books I am currently not reading (and one that I am)

"Oh, how wonderful, my workload is lighter now that we've switched to online classes, I will have so much time to read, delightful." --me, two weeks ago

Me of two weeks ago, as you may be able to guess from the title, was a liar. I have somehow accomplished less reading than I did before All This(TM) happened. This is partially due to the general feeling of listlessness that comes from interacting with no one but my family for days on end, and it is partially due to the compelling story, relatively simple gameplay, and stunning artwork of Red Dead Redemption 2. Cowboys have become my entire identity. I exist only in the dying Wild West of 1899. My personality has been assimilated into Arthur Morgan's.

Despite this turn of events, I have every intention to read--to finish Hitchhiker's Guide, to start The Alloy of Law, to finish my reread of Percy Jackson. However, given my history, these intentions will not be carried out, regardless of how bored I become, because I am, above all things, a jester and a fool. Fortunately, I have at least been doing my homework--if I am not a model student, I am at least someone who accomplishes the minimum--and my homework includes reading.

This week's book-I-was-forced-to-read-but-still-am-enjoying-very-much is Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. What a queer, queer ride, and I mean a queer ride. I've listened to the musical (because yeah, I'm that person), so I was ready for the story, but I wasn't ready for the book itself. Not only is this one of the most queer-centric books I've read in a while, it's also my first graphic novel. I've been meaning to get into graphic novels for a long time, but they always somehow got pushed to the bottom of my extensive list. I don't know if this just happens to be an exceptionally good graphic novel, but if all of them are like this, they're my new favorite genre. I have to admit, I didn't understand why people write graphic novels of books that already exist until I actually read a graphic novel. It's an entirely different mode of storytelling! Look at me, correctly using exclamation points on the Internet like some kind of gen Xer! This may not be a revelation for anyone else, but it sure is for me.

The story of Alison's father and his obsession with appearing perfect is such a perfect story to be told in this manner. The irony in so much of the text is emphasized by the illustrations, and the imagery of perfection juxtaposed with reality is just *chef's kiss*. It's one of those books that compels you to keep reading, not because it's suspenseful or thrilling, but because it's just so good. I don't mean to gush, but I think Fun Home is worth gushing over.