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Fair warning: two books here I really didn't like. One I liked quite a lot. And two were charming looks at the past, one from the past. The real question, as always, is currently unanswered:
What will still matter a year, a decade, a generation from now?
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114) Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson, finished November 4
So let's start by saying this book is no good and is further evidence that the people considering the Booker Prize are not broadly read. I have a lot of complaints about Frankissstein but one is that this is clearly a book written by someone with very little experience in science fiction writing science fiction for people with very little experience in science fiction. Large swaths of this book are just people stitching together fun facts the author found on Wikipedia or some pop-science magazine.
In a way, this is less novel and more jigsaw puzzle. She found a bunch of cool puzzles and just found a way to assemble them. Which is cool and all until you look close and notice the pieces don't quite fit together.
I did love the first twenty pages which star Mary Shelley. The other Mary Shelley portions were okay. The 2019 sections were mostly not great though there were moments they rose to the level of fine. Then there were the Bedlam sections which bled into the Mary Shelley portions.
I think I see what she was going for but it never quite worked. Again, it looks like a picture but the pieces don't quite fit together.
And the title is a dumb pun which . . . I guess is about all the sex in the book? I genuinely don't know why it's called Frankissstein.
Another way to think about this book is an older person learned lots of neat things about sexbots and AI and bioengeneering and whatnot and thought no one else has ever heard of these things because she has never heard of them and so she built a book around them. But the book is largely characters saying things to each other they would never need to say because they are experts in their field and already know it. The Ron Lord characters sometimes works as a comic figure and so do some of the other broad stereotypes, but only occasionally. This is a book written for people as ignorant as the author. No one else is falling for it.
Sigh.
Anyway, I don't really regret reading it. I was curious if it would find an interesting destination. It didn't. But I'm glad to know it.
The only thing I regret is the book I didn't read instead. Whatever it may have been.
under a month
115) Motor Girl: No Man Left Behind by Terry Moore, finished November 4
Terry Moore can tell a long story, but he can also tell a short story. This is just two slim volumes (me on #one) and in that space he covers the Iraq war and its complications—both in the field and once back home—mental illness, aliens, government conspiracies. It's funny and it's touching, sexy and sad. Characters look different ways and act different ways. They're all individuals. And the whole thing works as a coherent piece. He's a marvel.
saturday and monday
116) Life on the Moon by Robert Grossman, finished November 10
This is the legendary illustrator's posthumously published (because he died) book on the Great Moon Hoax—although it plays a bit like a hoax itself. Although the final act gets too ludicrous to accept, throughout, famous names like Goodyear and Poe and Audubon and Howe keep popping up and the educated person estimates the math and thinks to themselves, "maaaaaaybe?," but must keep going. (Luckily, Grossman wrote a little explanatory afterword to preempt the need for hundreds of hours on Wikipedia.)
The book's about 400 pages long, with a single captioned illustration on each page.
It's a swift and fun read that never stops being exciting and strange.
two days
117) The Griff by Christopher Moore and Ian Corson with Jennyson Rosero
First, the most positive thing I have to say about this book is that it offers something innovative to how an alien invasion may take place.
The book was originally a screenplay and this shows. The way it cuts between locations feels more Michael Bay than Alan Moore and the clever dialogue seems designed to get bemused laughter from a theater audience, not a solo reader.
The plot is pretty pork and beans. The story tries to make some interesting points about identity but, to return to pigs, is hamfisted about it.
But the worst thing about this book is the character design. The illustrator may be a woman but she's been well socialized into the male gaze. The absurd shapes of the female characters are always on contorted display. And the cartoonishness is emphasized by the characters' static costume. Sexy-goth torn tights, for example, do not survive two months of being chased by dragons.
OH WAIT. I WAS WRONG. JENNYSON IS A DUDE. STILL. MY COMPLAINTS HOLD.
five days
118) Cato by Joseph Addison, finished November 16
After reading an excellent article comparing Washington to Trump (guess who comes off better) and learning about Addison's Cato which was beloved by the Founders—frequently performed and quoted—I decided that I wanted to share this article with next semester's sophomores. But what if we read the play as well? Time to preview it.
