1991, first American edition, from Crown
Alex Comfort, M.D., D.S.C.
Illustrated by John Raynes
Photographs by Clare Park
The New Joy of Sex: A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking for the Nineties
Original/purchase price unknown
Good condition hardcover
C+
I ended up with this and 1992's Window on Love in '94 because an 18-year-old friend wanted to hide them from his mother. So I've had them temporarily for 19 years. (Currently, he's very happy with his new boyfriend.) I don't read the two books too often, so it was interesting looking at this one (and thanks to the illustrations and photos, it really is as much looking as reading), especially in the context of its contemporaries.
The pictures are nice, in a softcore sort of way (some of the drawings do show penetration), but I got tired of seeing the same couple over and over. I can see why it was easier with the photos (since they'd have to hire more models), but if you can draw anyone, why not vary it, show different body types, races, and ages?
As for the writing, I have a couple overlapping gripes. One is that Comfort says that he's celebrating many joys of sex, that not everything will work for every couple. But he often interjects his and "her" (whose? his second wife's?) opinion. And he makes it clear, particularly as the book goes on, that he's writing for monogamous straight couples without children and with lots of free time. Well, that's a narrow field that the book's title and subtitle don't suggest.
The other issue is his biphobia, which is I'll argue stronger than his homophobia. Mostly, he seems to see gays and lesbians as some separate pitiable group. He does the old Freudian trick of "everyone is naturally bisexual, which means that they're straight unless an unfortunate experience turns them against the opposite sex." Not only that, but he says that bisexual-identified men (of whatever experience) are an unworthy risk in the age of AIDS. He doesn't believe in safe sex, although he reluctantly recommends condoms, sort of with "better to marry than to burn" logic. You should be just having sex with your exclusive partner, but if either of you has a past, then use condoms. This is in a way sensible, but it's the way he says it, and the accompanying hypocrisies that I have a problem with. For one thing, he has no hesitations about oral sex but as for anal sex, "In the light of present knowledge, this is best avoided altogether." But what about a totally exclusive couple? "It is something many couples try once, and a few stay with it...." Yes, anal sex is more dangerous than oral, but there's a sense here that he's imposing his own preferences.
I suppose some of this could be blamed on the times, and Comfort's age (he died in 2000, at 80), but after all, he's a doctor, couldn't he be more objective? I know, doctors are human and often as little objective as anyone else. Anyway, the couple in the pictures is attractive, and there are some interesting bits of information in this book, but definitely use grains of salt with this gourmet guide.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
The Empress Matilda
1991, 1995 Blackwell edition
Marjorie Chibnall
The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English
Original and purchase price unknown, bought about four years ago
Worn paperback
C+
As the titles of the title and subtitle suggest, Matilda of England etc. was a medieval woman very close to the centre of power. In fact, she was (on her brother's death) her father's heir to the English crown, but the twelfth century was both too late and too early for a queen-in-her-own-right to be accepted, particularly by the nobles. Her cousin Stephen seized the throne, and his late uncle's money, so he was able to finance a war for almost twenty years. Matilda's eldest son was a great warleader from an early age, and he succeeded Stephen as Henry II, Mum stepping aside. But Matilda throughout her sixty-five years, including as child-bride Holy Roman Empress, was an active participant, rather than a would-be figurehead.
Chibnall's dry academic style makes Matilda's life blander, even the Lady's daring escape in white against the snow. I never felt like I knew Matilda in the way I did, say, Mary Queen of Scots in Fraser's biography. She was brave and intelligent, but I couldn't tell what she thought. For instance, what was her personal and political relationship with her daughter-in-law Eleanor of Aquitaine?
Read the book if you're a medieval history buff with a tolerance for quotes from charters and such. Chibnall, by the way, died a little over a year ago, at the impressive age of 96.
Marjorie Chibnall
The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English
Original and purchase price unknown, bought about four years ago
Worn paperback
C+
As the titles of the title and subtitle suggest, Matilda of England etc. was a medieval woman very close to the centre of power. In fact, she was (on her brother's death) her father's heir to the English crown, but the twelfth century was both too late and too early for a queen-in-her-own-right to be accepted, particularly by the nobles. Her cousin Stephen seized the throne, and his late uncle's money, so he was able to finance a war for almost twenty years. Matilda's eldest son was a great warleader from an early age, and he succeeded Stephen as Henry II, Mum stepping aside. But Matilda throughout her sixty-five years, including as child-bride Holy Roman Empress, was an active participant, rather than a would-be figurehead.
Chibnall's dry academic style makes Matilda's life blander, even the Lady's daring escape in white against the snow. I never felt like I knew Matilda in the way I did, say, Mary Queen of Scots in Fraser's biography. She was brave and intelligent, but I couldn't tell what she thought. For instance, what was her personal and political relationship with her daughter-in-law Eleanor of Aquitaine?
Read the book if you're a medieval history buff with a tolerance for quotes from charters and such. Chibnall, by the way, died a little over a year ago, at the impressive age of 96.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Nancy's Pets
1991, first edition, from Kitchen Sink Press
Ernie Bushmiller
Nancy's Pets
Bought newish for $8.95
Worn paperback
C+
And this is the not only the last but the weakest of the Kitchen Sink Nancy collections. For one thing, the introduction by the Bushmillers' neighbor is nice, but it's more about their lives than about the strip (including its oddities, which all the other introducers have remarked on). Some of the animal pictures are cute but I didn't think the writing was as creative as usual, except for the strange Sunday strip where Sluggo learns he can't take out a library book, How to Build a Dog House, without a card. Instead of applying for a card, he and Nancy return with lumber, nails, a hammer, and a saw! Sometimes those kids really do things the hard way (how do they think they're gonna take the doghouse through the door, if they don't get kicked out first for being noisy?), again for the sake of a dumb joke.
Ernie Bushmiller
Nancy's Pets
Bought newish for $8.95
Worn paperback
C+
And this is the not only the last but the weakest of the Kitchen Sink Nancy collections. For one thing, the introduction by the Bushmillers' neighbor is nice, but it's more about their lives than about the strip (including its oddities, which all the other introducers have remarked on). Some of the animal pictures are cute but I didn't think the writing was as creative as usual, except for the strange Sunday strip where Sluggo learns he can't take out a library book, How to Build a Dog House, without a card. Instead of applying for a card, he and Nancy return with lumber, nails, a hammer, and a saw! Sometimes those kids really do things the hard way (how do they think they're gonna take the doghouse through the door, if they don't get kicked out first for being noisy?), again for the sake of a dumb joke.
Nancy: Bums, Beatniks and Hippies/ Artists & Con Artists
1991, first edition, from Kitchen Sink Press
Ernie Bushmiller
Nancy: Bums, Beatniks and Hippies/ Artists & Con Artists
Bought newish for $8.95
Worn paperback
B
This is the best of the Nancy collections, mostly because of the dual subject matter, although the "artists" half is not quite as good as that of the patch-and-bindle set. And, yes, many of the strips have appeared elsewhere, but it's still great to see Nancy and friends deal with "modern," "alternative" people. One of the best strips is first (at least if you start on this side, rather than flip it over and begin at the other end). Sluggo says, "I'm bored--I think I'll become a beatnik" (emphasis in the original). In the very next panel, he's acquired a beret, dark shades, and a phony goatee. He speaks in rhyme but does not play the bongos or perform any other cliched beatnik activity. But later strips fill in the gaps. Nancy (or Bushmiller) is so square that the (counter-)culture clash works, and there's also more satire than you get when she's dealing with food (or pets as we'll see shortly).
The other side has some nice little parodies of modern art (check out the 1940s take on surrealism), but it's more one-note. When Sluggo gets a guitar and a Beatles wig to regain Nancy's interest, anything can happen, as long as it leads to a stupid joke.
Ernie Bushmiller
Nancy: Bums, Beatniks and Hippies/ Artists & Con Artists
Bought newish for $8.95
Worn paperback
B
This is the best of the Nancy collections, mostly because of the dual subject matter, although the "artists" half is not quite as good as that of the patch-and-bindle set. And, yes, many of the strips have appeared elsewhere, but it's still great to see Nancy and friends deal with "modern," "alternative" people. One of the best strips is first (at least if you start on this side, rather than flip it over and begin at the other end). Sluggo says, "I'm bored--I think I'll become a beatnik" (emphasis in the original). In the very next panel, he's acquired a beret, dark shades, and a phony goatee. He speaks in rhyme but does not play the bongos or perform any other cliched beatnik activity. But later strips fill in the gaps. Nancy (or Bushmiller) is so square that the (counter-)culture clash works, and there's also more satire than you get when she's dealing with food (or pets as we'll see shortly).
The other side has some nice little parodies of modern art (check out the 1940s take on surrealism), but it's more one-note. When Sluggo gets a guitar and a Beatles wig to regain Nancy's interest, anything can happen, as long as it leads to a stupid joke.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal
1991, 1992 Jove Books edition
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Worn paperback
B
Although this is flawed, I found it a generally satisfying entry. To begin with the flaws, I found some of the information in the first couple chapters rendered redundant when Braun fleshed it out in flashbacks later on, and good editing could've avoided this. Secondly, she's still got a chronology problem. Qwill has been in Moose County four years, which would make it 1988. And the story begins on Saturday, September 10th, which does in fact work for 1988, but there's a missing year somewhere, since the previous four books fall under '86. (See timeline for Cat Who Lived High for more information.) Thirdly, she's got two obnoxious characters, and one murders the other, so there's not much of a mystery, and the people of both Moose County and Lockmaster to the south don't seem particularly upset. It's more of a concern to them that Iris Cobb's son Dennis is the prime suspect, and then he dies, too. (At thirty, when he should be in his mid 20s.)
You could also quibble that this is yet another Cat Who with a Shakespeare connection, but that's fine with me. I liked the stuff with the actors, as well as with the racing crowd, and the twists on Polly's jealousy, with Qwill showing his own jealous streak. Braun teases the reader with the possibility of Qwill marrying Polly, but none of them seem in any hurry. I'm certainly not invested in it, but I don't mind it.
Best of all, this is the one where Qwill moves into the apple barn. It wasn't too interesting, architecturally or otherwise, when he was living above his mansion's garage. But I share the townsfolks' fascination with Dennis's renovation. And designer Fran contributes tapestries that foil the murderer, thanks to the cats and an unlikely assistant. Bootsy by the way, is a "yearling" and Yum Yum (introduced full grown in '83) is about five. Sigh, chronology.
