Gene Wolfe throws me into a slump, upcoming Director's Nut, re-reading Cactus Boots! 

Not surprised that Wolfe sucked up most of your mental space - exactly the same thing happened to me. Not many authors have this power! I just started Urth, we’ll reconnect soon about it.

Like Pynchon, Gene Wolfe is a writer’s writer. He has largely gone unnoticed by the general public, but that might change with booktubers like yourself. His work is genre-defying (sci-fi? fantasy? horror? political thriller? war epic?). The quality is on par with Borges. The twist endings are hiding in plain sight from the first page. He’s a master!

Oh wow

Great video! I've had the first 2 vol. of The Book of the New Sun & your comments about it have made me want to dive in. I'm looking forward to your deep dive of Everything Everywhere All At Once. It remains my favorite movie released this year. I'm tempted to catch it again while it's released again in theaters!

The Cactus Boots group read would have been great to participate in, but there are too many other things on my plate. Alas. I'm gonna do 1 Corona/Samizdat book a month for the next while though. Hope your slump ends!

Looking forward to our next Director’s nut! See everyone there!

Funny. Three integral pieces for me. New Sun is the only book I brought on my move to Korea. Been reading Wolfe since end of high school and maybe something like you, have always felt a bit like I needed more. I check every bookstore to see if they carry him as a marker of a bookstore with reach. While many cite New Sun as their jam, I've always had Long Sun in my heart; has some of the accessibility that you feel you're getting out of Urth, the jagged cuts or logic leaps aren't nearly as frequent and the complexity of idea never suffers for it. Maybe I'd just rather be a priest than a torturer, but he's my favorite writer and always has been. You might also dig Castle of Days, his book of essays which doesn't see much daylight, or The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories, which is him at optimal cleverness. Sounds like the hook has set nicely though. BD'P is one that fell in my lap in late university. Haven't read many story writers like him. Often get put off by the short story in anthology form, but, man, that collection: hurt, American South, hard. Sounds like you might be surprised; I don't get Stoner off it, but we'll see.

I feel you. Just read "Persuasion" & this has been my year of finding Jane Austen, with "Persuasion" being my 4th. And, being my 4th, I'd re-learned a lesson I almost forgot...which is, sometimes I need to give a book its own space, BUT! I cannot always predict that about the book! So sometimes it seems obvious, like the book is 500+ pgs, or it's 18th-19th century, etc...but sometimes it's not obvious, such as "well here's this relatively short Jane Austen novel; I can read that quick & alongside 2-3 other books; easy peasy, right?" (Also, got Gene Wolfe slated for my 2023!)

Im down for the cactus!

I never stopped thinking about the book of the new sun since I finished reading it. I know the feeling, but have yet to read Urth. (I want to reread new sun at least 3 times before I get to it) but it took me along time before I could get into anything else, in any case. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on what comes after.

"Tale of Genji" and "Cult of Cactus Boots" what a great month you will have. I have "Cactus Boots" so I'll read along.

Kinda been on a slump myself. After reading Borges's Fiction everything sonce has felt like a slog. I have still enjoyed what i have read since then but it feels like it takes forever to get through a book now. A book that would take me a day or day will take a week more now.