Jake Graham's Blog
September 7, 2025
Biiig catch-up post
So, a lot has happened since the “January Update” I posted in March.
Not a lot of reading, but still quite a bit that’s not been talked about, so we’ll have to get to that at some point.
I’m currently reading Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews, and already going feral over it. Am super excited for it to release next month!!
So how are those things I mentioned in the previous post going?
Still never heard anything back from work after being told (late January!) that it would be passed on to someone else and they’d be in touch. So… yes, we’re still boycotting them!
Quiet Writers has been going alright. We kinda gave up on the monthly rec lists, mainly because it’s hard to get enough responses sometimes. But the interviews are going strong. We’ve kept up with all of the booked interviews, and ended up adding in a few extras when we could. The interviews have been pretty fun, and it’s nice to be able to get to know the authors a little more, and find out some fun insight into their work.
One author even provided some photos from the research they did for their book, which was an incredibly fun and special addition for their interview.
The Sanrio fixation did come to an end, but I still get a little excited by some things.
Poetry 4… still working on it. But in the final stages. Again, we’ll come back to it.
What else has happened since then?
A lot. Too much.
The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns
4/5 stars
Just like it’s predecessor, this was an incredibly fun read filled to the brim with characters who were lovable and full of depth, and packed with things that will have you laughing, crying, or both all at once.
The Onionologist by M. J. Parfitt
4/5 stars
This isn’t a book I would typically have picked up, but I’m so glad I did. It’s a super fun read with likeable characters and many unexpected twists.
The main trio are exactly what you expect friends to be; supportive, encouraging, chaotic, and occasionally flawed. They love each other, and they show it often and in many forms. They also make mistakes, which I deeply appreciate because friends are not always going to be perfect. Truly, I love the way the characters were written.
A lot happens in this book, and most of it you wouldn’t be able to predict from twenty pages away. These characters get themselves into some right messes on multiple occasions, but they always manage to find a way to resolve their issues. It keeps things fun and interesting, and makes the reader want to know what they could possibly get up to next.
(full review)
The Fragile Humans We Are: Volume One by V. Walker
4/5 stars
This collection covers some very important and prominent themes that we all deal with at some point in life. Sometimes it can help to see these things expressed openly on the page. Things like mental health, learning to love, and navigating the world from childhood through young adulthood.
The Tooth Fairy by Shirley Barber
4/5 stars
I’ve always loved Shirley Barber’s work. The illustrations in these books are always absolutely gorgeous. The stories aren’t always that great, but the illustrations… stunning.
Mud Ajar by Hiram Larew
4/5 stars
Some of the poems in this book latched onto me in ways that demanded they be read multiple times.
Others made me lean back and stare at nothing and just think for a moment.
It’s a beautiful collection and I’m looking forward to reading more of Hiram’s work in the future.
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
4/5 stars
I’m not sure why, but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the previous two. It was written in a different P.O.V. style, which is fine, I don’t have an issue with that.
I think it just had a very different overall vibe to the others though.
There are also some weird time jumps that made it a bit… confusing? and maybe a little empty? Something felt missing or out of place in this book. (which I feel bad saying, knowing it’s a more personal story than the others, but it just didn’t hit the same).
It was still good though, and I did enjoy reading it, just maybe not quite as much.
Bad Dreams, Bad Dreams Go Away by Wendy Haller
4/5 stars
It’s short and sweet, and shows a wonderful example of how a little kindness can go so much further than we think. Taking a moment to do something simple that shows someone you care and that you’re there for them can make an incredible difference, and this book shows that well.
But my favourite thing about this book is the illustrations. The images are so powerful that they alone could tell the same story. They’re also absolutely gorgeous.
It also kind of gives Inside Out vibes, both in the character design and the overall message.
You’ve probably noticed Poetry 4, The Memories Became Rust, was not released in March as planned. However!! I do have a new deadline to complete the book. No release date yet, as there are a few things coming up for me that are a bit uncertain. The book should be out this year though, and I am going back to my original plan with the release dates for a collected edition, but pushed a year.
So, the standard collected edition should be out in March, and the special edition will be out in April. Those dates are very specific and have meaning, so I’m quite set on them and hoping nother else throws off the plan. There will be more about that when it’s properly on track.
I’ve finished writing Poetry 4, I just need to do the illustrations, covers, and formatting… easy, right?
I’m also working on releasing some new music!
4 new songs should be coming out soon.
First, there’s the Senses single
1. Senses
2. As Far as I Can Tell
Senses is a song off a future album (which I’m not currently working on and don’t know when I will be, but that’s far from the point). The album it's from is an album about being neurodivergent. Senses, specifically, is a song about sensory overload. Every song on the album is about something to do with being neurodivergent.
I’ll come back to this one day when it’s actually properly in the works, but there are songs about masking, sensory overload, the way the world tries to force us to hide who we are and be someone else, experiences and how they tie in with the way our minds work and the ways these things affect us…
There are two other singles I’m planning to release
- Across the Sea
- Your Fires Burn
which will both be released alone. I was originally going to release them together, because they are, technically, about the same thing, but they’re very different songs and vibes and themes… So I’ll be releasing them separately, but they will complement each other.
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March 3, 2025
January Update
Things got a bit hectic in January, and now I’m several blog posts behind, so I figured I may as well just put all of January into a single post and try to continue as usual from there. (except I took too long to do this, so I’ll have to do the same for Feb…)
I also kind of just… didn’t know what to say about some of the books I read. Only one of them gave me strong feelings, and that already had a full review. The rest were a bit mixed or neutral, and thoughts and opinions were lacking.
So what the heck have I been doing?
Trying to sort out stuff with work and get answers (yes, still, a whole year later! I did a blog post about the situation if you want more context. The last update was a phone call over a month ago where I was told someone else would contact me. Are we at all shocked I haven’t heard anything since?)
A lot of stuff for Quiet Writers. We made an interview schedule for this year and locked in an author interview every month, plus a rec list blog post each month, and I set up an Indie Author Map! (partly to help folks meet the “read a book by a local author” prompt on the reading challenge, but also just to help people find more authors to support in general. There’s a map, which is very fun, but there’s also a spreadsheet with the same info to make things more accessible)
The past week has been spent organising an Instagram release day book tour (everyone posts about the same book on a specific day), and that’s been both terrifying and fun. It’s our first one, so it won’t be perfect, but we’re excited for it.
Temporarily fixating on Sanrio characters. I’ve had a minor interest in this for a while, but it has been slowly building up over the last few months. And then I found some “lego-ish” (not official lego, but the same thing) sets. And they’re very cool and cute, but they also connect together! Which I, of course, got very excited about. It didn’t help that I’d accidentally stumbled across LegoTok in December and have been mildly tempted to get myself a Lego set for a while, and these just looked so exciting! (There’s a little train between them all, how cool!!)
I’ve also been watching Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theatre on YouTube, which is pretty fun. It’s a lot of fairytales, classics, and… a few other popular movies… done with Hello Kitty and friends. They’re pretty funny. It’s been nice.
Working on Poetry 4, but we’ll come back to that one.
Briefly deciding I could start a business. This included coming up with a whole heap of ideas for it, drafting a business plan, working out the basic costs and possible additional costs, figuring out what licences and permits we would need…
and then I had things on three days in a row (5 hours, 2 hours, less than 3 hours), and was reminded that this idea is extremely unlikely because it would require me to be able to work full-time, at least for the first few months, and I can’t do that. Going out three days in a row, even for such short periods, had the same effect on my body as mowing the lawn.
