longsightmyth

[longsightmyth]

The other night husband and I were watching a documentary about the yeti where they were doing DNA analysis of samples of supposed yeti fur, and every one of them came back as bears.

Anyway, the next night we watched a thing about some pig man who is supposed to live in Vermont. People said it had claws and a pig nose but walked upright like a man. Now, I happen to know that sideshows used to shave bears and present them as pig men. So every piece of evidence they gave of this monster sounds to me like a bear with mange.

So now the running joke in our house is that everything is bears. Aliens? Bears. Loch Ness monster? Bear. Every cryptozoological mystery is just a very crafty bear.

Bears. They’re everywhere. Be wary. Anyone or anything could be a bear.

[longsightmyth]

if you start reading books again. you will feel at least a little better. I promise

[longsightmyth]

Storygraph is fun. Powered through my October Daye reread this past month and that's absolutely reflected here.

[longsightmyth]

if i ever write something set in the united states im just going to do zero research whatsoever and make stuff up to sound cool it’s equality

[longsightmyth]

AUGUST 2025 WRAPUP

Slowly I conquer storygraph graphics.

CROWN OF BLOOD by Nicola Tallis 4 stars

I thought I kept more notes this month. If I did I can't find them. Anyway! This was interesting but not in a way that felt like I learned anything new about Jane Grey? I'm not sure how to describe it. There was a lot of info. If you don't know anything about the period maybe you'll learn more? But that isn't quite right either bc it sounds condescending. Whatever. Four stars!

BEE STING CAKE by Victoria Goddard 5 stars

Bees! And moms! And sisters! 5 stars

WHISKEY JACK by Victoria Goddard 5 stars

Dads! And stepdads! And sisters! 5 stars (I cried at the will)

BLACK CURRANT FOOL by Victoria Goddard 4.5 stars

May we all get to create something that saves somebody and then get to meet the person we saved. I think that would fix us. (actually with knock-on effects it probably would)

LOVE-IN-A-MIST by Victoria Goddard 4 stars

Listen it wasn't bad (I don't think Goddard could write a bad book if she tried) but it just wasn't as interesting as the others? It's four stars on a goddard scale.

STONE & SKY by Ben Aaronovitch 4.75 stars

As with Goddard, I don't think Aaronovitch could write a bad book if he tried, and I enjoyed this one. But I think maybe more Peter might have edged this into a 5 (don't look at me I love Abigail okay this one just felt less rooted in Peter's PoV when we were in it is what I'm saying)

THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley 5 stars

What do you want from me. I am a simple horsegirl who likes swords living in a lonely world.

GHOSTSMITH by Nicki Pau Preto 4 stars

I enjoyed it!

MY HAPPY MARRIAGE volume 1 by Akumi Agitogi 4 stars

Manga. Short. I like the main character's progression and occasional backslides re: self worth. She's got hella ptsd from lifelong parental abuse, healing isn't a straight upward slope, etc etc

MY HAPPY MARRIAGE volume 2 by Akumi Agitogi 4 stars

See above

MY HAPPY MARRIAGE volume 3 by Akumi Agitogi 4 stars

Listen it's the same reasons to keep reading this

MY HAPPY MARRIAGE volume 4 by Akumi Agitogi 3 stars

Unfortunately sometimes world ending conflicts intrude on my character stories. It's whatever.

BEHOOVED by M. Stevenson 4 stars

What do you want from me. I am a simple horsegirl who likes politics living in a lonely world. A lonely world that now includes horse puns.

THE DUKE AND THE DISCIPLE by Sarah M Cradit 3.75 stars

Not as sexy as advertised and the romance got in the way of the actually excellent and well thought out worldbuilding. I didn't hate the romance to be clear it was just kinda. There. And the sex scenes were acceptable. It's whatever. I'm gonna read her other ones for the worldbuilding.

AWAKENING by Elene Singer 3.5 stars

It is what it is, as in it tried to be very Deep and the concepts it dealt with (grief, loving again, figuring yourself out) were all great but there was an element of forced therapyspeak that kept this from feeling like a novel so much as a self help guide with some sex scenes. Mileage may vary.

WHEN WOMEN RULED THE WORLD: SIX QUEENS OF EGYPT by Kara Cooney 4.5 stars

Honestly this should have been called Six Female Kings of Egypt in keeping with the book but I understand that isn't as catchy and may not pull in who the publishers wanted to pull in. Informative and very good about taking things in context with nuanced discussion of 'female power.'

