read for pleasure

So, I decided to reread some fantasy novels because I’m reading an acquaintance’s epic (at his request). I hadn’t read the Earthsea Trilogy since I was a youngster, and thought I’d start there. For those who aren’t familiar with the books, the trilogies include A Wizard of Earthsea,The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore.(There are three more books in the Earthsea cycle, btw, that I have yet to read.) Broadly speaking, they center on Ged/Sparrowhawk’s growth from an uncivilized child to a self-actualized adult, as he learns about the responsibilty that comes with power and, in general, with being human. Other characters, notably Tenar and Arrend, also experience these lessons. The books are shorter than I remember and the adult me is pleasantly reminded at how much LeGuin steeps her work in mythological references, participates in mytho-poetic criticism, and constructs a world as rich as those of Tolkein and Lewis. All three books can be read as rite-of-passage narratives, though for different characters and/or at different stages of life. They’re well-done, which seems to be more lukewarm praise than I intend, and thoughtful.

To me, though, they’re not as compelling as Leguin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, one of her forays into science fiction. I had also read this book much earlier, and I returned to it for comparison. It’s examination of concepts of humanity’s progress, as well as its base civilite, are explored through the attempts of Genry Ai’s diplomatic mission to Gethen, a world whose inhabitants’ identities aren’t marked by gender-they can become what we think of as male or female when in estrus (heat). This unique characteristic complicates Genry’s interactions, of course, as does the delicacies of his goal-negotiating Gethen’s global entrace into a loose galactic alliance (dare I say Federation of Planets) when it’s still characterized by tense relations between nation-states. How Genry learns to interact with Gethen’s humans, especially the politically-savvy Estavan, reveals much about how his cultural conditioning is based on the presumptions of gender (and sexuality) as natural and static.

And I guess that’s why I prefer LeGuin’s science fiction—and science fiction in general over fantasy. (I don’t necessary commit to any one genre, but I do enjoy sci-fi, dystopian, cyberpunk, speculative, etc. fiction.) To roughly characterize a distinction between fantasy and science fiction: the former seems to be more invested in individuals, in individuality and in personal growth, with a focus on social/cultural commentary emerging primarily as it affects the individual; the latter seems to be more invested in examining society and cultural norms, with a focus on individuals emerging primarily to offer opportunities for commentary. In reading LeGuin’s work back-to-back, I was able to see a broad (and oversimplified) distinction between fantasy’s individualism and science fiction’s society (although there are many connections between the genres as well, as LeGuin’s work in both suggests).

In sum, I prefer science fiction over fantasy, which might also explain why the other text I read for pleasure was the latest volume of Brian K. Vaughan’s and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man, entititled Paper Dolls (Vol. 7). This trade publication provides a lot of backstory on the monkey; that description alone should be enough to entice someone else into checking it out! (It’s also a dystopian story that takes as its point of departure the elimination of all human males on the planet, save one.)

Goal: 43 Reading experiences
Read to Date: 15 texts
Remaining: 28

Love dystopian fictions, know that I should admire Alan Moore, decided to read the graphic novel (in trade) before seeing the film.

A summary, from Wikipedia: V for Vendetta is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom. A mysterious anarchist named V works to destroy the fascist government and profoundly affects the people he encounters.

And that about sums it up. Really sets up a debate between anarchy and facism, a little too simply for my tastes. I’m not particularly enamored with Lloyd’s art, either. That said, I wanted to like it, especially as the conceit is one that rolls around in your head. But execution…I don’t know. And dare I invoke zeitgeist?

That said, I did find V for Vendetta the graphic novel superior to the film adaptation, which wanted to 1) bludgeon us to death with WWII fascism parallels and 2) burden us with a romance that makes no sense in light of Moore’s work. No wonder he distances himself from Hollywood.

Goal: 43 Reading experiences
Read to Date: 11 texts
Remaining: 32

Like most McSweeney’s, this one’s a winner. I had the most enriching discussion over its packaging—which includes a cloth-bound tri-fold cover featuring trees, a comb, and a story printed on cards (Robert Coover’s “The Heart Suit, appropriately enough).

Lots of solid individual stories, and so I won’t go over them. (Again, I like Coover, one of the granddaddies of hypertext.) It’s worth noting that several stories explicitly deal with issues of language from a postmodern/poststructuralist perspective.

Goal: 43 Reading experiences
Read to Date: 10 texts
Remaining: 33

I’m a big fan of Octavia Butler’s books, and so I really looked foward to this, her last novel. A vampire/dystopian novel, this continues in Butler’s exploration of boundaries of sexuality, race, and kinship relationships. The book sets lots of things in motion, never quite satisfactorially resolving the tensions between the Ina (vampire) community, and I suspect (but do not know) if this was to be another series. Still, what Butler gave us is a story that asks the reader to seriously examine what it means to be human. (Another good book-club book!)

A side note: as a fan of the trope of amnesia, I was quite taken with the story’s protagonist, Shori.

One last side note: Seven Stories Press did an awful job editing the book—they ought to be ashamed.

Goal: 43 Reading experiences
Read to Date: 9 texts
Remaining: 34

Gregory Maguire’s book, on first reading, is pleasurable but almost a little too easy. It seems set up for book-club discussions about the nature of good vs. evil in ways which allow everyone to participate. On second and third readings, other elements became more interesting to me. There was the noticeable postcolonialism and Third-Wave feminism, but what I found most compelling it the potential to read this text for its ecofeminsm concerns. (Yeah, I read it for a class, but don’t hold it against me; it was a pleasure.) If, at the end, I was unsatisfied the book’s closure, or lack thereof, I did find Maguire’s choice fitting for the text and his commercial goals.

