10 Years Later- No Requiem for Rivers

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment

Author’s note:

The last time I sat down to try and write this, the world looked a lot different than it does now. Before a global pandemic, I felt more comfortable being angry at the last ten years. I don’t feel that way anymore. I had so much writer’s block, which I can’t even blame the pandemic for. It’s been on and off since the last time we were all together. You guys broke me open, though. You always do. Despite the current status of our personal relationships, know that I’m out here wishing you and your families well and hoping for a brighter day for us all. Ten years later, and I won’t stop believing. 

~Katie Bennett, June 4, 2020

Continue reading →

Review: Untamed

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment
Untamed

Image: Untamed by Glennon Doyle

2 Stars. Based on the sheer volume of positive reviews that I’ve seen on Goodreads, this is obviously an *~ Unpopular Opinion ~* But I DNF this book @ around 50%.

There are a couple of reasons why I could not finish this text, and I’ll try to be cohesive about what they are.

Continue reading →

Review: Wow, No Thank You

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment

Wow, No Thank You - updated post

Image Description: A Yorkshire Terrier, Teddy, sleeping with a copy of Samantha Irby’s Essay Collection Wow, No Thank You.

4.5 Stars. Recommended for: Fans of Irby’s previous work, anyone in a reading slump, someone who could use a good belly laugh.

~~~

Quarantine has plopped me firmly in the middle of a reading slump.

At the beginning of 2020, pre-social distancing and when I still had a daily commute that allowed me to tear through books at lightning speed, I was finishing novels nearly once a week. Since mid-March, however, I have barely picked up a book. 

While reading for me is typically a source of escapism, this particular situation has been too overwhelming to truly allow me the headspace to pay attention to a narrative. When attempting to read, I would instead find myself distracted by my phone, reading comments from Facebook Physicians (JK) and other apocalyptic news sources. I just couldn’t focus enough to know what was going on in the book. Instead, I’d give up my futile attempt at reading and would turn on mindless YouTube videos that allowed me some reprieve from my own head.

Fast forward to the end of March, when I had the pleasant surprise of receiving my pre-ordered copy of Samantha Irby’s Wow, No Thank You right on time. Long story short- Samantha Irby has helped to cure my Reader’s Block.

Continue reading →

Review: All Adults Here

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment

AllAdultsHere

3.5 stars ~ Thanks to Goodreads Giveaways and Riverhead Books for providing an ARC. Recommended for fans of: This is Where I Leave You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Emma Straub’s previous work.  

All Adults Here is a multiple perspective novel that presents an introspection on the Strick family as they navigate the fallout of secrets old and new, and difficult choices that shape familial dynamics. One of the key themes, and perhaps the most important, grapples with understanding how the relationships we form with our parents shape us and influence the way we, as adults, create our own families. While the text offers nuanced character development, aspects of the plot’s mechanics and resolution are somewhat dissatisfying. 

{Some minor spoilers ahead}

Continue reading →

I Put Myself Back in the Narrative

/ Katie Bennett / Leave a comment

BlogHeadshot

Hi, I’m Katie.

And if you’re reading this blog post, you already know that. According to the table of contents page that some past version of me has meticulously crafted, there are at least 60 posts that I’ve shared here since this blog was created 9 years ago. I don’t even know if any of them are good {and many of them are likely to be bad}. I’m not certain if I’ll read back through them partially because I’m wound-adverse and partially because at least one will be cringey.

I have had an on-and-off love affair with blogging since I started at Duquesne University, and an infatuation with writing since long before then.

While I can’t promise to be consistent because that seems to be something I continually grapple with in my identity as a writer, I do intend to “put myself back in the narrative” and reacquaint myself with this undeniable aspect of who I am.

Continue reading →