July, 2026
July 4th, 2026, 2:06 p.m. - Feel the fear
30. How to Survive a Horror Story (Mallory Arnold)
Up next: I Want to Burn This Place Down (Maris Kreizman)
July 8th, 2026, 3:49 p.m. - Girl, same
31. I Want to Burn This Place Down (Maris Kreizman)
Up next: The Crane Wife (C.J. Hauser)
July 12th, 2026, 4:31 p.m. - Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans
32. The Crane Wife (C.J. Hauser)
Up next: Tell Your Friends (Lauren Wilson)
I'll admit to having low expectations for this book, since I've tried other similar stories recently (a group of writers gathers at another writer's house; they have to solve a mystery; there are murders) and couldn't get through any of them. I was pleasantly surprised by this. It could have used more polishing, and some of the characters were pretty thin, but I would definitely read more from Arnold.
I liked these essays, for the most part, but they felt kind of unfinished. I wish they'd been more developed. Only 150 or so pages? I wanted more.
I loved Hauser's writing on love and family and relationships and what to do when your life doesn't unfold the way you thought it would. I'm not sure if I would be interested in their fiction, but even if I'm not, I'll impatiently wait for them to write more essays.