Elizabeth Warren is the most inspiring politician I have encountered in ages. This book is a grim portrait of economic disparity and injustice but, most importantly, it is a call to arms, a call to action. Warren dreams big and fights hard. 2020 is right around the corner. Persist!

Elizabeth Warren's policy initiatives are crushing it. She speaks truth to corrupt power. I am a fervent supporter of her campaign for president. She is outspoken, whip smart, and takes no shit. This autobiography is an inspiring portrait of a college dropout who became a Harvard professor, the daughter of a janitor who became a senator. I am so excited for her candidacy and hope ya'll dig in. 2020 is right around the corner! The future is now.

For those of you that can't wait until 2020 for Book 2, there is a My Favorite Thing Is Monsters comic in celebration of Free Comic Book Day. It consists of shorts, memoirs, and Emil Ferris's amazing artwork. Ferris's bout with illness that led to the book's creation is a triumphant story.

Brushing up on current events. Manafort, Cohen, Stone. There is a cancer on the presidency and this well researched book unravels the treasonous plot of this absurd group of criminals and fame whores.

It was great to revisit Vonnegut's absurd funhouse. He had abandoned a novel that refused to work and deconstructs it via rambling memoir. The concept of this failed novel is that a fart in the time space continuum causes the years 1991-2001 to repeat and everyone goes through them on autopilot. This book was written years before 9/11. Vonnegut is a cantankerous prophet and this was an enjoyable trip back to his universe.

My favorite books of 2018. Some old, some new. Happy New Year!

2018 Year End Roundup:

Best Nonfiction:

Sapiens & Homo Deus - Yuval Noah Harari

Best Fiction:

My Year of Rest & Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh

Best Series:

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

Best Essay:

Beastie Revolution - Luc Sante, Beastie Boys Book

Dumbest Book:

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing - Hank Green

Best Debut:

Severance - Ling Ma

Best Audio:

Beastie Boys Book

Best Classic:

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Luc Sante's essay "Beastie Revolution" from the "Beastie Boys Book" is one of the most fantastic pieces of cultural criticism I have read in ages. A phantasmagoric portrait of late 70s/early 80s NYC: the birth of hip hop, punk, and new wave. A vibrant snapshot of city life and the art scene that flourished amidst the rubble of a decadent and decaying urban landscape. So amazing. This book is marvelous.

A masterpiece of thought that will make you question everything. Imagine Karl Marx by way of Douglas Adams or the tragic foibles of civilization through the satirical lens of The Simpsons. This is human history as a comedy of errors, a series of unfortunate events. Was the agrarian revolution a mistake? Does the soul exist? Is happiness the ideal? This is not just some time's arrow textbook, it is a philosophical quest, a manifesto in ethics.

One of the most fascinating pieces of philosophy, anthropology, political theory, and speculative science I have ever read. This book is also funny as hell. What could have been dry, academic, and crusty is hilarious and vividly alive with examples from pop culture. A mind blowing jaunt through mankind's traumatic history and uncertain future. A challenging and brilliant book that is comedy rather than tragedy.

Happy autumn. Fall has finally hit hit the mid-Atlantic. I even enjoyed biscuits and apple butter for breakfast. Haven't been posting much lately, but I've read a few good books that I'll get around to reviewing later. I've also been reading a lot of books about comedians to research a project I've wanted to write for years. Best wishes for the season!

I am so proud that Baltimore has eliminated fines from its public library system. This is a huge step forward in making access to books and media a right for all without the stigma of fees and debt. Bravo.

According to Amazon, hard copies of Saga, Volume 9 aren't available until October 2nd, but it's already up on Hoopla, if anyone is interested.

Vulture took a poll of book critics and posted an extremely thoughtful article: "A Premature Attempt at the 21st Century Canon." Whip smart, argumentative, and dialogue inducing.

http://www.vulture.com/article/best-books-21st-century-so-far.html

A character in Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation orders a McFlurry at a drive thru and I realized that I had never tried one. After several days of thinking about this comestible consumer product, I caved and got one. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, literary fiction made me crave McDonald's. It also made me curious about revisiting Whoopi Goldberg movies and nostalgic for my long lost VHS collection.

