August Round-Up

Some of the Times by Gina Myers. My poetry book for the month. A re-read, but hits even harder now than it did before. I marked so many lines and entire poems. As with before, the section accompanied by photos is my favorite because they’re so perfect together, but overall this is just top notch.

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder. This book was really fascinating and emotional. I really appreciate how completely and honestly the author dealt with the ups and downs of motherhood and how that can conflict with selfhood in those early years. However, the book went a bit long for me without developing and wrapping up some things I really wanted to see, like the MLM and ANY kind of confrontation with her worthless husband. The ending might have been over my head as well, or maybe I was just a bit frustrated by things at that point because it felt like the author didn’t know how to wrap things up so it’s like “Here’s a show!” and seemed incomplete to me. I think fleshing out some of the glossed over things I mentioned would have helped it seem like a complete story to me… or just shortening it into a novella.

Between a Roquefort and a Hard Place by Linda Reilly. This is one of my favorite cozy series because it’s a wonderful escape from reality, and I’m a huge grilled cheese fan so I love the recipes. This mystery wasn’t very intriguing, and there was still a loose end by the resolution, but I love the characters enough that they carried it. See my reviews on the rest of the series here: books 1-4, book 5, and book 6.

The Last Immortals: Dawn of the Axolotl by Kit Brooks. My kid loves axolotls and wanted me to read the first book in a new series. I thought it was interesting because it included facts about axolotls and how at risk they are in an engaging way that worked with the story. However, the characters were really flat and not memorable at all. I hope they become more realistic (for talking axolotls) in future books because the lack of caring about the characters as individuals (vs axolotls as a whole) made the book less enjoyable to me.

The Night in Question by Tobias Wolff. I’d previously only read “Bullet in the Brain” in college, but recently re-read it and wanted more. I read this whole collection in about a day - it was fantastic. He’s becoming one of my favorite short story authors.

Model Home by Rivers Solomon. I’ll admit I REALLY wanted this to be a book about a possessed house and I thought the true reveal was a bit rushed and unclear at the end, but overall it was a satisfying explanation for everything that happened. Elijah’s story felt a little shoehorned in and too “on the nose” considering the main storyline, but I did like that peek into how easy it is for these things to happen for teens and appreciate that there was no blaming (despite Ezri’s internal guilt). The language was so beautiful and raw and emotional, and sentences often made me stop and sit with them for a minute before I could move on.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I read this years ago, pre-Goodreads, and really enjoyed it, but it didn’t hit right for me this time. I still respect its status as a classic of course, and appreciate all it addresses. I’ll have to try another re-read later.

The Hive and the Honey by Paul Yoon. A friend mentioned she was reading a Paul Yoon book so I found some at the library. I love his writing style - these stories felt so immersive. I felt transported to other places and times. The characters were rich and their relationships felt real. Some of the stories didn’t really land for me, or make an impact overall, but the experience of reading them was worth it for the craft. I’m definitely going to read more.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. My kid is reading this for school, so I wanted to re-read it, too. I think I read it in high school but I was very resistant to required reading (though I’ve come to love many of those books in adulthood) and don’t remember liking this much. On the plus side, that meant I didn’t really remember it at all, so reading it now felt new. I liked the story a lot this time, especially with how relevant it sadly feels and how the commentary really packs a punch.

Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? by Ally Carter. My writing book for the month. I used to teach creative writing to middle schoolers and used this as a reference book when it first came out, but never read it the whole way through. While it’s geared to teens and certainly accessible, I think it’s so matter-of-fact and well-written that writers of any age would enjoy it. I especially love that she asked other YA authors about their experiences because I like hearing about others’ processes. Knowing everyone has such drastically different approaches, drafting styles, and publishing journeys really makes this feel like a well-rounded book.

Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men by Mara Gold. This book grabbed my attention at an indie bookstore and I took my time with it, knowing I’d definitely come back to it often. It’s an easy-to-read reference book, in a way. It has a fair amount of info on LOTS of mythological women. Read my full review here.

