Reading Diary: Library Haul Two

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

Kate Beaton, author of the beloved Hark! A Vagrant! comics, shares this illustrated memoir about her time working in the Alberta Oil Sands after graduating from university. The story is told in the present tense of 22-year-old Katie, and as such, the narrative itself doesn’t contain the reflection on events a typical memoir would have, which I think is a reflection of Beaton’s attempts to process what it means to take part in an institution that perpetuates such damage to the environment and the reasons people choose to work for such corporations with underlying hints at how those corporations exploit people as much as they exploit the land. TW: non-graphic depictions of sexual assault experienced by the author.

Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh

Giving me some emotional whiplash, Thirsty Mermaids is a fun, queer romp of a story. Three tipsy mermaids, having run out of shipwreck wine, use magic to transform themselves into humans so they can continue their bender on land. Only, they don’t know how to break the spell to turn them back into mermaids. This story was sweet and funny, a story about belonging and found family and accepting who you are.

Made in Korea by Jeremy Holt et al

Yet another case of tonal whiplash, this book is a collection of a miniseries comic about a world in which people can purchase proxies, basically androids (disclaimer -- I do not know the difference between robots and androids and I am not looking it up right now) for a variety of uses. The series focuses on a family who purchases a proxy to be their child as biological parenthood isn’t an option (the series doesn’t get into the backstory for this, which is fine. There are enough context clues that you don’t feel lost), but the proxy they receive has special code and is, in essence, true AI. I thought this was an interesting story. I’m not into this sort of sci-fi enough to have any sort of deep opinions, but there are strong themes about identity and autonomy through which kept my interest. This sort of book is tailor-made for library browsing. I don’t have the budget to support comics like I want to, and I read them so fast. If you like sci-fi and stories about AI, you should check this one out. TW: school shooting, with some vivid violence in the illustration -- I can say more if anyone wants. Without spoiling it, the depiction of the episode in this book wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t handle it. As a teacher, I tend to really avoid these sorts of stories and depictions in media, but I found this depiction -- not gentle, but not overwhelming if that makes sense? Let me know if you want a more thorough spoiling via DM.

Reading Diary: What Unites Us by Dan Rather, Elliot Kirschner, and Tim Foley

Here is a synopsis from the publisher's website:

In this graphic novel adaptation of his bestselling collection of essays, legendary news anchor Dan Rather provides a voice of reason and explores what it means to be a true patriot.

Brought to life in stunning color by artist Tim Foley, What Unites Us: The Graphic Novel takes apart the building blocks of this country, from the freedoms that define us, to the values that have transformed us, to the institutions that sustain us. Rather’s vast experience and his unique perspective as one of America's most renowned newscasters shed light on who we were and who we are today, allowing us to see a possible future, where we are one country; united.

Okay, first of all, let me take a moment to shout into the void -- just because the text contains sequential art and is book-length does not make this a graphic novel!

Whew. Okay.

I almost passed this book up. Who wants to read a civics book on summer vacation? But Dan Rather has been a formative figure in my life, and the lives of so many Americans. In the days before 24-hour news cycles and ratings-driven news programming, Rather was probably the authority figure in news, someone we could all trust to tell us the truth in the news we needed to know. My friend said she thinks of him as America’s Grandpa. This book is based on a series of essays meditating on patriotism and the values that truly make America great (or could) -- values like curiosity, empathy, and service. He draws from his long career as a journalist and interactions with the people who have inspired him to reflect on what America has been, what it has become, and what it could be.

As I read this, I realized that I’ve become infected with Discourse Brain Rot from quick takes on social media. I don’t think it’s a fatal version, but it was a wake-up call that I need to constantly check my biases as I read. For example, there were a lot of times where Rather would lose me in imperfect metaphors. He compares pioneering scientists to explorers like Christopher Columbus in one chapter, and I was like, “But the genocide!” and wanted to dismiss Rather’s point. It was perilously close to the arguments I see around fighting racism in fandom -- if his tone was nicer, and if his examples were more palatable, then I would listen to him. Not helpful!

As I read, I had to keep coming back to a more open mind. First, consider Rather’s purpose for writing this. He wants to provide readers with a sense of hope and optimism for the future by reminding us of all the really great things Americans have done. At the same time, he acknowledges the many and varied failures of Americans. He often comes back to the scourges of racism, colonialism, and discrimination, particularly against the LGBTQ community. In one panel, Rather writes that being patriotic means “confronting honestly what is wrong or sinful with our nation and government. I see my love of country imbued with a responsibility to bear witness to its faults.” Patriotism, he writes, “is rooted in humility. Nationalism is rooted in arrogance.”

Second, consider the medium. This is a comic version of a book of essays. By necessity, there is going to be a loss of nuance and detail to make it fit. Addressing slavery in a chapter about immigrants, he writes, “Of course, not all migrations have been voluntary; many are here because their ancestors were ripped from their homelands in Africa and carried across the ocean in bondage.” Yeah, that is definitely true! When I got annoyed with such succinct statements, I had to step back and remind myself that it’s not fair to expect one book to cover every angle and nuance.

I particularly appreciated the chapter on the way anti-intellectualism has infected national discourse. Rather writes about his own complicity as a journalist in presenting two sides of a story as “both” sides. He writes, “When you put two people on-screen and tell both ‘sides’ of the story, in the viewer’s mind it immediately connotes fifty-fifty, even if you say it doesn’t.” He was writing this specifically about the vaccine “debate” but applying it broadly across news media.

In the afterword, Rather says this: There is still a place for optimism, but only if it is bolstered by hard work, perseverance, and a commitment to each of us to improve the well-being of our communities. I appreciate this reminder, that growth and change require hard work. It’s really easy to despair in the face of absolute ASSHOLES. That doesn’t mean we can give up.

This book is part of a series called World Citizen Comics. Despite the “World,” they focus on American civics. I ordered the volume on free speech to see if I can include it in my unit on free speech and social media. I’ve checked out a couple of other volumes from the library to read. If/When I ever come back to the US to teach, I’m going to buy the series for my classroom library. They are written at a level that makes the ideas accessible to middle and high school students, and given that students don’t get much of a civics education, at least not a compassionate one in my experience, I think these can be valuable resources.

(And! I tweeted about reading this book. I didn’t tag the authors, but Rather saw it and replied “Thank you for the kind words.” 🤩)