Whoops! I didn’t mean for November to just disappear, but with working the polls for elections, a road trip to NC with the puppy, my first set of final papers in grad school while working full time, and my general November/December busyness it just disappeared in a poof.
So, when I finally sat down to write my recap post sometime around the 15th or 16th I just thought “Nah, I’ll combine November and December and give myself a reprieve.” Now, in early January, I’m not sure that was the best idea—thanks past-Geoff, thanks a lot.
When I finished re-reading Dream Boy back in May, I did a quick search to see what Jim Grimsley was up to these days and stumbled across this upcoming release. I reached out to the publisher for a copy and crossed my fingers it wasn’t going to be as traumatic or emotionally draining as the others I’ve read.*
Bare with me for a moment as I go on a tangent. Recently, I’ve been obsessed with re-watching the Netflix adaptation of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series and IÂ couldn’t realize why other than it’s a fantastic series and adaptation, but then I read this book and it all clicked into place: queer joy.
I’m punching myself for not reading this book earlier AND for goofing off (aka knitting and Minecrafting) while reading it instead of blazing through it as it deserved. I’ve been sitting on this since November of LAST YEAR when someone in marketing at the publisher reached out with it.* I forced myself to wait until late March/early April to read it because I had a feeling I would really enjoy it and that barely covers my enthusiasm for it.
What a year! I’m not going to reminisce on yet another year spent in WFH and watching idiots around the country protest things that are designed to keep them safe. And honestly, I’m debating on if I’m going to do my usual Year-End recap (it’s a lot of work!).