My personal goal is to make it to 100 books every year, and last night I accomplished just that!

100.
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
publication: Paperback
Pages: 153
Genre: Comic
Acquisition: Work text
Date: December 27, 2011
Rating: ****1/2

In October of 2011 I attended a conference called "Contentious Issues in Composition," focusing on - you guessed it - common debates that pop up in community college English departments.* One panel I attended discussed the potential use of graphic novels in the classroom, and, while the discussion itself was not well planned, the presenter's knowledge was clear, and I was introduced to some amazing works that I agreed held a lot of potential. So, always happy to experiment with the design of my course and the materials I use, I took the leap and settled on Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood as the final text for my spring lit/comp courses.

When I began Satrapi's book (the first in a series of four), I was immediately struck by her narrative voice, and the familiar-yet-alien culture in which she grew up. My own experience with graphic novels is limited to a few flops ("classics," The Watchmen, and a few others), and a few successes (most memorably Fun Home), and so I approach her text primarily as a student of the genre. I found the book to be thought-provoking and moving, as well as informative. The stark illustrations are as captivating as they are simple, and provide food for thought on the equality (or lack thereof) of human existence.

In the end, I am very satisfied with my choice, and I look forward to discussing the work in the classroom in April.



*I actually presented at this conference on the response of English faculty to social networking and the evolution of the language as influenced by technology. It was a great experience, and I'm building on my arguments for a second conference next week.

98.
Author: Terry Pratchett
Title: Snuff
publication: Hardback
Pages:
Genre: Fantasy/Satire
Acquisition: Preordered
Date: December 26, 2011
Rating: *****

Snuff by Terry Pratchett is a novel of evolution: Vimes evolving, culture evolving, and Pratchett evolving. Featuring an older, more diplomatic Samuel Vimes, Snuff does not attempt to stick to maintain, but rather to accept the changes that time brings. While this is presented most obviously in the world's acceptance of goblins as a people, this is also evident in Vimes's own approach to the crimes he sees, the shift in how others perceive Vimes, and the way in which Pratchett himself tells the story. While not the humorous satire that I've come to expect of the series, I still enjoyed Pratchett's masterful storytelling, and his commentary on our own society.

99.
Author: Laini Taylor, et al.
Title: Lips Touch: Three Times
publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance
Acquisition:
Date: December 26, 2011
Rating: ***

Lips Touch: Three Times is a collection of three supernatural "romances," each exploring the consequences of a single kiss; at least, that's what the product description suggests. Only one story truly follows this pattern, with the other two loosely weaving in an element of romance used to justify the artistic title. In the end, the book contains three very different works, with varying levels of success. This is a collection to which each reader will respond differently, and so the ultimate quality of the work will rely primarily on the reader's expectations. From my own point of view, the stories were nothing groundbreaking, and did little to hold my interest, but will likely satisfy the expectations of the new audience for the genre.

97.
Author: Suzanne Collins
Title: The Hunger Games
publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: dystopian
Acquisition:
Date: December 20, 2011
Rating: *****

Recently, my partner and I were in a book store, and he turned to me and said, "The Hunger Games - that's a classic, isn't it?" And because the title has been floating around my subconscious for an untold length of time I frown and say, "Well, I think so." Some books are like that for us - we'll hear a title a number of times, until we tend to think it's much older and more relevant than it is.

Although The Hunger Games isn't actually "a classic," it is certainly poised to be. Collins takes traditional dystopian tropes and melds them into something both horrifying and enthralling. More compelling than 1984, more horrifying than Fahrenheit 451, and more sympathetic than Ender's Game, Collins manages to take a weave a story that, while not original, remains with the reader more than those of her predecessors. This strength lies in the development of her strong protagonist - Katniss - and the pure humanity that Katniss brings to the narrative.

96.
Author: Joan Aiken
Title: Eliza's Daughter
publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: historical fiction
Acquisition: Free on Austen's birthday
Date: December 14, 2011
Rating: ****

Perhaps it is due to the fact that I am less familiar with the source material for Joan Aiken's Eliza's Daughter, but I found the novel to be much more enjoyable than many other Austen sequels I have read. The story is largely conscious of the restrictions of the time period, and develops a story that is believable in such a context. I found the narrator compelling, if not always sympathetic, and enjoyed watching her blossom from a discarded child to a capable woman - not an easy feat in Regency England.

95.
Author: Melissa Febos
Title: Whip Smart
publication: paperback
Pages:
Genre: Memoir
Acquisition: Couldn't resist
Date: December 11, 2011
Rating: ****

When Melissa Febos worked as a dominatrix in a dungeon in New York City she enjoyed casually naming her job for the shock factor of such a revelation; just naming her occupation in unsuspecting company gave her the sense of power that draws her to the job in the first place. The title of her memoir - Whip Smart - seems to serve much the same purpose: it's more for shock value than a true advertisement of the details of the memoir.

Yes, Febos worked as a dominatrix for several years, and her memoir details her interactions with some clients, her relationships with her coworkers, and the way her business influenced her personal life. But more poignant than her occupation - and of greater concern to the memoir - is Febos's drug abuse during her rather tumultuous undergraduate years and her subsequent recovery.

In a way, the "shock value" of the title worked - I, for one, am more likely to purchase a memoir detailing the experiences of a counter-culture figure than that of another drug-addicted college student. However, Febos easily pieces together the details of this time in her life with what appears to be blunt honesty, and it is her narrative voice that ultimately renders this memoir effective.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy memoirs in general, to those who wish to read an interestingly candid discussion of recovery from heroine addiction (without the gospel), and, yes, to those interested in an anthropological discussion of subversive sexual culture.

