Fortress of Solitude | 
pickThis story is not about “the losers” – although plenty of them have secondary parts, and lots of walk-ons. We know those types. They fade into the background. Likely as well to bitch about how they‘d never been given a chance. Losers.
Dylan Ebdus understands life differently. He‘s tattooed with the knowledge that one needs to learn something in order to make a life.
Mark Beyer
Max, the blind guy
bailedMade it half way. Some reading some audio. Disliked both. Something about the cadence of the writing doesn't work with me. Add in the pretentiousness, and way too many N word drops for a white writer and it was bound to be a failure for me. But yay getting it to the free little library so I don't move it with me a third time 😂
Taking a packing break for a chapter of this. No white author should be this comfortable using the N word this many times. Much less with a hard R. 100 pages in and not sure I am going to make it. The story premise is great but the cadence of the writing is annoying.
so-soI am working on a novel about a young man in 1969 so I was curious about this coming of age story about a boy in the 1970s Brooklyn. I really liked the point of view and the writing—some wonderful passages about living on the block as a shy white nerdy kid. But the plot just never took off into any conflict or story that grabbed me. So regret this one was a DNF for me.
#FreakyFreaks There's a lot going on in this coming of age tale of two friends in '70s Brooklyn. Both face different realities due to racial factors of the time (one is black, the other white), but a magic ring gives them superpowers and also the chance to transcend some of those realities (with varying degrees of success). As a newer female rapper in a male-dominated arena, Kamaiyah faces similar challenges, but hopefully she can rise above them!
Dylan‘s solitude which his father left unbruised his mother burst like a grape. She might clutch him with fingers kneading his skull through his hair and say, ‘You‘re so beautiful, so beautiful, you‘re such a beautiful boy‘ or just as likely sit apart from him smoking a cigarette and say, 'Where did you come from? Why are you here? Why am I here?‘ or 'You know, precious child, that your father is insane.'
The #ReadingFortress is coming together nicely. I've spent most of the day up here and I don't want to leave.
My husband built this a few years ago as a place for our daughter to play and for him to use his telescope. It hardly ever gets used. So I have big plans to turn it into my Reading Fortress! I'm making this public now so I will be extra motivated to do it. I will post pictures as things happen. #readingfortress
My haul from Bay Area Book Festival today. Some old / free (at the Lacuna of books a great open market of old hardcovers & paperbacks), some new including Richard Russo's new book (got him to sign it) & Jonathan Lethem signing Fortress of Solitude! Spent way too much on books today, gotta read now!
pickI enjoyed this coming of age story set in the 1970's. It's a very dense and descriptive book and I loved how Brooklyn, New York was so richly described that the setting itself became a main character of the book.
A page-long rant about Play That Funky Music. This made me chuckle.
Im reading this next. It's been on my shelf for awhile, so it's time to check it out.
