Giving away my copy of St. John Mandel's new one!

Dear ones, you lit soldiers and word bunnies, As I’ve mentioned, I had the pleasure of obtaining an advance reader copy of Emily St. John Mandel’s forthcoming novel, Exit Party, and it was everything I’d hoped, a nine-course meal of lit heaven that’s left me gobsmacked and fat and happy. And now it’s time for me to pass it on to one of you lucky humans. [NOW CLOSED] To enter the random selection, open this article in a browser or the Substack app and leave a comment regarding what is beautiful or wonderful in your life right now. Extra points for those who stir my soul. I’ll close the process on Friday, March 20th, then drop the book in the mail the next day. In a sec, I’ll talk more about her latest masterpiece, but first, housekeeping and some other bits and bobs…* Remember you can access the audio of these newsletters via the link above or via my podcast on Apple and Spotify. It’s my way of expanding on the topics in a totally unfiltered, unedited way—basically me grabbing the microphone after I write you here.* If you’re not following me via your fave social channel, such as Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, you’re missing out on Boo at his most ridiculous in short video reels. Lately, I’ve been sharing the “best of” negative reviews left for my novels. Now onto other things…* The Oscars were fun last night. Though I loved Sinners, One Battle After Another was yet another Leo film that stole my heart, so I was glad it won. But the most important thing I got from watching was Conan informing us that they were working on a sequel to F1, called Caps Lock. I could feel writers all over the world chuckling at that one.* You might remember I talked about Banksy recently, as my fam visited a Banksy exhibit in Barcelona. With uncanny timing, Reuters has blown the mystery wide open in a wonderful piece of reporting. But only read it if you’re ready to know the truth. I suppose part of me is sad that the hunt is over. * The drummer of one of my favorite bands, Go Go Penguin, left after creative disputes and has joined forces with another wonderful British contemporary jazz group called Mammal Hands. Their new album is a whopper—soul deep, sometimes sizzling, sometimes subtle, always utterly satisfying. Check it out on Spotify, Apple, or Bandcamp. If you want to understand Boo Walker, crank this album up through headphones, and you’ll see right through to my essence. Same goes for creating a station off of either of the above mentioned bands. That whole British jazz contemporary world, including Portico Quartet and the trumpet maestro Matthew Hallsall, is enough to prove that there’s magic and wonder all around us, that we’re not alone.Speaking of, Emily St. John Mandel has done it again with Exit Party. She’s putting together quite the oeuvre, and I’m a super fan. As you know by now, I can’t get enough literary speculative/post-apoc/dystopian fiction, which seems more like non-fiction every day. There’s that plus a bit of traveling between dimensions, but as always, it’s her vision and characters that carry us through. Her writing is smart, to the point, and the worlds she creates are staggeringly original.The good news is you don’t have to wait till September 15th to bear witness to her genius. You can either win the aforementioned raffle or jump into one of her other works. I suppose Station Eleven is the knockout punch, but Sea of Tranquility and The Glass Hotel are heavyweights too. What’s fun is they’re loosely tied together, which only makes for a richer reading experience.I best jump back into my work-in-progress. I’m about to bust through 60k words, and I see all the way to the end. This one’s going to disrupt the Boo status quo a bit, and that’s exactly what needs to happen. Cheerio, chaps and chapettes and anyone in between!boo Drowning in Words is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Drowning in Words at boowalker.substack.com/subscribe