Antler Review: the Quarantine Reads of Maprilay

This spring has been a shit-smear of melted time in which I got on one of the last cruise ships before the plague and settled into a bizarre pattern of staying home and working more than ever before and trying to write and trying to launch books and I don’t really have to explain this to you, do I? I’m going to share some stuff that is good to read, and I hope you’ll read it too. Tell me if you liked it.

No order because nothing makes sense and time is a joke.

Anthony Olveira managed to tell a new story where almost no one can. It’s been nominated for a National Magazine Award.

This audio story  about the reinvention of death is written by a friend, and very good.

I read this long but incredible personal essay about what it’s like to run and lose a restaurant, during this pandemic and before.

This comic is the best episode of Star Trek: the Next Generation that you never saw. I want these writers to do a whole run of Spot.

I read this wonderful poem about memory.

I read two books that aren’t out yet, both of which I want you to read. The first one was Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis. The pitch for this one is: what if aliens landed on earth and you could speak to them, but your dad was Julian Assange so your every waking moment was a fucking nightmare? Guys, it’s so good. It’s so perfectly of a time, and it takes a turn you’re not even imagining yet. Pre-order it now and get on my level.

The other one was The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. This is a gloriously queer book for kids packed with adventure and self-discovery and gross magic mermaids and pirates and fat women with lethal skills. I wish I’d been able to read it when I was younger, but I’ll settle for buying it as a gift for every kid I know. It’ll be out in early May, and you can have it shipped to you, or to a kid who needs to see themselves and have their mind fucking blown.

Keep reading, quarantinos. There’s nothing else to do.

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