I mostly read and re-read childrens books, but here are the adult books I also read when I get the chance.
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As a basketball fan and someone who holds some fondness for Ohio, I was interested to read this book, The parallels Abdurraqib makes between the extended LeBron era of basketball in Ohio and his own life are really pretty beautiful and amazingly well put together. I really don't believe I picked up on half of what he was putting down and I still enjoyed the read.
M Train is a journey through eighteen "stations." It begins in the tiny Greenwich Village …
I found the first half easy, drawn in by Patti Smith's recounting of a cherished daily routine, but the second half was more difficult as she attempted to break our of a malaise, wonder about loss and evoke the kinds of feelings that words will often fail to provoke. Sometimes it made me angry that she tried, but in the end we are witnessing a person figure out some big universals in the only ways they know how and it was certainly interesting to observe, and made me more conscious of the ways I move through my own world.
M Train is a journey through eighteen "stations." It begins in the tiny Greenwich Village …
I found the first half easy, drawn in by Patti Smith's recounting of a cherished daily routine, but the second half was more difficult as she attempted to break our of a malaise, wonder about loss and evoke the kinds of feelings that words will often fail to provoke. Sometimes it made me angry that she tried, but in the end we are witnessing a person figure out some big universals in the only ways they know how and it was certainly interesting to observe, and made me more conscious of the ways I move through my own world.
Writer, filmmaker, and organizer Astra Taylor takes a curious, critical, and ultimately hopeful look at the uniquely modern concept of …
An interesting collection of magic realist (for want of a better term) short stories of human transition as part of the greater natural world. My favorites were Winter of Men and The Swarm.
Frustrated by her current relationship, trans lesbian Maria Griffiths decides to change her life by …
The first few chapters I thought the writing style was pretty contrived...but it ends up really working the more you get to know Maria. Other than that, wow, it's amazing, it's great. I will probably read it again.
Paradise Estate picks up a few years down the road (and on the other side of the peak COVID pandemic years) from where The Magpie Wing left off, following Helen as she endures some major life events in addition to the shitshow that is renting and sharing an anywhere-near-affordable house in a major Australian city.
So many of the characters are looking for genuine connection with each other, if they could only get past their own vices, preoccupations, insecure and unsatisfying work, and inhospitable living conditions.
All the Paradise Estate housemates share a common dissatisfaction with the world at large and have a real desire to make change, which is tempered by their own personal histories of injury and loss, vanity (in Nathan's case), and the jadedness and exhaustion that comes with precarious living and working well into their 30s and beyond.
I've spent most of my adult years in …
Paradise Estate picks up a few years down the road (and on the other side of the peak COVID pandemic years) from where The Magpie Wing left off, following Helen as she endures some major life events in addition to the shitshow that is renting and sharing an anywhere-near-affordable house in a major Australian city.
So many of the characters are looking for genuine connection with each other, if they could only get past their own vices, preoccupations, insecure and unsatisfying work, and inhospitable living conditions.
All the Paradise Estate housemates share a common dissatisfaction with the world at large and have a real desire to make change, which is tempered by their own personal histories of injury and loss, vanity (in Nathan's case), and the jadedness and exhaustion that comes with precarious living and working well into their 30s and beyond.
I've spent most of my adult years in the kind of world these characters inhabit, so to say I found the book relatable is an understatement. I share Rugby League playing laborer/anarchist Rocco's frustration with the typical Australian arms-length friendship and aversion to direct action. I probably also share(d) his idealism of restlessly moving and looking for the ideal place to be and community to be in, (which of course will never work out if you don't stick around and learn to accept where you are and the people around you).
Like The Magpie Wing, you'll get a little extra juice out of knowing the places, names and bus routes in this book, but the universality of getting older and feeling you're not fucking getting anywhere is the real story, which Paradise Estate evokes so well.
Here's hoping the twos aren't so terrible? From what I know of Lansbury's methods, we may not go all the way down this path, but there seems to be a fair chunk of it that makes good sense for both child and parent.
"An abandoned package is discovered in the Paris Metro: the subway workers suspect it's a …
Thuận's continuous internal monologue style is so distinctive, full of repetitions and multiplications. So different to what I've read lately which was a refreshing change.
Convenience Store Woman (Japanese: コンビニ人間, Hepburn: Konbini Ningen) is a 2016 novel by Japanese author Sayaka Murata. It captures the …
My partner recommended this and I read it while I had COVID (and while we are planning to emigrate) so it was very timely. I found it funny, thoughtful and in the end, touching.
The classic work on debt, now is a special tenth anniversary edition with a new introduction by Thomas Piketty
Before …
The classic work on debt, now is a special tenth anniversary edition with a new introduction by Thomas Piketty
Before …
Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now …