Welcome to my newsletter Life, The Universe & Everything. I'm on a mission to explore how creativity, community and storytelling support mental wellness. Yes, I read a fuck ton of books!
How I Pick My Next Read
I use a venn diagram:
Current Mood - do I feel overwhelmed, content, tired, joyful or anything?
Life - am I going on a trip, or having people to stay, or just chilling in quiet anxiety?
Last Read - if I just read a space opera I need something different, maybe a contemporary novel or a murder mystery?
The Book Reviews Suck #7 Pick:
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
The gist from the publisher: “The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie's once-lucrative car business is going under--but Dickie is spending his days in the woods, building an apocalypse-proof bunker with a renegade handyman. His wife, Imelda, is selling off her jewelry on eBay and half-heartedly dodging the attention of fast-talking cattle farmer Big Mike, while their teenage daughter, Cass, formerly top of her class, seems determined to binge drink her way through her final exams. As for twelve-year-old PJ, he's on the brink of running away.”
Perfect Read For:
Last Book I Read: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher - want a richer read.
Life: Finally getting to the book that “everyone” has been talking about. IT IS FUCKING BRILLIANT!
Mood: I want a beautiful structure and rich characters.
Liked These Books?
My Affiliate Links Support Independent Booksellers
All my book links go to Bookshop.org, a certified B Corp on a mission to help local, independent bookstores thrive in the age of e-commerce. I get a small percentage of every sale which I use to fund my writing, my coffee habit and my fabric stash.
Why Book Reviews Suck
I LOVE books, however I HATE reading book reviews. Blerg…
When I scan a boring book review I self debate: Do I jive with this random person's book taste? It seems like they don’t like this book; always a critic, never a writer? What is this person even saying? Oh look, my cat is curled up in a cute way…and I’m out.
Book critiques don’t connect for people like moi and perhaps toi! Instead let us grasp onto the e-commerce industrial complex: If You Like This, You Might Like That.
Oooo sold!!
I want to read The Bee Sting!