July 2025

It’s the end of July, and I started it on an island off the coast of Maine frequented by artists, the wealthy, fisher people, and lobster people. The ferry ride out to the island on my birthday was met with giant waves and my eventual sickness at the back of the boat. My only company, a seagull flying slowly behind us, watching me getting rid of my recently consumed tea and a vegan croissant we had picked up at Salt and Pepper Social in Newcastle. It was a good week, and the ferry ride back was much less eventful.

On Sunday, the 20th, we went to the State and saw The Decemberists. It was a great performance and a sold-out crowd. Turns out it was the first time they had played in Maine. 

Some movies I watched

I watched the Pavement documentary/biopic/musical. Not horrific, but fun, and the soundtrack was great.

Also watched The Substance. It was worth the hype, horrific, and there was so much fake blood during the chaotic finale. 36,000 gallons. Still half of the Evil Dead remake of 70,000 gallons, but certainly respectable.

Some books I read

I finished reading Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson on the island. It was a good vampire novel. Set in the 1970s, it references the Vietnam War a bit, but aside from that, I feel it could have taken place at any time. 

For the difficult books book club, I read/listened to Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, and it was great. I feel like it's something I should have or could have read much sooner. It came out in 1993, and it starts in the year 2025… so this year. It’s dystopian, horrific, and depressing, but seeded with hope and so well written. I have the second one, and I’m looking forward to jumping into that one next

My evening read currently is Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez. It’s early in the novel, and so far, a bit of a slow burn. I’m enjoying it so far.

What I have been writing

I’m never at a loss for ideas for stories and short stories. What I usually lack is the motivation and time to write. On the island, while I had some downtime, a new idea developed that I have been making notes on and churning through. I think it’ll be fun if I can motivate myself to get this one out. At some point, I just have to sit down and start typing. 

That's it for July!

If you are on BlueSky and interested, follow me here: https://bsky.app/profile/spwhite.bsky.social

This image is from the first night. It was foggy, and I liked how this looked.




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