Go Have a Day
Currently reading:
Devil House by John Darnielle
I feel like I’ve been reading this book forever, but it’s been less than a week. Every time I pick it up to read and feel like I’m making headway, I realize I’ve only read ten pages. I wouldn’t call it bad——maybe I just have a mental block against it, for some reason? I guess we’ll all find out next week if I DNF.
Books finished this week: 1
It’s summer, can you tell?
★★★☆☆
Where this book came from: Borrowed from a friend (thanks, Emily!)
Why this book: I absolutely loved Daisy Jones and the Six, so I was interested to read more from Taylor Jenkins Reid! Also, an ’80s show business rager in Malibu? Hell yes.
Thoughts: Visiting Malibu has been my favorite part of going to LA (two whole times) and this book makes me want to move to the part Nina described from her childhood, when it was still rural and not overrun by celebrities. I started reading this on the beach, which felt right, and I was enjoying it . . . for a while. But then the melodramatic tone started to grate on me, and it started to feel like things were just happening to happen. I didn't know the characters well enough to always believe they would make the decisions they did or to understand why they said what they said. Mick was an especially confusing character—not complex in the way human beings are, but just lacking depth or any kind of explanations or insights (as I felt most of the characters were). I also found it hard to shut off editor brain during this one. I felt the story should’ve started at the party, and then narrowed in on the Riva family backstory, rather than rushing through a parade of introductions in the last quarter of the book. It felt like the narrative was building to something heavier, darker, sinister, or at least more exciting. No spoilers, but . . . you don’t get that. Was this a fun enough beach read? Yes. Can Taylor Jenkins Reid write rich people behaving badly? Yes, and the world they inhabit is very fun through her lens. Did I enjoy the reading experience overall? Ehhh.
Library updates:
It’s Father’s Day, which might be a nice day for some and a shit day for others. It might also just be a day. I hope you do something that brings you peace, regardless.
I’m lucky enough to have a pretty good relationship with my dad. We get along pretty well and have a lot in common——he’s the one who introduced me to the X-Men, after all. (Speaking of X-Men, the podcast is on summer hiatus, so catch up before we return with an arbitrary new season in August or September!)
But what struck me just yesterday, while having a quick phone call with him, was how he ended the call. Most people might say “have a nice day,” which is polite and kind of them, or some might ask what you’re up to that day. Dad just said——as he does most times——”Go have a day.”
I appreciate the lack of expectation that line puts on me. I don’t need to have a great day, or do something exciting. I can just go live my life. Thanks, Dad.
I’ll do a more official announcement in the places you’re supposed to do stuff like that, but the other piece of trivia for this week is that I left my job. (I’m starting a new one next week.) A lot of soul searching, conversations, and journaling went into the decision, but it was ultimately the right one.
Still, leaving Tapas was bittersweet. Most other times I’ve left jobs, they’ve either been internships with natural conclusions at the end of a semester, or maybe summer jobs that ran their course, or maybe a place where leaving was a blessing. But as I’ve said to many people over the last few weeks, I’m going to deeply miss my colleagues, the writers I met, and the stories I got to tell.
I’m nervous for what comes next, because I haven’t had to start working at a new place in nearly two years. But I’m mostly excited.
Closing thoughts:
It’s a shorter one this week, probably because I’ve already written down all the sappy stuff in my personal journal and said all I need to say to the people who needed to hear it. So, go have a day, chums.
