The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson

My very educated mother just served us nine pies.

When I was a little kid, that's the mnemonic we learned to remember the order of the planets. But in 2006, members of the International Astronomical Union decided that, in fact, Pluto, the 9th planet is not a planet in the same class as the others. Controversy surrounded the decision, and a lot of the fallout came to rest on astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, in part because Tyson, as director of New York City's Hayden Planetarium, was in many ways instrumental in helping to change the ways in which scientists think about and classify planets and the ways in which we, the general public, learn about space and our solar system.

This book gives a brief history about the discovery of Pluto and the ways in which the plucky former planet captured in particular American imagination. Tyson's still is clear and engaging as he discusses Pluto's place in popular culture, in history and science and the chronicle of Pluto's "fall from grace." It is so interesting to consider the way in which Pluto has really grabbed hold of our collective imaginations. It seemed that we did NOT want to let go of Pluto's planetary status. It seems really strange that so many people seemed to take Pluto's demotion to dwarf planet as a personal insult. Tyson speculates a little as to why this might be, why Americans in particular seemed so upset by Pluto's reclassification. Some reactions were extreme -- New Mexico and California both proposed legislation declaring that Pluto is still a planet, at least within those states. Absurd but true.

I have been working through Tyson's book Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, a series of essays about everything from the nature of knowledge to the meaning of life, and I really enjoy Tyson's easy style, but if you're expecting straight up science, you might be disappointed. I would consider these books more in the realm of cultural studies than science, although I assume that the science in the books is sound as Tyson holds a PhD in astrophysics. These books are perfect for the casual science enthusiast, someone who wants to know more but maybe isn't great at math or someone who shouldn't actually attempt chemistry because s/he has been known to set lab equipment on fire (on accident, and it was only the one time, two times, geez).


I never thought about it before I read this book, but I guess my favorite planet is Pluto. There's something endearing about the plucky little dwarf planet family, way out on the raggedy edges of our solar system, with its whackadoodle orbit. I can just imagine Pluto, Charon, Nix, Hydra and S/2011 P 1 whizzing through space. If sound could travel in a vacuum, I bet we would hear them: Wheeeeeee! Not like Saturn, with its fancy rings, or Jupiter with that big creepy red eye. *Shudder* 

One of the things I took away from reading this book is that there is an interesting human element to science that we often discount as we look at the veneer of objectivity that surrounds scientific nomenclature. The desire to name and order is a deeply human desire. Pluto is a hunk of ice and rock at the edge of our solar system. It doesn't really care about status, no more than Jupiter or Saturn lord it up because they are gas giants.I think it's important that we acknowledge this human element, because I think science, and everything else we study, from art to math, is really just a way to understand ourselves a little better.

I also love art and science are not and need not be mutually exclusive. The whole Pluto thing not only got us talking about science, but it inspired some great art. My favorite is a song by Jonathan Coulton called "I'm Your Moon," a love song from Charon to Pluto. Of course, Coulton's intro to the song is not scientifically sound, but the song is lovely nonetheless, and I hope you like it.

This article is cross posted at Guys Lit Wire. Check it out!

The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963)

What I knew about The Bell Jar before I ever read it was that the book was a downer. It is Plath's autobiographical novel about her breakdown and attempted suicide when she was in college. So yeah, it's not the most cheerful subject, and it's all the more heart-breaking because the book ends on a pretty hopeful note, but as we all know, Plath committed suicide in 1963.

Still, I'm really glad I read this book. I tried once before and gave up before the main character Esther attempted suicide, but I read it because my friend Julie has organized a book club and this is the first selection. When I expressed my concern at being able to finish the book, Julie encouraged me to keep on, if for not other reason than because Plath's writing is gorgeous. She really is a master of simile.

This is my favorite section of the book:

I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story.

From the top of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and happy home and children,  and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't make out.

I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which fig I would choose. I wanted each and everyone of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go back, and, one by one, the plopped to the ground at my feet (85-86).

But you also have to admire this passage, where Esther describes seeing her first live, naked man (her boyfriend Buddy): Then he just stood there in front of me and I kept on staring. The only thing I could think of was turkey neck and turkey gizzards and I felt very depressed (76).

Despite years of conditioning by romance novels, I'm sure most people's experiences are more akin to Esther's than to a heaving-bosomed beauty from a romance novel.

