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embfitz's reviews
45 reviews
A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neetsa Pizza Employee's Guide to Saving the World by Rachel Cantor
I liked this a lot. There's a genre of books that seems to have emerged in the last few years -- other examples I can think of include Ready Player One and Maverick Jetpants in the City of Quality -- where the pace is frenetic, the ideas are big, the plot is well-crafted, and the absolute best way for me to read them is to hang on, slow down when possible, and just admire.
Books like these require very different things from me than more conventional reading, and I really appreciate when these opportunities arise.
Books like these require very different things from me than more conventional reading, and I really appreciate when these opportunities arise.
Slade House by David Mitchell
My only resolution this year is to add comments to my Goodreads entries. (The stars...still not feeling those.)
I think the conceits of Slade House are much more suited for the universe Mitchell seems to want to write in than The Bone Clocks was. I've got my fingers crossed that he's not done with horror. Literary horror, at least what I've read, often feels like Ornate Language Because Lovecraft. Slade House avoids that somehow, and is better for it.
The section set in the 90's is brimming over with affectionate nostalgia. If you miss Madchester et al, at least read that part. (Each section is independent yet linked except maybe the last, which is always a nice trick.)
I think the conceits of Slade House are much more suited for the universe Mitchell seems to want to write in than The Bone Clocks was. I've got my fingers crossed that he's not done with horror. Literary horror, at least what I've read, often feels like Ornate Language Because Lovecraft. Slade House avoids that somehow, and is better for it.
The section set in the 90's is brimming over with affectionate nostalgia. If you miss Madchester et al, at least read that part. (Each section is independent yet linked except maybe the last, which is always a nice trick.)
Green Girl by Kate Zambreno
I suspect a number of people like this book because there are elements and sections to which they can relate, but I had to abandon that notion for myself pretty quickly. I set aside the pencil I try to keep in my hand, because I was arguing with the text WAY too much. When I sat down with it to read, I imagined putting on a spacesuit, and exploring a new planet.
The structure of GREEN GIRL is one of my favorite kinds -- seemingly disjointed, but unquestionably not. The rules of the book's world are laid down in ways that don't feel tedious. There's an obvious attention to language that I really liked -- especially when it snuck up on me, which doesn't happen often in general. The characters are vivid, they're perfect and flawed in very literal and palpable ways. Their struggles come from all sides. Ruth's complex and basic, frustrating and wearying. The environment is almost headachingly vivid.
This will sound like a sly line, but I absolutely don't mean it that way:
I would love to see more SFF like this.
The structure of GREEN GIRL is one of my favorite kinds -- seemingly disjointed, but unquestionably not. The rules of the book's world are laid down in ways that don't feel tedious. There's an obvious attention to language that I really liked -- especially when it snuck up on me, which doesn't happen often in general. The characters are vivid, they're perfect and flawed in very literal and palpable ways. Their struggles come from all sides. Ruth's complex and basic, frustrating and wearying. The environment is almost headachingly vivid.
This will sound like a sly line, but I absolutely don't mean it that way:
I would love to see more SFF like this.
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
(I don't do stars.)
I read celeb memoirs without shame, but I mostly read Troublemaker to see if the Internet had left out any particularly good details in reporting about it. Conclusion: Nope. (I wish the Tom Cruise parts were distilled out into a chapbook, though.) This book would be an ok introduction to the Church, if [b:Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief|16142053|Going Clear Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief|Lawrence Wright|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358119149s/16142053.jpg|21973918] wasn't highly engaging and accessible. The HBO doc is good, but I liked the book more.
Something I'd like to read but haven't found yet -- a memoir written by a non-celebrity former Scientologist. I'd also want to read an account of how the classes work. How does one actually go through thirty years of training to level up in what's essentially a character that's irrelevant anywhere except one game?
I read celeb memoirs without shame, but I mostly read Troublemaker to see if the Internet had left out any particularly good details in reporting about it. Conclusion: Nope. (I wish the Tom Cruise parts were distilled out into a chapbook, though.) This book would be an ok introduction to the Church, if [b:Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief|16142053|Going Clear Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief|Lawrence Wright|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358119149s/16142053.jpg|21973918] wasn't highly engaging and accessible. The HBO doc is good, but I liked the book more.
Something I'd like to read but haven't found yet -- a memoir written by a non-celebrity former Scientologist. I'd also want to read an account of how the classes work. How does one actually go through thirty years of training to level up in what's essentially a character that's irrelevant anywhere except one game?
Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels by Scott McCloud
(I don't do stars.)
Not an artist, not a cartoonist. I just love reading guides for creative activities that aren't my own.
Making Comics concerns itself with decisions about the form that can happen organically or chosen deliberately. As a "happen organically" type, I really appreciate anything I can soak up on the other side. The section on Stories for Humans should be required reading for anyone who tells them. The rest is excellent for any writer who wants to take on the challenge of thinking MUCH more visually.
Not an artist, not a cartoonist. I just love reading guides for creative activities that aren't my own.
Making Comics concerns itself with decisions about the form that can happen organically or chosen deliberately. As a "happen organically" type, I really appreciate anything I can soak up on the other side. The section on Stories for Humans should be required reading for anyone who tells them. The rest is excellent for any writer who wants to take on the challenge of thinking MUCH more visually.
The Unfinished World: And Other Stories by Amber Sparks
I'm finding that I recommend this collection frequently. If I had to pick one word to differentiate Sparks's fiction from other strange literary fiction, I'd go with "curatorial." She has an uncanny talent for selecting and presenting what characters (and readers) need to see, in order to achieve a wide range of effects. Her stories, whether long or short, are shadowboxes full of curiosities...and it would be so foolish to think those curiosities are just there for show. This is usually about where I also tell people that her work can be genuinely funny, too -- and not in a way that's twee, or trying too hard.
