#Terry keefe

[terrykeefewrites]

SLAVES OF HOLLYWOOD review in the Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

(Getting your first reviews for an indie feature is stress personified. By the time our Los Angeles theatrical release for Slaves of Hollywood rolled around in October 1999, we had already gotten a few good ones and few bad ones. Our festival screenings, which had put us on a globetrotting tour for a year, were sometimes great, sometimes very mediocre. In other words, this could go either way. We had gotten a lousy review from Ernest Hardy of the L.A. Weekly on Wednesday night, prior to our L.A. opening on that Friday in October 1999. That could have been it for us. Would have been a real depressing ending to the story of this film. But we got word from our distributor, Filmopolis Pictures, that Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times liked the film and was asking for a still from the film for his review. This was in the days before reviews appeared immediately on the internet. I didn't have a L.A. Times subscription but my apartment neighbor did. It would arrive every morning with a thud that would often wake me up, thrown by the delivery person. Unable to sleep, I got up at 4 am on Thursday morning, and the paper thudded around 5. I ran outside, took the binder off the paper, quickly read this good review from Kevin Thomas, put the binder back on the paper, placed it back on the ground outside my neighbors apartment, went back in my apartment, and wa-hooed! loud enough to probably merit eviction. I appreciate Kevin Thomas to this day, as this filmmaker might have walked into traffic without that review in October 1999. It was nice that Kevin Thomas also used a still of our actor Nicholas Worth, who you will recognize as a "that guy"-type character actor, but who rarely got a role worthy of his prodigious talents. I hope we wrote him one here. Around 60 years old at the time, Nicholas was in tears when he saw the review. The good kind of tears. It's a tough, tough town, and it is sure nice to be recognized for your decades of work.)

'SLAVES' TO SHOW BIZ

First-time filmmakers create an insiders' satire that's talky but full of promise

by Kevin Thomas

Michael Wechsler and Terry Keefe's "Slaves of Hollywood," which opens a one-week run Friday at the Monica 4-Plex, is too talky for its own good, but this first-time feature gathers steam and manages to hold interest because Wechsler and Keefe have had firsthand experience as film industry assistants.

They cast Katherine Morgan, poised and lovely, as the daughter of a studio mogul (Nicholas Worth, in a ferocious portrayal) who has grown lethally paranoid over the years. An aspiring filmmaker herself, the daughter decides to document the lives of five assistants as a way of showing how the movie business turns people into monsters if it doesn't destroy them. "Slaves" is a bleak satire that is often funny, very knowing, and totally uncompromising.

"Slaves" is a bleak satire that is often funny, very knowing, and totally uncompromising, which may explain why the picture bears a 1996 copyright. No matter, Wechsler and Keefe have genuine talent and imagination.

Thomas (Howard Scott) is the film's innocent, newly arrived in the mail room of a top talent agency, where he is swiftly targeted for exploitation by Roman (Rob Hyland), the blithely unscrupulous assistant to the agency head; Roman is a refuge from a Neil LaBute movie.  Fisher (Hill Harper), who dreams of discovering "the next Madonna," has become the assistant of an exuberantly decadent music video producer; he ends up carrying his boss around on his shoulders. Hefty vulnerable George (Elliot Markman) is stuck in a mail room with a studio head's crazed heavy-metal-freak son, who may well succeed in driving him out of his mind. Already out of a job is aspiring filmmaker Dean (Andre Barron), fired by his apoplectic boss because he one day forgot to make him a lunch reservation at Spago.

As "Slaves of Hollywood" grows darker, it grows funnier, and it is a fine showcase for its actors. Harper has already begun to make his mark, and Hyland, rugged and forceful, and Markman, a character actor of considerable resources, are especially impressive.

