#its interesting cuz like 70% of the story will be kinda slice of life and then shit will hit the fan outta no where

[freaky-flawless]

Just finished the second one after a bit of a holiday delay. And you know what? It was a bit better! You can tell the author found her groove writing the main 3's dynamic, though I have some issues that I'll get into.

Jinafire and Skelita feature in this one, though their roles are very small and they pretty immediately fall into the antagonists control (seemingly) Toralei does show up, and just like Cleo, she sucks! The author wrote the two of them so horribly, and I think it's such a shame cuz mean girl characters can be very fun, and I think in the other medias the two of them are.

Speaking of mean girls...Venus kinda is one! There were so many instances of her being rude, and being attitudinal kinda seems like her main personality trait. She'd say something out of pocket to someone, and then get mad when they handed that energy back to her, it was kinda infuriating.

Unfortunately Rochelle went right back to being annoying as well. She's written to be blunt and take things very literally, to the point where she comes across as pretty insensitive a lot of times, but it's explained away as being a "gargoyle thing". Maybe it would be a little less bothersome if she wasn't also super condescending at times, especially with how she constantly corrects others. It was also established in the first chapter that she and Garrott broke up at some point, so now her crush on Deuce is considered slightly less problematic.

Robecca was okay in this one. She said "bees knees" a lot less, thankfully. The story also started to touch on the disappearance of her father, who in this story was fully normie, as well as Robecca's sensitivity on the subject. Her love interest Cy was all around lame and useless in this story, which is kind of a shame since he worked with the main 3 a lot in the first book, and they had a decent-ish dynamic. (He's also written to be a bit of a creep....he's always following Robecca around without her knowing. Granted when he does he normally comes to her rescue in some way but still...its weird.)

Overall though, the thing that bugs me about the narrative is that it seems like it hinges on everyone in the school being stupider than the main 3. Everyone but them got brainwashed in the first book, everyone but them trusts the lady who brainwashed them in the first place. Like come on...if this was a MH movie or webisode, Ghoulia would have figured everything out behind the scenes during a side plot. If they really wanted to make it believable, they'd have had her get kidnapped at the end instead of Headmistress Bloodgood.

Oh but the illustrations is this one were delicious! I got so excited to see each one at the start of the chapters, and the chapters in this one were shorter than the first so there were a lot more. We got to see a bunch of other characters aside from the main 3, and it was such a treat! Really makes getting through these a bit less of a slog.

I'm like halfway through the first Ghoulfriends book and main three are so annoying. I'm hoping it's like a character flaw thing, where they'll recognize it and get better over the course of the series, but oof. Gitty did these ghouls so wrong.

They're beefing with Cleo for no reason...Venus flipped out on her out of nowhere (in the middle of class, unprovoked!!) for using paper bags and then sprayed her with hypno pollen, meanwhile Rochelle, who is in her own relationship, is hardcore flirting with her man!!! I wish the author had been more original when it came to giving them a "frenemy" there are so many options aside from Cleo! (Honestly Operetta would have been an interesting choice, but whatever)

Robecca's characterization is the most tolerable, but she's incredibly rambly, and the author decided to give her a bad sense of time for...reasons. And despite being British, she uses oddly Southern phrases while talking...its super strange. With Venus and Rochelle, I can see where her mind went with writing their characters, but Robecca honestly seems so opposite to her canon personality.

And her backstory was kinda mangled too. It's acknowledged that she was disassembled, and recently reassembled, and even that she previously lived with Mrs. Kindergrubber, but she's treated like a brand new student. No acknowledgement that it was Ghoulia who put her back together!

I understand giving the characters a fresh take, but it would have been pretty simple to integrate the actual canon. Robecca and Rochelle were introduced in the same movie, they were new to Monster High, just not new to all of the characters.

[hella-slow-writer]

Fic update

Okay, i finally have time and motivation to continue working on 3 of my most important fics. It’s too gay to be fucked 3, Garrett/Andrew PWP (yes pwp cuz im nasty), and a big multi-chapter YT FGO AU that no one cares about lmao.

It’s gonna get fucked 3 is 70% done, still fixing some last part of the chapter before i send it back to my friends to be beta-ed. 

Garrett/Andrew PWP is sadly still 20% WIP, mainly because lack of... motivation. Hopefully Shane’s new series contains more Garrett/Andrew interactions to boost my motivation to continue it lmao.

