August wrap-up
books, music & series I consumed in August
Hi friends
It’s been a while since my last post. Apologies. I’ve been a bit all over the place again since returning from my trip to Denmark. It’s as though that one week of peace and quiet triggered the storm inside my brain that followed.
When I came back I decided to start the process of launching my own freelance editing business (yay!). I’m terrified no one will want to hire me but if I don’t try, I fail by default, so… (more on this soon!)
I’ve been working on the website (nightmare) and all the admin (more nightmare), while also trying to make progress on my novel (don’t even get me started). On top of that, Sunday was my last day of summer holidays, so it’s fair to say I am already teetering on the brink of exhaustion. Thank the universe for the sun!
August was a good month for culture though. Here’s what I read, saw and listened to, and how it made me feel.
Books
All Fours - Miranda July
I had never read anything by Miranda July but I had listened to a short story read by David Sedaris on The New Yorker podcast. The main character in that story is a non-typical female lead and I loved the way Miranda had given her so much depth in such a short story.
I decided to read All Fours then and absolutely loved it. The writing reminded me a little of Sex and Rage by Eve Babbitz (which I read in July) but the pacing of this novel was superior. All Fours tell the story of a woman in her mid-forties dealing with peri-menopause and how her identity has changed over the years. She’s trying to figure out her place in her relationship, as a mother, as a sexual being, but also just as a member of the world. It’s hilarious and moving and even though I am very different to the main character, I could see parts of myself reflected in the writing. I will definitely read more of her work now.
Evenings & Weekends - Oisín McKenna
This is McKenna’s first novel and when I read the premise I knew immediately it was something I would love. Evenings & Weekends tells the story of several people living in London and Essex and how their lives intersect over the course of one weekend. It has several POV’s and they are all equally interesting. It’s about queerness, love, societal expectations, ageing, family dynamics, etc.
The writing is beautiful and for a couple of hours I felt as though I was living in London with them. (if you know me, you know how much that means)
The God of the Woods - Liz Moore
A mystery set in the 60’s and 70’s at a summer camp owned by a wealthy American family. It tells the story of a girl who goes missing and the frantic search that follows. We learn more about the many characters involved through several POV’s. The current mystery reminds the residents of another disappearance; that of the girl’s brother, over a decade earlier. He was never found and all the characters have their opinions on what happened. The author switches timelines to slowly reveal what happened to the boy and how it relates to the current day.
This started off really good. I told everyone I knew to read this because I couldn’t put it down. I kept thinking about the characters and the world, but unfortunately, for me, the ending fell flat. I figured out what had happened pretty early on and quite a lot of the characters who were given POV’s just disappeared from the narrative leaving me wondering why they were in the book in the first place. The writing was good though, so give it a go but don’t expect too much.
The Ministry of Time - Kaliane Bradley
This time-travel story is extremely popular at the moment. I keep seeing it everywhere but I’m not sure it’s worth the hype. When I am writing this, I am at 55%, so I only have an opinion on half the book for now. However, I’m not sure I’m going to continue reading. The story has potential though. It’s about a woman who works for the Ministry of Time as a bridge to help a time-traveler acclimatise to the 21st Century. She doesn’t really know what the Ministry has planned with the ‘expats’ and as the months go on, she begins to see there might be more to it than just a scientific study. Apart from being a sci-fi book, this is also sold as a romance. Now here’s where I’m struggling. The main character keeps telling us she likes her expat, but that’s the only way we know this to be true. This is a classic case of messing up ‘show don’t tell’. There are no romantic interactions between the two whatsoever, not even decent conversations. That makes it extremely hard for me to believe these two are falling in love. I’m just not feeling it.
Apart from that, the writing is extremely annoying at times. The amount of non-sensical descriptions is off-putting, to say the least. Here’s an example:
‘…she did a DVD-player motion with her mouth and chin that was probably a smile.’
What does this even mean?
Anyway, I’m reading it for a book club with friends so I might finish it, but it’s going to have to get a lot better, very soon. I’ll let you know what happened next month.
Series
A good girl’s guide to murder (Netflix)
I watched this in two days, not because it was mind-blowing, but because it was fun. Some of the acting was questionable, as was the dialogue, but all in all this was great to just turn off my mind and enjoy.
The Office (US) (Netflix)
On my third watch of the entire series now. It still cracks me up. Michael is a tragic character, but so incredibly well-written. He’s offensive, selfish and inconsiderate, but only because he so desperately wants to be loved. I think there’s a Michael Scott in all of us, whether we like it or not.
Music
Maggie Rogers - Don’t forget me
The beautiful and talented Maggie Rogers has a third album out and I love it with all my heart. I’m not a music critic so I can’t tell you why, you’ll just have to trust me. I listened to this album on repeat this August and it will forever be the soundtrack of my Brat Summer.
There you go. That was August for me. Thanks for tuning in!
I also want to thank all my new subscribers for being here! I hope to be more consistent with my posts from here on out.
Let me know what you consumed this August! I’d love to chat.
Mx