Seattle Street Named Posthumously for Barbara Bailey, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Review, Becoming Superman by J. Michael Straczynski, And The Hound of Justice by Claire O'Dell

I'm going to cut this weeks reviews into two posts, because I have so many books to review and because, due to having visitors from Canada, I will not be able to post a review next week at all. So lets get down to it.

I think this is a marvelous way to memorialize Barbara Bailey, Seattle bookseller and founder of two local bookstores. 

Seattle Street Named After Late Bookseller

Last week in Seattle, Wash., Mayor Jenny A. Durkan presided over the public unveiling of E. Barbara Bailey Way, named in honor of LGBTQ+ activist, civil rights champion and bookseller Barbara Bailey, who died in September 2018 http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41536663. Others celebrating included Michele Hasson from the AIDS Memorial Pathway project; Pride Foundation CEO Katie Carter; and Thatcher Bailey, activist and brother of Barbara Bailey.

The new E. Barbara Bailey Way is at the festival street portion of East Denny Way, between Broadway East and 10th Avenue East, near the former site of Bailey/Coy Books. The street connects the new AIDS Memorial Pathway plaza to Cal Anderson Park and the Capitol Hill Link Light Rail station, creating a gathering place for Capitol Hill residents.

Born and raised in Seattle, Bailey began her career in bookselling at a small bookstore in Sun Valley, Idaho. After returning to Seattle in the late 1970s, Bailey opened B. Bailey Books in Rainier Square. In 1982, she opened another, bigger store on Broadway called Bailey/Coy Books. In 2003, Bailey retired from the book industry and sold the store to Michael Wells. It closed in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis.

At the time of Bailey's death, Mayor Durkan noted that her bookstores were "safe and welcoming spaces for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly for those just coming out and during the height of anti-LGBTQ+ actions." Bailey/Coy Books was also known for its "carefully curated inventory" and "friendly staff."

My mother and I have both read and enjoyed Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, though it was a bit too gross for my tastes. Still, this book is coming out in a couple of weeks, and I am looking forward to getting a copy for my mom and I to share.

Book Review

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death

Caitlin Doughty wrote Smoke Gets in Your Eyes http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41536702 to share what she's learned about the mortuary business and, more importantly, about death, with adult readers. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death is a delightful follow-up and expansion on that project, aimed at younger readers but absolutely for adults as well. Doughty's continuing experience in the business (from crematory operator to mortuary owner, with a degree in mortuary science) means her expertise has grown. Her sense of humor and fun when approaching topics often considered morbid, however, is her most valuable contribution.

"Every question in this book is 100 percent ethically sourced (free range organic) from a real live child." And children do ask "the most distinctive, delightful questions": We eat dead chickens, why not dead people? Can we give Grandma a Viking funeral? What would happen if you died on a plane?

Doughty's answers are as delightful and distinctive as the questions. She blends humor with respect for the dead, joking around but repeatedly reminding her readers that it's never okay to do something with a person's remains that they wouldn't have liked. ("Did Grandma want a Viking funeral?") Her investigations of ritual, custom, law and science are thorough, and she doesn't shy from naming the parts of Grandma's body that might leak after she is gone. She uses big words sometimes, but explains what they mean; she keeps her explanations simple enough for younger readers, but there are asides for grown-ups, too, including references to Justin Timberlake and vinyl records that she winkingly tells the kids to ignore.

Can I preserve my dead body in amber like a prehistoric insect? First of all, Doughty is on to us: she knows this is really a question about being brought back to life, à la Jurassic Park, and she informs the reader that a second species will be required to graft that DNA onto. "Hybrid panther humans of the future! (This is made up, it's not going to happen--don't listen to me, I'm just a mortician.)" As for the title question, Doughty begins: "No, your cat won't eat your eyeballs. Not right away, at least." (Spoiler alert: "Snickers is more likely to go for the tongue," but only out of necessity, or maybe because he's trying to wake you up.) Will I poop when I die? "You might poop when you die. Fun, right?" This irreverent voice is winning, and pitch-perfect for her younger audience, but, honestly, adults need a little humor as well when considering "postmortem poo."

Dianné Ruz's accompanying images keep the same tone of playful but plainspoken discussion. "Don't let anyone tell you your curiosity about death is 'morbid' or 'weird,' " Doughty reminds readers. If they try to say so, "it's likely they're scared of the topic themselves." This informative, forthright, comical guide to bodies after death is just the antidote--and surprisingly great fun as well. --Julia Kastner , librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41536704

Becoming Superman by J. Michael Straczynski is a gutsy, searing and beautifully written memoir by the man who wrote two of my favorite TV programs of all time, Babylon 5 and Sense8. Though I knew, from the previews and blurbs that there would be lots of abuse and horrors of his childhood revealed, I felt compelled to find out how someone survives such a horrendous upbringing with truly evil parents/grandparents and still manages to be sane enough to create such wonderful characters and fantastic scripts for TV shows. How is it possible to have a strong sense of self and good core values of empathy/compassion and kindness when you've never been shown those values during your childhood and early adulthood? Here's the blurb:

