Tales of Burning Love by Louise Erdrich
Once upon a time, I signed up for my first CBR. I had a lofty plan of reading all of Louise Erdrich’s books in order. Why did I feel like I needed a theme? Who knows. All I know is that I fell down on book one, and it took me until last year to get back up. My recollection was that I was reading Tales of Burning Love at the time, and my stumble was going back to the beginning of her bibliography. I […]
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
I loved Grady Hendrix’s book Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. It was a wonderful, satirical send up of vampire novels and the Southern suburbs. I get that is wasn’t for everyone, but Hendrix really nailed his tongue-in-check, nearly meta take on vampire troupes and Southern suburb living. So when I saw that Hendrix had written a book to be a send of slasher films and final girls, I was stoked. Hendrix, however, missed this mark with this one. The set-up is straightforward: Lynette […]
Emma by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Jane Austen Book Club continues with a double feature: Emma and Persuasion Emma was the last book published during Jane Austen’s lifetime. Miss Emma Woodcock is a 21 years old second daughter of Mr Woodcock. She is handsome, clever, and rich – all the desirable qualities. And in Persuasion, Miss Anne Elliot is a 27 years old middle daughter of (baronet) Sir Walter Elliot. Like all other Jane Austen’s heroines Emma and Anne dwell in the countryside and lead most comfortable lives. Where the […]
The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
I read Jane Eyre many, many years ago, when I was around 13 or 14 I think – long enough ago that I don’t recall exactly the experience of reading the novel itself beyond vague memories of the language being stuffy. I’ve seen iterations of the novel in many different movies and television shows over the years – I think most of us know the basic story by now (and if you don’t, Wikipedia will gladly spoil the novel for you, or provide a sufficient reminder […]
Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes and Robin Gaby Fisher
It is super weird to say you’re a true-crime fan. What exactly is there to be a fan of? There are layers and layers of grossness and weirdness. The story-telling can be exploitative and callous. Someone’s pain is being mined for entertainment. That being said, I am a consumer of true-crime content. I’ve heard some people talk about their fascination with true-crime as a way to process their own anxiety about life’s uncertainty. And others who want to get inside the heads of the perpetrators to […]
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
I grew up, and still live, in a state with a significant population of Mormons. There are particular towns where many of the families share the same few names and it is not uncommon to see wedding announcements with the bride and groom having the same last name. In the way of small towns everywhere, you just sort of know the things you know about some people and some places. I went out with a couple of wrestlers while I was in high school and […]
