2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

 Clarke was my favorite sci-fi author, and definitely my favorite from the Big 3, as I found Asimov too dry and academic, and Heinlein too militaristic and self-indulgent.  My all-time facvorite book by Clarke is his first novel "Against the Fall of Night" even though it is not reflective of his later style that he used for the rest of his life.  I read the story "The Sentinel" that was the base of Kubrick's movie, but I did not find it compelling.  Until now, I haven't read this book, which was written in parallel with the movie, but differs from it.

The ape with the bone in the first part has a name in the book - "Moon-Watcher". In the second part "Discovery" is going to Japetus, a moon of Saturn, not Europa, a moon of Jupiter like in the movie.  Also, the movie extends the middle part the most; the interaction with HAL 9000 and the ultimate disconnection. While the third part in the movie is a very generic sequence of images, the "Cosmic Baby" in the book is very well developed, including the voyage to the space station with a sight of hundreds of different spaceships belonging to different races (including the huge derelict) and the pure-gold space ship encountered in hyperspace. 

The three parts go well together, but it is obvious they were derived from three separate short stories.  This is not a bad thing, Raymond Chandler did it all the time to great success.  The ideas are great, as always with Clarke. His Childhood's End is a masterpiece, both conceptually and as execution. I am not sure about the ending, as what is the "Cosmic Child" doing going back to Earth (which shoot a barrage of nuclear missiles at it)? Is it trying to destroy Earth? Or make it better? Unknown.

Anyways, the second book continues after the movie, not the first book, i.e. the "Discovery" landed on Jupiter's moon Europa and the "Cosmic Child" never came near Earth.  I guess that is better, since there is more continuity.  

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

 This is the first time I am reviewing a graphical novel (although I was highly impressed by "Maus"), since I guess comics are still not perceived completely as an artistic medium for serious creativity and topics, and not just for entertainment.  However, I was very impressed by Maia Kobabe's book which delves deep into topics of sexuality, gender, finding oneself, boundaries, making a life for oneself despite the world, etc.  The book is excellent in many ways, but at no time it is preachy, propagandist or cheap current fad.  The feelings and confusion that Maia experiences come across as deeply genuine and authentic to the point of being the foundation of er life and identity in every possible aspect. 

Maia is bisexual and asexual, assigned female at birth, and spends er teens trying to figure out where er sexuality and identity belongs, as e doesn't simply identify as 'gay' but more with 'queer' - the Q in LGBTQ.  Er relationships with other people and also with er own body and sexual organs is directly and honestly portrayed, as is er struggle to make sense of all that e feels. 

At the end e decides that e is fine the way e is, neither male nor female, nor gay nor straight, and decides to use the Spivak pronouns and live er life as e finds best.  Very uplifting and affirming book for anyone from any walk of life and of any identity.