BEST OF 2018 PART 1: BOOKS

PART 1:  BOOKS   

According to GoodReads, I read 32 books during 2018 and . . . here they all are:

CRYPTID CINEMA: MEDITATIONS ON BAYOU BEASTS & BACKWOODS BOGEYMEN OF THE MOVIES by Stephen R. Bissette

Exhaustively researched and entertaining.

THE TWO-BEAR MAMBO by Joe R. Lansdale

Quirky deep south Texas/Louisiana mystery.  Inspired me to check out the Hap & Leonard TV Show and I'm glad I did.

GOOD OMENS by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

Simply brilliant and entertaining blasphemy that will make you laugh out loud.

FEAR: TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE by Bob Woodward

Factual and disturbing in how quickly a single malignant narcissist could dangerously dismantle the spirit of America and the constructs of self-government by the people and for the people.

18 STRAIGHT WHISKEYS by Michael Easton

An author who speaks to my deepest self like no other and in this brilliant collection of poetry he runs the gamut of rapturous love to the darkest corners of our most personal hells.  And somehow he finds humorous wordplay on one page and slices your heart open on the next.  

OUT OF THEIR MINDS by Clifford D. Simak

Originally written in 1970, this book is a product of the time it was written but stays entertaining as it explores the nature of fictional realities crashing into each other and invading our own.

DEMON SEED by Dean Koontz

A movie I had seen but had never read the novel before.  This rewritten and modernized version of the novel that the 1977 Fritz Weaver film was based on.  It was impossible to put down.  The satire is strong in this one and I laughed while reading it at the same time I was horrified.

LAST WORDS by George Carlin

So interesting to hear Carlin's autobiography read by his soundalike brother.  Great insight into George's brilliantly conflicted mind and how he found his comedy voice.

HE IS LEGEND: AN ANTHOLOGY CELEBRATING RICHARD MATHESON Edited by Christopher Conlon

I love anthologies and this one was a very good collection of stories based on or inspired by the writing of Richard Matheson.

MYSTERY MEN by David Liss (author) & Patrick Zircher (illustrator)

Gripping graphic novel from Marvel Comics told in the spirit and style of the old pre-comics age pulp fiction magazines but with all new characters that should have existed in the Marvel universe but did not...until now.

THE EVOLUTION OF FAITH: HOW GOD IS CREATING A BETTER CHRISTIANITY by Philip Gulley

Excellent book to provoke some thought in those of us who were raised in the Christian faith but have realized how badly the institutional Church has concocted a God that is incompatible with the idea of love incarnate.  Gulley provides much to ponder and challenges each of us to pursue our own path and views on God rather than panderously cowtowing to the weight of the propaganda orthodoxy.

SAGA: VOLUME ONE by Brian K. Vaughn (author) & Fiona Staples (illustrator)

Maybe I'm not the target audience, but while I recognize that it was well-written and well-drawn, it did not resonate with me.  

THE HARE HYPOTHESIS by Iain Spence

I was introduced to Iain Spence's atavistic trending model in SUPERGODS and I was curious to read more about it. It's mostly incoherent but there's some germ of something inside the theory that feels like there's some germ of truth buried inside the incoherence.  But damned if I could crack that nut.

SO, ANYWAY... by John Cleese

So anyway...this book is hilarious and insightful.  If you get a chance, I recommend the audio version read by Cleese himself.

THE SHADOW: MIDNIGHT IN MOSCOW by Howard Chaykin

Nobody does Shadow comics as well as Chaykin.  Fantastic Shadow adventure set during the early days of the burgeoning Cold War.

HILLBILLY ELEGY: A MEMOIR OF FAMILY AND CULTURE IN CRISIS by J.D. Vance

Sometimes painful to read but fascinating insight into and opportunity for greater understanding of generational abuse, trauma, and just exactly how in the HELL those who would benefit the absolute least from a Trump presidency were so easily deluded into voting against their own (and the country's) interest.

PARADOX BOUND by Peter Clines

Essentially the closest I've ever come to an American version of Doctor Who.  And it's entertaining as Hell as our intrepid time traveller hops through "history" not "time."  It's a subtle but very important distinction as the race to find the lost American Dream is on!

THE MEGAROTHKE by Robert Ashcroft

New author and a great sci-fi horror thriller but one that delves deeply into dark archetypal fears and excellent social commentary with relatable and challenging characters.  

THE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY: HOW A FORBIDDEN RELIGION SWEPT THE WORLD by Bart Ehrman

One of my favorite authors, Bart Ehrman's latest book explores just exactly how a little band of 1st century apocalyptic cultists turned their cult into the religion that changed the world.

