Cecil Vortex

Welcome to Week Five, in which we careen in a meandery way toward something approaching the halfway mark! Like Amanda in the comments, I was struck by how Saleem’s newfound Umbrella Academy-ish (hat tip Guzmán) abilities nicely match the experience of reading. And really, what better super power for a narrator? We continue to be … Read more

Well, that was unexpected! 🙂 I think I’ll follow the thread-lead (good instincts, Ute!) and not spoil, except to say that it was fun to find that the title doesn’t mean exactly/only what I always thought it meant. I’m still taken by the way he uses and talks about time. Then there’s all those references … Read more

Wonderful section, wonderful thread…! I agreed with just about all the comments this week. Like Furiosa, I’m hoping to use “funtoosh” in a sentence soon. Like just about everyone, I’m still swirling from the cinematic mashup of the monkeys, the money, and the man who prophesied too much. Like Computillo I was thinking of Vonnegut … Read more

Welcome fellow Meanderers to our first pause that refreshes. Be careful, though, taking a dip in the river, nosing around the tussock, stepping over the plentiful ordure…. So many great comments this week! From Noodles’ #metameandermoment, to Furiosa’s call out to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, to Susan C sketching out the line that … Read more

Greetings! Explanations follow. But first, a confession: I’ve been afraid of Midnight’s Children for three decades. It was assigned to me in college. I never read it. And it has been staring at me balefully ever since. Like, completely full of bale. So it was that out of fear, I cheated — cracking open the … Read more

Greetings friends! In brief: New Meander starts August 16th! Which is to say: Following fast on the heels of the internationally acclaimed White Noise and Blind Assassin Meanders, Vortex Industries is thrilled to announce the imminent arrival of The Midnight’s Children Meander, in which a hardy crew of folks like you will embark on a … Read more

Thanks to you mighty crew of 30 or so folks who made it to the finish line. And thanks as well to the many fab folks who joined for part of the way. For me, this was classic Meander material. First off, the book itself kind of, you know, ambled — from year to year, … Read more

Next up, we meander to the end. It’s a slightly longer read than most weeks, but I know you and what you’re capable of. Spoiler: you are capable of this. Two things that struck me this last week out of ~a gazillion: For me, the most chilling line so far, with all the vivid language, … Read more

So it is we find ourselves cresting page 400 (Blue), with only two weeks remaining, two weeks to find out whither the blind assassin and the tongueless girl, who with Alex when, and which with pen wrote words before these words to Myra. Oh, and a magnet will be revealed! As is your due. And … Read more

The line between stories is starting to blur. Two ocean voyages side by side. A sci fi that talks like a brutal noir. Secret encounters within secret encounters. Also, I’ve also started playing TBA bingo. Jeff G. mentioned in last week’s comments how the words on Alex’s notebook are starting to show up in the … Read more