All of this is a warmup to say that both<\/em> of my podcasts came out this week. Is there a blue moon for podcasting? This feels like it. In a truly stunning bit of synergy, both episodes talk about the books discussed on this very blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On The Line Break<\/em>, Bob and I were joined by Isaac Pickell on the day that the LeBron news dropped but we’re here to talk about poetry<\/em>. Apple <\/a>| Spotty<\/a> | SoundCloud<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n On Lazy & Entitled<\/em>, Brendan and I did our second ever book club episode on Chloe N. Clark’s story collection, Every Galaxy A Circle<\/em>. Apple<\/a> | Spotty<\/a> | SoundCloud<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n What I’ve Been Reading This Week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two books by two good friends. Two books that more or less fit the summer reading criteria\u2014or maybe it’s just that reading books by friends puts me in a good mood. Even when they scare the hell outta me or remind me of sad realities. Maybe because<\/em> of those two emotions. These books are very different from one another, but still made a good pair. I’m talking, of course, about Every Galaxy A Circle <\/em>by Chloe N. Clark and The Smallest Mistake We Call Human<\/em> by Isaac Pickell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every Galaxy A Circle<\/em> by Chloe N. Clark: <\/strong>so that I don\u2019t end up repeating everything I said on the podcast\u2014read this if you want to have a good time with some sci-fi horror. Emphasis on the horror. You\u2019ll have a blast. But while my ars blogetica might best be described as \u201cjust have fun out there,\u201d you come here for a little bit more than that. Chloe\u2019s book is in fact deeper than genre fun, too, but I\u2019m also not here to convince you that I went to college. These stories are obsessed with taking you right up a vast abyss\u2014space, the ocean, caves, forests, graveyards, what you thought was a hallway. Once you\u2019re there, you might see something impossible, or unbelievable, but whatever it is? You are going to live a long life re-evaluating your conceptions of the possible and believable. These stories operate on a sort of fairy tale logic, and if you don\u2019t know by now that fairy tales are violent gorefests with frequently unexpected endings? Happy 16th birthday, thanks for visiting our web site. There\u2019s also an obsession with remembering people, individual people. Cataloguing them, not in like a phrenology way, but in an Elpenor way<\/a>. Each life is a treasure, these stories seem to say, which is why you should feel bad that that lady\u2019s eating that person.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Smallest Mistake We Call Human <\/em>by Isaac Pickell: <\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n so that I don\u2019t end up simply repeating everything I said on the podcast\u2014you should pick up this collection if you like thoughtful poems. Whatever subject matter is animating his writing, what I really appreciate is how Isaac is willing to show you his mind working. That\u2019s not to say these poems feel first drafty, far from it. More like, Isaac has used writing to think through something, and in the draft of the poem that you see, he is consciously recreating his process through interestingly arranged language. Yes, these are family poems, but also political poems. Isaac and I share an inability to stop seeing the political in absolutely everything personal. The joy of reading Isaac is getting to see how he got to whatever he\u2019s even thinking about\u2014maybe the personal\/political connection doesn\u2019t feel as far-fetched, after reading a poem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LINKS!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Something to listen to while you browse? DOMi & JD BECK has a new album out today, if I’m not mistaken. Good excuse to listen to this sick track they did with RM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_7529-1024x768.jpg\")
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