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SkinnyDippingIntoBooks

Skinny Dipping Into Books

I like the rain. I want to have a spring bookworming rain party full out with wellies—but not those Hunter Boots; absolutely not—, with yummy airy things like puffed pastries, meringues, mini fluffy cheese cakes, mousse dessert, macaroon, biscuits, crepe, and Earl Grey tea, definitely Earl Grey tea.  and Tillandsia. We'd have lots of "air plants". Lots! And We'd read, but not anything structured. We'd bring books, trade books, read out-loud, pass books around between sentences and paragraphs. We'd leave with books we hadn't discovered.

 

I like books like I like my Jazz; euphoric, dangerous, occasionally a bit manic, sorrowful, bleak, raging, mood-incongruent, mournful, unforgivingly ragged, symbolic in a quiet way, warm apple pie for the soul. Give me a Plath style. Yōko Ogawa, M. Roach,


Criteria: Not rated on likability of characters. Not objective. I like Moxie Soda; chances are you don't.


time spent in that before bed reading slot:

5-until blurry eye 4-Later than I intended, but I still kept to my extended, extended reading time 3-I really should have been to bed an hour ago  2-customary 30 minutes. 1-book. side table. eyes closed.


How are common themes handled?

5-With an aesthetic that repurposes everyday themes into something fresh. Think of Hole Celebrity Skin covered by Cat Power  4-there is a comfortable air of familiarly.
3-Deja Vu 2. No deviation from its mates  1. Devastatingly trite, redundant, and stale.

Where would you keep it post-reading?

5-Next to my bed.  4-it's the center piece of my favorite bookshelf 3. On my other favorite bookshelf, but it's a bit dusty over their 2-Great cheap bookends 1-It never made it out of the box marked 'moving'.


Emotional response-

5- Where is my teddy bear? Emotional-hangover 4- If I wasn't so emotionally stunted I'd cry.
3. Did James Cameron co-wrote this? Artfully contrived. 
2- calculative emotional manipulation. This was literally written by James Cameron.1- I…feel…..nothing.

Mechanics (plot structure, voice, presentation, word choice, sentence structure, characters, writing style, pacing, and consistency):

5-Chanel 4-Prada 3-J-Crew 2-Gap 1-Old Navy

Currently reading

The Complete Stories
Flannery O'Connor
I am No One You Know
Joyce Carol Oates
Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls
Alissa Nutting, Alissa Nutting
Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein - Dave Zeltserman

 

This novel is more an accompanying piece to the original, rather than one that occurs in parallel to the original plot, themes, etc. An unreliable narrator is killed, forced to become something he does not— even in his worst nightmares—wish to become. In fact he takes an excessive amount of time trying to convince the reader that he retains some values, morals, and virtues of his former self, and in doing so does not effectively convince the reader of his morality, but to some extent convinces himself. The story continues for page after page with our main character, succumbing to delusions of grandeur and a false sense of self, tearing through country after country, often literally, on a vengeful tirade. Oh and the people he meets.

 

 

Satanists, of unlimited numbers; a common thread throughout the novel.

 

 

People—who are conceived more like animals than people—having orgies.

 

 

wolves that can transform into vampires, oh wait I'm sorry, Vampyres

 

 

And more orgies that are right out of the Eyes Wide Shut script

 

 

Interwoven among these wonderful themes are the lovely, wait I mean contrived, interactions between monster and the general public that effortlessly recalled Belle's first meeting with the beast.

 

The set up from Drew Barrymore in scream...

 

 

to...

 

 

I

 

 

Is one of the biggest literary questions of the decades, but can be explained simply with a joke I found online while googling this book...

 

Q: How did Frankenstein's monster eat his lunch? Note: not a true spoiler. I just couldn't give you the answer that quickly; where's the fun in that?

 

A: Nuts and bolts!... well in the case of the novel, apparently nuts and berries

 

 

And boom... shift from fear to trust is solidified

 

 

Personally, I just think the monster slipped those innocent women a valium, but who am I really... This over-flowing bucket of themes, as well as an uneven plot, ruptured off the pages of Monster. The style of writing, ranging from a prose recalling an earlier time to a more contemporary style, was confusing, if not all together distracting. The languages, particularly the use of slang such as 'cock' seemed to choke up the convoluted storyline.

 

In the end you have to wonder, after all these sexual escapades, illusions of humanity, sparsely crafted character interactions, rough narratives, and poorly executed character development, did the editor succumb to the very different sort of monster? The ever confounding, disorienting post-it plot board....