YT FGO AU still... 10%. I still haven’t decided if i want to make it some slice-of-life genre where its about the YT Servants interacting with each other or more serious story with heavy plot (kinda like a fusion between FGO’s Lostbelt+Singularity arcs). Although i already have a long list of Youtubers who i will use in the fics (all bbs boys will be featured ofc). More talk about this AU under Read More.

Okay, now yall know. I just want to give a little bit of update since i keep gaining more and more followers and i dont want to give an impression of this blog being abandoned. Wish me luck and thanks for still sticking around waiting for my not-so-good writings lol.

Oh, hey! If you read this, oh god do you actually care or show interest in this AU???? Hit me up boi and lemme know so i wouldnt be so depressed thinking no one would read this shitty AU lmao.

Current list of Servants who would appear in the first arc/chapter is: Vanoss, Laurenzside, and Moo Snuckel. I think maybe those three will be like FGO’s Mashu, who will stick around until the end of time lmao. Other than those three, there’s Ohmwrecker, Gloomgames, Kubz Scouts, Cartoonz, and Garrett Watts who also played major part in the first arc/chapter. I will also possibly adding Andrew Siwicki and Jacksepticeye, although i still haven’t deciding what their role going to be.

Oh yeah, Daithi de Nogla and Mini Ladd will also appear. Although they are not Servants like the other, their role is going to be a normal human who manages Chaldea (kinda like Romani Archaman and Da Vinci lmao).

Below is kinda like in-game stats of the 8 servants featured first. I do this so i will remember what skill and class they have, and also because creating a stats of them is really fun lmao. I wont show what their NP gonna be though, because it’s a secret winkwink

Vanoss aka Bat Owl, Evan Rarity: SSR Saber Cost: 16 ATK: 1.841/11,755 HP: 1,695/11,554 Grail ATK: 13,112 Grail HP: 12,768 Attribute: Earth Growth Curve: Linear Star Absorption: 86 Star Generation: 10 % NP Charge ATK: 0.82% NP Charge DEF: 4% Death Rate: 19.4% Alignments: Neutral・Good Gender: Male Commands Cards: QQABB (Quick: 2 Hits, Arts: 2 Hits, Buster: 1 Hit, Extra: 4 Hits) Skills:  - Charisma C Increase party's ATK for 3 turns. - Disengage A Remove own debuffs. Recovers own HP. - Superhero Strength A Charges NP gauge. Increases own NP strength. Noble Phantasm: ??? 

Moo aka Moo Snuckel, Brock, Early Bird Rarity: SR Rider Cost: 12 ATK: 1,259/8,084 HP: 1,573/11,160 Grail ATK: 10,325 Grail HP: 13,882 Attribute: Earth Growth Curve: S Star Absorption: 195 Star Generation: 8% NP Charge ATK: 1.4% NP Charge DEF: 5% Death Rate: 26.90% Alignments: Neutral・Good Gender: Male Commands Cards: QQABB (Quick: 2 Hits. Arts: 1 Hit, Buster: 1 Hit, Extra: 3 Hits) Skills: - Feather Illusion C+ Chance to stun one enemy. Reduces NP strength.   - Sharpening A+ Increases own Buster and Quick performances for 3 turns. - Superhero Strength B Charges own NP gauge. Increases own NP strength. Noble Phantasm:  ???

Lauren aka Laurenzside, Protector of Universe, Cosmic Deity Rarity: R Caster Cost: 7 ATK: 1,128/7,215 HP: 1,236/8,600 Grail ATK: 8,657 Grail HP: 11,055 Attribute: Sky Growth Curve: S Star Absorption: 84 Star Generation: 11% NP Charge ATK: 1.80% NP Charge DEF: 5% Death Rate: 38.7% Alignments: Neutral・Good Gender: Female Commands Cards: QAAAB (Quick: 3 Hits, Arts: 2 Hits, Buster: 1 Hit, Extra: 3 Hits) Skills: - Cosmic Blessing A Grants one ally's invicibility for 1 turn. Charges their NP gauge. - Clairvoyance (Demi-God) Increases own Critical star drop rate. - Lunar Light B Recovers party's HP. Remove own Debuffs. Noble Phantasm: ???

