the silent apathy of living under a late stage capitalism is a vibeeee .... and also maybe the title of your debut novel, who knows?! I absolutely lovedddd An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life. thank you so much for recommending it was a total slam and couldn't put the thing down! BTW Alex, I know you love Sigrid Nunez. Have you read her back novels like The Last of Her Kind? I'm reading it now and it's so Nunez and so for me (and you too!)
haha I read this as I just got off Depop trying to find some Carhartt pants!! lmao. I am a sucker for capitalism stories I think I am realizing. I haven't read that Nunez! I plan to get more into her back catalog this Fall so this is good timing!
Glad you liked book lovers, I liked that one, too. Very interesting commentary/review about tomorrowx3. You're the only person I've heard not like. I have it but haven't read it yet. So it's good to hear both sides.
such a great summer reading list! Hewitt's book is on my radar, just waiting for the paperback haha also, i've been enjoying Bliss Montage for its whacky worlds. from the sounds of Hola Papi, you might enjoy Raven Smith's Men, which i've been savoring. ✨💛
I read both all the lovers in the night and Heaven. Haven’t really affected me deeply because it’s about school bullies but much more than that. All the lovers in the night frustrated me because of the main character. But it is an accurate portrayal of life in Japan because I used to live and work there and all the rules there Create an environment where people either belong or don’t belong. Aloha
What a great group of books! And now that you have added your name to the many literary BookTube channels that liked Book Lovers, I'm officially going to give romance another go. It seems like if I'm going to like one contemporary romance out there, that might be it. All Down Darkness Wide was my favorite read this month. I'm so glad you loved it too. I never cry when reading but when he sang Happy Birthday to Elias I completely lost it. lol Sean Hewitt is such a great writer and a very sweet person too. He's very active on Instagram and has been super kind and responsive on there. I agree that it's such a beautiful memoir. I just put a hold on Tomorrow x3 at my local library but now I'm worried. I guess that's what's great about the library. I can just return it if I don't connect with it. Thanks for giving me an idea of what I'm heading into. So glad you had a great summer of reading and great job giving us your thoughts on each of them. The new place is looking great btw!
Book Lovers was a romp! I read it while on vacation so I feel like my environment helped me soak in the content haha. I will say it hasn't really stayed with me since reading, but that just may be my brain not making space for straight romances lmao. Thank you for the words about my place! It's finally feeling home-y :')
Speaking of late stage capitalism... I have the impression that that has become a trope/topic just like sad, depressed, intelligent, woman is sad was a trend a while ago (thinking of Fake Accounts, No One Is Talking About This, etc.) the late stage capitalism books have become a thing. I've read an Australian one recently that was a whole mood, Gunk Baby by Jamie Marina Lau. It was kind of depressing, but awesome at the same time. Has a tinge of Paradais as well. (why exactly would be a spoiler) And also The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin, which reads like a movie. Plus the non-fiction version of these: The Disconnect: A Personal Journey Through the Internet by Róisín Kiberd. It's an essay collection, and it's both scary, depressing, but also fascinating to read. Would recommend all of these.
thank u for the recs! And true, it seems to differentiate contemporary lit I've read that it seems to involve some kind of self awareness to late stage capitalism, or maybe it's always been there and I just haven't noticed. I wonder what the next phase of talking about the topic will be in the next trend of books in 10+ years!
lovely thoughts as always! i am going through my WIT TbR as well as some nonfiction, just today I started the essay collection Thick and I am really enjoying it. I am making my way through A Manual for Cleaning Women but need to take break rn because 400 pages of quite similar short stories is getting a bit tiring... Also recently finished The Dry Heart which might be for you if you have not already read it! :)
I just noticed the cover for Paradais looks like a tongue (thought it was a misshapen apple when I first saw it). I've heard Melchor's previous novel Hurricane Season is similar in style, unrelenting and explicit. I do want to read Dalla Rosa's and Hewitt's books, soon.
Interesting to hear your take on tomorrowX3... and that you DNF'd, I've seen a lot of positive reviews. I actually started writing this comment as soon as you mentioned you DNF'd because I just DNF'd To Paradise after 400+ pages and wanted to talk about it -- so it was funny you mentioned A Little Life (a fav of mine) as I let your video continue playing. I don't remember, did you ever do final thoughts on To Paradise? It was such a slog and I didn't care about any of the characters.
I never finished To Paradise yet! I had about 200pgs left and just never found the time to finish, and then I realized I never felt like picking it up again :( a shame since I binged A Little Life so quickly
the silent apathy of living under a late stage capitalism is a vibeeee .... and also maybe the title of your debut novel, who knows?! I absolutely lovedddd An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life. thank you so much for recommending it was a total slam and couldn't put the thing down! BTW Alex, I know you love Sigrid Nunez. Have you read her back novels like The Last of Her Kind? I'm reading it now and it's so Nunez and so for me (and you too!)
haha I read this as I just got off Depop trying to find some Carhartt pants!! lmao. I am a sucker for capitalism stories I think I am realizing.
