#Good reminder that I actually have to listen to the book 6 audiobook though

[rigelmejo]

Little things I did recently:

Listened to 20 minutes of Silent Reading chapter 1 audiobook, twice. Understood more the 2nd time around. But I'm relying on remembering the plot to follow the description heavy portions. The dialogue portions I can follow almost all details, so they help me identify which scene I'm listening to. Exciting and humbling. Exciting because I CAN mostly follow the audio Drama now (i listened to a bit last week) whereas in the past I was lost with nl descriptions to orient me and limited comprehension of comversations. But humbling, in listening to the audio BOOK now, because back when I was reading modu as chinese practice I was Very Familiar with the descriptive words and the descriptive paragraphs were how I guessed what scene I was listening to (compared to chinese chapters I'd already read before and looked the words up). Where now, the descriptive words have faded from my mind, and are the harder parts to grasp the meaning of now. I think that...overall, my chinese listening is Better now than it was 6 months ago. But I can tell that the reading-only vocabulary I've picked up is much rustier in my memory, and much harder for me to recognize in listening with no hanzi to look at for reference.

Read 5 panels (chapters) of 19天. Ended up looking up 聚会 because I couldnt remember the "gather" hanzi was pronounced ju. For some reason I kept thinking it was zi like purple 紫. But no, it was ju, for gather: 聚集 gather (juji), 聚会 (juhui) reunion. Again, I recommend that manhua if you like funny, physical comedy, slice of life. It's fun, and even if you can't read something then the pictures have a lot of the comedy anyway.

Watched 40 minutes of qi hun (hikaru no go cdrama adaptation) in only chinese. NO subtitles. First time I tried watching a show with zero subtitles including no chinese subs. I've been listening to audioboks with no text recently though, so I guess I felt I might as well try a show with no subtitles. Hikaru no go is on iqiyi youtube free (still free thank goodness), and iqiyi is one of the channels that has no hard chinese subs - you can turn on english or chinese subs, but they arent pre-made on the video. It was really cool to try! 1. I understood almost every detail! I got lost when Chu Ying said some "sayings" to kid Shi Guang, and when Chu Ying explained playing go I only understood him saying the size of the board/placement number choices, I was confused about the rest of the explanation.

I didn't understand a few lines kid Shi Guang said, but he's speaking like a kid muffled and quick during those lines and I got the gist. It was really exciting just being able to WATCH the scenes, my focus not half torn on the subs. To actually hear how the lines are said, without translation changes. Some words I could guess from context like xia qi 下棋 for play go, since Chu Ying keeps saying 我想下棋。 and shi guang keeps saying to stop crying ToT. But I do think I could have guessed the parts I didnt grasp, like Chu Yings "sayings" if Id had the chinese subtitles on and saw the hanzi to help myself figure out what he meant. So I may rewatch the episode with chinese subs. But since this summer is about improving LISTENING COMPREHENSION, I am just pretty exciting it went so well. Also the show is just so comforting. Id totally forgotten Shi Guang's little intro where he explains what the show/journey will be about!

I wonder if they dubbed the show? I assume they dubbed it, probably, since most cdramas do. But kid shi guang and the other kids talk pretty natural sounding (not like trying to sound "acting" if that makes sense, with clear projected enough voices), which reminds me of To Dear Myself with zhu yilong which either used audio filmed During Scenes or instructed the actors to dub themselves speaking more realistically (i dont remember which, that show just had a Very realisticly visual audio and acting feel). Adult shi guang also has a very natural sound to how he speaks, like the sound of his voice we hear is how he would sound if talking to regular close friends.

In Japanese Glossika app, I've studied 1129 sentences, done 9137 reps (repetitions of sentences), and studied 24:39 hours. Glossika labels me in High A1 14.7%. While I've still got some significant complaints about the new glossika app japanese course, my stubbornness to complete all the fucking sentences and judge for myself how good/bad it is has definitely Motivated me to Study japanese more. I've studied those 24 hours in the past 3 weeks, so a little over 1 hour a day of studying on average. Thats way more than the ZERO time per week I was spending on japanese, and its audio so I've been able to do it with my regular life schedule.

(Truly glossikas Only Unique benefit to me is the listening mode, so I can press play and it gives me new sentences and reviews at time intervals it schedules on its own, so i do not have to put any effort into figuring out what to do next or take time away from other activities to constantly click my screen for an hour... i can just click play new, or click play review, and continue on with my life knowing I'm learning some new stuff and reviewing things i need to. If anything else fucking had this feature id jump to it instead. Clozemaster Kind of had this feature - and i paid for a while just for it - but clozemaster's Radio mode did not split new from reviews and did not spaced repetition schedule the reviews so there were a LOT of days i wouldnt hear new sentences or id review the same 300 sentences instead of different ones out of the 2000+ i had studied).

I am curious if the Chinese Glossika app course is better? I know the old cd chinese course was fairly good, as learner reviews mentioned some alternately worded things but nothing worded Wrongly. So if the new chinese app course, please please please, just used ANY of their people on staff who know chinese (like the maker of it) to human translate, then their chinese app course should be one of the app courses with the LEAST errors. Since its a language they, presumably, have the most access to human translators for. And im curious if therefore i could study using it. Or vice versa, if the new chinese app course is trash id like to review how fucking far their quality has tanked. I recognize more chinese than japanese, and i'd be able to tell within 500 sentences roughly what the error rate is in the chinese app course.

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

this is a random question lol, but what are some books that have the same (or similar) vibe to your fostered, moth work, or seventh virtue series? ❤️

omg I love this question!

I'll answer for the books that have actual comps, because otherwise... there's no comp because the books are unreadable LMAO (love them very much <3)

Books 1-3 (Fostered, Hunted, Resisted)

The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken

I LOVE Alex, and these books kind of consumed my life as a kid!

Slated trilogy by Teri Terry

Pretty much the early Fostered books are TDM + Slated smushed together <3 I was such a Slated girlie, lmao

Books 4-6 just don't have any vibes, lmao!!! so no comps there!

Moth Work and Feeding Habits should have comps in theory, but I actually haven't personally read anything like them (though I'm sure books exist out there, I just don't know!). They're so niche in a way that it's hard to find a comp, lol! They are very much both like each other though!

Seventh Virtue

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

I realize now that this is just me expressing how much I love and support Alex's writing lmao, but this was the FIRST fantasy book I've read in a loooong time, and I read it coinciding with when I started SV, so it was super helpful for understanding the genre, especially since it's also contemp. fantasy and takes place in NYC! I'm thinking of re-reading it or getting the audiobook too since I'd like to revisit it!

Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore

This is an old favourite that I read when I was 12 or so, but I LOVE THIS BOOK! It's literally... literary fiction lmao, but fantasy for teenagers! I've read it so many times that I don't know the exact number. This is more high fantasy I believe, BUT the structure is sooo Seventh Virtue--lots of mini plots, larger cast of characters, very slow and ambling but in a fun way. If I could write this book, I would! Bitterblue as a character reminds me a lot of Reeve, haha. I just re-read this book in the fall, and I’m going to listen to it again because I just love it so much!

Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

New inspo for me since I read them in the fall, but I LOVE THESE BOOKS SM!!! I'm so late to the train, lmao, but the Netflix adaptation of Shadow & Bone initially prompted me to write SV, so it's only fitting that I love these books! They both share bird imagery in common, which I obviously love, and there's also an ensemble cast. I want to actually read this book since I listened to the fabulous audiobook, but I'd like to get a stronger grasp on Leigh Bardguo's craft which was so good it made me insecure for the first time in years, lmao yaaaas <3

I funnily don’t have any adult recs because I haven’t read any adult fantasy, so if you have recs, especially if they’re contemp. fantasy, send them my way!

Also, if anyone has anymore questions about my books, feel free to send them because I’ve been having a hard last couple days, and talking about my book makes me feel better, lol!

Thanks so much for this!

[irenespring]

School for Good and Evil Movie Thoughts

Okay as a chronic SGE-focused person (I won’t say fan because most of my enjoyment comes from writing essays about how the author conveniently ignores the genocides he accidentally wrote, how the messages are not really very heartwarming, or how Rhian would have actually been a decent king), I have Thoughts about the trailer.

- What the fuck is up with Lady Lesso’s costume. I mean. I know it’s an adaptation. I understand there is a long tradition of bad adaptations. But seriously. SHE IS DESCRIBED IN EXTREME DETAIL. The only things off the top of my head that get such frequent descriptions are Sophie’s legs (but that’s a whole other issue). And yet... the movie includes literally none of her trademark look. Why is her hair read? What happened to her purple eyes? What happened to her straight black french braid? What happened to her metal shoes? WHAT HAPPENED TO HER PURPLE GOWN THAT IS LITERALLY A PLOT POINT IN BOOK THREE???? Seriously even if everything else about her is perfect I will still be so mad at this movie.

-Kerry Washington is way too good for Clarissa Dovey. Kerry Washington is excellent and Clarissa Dovey lowkey tried to kill all the gay students of Good for the past century or however long she’s been working there. I’ve literally wrote fic for SVU (to the tune of 40,000 words) about how evil this woman is and how outrageous it is she’s framed as a protagonist. Also her costume is also not faithful to the book. Hmph.

[posthungergamessyndrome]

so here’s my long overdue review of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes that no one asked for. I finally read the book, well listened to the audiobook, coz i dunno how to read a book anymore. 

This book was everything I expected it to be and also not. Definitely the first two parts was easily predictable, we all kinda assumed that was the general arc that story would take. So while I found the first two parts enjoyable, learning more about the history of the games and learn more of Capitol, i wasn’t really hooked until the third part.

But let me say this first tho, Ms. Suzanne Collins, you never disappoint. Also I have questions and I hate that she wasn’t able to go on a book tour (I haven’t read her Q&A tho). 

I still have the same qualms as i did about the prequel as i did before I read it. While I get the early records of the games were shoddy, and the 10th Hunger Games was erased but for one copy hidden in some vault, that doesn’t matter, what matter is Snow knows.

So If Snow had that relationship with the Games and Lucy, the first victor of d12, a lot of the decisions he made in the trilogy made no sense.

I get it, he wanted to forget, it’s decades until Katniss came along. While there might be parallels, Lucy and Katniss are very different characters. But all I can think off is the reason he didn’t kill Katniss sooner, was it really because she would end up a martyr or rallying cry for the district, which happened anyways, or he was practically disassociating the moment Katniss was reaped?

Were Katniss and Peeta unintentionally triggers to so many of his hidden traumas that’s why he made so many misteps? Katniss singing the meadow song to Rue, triggered. Peeta mentioning the Valley song, triggered. Mockingjay, triggered. The Hanging Tree, triggered. 

Was he so busy crying in the shower that he wasn’t able to stop Seneca Crane from making bad calls during the 74th Games? Two winners from the same district, would Snow really okay’d that himself?

And also, I’ve always thought that anything he did towards Peeta was coz he wanted to hurt Katniss. But no, he wanted to hurt that boy. Peeta reminds him of his young self, at least the young person everyone saw him as, charming, smart, and loyal. And in a way, had Peeta been born in the Capitol and was among Snow’s contemporaries, Snow would have seen him as his ultimate rival. 

