Today’s torrential downpour is keeping me inside, so I thought I would say hello. I haven’t been impacted by flooding, but if you’re in Brooklyn and in need of anything in the coming days, please let me know!
As is often the case when autumn blows away the final tendrils of summer humidity, I’ve found myself exploring the outside world with renewed vigor. Despite the unfortunate side effect of reading a bit less lately, I have been able to sneak a few pages in while basking in much crisper air.
The Reads
I did finish Leigh Bardugo's Hell Bent, the second installment of her dark fantasy series set in Yale University's secret occult underground. While the first book of the series, Ninth House, gets a little too lost in its world-building to feel more than a glossary of secret society sorcery lore, Hell Bent has a much more even spread of disarming magic and mystery-solving that makes it more fun to read. I also wrapped up Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter, which so profoundly satirized Silicon Valley’s ruthless start-up culture and the mental gymnastics of navigating wealth disparities of American cities that it took me about six months to read in full. I've otherwise been working on Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
The Non-Reads
I spent weeks enraptured by Pentiment, a murder mystery video game set in 15th-century Bavaria that has such vividly-rendered and well-researched visuals that the credits include a full bibliography. Its art style mimics the time period's famous illuminated manuscripts (including gorgeous written flourishes and fonts), and zooming out from the action reveals decorative pages that are "stuffed full of those weird and wonderful animals... [that] immediately bring a sense of style to what otherwise might be a dry history" and an interactive glossary for you to reference throughout gameplay. The townsfolk are rowdy, there's ton of liturgical drama, and gossiping with peasants and priests is vital for solving the town's crimes. It inspired me to purchase a copy of Umberto Eco's The Name of The Rose in hopes of replicating the Pentiment setting and mystery components, and the boys in my life made the unfortunate mistake of recommending big map game Crusader Kings III for similar medieval political scheming. When I got tired of rallying my vassals and fabricating claims on neighboring lands for conquest, I decompressed with Storyteller, a sweet little puzzle game that prompts players to “compose narrative arcs using comic book-style building blocks, altering the lives, deaths, romances and betrayals of medieval characters in the process.” It is a much gentler medieval land, though still with lots of evil barons to be found. (A silly through line of all these games!)
The Events
Plans are cancelled for today, but it’s been a busy few weeks. I watched the skies clear for Alex and Jess’s magical nuptials against a backdrop of ponies in Vermont; hiked to a waterfall while playing the Twilight soundtrack for strength; humbled myself at a very cute and cozy cookie decorating class; celebrated the end of summer with an annual jaunt for Walter’s Hot Dogs (iykyk); saw Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) in theaters again; slept off the aftermath of glorious gatherings; wolfed down oatmeal griddle cakes with cinnamon molasses butter at Breakfast by Salt’s Cure; and some other stuff that kept me moving and grooving.
Here are a two upcoming events that might also be of interest:
Brooklyn Book Festival returns this Sunday, October 1. The festival’s Literary Marketplace will involve booths and tables from bookstores, publishing companies, magazines, author organizations, and more, interspersed with a big itinerary of speaking events. Hope to see you there!
Banned Book Week is upon us (October 1-7). Bookstores annually display books that have been banned around the US to encourage sales, and PRH is even launching a “Banned Wagon” tour to sell banned books in certain Southern cities. PEN America is tracking banned books nationwide and has additional resources for combating censorship.
That’s all for today. Stay dry!