Kassie aka Gloom Rarity: R Alter Ego Cost: 7 ATK: 1,177/7,113 HP: 1,650/9,421 Grail ATK: 9,818 Grail HP: 12,812 Attribute: Man Growth Curve: S Star Absorption: 100 Star Generation: 10% NP Charge ATK: 0.43% NP Charge DEF: 4% Death Rate: 36.4% Alignments: True・Neutral Gender: Female Commands Cards: QQAAB (Quick: 2 Hits, Arts: 1 Hit, Buster: 2 Hits, Extra: 4 Hits)  Skills: - Samantha Increases own Buster performances for 3 turns. Chances to inflict Charm on [Male] enemy. Cancel other skill's effects.  - Hannah Increases own Quick performances for 3 turns. Gains critical stars generation every turn for 3 turns. Cancel other skill's effects. - Vera Increases own Arts performances for 3 turns. Recover own NP every turn for 3 turns. Cancel other skill's effects.  Noble Phantasm: ???

Jay aka Kubz Scouts Rarity: R Assassin Cost: 7 ATK: 1,288/7,062 HP: 1,571/8,662 Grail ATK: 9,633 Grail HP: 11,990 Attribute: Man  Growth Curve: Reverse S Star Absorption: 102 Star Generation: 20.4% NP Charge ATK: 0.24% NP Charge DEF: 4.12% Death Rate: 28.7% Alignments: Chaotic・Good Gender: Male Commands Cards: QQQAB (Quick: 4 Hits, Arts: 2 Hits, Buster: 1 Hit, Extra: 3 Hits) Skills: - Planning B+ Increases own critical star generation rate for 3 turns. - Threaten C+ Chance to reduce enemy's NP by 1 Reduces ATK for 3 turns. - Presence Detection C Chances to removes their Evasion buffs. Grants self Evasion for 1 turn.

Ohm aka Ryan, Ohmwrecker, The Red Demon Right-Hand Rarity: R Saber Cost: 7 ATK: 1,232/8,012 HP: 1,388/8,063 Grail ATK: 10,455 Grail HP: 12,550 Attribute: Earth Growth Curve: S Star Absorption: 90 Star Generation: 10.5% NP Charge ATK: 1.33% NP Charge DEF: 3.12 % Death Rate: 30.2% Alignments: Neutral・Good Gender: Male Commands Cards: QAABB (Quick: 3 Hits, Arts: 3 Hits, Buster: 1 Hit, Extra: 4 Hits) Skills: - Battle Continuation A Grants self Guts status for 1 time, 5 turns. - Proof of Friendship C Chance to reduces one enemy's NP gauge by 1. Chance to inflicts Stun for 1 turn. - Teamwork C Increases party's Arts performance for 1 turn. Increases party's NP Strength for 1 turn. Noble Phantasm: ???

Cartoonz aka Luke, The Red Demon Rarity: SR Rider Cost: 12 ATK:  1,612/9,447 HP: 1,673/11,076 Grail ATK:  11,018 Grail HP: 12,667 Attribute: Earth Growth Curve: Semi S Star Absorption: 165 Star Generation: 10% NP Charge ATK: 1.18% NP Charge DEF: 2.77 % Death Rate: 30.2% Alignments: True・Neutral  Gender: Male Commands Cards: QAABB (Quick: 4 Hits, Arts: 1 Hits, Buster: 1 Hit, Extra: 6 Hits) Skills: - Pirate’s Honor B+ Increases own attack for 3 turns. Grants self Guts status for 1 time. (Revives with 1 HP.) Reduces own debuff resistance by 50% for 3 turns. [Demerit] - Voyager of the Storm A Increases party's NP damage for 1 turn. Increases party's attack for 1 turn. - Demon of the Sea EX Increases own Buster performances. Increases critical strength for 3 turns. Gains self-Invisibility for 1 attack. Reduces own defense [Demerit] Noble Phantasm: ???

