Category: Book reviews

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Catalina by Liska Jacobs — June 2018 giveaway

*** Winner selected! Congratulations to Jane in Beverly Hills, Calif.! ***

You know those times when you feel like you’ve totally fucked your life up — so you may as well fuck it up more? Give in to that impulse vicariously by reading Catalina.

Catalina stars Elsa, a thirty-something woman who leaves SoCal for NYC, has an affair with her boss at MoMA, and gets “downsized.” To recover from all that, she decides to return to LA for a weekend trip to Catalina with college friends — a group that includes her ex husband, his new girlfriend, a predatory and entitled rich guy, and some other problematic personalities. Throw a bunch of booze, pills, and random hook-ups into the mix and things get really dramatic and stressful on this vacation —

I’m giving away a copy of Catalina to one of my readers! All current email subscribers will be automatically entered to win the copy. Subscribe now if you’re not yet getting my occasional newsletters.

For a second chance to win, comment on this post below, recommending your favorite California getaway spot. The giveaway closes June 30, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. US addresses only.

Come back mid-month to read an interview with Liska Jacobs.

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I’ll Tell You In Person by Chloe Caldwell — May 2018 giveaway

*** Winner selected! Congratulations to Janis in Columbus, OH! ***

What happens when you write a book of personal essays? A lot, apparently, according to Chloe Caldwell, who writes this about her first essay collection, Legs Get Led Astray: “I sometimes wonder what would have happened had I not published that essay collection, because almost all of my best friends, and everyone I’ve slept with since then, I met through that book.”

I haven’t read that book yet, but I read the above quote in Chloe’s most recent essay collection, I’ll Tell You In Person, which I loved. These essays are intimate and freewheeling and hilarious stories that run the gamut, from going to the homes of random craigslist guys who’ve agreed to buy her steak to snorting heroin to try and cope with really bad cystic acne.

It’s a book that kind of makes me want to try writing personal essays — except I still don’t get why you wouldn’t just meet the guys who’ve agreed to buy you steak at a steakhouse, which makes me think maybe I have too pragmatic a brain to write crazy essay collections like this one.

But I can’t wait to read the rest of Chloe’s books.

I’m giving away  a copy of  I’ll Tell You In Person to one of my readers! All current email subscribers will be automatically entered to win the copy. Subscribe now if you’re not yet getting my occasional newsletters.

For a second chance to win, comment on this post below, recommending a nonfiction book you like. The giveaway closes May 31, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. US addresses only.

Come back mid-month to read an interview with Chloe Caldwell.

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Neon in Daylight by Hermione Hoby — March 2018 giveaway

*** Winner selected! Congratulations to Steven in Brooklyn, NY! ***

Move to the big city. Take weird risks. Fuck up. That, in short, is the plot of a lot of my favorite novels — the latest among the Hermione Hoby’s debut novel, Neon In Daylight.

This is a New York coming of age story in the age of Facebook, where you can “friend” anyone you happen to run across — and online stalk their whereabouts aimlessly. Because what else are you going to do if you’re new to the Big Apple and know pretty much no one? Why not obsess about a random teen who bums a smoke off of you on the street, a handsome semi-celeb you meet at an art gallery, a friend of a friend you know from back home but don’t actually want to hang out with —

The novel follows Kate, a slightly lost twenty-something British girl who moves to NYC for no real purpose, killing time while getting some space from her uptight upper-crust boyfriend back home. She meets a teenager who seems  older and wiser and more worldly — who introduces Kate to drugs and party people and really expensive six-inch designer heels. She then meets a hot, jaded, older famous writer who seems immature in many ways — who introduces Kate to rarebit and literary readings that actually draw a crowd and biodynamic wine.

Trouble ensues because, you know, the older famous writer is the precocious teen’s dad.

And there are more complications in the novel:  Strange Craigslist gigs offered by creepy rich people. A wild Halloween party thrown by a dying man. Period sex.

And there are lines like these:

It’s never love, as soon as you feel the next love. Because isn’t that a prerequisite of the condition? That you tell yourself everything that came before wasn’t really it.

It makes you wonder if you’ve ever been in love, or if you might be wildly in love now —

I think you might fall in love with this coming-of-age story. I’m giving away  a copy of  Neon in Daylight to one of my readers! All current email subscribers will be automatically entered to win the copy. Subscribe now if you’re not yet getting my occasional newsletters.

For a second chance to win, comment on this post below, naming your favorite coming-of-age story. The giveaway closes March 31, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. US addresses only.

Come back mid-month to read an interview with Hermione Hoby.