Coz Snow was smart and knows how to manipulate people, but Peeta does it a lot better and a lot more successfully. With Snow, it’s right in front of his face and he still misses it. Often he is so close to getting it. How could he not have thought of the star-crossed lovers angle? How??  When one Peeta Mellark thought of it?

Which idk if there’s fanfics of that yet, but I need to read them asap, Katniss and Peeta and teen Snow, make it happen.

(But I was looking at my notes and I wrote probably the reason Snow didn’t think of the star crossed lovers angle because it was about his survival not about Lucy’s. Lucy was at best, seen as his possession. Even at the moments he was honestly in love with her, he still saw her as someone belonging to him only. )

Snow had two relationships going on: with Sejanus and with Lucy. I did find his relationship with Sejanus more interesting, because I think it’s that relationship that shaped him more that his relationship with Lucy.

I did like and even at some points enjoyed their Slytherin-Hufflepuff BFFship going on, coz despite how Snow let us know what he really thinks versus what he actually says, he was drawn to protect Sejanus, even though he’s reluctant about it or insist that he was made to do it or it’s also to benefit himself.

And I’m not saying there’s queerbaiting in this book, but certain pairings in this book makes more sense to ship than Johanna and Katniss. 

With Lucy, i know many were wary or didn’t want Snow to have a relationship with her. For me i was open to it, at least intrigued to see where it will go or how will it be handled. 

Honestly while it is still better written than most YA romances, I found it very insta-love. Again, my sense of timeline in this novel might be different coz I was listening to the audiobook instead of reading it, but they fell in love pretty quick. 

While listening to the audiobook, i thought, if their  relationship is at this point it must have been weeks since the reaping and the games haven’t started yet, and then Snow says it’s just been five days. They were making out I think by day 3 or something. 

Maybe because I knew they relationship was doomed from the start and we know how Snow ends up, I was amused by certain moments in their relationship, coz all I can think about it is, oh honey no. 

but also, I am mad that Ms. Collins is capable of writing amazing fluff moments in the midst of a dystopian world, and she wastes them on Snow and Lucy? Where was all that for Katniss and Peeta? i was given crumbs in the trilogy, Snow and Lucy made out so many times, at one point I even thought they were going to sleep together, like how dare you Ms. Collins.

For the many years we debated the meaning behind The Hanging Tree, Ms Collins, said no hun, this is what the songs means, let me tell you it’s origin story. And omg Suzanne, that was fucked up. Thanks.

One of the things I was worried about for this prequel is that while it is set in the future, the messages in it will seem outdated because a lot has changed since the trilogy came out. 

But she wrote this book well before it was announced in 2019, before it was released in 2020, but she still made it very relevant for today and I think the messaging of this prequel would be more resonant in the future, like the trilogy is.

She touched upon how we really value children, and that immediately reminded me of school mass shootings and how we haven’t done anything about it. She lives in Sandy Hook when the shooting happened so this makes sense she makes a statement about it. And now we are sending kids to school in a middle of a pandemic for political reasons not because we are concerned about their education. 

And there’s also mentions of a pandemic in a middle of a war,  let’s say it was a whole mental experience alternating between listening to the audiobook and watching the news on January 6. 

I also loved the lines: “why do people think the only thing they need for a revolution is anger?” and “we pour money into industries not people.”

While it’s almost unbelievable that the modern hunger games was merely a student group project by a bunch of privileged rich kids and one person who thinks slavery is okay ended up writing the whole thing anyways, that’s basically how this country and our system of governance was founded. 

Dr. Gaul is also every Security and Development professor I had in grad school who teaches that war never ends and it’s not about winning it’s about control to a class of future leaders at the state department, white house, and pentagon. i mean, it’s the cornerstone of US foreign policy since end of WW2.

While also listening to this book, I am dead sure that Suzanne could write a different version of Catching Fire where Katniss and Peeta were mentors and they uncover the hidden 10 hunger games tape, and it still will be a be hella of a story.

It also makes sense that the two characters that could possibly tell us or Katniss the connection of Snow to Lucy were the ones who can’t talk: Mags and Tigris. 

obviously lucy ended up in 13, possibly related to Alma Coin coz where else will she get that personal hatred against Snow? 

Snow could have at least picked Clemensia or Lys, but Livia? i guess make sense since her offspring ended up being Plutarch’s assistant. 

I feel like if i read the prequel before the trilogy, it would be a different reading experience. But at the same time, Snow, while he had his moments, is an unlikeable character even as an anti-hero, and his moral stand point is something i dont agree with, coz you know, he’s basically a republican. it’s like reading a book about a young Mitch McConnell, doesn’t matter if the system hurt him sometimes, as long as it hurts others more and keeps him in control, and i gag. I don’t think i would finish reading the prequel if i started with it instead of the trilogy. 

but it does solidifies my theory that Snow’s evil is not because he is out of touch with the rest of panem, he knows suffering that’s why he knows how to exploit it. He is not oblivious to the problems, but he arrived at different conclusions or convictions, because again he supports the system that controls his enemies, even if the system is cruel to him too. Again, a Republican. Don’t be one, don’t date one. 

I do wonder tho if he made good with champagne tuesdays when he became president. 

I don’t see how this prequel works as a movie adaptation tho, even if turned into three parts. It makes more sense for it to be a series, so if lionsgate hasn’t declared bankruptcy before they can adapt this into screen, maybe with the state of movies right now due to the pandemic, they will be more convinced to make this into a series for Netflix or to launch their own streaming service.    

[joliepixie]

I’ve been reading almost everyday since April 16th thanks to the stay at home order. Not that I’m complaining but I feeling like it’s time to return to work if only for my activity level! its become a struggle to remove myself enough to go for a walk or run. Anyways onto the books.

Left to right:

1) I ordered this book when I was in the middle of the Throne of Glass series as a nice book to break up the series (can’t read series books back to back I get bored that way) but also to fulfill the Sarah J. Maas craving I was having without having to invest in a series. I don’t know was expecting with this book but for me it made me realize I’m not that into superhero books... don’t get me wrong it was a good book and I think I gave it 3 stars?? It just didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t much enjoy the characters and I had a hard time believing catwoman was this super badass didn’t lose one fight to anyone type of character that had assassin training. I preferred the early chapters when she was just a kid trying to make a living by fighting I think following that would have been a bit more interesting. Ok Just checked rated it 4 stars... This is why I do these “reviews” cause sometimes I don’t know how I feel about a book till I sit down and start blabbing about it. So yes a 3 star book for me.

2) Ok I have a serious addiction apparently. After reading the Throne of Glass books I wasn’t done with Sarah J. Maas’ writing style yet so with me having a week of uninterrupted home time left and having a serious book hangover I decided to re-read the ACOTAR series again.. probably just the first two because I like the build up to Rhys and Feyra’s relationship. Needless to say other then having to spend the majority of this book with Tamlin I love this book or more specifically the under the mountain trails. Going into the book for the first time last year I wasn’t expecting the trails and being a huge fan of competitions, trails, etc. I was enthralled. Love this book and love the second book even more. Oh and I promise I will be branching out from Sarah J. Maas soon considering I’ve had all her books read and just waiting for breath and sky now.

3) Another re-read/slowly trying to read every book on my bookshelf after a reading slump of 3 years. As I’ve been saying to my friends. I’m weeding out the weak deciding what to keep and what to give away. Anyways, absolutely love this book. Say what you will about Nicholas Sparks but he knows how to tug at the heart strings. When I first read this book I was in highschool and getting through those last 100 pages is tough is a terribly sad type of way. I remember I had to give my dad a hug when he got home after sobbing on the couch for hours. This book broke and I went in knowing this and I spent my entire night crying, let my dad know I loved him, and woke up with sore and puffy eyes so bad that I couldn’t read at all the next day. Regardless of how much I love this book I’m keeping it for the sake of the memories I have with it and as a reminder to let my parents know I love them unconditionally and never stay mad.

4) If you remember I picked this book up on one of my thrifting trips with my friend. Funny story I accidentally bought two copies thinking they were different stories. I have a obsession with Paris (even though I haven’t gone.. just waiting for covid to end so I can get out there) which was the main reason for this purchase and I’m glad I got it. I read this immediately after Kingdom of Ash because I needed something quick and what better then a book of short stories some involving Paris? I loved the majority of the stories in this book and will definitely be re reading a few someday. I tried reading this author other book me Before You when I was really young but being so young I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I should have. After picking up this book and being reacquainted with this authors writing style I think I’ll be trying some of her other books and probably dusting off my old copy of Me Before You.

5) I’ve been having an tough time with thrillers recently where I’ve read a lot that just didn’t sit well with me. This one reminded me why I like thrillers so much. I found this one fast paced and didn’t have to sit through chapter after chapter of the characters drinking while she took her medication. Sometimes I find with thrillers we are always given these characters that are so dependent on there vices which are used against them to make them seem crazy rather then something actually happening which drags on and sometimes used as a crutch in writing do you get what I’m saying? Even though this book did have a bit of this happening it wasn’t used nearly as much as other books and like I said very fast pace. It was neat how there wasn’t a grand reveal but the main character just worked it out on her own. I was happy with the ending as well and thought it ended the book well. All and all I liked this book a lot.

6) Was hoping I could write about book 6, 7, and 8 altogether like last time but I have very different feelings about each book so here we go. I love this book probably just as much as Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. I really loved getting to see all the characters interact like Manon joining up with the crew. The skull bay fight with Lysandra was definitely one of my all time favourite scenes and having Dorian slowly master his powers was fun to read as well. My favourite part of this book was definitely Lorcan and Elide parts. Elide was a character that I could give or take when I first met her but she’s slowly become my favourite character and I loved everyone of her chapters as well as the slow building romance with Lorcan. And if you know me you know I have a great hatred for Chaol so this book got a added bonus for not having a single chapter from his perspective!

7) This was a struggle. I looked up if I could just skip this book but unfortunately it had major plot points you couldn’t miss. I was dreading this book. I read a lot of reviews about how people hated Chaol but still really found this book likeable so I went in hoping that would be my experience too. It wasn’t. I actually ended up buying the audiobook because I really couldn’t picture myself sitting and reading this book... it’s not that I hated it I just don’t like chaol and besides Yrene and Borte didn’t really care for any of the characters in this book. I’m glad I listened to it because I definitely needed this story to continue and I really did try not to hate Chaol so much but I just can’t stand him.

