Under a Black Rainbow

JANUARY  (0 books | 0 pgs) N/A FEBRUARY  (4 books | 1,023 pgs) 01.) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Novel, 487 pgs) | 5/5 02.) At the Mountains of Madness (for Beginning Readers) by RJ Ivankovic (Novel, 142 pgs) | 5/5 03.) Mothmeister: Sinister and Spiritual Post-Mortem Fairy Tales by Mothmeister (Art, 272 pgs) | 5/5 04.) House of Rot by Danger Slater (Novel, 122 pgs) | 2/5 * The start of this year has made it hard for me to focus on reading. Rather, the state of the world on a daily basis has made it difficult for me to focus on anything other than prepping for worst case scenarios in a number of situations (fiscal, physical, occupational, etc). But getting to finally finish Zafon's first entry in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series was really nice as I truly love his prose.  March is a wide open month with not a lot happening across its weeks, so hopefully I'll find more time to read through the new books I bought while in Portland, along with several ot...

  "Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning;  I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning. Poor chap, he always loved larking And now he's dead It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, They said.  Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning." *     *     * I've always loved this phrase from British poet Stevie Smith. The first time I heard it was my freshman year of college, but not in one of my class lectures or from any of my books. There was a band that came and played on campus by this name. They were loud and screamy and they were just my vibe at a time when I was listening to a lot more punk and emo. You can find their stuff here on their Spotify page .  I've been trying to put together a coherent something about the absolute lunacy that has been this year, but I think the phrase says it nicely, and c...

Grand Total:  104 Books | 25,349 Pages *     *     * JANUARY  (11 books | 2,115 pgs) 01.) This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno (Novel, 258 pgs) | 5/5 02.) Gateways to Abomination by Matthew M. Bartlett (Stories, 145 pgs) | 2/5 03.) The Strange Thing We Became by Eric Larocca (Stories, 119 pgs) | 4/5  04.) Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (Stories, 241 pgs) | 5/5 05.)  Anthony Bourdain Remembered (Nonfiction, 208 pgs) | 4/5 06.) Suicide: An Anthology (Nonfiction, 250 pgs) | 5/5 07.)  Bauhaus by Magdalena Droste (Art Book/Nonfiction, 96 pgs) | 4/5 08.)  From the Neck Up and Other Stories by Aliya Whitely (Stories, 320 pgs) | 4/5 09.)  We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric Larocca (Novel, 104 pgs) | 3/5 10.) You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric Larocca (Stories, 236 pgs) | 4/5 11.)  Contagion and Other Stories by Brian Evenson (Stories, 138 pgs) | 2.5/5 FEBRUARY  (16 books | 2,485 pgs) 12.) Where the Deep Ones ...

I'm not interested in ending the year with some grandiloquent summation; the years are what they are now, some better than others.  Instead, here are some things that I enjoyed this year that really stood out as quality experiences that you might also enjoy.  - Buch *     *     * MUSIC   Every year brings about new artists, new sounds, or new albums from artists I already know. This year's biggest surprises are below:  Cigarettes After Sex -  X's (2024) Standout joints: "X's" & "Dark Vacay" Listen here and here , respectively. Cigarettes After Sex are one of my most recent favorites, having taken over in my adult brain the places where Morphine lived in my teenage brain. Ironically, Morphine feels like the more grown up, adult version of Cigarettes After Sex, though both are perfect for their respective moods. CAS, however, seems to hit that perfect mark when looking back into old romances with naivete and wistfulness.  Sunni Colon...

  NOVEMBER  (4 books | 926 pgs) 99.)  Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 8 (Graphic Novel, 144 pgs) |  5/5 100.) Poe Knows: A Miscellany of Macabre Musings (Nonfiction, 255 pgs) | 3/5 101.) Uncanny by Junji Ito (Nonfiction, 301 pgs) | 5/5 102.) Saint the Terrifying by Joshua Mohr (Fiction, 226 pgs) | 5/5 *     *     * I didn't expect to hit 100 books read this year, but I'm glad to have hit the benchmark after so many years of reading being a struggle. I'm sure I'll read another two or three, but the holidays tend to make it tough to read, what with all the family stuff that goes on and all the friend stuff that goes on beyond that.  Thanksgiving was a small, but great, affair this year. Three very close friends joined up to carve out pieces of a deliciously cajun-smoked turkey brought over by my boy Kid Domino (yes, his real name). We played a few games, had entirely too much Fireball, and simply enjoyed a drama-free day with each other...

Today was the fifth anniversary of my father's passing. Just like that day five years ago, today was my writing session with my writing partner. I didn't get much done, but that's how it goes sometimes. This Atlas of Bone & Sorrow project has a way of suckerpunching me repeatedly while trying to make my way through it. I may need to focus on something else for a little bit, return to it in short spurts here and there so I don't get caught up in my own swamps of despair.  After our session, I finished sorting through old boxes I'd pulled from the storage unit I emptied last week. Old photos and letters and report cards and art projects - from myself, my siblings, and even old shit from my mother's youth - have been sitting in my living room for over a week waiting to be sifted through and given some level of importance: keep for later review or toss in the trash.  Weird day of marinating in things of the past. Wasn't intending to do so, but here we are.  ...