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Worn paperback
B
Although this is flawed, I found it a generally satisfying entry. To begin with the flaws, I found some of the information in the first couple chapters rendered redundant when Braun fleshed it out in flashbacks later on, and good editing could've avoided this. Secondly, she's still got a chronology problem. Qwill has been in Moose County four years, which would make it 1988. And the story begins on Saturday, September 10th, which does in fact work for 1988, but there's a missing year somewhere, since the previous four books fall under '86. (See timeline for Cat Who Lived High for more information.) Thirdly, she's got two obnoxious characters, and one murders the other, so there's not much of a mystery, and the people of both Moose County and Lockmaster to the south don't seem particularly upset. It's more of a concern to them that Iris Cobb's son Dennis is the prime suspect, and then he dies, too. (At thirty, when he should be in his mid 20s.)
You could also quibble that this is yet another Cat Who with a Shakespeare connection, but that's fine with me. I liked the stuff with the actors, as well as with the racing crowd, and the twists on Polly's jealousy, with Qwill showing his own jealous streak. Braun teases the reader with the possibility of Qwill marrying Polly, but none of them seem in any hurry. I'm certainly not invested in it, but I don't mind it.
Best of all, this is the one where Qwill moves into the apple barn. It wasn't too interesting, architecturally or otherwise, when he was living above his mansion's garage. But I share the townsfolks' fascination with Dennis's renovation. And designer Fran contributes tapestries that foil the murderer, thanks to the cats and an unlikely assistant. Bootsy by the way, is a "yearling" and Yum Yum (introduced full grown in '83) is about five. Sigh, chronology.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Wilderness Tips
1991, 1992 Seal Books edition
Margaret Atwood
Wilderness Tips
Original price $5.99, purchase price $2.99
Worn paperback with splitting spine
C
Disappointing short-story collection (her fourth but the only one I own), with somewhat unpleasant characters doing somewhat unpleasant things. The theme is nature, not necessarily the outdoors. I thought "Uncles" was the best of the lot, recalling some of the childhood chapters in Lady Oracle, while "Hairball" is probably the grossest and has the least sympathetic main character. It's partly that I often find short stories less interesting because, well, they're too short and we don't really get to know the characters (I was disappointed in A.S. Byatt's and don't get me started on The Cat Who shorts), but there were stories here where I didn't want to spend any more time with the people and couldn't wait for them to be gone. Still, Atwood is talented, even in her weaker works, so I won't go below a C on this.
Margaret Atwood
Wilderness Tips
Original price $5.99, purchase price $2.99
Worn paperback with splitting spine
C
Disappointing short-story collection (her fourth but the only one I own), with somewhat unpleasant characters doing somewhat unpleasant things. The theme is nature, not necessarily the outdoors. I thought "Uncles" was the best of the lot, recalling some of the childhood chapters in Lady Oracle, while "Hairball" is probably the grossest and has the least sympathetic main character. It's partly that I often find short stories less interesting because, well, they're too short and we don't really get to know the characters (I was disappointed in A.S. Byatt's and don't get me started on The Cat Who shorts), but there were stories here where I didn't want to spend any more time with the people and couldn't wait for them to be gone. Still, Atwood is talented, even in her weaker works, so I won't go below a C on this.
Monday, June 24, 2013
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
1991, 1992 Plume edition
Julia Alvarez
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B-
This is often compared to Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club, focusing as it does on daughters and emigration to America, with interlinked stories forming a novel. I think it's about as good, although it's grittier and lacks the fairy-tale-like quality of Club. The novel moves backwards, starting in 1989, ending in 1956, although each story looks back to the then-past. The Garcias are well-to-do in the Dominican Republic but the four little girls and their parents must move to the U.S. for political reasons. The girls lose their accents and to some degree their identities, as they struggle to reconcile culture clash, especially in the late '60s and early '70s. Yolanda is featured most prominently (and is the subject of the 1997 sequel Yo!, which I've never read), but her sisters and their mother get their turns as well. (I could've done without the POV of a cradle-robbing CIA agent.) I most enjoyed MamÃ's inventions of things like the wheeled suitcase.
On maybe the fourth time reading this book, I didn't find the backwards chronology a problem. (I did once read the stories "in order," which makes for a very different book.) However, I was annoyed that the youngest sister Fifi's age fluctuates so much.
Julia Alvarez
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B-
This is often compared to Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club, focusing as it does on daughters and emigration to America, with interlinked stories forming a novel. I think it's about as good, although it's grittier and lacks the fairy-tale-like quality of Club. The novel moves backwards, starting in 1989, ending in 1956, although each story looks back to the then-past. The Garcias are well-to-do in the Dominican Republic but the four little girls and their parents must move to the U.S. for political reasons. The girls lose their accents and to some degree their identities, as they struggle to reconcile culture clash, especially in the late '60s and early '70s. Yolanda is featured most prominently (and is the subject of the 1997 sequel Yo!, which I've never read), but her sisters and their mother get their turns as well. (I could've done without the POV of a cradle-robbing CIA agent.) I most enjoyed MamÃ's inventions of things like the wheeled suitcase.
On maybe the fourth time reading this book, I didn't find the backwards chronology a problem. (I did once read the stories "in order," which makes for a very different book.) However, I was annoyed that the youngest sister Fifi's age fluctuates so much.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Hollywood: A Novel of America in the 1920s
1990, 1999 Modern Library edition
Gore Vidal
Hollywood: A Novel of America in the 1920s
Original price $24.95, purchase price $12.49
Good condition hardcover
B-
Many of my criticisms for Empire (and some of the other novels) still hold, not just the ages being a few years off, but more importantly Vidal's ironic distance from the characters meaning that there's not much resonance. There's a scene where Blaise's wife Frederika has Burden over-- they're having an affair that, like Blaise and Burden's one-night-stand, isn't ever mentioned or hinted at in Washington, D.C.-- when Blaise and his half-sister Caroline (by now Burden's ex) walk in. And it's no big deal to anyone, including the reader. It's not just that these folks are so sophisticated and sexually liberated, it's that no one's in love or even particularly emotionally involved. Similarly, when Blaise goes to a male prostitute, part of the appeal (to him) is that there's no kissing.
It's not much different for the politics that take up most of the book, despite the title. The novel actually begins in 1917, shortly before the U.S. joins the Great War, and we don't get to Hollywood or the 1920s till fairly far in. I did enjoy the look at Chaplin et. al., but I didn't really care about Caroline's career as actress or producer, again because she doesn't seem to care much. She does eventually sell out to Blaise her share of the newspaper she founded, setting up the situation of Washington, D.C. In fact, Peter, Enid, and Diana appear as very small children in this entry, which goes up to 1923, shortly after Harding's death. I still think that first-written novel is the weakest, because at least this one is more consistent with the characters, and does have moments of charm and/or interesting scandal, particularly the death of William Desmond Taylor. (The Fatty Arbuckle scandal allows Vidal more of the rape jokes he likes to have his characters tell.)
I've read but don't own Vidal's The Golden Age, although I'm hoping to buy a used copy by the time I get to 2000. It overlaps the time of D.C., but now with Caroline as one of the players. Even if I don't get that book, this isn't the last of Vidal, since there's Sexually Speaking: Collected Sex Writings for 1999....
Gore Vidal
Hollywood: A Novel of America in the 1920s
Original price $24.95, purchase price $12.49
Good condition hardcover
B-
Many of my criticisms for Empire (and some of the other novels) still hold, not just the ages being a few years off, but more importantly Vidal's ironic distance from the characters meaning that there's not much resonance. There's a scene where Blaise's wife Frederika has Burden over-- they're having an affair that, like Blaise and Burden's one-night-stand, isn't ever mentioned or hinted at in Washington, D.C.-- when Blaise and his half-sister Caroline (by now Burden's ex) walk in. And it's no big deal to anyone, including the reader. It's not just that these folks are so sophisticated and sexually liberated, it's that no one's in love or even particularly emotionally involved. Similarly, when Blaise goes to a male prostitute, part of the appeal (to him) is that there's no kissing.
It's not much different for the politics that take up most of the book, despite the title. The novel actually begins in 1917, shortly before the U.S. joins the Great War, and we don't get to Hollywood or the 1920s till fairly far in. I did enjoy the look at Chaplin et. al., but I didn't really care about Caroline's career as actress or producer, again because she doesn't seem to care much. She does eventually sell out to Blaise her share of the newspaper she founded, setting up the situation of Washington, D.C. In fact, Peter, Enid, and Diana appear as very small children in this entry, which goes up to 1923, shortly after Harding's death. I still think that first-written novel is the weakest, because at least this one is more consistent with the characters, and does have moments of charm and/or interesting scandal, particularly the death of William Desmond Taylor. (The Fatty Arbuckle scandal allows Vidal more of the rape jokes he likes to have his characters tell.)
I've read but don't own Vidal's The Golden Age, although I'm hoping to buy a used copy by the time I get to 2000. It overlaps the time of D.C., but now with Caroline as one of the players. Even if I don't get that book, this isn't the last of Vidal, since there's Sexually Speaking: Collected Sex Writings for 1999....
Friday, June 21, 2013
Recycled Doonesbury: Second Thoughts on a Gilded Age
1990, first edition, from Andrews and MacMeel
G. B. Trudeau
Recycled Doonesbury: Second Thoughts on a Gilded Age
Original price $12.95, purchase price $6.95
Worn paperback
C+
I don't have the post-hiatus collection from 1987, Doonesbury Deluxe, so it was a big shock to see how much the series had declined after (for me) a five-year gap. Things do pick up around '88 (Quayle of course helps) but it's borderline shark-jump at first. The two biggest problems I had were, one, too much of characters I don't care about (no, please, no Duke & Honey wedding!), and two, OOC characters I do like. With the latter, the decline and reconciliation of Mike & J.J. was the worst. You've got Mike (already unhappily married) considering an affair with Nicole (who's lost her H as well as her glasses), and then J.J. leaving him, while pregnant, when she finds out, and then them getting back together after she gives birth on cable. And then Zonker becomes their almost criminally neglectful babysitter. (Meanwhile, Mike's future wife Kim is ironically foreshadowed when he makes up some names of women he could've cheated on J.J. with during their estrangement, while the real Kim, who should be about 15 now, is shown graduating as high school valedictorian.) Incidentally, J.J. and Honey used to be college roommates, but they meet on Trump's boat as if for the first time, sloppy.
