I’ve had a mad crush on Louis ever since seeing him on Michael Moore’s “TV Nation” and his own “Weird Weekends.” So gangly, funny, sweet and in the middle of improbable situations, like auditioning to be a pro wrestler or meeting scary racist seperatists. Sadly, Louis’ charm is as an onscreen presenter and surrogate for the audience, not as a narrator/writer. Even when I was reading his account of Nevada brothels and it passed through towns that surround me, I was not really engaged at all. Really disappointing, but at least it’s something to own that’s related to “Weird Weekends,” as there seems to be no interest in releasing it on DVD here in the US.

Easterly’s tone can be snide at times, but he pretty confirms everything I’ve ever suspected about the development business from my time in the Peace Corps. While well-intentioned, it’s self perpetuating and a succesor to colonialism (hence using Kipling’s poem for the title). Also good discussion about the need for community based solutions and most important, business models that stress accountability and sustainability.

Gonna have to wait for it on DVD – damn living in a town with crappy movie theaters.

The brief book report for King Dork is that while it was cute, I really kept wishing that Milo Aukerman had written it instead. Maybe I’m just a little annoyed at how the narrator (granted, a 14 year old boy) gets head from not one, but two hot chicks and it never occurs to him to reciprocate. Or that the totally cool, smart, funny girl in his French class is actually much sexier than the two babes he’s lusting after.

Yay Robbie! I finally got to see him play in person and then actually got to meet him because a friend sort of knows him. Amazing musician and just a hilarious guy to watch on stage.

I was obsessed with reading this book, especially after seeing the article in the Willamette Weekly and missing his reading because I had to drive up to Seattle. None of the bookstores in my town carried it, so I had to order it from Powell’s and then spent 3 days constantly checking the UPS tracking number because I couldn’t wait to read it. In the hands of another writer/illustrator (like the incredibly awful, Alex Robinson), the storytelling and art would’ve come off as being trite and emo. In Thompson’s hands, it almost moved me (and other people I know who’ve read it), to the point of tears.

When it finally arrived, I managed to read through the whole novel in one setting. I pretty much avoid the entire topic of Christianity because it just mostly brings up unpleasant feelings around my own disenchantment with organized religion. But Thompson handles it really well in talking about coming to terms with his own spirituality and how it diverges with the religion and ethics he was brought up in, especially faced when his first real romantic/sexual relationship.

Overall a lovely book, both in terms of storytelling and visual (you can tell that Marc Chagall is a big influence on Thompson’s artwork

I discovered this book by lucky chance, browsing the shelves of the well-known Amate bookstore in Oaxaca, Mexico. While Dale’s writing style is sometimes a little too forced in the wacky department (she’s a big fan of Douglas Adams), overall I was both entertained and inspired by her stories of breaking out of the 9 to 5 rut and insights into love (and prison) in Latin America.

The best book that I’ve read so far this year is Thomas MacFadden’s Marching Powder, an account of how his former career as a drug traffiker ended up putting him into Bolivia’s San Pedro Prison, which is run as a micro-economy. In order to survive its pay-to-play system (prisoners pay for everything, even their cells), he ends up supporting himself by giving tours to backpackers and evetually becomes a celebrity on the Lonely Planet circuit. MacFadden draws you in with his natural voice because he’s so obviously smart, witty, and entrepreneurial. In fact you realize early on that the qualities that make him a natural writer/storyteller (and tour guide) are also the same qualities that got him into prison. His smarts and charisma have made it easy for him to ditch the 9 to 5 existence that most of us have to tolerate. These qualities likely also made him more suspectable to trafficking because for a lot of people, it isn’t the money or the drugs that they enjoy. Rather it’s the game of trying to outwit the authorities and play the system – the same type of thrill that people get from gambling. Those insights, how MacFadden ultimately recognized them and made the decision to go straight (without falling into mawkish cliches about redemption) made it a fascinating (and fast!) read. It’s also a fascinating insight into capitalism, as he discusses the whole “parallel economy” that exists inside of this prison.

My one complaint about the book? Unfortunately, there’s not much written about his post prison life other than his release in 2000 and returning to England to lead a life not funded by crime. I’ve heard there’s plans to film an adaptation of it (though Don Cheadle is about 10 years too old to play MacFadden), so hopefully there’ll be an update or perhaps another memoir.

I can’t believe that Publisher’s Weekly seriously meant to laud this book as one of the best graphic novels of the year. What is the source over buzz Robinson’s books?? I requested this title and “Box Office Poison” after hearing so much praise for them, was surprised at how somebody who’s both a mediocre writer and a mediocre artist could get so much praise. Is it because nothing else significant really came out that year? Because I couldn’t even make it half-way through either of his titles before giving up out of boredom.

My major complaints? First of all, maybe I’m just tired of the whole semi-autobiographical trend in graphic novels, especially if it’s about angsty middle class urban 20somethings. Maybe there are just better writers for that social class, like Adrian Tomine or Richard Linklaker, but you won’t find true to life representations of this experience in Robinson’s writings. In fact, most of his female characters are pretty much flat, two dimension types, like the chubby girl with the heart of gold who deserves love or the enigmatic, beauty whose lovel redeems the burned out rock and roll star (another cliche posing as a character).

After hearing Greg Mortenson interviewed on PRI’s “The World” and NPR, I was really looking forward to reading his autobiography about how a failed attempt to scale Everest turned into a one man mission to build schools in rural Pakistan. Unfortunately, I was utterly and completely bored out of my mind and didn’t even make it half way through the title. While Mortenson himself is a unique personality with a fascinating life experience, this book was mostly ghost written by a staff writer for Parade Magazine. Maybe this was intentional because it’s not really like Mortenson needs to get people like me to realize that not all Muslims are terrorists and that the best way to combat extremism and terrorism is through education. However after 100 or so pages of cliches (“His mind raced wildly about like a small hysterical animal”) and references to Mortenson in the third person (when he’s supposed to be the main author and person telling the story), I gave up. There probably could be a fascinating and compelling book written about his life and work with the Central Asia Institute, but this book unfortunately is not it. But if it opens up the minds of a few Parade readers, that’s probably more important in the greater scheme of things.