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January book reviews: Fire & other dangers

Brief reviews of books by contemporary authors I read this month — along with photos of what I ate while reading. The list is ordered by the level of my enjoyment:

Fire Sermon by Jamie Quatro (Grove Press, 2018)

“I admit that unless something is forbidden I cannot want it with any intensity.”
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On the surface Fire Sermon is about a married woman who has a few brief assignations with a man married to someone else. Beneath that plot is a gorgeous work about desire and longing and obsession and writing and memory and sin and sublimation and time. Loved this book — reminded me a bit of Lydia Davis’ The End of the Story and Elizabeth Ellen’s Person(a). In fact I sent a copy to Elizabeth because I thought she’d like it too. The book just came out Jan. 9 — Thanks to Grove Press for the review copy.

Triumph of the Heart: Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World by Megan Feldman Bettencourt (Avery, 2015)

“When you trust people, they often disappoint you, but that doesn’t mean love is hopeless.”
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Forgiveness is a topic that’s been on my mind a lot lately — so I felt lucky to come across this book that delves into the science and research (vs a lot of books on forgiveness that are primarily religious) of the benefits of forgiveness, as well as the true, remarkable stories of people who’ve forgiven atrocities — their son’s murderer, their own rapist, etc. Of course, many of the stories are more everyday — The author Megan begins at a place where she’s unable to forgive an ex. I especially found Megan’s definition of forgiveness helpful — thinking about it as just a letting go of resentment to find a sense of peace and freedom — a letting go that doesn’t necessarily require reconciliation or excusing damaging behavior or foregoing legal justice. In the end the book went beyond just forgiveness to make me think about how I wanted to think, how I wanted to live. A highly recommended read.

Neon in Daylight< by Hermione Hoby (Catapult, 2018)

“It’s never love, as soon as you feel the next love. Because isn’t that a prerequisite of the condition? That you tell yourself everything that came before wasn’t really it.” 💔
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Slightly lost British girl moves to NYC, gets super short haircut, meets hot jaded older famous writer whose daughter makes money doing strange favors for men on Craigslist. Neon in Daylight started slow for me but got more interesting as the plot lines started to intersect. It came out Jan 9 — Thanks Catapult for the review copy of Hermione’s debut novel ☕️

The Show House by Dan Lopez (Unnamed Press, 2016)

“Overhead stars shine in a patchwork of clouds. Across the lake the blue lights of the airport glow uninterrupted.”
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I finally got to read my writing workshop friend Dan’s novel — and especially loved his descriptions of urban nights. The Show House is a bit of everything: a thriller with a serial killer, a family drama,a battle against natural forces. Glad I got to read this and that I get to read pages of Dan’s new novel in progress every month!

Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang (Anchor; Translated to English 2014, originally published 1948)

“Happy memories quickly turn vague, while unpleasant incidents … rise up again for no reason we can find.”
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Half a Lifelong Romance tells the story of starcrossed lovers kept apart by tradition, familial expectations, sense of duty, and the mean machinations of selfish people around them. Melodramatic, yes, but richly drawn — a poignant picture of 1930s Shanghai. Thanks to Boxwalla for this introduction to Eileen Chang’s work! 💙

This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff (Harper, 2018)

This was a strange novel. It’s supposed to be a heartwarming story about a group of employees at a corporation who end up really being there for each other as lifelong friends — but the cliched characters really got to me. Sample inner dialogue of a single woman: “Please, God, I promise not to ask for anything else if I can be with a man next New Year’s.” Seriously? The book’s overall message seems to be that your day job can give you much-needed purpose and structure in life if you commit to it and make it your life, even if it’s not work you find particularly interesting — a thesis I also found strange and slightly troubling. I felt obligated to finish this one because the publisher had sent a review copy —

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Get more and more timely book reviews from me on Instagram. And if you have books to recommend, send me a note!

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Sorry to Disrupt the Peace by Patty Yumi Cottrell — Jan 2018 giveaway

*** Winner selected! Congratulations to Kris in Glendale, Calif.! ***

What I love most about Patty Yumi Cottrell’s writing: the sudden moments of humor within the bleakest of moods:

A little self-knowledge can be a very productive thing, I said to no one. I am a very productive person, I said as I opened the windows of my shared studio apartment. I shouted things to the passersby on the crummy sidewalks below. I can be a very helpful person! I screamed. A woman pushing a double-wide stroller looked up at me with concern. At your service, bitches! I shouted.

This is what 32-year-old Helen Moran, the protagonist of Patty’s debut novel, does soon after getting a call about her brother’s death. It’s a painful, wrenching scene — disrupted by a wry hilarity that makes you want to laugh-cry.