[filapi]

John O'Leary - Drinking Again

John O'Leary, İngiltere'de blues armonikasının ilk temsilcilerinden biridir. Aslen İrlandalı olan John'un ailesi, 2. Dünya Savaşı'nın ardından İngiltere'ye gelen kitlesel göçün bir parçasıydı. 1960'ların Londra'daki gelişen caz kulüplerinde, ilk olarak Alexis Korner'ın Blues Incorporated'ından blues arp efsanesi Cyril Davies'i duydu. John ilk arpını 1962'de satın aldı ve başlangıçta Davies'i izleyerek öğrendi. Kaçınılmaz olarak, etkileri hala çalımında kolayca görülebilen enstrümanın büyük ustaları John Lee Williamson, Little Walter, Noah Lewis, Big Walter Horton, James Cotton, Sonny Terry ve Junior Wells'i keşfetti. John'un kariyeri, elli yıldır çok çeşitli gruplarla ve müzisyenlerle etkileşimini gördü. 1965'te Savoy Brown's Blues Band'in kurucu üyesi olarak başlayıp günümüzdeki John O'Leary & Sugarkane'e kadar Avrupa blues sahnesinde önemli bir konuma sahip olmaya devam etti. John yıllar içinde Donovan, Noel Redding, Eric Bell, Kim Simmonds, Champion Jack Dupree, Alexis Korner, Roger Chapman, Dave Walker, Tony McPhee, Dave Kelly, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Aynsley Dunbar, Keef "Half Breed" Hartley, Victor Brox, The John Dummer Blues Band & Mainsqueeze gibi tanınmış gruplar ve müzisyenlerle sahne aldı. Bugün, kendi grubu Sugarkane'i yönetmenin yanı sıra, efsanevi rock grubu The Downliners Sect'in üyesi ve son 10 yıldır Muddy Waters, Junior Wells ve Cyril Davies'e yıllık saygı duruşunda bulunan John O'Leary-Alan Glen All Star Blues Review'un eş lideridir. John, 2011 ve 2013 yıllarında BLUES MATTERS dergisinin yazarları ve yazarları tarafından mızıka kategorisinde 2. seçildi.

[nysocboy]

Gemstones Episode 2.5: Yep, Kelvin is gay, but there's embezzlement and murder, too

Episode 2.5 is a flashback to Christmas 1993.  Since two of the season's big questions are "Did Eli kill Glendon Marsh?" and "Is Junior trying to kill to get revenge?" we get some Eli-Glendon back story.

Knives or nunchuks? As the family is photographed at the Gemstone Christmas tree, Judy torments 4-year old Kelvin.  Jesse says that he's going to give him a weapon for Christmas, so he can defend himself: "Knives, or nunchuks."  Eli forbids him from giving his brother weapons.  Jesse complains that he's going to grow up to be "a pussy."  He explains that a pussy is someone who doesn't like to do things and is afraid of everything.  Sounds sort of like a gay stereotype.

You have to think of the optics: Eli is planning to move the Salvation Center to a giant coliseum.  The church board complains that he can't afford it: he's already spent church money on a private zoo and amusement park.  Hey, that's embezzlement!  They also advise that "the rich pastor is not a good look."  But Eli won't listen: "I cannot imagine a more ridiculous comment.  Big means success. People want to see something bigger than life." Well, this is during the tail-end of the Reagan-Bush "wealth is virtue" era.

"But we're spending more than we have!" accountant Terry (Mike Ostroski) complains. Gulp: Eli fires him!

Get that boy some mousse: Baby Billy shows up unexpectedly, having abandoned his wife Gloria and son (he claims that they abandoned him, but Aimee-Leigh calls her and discovers the truth).  

Kelvin: "Dang, Baby Billy is thirsty."  But Billy isn't drinking anything.  Does he mean "thirst trap'?  That expression won't be common until the 2010s, but apparently it is used here to indicate that he thinks his uncle is hot.  Remember that in Season 1, the adult Kelvin and Judy comment on the attractiveness of their grown-up nephew Gideon.  

Baby Billy tells Kelvin that his estranged wife said:  "You have the most boring haircut in the world.  Get that boy some mousse."  Kelvin is upset (concerned with his appearance, a gay stereotype). Remember that the adult Kelvin uses mousse to create that upward wave.

