#also you should totally read the long way to a small angry planet by becky chambers

[cj-kenobi]

i just finished a book series for the first time in. a long time. I've been keeping up with it since i was like 13. what the Fuck do i do now how do i recover from this event what do i do with my life

[vaspider]

Totally random, left field question - have you read any of the Becky Chambers books? Your name reminds me a bit of modders in the Wayfarer books. And also they seem like they would be right up your alley.

Yeah, I read A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet A few years ago. It's good! I should finish the series. :)

[papiermaker]

I was tagged by @someone-elsa - thanks for my first ask game tag.

Rules: Tag 9 people you would like to get to know/catch up with

Last Song: Kate Bush’s ‘The Song of Solomon’. I just saw a band called Baby Bushka who perform “the Kate Bush experience of your dreams” with multi-part harmonies, choreography, costumes, and an equal mix of craft, silliness and seriousness. They played this Kate Bush song which I’d never heard before, and I’ve been listening to the original version. 

Last TV Show: Hacks. One of the best things I’ve seen in ages. It’s very funny and it has heart. Also, all TV from the past 10 years should be remade with Jean Smart in the lead role.

Currently watching/listening to: waiting for the final episode of The Staircase.

Currently reading: re-reading Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. I’ve bounced off a few new novels recently and abandoned them part-way through. I ended up going back to Fates and Furies as something I knew would be totally absorbing as a kind of reading re-set. The last thing I read for the first time (and finished and liked) was Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.

Current obsession/hyperfixation: browsing online shops for stuff to wear on an upcoming holiday, and despairing that all tops seem to be crop tops now - ??

I don’t know so many people on Simblr yet, so am tagging people with interesting blogs who have paid kind attention to my messing about on here - please ignore this if it’s an intrusion... @tipsy-clouds @enchanting-whim @strawbrite @frootjice @idyllicephemera @helloavocadooo @memoirsofasim 

[salvatoreschool]

Kaylee Bryant On "Legacies," The Importance Of Queer Rep On TV, Hosie, And More

"I have so many people constantly telling me that watching Josie on the show has made them feel more comfortable in themselves."

This week, Kaylee Bryant squeezed us into her schedule to talk about their role as Josie Saltzman on Legacies. As a huge Josie fan, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a morning than talking to Kaylee about The Vampire Diaries, Hosie, our favorite books, and more! Here's everything we talked about:

1. What was your audition for Legacies like?

My audition process was very interesting because they kept a lot of it a secret. I had no script and a fake character name. And then I had my second audition, a chemistry read, which Jenny Boyd [Lizzie] wasn't even at. I walked in and immediately just flat-out asked, "This is for the twins, right?" So it was long, but short and intense at the same time.

BuzzFeed: Wait, did you know which twin you were going to be playing?

I initially auditioned for Josie, and then during chemistry reads, they started asking me to read for Lizzie. And then we had our final callback where I finally met Jenny and we both read for both roles. They never told us [who was playing who] until Jenny had her appointment to go dye her hair blonde.

2. What's a typical day on set like?

Gosh, it changes every time. If it's a busy day on set, we're talking like 8 a.m. call time where we spend about two hours on hair and makeup and go straight into rehearsals. If it's a big sort of episode that involves stunt work and wire work, you're talking about doing maybe two scenes in a day. But if it's an average day, we can do anywhere from three to five scenes and we can start at 8 a.m. and wrap at 8 p.m. It really depends. I'm surprised if I'm not surprised.

3. You’ve said you’re a huge fan of The Vampire Diaries. Josie played Elena in the musical episode — what was that like?

It was surreal for sure. They had talked a little bit about doing a musical episode since Season 1. And I always thought that they were joking when they talked about doing Salvatore: The Musical!, so when they said Josie would obviously play Elena, I was like, "Hahaha." And then I got the script and realized I actually was playing Elena. The musical aspect of it was the easy part. The difficult part was, I think, getting into the iconic Elena attire and trying to feel normal. Because we have a lot of crew members that worked on The Vampire Diaries, and they kept coming up to me being like, "This is weird. I feel weird."

4. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve filmed with Courtney Bandeko (Finch) this season?

I really did love the scene that we had in the town square [when] we got on a moped. There were so many fans in the town square that were huddled in the rain — it was pouring rain, freezing cold — trying to snap photos of us. And it was kind of one of those surreal moments where it felt full circle, that I was on a Vampire Diaries spinoff in town square. It was a lot going on, but it was a lot of fun. It's always fun working with Courtney.

5. You and Danielle Rose Russell (Hope) also have amazing chemistry — what’s your favorite scene you’ve filmed together?

Oh gosh, we have a lot that are pretty amazing. Honestly, I'd say [Season 3] Episode 14 — we finally got to do a lot more scenes together. And it's always fun, especially when it's Josie, Lizzie, and Hope, because we have so much history character-wise. Any time you really get to dive into that, we love it.

6. I know Josie and Finch are working through some things right now, but I gotta ask — how do you feel about Hosie?

I love it. Danielle and I loved the idea of Hosie starting from Season 1, and we kept asking and asking and asking for it. So it's kind of funny and full circle that now the fans have kind of taken our side with things, and now they won't stop asking for it. All we want is this beautiful, dynamic relationship. And I think that the fans want that as well.

BuzzFeed: Yeah, I mean, people have even been asking me about Hosie, and I don't work on the show!

Oh, I'm sure! [Laughs] Obviously I love it, though.

7. Is there a particular Josie moment you’re really proud of?

Josie has a scene coming up in Episode 18 — or 19? — I don't know, but it's good. It's sort of the pinnacle of everything that Josie has felt over the past three years kind of culminating into one moment. So, I'm excited for people to see it.

8. You recently came out as queer. How has playing Josie, who’s pansexual, impacted you personally?

I felt a lot of pressure when I initially booked Josie because I was still figuring out who I was and what my label was. And playing a character who was so comfortable in who she was, it was inspiring [to me] in a way that I think a lot of other people watching the show have been inspired. I have so many people constantly telling me that watching Josie on the show has made them feel more comfortable in themselves. It's kind of amazing that we all have the same experience in that having queer representation makes you more comfortable.

9. You’ve been vocal about your Asian identity, and your character has spoken Japanese on the show. Did you have a hand in incorporating that into Josie’s character?

No, not at all! So, I spoke Japanese a few times on the [Instagram] Live and one of our writers, Penny Cox, saw me speaking Japanese and immediately went to Brett [Matthews] and was like, "We need to make this happen somehow." And then all of a sudden, I had a script in my hands. So it was a surprise, but a fun one.

BuzzFeed: Are you fluent in Japanese?

Gosh, no! I'm barely fluent in English. [Laughs] I would say I speak at the level of maybe a second-grader on a good day, though.

10. If you could pitch any storyline for Josie, what would it be?

I always joke that I want an episode that takes place overnight. That way, we all have to be wearing pajamas the entire episode. I just want to wear some comfy clothes for a whole two weeks, that's my main goal. So we can have a pajama episode, that's my pitch.

11. What's it like getting into character for Dark Josie scenes?

It's different in the sense that I know Josie so well. And knowing Josie in turn makes me understand Dark Josie. I have a whole different playlist of music that I listen to for Dark Josie — and I have the wig, which helps a lot with getting into character.

BuzzFeed: Well, now I have to ask what music is on that playlist!

I think "Bury a Friend" by Billie Eilish is a great one for Dark Josie. Also, "Villain" by K/DA is a prime example of a perfect song for Dark Josie, so I listen to that one as well.

12. What's your go-to Starbucks order?

Plain black iced Americano. Aria [Shahghasemi, who plays Landon] says I drink coffee like a sociopath. [Laughs]

13. What TV show are you currently binging?

I just finished watching Alice in Borderland, which is a Japanese show on Netflix. And I know Feel Good Season 2 just came out, so I think that's my next binge.