Also, I always found Max Headroom annoying, so I wasn't amused when Trudeau crossed him with Reagan. Mr. Butts (product of Mike's guilt over a cigarette campaign) is more successful. With Butts, and some of the U.S.A. Today humor, you can definitely see a change in Trudeau's art style, a bit better, though not enough to balance the decline in writing.
The '80s revival party Mark (still ostensibly straight by the way) hosts is a nice bit of nostalgia, including for the revival parties for the '60s and '70s, back in the day. The '80s were hard on a lot of people, and Trudeau and his characters are no exceptions. I skipped 1993's Portable Doonesbury, and ended up getting 1998's Bundled Doonesbury used. Shark-jump or not, the fun was starting to end for me.
G. B. Trudeau
Recycled Doonesbury: Second Thoughts on a Gilded Age
Original price $12.95, purchase price $6.95
Worn paperback
C+
I don't have the post-hiatus collection from 1987, Doonesbury Deluxe, so it was a big shock to see how much the series had declined after (for me) a five-year gap. Things do pick up around '88 (Quayle of course helps) but it's borderline shark-jump at first. The two biggest problems I had were, one, too much of characters I don't care about (no, please, no Duke & Honey wedding!), and two, OOC characters I do like. With the latter, the decline and reconciliation of Mike & J.J. was the worst. You've got Mike (already unhappily married) considering an affair with Nicole (who's lost her H as well as her glasses), and then J.J. leaving him, while pregnant, when she finds out, and then them getting back together after she gives birth on cable. And then Zonker becomes their almost criminally neglectful babysitter. (Meanwhile, Mike's future wife Kim is ironically foreshadowed when he makes up some names of women he could've cheated on J.J. with during their estrangement, while the real Kim, who should be about 15 now, is shown graduating as high school valedictorian.) Incidentally, J.J. and Honey used to be college roommates, but they meet on Trump's boat as if for the first time, sloppy.
Also, I always found Max Headroom annoying, so I wasn't amused when Trudeau crossed him with Reagan. Mr. Butts (product of Mike's guilt over a cigarette campaign) is more successful. With Butts, and some of the U.S.A. Today humor, you can definitely see a change in Trudeau's art style, a bit better, though not enough to balance the decline in writing.
The '80s revival party Mark (still ostensibly straight by the way) hosts is a nice bit of nostalgia, including for the revival parties for the '60s and '70s, back in the day. The '80s were hard on a lot of people, and Trudeau and his characters are no exceptions. I skipped 1993's Portable Doonesbury, and ended up getting 1998's Bundled Doonesbury used. Shark-jump or not, the fun was starting to end for me.
The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang
1990, 1991 edition, from Pantheon Books
Tony Thorne
The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang: With More Than 5,000 Racy and Raffish Colloquial Expressions-- from America, Great Britain, Australia, the Caribbean, and Other English-Speaking Places
Bought newish for $15.00
Slightly worn paperback
B-
I found this more entertaining than Bierce's Devil's Dictionary (1911), perhaps because Thorne generally wasn't trying to be funny. As the subtitle suggests, he doesn't have much here from Canada, but the U.S. is well-represented, if not always accurately reflected. Americans will shake their heads over, for instance, the definition of "taco" (like in "taco-bender") as "a Mexican fried bread pancake." On the other hand, Valspeak is captured well. I was surprised by some of the omissions, like "woody" for an erection, while "woodie" is there for a wood-paneled surfer's car. And why is there no mention of "wedgies" or similar? (It can't be on the grounds of taste, since Thorne includes racist slurs, bathroom terms, and sexual expressions.) Also, there were times when it seemed like Thorne had missed out on an obvious connection, like where he says that "waldo" is American for "wally" (meaning a fool), and doesn't refer to the Where's Wally/Waldo? series, which began in '87. The relatively small number of tech-influenced terms (like "interfacing" for "communicating or getting on well") can perhaps be excused as not yet having filtered out to British mainstream awareness at that point.
Still, it's a useful contribution, and as a reflection of its time, as well as a period that goes back to 1950 (and in some cases much earlier), it makes for interesting reading, even now that there are so many online collections of slang. (In fact, I was able to cite this book on FB just today, due to a friend's confusion over Emma Watson's "quiff.")
Tony Thorne
The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang: With More Than 5,000 Racy and Raffish Colloquial Expressions-- from America, Great Britain, Australia, the Caribbean, and Other English-Speaking Places
Bought newish for $15.00
Slightly worn paperback
B-
I found this more entertaining than Bierce's Devil's Dictionary (1911), perhaps because Thorne generally wasn't trying to be funny. As the subtitle suggests, he doesn't have much here from Canada, but the U.S. is well-represented, if not always accurately reflected. Americans will shake their heads over, for instance, the definition of "taco" (like in "taco-bender") as "a Mexican fried bread pancake." On the other hand, Valspeak is captured well. I was surprised by some of the omissions, like "woody" for an erection, while "woodie" is there for a wood-paneled surfer's car. And why is there no mention of "wedgies" or similar? (It can't be on the grounds of taste, since Thorne includes racist slurs, bathroom terms, and sexual expressions.) Also, there were times when it seemed like Thorne had missed out on an obvious connection, like where he says that "waldo" is American for "wally" (meaning a fool), and doesn't refer to the Where's Wally/Waldo? series, which began in '87. The relatively small number of tech-influenced terms (like "interfacing" for "communicating or getting on well") can perhaps be excused as not yet having filtered out to British mainstream awareness at that point.
Still, it's a useful contribution, and as a reflection of its time, as well as a period that goes back to 1950 (and in some cases much earlier), it makes for interesting reading, even now that there are so many online collections of slang. (In fact, I was able to cite this book on FB just today, due to a friend's confusion over Emma Watson's "quiff.")
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
1990, undated later edition, from Random House
Dr. Seuss
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Bought newish for $17.00
Good condition hardcover
B-
Ironically or not, this was the last Seuss book published in his lifetime. And although it's a picture book, it is often given to adults who are embarking on a new phase of life. (He died in '91.) I got it as a graduation gift (either BA in '97 or Master's in '99) from one of my best friends, who inscribed, "No matter which paths you choose to take, I'll always be right beside you." Seuss, with the usual strange scenery and creatures, shows a boy going through life's ups and downs, sometimes getting discouraged, but always persevering.
Dr. Seuss
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Bought newish for $17.00
Good condition hardcover
B-
Ironically or not, this was the last Seuss book published in his lifetime. And although it's a picture book, it is often given to adults who are embarking on a new phase of life. (He died in '91.) I got it as a graduation gift (either BA in '97 or Master's in '99) from one of my best friends, who inscribed, "No matter which paths you choose to take, I'll always be right beside you." Seuss, with the usual strange scenery and creatures, shows a boy going through life's ups and downs, sometimes getting discouraged, but always persevering.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
It's Always Something
1990, Avon Books edition from later that year
Gilda Radner
It's Always Something
Original price $4.95, purchase price $2.95
Very worn paperback with split spine
B-
Although I'm using the "biography" tag, this mostly focuses on Radner's last few years, starting with her relationship with Gene Wilder and ending shortly before her death from cancer. I enjoyed the flashbacks to her youth and her career in comedy. I would've liked more of that, and not just as balance to her suffering. She did her best to have an upbeat, funny attitude, but she understandably got scared, angry, and discouraged at different points. Her title comes from the catchphrase of Roseanne Roseanndanna (and I think also Gilda's father), although Gilda had to deal with more than just the minor gross annoyances Roseanne R. did.
Although the main text is copyrighted 1989 (Radner died in May), I'm using the '90 date of the last three pages, stray writings of Radner's, with Wilder's explanation.
Gilda Radner
It's Always Something
Original price $4.95, purchase price $2.95
Very worn paperback with split spine
B-
Although I'm using the "biography" tag, this mostly focuses on Radner's last few years, starting with her relationship with Gene Wilder and ending shortly before her death from cancer. I enjoyed the flashbacks to her youth and her career in comedy. I would've liked more of that, and not just as balance to her suffering. She did her best to have an upbeat, funny attitude, but she understandably got scared, angry, and discouraged at different points. Her title comes from the catchphrase of Roseanne Roseanndanna (and I think also Gilda's father), although Gilda had to deal with more than just the minor gross annoyances Roseanne R. did.
Although the main text is copyrighted 1989 (Radner died in May), I'm using the '90 date of the last three pages, stray writings of Radner's, with Wilder's explanation.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
The "Late Night with David Letterman" Book of Top Ten Lists
1990, undated later edition, from Pocket Books
David Letterman and the Late Night with David Letterman Writers
The "Late Night with David Letterman" Book of Top Ten Lists
Possibly bought newish for $8.95
Worn paperback
C
Although I remember this as a great feature on the show (which I haven't watched regularly in at least 20 years), it feels flat in a book, especially with list after list. Unlike Leno's headlines book from the previous year, this has neither aged well nor gained much irony over time. (Although I suppose the constant use of "gorgeous babes" as a number one reason is ironic in light of revelations a few years ago of Letterman's affairs.) Some of the lists are Dave-centric, like the ones about his stalker and some driving incident he had, but honestly, you'd have to be a fan to still care or remember. And I have no idea what the running joke about "Mookie" is, or the one about "not gonna pay a lot for this muffler." Even the Quayle humor gets stale because it's so one-note. The best of the lot are some of the wordplay lists, like the "Least Popular Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavors," including Oprah Mocha, Norieggnog, and Zsa Za Gaboreo.
This completes another 100 reviews since Paradise Postponed, for 700 total so far. And I must thank all you regular (and irregular) readers, who've boosted my stats in the last few months, even when I'm constantly surprised by what's popular. (A MAD Look at Old Movies is currently moving up the charts.) Nearly four months ago, I had
1 F
4 F+s
2 D-s
5 D's
11 D+s
19 C-s
36 C's
126 C+s
208 B-s
137 B's
44 B+s
7 A-s
Since then, I've added another D+, 3 C-s, and 7 C's. There are 20 new C+s and 38 B-s. Surprisingly, there are 27 B's, over a quarter of the additions. And there are 4 additional B+s but no A-s.