Later, Kelvin demonstrates that he can play the harpsichord blindfolded (um..big deal?  Nobody looks down at the keys while playing).  Baby Billy calls him a prodigy and hugs and kisses him, obviously looking for a brainy replacement for his special-needs son.  The siblings scoff.  This musical talent is never referenced again.

The Return of Glendon Marsh:  As Eli walks through the office, everyone smiles and says "Good morning, Dr. Gemstone."  Everybody.  It looks creepy rather than friendly. "Be nice, or he'll turn you into a toad." 

His new accountant, Martin, starts off on the wrong foot by sitting in his chair!  

 Glendon Marsh, his boss when he was wrestling and breaking thumbs back in Memphis, shows up unexpectedly and asks Eli to take care of $3,000,000 that he doesn't want the government to know about, and he can keep $1,000,000 for his trouble.  Hey, that's money laundering!  But Eli has already been embezzling, so what's the difference?  Aimee-Leigh and Martin disapprove, and Eli finally refuses. 

The Sleepover:  Baby Billy and Kelvin are playing hide-and-seek or something on bunk beds, while Jesse lies in a sleeping bag.   The top bunk is fenced in, so you don't accidentally fall out.  This must be Kelvin's room. 

Judy enters with her own sleeping bag, angry that she wasn't invited. Jesse explains that it was impromptu: nothing going on in his room, so he came in here, looking for action.  "What'd you find?" Judy asks. "Uncle Tickles molesting Kelvin? Flopping that little dong?" This is the first of three pedophilia references this season, and another of  the incessant digs about Kelvin's penis.  No wonder the adult Kelvin is afraid to show it to Keefe. 

Baby Billy tells her to "hush that kind of talk.  Ain't nobody playing dong pong in here." But suddenly Kelvin doesn't want his uncle to sleep with them. Wait -- I thought they had a special bond.  Is it because of the pedophilia accusation?  Or is he self-conscious because Judy dissed his penis?

Muscle and Fitness: Holy sh*t, there's a cover of  Muscle and Fitness magazine taped to the wall!  It's only visible for a second before Judy turns off the light, but holy sh*t. "Mama, please buy me that magazine.  I know I can't read yet -- I want to look at the hot guys."

If it is meant to signify Kelvin's interest in muscle, why just a man on the cover?  I worked for Muscle and Fitness back in the day, and the cover always featured a man and a woman together or a celebrity bodybuilder like Lou Ferrigno.  The set dresser  chose  this one deliberately to signify that Kelvin likes men  (or had it made up. That cover did not appear on any issue from 1990 to 1995).

Christmas Day:  . I couldn't tell if Kelvin received any gay-coded gifts.  Baby Billy asks for his help in opening his present, and at the Christmas service they sing together and hug, so they are apparently friends again. 

That night, Jesse and Kelvin are playing their Double Dragon arcade game -- call back to Episode 1.1 -- while Eli and Aimee-Leigh discuss the move to the coliseum.  How can they afford it, when they're broke? 

Suddenly accountant Martin Imari appears -- no security station yet, just a buzzer.  Eli lets him in -- but Glendon Marsh has him at gunpoint!  Glendon orders Eli to take the money, or he'll kill his family.   Then Eli's dad, Roy Gemstone, appears and shoots Glendon.  He has dementia, and has been running around in his underwear, asking "Are we going hunting?", so it is unclear whether he is saving Eli or just shooting. 

Martin and Eli bury the body under the site for the new rollercoaster at the amusement park, thus explaining the obsessive riding.   

In the present, we see Eli riding the roller coaster, looking grim, while Junior, Glendon's son, looks at old photos and plays with a gun.

The full review, with bonus nude photos of Mike Ostrowski (accountant Vincent), is on RG Beefcake and Bonding

[hannahofathousanddays]

EOY book ask: 2, 3, and 4!

The ask is here!

2. did you reread anything? What?

- I reread Ender’s Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon and Shadow Puppets, all by Orson Scott Card. I was *super* into these books back in 2013 and I wanted to see if they held up- a lot does and a lot does not lol.

