...like some spin-off Baudelaire poem rewritten by a clinical depressive...

This is a sentence from around 20 % in - I´ve read half of the book so far - but I can´t get it out of my head, and go back to it again and again. Admittely totally taken out of context, that is I provide none. It doesn´t describe the book at all, even the impression might be there, It is... funny? Hard to tell due the text itself. Hilarious it might be, funny probably not.

As with ZOMG! I´m one of three and a half people or thereabouts who will ever read Faucher´s work so nevermind, I guess?

Kudos to Bauhaus for the inspiration for my sketch.

He could not help but to ponder the potentially lateral meanings of Ezra Pound´s statement, "Technique is the touchstone of an artist´s sincerity."

lateral adj 1) of, at, towards, or from the side or sides; the plant takes up water through its lateral roots.

-[ANATOMY] & [ZOOLOGY] situated on one side or other of the body or of an organ, especially in the region furthest from the median plane. The opposite of medial.

Not that I disagree with Pound´s statement, or Faucher´s inclusion in the text, but I had to look up lateral in the (online) dictionary, and I still don´t understand the meaning of it here in context *confused look*

I´m one of the three and a half people who´ve ever read a Kane X. Faucher novel, apparently. Just took me only the better part of two years to finally pick up ZOMG!, a "social media novel". As always, any book by him is "large, cumbersome, and studded with dense verbiage" (source). Not only that, but it is also surprisingly funny. The kind of meta-irony I normally and only so far associated with Infinite Jest. Off to a good start, not very surprising, since I admire his writing ever since I laid hands on his work the first time with The Infinite Library.

And anyone who compiles a word like ´Webschmerz´ and uses it unapologetically has my full attention.

Kane X. Faucher's latest novel is a brilliant adaptation the classic Alexander Dumas tale of revenge, The Count of Monte Cristo.

I've always loved the original, and Faucher's book is a wonderful satire that cleaves to the original plot so carefully, I was continually impressed. I kept thinking, "There's no way he can maintain this!" But he did. So, I would encourage you to read the original story at some point if you already haven't, so this pleasure is not denied to you.

In Professor Montgomery Cristo: An Adjunct's Tale, Dantes is an up-and-coming academic. A PhD candidate with a glorious academic future ahead of him. But then he is wrongly accused of plagiarism (the academic equivalent of murder) and his hopes are dashed. Instead of prison, Dantes's is sent to a second-rate university, where he must toil as an adjunct professor, where he meets another sessional who will help him achieve his revenge on the jealous academics who ruined him.

All the bones of the original story are there, and then fleshed out with this wonderful satire of the unjust treatment of sessional teachers at modern universities. Sometimes called contract faculty, the life of a sessional can be tough. Particularly when you are on what is called a limited duties appointment, which is renewable term by term. This means sessional don't always know what they are teaching or even IF they are teaching next semester. The pay is low, and there are often no benefits. At many universities upwards of 40% of courses are taught by adjuncts.

All of these injustices – and many more -- are satirized by Faucher in this novel, and it is really worth your time. Now in interests of full disclosure, I must tell you that I have been, and am, a contract faculty member, and that Kane is a colleague, but this is a wholehearted recommendation. This book has the pacing of Dumas and the wicked sense of humor and genius of Faucher.

The last day of the year is a good day to recap what I have read. I was blessed in more than one way. More books I have read I liked than I have disliked. I have found friends in them. It´s a little overwhelming to opt only for those books mentioned. Impossible, really, but in the end I decided to go for this five since I am (almost) sure those gave me the most pleasure, reading wise. So here you go, make of it what you will. *smile*

Kane X. Faucher - The Infinite Library

There is mystery, there is thriller and all kinds of book-related enigmas, stories within stories, conspiracy theories. But there is more to it, especially as the series continues. Based on a vast intellectual foundation it is a philosophical-political journey about art, media and the question of identity with a broad background in history. Kane has created the mountain without a valley.

Marisha Pessl - Night Film

A bastardized novel of sorts, a Michael Haneke/David Lynch movie-alike book, that is truly haunted. A crime noir, absorbing, incredibly rich in detail, full of depth and clarity, even at times overly crafted. The nightmarish, rigid atmosphere of darkness however is an experience on its own. Love also the multimedia aspect of the novel, the webpage and film for the book Marisha Pessl has created to enrich the reading.

Edward J. Rathke - Ash Cinema

Another book with a background on film and arts. About loving and dying, about creation and destruction, about chasing ghosts and making them real. Full of parables about emotions via films where the lines are blurred between reality and a different kind of reality, which is nevertheless as real. Quirky and metaphysical ´Ash Cinema´ is one of the finest pieces of lit I have read this year, even the writing itself is often drunk on its own importance. I have had to adjust my thoughts about it more than once, but with every re-reading parts of the novel I became more and more intrigued.

Berit Ellingsen - The Empty City

A novel without a plot per se, and probably/most likely the only Zen-alike book I have ever read. A nameless narrator wanders through an empty and silent city, close to insanity before he finally starts his journey to enlightenment. Extremely sensual, subtle and poetic, but also precise and controlled. There is a calmness in the writing that I enjoyed, which spoke to me with every senses of my body. 

Andra Brynn - Where I End And You Begin

Technically speaking ´Where I End And You Begin´ falls under the ´New Adult´ category, but it´s definitely not your typical angsty drama and ´damaged h needs to be saved´ type of book. It´s more about overcoming pain and grief and inner demons that everyone carries around in a way. Ghost stories neatly intervowen with the story itself also gives a different perspective on the narrative. An emotional rollercoaster that touched me deeply and often unexpectedly. 

I also wanted to give several books a honorable mention, which I love as much. I am certainly biased about them, mostly because I found a true friend in Angela which I would have never dreamed of just one year ago. For me those books became as important as the ones I have called favorites now. Not only because of my friendship with the author *smile* but because they remind me what a journey 2013 was, with ups and downs, negatives and positives. For this I will ever be grateful. It has taught me alot, and I am happily embracing every minute of it. Mentioning these books is also a way of saying ´Thank You´ for being a friend.

Angela Horn - The Moon Rises

Bijou Hunter - Damaged and the Cobra
Dakota Shepherd - Micah

Happy New Year and Happy Reading in 2014!