Freestyle Friday

Okay, that title is kind of dumb, but I see or think of random things all week that I want to share and never get around to it, so I thought I’d try having a feature where I dump all of that into one post.

• Earlier this week I finished Long Man by Amy Greene. It’s a well-written, interesting novel, and I gave it three stars on Goodreads, but ultimately it qualifies as a BINYR (Book, I Am Not Your Reader). I did not like one of the main characters, and I didn’t care much about others, and the ones I wanted to see more of didn’t get enough air time (or page time, as it were). Did anyone read this and love it? It got many glowing reviews, including this one in the Washington Post, which made me anxious to read it.
• After Long Man I was planning to read Noir by Robert Coover, which is a noir mystery written in the second person following the conventions of Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler. I’ve had it checked out of the library forever and read the first few pages, and I’m intrigued by the whole meta thing happening, but I had to set it aside. I’ll probably have to return it before I get to read it because other things keep getting in the way, such as…
• The People in the Trees, which I am reading now because Teresa and Jenny recommended it so highly. I am about a third of the way through, and just WOW. I checked it out of the library but I have a feeling I’ll be buying this one in hard copy. I am highly impressed with the writing and also this character (I know he’s reprehensible; I mean I’m impressed in a writerly way). I am already itching for Hanya Yanagihara to write another book. I’m hoping to finish it this weekend because…
• I have two NetGalley e-ARCs that I need to read: The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman (pub. date June 10) and The Fever by Megan Abbott (pub. date June 17). I loved Rachman’s first book, The Imperfectionists, which I never reviewed on the blog. I’ve read all of Megan Abbott’s books except her first, The Song Is You (I originally mis-typed that as The Dong Is You. Ahem.). I’ve read the first few pages of The Fever and I am reserving all judgment, but I will say that so far I prefer Abbott’s stories when she’s working with period material, as she did in Queenpin and Bury Me Deep.
• Did anyone see this story about Scarlett Johansson suing a French author over using her name (and likeness, I guess) in his novel? Apparently the book is about a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Ms. Johanssen, and it ruins her life. Although I haven’t read the book, I’m inclined to side with the author. Unless famous people want to start trade-marking their names and images (maybe they do? I don’t know), they are in the public eye. Certainly people have said worse about and done worse with Scarlett Johansson’s image than this novelist and have not been sued. When is it acceptable to reference public figures in a work of fiction? Should authors really have to seek permission in cases where they aren’t turning a public figure into an actual fictional character?

And with that, I’ll close. Happy Friday to all!