paperbookteacat-blog

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Bardic Tales and Sage Advice, Vol 1

#amreading Bardic Tales and Sage Advice, Vol 1 A varied collection of stories. Interesting for me as there were quite a few I might have to revisit to "get". But overall lots to love. #speculativefiction #zines

By Bards and Sages Publishing Published: Oct. 15, 2009 Words: 43,560 Language: English Available:  Each installment of the Bardic Tales and Sage Advice speculative fiction anthology highlights the amazing wealth of talent found in the speculative fiction genres. Originally a stand-alone anthology, the Bardic Tales and Sage Advice series has evolved to showcase the winners of the Bards and Sages…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Booka and their rec

Hieu Minh Nguyen – poetry, plagiarism

Twitter – @HieuMinh

Rachel McKibbins – poetry, plagiarism

@RachelMcKibbens

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: VULTURE BONES: Spec Fic from Trans & Enby Voices (Issues #1-2)

#amreading VULTURE BONES: Spec Fic from Trans & Enby Voices (Issues #1-2) A delightful collection of stories that adds Trans/Enby twists to classic and not so classic specfic. #specfic #queer #trans #enby #zine

Vulture Bones is a quarterly speculative fiction magazine showcasing the voices of transgender and nonbinary writers. Vulture Bones is what is left when everything useful is harvested, even the gamey meat of scavengers. Vulture Bones is the name of a bald and genderless sharpshooter with thirteen enemies and one bullet left. Vulture Bones is something morbid and foundational. Vulture Bones is a…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho

I read and loved 'If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again' by @zenaldehyde from @BNSciFi. #sff #speculativefiction #shortstory #mondayblogs #ownvoices #diversebookblogging #booklove #bookblogging

Welcome to this Quick Bite! Today I’ll be writing about Zen Cho’s free short story If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again.

Cover illustration and design by Shirley Jackson

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho, Edited by Joel Cunningham

Available for free from the Barnes & Noble website.

A hapless imugi is determined to attain the form of a full-fledged dragon and gain…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: The Lilies of Dawn by Vanessa Fogg

#amreading The Lilies of the Dawn by @FoggWriter from @AnnorlundaInc. I'll remember this one for a long time! #ya #fantasy #ownvoices #booklove #bookblogs #bookblogging #bookbloggers #diversebooks #diversebookblogging

Welcome to this Quick Bite, shorter posts on quick content. This time I’ll be taking a look at The Lilies of Dawn by Vanessa Fogg!

The Lilies of Dawn by Vanessa Fogg

Type: Novella

Genre/Tags: YA, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Asian, #ownvoices

Price (USD) / Length

ebook: $2.99 paperback: $7.99 / 76 pages

A sample and extensive purchase options (including DRM-free!) can be found at Annorlunda’s…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: I'm No Superhero Chapters 13-23 by Erin Hayes, A Radish Serial

I #amreading I'm No Superhero Chapters 13-23 by @erinhayes5399, A @radish_fiction Serial #magicalgirls #serial #speculativefiction #mondayblogs #sff

Cover from the App

Saving the world comes at a heavy price. They used to call us Angels. Superheroes. We were five girls who wielded the power of the elements to vanquish the forces of darkness. But we were betrayed by those we trusted and scattered across the globe. We had to go into hiding in an attempt to save ourselves. If only it had worked. Now, with our powers turning on us, the darkness is…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: The Voyage of the White Cloud by M. Darusha Wehm

#amreading The Voyage of the White Cloud by @darusha. An amazing story. I felt so much and felt so seen! 😍 #booklove #bookblogging #bookbloggers #diversebooks #diversebookblogging

Hi all! Welcome to this Quick Bite, this will be a short review of the novel The Voyage of the White Cloud by M. Darusha Wehm.

Cover: The Voyage of the White Cloud by M. Darusha Wehm – A spaceship flies among the stars.

Can home be a place you’ve never been, a place no one has ever been?

