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Star Trek & Me: An Introspective Fandom Reflection

Last month I participated in a Zoom book club with my two friends Michael from My Comic Relief and Jeff from The Imperial Talker to discuss the Star Wars book, The High Republic: Light of the Jedi. We all are fans of Star Wars to differing degrees and have loved the recent series The Acolyte. But our discussion took an interesting turn to discuss why we each had a different number one fandom- Jeff ‘s is Star Wars, Mike’s is Doctor Who, and mine is Star Trek. All are sci-fi classics, dating back decades, but all three have different feels to them. So the question is why do I love Star Trek so much?

I am from Generation X, so I hit that sweet spot where I was aware of The Orginal Series television show that I would occasionally watch on re-runs and watched the movies as a child in the theatre. I was dimly aware of The Animated Series but didn’t watch it until I was an adult during the Covid lockdown. I enjoyed the franchise more than kids my age, but was a bigger fan of the original trilogy of Star Wars at the time. But then, dah-dah-dah…The Next Generation began and I was in love! TNG bridged my high school and college years, but I typically associate it more with my college days because that is when I started to share my love for it with my friends. I have to admit, while I was in high school I was trying too hard to be cool and didn’t want to risk talking about Star Trek and being branded weird, but in college, I came into my own. Despite many being surprised that a sorority girl was a Trekkie, I couldn’t stop talking about it. I’m happy to say my friends (and my awesome husband-to-be!) were very supportive of my nerd tendencies and would even buy me Star Trek books or socks with the logo.

So let me discuss why Star Trek is my favorite! Of the three franchises, Star Wars has always been the cooler and most popular of the three, while Doctor Who has a British humor that I can’t relate to. I think the most obvious reason I like Star Trek so much is for its vision of the future. Many of the world’s current problems have been solved and now humankind can concentrate on discovering space, leading to the famous quote “to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before!” In addition, Star Trek has the most orderly vibe of the three, and because I grew up in a turbulent home, I crave order. While I am far from militaristic, I appreciate a strong hierarchy and chain of command. Han Solo’s rogue escapades or Doctor Who’s whimsical adventures hold no appeal and actually annoy me. I am a very practical woman (despite some quirkiness) so having a strong framework is a plus for me. But it absolutely is the hope, unity and embrace of exploration and peace that makes me love Star Trek so much.

I met William Shatner last year!!!!!

My thoughts on the entire franchise:

The Original Series 1966-1969 + six movies 1979-1991- I have to give TOS props for starting the franchise. The three seasons delved into some deep issues of the 1960s and the movies started out lame but improved with The Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home.

The Animated Series 1973-1974- This series is rather cringe-worthy with horrible animation, but there were actually a few strong episodes. I’m glad that I binge-watched this gem.

The Next Generation 1987-1994 + four movies 1994-2002- This is the series that truly made me a fan! I loved the cast and this era is what saved the franchise and let it live on. I liked the interplay and character development and admired the friendship that developed between Doctor Beverly Crusher and Counselor Deanna Troi. During this run, is when I turned my boyfriend (now husband) into a Trekkie too!

Deep Space Nine 1993-1999- DS9 changed up the setup of a crew traveling on a ship and instead gave them a space station that aliens came to. This series developed some very dark stories and tried arc storylines vs episodic storylines.

Voyager 1995-2001- The 1990s was the best time to be a Trekkie! Star Trek’s first woman captain was the indomitable Kathryn Janeway. Stranded far away, she brought her crew home.

Enterprise 2001-2005- A prequel set in the 2150s, this series proved to be lackluster to me, with no characters that truly stood out, and I gave up early in the third season. I viewed it as my least favorite series until Discovery debuted…

Reboot films (Kelvin timeline)- three movies 2009-2016- Chris Pine as Captain Kirk was divine! I liked how they rebooted the franchise but gave them a different timeline so they didn’t contradict existing canon. I so shipped the romance between Spock and Uhura, although I never would have paired them in TOS. The actor who portrayed Chevok sadly died in real life, and while there has been talk for years of giving these movies a fourth and final outing, I find it unlikely as the cast is aging out of their characters and have acting commitments elsewhere. But it was good while it lasted!

