liz4444's reading and rereading 2023!

(A photo I took this morning for a photo class that I think will make a nice header for the thread!)

I'm finally creating a 2023 thread! It's still January, so happy New Year! I really enjoyed joining this group last year and I can't wait to be more involved with it this spring.

To start off, right now I am reading/listening to:
Smoke and Mirrors (ebook) - I'm in a Creative Writing class this semester and it's based around short stories, so I'm reading some of Neil Gaiman's short stories for inspiration!
Bunny (audio)
As I Lay Dying (ebook) - I wish I was reading this for a class, I think I'd enjoy the discussions and guided interpretations.
Babel (physical copy, on loan from a friend)

And I've just finished a fun murder mystery audiobook, The Woman in the Library. Plenty of twists and very entertaining!

Hi, Liz, happy new year! Love the photo--I can see why spring is on your mind, if there are green leaves about.

Welcome back, Lizetta! I would invite you to stop by the Introductions thread and introduce yourself too. I remember from last year that you are in South Carolina, right? I can't believe you have green leaves—here in Maine the trees are hidden under snow and ice. Hard to imagine the color green, lol.

Welcome, Liz. Wish you well on your semester and with Faulkner.

>2 LolaWalser: >3 labfs39: yes I live in South Carolina! I saw my first mosquito today, I think. We have another day that gets down in the 20 degrees range this week but just barely. Things are warming up :)
I've been to Maine a couple times in the summer and it was beautiful! I've never been in winter
>4 dchaikin: Thank you :)

>5 liz4444: 20? Bwahaha. It's supposed to be -15F with a wind chill of -35 here on Friday.

>6 labfs39: Woah!! That is crazy. We didn't even get snow this year, I don't think we ever drop very far below zero. I'm pretty sure I saw my first mosquito of the season yesterday.

>7 liz4444: Mosquitos? Now that's crazy! We were having an unseasonably warm winter, then got slammed with Arctic air.

>8 labfs39: Didn't see any mosquitos today - but it is raining. Loving the rain!!

Also, if anyone has any writing tips/advice, I'm working on a short story for a creative writing class and I'd love to hear any comments on writing.

Making my way through Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors collection (I'm onto Shoggoth's Old Peculiar now) and listening to The Cure (Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me album).

I've seen Julie_in_the_Library post about writing, not sure who else here is a writer.

>9 liz4444: no tips, but The Cure sounds helpful. Wish you well.

>10 LolaWalser: >9 liz4444: Thanks guys! Writing went well, second draft.

Bunny by Mona Awad
I really enjoyed this. I wasn't invested at first, but I came around really quickly! The descriptions in this book are so intense, and I really enjoyed the exploration and contrast of Samantha's relationship with Ava versus with the bunnies. The idea of the hybrids was so strange at first and at first all I wanted to know was how they were doing it and what exactly was going on, but I'm so glad that was left open. I think Mona Awad keeps the perfect amount of understandable and mystery.

I was also super interested in the childlike personalities that the bunnies adopted when together, rejected when they were briefly apart, and the intricacies of the clique. Samantha's need for belonging was so tangible that I was surprised to find myself hoping she wouldn't mess up the group ecosystem when she was with the bunnies, even though it clearly wasn't healthy and I knew I shouldn't root for it to go on like that.

This book is incredibly immersive with absolutely gorgeous detail, and I'm so excited to read an exploration of whirlwind, unhealthy-but-totally-consuming female friendships. This sort of dynamic is seen a lot with male friendships or largely male identifying groups and I love reading about it (i.e. Dead Poet's Society, the Secret History), but this is... i think the first time... that I've read a book that completely centered a group of women in a dynamic like this. It is totally, completely different and it's own thing entirely, but still.
If you guys have any recommendations based on this I would love to read more!