A Collection of Half Thoughts in the Midst of a Slump
A Collection of Half Thoughts in the Midst of a Slump
That will maybe make you think of a whole something
I’ll be candid– I have been avoiding writing this newsletter. I have felt like I have nothing to say. Or rather, I do have things to say, lots of things to say– I could talk all day if someone would let me – but I guess what I’m getting at is the ideas I’ve had about literature, what I’ve been reading lately, ‘the culture’ as it were, aren’t quite been fully-formed. Instead, they’re in their nascent phase, swimming around in my skull with the rest of the goop soup up there that tells me to breathe and sleep and work and click the Instagram app open once every 37 seconds (that part is clearly malfunctioning).
This is probably tied to the fact that I have been in a reading slump lately. It is a weird feeling when the thing that you tend to enjoy the most is just not hitting like it usually does. There’s a sense of malaise that comes with it, and some self-flagellation, like, what’s wrong with me? Why isn’t this (reading) working like it’s supposed to? I don’t know what the solution is except to let it run its course, as I have so many times in the past. To wade through the muck until I reach cleaner waters. Any ideas for getting through are welcome.
So, for this installment, rather than bore you with a diary entry of why I feel so god damn brain rotted as of late, I’m taking a page out of the very clever
’s newsletter book, and writing a post full of half-thoughts that I’ve been marinating on. To be clear– her posts are far funnier, smarter, and more interesting than this one – she writes excellent roundups of what’s been going on in media, culture, advertising, and trends. My version is, well, my thoughts, but also the literary version, and add in that I haven’t had the time, patience, or requisite cells to derive fully-formed takes on these in the sense that I can write a long-form piece about them. Really selling it here.The idea is that this is a bridge, then, to the next crystallization of a salient thought. This, instead, is the flickers between synapses, falling just short of the full neurotransmission of real thought. Idk, see what you think.
The new Sally Rooney bop, Intermezzo, has been getting BUZZ, baby. I am late to this party. People have STRONG OPINIONS, good and bad, but I have mostly been avoiding them, barreling past with blinders on, to my own reading experience. I started the book recently and am about halfway through. My unsolicited opinion is that, so far, it’s wonderful. I love Rooney’s writing and her ability to accurately encapsulate the subtlety of human emotion and the nuance of relationships. She is an expert at the internal monologue, in a way that I find endearing, heartbreaking, and moving. Intermezzo is giving me that same incredible ache in the chest that I got from Normal People.
Men don’t read. Straight men, specifically. I have long suspected this is the case, though have been hesitant to say it out loud, because you know the second you do there will immediately be some guy yelling at you about how that’s not true, you stupid bitch, I’m a man and I’ve read of books, actually. But facts are facts, my dudes. It is WILD and so fucking crazy and I can’t stop thinking about it!!!
Gary Indiana, author, art critic, genius. Gary Indiana has died, and I am heartbroken. Indiana is an author I only discovered earlier this year when I picked up Rent Boy, but ever since then, I have been hooked. Indiana was an art critic, playwright, actor, and journalist in the downtown arts scene in NYC in the 80s. His world back then overlapped with a notable cast of characters, including Robert Mapplethorpe, Cookie Mueller, Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag, etc. I read Do Everything in the Dark and have his book Resentment– a fictionalization of the Menendez brothers’ trial– waiting on my shelf. There is something so fresh and smart and perfect about the way he writes. Reading his work is like those first few breaths underwater when wearing a snorkel– you kind of can’t believe it’s working, it’s so foreign and dazzling and new. To quote Christian Lorentzen writing for Jacobin in 2022, “There is acid in everything Indiana writes, but it is of the sort that acts as a purifying agent, eliminating adulterants, euphemisms, phony received wisdom.” Indiana has been the cornerstone of my life as a reader this year, and I regret not knowing him sooner. The only consolation is there remains so much of his oeuvre I have yet to read.
Should I be annotating my books? I don’t really want to, but it seems like all the good Substack writers that I admire and enjoy do it (I’m looking at you
), but I can’t seem to shake the idea that it’ll make it feel like homework…I LOVED this piece on book ratings by another favorite substacker, . Like with any platform, social or otherwise, I think we can all get into an echo chamber of sorts where we think we all need to be reading what other people are reading, and reading a lot of reviews and takes and whatnot. Marta argues this ruins the magic of reading, and I tend to concur. I’m guilty of always pulling up Goodreads when I’m browsing a bookstore. This post was a good reminder to let curiosity guide the way, instead.
Are prequels just money grabs aiming to capitalize on a successful franchise? Honestly yes, I have always thought this and thus avoided prequels on principle. But Jeff Vandermeer just came out with a prequel to his Southern Reach Trilogy and I may have no choice but to partake– Annihilation, the first installation of this series is a must-read.
No one has any good ideas for movies anymore, so Hollywood is dead set on bastardizing more books. Here’s hoping the Nightbitch adaptation (out December 6th) seals the deal for Amy Adams’ Oscar win.
Speaking of movies and no new ideas, another remake of American Psycho is in the works, to be directed by Luca Guadagnino, of ‘Challengers’, ‘Bones and All’, and ‘Call Me By Your Name’ fame. You’ll recall, dear reader, that American Psycho was originally a novel, written by Bret Easton Ellis, and the first movie adaptation came out in 2000, starring Christian Bale. I love Bret Easton Ellis, and I love this movie. I have read the book, and it is HARD to read, mostly because it is so much more disgusting and gruesome than the movie. The movie is funnier, with less, if any gore, though the book was supposed to be a satire, according to Ellis – and it is funny, in its own right, but also nightmarish and violent. I guess what I am getting at here is that this second remake will have to offer something different and surprising while also staying true to the original subject matter. A tall order, though I’m willing to give it a chance.
the legend Donna Tartt SPEAKING of my favorite authors, I have been telling anyone who will look in my direction to listen to the podcast Once Upon a Time at Bennington College, It’s about Donna Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis and their shared time at Bennington, where they wrote their first novels (The Secret History and Less than Zero, respectively) that rocketed them to fame, cementing their paths as the literary juggernauts they are today. This podcast is extremely bingeable and enthralling.
It adds to the lore of Bret as iconoclastic and Donna as posh and calculating. I couldn’t get enough of how their peers and the environment of Bennington influenced Bret and Donna’s books– to the point where this podcast interviews the real people who influenced specific characters. I wish there was more. Donna is so fucking mysterious!!!
I repeat: any ideas for beating a reading slump are welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Would love your thoughts on any of the above. Drop me a comment, please & thanks.
Books of the moment:
✨Heads up fam! I’m using my Bookshop affiliate link for all titles recommended in this newsletter. If you buy them through these links, I earn a commission.✨
📖 Currently reading:
Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney
📚Recently finished:
My Work by Olga Ravn. Very good, but not as good as The Employees, which was one of my favorite books this year.
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte; I loved this so so much, it was mean and hilarious and perfectly written.
👉🏼You should read: The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books
💌 Email me book recs and other literary thoughts at emilygatesjohnson@gmail.com
🛍 Shop all Point of Departure recs (and more!) from my digital bookstore here.
i’ve also been in a slump! i find that personally the best way to pull myself out is to reread a book i know that i love and will move through quickly, helps me get the momentum back and the desire to find other good stories. :)
you just mentioned about 18 of my favorite things to think about so well done brain goop soup!!!