recently read book blurbs

Scott McCartney, “The Wall Street Guide to Power Travel”
Secrets of the most frequent fliers. Good advice!

Trina Robbins, “From Girls to Grrlz: A History of Women’s Comics from Teens to Zines”
As a lover of Betty and Veronica as well as Tammy Pierce, I was all about this book.

David Sedaris, “Me Talk Pretty One Day” (reread)
Still funny.

Michel Rabagliatti, “Paul Goes Fishing”
A good way to learn some Quebecois.

Christopher Buckley, “Boomsday”
Super hilarious novel by the guy who wrote “Thank You For Smoking.” Basically: A fed-up blogger comes up with a plan to ease the strain on the social security system, by encouraging boomers to off themselves in exchange for tax credits. It seems ridiculous, but some parts seem practically possible!

Julie Powell, “Julie & Julia”
I was skeptical, because I assume anything Amy Adams is involved with is too cute to stand, but the real Julie is fantastically foul-mouthed. Also, this book makes me want to cook impossible things with massive amounts of butter.

holy crap, my book is here!

early copies arrived at the office this morning and i squealed like a little girl! eeeeeee!

recently read books

Arthur Allen, “Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver“
so good. so nerdy. an absolute must.

Rona Jaffe, “The Best of Everything“
If you like Mad Men, you must read this book.

Larry Beinhart, “American Hero” aka “Wag the Dog“
the basis of one of my favorite movies ever (and the first R-rated flick i ever saw in the theater). The movie seemed to be allegory about Clinton and the Balkan conflicts; the book is all about the first Bush and the Gulf War. Despite their differences, they totally complement each other, and I adore both.

Doesn’t look like i’m going to hit 50 books this year, unless i really step up my game in the next four months. writing a book has to count for at least 20, right?

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. :)