Another great book detailing how the Broadway musical got onstage and also the detailed pre and post production of the film version. I hate that COVID is now in the history books and is creeping into all the new stuff I‘m reading!

So glad I finally got to read this. My high school had us reading “1984,” and not this brilliant little “fairy tale” about how quickly fascism spreads. A must read, and one hell of a bummer.

He was out the door five minutes later, blood wetting his sock, cold coffee and aspirin hammering a bitter waltz somewhere below his heart.

A barreling blast through a ghost (“smoke”) ridden LA with two compulsively readable antiheroes at the forefront, “Smoke City” may be a bit repetitive with presenting its themes and scenarios, but this road trip and flashback heavy novel had me cackling and in awe of Rosson‘s inventive ideas and satisfying intertwining of narratives.

I think I finished the first volume last March! I‘ve read it alongside other books when I had the time and I‘m so glad I finally finished it. A must read for anyone passingly familiar with Sondheim, and so much more potent now that the giant is gone from this plane.

Jim Peterson was head of the English department at my alma mater for the longest time, and by the time I got here, he was retired and came back briefly to teach a master class I was in. He was an eccentric, warm old man, and it makes a lot of sense he wrote a book like this. It‘s very underwritten and under-explained, with lots of pretty poetic language, as Jim‘s primarily a poet. It‘s not great, but Jim Peterson is cool.

A frustrating read for me. While I applaud Kingston‘s creativity in blending Chinese legends with her own experiences mixed with hyperbolic retelling, I can‘t say I enjoyed myself much through the book, especially the last chapter‘s excruciating examination on how she basically tortured a classmate into trying to talk and calling a mentally disabled classmate a “monster.” Very difficult to penetrate.

If you know Crumb‘s work, you know how strange it is he‘d be tackling a straightforward project as illustrating one of the Bible‘s essential chapters. Through drawing Crumb shows the perversion of some of the stranger chapters (lots of incest🤮) and the highlights (Creation, Noah‘s Ark) in his beautifully grotesque, crosshatched style. It could‘ve been a blast watching Crumb take aim at Genesis‘s wackier parts, but this book is dutifully accurate.

A book that I feel would‘ve greatly benefitted from me studying it in college, which is ironically where I got it from, a huge stack of books one of my professors was giving out for free because of his retirement. The social comedy of manners is not my generic cup of tea, but there are sharp moments here in Wharton‘s prose, and a sly biting of the thumb at that old American aristocracy.

A gorgeous Christmas present, Cruse‘s “Stuck Rubber Baby” got on my radar as I was getting into underground comix, especially from R. Crumb. Cruse is a lot more realistic here in his depictions than that famous deviant, but with each chapter I marveled at his play with panels, his distinct voices in each character, and the memoir framework of the novel. Great LGBT lit and wonderfully illustrated. Makes me excited to read other graphic novels!

An impulse buy from a thrift bookstore long ago, I wanted a tome as a companion for my travels all July. “Freedom” was a biting friend through the summer. My intro to Franzen, this intimate novel puts an unlikable family in the spotlight of the Dubya Bush years, and refuses to shine away. Sprawling and cringy and damningly political, I never particularly cared for these assembly of assholes, but I sure loved reading about their shenanigans.

A compulsively readable novel in stories tied together by a fascinating, gray complex character in Olive. I loved “A Different Road” and “Criminal” best. Strout is masterful here in the way she examines life‘s small tragedies in agonizingly intimate detail.

Franzen‘s translation. While Franzen picked the musical apart, I‘m a huge fan of the Broadway adaptation, and I‘m sure it‘s not half as wordy or long winded as Franzen‘s interpretation was.

One of the most astonishingly creative works of historical fiction or fiction otherwise I have ever encountered. A wonderful companion to “The Good Place” series finale if anyone reading is a fan, and one of the best books I‘ve read from the last decade.

A book I will cherish as I go down the intimidating aspect of trying to write a musical. Lapine, as he did with “Sunday…” gets all the little points of light and color together to make this fine documentation of mounting a not Broadway friendly musical with the god Sondheim. Page after page of insight.

While I love Durang‘s absurdist tendencies, the wild direction the second half of the second act takes took me unfortunately way out of the titular play. The extra shorties he tags along are fun, though the “Hardy Boys” skit wouldn‘t really fly in today‘s climate. Now I desperately wanna read/see “Sister Mary Agnes!”

My love of Sondheim began during the lockdown of 2020. I listened to most of his albums. Around October 2021 I added this to my Christmas list. On November 26, 2021, the world lost a giant. The fact that this is only the first part is uh, really keeping me going in 2022. I can‘t wait to finish the next part.

Thinking of musical ideas, my buddy suggested we adapt this novella. After reading it, I see its potential. “I am risen!”

I remember when, last fall, I found a copy of my grandfather‘s Sensation Comics #1, featuring the very first cover and second appearance of Wonder Woman, in my uncle‘s basement. It got me on the trajectory of getting into the comic book world, and even after myself and my family got $11,500 for that book and three others, I still love the comic book world. Such is the joy Chabon‘s novel has brought me. Every sentence crafted with care. Glorious.

It is in my opinion this play offers the greatest and most fun roles for any college production. Played CB in my college‘s production junior year. Probably the greatest role I‘ll ever have.

Played King Sextimus in my college‘s production sophomore year. Loved getting to give my son a sex talk in this play for children.

Played George in my college‘s production junior year. Perhaps the most tragic of Miller‘s canon.

Played Sir Andrew Aguecheek my sophomore year in my college‘s production. One of the best and most educational experiences of my life.

Was in the ensemble for my college‘s production freshman year. My director‘s instruction was “you can‘t be big enough.”

Played Clifford in my hometown‘s community theatre. Sidney and Cliff are one of the best duos in theatre history! Twisty and pulpy and devilishly fun.

I played Banquo and the Porter in my college‘s production!

Yeah…this is the greatest book ever written, right?

I don‘t think I‘ve read a nonfiction book that talked about something that is so specifically interesting to me. I need Mr. Harris to write a deep dive about every year in Oscar history.

Had me dying to write a musical.

Unfortunately makes me never want to write a play again because who could possibly compare?

If not a compelling read, then at least a fascinating melodramatic artifact.

The first book I bought solely off of an Instagram ad. Nothing ground breaking but a breakneck fun.

One of the books I cherish most from elementary school. I think there‘s a stage version but has anyone got plans to make the BNB movie? If not, I call dibs!

An epic, realistic read into the lives of the men in Chicago in the 80s affected by AIDS. I appreciated the back and forth perspective in chapters.