It’s a pretty cool idea, and I’d love to make it happen, but realistically… it’s incredibly unlikely. Especially when I’d be doing it all pretty much alone.
In short, referring back to my initial statement: it’s been hectic. And I’m sure I’ve left a lot out.
Reading UpdatesWho Could Love You, Astor Price? by Amy Jane Lehan
4/5 stars
This book has everything I hope for in a novel including decent writing, a clear plot, and emotional devastation. Seriously, if you’re looking to get your heart wrecked, this is a great book for that.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It definitely broke my heart on several occasions, and had me desperate to see how the main character would pull through, if she would find what she needed and get the help she deserved.
(full review)
The Dare by Natasha Preston
3/5 stars
This one is very slow to start in comparison to the author’s other books.
I’m not sure I liked this one as much as the others. It did something different and was definitely unique and an interesting change, but the overall tone of the book felt a bit off and it just didn’t hit for me like they usually do.
It was still a fun read, and the plot twists at the end had me yelling.
Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
4/5 stars
I honestly have a lot of mixed feelings about this book, and I don’t really know how to explain most of them.
For the first ~75% of this book, it felt like a firm 3 stars, but then in the last 50 pages it was like “Hey, actually, I’m a 4”. The final third, or maybe a quarter (I wasn’t taking notes), of the book also felt like it was written by a different author. Up to that point, the writing style had been quite clunky, but then it suddenly just… stopped.
Things I enjoyed about this book: the characters, their connections to each other, the way those connections came out piece by piece as necessary, the lingering ominous feeling that smothers you throughout the entire book, the connections between past and present and the way they gradually line up, the vibes, some of the descriptions.
Things I didn’t like about the book: the way people kept jumping to conclusions based on the smallest detail and refused to acknowledge there might be more to the story, the clunky writing style in the first two thirds of the book (lots of short sentences, things split into 3 sentences that could have been one, awkward phrasing), that a couple of major details were obvious from very early in (however, I did like that those details had additional things to them that were not obvious), the ending, I guess?
My issue with the ending isn’t the way it ended, but that it doesn’t actually tell us anything. And I don’t mean that it’s an open ending meant for interpretation. I mean it was only half there, and a lot of details were brushed over or not acknowledged at all.
It was an interesting read, and some of the descriptions were quite beautiful, very atmospheric, and really drew you into the book.
Rock Paper Killers by Alexia Mason
1/5 stars
This was… kinda awful. I picked it up because I saw a YA mystery thriller with a fun name and an interesting description. But I had a lot of issues with this book between the poor writing, irrelevant details, loose ends, and nothing happening until the last 20 pages.
(full review)
Run by Kody Keplinger
4/5 stars
This was an enjoyable read, and it was a good read, and it was a fun read… but I also feel somewhat neutral about it. There wasn’t anything super memorable to comment on.
Though, it did make me cry, which is a key factor in a good book.
“Working on Poetry 4, but we’ll come back to that one.”
Okay, so… “working on” is being used fairly loosely here. But I am closer than I was before. Which is good considering it’s supposed to be released at the end of this month… We’ll see.
Would you like to hear the title?
Okay, actually, I’ve just checked my previous update and I never actually told you the release date, did I? Pfft, well. Poetry 4, The Memories Became Rust, is expected to release on March 31st.
Again, have I finished writing it? … No.
Have I even started the illustrations? … also no.
But I still think there’s a chance. It’ll be fine.
I’m supposed to be releasing a collected edition with these four books in April. That is looking less likely, because there’s a lot of additional work I need to do for that one, but I haven’t given up on it yet.
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Find my work!Follow me!Review: Rock Paper Killers by Alexia Mason
Rock Paper Killers (301pg) is a YA thriller following five Dublin teenagers as they head to a special college to prepare for their upcoming exams. They thought their biggest concern would be the strict rules and heavy study load, but not everything is what it appears to be, and one of the five friends won’t make it back home.
Rating and ReviewI gave this book 1 out of 5 stars.
It almost got 2, because there was an interesting idea and it had potential to be better, but there just wasn’t enough good in it.
This was… kinda awful. I picked it up because I saw a YA mystery thriller with a fun name and an interesting description. But I had a lot of issues with this book. Perhaps, most importantly, we could start with the fact that nothing happens until the last thirty-ish pages. Seriously. It’s marketed as a thriller, so it should be somewhat engaging from the start, right? But nothing is really happening.
There’s one moment that looks like they might actually do something exciting, but it’s not shown. They talk about what they’re going to do, and then it cuts to when they’ve just done it. It was the only exciting thing that happened in the first 100 pages, and it was completely skipped.
The first chapter of this book was incredibly poorly written, and while the writing does improve a little in the next chapter (significantly better than the first chapter, but still not good), this maybe should’ve been a sign to quit before I got too invested.
Which leads me to the punctuation and grammar issues. There were so many very basic issues, almost as if someone wrote a draft and just skipped the “go back and fix stuff” stage. There’s an instance where someone trailed off and it ended with an exclamation point, and if anyone can explain that one, please try. If you’ve managed to trail off, you’re not yelling. There was also a point where they used a triple exclamation point in dialogue, which… sure, we do that when we’re chatting, but it’s not something that goes in dialogue. If you need to make them look louder, that’s what caps lock is for.
Any time people were having a conversation, it was
- said [Name]
- said [Name]
like 5 times in a row, and then we’d skip one of two, and do it again. It was “said [Name]” almost every time someone spoke. And for some reason, a lot of them would have “This,” said [Name], “is what the character is saying.” But with stuff it really didn’t work for.
(minor spoilers ahead, but nothing actually spoilery)
There were also a couple of minor inconsistencies, things that didn’t quite make sense, things that got brushed over… and the Laundry room. There’s this whole thing about them stumbling across this room labelled “Laundry”, and they steal the building plans to find out more, and when they see how big this room is on the plans, they decide something is sus and it cannot possibly be a laundry room because it’s far too big. But… this is a massive building that used to be an asylum, is currently a school, and is expected to be a hotel in the future, so it actually makes a lot of sense for a large laundry room.
We also spend the entire book getting hints that the owner of the school is extremely dodgy and up to something sus. He’s sneaking around, making weird comments, was overheard talking about not being afraid to “play dirty”. And then there’s his wife.
(slighty more spoilery)
One of the kids discovers the owner’s wife has been shut up in a spare room (the “laundry”), something is clearly wrong but we don’t know what, and she makes an agreement that neither of them will tell anyone they met (the owner can never find out).
The owner is later overheard threatening his wife after she got caught after sneaking out, and he orders someone to take her back.
The point is, he’s super sus and something dodgy is happening, and there’s all this background stuff with his wife, so we’re thinking something is going to happen with them, right?
But no. That’s the last time they’re mentioned, and nothing ever comes of it. The ONLY reason it was there was to give an explanation for a misunderstanding. Seriously. It’s not even covered as a side-plot issue. What was the point of this?
(In conclusion)
Everything thrillery that happens is in the last 20 pages of the book, and that scene, much like chapter one (hello red flag, I should have taken you more seriously), it is incredibly poorly described.