3. What were your top 5 books of the year?

- in no particular order :

How To Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix,

The Burning God by R. F. Kuang,

The Other by Thomas Tryon,

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, and

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

- I’ve gotten really into Terry Pratchett this year! In particular his Witches books but I’ve been branching out now that I’ve wrapped those up. He’s so uniquely good at delivering devastating lines embedded within uplifting sensible messages and I love it.

Thank you so much for the ask!

[lesbianmariuspontmercy]

1 and 24 for the book ask!! :D

Thank you! I track these things obsessively. I've read 28 full length books! And I've DNF'd 12 books.

thanks for asking!

Here's a list of both:

Read (bold = favorite)

Patricia Wants to Cuddle - Samantha Allen

Negative Space - BR Yeager

The House in Abigail Lane - Kealan Patrick Burke

Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner

Different Seasons - Stephen King

The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe

Sorrowland - Rivers Solomon

Found: An Anthology of Found Footage

Scanlines - Todd Keisling

This is Where We Talk Things Out - Caitlin Marceau

The World Cannot Give - Tara Isabella Burton

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

Fluids - May Leitz

The Elementals - Michael McDowell

Educated - Tara Westover

Say Nothing: A True Story of Memory and Murder in Northern Ireland - Patrick Radden Keefe

Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

Psychic Teenage Bloodbath - Carl John Lee

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (reread)

Mister Magic - Kiersten White

The Last Days of Jack Sparks - Jason Arnopp

The Bayou - Arden Powell

The Iliad - Homer

Helpmeet - Naben Ruthnum

The Weight of Blood - Tiffany D. Jackson

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah

Suffer the Children - Craig DiLouie

Intercepts - TJ Payne

and i'm hoping to finish at least 5 more books, but we shall see! (Les Mis, The Once Yellow House, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Penance, and Pet Sematary)

as for DNFs;

Ghost Wall - Sarah Moss: Too tedious even for me

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay: I feel there's more up to date feminist literature to read

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Catherine Lacey: as a Mexican, the way she talked about death and corpses left a bad taste in my mouth.

Kentukis - Samanta Schwelbin (Little Eyes in the translation): Gave up on this author, the stories went nowhere at all.

Heaven - Mieko Kawakami: I felt this book was going to leave me with nothing

Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel: This is just the set up for something very NGE and I didn't wanna commit to a saga

Anybody Home? by Michael J Seidlinger: Tries too hard

Ugly Girls - Lindsay Hunter: Wouldn't give me what i was craving atm

The Children of Red Peak - Craig DiLouie: Too infodumpy

Brutes - Dizz Tate: Wasn't providing what I needed

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers: cringe

Stolen Tongues - Felix Blackwell: A creepypasta turned book that extends too much, weird treatment of Native American characters.

[mah33n]

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

CRIMINAL MINDS

spencer reid (loml), jennifer jareau, luke alvez, aaron hotchner

OUTER BANKS

jj maybank, kiara carrera, john b. routledge

BRIDGERTON

anthony bridgerton, benedict bridgerton, daphne bridgerton, eloise bridgerton, colin bridgerton, penelope featherington, kate sharma, edwina sharma, simon basset

HEROES OF OLYMPUS

percy jackson, annabeth chase, jason grace, leo valdez, piper mcclean, hazel levesque, frank zhang, nico di angelo, thalia grace, will solace

SHATTER ME

aaron warner, kenji kishomoto, juliette ferrars, adam kent

HARRY POTTER

harry potter, hermione granger, ron weasley, luna lovegood, ginny weasley, neville longbottom, fred weasley, george weasley, james potter, remus lupin, sirius black, lily evans, marlene mckinnon, dorcas meadowes

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES

sophie foster, keefe sencen, fitz vacker, dex dizznee, biana vacker, marella redek, jensi babblos

MARVEL

loki, thor, peter parker, miles morales, mj watson, tony stark, scott lang, hope pym, carol danvers, clint barton, stephen strange, ned leeds

THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY

comrad fisher, jeremiah fisher

SHADOW AND BONE

alina starkov, the darkling, mal oretsev, genya safin, zoya nazyalensky, nikolai lantsov, tamaar kir-bataar, tolya yul-bataar, david kostyk