I haven't read that Nunez! I plan to get more into her back catalog this Fall so this is good timing!
Glad you liked book lovers, I liked that one, too. Very interesting commentary/review about tomorrowx3. You're the only person I've heard not like. I have it but haven't read it yet. So it's good to hear both sides.
Fully agree about Writers and Lovers being a great book to free oneself from a reading slump!
such a great summer reading list! Hewitt's book is on my radar, just waiting for the paperback haha also, i've been enjoying Bliss Montage for its whacky worlds. from the sounds of Hola Papi, you might enjoy Raven Smith's Men, which i've been savoring. ✨💛
I remember your video about Men! I will definitely keep my eyes peeled
I read both all the lovers in the night and Heaven. Haven’t really affected me deeply because it’s about school bullies but much more than that. All the lovers in the night frustrated me because of the main character. But it is an accurate portrayal of life in Japan because I used to live and work there and all the rules there Create an environment where people either belong or don’t belong. Aloha
Paul Dalla Rosa hive 🗣 also interesting hearing your thoughts on the Zevin! I’m going to give it a try next month I think…
please love it more than me for my sake lol, I wanted to love it so bad! Looking forward to your thoughts as always : )
What a great group of books! And now that you have added your name to the many literary BookTube channels that liked Book Lovers, I'm officially going to give romance another go. It seems like if I'm going to like one contemporary romance out there, that might be it. All Down Darkness Wide was my favorite read this month. I'm so glad you loved it too. I never cry when reading but when he sang Happy Birthday to Elias I completely lost it. lol Sean Hewitt is such a great writer and a very sweet person too. He's very active on Instagram and has been super kind and responsive on there. I agree that it's such a beautiful memoir. I just put a hold on Tomorrow x3 at my local library but now I'm worried. I guess that's what's great about the library. I can just return it if I don't connect with it. Thanks for giving me an idea of what I'm heading into. So glad you had a great summer of reading and great job giving us your thoughts on each of them. The new place is looking great btw!
Book Lovers was a romp! I read it while on vacation so I feel like my environment helped me soak in the content haha. I will say it hasn't really stayed with me since reading, but that just may be my brain not making space for straight romances lmao.
Thank you for the words about my place! It's finally feeling home-y :')
i will read writers & lovers this month, so excited! i read “Euphoria” by Lily King, and really like it, i think you will like too :)
Second Euphoria. My favorite book I’ve read this year so far.
Speaking of late stage capitalism... I have the impression that that has become a trope/topic just like sad, depressed, intelligent, woman is sad was a trend a while ago (thinking of Fake Accounts, No One Is Talking About This, etc.) the late stage capitalism books have become a thing. I've read an Australian one recently that was a whole mood, Gunk Baby by Jamie Marina Lau. It was kind of depressing, but awesome at the same time. Has a tinge of Paradais as well. (why exactly would be a spoiler)
And also The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin, which reads like a movie.
Plus the non-fiction version of these: The Disconnect: A Personal Journey Through the Internet by Róisín Kiberd. It's an essay collection, and it's both scary, depressing, but also fascinating to read.
Would recommend all of these.
thank u for the recs! And true, it seems to differentiate contemporary lit I've read that it seems to involve some kind of self awareness to late stage capitalism, or maybe it's always been there and I just haven't noticed. I wonder what the next phase of talking about the topic will be in the next trend of books in 10+ years!
lovely thoughts as always! i am going through my WIT TbR as well as some nonfiction, just today I started the essay collection Thick and I am really enjoying it. I am making my way through A Manual for Cleaning Women but need to take break rn because 400 pages of quite similar short stories is getting a bit tiring...
Also recently finished The Dry Heart which might be for you if you have not already read it! :)
I loved Thick and Manual for Cleaning Women!! If you're liking both then I definitely ought to check out Dry Heart : ) haven't heard of it!
How I said hallelujah 😭😭missed you. So glad
I just noticed the cover for Paradais looks like a tongue (thought it was a misshapen apple when I first saw it). I've heard Melchor's previous novel Hurricane Season is similar in style, unrelenting and explicit. I do want to read Dalla Rosa's and Hewitt's books, soon.
you will LOVE the Hewitt I am manifesting it. And after I read Paradais the tongue imagery definitely feels apt in it's own way
ALEX EPSTEIN 's "Fossil Future" on sale now. HUMAN flourishing. The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.
Interesting to hear your take on tomorrowX3... and that you DNF'd, I've seen a lot of positive reviews. I actually started writing this comment as soon as you mentioned you DNF'd because I just DNF'd To Paradise after 400+ pages and wanted to talk about it -- so it was funny you mentioned A Little Life (a fav of mine) as I let your video continue playing. I don't remember, did you ever do final thoughts on To Paradise? It was such a slog and I didn't care about any of the characters.
I never finished To Paradise yet! I had about 200pgs left and just never found the time to finish, and then I realized I never felt like picking it up again :( a shame since I binged A Little Life so quickly
:)
Capitalism:The UNKNOWN Ideal by Ayn Rand