It’s rushed and brushed over, essential details are either explained in a way that doesn’t align with others, or neglected entirely, and the key moment does not match up with any of the descriptions we’re given.
So, while I do prefer to give books a chance as long as they’re readable, maybe sometimes I need to learn to trust my gut and quit.
Content warnings- alcohol use
- death
- hints at possible domestic abuse
- bullying
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Find my work!Follow me!January 31, 2025
What is going on with my job?
If you follow my main socials, you'll know I've been having some problems at work with my manager (and regional manager). January 20th marked a whole year since my manager called me and told me I wouldn’t be getting shifts for 1 month.
This is an incomplete list of the incidents, as well as my attempts to resolve the issue.
Regardless of what happens as of this point, I will not be supporting a company that allows its managers to bully, mistreat, and harass employees, make jokes about genocide, and single people out.
I'm not going to name the location because I am still on contract with them, but it's not that hard to figure out.
There is a video version of this post over on my main YouTube channel.
History & backgroundI've had this job since February 2020, it was great, we had some minor issues sometimes but they were things we could work through for the most part.
Then in September 2022, our manager left.
The assistant manager stepped up and became the manager, but she also got a new job and left the following month.
Then someone else stepped up to take the position. She’d been there since the store opened in late 2019, and she did a great job with what she had, but then in September 2023, she also left.
The next person in line didn’t want the manager position, and we’d had a lot of staff changes that year, so most people there weren’t qualified to step up.
One person had experience in management at a previous job, and, despite protests from the manager at the time and several staff, she was offered the position. We believe this was largely due to how close it was to the Christmas season, and head office not wanting to bother with finding and training someone new. So this is who we ended up with.
I do have an incident list with documented incidents, but not everything was documented, so it's an incomplete list. There were other things that happened with this manager that were not listed or documented here. This list also includes every interaction that I've had since then trying to follow it up and get everything sorted out.
We'd had problems with her before she became the manager, but as soon as she got into that position of power, things escalated... a lot.
Even before she was given this role, she had made a lot of people uncomfortable at work, including the previous manager who she would message late at night and often with things that were highly inappropriate or when she was absolutely plastered and should be leaving people alone.
She would also constantly talk down to me or use an infantilising tone, treating me like I was an idiot or a child, telling me that I didn't know what I was talking about, despite me being the person who had been there the longest at that point. By then, everyone else had left, and I was the one who'd been there twice as long as anyone else, and yet she would still tell me that I had no idea what I was talking about. That I was wrong. But as soon as someone else told her the exact same thing, she believed that they were right instantly.
So I'm sure I've missed a lot of stuff.
This list only documents incidents that happened involving me. There were a lot of other incidents involving other people, including things like contacting someone's friends or family without consent and telling them off about something that had absolutely nothing to do with anything related to work, and sharing someone's private health and medical information with someone who had no business knowing it.
There were a lot more things that happened with other people, this is just stuff that happened with me, and how I've been trying to sort it out, and obviously nothing is getting done so...
Documented incidents & follow-up attemptsEarly October 2023
Someone had called in sick and the manager worked alone on Sunday and Monday, then later mentioned it in a text she sent to me on the 11th, in which she complained about having to work alone. She did not attempt to get anyone to fill in on either of those days, but she felt valid enough in complaining that she'd worked alone
October 11th, 2023
Our manager texted me asking if I could work a few more hours on a specific day, and then continued to complain about having to work alone the previous week, telling me this person just decided they didn't wanna work, and then sharing the personal information about this person for the reason why they didn't work those days.
That information was none of my business, and if that person had wanted to tell me, they would have, but our manager telling me was highly inappropriate, and our manager complaining about it to me was highly inappropriate, especially when she hadn't actually tried to get those shifts filled.
It was her own fault she worked alone, and her choice to do so.
October 19th, 2023
She made a joke about Gaza not having access to water. She almost made this joke to a customer during a conversation, but managed to hold off a whole 10 seconds until the customer had walked away, and then turned and told me instead... because that was somehow more appropriate.
Later, the person rostered to work the following day said they were only available for the morning. A store manager from a different area was in town that day, and he told our manager that she needed to get someone in and then he asked if I was available and I said yes. Our store manager kept coming up with excuses for why I couldn’t work that day, such as bus access, and I told them that this was not an issue for the time in question, and I was able to work. She’d been trying to convince him I didn’t need to, and eventually stopped so he could ask me and agree and everything was settled, but as soon as he walked away, our manager insisted that I should not come in. Insisted that I should not come in and didn’t need to. Told me outright “Do not come in”.
November 9th, 2023
She asked me about a specific way we're supposed to log certain deliveries that neither of us had ever heard of. I offered to ask our previous manager, and she went off at me. I could tell that she didn't want to have this conversation, so I dropped it and continued to do the task that I had previously been doing. She later told our assistant manager about it and twisted it and said that I had absolutely lost it and I was going off and... none of that ever happened.
She also completely blocked me from talking to our assistant manager at all when she came in to take over at the end of my shift
November 16th, 2023
She insisted the picture books are supposed to be a certain way, told me that I was wrong and "it's never been like that" when I said it must have changed, because they were the other way. She said "No, it's never been like that", but then when the assistant manager arrived and told her the same thing I'd said, she immediately believed her.
November 25th, 2023
We had our work Christmas Party.
For context, I hadn't been at work that week, I had cancelled my shift. The reason is not relevant, but during this Christmas party, she repeatedly harassed me about why I didn't do this shift. She was constantly harassing me about this, calling out across the table, and then getting up and kneeling next to me in the middle of the meal, getting up right in my face and trying to ask me the same question a hundred times.
She also admitted to the entire table, our whole group of about six people, that she treats me differently. When I questioned this, she got out of her seat and curled up on the floor in the middle of the restaurant.
She continued to harass me for the rest of the evening. We later relocated, we left the restaurant to go to a pub across the street, and I sat at the opposite end of the table to her. This was a long table, so I was able to sit at the opposite end and it was fine. Except that she got up and kept trying to talk to me again, and then when I didn't respond, she kicked me.
Our assistant mananger told her to leave me alone and, despite that, she continued to harass me after I refused to engage in her specific conversation, and after others had told her to leave me alone. She eventually returned to her end of the table and proceeded to complain about me not responding to her harassment.
I did leave at that point, but apparently after I left there were more incidents with other people, including her making jokes about slaves.
January 18th, 2024
She made me start 15 minutes early, unrostered. Not because I was needed, but because? I was there. A customer approached, and our manager said that I would help and she walked out to do a bin run. I wasn’t even supposed to be there yet and I did not get paid for that extra time.
Mid-shift made a passive-aggressive comment about me standing around doing nothing. I had been working non-stop since I got there, and I had stopped for less than a minute, due to a flare in a leg injury that was making it very difficult to walk that day. When I pointed this out to her later, she told me that I "shouldn't have come in". This is a permanent injury, and it does not affect my ability to work. If I just didn't show up to work whenever something hurt a little bit more than usual, I would never be there. That's not how injuries work.
January 20th, 2024
She called me and said "We're hiring 2 new staff members, and we're also hiring a new school rep, so there just aren't enough hours and you're not rostered for all of February. We'll let you know about March."
That was the last time she voluntarily contacted me
February 16th, 2024
I was accidentally sent the roster for March. This roster did not include me and it shouldn't have been sent to me at all.
