Life Comes at You Fast
Currently reading:
Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon
Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby [a re-read!]
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The last two are for grad school, can you tell? I’ve somehow never read Frankenstein, despite my obsession with all things Penny Dreadful, so I’m looking forward to it!
Books finished this week: 1
★★☆☆☆
Where this book came from: I must have entered a giveaway or signed up to receive an ARC, because I got an advance copy from Tin House (thanks, Tin House!) (and sorry, Tin House!)
Why this book: I assume the spiritualism mentioned in the summary caught my eye.
Thoughts: This is another book with such a good premise, a premise that sounds absolutely perfect for me, and which ultimately falls utterly flat. What could have been a fascinating exploration of things like belief and true magic versus gaslighting presented nothing interesting. Though I felt the ruminations on loss and grief were well done, especially with a story set in the wake of World War I and the Spanish flu, I didn’t really feel like I was in the time period. But my main complaints are about the presentation of the book and about the characters. On the topic of presentation, everything about the copy and the book package seems to be pointing to a properly spooky story about a woman being seduced into a lush world of spiritualism. But the tone felt almost comedic at points (in a goofy, terrible way), between Robert the bumbling do-gooder and Evelyn stumbling her way through awkward social conversations. Characters talk in circles, so serious conversations resolve nothing. I know it was a time when certain topics would not and could not be discussed in public, and might even prove difficult in a private setting, but there was never really an attempt by anyone to talk about anything that needed to be addressed. We don’t get to know Evelyn and Robert well enough, either separately or as a couple, to understand why they’re together, how they really feel about each other, and why they’re staying together——other than social norms of the time. The characters were flat, the story really didn’t go anywhere, and there were no spooks or surprises. In the end, so many details are left unclear in a way that feels not ambiguous and intriguing, but just frustrating. Perhaps this is meant to hint at a sequel, but I won’t be reading if there is one.
Library updates:
I took last week off from posting because I was busy. Normalize taking time off just because you need a break!! You owe no one anything and you deserve time to rest!!
With that out of the way, I’ll say that life has not slowed down, as I’d hoped it might. I’ve been through busy spells before, but usually I make it through the day or the week and I’m able to start fresh on a new day. But every week has brought more projects, more responsibilities, and more looking at myself in the mirror, with the deepening lines under my eyes and the heaviness in my soul, and thinking, I’m just . . . so tired.
But I’m trying not to dwell on the hardships, in hopes of moving through my feelings of being worried and overwhelmed, and I don’t want the Library to become a place of woe. This also isn’t a cry for help, I promise——I’m managing. And I am eternally grateful for talk therapy and anti-anxiety medication, because I think I’d have spent more of the last month just on the ground sobbing if I didn’t have that help and support.
Anyway, outside being incredibly overwhelmed by things I have to do, there have been some lovely moments! A sunset boat tour of New York, a comedian’s show at Radio City, a trip to Atlantic City, trivia night, an art show, Here Lies Love on Broadway (that last one was . . . just okay). I also finished a book over the last two weeks, isn’t that nice! I’m back in the full swing of grad school——taking another workshop-lit class combo——and loving it, but that does mean I’ll be focused more on academic reading for the next few months and less on Library reading. But at least I’m finally going to read Frankenstein!
I’m also hoping to get a better handle on life——on work, on school projects, on personal things——and devote more time to reading and writing again. Despite being in a creative writing MFA program, I’ve done woefully little writing since I started school back in May, and I would very much like to change that.
So, I may not have very many book reviews to share over the next few weeks, but I appreciate anyone and everyone who reads anyway! And I hope you take breaks when you need them.
Closing thoughts:
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
(I’m not becoming born-again, I just had to read “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” for grad school. Also these lines are dumb and don’t fit the rest of the poem, but maybe they’ll give you something to ponder.)
Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 47
(Total books added to the Library: 74)
Four of these came from ThriftBooks and one (the Anne Lamott) was purchased at the Drama Book Shop. I consider the writing books to basically be for school, because they’re to help hone my craft, and I did buy the Poe collection as supplementary lit course reading, so they really shouldn’t count. But I’m being totally transparent and honest with you, because I love you.