SIX OF CROWS

kaz brekker, inej ghafa, jesper fahey, nina zenik, wylan van eck, matthias helvar

BROOKLYN 99

jake peralta, amy santiago, charles boyle (platonic), doug judy, rosa diaz, raymond holt (platonic), terry jeffords, norm scully (platonic), trudy judy, kevin costner, gina linetti

[rapierdagger]

also, I thought it might be worth linking some interesting books I found on archive.org:

the song of achilles - madeleine miller

the old man and the sea - ernest hemingway

snow crash - neal stephenson

good omens - terry pratchett & neil gaiman

american gods - neil gaiman

six of crows & crooked kingdom - leigh bardugo

the secret history - donna tartt

on earth we're briefly gorgeous - ocean vuong

dagger: on butch women - lily burana, roxxie, linnea due

dnd 5e dungeon master's guide, monster manual and player's handbook & xanathar's guide to everything & the lost mine of phandelver

the gulag archipelago - alexander solzhenitsyn

atomic habits - james clear

eat that frog - brian tracy

conflict is not abuse - sarah schulman

why does he do that? - lundy bancroft

empire of pain - patrick radden keefe

the utopia of rules - david graeber

the hot zone - richard preston

the silk roads - peter frankopan

flash boys - michael lewis

the immortal life of henrietta lacks - rebecca skloot

behave - robert sapolsky

homo deus - yuval noah harari

persepolis volume one - marjane satrapi

persepolis volume two - marjane satrapi

this changes everything - naomi klein

silent spring - rachel carson

braiding sweetgrass - robin wall kimmerer

black skin, white masks - franz fanon

the wretched of the earth - franz fanon

the autobiography of malcolm x - malcolm x, alex haley

women, race & class - angela y. davis

various politics/history/postcolonialism books (incl edward said, amartya sen and francis fukuyama)

various art history books (art history: a very short introduction, art theory: a very short introduction, art in theory 1900-2000, gardner's art through the ages, history of modern art, the books that shaped art history, the story of art, twentieth-century american art)

[ulkaralakbarova]

Red Eye

A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in offing a politician. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Lisa Reisert: Rachel McAdams Jackson Rippner: Cillian Murphy Joe Reisert: Brian Cox Cynthia: Jayma Mays Charles Keefe: Jack Scalia Bob Taylor: Robert Pine Marianne Taylor: Terry…

[laurenfutcher02]

Bibliography

(co, 2024)co,  co (2024) Recipe Postcard Design for CPG Food Brand. Available at: https://dribbble.com/shots/16949440-Recipe-Postcard-Design-for-CPG-Food-Brand (Accessed: 15 May 2024).

COLLINS, B. (2016) Lipton / Green Ice Tea. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/35990857/Lipton-Green-Ice-Tea (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Creation (2017) Minimalist Summer Templates v2. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/romecreation/ (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Danilo, P. (2018) FOOD N DRINKS CREATIVE POSTER DESIGN. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/68822165/FOOD-N-DRINKS-CREATIVE-POSTER-DESIGN (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Keefe, W. (2020) Terry’s Berries Blueberry Lemonade. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/109435877/Terrys-Berries-Blueberry-Lemonade (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

M, S. (2022) Homemade Juice Labels. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/147976929/Homemade-Juice-Labels?tracking_source=search_projects|juice&l=17 (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Maiden, B. (2018) On and poppin’. Available at: https://dribbble.com/shots/4642321-On-and-poppin (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Martian, L. (2024) Recipe Card Template Minimalist Style. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/197726345/Recipe-Card-Template-Minimalist-Style?tracking_source=search_projects|recipe+cards+design&l=7 (Accessed: 15 May 2024).

