Margo's Got Money Troubles & Victoria Sponge Cake
Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a lovely Easter, if you celebrate, and/or a nice start to Spring Break. We didn’t realize our oldest would be off the whole week until, like, Thursday. So it’ll be a tough week!
Here’s what I’ve been up to the last couple of weeks . . .
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe - I finished this last week and it was very fun! Margo is a recent college dropout and new mom who starts an OnlyFans account to make some quick bucks and of course, antics ensue. It’s a fresh take on a coming-of-age novel; a bit absurd and snarky while also having some lovely, tender moments. The side characters were super enjoyable, including Margo’s former pro-wrestler dad and Comic-Con-attending roommate whom she borrows costumes from. Out June 11.
I finished Erasure in time to see Percival Everett in conversation at Baldwin & Co. I’ll write more about that later, but, 5 stars.
And, I just started Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham this weekend. It’s well-written and very smart though I find the wordiness a bit disorienting. The book is based pretty clearly on Cunningham’s own experience as a staffer on Obama’s first presidential campaign, which I’m also a little thrown off by (I guess I would rather have a memoir?), but it is interesting and there is a lot at play here with politics, religion, fundraising, and young adulthood.
I made a Victoria Sponge Cake for my husband’s birthday, and it was delightful! Chris is really lovely and supportive of my baking and that I like to try different things and practice different bakes, so he usually likes to ask for something new. This one was a suggestion from our daughter who has that Peppa Pig book where the family enters a baking competition and they bake a Victoria Sponge Cake, a Carrot Cake, and a Chocolate Cake. They don’t know which one would win, so the kids decide to stack them all up and throw sprinkles on them, and that wins! We decided to keep it simple and just do the Victoria Sponge Cake. It’s light, very simple to use, and the frosting is just whipped cream. It includes store-bought jam with powdered sugar and strawberries on top. Easy peasy, and really pretty/impressive!
I was thrilled to go to the Percival Everett event at Baldwin & Co. The tickets came with a copy of James, a meet & greet, and a signing with the author. I’ll write more about that when I cover Erasure, but it was wonderful.
Speaking of, here’s a great interview with Percival Everett by Cree Myles.
People ask me all the time, “How long did it take you to write this novel?”
and I tell them 66 years. That’s how art works. (from above Everett interview)
Lydia Millet has a new book out! I loved Dinosaurs a couple years ago. This one is a nonfiction and is about living through climate change.
The Atlantic shared their list of 136 Great American Novels a few weeks ago, and it’s been everywhere. This super easy checklist was shared in the FictionMatters discord, if you’d like a quick way to count how many you’ve read (I was only at 18 . . . gotta step it up).
The Women's Prize Nonfiction Shortlist is out! I still have to read All That She Carried, and a few others were on my radar. The fiction shortlist is coming April 24!
Finally, I have to give a shoutout to
for her Substack Audit - she reviewed my page and gave me some tips for readability and added interest, and I’ve (obviously) had a bunch of fun on Canva this week. Thanks again, Amy!
Y’all have a great rest of the week! I’ll be drowning a bit in toddler tantrums and attempting to still work and keep house, but I’ll be back next week to talk Everett!
I’m immediately adding this Lydia Millet memoir to my TBR. I fell in love with her writing after reading A Children’s Bible (which is fiction but also has a lot of climate change themes).