Garrett aka Accused Wizard, Eternal Mage, King of Badger Rarity: R Caster Cost: 7 ATK: 1,312/7,556 HP: 1,752/8,272 Grail ATK: 10,126 Grail HP: 10,885 Attribute: Man Growth Curve: S Star Absorption: 48 Star Generation: 11.4% NP Charge ATK: 1.43% NP Charge DEF: 3% Death Rate: 36.2% Alignments: Chaotic・Good Gender: Male Commands Cards: QAAAB (Quick: 2 Hit, Arts: 3 Hit, Buster: 1 Hit, Extra: 5 Hits) Skills: - Jokester B+ Chance to reduce one enemy's NP gauge by 1. Charges own NP gauge. - Immortality (False) Gains self-Guts status for 1 time, 3 turns. - Spellcraft A+  Increases own Arts performance for 3 turns.  Noble Phantasm: ???

Okay, there you go. Some of the stats are from FGO’s servants lol and if it looks too OP for you fgo players, dont sweat it. The stats doesnt really matter in the story so lol.

Those are the characters that will appear on the first arc minus Nogla and Mini. Since i haven’t really decided to put Andrew and Jack, i won’t show their stats here but their class will be Lancer (or Caster, haven’t really decided it either) and Saber, respectively 

P.S: There will be ships, it won’t be the focus of the story if i use the heavy/more serious plot but there will be :P

Again, thank you for your attention and hopefully i can finish all this soon enough.

[shelfcompletionist-blog]

#008: Cesár Aira

Let me say flat out: Cesar Aira became one of my favorite authors currently writing (and I mean currently quite literally, dude’s probably gonna finish three novellas before I finish writing this piece). This is largely based on the strength of one book: The Musical Brain and Other Stories. New Direction’s curated sampling of stories in this volume is just so good, such a delightful update of Borges, with every single story bringing fresh surprises. I know that it’s probably a greatest hits collection of the miniature master’s most microscopic work, but hey, fiction doesn’t have to play by the same disqualifying rules as music does (just think if someone said that their favorite album is the greatest hits comp of David Bowie, or The Beatles, or Kanye West. C’mon man, that’s not allowed.) The Musical Brain is a bit of an outlier in format (but definitely not in quality) for Airan texts, though. He tends to write a very specific type of book, one that doesn’t get a lot of play in contemporary English-language literature: the novella. Specifically, a novella between 85 and 120 pages long. This length of narrative has allowed for Aira to shape his entire career. Not only are they short enough that Aira can write them at an extremely quick pace (he’s published about 90 works or so in his career) but it informs the content as well. While there are a couple varieties of Aira story as I see it, the novella allows Aira to do a couple different things in each story. Simply put, the Aira novella is longer than a short story and can juggle a few different concepts or ideas. Look at How I Became a Nun, and how it perverts the general concept of a coming-of-age/bildungsroman but still has space for individual foibles and sustained deliberation. Or one of his marquee works in the English reading world, The Literary Conference, which is ostensibly a send-up of the social politics of the Latin American literary set, and specifically Carlos Fuentes,  but ends up as a apocalyptic sci-fi cloning story involving ancient riddles. See, there are multitudes at work. Aira often functions on the level of a trickster-semiotician, taking some of our more complex societal conceits and putting them on their heads. The shortish length of the novella, however, allows Aira to present these ideas and concepts, explore them a bit, but leave them unexhausted. He isn’t interested in really taking them as far as they could go, to the point of overexposure or triteness. Although I could read Aira for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t really want to read a 400 page Aira novel over one of his 90 page novellas.

In fact, Aira’s longer works tend to be his least interesting, and for good reason. In my reading of Aira, I think I’ve figured out a way to classify his particular interests; Aira seems to have three fairly distinct modes: the metapersonal, the generic, and the historical. I’ve included a graph of these above. Of works that I’ve read, by far the most populous (and also *maybe* successful) of these is the metapersonal. These are the narratives that are recursive to the author-figure of Aira himself; sometimes this means that the main character is an explicit and/or twisted version of Aira, as in The Miracle Cures of Dr. Aira or The Literary Conference (in both of these instances there may be little to no relation to Aira in reality other than the name, but even that demands some metatextual consideration); sometimes they rely on autobiographical details, such as How I Became a Nun or The Seamstress and the Wind, which use stories, whether real or imagined, of Aira’s youth in Coronel Pringles (itself a name almost too much to be real).