Discovery 2017-2024- After a large gap between television series, I was very excited for Discovery to begin but almost immediately disliked it. And then the dislike grew into hate. Critics blasted it for being too woke and not Trekky enough, and while I don’t want to associate myself with haters, I had to agree. Nevertheless, it’s okay not to love everything about a franchise. There are some Star Wars movies or tv series that fans have not liked, and some of the doctors in Doctor Who are more liked than others.

Short Treks 2018-2020- These were fun short episodes that were only a few minutes long and connected to either Discovery or the new upcoming Picard series. I wish they did more of these.

Picard 2020-2023- The cast from TNG reunites in season three! The first two seasons were rather meh, but S3 was fantastic. I hope it leads to a Legacy series that could incorporate cast from TNG, DS9 and Voyager. Please make it so!

Lower Decks 2020-ongoing- I watched a few episodes of this animated series that concentrates on the low-ranking officers vs the captain and senior officers, but I found one of the main characters annoying and gave up on it. But I heard it has gotten better, so I might give it another try.

Prodigy 2021-2024 (ongoing?)- This series is geared toward a younger generation and is also animated with a young motley crew that is helped by a hologram of Captain Janeway. On the brink of cancellation, it might not get a third season. I’ve only watched one episode that incorporated characters from other series. This is a series that I also might backtrack and watch.

Strange New Worlds 2022-ongoing- I love this new series, as it returns to episodic storytelling like TOS. It is a prequel about Captain Pike, who directly preceded Captain Kirk. The TOS crew is slowly being introduced, we meet a young Spock and Uhura right away and have recently met Scotty and Kirk before he was a captain. They are having fun with the episodes and are trying out lots of different styles of storytelling. Plus Pike is dreamy!

Section 31 Movie 2025- A spin-off from Discovery with the amazing Michelle Yeoh, but I don’t have high hopes for the made-for-TV movie. She will be portraying a secret operative from the shadowy Section 31 that is on the fringes of the Federation.

Starfleet Academy 2025 or 2026- Another spinoff from Discovery that will be set in the far future of the 32nd Century when the Federation is re-establishing itself. It has some intriguing names set to star in it, but I am very leery of the tone of the series since it is spun off from my least favorite series.

58 years strong at this point, Star Trek shows no signs of ending. The showrunners are aware they have an aging fanbase and are trying different types of series and attempting to win over new fans. I admire this dedication, for the franchise needs to continue to grow and evolve, just like the future utopia that creator Gene Roddenberry imagined. That Star Trek has stayed with me through different decades of my life, as I too have grown and changed, is a credit to the excellence of the Star Trek universe. Live Long and Prosper my friends!

Neil Jamieson for Variety

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Light of the Jedi

After loving the Star Wars series The Acolyte, my friends Jeff from The Imperial Talker and Mike from My Comic Relief, and I decided to dive deeper into The High Republic era and read this book together. Normally I am not a fan of novelizations or fan fiction based on popular franchises, but I was willing to give it a try.

Author Charles Soule is known for his novels and graphic novels in the Star Wars universe (I enjoyed his short story in V1 of A Certain Point of View) and was recently made a Creative Consultant for Lucasfilm, thus he really captures the essence of this popular franchise. An added bonus is that because it is a prequel, set approximately 200 years before Annakin’s birth, there is no canon from the original movies that gets in the way. Instead, he builds a framework for the Jedi during their golden era but shows fissures that eventually will lead to the evil Galactic Empire.

The novel begins with a cargo and passenger ship being destroyed, and the debris wreaking havoc in a nearby galaxy. Many Jedi come to the rescue, doing their best to save millions if not billions of lives, but widespread destruction and death still occur (more than I expected). A group of space pirates come into play, and a deep space station called the Starlight Beacon is being built to be a hub for Jedi to unite and protect far-flung planets.

