[random]

1. I finished reading My Abandonment by Peter Rock this weekend. I loved it–it left me gutted. A child narrator is hard to pull off, and Rock does it so, so well. (PS: He’ll be this week’s guest in the Writer, with Kids series. Check back on Wednesday to read the interview.)

2. I’ve passed out of the promiscuous five-books-at-a-time phase into the reading-books-like-chainsmoking phase. As soon as I finished My Abandonment, I started What Happened to Sophie Wilder. So far it feels like reading Henry James (which is a good thing, for me. I love James.). It’s mannered in a way that contrasts nicely with the age of the narrator and the contemporary setting. I suspect I’ll either love it and devour it or throw it across the room. Too early to tell. I promise to report back.

3. Kiddo turned six last week. He looks like this now, such a big boy:

4. Revisions on Revolution are going well. The editor who’s kicked my ass in the best way possible has given a thumbs up to my revised opening, and I’m closing in on finishing this draft. I’m chastened by how many passages that I loved fiercely lifted right out without leaving a hole. This is why we have editors, yes?