I’m looking to reading Son of a Witch soon.

Goal: 43 Reading experiences
Read to Date: 8 texts
Remaining: 35

This book was finally available at the library; I managed to read it in a couple of nights. I’m quite taken with the argument about the cognitive work popular culture does, suggesting in its use of “The Sleeper Curve” that today’s entertainment is intellectually demanding. There are some secondary points I’d quibble with, but on the whole I found Steven Johnson’s book a compelling read.

Goal: 43 Reading experiences
Read to Date: 7 texts
Remaining: 36

I’m finishing up the bag of books my de facto Mother-in-Law gave me. We definitely don’t have the same tastes. Last year, for the holidays, she gave me The Secret Life of Bees, which I though was way too women-centered sentimental for my taste. This time around, it was Elizabeth Berg’s Joy School, a sequel to her Durable Goods. Readers’ reviews describe the story as poignant and the character of Katie as endearing. They’re probably right. I found it cloying. That said, the narrative was fairly tightly plotted and certainly Berg has an almost eerie ear for the adolescent voice (at least from what I remember). But I prefer my reading material to have a little more bite; if I’m going to read about growing up in dysfunctional families, give me David Sedaris (though I enjoy his reading of his works more than actually reading them myself; he’s a superb performer).

And I couldn’t even finish Bone Walker, by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and Michael Gear, another of the books passed on to me by my MIL.

I realize it sounds like I like very few books I read. Quite the opposite. I’ve just run into a bit of a disappointing pattern lately, where I’m reading lots of stuff other folks have recommended to me. Unfortunately, we don’t have the same taste. Luckily, I’m finished with the pile of “other people’s” books and can now return to my own. I believe the next thing I’ll be reading is McSweeney’s Quarterly 17, Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, and Octavia Butler’s Fledgling.

Goal: 43 Reading experiences
Read to Date: 6 texts
Remaining: 37

In keeping with my goal of 43 entries, here’s what I’ve been reading recently:

On Bullshit, by Harry G. Frankfurt: a brief tract on bullshit (vs. lies). It’s a short read-well under an hour-and a good conversation starter when among friends. I did find it more provocative in concept than in execution, though.

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 5: I’ve been reading this comic as the series is published in multi-issue form. Brian Vaughn’s speculative fiction takes place after a plague kills off all the men on Earth, save one Yorick Brown. I was drawn in by the narrative’s conceit-what happens in a world without men-and have kept with the series even though its development is somewhat uneven and pace rather frenetic. The artwork is fabulous, though, and many of the subplots compelling.

Three Junes: I read this book, written by Julia Glass, mainly because it was given to me and recommended by my de facto mother-in-law. She thought it would appeal to me because it was one of the most complex narratives she had ever read. I believe she was also hoping it would give us something to bond over, as we tend not to have the same taste in fiction. (For instance, I really liked Phillip Roth’s The Plot Against America, as did my de facto father-in-law….she hated it.)

Well, I read it and I didn’t dislike it. But neither did I find it particularly challenging or memorable. It is a rather sentimental, intergenerational look at a Scottish family and its (dis)function. I do, however, appreciate all the effort my MIL has been putting into trying to find a connection with me.

Goal: 43 Reading experiences
Read to Date: 5 texts
Remaining: 38

I finally finished Will Eisner’s The Plot: The Secret Story of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. It’s a graphic novel that attempts to expose the rampant Anti-Seminitism of the Protocols, a plagiarized work constructed to perpetuate a myth of Zionist conspiracy in terms of world domination, and those who continue to circulate the document.

I bought this text when it was first published and have been putting off reading it for a couple of reasons. One, I was already familiar with the fabricated history that the book details. Two, I was fairly sure that the work would be a serious piece of didacticism, and I wanted to be in the right frame of mind to read it. Three, since this is Eisner’s last major work (he died shortly after finishing it), I guess I wanted to delay reading it and to savor his last word, so to speak.

when I finally did get around to reading The Plot, I discovered I was right on the latter point. It is a highly didactic piece, which is appropriate given Eisner’s goal. And like all of Eisner’s, it’s eye candy. Unfortunately, The Plot is also one of Eisner’s weakest works. It lacks the energy, the complexity, even the plain narrative strength of Eisner’s other works. I appreciated it because I appreciate Eisner, but for no other reason.

I do recommend some of his other works, though. I especially recommend you begin with any examples of The Spirit, the work which made Eisner a household name in comics and graphic novels. To read The Spirit is to understand the emergence of the graphic novel as an increasingly accepted literary form.

...and I can’t say that it was truly pleasure reading, though it did go quickly. (Brown’s chapters are some of the shortest I’ve ever seen….is he saying something about the public’s average attention span?) The plot was enjoyable enough, and things clipped right along. I was able to read it at the gym or before I went to sleep at night. And I’m glad I read it because it’s been on so many people’s lips. (I waited to read it until I could check it out from the library, as I’m trying to reduce the amount I spend on books, which in turn helps keep my life free from clutter.)

So, I read it and I can appreciate why people like it. After all, there’s a lot to be said about a plot-driven work. Plus, Brown has this way of flattering his readers by assuming a certain level of knowledge while being careful not to insult them when introducing his research. (A less kind critic might call his style “ingratiating.”) But I can’t say that any pleasure I received came from the book itself rather than from the reading process itself or from finally catching up on a pop-culture phenom. Why? Frankly, I found the book’s conceit simplistic and the prose wooden. (Now, I realize lots of you like The Da Vinci Code, so realize this is my response to the book and not a commentary on your taste.)

I’m getting back into a reading habit, though, and I’m feeling motivated to go back to the library and explore some new options. So in terms of my 43T goals, this is an unequivocal success.