February 26th, 2024
I went in and spoke to our assistant manager for info about the March roster. While I was there, she told me I should text our manager and ask about it, so I did that and then our manager called me and said "Oh, there are no hours available. Everyone is only on 6 hours a week and there's nothing I can do". Our assistant manager was present for this and confirmed this was not true. We actually looked at the roster and there were extra hours, and there were some people that were on twice the amount of hours we'd been told.
She also noted that there had been other issues happening during this time. We discussed submitting a report to our regional manager, but she was concerned it would fall back on her, and she did still have to work with our store manager and would likely cop the consequences.
Early March, 2024
The assistant manager messaged me saying things had gotten worse, and we needed to send a report. She was going to do it within a few days.
March 11th, 2024
I emailed the assistant manager with a full incident list up to that point, and she sent a report to our regional manager with my list as well as her own.
April 1st, 2024
Our regional manager emailed to inform me she was going to be in our store on the 8th to discuss the issues raised in our report.
April 8th, 2024
Our regional manager attended the store and had meetings with several employees regarding the issues raised in the report, and any other possible issues.
I was informed that a separation certificate was created and given to our manager to send to me, quite a while earlier, and it had not been sent through. Our regional manager stated that she would send this to me directly.
I was also told that I am still employed by them, and will be getting shifts soon. If no hours are available, I will at least get shifts during stocktake.
April 29th, 2024
I contacted our assistant manager to ask if there had been any update, as I hadn’t heard anything from anyone since the meeting. She told me that our store manager was told “You’re doing these things and it upsets people, stop doing them” and that was it.
May 30th, 2024
I went into the store to speak to our store manager because I still hadn’t heard anything.
The assistant manager told me she wanted to call me in the week before because someone had called in sick and she had to work alone, but she was scared that she would get in trouble with our store manager.
When I do get around to speaking to the manager, she starts off by deflecting questions and saying she has no problem with me, then switches and tells me she was following orders from head office by not speaking to me or giving me shifts. She said that not rostering me and not communicating with me about the situation were “an order from head office”.
She then started crying and telling me that she “wanted to leave town over this”.
She told me that I should speak to our regional manager.
May 31st, 2024
I got an email from the regional manager with the separation certificate saying “I apologise, I thought I had sent this through after we spoke. Anything further, please give me a call.”
June 21, 2024
I attempted to call our regional manager with my employment service provider.
At this point, I'm not comfortable speaking to anyone from the company without a witness present, as I have been lied to by multiple people.
She didn’t answer, but called me back after I’d left. I told her I couldn’t have this conversation now, and arranged to call her during my next appointment.
July 12th, 2024
We called the regional manager and she evaded most questions, or gave half-answers. I was told I'm still employed by them and was given the same information I’d been given at the meeting. I was told I am still employed by them, and will be getting shifts soon. If no hours are available, I will at least get shifts during stocktake.
She confirmed that our store manager's statement about cutting communication and not giving me shifts being an order from head office was incorrect. This was the only firm answer we got.
She told me that me not getting shifts is not her problem, and it’s all up to our store manager, and that she’s the one I need to speak to, our regional manager has nothing to do with it.
November 18th, 2024
I went in and spoke to our assistant manager again, who informed me that even if she wanted to call me in for a shift, she couldn’t, because I’m not listed in the system.
Early December, 2024
I emailed our store asking about shifts because we usually have extra hours available in December and require additional staff on shift, and there isn’t any reason all staff shouldn’t be able to work at least once during the month.
A few days later
I called while the assistant manager was working because I haven’t had a response yet. She informed me that my email went into the junk folder, but she moved it into the inbox and said that she would make sure our manager saw it.
A few days later
I texted the assistant manager asking if the email was seen and she confirmed that it was seen, and our manager forwarded it to the regional manager, who said that I would have to contact her if I wanted to speak with her, and she also implied that our manager shouldn’t respond.
December 21st, 2024
I sent an additional email to follow up on the previous one.
I never got a response from either of those emails from anyone.
January 17th, 2025
I looked through my contract again and found a section that states if there is an issue, our first option should be our immediate supervisor.
In our case, this is the problem.
If that fails, we should contact someone higher up, which we have done several times, and have been told it is “not [her] problem”.
Our third option if we need to go further is a specific company. That company no longer exists.
So I called head office and gave them a very loose explanation: “We got a new manager, her behaviour was inappropriate in many contexts, and at the end of January I was told I wouldn’t get shifts for February and that’s the last time she voluntarily contacted me. Our regional manager has told me this is not her problem. I’ve been trying to sort this out for almost a year". They told me that they would escalate the issue and that someone would hopefully call me back later that day, or Monday.
January 20th, 2025
Our regional manager called me.
It doesn’t go higher, but she can apparently pass it on to another regional manager, someone at her same level from a different area who isn't familiar with the store or the situation, and they would do "a third party insight".
Some highlights from this conversation include
- "Once you haven't worked for 3 months, you get removed from the roster, so we can't just call you in, you have to be reinstated"
- “You told us you’re not interested in becoming a senior casual”
This has never once been mentioned to me, so how can I state disinterest in something that no one’s ever spoken to me about?
- “You were only doing 3 hours a week” because our manager would only let me do that shift. She would not let me do any other shifts, and any time they needed someone desperately she would work alone and not ask me.
When I tried pointing out specific incidents on this list, again, she told me “Well that’s the 2024 roster and I can't talk about that".
She again told me that they don’t have shifts because, of course, December's just gone and they hired a bunch of Christmas Casuals and now they have to prioritise those instead of prioritising the people that they already had employed.
When I tried to point out to the regional manager during this phone call that this was a targeted issue, that our store manager had a specific problem with me and I was the only person being affected by this she said that No, there is nothing to state that this is a personal issue, there is nothing to state that our manager has a problem with me. But our manager admitted in front of ~6 employees at the Christmas party that she treats me differently and she has an issue with me. Apparently that statement made in front of several other employees is not enough to admit that our manager has a problem with me.
At this point, I still haven't heard from anyone else, and I doubt I'm going to, given their history of telling me that I will be contacted and then not contacting me.
They are specifically trying to push me out and I've tried everything I can think of to try. I don't know what else to do at this point.
Head office just refers me back to our regional manager.
Our regional manager tells me that there's no issue and it's not her problem and that if I want to sort it out I need to talk to our store manager.
Our store manager won't talk to me, and tells me I need to talk to our regional manager, or she just doesn't respond at all.
This does not fall under FairWork, so I can't get them involved and I'm out of options.
I also don't want to just quit because she doesn't deserve that satisfaction.
Since I am still on contract with this company, I also can't apply for jobs at other bookstores. So while this is still being sorted out, I also can't apply for jobs at other bookshops because that's a conflict of interest and it goes against my contract.
So I'm not allowed to work for them, but I'm also not allowed to work for anyone else, and they know there's an issue and they are specifically refusing to do anything about it.
Not only that, but even if I did manage to get in contact with someone higher up in the company, there is a very low chance anything would be done about it, because as soon as this person found out she was going to be the store manager, she tracked down the company's owners online, stalked them a little bit, and then befriended them.
To sum it upThe short version of this is that we got a new store manager with a history of inappropriate behaviour.
The only person who can do anything about it is refusing to do anything about it and telling me that it's not her problem, and now I'm stuck in this weird limbo where I am employed and also not getting any shifts. I am employed by this company, I can't work for this company, and I can't work for another company in a similar field.
