ze life of ze mind
Sitwell's, my local coffeeshop, went non-smoking on January 1. They also hired a really, really cute waitress. I think I lost on that deal; I've never been slapped by a cigarette just because I put my mouth on it.
The Nefarious Dr. Ho, by far the most irrepressible and Asian of my thesis advisors, has left livejournal. Shit.
Tomorrow is the day when everything starts getting better.
The Speed of Dark - Elizabeth Moon
A high-functioning autistic falls in love, whips ass with a rapier, is distracted by shiny things, and faces an 800-pound crisis of identity in the world of tomorrow. Is it just me, or is there something awesome about modern female sci-fi writers? This book has a lot of good things in common with Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale: completely plausible near-future setting, distinct first-person narrative voice, and an attention to emotional nuance creating real characters that make Frank Herbert look like Terry Brooks.
Magical Thinking - Augusten Burroughs
Burroughs is now my favorite gay writer after Palahniuk (Yes, Palahniuk is gay. No, Heinlein didn't even come close). Sure, Magical Thinking isn't as balls-out brain-stomping fucked up as Running With Scissors. That's good and bad. It also has a larger share of cuteness and snark, which aren't my thang. But his writing keeps getting stronger, his observations keener, and the less outlandish his adventures get, the better it is when he turns them into first-rate memoir. In this one he ruminates on manipulative cleaning ladies, sleeping with undertakers, and trying steroids. Also, other things that don't make him sound like an episode of Will and Grace.
Achewood - Chris Onstad
Achewood is a comic strip. Achewood is funny and amazing. The current storyline about the Great Outdoor Fight (3 acres! 3 days! 3000 men! Who will win... the Great Outdoor Fight!) fucks belief in the earhole. Achewood. Achewood!
The Nefarious Dr. Ho, by far the most irrepressible and Asian of my thesis advisors, has left livejournal. Shit.
Tomorrow is the day when everything starts getting better.
The Speed of Dark - Elizabeth Moon
A high-functioning autistic falls in love, whips ass with a rapier, is distracted by shiny things, and faces an 800-pound crisis of identity in the world of tomorrow. Is it just me, or is there something awesome about modern female sci-fi writers? This book has a lot of good things in common with Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale: completely plausible near-future setting, distinct first-person narrative voice, and an attention to emotional nuance creating real characters that make Frank Herbert look like Terry Brooks.
Magical Thinking - Augusten Burroughs
Burroughs is now my favorite gay writer after Palahniuk (Yes, Palahniuk is gay. No, Heinlein didn't even come close). Sure, Magical Thinking isn't as balls-out brain-stomping fucked up as Running With Scissors. That's good and bad. It also has a larger share of cuteness and snark, which aren't my thang. But his writing keeps getting stronger, his observations keener, and the less outlandish his adventures get, the better it is when he turns them into first-rate memoir. In this one he ruminates on manipulative cleaning ladies, sleeping with undertakers, and trying steroids. Also, other things that don't make him sound like an episode of Will and Grace.
Achewood - Chris Onstad
Achewood is a comic strip. Achewood is funny and amazing. The current storyline about the Great Outdoor Fight (3 acres! 3 days! 3000 men! Who will win... the Great Outdoor Fight!) fucks belief in the earhole. Achewood. Achewood!