Review: Coffee at Luke's, Losing You, GG 3-4
Coffee at Luke's - Ed. Jennifer Crusie
I don't usually read these books, but I figured the combination of one of my favorite shows (Gilmore Girls) and one of my favorite mass market authors (Crusie) would be a good one. Some of the essays were horrible, some were fine, and a couple were actually illuminating. A lot of the authors didn't seem to actually get it. One was intelligently critical of Lorelai, which is a thing I hadn't really thought of being before. And one, the only one written by a man, examined the role of food in the series and though the topic seems obvious, there was a lot I hadn't' realized about how entire plots were constructed around the themes from whatever meal was being eaten during the first scene. Some stretched to show how feminist/anti-feminist/problematically feminist the show was. Almost no one thought any of the men in the show were worth anything, which I don't think is true at all. Some interesting stuff, though.
Losing You - Nicci French
One of my random attempts to read some pop-fiction that might actually be good at what it does. And I'm once again reminded why I don't usually bother. Yes, I neglected other things to finish the book, and yes I was swept into its world. But I don't really get much satisfaction out of the experience. As tough and unrelenting and panicked as the mother/heroine was in her search for her missing daughter, she also lost my sympathy at a few points when she really should have settled down and talked to the police.
Gossip Girl: All I Want is Everything and Because I'm Worth It - Cecily von Ziegesar
These each take about a day to read, which is the right amount of time. With the last one, I'm really coming to appreciate what a beautiful farce the whole thing is. The books are not kind to its characters. The better their lives get, the harsher they're treated. The "alternative" kids, especially Dan, striving for authenticity and art are the most comical and the least likely to truly know themselves. Blair is probably the most sympathetic character, as she bumbles her way towards figuring herself out. Serena is a sort of glorious idiot. Literally: she's all id. And Chuck is sadly marginal. But I'm becoming more and more convinced that there is some sort of satirical intelligence behind the whole thing.
I don't usually read these books, but I figured the combination of one of my favorite shows (Gilmore Girls) and one of my favorite mass market authors (Crusie) would be a good one. Some of the essays were horrible, some were fine, and a couple were actually illuminating. A lot of the authors didn't seem to actually get it. One was intelligently critical of Lorelai, which is a thing I hadn't really thought of being before. And one, the only one written by a man, examined the role of food in the series and though the topic seems obvious, there was a lot I hadn't' realized about how entire plots were constructed around the themes from whatever meal was being eaten during the first scene. Some stretched to show how feminist/anti-feminist/problematically feminist the show was. Almost no one thought any of the men in the show were worth anything, which I don't think is true at all. Some interesting stuff, though.
Losing You - Nicci French
One of my random attempts to read some pop-fiction that might actually be good at what it does. And I'm once again reminded why I don't usually bother. Yes, I neglected other things to finish the book, and yes I was swept into its world. But I don't really get much satisfaction out of the experience. As tough and unrelenting and panicked as the mother/heroine was in her search for her missing daughter, she also lost my sympathy at a few points when she really should have settled down and talked to the police.
Gossip Girl: All I Want is Everything and Because I'm Worth It - Cecily von Ziegesar
These each take about a day to read, which is the right amount of time. With the last one, I'm really coming to appreciate what a beautiful farce the whole thing is. The books are not kind to its characters. The better their lives get, the harsher they're treated. The "alternative" kids, especially Dan, striving for authenticity and art are the most comical and the least likely to truly know themselves. Blair is probably the most sympathetic character, as she bumbles her way towards figuring herself out. Serena is a sort of glorious idiot. Literally: she's all id. And Chuck is sadly marginal. But I'm becoming more and more convinced that there is some sort of satirical intelligence behind the whole thing.