Sorry to Disrupt the Peace is full of these riveting moments as it follows Helen, who goes to her estranged adoptive parents’ home in Milwaukee after her adoptive brother’s sudden suicide. The book is depressing and painful and moving and ridiculously funny — with a flat tone that somehow manages to feel both unreachably distant and too close to home.

Patty in real life is hilarious too. I met her last year at a reading at Skylight Books, a few months before both our debut books came out, when Patty was still living in L.A. Now she’s moved back to New York, despite all the nice and funny things she said about L.A. in her interview with Los Angeles Review of Books:

I have to say, New York City was for me a terrible place to write a novel…. There are such limited resources and you’re in such close proximity with others, you’re always highly aware of all of the things other people have, the things you want and lack. For example, in Brooklyn none of my friends had a dishwasher….

Living in Los Angeles, a lot of people have dishwashers. It’s not a special thing. I don’t mean to make Los Angeles sound like some kind of Communist utopia. What I’m trying to say is that you’re not as aware of what other people are doing or what they have. It feels like things are more spread out. You can get space away from people who call themselves writers if you want. You don’t have to interact with them if you don’t want to. In this way, I feel more freedom in Los Angeles and that obviously affects what I’m writing and how and when I write.

Patty — I hope the writing’s going well though you’ve moved away!

Get a taste of Patty’s work by reading the excerpts of Sorry to Disrupt the Peace in Vice and Buzzfeed. Then get your copy — or try your luck in this month’s giveaway! I’m giving away  a copy of Patty’s book to one of my readers. All current email subscribers will be automatically entered to win the copy. Subscribe now if you’re not yet getting my occasional newsletters.

For a second chance to win, comment on this post below, specifying whether or not you have a dishwasher. The giveaway closes January 31, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. US addresses only.

Come back mid-month to read an interview with Patty.

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December book reviews: End of year reads

Brief reviews of books by contemporary authors I read this month — along with photos of what I ate while reading. The list is ordered by the level of my enjoyment:

Things That Happened Before the Earthquake by Chiara Barzini (Doubleday 2017)

“Everyone said where they were and what they heard when it happened. Some had sad stories, some head happy stories.”
*
Chiara Barzini’s debut novel reminded me that the ’90s was actually a rather violent and volatile time in Los Angeles, what with the L.A. Riots, the Northridge Earthquake, and of course, the O.J. Simpson Trial. Here’s my full review of the coming-of-age novel, and my interview with Chiara.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (HarperOne, 2016)

“Everything worthwhile in life is won through suffering the associated negative experience.”
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The thesis of this book is not that you shouldn’t give a fuck about anything — but that you should choose not to give a fuck about things that don’t really matter so you can save all your fucks for the few things in life that really do matter. It was a great read to come across as I’m setting my intentions for the new year.

Black Crow White Lie by Candi Sary (Casperian Books, 2012)

“Even mediocrity has a way of looking big in Hollywood.”
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I finally got a chance to pick up my Instagram friend Candi’s YA novel — a coming of age story of a young boy growing up in a Hollywood motel with an alcoholic, clairvoyant mom, a motley crew of colorful friends, and a supernatural gift of healing. This isn’t a genre I often read, so I appreciated the change of pace.

The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman (Berkley, 2017)

“There are so many times when what I want to do conflicts exactly with what I have to do.”
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This novel tells a sweet story of a widowed mom of two young girls who starts going to a gardening class — and finds friendship, community, and romance. It’s a simple, heartwarming read — perhaps best suited for people with little kids or who enjoy reading about the raising of them — that I picked up when Abbi and I got to be on an author panel together for the Women’s National Book Association at Skylight Books last month.

Abra by Amaranth Borsuk and Kate Durbin (1913 Press, 2016)

“after rupture tar stars restart”
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Abra is a book of poems and etchings created as a collaboration between two poets I know and like. This experimental book plays with words like LEGO blocks, moving them around and juxtaposing them in new pretty combos.

Blaze by Kes Woodward and Peggy Schumacher (Red Hen Press, 2005)

“the touch of one loved / in secret, a gasp held in, / let go.”
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Blaze is a collaboration between artist Kes Woodward and poet Peggy Schumacher, a fellow Red Hen Press writer. Basically, it’s a book of birch tree paintings plus sensual poems.
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History of Butoh by Khadijah Anderson (Writ Large Press, 2012)

“Let all the mistakes you have ever made / circle the room like hungry ghosts.”
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Regret and hope, LA and politics and Senegalese dance: This unexpected book of poems by Khadijah Anderson was a birthday gift from my friend Liz.

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Get more and more timely book reviews from me on Instagram. And if you have books to recommend, send me a note!