Love the Anti-Hero

Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity” Don’t worry. You don’t have to be a music junkie to appreciate this book or movie. But that helps. I decided to pick up the book after watching the movie, which I also highly recommend. Come on, you can’t help but fall in love with John Cusack in his glory days (“High [...]

You Don’t Talk About Fight Club.

Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight Club” “The first rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club.” Of course you’ve watched the movie already, but you probably didn’t know that it’s based off of a book. This is the one exception where the movie is better than the book (Edward Norton, yum), and the endings [...]

Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun: “Post Secret”

We’re used to getting the usual travel postcards, holiday postcards and reminders to get our teeth cleaned postcards in the mail. They never really had any special messages behind them; the static Christmas family pose and forced smiles are about all you get. You lose interest and toss the cards in the trash. Frank Warren, [...]

Reminisce on Old Flames: “Dear Old Love”

I still kept my old Valentine’s Day card for my secret crush from elementary school. My handwriting was…a little rough, and my words were simple, but at the time, I meant everything I said. Did I love this boy? Well, maybe not. But he did make fourth grade a little bit more interesting for me. [...]

Without Any ‘Shortcomings’

If it is true that “to err is human,” then “Shortcomings” by Adrian Tomine is one of the most human graphic novels that I have encountered in a good long while. Populated by a cast of delightfully flawed characters, “Shortcomings” explores just that–the ways in which we fall short. Ben Tanaka is insecure, angry, depressed [...]

Ghosts of Teen Angst

Dan Clowes’ graphic novel, “Ghost World” tells the story of Enid Coleslaw and her best friend Rebecca during the months between their high school graduation and the following October. The girls curse a lot, obsess over freaks and strange events in their lives and eventually come to realize their childhood friendship may not survive their [...]

A ‘Shore’ Way Towards Enlightenment

Yes, it’s true. Snooks is an author. Formally known as Nicole Polizzi, star of MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” has translated her guidette lifestyle into a book. The GTL glamorous lifestyle has actually turned into a New York Times bestseller. What are the odds? Gia and her cousin, Bella, each find a ripped, yummy juicehead to hook up with, [...]

Are You There, Vodka?

Curl up with a cocktail, readers. “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” by Chelsea Handler First of all, let’s take a moment to laugh at the title. What a funny spin on Judy Blume’s “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.” Okay, now on to the review. It is a collection of memories and [...]

Peak of Teen Angst

“Catcher in the Rye” is about 200 pages long and costs $8 on Amazon.com. On the back of the book are reviews of how it’s a “literary classic” and a “widely acclaimed novel.” Basically, it goes on and on saying how awesome the book is. Well, clearly it’s amazing enough to make literary snobs buy the [...]

The Perks of Being a Teen

There is always that awkward, strange kid from back in high school who just couldn’t fit in. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is a tale of one boy’s coming of age that’s honest and graced with a clean, direct writing style. The chapters always open with “Dear Friend,” as the book is written in [...]