Monday Miscellany: I AM WHO I AM
Notes from September 23 - 29
Today I write to you with a heavy heart. Hurricane Helene has caused horrible flooding and devastation in the western part of my state. I feel lucky that we didn’t get hit nearly as hard here in the NC piedmont, and relieved that the friends I know in the Asheville, Atlanta, and upstate SC areas are all safe and okay. But there is so much loss, and the rebuilding process will not be easy or quick. I’ll be sharing some links to relief organizations and mutual aid funds farther down in today’s newsletter.
In the meantime, there are still books and music to discuss, so let’s get into it.
Currently reading
After finally finishing The Book of Love by Kelly Link, I’m sad to report that it didn’t ultimately work for me. The writing style felt simplistic and juvenile on one hand, but somehow overly weighty and self-important at the same time. I often found myself momentarily confused about who each character was because they all sounded the same, and there was too much telling instead of showing—why use “that was classic Daniel for you, always doing x, y, or z,” when you could just write him acting that way and let the reader grow to understand what he’s like as a person?
Eventually the plot caught my interest, and I thought that might be enough to outweigh my qualms with the prose style in the end. But ultimately, no. The characters didn’t feel real to me, so I didn’t care enough about them for the conclusion to have any weight or satisfaction. Questions I had about the ritual the main characters are involved in and the magic they come to possess went unanswered. It was certainly a letdown, especially considering how much I’ve liked Link’s short stories in the past, and how long the novel took me to read.
However! I know several friends who have enjoyed it, and I have seen many glowing reviews online, so if it sounds interesting to you (I wrote more about the actual premise of the book in last week’s newsletter), by all means, give it a shot and tell me what you think.
All This and More by Peng Shepherd was a much better fit for my taste. I picked this one up to talk about with a few friends, and we chose it because Shepherd was one of the featured authors at Bookmarks Festival this past weekend.
The novel is about a reality show called All This and More, which uses the physics concept of quantum bubbling to help one contestant per season create their perfect life by fixing past mistakes and trying alternate decision paths. Appropriately, it’s written as a choose your own adventure! You can either read it in a more conventional way by following the first path every time there’s an option, or you can pick whatever you want and bounce around. I did the first way, and then went back and read through the other paths because I AM WHO I AM.
As someone who is constantly overthinking decisions before I make them and second-guessing them after, this premise was so fully my shit. I also loved the thriller vibes that built and built with each successive episode of the show. Perhaps I am now cured of my “but what if?” speculation?? I won’t say any more than that, but if you’ve read it, please hit me up and let’s talk. I’m very much looking forward to discussing this with my little book club!
A legally-required heads-up: if you purchase a book through the bookshop.org affiliate links in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. ♥︎
Currently listening
We were watching the first episode of The English Teacher (side note: really enjoying this show! do recommend!) when a song started playing that made me sit up in my seat and go “WHAT IS THIS” while simultaneously grabbing my phone to open Shazam.
Friends, it was “Nirvana” by Elliana, and what caught my attention so immediately was the deliciously harmonized line “I’ve been out there running like a lonely soul on fire.” It’s not quite on the level of “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap (my personal gold standard), but it’s a similar vibe. Beautiful. Emotional. Absolutely targeted at me.
The song is about the completely insane feeling of being newly in love, and the video captures that mood perfectly. Dancing around your room, rolling around on your bed, trying on clothes, absent-mindedly gazing out the window, fully unable to get this person out of your head.
As an added bonus, the song cuts out of the English Teacher scene at such a perfectly unexpected and funny moment (I cackled for a solid minute about it and we rewound several times to watch it again) that now, in addition to enjoying it for what it is, I will also forever associate it with deep belly laughter.
And another thing
The mountains of North Carolina are so important to me. We spent a lot of time in Asheville during college since it was such a short drive from Greenville. I’ve been to Montreat every summer since I was born. We were just in Hot Springs last month. And now so much of the area is severely damaged and suffering. If you are able and would like to help, you can give to World Central Kitchen (making and distributing free meals in downtown Asheville), Community Housing Coalition of Madison County (helping people rebuild and repair their homes), North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund, or United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, just to name a few. There are also huge lists from Blue Ridge Public Radio and Appalachian Voices with more resources and ways to help.
Jordan and I saw The Wild Robot on Friday and it was, as expected, extremely cute and heartwarming. There’s a scene where said robot is full-on sprinting toward a—beaver, I think?—shouting “DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE?” and I’m still laughing about it.
Bookmarks Festival was so good this year! I might write a dedicated post about it soon, but for now I’ll just say: even though I didn’t go in recognizing a ton of author’s names (besides, you know, TJ Klune, who delivered an incredible keynote on Thursday), I had a great time at all the panels I attended, and I left with several books by new-to-me writers that I can’t wait to dig into.
Haiku round-up
Monday, September 23
Showing up on time when you normally run late— see, people can change
Tuesday, September 24
Weigh the pros and cons, think about it all you want; You know what to do
Wednesday, September 25
Tiny fingers dance on the surface of my palm Then, triumphant, slap!
Thursday, September 26
Spontaneous thought, immediate agreement: damn, look at us go
Friday, September 27
The satisfaction of a specific craving finally fulfilled
Saturday, September 28
Cool air, wide blue sky, low hum of people milling, buzz of excitement
Sunday, September 29
Long solo morning of reading and nothing else This was overdue
Until next time
Whew, what a week. I hope you’re safe where you are, and well-stocked with books or whatever other activities you enjoy. As soon as I send this letter out, I’m signing off, getting a snack, and settling back into Danzy Senna’s Colored Television, which I’m really enjoying so far. There’s a kitten in my lap (Louise) taking a bath and keeping me company.
See you next time, and until then, if you find yourself overly worried about what other people think about you, just remember: nobody’s thinking about you!
—Emily
If you have any feedback, or want to tell me what you’re reading or listening to, I’d love to hear it. You’re always welcome to leave a comment or reply directly to this email.