🛌 A Hyped + Horrifying April

SGJ, sisters, newbies

I think if you unscrewed the top of my head and looked in, you’d see a puddle of oatmeal.

My brain is officially mush. Normally, when I sit down to write these recaps, I remember our recommendations and have my faves queued up. This time, I couldn’t remember a ding dang thing other than I talked a lot about what a wimp I am.

That’s right! Wimpiness! We walked through the exciting journey that is Stephen Graham Jones’ work. We talked about what’s new and upcoming on the publication slate. We talked about which hyped books had the Sisterly Seal of Approval. All great issues, if Fez and I do say so ourselves. But we have to be honest… We experienced some pretty intense reader slumps over the last month or so.

The two sides of my reading personality (Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash).

I’ve noticed a couple of things about my slumps: they don’t reflect what I am reading and tend to happen in the spring. I slumped around this time last year and blamed it on my wisdom teeth removal. Which is sort of fair, considering I couldn’t read for a week or so while I recovered. But I also just wanted to watch TV in bed and use less of my brain. And I’m back there again this year at almost the exact same time. I tend to read so voraciously in the weeks leading up to the holidays and directly after them that I think I burn myself out a bit by February and March.

Can I be honest again? I don’t plan to do anything about it. Last year’s slump went on for several weeks and I ended up reading more last year than ever before. It’s okay to give your brain and body what it needs. Whether that’s a different genre, a new author, or a TV show or film. We’ve said before, there’s no wrong way to be a reader.

Sometimes writing this newsletter and keeping up with the affiliated Instagram makes me feel pressure to read all the time. I resist that pressure by being as honest as possible about my reading habits. I follow readers online who read triple the amount of books annually that I’ve ever read and I also follow readers who read less than half of my total count. We’re all readers with different reading styles, interests and lives.

Fezziwig and I will still be here every week, sending you recs and culture to keep you entertained and adding to that TBR for whenever you're ready to come back to the reading.

…Best of the Book Recs

From issue #78 “Groundbreaking New Reads for Spring” is The Will of the Many by James Islington

This isn’t a new release, but its sequel, THE STRENGTH OF THE FEW, will pub on November 11, so read this one before the second in the series debuts!

Now, his name is Vic Telimus, and he’s left behind his old identity to seek revenge against the corrupt Hierarchy and avenge his family. This means being adopted by a powerful Senator, attending (and graduating!) from the lethal academy, and navigating the ever-changing government.

Set in a Roman-inspired fantasy world (no dragons or sorcerers here) this was an exciting adventure story that ends on a major cliffhanger. There is a “magical system” that involves the siphoning of “will” according to a pyramid structure. It’s difficult to explain, and that was my personal challenge: understanding the world and the magic system took me some time. But for patient readers or fantasy veterans, the payoff for this one is big. I was practically chomping at the bit to get to the end. The cliffhanger should be illegal!

From issue #79 “Sisterly Seal of Approval” is Erasure by Percival Everett

After decades of prolific publication, the film adaptation of Everett’s novel ERASURE brought this book into the mainstream. The novel follows Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a once critically acclaimed writer whose current work has been rejected by almost two dozen publishers. Meanwhile, his mother is struggling with Alzheimer’s, his family is still reeling from the suicide of their patriarch, and he’s been watching the success of a debut novelist whose book We’s Lives in da Ghetto is inspired by her brief visit to Harlem relatives.

Frustrated and as a joke, Monk writes a draft called My Pafology under the pseudonym Stagg R. Leigh, and when it’s published by accident, it becomes a major success.

“The reason I liked the movie, AMERICAN FICTION, is different than the book,” Alison told me. “The movie was overly focused on the family dynamics and less on the ‘novel’ he’s writing, which I found more interesting. The book is really about a guy trying to find his way and dealing with family trauma, and the ‘novel’ is the second plot, both of which I loved.”

From issue #80 “Introducing: Stephen Graham Jones” are the novels we think you should start with as a new reader of (or reader looking for their next novel by) Stephen Graham Jones.

I Was a Teenage Slasher: This is my favorite of SGJ’s novels in his trademark prose style that I think is the most accessible and successful. It follows high school student Tolly Driver on one fateful night in Lamesa, Texas in 1989, when Tolly’s best friend Amber Big Plume Dennison goes with him to a house party.

When a mean-spirited prank goes wrong, Tolly takes on an identity with startling and long-ranging effects. It’s difficult to describe more without giving it away. But this novel is my favorite combination of SGJ’s teenage-y, stream-of-conscious prose style telling a more traditional slasher story in a more traditional setting. It’s a really accessible slasher story with the most heartbreaking, haunting ending. As you read, the story keeps building on itself but doesn’t settle for easy conclusions.

If you couldn’t get into the Indian Lake trilogy, try this one. If you want a traditional horror novel with a solid, fast-paced story, or you love a good slasher film, this is also your book.

The Only Good Indians: It seems a little sacrilegious to start with two of SGJ’s newer novels when he’s written so many, but I think these are the best representations of his talents. INDIANS doesn’t have that narrative style I just mentioned; the prose leans a little more “literary.” It follows four Indian men haunted by an event from their past.

Some still live on the rez, some don’t, some are married, some are single, but no one is spared as the natural world demands its penance. This one is more akin to a ghost story or a campfire tale, deeply violent with frightening imagery that’s rooted in an ever-evolving sense of place.

Whether to reveal a monster is something I imagine writers and film directors wrestle with in the development stage. It’s hard to imagine a more striking moment than the one readers get when the monster fully appears in INDIANS. I’ve read that the novel has been optioned, and I deeply hope that's true because it’s begging to be adapted.

…Check out an author talk

Lorin Dearing (on IG as @paperbackbish) is a mega SGJ fan and interviewed him at Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. Here’s the full interview!

…Get some Fez Floof

It’s been a while since we’ve sent some Fez Floof so here’s some to tide you over til next time.

Sleeping Beauty and King of the Couch Ramp

Getting a lil stuck under the couch

A shaggy guy and a jazz leg

Before we go…

Fezziwig and I are going to be away from our writing desks during the month of May for a very special life event. We’ll be sharing some of the new releases provided to us by publishers while we’re away and can’t wait to hear which reads you’re most excited to read or add to your TBR!

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