HEAVENS ON EARTH: THE SCIENTIFIC SEARCH FOR THE AFTERLIFE, IMMORTALITY, AND UTOPIA by Michael Shermer

Another one of my favorite authors, Michael Shermer takes an open-minded but scientific approach to exploring concepts, beliefs, and alleged proofs of life-after-death, immortality, and other related ideas.

TRUMPOCRACY: THE CORRUPTION OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC by David Frum

Another one of my favorite authors, THE ATLANTIC editor David Frum details in convincing and convicting ways how insidious the influence on our country's soul and spirit by placing a malignant narcissist into the most powerful political seat in the world.

BLOOM COUNTY: BRAND SPANKING NEW DAY by Berkeley Breathed

The brilliant 2017 collection of all-new Bloom County comic strips.

GREEN LANTERN: EARTH ONE—VOLUME ONE by Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Sara Bechko

My favorite graphic novel of the year.  This is what the GREEN LANTERN movie should have been.

SUPERGODS: WHAT MASKED VIGILANTES, MIRACULOUS MUTANTS, AND A SUN GOD FROM SMALLVILLE CAN TEACH US ABOUT BEING HUMAN by Grant Morrison

Engrossing examination of the history and cultural influence of the super-hero comic book.

THE STRANGE HARVEST OF DR. AQUARIUS: JACK KIRBY'S PUBLIC DOMAIN SUPER-HEROES TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME! by Jeff Deischer

Good idea but mediocre execution.  Great title, though.

THE OUTSIDER by Stephen King

Fantastic old-school King that also furthers some of the more obscure aspects of the shared King-verse.

INSPIRED: SLAYING GIANTS, WALKING ON WATER, AND LOVING THE BIBLE AGAIN by Rachel Held Evans

Interesting insight into Rachel Held Evans and her personal journey from the collapse of her evangelical faith in embracing a new and greater view of God and how to find value in the Bible again.

LONG TITLE: LOOKING FOR THE GOOD TIMES: EXAMING THE MONKEES' SONGS, ONE BY ONE by Michael A. Ventrella & Mark Arnold

More information than you ever thought possible about every single song ever recorded by The Monkees and somehow they made it all very enlightening and entertaining.

LIVE LONG AND...WHAT I LEARNED ALONG THE WAY by William Shatner (with David Fisher)

I always enjoy Shatner's memoirs and reflections.  This one felt especially poignant and vulnerable.

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE: A SORTABIOGRAPHY by Eric Idle

Entertaining as hell.  As with the Cleese book, I recommend reading this as an audio book so that you can hear Eric reading it in his own voice.

JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL by Richard Bach

I read this long ago when I was a child.  I reread it again in 2018 as an adult.  The book garners a lot of criticism but I appreciate the simple metaphor and the message that we must be bold and push ourselves always higher.

KIRBY: KING OF COMICS by Mark Evanier

Very little new to me in this book, but it was a nice overview of comic artist and creator Jack Kirby's life and career by someone who knew him very well.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR! Interview with Tavi Gevinson of RookieMag.com

Tavi Gevinson is a 17 year-old writer and magazine editor for an online magazine called Rookie Mag [rookiemag.com].  Independent comics publisher Drawn and Quarterly partnered last year with Tavi to bring Rookie Mag to life as a physical book collection ostensibly like a school Yearbook.  The ROOKIEMAG YEARBOOK VOL. 1 (still available for purchase) was successful enough to make VOL. 2 inevitable.  The ROOKIEMAG YEARBOOK VOL. 2 (available now) is more than just a mere collection of blog postings.  It is 350 pages full of the best articles, interviews, collages, photo editorials, and illustrations from teens and for teens over the past year, but also includes celebrity contributions (Judy Blume, Mindy Kaling, and others). 

The book itself is an impressive production and Tavi herself may simply be the most accomplished 17 year-old I’ve ever met.  I’m retroactively embarrassed by my slothful 17 year-old self now.

Keith Howell (Me):  Nice to meet you, Tavi.

Tavi Gevinson (Tavi):  Nice to meet you, too.

Me: Well, I've read through your ROOKIEMAG YEARBOOK VOL. 2. I shared one of the articles with my 16 yr old homeschooled daughter and then posted it on my FB page. 
The "No More Nice Girls" article.

Tavi: Oh, that makes me so happy! I hope she liked it. “No More Nice Girl” is one of my favorites. That writer, Sady Doyle, is so talented.

Me: It was exceptionally sharp.  Well-written.

I appreciated her perspective.

The whole endeavor, the website and book are damned impressive work.  I hope you realize that. :)

Tavi: Thank you so much.

We all work really hard on it, it's a labor of love for sure, so this period of time when we have events and signings and can see Rookie live offline is extremely rewarding.

