Finished
Currently reading:
The Last Time We Drowned by Saratoga Schaefer
Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice [audiobook]
Books finished this week: 2
★☆☆☆☆
Where this book came from: Purchased at Split Rock Bookswhile I was in Cold Spring last weekend. (And I technically finished it last Sunday evening, but I was too tired to add it to that week’s official tally.)
Why this book: I was perusing the horror section at Split Rock and was drawn to the cover art and the back cover copy. I’ve never read Delilah S. Dawson, so I thought it would be a good idea to give her a try.
Thoughts: I’m so sorry to be this mean, but, wow, that was one of the stupidest fucking books I’ve ever read. Such a great premise bogged down by bad writing, an awful POV character, and absolutely laughable “twists.” I haven’t been this mad after finishing a book in a long time. Overwritten, unsurprising, blunt.
★★★☆☆
Where this book came from: Borrowed from a coworker (thanks, Beata!).
Why this book: If it’s horror and it comes recommended, I’ll give it a try.
Thoughts: In terms of enjoyment and my thoughts on the actual craft of writing on display here, I think this one would really be more like a 2.5 stars, but only giving it two on Goodreads felt mean. Because this isn’t a bad book; it’s just very——very——slow, and felt a bit disjointed until everything started to come together heading into the finale. There wasn’t quite as much revenge as I thought (and hoped) there would be, though I suppose that reflects the world we live in: the men who do awful things don’t often face consequences of any kind. I did appreciate learning about the (terrifying) trend of hidden cameras in Korea and I think a story grounded in that reality would have been horrifying enough on its own.
Library updates:
I was feeling a little tired this week——and then ended up with a sore throat that felt like my throat was on fire around three o’clock on Friday morning——so I kept things quiet. My writing workshop started up again last week, so at least I know I’ll have that set time every week to get some writing done and see cool folks.
Last Sunday was probably my last super active day. After posting last week’s missive, I actually ended up finishing a rough draft of a novella I’ve been working on for the last few months and reading an entire book. Granted, the book I finished was Bloom, which was fairly short and which, as you can see above, I didn’t love, but it was still fun to spend most of my time across four trains reading it.
I wrote the last words of the novella on the train back from Cold Spring, in hopes of polishing it up over this last week and submitting it to an open call, but the call unfortunately hit capacity before the deadline and closed early. I was pretty crushed at the time, but now I’m feeling a bit more hopeful about it. I’ve been sharing pieces of the novella with my workshop and getting some really excellent feedback (thanks, guys, if any of you are reading this!) and I think I can really make it something special. I also recently pledged to one of my workshop friends (shout out to Eva) that we’d each edit and “finish” at least three pieces this summer. And “finish” can mean just feeling that you’ve worked on it enough, sharing with friends or family, or submitting to a magazine or contest for publication consideration.
So here’s to a summer of finishing things——of putting the time and effort back into my own work and seeing what I can do with it next.
And finally, for anyone keeping track, my May word count came to 18,438 words, which is the most I’ve done since my 24k back in January. Excelsior!!
Closing thoughts:
Do it until it’s finished. It might take days, weeks, or months, and it might require taking time away to focus on other things. But don’t give up on your work or yourself.
Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 212
(Total books added to the Moratorium Library: 442)
One pre-order and one panic-order (for a reading group at the end of this month), delivered to my door by Bookshop.org!
