The Plague
Currently reading:
Flashlight by Susan Choi
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu
New poetry book TK, once my brain is a little less foggy. (More on that later.)
Books finished this week: 4
★★★★☆
Where this book came from: McNally Jackson Seaport.
Why this book: I needed more from the author of Sky Daddy.
Thoughts: Just as absurd and often surprisingly moving and human as I would expect something from Kate Folk to be. Collection highlights include: “The Bone Ward,” “A Scale Model of Gull Point,” and “Big Sur,” which legitimately made me cry and maybe sent me into a grief spiral about my cat (there are no cats involved, but——no spoilers_the story is about connection and loss). And I hated “Moist House” simply for the repetition of the word “moist.” Five stars would feel disingenuous, because there were definitely stories that didn’t hit the same way others did. Consider this an incredibly solid four stars——even four a half, if I was allowed to do half-stars on Goodreads.
★★★★☆
Where this book came from: Book Club, the icon and legend.
Why this book: A Booktuber I found last year (jessica messica) mentioned this in a video and it sounded like I’d enjoy it too.
Thoughts: I was so in for the first part of the book, which felt grounded and complex. Then things took a turn into much more sci-fi/spec-fic territory (which I have no problem with, in theory!), and I felt that the less grounded the story got, the more difficult it got to follow what was going on and to really latch onto the imagery and emotions. No spoilers, but there is also a lot of talk of “excess flesh” near the end, and without a clear understanding of what the character with said flesh looks like, it just kind of read fatphobic to me. Wading back into the world of half-stars, this is probably actually more of a three-point-five, for the issues I touched on above, but giving it only three felt harsh and not in line with how much I enjoyed the first 80ish pages.
★★★★★
Where this book came from: Barnes & Noble.
Why this book: I will follow Murderbot anywhere.
Thoughts: FIND YOUR CREW. Loved getting to know ART, loved the new batch of humans Murderbot eventually has to put up with, loved getting some more lore. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment.
★★★★★
Where this book came from: Picked up at the Unicorn Press booth at AWP.
Why this book: Honestly? The cover. (Haven’t had one of those in awhile.)
Thoughts: Just such clear, beautiful imagery and messages. I also loved the New York of it all, and how the real wove so beautifully with the stories and myths Marshall alludes to throughout. A wonderful volume of poetry——potentially my favorite so far of all that I’ve read over the last few months!
Library updates:
Initially, I was going to skip this week because I have a friend (hi, Tess!) staying with me, and I assumed we’d be too busy with adventures for me to have time to write anything up. But then I got the plague——a.k.a. a summer cold (I hope it’s just that)——and the fatigue hit me like a garbage truck, so here I am.
Mostly reviews this week because brain don’t work good. I’m hoping I’ll be fine in a day or two and able to add the proper details (and photos) next weekend, but in the meantime, in brief:
Highlights: diner breakfast, Margaritaville, TWA Hotel pool, second viewings of Maybe Happy Ending and Boop (GO SEE BOOP), a kind usher at Boop, the ease of spending time with old friends, dissociating in front of a standing fan to cool off
Not-so-greats: surviving extreme heat and humidity without my air conditioner (I didn’t have time to get her in the window before the heat wave set in), absolutely drowning in a torrential downpour before Boop, the plague that has decided to descend upon my house
Closing thoughts:
Drink plenty of fluids, take your meds, and make sure to rest.
Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 160
(Total books added to the Moratorium Library: 314)
Last Sunday afternoon, I ended up going to the B&N in Park Slope with Britt (hi, Britt!) and everything was on sale because the store is closing soon for renovations.
I also got these nifty new bookmarks.
On Tuesday night, I went to hear Susan Choi——author of my beloved American Woman, among other books——speak about her latest, Flashlight, and got a signed copy.
Also, last night, Saturday, we walked right past McNally Jackson at the Seaport and didn’t stop in. Applaud us.
