What Sarah’s… Reading.
There are times when even the most avid of cinephiles and TV fans must take a break from all that ‘screen’ time… Between working on a computer from home, writing blog posts on my laptop, and spending a few too many hours glued to my eclectic sundry of electronic devices (out of winter and quarantine boredom), I have found myself in the uncomfortable state of getting eye strain headaches from too much time spent gazing at an electronic screen. So, I’ve been doing what any rational person would do: I’ve hit the books!
Without fail, I almost always have a stack of “to read” books hanging out on the edge of my desk. From recent bestsellers to YA fiction, even children’s books that I never got around to reading growing up, and (big surprise here) to nonfiction texts examining various aspects of cinema, I always have something interesting to read close at hand. Listed below are some of my recent reads that I highly recommend you check out, because, you know, we could all use a break from our screens every once in a while… Enjoy!
Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection by Sarah Anderson (2016)
Based on the webcomic series by Sarah Andersen that launched in 2011, Adulthood is a Myth is Andersen’s first printed collection of her comics. Although, chances are, if you’ve been on Tumblr, Facebook, or Instagram over the past few years then you have probably already stumbled across a comic or two from “Sarah’s Scribbles” during your screen time. Full of millennial angst and featuring some delightfully irreverent black-and-white illustrations, I find myself identifying with cartoon ‘Sarah’s’ musings and reactions to ‘adult’ life far more often than I’d care to admit… If you need a good laugh, I’m sure this collection will most certainly tickle your funny bone.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer (2012)
At first, I did not know what to make of this YA novel, but got swiftly sucked into the sci-fi/fantasy hybridity of the storyline and world building. Essentially, the book is a retelling of the classic fairytale ‘Cinderella,’ but revolves around a protagonist, “Cinder,” who is part cyborg and in the process of discovering her true identity amid the backdrop of an ongoing deadly pandemic… An easy and entertaining read, with many nods to classic tropes from various sci-fi and fantasy works, the rest of the series, known as ‘The Lunar Chronicles’ (and including the follow-up novels: Scarlet, Cress, and Winter, released in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively), is queued up next in my book stack. Besides, I have a sickening suspicion that these books will be picked up for a movie or TV adaptation sometime in the near future, because aren’t almost all the good, recent YA texts simply being turned into story fodder for the mainstream cinema markets?
Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl (1975)
I have been in the process of chronologically reading my way through the complete works of Roald Dahl, the well-known British novelist famed for his children’s books, including James and the Giant Peach (1961), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), and Matilda (1988), among many others. While it has been great to revisit some of my childhood favorites, this reading endeavor has also allowed me to discover some absolute gems that I completely overlooked growing up, including Danny the Champion of the World. This short book is a simple, yet delightful, tale about a young boy who discovers that his father is harboring a rather strange secret… Full of wit and humor, and superb illustrations by Quentin Blake, this children’s book is the uplifting distraction that I didn’t know I needed right now. I highly recommend this book for all the Dahl fans out there!
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline (2020)
I know, the general critical consensus surrounding this book is pretty scathing, but I will readily admit that I enjoyed this sequel to Ernest Cline’s hit 2011 novel, Ready Player One. Granted Ready Player Two lacks some focus, and feels completely ‘lost’ at times, but I think that is the point and part of the overall message that Cline is trying to make… Just when Wade, and the other members of the “High Five,” think that they have got things figured out, life (and James Halliday) throws them yet one curveball after another, as their lives don’t necessarily pan out quite as they had initially envisioned. While I do not think that the darker thematic elements of this novel would speak to most people in the midst of a global pandemic, I do foresee this novel gaining a cult following. Even if it is not as widely accepted as its predecessor, Ready Player Two is still an entertaining read and full of so many nostalgic popular culture references that it is sure to send the most well-versed geek down a bit of a research spiral…
Film Censorship: Regulating America’s Screen by Sheri Chinen Biesen (2018)
Part of the ‘Short Cuts’ book series on Film Studies, from Columbia University Press, Film Censorship is a concise overview examining aspects of film history and censorship from the pre-code era, to the establishment of The Productions Code Administration (PCA) in 1934, and all the way up to a post-PCA look at elements of our contemporary film ratings system. While I enjoyed Film Censorship, I find all of the ‘Short Cuts’ books to be quite readable, entertaining, and full of great bibliographic info that’ll point me towards further reading. Even if a brief history on film censorship isn’t quite your jam, there are plenty of other entries in this series, from The Star System (2001) to The Pop Musical (2021), and a whole bunch of other topics in between, which are sure to spark your cinematic interests.
What books have you been reading lately? How do you find ways of putting down those screens? Share your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to check back soon for our reviews and discussion of our February Film Club Pick: Some Like it Hot (1959)!
Copyright © 2021 Sarah Crane
