Really I should be in bed.

Hello,
Oh I've been busy folks! But really that's not a good enough excuse for the 10s of loyal readers who follow this blog. I thank you all for taking a minute to enjoy these little thoughts of mine.

Since I last wrote you I've been introduced to a new lit form: Zines. As part of my job I'm now cataloguing and reading zines. To learn more about it I went to a seminar about zines that was led by our gurus Clinton Watson and Mary Anne Heider. It was very good and definitely gave me a sense of where zines fit in the alternative press community. There was also a long discussion about the pros and cons of digitalizing zines with the focus being on preservation. Personally I am more interested in "physical" books. I don't use e-readers and I'm not interested in The Kindle. However if we're talking about periodicals which are rare I can see digitalization as an important option for libraries. Anyway it was a great seminar and I'm interested in learning more. A few days later myself and another co-worker Isabelle set up a table promoting the zine collection before an event at our library. It was a fun time. We did talk to a few nice people and we had some free zines to hand out.

Alright well Onward!

Reviews
The Boat by Nam Le
I actually read this for my book club in October. I'm so grateful that Zach picked this because I never would have found it by myself. Le is an amazing talent as a new writer. According to his bio he is Vietnamese who grew up in Australia. This multicultural upbringing is immediately evident in these stories. Each story takes place in a different country and with different viewpoints. From Ohio to Tehran Le is not afraid of painting with the global picture in mind. He also isn't afraid to use different narrator voices as shown in his stories "The Boat" and "Hiroshima". If I have a nitpick it's that some of these longer stories either need to be expanded or given more focus. As much as I liked "Halflead Bay" I also felt that there was enough left unexplored in the story that it could be a novel itself. Regardless Nam Le is definitely a writer to watch. I look forward to his next project.

Daredevil: Man Without Fear by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.
This book was amazing! Miller and Romita Jr. breathtakingly capture the origin story of Marvel's Daredevil. It took me awhile but once Miller's Elektra appeared on the page I had to catch my breath. The combination of these two legendary artists leads to a combination of great character depiction and innovative panel design. While I could discuss the art for ages, the writing is equally as good. Miller does a great job capturing Daredevil's angst. He's not a happy guy. For Matt Murdock being a crime fighter allows him to feel powerful. The beat downs that criminals suffer at his hands are a way for him to compensate for his blindness. This is not healthy, which is an understanding that Miller brought to the book. In this series he parallels it with Elektra's insanity and Kingpin's bully nature. In the absence of a good psychologist Matt Murdock has no other point than to be a crimefighter. It's how he maintains his sanity. Read this. Now.

Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Okay don't worry I have not sold out. However I am not a snob either and I thought it was about time I read a YA girly book. So here I am. And you know what it wasn't that bad. Written in epistolary form, the story follows teenage Mia Thermopolis as she discovers that she is actually a princess of the far off country Genovia. At first she is embarassed by the idea, but then discovers that she can still be herself and a royal. Cabot does a great job capturing Mia's teenage voice. It's fun to read such an individualistic take on a cinderella story. Cabot will never be Tolstoy but she does an excellent job in her niche. This book captures the heart of the teen girl.

The Reading List
Books
This Boy's Life
Starman Omnibus #3

Magazine
Four Four Two

Comics
A massive stack!

Check Out Count: Alarmingly under control.

Comic Pull List: Action Comics #883, Amazing Spider-Man #611, Batgirl #4, Batman #693, Batman And Robin #6, Daredevil #502, Deadpool #17, Fables #90, Green Arrow Black Canary #26, Red Robin #6, Terry Moores Echo #16

Have a great week! Book Slave.