Strange & Fantastic #27
Some thoughts on reading
Welcome back to Strange & Fantastic, my monthly newsletter where I share updates regarding my writing projects and thoughts on the writing life, as well as sharing book, movie, and music recommendations.
This month has gotten HOT. Like, unbearably so. Here in Northern Virginia, stepping outside feels akin to being smothered by a very wet, very hot, blanket. It has not been pleasant, in my opinion, so I’ve been staying indoors as much as I can (which, if I’m being honest, aside from my daily walks, is kinda my natural mode anyway). I can’t imagine what it’s been like for folks in even hotter, more humid parts of the country. *Thoughts and prayers.*
Because it’s been so miserable outside, I’ve been thinking a lot about reading, and how it can be an escape from, say, oppressive weather, or, say, an oppressive regime currently trying to take over our country. You know, stuff like that. *Laugh-cries.*
And thinking about all that has got me thinking about all the books we see or hear recommended, especially those that get near-unanimous praise from every reader, every reviewer, every BookTok or BookStagrammer. Sometimes it feels like we HAVE to read these books that everyone else raves about, because, well, they’re supposedly great books. And sometimes, at least for me, I’ve realized that it can become a sort of chore to read these books, and all of the joy of reading, all of that sense of reading being an escape, goes away, and instead it begins to feel like just another cage. And I think, especially in times like these, where the whole world seems to be be both literally and figuratively burning down around us, it’s more important than ever to remember this:
Read. What. YOU. Like.
I think this is especially hard to remember for authors like myself. There’s some books you hear about that are propped up as must-reads for authors because they can teach you something about the craft of writing. Now, don’t get me wrong—sure, it’s good to stretch yourself, especially as a writer, by reading stuff you maybe wouldn’t normally choose to read, to learn how others have done it, etc., etc. But not at the expense of joy, I think. For example, I’ve heard over and over and over again that Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy is INCREDIBLE, and is a must-read, especially for authors. Well, I can’t get into it. I’ve tried and tried, and I just can’t. It doesn’t grab me. Like, at all. Sure, McCarthy’s prose is exquisite—I have read The Road, and loved it, it was much more my kind of book—and he does some interesting things with punctuation and all that, but I’m sure I could find exquisite prose and creative form in other books that I might actually enjoy. In fact, I know I can, because I have. Rion Amilcar Scott does similar things with his punctuation and dialogue as McCarthy, and I find his stories much more interesting to me, personally (his excellent collection, The World Doesn’t Require You, is worth checking out). I have been, and always will be, of the mind that you learn more from something you enjoy doing than something you don’t, because when your heart and mind is all-in on something, I think that’s when the magic happens. That’s why I always had consistent high grades in English, and never Math—one subject I loved, the other I did not.
And that’s not to say that you shouldn’t read books that challenge you—you should. But just because something is challenging doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t enjoyable. I recently read Franz Kafka’s The Trial for the first time ever a month or so ago, and it was a very challenging read for me—but I absolutely LOVED it. I enjoyed the challenge of reading it. It engaged me the whole way through, as I wrestled with Kafka’s labyrinthine and sometimes meandering narrative. And I think that’s the difference—I was engaged by The Trial. I wasn’t by Blood Meridian. You, dear reader, may not like either of them, and that’s perfectly OK. Don’t feel like you have to read these books that you always see talked about or praised—they may just not be your thing. All of us are different, with different needs, different tastes, different everything. One size does NOT fit all, especially with things as subjective as art.
Reading should be fun. Enjoyable. And in times like these, it should be a safe place, a pleasant escape. So again, I say:
Read. What. YOU. Like.
So what have I been reading? What books have I been escaping into? Well, my wife and I just finished reading the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown (Red Rising; Golden Son; Morning Star), and we absolutely loved it.
It was SO much fun to read, so entertaining, a perfect escape, in our opinion. If you like Sci-Fi like Dune or The Expanse or Star Wars, I think you’d really enjoy the Red Rising trilogy. These books get hyped everywhere, so you may be a little hesitant to buy into that hype—I know I was—but these books are those rare cases where they actually live up to the hype. At least they did for me and my wife. Your mileage may vary—and you know what? That’s perfectly OK!
After finishing the Red Rising trilogy, I decided to try the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio, because I’ve seen it mentioned in the same breath as Red Rising, Dune, and Star Wars, and thought it sounded like it was right up my alley. So I picked up Book One, Empire of Silence, and you know what? I couldn’t get into it. For me, it didn’t live up to the hype at all, and I gave up after about 50 pages. But hey, maybe YOU will like Sun Eater and won’t be able to get into Red Rising, and that’s totally cool!
Why? Because:
Read. What. YOU. Like.
OK, a couple more things before we wrap up:
This Saturday, June 28th, I’ll be up at 2nd & Charles in Hagerstown, Maryland, from 2-4pm, signing copies of City of Spores and Goodly Creatures, so if you’re around, please come say Hi—I’d love to see you!
If you missed the monthly serialization of my novelette “Mushrooms for Mirabelle,” you can access it here: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7.
I’m trying to be more active on social media, so if you’re on Instagram, give me a follow here, and if you’re on Facebook, give me a follow here.
Signing Off
Well, that’s it for June 2025, folks.
As always, thanks so much for reading, and stay strange.
—Austin
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please subscribe—you’ll get a free eBook of my short story, “Magus,” available EXCLUSIVELY for subscribers!
I’d also love it if you considered checking out my weird fantasy noir novella, City of Spores, or my illustrated sci-fi thriller chapbook, Goodly Creatures.