One thing I wonder is how much my perception of the novel is influenced by the biographical information of the author. The book ends on rather a hopeful note. Esther returns to school, if not cured then at least better able to manage. And while the sections of Esther's confinement to an institution are depressing, they aren't that horrible. They aren't particularly graphic. But knowing that this is autobiographical and knowing how Plath ended her life, for me, it colors my reading of this novel in a way I can't shake.

Graduation

I am a Master of All Literature! Cower before me! Muah ah ahhhhhhh!

Wait, you mean MA Lit doesn't stand for Master of All Literature?

Fine.

Regardless, I am done, graduated. Grades are posted. Straight As. I'm going to allow myself a few moments of feeling like a boss.



A chipmunk-cheeked boss.

Woo hoo. 

Friends With Boys

Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks (2012)

I had high hopes for this graphic novel, and I was both pleased and disappointed by the end. Goodreads describes this book as "a coming-of-age tale with a spooky twist," so I was hoping for something along the lines of Anya's Ghost, because main character Maggie is haunted by a ghost. But we never really find out who the ghost is or why it haunts her (and her brothers). Instead, the book is mostly about Maggie, who has been home schooled up to high school, begins attending public school, navigating the usual angsty issues, making friends, learning about herself and her brothers.

I was pleased by the characters. I really like Maggie, her brothers, her dad (a suddenly single father with new responsibilities at work) and her new friends Lucy and Alistair. Hicks opened up so many potential story lines -- what's up between Alistair and his former friends, the popular dudes? what happened to Maggie's mom? how will Maggie navigate the rest of high school? what will become of her crush on Alistair? who is the ghost haunting the McKays? I loved the artwork, and I really want to get to know the McKay boys, so I hope this is the start of a series, or at least that there will be a sequel.

And, I just found her website, so I'll definitely be perusing the portfolio to get my fix for her art, which is rahter quite excellent.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Unseen Guest

The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood (2012)

Miss Penelope Lumley and the Incorrigibles are back in the third installment of Wood's Ashton Place series. Miss Lumley, graduate of Miss Swanburne's School for Poor Bright Females, and her charges Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia Incorrigible are back at Ashton Place after an exciting stay in London. Penelope has much to mull over -- are her parents really dead? Is Lord Frederick Ashton a werewolf? What happened to the travel book? What does the gypsy mean when she says "the hunt is on?" What's up with that hunky Simon, eh?

(Un)fortunately, we don't get any real answers, but we do get a few more clues. And the mystery around Lord Ashton's mysterious illness (which resulted in the titular Mysterious Howling of book one) deepens a bit AND we meet Mamawoo, the mama wolf who cared for the young Incorrigibles before they came under Penelope's tutelage. Fortunately, we don't learn everything because that means this delightful series will carry on a bit longer. Much as I want to learn all the answers about Penelope and the Incorrigibles, I really like spending time in this world, and I'm glad it is going to continue for at least one more book.

Doooooooooooooooooone!

My name is the Master.

Or will be on Saturday, because I'm graduating!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be walking with some of my really great friends, my mom and my bestie Monicat will be coming up to watch, and then...I don't know what. But back to more regular blogging at least.

I managed to read a few fun books in my last semester. I'm still kind of wonky from finishing my work, so I'll just give brief accounts of the books I read through the end of my MA career.

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh
We read this book for my critical theory class as a text to view through an eco-critical lens. The story switches POV between an Indian-American biology grad student and an Indian translator and is set on the Sundarbans, islands in the Bay of Bengal.  The novel pits conservation against humans, one of the central conflicts being about a government crackdown on refugees who had moved onto an island that had been officially set aside as a nature preserve. Piya, the biologist, studies Irrawaddy dolphins but does so with the help of a fisherman whose job sometimes endangers the dolphins she wishes to study. It was an excellent story, and I look forward to reading more of Ghosh's work in the future.

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
I LOOOOOOVE Sarah Dessen's books. I love that her characters lead complicated and messy lives. I love that the romances are sweet but that none of the girls try and dissolve themselves into relationships (ahem Bella Swan ahem). AND I LOVE that the main characters always have a good group of friends to help navigate the tricky world of adolescence. Don't let the jacket copy/reviews fool you. Goodreads says this about the book: McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out. Well yeah, Dave helps, but so do Heather, Riley, Ellis, Opal and Deb. OMG DEB! I want a book about Deb, please!

