While I agree with the messaging, I felt like the characters were caricatures of real people and that just didn't work for me. I didn't realize until over halfway through that I'd read from this author before and felt similarly about her writing so that's on me.

I was drawn to Mayra because it promises an unsettling backdrop to a reunion with an old friend and it almost delivers. I really enjoy the flashbacks and getting to know who Mayra and Ingrid were as children. Their friendship dynamic is something I think many women can relate to. There's something intimate and special and sometimes toxic in those first close friendship with other girls that is portrayed so accurately and smartly here. I was also interested in seeing them reunite against the backdrop of swampy, hot, Florida where there's no real way to contact the outside world. When it's revealed that Mayra's boyfriend is also staying in the house, I think the book started to lose me. He becomes such a big part of the dynamic and I simply didn't care. I also didn't really feel the stakes until the very end which I usually don't mind but because we were focused on things outside of Mayra's and Ingrid's relationship, I felt a bit checked out in the latter half.

I almost always have music playing and I spent the majority of 2024 and 2025 listening to noisy, chaotic, loud music but in the past few months I've been wanted a more relaxed sound and I was drawn to Bob Dylan. I've listened to Dylan off and on my whole life but growing up, my dad didn't really like him so I didn't get to listen often. Diving into this book has really inspired me in a lot of ways. About 100 pages into this book, I had to grab a notebook to keep with it so I could make notes. They range from books/music/movies to get my hands on, direct quotes from Dylan talking about his writing process and the way he approaches live performance, his friendships with other artists and activists, the way he talks about Joan Baez, the way he honors and shapes American art in a way that confronts the dark realities of our country, and comparing/contrasting Dylan as an artist with the conversations surrounding other musicians. I've got plans to keep taking notes as I go through some other Dylan related texts because I'm just fascinated right now and I might transcribe and clean some of them up somewhere else later but right now, I'm just so excited in a way I haven't been in a couple of years if I'm being honest.

Hey so if you have an eating disorder or struggle with food, don't read this.

I like The Future Saints but I think I was distracted while reading it because the premise is so similar to the videogame AfterLove EP. I finished that game late last year so it's still really fresh. I like Hannah as a character and watching her process grief is interesting and at the end, even heartbreaking. The romantic element didn't really feel necessary to me and that made the ending feel a bit ??? but in general, I think this is solid. Check out AfterLove EP if you like this one!!!

this comic collection is so funny!

i still don't know about the ethics of publishing this. regardless, I think there's some interesting discussions about parenting and how much someone's own upbringing impacts the way they raise their own children. I also found the balance between wanting to protect someone because they're not doing well but them not doing well because they feel overprotected compelling to read about. overall, it's an interesting read but not necessary to understanding Didion, I think.

so creepy! if you've watched the junji ito animes floating around, you know a lot of these stories. Ito is the master of horrific imagery that is often based in the mundane