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What are you reading these days?
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
Shortly after the last thread (I think that very day), I finished Remarkably Bright Creatures (2022) by Shelby Van Pelt. I found this particularly charming and while there were some forgettable side characters, it was a very tightly woven story. If you’re looking for a feel-good book, look here.
Slight spoilers
Marcellus should have died at the end for a bittersweet moment. Everything worked out and he could have died peacefully. Instead they teased his death and then said but not yet. I didn’t like that.The Writing Retreat (2023) by Julia Bartz was not my first choice. I joined Book of the Month in December and when February’s options were announced I wanted to pick Maame (2023) by Jessica George, but when I looked at the subreddit I saw everyone talking about The Writing Retreat.
I am a big fan of horror, so when nobody was talking about my pick, I got persuaded into choosing the more popular option instead.
The Writing Retreat was very well-paced, and I felt cozy during the writing parts. Taylor was my favorite character throughout the book which gave me a sense of betrayal by the end of it, which disappointed me. There’s also a book within the book which makes sense, I suppose, given that it’s about a writer, but honestly it was tiring reading the excerpts for them to go on praising the writing in the next scene (self-flattering much?)
There’s a moment when the participants of the retreat are introducing themselves to each other, and a whole discussion of pronouns and sexual orientation takes place (it’s an all-female group). Meanwhile there were at least a couple glaring errors in the book. It seems that she was more concerned about having a sensitivity editor (which is listed in the acknowledgements) than an editor editor.
While there was a great deal to dislike, I didn’t actually hate it, but I wish I had gone with my original pick.
On the note of horror, I read On Writing (2000) by Stephen King. I expected it to be more memoir than “writing guide”, but it actually covers both pretty well. I would like an update on Frank, the composite of three unpublished writers that “showed promise”, but I couldn’t find anything.
One last book I finished, When You Are Engulfed in Flames (2008) by David Sedaris. It’s difficult to give a review on a collection of personal essays, but I really enjoy David Sedaris.
I am still reading Black Cake (2022) by Charmaine Wilkerson, I have started Maame (2023) by Jessica George, and I’ve gone back to reading The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) after shelving it a while back.