You know that feeling when you take a chance on a book and it's really, really great?

...Yeah, that's this one.

(Yes, I realize that updating this blog the day after I talk about not being around much in the future is kind of lame and stupid, but I'm trying to take advantage of the fact that my homework load has not picked up full steam yet)

When I picked up Elisa Schappell's Blueprints for Building Better Girls, it was mostly because I thought that the cover art and title were interesting. 

I don't read short story collections very often; Before Blueprints, I had only read three other short story collections before: 

1. An F. Scott Fitzgerald short story collection of Flappers and Philosophers and Tales of the Jazz Age (Here)
2. Firebirds (here)
3. Different Seasons, by Stephen King (which was awesome, btw)

For that reason, my choosing Schappell's Blueprints was therefore more of a shot in the dark kind of deal, and it was a task that I was kind of wary about undertaking. As I've said before on this blog, I don't read "contemporary" "adult" fiction very often, so I don't have a good understanding yet of what authors I do and don't prefer.

I'm really, really happy to report that I loved this collection. 

To be honest, I read this book a few weeks ago, so I can't remember any passages from it specifically; however, the theme throughout each story was, "you have no idea what is going on in my head."

(God, I feel like that's such a stupid way to summarize the book, but that's all I have. Sorry.)

Different reviewers (from the NY Times and Bitch Magazine) cited the stories as focusing on "womanhood," which is something I should have said above  I agree with; many of the women in Blueprints are often at odds with themselves as well as with each other. Relationships are dissected, scrutinized, and redefined; Heather, "the school slut" in the first story, makes an appearance in the last one as well, as a mother with a teenage son. 

The women in these stories enter each others' lives at various points, and in different ways. I liked that aspect of these stories (I'm a huge fan of "easter eggs" in books), although the sappy part of me wishes that some of the other characters (Kate and Bender specifically) had more of a role to play in other people's stories. Despite that, I really liked being able to take their thoughts and emotions into consideration even if I was reading the story that surrounded one of their friends or coworkers. 

There were times reading this book when I felt outraged on behalf of the characters, as well as times when I was furious at them. Each of these women are shown to struggle and succeed in different ways; there is no "correct" way to deal with the disappointment and sadness and confusion that they felt, but in considering my own expectations for their behavior I was able to more fully understand what had shaped me to think why my way was the "right" one. I'm still trying to figure out where I "fit in" as a feminist, and so this book really helped me examine some parts of myself that I wasn't aware of without being obnoxious or patronizing.  

Does any of that make sense?

What I'm trying to say here is that I really, really liked this book; it's sharp, and smart, and doesn't play the rules in using classic female stereotypes. If you're looking for a book to read that has punch, and wouldn't mind trying out a short story collection, look here - Schappell has just what you need. 

Peace out, Chickadees (as my grandmother would say)

-M

Update from the Gates of Hell, or: Let's All Do the Charleston! (The Diviners, by Libba Bray)

I'm going to update this blog today, because apparently starting tomorrow, my life will be handed over on a silver platter to Arabic language (which I will be devoting myself to for the next eight weeks). This is, of course, going to be a huge time commitment for me, so updates (and reading) will slow down for the next while.

But before I go down that path, here's what I finished reading (and almost forgot to blog about!):

When I was in middle school, I read as much Libba Bray as I could get my hands on which, at the time, consisted of her Gemma Doyle trilogy. Since then, I've also read Beauty Queens and some of Going Bovine... and while I liked them, they didn't have the same flair as the Gemma Doyle books. 

The Diviners, however, made me squeal with joy. I mean, it's a supernatural book that takes place in 1920s New York City. (Right??? How awesome does that sound?)

The Diviners is about a young woman named Evie who, after a disastrous display of her psychic abilities in her small Ohioan (is that even a word?) hometown, is made to move in with her Uncle Will. Her Uncle Will not only lives in New York City (which is a heaven for this young flapper), but also runs the Museum of the "Creepy Crawlies" (or, of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, if you want to get technical). He is unsuitable to take care of young Evie, but as he is more preoccupied with a serial killer (of the supernatural persuasion) on the loose, Evie (and the reader) is allowed to roam the streets of New York.

There's a wide range of characters in The Diviners, who also encompass some growing social issues and trends from the 1920s; Socialists, African Americans, gays, etc., are all represented. The "melting pot" that is New York (and, on a larger scale, America) is shown to be new and electric, but also dark and unstable. Older, darker forces are establishing a hold on the country despite scientific and social change. 

Obligatory Josephine Baker doing the Charleston. Via

Another totally necessary flapper. Via

While my description of the novel can sound a little limiting, the story is told by several people, so nothing gets too stale. This also means that, with many characters' fates up in the air, the reader is left wanting more and desperate to get back to Evie's New York. The reader is also left with the impression that something is most decidedly wrong, although whatever the cause of the terror and unease is as of yet unknown. 

It was SO SCARY; like, I had to go into the basement where my brother was killing people on the XBox just so I knew that, if Naughty John somehow managed to kill me through the book, someone would know. (I put up with my brother's "I seriously can't believe that we're related, what, are you fucking kidding me" look just so I could finish.) I don't get scared by books often/almost never, so I'm going to just make a special note of that. Well done, Libba Bray *claps*

Bray obviously did her research, with all of the '20s slang that is woven through the novel. It's sometimes cheesy, but she doesn't overdo it, and by using slang, she's able to establish characters such as the flapper girls Evie and Theta more easily. 

I had been struggling with keeping up my reading for a while before reading this book; I wasn't super interested in anything I had gotten from the library, and I was easily distracted from what I was reading while I was reading. I think it was because I had gotten so wrapped up in trying to read books that I felt like I should read, I had forgotten to read something because I wanted to. And I think that's what made The Diviners such a fun, pleasure-filled read for me; no one was expecting anything from me, and there was no expectation I was trying to meet. Does that make sense?

Anyways, I'm back to reading things I want to for a change, and it feels great. All too easily, I feel like I have to be reading something specific at a certain time, and my increased time on the internet (on Goodreads, reading other blogs, etc.) doesn't help my feelings of constant inferiority. I've talked before on here how I so desperately want to be well-read; and, in the process of wanting to be so, I make myself lists of "classic" and "good" books, when I should be the one deciding for myself what's good and what isn't. For someone like me who loathes people telling her what she should and shouldn't be reading (unless it's a friendly reading recommendation, I love those!), I use websites like Goodreads an awful lot to make sure that what I've read will pass muster. 

That's probably enough from me at this point; hopefully y'all haven't died of boredom. Closing statement: read Libba Bray's The Diviners! (but, of course, only if you want to...)

Peace,

-M

Moving at the Speed of Sound

Just a quick update today. Because I've been "entertaining" this entire past week (and now that they're gone and I should theoretically have some time to myself), I leave TOMORROW for school/camp/whatever (and I need to PACK like a mofo).

I've been trying to read, but between watching lots and lots of the X Files and lots and lots of Saturday Night Live (circa 1993), I haven't devoted much time to it. So, here's a general update to what I've been reading lately:

I have a post or two in the works, so I'll hopefully have them up some time next week.

HAGS,
Maddie