94.
Author: Carrie Fisher
Title: Wishful Drinking
publication: paperback
Pages:
Genre: Autobiography
Acquisition: Couldn't resist
Date: December 6, 2011
Rating: **1/2

Carrie Fisher is a woman born for the spotlight; with two famous parents she didn't even need to become a cultural icon to find her way into cultural history. However, thanks to a minor film series she's not only a cultural icon, but a shampoo bottle, PEZ dispenser, and even a sex doll (as she is quick to point out herself). And while I believe she is a great storyteller, that unfortunately does not make her a great author.

Wishful Drinking the stage show would be much stronger than Wishful Drinking the book. As a text, however, Fisher's story falls far short of the mark, lacking coherency and development. Full of excessive exclamation points and lacking in organization, the book did not live up to its promise. There's a reason why one of the cover-reviews suggests finding someone to "read this book out loud" - it must be better than reading it to yourself.

93.
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Title: The Valley of Fear
publication: paperback
Pages:
Genre: mystery
Acquisition: work text
Date: December 5, 2011
Rating: ***1/2

The Valley of Fear is published by Conan Doyle in 1914. Feeling shackled by the character for which he is best known, Conan Doyle's writing of the famous eccentric shows his narrative burden; Holmes himself is literally absent for over half of the book, as Part II explores the background of a particular character from Part I. This shift in genre is not entirely successful, as it does not seem to manage the expectations of the established audience; however, both narratives are enjoyable when read as separate bodies of work, and I would argue that they would be most successfully read as such.

92.
Author: Lorna Barrett
Title: [Sentenced to Death]
publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: cozy mystery
Acquisition: Necessary baby-feeding ebook
Date: December 5, 2011
Rating: ***1/2

I have apparently missed a book or two in my reading of this series, but my understanding was not hindered by the oversight.

My reading of Sentenced to Death is mixed. I appreciate Barrett's acknowledgement of the difficulties all cozy authors must face: most importantly, how librarians/booksellers/bakers/candlestick makers keep coming across bodies in an otherwise "perfectly safe" environment. Barrett's characters readily recognize the growing crime rate in their community, and proper concern is mixed. This seems to be a flag for the end of the series, as the murder rate will soon outgrow the constraints of a small tourist town.

What I found most difficult about the novel is the murder itself; while Barrett eventually justifies such an outlandish act, the details of the murder are still so extraordinary that it's dificult to believe the murderer could even get it right.

This is one for fans of the series, but probably not one worth picking up for readers not already invested in Tricia and her community.

91.
Author: Marsha Altman
Title: The Darcys and The Bingleys
publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: I don't know the official genre of these kinds of sequels
Acquisition: Free on Austen's birthday
Date: November 25, 2011
Rating: ***

Take a moment and picture Pemberly. Now, take another moment and try to picture this: a Scotsman in kilted glory swinging in on a chandelier from out of nowhere - in Pemberly - to land beside a swashbuckling Darcy.

Yes.

The Darcys & The Bingleys, upon first inspection, is the sequel that all Austen fans truly hunger for; what does happen after the collection of unlikely but highly romantic proposals? With that premise, the novel begins well, but quickly veers off into extremely awkward sexual territory, and by the novel's conclusion has devolved so greatly that the characters and setting are not only unrecognizable, but can really only be accepted as rather unflattering satire (similar to a "work" like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

While it's far from being the worst thing I've read this year, I really can't recommend it to fans of Austen.

88.
Author: Samuel Beckett
Title: [Waiting for Godot]
publication: Paperback
Pages:
Genre: Drama
Acquisition:
Date: November 19, 2011
Rating: *****

89.
Author: Shakespeare
Title: [Othello]
publication: Anthology
Pages:
Genre: Drama
Acquisition:
Date: November 20, 2011
Rating: *****

Yup, again

90.
Author: Sophocles
Title: [Wicked Plants]
publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Novelty
Acquisition:
Date: November 20, 2011
Rating: **

I picked up Wicked Plants for the novelty read it really is, and I've been slowly reading it in the middle of the night when I'm up with Doc. I found it to be a bit careless and unprofessional. The Kindle edition, at least, is rife with typographical errors (anyone else know of Rorneo and Juliet? No?), and the writing itself just didn't appeal to me. A horticultural manual would have been far more entertaining than half-narratives strung together with terrible graphics and sheltered under Latin names.

85.
Author: Keri Arthur
Title: [Darkness Unbound]
publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Supernatural
Acquisition:
Date: November 1, 2011
Rating: ****

I've had a love/hate relationship with Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen series, although I've enjoyed the later books more than the previous, which probably explains why I was tempted to pick up the spin-off series, Dark Angels. In the first, Darkness Unbound, the reader is introduced to a grown Risa - the daughter of a cloned clairvoyant werewolf first introduced in the Riley Jensen series. Risa is an odd character for this style of book, as her primary characteristics include her wealth and her lack of connection to the major races in Arthur's world. The plot itself was a bit chaotic at times; it's obvious that Arthur is leaving several threads she can pick up as the series develops. Not bad for the first in a series, but not overly compelling, either.

86.
Author: Shakespeare
Title: [Othello]
publication: Anthology
Pages:
Genre: Drama
Acquisition:
Date: November 1, 2011
Rating: *****

87.
Author: Sophocles
Title: [Oedipus Rex]
publication: Anthology
Pages:
Genre: Drama
Acquisition:
Date: November 1, 2011
Rating: *****

Yes, again - my ESL course is reading it later than my other courses. Othello will make another appearance on my reading list when I read it again in a couple weeks.