Hi. I’m really, really exhausted.
Sometimes, it happens no matter how much I try to be aware of my body and my schedule. I haven’t had two days in a row off in more than a month. It’s event season for my bookshop and I’m just about to actually, finally begin querying my manuscript. There’s been a lot of all-weekend vending events and day-to-day shop management and book editing until 11 PM because that’s the only time I can carve out.
So, I’ll keep this short: don’t be like me if you can avoid it. Capitalism is a hellscape—and yes, it still gets its claws in you even if you run a little bookshop, I’m sorry to report. Wherever you can, don’t push too hard. It’s not worth it. I’m evidence: I’m a writer by trade and I can hardly string two words together right now. Yesterday, it took me at least five minutes to remember what the white lines painted on the road for pedestrians are called. (It’s a crosswalk.)
Go lie down. Take a bath. Sit in the sun. Pet your cat. As Tricia Hersey reminds us constantly: rest is, after all, resistance.
STUFF THAT HAS MADE ME FEEL SOMETHING (ANYTHING) LATELY
“TO RULE THE DESERT” by MONICA ROBINSON: I know I have already spent plenty of time yelling about this book, but considering that Spiral hosted Monica’s release party last night, it is only apt that I urge you once again to pick up this queer desert gothic novella. I am bursting at the seams with pride and happiness for my dear Monica, and it would mean the world to me if you pick up a copy of her book. It’s special, I promise.
“ALL ABOUT LOVE” by bell hooks: I try to re-read this particular book of hooks’ every spring, and I swear I learn something new every damn time. In a society awash with bullshit Instagram therapy that’s just narcissism rebranded as ~self-care~, hooks brings us back to a place of true, deep, intentional love. It’s not always comfortable and it isn’t easy, but it’s the only way forward.
“FOURTH WING” by REBECCA YARROS: I know, I know, everyone’s talking about it. But it’s honest to god the most fun I’ve had reading in a long, long time. Snarkier, steamier Tamora Pierce with a disabled heroine (!!!!!) and constant life-or-death, high stakes plot. You won’t be able to put it down. I think this is a great one for breaking a reading rut.
That’s all for now. See you beneath the next dark moon. - V