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i’ve been going back and forth in my mind as to what really to call this book. i wouldn’t say it’s a graphic novel, since, in my mind, graphic novels have more of a mythology behind them. also, the artwork in graphic novels helps to tell the story, part of why we read graphic novels is too see the art. the pictures and they story go hand in hand.

Persepolis on the other hand has been marketed and called a “Comic Strip Memoir” since it deals with the real life of the author - who simply chose to tell her tale in comic strip format. the art work is good, since Satrapi herself is a graphic artist. but in my mind, graphic novels are more 3-D and Persepolis doesn’t want to be more than what it is….a memoir told in comic strip format.

and while The Bitches categorized this as a graphic novel, i think that’s wrong. a novel is fictional prose, while a memoir is a personal account. the pictures should have nothing to do with it. so i’ve convinced myself - comic strip memoir.

now a word on that memoir - while reading Persepolis i became grossly aware of how ignorant i am of middle eastern culture. Satrapi tells her tale of growing up in revolutionary Iran, and while i remember hostages and being afraid of the Ayatollah, i was a kid at the time, and foreign affairs didn’t really concern me.

but to read how a young girl had to completely change her ways, because of a new regime in the country, to do things, silly things, just because you were told. well that sparked in me a certain anarchist kinship.

i felt some what lazy reading how Satrapi spent her teen years. while i was guzzling mountian dew and eating cheetos and pop-tarts, she was reading philosophy. something i was only forced to do in college. with our western age of cable TV, no one my age was interested in what the government was doing. since it didn’t affect our daily lives, what did we care.

on the other hand, Satrapi was affected constantly with government regulations of what to wear and where to go. that i cannot imagine.

there were parts of her story that i didn’t find all that interesting, it didn’t seem that different from other young girls’ tales of growing up, fighting with your parents, listening to rock and roll, and waiting to be loved. it was the setting that was intriguing, or rather the story within the setting. and by setting i mean Iran and the comic strip.

i’ve never read Cormac McCarthy before, so all this talk about how he’s the next great American Novelist is lost on me. i don’t know him from adam and No Country for Old Men book didn’t make me want to cross any rooms to meet him either.

i bought this book for hubbin for x-mas because he wanted to see the movie, and as you may have guessed, i’m of the school that you should read the book first, it’s always better. period. always.

one of the comments he had while reading it was that the punctuation was off. i noticed this too. it wasn’t that i found it distracting, but i generally think that when authors purposefully go to such lengths to break the rules, there must be a reason for it. that it must enhance the story in some way, and in NCfOM i just didn’t get what that might be. it did make me pay more attention though. you really had to pay attention because none of the dialog was separated from the narrative. so it was to know what was being said vs what was being thought.

also, there was a seemingly important character that was introduced for the first time well into the book, and the character was killed off almost instantly. again, i didn’t see the point of that.

the story itself is pretty cliche cat-and-mouse. it reminded me a lot of A Simple Plan, which i read years ago. the assassin had a cool weapon, but that’s about it. he was a cold-blooded heartless killer - big surprise. the man who he is after didn’t have much of my sympathy since i was unclear as to what his motives are. seems too easy that he just wanted to keep the money. also, and probably the best part of the book was that the sheriff doesn’t get his man. the killer is never caught. and all of the sub-story surrounding the sheriff wasn’t that compelling.

all in all, i wasn’t impressed. sure the villain is kinda cool, but villains are always the most interesting character. too bad we never know enough about him, but you’ll never know anything about the rat-bastard who shoots you dead anyway.

maybe the movie is better.

so the bitches wisely chose to read Persepolis for March bookclub and it got me to thinking that there are/were a lot of Oscar contenders that were/are novels. so i’ve made a bit of a list to keep my reading focused. granted, i read a lot more that what i let on, since i read 10-12 children’s books a day. the current favorites for boo’s bedtime are Hurly Burly and the Knights and Robert the Rose Horse. but, those don’t count.

so i’ve put together a little list of novels that were Oscar contenders this year.

Persepolis
No Country for Old Men
Into The Wild
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Oil (There Will Be Blood)

if i’ve missed something, feel free to add it on. Away from Her was based on a short story, but eh, i’d rather read a novel. reviews will come soon. i’ve finished Persepolis and am currently reading No Country for Old Men.

ta-da

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fear not my darlings - soon the stone cold sober podcasts will end.

The Bitches are Back!

one of our new year’s resolutions (as discussed) is to do 12 episodes of BCB in 2008. We kick off the year with Christopher Moore’s, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.

i’m pretty sure you’ll have to do some sort of penance for listening to this though, peace be with you.