14. Damon or Stefan?

Stefan! They're both beautiful and I love them very much, but I'm Team Stefan when it comes to Elena.

15. If you could work with anyone from The Vampire Diaries, who would it be?

Ian Somerhalder has a lot of dogs. So, maybe I want to work with him for the sole reason of just talking about dogs. [Writer's note: Kaylee revealed she has two rescue dogs, one whom was sleeping right next to them during the interview! Kaylee described the dogs as "both complete and total nuts," but said she misses them about five minutes after getting into the car to go to work.]

16. Do you think you’re most similar to Josie, Lizzie, or Hope in real life?

I would say I'm an eclectic mix of the three. I can be very headstrong like Hope, very outspoken like Lizzie, and I try to be as loving as Josie, but sometimes that doesn't always work. But I'd like to think all three.

17. Is there a role people would be surprised to learn you auditioned for, but didn't get?

I've been auditioning since I was eight, so there's quite a few Disney Channel shows and movies. And I'm sure people would be surprised because I think I auditioned for like, all of them. It's very funny, one of the first jobs I ever booked in television was Kickin' It with Leo Howard [Ethan]. Talk about full circle — going from being 12 years old and having no idea what I'm doing to being a series regular on [Legacies] and welcoming Leo to the set.

18. Who's your favorite Disney princess?

Oh, I love Mulan so much. She was, like, my first crush ever. I also love Moana, but it's Mulan 1,000%.

19. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I mean, I do eat rice every day. So maybe just white rice — you can make rice into candy and...yeah, let's go with rice.

20. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one book, what would it be?

Oh no! I recently read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, and I really enjoyed that book. Oh god, Is that the one that I want to bring, though? I mean, I really enjoyed it and it has many different aspects to it. I don't know. Or should I go with Harry Potter? I go through different genres too, like right now I'm in a big sci-fi phase, but other times I'll go the opposite direction and only read biographies. Yeah, that's super hard. I don't think I would know!

21. On that note, what's your Hogwarts house?

Initially, when I was younger, it used to just be straight-up Slytherin. And now, I recently took the Sorting Hat Quiz and I got Ravenclaw. So I'm going to go with Slytherclaw.

BuzzFeed: What's Josie's house?

Josie would be Slytherin. She tries very hard and, you know, not everyone in Slytherin is evil. She just, you know, has her way of going about things.

22. Has anything super funny or embarrassing happened to you on set?

I trip a lot on set. I get scared very easily — if I come around the corner and somebody is walking the other direction, I get scared. Everybody knows to walk slowly around me because I get scared so easily.

23. What's your wildest fan story?

I've had people cry before. And I'm an empath, so if somebody starts crying, I immediately am like, "Please don't cry, because I'm gonna cry." And then it turns into this whole thing. Once we were shooting in the town square and this young girl with her mom started crying, and I just hugged her and I didn't know what to say. So there's a lot of that. There's also the occasional, "Where's your twin?" and...I don't have one, sorry! But yeah, I would say the people who cry always throw me for a loop.

24. How do you unwind after a long day?

I have an hourlong drive home from work, so I usually listen to a lot of music. And by the time I get home, taking off all of my makeup is very therapeutic. Because over time, we're working 13-hour days, 16-hour days, and it's just powder constantly building up on my face. So, washing my face is always very therapeutic. And then just laying back and reading a book and petting my dog is the best.

25. Is there a celebrity you get told you look like a lot?

Most recently, Sara Waisglass [from Ginny & Georgia and Degrassi]. We follow each other on social media now and I completely messed up because I don't know how Twitter works at all. I forgot that there's a DMing interaction, so we followed each other and I was like, "Oh, that's nice." And then just recently, I saw that she had messaged me being like, "We're twins! We should be friends!" And I immediately messaged back, "I'm so sorry, let's be friends!"

26. Who's your biggest celebrity crush?

Oh, I have so many. But consistently since I saw Orphan Black, Tatiana Maslany. Hands down.

27. Finally, have you ever caught someone watching a TV show or movie that you're in on a flight or anywhere else?

We were all, as a cast, flying to — was it New York Comic Con, or San Diego Comic Con? — one of the Comic Cons. And we were all sitting there and we saw that Legacies was actually on the airplane as an option. And we were all just uncomfortably staring at each other. Yeah, that was surreal.

Be sure to catch Kaylee in Legacies, which airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW!

[mllekurtz]

If you could make all your friends read one book, what book and why?

Hi, friend! ♥

Oh, this is a hard question. Both because I'm generally very persuasive (and/or my friends are very patient, bless) and they end up reading whatever I recommend, and because there are SO MANY BOOKS that I think everyone should read.

I'm going to go with the first title that popped into my mind, which is unsurprisingly The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: the closest a novel has made adult-me feel to that sweet, irreplaceable feeling of making friends with make-believe characters you only get when you're a child.

I love so many things about it: the character-driven, episodic structure, the cleverness of the world-building, the way aliens feel properly, well, alien but their cultures and mores make total sense, and the fact that the author approached this with such a strong "cisheteronormativity? don't know her" attitude. I recommend the sequels as well (reflections on mortality and what makes us human? space racism? found family, so much found family?) but this book, to me, is a staple.

Also I'm very grateful to it because it's the reason me and @dawl-and-dapple are friends, so cheers to that!

(I am holding an AMA, send me your questions!)

[firstdove15]

August Reading

This is officially the most books I’ve read in years and I’m still on a roll.

1) Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (Four Stars)

I found myself enjoying this more than I did Uprooted, which surprised me because I really did enjoy Uprooted and the spins Novik put on her magic system (standard magic vs. working magic in your own way). I blame it on the fact that there’s fae in here. XD Granted, the Staryk king was a major dick but I still found him entertaining because he’s a fae; of course his morals are going to clash with humans. Also ice fae. Need I say more? XD And the tsar...my goodness. Couldn’t stand him at first, but then he showed to be just as much a victim AND having barely a brain cell to run his own freaking country. And I’m saying that generously. At least it’s heavily implied he’s realized how lucky he is to have his wife by his side (’cause she totally saved his tush). The found family juice was strong in this one and I enjoyed every second of it.

2) Boys Run the Riot Volume 2 by Keito Gaku (Four Stars)

I actually enjoyed this as much as I did the first volume so it really should be four and a half stars, but that ending was so not okay. O_O I imagine volume three is going to be more emotionally tense. *hugs baby boy*

3) Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Volume 11 by Izumi Tsubaki (Four Stars)

There’s no denying that some of the humor is becoming hit or miss but I still chuckle more often than not. <333

4) Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Volume 12 by Izumi Tsubaki (Four Stars)

See above. I’d totally keep buying the volumes as they come out in English because it’s pretty much modern Ranma 1/2 in terms of character development not being the main priority in its narrative. As long as it makes you chuckle; it’s doing its job.

5) A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (Four Stars)

Yo, yooooooo. I can’t live in that world. I can’t. I do not envy the characters. If I lived in that world and found out I had magic powers, I’d be screwed. Anyway, I highly enjoyed El and her snark. I didn’t expect this to be a dark comedy and dark comedies are actually up my alley. XD It was nice watching her slowly develop some genuine friendships in an otherwise hostile environment and her dynamic with Orion is where I don’t care where it goes as long as they care about each other. Platonic, romantic, quasiplatonic. I’ll take it.

Also, I’m still lowkey reeling from that last sentence. Best believe I’m buying the sequel.

6) To Your Eternity Volume One by Yoshitok Oma (Three Stars)

I didn’t know how to feel about this one. I mean, it’s well-written but I couldn’t decide if this is the type of story I want to follow because the premise, while fascinating, can possibly lead on the depressing side. I mean, I freaking watched a child get his leg infected and die in his sleep in the first freaking chapter (which I totally saw coming given who the author is, but dang). But judging from screencaps I saw of the manga and the themes going on, I’ll probably continue. Or at least follow the anime.

