reading wednesday

[boxofdelights]

• What are you reading?

Talking to Strangers, by Malcolm Gladwell.

• What did you recently finish reading?

The Afterward, by E. K. Johnston. This book is like fanfic in that it is all about the denouement. There are flashbacks to the mission to save the world, but they aren't about the world-saving; they are there to introduce us to the two main characters, and show us how they met, and what their first kiss was like, and so on. She's an apprentice knight who will always love Honor more than Thee; she's an orphaned thief with no resources but her intelligence; together, they find their way from the end of the adventure to the happily-ever-after.

• What do you think you’ll read next?

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, and Destroyer, by Victor LaValle, for SF book group.

• What are you watching?

I watched the first season of Sex Education. Like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, this show's premise made me think, that's not funny, that's horrible. But enough friends said it was actually pretty great that I gave it a try, and discovered that it depicts how "funny" and "horrible" are inextricably entangled in the human condition in a way that is actually pretty great.

Comments

[magnetic_pole]

I watched the first season of Sex Education. Like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, this show's premise made me think, that's not funny, that's horrible

My thoughts exactly! And it turned out to be great, as you say. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Question: What's Gladwell's Talking to Strangers like? I'm interested in the subject but find him sometimes too glib and generalizing for my tastes. (Although sometimes he's very insightful, so I never know with him.) M.

[boxofdelights]

He is, still, both insightful and overgeneralizing. When he's talking about why spies can't detect double agents, it's very interesting. But I know he's going to talk about the death of Sandra Bland, and I don't know how infuriating that's going to be.