8) Ok. The final Throne of Glass book. I gave it 4 stars. The middle three books are my favourite and I will re read over and over this one I don’t see myself going back to it. I have it four starts because I’ve followed these characters through a eight book series and a month of my time. I’ve fallen in love with these characters and there stories, I will always love these character, and of course Elide and Lorcan! Now here’s why I didn’t like this book as much nor think I’ll read it again (other then Lorcan and Elide story.) throughout this book I felt like Rowan became a background character like I’m all for a strong female lead and her doing shit her own way but Rowan was suppose to be her equal and I just felt like he did nothing. Like the final fight he spent the majority of it chasing Aelin? I get it she didn’t have her full powers but she was handling her own couldn’t you do the same? It just didn’t sit right with me that this character that was introduced to us in Heir of Fire that trained Aelin and is her equal was just kind of brushed aside and became this clingy male that spent the majority of the book following Aelin around not doing anything other the pleading her not to leave him. Like what happened to the badass Rowan that I grew to love...? Also was really angered me Aelin losing her powers? What’s up with that?! It just felt so cheap to me.. after again reading about how strong she is and then forging the lock which did nothing by the way what was the point of that anyways, and then she just loses all her power only having a ember left??? I hate when authors do this.. I also felt the scene with Erawan, Maeve, and Aelin was just dull. I was still upset that Aelin wouldn’t get to use her powers against them and in the end it was more of a match of words then a battle just felt a little cheap to me. I was just disappointing , Aelin a character we have come to love and watch grow and get stronger hardly hold her own against Maeve... This book has a all around different feel to it compared to the other books and maybe it’s because it was the final battle and and the final book to the series I was a bit disappointed with it but I did enjoy it and felt a huge accomplishment when I finished the series. Reading that finally few chapters really put me into a hangover knowing it was over and like Aelin felt when everyone was heading home I felt that too. It’s goodbye for now.

[shebpaw]

Books I Haven’t Read/Finished Yet But I Want To

Hello again! 

From my last post about animal book recs, I noticed a LOT of people mentioning other books I missed. In that post, I included books/series I’ve already read, and the suggestions you guys have given sound awesome and I can’t wait to read/finish them!

In the same vein, I wanted to share some books/series that I’m either currently reading or want to read and why I’m excited.

1. Guardians of GaHoole/Wolves of The Beyond/Bears of the Ice - Kathryn Lasky

A lot of you suggested Guardians and TRUST ME, I’m right on the same page! I actually own the entire series and a few one-shots I have yet to read. The thing is, I am an INSANELY SLOW reader. I have a bit of dyslexia and ADHD so reading is actually pretty hard at times, even for books so short. I usually listen to audiobooks because it gives me the freedom to occupy my hands while “reading” (also helps pass the time while I work/drive). GoG only has the first 3 or 4 books on audio, so it’s been a while working through all 15. I’m on “Exile” right now so I’m aaaaaalmost there! 

There are, however, audiobooks for Wolves of the Beyond and Bears of The Ice, so I’m mostly caught up there. I recently cancelled my Audible subscription for money reasons so I’ve had to drop WotB until I can get it from my library. 

I really REALLY encourage you guys to read the two spin-offs of GoG if you haven’t. I feel like those two series get forgotten because GoG is “over”, but these series actually continue the series in a way, albeit peripherally. And they’re just as good! I love all three series a lot and I’ll definitely come back here after I’ve FINALLY finished GoG.

 2. Swordbird - Nancy Yi Fan 

I don’t see a lot of hype for this series and honestly there should be! Nancy Yi Fan was the youngest published author, 14, at the time of Swordbird’s publishing. So far, it’s Redwall with birds, and I’m loving it! I love birds very much, and I’m excited to see where this goes!

This book is important to me because I remember reading about Nancy Yi Fan and her accomplishments when I was about 11 and wanting to be just like her. Not to get too dramatic, but I’ve struggled with writing/grammar for a long time (again, Dyslexia and ADHD) and was told by a particularly awful teacher that I’d never write anything of value. Nancy Y Fan’s accomplishments made me feel otherwise and I really think she was the start of me working past my disabilities to write stories. I still write as an adult and I’m hoping to be published someday, and I’ll always think back to Swordbird. 

It’s a shame I haven’t read it yet. It was never in any libraries and I only just recently learned it was on Kindle and I was really excited! Life gets in the way, but I really am trying to read it. I hope Yi Fan is still writing and it would be really cool to meet her one day and thank her. 

3. The Wild Road - Gabriel King

Oh, look! More cats! After Tailchaser’s Song I was itching for more Warriors-esque books, and I’ve been told The Wild Road fits the bill! Also, Richard Adams liked it, so I have high hopes. 

I had to buy this book also because no libraries had it again. It’s really a shame, but what can you do. I get kind of hesitant to buy books I haven’t read at all because I’ve been duped before by what I thought was a good book. Also, Im poor. 

Anyway, so far I like this one! It’s a series so I hope it holds up as it goes. 

4. Catamount - Micheal Peak

Another unusual animal protag book! Sadly, I don’t own this one or seen it in a library. It’s been sitting in my Goodreads list for sometime, but I’m excited to find it! It gives me The Rescuers: Down Under vibe for some reason, its probably the eagle. 

5. Dragon of the Lost Sea - Laurence Yep 

Oh boy, I’m gonna get passionate again. 

Lemme preface this by saying I have read this book, but only NOW did I learn that it’s part of a series.

Look, EVERYONE knows Laurence Yep. He’s a prolific author. You probably had to read a work of his in school. Which is why its breaks my heart to know that this book series not ONLY has no audiobook or even e-book exists, but physical copies are REALLY hard to find. I recently tracked down one on Amazon and they were out of stock. 

I wasn’t even sure that I didn’t dream this book up for YEARS. When I was in middle school, I remember picking this book up in my school’s media center. That is the ONLY place I’ve EVER seen this book in person. I fucking loved this book. After a while, though, I forgot the title and for a bit I thought I had just made it up. This series is almost NEVER mentioned when looking up Laurence Yep, and this book is awesome! 

So, wish me luck tracking down the rest of this series, its kind of become my life’s work, ngl. I’ve considered calling up my old middle school to see if I can buy their copy off them. 

6. The Named - Clare Bell

Shout out to @climbdraws​ for reminding me that this series existed! If you haven’t seen their fan art for the series, go check it out! 

I swear I saw this in a Borders years ago, forgot the name, and had a mindblowing epiphany when Climb mentioned it some 6-ish years later. 

If you guys don’t know, I like prehistoric creatures A LOT. The Named, I think, is about prehistoric Cheetahs or some similar cat. I recently bought the first book and I’m really looking forward to it! 

7. Silverhair - Stephen Baxter

More prehistoric animals! Also another book that I haven’t found yet. It’s always out of stock when I check Amazon (as of writing I just learned that this is at my local library but I’m moving to another state in less than a week so SHIT). 

8. Song of The Summer King - Jess E. Owen

Y’know what I love more than prehistoric animals? GRIFFINS! Oooooh, do I love griffins! I literally cannot tell you how much I WISH there were more griffin books. Dragons are great, but they need to take a rest and let Griffins have the spotlight for a bit (I’m also writing a book about Griffins hint hint hint). 

I have this one on Kindle and I’m working through it. It’s a series too, so hooray! 

That’s all I got so far. I’m always open to suggestions, it’ll just take me a long ass time to read them.  

[televinita]

Reading Triage Time!

Because I was just about to crack open the “spring” section of my semi-pre-planned reading list this year, being down to 2(!) library checkouts, but then I spent 15 minutes on the book part of the internet and whoops.

1. Kind of a Big Deal - Shannon Hale: 50-55% of the way through this already; I’d been listening as an audiobook but frankly I can’t stand her awkward embarrassing stupidity anymore and I wanna be DONE. I’ve actually been ready to switch since about 20%, but it took a while to get the library request for the physical book in, and in the meantime, a crappy audiobook is better than no audiobook for walk motivation.

2. Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyers: FINALLY here (only 11 days after my copy was due, thanks jerks),and I’m mentally I’m ready to start digging in. But after that...

3. Admission - Julie Buxbaum: Heck yeah I’m gonna read the cash-grabby YA novel version of The College Admissions Scandal. Also this one has an e-audiobook available with barely any wait, so (as shown above) I like to have the option to switch.

4. The Bridge From me to You - Lisa Schroeder: someone on the lost-book forum reminded me of this. I’ve always refused to read it due to being half in verse, but I love the cover and everything about it is the standard of what I like about realistic contemporary YA. I’m ready to go back to a nice simple romance where the chances of anyone delivering a lecture on racism, sexual orientation or gender identity along the way seem low.

5. Every Shiny Thing - Cordelia Jensen: another lost-book-forum find. I don’t like that this one’s also partly in verse, but the premise sounds too good: a misguided young teen shoplifting and/or stealing from rich girls in her school to fund a noble cause (raising money for autistic kids and their needs). Like those terrible yet guilty-pleasure-to-read “lifting” blogs on Tumblr, but with a story and purpose (and more importantly, no real people being hurt)

6. FIsh in a Tree- Lynda Mullally Hunt

Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself.”

A book blogger posted a list of her favorite teachers in books and after reading both her thoughts and this summary I was already hooked because I love Caring Teachers, but I’m sorry, Mr. Daniels?? DID SOMEBODY SAY LIFE UNEXPECTED: AGED DOWN AND PURELY APPROPRIATE VERSION? Because I am RIDICULOUSLY excited to mentally cast this one (and I loved this author’s first book, so)

7. Love & Gelato - Jenna Evans Welch: After finally realizing that despite ice cream on the cover this has no relation to the terrible The Summer of Firsts and Lasts or its author, I actually looked up the summary and it sounds great! I opened it up and it’s SUPER readable, like immediately, but I also feel like I need to save it for a warm day I can read outside. I could easily renew for another 6 weeks, though, so that’s very possible.

There, that oughta keep me for at least 2 or 3 weeks, if not the rest of the month.

[alywats]

January 2021 Reading Wrap-Up

Here are all the books I read in January, a month of getting back into my routine after the holiday break and trying to make time for reading. Reading is my favorite hobby, but it is really hard to make time and space for it when I use all my focus and strain my eyes at the computer during the working hours of the day. So audiobooks have really been my saving grace this month. I only read a few of these books with my eyes, and the rest of them were listened to while I was cooking or driving or doing my laundry or taking a walk around the lake, and that is something that has been really valuable to me. Even though I only had “time” to sit down and read three or four books this month, I was able to read 12 with the help of audiobooks! Woohoo! Now on to my reviews for these books!

1. The Big Sleep  -Raymond Chandler (231 pgs) 3

A classic "hard-boiled detective" novel which I enjoyed because of its significance in the genre. What I did not enjoy was the homophobia which, it being a product of its time, was extreme and hard to read through. First book of 2021 and we are not off to a great start!

2. Get A Life, Chloe Brown -Talia Hibbert (373pgs) 3.5

Mostly cute. There were like two or three things that made me suuuuuuper annoyed but I think they are more my issues than the book's, so I'll let it slide. Probably won't continue this series!

3. The Year of Less -Cait Flanders (189 pgs) 1.5

Okay this is the whiniest book ever, and I don't say that lightly. Ugh, I just wanted to read more about simple living and this book was 200 pages of complaining, Flanders not really consuming less, and no actual info about simple living or being a sustainable consumer.

4. The Invention of Sound -Chuck Palahniuk (240 pgs) 3

The first half was so good... and then I got kinda lost. At this point the real question is how many Palahniuk books will I read and think are mediocre before I finally read Fight Club...

5. Writers & Lovers -Lily King (320 pgs) 4

This book is really good for a lot of writer-y things and a lot of lover-y things. But my fav part? When there is a math band in the cafeteria called "The Cosines".