Most of the novellas I would categorize as ‘generic’ aren’t in practice that different from those I would categorize as metapersonal; these two tend to operate as a spectrum. The main difference between them is that the generic novels take different pulp or pop genres as their referents moreso than the more conventionally postmodern trappings of the metapersonal stories. For example, Dinner starts out as a social satire on high-class dinner parties and quickly turns into a zombie-horror novel, and Shantytown works as a skewed version of the hard-boiled noir. Since these are a few more steps removed from Aira the author, I would think that they aren’t what people maybe consider the most representative of Airan specimens, but they may be a good entry point for introducing someone new to the author, as they have that pop-culture exoskeleton to latch on to.

The third, and least related (*and* least interesting, at least to me) type of Aira narrative is the historical. These tend to be the least elevated, least postmodern of Aira’s works. An Episode In the Life of a Landscape Painter, for example, is exactly that: a story about the 19th century landscape painter Rugendas. There’s not as much play as one would maybe come to expect from something like Conversations or Dinner. It’s almost as if Aira feels compelled, when he writes about these times of pre-(literary)-modernity, he has to forgo the types of metatextual and semiotic examination that he is usually interested in, which may be a useful exercise but doesn’t quite make for as compelling a read. These also tend to be Aira’s longest works (both Ema, the Captive and The Hare take place pre-1900 and are over 200 pages long, as if dealing with this removed setting forces him to fill his books with a more complete narrative, which is, to me, a bit unnecessary.

Now, after going on about this effort at categorization that I’ve made to make sense at Aira’s oeuvre, I get to one of his books on my shelf, the most recent (at this point) translation that New Direction has put out, a combined binding of two of his shorter novellas, The Proof and The Little Buddhist Monk. Lo and behold, they don’t really fit in any of my groups that comfortably. They are both strange little ditties, to be sure. The Proof tells the story of a timid girl accosted by some lesbians (the first line is: “Wannafuck?”) and eventually enticed into their group of sapphic criminals. The story ends with (spoiler alert) that group causing a bloody mess robbing a supermarket. The Little Buddhist Monk, on the other side, is about an actual little buddhist monk who takes a French couple, touring Korea, under his wing to show them the real sights of the country. Neither of these really come from a metapersonal angle (Aira himself is not to be found) and neither operate at an obvious generic level (although one could imagine a lesbian gang of criminals like in The Proof popping up frequently in grindhouses across America sometime in the 70s). Perhaps this is good, though; these two odd ducks become exceptions that fuel the rule. By getting rid of the overarching structure of his more genre-focused or self-referencing works, these two stories are able to get at the deconstructionalist heart of Aira’s writing, free of distraction. Not that I wouldn’t want to see him pop up again in his own work.

Other Books Read in the Interim

Ill Will, by Dan Chaon - One of the few true thrillers I’ll probably read this year (even if it is a ‘literary’ thriller), Ill Will did a number on me. Maybe that’s just cuz I know someone who died in the exact way described in the book: a mysterious overnight drowning in a river. Just as in this novel, when that person died, the conspiracy theories swirled around them, about the possibility of a serial killer targeting college age boys in the midwest. Ill Will supposes that the theory might just be true, which just made for an overall uncanny reading experience. The ending gets a bit too extreme for its own good, though.

Box, by Robert Wrigley - It may have a reputation as being one of the cornier iterations of verse, but reading well-done nature poetry aloud on a walk can be such a heartwarming experience.

Do Not Become Alarmed, by Maile Meloy - A slice of thick-cut cheese. Maile Meloy builds a hermetically plotted first-world deconstruction thriller, with pleasing results. Sure, pull apart the novel any direction and you'll see how constructed any of the action is-- nothing seems to happen organically, but every string of happenings is a contrivance for the larger plot. That being said, I couldn't help but keep flipping pages to see if any kids bite it in the end.

No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need, by Naomi Klein

Typewriters, Bombs, Jellyfish: Essays, by Tom McCarthy

Walkabout, by James Vance Marshall - This is an interesting book that has a lot going on under the surface about white Americans' conception of race as it clashes with an Australian world, infused into what is basically a young adult survivalist adventure story. I liked the fantasia of Australian wildlife that Marshall presents here too, maybe because I always liked platypuses and such. It'll be interesting to compare this to the movie, which I hear goes in some, ahem, different directions.

