Lucas Blogs About Books

Now Pictured: Me holding a copy of  Frankenstein  in front of my face. Somehow while looking for my grounded outlet adapter, I came across my copy of the book somewhere in my house. I don't regret my previous laziness. Not Pictured: Me holding a copy of Frankenstein  in front of my face. Somehow between finishing the book and getting ready to post this, I misplaced my copy of the book somewhere in my house. I'm too lazy to look for it. So, what's this book's de—OH! You read Frankenstein  again! I read Frankenstein again! Oh, man! Frankenstein is so good! I know, right? End of blog. You're the worst, Lucas. J/K LOL! Deffo the worst! But seriously, Hypothetical Reader, do you wanna talk about Frankenstein ? You know I do! Then let's talk about Frankenstein ! Oh, and I don't think it's possible to SPOIL  a book that's been in print for over two hundred years. However, if you are operating under that misapprehension, consider this yo...

I'm certainly not holding this book in front of my face to hide the tears streaming down my cheeks! What would give you such a ridiculous idea? So, what's this book's de—Oh for cryin' ou— That's right!  It made me cry!   We talked about its author's merits—and demerits!  It's also one of my favorite books of all time. I just finished re-reading East of Eden  by John Steinbeck. The deal is exceedingly simple to explain: it's a genuine, goddamn masterpiece of Modernist and Naturalist prose exploring such topics as the American Dream, the Old Testament, racism, mental health, good, evil, family dynamics, war, peace, moral obligation, how to start a Ford Model T, love, sex, betrayal— OH. MY. GOD! Stop, just stop! I can't be here for this. Sorry, I already started this as a Hypothetical Reader formatted post. The novel starts with a loving description of the Salinas Valley then quickly splits into two tracks that only rejoin hundreds of pages l...

Spoiler alert : the main character sustains a minor facial injury. So, what's this book's deal? Well, Hypothetical Reader, you might want to brace yourself. This manga actually deals with the thing that scares us millennials more than anything else. You can't mean – Yep! Adulting! And not just the lame stuff like negotiating a trip to the dry-cleaners, it's actually about becoming an emotionally mature person. That sounds even worse! I know, but trust me, this manga is a good read. And since it's a comic book, you could probably read it in about two days. I know I did. Oh, and before we go any further, I've actually read this once before (about five years ago). It was my introduction to mangaka  Inio Asano, and it remains my favorite of his works (also the only one to survive my semi-regular bookshelf purges). So. . . are we gonna talk about it? Yes we are. Solanin  (which we later learn is named for a song written by the main c...