7) That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert (Four Stars)

It’s Hibbert. She writes; I read. All I have left is Wanna Bet? (which apparently got renamed The Roommate Risk) but I look forward to reading it sometime in the future.

8) Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (Four Stars)

I was gonna wait until the start of September to read, but I ended up starting early and finishing early. Monday’s Not Coming broke my heart; Allegedly freaking betrayed me. Like, it’s been two days and I’m still lowkey pissed. XD And the worst part is you can totally recall what counted as hints to the twist and, YMMV, but I thought it was clever. Disturbing, but clever. I found out people either loved the ending or hated it and honestly, both are fair.

9) Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson (Four Stars)

I speed through this in two freaking days. I had to know who killed the man so I could shake their hand. Then when I found out who they were (minor spoiler), it was like, “Yo, he deserved to rot in jail, not this.” Then it was revealed that they started the assault but the finishing blow by the other person was justified. I appreciated that while the novel mentioned a tragic backstory and let you realize why he partially turned out the way he did, it absolutely did not justify what he did to all those girls. Not at all.

Plans for September

Technically I’m ahead of the game because I was gonna read Allegedly and Grown in September, but that means time for other books. <3 So far, I already got started on Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson. So:

1) Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tifftany D. Jackson

2) the book S got me for my birthday; I forgot the name but it’s safe in my room for the time being

3) The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

4) White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

5) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I would roll the dice for the TBR game but this list is enough. XD

[bookclub4m]

Episode 124 - Media (and Noodles) We’ve Recently Enjoyed

This episode we’re discussing Media (and Noodles) We’ve Recently Enjoyed! We talk about spicy noodles, which Dakota is our least favourite state, fictional planets that totally suck, tenuous connections, flexing over signed books, vaccine envy, podcast synergy, and why you should mail us an envelope filled with five dollar bills! Plus: We reveal how deeply uncool we really are!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards

Media We Mentioned

Matthew

Hitman 3 Dubai!: 3 Ways to Play (just one of many videos)

Hitman Elusive Target 14 The Chef: MIKE'S FINEST HOUR - Let's Play Hitman (featuring the explosive rubber duck)

Hitman 3 THE MOST ELUSIVE TARGET YET: 3 Ways to Play Hitman 3 Elusive Target The Collector (this one came out the same day as this episode of the podcast!)

Hitman (franchise) (Wikipedia)

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World, vol. 1 by Asaya Miyanaga

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

DefunctTV: The History of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

MAGFest 2019: True Weird Stories from Video Game History

Where in North Dakota is Carmen Sandiego? (Wikipedia)

Mais où se Cache Carmen Sandiego ? (French theme song)

À la poursuite de Carmen Sandiego (French theme song for Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?)

Finish It! Podcast

Ep. 153. The Dragon’s Den: Week One Enter The Inkeeper

RJ

Later Alligator

Launch Trailer

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Mice and Murder

Game Changer

Breaking News

Gumshoe

Wanderhome

Anna

Natural Causes by James Oswald

Lucky Me (noodles) (Wikipedia)

“Pancit canton – Filipino adaptation of lo mein and chow mein. Either in instant or stir-fried versions” (Wikipedia)

‘Pag No Drain, No Pain with Lucky Me! Pancit Canton (commercial)

Lucky Me! Pancit Canton "Happy Merienda" (commercial)

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

(Wikipedia)

Colors

Sofi Tukker - Drinkee

Mahalia - Sober

H.E.R - Carried Away

triple j - Like a Version 2021

The Wiggles cover Tame Impala 'Elephant' for Like A Version

Chvrches cover Kendrick Lamar ‘LOVE’

Gang of Youths cover The Middle East 'Blood' 

Hermitude cover Nirvana 'Heart-Shaped Box'

Tash Sultana covers MGMT 'Electric Feel'

essaying by Tressie McMillan Cottom

Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends by Caitlin Dewey

Meghan

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

Maintenance Phase

Episode about Olestra

You're Wrong About… by Michael Hobbes and Sarah Marshall

Your Fat Friend by Aubrey Gordon

case/lang/veirs - Full Performance | opbmusic Live Sessions

Links, Articles, and Things

Hark! Podcast - Episode 283: O Christmas Weed

Baman Piderman - Find Da Sandwich (Ep #1)

Neil Cicierega (Wikipedia)

Episode 114 - Hot Cocoa & Book Recommendations

The episode in which RJ recommended To Be Taught, If Fortunate

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White

meatsuit maintenance (Twitter)

Episode 116 - Best Books We Read in 2020

The episode in which RJ recommended Game Changer

Tommy the Turtle (the world’s largest snowmobiling turtle)

Tame Impala (Wikipedia)

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (Wikipedia)

15 Space Opera Books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

The Moons of Palmares by Zainab Amadahy

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard

Nova by Samuel R. Delany

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes

Prime Deceptions by Valerie Valdes

The Black Ship by Gerry William

Red Dust by Yoss

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, May 4th when we’ll be discussing the genre of Literary Theory!

Then on Tuesday, May 18th, we’ll be talking about Books We Did Not Finish!

[fangrrlsing]

Now I just finished watching Another Life on Netflix, so-be warned- there are spoilers ahead.

I'm gonna be honest, I started watching for Tyler Hoechlin. Who then got killed off at the end of the first episode. Which was kind of a bummer because I was ready for like several of episodes but well, the Pilot wasn't bad so I kept watching.

And honestly, I found the first episodes really enjoyable. But then they doubled up on the dumb decisions. And introduced love drama. And it got worse with every new episodes. And don't get me started on the countless sex scenes that were totally unnecessary. (Did I already mention the relationship drama on every corner? It was ridiculous.)

And then it didn't even answer all question that felt like they should have been answered already, like those stupid Artifacts. Why are the Archai (?) even sending them out? What are they supposed to do?? Amd they're bad of course. The aliens contacting Earth got to be evil, right? Can't stray from the script, huh?

Never mind the AI that falls in love with the Commander and then acts like a big man-child when she rejects him (also she's married?!). And everyone being so understanding about it even when that puts everyone in serious danger. ("I wished he would kill you." - "That's understandable." What the fuck?) Seriously, can we stop encouraging people to feel entitled to other people's emotions? Because we're not. Seriously. I'm getting all worked up again, just thinking about it.

Well, the great finish was a young woman ending up pregnant, after it was earlier established they were all sterile. But, huh, well the AI misjudged *shrug*

And it's so frustrating because it could have been all so amazing! You don't need every crew member to get into each others pants. Let them be a team, let them become a team. Is that too much to ask?

The one good thing that came from this shitshow (again, so sad because it wasn't bad at first! It kept me watching! And not because I invested to much time already.), wel the one good thing that came from watching Another Life was that I remembered The long way to a small, angry planet by Becky Chambers because this book is amazing and everyone who likes Sci-Fi and traveling through space and watching a crew follow their mission should watch it because it gives you all this but in this lovely laid back way and not really cliche and you actually see the crew growing together and it's all very lovely and I want everyone to read it.

tl;dr Skip Another Life and use the time to read The long way to a small, angry planet by Becky Chambers instead.

[sofreakinmanyfandoms]

November 23 - Liquid Perfection

Thanks to being ahead on word count despite being behind on days, I’m gonna just do short drabbles tomorrow to catch up.

Word count: 1621

Warnings: Flirting? Is that a warning? It probably should be since I’m bad at writing it. Also, definite hand porn descriptions of Seb’s hands.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader (Coffee Shop!AU)

“But like, seriously, Jen,” you insisted as she pushed open the door to the coffee shop, “it may be a trope, but it’s not that common and people use it because it’s good. Kind of like how an archetype can give you an idea for the foundation of your character. You don’t wanna make your character fit perfectly in a box, but you want to know what motivates them or what could change their motivations. Identity porn is totally valid.” The lady in front of you in line shot you an interesting look, so you lowered your voice. “I’m just saying, Zahn was not cheating by making McKell a long-term undercover. He still had to piece everything together on his own; it just made his motivation make more sense overall.”

