Paper from the UK: I'M A FAN by Sheena Patel

 Paper from the UK: I'M A FAN by Sheena Patel, 2022, 9781644452455.

Punk bank The Lovely Eggs from the UK created  book discussion group on Facebook. I joined. Someone recommended this.

Narrator lives with a boyfriend in London. She meets Famous Author and starts an affair. Famous Author is a awful person and very manipulative. He juggles several girlfriends across America and Europe professes love for his wife. Narrator is South Asian and desperate for Famous Author. She becomes a bit obsessed about one of the other mistresses and develops a para-social relationship that is stalkery. 

At one point the Narrator borrows a dog to arrange a "chance meeting" with the Other Mistress's half-sister living in London. Narrator is desperate for Famous Author. Narrator never has sex with Live-In Boyfriend and eventually leaves him. Narrator is also desperate for wealth and fame. 

Narrator is South Asian heritage and succinctly points out built-it racism. Built-in sexism. Built-in misogyny. Built-in nepotism. Built-in classism. Her parents generation that do their best to get ahead by pleasing the whites in charge. Narrator just rages and wants to get ahead while feeling invisible and powerless.

An interesting read. Famous author is always referred to as "the man I want to be with". 

Comments:

1. Misogyny is difficult to spell.

Comic Novel: MARIA M. by Gilbert Hernandez

 Comic Novel: MARIA M. by Gilbert Hernandez, 2019, 9781683960164.

I'm not sure what I have read of LOVE AND ROCKETS. I did read one of his books about Luba and probably have it at home somewhere.

Maria comes north from Central America looking to restart in the U.S. Without cash and a super zaftig body she is recruited into dancing, modeling, and sex work. She marries a mob boss. She cheats around a bit. The mob boss's violent son has a hankering for his stepmother. The other mob son is dangerous but not hands on.

Anyhoo. A good story as Maria keeps surviving for years with dangerous people, keeping secrets, and getting dumped by her husband. She gets a happy ending.

Decent: A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER by Roger Zelazny

 Decent: A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER by Roger Zelazny, 1993, 9780688125085.

Narrated by a dog who is Jack the Ripper's pal and familiar. The dog works for Jack and they are in a small town that will be the site of a possible opening to hell or some other dark side full of bad stuff. At the end of October will be a prescribed conflict between pro-hell and anti-hell sides to compete over whether the magic portal will be opened.

Dog walks and sniffs around keeping an eye on the participants and their familiars. Those participants and interlopers are obvious literary and folklore and real-life characters but are never quite named. Heck, Jack is not called the Ripper; it's just obvious. Characters include Sherlock Holmes, Rasputin, Frankenstein and monster, some werewolf, others I forgot. 

The animal familiars make alliances. The animals argue and trade insults. There is humor. There is danger. I enjoyed it.

This is more likely the first Zelazny novel I ever read. I think of him as being the fantasy and scifi king of the 1980s. His books were everywhere.

DNF: THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG by Mimi Pond

 DNF: THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG by Mimi Pond, 2017, 9781770462823.

Memoirs in comics format. Someone on Patti Abbott's blog recommended the book but I just didn't get into it.

Memoir of 1970s Oakland as author is in early part of her cartooning career and working as a waitress.