Just watched the Netflix documentary "The Center Will Not Hold," about the life and work of Joan Didion. A brilliant film directed by Griffin Dunne. So fascinating. Turbulent times, turbulent words. Highly recommended.

Greetings from the Outer Banks in North Carolina. On vacation with my wife @EricaCurtis11 the next few days reading on the beach and hoping to crank through my long-TBR'd copy of The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Next up: Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces. Enjoy the remainder of the summer. Remember, the best season is right around the corner.

I loved this dark comedy about a suicide cult survivor turned Mickey Mouse messiah. It's a grim satire of consumer culture and religion. Don't get frustrated with the beginning. It gets weird and wonderful. Although the protagonist could be frustratingly passive, this commentary on the cult of celebrity has aged well. It's still relevant, twisted, and funny 20 years later. Damn good social commentary.

This absurd novel was extraordinary, hilarious, and shocking. Artfully crafted, laugh out loud funny, smartly satirical, occasionally disturbing, and downright surreal. Like a lot of literary fiction, it works well as a metaphor without being particularly compelling. It is redeemed by excellent prose, well drawn characters, and phenomenal observations. WARNING: you may be compelled to watch Whoopi Goldberg movies after you read this.

I highly recommend this memoir on audio. Posey narrates it herself and it is a true Norma Desmond performance. Whether lamenting the bygone heyday of independent filmmaking or meditating on her youth, family, and aging, this was an eccentric experience like her best roles. Sure, there are some odd diatribes and there's not much gossip, but the audio has canned sound effects and music by Hal Hartley. If that's not enough, I don't know what is.

Great NPR article on Emil Ferris. Her graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters just won 3 Eisner Awards. Such an amazing book. Couldn't recommend it more.

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/03/635407169/every-full-moon-we-can-howl-at-is-a-vic...

This absurd book is absolutely cracking me up. The satirical humor is so incisive and biting. Plus, thanks to the audiobook, I now know how to properly pronounce the author's name.

After more than 200,000 views of Panos Mourdoukoutas' article stating that Amazon should replace public libraries, Forbes deleted the article in shame. Bravo. Next time, fact check in advance, idiots. Where was the editorial process?

I am absolutely loving this prequel to His Dark Materials. I have been reading a lot of trite genre fiction lately that has left me wanting. This is rich, idea driven fantasy with real substance. It's a philosophical espionage story!

On a recent trip to the Netherlands, I snapped a photo of this Fabritius painting at the Mauritshuis in the Hague. I loved this novel. Now it's time for some frites and mayonnaise! #backpackeurope

I visited Paris recently with my wife and we stopped by Shakespeare and Company. I purchased this book there and had it stamped. It was an awe inspiring trip and this dedication page was extraordinarily appropriate. Such amazing sights.

Prior to Roth's death, I had only read his novels Portnoy's Complaint and The Counterlife. American Pastoral is a tad meandering with roundabout streams of consciousness, but there are passages of such stark beauty meditating on ethics, responsibility, and duty. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the actor Ron Silver and it was easily the best audio I have listened to since The Nix (and that is saying a lot). Highly recommended.

THUG is the perfect example of the right book at the right time. This is an honest, human, and funny voice to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. What I loved most is its unflinching portrait of an ordinary family thrust into a political maelstrom. An important book that is tough, raw, and angry, but, ultimately a most hopeful story.

I absolutely loved this absurd book. It is a surrealist meditation on motherhood, the human body, aging, and loneliness. It was hysterical and so well crafted. When I wasn't in awe of the eeriness of the dreamlike prose, I was laughing. I went in expecting weird and I sure as hell got it. The most thought provoking book I've come across in a long time. Amazing.

I love Daniel Jose Older's Brooklyn-based urban fantasy series Bone Street Rumba. He tackles Star Wars in a new book being published 4/17. Gotta admit. Pretty excited.

Brian K. Vaughan is my favorite comics writer and Paper Girls is totally rad (in 80s parlance). I love this time travel series. Thanks to @britt_brooke for hosting this contest! #PGVol4Giveaway

A lush, evocative piece of Afrofuturism (or should we just call it good ol' fashioned sci-fi) with beautiful prose and striking character development. Honestly, it left me wanting a substantial feature-length adventure for Binti with more plot and less interiority. Looking forward to the next novellas in the series. Okorafor has created a fascinating heroine and built a world. This was just an amuse bouche. Bring on the main course. I'm hungry.