So that's it, I guess.
I don't know what else to do and I think people should be aware of the kind of companies they're supporting.
So maybe instead of supporting the big bookstore chains that do not need your support, try supporting your local independent bookshops because they're usually run by much nicer people and they do need your support, and they're significantly less likely to be corrupt, unlike some companies, who like to brush off mistreatment of employees and let people get away with vile behaviour.
To end on a nicer note, here’s a recent photo of our local independent bookstore’s mascot! I’m unsure if he’s got a name, but they dress him up for different seasons and events, and I think he’s quite lovely.
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January 13, 2025
Books I'm Hoping to Read in 2025
Have I been putting off writing this? Maybe a little. I guess once I get it out there, it’s more like a commitment. I don’t make commitments with my reading anymore. I’m not sure how many of you will remember, but for a few years there I was picking 12 set books (one a month) that I had to try and read that year. I didn’t finish that goal a single time, and it often had me leaving half of them until the end, then panicking through November and December as I rushed to try and get through them.
I realised, after several years of this, that maybe I should just… read what I feel like reading when I want to read it. And that’s been working pretty well. Both 2023 and 2024 had me hitting triple digits, so clearly I’m doing something right.
This isn’t a commitment though. I’m not saying I will read these books, simply that they are some I would quite love to get to. Whether or not I actually end up reading them is up to my brain more than any other factor.
So here are some books I’m hoping to read this year, and why!
(This isn’t to tell you what the books are about. I haven’t read them yet, I don’t know what they’re about.)
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
I got a copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 2018, and, before I could read it, found out it had a sequel. Which, of course, meant that I had to find a copy of the sequel before I could read the first one. But this is quite difficult, apparently. Most places don’t stock it, and if they do, it’s only as part of a collected edition featuring both books (which is obviously not what I wanted).
Then a couple of years ago, a friend managed to track one down and gifted it to me. I read the first book in December 2023, and… still haven’t picked this one up. Which is incredibly odd considering that was one of my favourite reads that year!
A Little Bird Told Me by Kasey Chambers
I found this one in a second-hand bookshop a couple of years ago, and with Kasey Chambers being a memorable detail of my childhood, I knew it was worth adding to my list. That, and one of the ladies working there told me a little bit about it and built up a little extra interest.
I specifically want to read this one in early 2025 because my friend and I are going to see Kasey Chambers perform in March, and it seems like a fitting time to fill in some backstory. She also released a new book last year, which she’s using this tour to promote, so it just makes sense to read this one first!
(I couldn’t name an album beyond her first four, but I think it’s still worth it)
Airframe by Michael Crichton
I read the Jurassic Park duology in 2019 and have been a fan ever since. I skipped 2020 & 2021 (they were complicated years for me), but since then I’ve been trying to read at least one of his novels each year. I also missed 2024, and am incredibly disappointed in myself, so I must read one this year. Maybe I’ll even read a second one to make up for it.
I do find his books a lot harder to read than what I typically go for, but they’re also brilliant and very worth it.
Lost & Found by Brooke Davis
I know pretty much nothing about this book, but someone I know read it last year and was gushing about how brilliant it was and that they thought I would love it, then gave me their copy after they’d finished. So it’s on the list.
Perfect On Paper by Sophie Gonzales
I read Only Mostly Devastated in 2023 and quite enjoyed this author’s style and some of the themes that came up. So I decided I needed to read more of her work, and bought 4 more of their books (every one I could find), and… haven’t read any more since.
The book I read was a queer retelling of Grease, and I, despite being a Grease hater, loved this book. So that kind of says something about the author, I think.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Another book I know nothing about, though I have heard brilliant things about the author.
This one is on my list because a friend gave it to me after they got a new copy (“because the cover is so much prettier than the one I've currently got”). Also because it’s her favourite book, and I think there’s something important in a person’s favourite book. So between it being a gift and being a friend’s favourite, I really need to get on top of this one and read it soon!
Skulduggery Pleasant: Until the End by Derek Landy
This is the final book in series 2 and I have been avoiding it since I read the one before it in Feb 2024. Skulduggery Pleasant has been a favourite of mine since I was given the first book in 2008, and I still love it. At least… I loved series 1. Mostly… I didn’t like the last book in series 1, and series 2 feels off somehow. The book before this one was awful (all before it were 4 or 5 stars, and that got 2).
Because of this, I’m a little scared to read this one, and now I’m a few books behind again because series 3 is out now, so I really do need to catch up!
Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
I really truly do not understand why I have not read these yet. A. A. Milne is one of my favourite poets, and I have had these two books (and a collected edition of the two of them) for most of my life… and yet? have not read them??
If I don’t read these this year, or at least one of them, there is something very wrong and someone needs to give me a very stern talking to!
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Losing track of how many times I’ve said this (every year since and incl. 2020), and I am very sorry.
It was on my list of 12 in 2020, and I didn’t get around to reading it. So it was on my list again in 2021, and I still did not read it. In 2022 it wasn’t on my list, but I still said “I’m planning to read that this year”. I didn’t have lists in 2023 or 2024, but both years I told my friend “I still haven’t read that, but I’m planning to this year, I swear”.
I’m not intentionally avoiding it, I just keep forgetting about it. Which… gets even funnier when I tell you that while I was planning for this list I went through my library and pulled some books half-out so I could remember which ones I wanted to include. I then came back later to collect them, picked up every single book… but somehow missed this one. Even when they were sticking out, I almost forgot about it.
But this year!! (I specifically didn’t put this one away, and instead left it out somewhere in the way, so I won’t forget about it)
The Collected Works: Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe
I’ve had this for around a decade (exact year uncertain) and haven’t read it yet, despite this being another of my favourite poets. I went through a huge EAP phase in my teens, to a point where I had several of my favourites fully memorised and would walk around school reciting them to myself, writing them out in notebooks and on my arms during classes, had an app of his poetry installed on my phone, and carried a printed out copy of Annabel Lee in my pocket at all times (until it became so tattered it was falling apart).
I read all of his poems in 2014, some daily, but haven’t read any of his short stories. This book contains both short stories and poetry, and I would love to finally get through it.
Honeybee by Craig Silvey
When I went to visit someone in January 2023, of course I got nosey and went to check out their bookshelf, and while doing so I noticed this one sitting in the reading chair. She told me it was a brilliant book and I should read it. It definitely sounded good, so I had it on my list to look out for.
Then I found a copy in an op shop later that year, and… still haven’t read it.
I’ve gotta be honest, there aren’t a lot of authors I really keep up to date with these days, but I do have a few.
Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews
My absolute favourite author ever since I read The Boy Who Steals Houses for the first time in 2021. Their writing is incredibly beautiful, while also being devastating. I cannot get through one of their books without crying.
Plus, this is a sort of retelling of The Secret Garden, which is another book I love (and need to read again this year, but it’s going to be my book club pick in autumn, so it didn’t need to my on my list).
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
I’ve been really enjoying this author’s books. I still haven’t read Five Survive for some reason. I keep forgetting it’s there. But I’ve loved the rest, and am excited to see what she does next.
The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns
I’m not a big romance reader, but Rachael’s posts about The Other Bridget lured me in and convinced me it was one I needed to read, and I loved it. It ended up being one of my favourite reads of 2024, and now I’m sure I need to read more of her books (I’ve picked up a couple in op shops and hopefully will get to them soon).
