Excited to read: Kiss & Tell by Mari Naomi

I spend a lot of my life being excited about books, whether anticipating their release, tenderly opening the first page, or reading them obsessively when I should be, I don't know, writing. Or just reading them obsessively. I'm edging closer and closer to a Kindle purchase, but don't know if that's going to actually happen anytime soon. Right now, on my bed, where I have one laptop perched on my lap and the other, older one, which has Word, at my feet, I have next to me The Winter of Our Disconnect, a memoir by Susan Maushart about how her family went offline for six months, Good Eggs, a graphic memoir by Phoebe Potts about infertility that I finally got from the library and am totally enjoying, and Close to Famous, a middle grade novel by Joan Bauer about a 12-year-old girl who wants to, yes, bake cupcakes. If I could spend my entire day reading, I would, but I do manage to work reading into my daily schedule - it's always a balance between that and writing, and I often try to combine them by writing about the books I've read that have somehow moved me. I will also soon be reading Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think about Marrying by Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker, the book du jour on sexual politics, for an article I'm writing for Alternet, and Pleasure Bound: Victorian Sex Rebels and the New Eroticism by Deborah Lutz, to prepare to interview her February 17th at NYC bookstore McNally Jackson (free, with book party to follow).

Anyway...in an attempt to get back to blogging here, I'm starting a new feature called Excited to Read, which will contain basic info about a book I'm excited to read/looking forward to reading. Sometimes the anticipation stage of reading is the best, though I always hope the book lives up to its promise.

This one I saw in the online Harpercollins catalog a while ago, and it's finally coming out. I'm totally intrigued by the idea of someone putting out a resume of their dating life. I was a late bloomer in that regard so mine up until age 22 wasn't that interesting, at least, looking back I don't think it was. The graphic memoir Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume From Age 0 to 22 is by Mari Naomi and the official blurb is:

In this fresh and offbeat graphic memoir, critically-acclaimed comic book artist MariNaomi chronicles her time as a misfit teen and young woman looking for love in San Francisco, while bringing to light issues of identity and sexuality.

From her father and mother’s interracial marriage to “you show me yours, I’ll show you mine” moments on the playground to drug experimentation and questions about her sexuality, MariNaomi lays bare all her hurts and loves in this coming-of-age graphic memoir that’s poignant and often hilarious. Each chapter highlights a different relationship in her life, including a heartfelt and sweet first love and an honest look at how her blunt views on sex affected her work and her relationship with her parents. Though she often admits to actions that some might find shocking, her deft writing and assured illustration make this memoir one to applaud. MariNaomi’s words and illustrations beautifully meld together, creating a memoir that is funny and frank and marks a strong new female voice in the graphic book world.