recent reads
We Used To Live Here – Marcus Kliewer.
This was good, unsettling and creepy. Like with all things I wanted to know more about the slipping in and out of different times, and how that worked and the memories left behind.
The ending, like a lot of life, is sad.
Open Minded – Chloe Seager
Genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. Anytime someone tries to make open relationships palatable for readers at large is a gamble, but overall I think this author did a really good job. Especially of writing both the character familiar with the open relationship as well as the one just starting out with one. Very curious as to whether the author has people amongst their family or friendsgroup with this kind of relationship or past history. Where did you get your information…
A lot of it would have annoyed you, Eames, though. The primary partner bullshit, and the no talking about relationships and “the rules about falling in love.” I suppose that’s unfair, because open relationships and being poly aren’t technically the same thing, but the former just seems very…constrained, which as I find frustrating on paper, I know how you would have felt about it. Still, it was nice to see a semblance of your relationship desires and thoughts in a book.
Dear Hanna – Zoje Stage
This was the followup to Baby Teeth, which I remembered being published, but had never gotten around to reading it, so I borrowed that from the library even though I was fairly certain you had a copy upstairs in your room. One, it was late when I wanted to start it, and two, sometimes it’s hard to be in your room, even though I love it too. I love the skylights and the openness, and being surrounded by your books and possessions. I feel bad, now I know what you’d say and it’s still hard not, I don’t spend more time up there with Jenny, but I do plan on changing that in the future.
Anyway, I did enjoy Baby Teeth, and I enjoyed Dear Hanna, even though I guessed early on the truth about her letter writing. I understood it though, well, obviously. Here I am, writing blog posts to you, long after you’re gone.
It’s not so long though, is it? It’s that in-between time where it’s no longer just last year. Nearly two years. Which seems impossible when I think about putting it into words.
The Lost Story – Meg Shaffer
I just started this at work this morning, and it has that good spark of a book just waiting for the magic to begin. As our pal, Barnaby said. “The best kind of book s a magic book.”
And yet, foolishly, I almost want to close it and not continue. It’s so much easier to just read my way through thrillers and suspense, and contemporary fiction. While I do want to write those, they’re not as built into my bloodstream as magic books. Magic books hurt more even as I want to read them.
Why are these people allowed to be out there in the world writing their stories and getting them published? Why didn’t you get that chance? Why didn’t you get more time?
Anyway, I’ll let you know how it ends. At the moment I am simply enjoying the premise of ‘oh, I like the magic world of Narnia, let’s run with that without any of the religious undertones.’ Because I do still care for Narnia and the children who venture there. Even though I have never even slightly desired to get into Heaven.
I hope that wherever you are in the universe now, it’s interesting and vast and magical. I hope you’re having adventures in another life or form. I hope you get to experience all the things you always dreamt of.