Enter your email Address

ENTROPY
  • About
    • About
    • Masthead
    • Advertising
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Info on Book Reviews
  • Essays
    • All Introspection
      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Variations on a Theme: Individuation

      February 27, 2021

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Our Side Of The Clouds

      February 26, 2021

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Side Effects May Include Monstrosity

      February 25, 2021

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      WOVEN: Bruises Around the Heart

      February 24, 2021

      Introspection

      Variations on a Theme: Individuation

      February 27, 2021

      Introspection

      Variations on a Theme: Radio Days

      February 23, 2021

      Introspection

      Variations on a Theme: Daddy Rocked the Baby, Mother Said Amen

      February 20, 2021

      Introspection

      Variations on a Theme: The End of the World

      February 9, 2021

  • Fiction
    • Fiction

      BLACKCACKLE: Cain, Knocking

      February 24, 2021

      Fiction

      The Birds: A Bird Heart for Forgiveness

      February 19, 2021

      Fiction

      New Skin

      February 17, 2021

      Fiction

      The Birds: Skittering

      February 17, 2021

      Fiction

      Variations on a Theme: Larger Than Life

      February 6, 2021

  • Reviews
    • All Collaborative Review Video Review
      Review

      Review: To Limn / Lying In by J’Lyn Chapman

      February 25, 2021

      Review

      Review: Nudes by Elle Nash

      February 22, 2021

      Review

      Burials Free of Sharks: Review of Xandria Phillips’ Hull

      February 18, 2021

      Review

      Review: Censorettes by Elizabeth Bales Frank

      February 4, 2021

      Collaborative Review

      Attention to the Real: A Conversation

      September 3, 2020

      Collaborative Review

      A Street Car Named Whatever

      February 22, 2016

      Collaborative Review

      Black Gum: A Conversational Review

      August 7, 2015

      Collaborative Review

      Lords of Waterdeep in Conversation

      February 25, 2015

      Video Review

      Entropy’s Super Mario Level

      September 15, 2015

      Video Review

      Flash Portraits of Link: Part 7 – In Weakness, Find Strength

      January 2, 2015

      Video Review

      Basal Ganglia by Matthew Revert

      March 31, 2014

      Video Review

      The Desert Places by Amber Sparks and Robert Kloss, Illustrated by Matt Kish

      March 21, 2014

  • Small Press
    • Small Press

      OOMPH! Press

      February 24, 2021

      Small Press

      Dynamo Verlag

      February 17, 2021

      Small Press

      Abalone Mountain Press

      February 3, 2021

      Small Press

      Gordon Hill Press

      December 8, 2020

      Small Press

      Evidence House

      November 24, 2020

  • Where to Submit
  • More
    • Poetry
    • Interviews
    • Games
      • All Board Games Video Games
        Creative Nonfiction / Essay

        HOW VIDEO GAMES MADE ME BIOPHILIC

        February 12, 2021

        Creative Nonfiction / Essay

        How Zelda Saved Me: The Inspiration, Feminism, and Empowerment of Hyrule

        November 2, 2020

        Board Games

        Session Report: Victoriana and Optimism

        December 14, 2019

        Games

        Best of 2019: Video Games

        December 13, 2019

        Board Games

        Session Report: Victoriana and Optimism

        December 14, 2019

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: Lady of the West

        July 27, 2019

        Board Games

        Session Report: Paperback and Anomia

        July 27, 2019

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 12 (Once in a Lifetime)

        November 10, 2018

        Video Games

        HOW VIDEO GAMES MADE ME BIOPHILIC

        February 12, 2021

        Video Games

        How Zelda Saved Me: The Inspiration, Feminism, and Empowerment of Hyrule

        November 2, 2020

        Video Games

        Best of 2019: Video Games

        December 13, 2019

        Video Games

        Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the Spirit of Generosity

        December 31, 2018

    • Food
    • Small Press Releases
    • Film
    • Music
    • Paranormal
    • Travel
    • Art
    • Graphic Novels
    • Comics
    • Current Events
    • Astrology
    • Random
  • RESOURCES
  • The Accomplices
    • THE ACCOMPLICES
    • Enclave
    • Trumpwatch