Miller, I. (2024) Cocktail O’clock. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/188330979/Cocktail-Oclock-Prints-and-Posters-v-20?tracking_source=search_projects|cocktail+postets+&l=131 (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

NON STOP, 阿祖不收手 (2024) Singapore fruit tea Chavo brand design. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/193506111/Singapore-fruit-tea-Chavo-brand-designMade-Fresh (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Nosach, O. (2021) Citrus line art set. Available at: https://dribbble.com/shots/17156590-Citrus-line-art-set (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Nu,  alani (2018) alani. Available at: https://www.alaninu.com/pages/about-alani-nu (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Scully, O. (2020) Market Fruit. Available at: https://dribbble.com/shots/14569019-Market-Fruit (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Vukovic, B. (2014) Juice Advertisement. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/19770003/Juice-Advertisement- (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

Watanabe, M. (2019) flower&fruit Illustrations. Available at: https://dribbble.com/shots/6644877-flower-fruit-Illustrations (Accessed: 11 April 2024).

[lancehenriksen]

Lance on shows he wants made from an interview by Terry Keefe for HuffPost, Aug 7, 2015

[3416]

do you know of anyone reporting/tweeting about the end of season presser? I also can't watch, but I want to try and keep up

terry koshan, david alter, mark masters, luke fox, lance hornby, and pierre lebrun are media members and will all probably be tweeting with quotes and updates from players/dubas/keefe today.

[supasquidrific]

[ninja-muse]

2022 Release TBR - updated

My original list was getting full of cross-outs, so here is my mid-year update!

Some by Virtue Fall - Alexandra Rowland (fantasy) - January 25 🏳️‍🌈 self-published? probably not going to happen

Carolina Built - Kianna Alexander (historical fiction) - February 22 BIPOC

When We Were Birds - Ayanna Llord Banwo (fabulism) - March 15 BIPOC

Comeuppance Served Cold - Marion Deeds (historical fantasy) - March 22

Ripple - Jim Cosgrove (true crime) - April 5

Persians - Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (history) - April 12

Rosebud - Paul Cornell (science fiction) - April 26

Not Good for Maidens - Tori Bovalino (YA fantasy) - May 3

Seasonal Fears - Seanan McGuire (contemporary fantasy) - May 3

The Fairy Tellers - Nicholas Jubber (history/travel) - May 3

Siren Queen - Nghi Vo (historical fantasy) - May 10 BIPOC 🏳️‍🌈

Uncommon Charm - Kat Weaver and Emily Bergslien (historical fantasy) - May 17

A Lady for a Duke - Alexis Hall (historical romance) - May 24 🏳️‍🌈

Downton Shabby - Hopwood Dupree (memoir) - May 31

The Peacekeeper - B.L. Blanchard (alternate history) - June 1 BIPOC

The Rise and Reign of the Mammals - Steve Brusatte (science) - June 7

Garden of Earthly Bodies - Sally Oliver (fiction) - June 7

The Grief of Stones - Katherine Addison (fantasy) - June 14 🏳️‍🌈

Hot Moon - Alan Smale (alternate history) - June 14

A Mirror Mended - Alix Harrow (fantasy) - June 14 🏳️‍🌈

A Taste of Gold and Iron - Alexandra Rowland (fantasy) - June 21 🏳️‍🌈  BIPOC

Epically Earnest - Molly Horan (YA romance) - June 21 🏳️‍🌈

Rogues - Patrick Radden Keefe (true crime) - June 28

What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher (horror) - July 12

The Half Life of Valery K - Natasha Pulley (historical fantasy) - July 26 🏳️‍🌈

Mint Chocolate Murder - Meri Allen (cozy mystery) - July 26

A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys (science fiction) - July 26

Don’t Fear the Reaper - Stephen Graham Jones (horror) - August 2  BIPOC moved to February

High Times in the Low Parliament - Kelly Robson (historical fantasy) - August 9 🏳️‍🌈 🇨🇦

The Oleander Sword - Tasha Suri (fantasy) - August 16 🏳️‍🌈 BIPOC DNF

Love in the Time of Serial Killers - Alicia Thompson (romance) - August 16

Babel - R.F. Kuang (historical fantasy) - August 23 BIPOC

Be the Serpent - Seanan McGuire (urban fantasy) - September 6

The House With the Golden Door - Elodie Harper (historical fiction) - September 6

The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O’Farrell (historical fiction) - September 6