Judd Apatow's documentary on Garry Shandling is one of the most profound, intimate, and humane pieces of comedic scholarship I have ever come across. Shandling was not only a writer and performer, but a mentor and philosopher. He wrote in his diary, "You realize now that comedy is your soul." This is an amazing investigation into the creative process of an artist. Two interviews with Shandling (30 years apart) are included in Apatow's book.

Somehow this early work of Stephen King has eluded me all these years and was well worth the discovery. It was especially fun to read echoes of King's other books of the time period: The Dark Tower, Shawshank Redemption, It. Some might call it repetition but I'll file it under "theme." This fantasy novel is a perfect example of the various registers to King's storytelling. I highly recommend this fairy tale of royals, sorcery, and revenge.

So excited about this ARC. I follow Eric Smith on Twitter (@ericsmithrocks) and he is a truly generous addition to the publishing world. He also has a really cute corgi.

Giant robots? Ancient aliens? Sold! Ludicrous fun but the writing is just lazy. I'll forgive its faults: dull action, boring protagonists, weak epistolary structure. A character actually describes a weapon as "Star Wars meets Lord of the Rings." Christ. Reads like a flat blockbuster screenplay, but it's got story, folks and sometimes that's OK. #themisreadalong

I wrote an article that was just published in the film journal Bright Wall/Dark Room. The latest issue is dedicated to to the topic of mental health. My piece is about Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys, an old favorite I loved revisiting. Just follow the link, if you're interested in reading:

http://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2018/02/26/sane-insane-places/

A really lovely book that was well worth the substantial investment of time. I was very engaged with the characters in this intimate decade-spanning epic. Although it could be a bit talky, repetitive, and predictable, I highly recommend this humane and generous story.

Julian just dropped the bombshell. Holy shit.

His Dark Materials is undoubtedly a fantasy adventure series but, most importantly, it is a cogent philosophical argument. Although The Amber Spyglass has the perfunctory epic last battle, dastardly villains, and bittersweet romance, what I will carry away is its themes: humanity's place in the universe, the role of art, religion, and science. Loved these books, loved its worlds. Long live the Republic of Heaven.

Today SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket ever launched by the company. It carried a Tesla Roadster with a dummy named Starman. Check out the dashboard: "DON'T PANIC!" The car is bound for Mars orbit.

This might be the best onomatopoeia of vomiting I have ever come across. Who doesn't love a good umlaut?

I guess I'm old enough for fairy tales again because I love this series. Pullman has concocted a secular spirituality from art, literature, science, mythology, and philosophy. It's like an anti-authoritarian ethical atheism with phenomenal characters and astounding suspense. Haven't been hooked on a series like this since Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy. Preparing myself for the battle in heaven. How was this off my radar for so long?

I love this sprawling graphic novel and this is a worthy entry in the series. This would be a great selection for the #LetsGetGraphicWeekLongMarathon. For those that aren't in need of a cliffhanger, l recommend Vaughan's Y: The Last Man or Ex Machina.

I adored this inversion of C.S. Lewis, a sort of anti-clerical Chronicles of Narnia. I am new to His Dark Materials and this was the perfect fantasy for a skeptical adult like me. A blend of industrialization, particle physics, theology, and the age of exploration, this was great. I could practically see the Northern Lights. Listened to the audio, a full cast recording with Pullman as narrator. What a voice. Can't wait for the next book.

Happy Holidays! First post in weeks. Epic reading slump. I could blame Gravity's Rainbow, but I'm not going to point any fingers, Mr. Pynchon. I came nowhere near my reading goals for the year, but I did lose 40 pounds, biked and hiked 50 trails with my wife, and finished a new draft of my novel. Settling in for a few days off and hopefully some time to read, write, and eat cookies. Best wishes to all my Litsy friends and your families.

SF has a tendency to be a cold, macho genre with an emphasis on action, hardware, and warfare. This is a welcome, warm blooded, and funny exception. It's a character-driven collection of episodic vignettes with exceptional worldbuilding. The military geopolitical events occur in the background, folks. This space opera is about people (no matter what planet you're from). Chambers has concocted a vibrant universe, an excellent canvas for a series.

#QuotsyNov17 #infinite