Category: Criticism

  • “Bubblegum”

    I wrote a bit about “Bubblegum” earlier– trying to determine, before I was done, if it was worth it’s own length. It’s 780 pages, which is a fair chunk of reading to commit to, and I had mixed feelings about it while reading it. It’s a work of great imagination, and can be archly funny.…

  • Finished “Bubblegum”/What I am Reading/Notes on Process

    I finally finished “Bubblegum” and while I am glad I read it, my feelings about it are a little complex. It’s the subject of this Thursday’s entry. I ended up focusing on it exclusively to get it ‘out of the way’ which now means I am back on my normal ‘two or three books at…

  • More about Long Works/”Bubblegum”/”ducks, newburyport”

    According to Storygraph, the service I use to track my reading and occasionally provide recommendations, just over half of the books I have read this year are over 300 pages long. A quick google shows me that 300-350 pages are in the ‘safe zone’– the length that’s considered more or less ideal for a novel…

  • David Emory/The band Liturgy/”Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials”

    A number of years ago, when I lived in Mountain View, California, I would listen to a local radio station which carried a show by David Emory. He’s a talkshow host with a calm, soothing voice and his show “For the Record”  is a show which, at least at the time I listened to it,…

  • “The Loop”/Horror Endings/What I am Reading

    I read “The Loop” this week; which was… ok? It showed up in a twitter thread from a horror writer I like, and was on sale, so I gave it a whirl. I note a number of horror novels I’ve read this year have trouble sticking the landing. It seems to be an issue with…

  • “Pougemaghone”

    If you’re writing or speaking about Pougemahone, you’re legally obligated to translate the title– which is Irish for “kiss my ass”. You’re also obligated to mention that was the original name of the band “The Pogues”, and also mention that the band appears briefly somewhere in the book. Having fulfilled those obligations, let us begin. …

  • More “Moby Dick”/Ambient Novels/Sunn O)))/Drone Novels

    I. Apparently it’s “Moby Dick” season. I have learned through a friend that someone I follow on twitter (who’s work/twitter I admire) is also heeding the call of the wretched sea™ and like me is around halfway through. I finished “The Town-Ho’s Story”, and shortly after that “Moby Dick” turns heavy into encyclopedia mode, with…

  • Religion Nerd/50% of “Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials”

    For a long time, I have been a religion nerd– I have traveled through two different denominations of Buddhism, three or four (depending on how you count it) of Christianity, at one point considering becoming a clergyman (that lasted a few months, so don’t get too excited), and a few other random things. I’ve read…

  • 70% of “You Can’t Win”

    I’m about 70% of the way done through “You Can’t Win” and I’m not 100% sure about finishing it. Here’s the thing: it’s a well written book, and it does a good job of telling its story. But there’s an underlying problem I’ll get to in a bit.  I first heard of this book somewhere…

  • In Which the Author Stops Apologizing/What I am Reading

    One of the things I have found about writing a blog that you update frequently is that certain themes emerge whether or not you want to. For a while, I struggled with my role with the blog, eventually deciding “gee, I’m a critic”. I’ve played with the notion of “status vs. contract” novel, and described…