Reading roundup + book updates
MURDER BITES edits are done!!
Oh, hi! Here I am again, back on the internet with a much overdue reading round up.
I’ve read 40 books so far this year, which is far too many to throw at you at once. So I’ve classified them via completely subjective and made-up genres, and will administer them to you in doses.
Up first: Wild cards (y’all know I had to get my lil weirdos out there first), novels that will make you *~*feel something *~*, and books that will make you emit your preferred form of laughter, be that guffaw, chuckle or chortle. (Side note: Once in high school, my soccer coach asked us if anyone knew what the word “chortle” meant and I told him it was an abbreviation for “chocolate turtle” and he thought that was the funniest thing ever. Got ‘em!)
What else is new at Kind of a Lot HQ? So glad you asked! I turned in my final round of edits on my first novel, MURDER BITES, and now I’m waiting for copy edits, which I should get next month. I cannot wait to get some very confused Google comments back from a kind copyeditor about my frequent references to Lord Farquaad, he of Shrek fame. I also had to submit a form to DMX’s estate to ask for permission to use his lyrics in my book, which, yes, is a sentence I just actually wrote. I *chortled* when I had to indicate on the form that, no, I did not plan to use the lyrics to “Party Up In Here” in an academic journal.
Also more fun news: I got the initial concept sketches for the book’s cover from the illustrator we contracted to create it, and lemme tell you, they are SO! FREAKING! GOOD! More TK, but we are cooking with gas, peeps, and I couldn’t be more excited for the way my former Google Doc is shaping up into a real-ass book. We out here!
Other things absolutely no one asked about, but I will tell you: In TSITP discourse, I’m worried Belly’s getting a bob. I am all for an independence-affirming haircut, but homegirl has some thick locks and I fear the end result will be more Playmobile bob than Lily Collins bob. But this is a lesson every woman must learn for herself, like the time I had a mental breakdown and left the hair salon looking like I was engaging in some early aughts Kate Gosselin cosplay. May the force be with you, Belly!
And that’s the end of my one-woman show. Book time!
Wild cards:
These books don’t fit into a neat category, much like a turducken. (Is it a turkey or a duck? The world may never rest easy.) But I loved ‘em all.
Vladimir, by Julia May Jonas: A college professor becomes a little **too** obsessed with a younger professor at her university. Getting turned into a Netflix show with Rachel Weisz and Lee Woodall!!!!!!!
Cabin, by Patrick Hutchison: This memoir is an extension of a viral Outdoor Magazine article, and follows a young guy disillusioned with corporate life who decides to escape to the woods and, yep, build a cabin. While perhaps seemingly not on brand for me (it’s my personal belief that we as a species have evolved beyond the need to sleep places that require us to freeze our buttcheeks off as we pee against a tree like a Labrador), I resonated with the writer’s capitalism-induced malaise. Who among us hasn’t daydreamed about throwing their laptops out the window and stumbling off into the woods?
Open Throat, by Henry Hoke: A novella from the perspective of a — stay with me here — mountain lion that lives in the Los Angeles hills above the Hollywood sign. Funny and tender and full of poignant observations about humans and climate change, it’ll leave you rooting for the furry little quadruped.
Shark Heart, by Emily Habeck: It’s a tale as old as time: Girl and guy meet, girl and guy get married, guy is diagnosed with an incurable disease in which he slowly morphs into a great white shark. Did I lose you? I hope not, because this book is full of gorgeous writing and heartachingly beautiful observations about how short human life is, and how lucky we are to live it. I cried!
In your feels:
Need to feel like you’re 13 years old and locked in your room playing the “Garden State” soundtrack over and over again while you obsess about the high school senior who most definitely doesn’t know you’re alive because you are a child and barely have boobs? Buckle up!
Heart the Lover, by Lily King: Three writerly college students enter a love triangle that reverberates across decades — one they must grapple with again in adulthood when they’re suddenly thrust back together. I adore everything King writes, especially because her books often focus on writers wrestling with the writing life. (V much recommend also checking out Writers & Lovers.)
Slanting Towards the Sea, by Lidija Hilje: A divorced Croatian couple grapples with their feelings for each other against the growing pains of a newly democratic country. It’s a moving look at how humans learn to live among the decisions we’ve made, as well as an interesting dive into recent Croatian history.
Deep Cuts, by Holly Brickley: An aspiring music critic and a burgeoning rock star embark on a tumultuous friendship-that-might-be-a-relationship against the backdrop of the early aughts music scene. Being turned into a TV show with Austin Butler and Saoirse Ronan!
Giggle zone:
I love nothing more than a book that fires up the ole ROFL-copter, and these did just that. Bon voyage!
Salty, by Kate Myers: Another romp of a caper by my buddy Kate — this one is about two sisters working on a luxury yacht who have to take down the richie-riches who own said yacht. Filled with zany character descriptions, zingy one-liners, and tons of escapist snapshots of tropical locales.
Run for the Hills, by Kevin Wilson: Wilson is, in my opinion, the GOAT of weirdo, tender, funny fiction, and this is no exception: Several long-lost siblings discover they all exist and take off on a cross-country road trip via PT Cruiser to track down the dad that abandoned them.
Hot Desk, by Laura Dickerman: This follows two book editors who have to share a “hot desk” on different days of the week while they duke it out over a famous writer’s estate. Filled with lots of funny observations about the literary and publishing worlds, as well as some great banter between the two editors who find themselves in a lil enemies-to-lovers sitch.
The Road to Tender Hearts, by Annie Hartnett: I read an interview with the author somewhere that she set out to make a funny book about awful, dark things, and she pulled it off here. This follows a lovable addict who’s grieving the loss of his daughter, and finds himself becoming a guardian to two recently orphaned children and a cat named Pancakes that can predict when someone’s about to die. Add in a road trip, and you have a hilarious, moving, beautiful book that I absolutely adored.