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yesterday was the family x-mas. it wasn’t nearly as bad as i though. my stoner cousin had a little fit about shitbagfuckface being so late and my dad not being organized, but sometimes you just have to let people learn their own lessons. the stoner cousin can handle a dose of reality, believe me.

i was really uncomfortable yesterday with being pregnant, not with being around family. i made it a point not to work myself up about that. i learned on x-mas eve that i need to step back and not get involved too much.

when SBFF showed up, thankfully boo was ready for a nap. so i got a chance to lay down for a bit, that helped. but with all the stuff leading up to yesterday, i’m left exhausted. i’m not bitching here, but it was *me* who did all the shopping this year, it was *me* who wrapped all of the gifts. and i’m done. i’m spent. christmas is finally fucking over.

i was looking forward to a lazy day today. doing little things here and there, but not really being on a schedule. however, hubbin is really motivated today and we are just so not gellin’. so while he’s downstairs organizing the office and guest room (his reasoning here is that he wants boo to have a dedicated space to color and do art projects that are not in the kitchen), boo and i are upstairs going through my side of the closet since one of those great charity groups is picking up stuff tomorrow.

i love those groups by the way. the send you a bag, the call you to set up a pick up, the take your stuff and leave you a tax receipt. i bet they’d come clean your closet out too if you asked. i got one box filled and needed a break. while i am glad to get rid of things that i haven’t worn in over a year, i’m a little disgusted at my own excess. some of these things are practically new. and there are a few things that i know my mom gave to me. there are even some of her clothes that a year ago i couldn’t bear to part with. now, i hear this little voice saying, you’re not really keeping this green stripey t-shirt because you remember me wearing it, are you? no mom, i’m not. it’s going in the box.

the biggest heartbreaker, honestly, is that soooo many of my clothes, her clothes, our clothes, were from dayton’s or marshall fields. my mom worked there in gift-wrapping and got crazy discounts. and i miss the Field Manor line desperately. but life goes on and when i’m no longer pregnant, recovering from pregnancy, or depressed, i promise that i’m going to start shopping at a place other than target.

and while this is all well and good, and yes i’m being productive, i can’t help but think, this isn’t the sunday i wanted. but that’s ok. JCSG and i have plans to get together next sunday. we are actually going to resurrect Bookclub Bitches and review Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal (no pun intended), and watch Rock of Love 2. and i can’t wait, i just cannot wait!

i have a little book.
it’s called ‘what i read’.
i like to think it’s in the past tense.

here is a list of what i read in 2007….

January - Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson - i hate even mentioning it, it should be removed from all shelves and removed from memory. the bitches podcast remains though

February - Batman: Hush Vol 1 & 2 by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee and Scott Williams - a graphic novel recommended by PT. however, this did cause lots of argument over who is better, Batman or Superman. BCB podcast available.

April - Remainder by Tom McCarthy - a book that i would never have picked out on my own. but since it was a largehearted gift from the LHB, well i did my best. BCB podcast available.
The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie - a spy novel spoof and a mediocre one at that. i’m thinking there should be no such thing as the “celebrity novelist”.
Love Is A Mix Tape: Love and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield - a JCSG pick and i can totally see why. a sappy rocker love story that had her in tears and me thinking i should never have thrown out my Limited Warranty cassette. BCB podcast available.

May - The Good, Good Pig by Sy Montegomery - a book i saw once or twice while gift wrapping for charity at Barnes and Noble. a pleasant, pointless memoir of a woman and her pet pig.

June - The Night Watch by Sarah Waters - a Mom Bookclub pick…reading this caused me not to join the Mom Bookclub. solid writing, and if there was a plot, it was pointless.
Later, at the Bar by Rebecca Barry - another JCSG BCB pick. a novel in short stories that didn’t quite work. BCB podcast available.

July - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling - if you didn’t rush out and get this book when it came out this summer i’m not sure you’re very literary. why do i say that, oh….maybe because a gajillion people read it without it being an Oprah bookclub pick.

August - Mall by Eric Bogosian - one of my dear friends gave this to me since i was/am a fan of Talk Radio. not quite the social commentary it was meant to be though.

September - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman - hubbin read all three of His Dark Materials and really enjoyed them. he thought that since i liked the Harry Potter books so much that i might enjoy these. also, i thought i should read the book before seeing the movie, and also to see what all the fuss was about.

that was the last book i finished reading. how lame!

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? paperback, because i usually read in bed and resting a book on your boobs when you are pregnant - not so much.

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it….The Bookhouse (after the Bookhouse Boys on Twin Peaks) or Dramatis Personae, and sell lots of plays.

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is…From Snakes and Earrings, by Hitomi Kanehara: “I often like to think that if sunlight reached into everywhere on the entire planet, I’d find a way to turn myself into a shadow.”

4. The author (alive or diseased) I would love to have lunch with would be …David Sedaris - I mean COME ON, a gay guy, at lunch?!?

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be… Lolita.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that…I’m stealing Kate’s answer here…a book holder that would allow me to read on my side and turn the page when i blink.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of…paper.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be….The Vampire Lestat

9. The most overestimated book of all time is…The fucking DaVinci Code

10. I hate it when a book…is written by MaryJanice Davidson.

wherein jodie and jodi review Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield, three wine coolers at a time. also jodi introduces the BCB rating system and i practically peed my pants.

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so after flip-flopping all day about whether or not i was going to podcast with fellow-bitch JCSG, i did go.

i bought wine-coolers.
we had a blast.

JCSG came up with such a brilliant Bitches book rating system, i want to cut myself for not thinking of it first. she is definitely the smart one. wait until you hear it!