72. Golden Books Sleepytime Tales
73. The Nearly-Wed Handbook by Dan Zevin
74. Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
75. The Mitten by Jan Brett
76. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
77. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The books continue to pile up in both the "read" and "unread" piles. My pace is a little slower than I'd like, as it seems like I'm getting stuck on a book here and there (in this case it was Frankenstein, which took me a little longer to read than I'd wanted). I know that I'm not going to finish exactly every book that I have in my huge "unread" pile, but if I make my goal of 100, I'll eventually get around to them.
Anyway, onto the books.
I dug up The Nearly-Wed Handbook to give to my sister as an engagement present. I first read this book years ago when I was an intern at its publisher, Avon Books. I'm really disappointed that Dan Zevin hasn't written more because as I mentioned when I read The Day I Turned Uncool, I find him utterly hilarious. The Nearly-Wed Handbook, while it's about 10 years old, is still really funny, even though I've been married for six years. This is a great stress-breaker for anyone planning a wedding, especially when Zevin delves into the intricacies of seating plans, florists, tuxedo rental and dress buying, and other wedding craziness.
The Mitten and Fox in Socks have been sitting on Brett's shelf for a while and made the rounds recently in an afternoon of reading and fun. The Mitten is an update of some Ukranian folk tale; Fox in Socks is a tongue-twister that I almost considered making my sophomores read aloud as part of their public speaking unit (because I'm that much of a dick). But the Sleepytime Tales book owes its awesomeness to Amanda, who has been reading some of the stories (I made sure to go back and read them for real so I get my "credit") to Brett on a nightly basis. Some of the stories in there are pretty famous, such as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Pokey Little Puppy." Others are ridiculous, such as one about these tigers who tease an Indian boy who then causes them to run around a tree so much that they wind up turning into melted butter which his mom scoops up and uses to make pancakes for the boy and his family.
Yeah, it's about as weird as it sounds. And that's not even half as bad as the one about the girl and her little baby doll which is really creepy in a "Sally Draper, future serial killer" sort of way.
Anyway, listening to Amanda read these and make comments on how many sentences end in prepositions is hilarious and awesome, especially since Brett really doesn't pick up on our commentary and is more interested in flipping the pages and pointing out that he sees such things as tigers and bears and cars and trains and other implements of transportation.
Turning now to Frankenstein, a book I've read a couple of times before and will be teaching in the spring. This is one of those books that I could probably read again and again, it's just that good. And I'm honestly not a huge fan of 19th Century English literature. But Shelley makes both Frankenstein and the monster complex and sympathetic and layers the story in a way that movie adaptations don't fully get. Yes, Victor Frankenstein (Fronkensteeen?) is a little too tortured and too whiny at times, but at least he's got a reason, especially as the creature vows to kill everyone around him (and does). I love its themes of the consequences of trying to play God and the way the plot builds its suspense with each confrontation between the two.
Speaking of playing God, I have to say that I was disappointed in All-Star Superman. I checked this out of the library at work and read it in a day. Grant Morrison is one of the most famous comic book writers out there and this is his take on the Man of Steel. However, it's a characterization that I didn't really enjoy. For the last 20 years or so, since John Byrne redid Superman, there has been a focus on the character of Clark Kent and how he is the real personality behind the cape and the superhero is an act(this, btw, directly contrasts Batman, who is the real person putting on a "Bruce Wayne" act). Byrne and the writers who came after him gave Clark some real personality and character and bolstered Superman's supporting cast in a way that I felt the Golden and Silver Age stuff, while fun to read, never did.
Here, though, Morrison does Superman as a demigod, the all-powerful being who uses Clark Kent as sort of a convenient disguise. But ... why even have Clark Kent in the story, then? Yes, Ma and Pa Kent are in this story, but I never really got the feeling that the whole Clark aspect was necessary. Quitely's art is impressive, which was no surprise because I liked his work on The Authority. The All-Star line is DC's answer to Marvel's Ultimate universe. But it's somewhat of a misfire. I think I'll stick to catching up with Green Lantern and maybe some mainstream Supes trades.
Coming soon: Gulliver, Hitchhikers, Orwell, and whatever else I can scrounge up as I try for 23 books in 2 months!
Guilty Pleasures Week?
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