(Note: This wasn't my first read of The Unfinished World. It also wasn't my first read of The Unfinished World with a pencil in my hand. Highly recommend this approach, whether you want to draw pictures or underline the exhibits.)
(Note: This wasn't my first read of The Unfinished World. It also wasn't my first read of The Unfinished World with a pencil in my hand. Highly recommend this approach, whether you want to draw pictures or underline the exhibits.)
The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life by Ann Patchett
Whenever a writer writes about writing, I think about audience. A few passages really resonated with me -- especially when she recounts her experiences with writing teachers at Sarah Lawrence, surprise surprise. But I see The Getaway Car more as something I'd like to sneak into the hands of a couple of people I know who love Patchett's books, and who I also suspect would make excellent creative writers. The calls to action are juuuuust right.
Shopping, Seduction & Mr. Selfridge by Lindy Woodhead
The story is terrific -- read Harry Selfridge's Wikipedia entry for proof -- and it's a pleasant read. It also covers more ground than the (big chunks of which are fictionalized but costume-wise, it's a treat) television series. The book spends some time on Selfridge's childhood, and his time at Marshall Field in Chicago. He had an entire career there before he retired, got bored with retirement, turned 51, started all over again...and THAT is where the TV series picks up. Only kittens and toddlers also have that kind of energy.
A shame everyone who takes on the task of telling the story has to rush through the end, though. I understand it's because there's a lack of source material, but still. I also wish Selfridge had left more letters behind, or an autobiography. Let that be a lesson to us all?
A shame everyone who takes on the task of telling the story has to rush through the end, though. I understand it's because there's a lack of source material, but still. I also wish Selfridge had left more letters behind, or an autobiography. Let that be a lesson to us all?
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time. Some random thoughts with no spoilers.
-- This is one of those books where saying you "like" it doesn't feel the same as when you like other things. Will I read it again? Maybe. Anytime soon? Probably not. Will I revisit sections soon? Definitely.
-- That opening section is just, BAM. If I was teaching right now, I'd absolutely show it to my class.
-- Are there other books in which the female main character's aspirations are thwarted, and it's not directly tied to an oppressive figure or a romance?
-- If I had to choose a way to describe this book quickly, 'Speedboat in a terrarium' would be close.
-- I've seen some complaints that the book has no plot, and I genuinely don't understand them. Is it that a key moment is buried in lots of other detail? Because yeah, that's true...
-- It's hard to know what to do with or about anger -- as a person, and as a writer. (When I teach, that ALWAYS comes up. If I ever write a craft essay, that'll be the subject.) I think the responses this book has generated -- perhaps especially the ones that go after Messud personally -- just underline that point. I believe this double after realizing that a very high percentage of what happens in the outside world of the novel is physically violent, and nothing in its environment is.
-- This is one of those books where saying you "like" it doesn't feel the same as when you like other things. Will I read it again? Maybe. Anytime soon? Probably not. Will I revisit sections soon? Definitely.
-- That opening section is just, BAM. If I was teaching right now, I'd absolutely show it to my class.
-- Are there other books in which the female main character's aspirations are thwarted, and it's not directly tied to an oppressive figure or a romance?
-- If I had to choose a way to describe this book quickly, 'Speedboat in a terrarium' would be close.
-- I've seen some complaints that the book has no plot, and I genuinely don't understand them. Is it that a key moment is buried in lots of other detail? Because yeah, that's true...
-- It's hard to know what to do with or about anger -- as a person, and as a writer. (When I teach, that ALWAYS comes up. If I ever write a craft essay, that'll be the subject.) I think the responses this book has generated -- perhaps especially the ones that go after Messud personally -- just underline that point. I believe this double after realizing that a very high percentage of what happens in the outside world of the novel is physically violent, and nothing in its environment is.
The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook
This was a good one to be reading during Grammy season, and while watching a couple of music competition shows. I went into this book thinking that the likely over/under was whether the reader knows who Max Martin is. Delighted to find out that wasn't the case -- there's plenty for anyone who's interested in how contemporary pop music (i.e., from the early 90s to now) is made. Each chapter is a mostly self-contained longread (examples: how Ace of Base helped start it all, Lou Pearlman, Kelly Clarkson vs. Clive Davis, Britney, Rihanna). The narrative was a little too White Middle Aged Guy for me sometimes...but since it's not trying to be something different, it only snags here and there. At any rate -- if you're someone who stays current on pop music, voluntarily or otherwise, it's worth having a look at this book. Next year, when Taylor Swift thanks Max Martin again at the Grammys, you will nod knowingly.
ETA: Oh SNAP, thanks to my screwing around with my e-reader, I missed a chunk of the book...which included the Ke$ha/Dr. Luke section. (Is this why everyone still loves paper?) Going back to read it. Good lord.
ETA part 2: The Ke$ha/Dr. Luke section is totally skippable, especially if you've already read about songmakers in previous chapters. The section about Spotify, though? Glad I didn't miss that.
ETA: Oh SNAP, thanks to my screwing around with my e-reader, I missed a chunk of the book...which included the Ke$ha/Dr. Luke section. (Is this why everyone still loves paper?) Going back to read it. Good lord.
ETA part 2: The Ke$ha/Dr. Luke section is totally skippable, especially if you've already read about songmakers in previous chapters. The section about Spotify, though? Glad I didn't miss that.