Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not

Read November 2009.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia

The Scoop: Written by three of the creators (and stars) behind Strangers With Candy. Published in 2003 by Hyperion Books in the US.

The Ingredients: Russell Hokes, "author", secures a book deal and finds his inspiration in Wigfield, a small town that pretty much lacks any town-like qualities and actually just exists off the side of the highway. Wigfield's existence is being threatened by flooding due to the scheduled destruction of the town dam. This is a narrative of Hokes telling his story of writing the story of this town's potentially doomed future, spliced with interviews with town locals and photographs by designer Todd Oldham.

Serves: Adult.

Introduction: Prior to embarking on the voyage of discovery that is this book, a quick but gripping note about me: My name is Russell Hokes, author. [3.5/5 A good preface for what the book is like - sarcastic, satirical, verbose]

Result: I didn't really know what to expect of the book but had vaguely high expectations due to the comedic prowess of the authors, so that might have let me down a bit. I do hear that the audiobook is the way to go with this though, because the authors' voices lend quite a bit of personality and character to the story. I definitely would want to hear that in action. This is a rather funny read, all in all, but not necessarily a book you won't want to set aside - it took me some time to work my way through it. There are some parts that I thought really funny but occasionally the humor/writing gets a bit old, or maybe I just didn't quite get it. The format and concept is inventive, and along with the very interesting photographs, perhaps perusing it slowly is actually the way to go. If you are a fan of Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, or Paul Dinello (I am not too familiar with Dinello as I've only seen one episode of Strangers with Candy), you will probably enjoy it for the most part. Just take it for what it is. [3/5 Probably won't pick it up again (unless I find the audiobook) and won't highly recommend it to others, but still entertaining while it lasted.]

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Read October 2009.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

The Scoop: Written by Larry Doyle, a former writer for The Simpsons. Published by Ecco (HarperCollins) in 2007. Adapted as a Canadian/American film in 2009, directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Paul Rust and Hayden Panettiere in the lead roles.


The Ingredients: Debate team member and high school valedictorian Denis Cooverman, instead of sticking with his prepared speech for their graduation, ends up declaring his love for popular cheerleader Beth Cooper in front of the whole student body and their parents. He also singles out some other notable students in his speech, upsetting them. Beth ends up thinking Denis' profession is sweet, but off-duty soldier boyfriend doesn't. The rest of the novel follows the progression of the night as Denis and his best friend Rich end up joining forces with Beth and her gang, much to Denis' shock.

Serves: High-schoolers/teenagers. Or those who really want to relive high school shenanigans for some reason.

1. The Valedict: Denis Cooverman was sweating more than usual, and he usually sweat quite a bit. [1/5 The first line paints the picture, but not very creatively or eloquently.]

Result: I checked this out from the library on a whim. I just saw the spine and recalled that there had been a recent movie adapted from it, so I wanted to see what it was about. Despite some rather good reviews (the book, not the film), I didn't like it. I struggled to keep reading it and at the end I felt rather bummed that I had wasted time reading it. Admittedly, after reading some positive reviews, I could somewhat see where these readers were coming from, but it still didn't improve my overall feeling. Larry Doyle does have a way of expressing witty observations, but these mildly funny notes were few and far between. I felt the events of the night seemed a bit far-fetched or shocking (though who knows, because I was a very tame and mild-mannered high-schooler). One review also talked about Doyle's uncanny way of imitating the speak of teenagers, but I don't agree. And the plot line just seemed to drag on a bit and got redundant, like (spoiler alert...) how Denis got pummeled by Beth's boyfriend time and time again. And then there are the overdone high school stereotypes - the dorky awkward yet smart boy who has spent a lifetime secretly pining for the cheerleader, and of course the blond pretty popular cheerleader with the older boyfriend, the cheerleader's sidekicks, the closeted gay guy who relies on humor and his schtick of reciting movie lines to draw attention away from his homosexuality, the big jock bully who actually is just acting out on being hurt when he was younger, and so forth. [1/5 I would not recommend this book. Unless...I have no idea. It does seem like some people enjoy this book. Somehow it just was not my cup of tea, or the humor was beyond (or far too beneath) me. It could have been an interesting story, but it did not actualize the way I might've imagined it to. So a 1 for concept, I guess.]