Cackle by Rachel Harrison. I thought this book would be fun and lighthearted, but Annie grated on my nerves immediately. She’s so desperate for a man that it was really hard to read. I’m fine with unlikeable characters but she had nothing interesting going on. Then Sophie came in grooming her and was SO over the top, that I just had to push through because what a mess.

On the Beach by Nevil Shute. I saw this movie decades ago (Anthony Perkins, swoon!) and started reading the book a year or so ago but didn’t finish. This time I made it through and I’m glad I did. The writing is nothing special—the baby, after being introduced as a girl named Jennifer, is called “it” multiple times, and the narration head hops a bit too much to be strictly third person or omniscient, but overall it works to tell a really emotional and all-too-real story. I compare the book with the movie here.

The Postmortal by Drew Magary. I have so many thoughts on this one… Read my full review here.

You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose. This was way too romance-y for me - I should have known with the Colleen Hoover endorsement and namedrop in the book. It felt like a sleazy rip-off of Serial by Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch, which I highly recommend. Rose’s writing felt really dumbed-down; I can’t count how many times the highway was like a black snake, and the “blue, blue eyes” was like nails on a chalkboard. I’m very curious what so many readers thought the “shocking twist” was… is it that she’s a wife and mother? Women can have hobbies and interests outside motherhood…

One of Us Is Dead by Jeneva Rose. This was like reading a reality show, and I admit I love that trash, so this was satisfying in a way. The characters all ran together though - I think there were too many rich white women with moist cardboard husbands to really keep them straight.

On the Beach Book and Movie

 

I saw On the Beach back in the early 2000s when I was on an old movie/Anthony Perkins kick, and really enjoyed it because, well, Anthony Perkins, and I like end of the world things. I rented it because my dad recommended it, but he especially loves the book. I got a copy a few years ago and started reading it, but put it down for some reason. I've been reading some dark things lately, so I decided it felt like the right time to try the book again and, once I made it about halfway through, decided I'd revisit the movie as well.

The book was really interesting to me for many reasons... The writing is so dry and matter-of-fact. If you compare it to books these days, it's not technically good. The writing is nothing special—the baby, after being introduced as a girl named Jennifer, is called “it” multiple times, and the narration head hops a bit too much to be strictly third person or omniscient. There are a lot of details that don't further the story but the author clearly knew about submarines or the Navy or nuclear war and wanted to include, so it's all fine but I feel like editors could chop this book up if it crossed their desks these days.

Still, overall it works to tell a really emotional and all-too-real story. Parts of it made me tear up and it wasn't because the writing was so emotional that it forced me to feel something. Shute just presented these characters and made them seem real enough that the thought of what they were going through made me sad. And, honestly, the state of things right now makes it all feel too possible, so I'm not afraid to admit that some of those tears were probably because I could see it happening now, though the book was published in 1957 and we clearly haven't learned a damn thing.

Anyway, I was excited to see the movie again because somehow my Anthony Perkins blinders made me forget that Gregory Peck was even in the movie?! I don't know how that's possible, but it was a pleasant surprise. I do think everything was well cast, though there are, of course, some differences between the book and the movie.

The book is almost 300 pages long, so it makes sense that the movie would condense the timeline and cut some scenes... but the movie is still 2 hours and 15 minutes long! I grew up watching 90-minute comedies so this was a bit much for me. I think every bit of the book could have been used in over 2 hours of run time... 

There are some significant changes in the relationship between Moira and Towers, which definitely seem more true to character in the book... and considering the movie doesn't even show a sex scene, I don't know why they needed to make that change. Also, John Osborne is related to Moira in the book, but in the movie he's Julian Osborn, and he used to be in love with her. It seemed like a random change that didn't add anything.

The submarine names also differ, and in the book, they make their way to Seattle, but in the movie, they only go to San Francisco. Again, not major changes, so I'm unsure why they were made. There are also a few changes in how characters die at the very end, I guess to have them killing themselves onscreen look more dramatic than simply taking pills, as all of them do in the book?