6. Wild -Cheryl Strayed (315 pgs) 4

I loved A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, so it's no surprise that I was into this book too. It is a bit cliche to be inspired by this book, but it's cliche for a reason, this journey is inspiring, the personal growth and discovery is inspiring. I also just loved the descriptions of Ashland, Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, and the Columbia from Strayed's perspective. These are places and landmarks that I have grown up with, and to be reminded of how special Oregon is was definitely something I enjoyed.

7. Brave New World -Aldous Huxley (288 pgs) 3

Honestly, I don’t have a lot to say about this. There were some things that worked and some things that were not great, but mostly I was indifferent. I could not find any investment in this story or the characters, but I also didn’t ~hate~ what I was reading, so it was really a neutral reading experience for me.

8. The Man Who Loved Only Numbers -Paul Hoffman (303 pgs) 3.5

This was a biography of Erdős, notorious Hungarian mathematician, as well as a general history of some of his contemporaries and their mathematical highlights. Overall I found this book to be engaging, well-researched, and at the right level of detail, but what made this one hard for me was my immediate and intense dislike of Erdős. As a baby mathematician, I have been told that Erdős was an amazing and prolific mathematician who changed the course of mathematics, and we (mathematicians) should be aspiring to be like him. And he *was* amazing and prolific as a mathematician, but outside of mathematics, Erdős was annoying and demanding and full of entitlement, something that surprised me. The reason this bothered me, if I’m being honest, is that I feel this attitude of superiority in the mathematics community way too much. You are not of superior intelligence if you do math, you should not forget to be a well-adjusted human because you are too focused on math, and this should not be what mathematicians are striving for (I think many mathematicians would disagree with me, and that is my point). Erdős’s attitude and ethos were unhealthy at best, as they are for many ‘great’ mathematicians, and it’s hard for me to get behind the romanticized nature of “The Man Who Loved Only Numbers”, as if abandoning all other parts of life is the best/truest way to be a mathematician. It’s hard for me to care about Erdős numbers (think 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon but for math) when the idea of mathematical name-dropping is just another way to feel superior, and I leave this book feeling disconnected by the communal obsession with Erdős among mathematicians.

9. The Shining -Stephen King (659 pgs) 5

I don't think it's revolutionary to say that this is King's best work, but in case you need me to tell you, The Shining is probably Stephen King's best work. Jack Torrance freaks me out like no other, the Overlook hotel is written in such a unique and ~creepy~ way, and the supernatural elements are woven in with character study and plot development in a way that makes them feel entirely real but not the central motivation for the story.

I think a problem with a lot of sci-fi/fantasy tropes like mind-reading is that 1. it is the *only* plot device the author uses to continue the narrative so it completely overshadows characterization and the plot arc, or 2. it isn't fleshed out enough so the reader doesn't get to feel totally immersed in or believe in the supernatural world that the story is taking place in.

The Shining is the balance of these two issues, King writes the characters and the plot in a way that is simply enhanced by the supernatural elements, and he writes the supernatural elements in a way that is enhanced by Danny's character and his circumstances.

This was my second time reading The Shining, since the first time I read it I was in 7th grade. There were definitely things I picked up on the second time around, and I am really glad I read it again.

10. Ancillary Justice -Ann Leckie (416 pgs) 3

One thing I really appreciate about this book is that it is a woman's voice and commentary on gender in the sci-fi world, which is rare and valuable. Sci-fi space opera has been a genre ruled by the white man for a long time, and that means that the stories are often very reflective of that. So yeah, I am happy to have read a book in this space written by a woman.

My criticism is simply that I was bored through parts of it, and I think that's because it's not a plot or characters that resonated with me. And that's just my personal taste coming through.

11. The Bass Rock -Evie Wyld (368 pgs) 4

The Bass Rock is the interweaving tale through different periods of time in Scotland, and the way society controlled and abused these women. They accused smart women of being witches, then they lobotomized women with opinions, and on and on. This book is a commentary on violence, and oppression as violence against women, which makes it somewhat difficult to read, but the way the stories of the women overlap both in plot and in theme is so beautifully done.

12. Hamnet -Maggie O'Farrell (372 pgs) 5

Shakespeare, that mysterious bard, had a son named Hamnet who died. Is it a coincidence then, that his most emo play is of the same name? (Hamnet = Hamlet in 1590s England I guess). This novel mostly shoves William off-stage, focusing more on his wife Agnes and her experience being a daughter, a mother, a wife, and a mourner. It is a glimpse into life in the 1590s, where plague was ravaging the cities, and although 1590s life often feels very different to our 2021 life, there are a few striking similarities to be found here: grief, lockdown, the closing of theaters. This was beautifully written, and in the spirit of being dramatic, I'll say the ending took my breath away.

And I'll end with this thought: Shakespeare wrote during a time where the Black Death could not be ignored, he (probably) lost his son to it, but the plague is at most an undertone in his body of work. Instead he wrote about corruption, the failure of rulers, deception, grief, and the lust for power. Take a look into 2020s USA, and I think you'll find that Shakespeare just got a little bit more relatable.

[mercerislandbooks]

October Grab Bag

We’re in the last three months of the year. I’ve noticed the light changing and the leaves falling and all I want to do is read books that make me happy. Here’s a collection of books that have been a pleasure to read! 

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

This is a reissue of an earlier Katherine Center title after the success of her last three books, How to Walk Away, Things You Save In a Fire, and What You Wish For. Sometimes in earlier books you can tell that an author hasn’t quite hit their stride yet, but I found Happiness for Beginners a totally satisfying reading experience. And her protagonist, Helen, though recovering from a divorce, wasn’t paralyzed in the hospital or suffering from seizures, so she is already starting ahead. Helen signs up for a wilderness survival course in the backcountry of Wyoming in an attempt to find herself again a year after divorcing her husband. Never mind that the course she’s chosen to do is regularly reviewed as being dangerous and the participants prone to injury. Or that her brother’s friend, Jake, has also enrolled in the same course. Or that when Helen actually gets there she realizes she’s the oldest person on the program. Helen is determined to make the most of her experience and no matter how much she struggles to find her footing, sometimes literally, she keeps going. Even though there’s a delicious thread of romance throughout, what I enjoyed just as much was how Helen is brave enough to keep uncovering and admitting to herself who she is and what she wants. For anyone who wants a truly happy read, the clue is in the title.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

I listened to the audiobook of this from Libro.fm in the middle of our two weeks of smoke, staying inside with the windows closed, knitting and glued to the speaker. It was a very good distraction. I’m sure reading the paper book would be just as good, but I loved that there were separate narrators for the two main characters, Eileen and Leena. Eileen is an eighty year old woman, newly single, living in a Yorkshire village and longing for a new beginning. Leena is her granddaughter, living in London and struggling after a grief-filled year. They decide to switch living situations for 6 weeks, giving Eileen a chance to try dating in London and living with Leena’s flat mates, while Leena moves to her grandmother’s cottage and looks after Eileen’s “little projects”, like walking a neighbor’s large and energetic puppy and participating in the Neighborhood Watch meetings. Neither Eileen nor Leena are comfortable sitting still, so they both throw themselves into their new situations. I loved how both Eileen and Leena were able to find people to help and be helped by, proving that it’s important to have a variety of ages in any circle of friends. From Eileen playing matchmaker to Leena’s best friend, to Leena befriending Eileen’s crotchety next door neighbor, to antics at the village May Day festival, this was a delight from beginning to end.

The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owens

This was another audiobook “read” and one I was very excited to get to, because it’s the sequel to The Merciful Crow, a YA fantasy I had read and loved last year. What I didn’t know going in is that The Faithless Hawk is book two of a duology, which means, for those of you who have been burned by long fantasy series before, this is an entirely manageable, and now complete, series. I read a lot of fantasy because I like it, but I do recognize that much of it falls into similar lines. It’s a lovely surprise to be put in a world that feels so fresh and well designed that I’m reminded of what the best of fantasy can be. This world has a highly divided caste system, where the dregs of the society are the Crows, the ones who have been designated to deal with the victims of plague, and forced to wander the roads. Fie is the young chief in waiting of her band of Crows, and at the start of The Merciful Crow, they are called to the palace to deal with a prince supposedly dying of the plague. But things are not what they seem (are they ever?) and before she knows it, Fie and her band are on the run, dragging a royal runaway with them. Listening to the second half of Fie’s journey, I constantly thought how is she going to survive this impossible situation? Local author Margaret Owens crafted an action-packed and extremely clever plot and I listened in my car and on my lunch breaks to find out what happened next. Fair warning, it could be gruesome at times, which I find an audiobook heightens. Her commentary on social divisions and the investment of those in power to keep their power by any means necessary was spot on. By the end all I could do was stand back and smile at the way she pulled it all together. I highly recommend it for any fantasy lovers.

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

My most recent read of the bunch, I finished this the other morning. Kelleen, and then Nancy Shawn, recommended it to me, with Kelleen warning me that there were some parts that might be a little much. There were parts I had to skim read, the end especially, but overall it was so compelling I couldn’t put it down. Featured in this month’s Indie Next, Hench is about Anna, a temp worker, a “Hench”, for villains. Though generally, and happily, hired to do data entry, her most recent placement ends up resulting in a disastrous encounter with a so-called hero. Anna is dismissed as being collateral damage and left to a slow recovery and a simmering rage. As she digs into the true cost heroes cause the world, her work catches the attention of a shadowy super villain. Anna’s voice is dry and pragmatic, but also engaging and authentic. Several plot twists kept me guessing at the story’s ultimate direction and the last line is absolutely perfect. This is for anyone interested in a dark take on a world with heroes and villains, with a side of office politics.

Bonus Pick: Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

Now in paperback! Kelleen and I both loved this. When an eccentric and Edgar Allan Poe obsessed billionaire dies, his will is published in the paper, promising an inheritance to anyone who can untangled his clues. The writing is fantastic and the characters are beautifully layered. This would be a perfect October read.

I hope one (or more) of these fantastic books finds their way into your hands. Happy October reading!

-- Lori

[rigelmejo]

march 3/15/2021

im trying to read through tae kim’s grammar guide right now because i’m officially further in the nukemarine LLJ  memrise decks (there’s tae kim grammar guide sections in there) than i am in actually reading the grammar guide. And obviously these example sentences in the memrise deck would teach me more if i CLEARLY understood why they’re like how they are. which i... need to read the grammar guide section to understand lol.

my goal rn with japanese is? to get further in the nukemarine LLJ decks than i did last time. I’ve already mildly accomplished that (have done officially MORE of the tae kim section than before, have NOT redone the 190 common words i did last time i did this though). there are about 400 more cards in this tae kim section (LLJ 4) and then 1000ish cards in the common word section (LLJ 5). I would love to get them done. 

it would be sweet if i could get them done before April 22?/24? whenever Nier Replicant comes out because then I could play that baby in english and japanese! Then Nier Automata! ToT The Entire thing that kicked me back into wanting to study japanese was my old love for certain video games and desperately wanting to know what their stories/characters are like before translation/localization. So it would be cool if I could play them a little ;-; or at least check out lets plays. 

