wow these YA classics remixes are KILLING IT. This was so gorgeously written and for me really enhanced the original while being its own beautiful thing. And I loved all the historical details about queer and trans lives in the 20s. I loved the depth granted to each character.

reading [b:Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix|59251247|Self-Made Boys A Great Gatsby Remix|Anna-Marie McLemore|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655071538l/59251247._SY75_.jpg|88888397] made me want to re-read The Great Gatsby and then I saw this graphic novel and was like, great. Gatsby. What? Anyway, it's a really gorgeous adaptation--the art and lettering and stylistic choices really enhance the story.

This was a really lovely and delightful holiday romance. I loved the world of Carrigan's and all of these interesting, prickly characters, and especially of course I loved the magic cat. I loved how seriously the importance of art is taken, and the community building.

It does definitely have more emotional heft than the average Hallmark holiday movie, which IMO is good but I saw some reviews surprised by it. The book itself does include a list of content warnings which include alcoholism, domestic abuse, etc. so bear that in mind! But it does have a delightful happy ending and I am eagerly anticipating book 2!

This was an interesting read. I felt like I already knew maybe 1/3 of it just from various podcasts/interviews/etc, and the style of this is kind of podcast-esque too in that it's mostly a series of vignettes. I appreciated his prickly honesty in here--there are definitely stories where he comes off like a jerk, and he knows it now. In the last chapter he literally said something like, "My wife told me I should say something about white privilege and I guess that's what this whole book has been about," which is well, true. His stories of the heyday of 90s alt comedy are very white and he's at least now aware of how hostile to women the crowd was, though he seemed to have been oblivious to it at the time.

He cited that his impetus for writing this book was reading another Hollywood memoir and realizing that his kids had no idea who that person was (he doesn't name the celeb in question, perhaps to save them from shame) and that he had a quickly-closing window of relevance. But interestingly this was written and finalized before his heart attack, which...I mean, not to make him drag himself through it or anything but seems like maybe that would have been worth tacking on another chapter or something if possible??

This might have been better on audiobook but it was fine as a print book. Honestly if you're a big enough fan of Odenkirk to consider reading it you'll probably like this. It's not one of those celeb memoirs where I'm like, "Wow even you don't care about this person's career it's a great book!" (See: [b:Just Kids|341879|Just Kids|Patti Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1259762407l/341879._SY75_.jpg|332242], [b:Greenlights|52838315|Greenlights|Matthew McConaughey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604281659l/52838315._SX50_.jpg|78998213], etc for examples of that).

I came across this when I was looking for sports books for a list and it caught my eye because the protagonist is from my hometown of Normal, IL, so I figured I'd check it out. Unfortunately for me there's basically no Normal content in here because Maddie spends her whole summer in Chicago and during the brief time when she's back in Normal she doesn't seem to leave her house. Which I understand isn't going to be an issue for most readers who don't care about Normal, IL but I am going to assume that Becky Wallace saw Normal on a map and thought "haha I'll make my character from Normal and that'll be good wordplay." But like if you are from Normal, IL you have spent your life interacting with outsiders and immediately saying, "Haha yeah it's actually called Normal...well you see the name is because colleges for teachers used to be called Normal Schools and Illinois State University was...oh you're already walking away from me, I see". Which Maddie NEVER DOES and nobody ever comments on her hometown which people definitely fucking do. If you're going to have a character be from Normal, USE IT.

>:(

Anyway again that part is just a personal pet peeve. Other than that it's like, okay. The plot leans a lil heavily on a big convenient coincidence but, fine, that's not the worst crime for a rom-com. The 17-year-old Normal girl love interest for a 19-year-old global soccer superstar is a little eyebrow raising but nothing untoward really happens. I did find it a little sus that Maddie's goal in life is to work in "sports marketing" not because she loves sports (she doesn't) but because it moves her to see pro athletes doing charity outreach for underprivileged kids who love sports. Like....could her life goal then just be to work in a YMCA or something?

The details don't really hold together but I do (and this sounds like damning with faint praise but sincerely) like that it was under 200 pages. At least it was efficient in its light summer romance.

PS if anyone else wants to write a book set in Normal, IL without stepping foot in Normal, IL, hit me up to connect you with a Normal sensitivity reading

I was really pleasantly surprised by this one and I can't believe that this series isn't huge on BookTok. Read about these queer polyamorous wizards OR PERISH

https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-199-the-door-into-fire/

I couldn't put this down! I already knew a fair amount about Beatrice Sparks but HECK, there was a lot I didn't know.

hell yeah!!

re-reading in preparation of the Netflix adaptation. First of all it's very funny to me that the first time I read it, this was my first encounter with John Constantine and I didn't realize he was a guy from anything else. This time I was like,



Anyway overall it's a strong start to a series but more horror-y than I remembered tbh! Looking forward to getting on to the later volumes in my re-read where the world expands more. The introduction to this points out that Issue #8, Death's first appearance, is a real game-changer and that is correct!

upon re-reading...the way these seeming one-shot stories actually develop the lore and are reflected further on in the story...*clenches fist* *chef's kiss*

also I like it when Dream is a kitty cat meow meow