Mutant Supermodel

I think it’s worth mentioning I haven’t lost interest in my 26 in 2010 project despite the fact I should be wrapping up an “O” book this weekend and here I am posting an “I” review. Mostly I’ve had issues with the whole timing thing at the library. I don’t want to buy any books for this experiment but there are some books I really want to read and evidently, a lot of other people want to read those books too. Sometimes, the timing works, most of the time though it doesn’t. What this means is I haven’t only read nine books instead of the 14 I should have completed by now. I’ve actually read 13 although I feel like I read more than that and am simply forgetting what I’ve read already. No matter. What I’m doing is reading the books in whatever order they arrive instead of the calendar’s dictates. I write the review and when it’s time, I publish. The problem is technically, I am behind schedule by a couple of books and the books I’ve read have mostly been towards the end of the alphabet. But, I do promise to carry this whole project to fruition and plan on catching up big time in the next couple of weeks. I do need a suggestion for a “J” book because I just can’t find something fascinating. By a “J” book, I meant a book that is written by an author whose last name starts with a “J”. Extra points if you give me something from the, er, romantic (?) area which is a genre I haven’t really delved into much.

But really this post is about Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man which recently gave birth to a Tom Ford directed film. I haven’t seen the film but now that I’ve read the book I think maybe I will—with low expectations. I’m not saying the book is bad. It isn’t. It’s just extremely… light with an attempt to be taken serious which I guess is a great reflection of the main character. In this way, I found it very charming and I’m pretty sure I would absolutely love to know my very own eccentric George. This is the book summer reading’s all about—extremely light and short it goes beautifully with an ocean view. I am surprised someone decided this was film-worthy but then again, I really shouldn’t be considering toy lines and 80’s cartoons are modern movie inspirations. Again, I’m not dismissing it at all. The writing is smooth as the scotch George is fond of. And the characters are interesting. If anything, perhaps the book is just too short becoming a brief pleasant memory versus a deeply impactful encounter.

Right now I’m reading Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project. See? All out of order!

I am, at my very core, quite the sarcastic person. I appreciate very much the use of a sharp tongue especially when it’s regarding a topic I couldn’t agree with more. So given my relish for a good tongue-lashing combined with my adoration of literature multiplied with my growing horror at the modern interpretations of “literature” it shouldn’t be much of a shock to find out I absolutely positively adore Steve Hely’s “How I Became a Famous Novelist”. I devoured this book. It made me giggle like an imp over and over again. I wanted to read every other passage out loud to anyone who would listen.

Hely absolutely positively completely and voraciously dismantles the modern literature marketplace. No one is safe– not publishers, not published authors, not unpublished authors, not one genre. Hely comes off as desperate and frustrated as I feel and this is a delicious pairing. If you enjoy reading, read this book. If you enjoy writing, read this book. If you take yourself too seriously, read this book. If you don’t take yourself seriously enough, read this book. If you keep saying you should read more but can’t really find anything captivating, READ THIS BOOK. This book is endlessly fun and overwhelmingly witty. I’d tell you what it’s about but the title does so quite solidly.

You may or may not be aware but there is something very horribly wrong with books today and as Hely writes, no one’s really sure just what it is or how the heck to fix it. Hely doesn’t either but he sure as hell is sounding the alarm. I wish there was more that I could elaborate but it’s really just as simple as saying this is a really great book, especially if you’re a big book nerd like me!