Baby Got Books

Special Topics Extravaganza

On Tuesday May 29, Marisha Pessl will be reading from her book, Special Topics in Calamity Physics at the Decatur Library. The event starts at 7:15 PM and is sponsored by the Georgia Center for the Book. Wordsmiths Books is the bookseller. They’ve graciously offered us two paperbacks to give away to our readers. So it’s contest time.

The book tells the story of Blue van Meer. In the introduction, Blue quotes her father, Garrett, “Dad always said a person must have a significant reason for writing out his or her Life Story and expecting anyone to read it.” What follows are the extraordinary events that unfold as Blue settles into her Senior year at a new high school. One interpretation of the book’s title is that it can be read as the title of a course about her Senior year in high school.

So here are the rules of our contest: In the comments, tell us the title of the course that would describe your Senior year in high school. Mine would be called: Introductory Bartending for the Novice Music Snob (prerequisites: Clues for the Clueless, Advanced Orthodontia, Remedial Driver’s Ed for the Unfairly Crash Prone/Menaces to Society, Rugby Basics for the Uncoordinated). Next week, L’il Cayenne will draw the names of two lucky winners. You need not be local to win. We’ll ship you a signed copy if you live elsewhere or otherwise can’t make the reading.

In a review for the New York Times, Janet Maslin called the book “required reading for devotees of inventive new fiction.” If that sounds like you read on. (You can read my review of the book here.)

Authors, Books, Happenings | Tim | May 16, 2007 8:04 am

By Frank, May 16, 2007 @ 10:35 am

In honor of Ms. Pessl, who can sign my frontispiece anytime, I’ll say Senior Honors Babe Appreciation (independent study with lots of field work).
By Weezie, May 16, 2007 @ 12:25 pm

Mine would be — “Losing Your Inner Geek and Getting a Life 201″ (prerequisites: “Losing Your Inner Geek and Getting a Life 101″ (junior year), “Transitioning from Athlete to Party Babe,” “New Wave and Punk Rock for Beginners,” and “How Straight-A Students Whose Parents Trust them Without Question Can Maximize Hijinks”)
By Herman Glimscher, May 16, 2007 @ 3:13 pm

Mine would be Going Nowhere Fast: Facing the Future in a Changing Marketplace.
By Russ, May 17, 2007 @ 9:06 am

“How to lose friends and alienate yourself”
By Dr J, May 17, 2007 @ 10:27 am

Special Topics in Calamity Hormone Production
By Nicole, May 17, 2007 @ 1:44 pm

“Hyperkinetic Liberalism: How to Hug Trees and Spurn Hannity in Suburban Hell”
By flavawheel, May 17, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

How about “Cultural Omnivore: Punk Rock Over Cafe con Leche in the Mangrove Jungle.”

Special topics include “Old Milwaukee’s Geopolitical Significance in a New Latin Economy,” and “(Really) Southern Man: The Paradox of Tropical Rednecks.”
By Kerry, May 23, 2007 @ 10:02 pm

Introduction to Drunken Escapades for the Socially Retarded: Topics include Dancing, Kissing, and Cleaning Up Your Sick.
By Shaft, May 25, 2007 @ 3:47 pm

How about “Sexual Optics in Coeducational Phys Ed”?
By jenn, May 25, 2007 @ 6:01 pm

Distance Education: Quantum Theories of Preternatural Psychosocial Development