There were many compelling characters, including Jedi Masters and their young Padawans, many of whom I expect will show up in future novels. A romance between two Jedi was hinted at, which was an intriguing development, as they are supposed to remain celibate. I saw some parallels between this story and Star Trek, which is my favorite fandom, so I appreciated it leaning a bit more toward science fiction than space fantasy than usual. While I have to admit I am not planning to read further into this new series (part of it is that I am still salty about the news that The Acolyte is not receiving a second season), I enjoyed meeting over Zoom with Jeff and Mike and our discussions branched off into some other fun directions.

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Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong

How could I resist this title?! Plus, I’m a sucker for big event books that incorporate teams, and this story certainly used all of its Justice League members. As this is a DC and MonsterVerse collaboration, there is a lack of continuity and timelines with other comics- so just sit back and enjoy this mashup of franchises!

Under the guidance of Lex Luthor, the Legion of Doom villains have infiltrated Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and they accidentally get sent to another dimension in which King Kong and Godzilla reside. Toyman swipes the Dreamstone and wishes the two universes together. The emergence of Godzilla interrupts Superman proposing to Lois Lane and the adventure is on!

The Justice League soon discovers these mega creatures aren’t easily defeated, plus additional monsters such as Mechagodzilla, Tiamat, and Scylla have also appeared, throwing off the balance of power. Godzilla not understanding what has happened takes out Superman for awhile, while the heroes regroup and try to divide and conquer. We get some interesting groupings of heroes- the Bat Family (with Tim Drake still as Robin), five members of the Green Lantern Corps, Shazam, Aquaman & Mera (together as they should be) and other minor heroes who show up to help. There is banter galore as the teams work together, with some strong character development despite some heroes just having a few moments on the pages.

A final plan is formulated, and a hero dies but that enables Kong to obtain more powers when he briefly has access to a Green Lantern ring. The explanation of where Toyman and the Dreamstone are is resolved in a surprising moment (really?!) and the titans are sent back to their own universe. Now all is well in the DC universe, and Clark and Lois begin to plan their wedding.

Written by Brian Buccellato, he crafted a strong story of how these two universes collided and gave many of the heroes poignant moments. The art is excellent, with a majority of it done by Christian Duce with additional work by Tom Derenick. The monsters are drawn to perfection, and the fighting scenes are kinetic and composed well. Dan Mora contributed the collected cover art and the back cover gallery included wonderful art by other artists.

This was yet another DC book that I have enjoyed this year, with a top-notch creative team. While I have always considered myself more of a Marvel fan than DC, this year is proving me wrong.

Screenshot from Comicbook.com

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My Favorite Thing is Monsters: Volume Two

The first volume of My Favorite Thing Is Monsters was an extraordinary and ambitious graphic novel. It was equal parts memoir, murder mystery and coming-of-age drama, with a singular art style. This second volume was delayed several times but was finally released this year.

Author Emil Ferris set the story in Chicago in the late 1960s, with the story framed as a graphic diary written in a notebook by Karen Reyes, a preteen girl living with her single mom and older brother. Told in a non-linear fashion, the graphics tell as much of the story as the text does. What sets this story apart is the art and the author’s choice to represent Karen as a werewolf, with the device being that Karen perceives herself as a monster. Ferris’s unique cross-hatching style and impeccable detail to cityscapes and backgrounds will astonish you. She captures the essence of people, although most of them are drawn in an exaggerated caricature manner. Others are drawn with a monster motif, matching how Karen draws herself. Many of the pages are in black and white with no panels, but she selectively uses subdued colors to help with telling the evocative narrative.

The story picks up after Karen’s mother has died of cancer, and her brother Deeze is raising her. The murder of her upstairs neighbor Anka, who is a Holocaust survivor, is solved, but we have an additional family mystery concerning a possible dead brother and her deadbeat father. All of this also braids into Karen’s growing queer identity and her awareness of a real-life monster in her midst. The city of Chicago is practically a character, for Ferris has written a love letter to the city she was raised in, with special attention shown to the paintings in The Art Institute that she and Deeze visit regularly. This love of art and a new friendship buoy Karen during difficult days, but no happy ending is truly in sight for these siblings.