The White Cloud is the most audacious experiment the human species has ever undertaken—to search for a new…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Big Bite: A Spoiler-Full Deep Dive of A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins

#amreading A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins. Here is the spoiler full deep dive! #speculativefiction #ownvoices #sff #SFFinTranslation #mexicanx #latinx #shortstories #anthology

Welcome, to this Big Bite! Here we’ll take a spoiler-full deep dive of A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins.

If you want a spoiler-free preview, click here.

Basic Information

Cover in Spanish

Cover in English

A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins / Una realidad más amplia: Historias desde la periferia bicultural is an anthology brought to…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: A Spoiler FREE Preview of A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins

#amreading A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins. Here is the spoiler free preview! #speculativefiction #ownvoices #sff #SFFinTranslation #mexicanx #latinx #shortstories #anthology

Welcome, to this Quick Bite! Here we’ll take a quick taste of content. This time I will be tackling a spoiler-free preview of A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins.

Basic Information

Cover in Spanish

Cover in English

A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins / Una realidad más amplia: Historias desde la periferia bicultural is an anthology…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Big Bite: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

#amreading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel #graphicnovel #comic #booklove #bookblogging #ownvoices #diversebookblogging #diversebookblog #bookblogger

Welcome to this Big Bite, I hope you have a minute! This time I am covering Fun Home: A Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel. This is a graphic novel covering both Bechdel’s relationship with her father, and her exploration of her lesbianism. The narratives combine to form a powerful story but luckily its not devoid of humor or self-awareness.

I’m not too concerned about spoilers as honestly neither is…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: Dragon Physician - Chapters 5, 6 & 7

#amreading Dragon Physician - Chapters 5, 6 & 7 by @jolantru. These are my thoughts! #serial #sff #speculativefiction #radishfiction

Welcome to Quick Bites, my tiny thoughts on shorter content. This time I’m commenting on Chapters 5, 6 & 7 of a currently ongoing Radish serial by Joyce Chng called Dragon Physician (link).

What is Radish? More on how Radish works here.

Here is my coverage of Chapters 1, 2, 3&4. If you want a spoiler free preview, go to my Quick Bite on Chapter 1. Be warned, there are spoilers ahead as I…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: An Inheritance of Darkness Chapters 1-7 by Zoe Aarsen

I #amreading An Inheritance of Darkness Chps 1-7 by @ZoeAarsen on @radish_fiction. Click to see my thoughts! #ya #newadult #paranormal #supernatural #urbanfantasy

Welcome to this Quick Bite about Chapters 1 through 7. An Inheritance of Darkness by Zoe Aarsen. This is a serial on Radish (link), but you can read the first seven chapters for free on the app.

What is Radish? Click here to find out more.

Since this is the first post I will avoid big spoilers. That said due to the pacing of the story there isn’t that much to spoil that isn’t in the synopsis. The…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

#amreading Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast Not sure if its a great sign, but I could relate to Roz's relationship with her parents. This feels like a cautionary tale, but a necessary one. Hi all, welcome to this Big Bite about Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast.

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Sorry all, I am pretty late on this one. This is due to a double whammy of a vacation and then getting seriously sick from the vacation. Better late than never some say. Here are my thoughts on Anime Winter 2019, any other anime I’m watching, and the Spring 2019 season thoughts…

Winter 2019 I watched:

Kemurikusa

Mob Psycho 100 II

Boogiepop wa Warawanai

The Promised Neverland

Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note – A Grave Keeper, a Cat, and a Mage

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka

Grimms Notes The Animation

Karakuri Circus

Anime I am watching, but not part of Winter/Spring:

Kino’s Journey, 2003 and 2017

Winter 2019

Kemurikusa

Synopsis

The story follows girls who fight with weird entities nicknamed “mushi” (bugs) and survive in a world of red fog.

(Source: Anime News Network)

-Image from LiveChart.me

Episode 12/12 (Complete!): I really loved this one and its a shame it was languishing on Amazon Prime. While I don’t think it ever would have been the season favorite, I will probably remember it for times to come. The characters manage to be charming even if they aren’t deep, I also loved the theme of sisterhood and how the girls stuck together no matter what. I enjoyed the build up of the mystery, the ultimate solution and even how certain things remained unresolved or uncertain. Ultimately I loved the vibe of the show. Despite the bleakness there was a hopeful spirit to it. For something that could have had an epic scale, instead it felt cozy and intimate. I highly recommend this if you want some cozy post-apocalyptic anime.

