Have I Mentioned I’m Afraid of Sharks?
Currently reading:
The Bombshell by Darrow Farr
Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis [audiobook]
Books finished this week: 1
★★☆☆☆
Where this book came from: Purchased at Vroman’s on my trip to LA, when I promised myself I would only buy books I “had” to buy. (At least, I think it was Vroman’s. I actually ended up seeing this one on a lot of front tables at pretty much every bookstore.)
Why this book: I love the movie, so I’ve meant to read this for a long time. And then I saw a classic horror book club and that was the perfect opportunity. (Spoiler alert: It was a long week and I ended up not going to the book club.)
Thoughts: This was definitely more of a drama than a horror novel, I’d say. And I didn’t mind getting deep into the heads of the main characters (mostly Chief Brody and Ellen, his wife) or digging into the interpersonal relationships and politics of a small, struggling Long Island town. It was just kind of . . . boring? And while it started off seeming a bit more “modern” than I expected, and I was pleasantly surprised, I quickly found out that, no, the sexual and racial politics are definitely as fucked as I’d expect them to be in the early ’70s, womp womp. If you somehow haven’t seen Jaws, maybe give the book a shot first. But if you’ve watched the movie as much as I have in my life, it’ll be hard to disconnect from the adventure/creature horror you know and love.
Library updates:
It was a busy week, which was good for my brain and my sleep schedule——I conk out faster when I’m tired because I’ve been out in the world, who knew? (/sarcasm)——but bad for my reading and writing. I did finish Jaws, give up on The Elsewhere Express (it just wasn’t my cup of tea), and make some headway in the audiobook for The Shards and in reading The Bombshell, which is, so far, the pseudo-Patty Hearst kidnapping novel of my dreams. I went to a reading event, went to a book launch, saw Rocky Horror, and got absolutely drenched Thursday night because I very stupidly forgot to pack my umbrella, despite reminding myself to do so before leaving my apartment that morning.
Anyway, not much else to riff on this missive, so I hope you all had a wonderful week and read some great books!
Closing thoughts:
I kept is short this week, so go use your extra time wisely. (Read. You should read.)
Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 229
(Total books added to the Moratorium Library: 485)
Picked this up at Kew & Willow yesterday (Saturday) evening! I preordered the paperback thanks to a recommendation at work, and then one of the booksellers and I chatted a bit about it when I picked it up, so I’m excited to dig in!
