Fanboy Goes Academic!
One of the coolest aspects of the Texas Tour was meeting Professor Bill Monroe of the University of Houston. Why? Because Professor Monroe actually used The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl in one of his courses! Pretty cool — the book hasn’t even been out a year and it’s already enshrined in the hallowed halls of academia.
Or something like that.
Anyway, FanboyandGothGirl.com spoke with Professor Monroe briefly about his course and why he chose the book. Here you go…
FBGG.com: How did you come across the book? While many adults are reading — and enjoying — it, it has been targeted at teens, so how did you come to find and read it?
PROF. MONROE: I saw that Inprint, Inc., a nonprofit that sponsors readings in Houston, was bringing Barry Lyga to the Contemporary Arts Museum, which is not far from the University of Houston. So I decided to add the book to my list and ask my students to attend the reading. It’s always good when students can experience authors and reading beyond the conventions of an academic classroom.
FBGG.com: What about the book struck you as being something appropriate/useful for your purposes?
PROF. MONROE: Our course was called “Literature & Alienation” and the Fanboy is obviously about alienation. It was an easy read and thus a good way to start the course before we moved on to the challenges of Hamlet and Dostoyevsky. At the same time, the book underlines experiences of not belonging, of feeling rejected and rejecting, and of various strategies of resistance.
FBGG.com: Is it really valid to teach a book that was just published alongside Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, and Sophocles? What can students gain from this?
PROF. MONROE: In a theme course like “Alienation,” I think it can be fun to mix periods, genres, national origin, and all the other categories that we tend to live by in academic departments. Remember that the course also includes 6-7 movies, including Terrence Malick’s first, Badlands, and Werner Herzog’s documentary Grizzly Man. We read The Book of Job and The Book of Mark and later saw the movie Crumb. I’m not sure what the students thought of this mixture, but for me it suggested the pervasiveness and importance of alienation, and ways of expressing and dealing with it, in human experience. If they take that away from the course, then I’ll be happy.
FBGG.com: Do you plan to continue using the book in your class in the future or was this a one-off?
PROF. MONROE: If the author comes back to town, I’ll definitely use it again.
Thanks, Bill! And hey — if you want to see what the students thought of the book, click on the links below, which will take you to PDF files of two responses from two of Professor Monroe’s students!
May 19th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
the book was the best one i ever read but is there a second cuz with the goth girl leaving at the end was sad
May 19th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
the book was the best one i ever read but is there a second cuz with the goth girl leaving at the end was sad
May 19th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
the book was the best one i ever read but is there a second cuz with the goth girl leaving at the end was sad
May 20th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I love this book so much
May 20th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I love this book so much
July 27th, 2007 at 9:36 am
I’m wondering if there’s going to be a second one. I want FanBoy and Gothgirl to get together
July 27th, 2007 at 9:36 am
I’m wondering if there’s going to be a second one. I want FanBoy and Gothgirl to get together
September 15th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
I picked up this book at the library and I loved it (especially since Goth Girl is just like my friend Shelby, except without the tendency to flash). Though I think there is room for more of the story, and am wondering if Mr. Lyga will write a direct sequel, or at least have another book that hints at how it turned out between FB and GG.
December 15th, 2007 at 1:41 am
I loved the book. It was awesome. I really wanted fanboy and GothGirl to get together. They would be the best couple ever. I hope he writes another one.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Is there going to be a sequel? I really want to find out what happens between FanBoy and GothGirl, GG really needs FB, and I think you should make a sequel about that. Thanks!
January 27th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Barry hasn’t decided if there will be a sequel yet. He talks about it a little bit on the FAQ on his website: barrylyga.com.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I’m a librarian from Texas currently living in Pennsylvania, and I came across your book very recently. I wrote a (positive) review of it on my blog. Check it out!
http://teenbibliotecaria.blogspot.com/2008/02/reviewthe-astonishing-adventures-of.html
We used your book as the book club selection at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Main. Your book is definitely making the rounds!
March 11th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I agree there should be a sequel! I loved the refences to various graphic novels - I’m a Gaiman fan myself, is that a cliche girl fav? - and would love to see Fanboy get published, not to mention see a little romance blossom. Great read, Barry!
March 11th, 2008 at 9:53 am
I agree there should be a sequel! I loved the graphic novel references - I’m a Gaiman fan myself, is that a cliche girl fav? - and would love to see FanBoy get published… or a blossoming romance. Great read, Barry!
March 26th, 2008 at 12:01 am
I was assigned the book for a Post Modern Lit class at Florida Institute of Technology this semester. I’m not even 50 pages in and I’m in love with this book! My teacher was excited to hear that I actually have a couple of the Xmen issues that are mentioned in the beginning sections.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
http://community.livejournal.com/fanboy_gothgirl/
a LIVEJOURNAL COMMUNITY FOR FANBOY AND GOTHGIRL!! feel free to go there to discuss the book, share icons, videos or FF containing to the book!!
hopefully, it’s gonna ROCK!!
April 1st, 2008 at 11:26 pm
there better be a sequel