Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." Thus starts "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," a ridiculously delicious reworking of Jane Austin's classic (and often derided) masterwork by Seth Grahame-Smith. A zombie plague has struck pastoral England and heroine Elizabeth Bennet must pursue her romantic entanglements with Mr. Darcy while slashing and stabbing the undead at Netherfield, Longbourn and Gretna Green. This is the perfect read for Austinophiles, as it offers hilarious new perspective on the beloved classic. It's also the perfect read for Austinophobes, who find the tome on Victorian courtship boring and lackin...Read more
Nabokov was born again. And then died.
Most everyone worth their weight in words has read Vladimir Nabakov's 'Lolita.' Some are titillated by the first section of the book, when Humbert Humbert reveals his past, discovers Lolita and "pursues" a love affair with her. Some are bored by the second section, the long and dull road trip, images blurring together with no apparent character or story development. And some are shocked by the final part of the book, the bizarre noir shoot-out between two old men, surreal in its awkwardness. Probably most readers appreciate Nabakov's complex multi-lingual double entendres and invented vocabulary, to the extent that we're aware of them. And a few rea...Read more
The Vampire PI is Back!
In the last issue of illiterate I interviewed Denver author Mario Acevedo about his series, which features Chicano vampire detective Felix Gomez fighting aliens, nyphomaniacs, evil vampires, vampire killers, and porn kingpins. Now he's moved on to Zombies, apparently, (it only seems logical) and will be signing his new book, Jailbait Zombie, at Tattered Cover tonight at 7:30 at the Colfax location. I haven't read it yet, but I'l really psyched to do so because well, he made an animated Lego trailer, and um, I find animated Lego trailers impossible to resist. You should seriously click on that link. I'm also excited to read Jailbait Zombie because Mr. Acevedo is a killer wri...Read more
Wolf Totem
Glancing back over my blog posts in recent weeks, I realize I may sound like an idiot- all the books I've recommended are fluff in one form or another. Good sometimes, but the intellect also needs a book to sink its teeth into (yes, some minds have teeth, sharp ones). So I've got something out there for the eggheads among us: Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong, winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2007, awarded to books by Asian authors not yet translated into English. This book about a young Chinese intellectual being sent to Outer Mongolia for "reeducation" during China's Cultural Revolution is as much about environmentalism and spirituality as it is a...Read more
Dewey Decimal System of Love
For those of you curmudgeons who don't know what the Dewey Decimal System is, it's how you find books at any library. The little numbers on the spine of a non-fiction book correspond to subjects, and they're the same in every library in America. For those of you bibliophiles who know and love the Dewey Decimal System, please read The Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephnie Carr . Imagine a virginal librarian (tortoise shell rims included) who at the ripe age of 40 discovers the sensual world. Each chapter starts with a Dewey number, e.g., "For Questions about Sexual Dysfunction go to 613.90" and details the main character's embarrassing, hilarious, literar...Read more
Twilight
Normally, when a hit series comes out, I make my scorn widely known. Harry Potter, for instance, which I believe are probably great books but everyone and their mother and grandmother have read them. Someone asks me if I'm a fan and I sniff loudly and say I'm saving that series for retirement. I thought Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series would be the same. Massive hoopla surrounds this teen love story of a mortal/vampire love affair staged in the hallways of a rural highschool, and by November when the movie came out, I had already put on my smug face, ready to claim it didn't interest me, too mainstream you know. Then I read Manohla ...Read more
The Monsters of Templeton is a hoax!
I have undertaken to judge books only by their covers. In the hyper-marketed hyper-branded age we currently reside in, the design of everything is specifically calibrated to appeal to a target demographic. Or at least, should be. So I went to my local library and browsed the fiction section. I wanted to find a book based solely on my aesthetic reaction to its packaging. No reading the back cover, no asking the librarian for suggestions, no authors that I had read before. The first to catch my eye was The Monsters of Templeton, a hardback by Lauren Groff. The cover is black white and red and features an intricate tree wi...Read more
Wetlands my Ass!
Wetlands is the tale of an 18 year old girl who detests personal hygiene and is obsessed with the circum-crotchal area. Totally Obsessed. That’s right, the big V and the big A, a whole book dedicated to their secretions, fluctuations, elasticity, scent, display, care and usage. Part pornography and part sixth grade sex ed video (where they show pics of ghonnorea blown up to the size of your teachers head, and that’s just one pustule), you’ll find yourself being turned on and nauseated at the same time...definitely an interesting sensation. Roche has created a 100% real girl who is your average sex object. She reveals what it’s like ...Read more
Intro to the Prose Blog
My name is Simone, and I was named after Simone de Beauvoir. I have a bookshelf tatooed on my upper arm. I own well over 2000 books. I've worked in bookstores or libraries for the last eleven years; I'm 25. I read at least a book a week, as well as a plethora of print and online magazines. I use words like "plethora". I read and speak in English German and Spanish. My Dad read the History of Class Consciousness to me in its entirety the week I was born (septmeber 20, 1983, which makes me a Virgo in the Zodiac and a Pig in Chinese Astrology). I'm the fiction editor, among many other things here at illiterate. Suffice to say that Reading is What I Do. ...Read more