Jen shook her head and sighed. “You can rant all you want, Y/N. I still felt cheated.”

“Fine,” you huffed, “see if I ever recommend you another book.”

You stepped up to the ordering counter, eyes down as you dug through your purse. “Do you want me to cover you? I’ve still got money on the card from my Aunt.”

“Sure, thanks,” your best friend grinned. “I’ll take a sixteen-ounce caramel macchiato to go, please.”

“And I’ll take a…” you froze as you looked up into the most brilliant eyes you’d ever seen. They were a pale blue and there was a light dancing behind them that knocked any semblance of thought from your brain.

Jen the ever-helpful elbowed you in the ribs.

“Uh,” your brain kicked back in just enough to recite your regular order. “I’ll have a sixteen ounce pour-over, half Ecuadorian light roast, half Ethiopian medium. To go. Please.”

“The lady knows what she wants,” the barista smiled and you gripped the counter to make sure that the world spinning wasn’t you about to pass out. Damn, the man was gorgeous. He had his slightly long brunet hair pulled back in a low bun with a few wisps hanging loose around his face. Beneath his apron with the coffee shop logo, his black Henley was just tight enough to prove he worked out. You caught yourself hoping he’d turn around so you could get a look at his ass, and to your delight he did just that once you’d paid. He was the only one behind the bar, and he quickly made the drink for the lady in front of you before working on the two you and your friend had ordered.

Jen shot you a smirk before leaning against the counter. “So…” she scanned his nametag, “James. I don’t remember seeing you here before; we usually see Steve. Are you new or have you just been hiding?”

He looked up from where he was pulling a shot with an amused smile. “I’m normally in the back baking, but we’re low on staff today because the Steve’s out of town. That’s why there’s fewer baked goods. Kinda hard to bake and serve customers at the same time.” He passed her the completed macchiato and set to work on your pour-over. “My other co-worker will be off his break any minute now, and then I’ll be relocated to the back so I can restock our pastry selection.”

“Then we got here just in time,” she laughed, giving him a flirty smile.

You rolled your eyes. Yes, he was gorgeous, but Jen was just ridiculous. James seemed, well, used to it, though. At least he was taking her attention in stride while not playing her game.

James kept his eyes on your drink as he worked on it, kettle held in a secure yet relaxed grip. You found yourself fascinated by his hands. He was wearing an assortment of rings, and they seemed to emphasize how well-proportioned the length of his fingers were to the breadth of his palms. You’d never considered hands erotic before, but man, his hands…

When he moved to put a lid on your to-go cup, you looked up and found him watching you. A blush crept across your cheeks at being caught staring, but he simply smiled and passed you your coffee.

“Enjoy.”

“Thank you.” You took a sip and your eyes went wide. “This is really good. I think you’re better than Steve. Why would they keep you in the back when you can make coffee like this?”

He laughed. It was the prettiest sound you’d ever heard and you mentally slapped yourself upside the head.

“I’m the only one who works here who knows how to not burn everything. I do it out of necessity more than anything. Never found a baker to hire and it’s been long enough I just stopped looking.”

“Start looking again,” you said, “because this is liquid perfection.”

James’s smile turned shy. “Thanks. I’m glad you like it.”

“Oh, crap.” Jen grabbed your arm. “Class is in fifteen minutes and it’s a ten-minute walk. We’ve gotta go.”

You waved to James as she grabbed your arm and dragged you outside. It wasn’t until you were actually sitting down in your intermediate Russian class that you noticed the writing peeking out from under the sleeve on your cup.

Text me sometime. ;) 555-2825

Well. That was unexpected, and definitely nice.

----------

Y/N: James? This is Y/N. I came into the shop today?

James: Y/N! Hi! I wasn’t sure if you’d actually text me.

James: And all my friends call me Bucky. You can too if you’d like.

Y/N: I like that. Bucky. It suites you.

----------

Bucky: You like sci-fi books, right?

Y/N: Yeah, how did you know?

Bucky: You and your friend were talking about them when you came in.

Bucky: Can I give you a recommendation?

Y/N: Of course!

Bucky: “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers.

Bucky: It’s nice in that it’s not as human-centric as a lot of them tend to be.

Bucky: There’s also decent LGBTQ+ representation, in that it’s there but not made into a big deal.

Bucky: Which is kind of nice.

Bucky: At least I think it is…

Y/N: Sounds interesting!

Y/N: I’ll look it up.

Bucky: Let me know when you do. We can meet for coffee and talk about it?

Y/N: Sounds good. :)

----------

Y/N: So I’m halfway through TLWtaSAP

Y/N: You were right, it’s really good.

Y/N: I’m really enjoying how well she builds the cultures for her other alien species.

Bucky: I’m glad you like it! :)

Y/N: Thanks for the rec :)

Bucky: Anytime

----------

Y/N: You still wanna meet to talk about the book?

Y/N: I should finish it tonight

Bucky: Yeah! You free tomorrow?

Bucky: I get off at 2. We could get coffee to go, or have it there if you want?

Y/N: Give me an honest answer: Would you rather leave once your off than stay?

Bucky: Honest answer, yes, but I won’t be upset if you wanna stay.

Y/N: Let’s get coffee to go. There’s a small park on campus, a five-ish minute walk from the shop?

Bucky: Sounds great! See you then. :)

----------

“So yeah, I think that was my favorite part.” You took another sip of your coffee, one of Bucky’s shockingly good pour-overs, and fell quiet. If he hadn’t been listening so intently you’d have felt bad for monopolizing the conversation. As it was, he asked questions when he had them and spent the rest of the time with paying rapt attention to your ongoing monologue.

The two of you watched the birds flitting through the trees for a moment, the silence not uncomfortable but not entirely comfortable either.

“Well,” you finally said, figuring one of you would have to come up with a new topic eventually, “I know you have great taste in sci-fi novels and make a fantastic cup of coffee. What sort of things do you like to do in your time off, other than read?”

“Um…” Bucky tilted his head as he thought, and your certainty that he couldn’t get any better-looking was demolished. (Seriously… How was he even real?) “Well, I always have a restoration project going, usually a car but right now I’m working on a bike from the 50s. Restoring the engine, banging out the dents, new paint job, new seats; that sort of thing. Steve’s my best friend so we’ll hang out in the evenings sometimes since we both work opening shifts. And,” he grinned, “I’ve been texting this beautiful woman lately.”

You felt a blush work its way across your cheeks, and you ducked your face down to your cup to hide your smile. “Beautiful woman, huh? What’s she like?”

“She’s incredible,” Bucky said earnestly, placing his hand over yours on the bench between you. “She likes sci-fi and coffee, and her smile could light all of Brooklyn. And I’ve never seen eyes as pretty as hers before.”

Have you ever looked in the mirror?

You didn’t realize you’d said that out loud until Bucky burst out laughing. As much as you wanted to be embarrassed, you couldn’t help but join in.

“In fact,” he said, turning serious again, “I’ve been trying to work up the courage to ask her if she’d be willing to date me.”

“I bet if you found that courage she’d say yes.”

“You think so?”

“I’m pretty sure, yeah.”

“All right.” Bucky got down on one knee and pulled a sticker for his coffee shop out of his pocket. “Y/N, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

His cuteness would be the death of you, and you fully intended to enjoy every minute of it.

“Yes.”

[rayreviews]

The Long Way to Happiness: A Review of Becky Chambers’ ‘The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet’

The Long Way was published nearly four years ago, now. It’s won awards, been praised inexorably by almost everyone who’s read it, and has made a stir both online, and in the world of the critics. It’s not new, per se.

But it does, in many ways, represent something new for me. Something new, and something wonderfully old, and to help you understand that, I must tell you a story.

Don’t worry, I’ll be brief. (Sort of.)