Aces Wild - Amanda DeWitt (young adult) - September 6 🏳️‍🌈

Notorious Sorcerer - Davinia Evans (fantasy) - September 13

A Death in Door Country - Annelise Ryan (cozy mystery) September 13

The Book Hater’s Book Club - Gretchen Anthony (fiction) - September 13

The Collectors - Philip Pullman (fantasy) - September 20

Terry Pratchett - Rob Wilkins (biography) - September 29

Warrior of the Wind - Suyi Davies Okungbowa (fantasy) - October 4 BIPOC moved to February

Cold Case BC - Eve Lazarus (true crime) - October 11

The River of Silver - S.A. Chakraborty (historical fantasy) - October 11 BIPOC

When the Angels Left the Old Country - Sacha Lamb (historical fantasy) - October 18 🏳️‍🌈

Into the Windwracked Wilds - A. Deborah Baker (fantasy) - October 25

A Restless Truth -  Freya Marske (historical fantasy) - November 1 🏳️‍🌈

The World We Make - J.K. Jemisin (contemporary fantasy) - November 1 🏳️‍🌈 BIPOC

Tread of Angels - Rebecca Roanhorse (historical fantasy) - November 15

Remainders of the Day - Shaun Bythell (memoir) - November 29

The Water Outlaws - S.L. Huang (fantasy) - date unknown 🏳️‍🌈 BIPOC moved to 2023

This is (still) fine.

[doumekiss]

Books Read in August 2022

- ★★★★★

This is Going to Hurt (Adam Kay, 2017, England)

Empire of Pain : The Secret History of The Sackler Dinasty (Patrick Radden Keefe, 2021, USA)

Lords and Ladies (Terry Pratchett, 1992, England)

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint : Volume 4 (Singshong, 2021, South Korea)

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks (Patrick Radden Keefe, 2022, USA)

Maskerade (Terry Pratchett, 1995, England)

.

- ★★★★

Witches Abroad (Terry Pratchett, 1991, England)

The Summer Book (Tove Jansson, 1972, Finland)

The Anthropocene Reviewed (John Green, 2021, USA)

The Last Continent (Terry Pratchett, 1998, England)

Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas (Adam Kay, 2019, England)

I’m Glad My Mom Died (Jenette McCurdy, 2022, USA)

Sign (Ker, 2017-2020, South Korea)

The Odyssey (Homer, IX B.C, Greece)

Live From New York : The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live (Tom Shales and James Andre Miller, 2014, USA)

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (Elif Shafak, Turkey, 2019)

Semantic Error 01- 58 (Jeosuri and Angy, 2021-2022, South Korea)

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- ★★★

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte, 1847, England)

And Playing The Role of Herself (K. E. Lane, 2007, USA)

The Sundial (Shirley Jackson, 1958, USA)

The Girl On The Velvet Swing : Sex, Murder and Madness at The Dawn of The Twentieth Century (Simon Baatz, 2018, USA)

Poema Sujo (Ferreira Gullar, 1976, Brazil)

Getting to Know Grace (Hilde and Mokma, 2018, South Korea)

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- ★★

The Boy Who Followed Ripley (Patricia Highsmith, 1980, USA)

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Book Recs Ask Game: 4, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 19, 24, 28, 32, 51, 54, 59, 71, 75, 77, 83, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 95, 119, 120, 121, 124, 126, 131, 132, 133, 134 (of course, you don't have to answer them all, just the ones that particularly interest you!)

4 a poetry book that reads like a story - Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight. I read the poem bc the gifs of Dev Patel were so pretty, but now that I have I so vastly prefer the story of the poem that I don't have any interest in seeing the movie.

9 your favourite book of 2020 - The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie. One of the best books by one of the best authors, it'll be a while before I read something that tops this.

10 a book that got you through something - Gosh... I would say it's mostly fanfic that gets me through the tough times. There's no book in particular that I remember helping me through a rough patch, but writing and reading and the sense of community and generosity in fanfic has helped me a hell of a lot over the years.

13 your favorite romance novel - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's Pride & Prejudice with gritty social commentary. The BBC mini-series is incredible but the book is better.

