I’m not sure why I chose to pick up One Hundred Years of Solitude this year. I’ve a running list of classic literature that I incorporate into my regular reading. Primarily to compensate for my lack of education, but also because I enjoy understanding cultural references in art that have…
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The Q Review | Death Valley | Melissa Broder
This is my first encounter with Melissa Broder. I really want to read The Pisces, but it wasn’t available yet, so I put it on hold and opted for this one instead. I love surrealism, magical realism, unlikable characters, and the desert, so I figured I’d love this. It was…
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The Q Review | Rainwater | Sandra Brown
On the surface, this is the kind of book I would see online, post some snarky, cynical comment about, and then ignore. I’d never even heard of Sandra Brown, but the book was suggested as part of a ‘Texas writers’ book list, and the synopsis looked ok, and I urgently…
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The Q Review | Blazing Eye Sees All | Leah Sottile
I fucking love cults. Not joining them, of course. I was raised in one, so I expend an enormous amount of personal energy avoiding anything cult-like in my daily life and spiritual practice. However, it is undoubtedly due to my personal history that I have a morbid fascination with them….
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The Q Review | The Odyssey | Lara Williams
This book grabbed me by the lapels, shoved me up against the wall, and held me there for 36 hours until I finished it. Then, it let me go and I fell in a heap on the floor and spend the next day wondering what the fuck just happened. After…
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The Q Review | The St. Zita Society | Ruth Rendell
I watch a lot of murder-y shows, but I don’t read a lot of murder-y books. Ruth Rendell was unknown to me before I read The St. Zita Society. Apparently, she’s a beloved novelist of almost a hundred murder-y books, so it appears to be bad luck that introduced me…
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The Q Review | Go Ask Alice | “Anon”
This book is a complete and utter piece of shit. I only finished it because it was so short and because I occasionally indulge in a hate-read. For those who are unfamiliar with the lore, Go Ask Alice is purported to be the posthumous diary of a teenage girl whose…
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The Q Review | Twilight | Stephanie Meyer
It is the year 2025 AD, and I, a fifty-one-year-old woman, have read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer for the very first time. It should also be noted that I have never seen any of the films based on this series. Any prior knowledge I had of this book and its…
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TQL Podcast | S3E19 | Rita Toikka
Support The Qreative Life podcast through my Patreon, or via Paypal or Venmo (@AmandaQ555). S3E19 | Rita Toikka | LISTEN NOW In this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Q reconnects with Rita Toikka, an artist who has followed an unconventional path – first as a frontwoman of an L.A.-based rock band, then…
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The Q Review | Algorithms of Betrayal | Anat Deracine
I found Algorithms of Betrayal by Anat Decine on NetGalley. This book took a while to grow on me, but once I got into it, I was hooked. I’m chalking my initial reticence up to my baggage working in and around technology for 20+ years. Initially, it felt like this…