Overall, the movie stays fairly true to the book, and I recommend both of them. However, the book surprised me by making me more emotional than the movie. You'd think seeing the love and emotions on people's faces would hit harder, but something about the sparse writing style really made the emotions pop off the page for me.

Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men by Mara Gold

Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men by Mara Gold

This book grabbed my attention at an indie bookstore and I took my time with it, knowing I'd definitely come back to it often. I took a mythology class in high school and recently read the Percy Jackson series, so vague ideas of some of these characters were in mind, but in many ways I was starting from scratch. I think this book will appeal to people with any level of mythology knowledge. It explains everything so you're always on the same page with the writer, but also, the way things are explained doesn't feel over-the-top if you have that knowledge. It strikes a great balance.

Here's a quote I can't resist sharing. The balance of slightly snarky commentary with fact and research is a delight:

It certainly speaks to the view of women held by men in ancient Greece and Rome that any perils at sea were largely blamed on women, simply because they understood the mysteries of the ocean about as much as they understood women and their biology.

I'd say it's an easy-to-read reference book, in a way. It has a fair amount of info on LOTS of mythological women. I think it's good for a broad overview, and I know I'm going to use it to get ideas for my own writing or further research. It makes me think of similar books I have for general information and writing inspiration, like these favorites:

• How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley
• Tall Tales, Legends & Hoaxes by Nat Segaloff
• Frightlopedia: An Encyclopedia of Everything Scary, Creepy, and Spine-Chilling, from Arachnids to Zombies by Julie Winterbottom, illustrated by Stefano Tambellini
• Unsolved Mysteries: Bizarre Events That Have Puzzled the Greatest Minds by Joel Levy
• The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters by J.W. Ocker

I really appreciate the references to retellings and adaptations, both contemporary and older, so you can easily explore more of the sections that interest you. The purple color scheme is gorgeous, too, and I loved the illustrations. It's definitely a book to buy as a physical copy and show off on your coffee table!

The Postmortal by Drew Magary

 

I'll be honest, I haven't thought of Drew Magary in years, since reading his Deadspin columns kept me entertained at my first adult job. But I really enjoyed his writing then, so seeing that he had written some books made me curious to give them a try.

Warning: There will be spoilers I'm not blocking out or anything because I need to get this off my chest.

The premise itself is incredibly interesting: people are able to get The Cure and live forever. Well, at least not age. They'd forever stay the age they were when they got The Cure and wouldn't become elderly, but they could still die from gunshots, illnesses, etc. I think if he took it to a literary sci-fi place from there, it would have been fascinating. Or focused on a few key characters and had it turn out to be something like The Measure by Nikki Erlick. But he created the most unlikeable character and, in my opinion, shot his own idea in the foot.

I want to start with a disclaimer: it's okay for a character to be unlikeable. Humans are unlikeable. And it's possible many people (especially men, let's be honest) love John in this book.

I didn't dislike him initially. I was neutral until he became so whiny and narcissistic after his roommate died and he obsessed that HE was the whole reason she was dead. Which was true in a way, but get over it.

There was him knocking up a woman but not wanting to marry her because now "til death do us part" could mean hundreds of years, and he couldn't promise that. Which, I get. I'm not a marriage person either. But if you feel that way, wrap it up or get a vasectomy. Instead, he brought this kid David into the world and thought about him lovingly, very randomly, whenever he needed to feel like a good person. Or maybe whenever Magary wanted us to think the narrator was a good person. As someone raising a kid with an absent father, it was infuriating and made John incredibly unlikable for me. He seriously ONLY thought of his kid in moments when he was going to die or needed to pull out something emotional, and it got old. 

I guess the fact that it riles me so much shows that it's a realistic characteristic! But what made my eyes roll out of my head was the part after a near-death experience when he said "I counted my fingers, one through ten, as I did with David when he was born." (p249 Kindle edition).

EXCEPT!!! I remembered that scene and flipped back to find it because I was like, no way in hell is this deadbeat dad LYING about counting his own kid's fingers! BUT HE DID!

