What I Got:

• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
• Every Day Failures Issue #1: A Punk Stuck in Suburbia (zine) by Sarah B.

What I Read:

• The Final Revival of Opal & Nev (ARC) by Dawnie Walton
  • CW: racism, racist violence, homophobia
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (audiobook) by Jason Reynolds
• A Series of Unfortunate Events #6-9 (re-read; audiobook) by Lemony Snicket
• Crooked Kingdom (re-read) by Leigh Bardugo
  • CW: sex work, substance abuse, gambling addiction
• Deer Woman: An Anthology ed. by Elizabeth LaPensée
  • CW: sexual violence, gore
• Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
  • CW: suicide mention, assault, rape mention, gore, death, substance abuse
• Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different by Chuck Palahniuk

NaNoWriMo kicked my ass this month. Yeah, I reached my word count goal. Yeah, I got a lot of my novel done. But my free time was stolen from me by past Ryn who decided to participate in this month-long endeavor. My hope that I would finish the first draft I’d already started ended up not coming to fruition, though I still have hope (oh, hope, 2020 nearly killed you…) to be done with it by the end of the year. I’ve been writing so much fiction that my head has stayed in my own story all month, so I only closely read a couple of books this month.

Anyway, writing kept me so busy that I started listening to A Series of Unfortunate Events on audiobook from where I’d left off in the physical books. I just couldn’t take in anything more complicated than that through my ears. There’s not much for me to say about the series except that Lemony Snicket was incredibly ahead of his time when it came to gender politics, children’s rights, and how to successfully teach vocabulary words. When I’ve finished them all (which I never did as a kid for some reason), I’ll have more thoughts to share.

The other fairly straightforward audiobook I listened to in November was the YA version of Stamped by Ibram Kendi, which Jason Reynolds worked on and narrated. For people like me who find reading huge books about history daunting, this is a great way to go. It will work well for tome-phobic adults and actual young adult readers. The information is distilled and imparted in a way that is easy to follow and often entertaining. An absolutely wonderful and accessible antiracist book for any level of reader.

Even though I didn’t read a whole lot in November (for my standards), I was lucky enough to read a new favorite that I want everyone to pick up when it comes out. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton is so freaking good. Now, I’ll admit that this book already has a lot of elements I like—oral history format, plot centered around musicians, NYC setting—but this is honestly just an objectively good novel. Opal Jewel is a badass Afropunk singer from Detroit who pairs up with Nev Charles, a white English singer/songwriter who is trying to find a musical partner. Opal becomes part of the avant garde scene in New York City, thanks to her unique fashion style curated by her best friend, and Nev just wants to make it in the music industry. They end up signing to a label that also signs an extremely outspoken and racist band. Violence ensues, and readers get to see how Opal and Nev react to racism in different ways, both making mistakes but with good reason. Opal’s character is empowering and flawed and outrageous all at once. The rock ’n’ roll scene in 1970s New York already has so much atmosphere, but the characters really make you feel how individuals made the scene what it was.

Like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & the Six, the journalist interviewing these people has a personal connection to Opal & Nev. She tells stories of how the characters act during interviews, and these little interjections of scenes between interviews add so much life to the story. I expected them to break me out of the story, but they do exactly the opposite and give insight into the characters in the present as they tell the stories of their past.

Honestly, I cannot wait for this book to come out so everyone can read it. It deserves so much hype, but I only heard of it because an ARC was sent to the bookstore I work at. At many moments, I literally had chills, both good and bad. You’ll love it. So on April 20, 2021, go pick it up!

I re-read another favorite this month, Crooked Kingdom, the second in the Six of Crows duology, which just made me fall in love with the characters all over again. This book always surprises me with how phenomenal it is, no matter how many times I pick it up. I’ve lent it to my sister and can’t wait to find out who her favorite character is! (Mine changes every time, but this past read it was Jesper.)

Deer Woman is an anthology consisting of different depictions of the Deer Woman story by indigenous writers, which tells of a woman who kills sexual predators. Each story is told through serial art. The art styles are all incredible, but I found some of the narratives difficult to follow. I would take this with a grain of salt, however, because these are not stories told for my benefit and so are not necessarily hard to follow if you are familiar with the myth.

The sibling book club book my sister and I decided to read for November was Genuine Fraud by e. lockhart. As is lockhart’s m.o., the story spirals into weirder and more outlandish scenarios, helped out by the fact that it’s told backwards, from the end to the beginning. I have to say that this one didn’t keep me hooked as much as We Were Liars did. It was really hard to get into until, suddenly, the pace took off at a sprint. The plot was running hard and pulling interesting moves. Then the ending just kinda flopped over the finish line. Some parts were predictable and some parts weren’t. But it definitely has that e. lockhart thing where everything isn’t as it seems for the entire time. I always feel bamboozled at the end of her stories, though this one gave away the twist a bit too early, in my opinion. It’s an interesting read once you get about halfway through, but that first stretch really drags.

Lastly, let’s talk about the best book on writing that I have ever read: Consider This by Chuck Palahniuk. Now, I’ve only ever read Fight Club by Palahniuk (which is pronounced like “Paula-nick,” I learned recently), but I did the same thing for Stephen King’s book On Writing after only reading (and disliking) Cujo. While King’s book ended up being more of a writer’s memoir, Consider This includes actual, concrete writing advice with examples throughout just in the way that he tells stories. I plan to go back, take notes, and apply the advice to the novel I’m writing. And I have clear examples of how to do so right at my fingertips.

I highly recommend it for anyone looking to make their writing more dynamic and enticing. With the repetition of the phrase “if you were my student,” Palahniuk imparts his and his writing teachers’ advice to the reader in a non-condescending and conversational way. It feels like being in a workshop for a fiction writing class taught by a favorite professor. This book made me want to read more of Chuck Palahniuk’s fiction after learning what goes into his writing, and it also made me want to go write some more. Choices!

We’re almost done with 2020, friends! And only one and half months until the racist in chief is no longer in the White House! We can do it. It’s the home stretch. The pandemic is ramping back up, but there’s a vaccine on the horizon. A lot of good music came out of quarantine. Everyone is embracing Elliot Page after he came out recently. And we’ve all learned how tough we really are. Go pick up those atmospheric winter reads and put on heartwarming movies and drink lots of hot chocolate. Don’t let the seasonal depression ruin December completely!