Not Much
Currently reading:
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Tiny Nightmares: Very Short Stories of Horror, edited by Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto
Faithful and Virtuous Night by Louise Glück
Books finished this week: 2
★★★☆☆
Where this book came from: On a book-buying spree while Bendy——hi, Bendy!——was in town, in which we visited three stores in one day. This one specifically came from McNally Jackson Seaport.
Why this book: I once went to the White Horse Tavern and felt like such a poser because I literally only knew “Do not go gentle into that good night.” I figured since that poem is considered just a masterwork, I should give more of Thomas’ work a go.
Thoughts: Three stars because my heart said no more than two, but my imposter syndrome told me I’m still just too stupid to understand poetry and people will get mad at me if I rate it that low in public. A few poems stuck out and I liked some of Thomas’ language, but a lot of this just read like word salad to me. And the stuff I think I did understand seemed to really focus on boobs——not in a good way. The word “milky” came up too much for comfort, too, both in relation to the aforementioned breasts and also, I think . . . ejaculation? Gross. Not for me. Sorry I’m poetry-dumb.
★★★★☆
Where this book came from: Ordered from Kew & Willow back in April.
Why this book: I may have heard about this one elsewhere, but the rec I remember was from Riley Marie’s on her BookTube channel. (I’m 99 percent sure I watched a video from her about the book many more months ago, but here’s a more recent video in which she actually reads and reviews it!)
Thoughts: I want someone to love me like Shesheshen loves Homily. In my opinion, the pacing slowed a ton in the middle section, with the repeated hunts for the monster, but Shesheshen’s voice was so engaging and I was thoroughly enchanted by the story. Excited to read more from John Wiswell!
Library updates:
No books added this week! And not much else to report, to be completely honest. It was a busy one, but also one filled with me trying to take time to rest and take care of myself (thus the late-in-the-day Sunday Missive). Lots of thinking and talking about writing, not as much actual writing as I would’ve liked, and just a smattering of reading. Hoping to have some more for you next week——but enjoy this week’s reviews, in the meantime!
Closing thoughts:
Quality over quantity. (Though I’m not totally sure I’m delivering either of those this week.)