(which, checking out the kh2 lets play has been going pretty well so far... also that part where namine says “we aren’t meant to exist” and roxas says “how could you say such a thing? even if it were true” he says in japanese like “thats brutal/harsh to say. even if its true.” ...great to know that line is equally raw and heartbreaking in japanese lol. KH2′s localization did real good on like equal vibe to original just like ‘less nuanced’ if that makes sense. also thanks to the chinese hanzi i know now watching the KH2 lets play means i can figure out a lot of noun’s writing even though i don’t catch the pronunciation... also i’m catching a lot of words that mean like ‘beautiful/good’ as in like ‘great move’ and ‘dang’ lol.)

i had to stop myself from redoing the chinese flashcards i’ve done in the past! because i get ‘into a zone’ lol. And i really don’t need to waste time redoing those 2000 cards. i also needed to stop myself from doing the hsk 5-6 cards. because realistically? i know half of them, i should just set a lot to ‘ignore’ on the computer but im too lazy, and i’m learning a lot of vocab from reading right now. i don’t need hsk words to pass any test. The words i’m learning right now in reading are a lot more applicable to the actual shows i watch/things i listen to/things i read. its more useful to me to keep reading. and also to not sidetrack my japanese lol. i have read... 39 chapters this month... this month is only half over! hanshe is truly motivating ToT it also helps the story CONSTANTLY ends on cliffhangers so i keep clicking next chapter. who knows, maybe hanshe will help me kick up my reading speed. it already shaved off 10 minutes per 20 pages - now my 20 pages are down to 30 minutes to read, which is better than a few months ago. hanshe has 155 chapters so i HOPE it speeds up my reading lol.

hanshe is increasing my vocab though, its definitely noticeable over time. and hanshe has really good repetition of vocab which helps with learning and later the payoff means i never have to look up the word in future once its learned while it remains useful to me and i keep being reminded of it. after i get bored of hanshe OR i finish it, whichever comes first, its either back to a priest novel or into another pingxie fanfic written by hanshe’s author. The author did one fanfic that’s only 33 chapters so that would be NICE to do after this one lol ToT

summary of what’s turned out to be my studying methods this month:

Japanese:

reading through grammar guides (the one yue-muffin made and tae kim’s). so just grammar explanation reading.

doing nukemarine LLJ decks (in the ACTUAL order they are in the deck to completion - last time i did like 3 per time and never finished any lol. this is bolded because it’s the primary activity i’m prioritizing). so SRS flashcards. it’s working well right now because i can just put this activity in anytime i have downtime, like when i pause shows (since we know me i gotta take a break from a show every 20 minutes lol). i am bafflingly in a flashcard mood and i’m trying to take advantage of it while i got it. 

*when i feel like it: watching kh2 lets play. so some immersion where i look up words. (and when Nier Replicant remaster releases next month I’m likely to at least a tiny bit try to play it in japanese ToT lol we’ll see)

so grammar reading, srs flashcards covering some grammar/listening/reading/vocab, and some optional immersion.

(a note: i gave up on the japaneseaudiolessons for now because i got bored. its a great resource! i just don’t feel like it right now. and from an efficiency perspective, nukemarine LLJ decks cover vocab, grammar, audio, reading - so I don’t need another resource for that right now).

Chinese:

reading through hanshe. so immersion reading, intensive reading looking up unknown words. (unknown words are happening less so its getting less ‘intense’ lol)

listening to Chinese Spoonfed Audio. so listening to audio flashcards. for building up listening comprehension/repetition to pick up some more common words. (i’ve been doing this during daily walks making it much easier for me to consistently do, doing it mainly to supplement the Reading Heavy study i’m doing, i can drop this and pick it up later if i want since its mostly easy background listening)

*I am slowly rereading the grammar guide on www.chinese-grammar.com for explicit grammar clarification. but this is not a high priority, since I sort of implicitly understand a lot of this and i’m not working on fixing production mistakes yet. i just... miss knowing wtf is going on in the grammar lol.

*when i feel like it: Listening Reading The Glass Maiden/Love and Redemption Novel. I’ve done 2-3 hours of it this past week, but i don’t know when or if I’ll just stop. Thankfully l-r is beneficial somewhat even if i switch up books later. i WANT to L-R you have no idea (to Silent Reading and Guardian REALLY badly lol). But its so time intensive, and requires a lot of focus, and i have to really plan to do it for an hour at a time usually. I am so bad at doing stuff for that long consistently. I was in the mood earlier this week! ToT 

*when i feel like it: watching chinese shows raw. I was super in the mood this month because Word of Honor came out, and Killer and Healer came out, and Rattan came out, and I didn’t want to wait for subs. As a result I watched a LOT of raw episodes this month. However, english subs have caught up and since I’m lazy I’m inclined to just watch the subs - especially since youku ITSELF just put english subs on their most-ahead viewing schedule version of the eps on youku vip. so guess who’s buying youuku vip today? -3-)/ That said... even if I stop for a while, if Rattan subs move too slow I’ll probably watch those raw. And as SOON as 2ha’s drama Immortality drops I am highly likely to watch the raws for that since I likely won’t be able to wait. Watching shows is pretty highly dependent on how much I want to watch something and if subs take a while lol. 

so reading, and listening. and a little listening-reading method too. mainly just working on reading, listening, vocab acquisition. chinese is going good - for a few months now i’ve just had the plan ‘read often while looking up unknown words, and add some listening study activity when i have time.’ It’s simple, and its been working well.  later on down the road i’ll need some explicit grammar clarification again, but this is bare bones enough of a study plan at the moment. i’m clearly picking up words and phrases and hanzi at a reasonable pace. its not the Fastest obviously, but it is causing improvement over time and since i’m enjoying it i see no reason to change it up.

ending things

...who knows WHY i am so well focused this month with so much energy... tbh... i track how many chapters i read a month/audio i listen to/show episodes i watch etc, and this month is like as much as 3 other of my usual months combined. also my japanese has been basically ‘dabbling only’ prior to this month.

 although... maybe in part its how i’ve gotten better at reading hanshe? Reading being easier certainly motivates me TO read more. And watching shows was MUCH easier this month (still not ‘easy’ but following the main plot is) which definitely makes me Want to watch more. Also i am... unbelievably motivated by a challenge. I think i got it in my head that i ‘really want to do more of Nukemarine’s LLJ courses and see how much i understand after them’ and now... i really want them DONE. so maybe the current things motivating me will hold out for a while. 

(On the listening-reading front meanwhile, that activity takes SO much concentration its hard to do if i’m tired, BUT i have so many TRANSLATED novels i want to read recently and honestly its fun hearing the chinese narration and audiobook actors so like... i very much Want to do l-r so i can hear them as i read the translation... immovable object of me tired versus how much i’m interested in them lol ToT).

also thank u thank u @a-whump-muffin for sending me those lets plays because honestly it got me so excited again and its so cool to see them!!! <3 <3 and its so much easier to watch them versus committing to playing a whole game myself just yet ToT 

[katemarley]

2019 review

@hagebutt tagged me in this - thank you! Also no, it’s not too silly for me! xD

1. How did you help to destroy the patriarchy and capitalism last year?

I guess I’m too capitalist myself to be a Destroyer of Capitalism (I’m glad I currently have the money to afford buying some merch lmao), buuut I started wearing mini skirts + thermal leggings a lot more this year than I used to even though the female half of my family told me it was “not appropriate clothing” (which I’d call internalised patriarchic thinking).

2. Top 5 things that made you feel like you’re truly enjoying the life of the human body you’re possessing?

1. Sleep. I’m grateful I have no problems at all falling asleep, but sometimes I’ve got so much stuff to do that I need to cut the number of hours I sleep during the week, so getting enough of it really makes me happy. 2. Going swimming in lakes in the summer. Swimming is healthy and a very enjoyable way to spend the evening of a hot summer day. 3. Eating out with friends. It’s great to enjoy a good meal and interesting conversations at the same time. 4. Using the bike to get from A to B (as long as it’s not rainy - then biking is pretty uncomfortable). It’s healthy and sometimes even faster than using public transportation. 5. The new, elegant winter coat I bought after years of wearing down my beloved old coat that I bought in the UK once.

3. What was the most disgusting food you ate last year? And the tastiest drink?

I don’t remember eating any really disgusting food last year. The tastiest drink... I actually don’t remember that either, but I certainly drank lots of nice drinks. (When I say that, I mean non-alcoholic ones. If it was only alcoholic beverages, it would probably be the dry red wine a friend shared with me and a few others last summer.)

4. What did you learn about yourself last year? A fact that blew your mind like Dobby blows Hagrid’s… nevermind

Can’t think of anything right now tbh ^^"

5. How many cats/dogs/sneks/¿people? did you befriend last year?

No animals, a few people.

6. Did you wake him up before you went-went?

Since my love life is non-existent, the only person to whom that could apply is the friend I visited last summer, and it would have been pretty useless not to wake him up before I went-went because I needed him to drive-drive me to the train station.

7. What is the meaning of life?

42, apparently. But honestly? To find something for yourself in order to give it meaning for you.

8. 53+79= ?

132. You know, 9 + 3 = 12 and 50 + 70 = 120. Then you just have to add 120 + 12 = 132. Elementary school stuff, easy to calculate in your head.

9. Where was your best kiss/hug/intercourse of the year? For single/ace guys: What was the most obnoxious way you ate breakfast? (You can answer both!)

I’m demisexual, which is on the ace spectrum, and also single, so I’m taking the second option: I suppose the times when I took my breakfast to my desk and ate it while listening to an audiobook before starting to work? I’m not really an obnoxious eater tbh, but my mum sure would have disapproved.

10. What do you want to change about yourself in 2020? (No stupid resolutions but genuinely, what do you wish for?)

Getting more organised in order to get more stuff done in less time, get enough sleep, and also get some spare time to write (which includes writing fanfics, commenting on my friends’ fanfics and messaging them/writing to them).

11. What do you want to stay the same?

My flat. I need to tidy up all my paperwork some more, but other than that, I love it.

12. What reminded you of your childhood last year?

Visiting my parents, I suppose? Of course the desk where I did all my homework and my old room remind me of my childhood.

13. T o p 5 b o o k s & s e r i e s / f i l m s

In terms of series, it’s definitely Good Omens (the novel is great, too!) and Vinland Saga (the anime, but the same goes for the manga which I’m also reading). In terms of books ... I started reading Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels (partly again, partly for the first time) after watching the Good Omens mini series, and my favourites so far are Wyrd Sisters, Hogfather, and Going Postal. I actually don’t remember which books exactly I read in the beginning of last year (and which ones in 2018 already), so the selection is a bit limited... ^^"

14. Did you try anything new for the first time? Everything counts, even drinking from 2 straws at once.

I don’t think so? But maybe I just don’t remember right now.

15. Owo?

òwó!

I’m not tagging anyone right now, but if you see this and like to do it as well, go for it!