I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting for the release of this one ever since it was announced, and I think, even though I’ve only read one book (and am not a romance reader), that I may have found a new fave.
Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus
This technically came out in 2024, but only as a trade paperback. I’m hoping it’ll come out in a standard paperback this year. I’m a trade-size hater, and I know if I get it in a trade I’m only going to want to replace it when it comes out smaller, so I may as well just wait a little longer and only buy it once, right?
I got into these in 2021 and have been hooked since, forever longing for the next one.
After We Burned by Marieke Nijkamp
Not a lot of thoughts here, but I’ve been enjoying their books and am keen to see what they do next.
The Party by Natasha Preston
This technically came out in December 2024, but her books typically take a few months to become available in Australia, so I’m letting it count.
I started reading Natasha Preston’s books way back in 2012 when she was a Wattpad author. Needless to say, I definitely should not have been reading them when I did, but alas. A few years ago I decided I should re-read the books I’d read, and catch up on her new ones… and I’ve been hooked ever since.
They might not be the best, but they’re fun, easy to read, and I enjoy them. It’s also been great to see her writing improve over time.
What about you? Do you have any specific books you’re hoping to read this year, or new releases you’re excited for?
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Follow me!January 7, 2025
Fortnightly Update
Whoa. We made it. Somehow…
I started writing this post on the weekend, but I stopped because I couldn’t find the full version of one of these reviews and I was so sure I’d finished it. Then I remembered I’d already started this post and found it in my drafts…
But of course, it’s only half-done and I still need to rummage through my brain to fill in the rest.
I’ve also been working on a lot of stuff for Quiet Writers. We’re getting serious this year. We have a few planned monthly posts, working on some extra content, and we added a couple of new people to the review team so we can hopefully actually take on the review requests people send in. Woo!
We set up a new reading challenge for this year, and will be posting a rec list each month for one of the prompts, and we’ve got a few author interviews scheduled as well!
Idk what happened honestly. Quiet Writers was so quiet last year, indie author Threads was almost essentially deserted… and suddenly in the last couple of weeks things have been blowing up. So… stuff is happening and we are trying to keep on top of it while also trying to manage all the other stuff we had going on. (And by “we” I mean me…)
The Lurkers by Catherine Butler
4/5 stars
I picked this up in an op shop, a little uncertain, but definitely intrigued.
It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting, and even after reading the book, the blurb doesn’t make much sense… but it was still a great read. The “blurb” is also the beginning of the first chapter, but the whole “gates of memory” thing is never talked about aside from in that first chunk and the epilogue. I have no idea what it means. Ignoring that, it was a pretty good book.
It’s a fairly easy read, which I mistakingly interpreted as “it probably won’t be too detailed or intense. Ah… no. Silly Jake. In fact, one chapter had me staring very firmly at the page, holding my breath in combined anticipation and horror.
I found the ending a little confusing, but the lead-up to it was a little clever, and I was firmly invested in the story from start to finish.
A Gallery of Children by A. A. Milne
5/5 stars
I was so lucky to find a copy of this in the op shop and instantly snatched it up. This is a lovely collection of short stories about kids being kids. The second story followed a girl going for a walk on her own, and admiring the other children on their own outings, which turned out to be referring to the children from future stories in the collection (I thought this was quite lovely and clever).
The stories are quite short, but each contains a little snippet of joy and wonder, and I could be found with a grin on my face throughout the entire book.
Goosebumps: Monster Blood III by R.L. Stine
3/5 stars
Monster blood is horrifying, and it does keep finding ways to ooze back into our lives… but most of this wasn’t even really about the monster blood, and even the part that was just… wasn’t spooky. There wasn’t even an “Oh heck, how are they going to fix this?” moment, because the solution was obvious right from the start of the book.
Goosebumps: It Came From Beneath the Sink by R.L. Stine
4/5 stars
This is one of the first Goosebumps books I ever owned and almost twenty years later it’s still standing strong as one of the best. It’s creepy, unsettling, gross, and makes the reader question how they’ll ever get out of the situation they’re in. One of my top go-to recommendations for those interested in the series.
365 Days of Memorable Moments and Impossible Things by Justin Richards
4/5 stars
This book is great for any Doctor Who fan, though it is very largely about the original series, which I, of course, have not seen.
Each date contains anything between a paragraph and two pages about a specific topic or event, as well as a list of events or moments that occurred on that date (and the year they happened) in a panel on the side of the page. Most of these events are things like an episode airing, or something happening in an episode, but there are also things like births and deaths of prominent people in Doctor Who (actors, writers, other people who worked on the show), and that all makes sense… but then there’s the occasional thing that’s got absolutely nothing to do with Doctor Who at all (such as the birth of a US president) and I really don’t understand why that was included.
The information included on each page could be things like recurring themes throughout the show, closer looks at specific characters or episodes, extra details on certain species, background on events, and so much more. Even as someone who hasn’t seen the original show and doesn’t know what most of this was about, it’s still an incredibly interesting read, and the daily page set-up makes it manageable (unless you forget and suddenly end up a month behind).
There were a few issues with phrasing, where it felt like the author was trying too hard to sound smart or fancy, and ended up writing a sentence that didn’t make sense. A few pages also felt like repeats, with the same subject coming up with different wording. But for the most part, it really was a unique chunk of information for every day of the year.
Ah, there’s still a sale in my stores, and I still haven’t posted about it anywhere (am kinda useless actually).
One of my goals? hopes? a thing I wanted to do? in 2024 was release new music, because it has been a few years. But where I’m currently living, opportunities to record are not that common, and the chance they will overlap with timing (me not being busy), outside noises (mostly dogs and lawnmowers), and also being in the right state to record… rare. I share a wall with my neighbour, right down the middle of the house, so I can’t record when she’s home, but even when she does go out I can only record if she takes her dog with her (I don’t want to upset him and he is a little guy with a lot of anxiety).
But sometimes the opportunity does arise.
And, as it turns out, I did actually manage to record a couple of songs. I just… didn’t deal with them beyond that. But it looks like I might be able to release something this year, so… yay? Progress, kinda.
And finally, possible most importantly, I’ve set a release date for Poetry 4.
Have I finished writing it? No.
Is it still going to be hard to deal with? Yes, of course. But I have plans for it and they are beautiful and I need to see it through. I’ll give more info on that next update though, because I do owe it to my Patreon followers to at least try to tell them first.
In short: things are happening. I have plans. And while it is true I have managed to land myself in a situation with far too many tasks and ended up overwhelmed less than a week into the new year… I’m sure I will sort it all out eventually.
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December 22, 2024
Fortnightly Update
Okay, so… it turns out yard sales aren’t really a thing anymore. So between that and the giant wasp that bullied me into coming inside on Saturday, I have given up on the driveway stall. For now, at least. Perhaps I shall try again in autumn when all the wasps die and I am able to stop living in fear (of them, at least).
Barney is going well, for anyone following along. He has somehow been managing to survive the 35+ days we’ve been having. I don’t have any new photos of him though.
I am currently unsure if I’ll be able to meet the reading goal of “read as many books as I’ve added to my collection”. I’ve been working on stuff for the market stalls, and trying to finish up some other work, so reading hasn’t been getting much attention. That, and I brought home another book. Yes, I know, but!! It was an A. A. Milne book I’d never even heard of, and it’s a lovely old hardcover edition. I had to.
