Anderson did a slightly different take on the dystopian novel. Most of them focus on an outsider or someone who becomes disenchanted with the system. They fight the system and get crushed, the end. The protagonist in “Feed” completely buys in.
And although I dislike the main character, the story imprinted itself in my brain—I’ve thought about it very frequently since reading it. Although it’s set in the future, it captures the Zeitgeist in a way I haven’t encountered in novels recently. It plays on our concerns about the environment, consumerism and the effects of the internet and instant communication on our intelligence and empathy.
What I learned: Apparently this book made a lot of best-of lists… and although I wasn’t initially impressed, “Feed”’s staying power is remarkable.