I read:

Thoughts:

Herding Cats by Sarah Andersen: Review to come on publication date.

Life Lessons from Catsass by Claude Combacau: Reviewed earlier this month.

The Promise by Pnina Bat Zvi and Margie Wolfe: Review to come on publication date.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn: The Magic Storm by Dana Simpson: Reviewed earlier this month.

Knife Part at the Hotel Europa by Mark Anthony Jarman: Okay, so I understand that they are both adults and all, but I just don’t see the eroticism of having lots and lots and lots of sex with your cousin. Sorry male narrator.

Unicorn of Many Hats by Dana Simpson: Review to come on publication date.

Russian Absurd by Daniil Kharms: Reviewed earlier this month.

You Can’t Just Kiss Whoever You Want by Marzena Sowa: Reviewed earlier this month.

The House Girl by Tara Conklin: Exactly the sort of book I don’t like with pull-on-heartstrings rather than real emotion plus aspirational rich people. Ugggh.

Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki: Reviewed earlier this month.

Favourite book:

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I wrote:

I finished typing up my adult story, deciding in the last few pages to make a major plot point change which I now have to go through and ret-con back in. Yay me!

Plus plus plus, looky (lookie?) here:

Available for pre-order at Chapters, Amazon, or McNally Robinson.

I read:

Thoughts:

A Separation by Katie Kitamura: Reviewed earlier.

Beware That Girl by Teresa Totten: Reviewed earlier.

The Accusation by Bandi: Reviewed earlier.

All The Beloved Ghosts by Alison MacLeod: Reviewed earlier.

Ora and the Dragons by Molly Westerman: My internet writing group friend wrote this!

What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah: One of the stories has Mathematicians with a capital M.

Archival Quality by Ivy Nicole Weir and Steenz: Review to come on publication date.

Favourite book:

Even though it skeeves me out that my favourite book this month was about a sexual predator.

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I wrote:

A conversation with my daughter’s friend:

Her: What are you writing?

Me: A book.

Her: For kids?

Me: No.

Her: with much much sadness Oh. What is it about?

Me: Adults being mean to each other.

Her: That sounds super boring.

Yep.

I read:

Thoughts:

150 Years of Stats Canada! by Andrew Bondy, Julia Davidovich, Sam Montgomery and Thomas Eric Taylor: Reviewed earlier this month.

The Strays by Emily Bitto: Reviewed earlier this month. There’s another cover for this book, but why would you use it when this cover is so pretty? I don’t understand people.

Fugue States by Pasha Malla: I have to review this and I haven’t and it’s been like three weeks so when is it gonna to happen? I don’t know. There’s a kinda rape scene and I’m just like blech.

Favourite book:

But how can that be the last Lara Jean book? Are her and Peter going to make it? What about telling me all about Lara Jean’s first year at college? YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THIS JENNY HAN!

Most promising book on my wishlist:

Now to decide whether I’m masochistic enough to attempt it in French or simply wait for an English translation.

I wrote:

I had a massive typing extravaganza of thirty-five thousand words, transcribing my adult novel from notebook to .tex file. I have since gone off writing because that is too much typing. I won’t leave that many words alone in a notebook again.

I read:

Thoughts:

The Marshall Plan by Benn Steil: Review to come on publication date.

Wordwings by Sydelle Pearl : Reviewed earlier this month.

The Parcel by Anosh Irani: Reviewed earlier this month.

Taproot by Keezy Young: Reviewed earlier this month.

I’ll Take You There by Wally Lamb: Reviewed earlier this month.

The Little Red Wolf by Amélie Fléchais: Reviewed earlier this month.

The Cat In the Box by John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin: Review to come.

A Beautiful, Terrible Thing by Jen Waite: Review to come.

The Gulf by Tucky Fussell: Review to come.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman: Review to come.

Favourite book:

which probably isn’t surprising considering my review.

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I wrote:

My big thing this month was getting the 35 000 words I had down in a notebook (not a Nanorwritjvalmf430 or whatever, just words I’d been writing since last June) onto my computer. So I can type approximately 100 wpm, so 350 minutes, so let’s round and say six hours, so why did it take me over a week to get it done? And, technically, I still have about 1000 words to type.

In any case, this is what I learned: nothing. Absolutely nothing. Every part of the creative process is like the time I broke my foot in that I mention it constantly and it’s always painful.

I read:

Thoughts:

I’ve lost my reading mojo. The Seventh Function of Language took forever to get through, so did the physics book. Now I’m reading a big, long book on the Marshall plan and it takes me half an hour to read ten pages and the book is five hundred pages long. Then I stupidly keep requesting books and going to the library (although I did exercise restraint and not take out Mason & Dixon, so yay for me I guess? Who knows. I’m in a slump.