"I handed him to Nate. He counted all of the baby's fingers and toes." (p125 Kindle edition)

Nate was the man who married John's pregnant ex and raised David as though the boy was his own child. NATE was the one who was smart enough to count the baby's fingers and toes AFTER the sperm donor held the baby. Yet 125 pages later, this asshole character was convinced he was the one who had done it? Okay.

Then there was Alison, his middle school crush, coming back into his life. Cue paragraphs and paragraphs of how beautiful and perfect she was back then, and how much he loved her. How much he did for her hoping she'd like him instead of wanting to be friends. How much he asked her out even when she politely rejected him. Yeah, I get it, he was in middle school, he didn't know better. But then there's his daydream of wanting to save her from RAPE so she'd have to like him?

They get together, of course, because somehow this guy charms people. But he STILL wasn't sure he could marry her and stay with her for hundreds of years, because he's trash.

Then he's randomly trying to be incredibly macho but not realizing how he comes off? He chases a man and bashes his teeth in with a gun, and Alison sees what he does and is scared, clearly, because she's realizing he's insanely violent and she doesn't really know John at all, so John CHASES after her to reassure her everything is fine!!! And she runs into the path of a bus and dies.

At this point, I'm wishing someone would just take John out. Because now it's like when he lost his roommate and is moping over how regretful he is that he caused someone else to die. I was really wishing the evil "Greenies" in the book (who try to kill people who have gotten the Cure and therefore rarely naturally die) would just gang up on John and kill him to end all of our suffering.

There are also random instances of insane description. About a wound: "blood rose from the opening like the head of a small animal." WHAT? "The bulb of plasma broke like a bubble and ran down his side in thick streaks, like the legs inside an expensive glass of wine."

Then.... THEN!!! He gets lonely one night and contacts a hooker. Oh, but our narrator is a good guy! He just wants to talk! Until the hooker finds out John now has a job helping people with The Cure die if they want to die. She wants to die. He agrees to help her, but she insists they have sex first, so of course John does - it's her dying wish! And he kills her as she orgasms! WHAT?! I felt like I was reading some trashy Chad Kultgen/Bret Easton Ellis mashup and wanted to stop right there. But I was close to the end and felt like I had to see how things wrapped up.

I wish I had stopped there. The book just fell apart from there.

I don't want to rip it all apart, because I do genuinely like the concept and how it was done: told in blog entries and "headline roundups" and stuff that really gave a broad picture of what was going on throughout the expansive timeline of the book. I liked that storytelling style very much. And you know what? I used to blog and YES bloggers are full of themselves, so it makes sense that John is writing about his days and his emotions like that, so maybe I should lay off. But he's just insufferable. He tries to be macho and pithy at times but just comes off as clueless and ignorant, the type of creep most women (though clearly not a few in this book...) know to avoid. He's naive at best, but acts like he knows it all. One of those confidently incorrect dudes.

But if I ignore John, though he's the narrator and the main character, there are some great quotes here that really resonate. I think some of Magary's commentary on armies defecting after decades of service was interesting: "When you've served in the army for as long as I have, it becomes clear that you are not really serving your country, but that you are serving the very small group of men who control that country." That feels especially relevant today.

I also thought the Church of Man was interesting overall, and this comes from an atheist. "We believe that we can become better people if we recognize that the forces of good in this world---kindness, forgiveness, generosity, love---are inherently within us, within our control."

And there was a moment when I thought things might turn around, when a Church of Man representative literally called him on his bullshit and said "Any man who says he has no choice in life is just too lazy to make his own way." (AMEN!) But by the end of the book, John is forcing himself on yet another incredibly hot woman (did I mention that every woman he snagged in this book was unbelievably physically attractive? Did a 14-year-old write this?!), "I moved to her and began kissing her. Engulfing her. I wanted to squeeze her until her brain popped out of her head." 

Yikes. I'll give you that this book was written in 2011, but... yikes.

(He then tears open her shirt, kisses her nipples, and licks her belly. Wow, satisfying. Again, was this written by a 14-year-old?!)