The Teeth of the Comb & Other Stories, by Osama Alomar - I had a decent amount of fun reading these stories, basically short enough to be aphorisms, but they eventually become a little too wearing on me. I’m not sure if it’s the translation stripping some of the subtlety of the language, but Alomar’s stories came to feel like the kind of faux profundity mocked in an Andy Samberg sketch. You kinda expect that airhorn sound and someone bellowing “DEEP” at the end of them.

Stephen Florida, by Gabe Habash - Probably my favorite novel of the year. A masterclass in first-person narration.

Wolverine: Old Man Logan, by Mark Millar - Reading this comic really shows how accomplished the movie Logan, which takes loose inspiration from Old Man Logan, is at creating a mood, characters, and cohesive world without relying on worldbuilding. Mark Millar never seems to have gotten beyond his concept treatment for a superhero dystopia here, because he spends more time having characters deliver clunky exposition about how one character died or how another now rules the entire eastern seaboard than having them actually develop as characters we should care about. This really isn't about Logan; it's about being destruction porn, a kind that Marvel has been increasingly reliant on (basically since its conception, but gaining popularity from the 80s through the 2000s.) You have a thoroughly (if haphazardly) created universe of thousands of characters, and instead of dutifully adding to that universe, it becomes 'cooler' (read: edgier) to tear it all down. Yeah, you wanna see a giant Pym skeleton incorporated into the landscape, and a lonely Venom symbiote stalking the badlands, and President Red Skull. Millar uses Hawkeye basically as a snarky guide to this world of death and puts more effort into that than anything else, like an actually interesting arc for Logan. Yes, there is a certain base glee that you can glean from seeing these epochal heroes torn asunder (both figuratively and, well, you know) but the mood of the text is a little too convivial in that gleefulness, to the point that it becomes less of peek into another's vision of apocalypse and more a shared jerk-off session with someone you wouldn't want to be in a room with in any normal circumstances. But I do have to commend Millar for giving Mysterio the respect he deserves.

Made for Love, by Alissa Nutting - My other favorite novel of the year. A masterclass in subtlety of worldbuilding and thematics.

Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King - I haven't read a King book in a good long while even though I just started a podcast on him (the movies, though, not the book) and while this has all of the weaknesses you might find in your average Stephen King horror novel, it still managed to scratch that itch. The detective thriller, while maybe not his best suit, still looks good on him.

Mae, Vol. 1, by Gene Ha - Wow, this was actually an awful reading experience for me. I don't really want to be brutal, but the characterization is nonsensical and weak (are they going for deadpan when Mae seems utterly nonplussed when her sister reappears after twenty or so years?), the plot makes weird jumps that keeps me uninterested in the story (it seems like the creative team behind this is just coasting between plot points, letting page breaks serve as inconsistent temporal jumps), the art is flat and uninteresting, and the deconstruction of tropes seemed pretty rote. That's a no from me.

Dear Cyborgs, by Eugene Lim

Circle M, by CA Conrad - CA Conrad's style continues to shine in these brief snippets. This is a minor work almost by designation, but a fun little look into creative restriction all the much for it.

Hard Child, by Natalie Shapero

Crazy for Vincent, by Hervé Guibert - A fragmented look back at the desperate feeling of gay lust in the 1980s, that keeps going further and further back. Parts of this story feel familiar, but as the years slip away, Hervé's longing becomes an unignorable force of emotion.

The One Inside, by Sam Shepard - What a magnificent, sorrowful, elegiac, and pained way to go out. Thanks, Sam.

Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, by Eka Kurniawan - I found this to be very enjoyable, even if there are some misogynistic issues very close to the surface. The way Kurniawan is able to portray time here is masterful. Can't say I would need to recommend a book all about a dude's malfunctioning dick to anyone in particular tho

Before, by Carmen Boullosa

Terms and Conditions, by Robert Sikoryak - An interesting art/culture object that maybe doesn't say as much about the source material as it could have. Instead of Sikoryak aping and pastiching some of the most iconic comic moments of the past century, I would have actually preferred an original visual narrative that uses the Apple Terms and Conditions as an emotive pattern to follow. It's fun though.

Bodies of Summer, by Martín Felipe Castagnet - God, do I love Argentinean literature. This, a story about how souls move to the internet when people die, is probably the most Airean book I’ve read not written by the man himself, but it lives up to its influences.