As I said in my review of volume one, this book is not perfect. The length of the book is quite daunting and the narrative is much too much. While I was sucked into the art, I kept on putting the book down because it could get overwhelming at times. The dense characterization and jumbled chronology confused and irked me quite a bit. However, I am glad the author gave Karen a send-off befitting this unique saga, and I expect that I will pick it up again so I can further try to understand all the layers that Ferris created.

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Eight Billion Genies

Once the world hits the eight billion mark in population, all at once from newborns to the elderly, everyone is granted a genie and one wish. In the midst of chaos, eight people who found themselves in a dive bar in Michigan when G-Day hit, cope with a new world.

The bar owner immediately uses his wish to protect those within the bar, wisely saving them from the mayhem outside. Also saved are three bandmates, a father and son duo, and a couple expecting a baby. While the woman bandmate quickly wastes her wish, the others hold off for awhile, and later make informed decisions that will help them in the days to come. Not surprisingly, some wishes of the public outside are frivolous or cruel in nature, changing the world for the worse.

The chapters move forward chronologically- the first eight seconds, eight hours, eight days, eight years then finally eight centuries. A secret is revealed about the bar owner, but the other survivors can’t hole up forever, so they start to venture outside as the population plummets worldwide as many wishes result in mass destruction. We see the best of humanity and the worst, as this “cosmic safety valve” periodically occurs and the genies winnow down people’s dreams to more manageable levels. And finally, it is love that saves the day.

I loved the genies, who were all given a purple and blue cosmic star body, but each had little differentiating details. They all seemed to mean well, it was the humans that made the bad decisions they had to abide by. The opening splash pages for each chapter showed how Earth was faring, with a decrease in the human and genie populations noted. Fun was had in illustrating the various ways the wishes were granted, showcasing the motley group of humans left and often the stupidity of their desires. The variants at the end of the book along with storytelling notes was a treat, and I spent some time looking back at the first chapter for details and Easter eggs I had missed on my first read-through.

I found the premise of the story fascinating and want to give a hand to creators Charles Soule and Ryan Browne. I am glad I purchased it for my library’s collection, as it came suggested to me by the comic gurus at my favorite local comic book store. They never steer me wrong!

Picture from CBR
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The Acolyte

I have been a fan of Star Wars since I was a child, but it has taken me on a wild ride of lows and highs, with more lows as of late. The original movie trilogy with Luke, Leia and Han Solo remains my favorite films and I have watched all the feature films and some of the newer tv series through Disney. While I still like The Mandalorian (I love baby Grogu!), I found The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka (I hate high hopes for this one but it relied too much on Rebels knowledge) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (retconning his relationship with a young Leia) disappointing. While I plan to eventually watch Andor that I’ve heard good things about it, I was on the fence about watching The Acolyte. But my friends Michael (My Comic Relief) and Jeff (The Imperial Talker) convinced me to try the series halfway into the eight episodes. I am so glad, as I loved the series and it reignited my love for the Star Wars franchise (although Star Trek will always be my favorite)!

Set approximately 100 years before events in The Phantom Menace, the High Republic era was supposed to be a time of peace before the evil Empire rose and the Sith emerged leading us down the path to Darth Plagueis, Palpatine, and then Darth Vader. *Spoilers ahead*

Lost/Found

A reason why I was so easily convinced to watch this new series was being aware that actresses Carrie-Anne Moss, famous for portraying Trinity in The Matrix, and Dafne Keen, who played X-23/Laura in Logan, would be playing Jedis. So imagine how excited I was to see Moss as Master Indara in the first scene, and how quickly that turned into shock upon her fate in the first minutes. What was going on?! Indara’s killer is identified as Osha, a former Jedi apprentice, so her former Master Sol is sent after her. We get a familiar trope that Osha has an evil twin Mae who is the actual culprit.

