52 Books 52 Weeks

Oh my it's been awhile.

11. Real Man Adventures by T Cooper (finished March 19th)

Safe to say that before I read this book, my experiences with literature by trans authors was minimal to most likely none. This pseudo-memoir by T Cooper recounts what it's like to transform from a female to male, through interviews, anecdotes, lists, poems, and other various formats. While no one wants to be known solely for their "Otherness," a trans author still probably sticks out more than a female, minority, or even gay author. But hey, it's 2013, and as Next Magazine points out, more trans-authors are getting into the novel and fiction game. For now, T Cooper offers a wonderful insight into the hopes, dreams, and fears of a transgendered person, happily married with two kids.

(click here for my full, original review on Frontier Psychiatrist)




11a. Piano Rats by Franki Elliot (finished March 22nd)

It's a bit unfair of me to not include this as a part of my 52 books. Yes, it is a short collection of poetry that I read on a couple train rides to and from work, but why should brevity deprive from merit? I'm mostly not including this since I've flipped through it a few times last year, but finally read the collection in full. Dark tales of love, broken-hearts, unsent letters, insanity, hook-ups, "melancholy is just beauty of a different flavor," Pilsen, a seven hour kiss, mermaids, y mas. Looking forward to her next book out later this year, "Kiss As Many Women As You Can."








12. Spilt Milk by Chico Buarque (finished March 25th)

In preparation for my trip to Brazil, I felt to at least introduce myself to Brazilian literature. Naturally, time got away from me, but I was at least able to finish this on the plane to New York. From the perspective of a crumbling patriarch restricted to a nursing home bed, he recounts his of married life, his machismo father, to the dissolution of his wealth and changing culture in 20th century Brazil. The unreliable narrator is in full effect, as he repeats himself over and over again, but that's what we all do even with a conscious mind isn't it? "If I don't remind myself about this, how do I know it happened?" I only hope my delirious rants are as interesting when I reach that age.







13. Drown by Junot Diaz (finished April 9th)

With 11 hours to kill on the plane between Buenos Aires and New York, I managed to knock out the entire collection of Diaz's debut collection of short stories. I've read his two other books, both of which not without their own colorful language (doesn't it sound racist to describe a Domincan author as colorful?), but this early collection certainly has a rawness that not even his later stories have shown. Mostly, I'm guessing due in part to being from the perspective of a child. Overall, I think this is probably the best introduction to Diaz's work, primarily for its rawness; an unfiltered, sultry, "fuck"-filled collection of stories from the island.









14. Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (finished April 17th)

My second trip into the bizarre and absurd world of Murakami. With alternating tales from (presumably) present day Tokyo and what comes across as a medieval, walled-in community, with little-to-no culture and unicorns. Our main character is unwittingly cast up a path to discover what exactly is at the depths of the mind, the duality of its limits and limitlessness. While the book certainly kept me rapidly flipping pages, I didn't find it nearly as masterful as The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. And there is either a simplicity in dialogue I don't remember from that book, or the translation leaves something to be desired, or he just writes dialogue that...placidly. That said, Murakami's books exist in quite the unique universe, and he is an author I certainly need to spend more time with.