It is officially autumn here in Portland and we hope you’re enjoying the cooler weather and beautiful fall colors as much as we are. We’ve pulled out our tea collection, our blankets are getting heavy use, and we’re obsessively checking the weather app to schedule dog walks in the drier moments.

Part Book Review, Part Thoughts on Reading

I read Rivera Garza’s true crime memoir, Liliana’s Invincible Summer, late last year and loved it so immediately looked up when Rivera Garza had a new book coming out and Death Takes Me was it. Originally published in Spanish in the earlier 2000s, it was being published in English for the first time earlier this year. My first career was in the gendered violence and interpersonal violence fields, so I tend to gravitate towards stories with those themes, especially if victims or survivors were seeking justice for the violence perpetuated against them. I was excited to finally pick up this book and read it and while it was not what I expected, it did not disappoint.

The story starts off with a professor going on a run through an unnamed city and she discovers a castrated male body in an alleyway. She calls the police and ends up becoming an informant for the female detective leading the investigation. They discover a few lines of poetry from a famous Argentinian poet written in pink nail polish on the brick wall behind the body, which ends up appearing at crimes scenes with additional castrated men over time across the city.

Rivera Garza’s writing in this novel is incredibly creative and unlike anything else I’ve read. While the plot points lean towards a mystery or thriller, the writing is extremely creative and is more literary fiction than anything else. She weaves different points of view throughout, but doesn’t clearly tell the reader whose point of view they’re in. She incorporates poetry, excerpts from academic texts, letters from an observer, and more into this novel.

Historically, I’ve read pretty much anything in terms of genres: history, memoirs, poetry, essays, fiction across genres, research papers, etc. Over the last several years, however, reading nonfiction has been a little bit more of a challenge and I’ve been gravitating towards more fiction. My heart and mind have been gravitating towards stories that are easier to digest and help me escape the current reality I find myself in.

My experience reading Death Takes Me, by contrast, has been anything but straightforward, clear, or an “easy escape”. However, I’m still sitting with my experience of that novel weeks later. It asked more of me. It asked me to question the role language plays in violence and how we perceive violence.

It also made me think of all the information we consume on a daily basis, and how in this age of generative AI, misinformation and disinformation, we need to question, analyze, and fact check everything we see or read. It is exhausting. And I imagine one reason why people are flocking more towards media that doesn’t ask that much of us. Yet, I think not thinking critically of the media we consume makes us more susceptible to propaganda. Even while reading books that are “cozy” or “escapism” or (fill in the blank), are we still asking questions like “what message is the author trying to send?“, “do I agree with the perceptions or stereotypes the author is employing”? Otherwise, how can we catch some seemingly subtle problematic messages that authors or other artists are passing on to us and we just eat up and consume because we are not really thinking about the messages?

Lastly, I do believe that books are art, and part of experiencing and participating in art is engaging with it critically. And I’m realizing that maybe when I just read a book, and just consume it, without thinking about it critically or even considering what message the author is sending with the art, am I participating in that art responsibly or respectfully? When is it ok, if ever, to read, watch, or listen to something without having to analyze it so deeply? I’m not sure the answer, but these are just some of my existential and philosophical ramblings for today! Annnywayyyyy, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this. Let me know? Also, if you haven’t read it yet, I do strongly recommend reading Death Takes Me. Once you have, shoot me a message and let’s chat about it, please?

Visit Us at Portland Book Festival Nov 7-8!

Reader’s Night is Friday, November 7, 6-8pm

Festival is Saturday, November 8, 9am-6pm

Literary Arts’ Portland Book Festival, presented by Wells Fargo, returns Saturday, November 8, 2025 to ten stages at six partner venues in downtown Portland’s south Park Blocks. The festival will feature on-stage author discussions with over 100 authors and interviewers, drop-in writing workshops, pop-up readings, an extensive book fair, and local food trucks in this city-wide celebration of books and stories.

📚 We will be vending at Booth # 26 inside the Kridel Grand Ballroom on the third floor of the Portland Art Museum. 📚

Organizers of the event are anticipating the festival may sell out, so we highly recommend getting tickets now!

Spooky Books for Halloween

Local to Portland? Find us in-person soon:

• TOMORROW, SUNDAY, Oct 26: Portland Flea, 11am-4pm | The Redd on Salmon | 831 SE Salmon St

  • We may need to cancel last minute depending on the weather 😬. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories for updates.

• TOMORROW, SUNDAY, Oct 26: Queer Cute PDX, 2-4pm | Double Barrel Tavern | 2002 SE Division St

  • We’ll be on the back enclosed patio for a little queer makers market!

• Friday, October 31: Allgood Brewing Co grand opening, 2-7pm | 2425 SE 35th Pl

  • Come support the newest family owned brewery in SE Portland!

  • Trick-or-treating, photo booth, flash tattoos, face painting, and of course good books, good beer, and good times.

• Saturday, November 1: Allgood Brewing Co grand opening, 12-5pm | 2425 SE 35th pl

  • Join for day two of the celebration 🎉

• Keep your eyes on our event page for more fun!

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