David Letterman and the Late Night with David Letterman Writers
The "Late Night with David Letterman" Book of Top Ten Lists
Possibly bought newish for $8.95
Worn paperback
C
Although I remember this as a great feature on the show (which I haven't watched regularly in at least 20 years), it feels flat in a book, especially with list after list. Unlike Leno's headlines book from the previous year, this has neither aged well nor gained much irony over time. (Although I suppose the constant use of "gorgeous babes" as a number one reason is ironic in light of revelations a few years ago of Letterman's affairs.) Some of the lists are Dave-centric, like the ones about his stalker and some driving incident he had, but honestly, you'd have to be a fan to still care or remember. And I have no idea what the running joke about "Mookie" is, or the one about "not gonna pay a lot for this muffler." Even the Quayle humor gets stale because it's so one-note. The best of the lot are some of the wordplay lists, like the "Least Popular Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavors," including Oprah Mocha, Norieggnog, and Zsa Za Gaboreo.
This completes another 100 reviews since Paradise Postponed, for 700 total so far. And I must thank all you regular (and irregular) readers, who've boosted my stats in the last few months, even when I'm constantly surprised by what's popular. (A MAD Look at Old Movies is currently moving up the charts.) Nearly four months ago, I had
1 F
4 F+s
2 D-s
5 D's
11 D+s
19 C-s
36 C's
126 C+s
208 B-s
137 B's
44 B+s
7 A-s
Since then, I've added another D+, 3 C-s, and 7 C's. There are 20 new C+s and 38 B-s. Surprisingly, there are 27 B's, over a quarter of the additions. And there are 4 additional B+s but no A-s.
The Worst Years of Our Lives
1990, first edition, from Pantheon
Barbara Ehrenreich
The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed
Original price $19.95, purchase price $4.00
Good condition hardcover
C+
I knew it was a bad sign when I enjoyed the more serious essays, especially on economics, than I did the more "irreverent notes." (Although I will credit her for predicting the Snugli.) She's not painfully unfunny, she's just not in the league of Katha Pollitt, able to zero in on the truth and be marvelously flippant at the same time. (Reasonable Creatures will be in 1995.) The essays here are arranged by topic rather than chronologically, although there is a lot from '89. Her perspective is atheist left-wing feminist, pre-Baby-Boomer (born in '41), mother of two. I recall her Nickel and Dimed as a better, more focused book, but I don't own it.
Barbara Ehrenreich
The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed
Original price $19.95, purchase price $4.00
Good condition hardcover
C+
I knew it was a bad sign when I enjoyed the more serious essays, especially on economics, than I did the more "irreverent notes." (Although I will credit her for predicting the Snugli.) She's not painfully unfunny, she's just not in the league of Katha Pollitt, able to zero in on the truth and be marvelously flippant at the same time. (Reasonable Creatures will be in 1995.) The essays here are arranged by topic rather than chronologically, although there is a lot from '89. Her perspective is atheist left-wing feminist, pre-Baby-Boomer (born in '41), mother of two. I recall her Nickel and Dimed as a better, more focused book, but I don't own it.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The Brady Bunch Book
1990, undated later edition probably from that year, from Warner Books
Andrew J. Edelstein & Frank Lovece
The Brady Bunch Book
Bought new for $8.95
Worn paperback
B-
This is from the same publisher as Joey Green's Gilligan book but not as good. Green somehow found depth on the Island, analyzing its religion, politics, economics, gender roles, etc. This is a literally more trivial approach. (That I scored perfectly on the quiz probably doesn't shock you.) Not that the co-authors are oblivious to the sociology, especially those gender roles, but they're equally interested in the significance of pizza to the bunch. Also, well, through no fault of their own, they're victims of chronology. They published this book with a definitive title (no "unofficial handbook") and the biggest scandal they have is that the original Tiger secretly died. OK, and that Barry "Greg" Williams smoked pot. Williams would spill a lot of beans in his 1992 autobiography (very definitely going to be reviewed), although not as many as Maureen "Marcia" McCormick in hers (which will have to wait till 2008).
The style here is a bit cutesy at times but not bad. There are some errors that jump out at me, like a quote that's used three times where Mike Brady is "describing his kids to a friend," and he's actually talking to Carol. Also, as someone who liked the middle kids best, I think they shortchange Peter and Jan. Still, they do a good job of presenting the show as it was two decades before and how it seemed then. (They're awfully excited about the "Brady Legacy," when it was rarer than now but becoming increasingly common to catch Brady references, as in Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince's video for "Parents Just Don't Understand.") They go easy on the spin-offs, including that year's ill-advised dramedy The Bradys.
My favorite feature (and the edgiest) is the "lost" sixth season, which imagines twenty-three episodes that were accidentally never broadcast, including a mid-season shift to "relevancy." How would they have ended it?
"Greg's Secret": On the final episode, long-infatuated Greg and Marcia decide to elope, while Mike shocks Carol by announcing he's bisexual.
Like I said, victims of chronology.
Andrew J. Edelstein & Frank Lovece
The Brady Bunch Book
Bought new for $8.95
Worn paperback
B-
This is from the same publisher as Joey Green's Gilligan book but not as good. Green somehow found depth on the Island, analyzing its religion, politics, economics, gender roles, etc. This is a literally more trivial approach. (That I scored perfectly on the quiz probably doesn't shock you.) Not that the co-authors are oblivious to the sociology, especially those gender roles, but they're equally interested in the significance of pizza to the bunch. Also, well, through no fault of their own, they're victims of chronology. They published this book with a definitive title (no "unofficial handbook") and the biggest scandal they have is that the original Tiger secretly died. OK, and that Barry "Greg" Williams smoked pot. Williams would spill a lot of beans in his 1992 autobiography (very definitely going to be reviewed), although not as many as Maureen "Marcia" McCormick in hers (which will have to wait till 2008).
The style here is a bit cutesy at times but not bad. There are some errors that jump out at me, like a quote that's used three times where Mike Brady is "describing his kids to a friend," and he's actually talking to Carol. Also, as someone who liked the middle kids best, I think they shortchange Peter and Jan. Still, they do a good job of presenting the show as it was two decades before and how it seemed then. (They're awfully excited about the "Brady Legacy," when it was rarer than now but becoming increasingly common to catch Brady references, as in Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince's video for "Parents Just Don't Understand.") They go easy on the spin-offs, including that year's ill-advised dramedy The Bradys.
My favorite feature (and the edgiest) is the "lost" sixth season, which imagines twenty-three episodes that were accidentally never broadcast, including a mid-season shift to "relevancy." How would they have ended it?
"Greg's Secret": On the final episode, long-infatuated Greg and Marcia decide to elope, while Mike shocks Carol by announcing he's bisexual.
Like I said, victims of chronology.
Roger Ebert's Movie Home Companion, 1990 Edition
1990, probably first edition, from Andrews and Macmeel
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert's Movie Home Companion, 1990 Edition: Full Length Reviews of Twenty Years of Movies on Video
Bought new for $12.95
Very worn paperback
C+
This would've been Ebert's 71st birthday. (He shared it with Paul McCartney.) When he died a couple months ago, in the midst of many other celebrities (including Annette Funicello), his death affected me most. I'd recently been watching some of his old shows with Gene Siskel, on VHS and at siskelandebert.org, and I really missed them as a pairing. Also, I admired Ebert's bravery in the face of cancer.
That said, this collection isn't as much fun as Rex Reed's Big Screen, Little Screen (1971), which mentions "bright, sassy, young Roger Ebert." Reed appears here in the review of Q AKA The Winged Serpent (1982), talking with AIP's Samuel Z. Arkoff.
Reed: Sam! I just saw The Winged Serpent! What a surprise! All that dreck-- and right in the middle of it, a great Method performance by Michael Moriarty!
Arkoff: The dreck was my idea.
There are some nice moments like that, but too much of the book is about movies I don't care about, sometimes described redundantly, as if made for easy cutting in different newspapers. Also, Roger is too easy a grader, with lots of three-and-a-half and four-stars, except when he misses the boat, as with Harold and Maude and Raising Arizona (both one-and-a-half). The "Film Clips" section, celebrity interviews towards the end, is kind of dull, except for Teri Garr and one or two others. I do like the "special sections" on black & white (this was a few years after he and Siskel began the fight against colorization), as well as the Glossary of Movie Terms such as "Fruit Cart!" (inevitable in chase scenes of the time) and the Balloon Rule: "No good movie has ever contained a hot-air balloon. (Except for The Wizard of Oz.)" (Recent examples include The Ugly Truth and Oz the Great and Powerful, Ebert noting this in his review of the former, yet somehow failing to mention it with the latter, which he gave two-and-a-half stars.)
The review of "State-of-the-Art TV Projectors" is interesting in terms of what was state of the art then, and his predictions on other home-viewing technology. (This was a time when laser discs were much better than VHS but therefore more expensive.) As for the movies, with the exception of some rereleases (including a restored Lawrence of Arabia), they go from 1970 (notably including M*A*S*H and Woodstock) to 1989. In fact, the copyright on this book is actually 1989, as if it's a car and must be dated ahead.
I don't imagine most people would want to read this edition for any reason other than to see what Ebert thought about the movies at that time, and to be honest, you're probably better off looking up his individual print reviews at rogerebert.com, or better yet watching him spar and joke with Gene on their shows. Still, I'll give a thumb slightly up.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert's Movie Home Companion, 1990 Edition: Full Length Reviews of Twenty Years of Movies on Video
Bought new for $12.95
Very worn paperback
C+
This would've been Ebert's 71st birthday. (He shared it with Paul McCartney.) When he died a couple months ago, in the midst of many other celebrities (including Annette Funicello), his death affected me most. I'd recently been watching some of his old shows with Gene Siskel, on VHS and at siskelandebert.org, and I really missed them as a pairing. Also, I admired Ebert's bravery in the face of cancer.
That said, this collection isn't as much fun as Rex Reed's Big Screen, Little Screen (1971), which mentions "bright, sassy, young Roger Ebert." Reed appears here in the review of Q AKA The Winged Serpent (1982), talking with AIP's Samuel Z. Arkoff.
Reed: Sam! I just saw The Winged Serpent! What a surprise! All that dreck-- and right in the middle of it, a great Method performance by Michael Moriarty!
