2010 Notes
The Time Machine Did It
Notes:
This weird and funny noir was written by the legendary John Swartzwelder, a writer for some of the best episodes of the Simpsons. It took me a little while, but I REALLY liked it. When I first started, I thought it was just kind of weird, and not particularly funny. What tipped the scales for me was reading it out loud. You realize that this is a writer who is used to constructing dialog, even in his prose descriptions. Once I did that, I couldn’t stop laughing.
The book is essentially a detective noir with some science fiction thrown in. If you like the Simpsons, definitely read it, and if you like humorous novels, and can read someplace where you can talk out loud, don’t miss it.
The Monster at our door
Notes:
A clear, concise, and absolutely horrifying look at the possibilities of a near-term avian flu pandemic. Mike Davis writes, in simple language, about the relationship between economic globalization, neoliberal governance, and the concurrent rise of practically unstoppable strains of Influenza A. His basic argument is that, while Influenza A strains (of which H5N1 is one) have existed for a long time, the rise of 3rd world urbanization, industrialized agricultural practices, and the defunding of public health infrastructures around the world have created a perfect storm for a pandemic that could kill as many as one billion people. Yeah, billion.
It’s also an interesting look at how disease research is undertaken in the modern world–a hodgepodge of private hospital researchers, publicly funded programs, and academic concerns. A fascinating and terrifying book.
##The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror vol 1
Notes:
Yet another example of great art hiding in the mundanity of pop culture. Shock suspenstories was one of E.C.’s later titles, and an amalgam of different genres, but they also took lots of risks, dealing with racism, sexism, mob violence, and more. It’s a treat to read these stories by artists and writers who were, at the time, perhaps the greatest comic creators in the business. It’s also a treat to read the original letters pages, and see the range of people who appreciated E.C.–not just kids, but adults including teachers, military men, and other people not usually prone to reading comics.