First, it's not that long. Just a hundred pages. And so, so much easier to read than Shakespeare, even though he's closer to Shakespeare than we are to him. Partially that's because English had settled down pretty much by then but also because Addison wasn't writing for a Renaissance audience that saw occasional confusion as a net positive. And, I might be wrong here, but I think by this time plays weren't being played to both penny-payers and hifalutins simultaneously, which, again, I'm guessing here, may mean that plays could be more middlebrow rather than having some things clever enough to allow the educated to feel superior than the dick-joke–desirers on the ground. In other words, by not splitting its attentions, it speaks more clearly to a modern audience.
I think.
It doesn't get performed much these days. But a nice revival in Washington of a play about lovers of liberty standing up to blowhards and tyrants might have a place. Perhaps it could be performed in Founders-era costumes. Or perhaps a new play about Washington striving to reach the same thematic goals.
Anyway. It feels very much of now.
I last taught Shakespeare's Julius Caesar right after the 2016 election (guess why) and it felt very apropos. I'll have to consider if I'm brave enough to do two old plays with sophomores. But it's an intriguing idea. And Addison will feel much easier after doing Shakespeare.
I could just do it with AP but then I wouldn't feel like I could include The Atlantic article or Addison's essays or historians on what Rome was like. So I think sophomores it is.
Watch this space in 2025 to see how things turn out.
two hours a week apart
2024 × 10 = Bette Davis being Bette Davis
001) Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, finished January 1
002) The Complete Peanuts: 1977 – 1978 by Charles M. Schulz , finished January 6
003) The Sandman: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman et al, finished January 10
004) Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, finished January 17
005) Touched by Walter Mosley, finished January 19
006) Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever by Matt Singer, finished January 20
007) Evergreen Ape: The Story of Bigfoot by David Norman Lewis, finished January 24
008) What Falls Away by Karin Anderson, finished February 1
009) Peanuts Jubilee: My Life and Art with Charlie Brown and Others by Charles M. Schulz, finished February 3
010) Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, finished February 3
011) Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, finished February 3
012) The Return of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, February 9
013) Things in the Basement by Ben Hatke, February 10
014) A Charlie Brown Religion: Exploring the Spiritual Life and Work of Charles M. Schulz by Stephen J. Lind, finished February 10
015) 1st Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction by Joseph M. Spencer, finished February 10
016) Dendo by Brittany Long Olsen, finished February 11
017) The Ten Winners of the 2023 Whiting Awards, finished February 12
018) The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life edited by Andrew Blaune, finished February 17
019) Do Not Disturb Any Further by John Callahan, finished February 17
020) Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke, finished circa February 19
021) 2nd Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction by Terryl Givens, February 24
Let's start with the untimely deaths
022) The Life and Death of King John by William Shakespeare, finished February 28
022) Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke, finished February 29
023) Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez, finished March 4
024) Millay by Edna St. Vincent Millay, finished March
025, 026) The Life and Death of King John by William Shakespeare, finished March 6, 8
027) Murder Book by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell, finished March 11
028) A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
029) The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett and Paul Kidby, finished March 15
030) Karen's Roller Skates by Ann M. Martin and Katy Farina, finished March 18
Four comics could hardly be more different
031) The Sandman: The Wake by Neil Gaiman et al, finished March 18
032) The World of Edena by Mœbius, finished March 23
033) Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy by Bill Griffith, finished March 23
034) Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, finished March 23
Jacob says be nice and read comics
035) Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction by Deidre Nicole Green, finished March 24
036) Starter Villain by John Scalzi, finished March 27
037) Mister Invincible: Local Hero by Pascal Jousselin, finished March 30
038) The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, finished March 30
039) Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Pugh, finished April 1
040) The Super Hero's Journey by Patrick McDonnell, finished April 5
041) The Stranger Beside Me: Updated Twentieth Anniversary Edition by Ann Rule, finished April 9
042) Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy, finished April 13
043) Enos, Jarom, Omni: a brief theological introduction by Sharon J. Harris, finished April 25
044) The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, finished April 27
045,046,049) The Mysteries by Bill Watterson and John Kascht, finished April 29, 30; May 3
047) The Children's Bach by Helen Garner, finished April 30
048) No. 1 with a Bullet by Sehman/Corona/Hickman/Wands, finished May 2
050) Over Seventy by P. G. Wodehouse, finished May 7
051) The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen, finished May 16
052) Shades of Fear, finished May 21
053) Love Poems in Quarantine by Sarah Ruhl, finished May 21
And a vibrator makes it five dozen.....
