Reading is Sexy: I heart first novels
20 July 2007I can’t think about anything other than Harry Potter. Well, that and the fact that when my brother and sister in law woke up on Thursday last week they were only two people, and now they’re three people. No baby, then a baby. I understand it biologically, but philosophically I’m having a bit of trouble. Also, I feel like any other thoughts I have are teeny tiny and insignificant– on that day, I spent an hour mentally debating going to the Kwik-E-Mart themed 7-11 in times square during lunch, and while I was doing that, Katie was in labor. This made me question my life priorities more than the time I dropped a class for it interfering with my attempt at world domination as sorority rush chair. But, you can’t think about these things too much, as they will make your brain explode. I’ve seen it. And so: let’s go back to thinking about Harry Potter and Other Books That Make Me Love Publishing.
I finished the books 1-6 re-read last week and am really happy I took the time to do it. I had some vague memories that needed to be solidifed for book 7 (I thought Tonks was in love with Sirius, so when I got to the part in book 5 about them being cousins I was all eeeew gross I don’t care what they say in Gone with the Wind or How I Live Now that’s just not okay) so I don’t wind up calling Jordan every three minutes because I can’t keep Death Eaters and Dementors straight (this actually happened at one point because the gap between books 4 and 5 was so long. I’m so ashamed). Also, I have a previously unfelt appreciation for Ravenclaw. Before I was just of the Gryffindor- Good, Syltherin- Bad, Everyone else- Insignificant mindset, as I never really picked up on the fact that Ravenclaws were supposed to be the smartest ones. I still feel like Hufflepuff is kind of Hogwarts Special Ed, an opinion that is not helped by the sorting hat, who has a line in every song about how Hufflepuff just kind of takes everyone else’s leftovers. That’s got to be rough.
I’ve also become newly obsessed with the idea of the Room of Requirement. Previously, I thought that the thing I wanted most in Harry Potter was the mauraders map, the enchanted piece of paper that allows Harry to track every person inside Hogwarts. This is largely because there are some days where, due to the centralized and open nature of my cube at work, about 30% of my job is comprised of people asking me “Hey, do you know where {some person} is?” Sometimes it’s my boss they ask about, and sometimes I can answer intelligently, but sometimes it’s people I don’t normally see during the day or even people I’ve never heard of and I have to give them my blank “sorry-I’m-just-an-intern” face. But I’ve come to figure out that the Room of Requirement is much, much cooler. (For those uninitiated to the cult of potter– first off, we can’t be friends– the Room of Requirement is accessible through a door way that only appears when you really, truly need it, and will be set up in a way to perfectly fit your needs. In book five it appeared for Harry containing a practice room and library when he had to teach his fellow students defense of the dark arts, and in book six it opened to a kind of junk store when he needed someplace to hid his potions text book. Carry on). The best part(s) about the Room of Requirement is that you can’t fake it, you’ve gotta really want it, and that it can change according to the person that needs it and what they need. I’ve been trying to figure out what my Room of Requirement would be, and I’m guessing it’s basically a mattress showroom and I can just go to sleep there whenever I want. Though I recently went to a brand new sleeping doctor who seems to think that I might be able to fool myself into being less sleepy during the day if, within 10 minutes of waking up, I’m able to get outside into direct sunlight and walk around not wearing sunglasses (I’m not sure how safe that is). Since I live in a 4th floor walkup in a windowless bedroom (it’s a lot nicer than it sounds. Come visit!) this is kind of impossible, so instead I’m going to get one of those lamps that turns itself on at 6:30 in the morning and convinces me that it’s sunny and I should be awake. The Boyfriend is going to love this, almost as much as I loved the fact that the NYU Sleep Disorders Clinic sends a form home for your “sleep partner” to fill out before your appointment. What kind of a WHORE do you THINK I AM, nyu???
For the release of book 7 I’ll once again be in my hometown dressed up as a wizard (3rd time’s a charm, why stop now). After that I’m going on full lockdown and avoiding all media and shutting my phone off until I’m done with the book. If you’re one of those people who likes to announce that you’ve finished the book by texting everyone you know with one of those obnoxious “Oh.My.God. I cannot believe she killed Ron” messages (which someone once did to me mid-book 4 except it was in person and I had to physically restrain myself from strangling them)… well, you’re an asshole. I don’t have any other words for it. I’ve gotten unnaturally nervous that someone is going to read the last chaper first and start yelling out the ending to all the people enjoying the festivities and I am fully, fully prepared to remove the throat of anyone doing so (Accio, voice box!) just to keep it from being ruined. Now you’re warned. So now I’m going to try to talk about books that don’t have wizards in them.
