season 2’s scripts contain so many interesting notes about what makes logan and marcia’s relationship tick that I overlooked when *watching* it. this is the STUFF

 “Her thing was, what could you possibly kill, that you loved so much it might make the sun rise again?”

this was my first time reading anything written by james baldwin and I’m gonna have to stare at a wall after going through it. for such a short novella it has all the emotional interiority and complexity of a full novel. it sums up some of the ugliest and scariest parts of wanting to be loved and cared for from the perspective of a woefully insecure queer man. and david is unfortunately a single-minded man who simply doesn’t know himself well enough to build any type of healthy or functioning relationship with the people in his life. would only recommend this if you’re looking for an intensely passionate, character-driven drama and can stand blatant infidelity and first-person narration by someone with a self-hating personality.

was the only thing preventing a 5 star rating due to a lingering presence of old school 1950’s misogyny? yep! will I ever reread this? my heart couldn’t handle it. but will I be reading everything james baldwin has published? absolutely. 

I gotta apologize for the low rating that will eventually go to the next mystery novel I pick up after eating up this psychologically thrilling, reverse whodunnit because I already KNOW it will not be as elegantly crafted as this. and with characters and dialogue this memorable I’m convinced this would be an AMAZING movie adaptation in the right hands.

reading the last couple chapters of this feels like watching a slow reveal of one of the best magical illusions you’ve ever seen. you’re desperate to know how all the elements came together so carefully, but then feel instant regret seeing the illusion shattered and find out exactly how/why it worked on you. the last “big” reveal and that ending will haunt me forever. but if I need to satisfy a mystery craving I know exactly what series to reach for now! 🫶🏼

I promise the BEST way to read this is to go in without knowing anything more than the simple premise of “guy gets uploaded into slack and can’t leave”. it is one of those books that’s extremely of its time/place, but the plot ticks along so smoothly. it’s genuinely the most fun you could have reading a lite horror workplace story 🧹👀

lies of the ajungo is a prime example of a great premise, but unusual execution. I liked the first half of this a lot more than the second. but there were so many key plot developments that occur I’m honestly puzzled why the author wanted to pack this much into a tiny novella less than 100 pages. I would’ve happily read more about asilah, lami, funme, and tutu’s return even if it meant the length had to be doubled! I might wait for the final book to be released later this year before continuing on.

for such short novellas these pack the right blend of action, humor, and emotional payoff I’ve been really craving from standalone stories these days. absolutely loved the focus on the reunion between murderbot and dr. mensah 🥺

a tiny step down from artificial condition, but another couple hours spent in murderbot’s world never feels like time wasted to me. and if you’ll excuse me, I too need to withdraw to have an emotion in private over the ending 🥲