So now I need to finish a book a day to meet my goal.
I also completely forgot to tell you about my window display in the last update! I’m not a Christmas person, but I am a big supporter of the lights and displays, and last year I released a picture book called Santa is Coming!, which is about three kids who are super excited for Christmas and wondering what Santa might bring them.
I attempted to illustrate that book multiple times before convincing myself that I could not draw it, and I decided to do the illustrations by making props out of paper, cardboard, felt, and googly eyes, and photographed them. Some of them turned out pretty cool, but the end result was a little blurry… Despite this, it has done quite well, and I believe it may be my most-sold book (or at least tied with Poetry 1).
This year, I decided to make a window display based on the book. It turned out pretty cool, but my biggest issue has been managing to light it well enough to read at night. I can’t put lights behind it because it’s on the inside of the window, and I couldn’t find anything that would work on the outside. I ended up looping some extra lights around the border of the pages, which makes it readable… but only if you come up to the window… which people don’t tend to do unless it looks interesting enough from a distance…
On Sunday I added a sign (it’s hilarious and iconic), and set up a table with treat bags, candy canes, and a few copies of the picture book. I figured, if they can’t see my display is interesting from a distance, they might see the sign, and if not the sign, they’ll see treats, and then they’ll see the display. I know it’s a few days early for people to be looking at lights, but apparently some are. Also, I have 3 Christmas shirts, so I had to do 3 nights.
Reading UpdatesTwo Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine
2/5 stars
I’m torn between two and three stars for this book, because it was almost good, and the ideas were exciting, but the execution was… messy.
The way the names were presented made them a little hard to follow for a while, to the point where I ended up making a character map to figure out who was who. It was just a lot of very similar names given in quick succession, some only in passing with little context, so there wasn’t anything memorable about a lot of them until further into the book.
This book also used the description “heart-shaped face”, and I almost wanted to DNF right then. I don’t blame this author for that description existing, but it’s a terrible description and it makes no sense. No one has a heart-shaped face, we are not cartoon characters.
On the subject of descriptions, if I had a nickel for every time there was a description of someone licking their lips at an inappropriate moment, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice. (4 times!)
It’s also weird to see this amount of wrong words and misuse of punctuation in a trad-pub book…
But my biggest issue with this book was the inconsistencies. There were… a lot. Some were minor things, like hair length. There were two incidents in the book that used the same inconsistency multiple times. One where an arrow had hit someone in the chest, but later was the shoulder, and later was the chest again, and the other where an arrow had hit someone in the shoulder, then it was the chest, then it was the shoulder again. Neither of these people were shot twice, the description just kept jumping between locations for both of them.
Additionally, for more than half the book, they’re talking about how this one person disappeared and no trace was ever found of what might have happened to him. And then suddenly every mention is about how he died (which every character is talking about as if that has always been the case, despite having previously stated by those characters that no one knew anything), and then suddenly characters who knew nothing about it before seem to know specific details of that event.
The Enchanted Woods: The Faries' Tale by Shirley Barber
3/5 stars
As expected from a Shirley Barber book, this was beautiful and magical, with gorgeous illustrations.
It feels more like a child’s recount than a story. There’s not much there, no wordy-flesh.
Not necessarily a project update, but my online store currently has a sale. There’s 20% off for any purchases over $10. It was supposed to be until the end of the year, but I still haven’t managed to post about it, so I’ll be extending it until the end of January.
So if you’ve ever wanted to grab one of my books or CDs, or you need a book bag, or you like art, or you just wanna see what’s there, now would be a great time to go check it out!
My Ko-fi store also has a sale on until the end of Jan if you add the code “BYE2024” for a 10% discount.
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December 15, 2024
Fortnightly Update
I put off writing reviews for two of the books in this timeframe and those needed to be posted before I could do this post so… here we are.
I also put off doing most things this week because I decided I wanted to do a driveway market and needed to prep some things for that, so that’s been my main focus this week. I’d really wanted to do a market at some point in November or December, but the friend I do them with wasn’t up for it and I can’t get to them on my own, but I still really wanted to do one. It seems like the ideal time of year for it (minus the heat, of course).
Sure, we’ve got our online store, but that’s really hard to get out there, and sometimes it’s just nicer to sell things in person.
So I decided to set up a stall in my driveway. I had a section of secondhand goods (more like a yard sale), and I had a little stall set up with my table and a display. I only did that this weekend (the 14th & 15th), and it didn’t go very well, but I’m planning to try and do it next weekend as well. I sat out there all morning on both days and got 2 visitors on Saturday and none on Sunday. I guess yard sales aren’t really a thing anymore.
Most of the stuff is my own (books, paintings, book bags, cards, CDs, scarves), but I’ve also got a few things my nana made (the fabric art, “jar holder”, and wristbands).
If nothing else, it gave me a few hours to sit and read (and chat with the magpies who frequently popped over to sing for me).
I passed my reading goal of 53 books months ago (one book for each week of the year), and made my new goal “to read at least as many books as I’ve brought home”. I am currently 7 books behind in this goal, having added 109 to my collection this year, but I don’t have any more appointments in 2024 so I think I’m safe to say that is the final number!
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower by R.L. Stine
3/5 stars
Parts of this one gave a bit of a thriller feeling, but some parts were just… odd. It feels like it was almost a good idea but something wasn’t quite clicking.
Goosebumps: The Cuckoo Clock of Doom by R.L. Stine
4/5 stars
I’ve read this one several times and remember it quite clearly at this point, but that doesn’t change the feeling of dread and tension that builds up throughout the book. I do think the lead-up is a little too drawn out, but once you get through that, it’s definitely got the classic Goosebumps feel to it.
The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn
4/5 stars
This book was dark, intense, and horrifying, but it was also poetic, and beautifully written. From the moment it began, I was intrigued, filled with curiosity and a feeling that gnawed at me with a need to know how it would end.
(full review)
The Gown by Emilie Autumn
3/5 stars
This was a little unsettling and eerie, provoking feelings of minor distress as felt through the character. But I felt a little let down by it at the same time, though not in a way I can pinpoint.
Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
5/5 stars
(re-read)
When we really love a book, we sometimes get the desire to read it again at a later date. This is one of those books that really should be read twice. Re-reading this book makes so much of it seem clearer, a lot of the emotions and things said hit harder, and there are pieces that just click. The first time you read this book, you are doing so with only half of the context, but the second time, you have all of that context. You know the whole story, and it adds all of these extra layers to the tortured feelings and the horror of everything that’s happening. My first time reading this book, it wrecked me. The second time? It beat me to a pulp, chewed up every inch of my being, spat me out, and repeated the process.
(full review)
I haven’t been working on much aside from some cards for the market, but I did finally go into the shed after living here for three years, and that feels like more of an accomplishment than any update I could give on a project tbh.
For context: the shed is scary, I have never stepped a single foot inside it, and last week I went all the way in. Right into the far corner. Because the universe put a bunny in my yard and now I feel responsible for him, so I’ve been keeping an eye on him and he was hiding because something spooked him. Anyway, the point is he’s cute and I finally entered the scary shed because of him.