15 a book rec you really enjoyed - Middlemarch by George Eliot, which was recommended by you! It was a fairly daunting prospect to read it, but I love the feeling of it, I especially adore the characters. It's like walking round a museum, a beautiful, baffling, sometimes unsettling but ultimately fulfilling experience. ❤

16 a book you'd recommend to your younger self - Alex Rider. I really wish I'd gotten into this series sooner!

19 a book that put you in a reading slump - I don't blame books for putting me in reading slumps. Because I listen to audiobooks, I'm sometimes more interested in listening to podcasts or music between books. Sometimes when I find a good podcast, it can take weeks to listen to the back catalogue.

24 a book on your nightstand - The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie. I don't currently have an electronic version, so if I want to look up quotes I have to do it the old fashioned way!

28 a book you wish you could read as a beginner again - Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. Although I do still enjoy reading the book knowing all the revelations, going in cold is an amazing experience that I would love to relive.

32 your favourite nonfiction novel - I haven't read many... Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe was a solid read, though.

51 a book that you found underwhelming - Gideon the Ninth. After all the hype I'd seen I went in expecting wonders and got... a confusing mess. I wish I liked it more, but I don't.

54 a book with the best opening line - Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. "The building was on fire and it wasn't my fault." Flawless. Only to be outdone by the book's last line: "Why did you buy large breed puppy chow?"

59 a book about city life - Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. I adore his depiction of London and how multi-racial the cast is.

71 your favourite LGBTQ+ fiction - Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston warms my heart and is the queer utopia in which I would like to live please and thank you.

75 a book featuring the I'm not like other girls trope - Thud! by Terry Pratchett features a pretty great subversion of this trope.

77 a book so useless that you could use it as a coaster - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

83 a book featuring the fake dating trope - I don't think I've ever read one tbh.

87 a book with a predictable ending - A Frozen Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick. It's a retelling of the Frozen movie, so unless you're one of the 0.1% of people who read it without having seen the movie, the ending is very predictable!

88 a book that made you angry - Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I just felt like she threw the cathartic heist magic trick ending away for shock value.

89 a book that disappointed you - Peace Talks by Jim Butcher. Stretching the Ethniu storyline into two books was a mistake, IMO. After waiting 5 years for the book I have to say I was definitely disappointed.

91 the shortest book you've read - I mean... the Very Hungry Caterpillar?

92 a book about a redeemable villain - Artemis Fowl. Forget Zuko, this is my favourite redemption story ever. I love how Artemis is the unequivocal villain of the first book, I love how much stock it puts in him earning Holly and the fairies' trust.

95 your favourite coming of age novel - Oof, by and large I hate coming of age stories, I find them extremely hard to relate to, but A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is a phenomenal book.

119 your favourite summer read - The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie is my go-to beach read. I think Gorst's grim, bitter inner monologues are best enjoyed when the sun is shining, with Mr Whippy in hand.

120 a book about childhood friends - The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Millar. Does that count? I feel like it counts.

121 a book that makes you nostalgic - Peter Rabbit by Enid Blyton. Loved it as a child, my favourite stuffed toy was a bunny called Peter. 🥲

124 the book you're currently reading - I finished it but I haven't yet jumped to a new book, so The Fowl Twins: Get What They Deserve by Eoin Colfer. Absolutely mad, I'm left with a big sense of 'wtf did I just read?!' I love this series!

126 your favourite spring read - Hmm... Spring calls for something light and lively... Carry On, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse, perhaps?

131 tag somebody with whom you would want to buddy read a book - @sapokanikan, I wanna buddy read some George Eliot with you 🧡

132 who is your favorite person to go to for book recs? - My twin sister knows me best. She recommended me both Dresden and The First Law, so her taste is immaculate.

133 a book that you came across randomly and fell in love with - The Complete Works of W. B. Yeats. My copy is old and battered and belonged to one of my eldest sister's originally. One day it ended up in the bathroom, and suffice it to say Yeats is now one of my favourite poets. 😆

134 unreccomend any book you like! - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Emphasis on cursed.