Category: Pop Culture and Archives

The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer

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By Janelle Monáe. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2022. 321 pp. Hardcover [also EPUB]. $28.99. Hardcover ISBN 978-0063070875. Reviewed by Adina Riggins, University of North Carolina Wilmington [PDF Full Text] In April 2022, my smartphone newsfeed turned up an article about Janelle Monáe, an eight-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, who had just published her debut book of fiction, … Continue reading The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

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By Eva Jurczyk. Naperville, IL.: Poisoned Pen Press, 2022. 336 pp. Softcover [also hardcover]. $16.99 ISBN-13 978-1-7282-3859-3. Reviewed by Caryn Radick, Rutgers University [PDF Full Text] Eva Jurczyk’s debut novel, The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, is the second mystery I’ve read in the last year that takes place in the world of … Continue reading The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Creating Your Own History: Archival Themes in The Watermelon Woman

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Reviewed by Burkely Hermann, Metadata Librarian, National Security Archive, Washington, DC [PDF Full Text] Note: This review contains some spoilers for the film The Watermelon Woman. An archivist speaks to the film’s protagonist about having a “great system” to organize archival records within the community archive. The Core Values Statement of the Society of American … Continue reading Creating Your Own History: Archival Themes in The Watermelon Woman

Memory and Graffiti: Non-Traditional Archives in Left 4 Dead and Fallout: New Vegas

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Reviewed by Myra Khan, Arizona State University [PDF Full Text] The reviewer’s character stands in front of an abandoned casino andhotel in Fallout: New Vegas. When we think about which historical time periods are the most crucial to preserve, rarely, if ever, do we consider apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic periods. After all, the apocalypse is quite … Continue reading Memory and Graffiti: Non-Traditional Archives in Left 4 Dead and Fallout: New Vegas

“It’s All Material, Honey”: Archives as Source of Creative Inspiration in Hacks

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https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GYIBToQrPdotpNQEAAAEa Reviewed by Elizabeth Kobert, The Frick Collection [PDF Full Text] Hacks, a comedy-drama series released on HBO Max in May 2021, tells the story of two comedians who are forced to work together. Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a has-been stand-up comic modeled on Joan Rivers, needs to update her act to avoid losing her … Continue reading “It’s All Material, Honey”: Archives as Source of Creative Inspiration in Hacks

The Magnus Archives

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http://rustyquill.com/the-magnus-archives Reviewed by Samantha Cross, Editor-at-Large [PDF Full Text] The Magnus Archives is a fictional podcast produced by Rusty Quill. In it Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist for the Magnus Institute, London, reads statements submitted to the archives by those who have experienced something supernatural. The recordings are part of Sims' initiative to bring order to … Continue reading The Magnus Archives

An Archivist’s Exploration of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

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https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/the-division/the-division-2 Reviewed by Becky Briggs Becker, Editor-at-large [PDF Full Text] When I began writing this review, I thought it was amazing that the video game Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 included a mission to recover the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) building in a virtual Washington, DC, besieged by … Continue reading An Archivist’s Exploration of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2