-
Helen DeWitt and Jac Jemc
Sick as a dog, reading instead of thinking/leaving my house. The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt: I really liked this, and it reflects the reality of publishing — well, many fields, really — and trust/ignorance. From the publisher: Raised in Marrakech by a French mother and English father, a 17-year-old girl has learned above…
-
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
No one like her. I’m so struck by her way of using words: A dispassionate white sun shone at the summit of the sky. I wanted to hone myself on it till I grew saintly and thin and essential as the blade of a knife. My edition includes the story surrounding publication, along with a…
-
Newest isolarii: Under the Wings of the Valkyrie by Sjon
This wild ride charts one man’s epistolary apology to his wife. Careening from Icelandic terrorism to pyromania, succubi, and one DIY vasectomy, Sjon’s isolarii story was loads of weird, horny fun. A very small addition to whatever genre Hugs and Cuddles falls into. I had a good time!
-
Yara by Tamara Faith Berger
Tamara Faith Berger always does a great job of blurring lines regarding sexuality, consent, age difference, class, and identity. Her Jewish-North American characters are so splendidly complicated and horny always!!! I do think I prefer Maidenhead and Queen Solomon to Yara, but ultimately had a great time reading this one. I look forward to going…
-
In Progress: Empty Theatre and Yara
One via ereader, the other via paperback. I’ve done very little except read the last couple days. It has been great fun, but also a bit frustrating — I’m making up for the exhaustion of the last few months at work, and I keep feeling like I should have more energy to do more day-to-day.…
-
Happy Holiday Reading!
My partner and I went book shopping for Christmas. I’m so excited to read these:
-
Historical Women I’ve DNFed
The Passion of New Eve: Angela Carter’s writing style is so overblown and hilarious, but ultimately this book was so dated it was hard to read. Fascinated though I may be by old feminist sci fi. I would love to read Gretchen Felker-Martin’s take on this one though. The Paying Guests: I’ve never read Sarah…
-
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
This was sweet and cozy. A gay Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children or Mysterious Benedict Society. A quick and ultimately happy read with heartwarming characters. From the publisher: Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case…
-
The Seventh Mansion by Maryse Meijer
I loved this book desperately. The main character, Xie, is a 15-year-old vegan who’s gone to live with his dad. He’s in trouble after a direct action involving a local mink farm. He’s tentative friends with two queer girls who are part of a local environmentalist group. Wandering through the birch woods near his house,…
-
Just Finished: Silver Repetition
After an extremely tough start with terrible metaphors and aggravating characters, this became a sparse, sad exploration of an immigrant family. What happened with that first 40 pages!? I do not recommend simply on the basis of that lopsided introductory section. From the publisher: In Silver Repetition, Lily Wang’s endless, perfect loops of memory and dream,…