Today was my first full day back home, and I am so glad that it is finally summer vacation! While I am sad to be away from my school friends, I am kind of glad to have some time to myself for a change! Well, kind of; I have about another month home until I go BACK to school for a language program. Once that's over, I have two more weeks here until the Fall semester starts. This summer will probably fly by!
While I do LOVE lazy summer days, at the same time I'm the kind of person who always feels like she needs to be doing something (whether it's watch documentaries on Netflix or look up style blogs or read actual books). This year, since the language program kind of wipes out the chance to really have a full-time job, I'll be part-timing, working odd jobs until I have to leave. (This sounds more impressive than it really is; I'll be babysitting and doing some computer work. There.)
I started off my first day unpacking a bit (although I certainly have a ways to go!), and while I was planning on dropping off some old books at the library sometime this week, I got a notice last night (technically yesterday morning; my packing didn't allow me much internet time) AND this morning from the library that my books were on hold and ready! I was surprised, and a little excited, since I hadn't been expecting them for a while (I don't know why not. Probably because it seemed like it would be forever until I would be done with finals...?).
So (without dropping the to-be-donated books off) I went to the library to pick up my holds! ...And three others.
(I also picked up Breaking Up, by Aimee Friedman and Christine Norrie, but I couldn't find a good enough picture. :/)
Despite the pile of books that I've already need to finish, I read Fun Home and started Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? today.
Both were/are absolutely excellent.
They're both memoirs, but are done very differently. Bechdel's Fun Home is a graphic novel, whereas Kaling's Everyone is more traditional (although she does utilize old pictures well); Fun Home is also more introspective, and reads like a drama/tragedy, with lots of mentions of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ulysses, and the like. There are also a lot of gay/lesbian/queer authors tossed in as well (I am not as familiar with them, although claiming that I am familiar with Ulysses is pretty close to a bold-faced lie), although they did not receive as much comparison with the author and, the subject of the book, Bechdel's father.
Fun Home was a great read, and very engrossing; however, I had to be sure to read carefully so I wouldn't miss anything. More than once I had to look up a word to be sure that I was getting the full meaning. To those who claim that graphic novels/comics can't be serious: read this book. It is "serious,"filled with analysis, both sexual, historical, and psychological. I'm probably going to reread this a few more times.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Is also a really fun read so far. It isn't as "introspective" as I said Fun Home was, but that's because being serious and deep wasn't totally the point of Kaling's book. (Although maybe it was, and I just hurt her feelings) But she is a writer, and a comedic one at that; she knows what she's doing, she's just doing it in a different way from Bechdel. I'm really liking Everyone so far, and actually laughing out loud at parts (which hasn't happened with me and... anything in a while). Mindy Kaling has a fun "voice" as a writer, and I can see how it translates to her TV show, The Mindy Project, so well. I also relate to her, since she talks about being a wallflower in high school, working hard, being respectful of adults and generally never getting into trouble. Ever. She chalks this up to being the daughter of immigrant parents; I figure that I would do quite well with immigrant parents. (Or at least her parents)
I'll probably be going to the library again this week, because tonight I requested Are You My Mother, by Alison Bechdel. It's about her relationship with her mother and, from the few pages I've read, it starts with her in the beginning stages of writing/drawing Fun Home and deciding that it would be impossible to ignore her mother. I'm really excited to get it, and (stupidly) I'm excited that my public library system has such things. I always seem to forget to utilize the library, so I'm glad that I'm able to access these new books that I've been wanting to read (but have been loathe to spend money on).
Hopefully I can finish these books in time! Have you read any of these books before? What did you think?
Cheers,
-M
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