April Worthwhile Stuff

This month I took my main refuge in books (2 per week for the most part), and the two below stood out as exceptional.

📚 Books
There Will Be No Miracles Here, Casey Gerald: I saw Casey Gerald read an excerpt from his memoir on one of Wildsam's Instagram Live broadcasts, which spurred me to purchase the book. I'm glad I got to see and hear Gerald read because, like Robert Evans, he has a distinctive voice and speech pattern – which just so happens to fit very well with his relaxed writing style – and it enhanced the reading experience to hear his voice reading the words in my head. Indeed, even though it is a memoir, the writing style and subject matter make it easy to think you're reading fiction at times. I mean that in the best possible way: Gerald is able to hold his younger self at arms-length, even while writing in the first person. His personal narrative and self-awareness make for a powerful story, which is appealingly juxtaposed with a laid back Texan tone of voice and poetic (sometimes dream-like) writing style. This memoir is unlike any I've ever read; reading this book was truly an experience – one that was in turns challenging, entertaining, and inspiring.

Bangkok Wakes to Rain, Pitchaya Sudbanthad: This book is hard to characterize; it goes in all sorts of directions, ranging from historical fiction to SciFi, and I never knew where it was going to take me next. The highly descriptive writing fully immersed me in whatever time (past, present, future) or place (Bangkok, London, Japan, Vermont) was at hand. The sections set in the past and present have a soothing quality to them, while the sections set in the future are rather jarring and strikingly relevant to the current state of the world. Indeed, the futuristic, SciFi-esque chapters are skillfully unsettling, as only the best SciFi writing is. The way in which Sudbanthad seamlessly transitions between these various genres and styles is remarkable, and make this a must-read novel.