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.