ZZ Packer, “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere”

I loved ZZ Packer’s piece in the New York Times Magazine a few weeks ago, and it prompted me to pick up her book of short stories from the library straightaway.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2003, 288 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 6.20.08
Date finished: 6.25.08
What I liked: Each one of these short stories is a universe unto itself. They draw you in from the very first line. For example:

By our second day at Camp Crescendo, the girls in my Brownie troop had decided to kick the asses of each and every girl in Brownie Troop 909.—”Brownies”

“Opportunities,” my father says after I bail him out of jail.—”The Ant of the Self”

Doris Yates stood in the empty sanctuary and wondered if the world would really end in a matter of hours.—”Doris is Coming”

The stories are often from the perspective of a black woman, which I haven’t encountered a lot of in my reading. You fall in love with each of the narrators a little—you empathize with their plights and understand their motives.
What I didn’t like: That each of these stories wasn’t a full book. Maybe I’d feel differently if this book was actually eight novels, but I’ll have to wait until ZZ Packer comes out with her novel.
What I learned: A lot.

Warren Ellis and Derick Robertson, “Transmetropolitan, Vols. 1 and 2″

“Transmetropolitan”’s been described as postcyberpunk, which is a new one on me but seems fitting. It’s a story about a journalist in search of truth in a grim future, in the same vein as “DMZ.”

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 1998, 72 pp., and 1999, 208 pp.
Obtained via: Pat
Date started: 6.12.08
Date finished: 6.15.08
What I liked: The out-of-control technology of the future and all of the advertisements for it. The gonzo-journalism-gone-amok ethos of Spider Jerusalem, the main character.
What I didn’t like: I don’t usually go for superhero aesthetics in comics, so my dislike of the lettering is nothing new. The comic’s pretty gruesome, so I don’t recommend it for the weak of stomach.
What I learned: I’ve got another eight volumes to go.

Kitty Burns Florey, “Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog”

“Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences” might be the funniest book I’ve read this year. Burns Florey recounts her own history with this mostly lost linguistic art and pulls up quotes on the subject from well regarded writers.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2006, 200 pp.
Obtained via: Free table at work
Date started: 5.28.08
Date finished: 6.6.08
What I liked: The quotes from Gertrude Stein and others. The dozens of numerated asides contain some of the funniest bits. I especially liked the explanation of the true meaning of “the lion’s share.” The more you know!
What I didn’t like: No complaints!
What I learned: Quite a bit, all very dorky.