Matthew McElroy > Recent Status Updates

Hold up- I totally get group solidarity. Seriously - it makes a ton of sense for small and underrepresented groups of people to stick together. But Leslie is finishing a day of vaccinations, may have to deliver twins, and he is worried about that jerk Stevie?

Whoa- definitely unlike anything I have ever read. Probably because I have never read any literature written from a transgender perspective. Obviously, that tension is central to the story, but something else is happening in Spar Creek, and I am going to find out what it is.

I am rereading this because there is a major shift in the second half, and I want to see if I figured out the catalyst. I haven't read Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer in decades, and may go back to visit one or two, just because of how excellent this is.

James and Grandad from the Boondocks agree on at least one thing- don't go around telling white folks the truth.

When someone is completely brainwashed, sometimes they have to discover the facts on their own.

"It doesn't matter if they understand us. They always come anyway. The good people always try."

Given the context, one of the saddest lines I've ever read.

Every aspect of this story is perfectly told. There are no loose ends. The dogs aren't trying to be heroes, they are just trying to figure out how they got into this situation. If you were a human watching these dogs, everything they did would make sense.

Quite possibly the most intense thing I have ever read.

And I just finished James.

Percival Everett is brilliant.

If you aren't familiar with the premise, in Twain's classic, Huckleberry Finn, Huck is accompanied by a slave named Jim.
And because Twain is writing about the antebellum South, that comes with all the weight of that era. Some people say Jim is an offensive caricature. Other people say he is the moral center of the book.

Everett took Jim, made him James, and gave him a full story.

Edmund Morris is fascinated by Thomas Edison. Otherwise, why write a 700pg biography? On top of that why approach it in an entirely unique way?

Morris chronicles his life by decade, in reverse. The first section 1920-1929 was about his interest in botany and his hope to find an affordable rubber substitute. It also describes his worldwide tributes at the end of his life, where he was the most famous person on earth.

It is a credit to Mathis that I am 270 pages in, and I just realized that I don't know what the book is about. It's fascinating- I understand the characters. I sympathize with their sadness and fury. I understand why Cass is rebelling against society. I understand why Ava wants Toussaint to be part of society. I understand why Toussaint doesn't know where he belongs.
But what is the book about?

SEPTA, hoagies and the Cherry Hill Mall.

This may be the closest I have ever read to a local story. It's weird- I don't think I would have been friends with Toussaint- I made friends at school. But my mom and Ava would have bonded over gardening. Even though she would have encouraged Ava to get that boy to school.

You can see which threads are being braided. As each character is introduced and their story continues, you can see where they might meet. But given the upheaval in their lives, there is no guarantee that anyone will make it to the end. Chaos and uncertainty are part of all of their lives.

I am very curious to see what Cass is planning.

Every so often, I read a book that makes the most mundane, or saddest material into a book I can't stop reading.

The way I know that Mathis is an excellent writer is that she is writing about a mother and son in a homeless shelter into a completely compelling story.

If you know Philadelphia, it will help, but it isn't necessary. There is also a story about a mother/grandmother who lives in a unique town in Alabama.

Mouse is a piece of shit.

But not enough protagonists have piece of shit friends.

It's worth considering that Mosley has done something which I would have considered impossible: first person narrator who is the star of a series, who is NOT the protagonist.

Mouse creates all the action. And when the action slows down, Mouse makes a decision that gets everything to restart.

I am behind on my Black History Month reading.

I wonder how important it is to read Easy Rawlins stories in order.

The short story at the beginning definitely threw me for a loop.

There is a huge spoiler in the short story that makes me question the entire rest of the novel. When Jordan and Coogler wrote Sinners, I wonder if they had read this book.

Celaena Sardothien is hot. Did you know that? If you don't know, Sarah J. Maas will make sure that you know Celaena is hot.
Sure, there are some pretty standard medieval fantasy tropes in here. But what really sets this apart is how hot Celaena Sardothien is.
There is some international diplomacy and some palace intrigue, but be aware, from the top of her perfect golden hair, to her sculpted legs, Celaena is hot.

However this ends, I will have a lot to think about for days, if not weeks. The premise is so simple, and yet, I have never read anything like it.
I LOVE the organization of the book, and the brief historic interludes, which serve to build the anticipation as you get closer to the end of the story.

I had feared this would be the turn the story took. But I really hoped it wouldn't. It's still just as compelling. Given the structure of the story, we still have six years and then at least a thousand years worth of history to unpack. Thank you Ms. Alderman for not having the turn come in the last 15 pages. As readers, we get to embrace the story with you.

Eight years til what?
What is going to happen?
Tell me!

Make this your first book of 2026.

I have never read anything like it.

At the risk of using a terrible cliché/ pun- every page crackles with energy. How often do you get a book where you just put aside everything else you are supposed to do and just read it?

Possibly the best book I have read this year, and 2026 will have to have a big one to top this.

Oh, I am completely hooked.

A certain percentage of the women in the world now have the ability to project electricity from their bodies. It seems like it is mostly adolescents so far, and that comes with everything that children... 12-16 would do. Play with it, fight boys, fight other girls and more.

Already a fascinating premise.

It's not this is a slow read- far from it. It's just that the early darkness wears me out, and I go to bed even earlier.
I think I have two many books going right now.
Bryson, despite his cutting sarcasm, can also be remarkably sentimental. His sympathy for the dying resort town of Marcombe was genuine. Because when Bryson doesn't like you, you KNOW it.

One of the best parts about Bryson is his wildly unpredictable preferences. Sometimes, he wants to take a long, meandering jaunt. Other times, he is furious over a one way street that inconveniences him over a 200 yard detour.

Is English food amazing in its simplicity? Or is it awful in its lack of seasoning and creativity? It seems to depend on his mood and what works better in the story.

Never change Bill.

The Issue 7 cover art is some of the best I have seen. And the story is one of the most creative I can remember. A completely new catalyst, a selfish egomaniac who has probably been done wrong. A villain who is understandable. And Wanda solving a problem in the way she has come to solve them.
This is what I have learned: Wanda is acting as a lawyer. She is always advocating on behalf of whoever needs her.

I don't entirely know what queer-coded means, but I think this is more than queer coded. The most powerful ruler in the universe is a gay... Man(?- well, not human, an alien, definitely male) who is married to Wanda's adopted son. And the person who comes looking for Wanda's help is a woman forbidden to marry with a haircut akin to a mullet.

Finished the "high schoolers break into the gym" chapter. Still brutal. I can't shake the feeling that Jones is writing this so it can be made into a movie. It's good, and the second time around I am following the characters better. But it feels like he has movie playing in his head.

I spit my beer out in the bar reading this. I'm 44.

I was laughing in public like I was in college.