What are you currently reading?

[lennytheweedwhacker]

All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire by Jonathan Abrams

[contamination]

Cities of the Plain by McCormac

[tragabigzanda]

[BurtReynolds]

Pretty good Lovecraftian horror goodness, but get really bogged down around the halfway point.

[Norah]

I want to talk about Emily St. John Mandel.

She's easily my favorite modern writer, and has been for some time now. A friend gifted me Sea Of Tranquility several years ago and it just absolutely floored me. After that I read Glass Hotel, Station Eleven, and Last Night in Montreal. I've yet to read The Lola Quartet or The Singer's Gun, but I will soon.

I just finished Exit Party, finished it in two sittings. Read part 1 the day it came out, and read part 2 last night. Here's my review from Goodreads:

Who will you be at the end of the world?

Like so much of what Mandel writes, what this story is about only takes you so far. It's a dystopian novel showing you two alternate realities that very much feel prophetic for the world we live in. But like everything she writes, at it's core it isn't about that at all. You might think Emily St. John Mandel writes about pandemics, societal collapse, time travel, ponzi schemes, etc—but we she really writes about is what it means to be human.

With all that said, this is a beautiful story set in two surreal but very imaginable worlds with layers upon layers that slowly peel away. I can't wait to read it again.

[Norah]

Also, I'm going to an event with her next month in Cambridge. The same friend that gave me Sea of Tranqulity got us tickets to see her talk about Exit Party and get signed copies for my birthday. Very excited about that.

[blueviper]

Um I was quoting ms harmless from above and I think I accidentally reported it? Whoops. Sorry. Is there a way to undo that? I was trying to reply that I enjoyed Emily’s last three books and didn’t know she had a new one.

[Norah]

i am not ms harmless

[epilogue]

I closed the report.

[epilogue]

Also, I'm going to an event with her next month in Cambridge. The same friend that gave me Sea of Tranqulity got us tickets to see her talk about Exit Party and get signed copies for my birthday. Very excited about that.

I went to her launch event this past Tuesday night in Brooklyn. You're gonna have a GREAT time!

She's also one of my favorite writers and hearing her talk about her process makes me love and appreciate her even more.

The Lola Quartet is the only one I haven't read. All of her other books are an A to Best Thing I've Ever Read.

Started Exit Party last night. I'm only about 30 pages in but I'm already entranced. I even had a dream about Ari last night.


Once I've finished, I'll want to talk about it more. But for now, I'm curious how you felt reading this without having read The Singer's Gun.

[Norah]

Once I've finished, I'll want to talk about more. But for now, I'm curious how you felt reading this without having read The Singer's Gun.

I felt fine reading this. If I didn't read that the Singer's Gun was heavily connected, I'd have no idea this leaned on an existing story. And honestly, I'm not worried about having Singer's Gun spoiled since I read this first. I read Sea Of Tranquility and then went to Glass Hotel and I didn't feel like that detracted from my experience at all.

[epilogue]

Once I've finished, I'll want to talk about more. But for now, I'm curious how you felt reading this without having read The Singer's Gun.

I felt fine reading this. If I didn't read that the Singer's Gun was heavily connected, I'd have no idea this leaned on an existing story. And honestly, I'm not worried about having Singer's Gun spoiled since I read this first. I read Sea Of Tranquility and then went to Glass Hotel and I didn't feel like that detracted from my experience at all.

Cool. I was hoping that was the case. Because SoT is different in its relationship to TGH than this is to Singer's Gun.

[epilogue]

Jesus, Exit Party is fascinating!

I'm just about at the half-way point and even after hearing Mandell talk about the book, I just have no idea where we're headed.

[lennytheweedwhacker]

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

[epilogue]

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

That's on my short list

[wease]

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

That's on my short list

What’s on your long list?

[lennytheweedwhacker]

My dong

[lennytheweedwhacker]

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

That's on my short list

Have you read Skippy Dies?

[epilogue]

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

That's on my short list

Have you read Skippy Dies?

I have not

[epilogue]

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

That's on my short list

What’s on your long list?

Everything