I kind of love it when publishers are consistent with the book design in their authors’ canon. Sure, Sloane Crosley‘s books have had some design variations, but they all orbit around a central theme: same font face, abstractly representative of what’s happening in the story, and always a little tongue-in-cheek. Up The Down Volcano is her Kindle single, which I finished over a bangin’ cappuccino and omelet last week.
The “single” is about Crosley’s ill-planned (and somewhat ill-fated) trip to Ecuador, where took on the challenge of hiking up Cotopaxi with no more preparation than, say, throwing an extra shawl in your suitcase because it “might be rainy in Seattle.” Some parts of the story are laugh-out-loud-even-in-public-places funny, and Crosley has such a magnificent way with analogies. “Offensively pretty” is now a term I use constantly. Here are some of my favorite lines:
“You say you’re born with the sociopathic strain that compels you to hold manifying glasses above ants? Sure, fine, whatever. Be crazy. But if you are not this person, if you are regular, we will spend the rest of your life teaching you to believe in the power of your mind over your body… But sickness is the body’s retort to such hubris. Control was an illusion. You were having a lucid dream, friend. Wht the mind really is, is a Tupperware container full of leftover Ramen noodles.”
“I think of the bees. I am lucid enough to be disappointed by my own insanity.”
“Nothing is so gruesome to the human imagination as regret.”
“I think by now we can all agree that the foundation of world travel goes something like ‘bring a cardigan.’”
P.S. I also love this Vanity Fair article about Crosley, which claims she makes the best Arnold Palmer. Challenge accepted.
Have a great weekend!
