biblio creep - september 2024 newsletter

A cozy newsletter for book lovers & journalers

Sep 12, 2024

Hello, creepy friends! I hope you’ve been doing great. As we move closer to the end of the year I’ll be ramping up for the busiest video-making season. I’ll be doing full flip throughs of all of my 2024 journals in December, and the annual setups for my 2025 journals. I’ll also be participating in Inktober for the first time, which is a challenge for artists to draw every day in October following a list of prompts. If you’d like to see what I come up with, I’ll be posting on YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, and also on my separate visual arts Instagram account. Hope you have a great September!

Book Reviews

Below are some short reviews of the books I read in August. Longer versions are posted on bibliocreep.com. If you enjoy science fiction, please check these out, because I read so really amazing books last month!

In Ascension by Martin MacInnes

Fiction - Literary, Science Fiction
My Rating - 5/5 stars
Read if you’re looking for:
- Emotional & affecting science fiction
- Deep awe & reverence for nature & exploration
- Makes you realize the interconnectedness of all things
- Hard sci-fi moments, particularly including the miracle of evolution & life in the oceans
- A gorgeous ending
Read the full review

Toward Eternity by Anton Hur

Fiction - Literary, Science Fiction
My Rating - 5/5 stars
Read if you’re looking for:
- Beautiful science fiction with a love story that spans across centuries
- A meditation on how language and art shape who we are & how they make us human
- Exploration of AI & the “ship of Theseus” of personhood
- A shorter book with huge scale and depth
- Wonderful, diverse representation
Read the full review

The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada, translated by David Boyd

Fiction - Literary, Surrealism, Magical Realism
My Rating - 4.5/5 stars
Translated from Japanese
Read if you’re looking for:
- A short, surreal novella from a Japanese author
- Dreamlike and unsettling imagery
- Feelings of the oppressive summer heat & malaise
- A strange creature who digs deep holes that seem to fit a person’s body perfectly
- Visual allusions to transformation, loss, and disconnection
Read the full review

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Sam Bett & David Boyd

Fiction - Literary
My Rating - 4/5 stars
Translated from Japanese
Read if you're looking for:
- Feminist, literary fiction from Japan
- Expression of the pains & pressures of being a woman
- An exploration of women’s roles in society, how those expectations can suffocate you, & the difficulty of making nontraditional life choices
- A bold, direct, & fresh writing style
Read the full review

Counterweight by Djuna, translated by Anton Hur

Fiction - Science Fiction, Noir, Mystery
My Rating - 3/5 stars
Translated from Korean
Read if you’re looking for:
- A noir, sci-fi mystery with corporate espionage
- A fictional island nation grappling with colonization
- Tons of film and literature references
- Written by a mysterious, anonymous, queer author
- Author originally intended it to be a low-budget sci-fi movie
- Translated Korean fiction
Read the full review

August YouTube Videos

Below are links to all of the YouTube videos I released in August. I tried a new journaling style in August, so check out my bullet journal setup video to see a collage style setup using various types of paper, stickers, and ephemera.