Delirium
As I write this, I'm halfway finished with the second book in the trilogy that begins with Delirium. My sister was right that Delirium is way better than Oliver's first book, Before I Fall.
reviewdate:
May 8 2012
isn:
978-0-06-172683-5
Zines! Volume I
Can you believe I'd never read this book? When it comes to zines, I'm pretty heavily a primary sources kind of a girl, but prepping for a talk that required me to know a little about pre-riot grrrl zines, I wanted to do a little homework. And you know what, Zines! is really good. Vale chose a good variety of zine folk to interview.
reviewdate:
May 5 2012
isn:
0-9650469-0-7
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No pubic hair at the Library of Congress
When cataloging the minicomic Lady Gardens, I discovered that there is no Library of Congress Subject Heading for Pubic hair.
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Zines: Print Culture & DIY Feminism 1991-present
Abstract:
Jenna Freedman and Josh MacPhee on DIY Feminism
Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 7 p.m.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, 4th Floor
Jenna Freedman, librarian at the Barnard Zine Library, and Josh MacPhee, founder of Interference Archive, discuss the evolution of feminist print culture. They trace its trajectory from activist poster making, offset printing, and graffiti in the late 1970s and early 80s to the rise of the feminist zine in the 90s.This program is free with Museum admission.
Elements of Style art show
Last week I went to the Elements of Style art opening at Bullet Space (ABC No Rio in Exile).
One of the bad photos I took. If you don't like it, here are four more to scoff at.
Too Big to Miss
First of all, thank you St. Paul Public Library for owning this small-press, originally self-published mystery and sharing it with me via Interlibrary Loan.
The protagonist is the ultimate anti-heroine, a fat, middle-aged Black lady. She's smart, capable, self-deprecating but not too, and has the obligatory detective novel quirky pet, a green cat named Seamus.
reviewdate:
Apr 26 2012
isn:
0-7387-0863-1
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Sassyfrass Circus #5
It's hard to write a competent review for this minicomic perzine. I really just want to show you all of the comics so you can see for yourself how brilliant they are. But that would be obnoxious.
reviewdate:
Apr 22 2012
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Thousand Lives: the Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown, A
A Thousand Lives came highly recommended by someone whose taste I trust, so I'm sorry to report I felt "meh" about it. Jonestown is a fascinating (if horrifying) topic, and I learned some things I didn't know about the ministry (that it was 70% Black and that it was friends with San Francisco politicians Harvey Milk and George Moscone).
reviewdate:
Apr 22 2012
isn:
978-1-4165-9639-4
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Punk Like Me
One of the greatest things about this punk rock lesbian bildungsroman is that it takes place on Staten Island, and also the East Village of the 1980s (?). The narrator Nina Boyd is a working class high school junior who is an athlete and aspiring member of the armed forces, in addition to being a dedicated reader of Love and Rockets and a Rocky Horror Picture Show-goer whose mecca is CBGB. Too bad she doesn't make it into CBs in high school due to curfews strictly enforced by her parents.
reviewdate:
Apr 14 2012
isn:
1-933110-40-6
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N.S.
A friend sent me the unpublished manuscript of her collected writings about her unexpected pregnancy--making the decision she did, her relationship with the baby's father, pro-choice Christian spirituality, and lots of other great stuff. I look forward to the book being published so I can go into more detail about it. For now I'll just say that L is an excellent writer and while reading her book-to-be, I kept thinking of all the people I wanted to share it with.
reviewdate:
Apr 10 2012