Thanks for asking! Just finished Like Life by Lorrie Moore, a collection of short stories from '89 I believe. Absolutely love her writing.

Tho I must say, I personally always heard rap & hip-hop as music. First song I heard/loved: Roxanne's Revenge.

Also just reserved his book The Creative Act: A Way of Being. ✨

Yes! I watched part of The Substance but could not finish. Then I spite-read a review echoing the one you posted here (including problems with the premise). Though I will say that on-the-nose or paint-by-numbers entertainment is not a new phenomenon, it can be discouraging!

Thank you for the tip! I love Vuong's titles. I would be curious to give him another try. I ended up not enjoying The Emperor of Gladness as I got further into the story, but his writing can be so beautiful that I would give it another go.

Ah, interesting about the break! I felt the same way, but plodded on. Overall I ended up not enjoying the characters/story but the observations & language was still beautiful.

Ah! Enjoyed that book, overall. Maybe 3/4 of the way in I felt a bit lost/tired of the trajectory, but found my way back as I recall. Enjoy!

The story: www.roifaineantpress.com/post/a-view-...