[rafaelafranzen]

In which I answer many questions about books

I came across this survey from @drawlight and I thought it’d be fun to fill! Fun fact: I’ve been an unabashed devotee of literature and stories all my life and am a stalwart champion of connecting people with stories – I’ve spent most of the last decade attending and volunteering at literature festivals and crossed fingers, am trying to get a job there. I don’t do the tagging thing, but if you’d like to fill this tag me back so I can discover your literary world!

I, like everyone else, am drowning in Good Omens right now, including the script book and original publication, so I’ll omit them from my responses for a bit of variety.

1. What book are you reading now?

Kraken – China Miéville. Yet another book about an impending apocalypse set in London, because I’m a sucker for undercurrents of fantasy in places I’ve walked in. This one’s a dark comedy about a squid-worshiping cult, where the initiating event for The End of the World is a forty-foot giant squid specimen being stolen from the Natural History Museum.

2. What are your favourite books?

I’m a bit of an odd duck in that my favourites change all the time at different points in my life. I hate to do the thing where you divide things up by genre because I think stories are valid in so many shapes and forms but it’s an easy shorthand – a few top favourites:

Literary Fiction: Spill, Simmer, Falter, Wither – Sara Baume (a book about a misfit man who brings a misfit dog into his life. I’ll never get tired of recommending this. The poetic turn of prose in this book is astonishing, and I’m reminded of it every time I read something by Drawlight, actually).

SF/F: Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman (again pushes all my right buttons with undercurrents of another world in places I’ve been) and The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu – the titular story in this anthology made me cry on the train, in public – you can find it in full here. It’s a quick and heartbreaking read about the tenuous relationship one so often has with their parents.

Short Story: The Great Hargeisa Goat Bubble – Julian Gough (A economic satire and the first fiction piece ever published by the Financial Times, which was subsequently adapted to a Radio Play by the BBC which is also available in the link if you prefer listening. Will make you clutch your sides with laughter, teach you about securitizations, futures and hedge funds and global market forces without the need for you to get a degree in economics first, and ensure you never look at goats the same way again.)

3. How did you learn to read?

Other than the obvious – school, my mother used to take me to the library each weekend when I was a kid and let me borrow 4 books using my library card, and another 4 books with hers. I’d devour all 8 and rinse and repeat the next weekend.

4. What foreign languages do you read?

I studied Chinese as my second language for 12 years and subsequently lost pretty much all of it due to lack of usage after. I can still muddle my way through a menu but that’s about it.

5. What’s the funniest book you ever read?

The Teenage Textbook – Adrian Tan (I’m sure I’ve read plenty since that are better, but this is always the first one I think of. A bit of local nostalgia.)

6. What books have changed the way you look at the world or the way you live your life?

Without a doubt, This Is What Inequality Looks Like by Teo You Yenn. It is a non-fiction book told through the lens of people in poverty, and just as equally, from vantage point of the privileged, us folk who are more or less living in the median of society and the different frames of ‘common sense’ that need to be considered from these perspectives. It is a book about how acknowledging poverty and inequality leads to uncomfortable revelations about our society and ourselves. And it is about how once we see, we cannot, must not, unsee. It is a book that might sober you up for the rest of your life.

It was one of the books heavily drawn on to produce a play titled “Underclass” which I once described to a friend as “the wokest shit sandwich you’ll ever eat”, and I mean this in the best kind of way – it’s the most difficult pill I was ever made to swallow. It left me questioning every assumption I had about poverty, inequality and human dignity, left me squirming and uncomfortable in the way we gloss over the marginalized, and forced me to ask hard questions about the systems of society and who provides for those who fall through the cracks. I saw it a year ago and I still can’t stop thinking about it.  

7. What books have affirmed what you believe about life or the way you look at things?

Not entirely sure how to answer this one, I take away bits from every book and media property I encounter. I suppose if I would recommend anything, especially from the perspective of a writer, that rejection is par for the course so long as you keep forging on, and keep at it, then Stephen King’s On Writing. And on the love for the parts of your life that are odd, glorious and to be cherished, Sue Perkins Spectacles. Her letter to her dog Pickles in the book, available here, is one of the greatest confessions of adoration I’ve ever read, and will speak to every love you’ve held close in your life)

8. What are some of the scariest books you ever read?

To be frank I don’t read much horror, though I used to as a kid. I don’t have enough memory of any specifics to give titles.

9. About how many books do you think you have read in your life?

I’ve not the slightest idea. Probably hundreds.

10. About how many books do you own?

Currently, probably between 50-100, only limited by my bookshelf and now much it can hold. Most of my major book-purchases come around during the Singapore Writers Festival, so annually I drop between $100-200 on new books signed by authors I’ve met in person. Every 2-3 years I cycle out books from my bookshelf I no longer care to go back to and donate it to the book exchange shelf in my local library to make room for new titles.

12. How much would you say you’ve paid in library fines in your life?

Probably less than $5. I’m pretty neurotic about returning things on time.

11. How many books per month do you usually borrow from the library?

Probably less than one to be honest, but when the Writers Festival swings around, loads, to get an advance look at the authors that are coming I may enjoy the work of. Nowadays I usually buy my books.

13. Do you read in bed?

A resounding yes. It’s how I screwed up my eyesight as a kid!

14. Do you ever read while walking or driving?

Sometimes when walking but often I’m just scrolling reddit or catching up on current affairs and UK politics (I don’t live there but I can’t help following it). I don’t drive but I do read books when I commute on public transport.

15. OK, let’s get real. Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever read a book?

What, pray, be a strange place to read a book?

16. Do you listen to audiobooks?

Not particularly, as I find I can absorb information much faster reading words on a page. I also find it hard to multitask when something’s being read out because I want to pay attention to the story. I do, however, listen to radio plays adapted from books!

17. Has anyone ever read aloud to you or you to them?

Plenty, being on the receiving end of readings from many authors from attending the Writers Festival and events at independent bookstores. For me reading: loads of times workshopping my own work while I was pursuing my creative writing minor in university.

18. What was the most difficult book to read?

I attempted Lolita by Nabokov when I was about 14 or 15 and don’t think I got past the first 50 pages.

19. What books do you intend to read but keep putting off?

Craptons. Including the aforementioned Good Omens which I’ve owned for 7 years but never finished. Others that have been sitting on my shelf for the longest time now include The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and The Book of Dust by Phillip Pullman (Lyra, my chosen name that I now use professionally, came from the protagonist of Pullman’s His Dark Materials). As you can see my stable of books mainly tend towards SF/F.

20. Do you buy new or used books, paperbacks or hardcovers, leather or collector’s?

Absolutely! I buy mostly new – see Writers Festival book acquisitions from the earlier question. Mostly paperbacks but occasionally hardcovers if the price difference isn’t too dear. Secondhand bookstores are a dying trade here so I don’t get much opportunity to shop for used. I’m also constantly wary about how much room I have on my shelves and pick my purchases carefully. I usually don’t buy collectors editions because I don’t like having to be precious with my books -  they’re there to enjoy, to crack the spines in and get their corners banged up from being hastily stuffed into bags. With special editions I feel an odd obligation to keep them pristine.

21. How do you feel about writing in books?

Depends. If it’s a book I specifically want for reference, especially non-fiction I don’t mind marking them up. Otherwise I typically don’t.

22. Do you lend books?

I do! There have been books I’ve lent out for years and not sought back though. I do prefer to get them back eventually because books I do keep on my shelves usually hold the memory of the time I had with them, and are usually paperback editions whose covers I enjoyed and are no longer in print. It never feels quite the same to just get a new copy.

23. What were your favourite books as a child?

I read with such volume and variety when I was a child I actually hardly remember specific titles. I’m sure there was Dahl in there somewhere. An awful lot of Blyton and Nancy Drew/Famous Five which are now horrendously outdated but from which I still hold onto fond imagined memories of British summer days and mysterious nights, which are experiences I still sort of seek out when I go to the UK on rambles or hikes.

24. What children’s books do you enjoy as an adult or young adult?

If we’re talking specifically Children’s books and not YA, almost anything written by Kes Gray (Oi Frog!/The Trouble with Daisy series) and Julian Gough (Rabbit and Bear series, whose first book is a great introduction to the concept of gravity, hibernation, and the nutrition of rabbit poo). I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Terry Pratchett’s Discword series, which includes several YA titles but even the main books in the series are fantastic reading for kids I think.

25. Do you ever read the ending first?

Oh gosh, why would anyone do that to themselves?

26. grab the book nearest to you (I picked something non-GO related), go to page 29 and type line 17 (if there isnt a line 17 type line 3)

“You always tell me that when someone is special, then the system has to make an exception." Connect (Julian Gough) – a cheeky one-of a kind signed edition I got from Julian’s apartment in Berlin when I visited him a couple months ago, combining the UK book jacket with US deckled-edge hardback. He started out as a writer I admired, then a mentor, and is now a fond friend.

[callunavulgari]

Year-In-Life | 2018

Or that annual New Year’s meme about yours truly.

1. What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before? Got a big girl job! Got insurance! Made my very own eye doctor appointment! Got an apartment all on my own with my boyfriend! And this all happened since October! Basically I haven’t had time to do more than sleep in like two months!!!!!

But like. I’m making good money now, I can actually do things like go to the freaking doctor when I’m sick and not completely bankrupt myself if I get hit by a truck or something. Oh, and my new job has PTO! How rad is that, I can get paid for taking vacations now? The only downside is my eyes are not taking the staring at a computer screen all day very well and ache ALL the time now. But hey! Things are looking up other than my eyes being stabbed out of my skull?!

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Ugh I never remember what resolutions I actually made though! I mean, I know one of them was get a better job, which I did. I started smoking again for like two months and then quit again in November because holy shit I don’t need that in my life. I... briefly lost weight and then gained it all back because I stopped caring.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Couple high school people, I think. One of my best friend’s from middle school had her second kid. Another friend from middle school is expecting a third next year. But nobody particularly close, no. 4. Did anyone close to you die? I don’t think so.

5. What countries did you visit? Alternatively, what is your favorite place that you did go this year? Ugh, no countries. Nick got to go to Germany for his job training but I had to stay here because y’know, money, and also, money. Didn’t have the big girl job at the time and he went to Germany the week before we were due to go to North Carolina and I’m sorry, but I can’t freaking afford two weeks off of work. Couldn’t? Eh, still probably can’t unless I work crazy overtime to obtain more PTO. 

That said, I had lots of fun on our annual trip down to North Carolina. Once again I got to read a lot of books in the pool, chill on the beach, and play dumb drinking games with people five years younger than me. We also had an added date night, which I think I’m going to require every year.

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018? Oh hey, I basically got everything that I wanted from last year. More steady job with insurance, apartment, not doing the college thing yet, but I’m going to have to think long and hard about how I want to proceed from here. This job opened up a LOT of opportunities for me, and I may pursue some of those instead of college. I just have to decide if that’s what I want.

Only thing that I didn’t get was, y’know, the ring thing. So here’s to hoping for next year? 

Also, ideally, we’re looking to buy a house sometime in either 2020 or 2021, so here’s to hoping we save up enough to make that happen.

7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 15th is when I started my new job. November 9th was when we moved out. Not many big events this year other than those. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Got new job! Got apartment! Read a metric crapton of books! Bought a nice couch that is all ours!

