Went to pick up a library hold, which I selected based on the author alone, and when I got it, had to laugh at my tendency not to look up anything about a book, including the page count.
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@kimlockhartga I can’t believe she is not super famous, her production, artistry, voice, self awareness and strength…writing, all of it…
She was too strong and powerful for the music industry and gatekeepers to let through uncontrolled. One of the best artists ever, imo.The album as a whole is a trip. So creative, original. And so many real bangers! I’ve been listening to it for 26 years now (tbh I thought it was longer!) since it came out. Someone else gave it to me. Never got tired of it.
@JoBlakely It's absolutely criminal that she is not better known!
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@kimlockhartga Ghost lunch at the Morgan
@sunumbral perfect!
People think I'm joking, but I will be disappointed if this plan does not become available in the afterlife.
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@sunumbral It's an embarrassment of riches.
Okay, time to check on my mom. Lemme know if you look into Paul Madonna's work and I will let you know if Tom's Crossing is even worth your time. There are only so many hours. We want them spent with the best reading experiences we can find.
@kimlockhartga Thanks so much for this dialogue! If you two ever want to do a video call bookclub, I love to get different recommendations, even if I can't find them or read them. My library has no Paul Madonna. All Over Coffee sounds vaguely like the Griffin and Sabine series that delighted me.
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is one of my all-time favourite books, and I convinced various friends that they also had to read it, like @Leslie_M
House of Leaves looks a bit creepy for me. -
@sunumbral I am glad I'm not the only one! I actually email myself all the time.
@kimlockhartga @sunumbral
That memory loss is my primary reason for having a Goodreads account, even though I know there are newer non-Bezos options. Very early on in my smartphone journey, I discovered that I could scan the ISBN of any book that looked intriguing to save it in my Plan To Read list. But mainly, the app stopped me from buying or borrowing books again that I didn't enjoy much the first time around. -
@sunumbral exactly.
Also, House of Leaves is a tremendous commitment in concentration. It takes a lot of time and intense effort. It's brilliant, but requires so much of the reader.
I've read some of Everlasting, by Alix E. Harrow, whom I usually love, but I'm stuck not really wanting to finish it. I also started Rasputin Swims the Potomac, by Ben Fountain, which is a bit obvious in where it's going in a heavy-handed farce. I think I may drop both in favor of Tom's Crossing.
First, though, I may check out Maria Popova's newest work: The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder Through Science and Poetry. It is described as "an ode to wonder and exploration of the human search for truth and meaning." It's only 112 pages, and looks to be good. High ratings! Oh, and I thought I remembered the poet being around here, and she is! I don't want to bother her by tagging her, but this is her handle: mariapopova@indieweb.social
@kimlockhartga I also usually love Alix Harrow's books but I returned Everlasting after a few chapters, it just didn't catch at my attention enough to care.
You've both given some great recommendations in this thread. I'm going to have to add a column for "recommender" on my tbr list so I know who to thank.
@sunumbral -
@kimlockhartga I also usually love Alix Harrow's books but I returned Everlasting after a few chapters, it just didn't catch at my attention enough to care.
You've both given some great recommendations in this thread. I'm going to have to add a column for "recommender" on my tbr list so I know who to thank.
@sunumbral@CuriousMagpie @kimlockhartga @sunumbral
I know that I read and enjoyed The Everlasting, but I had to see what I said. 4 stars, which for me means great but not memorable, which it clearly wasn't. This was what I said, way back in January:
I loved this female-focussed Arthurian time-travelling legend. I got a bit bogged down in the middle with the repetition and reiterations, but overall, it was an excellent read. -
Went to pick up a library hold, which I selected based on the author alone, and when I got it, had to laugh at my tendency not to look up anything about a book, including the page count. It's 1232 pages long.
Well, let's call it a challenge, shall we? And of course, I've got other novels ahead of it. Ha! Classic me.
@kimlockhartga @bookstodon Oh my! That's quite a tome.
Is it a Neil Stephenson book?I generally don't even start anything over 450 pages anymore.
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@kimlockhartga Huh, I'll check that out. Somehow House of Leaves never drew me in enough to check it out and lug it home. I too have a bunch of kind of interesting books but I'm looking for something that makes me want to pick it up and never stop reading it. It's getting hot again.
@sunumbral @kimlockhartga I’ve picked that up at the bookstore and put it down again many times.
It’s the typography. And I don’t mean the totally nuts typography later on, but just the way the normal text is formatted.
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@sunumbral Thank you for the rec's! I added both to TBR. Looks excellent.
Speaking of San Francisco, have you ever "read" Paul Madonna? I put read in quotes, because his work is mostly detailed illustrations of places around San Francisco, with very little added text, often in two panels, and you look at them and glean the meaning behind the comparison. It's the most unusual exercise I've ever seen. It all started with a strip he did called "All Over Coffee" for the San Francisco Chronicle, that would actually make people mad because they didn't understand it. Often, the strips were a critique of modern society. It affected me so much that I've kept a running list of the epiphanies I've had while viewing panels which at first seemed to have no obvious context or relationship to each other. Then, it suddenly hits you: "Wait a minute! It's saying that adults value consistency while children value novelty." Just one example.
If you ever have an interest in All Over Coffee, I am dying to compare interpretations of any of the panels. It's hard to find someone to do that with me.
@kimlockhartga @sunumbral I remember reading Paul’s work in the free weekly. And I have the book around here somewhere. When I find it again, I’d be game.
His art really is something. Just the right combo of artist and place.
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@JoBlakely It's absolutely criminal that she is not better known!
@kimlockhartga @JoBlakely This goes right into my library - thanks! 🥰