Arkoff: The dreck was my idea.
There are some nice moments like that, but too much of the book is about movies I don't care about, sometimes described redundantly, as if made for easy cutting in different newspapers. Also, Roger is too easy a grader, with lots of three-and-a-half and four-stars, except when he misses the boat, as with Harold and Maude and Raising Arizona (both one-and-a-half). The "Film Clips" section, celebrity interviews towards the end, is kind of dull, except for Teri Garr and one or two others. I do like the "special sections" on black & white (this was a few years after he and Siskel began the fight against colorization), as well as the Glossary of Movie Terms such as "Fruit Cart!" (inevitable in chase scenes of the time) and the Balloon Rule: "No good movie has ever contained a hot-air balloon. (Except for The Wizard of Oz.)" (Recent examples include The Ugly Truth and Oz the Great and Powerful, Ebert noting this in his review of the former, yet somehow failing to mention it with the latter, which he gave two-and-a-half stars.)
The review of "State-of-the-Art TV Projectors" is interesting in terms of what was state of the art then, and his predictions on other home-viewing technology. (This was a time when laser discs were much better than VHS but therefore more expensive.) As for the movies, with the exception of some rereleases (including a restored Lawrence of Arabia), they go from 1970 (notably including M*A*S*H and Woodstock) to 1989. In fact, the copyright on this book is actually 1989, as if it's a car and must be dated ahead.
I don't imagine most people would want to read this edition for any reason other than to see what Ebert thought about the movies at that time, and to be honest, you're probably better off looking up his individual print reviews at rogerebert.com, or better yet watching him spar and joke with Gene on their shows. Still, I'll give a thumb slightly up.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Possession: A Romance
1990, 1991 Vintage International edition
A. S. Byatt
Possession: A Romance
Bought newish for $12.00
Worn paperback
B+
Like Fowle's The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969), this contrasts moderns with Victorians, but the approach and results are different. Roland and Maud, two literary scholars, each devoted to a Victorian poet, in 1986 and '87 trace the connection-- intellectual and romantic-- between their poets, themselves connecting intellectually and then romantically. Although this is definitely a novel ("romance" in Hawthorne's sense), I'm using the "epistolary," "literary criticism," and "poetry" tags because Byatt creates not just poems but all sorts of texts (and subtexts) that are convincingly real. (As you know, I generally don't like poetry but I do like it when Christabel LaMotte writes like Emily Dickinson.) The book is a celebration of not just writing but reading, and reading into, which means it's often joyful but can get bogged down. At times, especially early on, I was tempted to give this an A-, but while it's an impressive and frequently fun book, it just doesn't quite make it to the top tier. (By now, I'm pretty much convinced I'll never give out an A, certainly no A+.)
For the most part, Byatt presents her Victorians just through their writing, although there are times when she shows them directly. However, she doesn't get as close as Fowle did. When we see characters riding the train, Byatt isn't curled up into a corner of the compartment, as he was. Like many of her characters, she's more aloof. The book is about both passion (possession in many senses, including spiritual) and its avoidance, and times when celibacy is the more "romantic" choice. (Even whether or not to read something is a very important choice, more important than sexual choices sometimes.) One reason I loathed the 2002 movie is that Roland, who appeals to Maud partly because he's not "forceful," was changed into a brash American. It's better to have an ice queen's melting be more paradoxical. Also, in the book it's much clearer why Maud seems like an ice queen, because we see the nature of her recent involvements with a man and a woman, both of whom overwhelmed her.
When I first read the book, the ending surprised me but it fit. I'm generally writing these reviews as if you don't mind spoilers, but I really do need to say don't read further if you haven't read the book but plan to.
SPOILERS AND SPECULATION....
LaMotte and Randolph Henry Ash go away together for a week in Yorkshire, in early to mid-June 1859. As near as we can tell, it's the only time they have sex. (He's married, she has a live-in girlfriend.) Cleaning up after their first time (possibly her first time with a man), he finds blood on his thighs. He doesn't talk to her about it. Has he deflowered her? Does she have her period? Some other reason? We never find out.
She has a baby sometime between mid-April and early May. The baby, who's raised by LaMotte's sister, is named Maia, implying the later month. But wait a minute, even mid-April is at least ten months after she had sex with RHA. The big reveal at the end of the novel is that Maud is the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of both poets. But is she? What if LaMotte had an affair with another man? (My money's on Crabb, the only other male friend she has.) It's like there's a whole other subtext to the book, one that Byatt isn't aware of, or sneakily pretends isn't there!
A. S. Byatt
Possession: A Romance
Bought newish for $12.00
Worn paperback
B+
Like Fowle's The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969), this contrasts moderns with Victorians, but the approach and results are different. Roland and Maud, two literary scholars, each devoted to a Victorian poet, in 1986 and '87 trace the connection-- intellectual and romantic-- between their poets, themselves connecting intellectually and then romantically. Although this is definitely a novel ("romance" in Hawthorne's sense), I'm using the "epistolary," "literary criticism," and "poetry" tags because Byatt creates not just poems but all sorts of texts (and subtexts) that are convincingly real. (As you know, I generally don't like poetry but I do like it when Christabel LaMotte writes like Emily Dickinson.) The book is a celebration of not just writing but reading, and reading into, which means it's often joyful but can get bogged down. At times, especially early on, I was tempted to give this an A-, but while it's an impressive and frequently fun book, it just doesn't quite make it to the top tier. (By now, I'm pretty much convinced I'll never give out an A, certainly no A+.)
For the most part, Byatt presents her Victorians just through their writing, although there are times when she shows them directly. However, she doesn't get as close as Fowle did. When we see characters riding the train, Byatt isn't curled up into a corner of the compartment, as he was. Like many of her characters, she's more aloof. The book is about both passion (possession in many senses, including spiritual) and its avoidance, and times when celibacy is the more "romantic" choice. (Even whether or not to read something is a very important choice, more important than sexual choices sometimes.) One reason I loathed the 2002 movie is that Roland, who appeals to Maud partly because he's not "forceful," was changed into a brash American. It's better to have an ice queen's melting be more paradoxical. Also, in the book it's much clearer why Maud seems like an ice queen, because we see the nature of her recent involvements with a man and a woman, both of whom overwhelmed her.
When I first read the book, the ending surprised me but it fit. I'm generally writing these reviews as if you don't mind spoilers, but I really do need to say don't read further if you haven't read the book but plan to.
SPOILERS AND SPECULATION....
LaMotte and Randolph Henry Ash go away together for a week in Yorkshire, in early to mid-June 1859. As near as we can tell, it's the only time they have sex. (He's married, she has a live-in girlfriend.) Cleaning up after their first time (possibly her first time with a man), he finds blood on his thighs. He doesn't talk to her about it. Has he deflowered her? Does she have her period? Some other reason? We never find out.
She has a baby sometime between mid-April and early May. The baby, who's raised by LaMotte's sister, is named Maia, implying the later month. But wait a minute, even mid-April is at least ten months after she had sex with RHA. The big reveal at the end of the novel is that Maud is the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of both poets. But is she? What if LaMotte had an affair with another man? (My money's on Crabb, the only other male friend she has.) It's like there's a whole other subtext to the book, one that Byatt isn't aware of, or sneakily pretends isn't there!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Nancy: Dreams and Schemes
1990, first edition, from Kitchen Sink Press
Ernie Bushmiller
Nancy: Dreams and Schemes
Bought newish for $7.95
Worn paperback
B-
Even more than before, there are comics that have been featured in the earlier collections, but there's enough here of interest, including surrealism, and not just when Nancy's dreaming. Roy Blount, Jr.'s introduction assumes that it's Nancy having the dreams because "Lord knows they don't seem like anything a grown man would have," but I'd argue that a grown man like Bushmiller definitely would. Blount was a "charter member of the Bushmiller Society" but seems just as confused as anyone about the paradoxes of Nancy's world. Even when it's set in "the real world" rather than Nancy's night and daydreams, it's pretty bizarre.
Let me take just one strip as an example (I could provide you with dozens), in this case where their walk-on pal Eddie looks grim and Sluggo asks why the long face. Instead of telling them, Eddie says, "I just feel grumpy." Sluggo tells Nancy it's too nice a morning for a long face. In the penultimate panel, they see something startling offpage. Then with exaggeratedly long faces, they walk towards a sign that says, "SCHOOL OPENS TODAY." The disconnect with reality here is not so much the cartoonish faces, since that comes with the territory, as that somehow no one (not Eddie, not Aunt Fritzi) has told them about school opening today. What if they hadn't seen the sign? And what kid over the age of five doesn't count down the weeks and then days till school starts? As always with Bushmiller, everything is sacrificed for the joke. And presumably this is not the same school year (I think from the 1960s) when Nancy and Fritzi both develop crushes on the 1932-handsome teacher.
Bushmiller is more timely at times, as with a Khrushchev caricature. But if you want topical, stay tuned for the next collection, where Nancy takes on not only modern art but "Bums, Beatniks and Hippies"....
Ernie Bushmiller
Nancy: Dreams and Schemes
Bought newish for $7.95
Worn paperback
B-
Even more than before, there are comics that have been featured in the earlier collections, but there's enough here of interest, including surrealism, and not just when Nancy's dreaming. Roy Blount, Jr.'s introduction assumes that it's Nancy having the dreams because "Lord knows they don't seem like anything a grown man would have," but I'd argue that a grown man like Bushmiller definitely would. Blount was a "charter member of the Bushmiller Society" but seems just as confused as anyone about the paradoxes of Nancy's world. Even when it's set in "the real world" rather than Nancy's night and daydreams, it's pretty bizarre.
Let me take just one strip as an example (I could provide you with dozens), in this case where their walk-on pal Eddie looks grim and Sluggo asks why the long face. Instead of telling them, Eddie says, "I just feel grumpy." Sluggo tells Nancy it's too nice a morning for a long face. In the penultimate panel, they see something startling offpage. Then with exaggeratedly long faces, they walk towards a sign that says, "SCHOOL OPENS TODAY." The disconnect with reality here is not so much the cartoonish faces, since that comes with the territory, as that somehow no one (not Eddie, not Aunt Fritzi) has told them about school opening today. What if they hadn't seen the sign? And what kid over the age of five doesn't count down the weeks and then days till school starts? As always with Bushmiller, everything is sacrificed for the joke. And presumably this is not the same school year (I think from the 1960s) when Nancy and Fritzi both develop crushes on the 1932-handsome teacher.