When I was six years old, I hated reading. It was difficult and boring, and although I loved to listen to stories, the books I read rarely contained such sharp wit, or simple joy. In the books I was told to read, a ball went missing and caused chaos. A magic key took people to places that meant nothing, felt like nothing. I didn’t care. It was all so stilted; nothing flowed, not the plot, or the characters, and don’t get me started on dialogue.

At the end of the year, we were given a reading assignment: to take a book from one of the higher reading tiers and read as much as we could in a month. Oh, how I complained. My book – left to me by default, since it was a boy’s book and none of the boys wanted it – was a book of short sci-fi stories. There were six in total, and I thought it would take forever. I was right, in a way. That first story was tortuous. It took me a full three weeks to read it, and I grizzled all the way through.

Then I started the second story.

I can’t tell you, now, what that story was about. I can’t tell you it’s title or it’s author. What I can tell you, is that I fell in love. I finished the rest of the book with time to spare, begged the teacher for another, and that was that.

Time went by, school got harder, and by the time GCSEs rolled around, I had already cut back my book a week to a book every two. Through A-Level I hardly had a chance to read much outside the books I was studying, and then I was at university. Studying Literature.

Dream come true, right?

Except I, and a lot of my friends, had hit something of a problem. For the last four years, we’d been told that every year was the most important year of our lives, and we couldn’t afford any mistakes. We’d pushed ourselves so hard that it was difficult to find any motivation left at all and I, like many others, stopped reading almost all together.

Three years on, and I can count the number of books I’ve read in that time on my fingers. Pretty bad, for a Lit. student, huh? The thing was, I didn’t really care anymore. Oh, I still loved the worlds inside those books, still loved the characters and the beauty of words, but it was just so much effort to pick one up and read it. There were other reasons, too, but they aren’t important here.

What is important, is that a few months ago a friend recommended The Long Way to me. Very highly. I’d just spent something like three months reading a three hundred-page novel, and I was looking to keep up the momentum. (Yep. That was momentum.) So I thought I’d give it a try.

The Long Way is four-hundred and four pages long. I finished it in five hours.

Becky Chambers’ debut novel tells the story of a tunnelling crew about the Wayfarer, who punch through reality to create the more easily traversable wormholes that other ships use to get about. Rosemary, the ship’s newest crewmember, is arguably the protagonist, but every member of the crew gets their moments in the spotlight, from the affable six-legged Dr Chef, to Kizzy, the energetic and emotional engineer.

A multi-species crew isn’t exactly a new idea – Star Trek, Star Wars, Farscape – they all got there first. But the cultures Chambers has created are as wonderfully varied and original as they get, each with their own complex histories: the reptilian Aandrisk, with their complex social structures (and distinct lack of breasted females); the military, but elegant, Aeluons. Even the human cultures, Martians, Gaians, modders and travellers, have their own place and their own histories, all beautifully woven together.

Chambers uses her space-opera to explore gender and sexuality – giving readers a variety of both, as well as a variety of species – and also the importance of choices, and the unwitting impact that can have on others.

It’s Firefly meets Farscape, with a dash of early-era Star Trek, sans the censorship. It’s a feel-good novel, a book that builds characters up without unceremoniously yanking the rug out from under them, and seeks its character development through learning about other cultures and ways of life.

It should be noted, at this point, that if you’re looking for a sci-fi action thriller where some dread world-ending event happens every other chapter, you may wish to look elsewhere. The Long Way is slow-paced, but not less exceptional for it. Character is the heart of the story, and although the book is hardly without any action (there are plenty of perilous moments), it is relationships, not disaster, that drives the main plot. Not just romantic relationships, either, though there’s lots of love to go around; friendship is as important a bond in this book as any love affair.

It’s also, and I cannot stress this enough, wonderfully queer. Genderfluid character? Check. Bisexual characters? Check. Lesbian relationship? Check. And none of them are used as jokes.

TL;DR, should you The Long Way by Becky Chambers? YES. Unequivocally. I would (and have) recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different in their science-fiction, something a little new, built on a wonderfully solid tradition of space-opera, of the shipboard family and their sallies through space.

For me, best of all, the highest praise I can give it: it made me fall in love with reading again, in a way I haven’t since that first sci-fi story when I was six.  

Thanks, Becky Chambers.

Can’t wait to pick up the next one.

                                                        ♦♦♦♦♦

[libraryleopard]

2017 reading wrap-up

I don’t normally do this, but I figured that since this year was the first year I kept track of the books I read and also set a specific goal (1/3 books by authors of color), I thought it could be interesting to see what I read in 2017. And yeah, this is a little late but I didn’t have laptop over Christmas break so *shrug*.

I read 186 books total, with 73 being by authors of color. (That’s actually 11 more books than I needed to read, so yay for being an overachiever.) I think having a specific number to aim for helped me to diversify my reading and push me to read things I wouldn’t normally have read and I want to continue doing that. Of those 186 books, 108 had a person of color as a pov character and 61 had a LGBTQIAP+ main character. I think I’ll try to focus on reading more books with good disability representation next year because I only read 23 books with a disabled main character (not counting thrillers that used mental health as an an unreliable narrator plot twist because ugh). 

I read mostly the same number of books (between 9-20) each month during school or summer, which surprised me since I normally think of myself as reading more during vacations. Also, I read 9 books when I should have been doing NaNoWriMo, which might explain why I didn’t finish..

Anyway, here’s the whole list below the cut if anyone wants to see!