Mob Psycho 100 II

Synopsis

Kageyama Shigeo, a.k.a. “Mob,” is a boy who has trouble expressing himself, but who happens to be a powerful esper. Mob is determined to live a normal life and keeps his ESP suppressed, but when his emotions surge to a level of 100%, something terrible happens to him!

As he’s surrounded by false espers, evil spirits, and mysterious organizations, what will Mob think? What choices will he make?

(Source: Crunchyroll)

-Image LiveChart.me

Episode 13/13 (Complete!): I really enjoyed this one too! A heavy hitter of the season and deservedly so. Despite a few hiccups in the beginning, it ended up being better written than the first season. I don’t have any real deep thoughts on this one and hope there is a season 3 so we can see how the new Team Reigen interacts. Someone to out awkward Mob!

Boogiepop wa Warawanai

Synopsis

There is an urban legend that children tell one another about a shinigami that can release people from the pain they may be suffering. This “Angel of Death” has a name: Boogiepop. And the legends are true. Boogiepop is real.

When a rash of disappearances involving female students breaks out at Shinyo Academy, the police and faculty assume they just have a bunch of runaways on their hands. But Nagi Kirima knows better. Something mysterious and foul is afoot. Is it Boogiepop, or something more sinister…?

(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

-Image from LiveChart.me

Episode 17/18 (DNF!): I stopped caring and didn’t finish this one. An utter disappoint. I just recommend people read the light novels. The only parts that seem to be interesting are the ones around Nagi Kirima but she didn’t show up in the final arc so…. bleh.

The Promised Neverland: 12/12 (Complete!): I wasn’t planning on this but wow was this an incredible romp! That said, I have mixed feelings on the ending. It felt like this anime preferred SURPRISE! rather than telling a good story. There was one revelation in particular that made me feel like I was watching a completely different anime and certain scenes didn’t line up. But then there was the revelation between Mother and Ray that was actually well done?  IDK, while I enjoyed the ride, its hard for me to 100% recommend or go onto season 2 (if there is one).

Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note – A Grave Keeper, a Cat, and a Mage: 1/1 (Complete!): Although I’m not too invested in the Fate franchise overall I did enjoy Zero and Waver Velvet so I watched this. Well done and there is going to be another episode in Summer 2019 which I will definitely catch!

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka: 12/12 (Complete!): Another show I just happened to check out and it really it me in the soft spot. I love magical girls and bro-y military anime and this had both! Combined with some interesting world-building and character development and this show had me hooked. I hope there is a season 2, but the ending made it satisfactory, even if it does not.

Grimms Notes The Animation

Episodes 12/12 (Complete!): This one was ok to start but kind of went off the rails. At first it was sympathetic to fairytale villains like Snow White’s step mom and John Silver, but then completely forget them in order to hone in on the point that the good guys are fighting to preserve stories, even if they suck. I feel like Mattel did better on this subject. I don’t really recommend this.

Karakuri Circus

Episode – Current! – Ongoing!: This show is continuing on and should end with the Spring season if I am correct. It just put on its third and final opening, which is nice and uplifting. I still feel like this is an underrated anime. Every episode has been entertaining if not heart wrenching, and I love where most of the plot lines are going. It also weird to think of where this anime started.

Watching, but not part of the anime season

Kino’s Journey -the Beautiful World- the Animated Series

I don’t which remember which episode I stopped at but blargh this is sooooooo bad in terms of getting the point of the light novels and the Kino character. Its almost on par with Boogiepop in terms of how can you rip the heart and soul of an adaptation so badly? I kind of want to do a 2003 vs 2017 post but don’t want to finish this. ;_;

Also I watched the 2003 version and it surprisingly holds up well for an older anime. Shoot, my heart was in my throat for nearly every episode. I recommend this one.