Bushmiller is more timely at times, as with a Khrushchev caricature. But if you want topical, stay tuned for the next collection, where Nancy takes on not only modern art but "Bums, Beatniks and Hippies"....
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The Cat Who Lived High
1990, 1991 Jove Books edition
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Lived High
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Very worn paperback with broken spine
B
Qwill, wanting to avoid another Moose County winter, accepts the invitation of Amberina, one of the "Weird Sisters" of Junktown, back in Turned On and Off. And, yes, like that '60s title, this one has a drug meaning, although it's mostly to do with living in faded luxury in a penthouse.
Since this is the November of the same year as Went Underground, it's probably 1986. Qwill (in the fake-out beginning where he seems to have died) is very specifically 52. He claims it's been three years since he lived in Junktown, but he's also supposed to have moved to Moose County three years ago. Here's what we're looking at so far:
1982-- Could Read Backwards (Aug/Sept)
1983-- Ate Danish Modern (Feb/Mar), Turned On and Off (Dec I think)
1984-- Saw Red (I forget, spring?), Played Brahms (June), Played Post Office (July)
1985-- Knew Shakespeare (Nov)
1986-- Sniffed Glue (spring?), Went Underground (June/July), Talked to Ghosts (Oct), Lived High (Nov)
So really, he's only been in Moose County two years, five months, but it has been about three years since Junktown. He reunites with not only Amberina but Mary Duckworth, Robert Maus, and a couple others from On and Off and/or Saw Red, not surprisingly since the plot is again art-related. (In fact, the murderer victim and her suspicious ex-husband bought the Lambreth Gallery of the first book, and there's a passing mention of Mountclemens.)
It's fun to be back in the Big City, for the reader I mean, not for Qwill who misses everything and everyone Up North. He does help Koko save "an estimated two hundred persons." (Braun has some sort of prejudice against the word "people," and it's a quirk that's particularly prominent in this entry.) And he meets "The Countess," an eccentric old woman who owns the building the penthouse is in. She's 75, which actually works out with the 1986 date, since she had her debut just before The Crash of '29.
In both this book and the previous one, I really appreciated Arch's loyal friendship to Qwill. He's still engaged to "the lovely Amanda," but the bromance is more believable.
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Lived High
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Very worn paperback with broken spine
B
Qwill, wanting to avoid another Moose County winter, accepts the invitation of Amberina, one of the "Weird Sisters" of Junktown, back in Turned On and Off. And, yes, like that '60s title, this one has a drug meaning, although it's mostly to do with living in faded luxury in a penthouse.
Since this is the November of the same year as Went Underground, it's probably 1986. Qwill (in the fake-out beginning where he seems to have died) is very specifically 52. He claims it's been three years since he lived in Junktown, but he's also supposed to have moved to Moose County three years ago. Here's what we're looking at so far:
1982-- Could Read Backwards (Aug/Sept)
1983-- Ate Danish Modern (Feb/Mar), Turned On and Off (Dec I think)
1984-- Saw Red (I forget, spring?), Played Brahms (June), Played Post Office (July)
1985-- Knew Shakespeare (Nov)
1986-- Sniffed Glue (spring?), Went Underground (June/July), Talked to Ghosts (Oct), Lived High (Nov)
So really, he's only been in Moose County two years, five months, but it has been about three years since Junktown. He reunites with not only Amberina but Mary Duckworth, Robert Maus, and a couple others from On and Off and/or Saw Red, not surprisingly since the plot is again art-related. (In fact, the murderer victim and her suspicious ex-husband bought the Lambreth Gallery of the first book, and there's a passing mention of Mountclemens.)
It's fun to be back in the Big City, for the reader I mean, not for Qwill who misses everything and everyone Up North. He does help Koko save "an estimated two hundred persons." (Braun has some sort of prejudice against the word "people," and it's a quirk that's particularly prominent in this entry.) And he meets "The Countess," an eccentric old woman who owns the building the penthouse is in. She's 75, which actually works out with the 1986 date, since she had her debut just before The Crash of '29.
In both this book and the previous one, I really appreciated Arch's loyal friendship to Qwill. He's still engaged to "the lovely Amanda," but the bromance is more believable.
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts
1990, Jove Books edition from later that year
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Very worn paperback with broken spine
B
This is set in October of the same year as Went Underground, since Arch asks Polly about her summer trip to England. Qwill is "fifty," yet the "same age" as 55-year-old Mrs. Cobb, who's the murder victim this time. Her son Dennis Hough, who appeared briefly before, arrives and seriously considers a move to Moose County. He's about 24. Robotic ex-principal Homer Tibbitt is 94.
Although the murderer seemed pretty obvious (he's the most unpleasant person in the story), the book still works, better than its predecessor. I would've liked to have seen more grief from Qwill over the loss of his former landlady/housekeeper/friend, but he does tend to be emotionally reserved, except when it comes to the cats. He hypocritically disapproves of Polly's fondness for her new kitten, Bootsy, forgetting that he feeds his cats gourmet food, and calls Yum Yum his "little sweetheart." (And as for Bootsy being a silly name, it's honestly no worse than Yum Yum or Koko, Gilbert & Sullivan notwithstanding. In fact, Bootsy Collins is an awesome name.)
The book ends with the opening of the next book, as Qwill gets a phone invitation to spend the Winter in a penthouse Down Below....
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Very worn paperback with broken spine
B
This is set in October of the same year as Went Underground, since Arch asks Polly about her summer trip to England. Qwill is "fifty," yet the "same age" as 55-year-old Mrs. Cobb, who's the murder victim this time. Her son Dennis Hough, who appeared briefly before, arrives and seriously considers a move to Moose County. He's about 24. Robotic ex-principal Homer Tibbitt is 94.
Although the murderer seemed pretty obvious (he's the most unpleasant person in the story), the book still works, better than its predecessor. I would've liked to have seen more grief from Qwill over the loss of his former landlady/housekeeper/friend, but he does tend to be emotionally reserved, except when it comes to the cats. He hypocritically disapproves of Polly's fondness for her new kitten, Bootsy, forgetting that he feeds his cats gourmet food, and calls Yum Yum his "little sweetheart." (And as for Bootsy being a silly name, it's honestly no worse than Yum Yum or Koko, Gilbert & Sullivan notwithstanding. In fact, Bootsy Collins is an awesome name.)
The book ends with the opening of the next book, as Qwill gets a phone invitation to spend the Winter in a penthouse Down Below....
Monday, June 10, 2013
Black Trillium
1990, 1991 Bantam edition
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May & Andre Norton
Black Trillium
Bought new for $5.99
Very worn paperback
B
Satisfying fantasy novel, in fact I think it holds up better than Bradley's Mists of Avalon and Firebrand. Each author wrote the thread of the story for one of the triplet princesses, with Bradley (no surprise) taking scholarly Haramis. I'm guessing that her name is inspired by Aramis of the Three Musketeers, while sweet blonde Anigel is just "angel" with an extra letter. (No idea where Kadiya comes from.) Yes, you can argue that the story is both implausible and formulaic, with the triplets having completely different hair and eye colors, not to mention heights, and of course totally different personalities. They have their individual quests but must unite to save their land. You could also quibble that Haramis being melted with one flaming kiss from the evil sorcerer is too bodice-rippery, especially since she's supposed to be the sensible one.
No matter. The book held my interest throughout, and I especially liked the setting of a swampy kingdom, so different from other fantasy and sci-fi that I've read. (There's a handy map, as well as an inset with portraits of the princesses.) I went on to read May's Saga of Pliocene Exile series, which started out well and then got deeply annoying by the third book, so I gave up on it. I did like the one Andre Norton book I got from the library. (Both May and Norton are/were female, despite the first names. Norton died in '05, May is now 81.) I also read one of the four sequels that the co-authors wrote as individuals later in the '90s, probably May's Blood Trillium (1992), but found it disappointing. Perhaps, as with the triplets, the writers are stronger together than apart.
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May & Andre Norton
Black Trillium
Bought new for $5.99
Very worn paperback
B
Satisfying fantasy novel, in fact I think it holds up better than Bradley's Mists of Avalon and Firebrand. Each author wrote the thread of the story for one of the triplet princesses, with Bradley (no surprise) taking scholarly Haramis. I'm guessing that her name is inspired by Aramis of the Three Musketeers, while sweet blonde Anigel is just "angel" with an extra letter. (No idea where Kadiya comes from.) Yes, you can argue that the story is both implausible and formulaic, with the triplets having completely different hair and eye colors, not to mention heights, and of course totally different personalities. They have their individual quests but must unite to save their land. You could also quibble that Haramis being melted with one flaming kiss from the evil sorcerer is too bodice-rippery, especially since she's supposed to be the sensible one.
No matter. The book held my interest throughout, and I especially liked the setting of a swampy kingdom, so different from other fantasy and sci-fi that I've read. (There's a handy map, as well as an inset with portraits of the princesses.) I went on to read May's Saga of Pliocene Exile series, which started out well and then got deeply annoying by the third book, so I gave up on it. I did like the one Andre Norton book I got from the library. (Both May and Norton are/were female, despite the first names. Norton died in '05, May is now 81.) I also read one of the four sequels that the co-authors wrote as individuals later in the '90s, probably May's Blood Trillium (1992), but found it disappointing. Perhaps, as with the triplets, the writers are stronger together than apart.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Fudge-a-Mania
1990, 1991 Yearling edition
Judy Blume
Fudge-a-Mania
Possibly bought newish for $3.50
Worn paperback
C+
Well, clearly I found this at least as forgettable as Just as Long as We're Together, since I didn't even remember that I owned any of the "Fudge" books. It's fourth in the series if you count Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, which you probably should, since Sheila's family and Fudge's are sharing a house in Maine one summer. A summer whose year Blume coyly omits, but August 28th is a Saturday, so it's possibly 1982, although considering that Fudge's older brother Peter was "a fourth-grade nothing" in 1972 and is now 11 or 12, time obviously moves much more slowly for the Hatcher family. The two families become related when one grandmother marries a grandfather, a romance that seems rushed to me as well as to their children. Meanwhile, Peter has a crush on a girl of about 17. And Fudge wants to marry Sheila. Various misadventures ensue. A decent time-killer.