ENTROPY

  • About
    • About
    • Masthead
    • Advertising
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Info on Book Reviews
  • Essays
    • All Introspection
      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Variations on a Theme: Individuation

      February 27, 2021

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Our Side Of The Clouds

      February 26, 2021

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Side Effects May Include Monstrosity

      February 25, 2021

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      WOVEN: Bruises Around the Heart

      February 24, 2021

      Introspection

      Variations on a Theme: Individuation

      February 27, 2021

      Introspection

      Variations on a Theme: Radio Days

      February 23, 2021

      Introspection

      Variations on a Theme: Daddy Rocked the Baby, Mother Said Amen

      February 20, 2021

      Introspection

      Variations on a Theme: The End of the World

      February 9, 2021

  • Fiction
    • Fiction

      BLACKCACKLE: Cain, Knocking

      February 24, 2021

      Fiction

      The Birds: A Bird Heart for Forgiveness

      February 19, 2021

      Fiction

      New Skin

      February 17, 2021

      Fiction

      The Birds: Skittering

      February 17, 2021

      Fiction

      Variations on a Theme: Larger Than Life

      February 6, 2021

  • Reviews
    • All Collaborative Review Video Review
      Review

      Review: To Limn / Lying In by J’Lyn Chapman

      February 25, 2021

      Review

      Review: Nudes by Elle Nash

      February 22, 2021

      Review

      Burials Free of Sharks: Review of Xandria Phillips’ Hull

      February 18, 2021

      Review

      Review: Censorettes by Elizabeth Bales Frank

      February 4, 2021

      Collaborative Review

      Attention to the Real: A Conversation

      September 3, 2020

      Collaborative Review

      A Street Car Named Whatever

      February 22, 2016

      Collaborative Review

      Black Gum: A Conversational Review

      August 7, 2015

      Collaborative Review

      Lords of Waterdeep in Conversation

      February 25, 2015

      Video Review

      Entropy’s Super Mario Level

      September 15, 2015

      Video Review

      Flash Portraits of Link: Part 7 – In Weakness, Find Strength

      January 2, 2015

      Video Review

      Basal Ganglia by Matthew Revert

      March 31, 2014

      Video Review

      The Desert Places by Amber Sparks and Robert Kloss, Illustrated by Matt Kish

      March 21, 2014

  • Small Press
    • Small Press

      OOMPH! Press

      February 24, 2021

      Small Press

      Dynamo Verlag

      February 17, 2021

      Small Press

      Abalone Mountain Press

      February 3, 2021

      Small Press

      Gordon Hill Press

      December 8, 2020

      Small Press

      Evidence House

      November 24, 2020

  • Where to Submit
  • More
    • Poetry
    • Interviews
    • Games
      • All Board Games Video Games
        Creative Nonfiction / Essay

        HOW VIDEO GAMES MADE ME BIOPHILIC

        February 12, 2021

        Creative Nonfiction / Essay

        How Zelda Saved Me: The Inspiration, Feminism, and Empowerment of Hyrule

        November 2, 2020

        Board Games

        Session Report: Victoriana and Optimism

        December 14, 2019

        Games

        Best of 2019: Video Games

        December 13, 2019

        Board Games

        Session Report: Victoriana and Optimism

        December 14, 2019

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: Lady of the West

        July 27, 2019

        Board Games

        Session Report: Paperback and Anomia

        July 27, 2019

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 12 (Once in a Lifetime)

