So far in 2024 I’ve completed five books, which (according to Goodreads math) puts me two ahead of schedule toward a goal of forty-five. (Technically, I started Melissa Maerz’s five-star—of course—Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused at the end of December.) I sometimes read two at a time, pairing […]
Resurrecting, for some reason, an effort to chronicle every book I’ve read since The Lord of the Rings in the spring of 2017. This serves as an extension of my participation in what I labeled the Old Lady Book Club. Volume 1 (2017) | Volume 2 (2018) | Volume 3 (2019) | Volume 4 (2020) | Volume 5 (2021) | Volume 6 (2022) | “Selected readings from the Old Lady Book Club” Critical […]
Faulty machinery: “What book are you reading right now?” The beer: Schilling Alexandr Czech-Style Pilsner The record: 2–8 The headline: “It’s not complete! I must compete!” – Jay Reatard, “Waiting for Something” The commentary: I’m a few days late with this former daily prompt but I needed a theme for the bye week. Remember that […]
Since joining the Old Lady Book Club—and, subsequently, Goodreads—in 2017, the list of read books I’ve rated one out of five stars is short. In order: Arundhati Roy – The God of Small Things (1997) Omar Fink – Rhodium Pirates (2021) “Captain” Doug Chamberlain – Bury Him: A Memoir of the Vietnam War (2019) Marcel […]
Scene: it’s autumn. Route 1 along the North Shore (title case) of Massachusetts—rather, “Old Route 1,” to distinguish it from the stretch with strip clubs and furniture outlets and orange dinosaurs. The scenic portion with private schools and shuttered restaurants and blind intersections that almost kill you (truth). Radio: on. “Fire” by the Crazy World […]
Goodreads: Describe the book you’re currently reading in three words! Jarrod: Author reinserts himself. If I’m going to review books V and VI then I might as well close it out with number VII—more Roman numerals, please! Do I then follow the author’s lead and start over with The Gunslinger next? “Stephen King fled through […]
“We have a Switch??” Nothing gets past a nine-year-old (at the time) and thus last April’s school-vacation surprise was blown. That’s what I get for assuming consumer discretionaries can’t creep their way into kids’ awareness in the age of commercial-less streaming. That’s what I get for making no effort whatsoever to hide the distinctive red […]
Week one The game: Dolphins at Patriots The beer: Throwback Oma’s Tribute Black Lager The result: Loss, 17–16 The method: NFL Game Pass (spoiled) The headline: “I’d build a pyramid in your sweet memory. Would you even record my name in your diary?” – Make-Up, “Hot Coals” The commentary: It came to me in half-sleep, […]
Stephen King’s Under the Dome was adapted into a CBS series a few years ago. The book was good (not great) but the show was awful (not mediocre) and I hate-watched the hell out of it for some reason. That reason was The AV Club’s weekly recaps, where Joe McAlister (one of several protagonists) was […]
[Mind redacted spoilers—highlight to reveal.] According to the book’s back cover, “Between life and death there is a library.” Wrong. According to the book itself, “Between a life and a near death there is a library or whatever.” Stacked there are numerous copies of Stephen King’s 11/22/63, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and Kurt Vonnegut’s […]
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