Park Slope #53, 12/29/06

Well, I know I claimed I'd update before the new year. And I meant to, but after I got back from visiting family, I was sick with a fever, and some friends visited, and then it was new year's...Oh well. I did actually go to a library on the 29th, but since I was sick, I just walked it, so it was the closest one, Park Slope.

As a quick aside, while it's been an interesting year, and one that I enjoyed a great deal (certainly more than '05), I am still quite happy to see it go. Also, I really want it to get cold...I understand global warming and all that, but is there really not going to be any snow here in the Northeast this winter? Ludicrous.

So, before my friends visited, I had just gotten back from St. Louis, where I was visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins. My brother, mother, and stepfather showed up for good measure. It was very relaxing, I had eggnog with rum for the first time, saw Goodfellas for the first time, and remembered how funny Ed Wood is. Oh, and got some sweet gifts too, mostly books and CD reissues (Pavement, Lucinda Williams, Eno & Byrne) but also a cool handheld Zelda game that so far seems nearly as good as Link to the Past. I also picked up a sweet cold from my grade school cousins that developed into a fever after I started feeding it with alcohol and not enough sleep. Woo!

But enough about that, on to the libraries/books. Well, I enjoyed The Plot Against America a lot more than I thought I would. It was kind of a thriller, but the historical/alternate history angle gave it a very interesting dimension. Beyond that, Roth's characterization(and using a version of himself as the narrator/protagonist), made it seem less like a strange, twisted version of history, and more a story of a family splintering during trying times. It seems like the kind of thing that may still happen today, based on divisive issues like the war in Iraq or gay marriage, but for some reason I feel as though it doesn't. Maybe people are more apathetic these days, or maybe the divides don't cut through families anymore, just different regions.

The Quitter was good, but I don't have much to say about it. It was the story of Harvey Pekar's younger years, but many of the more interesting moments had already been portrayed in other American Splendor anthologies. Personally, I enjoyed the moments as their own stories, trying to construct them into a coherent person without a strict chronology. So the book was good, but for me, a bit redundant.

And lastly, Shutting Out the Sun. This one was excellent, tackling both social and economic issues that the people of Japan are currently facing. I knew very little about the subject beforehand, so it was all interesting to me, but without a specific interest in this subject there is no reason to read it. If you have any interest in Japan at all, though, it is a fascinating read.

Branch: Park Slope
Location: 6th Ave. at 9th St.
Transport: walkin'
Books: Ode To Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka; The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders
Date: Friday, December 29, 2006

I'd been to the Park Slope Branch before, as it is my local branch. It's got a nice setup, a large children's room and main room, and a second floor overhang with graphic novels and...some other stuff. I don't remember, I was sick dammit! Anyway in the back of my mind I always remember it as crappy, but it isn't really, and I think I do that because the Hamline Branch of the St. Paul library, my old local branch, was crappy. As for why I chose these books, I've been eying Ode To Kirihito forever, but it seemed like a big commitment for some reason. maybe the thickness, though it is manga, but whatever.

As for those pesky Gappers of Frip, I went intending to get a different George Saunders book, as he wrote one of my favorites last year (In Persuasion Nation) and I love his short stories. But I'm a sucker for interesting kid's books, and the art in this one looked great, and the book turned out to be excellent. I love the way Saunders highlights how selfish and horrible people are, but this one actually managed to have a happy ending. And now for the pics:



From across the street.



From across the avenue.



Right close up.

So that's that, I can't say when I'll go to another just because I'm a bit overwhelmed with books I got for Christmas presents, but I'm still not temping yet, so...whatever. I' should be able to get out there soon enough.