Square Inch Hours: Poems, by Sherod Santos - My first read from the National Book Awards Poetry longlist. Sherod Santos's Square Inch Hours comes in a style of meditative prose poetry that I usually really like, but this collection didn't work that well for me. Maybe it is because each individual section is a bit too short for its own good, so it was hard to grasp on to something, whether it be a single line or an overarching concept, before Santos moved on. That being said, Square Inch Hours does capture that feeling of being inside one's own head, yet still processing what is going on in the perceptive world outside the self. Mark it neutral, I suppose.

Who is Rich?, by Matthew Klam - An ugly, misanthropic, and maybe also misogynist (what makes you think that?) howl of a novel, raging against the waves of capitalism ennui that the upper-middle-but-actually-financially-unstable-creative class lives in daily, Who Is Rich? is a campus novel in concentrate, containing all of the preoccupations of the genre in one potent dosage. I am mainly surprised that something so angry and Rothian could exist like this in 2017, but it seems that Matthew Klam, 16-odd years out from his debut collection, is a man out of time. Who Is Rich? is well-written enough, with an effective melding of protagonist and narration (something tells me it wasn't too hard for Klam to tap into that) but the emotional undercurrent of the novel leaves a rather sickening feeling.

Broken River, by J. Robert Lennon - A decent literary thriller -- literary here as distinguished by having an interest in the interiority of the characters and painting them with more than what's required of the plot, which Broken River does well enough. That being said, kinda bare bones as far as intrigue-- not quite conventionally thrilling enough, and not quite weird enough either. I don't think that Lennon uses the concept of The Observer in the best way, which would have set Broken River up to be a pretty good twist on the thriller but instead reads as narratively overbearing and thematically scant.

The Reconstruction, by Rein Raud - Should be made into a movie by some meditative Eastern European director. Bela Tarr, u up?

The Grip of It, by Jac Jemc - It feels like a breath of fresh air to read The Grip of It, a literary horror novel about a haunted house that doesn't get too bogged down in questioning the overt ambiguity of the narrative. By this, I'm calling out all those other literary horror novels (and films too, sure) that are way too preoccupied with that idea of "is it an actual haunting or are the characters just going crazy?" This may seem weird, considering The Grip of It is about that very question-- the central couple might just be losing their minds, or their house might be genuinely haunted. What Jac Jemc does, though, is avoid questioning the question, so to speak. The Grip of It blows through that central question and gets at the catastrophic decay going on in the middle of these structures: the house, the relationship, the individual brains. If there was even the slightest amount of remove in this narrative, it would fall apart under that regular horror story criticism that the characters are too thickheaded or stupid to make the obviously correct, obviously preserving decision. It doesn't matter so much if it's real or not. Jemc doesn't hold these characters at a remove; you feel like you are living through this nightmare with them as they get trapped in crawlspaces and finger rotting walls.

The Amputee’s Guide to Sex, by Jillian Weise - Bold, persistent poems that mainly focus on the lived experience of disability and the way the world tilts and pushes towards ableism, Jillian Weise's The Amputee's Guide to Sex is clear in its assertions and clear in its poetics. I think it's a very good starting point for people who are not natural poetry readers (yet) to see what contemporary poetry can do, who and what issues it can speak to, and how many emotions it can speak to.

The Book of Endings, by Leslie Harrison - Man, do I love poetry that cascades trippingly from line to line.

The Answers, by Catherine Lacey -  The Answers, by Catherine Lacey, is interested in the tough philosophical questions at the intersection of our modern conceptions of love and technology. The novel seeks to interrogate these questions from a boldly female viewpoint, featuring an obstinately disengaged female protagonist at the helm of the narrative. This alone makes it a nice pairing with another novel from this year, Alissa Nutting's Made for Love. Made for Love may have the slight edge up here, though, because The Answers' Mary Parsons is not only disengaged, but disengaging. There were a few times that her actions or behavior just didn't jibe (and even if that was intentional, it did hamper the environment of the novel). That being said, those character-based false notes didn't hinder the rich development of ideas at the heart of The Answers, making it a worthwhile read.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann

Caca Dolce: Essays from a Lowbrow Life, by Chelsea Martin - Really good stuff! I think the last couple essays maybe jump a little far from the tempo established in the first 2/3 of the collection, which focuses on childhood and adolescence. I would have actually loved if there were two books here, the first focusing on childhood and the second expanding on the young adulthood stuff after moving away from her family.