2017 Reading: Where Are My Books?

I don't know why I picked this up, but I did and it was adorable.

2017 Reading: Uncle Tom's Cabin

#31 A book where the main character is of a different ethnicity than you

You keep hearing things about this book and about how it is a classic and stuff like that. I see why.

It was written very well, often times, even a little TOO advanced, but the story was a good one which ended surprisingly different than I was expecting.

I don't know how people can have so much faith in their religion in the face of so much hardship. I have never believed in ANYTHING that strongly and I don;t think I am likely to in the rest of my life. On the one hand, it must be great to only think about that one thing, no matter what. On the other, you miss so much more going on around you because of it. That's the price of faith, I suppose.

2017 Reading: D*U*C*K

#36 A book written by someone you admire

**Note: For the purposes of this author, I will use the male pronouns in my description. Poppy Z. Brite (Melissa Ann Brite) has, since publishing this book, become Billy Martin. So, though I will forever call him "Poppy," I will use appropriate pronouns when referring to the author in my book review.**

It's been a while since I've read anything by Poppy (Billy, now) let alone anything having to do with Rickey and G-Man. I always love reading PZB's work because it's always vastly different than anything else I've ever read before in my life. His books could have recurring characters (like Steve and Ghost) but they are still so very different from each other that you can sort of forget that they are set in the same universe. And the fact that he writes about the south (not just New Orleans) if fascinating to me.

He is the reason that I look at New Orleans the way that I do. I mean, I hate the place and I don't ever think that I could live there for long periods of time, but listening to how he describes it, I can see the beauty in the filth and depravity.

These characters always make me wonder if they are based on Billy himself and his husband Gary. And if so, which is which? Gary is even the real name of the character "G-Man," but is that a coincidence? Or does Billy think of himself as the Rickey in their relationship? Maybe I'm looking too far into it than I should be, but I can't help it with him. I love his work and I don't think I will ever get tired of reading and rereading everything I can get my hands on of his.

I liked this book. It was short, yes, but it was a nice reminder of the other books in this series, especially the ones that dealt with how Rickey and G-Man got together. I love those books.

2017 Reading: Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

#42 A bestseller from 2016

Yeah, this one took me forever to read, mainly because I just wasn't interested and couldn't make myself pick it up.

So, yeah...

All of this seems very odd coming from the person that left the world of vampire fiction because she "found religion." It seems as though she found it and then ultimately did not like what she found. That is the only reasoning I can find for some of the ideas of religion(s) that she has presented in this book.

Now, I am not a religious person, never have been, but I have read a lot and learned of numerous religions in my time (because I was curious at some point to see if any religion "felt" right for me. Spoiler alert: they did not). I've never heard anything quite like this before, but it does pose some interesting theories as well as questions.

I also would like to say that I kind of wish she would just go back to writing about vampires whining about losing their "beloved" or whatever like she used to, but I know that is probably never going to happen again. Ah, the good old days...

If another one comes out in this series, I'm going to read it, no question. But, I defintely won't be as excited as I used to be about them. Meh.

2017 Reading: The Killing Joke

Okay, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with this storyline...

...AND I'M GLAD I DID!

I originally saw this video about the philosophy of the Joker and was intrigued with his relationship with Batman. They have a lot in common and this narrative just goes into some detail about that. This is just one of the backgrounds that has been told about the Joker so we don't really know if this one is true, but this one really makes you think about the nature of evil and sanity and how things could have turned out differently for Bruce Wayne.

One bad day. That's all it takes.

Here's the video that I saw, let me know what you think.

2017 Reading: Sherlock: A Study in Pink (graphic novel)

Literally, a line-by-line recreation of the first episode of the show. Still, it was fun to read and see how well the illustrator did with the characters. Plus, it was fun because I could hear all the voices and music from the show in my head as I was reading.

2017 Reading: Invader Zim #3

I think I like this one so much because the very first story in it, was drawn by Sarah Anderson...

Meh.

Just another something while I struggle to finish Prince Lestat and Uncle Tom's Cabin. I'm making progress on them, I just can't make myself read them for too long at a time.

2017 Reading: Big Mushy Happy Lump

This just came in to the library and I finished it at work (which I am not supposed to do). But, it is so funny! I love her work and hope there are many more to come.

2017 Reading: American Psycho

#29 A book with an unreliable narrator

So, something just keeps bothering me about this book. I've seen the movie (many times, in fact) and noticed that Patrick just seems to spout off reviews and/or statements that could only come from magazines or guide books. Nothing he says seems genuine. That helps to express the fact that he doesn't not feel normal things like a human being but is instead just memorizing facts because he "want[s] to fit in." In the book, EVERYONE is like that. People go on about restaurant food, music, electronics, even vacations to the Bahamas as if they were literally just reading off of a brochure. No one had opinions of their own. Ever. About anything. And everyone is obsessed about returning video tapes!

I've also noticed that every time he explicitly goes into detail about killing someone, there was always a confrontation right before. He seems to always describe killing the things that he fears: poverty, homosexuals, women... He fears looking poor, so he kills the homeless to prove he's above them. He fears the thought of homosexuality so he kills "faggots" to prove his masculinity. He fears women (though he shows it as contempt) so he kills women, usually prostitutes because they represent both femininity AND poverty.

It's as if he's trying to prove his human-ness. But he tends to overcompensate. Being well-versed in all things: music, politics, fashion, trends, electronics, art, etc., puts too much emphasis on "things" instead of people and relationships. It also causes him to avoid the feelings about his own mind which when they slip through, cause him physical pain so he further hides them with his delusions of murder, drugs, and the worry over material things. He wants to be exactly like everyone else, but also wants to stand out and the conflicting emotions wear on his psyche.

However, EVERYONE in the book is like this (though maybe not with the murder and dismemberment). People are second to items and money so much so that no one can remember anyone's name. Restaurant reservations are more important than the food or the company you keep.

And what was with the change of POV in one of the last chapters. He's in the middle of a firefight with the police and it suddenly goes from first person to third, and then just goes back in the next chapter like nothing happened... WTF?

I like that it ends with the words "THIS IS NOT AN EXIT." It kind of makes you think that it's not the end of Patrick's story. Don't get me wrong, I'm still confused as hell, but all in all (once you get past the mindless droning about clothes and electronics and music and food and exercises, etc.) it was a very compelling story.