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December 14, 2024
Review: Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
Don’t Let the Forest In (327pg) is a dark academia botanical horror following Andrew as he returns to boarding school, excited to return to Thomas, the boy he writes twisted fairy tales for. But when the police show up to question Thomas about his missing parents, he begins to distance himself from Andrew.
One night, desperate for answers, he follows Thomas into the forest to find something far worse than he had imagined. The monsters from Thomas’ drawings have come to life, and now they have to fight them. But each monster seems to be stronger than the last, and Andrew fears the only way to truly destroy them is to destroy their creator
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.
This was a re-read (first read April 20-22), so most of this review was written in April, I’m just adding a few notes and making this a proper thing.
When we really love a book, we sometimes get the desire to read it again at a later date. This is one of those books that really should be read twice. Re-reading this book makes so much of it seem clearer, a lot of the emotions and things said hit harder, and there are pieces that just click. The first time you read this book, you are doing so with only half of the context, but the second time, you have all of that context. You know the whole story, and it adds all of these extra layers to the tortured feelings and the horror of everything that’s happening. My first time reading this book, it wrecked me. The second time? It beat me to a pulp, chewed up every inch of my being, spat me out, and repeated the process.
This book is unhinged and beautiful and so incredibly haunting
I’m trying incredibly hard to form genuine thoughts from this incoherent mess inside my brain.
Dark academia horror with an asexual MC and it’s a bit gay and the characters are just codependent tortured artists but wow there are plot twists too.
Oh my god, the need, the desperation, the co-dependency…
And the prose is so deeply beautiful and on-point with the aesthetic that it haunts you and kind of feels like it’s managed to seep right into your soul while you were reading because it’s too hard to look away and there’s this insatiable need to see where it’s going. And the way it affected me even in the gaps when I wasn't reading was brutal. I tried to walk away, but could always feel it in the background, nagging me, pulling me back. I almost ruined 3 days’ worth of food because I couldn’t stop reading this while cooking.
The monsters? Incredible. Terrifying. Pretty sure it’s time to avoid anything remotely resembling a forest for a while.
It also has these snippets throughout the book, pages of these little fairy tale stories. And they are beautiful and dark, but they also give a bit of a glimpse into the main plot. Also illustrations!!
The way this book deals with a range of emotions, and shows them through the main character? We feel what he feels and we understand him and we recognise his panic and confusion. The heartbreak, the anxiety, the grief, the longing, and everything in between. (and tbh I am feeling every single feeling again while trying to write this review. this book truly melted into my soul)
- blood
- death
- bullying
- violence
- homophobia
-disordered eating
Everyone, if I could. But I know horror isn’t for everyone, so I’ll settle for anyone who likes dark academia, horror, and poetic descriptions.
If you like nature, gardens, and trees, this book has a lot of it and might be a good pick for you.
If you don’t like going outside, this could also be a good pick for you (reassurance that outside may attempt to eat you? It is proof you are correct in staying indoors, really).
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November 30, 2024
Fortnightly Update
Posting this a week late because I have been… reading, I guess. I’m not sure. I sat down and tried to write the reading updates and my brain just wouldn’t. That’s what I get for, once again, not making notes as I went.
For some reason, at the beginning of the month, I decided it would be cool to see if I could read the equivalent of a book a day during November. It was going well for a while, I think I was even ahead at some point, but right now it could go either way. I’m only a couple of books behind schedule, but it’s definitely still possible. Was this a sensible plan? Possibly not. But it would be pretty cool if I managed it, right?
(and I started writing this post on Monday, so this was accurate at the time, but you don’t get to find out how it played out until next week because, even though this post is a week late, it’s still only the update for the correct time period)
(edit: just changed my profile pic on everything to the “author photo" from my picture book instead of an actual photo of me because I'm so so sick of the comments I’m getting over a photo I used to love that has now slowly been ruined for me)
Reading UpdatesNo. 6, Volume Six by Atsuko Asano
No. 6, Volume Seven by Atsuko Asano
No. 6, Volume Eight by Atsuko Asano
No. 6, Volume Nine by Atsuko Asano
4/5 stars
I’ve been wanting to read this series for about eight years but it took me a while to track down and wow it was worth it.
I’m not totally sure what I was expecting or how I thought it would play out, but there is no way I would ever have guessed what happens in this series. I’ve read the first three and a half books before, and I still never would’ve guessed it. The plot twist had me yelling. Genuinely yelling.
There are a few points throughout the second half of the series where the layout gets a bit messy and confusing, and it’s kind of hard to tell what’s going on, but it’s only ever for a couple of pages at a time.
I really enjoyed reading this series, and if I ever manage to track down the novels, I would definitely be open to reading those as well.
Goosebumps: My Hairiest Adventure by R.L. Stine
3/5 stars
I wouldn’t say this one is scary, it’s more… mildly unsettling and a little weird.
How to Live with a Calculating Cat by Eric Gurney
4/5 stars
This book was fun, funny, and packed with cats.
There were also illustrations, some that stood alone, and others that would follow across a few pages, accompanied by quotes or commentary.
My only memorable issue is that there were a few places where the illustrations would come in the middle of a paragraph, so you’d have to either skip past the comic to finish the paragraph and come back, or skip ahead to read the comic and then go back to read the paragraph.
The Snow by Caroline B. Cooney
2/5 stars
The author is obsessed with telling us about the MC’s hair colour every couple of pages. Sometimes several pages in a row. We get it… her hair is multi-coloured and special. Seriously, if you removed every mention of her hair, this book would be two chapters shorter.
On a positive note, this one was actually relevant to its title and featured a lot of snow.
We also got a few questions from the first book answered.
Stardust Bones by Reid William
4/5 stars
This book contains poetry that is raw and personal, talking about things like queer identity, transitioning, love, and grief.
The Fire by Caroline B. Cooney
2/5 stars
Christina’s level of perception seems significantly lower in this book, even at the beginning. Later in the book there’s a reason for it, but at the start we’re expected to believe she’s the same when she clearly isn’t. The boys are finally beginning to recognise the issues with the Shevvingtons, but only when they choose to.
Again, this book was relevant to the title, as fire was a recurring (and somewhat obsessive) theme or mention throughout the book. Similarly, it’s impossible to go a few pages without hearing about Christina’s “special multi-coloured hair”. It would be one thing if her hair turned out to have magic powers and saved them all, but it didn’t. It’s just hair, and talking about it so incessantly gets tedious quite fast.
Tashi and the Stolen Forest by Anna Fienberg
2/5
I loved this series when I was a kid, so my instinct when I saw this book was to check it out (and then I forgot about it for over a year…), and as an individual book it’s alright, but as part of the series… not so much.
It feels way too similar to a previous book. So much so that I had to stop and check that it wasn’t one I’d already read. This book felt as though they’d simply taken an old plot and changed a few details around.
I finally finished that Quiet Writers reading challenge recs post. It took me a month, but I got it done. Hopefully next time I will remember some of my decisions are mistakes.
So if you’re into reading challenges, are struggling to meet the QW challenge prompts, or are simply looking for some more indie recs, that post is a solid start.
I skipped 3 of the prompts because they’re reader-specific, but for the remaining 9 prompts I included 6 recs for each (and many overlap for multiple prompts, so I’ve noted that as well), and I added a “bonus recs” section with 9 extra books. So it’s… a lot.
I desperately need to be working on Poetry 4, but finding it incredibly difficult. I am so far behind schedule, even with the acceptance that it will not be released in 2024.
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