reading material of late...for shameless posterity in times to come.

in these post-journal times of online proselytizing and kvetching, i've decided to make some attempt to record what i've been reading in a pseudo-consistent fashion, if only for my own self in days to come. so.

let's see... Trout Stanley, a bit too modern for me, but amusing nonetheless; interesting to read a play about twin sisters right after finishing Animal Dreams which used the same metaphor (twin sisters).
Nellcott is my Darling, sweet but not life-changing, I like Golda Fried's short sentences.
Exit by Thomas Ott (graphic novel) FUCKING ASTOUNDING. FFFAANNNTTTASSTICC. a silent genius.
Fell issues 1 and 2, the new comic enterprise of Warren Ellis and Aussie illustrator Ben Templesmith. the cool thing about this comic is Ellis takes a couple of pages at the end of each issue to discuss his and Templesmith's illustrative choices, that is, he explains how his panels unfold in a way that is gloriously innovative (to me, anyhow). for example, panel 1 shows a map of the area from a store to the house of the deceased in the story, with a red dotted line following the street from one to the other. the next panel is an illustration of the same street, with the same red dotted line crossing along it in real-time. panels 3-5 illustrate detective Fell watching the ghost of the deceased and then trying to catch her in his hands, panel 6 shows Fell from behind, his hand still in the empty air where it clasped the ghost's mouth.
there is cleverness at work here, in such a silent and accurate way.
and presently, the unfortunately titled but otherwise Fantastic What I Meant To Say, a collection of essays by guys, about being guys, that arrived at Brick's doorstep for reviewing (no, we don't do reviewing). I snafu'ed it 'coz i recognized some of the authors, and Gods know i could use the insight. and despite the discouraging dustcover, it's really really great. it astounds me how honest people can be in a public context. I wonder if it has to do with the editorial process. These authors have stepped forth with their stories, had them solicited even, considered, accepted, edited, massaged, encouraged, and all manner of engagement from editors, fact-checkers, copyeditors...somehow validating in a way that gives them confidence to proceed with the publication. i mean, they are really personal stories...these essays have confessions and details that I can't Imagine any guy sharing in your average intimate conversation with someone of the opposite gender, save a few select people i know in my life, and even for those, i think, context is everything.

there's also that aspect of something being less loaded when it's being shared with a faceless crowd. i imagine it's like stripping. ha. or blogging, even. it's no longer something personal by very nature of the fact that one (or one's thoughts) is/are being ogled by not only many people (or not), but many people who one wouldn't know from Adam on the street.

what a strange and unfortunate shame, that strangers are privy to more secrets than our loved ones.
well, 'til the book comes out, i guess.