*=reread

January

1/ Vicarious by Paula Stokes

2/ Run by Kody Keplinger

3/ Pantomime by Laura Lam

4/ Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

5/ Don’t Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche

6/ The Force Awakens novelization by Alan Dean Foster

7/ The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury*

8/ Timekeeper by Tara Sim

9/ Tattoo Atlas by Tim Floreen

10/ Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova*

11/ Life in Motion by Misty Copeland

12/ Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak

13/ Peas and Carrots by Tanita S. Davis

14/ This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston

15/ The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine*

16/ The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine

February

17/ See No Color by Shannon Gibney

18/ This Side of Home by Renée Watson

19/ I’m Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Gretchen McNeil

20/ Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

21/ Rogue One novelization by Alexander Freed

22/ Railhead by Philip Reeve

23/ When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore*

24/ Truthwitch by Susan Dennard*

25/ Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

26/ The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig*

27/ Here We Are: Feminism For the Real World edited by Kelly Jensen

28/ We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

29/ City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson

30/ Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

31/ A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab*

32/ The Young Elites by Marie Lu*

March

33/ A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab*

34/ A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

35/ History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

36/ The Rose Society by Marie Lu*

37/ The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

38/ Windwitch by Susan Dennard

39/ American Street by Ibi Zoboi

40/ The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

41/ The Midnight star by Marie Lu

42/ Heist Society by Ally Carter

43/ Pasadena by Sherri L. Smith

44/ A Good Idea by Cristina Moracho

45/ Camp So-and-So by Mary McCoy

46/ Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

47/ Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

48/ Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz*

49/ The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

50/ Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

51/  The Last of August Brittany Cavallaro

April

52/ Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

53/ Every Breath by Ellie Marney*

54/ Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

55/ Dramarama by E. Lockhart

56/ Every Word by Ellie Marney*

57/ The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee

58/ Lucky Few by Kathryn Ormsbee

59/ The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

60/ Caraval by Stephanie Garber

61/ Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

62/ Yaqui Delgado Wants To Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

63/ Every Move by Ellie Marney

64/ Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

65/ These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas*

66/ A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

67/ Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh

68/ The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

69/ 37 Things I Love (In No Particular Order) by Kekla Magoon

70/ The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

71/ The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig

72/ Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

73/ Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue

74/ Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

May

75/ The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud

76/ Hunted by Meagan Spooner

77/ The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos*

78/ A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

79/ Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman

80/ How To Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

81/ To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

82/ P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

83/ P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

84/ Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

85/ You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

86/ The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

87/ The Weight of Stars by Tessa Gratton*

June

88/ Does My Head Look Big In This? By Randa Abdel-Fattah

89/ Diverse Energies edited by Tobias S. Buckell and Joe Monti

90/ The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie*

91/ The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah

92/ The Edge of the Abyss by Emily Skrutskie

93/ Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

94/ Cat Girl’s Day Off by Kimberly Pauley

95/ Rook by Sharon Cameron*

96/ York by Laura Ruby

97/ Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali

98/ Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

99/ False Hearts by Laura Lam*

100/ Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

101/ The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

102/ Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee

103 That Thing We Call A Heart by Sheba Karim

104/ In A Perfect World by Trish Doller

July

105/ Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

106/ Want by Cindy Pon

107/ Behold the Bones by Natalie C. Parker

108/ The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

109/ When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

110/ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

111/ This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab*

112/ Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older*

113/ Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

114/ If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

115/ Because You Love To Hate Me edited by Ameriie

116/ Wildlife by Fiona Wood

117/ Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson*

118/ The Diviners by Libba Bray*

119/ Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

120/ Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim

121/ The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

122/ Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray*

123/ Flying Lessons and Other Stories edited by Ellen Oh

124/ Amberlough by Lara Elena Donelly

August

125/ The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Gray*

126/ The Next Together by Lauren James

127/ Past Perfect by Leila Sales

128/ The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

129/ Once and For All by Sarah Dessen

130/ Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

131/ Burn For Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

132/ Radio Silence by Alice Oseman*

133/ The Great American Whatever by Time Federle

134/ Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds

135/ Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

136/ Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

137/ Solo by Kwame Alexander

September

138/ The Savage Dawn by Melissa Gray

139/ Boyfriends With Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez

140/ Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff

141/ Dove Arising by Karen Bao

142/ Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

143/ Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

144/ Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert

145/ Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

146/ Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell

147/ Warcross by Marie Lu

148/ Spinning by Tillie Walden

149/ Release by Patrick Ness

150/ Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill

October

151/ Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

152/ Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

153/ Dress Codes For Small Towns by Courtney Stevens

154/ Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older

155/ Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

156/ Venturess by Betsy Cornwell

157/ Night of Cakes and Puppets by Laini Taylor

158/ An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

159/ When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn

160/ Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

161/ Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon

November

162/ Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George

163/ The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

164/ You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

165/ Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

166/ In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

167/ A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo

168/ Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

169/ Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta

170/ Geekerella by Ashley Poston

December

171/ You Don’t Know Me But I Know You by Rebecca Barrow

172/ Like Water by Rebecca Podos

173/ Last Leaves Falling by Fox Benwell

174/ Black Boy, White School by Brian F. Walker

175/ Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

176/ They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

177/ The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

178/ If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth

179/ Empress of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

180/ King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Anne Berthelot

181/ Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

182/ Life On Mars by Tracy K. Smith

183/ Grendel’s Guide to Love and War by A.E. Kaplan

184/ The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

185/ The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

186/ You Don’t Know Me But I Know You by Lilly Anderson

[callunavulgari]

YEAR-IN-BOOKS

I’m gonna go ahead and do this again this year, because I really like end of year reflection things and it was fun last year, so hey.

1. a book you loved?

I was fond of most of the books that I read this year and all in different ways. Last year was an absolute goldmine of awesome, amazing love this book forever types. This year I definitely had less of those, but I read more, and what’s maybe even better is that I also read a lot of books that I normally wouldn’t have. I wanna say that my favorites of the ones that I read were either The Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo or Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

2. a book you hated?

UGH. Artemis by Andy Weir. It is the first book that I have ever given only one star to on goodreads, and was a total waste of time. I’ve read a good half of The Martian, and even though I’ve yet to finish it, I liked what I read well enough. But as I said in my scathing goodreads review, The Martian worked for Weir because it’s one dude alone on Mars. Artemis, unfortunately, requires a full cast of characters and has a female protagonist. Weir does not know how to write women OR realistic dialogue, and following along with middle school grade humor and a woman that is basically a lady-sized cut-and-paste of Weir’s ideal wet dream. Which wouldn’t be bad, necessarily, if she wasn’t so obviously a man’s ‘idea’ of a woman, instead of an actual three dimensional character.

3. a book that made you cry?

There’s a scene at the end of Victoria Schwab’s Our Dark Duet that involves a cat. No, the cat does not die, and I don’t want to get into it because the whole reason the scene is sad is because of spoilery context, but I did end up tearing up because of that damn cat.

4. a book that made you happy?

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers is an absolute delight. It has legitimate funny moments, really well drawn out characters including several species that are so perfectly crafted that you can envision them, right down to the feathers and claws, and the story, while a little meandering, is totally great. 

5. the best sequel?

I read kind of a lot of sequels this year, but then, I also finished a lot of series this year, period. My gut reaction is to say Siege and Storm, because it’s one of the ones that I read the fastest, and the series that sticks out the most. But I’m going to say The Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. And honestly, second up is probably Waking Gods, because holy wow, those books.

6. most anticipated release for the new year?

I’m really looking forward to Only Human, Thunderhead, and Vengeful, which are the sequels and triquels (is that a thing? that word should be a thing) to Sleeping Giants, Scythe, and Vicious, all of which I read this year and adored. The book that isn’t a sequel that I’m most looking forward to is Feeder by Patrick Weekes, which is basically about a lady that hunts monsters. It looks right up my alley and I’m super psyched.

7. favorite new author?

Technically I discover Schwab last year, but I did a lot of exploring of the books that she’s written this year and she is definitely a new favorite of mine. The other one that I’m keeping my eye on is Sylvain Neuvel, who wrote Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods. More on those books later.

8. favorite book to film adaptation?

So, the only reason that I reread A Wrinkle In Time is because of the trailer for the new movie that is coming out in March. I got incredibly excited, and am probably, if I can afford it, flying down south to watch the movie with my mom when it comes out. The Annihilation trailer also looks pretty cool, but I’m anticipating serious changes there. I did end up watching the film adaptation of Me Before You this year, which I’d read last summer. I ended up crying like a baby, and was pleasantly surprised by how much of the book they kept.

9. the most surprising book?

A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I borrowed the book from the library, but it wasn’t the Pride and Prejudice with dragons that I got, and stupidly delighted by.

10. the most interesting villain?

The Grisha Trilogy, for sure. Honestly, Alina and the Darkling’s relationship was the only thing that kept me reading these books, and I was thrilled by the Darkling from the moment I realized he was the villain in Shadow and Bone all the way to the end. “Make me your villain,” indeed.

11. the best makeouts?

Okay, so Love For the Cold-Blooded was about a million times pornier than I imagined it would be, so that would get my vote for best sex, but there weirdly wasn’t much actual kissing involved. Also the fact that I didn’t like the characters or story very much probably didn’t help things. So honestly? Probably Shadow and Bone. That [SPOILER, though not much of one] scene where Alina and the Darkling make out against a wall was probably the most exhilarating scene of the entire series. Like, trust me. I know he’s the villain, bad wrong, etc. etc. but I shipped them hard. 

12. a book that was super frustrating?

Slaughterhouse Five. I didn’t actually get around to finishing it, because the version that I got was an audio cd narrated by James Franco and I just. Didn’t want to fall asleep in the middle of traffic. I don’t know if it was the story, his voice, or a combination of both but I was super uninterested in the entire situation. I gave up somewhere in the middle of the second cd.

13. a book you texted about, and the text was IN CAPSLOCK?

Okay, so the thing is. I don’t really have any friends. Not ones that I can talk to about books anyway, which is super tragic, because I love books and I miss being able to talk (read: rant) about whatever I’ve just read. I do it with Nick occasionally, but he doesn’t ‘get’ fiction so it’s mostly just me waving my hands a lot and talking rapidly in his direction as he nods and takes a couple steps back so I don’t accidentally smack him in the nose. I did, however, have a conversation with my roommate about Wool, and all the reasons why she should read it.

14. a book for the small children in your life?

Okay, but every kid should read A Wrinkle In Time. The sequels are a little... stranger than I remember, but I loved reading them as a kid, and I really loved rereading the first one as an adult. 

