Wednesday, October 30, 2013

If you like Miranda July….


You'll love Sheila Heti.

I hoarded this book. Though it's a quick read, I eked it out slowly, renewing it from the Los Angeles Public Library* twice because I didn't want it to end.

Raw and honest and dirty and funny, it's billed as "a novel from life" but it doesn't feel like any novel I've ever read. Feels like its very own thing.

(I'm pretty sure it was Meghan who turned me on to S.H., though I can't find the link on her blog.)

______________________________

*Shout out to the LAPL. Did you know you can request a book from anywhere in the system and they'll deliver it to your branch for you? I'm harboring a small fear of bedbugs (which have apparently begun traveling via library book, and have been found in Los Angeles -- who knew?) so I try to stick my books in the freezer for a week or two before I read them. It was definitely firstmilk who turned me on to this idea.
Posted by esb at 11:24 AM

9 comments:

  1. MegOctober 30, 2013 at 11:36 AM

    yesyesyesyes. i savoured this and then started a bookclub expressly for the purpose of decoding it.

    also, heti's angry pad thai email pretty much made the entire miranda july project worth it.

    also wow i've neglected my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. esbOctober 30, 2013 at 11:39 AM

      ALL OF HER EMAILS

      also yes i miss your blog.

      Delete
  2. flatlanderesqueOctober 30, 2013 at 12:29 PM

    The Denver Public Library does the same thing and it's fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SarahOctober 30, 2013 at 2:05 PM

    the idea of bedbugs traveling in library books kinda makes me want to die.

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  4. AnonymousOctober 30, 2013 at 3:21 PM

    I'm pretty sure every large public library does that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 30, 2013 at 4:30 PM

    I hate Miranda July but Mara Hoffman has a wedding line NOW.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousNovember 4, 2013 at 5:27 PM

    One, you'll kill them better if you cook your book- our home freezers don't get low enough. Not sure about how the plastic exterior handles it but here's the instruction: "Many ovens go as low as 170 degrees. Place books on the middle rack along with a pan of water in the bottom of the oven to maintain humidity. Cook for an hour for the entire book to reach needed core temperature."

    2. LAPL also does a good ebook delivery to your ipad/kindle, which is how I get a lot of books now.

    ReplyDelete
  7. RachelNovember 6, 2013 at 9:10 AM

    Oh, yeah, there are bedbugs in LA. Our neighbor got them a few years ago and kindly moved out (!) without informing anyone. It was so, so bad. Also, the reason why I finally gave in and got a Kindle - no paranoia. LAPL has a pretty great e-media checkout system. Now on the rare occasions I check out physical books I keep them in Ziploc bags and only take them out to read them on our balcony. PTSD?

    ReplyDelete