SisterBean's Cuppa

I have a viceral dislike of hardback books, so this is a difficult question for me to answer. While I personally read quite a few amazing books in 2006, not that many were actually published in 2006. I will just cheat and list two. One was published in 2006, one was released into paperback in 2006 (I know, because I stalked it at the bookstore,) and the other is just too important for me to worry about the rules.

1.) Confession: I work weekends in a comic book store and I love graphic novels as a medium, which I read as if they were screenplays. That said, I think Fun Home is the best thing I have ever read this year in graphic novel form and if it has never occurred to you to read a graphic novel, might I suggest you begin here, with Fun Home? This is the autobiography of a woman who learns a secret about her father which takes her on a journey of reconstructuralizing her entire childhood and thus her own identity as a woman who loves words, a daughter, and a lesbian. The story and the art are deeply layered, the tragedy is handled softly and lovingly. The pain seeps through, even as a situation is making you laugh. It is a gentle and profound read that I want to share with everyone.


2.) Gilead. I don't even know where to begin. In a world of orcs, and literary pyrotechnics, and hip, disaffected dialogue, Gilead is like a sneak attack on the senses. A quiet force with which to be reckoned. This novel feels like it was written and born in a different, less densely-populated century. It is a novel that is actually being written to a son by a man who knows he is going to die too soon. He is telling his son everything that he knows about his imperfections, his love, and his life story. It is a story about the love of fathers, of God for man and of one man for his own son. Utterly beautiful, the words flow organically, as if there is only the lightest of authorly touch.

3.) Yeah, so if wasn't published in 2006, but ramifications of the subject matter are current daily news stories as recently as last week, when one of the featured "characters" was sentenced to 15 years for his role in the genocide. If you haven't read We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families, perhaps you ought to wait until *after* the holidays are over, and then read it. Make it your New Year's Resolution. And then contact me and help me figure out what to do next. This book is a call to action and I am still trying to find my footing and take part in whatever that action needs to be. But the first step is reading this book.

Here is a teeny tiny ittle movie for Tammy. It's hard work being a weaner. That sand won't flip itself!