I‘ve been putting this one off. I read Handmaid‘s Tale decades ago and loved it intensely; I got a tattooed quote from the book. But I am NOT a fan of the tv show, and I worried that this would be influenced by it. Instead the book is a further look into the world of Gilead. I enjoyed the moral grayness of the characters and the fact that the violence against women, while definitely present in the plot, largely happens outside the narrative.

It took me a long time to finish this book; I had to read a bit and then put it down for a while. That speaks to the power of the writing and the deft way the author steadily raises the tension, even though the outcome was declared on the first page. I kept picking it back up, though, compelled to keep dipping into these characters‘ vivid lives. I do recommend, but if you‘re a queer or trans person, give yourself space and kindness while reading.

Look, I love dark fiction. Gritty? Yes please—as long as it‘s well written. This book delivers. These short stories are about people desperate to connect, and in describing their often misguided attempts, no squalid detail is spared. I loved it. Parsons also writes drug experiences beautifully without relying on cliche or tropes. This book is a gorgeous, dingy, disgusting, beautiful collection; highly recommend. CW: everything you can imagine

My local library staff chose this book for me based on books I like, and they were correct! Native horror seemed like a good reading choice for Thanksgiving week. The supernatural element felt fresh to my very white experience. I would call this moderately gory, but those scenes always drove the plot forward. I sometimes had a hard time following the physicality of the scenes, but that also helped build the surreality of them, so maybe it‘s fine.

I did see the movie of this one a few years back, and the book makes explicit some themes that got touched on in the film but weren‘t fleshed out. A big CW: Pedophelia has big plot implications; it‘s not glorified but it‘s a recurring point. I knew it was going to be dark, but it‘s much darker than I expected. It was engaging enough that it felt like a break from the world, which is exactly what I wanted this past week.

“We are rushing too. The wind is whipping past us. We are so brief. A one-day dandelion. A seedpod skittering across the ice. We are a feather falling from the wing of a bird. I don‘t know why it is given to us to be so mortal and to feel so much. It is a cruel trick, and glorious.”

I loved this book. The characters are written with such love, even the ones who aren‘t very likable. Each story creates its own full world for the characters to inhabit, though there is some delightful overlap. A pleasure to read. Definitely recommend!

There‘s nothing like reading about people starving under totalitarianism to make me feel simultaneously better and worse about my own life. A good, wrenching, nonfiction read.

“Most people have given up on politicians. After all, politicians have been promising to return us to the glory, wealth, and order of the twentieth century ever since I can remember. That‘s what the space program is about these days, at least for politicians. Hey, we can run a space station, a station on the moon, and soon, a colony on Mars. That proves we‘re still a great, forward-looking, powerful nation, right?”

“Junk is not, like alcohol or weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Junk is not a kick. It is a way of life.” And “Perhaps all pleasure is relief.” Except for some dated language, this book could have been written yesterday.