2010 Booklist Episode 2: I Can't Believe I Never Read This

You all probably forgot about the first episode, but basically my plan was to post about books I’ve been reading. The problem with this, though, is that I’ve read way more books than I am able to post about. So I’m just gonna post about some. The theme this episode: books that are so bad-ass that I can’t believe I went through life without having read them.

1. Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent. As a drag king, I can’t believe I never read this book. This dyke is awesome. Basically she hooked herself up with male drag and instead of just walking around looking manly like I do, she infiltrated all these male organizations (bowling club, strip club audience, monastery). She really made me rethink the way I treat guys. She figured it’d be easy to bag ladies as a straight guy, but she ended up finding out that dykes have it easier because with men, women put up a wall of self-defense the second they see you coming (for good reasons). I realized I do that with dudes. Sometimes I’m perfectly nasty to dudes who just ask me the time of day, when really you can’t blame a guy for trying. I’ve been making an effort not to automatically be nasty unless the dude says some stupid shit. Then, it’s ON.

Twelve stars. She talks about race and class and is aware of her privilege, but doesn’t go much beyond stating that awareness.



2. A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K Dick. I can’t believe I never read this book. It’s basically about this cop who goes undercover to catch people who deal Substance D, this really cool drug (that it can kill you). But, he has to take the drug to pass as a druggie, and he gets to where he’s not sure if he’s a cop or a regular guy who does D. You can tell that Dick (haha, I said dick) has had a lot of experience doing drugs and having psychedelic experiences. The story is in no way a cautionary tale against doing drugs. It’s a way more subtle meditation about the nature of reality.

Every psychonaut should read this book.


3. Angry Black White Boy by Adam Mansbach. I can’t believe I never read this book. It's INSANE. It’s a postmodern Invisible Man. It calls out every problem we have with white people today, and then it calls out every solution people have come up with to the problem. It’s basically about this white kid who gets so clued in about who and what he is that his mind runs around and around in circles and he has to take action. He starts out by robbing white people in his taxicab, but then is appalled when people assume the robber’s Black. One of my favorite moments is when he pulls a gun on two white dudes and screams in their faces, “WHAT COLOR AM I???”

“White! You're white!”

“THANK you! I thought I was going insane here. Now hand over your watches and your wallets.”

That’s just the beginning. The novel has two Black characters. Between the three of them, they narrate the most hard-core and incisive commentary on race in the 21st century that I’ve ever read in a fiction.

The author also does really well with the character’s flaws – the main one being that he’s really really conscious of his whiteness and is always trying to prove himself and fit in with Black people.

My only complaint about this book would be its narrow focus on Black and white issues. He doesn’t talk about other races.

But you need to read this book today. If you even read the rest of this post, you’re wrong, ‘cause you need to be at the library.

That’s enough for today. Next time, I’ll talk about the Native American books I’ve been reading.