Smile by Raina Telgemeier
Smile is a graphic novel and one of the 2013 YRCA nominees. It's a quick and cute read, following young Raina's dental mishaps from middle school to high school. I loved the way Raina stands up to the Mean Girls who were her friends as she comes into her own, becoming comfortable with her awesome nerdy self. Also, the story is set in the early to mid 90s -- the same as my own middle school and high school years, so I dug all the details in the art.

Heist Society by Ally Carter
This was such a fun book. I read it in two days. A gang of teenage art thieves, led by Kat Bishop, rush to break into one of the most secure art galleries in the world to recover paintings for a mean Italian mobster because the mobster thinks Kat's father was the thief. If Kat and company don't retrieve the paintings, well, things are gonna get rough for Mr. Bishop. I love me a good heist story. This read like a teenage Oceans Eleven. It was quick and fun, with a hint of swoon. I already have the sequel, Uncommon Criminals, on my TBR shelf at home, which, unsurprisingly, has about fifteen books already. And some movies.

And and and and! I saw The Avengers last night and it was so good! All I ask for in a superhero movie is quips and hunks aplenty. And Joss Whedon delivered. And, because Mr. Whedon is awesome, the ladies in the movie were not just pouty vixens. I don't normally like Scarlett Johansson, but Black Widow was pretty great. I was wholly entertained and now have a huge crush on Hawkeye. And also Loki. Because Loki was totes misunderstood, you guys! Deep down, all he needs is love.




Yes please!



Also, yes please!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Paranormal romance with angels? Yawn, I thought. I am so over paranormal, and angels? Blech. Self righteous boring warriors. And the cover? While it actually fits with the story (+1) can we really not do better Photoshop jobs?

These were my thoughts as I held off reading the book, even as my colleague Jen touted it over and over (and Jen has a wishbone necklace*, so looking back, she might have been more invested in sharing the story than is proper).But I was prepping for a graduate conference, a long car ride with people I rather like but at the time, didn't know super well and wanted something to bridge any potential awkward silences.

Cut to me starting the book, and twenty pages in, my thoughts shifted from "blah angels" to "OMG OMG OMG, this is sooooooooooo good!"

Kittens, this book is soooooooooooo good!

I don't want to give too much away, so I will list a few of the things I love about this book.

1. The heroine, Karou, is a bad ass. The book opens with Karou nursing a bit of a broken heart, having finally dumped gorgeous but feckless Kazimir, but does Karou wallow in self-pity? Does she fall into a catatonic depression? No she does not. She picks up and keeps going, and when jerkface Kazimir shows up as a model in her life drawing class, trying to win back her adoration (which is all he wants, jerkface), she metes out a little magical revenge. Karou is a great character, complicated and smart and brave and vulnerable. Also, Karou has blue hair. So awesome.
 
2. Magic wishes. Karou occasionally uses wishes for petty or whimsical desires (the aforementioned blue hair and magical revenge), but it's clear that wishes are risky business. There are consequences, sometimes horrifying consequences. And the way she comes by the wishes. Yikes.

3. Zuzana -- Karou's bestie, Zuzana doesn't show up much in the story, but when she does, she's not just a stock character to fill out the corners of Karou's life.Zuzana is a bad ass, not in the literal ass-kicking way that Karou is (oh yes, Karou can break you). She's supportive but not solely a scaffold for Karou. There's a genuine friendship there, no mean girl backstabbing, no time-filler until the boy comes along. I love it.

4. Prague. The bulk of this story takes place in Prague, and now I want to go to there! Also, there's a brief scene near Boise, Idaho (hometown holla!) and a few other places, magical and real, but I really want to go to Prague now.

5. Angel mythology. When I was twelve or so, I went through an angel obsession, reading all about visitations and guardian angels and such. There is NONE of this sort of thing in this book. I LOVE that, instead of falling back on boring old angel tropes, Taylor created new mythologies for the seraphs and the chimeras (the demons in the angels and demons binary that runs through the story), completely sans Christianity. Removing religion from the story allows for a much richer and more complicated story, and I LOVE it. Seriously.

And now I can't wait for book two, due out in November, I think.

*A wishbone turns out to be a major plot point, but saying any more would be a serious spoiler.