15. a book you learned from?

Spunk & Bite was a guide to ‘punchier’ writing, and while I wouldn’t say that I really learned anything that I didn’t already know, some things were expanded on that I found interesting. I also read some of The Islamic Enlightenment, which was pretty decent from what I read of it but a bit much for my poor ADHD brain. I think I need to stick to fiction.

16. a book you wouldn’t normally try?

A lot of the books that I read this year were things that I wouldn’t normally pick up. I think the ones that were most out of my element were Less by Andrew Sean Greer and Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. The first book is about an aging author who, when upon invited to his ex’s wedding, takes a trip around the globe in order to get out of going. My manager, who I talk to about books a lot, asked about it and was incredibly confused since it’s so far from what I usually read. Despite this, it’s probably the book that I will remember most from this year a decade down the line. Before the Fall is similarly not my usual cup of tea, about a man and a boy who survive an airplane crash. It’s a thriller/mystery, but the characters are so beautifully fleshed out that it hooked me anyway.

17. a book with something magical in it?

Technically a good half of them have magic of some sort, because that is the usual type of book that I read. I’m going to go with All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater though, because all of her books are magical.

18. the best clothes?

As much as I would love to get away with wearing the brightly colored reaper’s robes from Scythe, I really, really adored the description of Arthur’s suit in Less. 

19. the most well-rounded characters?

That was a theme of the books that I read this year. They all had really gorgeously well-rounded characters with intricate backstories and relationships. Before the Fall was really, really good about it, as was Station Eleven, and The Secret History, though in the case of that last one you almost don’t want to get to know the characters better by the end of it.

20. the best world-building?

I really liked the world building in A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I seriously can’t even begin how to describe how cool all the different species and space jargon was in this book. This is the space-faring book that I wanted Artemis to be.

21. the worst world-building?

Love For The Cold-Blooded? It’s a world of superheroes and villains, but it’s so slapstick that it takes away from the book a lot. Like, honestly if it wasn’t for the fact that I was vaguely intrigued by the hero bangs evil minion side of it, I wouldn’t have even kept reading.

22. a book with a good sidekick?

Gut-punch reaction is A Crooked Kingdom, but it’s hard to call any of those characters a sidekick. I’m going to go with The Archived, by Victoria Schwab, because I haven’t talked about the series yet and Roland and Wesley are both fantastic sidekicks. I loved them both immensely, most of the time more than the main character herself. The Unbound, its sequel, made those two even more compelling.

23. the most insufferable narrator?

Ugh, ugh, ugh, definitely Jazz from Artemis. Again, it isn’t her fault, she could have been super cool. Genius, tech-savvy, Muslim girl who lives on the moon and smuggles shit? Definitely could have been a cool character. But seriously, that dude cannot write ladies. She is literally just Mark Watney. 

24. a book you were excited to read for months beforehand?

All The Crooked Saints. But I think I’ll always be excited for Stiefvater books.

25. a book you picked up on a whim?

I picked up almost all of these because they had been recommended to me in some capacity. Spunk & Bite and The Islamic Enlightenment were both books that I picked up in the library because they simply caught my eye. Slaughterhouse Five I actually only grabbed because it was one of the only audiobooks in stock that wasn’t either Danielle Steel or Christian talky shows.

26. a book that should be read in a foreign country?

Less. I read it in a pool in North Carolina this summer and though it scratched the itch, it should entirely be read in a foreign country. 

27. a book cassian andor would like?

Sleeping... Giants? Or A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet?

28. a book gina linetti would like?

I legitimately have no idea what this character is like.

29. your favorite cover art?

A Conjuring of Light or All The Crooked Saints. They’re both very aesthetic™

30. a book you read in translation?

None of them. Clearly I’m not getting diverse enough.

31. a book from another century?

Hah. Haha. Technically A Wrinkle In Time was written last century. Oh god, I’m getting old.

32. a book you reread?

Other than A Wrinkle In Time, which I read so long ago that it shouldn’t even be counted as a reread, I didn’t actually do any full rereads this year. I’ve been itching to reread both The Raven Cycle and Uprooted though, so maybe I’ll do those when I make my way through my library pile.

33. a book you’re dying to talk about, and why?

Okay, but seriously. Less and Station Eleven were fucking phenomenal and should be read even if you’re unsure that you will like them. I loved both of them immensely and again, I can’t rant to any of my friends and work friends about books because they look at me like I’m stupid. Also, Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman. Those were some damn good short stories.

[rhymingteelookatme]

Books Successfully Read [Total as of 10/18/17: 37] X-Tuesdays with Morrie- Mitch Albom X-Brick Lane- Monica Ali X-The Life of Elves- Muriel Barbery X-Nightwood- Djuna Barnes X-The Girl in the Flammable Skirt- Aimee Bender X-Navel Gazing: True Tales of Bodies, Mostly Mine (But Also My Mom’s Which I Know Sounds Weird)- Michael Ian Black X-Ten Days in a Mad-House- Nellie Bly X-Two Serious Ladies- Jane Bowles X-Passenger- Alexandra Bracken (It has a sequel but I guess I’ll get to that later.) X-The Girl Who Slept With God - Val Brelinski X-Kindred- Octavia Butler X-The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories- Angela Carter X-The Siren- Kiera Cass X-The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet- Becky Chambers X-A Closed and Common Orbit- Becky Chambers (sequel to Planet) X-The Awakening- Kate Chopin X-Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs- Pearl Cleage (A published set of diary entries which the author invites her daughter to read.) X-An American Tragedy- Theodore Dreiser X- American Housewife: Stories- Helen Ellis X-Monstrous Beauty- Elizabeth Fama (about mermaids, but not fluffy) X- Save Me the Waltz- Zelda Fitzgerald X-For Today I Am A Boy- Kim Fu X-Annie On My Mind- Nancy Garden [Own this someday. 2007 edition pref.] X-Lemonade Mouth- Mark Peter Hughes X-Lemonade Mouth: Puckers Up- Mark Peter Hughes X-I Am the Wallpaper- Mark Peter Hughes (First novel, pre-LM, same universe) X-Exit, Pursued By A Bear- E.K. Johnston [Note: I think I’d enjoy other books by this author.] X-Weedflower- Cynthia Kadohata X-Why Not Me?- Mindy Kaling X-Relief Map- Rosalie Knecht X-Thomas the Rhymer- Ellen Kushner X-The Burning World- Isaac Marion (Sequel to the crazy awesome Warm Bodies; I now own both.) X-The Tsar of Love and Techno- Anthony Marra X-Uprooted- Naomi Novik X-A Bloodsmoor Romance- Joyce Carol Oates (begun on a cruise ship long ago) (AND COMPLETED! AS OF NOVEMBER 30, 2016!!!) X-A Fair Maiden- Joyce Carol Oates X-Yes Please- Amy Poehler X-Nation- Terry Pratchett X-The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl- Issa Rae X-You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain- Phoebe Robinson X-The Satanic Verses- Salman Rushdie X-Small Steps- Louis Sachar (sequel to his famous novel Holes) X-Assata- Assata Shakur X-We Need to Talk About Kevin- Lionel Shriver X-Life on Mars- a poetry collection by Tracy K. Smith X-Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities- Rebecca Solnit X-Men Explain Things to Me- Rebecca Solnit X- Every Last Word- Tamara Ireland Stone X-We Know It Was You- Maggie Thrash X- Girls on Fire- Robin Wasserman X-Mistress Masham’s Repose- T.H. White (assumes Gulliver’s Travels is real) X-Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame- Mara Wilson 

[cyberpink]

I was tagged by @scifilesbians  💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖

relationship status: taken

favorite color: purple

last song i listened to: Ready For It - RAC (Literally one of my top songs for this summer you should totally listen to it)

last Movie i watched: Kiki’s Delivery Service!

top 3 characters: Anthy Himemiya, Thane Krios, Zevran Arainai 

top 3 Ships: Utena/Anthy, Nana/Nana, Shrios.

books i’m currently reading: Currently reading The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson, Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay, and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Yes, I really am reading three books at a time,  I’m super weird like that. Also cause I had to take the Mistborn book back to the library, and I picked up other books in the meantime while waiting for it to come back to me. It wasn’t ideal but I am a slut for the Mistborn series.  

fun fact: There are no fun facts about me. I’m literally the most boring person ever. 

