Sister Snake is a fresh, fast-paced novel that is, ironically, rooted in one of China’s Four Great Folktales called The Legend of the White Snake. This reimagining of a centuries-old myth by author Amanda Lee Koe shows that, regardless of when it was conceived, a good story is a good…
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Q Review | The Life of Insects | Victor Pelevin
I love weird books but they’re surprisingly hard to find. I don’t mean books with weird characters, or edgy themes. I mean books that turn your brain upside down and make you wonder what in the hell you’ve just read. (I’m always on the lookout, so drop me a line…
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The Qreative Life Podcast | S2E13 | Roanna Flowers
In this episode, Q talks with Austin-based writer and author Roanna Flowers about Roanna’s lifelong obsession with the written word, how she ‘found her voice’, and the benefits of breaking your own rules to overcome creative resistance. About Roanna: Roanna Flowers is a writer based in Austin, Texas. Her short…
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Q Review | Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas | Fernando A. Flores
A few months ago I went to a recently opened indie bookstore called Alienated Majesty, close to the University of Texas campus. It’s a cute place with all kinds of cool stuff you might not find in a larger, corporate chain. The staff was helpful, and when I went to…
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Q Review | Dead-End Memories | Banana Yoshimoto
“The words I read in books seemed to strike me more deeply, and with my senses sharpened by grief, I noticed the glittering transition of the seasons as clearly as if I held the grief in the palm of my hand. It had been a long while since I’d experienced…
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Q Review | Death on Gokumon Island | Seishi Yokomizo
If you know me, you know that I love murder stories. 90% of my television viewing happens on BritBox and involves some detective or another solving capital crimes. Many of these stories are formulaic, steeped in genre tropes, but that’s part of the draw. It’s comforting, relaxing even, to solve…
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Q Review | The Informers | Bret Easton Ellis
This is another one of my Goodwill finds, and the first book by Bret Easton Ellis that I’ve ever read. American Psycho is on my list to get to someday, but this one was $1.99 and flipping through the pages I was assured of a quick and dirty read, so…
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Q Review | American Queen | Sierra Simone
I rarely read books like this, but one of my writing partners is a romance novelist and her books feature a lot of s-e-x. She recommended it, and I figured, why not? First, let me say that this book doesn’t just have “sex” in it. This book is basically a…
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Q Review | The Devil in the White City | Erik Larson
One of the best parts about writing these little reviews on my personal blog is that I am under no obligation to be objective or fair. So let me begin by saying this is one of the best books I’ve ever read and if you don’t read it you’re a…
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Q Review | Junky | William S. Burroughs
I picked this up on sale at BookPeople late last year and finally got around to reading it. I’d read The Naked Lunch by Burroughs ages ago during a formative time in my life. It was sufficiently disorienting, so I knew what I was in for. Turns out Junky (1953)…