9. What was your biggest failure? Honestly? I’m not really sure. This year was kind of a good one. I’ve been very patient with Nick’s mom whenever we go on our weekly outing to one of the bars in our hometown and haven’t dropkicked her into the street whenever she gets too drunk. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Since moving out of the old house last month my weird allergy thing has improved wildly. We’re still using the sensitive skin detergent and I’m using very mildly scented soaps, but all in all the itching is so much less. I got really sick and missed Thanksgiving because I got some kind of stomach flu, and I think I had another stomach issue a few months back, but it’s been mostly mild. 11. What was the best thing you bought? I got new glasses at a vastly discounted rate because my vision insurance is apparently really good? We also bought a huge new sectional that is bigger, comfier, and LESS EXPENSIVE than all of the other couches we were looking at. I got Nick a sit/stand desk for Christmas and got upgraded to his old one by proxy. Got new books and a new painting for our living room. We also bought a new TV, because my old one was fucked and since we were moving out we didn’t have Seth’s to watch. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Mine. I was so good this year. 13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Eh. Nick’s mom drives me nuts, my mom drives me nuts, the roommates aren’t as bad now because we aren’t there, but it got a little spotty near the end there.

14. Where did most of your money go? Mostly things like bills, car payments, groceries, plane ticket to South Carolina to see my family, Christmas presents. While I got a reasonably good big girl job Nick got a reasonably good computer engineering job which means even if he is just a starting salary it’s still about 30k more than I make. Which just, blows my mind to say? Because I’m not making less than 15k a year now?  15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I’m sorry that you have to hear it again, but new job! New apartment! New books and new things and hopefully a new chapter of our life. I’ve been trying to not get too psyched about things just in case the bottom drops out, but for now I’m letting myself enjoy this.

16. What song will always remind you of 2018? Paradise Valley. The Sailor Song. Daddy. Smallest Light. Lots of things off the Stranger Things soundtrack. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Happier? Yeah, happier. ii. thinner or fatter? Little more, maybe? Again, lost a bunch but gained it back. iii. richer or poorer? Richer. With both of us having good jobs it’s so much easier to save. I dumped a little more than I should have into Christmas presents, but I’m still okay.  18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Write. I’ve been really bad about it, but I’m hoping that this year I’ll find my stride. 

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Still pretty chill this year. Maybe gotten my head out of my ass and tried to get a good job earlier, but I can’t regret it too much. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? Spent Christmas Eve listening to Nick’s mom bitch about things and eating food that kind of turned my stomach. Spent Christmas Day at his mom’s in the morning and then his grandparents’ all afternoon. Only managed to squeeze a tiny amount of time for ourselves this year, but we had breakfast together and opened our presents. Hopefully next year we get Christmas Eve to ourselves again. 21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? So, last year we spent New Year’s cooking curry (him) and pirozki (me) and watching Planet Earth. I’m hoping to do something similar this year, but we might end up at his mom’s place getting trashed since we’re both off the next day. We’ll see. 22. Did you fall in love in 2018? Maybe a little more. 23. Best month for you this year? October? November? August? April-ish? Honestly most of my months this year were pretty okay. Like, I’m so sorry for all of you that had shitty years, but mine was so much better than basically anything from the past goddamn decade.

24. What was your favorite TV program? Of just 2018? Didn’t watch too much this year? Watched the second season of Westworld, Voltron, the Sense8 series finale, Killing Eve, Castlevania, The Haunting of Hill House, Bride of the Ancient Magus, Lost In Space... But honestly, most of them were good but not fantastic. I really liked the Sense8 finale and Hill House. Oooh, also, She-Ra. And Little Witch Academia! Those were good ones. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Eh.

26. What was the best book you read? Spinning Silver was so good, guys. The Goblin Emperor, A Tale For the Time Being, the Queen’s Thief series, the Kingkiller Chronicle, and the Nightrunner series were highlights too. It was a real good year for books, okay. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Paradise Valley. Holy shit that song is the best. 28. What did you want and got? I got a lot of stuff I wanted this year. The job, the apartment, books, games. Nick got me a fucking switch for Christmas and this really pretty teardrop necklace made of green glass that’s just fucking gorgeous. And I got the glasses, the stupid tv, the better couch... ugh, we spent so much money this year, but I mean, it’s kind of about time that we had the money to splurge a little?

29. What did you want but didn’t get? A... ring? I mean, we’ve talked about it and we’ve both been moving steadily in this direction, but it didn’t happen this year. I foolishly made a bet with one of his brother’s friends while I was drunk. He thought that he’d propose before December of 2020, I thought he’d propose before the end of 2019, so now even if I’m right I’m wrong and I know he is going to give me shit about it.

Also. I think I might actively want kids now? Like, not in a nebulous eventually kind of way, but I think I might want to start trying? I don’t know. More on that next year. 30. What was your favorite film of this year? The Greatest Showman was really great. Other than that though, I didn’t watch that many. 31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 29 went a lot like 28 and 27. Had lunch with Nick at the Lantern, and then lazed around until we went out to Old Bag of Nails with a few of our friends. It was nice. Nick got me knitting supplies because I mentioned a million years ago that I kind of wanted to learn so I could do something while listening to audiobooks.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Hah! A better president and a ring is the only thing that I didn’t get from my wishes last year. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018? Honestly until I started having to dress for an office job my personal fashion concept was PJs all the time except for when I had to go wait tables for a few hours. Now that I have the office job I’ve been wearing lots of sweaters, scarves, and skirts with tall boots when it’s not too cold for them. My bet is next year I’m going to give up and buy scrubs like everybody else in the nursing department. 34. What kept you sane? Reading was really, really great this year. - STILL leaving this answer 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Eh. Amber Heard was recently very pretty on my tumblr dashboard? 36. What political issue stirred you the most? FUCK DONALD TRUMP IN THE EAR 2015678. —– Ayyyyy, this was my response from last year, and apparently also the year before and the one before! Hello past me’s, don’t worry, it’s still getting worse. 37. Who did you miss? Nick, while he was in Germany and when I was in South Carolina. It was dumb. I wanted to smooch his forehead gently. 38. Who was the best new person you met? I have lots of new coworkers, but Bryan is my favorite. He’s pretty cool and I could see myself being good friends with him if he doesn’t fuck off to a different state. 

39. Talk about a new friend that you made this year: *Sherlock voice* I don’t have friends. ---- I’m just going to leave this here. 

40. Post a picture from the beginning of the year:

Took this one in... early March, but it’s technically the earliest photo I took of myself that wasn’t technically from December of 2017. I really miss the dark hair.

41. Post a picture from the end of the year:

This was taken a couple days ago when I got new glasses. I am 100% not naked, I’m wearing a tanktop.

42. A memorable meal discovered this year? Uh. I don’t know if I actually tried any new recipes this year? Most things that I cooked were repeat favorites from last year and Nick hasn’t cooked too terribly much either. The new jobs thing has been nice, but also we have SO MUCH LESS TIME.

43. What was your favorite memory this year? I don’t know. There have been a few of them. I had a night that was kind of shitty and empty, and ended up reading that Cornstalk Fiddle fic that I’ve talked about and it turned into one of my favorite memories. The vacation and moving was pretty nice.

44. What are you excited for next year? Still wanna try for that trip that’s just me and Nick, but I’ve got my little brother’s graduation to go to in May and the North Carolina trip in August, which basically wipes out my PTO for the year, but we’ll see. Maybe we can take a weekend trip somewhere nice.

Oh. Also, I’m freaking excited for KINGDOM HEARTS 3?!

45. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018: Things can get better? Your life isn’t over if you don’t make it to college? Just. Things get better. We’ll go with that one. 46. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: I’m singin’ in the rain Just singin’ in the rain What a glorious feeling I’m happy again

First Fandom of 2018: January seemed to be an ecclectic mixture of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Captive Prince, The Exorcist, and Teen Wolf before I settled into Stranger Things at the end of the month. Favorite Main Character of 2018: Ahhhh. Fuck, I don’t know. Ryan Dalias or Doug Eiffel, probably. Favorite Villain of 2018: Damien, from the Bright Sessions. He’s not... exactly a big bad, but he certainly isn’t good. Also, Billy Hargrove. Favorite M/F Couple of 2018: I actually read a lot of Jaime/Brienne this year because astolat started writing it and it was just really solidly good. Oh, Miryem and the Staryk Lord was also A++ Favorite F/F Couple of 2018: I did not read or write any, but let me tell you, I felt Isabelle Lovelace and Renee Minkowski on a fucking galactic scale. Favorite M/M Couple of 2018: Mark/Damien and Billy/Steve absolutely dominated all of my other fandoms this year. But also, Ryan/Akmazian hurts my entire heart. Fandom That You Never Expected To Get Into: The Bright Sessions? I did not expect to actually have feelings about these characters. Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Read some Harry Potter and Thor fic sporadically throughout the year. And Pacific Rim 2 hit my like a freight train. Fandom That Inspired The Most Crack: Uh. Stranger Things, I guess? Last Fandom of 2018: I mean, technically I’ve been reading more Harringrove because of the holiday exchange, but I’m still pretty hung up on Wolf 359 and the Bright Sessions. Unfortunately, neither of them really have fic? Favorite Fandom of 2018: I liked all of them, but Stranger Things and The Bright Sessions was so much of my year I’m gonna have to go with those two.

[jocy-diaries]

01.10.2022

Woo double digits and a new week. I’m waking up tired everyday now it seems, which sucks seeing as to how one of my goals was to wake up with positive thoughts. That can’t very well happen while I’m complaining that I feel ill. Something’s gonna have to change around that…

Welp, I was able to pay for the spring semester, but I think my old school’s email account got deactivated so I have no way of knowing if the scheduled email I made to be sent out today will actually go through. I sure hope not. The other things I want to achieve this week are:

All of the things I didn’t do last week (7)

Watch “Pig”

Organize classes

Order class books

Post 6 month loc’d video

Listen to audiobook

Get stomach sorted out

Keep taking medicine

It’s a lot less than I had last time, but then again I didn’t finish 7 tasks from last week so it merges over. Y’all it’s so embarrassing not finishing the tasks I set out for myself. Although it was maybe a little too ambitious…

You know when someone says they play lacrosse and they look like they play lacrosse??? 😂 That will never not be funny to me.

You know when you follow a god or goddess and you ask for something and you’re GIVEN that goddamnthing that you thought was going to be such a hassle to get and your love and admiration for Them just increases by the barrel full??? (Thank you Universe Thank you Bastet I love you I love you I love you I love you)

I think this and many other little things have finally made me realizing that my time with Sekhmet might have come to an end. I really enjoyed working with Her -even with the tests- but recently my focus and admiration has really been placed on Bast alone. I’ll do a meditation tonight to see if it’s really the case, but I feel like it is. It’s been good though~

Okay my happy freak out is over lol. I’ve applied to the position they sent to me, but of course if the salary isn’t high enough I’ll decline. It’s just nice to know that someone is listening sometimes you know~? And that my skills and my LinkedIn still get me noticed~

Too many emails (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ I don’t know how people can live like this. I keep a little picture of Kiki on the side of my computer to remind me to work hard but hot damn Kiki it’s difficult. It’s actually so sad because I was having a good time but then I got overwhelmed and I’m just stopped. And see, this is why I feel like taking my anxiety medication won’t do much because I took it yesterday and look at me. If I’m still the same why bother with it at all? I think that me saying “I don’t talk full one hour lunches anymore because I don’t wanna have to work until 6pm” says a lot about what I think of work.

