Writing

10 Years Later- No Requiem for Rivers

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment

Author’s note:

The last time I sat down to try and write this, the world looked a lot different than it does now. Before a global pandemic, I felt more comfortable being angry at the last ten years. I don’t feel that way anymore. I had so much writer’s block, which I can’t even blame the pandemic for. It’s been on and off since the last time we were all together. You guys broke me open, though. You always do. Despite the current status of our personal relationships, know that I’m out here wishing you and your families well and hoping for a brighter day for us all. Ten years later, and I won’t stop believing. 

~Katie Bennett, June 4, 2020

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Review: Wow, No Thank You

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment

Wow, No Thank You - updated post

Image Description: A Yorkshire Terrier, Teddy, sleeping with a copy of Samantha Irby’s Essay Collection Wow, No Thank You.

4.5 Stars. Recommended for: Fans of Irby’s previous work, anyone in a reading slump, someone who could use a good belly laugh.

~~~

Quarantine has plopped me firmly in the middle of a reading slump.

At the beginning of 2020, pre-social distancing and when I still had a daily commute that allowed me to tear through books at lightning speed, I was finishing novels nearly once a week. Since mid-March, however, I have barely picked up a book. 

While reading for me is typically a source of escapism, this particular situation has been too overwhelming to truly allow me the headspace to pay attention to a narrative. When attempting to read, I would instead find myself distracted by my phone, reading comments from Facebook Physicians (JK) and other apocalyptic news sources. I just couldn’t focus enough to know what was going on in the book. Instead, I’d give up my futile attempt at reading and would turn on mindless YouTube videos that allowed me some reprieve from my own head.

Fast forward to the end of March, when I had the pleasant surprise of receiving my pre-ordered copy of Samantha Irby’s Wow, No Thank You right on time. Long story short- Samantha Irby has helped to cure my Reader’s Block.

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Review: All Adults Here

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment

AllAdultsHere

3.5 stars ~ Thanks to Goodreads Giveaways and Riverhead Books for providing an ARC. Recommended for fans of: This is Where I Leave You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Emma Straub’s previous work.  

All Adults Here is a multiple perspective novel that presents an introspection on the Strick family as they navigate the fallout of secrets old and new, and difficult choices that shape familial dynamics. One of the key themes, and perhaps the most important, grapples with understanding how the relationships we form with our parents shape us and influence the way we, as adults, create our own families. While the text offers nuanced character development, aspects of the plot’s mechanics and resolution are somewhat dissatisfying. 

{Some minor spoilers ahead}

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And. And. And. On Autumn and 24th Birthdays

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment

For the past several years, I’ve written on or around my birthday to reflect on the year that has past. This year, I’ve been putting it off. Because there’s a lot to say about a hard year. A bad year.

Struggles make us grow, so I don’t think that any hard year is ever unnecessary. This one was hard for lots of reasons. The first year away from my family. The first year of my career. The first with all this responsibility. Of what finally feels like actual adulthood.

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