Poshdeluxe

ghosthustler: busy busy busy 

i’m back from NYC pants!

first of all, a big round of internet applause for matt, my gracious blog sub. i never thought i’d see tupac appear on my v. own blog, but matt made the impossible possible. i don’t know how he does it, but most magics are best left unexplained. also, matt, you have my full support for whatever rap/music/street fighting/death metal goals you choose to set.

anyway!

i got back late last night, after two of the Worst Flights I Have Ever Endured. during the first flight, from nyc to houston, a little boy directly behind me:

1) screamed the entire time

2) kicked my seat

3) vomited repeatedly

oooh, how i wish i were kidding.

from houston to austin, the plane flew through so much turbulence (there was a huge thunderstorm! yay!) that they didn’t even give us drinks. i felt like i was on the texas cyclone back at astroworld, a ride so rickety that it would even give bobbleheads whiplash. ouch.

but! that’s all pocket change, cos the trip itself was FANTASTICO! i can’t wait to post my pants off about it, but i have to upload my pictures tonight. sorry for the delay, i appreciate yr patience, etc. etc.

today i’m writing another little book review!

the poshdeluxe reading rainbow report

the astonishing adventures of fanboy and goth girl by barry lyga

this book lived on my amazon wishlist until gilbert bought me a signed (!!) copy at bookpeople during my birthday “you’ve got mail” extravaganza.

and yes, it’s YA. but again, it’s also a fantastic little piece of literature. the narrator, a sophomore geek known as “fanboy” (his real name is never revealed in the text, as far as i can tell), is a self-confessed nerd and aspiring comic book artist. he also fantasizes about terrorists taking over the school and shooing all of the people who make his life hell on a daily basis.

yeah, this book doesn’t pussyfoot around. and that’s why i loved it.

male narrators aren’t v. common in contemporary YA, so i get really excited when i read a book from a guy’s perspective that actually seems real and compelling (the best recent example of this, in my opinion, is frank portman’s king dork). fanboy’s combination of smarts, self-deprecation and hormones make him a likeable and yet real high school kid. for example:

* * *

in english, though, i get my semi-regular Glimpse of the Panties. mrs. hanscome has our desks arranged in a U formation “so as to foster dialogue between students and discourage the class from becoming a simple lecture.” lisa carter sits across the U from me, and on days when she wears a skirt she either a) forgets or b) doesn’t care. she is no dina jurgens, no Senior Goddess, but she has nice legs and it’s easy for me to look while pretending to be looking at my notes.  to amuse myself, i keep track of the style and color of her panties, jotting down notes in a shorthand code i invented for the purpose. i might just try to work out some sort of database that tracks and predicts her underwear choices. i doubt there’s an algorithm for this sort of thing, but it might be interesting to try it.

* * *

not only do i adore fanboy’s nerdiness, but i totally GEEKED OUT at all of the comic references throughout the book. if you’re not into comics, you’ll still enjoy this book (really), but if you’ve ever actually wanted to, say, attend comic-con, then you will experience a thrill every time lyga throws in a reference to tomine, gaiman or moore.

I KNOW! IT’S SO DORKALICIOUS!

i LOVE the way the comics color fanboy’s context and range of emotions. for example, i snickered quite geekily when i read this:

* * *

oh, god. this is hell. it’s like my own personal rogues gallery. it’s like batman going into arkham asylum alone, unarmed, and needing to pee really bad.

* * *

dude, fanboy. i know the feeling.

but this book is about a lot more than comics. it’s also about depression and loneliness and how unbelievably FRUSTRATING it is to try to deal, not only with the opposite sex, but also with yr own confusing, retarded self in high school. near the beginning of the story, fanboy meets kyra, known as “goth girl” due to her, well, gothy appearance and angsty demeanor. kyra empowers fanboy with her own spiky brand of rage and bitterness, but she’s also crippled by depression and family problems. the book explores their evolving friendship in the most unhallmark way possible, and i was definitely impressed by the lack of any sort of label or structure for their relationship.

high school, for most people, is all about boxes and how you actually don’t fit in them, even if you try.  without getting preachy or sentimental, lyga creates a believable narrator that pulls you into his world of awkwardness, embarrassment and confusion. even when you’re not sure how you’ll navigate it together, even when you put the book down and shriek, “I CANNOT BELIEVE HE DID THAT!” you get the feeling that fanboy, like any superhero in a crisis, will pull through.

LINKS

apparently, that genie in a bottle WAS real, and my first wish has just been granted: the world of harry potter will be an actual real live place, where i can go and drink butterbeer and ride brooms.  now, for my second wish: please make oliver wood a TAD bit older and in total love with me.

this is the best gift idea i have ever seen. for me, for yr friends, for me. finally, something i can get past the bouncers at stubb’s! and feel holy in the process!

i didn’t watch the mtv movie awards, but WOW. thank you, sarah silverman. i laughed, then felt bad, then smacked myself. how is it still POSSIBLE to feel bad for paris hilton?

for all of you facebook kids out there, and for any of you john travolta/nicholas cage fans… ok, uh, so, for you facebook kids out there, watch this faux trailer and laugh. then feel like a total nerd for getting all of the references.