King Ick

King Dork by Frank Portman
New York : Delacorte Press, c2006.
344 p. ; 22 cm.

Some books work for me and some don't.  This one just didn't, which surprised me since it received a lot of very positive reviews.

As someone who has been working in public schools for over a decade, I found what Booklist calls "a humorous, scathing indictment of the current public education system" to be instead a cynical, crass and deeply dishonest portrayal of public school life.  The high school of Dorkworld is a vicious place where faculty gladly and frequently bully students, where bullying by students is completely accepted and condoned, and where the academics are non-existent.  That would all be ok, if the intention of hte book was to create a exaggerated parody of public high schools.  Additionally, the teachers in Dorkworld are a bunch of imbeciles, bullies, fools, and/or pornographic criminals - and the academic world they preside over is one where even the AP classes offer little more than inane fluff.

Finally, the main "hero" of Dorkworld is supposedly an unappealing outsider subject to bullying, ridicule and insults - but as the novel ends it becomes apparent that he's really as crass as any of the pathological normals that he hates, considers himself better than everyone else, and somehow ends up as the sensual boy-toy of two rather attractive girls.

The writing is pretty good.  Dialogue is well done.  But for me this book just lacks heart.

Ahead of Her Time

Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies by Nell Beram and Carolyn Boriss-Krimsky
New York : Amulet Books, 2013.
177 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 27 cm.

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did - and additionally, I learned a lot from reading it.

This is the second biography of a woman artist I've read this year, having read - and quite enjoyed - the biography of Georgia O'Keefe back in October.  In Collector of Skies, I really enjoyed discovering what an avant garde artist Yoko Ono was.  She really was a pioneer in the areas of conceptual and performance art.  The book has really nice reproductions of several of her installations, along with great archival photos from her work in the 1960s and 1970s (along with more recent photos).

Beram and Boriss-Krimsky's biography does a great job of detailing the interesting love, artistic and antiwar collaboration between Yoko and the mega-famous John Lennon while keeping the focus squarely on Yoko Ono's life and accomplishments. 

To me, the great strength of this book, is that not only do the authors provide a great deal of information about the life of Ono - her artistic, political and intellectual growth, and her personal life - but they manage to make it a very moving story, too.  I found myself lost in the joy and liberation that Yoko felt on meeting Lennon and realizing that he was someone who truly understood her work.  I also found myself near to tears reading about the murder of John in December of 1980, outside their Central Park apartment.

This book is a great introduction to the life and times of an important artist and pop figure.  I will definitely recommend it to students who might be interested.

Don't Miss This Trane

A Love Supreme: the Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album by Ashley Kahn
New York : Viking, 2002.
xxiii, 260 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

I picked up this book at a library book sale this year and read it as someone who likes jazz, but frankly is pretty ignorant about many aspects of jazz.  The book was a treat in that it is very accessible for the lay person interested in jazz, but also makes many references to various jazz artists, techniques, movements, recording studios, etc.  In this way it expanded my limited knowledge, tempted me to learn more, but managed not to overwhelm me - not bad! Kahn's book really conveys the heady times that the mid-1960s were for jazz - and explains why A Love Supreme is one of the iconic albums in the history of jazz.

I really enjoyed learning about John Coltrane's rise to fame - his rigorous practice habits, his brilliance as a performer and composer, his addiction and recovery from heroin, his work with Miles Davis, his role as leader of the quartet that created A Love Supreme, and sadly, his premature death from cancer in 1967. 

It was especially fun to listen to the album - which I bought from iTunes - while reading this book.  Chapter 3 of the book (p. 83-127) provides a thoughtful analysis of the album, section by section, so it serves in effect as a listener's guide. Though not necessary, I'd definitely recommend that readers get their hands on a copy of Coltrane's album to enjoy while they read this fine book.