Speed of Life by Carol Weston: Reviewed earlier.

The Best American Series by Various: Reviewed earlier.

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan: So yes, it looks like a ridiculous romance novel cover, but it’s good. Selkies!

Math For Couples by Adele Graf: Reviewed earlier.

Welcome to the Universe by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott: Reviewed earlier.

Favourite book:

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I wrote:

So much of my horrible story of adults being horrible. It’s being written not as anything other than my first attempt to actually see an adult novel all the way through to the end.

I read:

Thoughts:

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero: Reviewed earlier this month.

How To Be Perfectly Unhappy by Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal): Review to come on publication date.

Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung: Review to come on publication date.

The Other by Thomas Tryon: My first evil child book of the month (make sure when you read evil child you do so in a crrrreeeeeeepy a voice as possible..

Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira: Reviewed earlier this month.

The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn: My second evil child book of the month.

Betty Boop by Roger Langridge: Reviewed earlier this month.

The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen: Review to come on publication date.

My Brigadista Year by Katherine Paterson: Review to come on publication date.

Favourite book:

Yay! Books that are about me but written by other people so that I don’t feel so weirdo.

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I watched:

I wrote:

My first grown-up novel attempt (the one where horrible people are being horrible!). Someone died this month (in the book) — mwhahahahahahahahahahah.

I read:

Thoughts:

Lady Stuff by Loryn Brantz: Review to come on publication date.

Stitch Camp by Nicole Blum and Catherine Newman: Review to come on publication date.

All The Dirty Parts by Daniel Handler: Review to come on publication date.

150 Fascinating Facts about Canadian Women by Margie Wolfe: Reviewed!

How To Teach Relativity To Your Dog by Chad Orzel: Well, I can’t really claim that it was a surprise that the author taught relativity to his dog, but yes, there was a talking dog that the other taught relativity to and I was surprised. I don’t know why he couldn’t just teach people, say me, without the dog, or why physics books lately have to have some sort of twee cuteness but I’m a mathematician and maybe we just don’t do that sort of shit.

The Four Roads Hotel by France Théoret: Review to come on publication date.

Incest by Christine Angot: Review to come on publication date.

Coullian Cuill by Riti Bridie: Review to come soon, I promise.

Favourite book:

It made me happy, i.e.

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I watched:

I wrote:

My story of horrible people doing horrible things to each other.

I read:

Thoughts:

Messages from a Lost World by Stefan Zweig: Reviewed earlier this month.

101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up by Ben Bertoli: Review to come closer to publication date.

The Daisy Rock by Eva Hanagan: Reviewed earlier this month.

The White Hare by Michael Fishwick: Reviewed earlier this month.

It’s All Relative by A.J. Jacobs: Review to come closer to publication date.

Favourite book:

I mean, I guess. Books have not been filling my soul with happiness lately.

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I watched:

I wrote:

A litany of please publish my faerie story letters, plus some work on my longer story about dysfunctional adults.

Yes, we are over a week into July. Yes, I am slow.

I read:

Thoughts:

The Comic Book Story of Video Games by Jonathan Hennessey and Jack Mcgowan: Review to come closer to publication date.

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter: Even with her incorrect spelling of Meghan, review to come closer to publication date.

Tokyo Decadence by Ryu Murakami: Reviewed earlier this month.

All The Birds In the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders: Why do I read books that are so much better in theory than in practice?

Why by Mario Livio: Review to come closer to publication date.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid: Fifteen, twenty years ago, I would have thought this book was clever. Now, I am less enamoured of literary tricks and think it dumb.

By Fire by Tahar Ben Jelloun: Reviewed earlier this month.

Favourite book:

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I watched:

I wrote:

Some new story. A few poems.

I read:

Thoughts:

His Whole Life by Elizabeth Hay: Reviewed earlier this month.

Tremulous Hinge by Adam Gianelli: Reviewed earlier this month.

The Things We Thought We Knew by Mahsuda Snaith: Review to come.

Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo: Review to come.

Chemistry by Weike Wang: Review to come.

Get Your Sh*t Together by Sarah Knight: Review to come.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel: Review to come.

The Song and the Silence by Yvette Johnson: Review to come.

Basically, I read a lot of ARC books off my kobo this month.

Favourite book:

Most promising book on my wishlist:

I watched:

I visited somewhere with cable.

I wrote:

A possible novella-length Canadian response to The Nest.

Faerie-story fiddling. Three rejections now!