First, in case anyone’s forgotten where I stand on things like welcoming the stranger and protecting the most vulnerable and not making money into an idol by screwing over everyone else to give tax breaks to the least vulnerable (otherwise known as generally following Jesus, not just the shallow husk of a god capitalist Americans have created in their image), there’s nothing beautiful about this bill – call your House representatives today and tell them to vote no and also to feel free to publicly shame their colleagues who are voting in favor of it. Loudly. With pointing.
*deep breath*
Now on to the books.
This month, I’m saying goodbye to Everand (formerly just Scribd). It has changed in the last year, and I’m not enjoying the new way they offer the service. It took me a couple of months to even figure out the new structure, and I still find it clunky.
It sucks a little that, with the cancellation, I’m losing titles that I’ve paid for. But the only unlocked title I still have on it that I am interested in and haven’t finished is Words Are My Matter, and I’m going to end up buying a printed copy of that one anyway. So I let it go. As just another subscription (especially one where the unused unlocks expire at the end of the month with no refund), it’s not something I’m interested in anymore.
Speaking of lack of interest, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately, which is unusual for me in summer. I think between the worry about my car issues, my budget changes, this country’s nonsense, and my parents’ health, I’ve just been blank and unmotivated in general for anything else. I’m going to carve out a little time this weekend to see if I can find something that holds my scrambled attention span long enough to finish it.
Maybe something from a previous TBR this year? Maybe a book off my shelves at home that I haven’t read yet? Maybe some of these?
Book clubs:
- What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange [general fiction]
- Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett [general fiction]
- Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan [cozy – perfect for beach read prompt at Rise & Shine]
- The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin [general (historical) fiction]
- H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald [general nonfiction with hint of memoir]
Other books I’m looking forward to/need to take back to the library:
- The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King [fantasy, nonrealism]
- The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali [general fiction]
- Knitting Pearls: Writers Writing About Knitting edited by Ann Hood [essays]
- The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch [general (historical) fiction]
- Back After This by Linda Holmes [romance-ish]
- Rural Voices edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter [essays]
- Lush Lives by J. Vanessa Lyon [queer lit]
- On the Brink of Everything by Parker J. Palmer [inspiration]
- What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown [general fiction]
What are you reading these days?
M. Suzanne Terry 
I’ve been considering leaving Everand, too. I just haven’t looked into other audiobook subscription services that don’t have the unlock function. I still have quite a few of those to get through before I do away with it. I really only use it to listen to audiobooks that I can get through the public library on Hoopla or CloudLibrary.
I just finished Tender is the Flesh the other night. Great story and allegory about neoliberalism and the social cannibalization it causes. It’s dark and a bit of a downer, but very good and memorable.
Took a fun little detour and listened to The Devil and Harper Lee, and I’m glad I did. Woah! It’s a twofer in that you get the story about what the follow-up to To Kill a Mockingbird was going to be, and a story about a serial killer and how Lee was caught right in the middle of it all. Fantastic story.
I’ve also taken to a podcast called Death is Just Around the Corner by Michael S. Judge. The host is really good at explaining Pyncheon works and the podcast acts as a companion to understanding books like Gravity’s Rainbow. He also does really good explainers for Kubrick’s last 7 films and David Bowie’s work. It’s on Patreon, and I recommend it if you’re ever in that mood or headspace.
As far as books I’m reading/listening to:
Fables Compendium vol. 1 by Bill Willingham (the book in my backpack that I read when I’m out)
Doctor Strange vol. 2 by Gerry Duggan
Simone Weil: Philosophy of Gravity and Grace by Hector Davidson
Operation Gladio: The Unholy Alliance Between the Vatican, the CIA, and the Mafia by Paul L. Williams
Aberration in the Heartland of the Real: The Secret Lives of Timothy McVeigh by Wendy Painting (someone recorded themselves reading it and threw it up on YouTube)
What’s on deck?
Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church by Gareth Gore
Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials by Reza Negarestani (also recorded by someone reading it and thrown up on YouTube)
Ooh – The Devil and Harper Lee sounds fascinating. And Tender is the Flesh has been on my TBR for a while.
I am pretty happy with CloudLibrary (and they take recommendations pretty seriously, too, which I like). I also use Libro.fm, which supports an independent bookstore of your choice with every purchase, and Kobo.com. But even those are on pause for a few months. At least I can still read the ones I’ve bought when I pause them.
I just heard about Libro.fm. One day I’ll get into it. I’m glad Hoopla and CloudLibrary come in clutch a lot of the time, because I only get one unlock on Everand per month.
Also, I meant to type that I use Everand for audiobooks that I can’t get through the public library via Hoopla or CloudLibrary. Why would I pay for access to books I can get for free through a public service? Damn that autocorrect.