Category Archive: Literature

Steampunk: It’s a Way of Life

Pretty much.

I liked steampunk before I even knew what steampunk was. I know that sounds incredibly hipsterish, but if you like steampunk the same is probably true of you. If you read H.G. Wells or Jules Verne when you were growing up, congratulations, you read the core literature of steampunk.

Steampunk is so much more than literature, however. It has branched out into almost every aspect of the entertainment world and become a subculture in its own right.

So what is steampunk? Well, essentially it began as a kind of science-fiction that used steam-powered technology to power robots, airships…pretty much anything people can dream up. Nowadays we have steampunk-inspired clothes, music, television/film, books, anime, etc. There’s even SteamCon, a convention devoted to all things steampunk (incidentally, if anyone wants to sponsor my way to this year’s con, I won’t object).

So if you’re new to the world of steampunk, here’s a few must-sees and should-haves:

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Chuck Palahniuk Cements His Badassery with a Fight Club Sequel

As if I needed another reason to hate all the people who went to Comic Con 2013 instead of me, I was devastated/thrilled to hear that Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, will be writing a sequel to his bestseller. In graphic novel format.

Whoa, whoa, WHOA.

Upon reading this news, my brain threw its (non-literal) hands in the air, slammed the front door, drove away, and has spent the last 6 weeks at a yoga retreat in Sonoma. In other words, I’m having a hard time processing that my favorite book of the twentieth century is going to have a fucking sequel.

I am Jack’s sense of obliviousness.

I know I’m breaking the first rule, but let’s talk about how frickin amazing this book was and how ballsy Palahniuk is to be writing a sequel. AS A GRAPHIC NOVEL.

3 reasons why Fight Club kicks ass:

1. Tyler Durden/the narrator kick ass (sometimes literally).

2. It discusses a late twentieth century post modern view of masculinity and the expectations for men in a modern world.

3. Palahniuk gives a giant middle finger to societal and literary expectations by creating an antisocial, combative, mentally ill main character that is nevertheless likable.

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