I do not own the next (and still last) book, 2002's Double Fudge.
Judy Blume
Fudge-a-Mania
Possibly bought newish for $3.50
Worn paperback
C+
Well, clearly I found this at least as forgettable as Just as Long as We're Together, since I didn't even remember that I owned any of the "Fudge" books. It's fourth in the series if you count Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, which you probably should, since Sheila's family and Fudge's are sharing a house in Maine one summer. A summer whose year Blume coyly omits, but August 28th is a Saturday, so it's possibly 1982, although considering that Fudge's older brother Peter was "a fourth-grade nothing" in 1972 and is now 11 or 12, time obviously moves much more slowly for the Hatcher family. The two families become related when one grandmother marries a grandfather, a romance that seems rushed to me as well as to their children. Meanwhile, Peter has a crush on a girl of about 17. And Fudge wants to marry Sheila. Various misadventures ensue. A decent time-killer.
I do not own the next (and still last) book, 2002's Double Fudge.
Friday, June 7, 2013
First Hubby
1990, first edition, from Villard Books
Roy Blount, Jr.
First Hubby
Original price $18.95, purchase price $3.39
OK condition hardcover
B-
The bio paragraph says Blount "is a novelist. Now." Yes, but the book often feels like a collection of Blount's essays loosely strung to a loose plot. First-person narrator (in the form of a diary) Guy Fox (the book has lots of wordplay) is a humorist, so this isn't much of a stretch, but Blount did have to imagine what it would be like to be the "first male First Lady." The book is set the summer of 1993, shortly after his wife Clementine has risen from V.P., the previous President having been killed by a random falling fish. And, yes, in the real 1993 (and ever after) the actual First Spouse was accused of controlling the President. Guy doesn't even want to be Second Hubby. He just wants to go home. But his wife likes running the country, and he's always tried to be supportive, except the time he ran out on her and regretted it.
The book isn't as funny or as insightful as Blount hopes, although of course I always find myself rooting for him. That the novel works at all probably has more to do with that everyone in it-- even Qadhafi!-- comes across as likable. I also like the way Blount portrays a long-term marriage, where the couple still don't quite communicate but they try, and they still love each other, especially in bed. This is also the second novel in a row where the issue of an unplanned pregnancy comes up, and Blount deals with it with more complexity than Binchy does. It's implied that Clementine (who's 43 and obviously has a lot to cope with) will go through with it, after initially planning an abortion, but either way, she and Guy will talk that, and everything else, out.
Roy Blount, Jr.
First Hubby
Original price $18.95, purchase price $3.39
OK condition hardcover
B-
The bio paragraph says Blount "is a novelist. Now." Yes, but the book often feels like a collection of Blount's essays loosely strung to a loose plot. First-person narrator (in the form of a diary) Guy Fox (the book has lots of wordplay) is a humorist, so this isn't much of a stretch, but Blount did have to imagine what it would be like to be the "first male First Lady." The book is set the summer of 1993, shortly after his wife Clementine has risen from V.P., the previous President having been killed by a random falling fish. And, yes, in the real 1993 (and ever after) the actual First Spouse was accused of controlling the President. Guy doesn't even want to be Second Hubby. He just wants to go home. But his wife likes running the country, and he's always tried to be supportive, except the time he ran out on her and regretted it.
The book isn't as funny or as insightful as Blount hopes, although of course I always find myself rooting for him. That the novel works at all probably has more to do with that everyone in it-- even Qadhafi!-- comes across as likable. I also like the way Blount portrays a long-term marriage, where the couple still don't quite communicate but they try, and they still love each other, especially in bed. This is also the second novel in a row where the issue of an unplanned pregnancy comes up, and Blount deals with it with more complexity than Binchy does. It's implied that Clementine (who's 43 and obviously has a lot to cope with) will go through with it, after initially planning an abortion, but either way, she and Guy will talk that, and everything else, out.
Circle of Friends
1990, 1991 Dell edition
Maeve Binchy
Circle of Friends
Original price $6.50, purchase price $3.25
Very worn paperback with split spine
B-
I really enjoyed the 1995 film version (Minnie Driver's debut), but I haven't seen it since, so I don't know if it would bother me as much as this book now does. My dislike ranges from an anachronism worse than the 1957 Twist in Echoes to the central romance. The former is a 1957 letter that says in part, "She has read aloud to me your letters about being groovy and inviting me to where the action is. She has begun to ask me what 'turning someone on' is about, and why do people say 'It's been real.'" (What happened to Binchy in 1957? Some time-travel mishap?)
As for the romance, Benny (short for Bernadette) is very insecure and can't believe that someone as handsome, charming, and popular as Jack would want her for his girlfriend. The tag on this edition says, "For everyone who ever thought the person they loved was out of their reach." Translation, "You folks are damn lucky if it's true, because that unattainable guy would try to pressure you into sex and then cheat on you with one of your friends, who's secretly pregnant by another guy, who won't marry her. But it could be worse, since your best friend would threaten her with a knife and cause her to have a miscarriage, so your ex won't marry her and will then want you back, but you'd have moved on by then." Not to mention that Jack offers Benny almost zero support when her father dies and she suspects (correctly) that the family store's "loyal" employee is embezzling. All Jack does is whinge about how she doesn't spend more time in town. (They're students in Dublin, and she commutes almost daily to and from the small town of Knockglen.)
So what did I like? I liked the friendship between Benny and Eve (the knife-wielder). I liked Eve's story much more than Benny's, including her prickly relationship with her late mother's family. As always, I liked Binchy's view of small-town life. (Dublin is just sketched in, and I didn't really get a sense of student life, beyond scarves and fly-cemeteries [a type of pastry].) There were things here and there I liked. And I have to admit that I like that Binchy resisted the temptation that the film-makers gave into, of giving Jack and Benny a "happy" ending. (And, no, nobody makes a Jack Benny joke, which would at least be more timely than a teddy-boy writing letters like a hippie.)
Next up on the Binchy list, 1992's The Copper Beech....
Maeve Binchy
Circle of Friends
Original price $6.50, purchase price $3.25
Very worn paperback with split spine
B-
I really enjoyed the 1995 film version (Minnie Driver's debut), but I haven't seen it since, so I don't know if it would bother me as much as this book now does. My dislike ranges from an anachronism worse than the 1957 Twist in Echoes to the central romance. The former is a 1957 letter that says in part, "She has read aloud to me your letters about being groovy and inviting me to where the action is. She has begun to ask me what 'turning someone on' is about, and why do people say 'It's been real.'" (What happened to Binchy in 1957? Some time-travel mishap?)
As for the romance, Benny (short for Bernadette) is very insecure and can't believe that someone as handsome, charming, and popular as Jack would want her for his girlfriend. The tag on this edition says, "For everyone who ever thought the person they loved was out of their reach." Translation, "You folks are damn lucky if it's true, because that unattainable guy would try to pressure you into sex and then cheat on you with one of your friends, who's secretly pregnant by another guy, who won't marry her. But it could be worse, since your best friend would threaten her with a knife and cause her to have a miscarriage, so your ex won't marry her and will then want you back, but you'd have moved on by then." Not to mention that Jack offers Benny almost zero support when her father dies and she suspects (correctly) that the family store's "loyal" employee is embezzling. All Jack does is whinge about how she doesn't spend more time in town. (They're students in Dublin, and she commutes almost daily to and from the small town of Knockglen.)
So what did I like? I liked the friendship between Benny and Eve (the knife-wielder). I liked Eve's story much more than Benny's, including her prickly relationship with her late mother's family. As always, I liked Binchy's view of small-town life. (Dublin is just sketched in, and I didn't really get a sense of student life, beyond scarves and fly-cemeteries [a type of pastry].) There were things here and there I liked. And I have to admit that I like that Binchy resisted the temptation that the film-makers gave into, of giving Jack and Benny a "happy" ending. (And, no, nobody makes a Jack Benny joke, which would at least be more timely than a teddy-boy writing letters like a hippie.)
Next up on the Binchy list, 1992's The Copper Beech....
Thursday, June 6, 2013
New, Improved! Dykes to Watch Out For
1990, possible first edition, although bought "new" almost a decade later, published by Firebrand Books
Alison Bechdel
New, Improved! Dykes to Watch Out For
Original price unknown, purchase price $4.00
Slightly worn paperback
B
At least as good as the previous collection, this one introduces Lois's roommates black college professor Ginger and Asian therapy addict Sparrow. (Or did Ginger appear briefly before?) Clarice has a one-night stand with Ginger, which puts a strain on her relationship with Toni, although they go to couples counseling and eventually talk marriage. Meanwhile, Mo is still with Harriet, although it takes her a year to be able to say "I love you." Lois, who usually has flings, becomes a recently divorced older woman's "secondary." Sparrow doesn't seem to have a love life yet. No major job changes. And since this covers '88 to '90, there's the shift from Reagan to Bush I, with Mo going through a bout of political indifference.
As before, I wanted to keep reading. (Next up will be 1992's Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel.) One thing I felt was done better than before was the interaction of the characters, both in a soap-opera sense of "Oh no! Do you think I should tell ______ what they did?", and in the sense of characters arguing and kidding around. Bechdel now has her basic cast and it's a good blend of personalities.
Unlike the last book, and many of the later ones, this doesn't conclude with an extended story. (Last time was Mo and Harriet's first night together.) This one just asks a bunch of soap-operatic questions, concluding, "Don't touch that remote control!" I wish I didn't have to.
Alison Bechdel
New, Improved! Dykes to Watch Out For
Original price unknown, purchase price $4.00
Slightly worn paperback
B
At least as good as the previous collection, this one introduces Lois's roommates black college professor Ginger and Asian therapy addict Sparrow. (Or did Ginger appear briefly before?) Clarice has a one-night stand with Ginger, which puts a strain on her relationship with Toni, although they go to couples counseling and eventually talk marriage. Meanwhile, Mo is still with Harriet, although it takes her a year to be able to say "I love you." Lois, who usually has flings, becomes a recently divorced older woman's "secondary." Sparrow doesn't seem to have a love life yet. No major job changes. And since this covers '88 to '90, there's the shift from Reagan to Bush I, with Mo going through a bout of political indifference.
