Monthly Archives: October 2015
The Freedom Inside White Space: On ‘The Argonauts’ and Being a Jets Fan in Manhattan
Posted on October 28, 2015 1 Comment
By Dan Bjork 1. So, I made it through the first real test of my FBC: I did not watch Jets-Patriots. This is the first rivalry game I’ve missed since the late ’80s and Ken O’Brien. According to my Facebook feed, we lost “in the most Jets-y-est way possible.” But I don’t know what these […]
A House Party Full of Strangers: On Maggie Nelson’s ‘The Argonauts’
Posted on October 28, 2015 1 Comment
By Ryan Joe Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts gets its title from the ship the Argo, which was replaced piece by piece over a long voyage – as described by Roland Barthes – until it was both the same ship and an entirely new one. This is not unlike how the 49ers, a few years removed […]
Bye Week
Posted on October 26, 2015 Leave a Comment
It’s Bye Week, y’all! And that means that the NFL/Football Book Club Season is almost half over. And while we’re not reading a new book this week — everybody’s busy resting, getting cortisone injections for nagging injuries, and bemoaning their teams’ records (expect Rob, and maybe Dan) — we’re still posting about titles we’ve read this season. So […]
Book Extras: ‘Speak’
Posted on October 21, 2015 Leave a Comment
If you’re digging this week’s book — Speak by Louisa Hall — here are two reviews of the novel, one from The New York Times and one from NPR. Plus, check out the below author interview with Hall from All Things Considered: Naturally, it goes without saying, dear reader, that you should check in with […]
Book 7: Louisa Hall’s ‘Speak’
Posted on October 20, 2015 Leave a Comment
This week, Football Book Club is excited to be reading Louisa Hall’s novel Speak — and even more excited to be weighing in on Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts. For those of you keeping score at home: Will we be watching the NFL? No. Are we happy about this state of affairs? No. Would it be nice if […]
The Shame in Thinking You’re Simply Soft: On the Paradox of Other People in ‘Hyperbole and a Half’
Posted on October 18, 2015 2 Comments
By Dan Bjork This week was tough for me. My S.O.P. for these entries — extremely close readings and (attempts at) abstract subtext analysis — wasn’t really an option. Everything in Hyperbole and a Half is presented with a single-entendre straightness I admire. I’m truly digging its blog-roots (the word blog being used without any […]
One of Us: On ‘Hyperbole and a Half’ and Chicago Bears Mediocrity
Posted on October 18, 2015 3 Comments
By Adam Boretz 1. I think Yona’s piece from earlier this week hit upon two key aspects of Hyperbole and a Half. In that post, she wrote: [Allie] Brosh, unlike any writer I’ve read in a long time, doesn’t seem particularly concerned with extracting any deep meaning from her childhood to reveal the meaning of present […]
Funny as Hell: On Hyperbole and a Half
Posted on October 17, 2015 Leave a Comment
By Ryan Joe I was thrilled to read Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half because finally, finally, I found out where all those memes are coming from. Though I go through a lot of comics, I rarely do so online. It’s hard for me to read for pleasure through a screen. Of course, I use […]
Book Extras: ‘The Argonauts’
Posted on October 15, 2015 Leave a Comment
As we all spend the week reading Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts, here are some great reviews and pieces about the book from The New York Times, Guardian, and Bookforum. And be sure to check back later this week for FBC’s take on Hyperbole and a Half — and next week, when we’ll be talking about […]
My Life in Ruins and Whacky Childhoods: The Highlights Reel
Posted on October 13, 2015 3 Comments
By Yona Harvey 1. Cartoonist Allie Brosh and novelist Steven Millhauser immerse readers in the warped worlds of children. But after that, Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half and Millhauser’s Edwin Millhouse part ways. At no point does Brosh declare herself a precocious genius or claim to tell a genius tale. Quite the opposite: “I was […]
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