Monday Miscellany: Unintelligible background yelling!
Notes from August 5 - 11
Hello! Is it just me, or did last week feel approximately one month long? I had an evening staff meeting at work, finally saw Challengers and Monkey Man, got to hear Casey McQuiston speak, went to our nephew’s 5th birthday party, caught up on some Dropout shows, and attended a cookout to celebrate our bakery’s 13th anniversary. Oh, and a whole-ass tropical storm rolled through?!
My friends, I’ve lived an entire lifetime since I last wrote to you. And yet, how is it already Monday again?? Time is weird.
SPEAKING OF TIME, let me tell you about a book I just read…
Currently reading
I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d already heard of The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. It was released in early May and since then it’s been everywhere (so Julia): a GMA book club pick, included on Anne Bogel’s summer reading guide, Greta Johnsen’s first unofficial Nerdette book club pick, beloved by multiple staff members at my local indie, and hyped up by SO MANY bookish people I follow online or talk books with IRL. You get it! She’s popular!
As the author herself says in this interview with Waterstones, “it is a time-travel romance about bureaucracy, empire, and cigarettes.” The unnamed main character works for the Ministry of Time as a bridge (somewhat of a helper, keeper, teacher, and roommate all rolled into one) for one of the people the Ministry has experimentally brought forward to the present from the past. Her charge, based on a real figure from history, is Commander Graham Gore, a member of a doomed Arctic expedition in the 1840s.
The interactions between Gore, his bridge, and the other “ex-pats” (time travelers) are truly the best part of the book. There’s just so much confusion and charm! And romance, of course, which, combined with the aforementioned elements of bureaucracy and empire, ultimately leads to a whole big mess. I won’t say anything else, but trust me that this book is a good time (and really impressive, especially for a debut)!
Okay, now take all the excitement and accolades I mentioned for The Ministry of Time, multiply it two or three times at least, and you’re starting to approach the level of The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. Did I say Ministry was everywhere? Because this one is EVERYWHERE.
It was easily my most anticipated book of the summer. And—I won’t drag this out—thank goodness, it lived up to the hype for me.
The God of the Woods is a mystery set at a summer camp in the Adirondacks in 1975, where a camper named Barbara Van Laar has just gone missing. Liz Moore tells the story through many different points of view, taking us back to the 1950s and 1960s to fill in necessary backstory about Barbara’s wealthy family (who owns the camp) and the folks who work for them. It’s very tangly and it digs deep into class inequality and money and reputation. I guessed one of the reveals toward the end, but there were other twists I didn’t see coming, and the whole thing wrapped up SO satisfyingly.
I love a well-written mystery for the plot, of course, but Moore gives us more (heh) than that—I wanted to keep hanging out in this setting, with these characters, almost as much as I wanted to find out what happened. The almost five hundred pages went by in a breeze, and I wouldn’t have minded if it had been longer. This was a completely compelling and immersive reading experience, a near perfect summer novel; I can’t recommend The God of the Woods highly enough.
And if you don’t want to take my word for both of these books, maybe you will listen to… Barack Obama???
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
This week we were blessed with a new full-length album release from one of my long-time favorite bands: Alchemy Creek by Cloud Cult. I wrote about one of the singles, “As Beautiful As it Hurts,” back in June, but I’m excited to sink into the rest.
After a couple of listens, here’s what I’ve got: lyrics that grapple with hard shit but ultimately emerge victorious in their joy, vocals that are sometimes raw and sometimes ebullient, cinematic vibes that build from tentative to bombastic. Epic, sweeping strings! Jangly piano! Unintelligible background yelling! There’s honesty, there’s humility, there’s quiet confidence, there’s desperate hope.
Wrote a letter to my future self, what the hell I think you’re gonna get better with a little self-esteem And there’s a little kid inside me trying to remind me That I am a force field
Haiku round-up
Monday, August 5
Good morning, good morn! The day stretches out ahead Let us get started
Tuesday, August 6
The past and present, simultaneously felt as I hold my breath
Wednesday, August 7
How the deuce do you understand tennis scoring? I do not love it.
Thursday, August 8
Raincoat, camera, and a sense of adventure: I walk through the storm
Friday, August 9
Dress up and step out— The excitement is tactile, joy on every face
Saturday, August 10
A speck, you approach, grow into a boy up close, gap-toothed and grinning
Sunday, August 11
If we could, we’d stay cozy, tucked in, and content with nowhere to be
Until next time
You know how little kids seem to universally love splashing around in the rain and stomping through puddles? Well, I usually hate getting wet unexpectedly, getting caught in a downpour when I’m out and about running errands. But I think the kids might be onto something. I went for a walk on Thursday while Tropical Storm Debby was passing through, with the intention of checking the water level of the creek and making some photographs of anything interesting I saw. When I set out it was only sprinkling, but soon it started pouring, the wind really whipping, and in the end I got soaked and didn’t mind at all. Maybe because there was no urgency to be anywhere and I knew I had towels and warm dry clothes awaiting me at home? It was like going out in the snow, when your face and fingers and toes all get numb and you’re actively kind of miserable, but you know the cup of hot chocolate you’re going to make when you get back inside will be the best thing you’ve ever tasted, and despite everything you feel exhilarated and alive and tingly. I love that feeling. Here’s to more of it, for me and for you.
See you next time, and until then, please enjoy this baby weasel on a trampoline.
—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.