Ok. Umm.... I own an absurd amount of tea. Come visit me if you ever want kill a couple of hours going through boxes of loose leaf tea. 

tagging @punkstag, @star-eaters, @humanculi, @drackocht, @sneakyfairy and anyone else who feels like doing this :0 

[poetlcs]

lgbt+ book recommendations

I often see people talking about how they would like to read more lgbt+ books/series but do not know where to find them. SO I’ve made this list to give people somewhere to start !

PLEASE NOTE; I’ve written which stories are #ownvoices that I know of, some of them that I didn’t mention may be - sometimes it is hard to know, especially since it’s not something all authors write in bio’s ect. :) Please forgive and correct if you know some are #ownvoices that I have not mentioned. 

f/f

counting to zero - a.j quinn (#ownvoices)

everything leads to you - nina lacour

of fire and stars - audrey coulthurst

not your sidekick - c.b lee (poc)

the long way to a small, angry planet - becky chambers (#ownvoices)

a closed and common orbit - becky chambers (#ownvoices)

ice massacre - tiana warner

axiom: the last hope - marie rachel pearcy (#ownvoices)

get it together, delilah ! - erin gough

empress of the world - sara ryan

the upside down of unrequited - becky albertalli

girls man up - m-e girard

tell me again how a crush should feel - sara farizan

juliet takes a breath - gabby rivera

m/m

the foxhole court - nora sakavic (also poc)

the raven cycle - maggie stiefvater

six of crows duology - leigh bardugo (also poc)

aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe - benjamin alire saez (ft. poc characters) (#ownvoices)

will grayson, will grayson - john green and david levithan (semi #ownvoices)

we are the ants - shaun david hutchinson (#ownvoices)

the five stages of andrew brawley - shaun david hutchinson (#ownvoices)

the mortal instruments - cassandra clare (also bi rep, poc)

the dark artifices - cassandra clare (also bi rep)

the love interest - cale dietrich

captive prince series - c.s pacat

the song of achilles - medeline miller

whatever. or how junior year became totally fucked - s.j goslee

grasshopper jungle - andrew smith

ill give you the sun - jandy nelson

simon vs the homosapiens agenda - becky albertalli

carry on - rainbow rowell

boy meets boy - david levithan (#ownvoices)

two boys kissing - david levithan (#ownvoices)

the perks of being a wallflower - stephen chbosky

the gone series - michael grant (also, lesbian character. However, both side characters (though major ones), and not explored until later books. both poc )

trans

a kind of justice - renee james (#ownvoices)

if i was your girl - meredith russo (#ownvoices)

the art of being normal - lisa williamson

george - alex gino (#ownvoices)

every heart a doorway - seanan mcguire (asexual character)

coffee boy - austin chant

when the moon was ours - anna-marie mclemore 

roller girl - vanessa north (also f/f couple)

bi

adaptation - malinda lo (#ownvoices)

ash - malinda lo (#ownvoices)

radio silence - alice oseman

other lgbt:

magnus chase and the gods of asgard - rick riordan (genderfluid character)

every heart a doorway - seanan mcguire (asexual character)

the long way to a small, angry planet - becky chambers (gender fluid and non-binary characters - NOTE: this is a space opera and features aliens who are non-binary/gender fluid not humans. however, the main character who is human is lgbt - this is a very socially aware book and I recommend it even if it’s non-human characters) 

FINAL NOTE: I have not read all these books and cannot comment on the representation in all of them, but I have only included books I’ve heard good reception about. 

feel free to add on !! or check my READING LIST for more

[kaesaaurelia]

So here’s the Hugo awards reading update literally no one asked for!  I’m reading the nominated novels, or trying to.  Will be reading/consuming as much of the nominated work as possible, although this year they’ve added an award for book serieses, and... I am probably not going to get through those before I vote, although I should def. read the Vorkosigan series at some point, now that I’ve forgotten most of the spoilers my mom insisted on telling me.

Anyway!

Finished:

The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemsin

I really liked this one!  I mean, I enjoyed The Fifth Season, at least once I got into it.  The Fifth Season is pretty depressing -- it’s set in a dystopia sliding into an apocalypse and it starts out with the main character coming home mid-apocalypse to find her young son has been brutally murdered by her husband, and then it goes on to detail her own abuse as a child.  But it’s a good story, one that’s part about surviving the apocalypse and part about surviving bigotry and part about what the fuck is going on???, and has some pretty cool geology and physics and magic going on in addition to all the depressing stuff.  There's plenty of both in The Obelisk Gate too, so, not good escapist reading, but I needed to know what was going to happen and finished it really, really quickly.

Currently reading:

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

So far I really like this one!  It’s about two weird kids -- a witch and a tech genius -- who have befriended each other mostly on the basis of being weird.  This assassin wants to kill them because of some kind of prophetic vision he had -- only the stupid assassins’ rules won’t let him kill kids -- so his current angle is to ruin their friendship.  Sadly, their friendship is already kind of falling apart because of adolescence.  It reminds me very strongly of Diana Wynne Jones’ Witch Week, which is a good thing, and also maybe a little of Good Omens, with its vague prophesies and inept adults trying to manipulate same.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

I also really like this one!  It’s a kind of surreal space opera set in an empire whose technology (magic?) relies on a calendar system; the protag is trying to take back a fortress that broadcasts (I think?  it like emenates from the fortress?  the way it’s described makes it sound like it changes actual physical laws, I guess I will find out!) the calendar system but has been taken over by heretics who favor a different calendar.  Also she has this dead general advising her.  See, he was brilliant and amazing until one day he snapped and massacred his troops.  No one really knows what’s up with that, so they saved his consciousness for use in situations like this.  And now the protagonist has him in her brain, and also in her shadow.

Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer

FUCK I HATE THIS BOOK.  Part of it is because the worldbuilding strains my suspension of disbelief more than usual, part of it is because the first-person narrator is obnoxious and has no concept of the fourth wall (AND THIS IS ME SAYING THIS.  ME.  fuck I hate this book.) and a whoooole lot of it is because of the interactions of those two things.  But also, it’s just.  really.  boring.  and I dislike most of the characters except for the ones I’m totally apathetic to.

Apparently the book has a lot of Big Philosophical Ideas in there, but... I admit I’m not really the kind of person who wants Big Philosophical Ideas in her reading unless they take the form of something exciting or funny or fun.  Still, I’ll finish the damn thing, and who knows, maybe it’ll get interesting eventually.  Some of my favorite books I really hated until like halfway through them.

Not started yet:

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

I’m still reading the book this is a sequel to, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.  I really like it so far, although I’m not very far into it -- basically it’s about a team of people whose job it is to build wormholes; they’re of varying species and backgrounds.  Lots of found-family vibes, as the main character appears to be on the run from some shit that happened with her family, who are important people on Mars.

Death’s End by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu

Like the above, I’m still reading the previous book in the series, The Three-Body Problem -- I know, I’m super late reading this!  I like it so far but it hasn’t especially grabbed me, although I suspect it’s just off to a slightly slow start in terms of science fictional stuff.  A lot of it’s concerned with ideology coopting and suppressing science during the Cultural Revolution in China -- so, I guess, a little too topical to be escapist.   But man, I got so fucking angry at the start of the book when a character's entire life is ruined basically because someone else lent her his copy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.

It also makes me really want to reread Omon-Ra.  (I can’t really describe Omon-Ra without spoiling it, but if you like space, sadness, and total mindfucks, you should read Omon-Ra.)