#10: A case for reading bad books - April in review
I feel like April has flown by in a haze. It’s hard to believe I was in Amsterdam just this month (3/5, loved the water, hated the edible). It’s harder to believe it’s already been a week since I saw Drag: the Musical (4/5, silly and campy, queer kids being accepted will always make me cry).
I’ve spent most of April curled up in the weighted cloak hoodie I mentioned last month (4/5, not particularly weighted, fluffier and cozier than it has any right to be), playing Blue Prince, and working on grant applications for my choir. In between Blue Prince runs, I’ve been daydreaming about when it’ll finally be warm enough to visit Greenacre Park. I think I desperately need to touch some grass.
What I’ve been reading:
I’m a sucker for a beautiful book cover, particularly one with embossing or shimmer or some other visual effect. It’s true you can’t judge a book by its cover—I’ve found far more duds than stunners when choosing books solely based on cover art. But the allure of discovering a hidden gem is too great, so I always keep an eye out for striking artwork when perusing a bookshelf.
Hunt on Dark Waters (Katee Robert, ⭐) is a queernormative pirate/captive romance set in Threshold, a world-between-worlds where the old gods hold dominion and eldritch monsters come in with the tides. It’s a fascinating premise—one that the author immediately ignores in favor of making Supernatural references, name dropping real-life brands for no reason, and writing the most blisteringly mediocre sex scenes I’ve ever read.
Piranesi (Susanne Clarke, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) is an epistolary exploration of a vast labyrinth that imprisons an ocean. I hesitate to describe Piranesi concretely, for fear of spoiling the experience of reading the novel for the first time. I can say this is a book to indulge in, not race through. I can say that lovers of Erin Morgenstern will find themselves at home in Piranesi. I can say that Piranesi invites you to be swept away, and to trust that you will be saved by the tides.
Having acquired these books solely because their covers looked neat, I was surprised to find them in dialogue with each other. Both books allude to queerness; both books explore themes of belonging; both books discuss liminality and oceans, albeit to differing degrees of success. They’re books that travel parallel paths, but one stumbles while the other soars.
I think it’s important to read bad books from time to time. They help you understand what it takes to make a story good by virtue of lacking those attributes. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else read Hunt on Dark Waters, but I’m glad I did. It made Piranesi shine all the brighter.
What I’ve been listening to:
Suisoh
Suisoh is a prolific Japanese producer whom I’ve actually been listening to for months, ever since she produced an outro for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Her songs are characterized by lush, layered beats and evocatively melancholy lyrics, with her rich alto voice tying everything together. Her music leaves me smiling and crying and aching all at the same time.
She dropped a new album this month, FLTR (From Laptop to Rooftop), so I thought I’d use that as a chance to give her a shoutout!
What I’ve been creating:
I vented some frustrations recently into creating a sticker sheet of Gallifreyan swear words. If you’ve ever wanted to use NSFW language in a SFW setting, these stickers will let you do just that! It was a very silly project, but I’m tickled pink about how these came out.
Events I’ve got coming up:
May 9 @ 8pm: GVCS presents: Ein Deutsches Requiem
📍 Church of St. Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson St, NYC, 10014
🎫 $25 in advance; $30 at the door
📝 My choir will be performing the Brahms Requiem, featuring 4 hands at one piano. Sometimes called a “requiem for the living,” this masterpiece offers a powerful perspective on grief that centers those who are left behind.
July 25-27: Time Traveler’s Weekend: a mini convention
📍 Billie Creek Village, IN
🎫 Tickets start at $50 for the weekend
📝 I’ll be a featured artist at this con! Come experience an immersive RPG adventure, do some LARPing, and keep me company.