Jo > Recent Status Updates

A much easier to comprehend narrative than I was expecting, but a lot of the advice seems like…common sense? Maybe this is because I was raised by frugal parents, but I’m not understanding the hype yet.

I finally figured out what was bugging me about this book—Febos frequently assumes the reader knows exactly what she’s talking about. Prime example: “what society teaches women about how our bodies should be.” Well…that could refer to 1000 things. This tendency is making her arguments rather hazy, particularly in the first 2 essays (I found the 3rd much better though).

Honestly, I’m disappointed so far. Febos seems to be targeting overtly political writers, which I don’t think I am, and therefore may not actually be this book’s intended audience. But I’ve only read the first chapter, and remain open minded.

So this is how I find out I have low resilience lol.

Not quite what I was expecting to read, but possibly what I needed to read :)

So far, this is a clear and actionable guide to getting writing published. However, it’s for a very specific kind of writing: short personal essays for mainstream publications, usually with a trendy angle (say, “dating in the age of AI” for NYT’s Modern Love). I don’t see the book being applicable to anything more literary, like lyric essays or experimental forms.

Restarted this tome with a physical book as opposed to audio—already a huge improvement in my comprehension. This ought to teach me.

My intuition is telling me to put a pin in this one and return after reading a more linear history, as well as to switch from an audiobook to the physical thing—I’m just not retaining the information, which deserves to be retained!

I’m begging you to read the Wife of Bath’s Prologue if you haven’t already. Her Tale is great too but the Prologue smashed all notions I had of medieval chastity.

Brilliant stuff no doubt, and absolutely packed with information. I do wish I had a more thorough understanding of basic Roman history so I can better appreciate this tome—it seems I’ve all but forgotten everything I learned in high school.

I’ve been speeding through this one and genuinely enjoying my time with it. Gordon was able to make me care for his characters immediately; his writing is energetic and immersive. And yet…something is missing. There’s a certain hollowness at the novel’s core that I’m not yet able to articulate. With 20% of the book left, I hope that hollowness will be filled, or else I’ll at least identify it.

“The Miller’s Tale”…to call it “bawdy” is an understatement. That said, I’m genuinely pleased to be reminded that humans have been making fart jokes since time immemorial.

Why didn’t anyone tell me Chaucer is funny as hell?

Ex. “For she was not exactly undergrown” is the most tactfully hilarious (or hilariously tactful) way to call someone fat that I’ve ever come across.