OK, rant over. Ode To Kirihito was great. It was like medical drama mixed with morality play mixed with people turning into furries. If you know what I mean by that, shame on you. I recommend it highly if you have even the slightest passing interest in manga, or comics at all. Or just...cool stuff. So even though I have all these new books to read, I figure comics are ok, so I looked up those Complete Peanuts books, found a place that had the first two (Gravesend), and off I went!
Branch: Gravesend
Location: 303 Ave. X at West. 2nd St.
Transport: F Train to Ave. X
Book: The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952 by Charles Schulz
Date: Friday, January 5, 2007
What's this? He said he went to the place with the first two books! And he only got one? You are too perceptive, dear readers. Allow me to explain. No, wait! Put that down! Let me explain! NOT THE BAT!!! ARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!
What? Oh, right. Long story short, they contain a shit-ton of strips, and my bag is small, and I figured one was enough for now. It means another entry sooner, right? Of course it does. And that's what we all want. Peanuts is amazing. At least the early stuff is. I never felt about it the way I do about Calvin and Hobbes, but at this early stage you can definitely see the same type of genius. In fact, I've found at least one early Peanuts strip that a C&H strip directly rips off.
As for the library, it's in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn, out near Brighton Beach and Coney Island. The neighborhood is great, it had some weird looking bars/clubs, a medical + dental complex with a stone facade like an old diner, and an off-track betting place that was totally filled with people. Though it was early evening on a Saturday, so that makes sense.
The library is a big brick building from the 1960s with a really nice feel to it. So far I've been surprised by how these libraries are totally neighborhood hangouts and social centers, even in these fast paced times we live in. Maybe that's mostly because of the internet, but not entirely. The librarian at the info desk was a Russian man in his 60s who seemed to know most of the people in there, and at the table next to mine were two Russian women chatting as if they were in a salon or a park or wherever. The inside of the building had an interesting setup, with the main level (fiction, movies, new stuff) going about halfway back, and then splitting into either upstairs (non-fiction) or downstairs (childrens). For some reason that I don't quite understand, old-timey comic books are in the non-fiction section. So is ancient literature, poetry, and drama though, so whatever.
On the way out, I picked up a flier for a book club called "Pam's Picks." They're reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan next, currently a very popular book. The flier promises a "lyrical and emotionally charged novel" which "delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship." That's a hard sell, and though I previously had no interest in the book, the thought of showing up at the meeting, which I assume would be almost entirely comprised of middle-aged women, blows my mind a little bit. That said, I have until February 8th at 2:00 pm to read the book if I so choose, but as of this writing, the Brooklyn Public Library system does not have a single available copy.
I guess it's time for pictures:
From across the street. Also, you can see a cop giving someone a ticket! What you can't see is her car blocking an entire side of the street while she writes the damn thing. Well played!
These two are blurry, which is lame, but they totally connect to form one LARGER picture.
And finally, the angled shot.
Well that's it for me, but I'm already racing through this Peanuts collection so you may well hear from me soon. Or not, What do I know.
2 comments:
You can't say things like retarded, retard.
The Peanuts??!! Wow - what a well rounded young gentlemen you are. And that, of course, takes you to your Minnesota roots. Were you here long enough to form roots?
I tend to be the person who thinks, "Well, if everyone is reading it it can't be all that great." (see also Da Vinci Code), so I'm pleased to find you've twisted that on its head by using the book that everyone's reading to tweak them by showing up to the hen party. Even if you didn't do it, I like the idea. Of course, by tweaking them you might be tweaking Oprah. Careful, my friend.
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