Okay. I’ve eaten a buttered toast and I have some tea and I peer reviewed my sister’s story homework. So now I’m gonna put on something in the background and clean out my school emails. If I feel up to it, I might do a bit more work for work.

I want to be angry at myself for falling a bit at the end of work, but I got a lot of other stuff done! I cleaned out my personal and school inboxes, I requested my official transcripts for transfer, I paid for my SGA membership renewal, and I applied to two jobs, one of which was a government position so, yeah! I did good. I guess it helped that I was working along to a video of someone working lol

Trying to figure out my icky mornings and stomach situation by not eating anything after 9pm. I would be snacking all night long otherwise haha. Hope it works!

The way this class is set up… It’s so confusing. It doesn’t work into any of the layouts I currently have and it’s frustrating me. I’ll have to force myself to stop and go to sleep soon. Not looking forward to work tomorrow… Too much to do… Always too much to do. I wish I could just go to school and study.

[matan4il]

The amazing @sugarmag78 tagged me. Just FYI, Amy is the bestest. Thank you for always thinking of me too! <3 (also, so much love for your music! Ani and Scissor Sisters and the Cure got me to have hearteyes!) name: Alice

star sign: Gemini

height: 1.50 meters (~ 5′)

put your music on shuffle, what are the first 6 songs that popped up?:

Aymeric Ribot (”Dracula, L’amour Plus Fort Que La Mort” soundtrack) - Les Immortels

Adam Lambert - Born to be Wild

The Good Mad - What Money Paid For

Disturbed - The Sound of Silence

Muse - Knights of Cydonia

Shlomo Artzi - לב שבור לרסיסים (בהופעה) // A Heart Broken into Pieces (live) (it really kicks in at around 6:18)

grab the book nearest to you and turn to page 23. what’s line 17?:
 ושרי אשת אברם לא ילדה (and Sarai, the wife of Avram, had not given birth)

ever had a song or poem written about you? Two separate guys who had crushes on me each wrote a poem about me. It sounds more romantic than it actually was.

when was the last time you played air guitar?: I'm not sure I ever “properly” played air guitar, I get all self-conscious that I don’t know the moves and stop within two seconds...

who is your celebrity crush?: Do Dryan count? I’m crushing on their dynamic together real bad. That BTS vid made me smile endlessly.

what’s a sound you hate? how about love?: People who honk at you real up close and personal. My bleeding eardrums do not appreciate that. Love? Saturday morning you can hear the birds chirping from our building’s backyard.

do you drive? if so, have you ever crashed?: I do not, though I did take a few driving lessons and the teacher said I was good. I was present when others had a minor vehicular accident, does that count?

last book you read?: Audiobooks don’t count, right? Then I think the last book I sank my teeth into was Pigeons on the Grass by Wolfgang Koeppen, which I got thanks to @afraschatz.

do you like the smell of petrol?: Kinda? I used to like it more as a kid, now it’s like my brain knows it’s no good, so less

what was the last movie you saw?: The Land Beyond the Mountains, a documentary about the journey of an Israeli writer and journalist, the son of an Israeli minister who was a part of the ‘90 Oslo peace process, trying to figure out whether the two state solution is still viable. He interviews Israelis and Palestinians. I pretty much was familiar with all of the positions presented in the film (the movie’s director was present for a Q&A session and when I talked to him afterwards, he was surprised to hear this), so what I found most interesting was the guy himself and how he tackles the subject and reacts to the people he meets. What I learned from the director was that actually, some of the stuff I would have found most interesting was left out of the film.

what’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?: Ummm. Because of a past boyfriend of my mom’s, I suffered a broken bone in my hand.

do you have any obsessions right now?: Robron, I guess. Though who knows for how long. Call Me By Your Name has been on my mind since I listened to the audiobook. Some of the amazing people on Tumblr.

do you tend to hold grudges against anyone who’s done you wrong?: Hmmm. I actually tend to forgive real easily if someone just asks for me to. I really appreciate the ability to recognize you’ve hurt someone, to take responsibility for it and to ask for forgiveness. But if someone doesn’t ask for it? Then yeah, and I think it’s healthy in a sense. A defense mechanism to remind you that this person has hurt you and is capable of doing it again without feeling sorry for it.

in a relationship?: Nope and not looking to be. And I tag... I've not been around Tumblr enough to know who’s done it or not and who wants to do it or not, but here goes anyway. Because I love getting to know my friends here better. So I tag @irisnsc, @robron-til-the-end, @robron-sugdendingle, @heartneverliez, @smittenwithsugden, @beautifulhusbands, @amandaj718, @stulot, @letthebluerain, @isabellaofparma, @dairxoxo, @lizzzzoo, @flawswelove, @iamarobronniffler, @pvrispxramore, @rayblayblay and anyone else who I am having a brain fart right now and forgetting, but wants to do it... Do it! It’s always nice to know more about each other beyond our fave avatar. ;)

[balancingbookact]

Best & Worst Books of 2017:

I had a pretty great reading year in 2017 and read quite a few bangers. Some honourable mentions go out to the Sensational She-Hulk series, Jessica Jones: the Pulse, The Stand, The Drawing of the Three, American Gods, Scott Pilgrim (a re-read so it doesn’t count), The Dark Prophecy, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and It Devours! All good books but now for the actual list.

Best:

1. The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2), by Rick Riordan.

I could easily put The Ship of the Dead here either, but while I think that book had more crowd-pleasing moments, this one has better pacing and an over-all more engaging plot. This series is great. Not only is Magnus a great lead, but all the side characters are fleshed out and have their own stories to tell. The Norse mythology is so readable in Rick Riordan’s style and I don’t care what people say, I will read anything this man writes. Keep ‘em coming, Rick!

2. Islam and Contemporary Civilisation by Halim Rane.

I had to read this for a class at uni and I have never enjoyed a text book more. This book reminded me of what reading is all about: learning something from another person’s perspective. I learned so much about the Islamic religion and culture through this book and Professor Rane’s tutes, and it was one of the most enriching classes I’ve ever taken.

3. Noteworthy by Riley Redgate.

Everyone stop what you’re doing and read this book about a girl who disguises herself as a boy and joins an all-male a cappella group at her prestigious art school. With a premise like that you’re probably expecting some Pitch Perfect/She’s the Man hybrid, and while it is funny, it’s also very heartfelt and delves into conversations about sexuality, gender, and gender performance that often get over-looked in cross-dressing stories. Jordan, our protagonist, is such a real person, and all the connections she forms are touching in their own, unique ways. I haven’t read a book that made me feel so connected to a character since Fangirl. Read it.

4. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

I also read Last Night I Sang to the Monster, which could have easily made this list as well but I think I like Sammy and Juliana just a little bit more. Anyone who thinks Aristotle and Dante was a fluke is wrong. This man is not some one-hit wonder. His books all hold such a soft tenderness, and even when he doesn’t shy away from some of the brutalities of life, there’s always hope for the characters. Sammy and Juliana is about a town of mostly Latinx people living in the U.S in the 60s. It paints such an amazing picture of what life was like for these people, and is one of the best coming of age (I guess?) stories I’ve ever read.

5. The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente.

I already wrote a glowing review of this on my goodreads (check me out here) but this book is everything I’ve ever wanted. It takes a look at the ‘Women in Refrigerators’ trope in superhero comics, which involves female characters being killed or otherwise brutalised for the development of a male characters story and blows it wide open. It looks at looks at six female characters (with the names and stories altered slightly): Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Harley Quinn, Karen Page, Queen Mera, and Alexandra DeWitt, and tells their stories and how pissed they are about being dead. It’s great commentary on the genre and Valente’s writing is just so raw and passionate. It evoked many emotions in me and I will die if more people don’t start reading this book.

6. How to Train Your Dragon, books 10-12 (How to Seize a Dragon’s Jewel, How to Betray A Dragon’s Hero, and How to Fight A Dragon’s Fury).

I finally finished this series after years of reading it and let me tell you right now, this is one of the best series ever written, period. The first seven books can be read as individual adventures, but it’s only once you get to the later part of the series that you see all the threads that have been carefully left to be woven together in a feat of masterful story-telling. This series has one of the greatest Heroes Journey stories ever put to page. I will fight anyone who says differently. I can’t pick a favourite out of these three, they’re all amazing. I just implore you to look past some of the outward silliness and read these books. You won’t regret it.

7. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green.

After five long years John Green has finally come out with a new book, and let me tell you, the wait was worth it. Some people may fight me on this but I think this is John Green’s best book he ever done wrote. His books have always been personal but seeing the thoughts and feelings Aza has when dealing with OCD, you can’t help but see the heart that has been put into this book. The portrayal of mental illness and the hopelessness one can feel when confronted by this invisible, seemingly unstoppable force, is so genuine, and anyone’s who’s ever suffered with something similar will see their experience reflected back at them with such clarity it’ll break your heart a bit. A damn good book.  

Worst:

None of these books were really terrible, I was just expecting more from them, and I didn’t get it. This list is short though, so there’s that at least. Sadly, here we are:

1. We Go Forward by Alison Evans.

I picked this book up almost solely for the ace rep, and while I have no issues with how that was done, everything else was just so ‘meh’. A story about two Australian girls who meet while traveling in Europe and decided to keep going together sounds like a good time, but instead it was an aimless, meandering mess. We have a basic understanding of these characters from vague backstories, but it never amounts to anything. There’s no real plot, no driving force and no conceivable aim in sight. It’s just a couple of girls, who have some baggage, strolling around Europe and not really focussing on the budding friendship. Just a bit of a let-down, really.  

2. Illuminae (the Illuminae Files, book 1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

This was probably the biggest disappointment of the year. I was so hyped for this book and waited specifically so I could listen to the audiobook and when I did I quickly discovered it just wasn’t really all that good. A book about a colony of people fleeing from a menacing company that destroyed their planet, mixed in with a zombie plague on the spaceships sounds like it would be awesome! Unfortunately so much of the potential was sacrificed for the alternative format, which didn’t really do anything for the story and just seemed like it was there to look cool. When you have a man with saw raw, visceral prose as Jay Kristoff and you limit his narration, you are doing a disservice to the people. Jay flies better as a solo operative, in my opinion. 

3. We Awaken by Calista Lynne.

Another book with ace rep that I was excited for that let me down. This story of a girl who meets a beautiful woman version of the Sandman, and their ensuing romance sounded so promising, unfortunately this book lacked direction. Our characters mill about like some couple in a domestic fanfic (which are great but that’s not what I signed up for), and the book tries to throw in some obstacles at the last minute, but everything is resolved so conveniently that it pretty much made no difference. The writing was sub-par and read like a first draft, which hurts me to say so, but it’s true. 

Here’s to another year of reading in 2018! *releases party-popper*