        November 10, 2018

        Video Games

        HOW VIDEO GAMES MADE ME BIOPHILIC

        February 12, 2021

        Video Games

        How Zelda Saved Me: The Inspiration, Feminism, and Empowerment of Hyrule

        November 2, 2020

        Video Games

        Best of 2019: Video Games

        December 13, 2019

        Video Games

        Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the Spirit of Generosity

        December 31, 2018

    • Food
    • Small Press Releases
    • Film
    • Music
    • Paranormal
    • Travel
    • Art
    • Graphic Novels
    • Comics
    • Current Events
    • Astrology
    • Random
  • RESOURCES
  • The Accomplices
    • THE ACCOMPLICES
    • Enclave
    • Trumpwatch
Interview

Books I Hate (and Also Some I Like): with Matt Lubchansky

written by Katharine Coldiron November 16, 2018

I first became aware of Matt Lubchansky because of this installment of their webcomic, Please Listen to Me. I didn’t understand the posture of this comic when I first read it; was Lubchansky actually an apologist for #NotAllMen? Were they saying that dudes in fedoras well-actually-ing were doing a superherolike service?

No. Definitely not. I read Please Listen to Me obsessively after that, even buying a print of Lubchansky’s exceptional metaphor for social media to hang over my desk, and discovered that they were a very specific voice from the liberal end of the political spectrum: humorous doomsaying. The absurdity of PLTM is part of its effectiveness. People melt, and break, and talk to monsters, and argue peppily through hellscapes, and reveal their inner madnesses. It’s a relief to see oneself in PLTM, and it’s fun to marvel at how quickly and intelligently it moves through the stages of a joke.

Alas, PLTM is no more; Lubchansky has moved on. They collected PLTM in a book, Skeleton Party, and they’re assembling a project called Our Wonderful Future (us Lubchansky Patreon-ers are in the know). For now, they are the associate editor of the Nib, and they recently drew a piece for the Cut about lipstick and being genderqueer.

I was a little overexcited to nab Lubchansky for this series, but I tried not to be a creepy fangirl in the questions that follow.

Tell me about your hatred of books. Do you hate certain kinds of books, certain authors, or just particular books when they come along?

I think I have two real types of things that I hate.

I have a tendency to hate books that are The Canon for whatever reason—I got completely derailed in high school from the “honors” English track because, freshman year, I straight-up refused to read past page 40 or so of Great Expectations. And I’ve always loved reading and been a reader—I was reading adult novels when I was in early middle school. I hated being told to read stodgy old stuff that I couldn’t relate to, and I was usually busy reading Dune or some genre stuff.

The other thing I really hate, I think as a big reader of genre fiction, is things that are overly technical “hard sci-fi” nonsense. I’m much more into say, Margaret Atwood or Ursula LeGuin than the Neal Stephensons or Andy Weirs of the world. Who cares if it’s realistic?! A genre story should either be telling us about how we live now, or it should be stupid fun. Set the rules of your universe and live by them. Who cares how you grow potatoes in space? If I wanted that, I’d read a nonfiction book (and often do!).

Any examples from these categories?

My number one book I hated, all time: The Scarlet Letter. This might be the worst book ever written.

Worst book I read recently: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, for reasons outlined above.

Why?

The Scarlet Letter is everything I hate about The Canon. Like, who cares about this book? It’s an interesting artifact for how people thought at the time, I suppose, but it’s written so horribly and clearly was sold on the author being a famous guy’s grandson.  You could teach the same stuff in English class with excerpts. What a horrible book!

Seveneves really bothered me in a lot of ways. There was a ton of, like, Tom Clancy-esque down and dirty stuff about how space travel works. But it was so totally dry, with bits of extremely early 2010s Epic Bacon Internet slang thrown in. It felt lazy!

But the biggest issue I had with it was politically—it framed so much stuff with the idea of “politics” being contrary to scientific progress, which is a stance I feel is super ignorant. Being apolitical is a political position. I hate the idea that “science” is something to be worshipped and not just a way that human beings, yes, with politics, use to organize thought.

Do you think this hatred has changed your reading habits?

For sure! My hatred of The Canon definitely made me much slower to try a book that’s considered a classic, or something old, or something I had to read for school. Like, I think The Great Gatsby is really wonderful. Now I feel a lot more open to try things, but I know pretty quickly if I’m not going to connect with something. I used to have a rule about never abandoning books, but I’m finding I care a lot less about that now. That makes me a lot more willing to try new stuff, too.