It may be a long shot, but have you read this book? Did you used to like Drew Magary's column?! Sound off in the comments, because I clearly have a lot of thoughts!

The Age of Migration by Kai Maristed

The Age of Migration by Kai Maristed

I reviewed Kai Maristed's short fiction collection The Age of Migration for MicroLit Almanac - read it here and get your own copy of the book here! 

Few books of short fiction feel as expansive as The Age of Migration. These stories introduce people caught at moments of profound transition—leaving marriages, burying parents, surviving abuse, chasing opportunity, or searching for belonging. Physical migration is only one form of movement here. Every story asks what it means to cross from one version of life into another, and whether arriving somewhere new can ever free us from what came before.

July Round-Up

ghosts passing through by Janet Dale. Poetry book of the month. A re-read and a great chance to reconnect with Dale’s unique way of combining science, memory, and poetry in many instances. Beautiful work in this collection.

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah. I’m loving this series - absolute definition of cozy mystery for me. This Halloween installment was really fun and interesting and made me feel closer to the characters. I also like that the cast gets changed up a bit at the end…

Murder at the Blarney Bash by Darci Hannah. This one was so fun! I had no clue who did it and how but I was along for the ride. I love how Hannah integrates magical elements in a believable way without veering into speculative fiction.

Murder at the Lemonberry Tea by Darci Hannah. I love cooking shows so this was one of my favorite storylines - and the first I’d pretty much figured out by the end!

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan. I really liked this one. I thought the series would taper off for me in terms of interest, but this definitely kept me hooked and I can’t wait to read book five.

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Robert Venditti. As with graphic novels 2 and 3, I feel like as the novels get more complex, the graphic novels seem more lacking. It’s hard to get the full scope of the story from what’s presented on the page since Riordan’s writing is so detailed. I won’t be trying the fifth one since I really only enjoyed the first graphic novel in this series.

The Age of Migration by Kai Maristed. Reviewed for MicroLit Almanac - read it here.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. I’ve read this several times over the years, due to my love of middle grade books and background working with people with disabilities. I even met Draper and got my copy signed! That happened when my kid was a baby, so he’s met her too, and now he’s reading this as his summer reading, so I wanted to revisit it. It was a slower start than I remembered, and took a bit for me to get invested, but by the halfway point, I was hooked. Definitely a strong story and I think, even with technical advancements/especially with the current roadblocks for disabled people in society, this is still a necessary book for kids.

Tabitha, Get Up by Lee Upton. I’m reviewing the upcoming “Tabitha, Stay Up” for MicroLit Almanac in September, but wanted to read this one to get a feel for the characters. I don’t want to give away too much since there are definitely similarities between this and the sequel, but for now I’ll say I loved it and I’ll update this with more once my review is published.

Tabitha, Stay Up by Lee Upton. Reviewing this in September for MicroLit Almanac, will update this review then, but spoiler alert: I loved this more than the first! I can’t get enough of Tabitha. Read my review here.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. This was a good “final” book for the main series and is where I will stop (too many spin-offs for me). I thought this was a bit unbelievable in how relatively easy it was to conquer Kronos and the Titans (for now) and the young teens did better than adults/gods? Eh, ok. I mean it’s action-packed for the readers who like that, so I’m sure it appeals to the target audience, which is not me. I thought most of the earlier books were better though, in terms of balancing “reality” with the myths and related strength.

How Story Works by Lani Diane Rich. My writing book for the month. I remember reading her early books after the “publishing a NaNoWriMo novel” angle blew up, and re-reading them not long ago, and listening to her podcast Big Strong Yes got me through my divorce, so when I heard about this book a few years ago, I grabbed it immediately. You can hear her voice in this book. I read about half of it when I first got it in 2022 and shelved it to come back to, but I didn’t… until now. And I’m so glad I did. It works as both an entry point for people who want to write, and also as a refresher for more established writers, shining light on different points at new angles to help me feel more inspired to write. I dog-eared so many pages (in my personal copy of the book!) to come back to again and again.