DIY Extremes, Puck Dreams & Media Themes

A woman creates the man of her dreams and sets off a problematic chain of cascading consequences.

[a hardcover book arranged face up: "BLOB, A Love Story by Maggie Su" with a "NEW" sticker in the upper right corner]

BLOB, A Love Story by Maggie Su

contemporary speculative fiction

Harper, January 2025

Comparisons to a more lighthearted Frankenstein are appropriate for this poignant tale about excavating the fundamentals of identity. Vi Liu is experiencing a very rough entry into adulthood. She's lonely. When a chance to create her perfect mate presents itself, she goes for it. Unexpected revelations and mayhem ensue. Similar to The Blob movie of the 1950s starring Steve McQueen, once it starts absorbing things it's hard to stop. BLOB is ultimately a provocative self-love* story that explores the ways in which people reconcile the various elements of themselves - or don't.

*For romance fans: This is a love story, not a romance.

[6 books arranged from left to right atop a piano: binding side - Back After This; horizontal stack from top to bottom - Collide, Unsteady, Down in Flames, The Last Guy on Earth, Pucked]

Maureen Smith, Maria Luis, Xio Axelrod**, Naima Simone, Marika Ray & Sylvie Stewart have written some on my most favorite hockey romances in addition to the authors of the books in the stack shown above. What is it about hockey romances that makes them extra compelling? Authors Bal Khabra, Peyton Corinne, Kate Meader, Sarina Bowen, and Helena Hunting know the answer.

And last but not least, Back After This by Linda Holmes offers a humorous and heartfelt behind-the-scenes look at the cutthroat world of podcasting, reality entertainment, and influencers. Readers familiar with the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) area will recognize many of the location references.

And BAC (Book Acquisition Compulsion) again

[6 books arranged vertically from left to right: Death of the Author, Kilt Trip, The Garden of Small Beginnings, Get Lost with You, My Big Fat Fake Marriage, Played]

A browse of the "new arrivals" shelf at my local library branch proved too tempting to resist, as usual. And my recent binge of hockey romances combined with the enthusiastic coverage of Ovechkin's #GR8 Chase sparked a desire to reread Played by Naima Simone (not that an excuse to do so was necessary).

Wishing you good health and some pleasure every day.

**At an event at the Hershey Public Library last year my inner reader fan girl burst free upon seeing Xio Axelrod in-person in the form of tears and not being able to speak. She gave me a hug, which made me boo-hoo even more. She was so compassionate toward me. Similar behavior from me when meeting Ms. Beverly Jenkins and Leslye Penelope with varying degrees of embarrassing nerdiness.

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