pickThis feels as if it could have been written by the great Jonathan Tropper, one of my favorite novelists. Maybe that's why this was the best novel I've read this year. Or maybe it's because it's funny. And sad. And beautiful. All I know is that it's everything you could want in a novel. #2025Book47
Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more.
--Virginia Woolf
bailedThis had an intriguing start, then the writing became less interesting and it had a teen romance, which I just done like. Just not for me, but I know others like this one. #hailthebail
A #roll100 off the TBR
Stand out on the sidewalk on Broadway, smoking, hating yourself for smoking, looking at the faces, all those lovely faces, all those lives and friends and families and loves and thinking you are all going to die one day and wondering what we are going to do with that knowledge we daily ignore.
That's the beauty of New York. If you pay enough, anything is possible. I couldn't afford this, but that's what high-interest credit cards are for.
“What happened?“ I asked.
“Do you know what deep vein thrombosis is?“
“An English punk band?“
It's remarkable what you can do when you don't care what anyone thinks anymore.
A small crowd of my colleagues had formed behind him, looks of concern on their pale faces. It dawned on me that journalists are pale. I wasn't sure why. Maybe all that indoor work. We didn't look like handsome TV people.
pickWhile the ending didn't quite hit for me, overall, I really enjoyed this exploration of connection, relationships, and the meaning of life in the context of mortality. Maybe "enjoyed" is an odd word to use, but the book is definitely funny while dealing with death, disability, mental illness, and other challenging life circumstances. It makes a good case for facing mortality head on. This is one I learned about from @BarbaraBB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDWZEzT1CTs
Intro
Mystery guest
Weekly highlights
Old Rendering Plant by Wolfgang Hilbig
About Uncle by Rebecca Gisler
Though the Bodies Fall by Noel O'Regan
Resonances
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
Gaza Weddings: A Novel by Ibrahim Nasrallah
Birdeye by Judith Heneghan
The Ecliptic by Benjamin Wood
...etc
