Push; Bigger than the Game

I haven't yet seen "Precious", the movie based on Sapphire's novel "Push", but I want to after reading the book. It was a tough, tough read: even though I know it's fiction the sad fact is that it is reality for a lot of people and Sapphire tells it so straightforwardly and so well, without any pity, that it rings true. Sixteen year old Precious is pregnant for the second time by her own father, and is kicked out of school. A guidance counselor arranges for her to go to an alternative school, and we find out Precious is very nearly illiterate. Her mother abuses her as well and doesn't want her to waste her time trying to get an education, it's much better to just go on welfare. Precious is determined to learn to read and write, though. Where she finds the strength to go on is beyond me, but damn, does it ever put my own life into perspective. I am reminded of Dave Pelzer, who I often think of whenever I think my own life sucks.
"Bigger than the Game" is Michael Weinreb's look at how the decade of excess, the 1980s, helped shaped today's modern athlete, starting with high school kids being recruited by colleges and given money and promises of more. What affect does all that sudden wealth have on a young athlete? It's usually not good, and he wove in the war on drugs that started up around the same time. It was an interesting read and really highlights how greed ruins otherwise smart, good people.

On a totally unrelated note: happy birthday to Stephen King!

Hilliker Curse; Fables: the Great Fables Crossover; Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall; Ones Who Hit the Hardest; Dexter is Delicious; Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen

First up: James Ellroy's "Hilliker Curse", his autobiography of why and how his relationships with women are so screwed up. We all know Ellroy is one very messed up individual (have I mentioned how much I loved his "My Dark Places"?) and this really confirms it. He blames himself for his mother's murder when he was just 10 years old, he's never gotten over it, and it's permanently messed up any interactions he has with the opposite sex. Fascinating but very, very sad.
"Fables: the Great Fables Crossover" by Bill Willingham was very funny. Jack of Fables (different series I haven't gotten to yet--but I will) and our well known Fable friends are out to stop Peter Thorn from rewriting history and wiping their universe out of existence.
"Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall" by Bill Willingham is a take on "Arabian Nights". Snow White is being held captive by an Arab sultan who plans to execute her in the morning. She entertains him with stories of many of the Fables's beginnings, and he delays her execution to hear her tales. It was great to get the back story on some of my favorite Fables characters!
The return of football means the return of football books! "The Ones Who Hit the Hardest" by Chad Millman and Shawn Coyne tells the story of the pride the town of Pittsburgh had (and continues to have) for their Steelers. The 1970s were a terrible time to be a blue collar worker in America, even moreso in Pittsburgh. It was a great story but the pace kept getting slowed down by the insertion of tidbits about the steelworkers union. It would have been better to leave that out.
"Dexter is Delicious" is Jeffrey Lindsay's latest Dexter (can't wait for the premier of the show next Sunday!!). I love the dark, snarky humor in Lindsay's books. Dex is now a daddy, to little Lily Anne, and his brother Brian makes a surprise return (obviously the books and TV show don't match up). Since Dexter has now sworn off the dark ways Brian steps in to instruct Cody and Astor, which doesn't please Dex one bit. He and Deb are after a tribe of cannibals and he is kidnapped by them and nearly eaten not once but twice. In the end, of course, Dexter returns to his deliciously wicked ways. For sister Deb, of course.
A wonderful biography of Queen Mary, Anna Whitelock's "Mary: Princess, Bastard, Queen" sets out to set the record straight and clear up some of the awful misconceptions about Mary's reign. She is of course overshadowed in history by her brilliant younger half-sister, Queen Elizabeth I, and rightly so, but Mary was brave and courageous in her own right and her own contributions should not be overlooked. Whitelock does conveniently try to gloss over the worst of Mary's actions, like the terrible burning deaths of people who dared question the Catholic faith, but all in all she does a beautiful job of showing how Mary Tudor really was her mother's daughter.

Batman: Haunted Knight; Batman: Long Halloween; Fables Vol. 10; Twilight at the World of Tomorrow

A couple of Batman graphic novels by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. "The Haunted Knight" showed me a very tortured side of Batman that I didn't know existed, and "The Long Halloween" continued that. While they were both good and I liked them, I still liked "The Killing Joke" better.
I missed Vol. 10 of Bill Willingham's "Fables" series when I was finishing them up a few months ago, so I went back and got it. I love Valiant Prince Ambrose (otherwise known as Flycatcher) and his story. So good.
"Twilight at the World of Tomorrow" by James Mauro was about the 1939 New York World's Fair, which took place on the eve of World War II breaking out. It was a bit uneven and inconsistent, and parts of it felt dragged out and padded while other parts felt rushed. Too bad, because it's certainly an interesting subject.