The On-going Saga

Mugi and I are currently sitting in a sunbeam, doing just about nothing. We do this a lot lately.

But not for long, god and the gov'ment willing. Over a month ago (in the beginning of December, actually) I got a new job at the State Department. I shake my fists in victory! But hold up: my projected start date was first January 2, then January 14. Then it was maybe hoping for January 22, and now finally... I might actually get to start tomorrow.

So, I'm in the odd position where every day for the past few weeks has been my "OFFICIAL LAST DAY OF UNEMPLOYMENT." Which is like girls gone wild in my brain, but it can't hold up forever. I keep eating cookies like it's the last day before I start dieting, but the diet never comes.

Anyway. I've been reading a lot in this downtime (in the same way that my heart has been beating and my lungs have been pumping). But I've been re-reading Harry Potter, which I don't think anyone cares about. I've got a few other books for you, however, that don't take place at Hogwarts.

The Silence of the Lambs
by Thomas Harris

Reading books that gave birth to popular films is a little hard. Your brain has a lot of preconceived notions and whether you decide to give in to them or resist, it can make things awkward. Case in point: Minerva McGonagall will always be Maggie Smith, and Hannibal Lecter? He's Anthony Hopkins no matter what.

If you're not familiar with this story, it's about a student who gets pulled into the search for a serial killer who is skinning young women and dumping their bodies.  Having no leads, the FBI sends her to discuss the case with Hannibal "the cannibal" Lector, a psychiatrist famous for... well... eating his patients.

Here's what I liked about the book: it was written in 1975, and yet it's marvelously current. The main character is a strong, beautiful, intelligent woman who is also human, and she has conversations with other strong women about things other than men (The Bechdel Test, y'all! Applies in books too.).

It always bothered me in the film that the killer, Buffalo Bill, plays off that old "queer people are evil" chestnut. It's a lowball, appealing to and reinforcing the lowest fears. The book makes quite clear that Buffalo Bill is not queer. He's evil, yes, and insane, yes. But not because he's gay or transexual, which he's not. The book goes to extreme lengths to make sure we know that.

All of that to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the book. It was a good, quick read. It's not necessary to read all of this sex/gender-equality stuff into it... that's just what I do. It's perfectly possible to just read the book and enjoy a good thrill.

Girl Walks into a Bar...: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle 
By Rachel Dratch

Oh, the recent trend of comedienne's memoirs, what a wonderful trend indeed. Both Tina Fey's Bossypants and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? are books I could pick up and read over and over again. There are parts of this book that are like that (about every other chapter in the first half) but I'm sad to report that this book just doesn't have the same "oomph."

Dratch's story is more... shall we say, sincere? Which is maybe a nice way of saying, less funny? The first half is about her life in comedy and adventures in dating, complete with mayhem and mishaps. The second half is about how she accidentally got pregnant after she thought she would never be able to. Dratch is a funny woman, to be sure, but this book reads more like two good books that got smashed together--leaving both of them a little limp--rather than one cohesive book. Book 1: My time at SNL and life as a comedienne. Book 2: My crazy baby story. Both are good stories, but neither is fully developed.

Gone Girl
By Gillian Flynn

There's actually not a lot you can say about this book without giving away all the good stuff. I'll keep this short and simple: the book begins when Nick Dunne's wife Amy disappears. The first and second parts of this book ("Boy Loses Girl" and "Boy Meets Girl") are so tight, and tense, and delicious that they make up for the less-stunning third act.

I don't read a lot of mysteries and thrillers (please ignore the fact that there are two in this post alone), because I find them a little repetitive. This one is like a bolt of lightening in a dark room. The characters are strong, the writing is smart and nuanced, the story is gripping. The split narratives, Nick's and Amy's, play beautifully off of each other. It's about as good as a book can get without being truly great.