Reading Recap: June '25

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

A problem I face with books I don't like is justifying their flaws as "stylistic." The pacing felt weird, but isn't that because Dylan admitted his childhood consumed everything that came after? It was derivative of Kavalier and Clay's Brooklyn comic book utopia and Toni Morrison's blend of metaphor and fantasy, but that's unfair to the book. Nothing is original.

    I think at a certain point, I have to admit that it didn't work for me, but I still appreciate what it's trying to do. My actual criticism is how clunky a lot of the sentences are. I caught upwards of a dozen typos and grammatical errors, and that's just sloppy. The alternating sidesteps and acknowledgements of racism and stereotypes seemed odd until I realized how much of the book is autobiographical. That doesn't fix all of the book's issues, but it explains some of the strange stances it takes and the weirdness he acquired (or had to already have) during his time at Bennington. Lethem is sharing his own childhood, so of course it's going to be biased and vague. Even if he hates where he came from, he can't stop loving it. / ★★

Essential Riverdale Edits

A couple of years ago I burned a DVD of all of the Riverdale edits I had reblogged at some point in my Riverdale career. A lot of great content has been made since then, and while mindlessly updating the edits folder on my hard drive, I got to thinking. Which edits are fundamental to my viewing of Riverdale?

 

This isn't me saying that these are the only good edits or these are my favorites. I have plenty of others that I watch over and over again. The edits I've chosen are special because they shaped the way I watch the show. If you want to see more edits I've enjoyed, visit my Tumblr, or, you know, spend the majority of your teenage years on the front lines like I did.

PotD #7: Obedience School

Obedience School
Jim Daniels, 2021

Reading Recap: April-May '25

 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Something I took for granted in the past was authors being able to create multiple distinct pieces of work. As much as I wish Tartt finished books quicker, it's worth it when the outcome is this iconic. Not only do the timeskips not anger me, I can see their worth in separating the moods of the books. There must have been an insane amount of research that went into this, from major plot points to minute background details, and you can tell. Theo Decker is a real person. I wish I had read this back in 2019 when Donna Tartt Mania was making its way around Tumblr, and I have a million thoughts about what the movie could've been, but at the end of the day this is a beautiful stand alone piece of writing that invites its audience to read between the lines. The book is only half the story. / ★★★★½

Reading Recap: January-March '25

 

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

For some reason, the beginning of the year struck me as the perfect opportunity to pick up reading again. I used to be the type of kid to go through a new book each day, but as I'm sure you've noticed, for the past few years all of my spare time has been dedicated to watching as many movies as possible. So it comes as no surprise that when I went to the book store, I singled out books that had been made into movies. I love the movie, but this type of story is made for print. You need to be able to flip back and forth to keep track of the one million characters. Chandler has an undeniable way with words, which was a breath of fresh air after the 70s misogynistic detective shlock I've dabbled in. I appreciate that it works as a standalone because at the end of the day, Chandler knows his place. He is perfecting the genre, not reinventing it. / ★★★★