Earlier today I had a thought. I know right, such a rare occurrence! The thought was about something I should mention tonight that would transition so nicely with the graphic novel I just finished reading. Since I had this thought at work I was going to send myself an email reminder. Do you ever do that? Send yourself emails or texts to remind you to do stuff? But I got busy at the circulation desk and the email to myself never got sent.
Now I’ve been trying to remember for the last hour what it was I wanted to write and I can only remember that I wanted to remember something. It’s like when you tie a string around your finger and then forget why you did it. Oh well.
The Pulitzers were announced today though. I am so out of it I didn’t even know it was that time of year. Anthony Doerr won for All the Light We Cannot See. Gregory Pardlo won for poetry. I have never heard his name before. Someone “new” to investigate sometime.
The Pulitzers do not make a nice transition to the graphic novel, Sex Criminals Volume One: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky. It is told from Suzie’s point of view and in a way is a kind of coming-of-age story. When Suzie is a teen and pleasures herself for the first time she learns that when she orgasms time stops. Eventually it wears off and time starts moving again. At first she thinks this is something that happens to everyone but no one is willing to talk to her about it and none of the books at the library mention it. When she is a few years older and has sex for the first time she learns what she was beginning to suspect, it is just her.
Until she meets Jon. Suzie is a librarian and her library is going to be foreclosed on by the bank. She is throwing a fundraising party to try to save the library and Jon shows up at the party, saves her from a loser dude trying to pick up on her, and then makes her fall in love with him by quoting extensively from Lolita, Suzie’s favorite book.
Well, it turns out when Jon has an orgasm he can stop time too. Then we get some flashbacks of Jon’s story. Meanwhile, since the beginning of the book, we’ve been getting flashforwards of Suzie and Jon robbing a bank and the whole thing not going well. Eventually all the timelines catch up and the whole sex criminals title makes sense.
I know it sounds kind of weird. Okay, so it is weird. But it’s good too. The art is great and the story is definitely different. And it is not a raunchy sex book. But it’s definitely adult content, not something you want to give your thirteen-year-old niece or nephew for a birthday present. And probably not something you want to give grandma for Christmas unless you have a really cool grandma. It’s fun and silly. There is one panel when Suzie and Jon are laying in bed together saying “Sylvia Poggioli” over and over very slowly. And then Jon comments that Susan Stamberg has a sexier voice. Now if you live in the US and listen to National Public Radio this is one fantastic joke. I am never going to be able to hear either of them on radio again without giggling. And did I mention Suzie is a librarian? Not one of those sexy, shirt unbuttoned down to here and skirt cut up to there librarians, but a normal human being kind of librarian.
I put myself in line at the library for volume two, which was just published this year. I’m something like number 44 in line. Volume One ends with a sort of cliffhanger so I hope I don’t have to wait so very long for my turn to come round.
I am giggling so much remembering different parts of this book. Insane props to Matt Fraction for managing to make such a weird-premised book so relatable and charming and funny. The scene in the first issue where she’s trying to get more information about her orgasm trick from the other girls at school — gold.
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Jenny, it was a charming book, you’re right! Oh, yes, trying to get information from the girls at school. That was hilarious! And the one who took her into the bathroom and was drawing all kinds of pictures for her. Priceless.
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I email reminders to myself several times a week and I find that it works pretty well for someone like me who cannot bear to let a received email remain unopened for more than four or five hours. I’ve kinda gotten used to using all the little memory aides I can think of…the same things I would have never considered using just five years ago.
BTW, I’m really disappointed in Anthony Doer’s win of the Pulitzer prize. I was absolutely, almost stunningly, bored by that novel. Oh, well…wait ’till next year.
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Sam, glad to hear I’m not the only one who sends reminder reminder emails. It works pretty well I think as long as I remember to send the email! Yeah, I was a bit disappointed about Doerr too. I haven’t read the book but I know it has been really popular and he has been writing a long time so I’m not terribly upset.
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Okay, so maybe that graphic novel does sound a little different–but sometimes you have to read the story to really appreciate it–describing it will just never do it justice and I suspect that is exactly the sort of story this is. I always forget how much I love graphic novels and need to pick up more of them! And yes, I send myself emails with links and lists all the time from work. I often will be multi-tasking–working on something where my attention can wander and I think—must write this down when I get back to my desk and then when I get back to my desk think what was it that was such a great idea. I hate it that my mind seems to fill up these days and I am ‘losing things’ mentally! 🙂
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Danielle, the list of graphic novels I want to read at the moment is quite long. There are so many good ones available now it’s kind of exciting. And to think when they first began gaining popularity I used to think they were “only” comics. Even actual comics are doing really interesting things these days too. This is definitely one of those have to read to truly appreciate stories. It sounds too weird otherwise. And another person who emails herself! Such a useful reminder tool. I wonder what I did before email? Forgot a lot of stuff probably. 🙂
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I totally send myself emails as reminders of things. All the time.
I have been wanting to read this for a while, seems that all the internet that I follow enjoyed it. My library doesn’t have it though, boooo.
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This sounds like the sort of thing that perhaps could only work in the graphic novel genre. Watchmen, V For Vendetta and so many others seem to have more imaginative space than a lot of text based fiction.
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Ian, heh, yeah I don’t it would work all that well as regular text-only fiction. I like your description, “more imaginative space.” Yes, more but different too because stories told with text and art work differently than text-only stories do. And that’s a good thing. So much wonderful variety these days. We really are lucky readers. 🙂
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Nikki, yay for email reminders! What a shame your library doesn’t have the book. It’s a fun one. Maybe you could ask them to purchase it? Many times libraries will take patron recommendations. Couldn’t hurt to ask.
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I send myself email reminders all the time! So many of my thoughts would be gone forever without a quick email to myself.
Sex Criminals sounds weird but very interesting – I’m going to put a reserve on it from my library!
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chowmeow, I am so glad there seems to be so many people who send themselves email reminders! Sex Criminals is definitely a different kind of story but in a good way! I hope you like it when your turn for it at the library comes round 🙂
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Hey Stephanie, Here’s a posting from a book blog I subscribe to. She’s a librarian and reads all kinds of stuff – so don’t interpret from the title of this one that her blog is raunchy. The book she talks about sounds rather funny – and given some of the conversations we’ve had – I thought you’d get a kick out of it. Hope it makes you laugh.
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Hi Kathleen! Your link didn’t post with your comment, could you paste it in again or email me directly? You have me totally curious about what book you are referring to!
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I have been known to email reminders to myself … Though with my iPad I usually try to use its in built reminder system instead now.
Love the fact that this book is about an ordinary librarian!
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