Revenge/Justice

Mae is encouraged by her evil Sith Master to kill another Jedi, this time with no weapons. She goes after Torbin, a Jedi in deep meditation. She convinces him to kill himself, as penance for something that he, Indara, Sol and a Wookie Jedi Kelnecca did to her and Osha as children. What did this Jedi group do to deserve this fate? Yord Fandar and Jecki Lon (Keen!) stand out as young but strong Jedis.

Destiny

We flashback to Mae and Osha as girls who were born to witches in a coven, without a father. This immaculate conception is similar to Anakin’s birth and suggests great power. The Jedi group arrives at the witch’s ceremony and breaks it up, claiming they have no right to train children, although Jedis do, so what’s up with that double standard? Osha wishes to train as a Jedi, but Mae is committed to the coven and is devastated by Osha’s desire to leave. In anger Mae sets a fire, that spreads among the witch colony, dooming them all. Sol is able to save Osha, but Mae seemingly falls to her death.

Day

Mae is now after the Jedi Kalnecca on the forested planet he has been hiding on, with the help of her friend Qimir. Osha arrives with Sol, Fandar, Lon and other Jedis who I assume are red-shirts (a little Star Trek humor for those who know what I mean) to track Mae down. Mae is questioning her orders, knowing she will be reunited with Osha, but discovers Kalnecca dead with a lightsaber wound. Her Sith Master shows up…who could it be? For an insightful post about the conclusion of this episode read Jeff’s post The Dark Master Descends.

I was almost certain who I thought the Master would be at this point- and speculated with Michael and Jeff who I thought it was. I was 90% sure, but thought it was too obvious. This is where I caught up to them on watching the episodes, as I had to binge the first four that had already been released, but from then on watched it the night they came out. This is the first time in ages, that I have been so invested in a tv show that I needed to watch it immediately the moment the episode was released.

Night

OMG, this episode! What can I say, about the fight between the Jedis and the Sith Lord? The fight scenes were epic, and then indeed the red-shirt Jedis die, but then so do some of the other main characters! This show is not afraid to kill your favorites. The Sith Lord is revealed, and it was who I thought! Mae fights with Osha, and when she knocks her sister unconscious she switches clothing with her and follows surviving Sol to his ship, leaving Osha alone with Qimir.

Teach/Corrupt

Qimir is aware of the switch, but Sol is not at first. Qimir tends to Osha and reveals he is a fallen Jedi who was betrayed by his Master and turns on his considerable sexual charm on her. She tries on his creepy-as-hell helmet and is frightened. Back at the Jedi Council, Master Vernestra struggles to keep the bad news from the Galactic Senate and chooses to find Sol and find out what is going on.

Choice

We now get the flashback we have been waiting for, and a chance to see Moss again as Indara. We get a longer look at what happened the night of the doomed witch coven, and mistakes were made by everyone. Frankly, I didn’t understand half of what was happening. Why did the coven die so easily? It wasn’t by fire but by a failed spell? In the end, so much ass-covering happens, which is realistic, yet I had hoped that Jedis would be above that. But of course, many weren’t, and this is an important pivot point where you see corruption within the Jedi ranks.

The Acolyte

Osha and Mae reconcile, but only after Osha kills Sol. Qimir uses the Force to wipe Mae’s memory, and it is Osha who joins him as a sexy and evil power couple. Vernesta arrives, and while she doesn’t know everything, she knows enough and chooses to blame Sol for all the prior killings. It is revealed that she was Qimir’s former Jedi Master, so her treachery goes deep. She plans to have Mae help her, and the final scene of Vernestra speaking to a certain famous green-eared Jedi connects her to the original trilogy.

Wow- just wow. I am dearly hoping for a season two! This was amazing storytelling and has me fangirling over Star Wars again. An additional bonus was the fun text conversations I had with Mike and Jeff. We are on a High Republic kick and have decided to read a book together- Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule. More than likely, I will feature a book review and our discussion on the blog at a future date. In the meantime, May the Force be with you!

