I love the title Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You although the idea of it can be hard to believe when you're smack in the middle of adolescent angst. So, when I finished the book I originally thought "It's ok but I didn't really like it" but after our discussion in class, I had to think about it again. James Sveck is a mess. He's out of place wherever he goes with the exception of the time he spends with Nanette. He's so painfully awkward that it seems to make everyone uncomfortable to be around him or pity him. He's very socially disconnected. It's easy to dismiss him as a "freak" or "weird." The fake profile he posts in response to John's personal profile can be seen as cruel but the thing is James does not mean it in that way at all. He has a crush on John even though he isn't able to actually fully admit this which breaks your heart. James doesn't have any friends either. He's so alone.
He feels like he doesn't fit in anywhere and I think that's a big part of adolescence. A lot of teens feel like they don't fit in anywhere, that they are different from everyone else around them and there is the desire to escape from it all (James wants to move to the Midwest, Holden wants to spend his time in the rye field).
This book is the most "literary" one we've read for class so it had a very different feel. James does not sound like a typical teen with his intense focus on language and words. I don't think this book is for everyone so I'd recommend it to teens with more "literary" tastes or if they were Salinger fans (I love Holden Caulfield). I'd recommend it to someone who was feeling like an extreme outsider and people who were looking for something different and a little more challenging. I'd like to pair this book with Freak Show. The main characters are so different...James wants to get away from everyone and Billy is throwing himself into the fray headfirst.
Dramacon was great. I really liked it and already picked up volumes 2 and 3 from the library. I think it's a very relatable story for a lot of girls. You know the story: Girl stays with boyfriend because he's cute and he CAN be sweet-even though he's a jerk most of the time-and he was her first and there's that connection. And even though part of her knows she needs to dump his sorry ass, she still stays because of the times he does decide to be nice. And hopefully, she meets that other guy who's awesome and nice.
I would definitely recommend this books to most girls, fans of manga and graphic novels.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a great move to pair Dramacon with. Norah is Chriss. I really like this movie even though there was THE GUM SCENE!!! I am traumatized. I <3 Michael Cera and Kat Dennings is awesome. Again, this is a very relatable story for girls and makes a great pairing with Dramacon. I just want to tell these girls "This guy isn't worth your time. You don't have to stay with him because he was your first. And never let any guy make you feel like you're worthless. He's petty and mean and small."
So, I guess none of these characters feel very socially competent (James doesn't want to be around people, Chriss is nervous about her first 'Con, and Norah has her own issues about guys.) They all feel awkward and out of place. James Sveck reminded me of this guy I met at a bar one time. He sat next to me reading this book called "The Inextinguishable Fire: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany." I'm nosey and dorky and asked what he was reading and he started to tell me about how hard it is for him to connect with people and going out was terrible and disappointing and how he hated it because he felt like he didn't fit in and then he finished it up with "I want to find my true-love...the person who fills in the cracks in my sidewalk." I didn't know what to say to that one. Anyway, this is what I pictured James to be like.
It's easy to ignore or not even see people like James...the awkwardness is so obvious that other people want to avoid it. Maybe it's because they can see themselves in that outcast place, feel that painfully awkward or maybe it's just because people can be insensitive jerks. I don't know.
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I think defending intellectual freedom is one of the most important things the library does. The materials within a library should not be censored because of controversial subject matter. I think what I was wondering about Tyrell and how it would fare in libraries that aren't in urban environments was more like are teens as interested in these titles, are there a lot of requests for these genres? Part of the library's mission is to provide what the patrons want...do these teens want urban fiction books? I think it would be great if all libraries had all these books so people could be opened to a world different from their own. Mow much does region affect what titles are most popular? Obviously, there are those titles that are popular everywhere (Twilight, Harry Potter) but what other titles are most requested?
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Wow lots going on here. I think you just about hit everything on the Cameron book--and wow what a great parallel to that guy you met in the bar. That's so weird that he would just start telling you all that!? It's not exactly a great convo starter, you know?
ReplyDeleteBut I do think you're right about teens like James. They either go unnoticed in the background or they get teased to death. I'm not sure which one is better.
About Tyrell, I think you have to look at the community served by the library in a couple of ways. 1. you definitely need to fit your library around a community. 2. you can't always limit your library's holdings to the immediate needs of the community. #1 should probably be tackled first, but you also need to remember that there may be voices in the community that aren't being heard, and that's where #2 comes into play.
As for Tyrell, I would say that homelessness and poverty are national issues and shouldn't be relegated just to NYC. Also, hip hop is everywhere as a valid artistic movement that teens all across the country--no matter what color they are--are obsessed with. So no, I would say that Tyrell and other urban books should exist in libraries outside their urban settings. These libraries may not need every title,but they need a few.