As before, I wanted to keep reading. (Next up will be 1992's Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel.) One thing I felt was done better than before was the interaction of the characters, both in a soap-opera sense of "Oh no! Do you think I should tell ______ what they did?", and in the sense of characters arguing and kidding around. Bechdel now has her basic cast and it's a good blend of personalities.
Unlike the last book, and many of the later ones, this doesn't conclude with an extended story. (Last time was Mo and Harriet's first night together.) This one just asks a bunch of soap-operatic questions, concluding, "Don't touch that remote control!" I wish I didn't have to.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
1990, 1992 Avon Flare edition
Avi
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Possibly bought new for $4.50
Worn paperback
B-
This book won several awards, in both teen and child categories, and it's easy to see why. It's got adventure, historical/nautical details, and a heroine who transforms from docile but snobbish pre-Victorian doll to open-minded swashbuckler. (A transformation not unlike that of Tandy in Captain Salt in Oz.) What I found most interesting this time was the question of whom and what to trust. Thirteen-year-old Charlotte initially sides with the captain because he reminds her of her father. By the end, after seeing what a tyrant the captain is, she's prepared to realize that Papa isn't the wonderful man she remembers. In contrast, she initially distrusts Zachariah because he's an old (well, fiftyish) black sailor, but he becomes her best friend. Charlotte also questions the rules she's been raised with, and during her "trial" she emphasizes that "unusual" does not mean "unnatural."
There's a transgender aspect to the book in that she dresses as a boy and cuts her hair, in order to work on the ship, although there's not a conscious sexual aspect to this. The crew agree to treat her as a "brother," and there's never the sexual threat/promise of the later Jacky Faber series, where the main character does pass as a boy for months at a time. (I've read several of the books but don't own any.) That, along with the violence being not very explicit, makes me put this in the children's rather than YA category. (Even the swearing is discreet.)
If I can't rate the book higher, it's that it doesn't draw me in as much as, say, Island of the Blue Dolphins. It's a pleasant read, with some interesting undercurrents, but no more than that.
Avi
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Possibly bought new for $4.50
Worn paperback
B-
This book won several awards, in both teen and child categories, and it's easy to see why. It's got adventure, historical/nautical details, and a heroine who transforms from docile but snobbish pre-Victorian doll to open-minded swashbuckler. (A transformation not unlike that of Tandy in Captain Salt in Oz.) What I found most interesting this time was the question of whom and what to trust. Thirteen-year-old Charlotte initially sides with the captain because he reminds her of her father. By the end, after seeing what a tyrant the captain is, she's prepared to realize that Papa isn't the wonderful man she remembers. In contrast, she initially distrusts Zachariah because he's an old (well, fiftyish) black sailor, but he becomes her best friend. Charlotte also questions the rules she's been raised with, and during her "trial" she emphasizes that "unusual" does not mean "unnatural."
There's a transgender aspect to the book in that she dresses as a boy and cuts her hair, in order to work on the ship, although there's not a conscious sexual aspect to this. The crew agree to treat her as a "brother," and there's never the sexual threat/promise of the later Jacky Faber series, where the main character does pass as a boy for months at a time. (I've read several of the books but don't own any.) That, along with the violence being not very explicit, makes me put this in the children's rather than YA category. (Even the swearing is discreet.)
If I can't rate the book higher, it's that it doesn't draw me in as much as, say, Island of the Blue Dolphins. It's a pleasant read, with some interesting undercurrents, but no more than that.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Shelley II: The Middle of My Century
1989, 1990 Pocket Books edition
Shelley Winters
Shelley II: The Middle of My Century
Possibly bought newish for $5.95
Very worn paperback
B-
I didn't find this as funny or overall good as the previous book, although things pick up once she divorces Tony Franciosa. The anecdote about how Richard Nixon became her housesitter, for instance, was good. She covers from her divorce from Vittorio Gassman to JFK's assassination, with some glimpses of her life in the '70s and '80s. As I noted with Shelley I, she hoped to write a third autobiography but never got around to it. As before, she juggles the order on some things, including her age. (She's 32 a few pages after she's 33, and then she's 30 sometime after that.)
She writes here that she'd done only one sitcom, but a couple years after this she started appearing as the beloved grandmother of the title character on Roseanne. She was a bit young, in her 70s, for the role (and only seven years older than "daughter" Estelle Parsons), but she did look and act uncannily like Roseanne. Winters didn't make it to a century, dying at 85 in 2006. She swears here she had no intention of getting married again, but she did marry on her deathbed.
This is not only the third book in a row with the word "my" in the title, but it marks the end of the 1980s. With 175 posts, this is a new record, although I suspect that the 1990s will eventually pass it.
Shelley Winters
Shelley II: The Middle of My Century
Possibly bought newish for $5.95
Very worn paperback
B-
I didn't find this as funny or overall good as the previous book, although things pick up once she divorces Tony Franciosa. The anecdote about how Richard Nixon became her housesitter, for instance, was good. She covers from her divorce from Vittorio Gassman to JFK's assassination, with some glimpses of her life in the '70s and '80s. As I noted with Shelley I, she hoped to write a third autobiography but never got around to it. As before, she juggles the order on some things, including her age. (She's 32 a few pages after she's 33, and then she's 30 sometime after that.)
She writes here that she'd done only one sitcom, but a couple years after this she started appearing as the beloved grandmother of the title character on Roseanne. She was a bit young, in her 70s, for the role (and only seven years older than "daughter" Estelle Parsons), but she did look and act uncannily like Roseanne. Winters didn't make it to a century, dying at 85 in 2006. She swears here she had no intention of getting married again, but she did marry on her deathbed.
This is not only the third book in a row with the word "my" in the title, but it marks the end of the 1980s. With 175 posts, this is a new record, although I suspect that the 1990s will eventually pass it.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Didn't You Kill My Mother-in-Law?
1989, two copies, both possibly first edition, from Methuen
Roger Wilmut and Peter Rosengard
Didn't You Kill My Mother-in-Law?: The Story of Alternative Comedy in Britain from The Comedy Store to Saturday Live
Original price £7.99, purchase prices £3.50 and $6.50
Worn paperbacks, one with breaking spine, other with a bit of my writing in it
B-
I bought one of these in England in 1996, hoping it would include information on the cast of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the improv comedy/game show that premiered in '88. There's not much, nor is there much on Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, or other comedians who I was interested in then and now. Still, it's an interesting read, with British "alternative" comedy developing in a very different way than the roots of Saturday Night Live. The "no racist or sexist jokes" rule at the Comedy Store is hard to imagine in most American venues, especially nowadays. (Out gay/lesbian comics also seem to have broken through earlier in the U.K.) The title plays on both the Comic Strip Film Didn't You Kill My Brother? and on the rejection of mother-in-law jokes and similar. Rosengard opened the London Comedy Store after visiting the one in L.A. Wilmut wrote the bulk of the book though. I'm using the "television criticism" tag because Wilmot quotes from and critiques not just the stand-ups but from the television programmes that these comics made, e.g. The Young Ones.
I got the second copy of this book back in the U.S. not long after my return. Since my ex-husband and I enjoyed British comedy, I wrote notes in this one and sent it to him. When he got rid of most of his possessions during an ill-fated move, I ended up with his copy again and he's never asked for it back. So I'll keep that one and donate the British copy to my favorite bookstore.
Roger Wilmut and Peter Rosengard
Didn't You Kill My Mother-in-Law?: The Story of Alternative Comedy in Britain from The Comedy Store to Saturday Live
Original price £7.99, purchase prices £3.50 and $6.50
Worn paperbacks, one with breaking spine, other with a bit of my writing in it
B-
I bought one of these in England in 1996, hoping it would include information on the cast of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the improv comedy/game show that premiered in '88. There's not much, nor is there much on Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, or other comedians who I was interested in then and now. Still, it's an interesting read, with British "alternative" comedy developing in a very different way than the roots of Saturday Night Live. The "no racist or sexist jokes" rule at the Comedy Store is hard to imagine in most American venues, especially nowadays. (Out gay/lesbian comics also seem to have broken through earlier in the U.K.) The title plays on both the Comic Strip Film Didn't You Kill My Brother? and on the rejection of mother-in-law jokes and similar. Rosengard opened the London Comedy Store after visiting the one in L.A. Wilmut wrote the bulk of the book though. I'm using the "television criticism" tag because Wilmot quotes from and critiques not just the stand-ups but from the television programmes that these comics made, e.g. The Young Ones.
I got the second copy of this book back in the U.S. not long after my return. Since my ex-husband and I enjoyed British comedy, I wrote notes in this one and sent it to him. When he got rid of most of his possessions during an ill-fated move, I ended up with his copy again and he's never asked for it back. So I'll keep that one and donate the British copy to my favorite bookstore.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
The Temple of My Familiar
1989, 1990 Pocket Books edition
Alice Walker
The Temple of My Familiar
Bought newish for $5.95
Very worn paperback
C-
As with The Color Purple, this book is not as good as it was 20+ years ago. Although it engaged me more this time than Purple, it also annoyed me more. I found the most interesting character to be the half-sister of the granddaughter of Celie from the previous book. (The family tree is complicated, particularly when you factor in reincarnation.) She's just about the only one who feels like she's living a life, rather than just proving a thesis. Everyone, including her but especially Miss Lissie, is given to speech-making and educating each other and the reader. I was especially annoyed when two characters discusses Quicksand, such a superior book. While there is a part of me that is sympathetic to Walker's feminist paganist vision, I would rather have read that material in the form of poetry (and I generally don't like poetry), or had her make plausible characters first, and have their "growth" genuinely emerge.
Alice Walker
The Temple of My Familiar
Bought newish for $5.95
Very worn paperback
C-
As with The Color Purple, this book is not as good as it was 20+ years ago. Although it engaged me more this time than Purple, it also annoyed me more. I found the most interesting character to be the half-sister of the granddaughter of Celie from the previous book. (The family tree is complicated, particularly when you factor in reincarnation.) She's just about the only one who feels like she's living a life, rather than just proving a thesis. Everyone, including her but especially Miss Lissie, is given to speech-making and educating each other and the reader. I was especially annoyed when two characters discusses Quicksand, such a superior book. While there is a part of me that is sympathetic to Walker's feminist paganist vision, I would rather have read that material in the form of poetry (and I generally don't like poetry), or had her make plausible characters first, and have their "growth" genuinely emerge.
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