I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle- Before this came out, I read a couple of articles that mentioned how it had been pitched as a YA novel but wound up being published into adult, which made me want to read it to see what the distinction was. (Similar to the Prep situation where all the characters are in high school but the book is for adults). I couldn’t tell you why I agree that Beth Cooper is an adult book–I think it’s kind of similar to how the core audience for Freaks & Geeks was in their 30s even though it was about teenagers– at points it reminded me a lot of King Dork, which I think is very much YA, and great YA at that, so, in conclusion, this is why I’m in sales and not editorial. Anyway. This book is amazing. It follows a high school senior on the night of his graduation, after he confessed his love to a girl he’s never talked to in his valedictorian speech (along with professing his love for Beth Cooper, he also does what Every Single Person Ever wanted to do at the end of high school and calls out, in thinly veiled terms, all of the bastards in his graduating class. “‘Let us,’ Denis chanted, ‘Be unafraid to confess, I am so stuck-up because, deep down, I believe I am worthless.’ There were at least seven people Denis could have been referring to, and another four so low on the social totem that their conceit was meaningless, but the clean consensus was that Denis was talking about Valli Woolly.”). It almost doesn’t really matter was the plot is because his writing is so ridiculously funny and on point and amazing. I loved every page of this, and found myself putting the book down to cover my face with my hands and laugh at points (specifically when he mentions in an aside that Denis’ high school principal is the author of the 12th most popular high school principal blog in the state, The Uncertainty Principal). The thing I was most impressed with was how the author includes details (eg, principal blogs) that don’t add to the action but also don’t just come off as a string of singularly funny anecdotes put together in the hopes of making a unifed hilarious story (a problem I think a lot of people have. Okay, fine, a problem I have). I read this twice in one weekend, and now I think everyone should read it.
Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr- Came out in January to a bajillion starred reviews and I kept meaning to grab it even though the title meant that I would forever have that 9 Stories song from college stuck in my head (“Thisiiiiiiis the story of a girl! Who cried a river and drowned the whole world!” there, now you can have it in your head, too). And, it’s amazing and I can’t wait for her to write more. This reminded me a bit of Good Girls in how it deals with how girls get reputations v. how boys get reputations. I also loved how she dealt with the father’s reaction to catching his daughter in a delicate situation, and how it’s possible to still be attracted to someone that you also kind of hate. There’s a ton of great stuff going on here.
Harry Potter in 13 hours. I must go prepare myself.
3 Responses to “Reading is Sexy: I heart first novels”
July 20th, 2007 at 11:04 am
My brain as well is consumed with Potter, and also with a song from Guys & Dolls that I really love. (Yeah, I don’t know.) So I’ll try to be organized. It’s kind of difficult, nay, impossible, for me to concentrate on learning about Medicare Part D so I can do my job.
1. My dad is a high school principal and I kind of wish he had a blog. It would be deeply hilarious and filled with sports metaphors and Jesus and thinly veiled jabs at my youngest brother to do his geosystems homework and the older two brothers to move out of his house.
2. When I was lurking in the YA room at the Jefferson Market Library on Monday, flitting between Robert Cormier and Lois Lowry, I noticed that they shelved Prep in YA. If I had read the end of that book as a teenager (you know, in a time machine) I would never, ever, ever have taken off my clothes in front of a boy. Ever.
3. I almost put that Nine Days song on my mix. And now I have it stuck in my head. Thanks. Also, I want to read the book. Is it Random House? And next Friday can we also talk about Rebel Angels because HOLY SHIT, MAN?!
July 20th, 2007 at 11:09 am
I’m completely with you on “I Love You, Beth Cooper” – my roommate bought it just because Larry Doyle was apparently a writer on The Simpsons (although that’s pretty much reason enough to buy anything, no?). He was kind enough to share, and yeah – it’s a great read. The kind where you have to stop for a second and take a breath because you’re so mortified for the character.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:22 pm
couple of things.
1. reading the beth cooper book now (thanks for the loan) am in love so far. will try to read quickly so you can loan out to others.
2. “this is the story of a girl..” that girl was my homeroom teacher in high school. her and the singer dude are married and have twins.