Do you think it’s altered anything about your writing?

Absolutely. I’m always working on fiction—the big thing I want to do eventually is a science fiction comic—and I try to take the lessons from the stuff I like, obviously. But as much as it interests me when I’m building out the world, nobody gives a crap how the spaceship’s engine works. Unless you’re Douglas Adams and you can make that funny and interesting and integral to how the universe works.

What was the last book you read that you recommend?

I recently blew through most of Ursula K. LeGuin’s bibliography, and I really loved The Dispossessed. I keep telling people to read it.

Why?

The way it describes capitalism, which we’re all swimming in 100% of our lives, as, truly an alien would see it, is just so breathtaking. It articulates so well feelings that I think most people have but can’t put words to. The whole book is such a good magic trick, one I think science fiction is an ideal vehicle for: it makes you think, fundamentally, about how society works. It makes you ask what we could do to ensure that all people could live with dignity. But it’s never like “hey! hey! look at this thing!”—it just plunges you in.

Do you keep books or give them away?

I like to keep them. I’m a re-reader.

Have you ever physically thrown a book across a room?

I have never done this!

What are you reading right now, and do you like it or hate it?

I’m reading All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung, and I love it so far. Her point of view is so, so kind, without being sappy or sentimental. And her prose is really beautiful.

 

Books I Hate (and Also Some I Like): with Matt Lubchansky was last modified: April 29th, 2019 by Katharine Coldiron
Books I Hate (and Also Some I Like)
0 comment
2
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Katharine Coldiron
Katharine Coldiron

Katharine Coldiron's work has appeared in the Rumpus, Hobart, the Normal School, and elsewhere. She lives in California and blogs at the Fictator.

previous post
Give Him a Chance, Honey
next post
The Coefficients of Being and Doing

You may also like

YOU MAKE ME FEEL #10: JOANNA NEWSOM ROUNDTABLE (PART 2)

October 30, 2015

National Poetry Month Featured Poet: Leza Cantoral

April 16, 2017

Areas of Fog: An Interview with Will Dowd by Levi Rubeck

December 22, 2017

Getting Lit: Round 3 with Benjamin Percy

March 21, 2015
Facebook Twitter Instagram

Recent Comments

  • furiousvexation Loved this. Killer first line and such a painted picture. Bravo!

    The Birds: a poem ·  February 17, 2021

  • Deidra Brown Wonderful, moving work!

    The Birds: a poem ·  February 15, 2021

  • Ceres Growing up in a rural area, I've observed first-hand the disparate outlooks between urban children with environmentalist parents and children raised in the country. Modern agricultural practices...

    HOW VIDEO GAMES MADE ME BIOPHILIC ·  February 13, 2021

Featured Columns & Series

  • The Birds
  • Dinnerview
  • WOVEN
  • Variations on a Theme
  • BLACKCACKLE
  • Literacy Narrative
  • COVID-19
  • Mini-Syllabus
  • Their Days Are Numbered
  • On Weather
  • Disarticulations
  • The Waters
  • Session Report series
  • Birdwolf
  • Comics I've Been Geeking Out On
  • Small Press Releases
  • Books I Hate (and Also Some I Like)
  • The Poetics of Spaces
  • Tales From the End of the Bus Line
  • Fog or a Cloud
  • 30 Years of Ghibli
  • Cooking Origin Stories
  • YOU MAKE ME FEEL
  • Ludic Writing
  • Best of 2019
  • The Talking Cure
  • Food and Covid-19
  • Stars to Stories
  • DRAGONS ARE REAL OR THEY ARE DEAD
  • Foster Care
  • LEAKY CULTURE
  • Jem and the Holographic Feminisms
  • D&D with Entropy

Find Us On Facebook

Entropy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

©2014-2021 The Accomplices LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Read our updated Privacy Policy.


Back To Top