WICKED BEAUTY by Katee Robert 4.75 stars

Review here

MIDNIGHT RUIN by Katee Robert 4.5 stars

Very hot. Quite funny. I admit to starting to go 'uh-huh and when will the threat to mafia olympus hit?'

NEON GODS by Katee Robert 4 stars

Was this the first in the series? Sure. Listen I've never been known to read series in order. Disappointing end to OG Zeus but Demeter continues to be cool.

TIGER'S VOYAGE by Colleen Houck 0.25 stars

I need you all to understand that I considering going back and giving this installment in the tiger's curse series 0.5 stars on the basis that its greatest crime was being the most boring book in existence, which makes it better written than its prequels and sequels. I did not, because to be clear this series is the worst I've read bar none, but the thought did occur to me. This racist sexist classist drivel continues to be racist, classist, and sexist with an extra heaping of stupid. News at eleven!

THE HOUSE OF DUDLEY by Joanne Paul 5 stars

In-depth and learned me all kinds of things. That's what I ask of a nonfiction work. I can't complain that it spent a lot of time on lizzie 1 because obviously.

TIGER'S DESTINY by Colleen Houck 0.25

Let us say I do not recommend this series and move on with our lives. Special mention for having characters from the time period speak modern English, Hindi, and Mandarin in 320 BCE (No I mean literally they talk about the different languages). Somehow there is a fifth book. How? Truly who can say. Also Ren dies for the name number of minutes as I gave it stars.

UNDER THE OAK TREE volume 1 by Suji Kim 3 stars

Light novel. Very light on the noveling. Not the worst, just couldn't keep my attention.

SWEET OBSESSION by Katee Robert 4 stars

This was hot. That's why it got four stars. Also finally the threat to mafia Olympus is realized-ish.

[longsightmyth]

when i was a kid i had moments of being so fucking diabolical because i realized at some point the best way to leverage power over my family was to do shit that would make everybody late

[longsightmyth]

happy Labor Day

[longsightmyth]

must be the season of the witch.

for @ioncrescent

[longsightmyth]

[longsightmyth]

My husband (has cancer) is a frequent customer of a local family-run pharmacy. It’s much more personal and welcoming there than at a chain pharmacy — they recognize us and I feel very comfortable asking them questions about medications (husband currently has a lot).

Anyway this week my husband’s prior authorization for a medication was delayed and he decided he would pay the out-of-pocket cost rather than wait a couple days for medicine he needs to go to work. It was a $100 prescription so this was tough but not earth-shattering.

Anyway; the lead pharmacist noticed that he was being charged for his normally-insured medication, asked him about it, and took 50% off as a gift. He said every year at Christmas they have staff and community contribute to a fund to help people pay for medications, and whenever a usual customer is facing an unexpected charge, they can cover some of the cost.

Reminder to support your local businesses, build your local community!

[longsightmyth]

Here’s something else I’ve been curious about.

This quiz is about novels only. Or, if you will, works of fiction that tell a story and that you are typically expected to start, read till you reach the end, and then finish once you do so.

Reference books (e.g.) are not typically meant to be read cover to cover. This poll is not about them.

By “read” I mean “reading from cover to cover like it was your first time reading it”. Flipping through a book you like is Good and Cool but not within the scope of this poll.

[longsightmyth]

Happy Labor Day

[longsightmyth]

every time I hear overly vague “therapy speak (i.e “I’ve been at capacity recently I want to honor those boundaries so please respect my desires as a community member and re-analyze how your positionality has affected your place as someone in community with me, I’d like you to do some decentering” type of stuff) I think of my old Italian professor who’d say “I love the term “taking accountability,” it’s so funny, it’s so American. What does it mean?! Are you going to do anything? It means nothing.” She was so real for that.

[longsightmyth]

POV you are an average knight just trying to make a living in King Arthur’s England

[longsightmyth]

And yeah that was after editing other tupos but listen

[longsightmyth]

There is something viciously and desperately heart-rending (in a good way) in reading about the poet Ariadne nev Lingarel, traitor, power-hungry politician, confined in a magical prison unable even to die of starvation but never given food or water until her death many decades later, who waited hundreds of years in the afterlife to meet the person who loved her poem so much it saved him from the same prison before she could truly feel at peace

[longsightmyth]

Readers: I did keep it