“Goofy yet sincere” is the greatest compliment I give any work of art. Typically reserved for music, this pitch perfect James Bond parody novel checks all of my favorite trope boxes:
-Constant wordplay -Talking dog (with no legs) -Numerology -Mysterious door knocks -An important waitress -Thoughtful, heartfelt plot that doesn’t take itself too seriously
I’m embarrassed to say I’d never heard of Percival Everett before reading this book, but I’m so excited to have a large back catalog to catch up on.
A sly, madcap novel about supervillains and nothing, really, from an American novelist whose star keeps rising
The protagonist of Percival Everett’s puckish new novel is a brilliant professor of mathematics who goes by Wala Kitu. (Wala, he explains, means “nothing” in Tagalog, and Kitu is Swahili for “nothing.”) He is an expert on nothing. That is to say, he is an expert, and his area of study is nothing, and he does nothing about it. This makes him the perfect partner for the aspiring villain John Sill, who wants to break…
Jim Bob was the singer of Carter USM, still my favorite band of all time. He’s also my second favorite solo artist behind Benji Hughes, checking that “goofy yet sincere” box I hold so dear. (Heck — Jim Bob is probably the one who instilled that unique genre love in me 30-something years ago!)
This non-fiction hardcover coffee table book walks through the origin stories of tunes he wrote throughout his career, grouped by common recurring themes. It’s an insightful deep dive into the songwriting process as well as an illustrated walk down memory lane with images of band, tour, and inspiration related memorabilia scattered throughout.
A surprise 4th book in the decade old Southern Reach trilogy pulled me right back into the weird world of Area X as if I never left. It also pulls off the neat stunt of being a prequel that’s sneakily a sequel.
You’d think I couldn’t explain that last bit without being spoilery —though somehow I probably could with the book being so open ended it makes the neat stunt even neater. But I won’t aside from saying it’s very well executed in a non-retcon way that serves the expanded story timeline brilliantly.
I especially liked how this single volume three-part story mirrored the original trilogy’s structure with one part solely in Area X (ala Annihilation), one part focused on government secret agency bureaucracy (ala Authority), and one part blending the two (ala Acceptance).
Rumor has it more stories are on the way (the border is expanding!!!); I hope to see another new one on my year end list soon.
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2024: The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York magazine, Time, Kirkus, Literary Hub, Goodreads
The surprise fourth volume in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach series―and the final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time.
When the Southern Reach trilogy was first published a decade ago, it was an instant sensation, celebrated in a front-page New York Times story before publication, hailed by Stephen King and many others. Each volume climbed the bestseller list; awards were won; the…
Before he was the best songwriter you've never heard of, Benji Hughes was an ordinary lovelorn guy living in a small apartment on an okay side of town with a roommate named C and a girlfriend named L.
Prior to that, he’s contractually prohibited from disclosing any details…but he does it anyway via an epic fairytale straight from the heart.
When mysterious entities aware of Benji’s past arrive seeking assistance or revenge, Benji, C and their neighbor down the hall Frank team up song by song in a mostly faithful re-interpretation of the greatest double debut album you've never heard (but really should...)
