Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor

[Posted 27 January 2025]

Syllabus is a nonfiction book that collects the syllabus & other information for a course Lynda Barry ran with additional notes reflecting on the experience. I was so moved by this book I wrote a Goodreads review about it where I mostly gushed about how inspired I was by it. Recklessly playful & creative, Syllabus is a book that may have haunted me for nearly a decade as it may have been a deeply inspirational book I checked out at the library once that I only remember the concrete details of composition notebooks for an art program & the use of flair pens that I subsequently developed a mixed relationship with. I have never read a book that more perfectly echoes my thoughts on creativity & inspires me to create, perhaps because this book is what planted the seeds in the first place many years ago. It hits all of my interests from an interdisciplinary angle to foster creativity in those who might otherwise not fancy themselves artists or shy away from things like drawing. I read this at the perfect time at the dawn of a new year I decided to devote to the pursuit of teaching-related goals (by which I mean I want to teach/inspire others in any way I can without having to work formally as a teacher). Not only did this book induce fantasies of designing my own classes & workshops, it gave me the motivation to actually act on these goals & voice them to others so as to ensure I properly follow through. I highly suggest this book to anyone who wants to dabble in creativity, but has reservations if you are open to a playful style.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

[Posted 20 November 2024]

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a psychological thriller novel about a woman on a road trip with her boyfriend to visit his family in the country whilst she grapples with doubts about their relationship interspersed with other strange dialogues. A book that I advise knowing as little about as possible before going into for the sake of a better experience as I already knew something about what was happening due to having seen discussion of the film adaptation (which I still want to see at some point). This book rekindled my love of reading non-audiobooks even though the execution of the ending fell a little flat for me. It has an enthralling air to it that ropes you into the situation with compelling prose that gnaws on your sense of suspicion. I was repeatedly taken by the phrasing and what it revealed about the character’s psychology. This book is also significantly better than the other book I’ve read by this author (though I didn’t despise it) and I suggest it for anyone who doesn’t already know what happens in it.

The Salt Grows Heavy

[Posted 24 July 2024]

The Salt Grows Heavy is a short grotesque fairytale of a horrific deepwater mermaid and her plague doctor companion. Little else can be elaborated on regarding the plot without spoilers given its length. This is a re-read that somehow managed to hit all the harder upon revisiting, bumping it up from a middling rank in my heart to the favorites shelf. The language is the real star of the show in this novella, though I’m aware it can be a major turn off for some people by virtue of how closely it borders on purple prose. The other novella I’ve read by this author suffered from this prose style (to the point that I gave it one star) whilst this novella vigorously flourished. I found myself highlighting and screenshotting countless passages that tap directly into my precise taste for morbid imagery and wordplay. If you aren’t faint of heart and can enjoy purple prose styles, I highly suggest this novella.