Like the Internet But Slower

I thought you'd be interested to see what I'm reading these days. Mind you, neither of these books are for school; they are purely for the sake of I-love-to-read.

The first is called Soon I Will Be Invincible, and it is by Austin Grossman¹. It records the parallel stories of Doctor Impossible, an evil genius and maybe the fourth most dangerous person in the world, and Fatale, a cyborg chick and new recruit of Earth's most elite superhero team, The Champions. When the book opens Doctor Impossible is in a high security lockdown for enhanced criminals hatching his latest plot, and CoreFire, Impossible's archnemesis and long-time leader of The Champions, has gone missing. I'm not yet sure what follows, but I imagine it will be a colorful battle of good against evil filled with exciting existential dilemmas as Fatale and Doc Impos narrate their own stories, each sharing their innermost thoughts about the life they have chosen, the benefits or curses of stardom, and the possibility of hooking up with another superhuman.

The other new book is called The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived². It's by three people working together, none of whose names are as important or exciting as the 101 fictitious people they chose as history-changing cultural icons. The list includes King Arthur and Hamlet, Captain James T. Kirk and the Loch Ness Monster, and many more. Who do you think tops the list? Well, it isn't Betty Crocker—you'll have to read the book yourself to find out. I think this is a great book, but you don't have to take my word for it!

And how did I acquire such wonderful, such free books, you ask? Why, through OhioLINK of course. OhioLINK is a confederation of more or less every library of note in the state, from OSU on down to the public establishments gracing tiny towns with more books than people. If a search through my own university library's e-card catalog doesn't satisfy, I can click one button and search the rest of the state for my heart's desire, fill out an online form, and wait patiently for an email that announces the book has been shipped, mailed, or hand-carried by an exploited young library intern all the way to my campus. Now if only I could get one of those interns to turn the pages for me...


¹Nerdy twin brother to nerdy Lev Grossman, a writer whose byline you may have seen in Time and the New York Times.
²See, Sarah, I don't just write those suggestions down and lose them. It just takes me awhile.