Every Day

I wake up. 

Immediately I have to figure out who I am. It's not just the body--opening my eyes and discovering whether the skin on my arm is light or dark, whether my hair is long or short, whether I'm fat or thin, boy or girl, scarred or smooth. The body is the easiest thing to adjust to, if you're used to waking up in a new one each morning. It's the life, the context of the body, that can be hard to grasp. 

Every day I am someone else. I am myself--I know I am myself--but I am also someone else. 

It has always been like this. 

This week I took a break from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay to begin David Levithan's new novel Every Day. I learned about this book from Entertainment Weekly; intrigued by its original concept, something rare these days, I knew I wanted to give it a try. I really enjoyed one of Levithan's other novels, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which he co-authored with John Green, the author of my absolute favorite book Looking for Alaska. I also saw the movie based on Levithan's book Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. So, I trust Levithan as an author.

I was not disappointed.

The book centers around A, who wakes up in a new body every day. This shift is routine for A, who is easily able to access the memories of his host. He has mastered the charade, with most of the host's friends and family never noticing the difference. A is fine with his/her life, until he/she meets Rhiannon. Suddenly A wishes to have his own body, so that he could be with Rhiannon, with whom he feels he is in love. Each chapter begins with A gathering his/her bearings, figuring out who he/she is, and how far away he/she is from Rhiannon. A is willing to break all of his/her rules to be closer to her.

This quick read is impossible to put down. It may not be high literature, but I highly recommend it for the sheer power of the story.

 

 

 

i have all the souls i need - by maggie harry

i have all the souls i need

sunrise places its hand over night’s mouth, softly but firmly, saying hush now, it’s time to end—the mother telling the son that maybe he should take a deep breath.

flowers can speak, but they won’t. they’re far, far too bashful. at the dinner party, all flowers do is whisper to one another: you sure do look beautiful today, my love. i smile because if i listen closely enough, i can hear them. ... 

grass is a fighter. he is yanked on and pulled apart, but just keeps coming back stronger. he is there for me when i am nervous on my first date, in the park, where he selflessly allows me to peel him away to occupy my shaking hands.

a tree is a writer at heart. the tree gives me shade and a piece of fruit and a pencil for me to dream up stories with and paper to be marked upon. the way a tree will always know what i need and the way a tree will always give it to me.

dirt waits and sees if i liked the movie first, before telling me if she did. i am raining, dirt will turn to mud for me.

i curse snow, but he stands his ground. i respect that. snow may be difficult, but he’s the one who gives me the nod of approval when i step onto him in my far too large galoshes instead of uggs like all the other girls.

as hard as she tries, rain will never be able to smile. the best i can do for her is dance with her and yell out to her “you are loved!”

i have all the souls i need and i couldn’t ask for them if i tried, because even the wildest imaginations cannot dream up the wonders souls like those possess. —Maggie Harry

On the Shelf: Week 5

READING:
I'm still reading Kavalier and Clay. I really enjoy the book, but it's slow going. I'm considering taking a break and coming back to it. So in this week's section, Samuel Klayman-- Sammy Clay-- is having some pretty serious daddy issues. His father, the one who mercilessly abandoned Sammy and his mother, has reappeared with his dreams of vaudeville dashed. The so-called "Mighty Molecule" quickly longs to be back on the circuit performances instead of at home with his stereotypical-nagging wife and child. In a strangely confusing and sweaty scene located in a sauna, Sammy begs the Mighty Molecule to take him with when he leaves. So of course, his father leaves without a word, abandoning Sammy once again. The concept of leaving and returning seems to be a running (no pun intended) theme throughout the beginning of the book. 

WATCHING:
I recently began watching The New Normal, a comedy about a gay couple trying to have a baby via the help of a blonde, peppy surrogate from the makers of Glee, American Horror Story, and Nip/Tuck. I'm liking the show so far, with its "everybody love everybody" message and bubble-gum sweetness; however, I'm concerned for the longevity of the storyline. True, there's no shortage of shows about parents with kids and I've no doubt it will continue to be comical, yet sometimes the show borders on being preachy. I think it's safe to say everyone watching this show supports marriage equality and LGBTQ rights. We don't need the afterschool special each week. 

On the Shelf: Week 4

I'm still reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and likely will be for awhile considering the novel's length. The chapter I'm currently reading details the two main characters, Joe and Sam, as they attempt to create a superhero character for their first comic book. They run through a list of ideas and struggle to find anything original. 

They began to go through the rolls of the animal kingdom, concentrating naturally on the predators: Catman, Wolfman, the Owl, the Panther, the Black Bear. They considered the primates: the Monkey, Gorillaman, the Gibbon, the Ape, the Mandrill with his multicolored wonder ass that he used to bedazzle opponents.

 "Be serious," Joe chided again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Look, forget animals. Everybody's going to be thinking of animals. In two months, I'm telling you, by the time our guy hits the stands, there's going to be guys running around dressed like every damn animals in the zoo. Birds. Bugs. Underwater guys. And I'll bet you anything there's going to be five guys who are really strong, and invulnerable, and can fly." 

To be honest, I have very little knowledge of the workings of the comic book world. The only comic book/graphic novel I've ever read is Watchmen. The only super hero movies I've seen are Watchmen (that was an awkward one to explain to my parents), The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. I liked the Batman movies but evidently not enough to watch the entire trilogy. According to the back of the book, the superhero they eventually come up with is called "The Escapist," which sounds pretty impressive. Guess I'll have to keep reading. 

On the Shelf: Week 3

READING:
This week I finished Superfreakonomics and began the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. This highly-original and fast paced novel chronicles the lives of two Jewish cousins, one American and one Czech, during the times of World War II. I'm not very far into the novel yet, but it's already drastically different from the glut of other Holocaust/WWII book I've read. I'm excited to see what happens next. I've spent most of my time this week reading articles from The New York Times Magazine. I took a nostalgia tour through main package stories of yore and found a fastinating yet harrowing article entitled "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?" This thought-provoking question forces one to ponder whether our justice system is really, in a word, just. Should a grown man still be paying the price for mistakes he made as a teenager? 

MUSIC:
I hate the song "Wonderwall" by Oasis with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. This overplayed tune has somehow become the anthem of teenagers suffering from what one might dub "first world problems." Somehow, "Wonderwall" seems to be the only song people can play on acoustic guitar. If you ask any white guy with a guitar to play a song that he doesn't know, nine times out of ten he'll reply with, "No, but I know how to play 'Wonderwall.'" The songwriters don't even know what a Wonderwall is! This past weekend I was forced to endure two awful, off-tune renditions of that horrid cacophony that has the nerve to call itself music. I should have gotten some sort of medal. 

"Ithaca" by C.P. Cavafy

When you set out for Ithaca
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - do not fear them:
such as these you will never find
as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare
emotion touch your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - you will not meet them
unless you carry them in your soul,
unless your soul raise them up before you.

Ask that your way be long.
At many a Summer dawn to enter
with what gratitude, what joy -
ports seen for the first time;
to stop at Phoenician trading centres,
and to buy good merchandise,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensuous perfumes of every kind,
sensuous perfumes as lavishly as you can;
to visit many Egyptian cities,
to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.

Have Ithaca always in your mind.
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But don’t in the least hurry the journey.
Better it last for years,
so that when you reach the island you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to give you wealth.
Ithaca gave you a splendid journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She hasn’t anything else to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca hasn’t deceived you.
So wise you have become, of such experience,
that already you’ll have understood what these Ithacas mean.