Luke Skywalker Can't Read

Luke Skywalker Can't Read: And Other Geeky Truths by Ryan Britt, 208 pages

In this short book, Britt ruminates on the role of science fiction and fantasy in his life, and spouts a lot of theories involving different sci-fi and fantasy pop culture. While a few of these were interesting to me (particularly the Doctor Who essay and the essay in which Britt discusses the implications of world without Lord of the Rings), most of these fell flat. I'm not sure, however, if this is Britt's fault: the issue is that there's not a lot of crossover in our fandoms. He's obviously passionate about Star Wars and Star Trek, but obviously doesn't care as much about the Whedonverse or Harry Potter as I do (his claim in the titular essay that reading for pleasure doesn't really exist in the wizarding world, at least outside of Hermoine, rankles me; obviously reading for pleasure exists, otherwise what would be the point of The Quibbler or Witch Weekly or Harry's favorite book, Flying with the Cannons? And how would you explain the popularity of celebrity author Gilderoy Lockhart?).

Anyway.

I'm honestly not sure how Britt's theories stack up within their respective fandoms, though as he points out in the introduction, his essays aren't meant to be the final word; they're there to spur conversations and geeky arguments. So if you're a Star Trek, Star Wars, Back to the Future, or Doctor Who fan, give this a whirl. But be warned: you're probably going to disagree with him on something.

Fangirl

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, 438 pages

When I was twelve, I was a hardcore Backstreet Boys fan. It started with the music (thanks TRL!), then quickly went to searching online for any and all information I could find, then to coming across and reading what could only be later termed fanfiction (and even writing my own, which, thank god, only stayed between my equally-obsessed bestie and myself). Then Harry Potter got big, my musical tastes changed, and I dabbled in reading Harry Potter fanfic (Sirius/Lupin are my OTP) and speculating online about what will happen while waiting for the next book to come out. I say all this just to give you an idea of how much I identified with Fangirl.

Cath, like most of the world, is a huge Simon Snow fan. The difference is that she spends a lot of her free time writing fanfiction about Simon and his roommate, Baz, and that a lot (we're talking thousands of views) of people are reading it. About to start her first year at college, she's not only dealing with the anxiety of moving away from home, but also with the fact that her twin sister, Wren, is determined to have a separate life from her while there. Her roommate, Reagan, is surly; Reagan's boyfriend (or is he?), Levi, is always around, even when Reagan isn't; and the only class that she cares about is Intro to Fiction-Writing. Still, she manages to carve out a life on campus, despite the occasional family/school drama. Rainbow Rowell is so good at evoking what it's like to be a slightly awkward college freshman, to have to deal with people you only slightly know hanging out in your tiny dorm room (hi to all the sweaty nerds who piled into my room and onto my bed to hang out with my roommate), and to feel sorta disappointed that your freshman year isn't aligning with what Hollywood thinks should happen. And she's just as equally good at evoking what it's like to be so intensely into something, whether it's a band or book or TV show (sorry for all those rambling, one-sided conversations about Nine Inch Nails, Abby and Malena), but also feeling like you have a dirty secret, that I spent a lot of my time shouting I KNOW THAT FEEL while reading this book.

I loved it. Loved it loved it loved it. If you're a fangirl (or fanboy!) about something, anything, you will like this book. If you like romance, you will like this book. If you were ever awkward, unsure of yourself, more inclined to stay in on a Saturday night than the rest of your floor in college, then you will like this book. Contemporary isn't something I choose to read a lot, but after reading Fangirl and also loving Eleanor and Park, I'm willing to make an exception for Rainbow Rowell.