"Things I Can't Explain" - I read a book!

I read a book!

It's called "Things I Can't Explain" and it's by Mitchell Kriegman.

It's a sequel to the television series "Clarissa Explains It All".

That's why it's called "Things I Can't Explain". Clarissa's older now and she realizes she doesn't know everything like she...


Let me back up.


Queen Melawesome (formerly Princess Melawesome) and I recently watched the first few episodes of "Clarissa Explains It All" and, as I do with all nostalgic things, I looked up stuff about it on the internet!

I found out some interesting things about the history of the show and also that the guy who made up Clarissa in the first place wrote a book about her as a 20-something!

So I looked up the book at my library and read it!


It's pretty good!

I was a fan of the show, but not a mega-huge fan. So I remember some stuff about the show, but not as much as I remember about, say, Roger Rabbit.

The book touched on everything I remember and like about the original series. It explains what's been going on with her parents, brother, Sam, Elvis, etc. in ways I found quite satisfactory. It also included the ill-fated made-for-TV-movie (that was supposed to kickoff a new TV series) "Clarissa Now".

There are also a few references to "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" which Melissa Joan Hart (who played Clarissa) also starred in as Sabrina.

Like I wrote a few paragraphs ago. It's good! I enjoyed it. It's a lot like the original show, but more adult.

Yep, Clarissa now swears, drinks, worries about adult stuff, and has had sex. But there are still plenty of charts, rambling monologues, and references to current pop culture!

The story is all about Clarissa trying to get a new job, contemplating a lost love, dealing with an ex, her parents, brother, and a possible new boyfriend.

The only parts that weren't for me were all of the descriptions of the fashion choices of various characters and a cringe-worthy conversation with Ferguson (her brother).

If you were a fan of the show, and don't mind a little cursing, drinking, and sex, I suggest you check it out!

Bye Sam!

I know, you know that I'm not telling the truth....

This book's okay...





I enjoyed it over-all, but it suffered from the same problems I have with most book additions to television series: it feels like pretty good fan fiction. It's not a bad story, it just doesn't feel canon. I don't know if this happens because it's just one writer working on it instead of a room or if the stories just feel different in a text medium instead of a multimedia presentation.

If you're a fan of the Psych TV show and are all caught up on current episodes, you could pass your time in worse pursuits. Indy's public library has the other 3 books so I'll probably read them eventually... after I finish reading the 2 shelves, double stacked with my "to reads".

Next up:

The Books of Kelly Link

I heard about Kelly Link from Bryan Lee O'Malley. He mentioned on his blog (radiomaru.com) that he was reading her book "Magic For Beginners":



He seemed to like it, so I checked it out... and fell in love. Link writes some of the oddest, most intriguing short stories I've ever read.

Here are two more of her books that I've read:



I think she has more, but that's all I've been able to find (at the Indianapolis Public Library).

I recommend them to anyone who likes strangeness. I love strangeness, so, there you go.

The thing I like the most about her stories is how they feel like dreams. They are full of dream logic. Stuff that only makes sense if you don't think about it. Stuff that would not work in real reality is common-place.

The thing I like the least about her stories is that many of them feel like the first chapter of a much longer story. I would love to read the full book, but this is all there is (for now). Sometimes her stories don't really have a "the end" feeling at the end. They just end.

Link writes about lots of interesting things; ghosts, zombies, magic, monsters, wizards, death, fairies, and sex, lots of sex. But not romantic, pornographic, or pleasant sex, it's more anatomy textbook sex. Lots of descriptive, scientific words. Sex stated matter-of-factually. Odd.

If you like odd, short stories, you might love the Books of Kelly Link.