Me: In this day and age, where publishers are going to the web more and more, what was it within you that got you thinking along the lines of doing it reversed — taking it from the web to the printed age and doing it so creatively?

Are you a tactile learner?

Tavi: I don't know if I'm a tactile learner so much as I'm just impatient. I knew how I wanted the series to look when we started talking about doing the first one, and figured I would learn the technicalities of the process along the way.

Me: Are you the type who just says "I want it to be like this." and expect someone to just figure out how to get that done or are you more...fluid about it.  Like maybe have a generalized concept and feel it out as you go?

Tavi: My way of operating with Rookie has never been to just say "I want it this way" and let people fill in the blanks. There's always a conversation going on, any kind of disagreement never feels personal: we're all just here to make the strongest work we can for our readers.

A lot of Rookie is about using the online to get our readers to do stuff offline. We post a lot of DIYs (Do-It-Yourself) on stuff like starting a band, making a journal, all of that. And our readers respond to that, to the kind of attention to detail many of us have, that weird connection to who we used to be as they can be memorialized in tangible objects like a dress or a book or what have you.

So I knew our readers would like to have a version of Rookie they could hold in their hands, experience in a more visual way, keep on a nightstand. For this reason, it was also important to make it worth it -- not to do a copy-and-paste website-to-book.

Every spread was exhaustively decorated and thought through.

Me: Yes it is.  It's not just a reading book, it is interactive.  It's informative and interesting, but also fun.

I would also imagine that your schedule is just jam-packed most days.  Do you still find time for purely pleasure reading?

Tavi: It's nice of course when a book we read for English is also pleasurable to me. I try to make time for both but usually I can only stick with what I have assigned for school.

Me: Understandable.

What stories out there inspire you? (film, comics, books, whatever). 

Do you find inspiration in stories?

Do you have a favorite poet, for instance?

Tavi: Yes, absolutely -- even though Rookie is not the same as, you know, making a fantastical movie or something, even though it's not fiction and we are trying to be honest, I feel most inspired after reading a book or watching a movie. I think it's because they create a feeling in you that makes YOU want to do the same, and that's important to us at Rookie, inspiring our readers to be creative themselves, instead of just taking in what we do.

I love Patti Smith and E. E. Cummings and Margaret Atwood.

Most of my favorite movies are teen movies, dark comedies like HEATHERS

Me:  HEATHERS is amazing! I was there when it first came out!

How do you take it knowing that there are people (many of whom you've never met) who are inspired by you? 

Is that humbling or energizing?

Tavi: I know I can't read into it too much -- I gave a talk about “fangirling” at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Writers Festival in August about this -- because so much of what people love about a writer, musician, etc. is more a reflection of the person who loves it. So I'm very happy people respond to what I do or can see me as "inspiring," as you say, but I know there's a lot that goes on between my putting myself out into the world and how they receive me. I also just think it's unhealthy to take any feedback too personally, whether it's positive or not. It's just tricky territory.

Me: You have a healthy attitude.  Very wise.

Tavi: Ultimately, however, you know, I'm not complaining. For as much as there's no for sure way to measure the validity of every single ounce of feedback from every single person, I am pleased and flattered that the overall response to what I do has been encouraging.

Me: What has been the biggest surprise (or surprises) to you about embarking on this endeavor?

Tavi:  Hmmm. That it's happened at all, really.

I think about ROOKIE YEARBOOK VOL. 1 and it's like, HOW did we get on the phone with Drawn & Quarterly in mid-May and then get a book out by September? The ROOKIE machine is crazy and magical.

Me:  The book itself is kind of crazy and magical. I can't think of anything else out there like it.

Tavi: Thank you so much! That's so nice of you to say. 

Also, (another surprise), when I went to Fashion Week regularly and wrote about fashion and worked with fashion magazines, everyone thought that industry would like, poison my brain. Honestly, I think there is that kind of cattiness in a lot of different areas I've worked in. It's not exclusive to fashion, or any industry.

It's just that when stuff like power comes into play, people get insecure or threatened or what have you, and then they forget about what they actually love about their work, and they act out -- whether they work in fashion, publishing, film...The risk in saying this is making myself the exception, and I'm not; I get disillusioned, too.

But if you're asking what the biggest surprises have been, that's one of them: that I have witnessed more cattiness among adults with jobs than I have in high school.

Me: Thank you for chatting with me, Tavi.  You've been very gracious.  Okay.  Take care.  I hope we can talk again another time.

Tavi: Yes! Thank you!


*This interview, with slight re-edits, was originally published under my "Prof. Challenger" nom de plume at Aint-it-cool.