I wanted to read this before watching the show and now I’m not sure if I can go through the story again. There was a lot to love here: awkward reporter Camille Preaker gets sent back reluctantly to her creepy southern hometown to cover the murder of two young girls. I’ve heard it compared to season 1 of True Detective and I agree. It’s got the setting in the deep south, the bleak small town with secrets, and the troubled protagonist whom you suspect might […]
The Gasoline of All Adventure
“Blackout” is a memoir about alcoholism and getting sober. This book affected me personally more than any I’ve read this cannonball. I’m involved in the recovery world and just really needed this book when I read it. It’s a beautifully written memoir and I appreciated the story as told through the lens of coming of age as a woman in the 90s. Sara Hepola is a writer from Texas. The book starts with her sneaking sips of Pearl Light from cans in childhood, which gradually […]
I will commence turning off my faucet of F**ks by not giving one about this book…
This was an odd choice that I randomly grabbed from the bestseller list. The title made me laugh. I didn’t totally hate it and there are a few useful ideas, but overall I found the writer to be an entitled bro whose brand of inspiration did not speak to me. The first chapter, entitled “Don’t Try” used the life of Charles Bukowski as its example. The central point was that Bukowski was a loser with low expectations, failed for 30 years, then took a chance […]
Gut-Wrenching and Beautifully Written True Crime. So many feelings.
I don’t even know where to start with this one. I’m not usually a true crime person and will admit I was first intrigued by this because my favorite comedian Patton Oswalt was Mr. Michelle McNamara for the 10 years prior to her death. I knew vaguely that she was a badass crime writer who helped break this case before her sudden passing shortly before the killer was caught. My knowledge stopped there. The context gave this already-devastating, next-level book an extra gut punch for me […]
Great Autobiography/Manual for Womanhood Mash-Up
So, full disclosure, I already thought Amy Pohler was the coolest before reading this. I have fond memories of the era of SNL when she and Tina Fey were the first women to helm the “Weekend Update” segment. I’ve always liked her willingness to go all in on over-the-top, unsexy characters. Finding out she has had relatable career struggles and has fantastic taste in music was the icing on the cake. I’ve never seen “Parks and Rec” and lost track of her work after SNL. […]
Decent Y/A Novel by the Creator of “Veronica Mars”
“Rats Saw God” follows the story of Steven York, a high school senior who went from promising student to checked-out stoner in the course of a year. In an effort to engage him, Steven’s guidance counselor asks him to write a 100-page essay in order to graduate. What follows is a split narrative between the previous year Steven spent in Texas with his astronaut father and the present in San Diego where he struggles to put his life back together after getting his heart broken […]