054) The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt, finished May 25
055) Mosiah: A Brief Theological Introduction by James E. Faulconer, finished May 26
056) Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirstin Bakis
057) 100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theater by Sarah Ruhl, finished June 1
058) Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary by Timothy Snyder, finished June 4
059) Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, finished June 6
060) The Next Room, or the vibrator play by Sarah Ruhl, finished June 8
And with Ursula, 69
061) The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty, finished June 10
062) Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham, finished June 11
063) Mulysses by Øyvind Torseter, finished June 11
064) Between the River and the Bridge by Craig Ferguson, finished June 12
065) Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby, finished June 12
066) Mile End Kids Stories by Isabelle Arsenault, finished June 12
067) Tiny Titans: Field Trippin' by author, finished June 14
068) Brief Theological Introductions: Alma 1–29 by Kylie Nielson Turley, finished June 16
069) Words Are My Matter: Writings on Life and Books by Ursula K. Le Guin, finished June 16
Numbers 70 through 75
070) Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth by A. O. Scott, finished June 17
071) Alice, Let's Eat by Calvin Trillin, finished June 20
072) My Lovely Vigil Keeping by Carla Kelly, finished June 21
073) Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre, finished July 9
074) The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne, finished July 11
075) Best. Movie. Year. Ever. How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Raftery, finished July 16
Comics soup and rice
076) I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis and Corey Egbert (et al), finished July 16
077) Skull Cat and the Curious Castle by Norman Shurtliff, finished July 18
078) Epileptic by David B., finished July 19
079) Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld by Shannon and Dean Hale, and Asiah Fulmore; finished July 30
080) Fadeaway by E. B. Vickers, finished August 2
081) You're Dad by Liz Climo, finished August 4
082) Meanwhile...A Comic Shop Anthology, finished August 5
Lobsters are vermin you eat
084) Lobster Is the Best Medicine by Liz Climo, finished August 7
085) Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and Leuyen Pham, finished August 12
086) Alma 30–63: A Brief Theological Introduction by Mark A. Wrathall, finished August 18
087) The Pearl by John Steinbeck, August 20
088) The Woman in the Woods and Other North American Stories, finished August 20
089) Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber, finished August 23
090) Radiant Vermin by Philip Ridley
Six books closer to the end of all things.
091) After the Blast by Zoe Kazan, finished August 30
092) The Nether by Jennifer Haley, finished August 31
093) Mr Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn, finished August 31
094) The Voynich Manuscript ed. by Raymond Clemens, finished September 4
095) Brass Sun by Ian Edgington and I. N. J. Culbard, finished September 5
096) Termush by Sven Holm, finished September 7
Ally Condie kills it (+2 more)
097) The Unwedding by Ally Condie, finished September 13
098) Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer, finished September 18
099) Helaman: A Brief Theological Introduction by Kimberly Matheson Berkey, finished September 21
The end of one century and the beginning of another
100) Motor Girl: Real Life by Terry Moore, finished October 2
101) The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare, finished October 5
The If-Dagwood-Was-Mormon Sandwich
102) 3rd, 4th Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction by Daniel Becerra, finished October 6103) My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix, finished October 10
104) The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, finished October 11
105) Bed-Knob and Broomstick by Mary Norton, finished October 12
106) Psycho II by Robert Bloch, finished October 17
107) Osamu Tezuka's Original Astro Boy: 3 by Osamu Tezuka, finished October 19
108, 109, 110) The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare, finished October 22, 22, 23
111) Here by Richard McGuire, finished October 23
112) Sequential Drawings: The New Yorker Series by Richard McGuire, finished October 25
113) Mormon: A Brief Theological Introduction by Adam S. Miller, finished October 26
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