Reading...

I recently finished Gilbert Hernandez' Sloth after picking it up during Christmas and then getting separated from it by a mountain of work. I enjoyed it, and I thought it was pretty good. That's all. I'd recommend it, but I won't gush praise like some reviewers seem to be doing. It had an interesting and somewhat surreal storyline, as many of his stories have, but I didn't think it was quite as original or brilliant as some others did.

I also picked up Jennifer Camper's Juicy Mother tonight and realized that, somehow, I'd never finished it (I got it several months ago). Parts of this collection I found disturbing - not sure exactly why - but it includes many of my favorites, including Alison Bechdel, Ariel Schrag, Leanne Franson, and Camper, herself. I particularly enjoyed Camper's "Ramadan," a reflection on identity, specifically, Arab, Muslim, lesbian, American identity. That story alone is worth buying the book for. And when I did a search on Amazon for the book so that I could add the link, I found that Volume 2 is coming out this summer, which I will be sure to pick up.

I wrote about Katie Hnida's book, Still Kicking, a while back. Sadly, I haven't been able to read it. It is so poorly written that I can't get past the first few pages. I really want to read her story, but the thing reads like a Lifetime drama or a made for t.v. movie. I just don't have the patience. I should not have to read a description of Mom as "the day-to-day glue that holds our family together." I just shouldn't. It's not Hnida's fault. She should have had a better editor or a ghostwriter who could have cut out the cliches (and I know there's an accent mark over the "e," but I can't figure out how to insert it).

Other than that, I am reading book manuscripts and other stuff for work. I hope to start in on more of my Christmas (!) book stack soon.