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Wonder Woman: Outlaw

Tom King has an interesting voice, and I have picked up several of his stories such as The Human Target, Heroes in Crisis and The Vision. He can take small moments and lesser-known characters and build a deep story, but in this case, he takes on one of DC’s Trinity, Wonder Woman herself.

Straight off the setting seems to be in the indeterminate future, as Jonathon Kent and Damien Wayne, the sons of Superman and Batman await the young Lizzie Prince, supposedly the daughter of Diana (a later reveal throws this into question). Her full name is Elizabeth Marston Prince, a nod to Wonder Woman’s creator, and she is full of sass to her friends who she convinces to help her on a quest.

A deposed behind-the-scenes ruler tells the story of his fall from grace to Lizzy, and it is from his pompous and biased perspective that we get about how Wonder Woman and her fellow Amazonians became outlaws in America. When a rogue Amazonian goes on a killing spree, the public turns on all Amazonians and goes to any lengths to expel them from our country. That they so quickly turned on a hero who had been helping keep the world safe for decades, is a direct parallel that King was making about cancel culture. As the story progresses, Diana is pitted against the military operative Sgt. Steele, and she tries to discover what truly made her fellow warrior sister snap. Through all this, we also see the correlations that the author makes about immigration, gender bias, media manipulation and letting hate get the best of you.

The art was superb, as Daniel Sampere illustrated her with grace, beauty and authenticity. The layouts were varied and easy to follow, with some great full-page splash pages. The fight scenes between her and the army, or with other foes were kinetic yet realistic. Plus, the colors by Tomeu Morey and letters by Clayton Cowles are top-notch, making them an excellent team.

While Wonder Woman is certainly iconic, I don’t read much DC or titles specifically about her so I had to play some catch-up on understanding who was who in the story. Lizzy was a brand new character, written for this story, but there were other Amazonians and minor villains that I had to look up. While background knowledge was written into the narrative, still this large cast took some time for me to sort through. This story is a not a stand-alone or a duology that King favors, so I am definitely interested in where this new series is headed and trust him to tell a story deserving of Wonder Woman!

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Mid Year Freakout #8

I’m freaking out for the eighth time! I like this post idea, as it forces me to reflect on my reading halfway through the year instead of just at the end with the Best Of list. I had fun going through my Goodreads data, and bonus, it highlights the other genres I read since I read way more than just graphic novels.

Best book you read in 2024 so far

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver was beyond good! Kingsolver cleverly takes the framework of Dickens’ classic David Copperfield and puts a contemporary spin on it and sets it in Appalachia at the beginning of the opioid epidemic. Demon is a character not soon forgotten, and the audio edition was voiced perfectly. Highly recommended!

Best sequel you’ve read so far 

The duology The Human Target by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Christopher Chance is a private detective and bodyguard in the DC Universe who is hired to impersonate people in danger by drawing out the killer. Hired by Lex Luthor, the case goes sideways when he accidentally ingests poison met for Luthor and only has twelve days to live. Suspects include members of the Justice League International, a B-tier group of superheroes, who have varying reasons as to why they would have wanted to kill Luthor. 

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

The much-anticipated sequel to My Favorite Thing is Monsters recently came out. Volume two looks as daunting as volume one, so I need to carve out the time to read and examine her intricate artwork.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Rainbow Rowell (my secret soul sister) is releasing an adult book called Slow Dance next month that I am really looking forward to. It is about high school sweethearts reuniting years later, and her banter between characters is always realistic and authentic.

