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I’ve been re-reading The Ancient Hours, a slim novel that locks itself into a trance of amusement for the dust that settles on townspeople following a devastating tragedy. The pace goes fast, the perspective steadily repositions itself, it’s fucked and funny and reminds me to keep my head on a swivel. Bible is a freaking king writer.
May 15, 2023
Related Recs
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For months since the start of the pandemic, I’ve had trouble getting back into reading for pleasure. I graduated from my Master’s program in May 2020, and was experiencing a lot of literary fatigue… I was studying medieval English literature, and had been up to my ears in readings for months, so I think at the end of it all I was just incredibly burnt out. This book changed that. Set in a post-Covid, semi-fictionalized version of Palm Beach, it’s incredibly fun, and just of-the-moment enough to feel like an inside joke for our times, without veering into the hyper-current or crinegworthy.
Apr 15, 2021
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I'm rec-ing this book because it kind of kicked off my re-emergence into reading. Tyler rec'd it to me several years ago, and because it was a small commitment of ~300ish pages, I figured why not and gave it a shot. Alas, Babylon was written in the '50s, at the height of the Cold War, when the fear of an apocalyptic war was everywhere. You read about a small Florida town's adjustment to the end times & how they come together to survive. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and easily powered through it in a couple days, even when I read it as my first book in years.
Feb 18, 2021
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I don’t know who needs to hear this but I’m obsessed. I can quote entire passages by heart and have a whole spiel prepared on how it’s “genre-defying,” an “instant classic,” the “latest entry in the canon,” and so on. But in the interest of time, the real reason it speaks to me is that it’s funny, simple as. OK, after today I think I’ve finally earned the right to throw in the towel and stop doing free publicity for this vile and racist book.
Aug 23, 2022
Top Recs from @al-warren
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Popular where I’m from in Mississippi. In high school, every weekend my friends and I would listen to Dave Matthews and not drink alcohol. We’d drive to Bonsai, a Japanese steakhouse where they cook in front of you at your table.I don’t know why but going the fuck in on fried rice and teppanyanki chicken just hits kinda harder in the South.
May 15, 2023
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Mysterious band and one of my favs ever. “God Has Lips: Collected Recordings Vol.1” is the new album, their first release since 2010. This is that real shit I would like to listen to in a locker room before a game drinking blue gatorade dipping Skoal mint longcut kicking over garbage cans.
May 15, 2023
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I initially did not dare to self-promote in this fine newsletter. Then I considered that maybe I’m just a lil bald lil bitchboy if I don’t mention the film which I spent years making. In Dogleg, I play an amateur director who loses his girlfriend’s dog at a gender reveal party on the morning of a big shoot. We just wrapped a string of premieres in L.A. and NYC and this summer the film will act like a band and go on a world tour. 🌎🗺️ Peter Jackson (LOTR) said in Esquire: “I’m still thinking about it a week later. It’s the best film I’ve seen in 2023.” Playing in your city soon.
May 15, 2023