Merc Storia: Mukiryoku Shounen to Bin no Naka no Shoujo

Slowly working my way through this one. Its cute but meant for a younger audience. I have a hard time watching as Yu is a boring protagonist.

Overall Winter 2019 was amazing for me. More great watches then disappointments. While I have my eyes open for Spring 2019 there isn’t anything calling to me that I can watch (*shakes a fist at One Punch Man Hulu exclusive*) so I’m concentrating on older anime that I missed out on. You might see them on this blog when I finish or DNF them.

A big problem this season is that there are so many supernatural anime, its hard to tell them apart so I’ll check out which ones people are still watching a few weeks in.

Also this is good for my other hobbies. I really need to finish Kingdom Hearts 3, I’m about 2/3 done with it along with some other games on my list. Also I need to concentrate on posts and social media more!

Hope you all had a good anime season! What did you like or not like? And thanks for checking out this Big Bite!

Finally going over #Anime Winter 2019. There was a lot of good stuff this season! And my plans going forward! Sorry all, I am pretty late on this one. This is due to a double whammy of a vacation and then getting seriously sick from the vacation.

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Quick Bite: I'm No Superhero Chapters 9-12 by Erin Hayes, A Radish Serial

My thoughts on I'm No Superhero Chapters 9-12 by @erinhayes5399, A @radish_fiction Serial #magicalgirls #sff #serial #speculativefiction #mondayblogs

Cover from the App

Thanks for joining me on this Quick Bite. Today we’ll be going over Chapters 9-12 of I’m No Superhero by Erin Hayes. This is a serial available on Radish (link). That said its free for the first ~17 chapters (more are released with time), so all you need to do is download the app (on both iTunes and Andorid) to check it out!

What is Radish? More on how Radish works here.

I’ve…

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Radish Logo

I’ve been commenting on a few serials from Radish so I feel like I should explain what Radish is in a Big Bite, so I don’t have to keep repeating myself. So strap in, this one will take a few minutes. (Sorry but this is not an April Fool’s post.)

Also this is not a sponsored post. Nothing against sponsored content, but these are my personal opinions/observations and I am not affiliated with Radish.

Radish is a mobile app (on the iTunes and Android stores) where one can read serial fiction with the ability to spend money (more on this later).

“I enjoy writing web serials in my spare time.” – Ulquiorra Cifer, Serial Writer -Image from Bleach Wiki

Some of this is guesswork but I think at one point Radish was free and a bit more informal. This is based off the fact I’ve found stories attached the names of certain anime characters and a wide variety in quality of stories. But now they are pushing for more consistent quality stories with the Radish Originals. These are serials written by NY Times best-selling authors, writers for TV hits, etc. In fact I discovered Radish via Joyce Chng’s serial, Dragon Physician. Joyce Chng is not a huge name but she has been writing professionally for years. This shift is probably to encourage people to spend their money.

Features & Design

I can only comment on the Andorid app as I do not have access to an iPhone. Sorry if things don’t quite match up to your display.

Radish is a seemingly basic app with a lot of features if you look around. Its similar to Wattpad in that you can search for stories, add them to your personal library then read then. Radish differs in that is it is much more simplistic. Wattpad lets you create lists, has lots of options through left/right swipping etc. Radish focuses more on simplicity and its serial aspect such as a calendar that lists all of the stories. The reader part is basic too. You can select two fonts, three font sizes and three differently colored backgrounds. Not as robust as some apps but it had enough for me.

The biggest difference between Radish and other apps is that you can pay to read locked content (some that will unlock at a later date).

How much does this cost?

Radish encourages you to spend your money in a variety of ways. The app has a currency called Coins that you spend real world money on. I only have values for USD due to how the app works. The below are screenshots, but I encourage you to double check on your end as values/sales may change. The Coin Package is a one time deal. 3 coins unlocks one episode so the first tier package at $0.99 USD can unlock 2 episodes (6 Coins). This is about $0.17 per Coin and $0.50 per episode. The coins drop a bit in cost the more you buy (higher tiers).

