Dan > Recent Status Updates

It’s been ages since I’ve read A Separate Peace, so my memory isn’t clear enough to formulate a proper argument, but the author’s position that Finny and Gene couldn’t have been into each other because Gene never mentions them hooking up isn’t convincing me.

For kids who are supposed to be geniuses, they sure are stupid.

This book takes place in America and the author is American, but it feels so British that it’s seriously a little jarring to read them talking about the White House.

The tone is a little whimsical for my taste, but I interested to see where it goes.

Very strong Roald Dahl/early Harry Potter vibes.

Not sure how they’re going to wrap this up in 34 pages, but I’m looking forward to it.

The issue I’m having with this is the dialogue and inner monologues of the kids are not at all striking me as authentic for the ‘80s. (Not that I was there, but my mom was 11-12 in Michigan in 1983, a great comparison for these kids in Ohio in 1983, so we’ll see what she says.) I suspect it was placed in the ‘80s to capitalize off the success of Stranger Things.

I’m intrigued by the premise but I am really, really not liking the writing style.

The final 48 pages are always the toughest part to get through—so sad, serious whiplash from the Winona play only 15 pages before. Also learned that the past two years, I finished the book on May 19, so I’m tempted to stretch this till Friday, but I’m not sure the fun pattern is worth anything if it’s not accidental.

Very goyische attempt at writing a Jew’s reaction to a discussion about the Holocaust. Jews I know would agree with Irwin about discussing the Holocaust in its context rather than as a unique horror because it was centuries of antisemitism and pogroms in Europe that led to the Holocaust—it didn’t happen in a vacuum.

And again the weather delays me—this is a warm weather book, so I started it last week when we were in the late-60s. But now it’s cold again so I have to hang tight till it warms up.

Cute so far, but I don’t find it likely that an eleven-year-old reads Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies for fun, especially one who finds Shabbat readings difficult.

No page number because I’m skipping around the stories, but this author is driving me a little crazy. Not even paragraph needs “needless to say” or “of course” as a qualifier.

Two paragraphs in and I can tell this is going to be pretentious and emo as fuck. But the premise is right up my alley, and Pat Conroy has a quote on the cover, so let’s see where this goes.