Biggest disappointment

The LeVar Burton Reads podcast has come to a close after 13 seasons! I will miss the short stories he highlighted and his commentary afterward.  I have been listening to Levar’s melodious voice since 2018 and will dearly miss listening to the stories he chose and his observations afterward. He carried us through the pandemic and was always a voice of reason during some tumultuous times. I will miss the “Reading Rainbow for Adults” podcast but feel confident that he has more to share with readers in the future even if it is in another format, but you don’t need to take my word for it…

Biggest surprise

Catwoman Lonely City by Cliff Chiang has Selina Kyle as a mature Catwoman dealing with a changed Gotham after Batman’s death. She begins a romance with a very unlikely person, but I loved it.

Newest fictional crush

Not so much a crush, but admiration- the above mentioned Selina Kyle.

Favorite book to film adaptation you saw this year

The Bridgerton television series is a fantastic adaptation of Julia Quinn’s Regency romances. I hope all eight of the Bridgerton children get a season devoted to their love stories.

Newest favorite character

Penelope Featherington aka Lady Whistledown from the Bridgerton series who secretly puts out a newsletter about society scandals.

Favorite new author (Debut or new to you)

The LeVar Burton Reads podcast introduced me to many amazing authors over the years, and in his most recent (and last) season he shared a story by Justin C. Key that I loved. I ended up reading the entire short story collection Key wrote and will seek future works by him.

Favorite review you have written this year 

I’m going to cheat a bit here- and count my favorite review since my last mid-year post. Back in October, I attended a William Shatner Live on Stage performance and wrote about this bombastic storyteller. After watching the movie The Wrath of Kahn, and his talk, he had a meet and greet afterward, and I got to do a photo-op with the Star Trek legend. This post ended up being my most viewed post on my blog ever, as people beyond WordPress read it.

Book(s) that made you happy

Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour was a memoir co-written by Susan Olsen aka Cindy Brady about the atrocious variety show the cast put on in 1976-1977. The behind-the-scenes look at one of the worst tv shows ever was a treat to read. The first episode is on YouTube if you ever want to watch an example of 70s excess.

Book that made you sad

The short story collection The World Wasn’t Ready for You by Justin C. Key was described as  “Black Mirror meets Get Out”. The eight stories were excellent and a few will bring you to tears.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

Vivian Maier was a talented street photographer whose photographs were discovered after her death, and I have been admiring her pictures in several books recently. Her story and thousands of pictures are amazing.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year? 

As a librarian, I’m a sucker for being on book committees, and I am on the Lincoln Awards committee that chooses YA books that are vetted by librarians like myself and also include voting by high school students. So, I look forward to immersing myself in excellent YA books at the end of the year!

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Demon Copperhead

Demon Copperhead cleverly takes the framework of Dickens’ classic David Copperfield and puts a contemporary spin on it and sets it in Appalachia at the beginning of the opioid epidemic. Spanning the 1990s to the early 2000s, Demon is born to a drug-addicted teen mother in Lee County, Virginia, and is eventually orphaned at a young age. Resilient and wise beyond his years, Demon is shuttled between several foster homes and forced to work back-breaking labor for his shifty foster families for several years, before he tracks down his dead father’s mother. His grandma, who is of Melungeon descent, finds a stable home for him with a family whose father is a renowned football coach. But a football injury in high school starts him on an opioid addiction, a new problem for the region. He gets mixed up with some bad friends and begins a loving but destructive relationship with a fellow junkie. Despite setbacks and devastating deaths, Demon perseveres with the help of some caring adults and his inner strength. The ending was pitch perfect- you know Demon is on the path to a hard-won redemption along with the possibility of a new healthy relationship on the horizon.

This book is beyond fantastic, with the audio version being voiced to perfection! It gives a nuanced view of modern-day Appalachia and its inhabitants, and how the opioid epidemic started there and took root. Background knowledge is built into the narrative giving the reader the information they need to understand the region and people. I was so pleased that Demon’s ancestry included Melengeons and that the book explained who they were, as hardly anyone outside of Appalachia is aware of this tri-racial group of families and the discrimination they have faced over the years. This lovely and courageous novel was a love letter to the region and showed respect to working-class and rural families in an area that is often overlooked or even looked down upon. This book is now on my favorites list and I will recommend it far and wide.

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