The Usual Prices

Prices During a Sale (subject to change)

For example on a sale I purchased 117 Coins for $9.99 (the third level package). This is about $0.09 (rounding up) per Coin. So 1 episode unlocked is about $0.26/$0.27 depending on the rounding. For one story, I’m Not a Superhero I unlocked 6 episodes total so that is 18 Coins or around $1.53 for this part of the story. But I also could have waited and about every 3 days a new chapter would unlock for free. However not all stories have a date of unlock and require Coins to unlock. So keep this in mind if money is an issue for you.

But the usual price is about $0.13 per Coin for the third level package. So that’s about $0.39 per episode (3 Coins). So it would have been around $2.34 for the 6 episodes that I read if I had bought the Coins normally.

The Auto-Refilling Plan is similar, but charged once every week. This is more of a deal if you are following a lot of serials with locked content and have money to burn. Also users with this plan have greater access to Chat Stories, which are stories told in SMS/Text Messenger format. You can access the first episode for free to sample it, but then the rest of the chapters are locked unless you purchase this plan.

The biggest problem money-wise is that it is hard to get a general sense of costs beyond this. Each story is a different number of chapters. I’ve seen a story with 4 seasons (batches of chapters) where most of the content was locked and completed stories that are completely free to read. Depending what you like you could end up spending a fair amount of Coins or none at all. The best thing to do would be to keep track of how many stories you read and how much content is locked versus how much money you are willing to spend. Or just be patient/selective and you won’t spend much.

I also want to note there are sales and events to earn Coins. The sales tend to be US holiday based and are announced on their twitter account. The events usually entail reading stories around a certain theme, but the payout isn’t high (around 3 Coins/5 Coints). There are also occasional lotteries with about 500 Coin payouts but for a limited amount of users.

Your Coin amount is not visible on the main screen. You will need to click on Library and its displayed on the top. If you click the Coin amount, this will lead you to the Store so you can purchase more.

The big question is, “Is it worth it”?

It depends. I’ve read longer free stories via Smashwords, Wattpad and the Amazon Kindle ebook store. While I don’t have exact word counts, the time it took me to read each chapter wasn’t long. But I can easily say you can get more bang for your buck elsewhere.

But word count isn’t everything. Are the stories good/interesting?

Again, it depends on what you like.

Most of the stories I’ve encountered are pretty sparse in description, aiming for a direct quick read. This will appeal to some and not to others.

Some of the popular tags/topics include BDSM, bad boys, billionaires, secret baby, vampires, werewolves. If you are remotely familiar with the book/ebook scene you can probably imagine the most popular/most visible content on Radish. If you are not into woman-centric romance/smut, it will be hard to find stuff you will enjoy.

Part of this is also because there is a lot of content. The New Adult tag alone has 812 stories. If you are the sort that can enjoy most romance stories, this is a boon of content. If you are a bit more selective and don’t enjoy slogging through curation and tags you will not like Radish. I fall into the weird category in that I am selective but don’t mind doing a deep dive once in awhile. While I can see myself dropping Radish after I have had my fill, I am enjoying it for now and am ok using Coins to support the writers.

Do you use Radish? What do you think? Do you enjoy it and what are you reading? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

Thanks for sticking with me on this Big Bite, hope to see you again!

@ContentCr_EATER

So I've mentioned @radish_fiction a few times in my blog, but what is it? #serial #fiction #radish_fiction #mondayblogs Radish Logo I've been commenting on a few serials from Radish so I feel like I should explain what Radish is in a Big Bite, so I don't have to keep repeating myself.

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Big Bite: The Complete Persepolis - Teen Versus Now

#rereading #persepolis My teen versus adult perspectives. #graphicnovel #graphicnovels #ownvoices #diversebookblogging #bookblog #booklove #bookblogger #mondayblogs

Welcome to this Big Bite, a somewhat lengthy post regarding the graphic novel The Complete Persepolis. This is a re-read for me. I read this as an older teen looong ago. Then I felt the urge to re-read this. I also want to see the movie one day to compare.

Instead of doing a traditional review I figured it would be interesting to do a comparison of my thoughts then versus now. The fact that I can…