For four decades, J. Michael Straczynski has been one of the most successful writers in Hollywood, one of the few to forge multiple careers in movies, television and comics.  Yet there’s one story he’s never told before: his own.
In this dazzling memoir, the acclaimed writer behind Babylon 5, Sense8, Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and Marvel’s Thor reveals how the power of creativity and imagination enabled him to overcome the horrors of his youth and a dysfunctional family haunted by madness, murder and a terrible secret.
Joe's early life nearly defies belief. Raised by damaged adults—a con-man grandfather and a manipulative grandmother, a violent, drunken father and a mother who was repeatedly institutionalized—Joe grew up in abject poverty, living in slums and projects when not on the road, crisscrossing the country in his father’s desperate attempts to escape the consequences of his past. 
To survive his abusive environment Joe found refuge in his beloved comics and his dreams, immersing himself in imaginary worlds populated by superheroes whose amazing powers allowed them to overcome any adversity. The deeper he read, the more he came to realize that he, too, had a superpower: the ability to tell stories and make everything come out the way he wanted it. But even as he found success, he could not escape a dark and shocking secret that hung over his family’s past, a violent truth that he uncovered over the course of decades involving mass murder.
Straczynski’s personal history has always been shrouded in mystery. Becoming Superman lays bare the facts of his life: a story of creation and darkness, hope and success, a larger-than-life villain and a little boy who became the hero of his own life.  It is also a compelling behind-the-scenes look at some of the most successful TV series and movies recognized around the world.

This was a terrifying and difficult book for me to read, and yet, it was so well written that I could not put it down. It took me two days to read it, however, because I had to set it down and regroup after reading some of the more horrendous scenes of physical abuse and neglect. JMS is an amazing human being, and was an amazingly resilient child who based his core values on Superman and other comic book heroes, because there were no heroes, no decent human beings in his day to day world growing up. I honestly do not think that 99 percent of us, those of the Baby Boomer generation, could have survived in JMS's family without becoming a monster, going insane or committing suicide. Yet nestled inbetween all the horrors, a writers journey to success becomes clear. Writing became his salvation, and his advice on writing is gold, grounded in reality and yet hopeful and salient. Knowing the background of how hard he struggled to survive and become a writer makes me love Babylon 5 and Sense8 even more, because both were glowing with the best that humanity has to offer in the way of creativity, love, kindness, empathy and understanding of other races, creeds, sexual orientations and cultures.  I could also identify, in a small way, with his disgust at the way his Russian heritage was used as an excuse for barbaric behavior on the part of his grandparents and his father. My paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother were both full blooded Germans who were also racist, cruel and abusive people, and horrible parents. Because of my proximity to them and their age, I didn't get abused by either as my parents did, which is fortunate, but I can imagine if I would have had to stay with either for more than a couple of weeks how terrible my childhood would have become with abusive people in charge of me at my most defenseless. I am thankful that JMS wrote this memoir, and though it was hard to read, I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who dreams of being a scriptwriter, or fans of JMS and his shows, or the comic books/graphic novels he's written. This is an important book that should become a classic.

The Hound of Justice by Claire O'Dell is the second book in the Dr Janet Watson Chronicles, a Sherlock Holmes retelling in which Sara Holmes is a brilliant black CIA operative and Dr Janet Watson is a black veteran and an amputee and surgeon who works in a hospital in the future. O'Dell's prose is meticulous and somewhat fussy with details, which makes her plot slow to a crawl at times when readers are having to listen to Watson's every thought, which is boring. Still, the introduction to Watson's extended family was wonderful, and a welcome respite from her anger and self esteem issues. Here's the blurb: Dr. Janet Watson and former covert agent Sarah Holmes, introduced in the acclaimed A Study in Honor, continue their dangerous investigation into the new American Civil War with the help of fresh allies, advanced technology, and brilliant deduction in this superb reimagining of Sherlock Holmes.

It's been two months since Dr. Janet Watson accepted an offer from Georgetown University Hospital. The training for her new high-tech arm is taking longer than expected, however, leaving her in limbo. Meanwhile, her brilliant friend and compatriot, Sara Holmes, has been placed on leave--punishment forgoing rogue during their previous adventure. Neither is taking their situation very well.
Then an extremist faction called the Brotherhood of Redemption launches an assassination attempt on the president. The attempt fails but causes mass destruction--fifty dead and hundreds more injured, and Holmes takes on the task of investigating the Brotherhood.
Holmes is making progress when she abruptly disappears. Watson receives a mysterious message from Holmes's cousin Micha and learns that her friend has quit the service and is operating in the shadows, investigating clues that link the Brotherhood to Adler Industries.
She needs a surgeon, Micha tells Watson. She needs you.

Reunited once more, Dr. Watson, Holmes, and Micha embark on a mission through the deep South to clear Holmes's name, thwart the Brotherhood's next move, and most important, bring their nemesis to justice for the atrocities she's committed in the New Civil War. 

Both Holmes and Watson, in these books, are lesbians, and while I think that was a good idea, I found that having most of the characters be gay seemed to stretch my credulity. However, I loved Watson's new girlfriend, who just happens to be a bookstore owner, and I found her fumbling of their first date charming and funny. What I didn't enjoy about the book was all the political rants, and while I realize that Dr Watson takes a stand for "everything being political" and is lionized for it, I get depressed and disgusted with that kind of world view, and I can't live it and stay sane, particularly in this current horrific political climate. I'd give this book a B+, and recommend it to anyone interested in a wildly different take on the Holmes/Watson mystery solving duo. Warning, though, you have to be patient to get through these novels, but it is worth the time and effort. 

Next up, more reviews and tidbits in part two of today's blog post.