#covid books

[biblioklept]

A review of Escape from the Great American Novel, Drew Lerman's zany satire on art, nature, and capitalism

Drew Lerman’s comic strip Snake Creek takes us into the world of best pals Roy and Dav, weirdos among weirdos in Weirdest Florida. Their adventures and misadventures are both absurdly comic and zanily tragic, calling to mind George Herriman’s Krazy Kat strips and Samuel Beckett’s pessimism, Walt Kelly’s primeval Pogo and Robert Coover’s jivetalk, all rendered in kinetic black ink four-panel…

[sandramiksaauthor]

THE LAST OF US inspired book haul 🧟‍♀️ (25+ Books)

[sparklemaia]

...and then i cried.

this journal comic brought to you very late by the two (TWO!) bouts of covid I had during my first semester at comic book school.

hey did you know that I have a substack and it's free (or $5/mo if you're feelin' froggy and like to know Secrets) and it sends my comics etc. directly to your inbox??? it's true! I hate capitalism but I love drawin' stuff and I love YOUu ❤️

[mysharona1987]

Surprised he isn’t running for the gop nomination for POTUS.

[charlesien]

[pononoin]

Your version of PC Stan reminds me of a werewolf and PC Kyle looks he would be a vampire

SO TRUE ANON YOUR SO TRUE I LOVE THAT AU/DYNAMIC SO MUCH, ITS JUST UGGGH THE BEST

Also thanks you for give me a excuse to draw them you’re the best anon

[shiftythrifting]

Antivaxx pamphlet. Bobby Fucking Kennedy Jr. wrote the foreword so you know we’re in for a wild ride

[that-multi-fandom-hijabi]

rb and put in the tags what year you joined the kotlc fandom

[shedoessoshedoes]

In this wake of (exciting!! wonderful!!) influx of news and fans discovering (or rediscovering) red, white, and royal blue for the first time as we get ready for the movie to come out, I would like to take a moment to recognize those that have loved this story since the beginning. I see you. I recognize you. I think you're cool. (and if you're just now falling in love with Alex, and Henry, I think you're pretty awesome, too)

[hellyeahsickaf]

Be careful with adrenal supplements it turns out that shit makes you produce adrenaline and my ass got paranoid that I had mad cow disease (I'm a vegetarian) and I almost threw up realizing a bear could fit through my window if he wanted (I live in a major city)

[antikate]

I genuinely think romance is a deeply underrated genre that is sneered upon because of its associations with femininity; I think it’s utopian and hopeful and worthwhile and I crave good romance stories. At the same time I hate most romance novels that I try to read.

I had Covid this week and for a few days was too sick to even look at a book or screen so I downloaded a bunch of audiobooks from the library and I gave up on every single one of them:

1. Notorious by Minerva Spencer. I noped out of this a few pages in when one character was described as delectable and luscious and another character’s eyes were described as orbs. The book also comes with a whole heaping of misogyny and Islamophobia apparently.

2. Georgie All Along by Kate Clayborn. The first ??? 20 ??? Or so pages of this book consist of the heroine back in her home town and going into a deli to order a coffee and not having enough money to pay for it because she left her wallet in the car. 20 pages!!! It’s humiliating and is literally like being stuck in the head of the most neurotic person you’ve ever met. Page after page of this woman ruminating about what a loser she is. Exhausting! And I say this as someone who can ruminate at the Olympic level.

3. Pretty Pretty Boys by Gregory Ashe. This one is an m/m series about two cops who fall in love and I had hopes that it might be solid but the characterization was basically “whatever the author felt like writing”. Also the cops act like cops as in they’re abusive to random people and spend a lot of time being horrible, which I don’t really need in a romance.

4. Not Your Average Hot Guy, Gwenda Bond. Idk this was just. A bit? Boring? Also everyone was just a bit too self consciously sassy. The heroine runs an escape room but one of her props turns out to be actually a demonic book. I think one of my issues with this book and so many other romance novels is that banter is a real skill and most people can’t write it. But everyone, regretfully, tries.

5. Liar City, Allie Therin. There’s this one audiobook narrator who has such a snotty voice that I just cannot. This book might have been great but the instant I started listening I knew it was that dude. Maybe I’ll try it as an actual book.

6. The Blacksmith Queen by GA Aiken. This is one of the worst books I’ve ever tried to read. Truly. The heroine is a blacksmith and the hero is a centaur, which I thought sounded fun (also I was wondering how they’d have sex because I’m like that) but it was … puerile? Astonishingly stupid?

7.Capture the Crown, Jennifer Estep. This is also an absolutely idiotic book. The hero has amethyst eyes and the heroine has some other gem coloured eyes and someone else has sapphire eyes and if you took a shot every time it someone’s eye colour was described as a jewel tone you’d be hospitalised for alcohol poisoning by about page four.

8. A taste of gold and iron, Alex Rowland. This is decently written - as in the prose is solid - but the plot is half baked, the characters are tedious, and the world building is intriguing but paper thin. I’d say it’s a much better book than most here, but I still couldn’t bring myself to finish.

Not everything I’d read lately has been terrible so here’s some romance or romance adjacent books I have actually enjoyed:

1. The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang: This book is not going to change your life but it does what sets out to do with a slight if entertaining love story.

2. The Secret Lives of County Gentlemen, KJ Charles: I think Charles is one of the best and smartest historical romance writers I’ve ever read. Her books are everything I want out of romance: the characters are interesting, idiosyncratic, and sympathetic; the details feel right; the stories work; and the sex scenes are both hot and do important plot and character work. Her books are swoony and emotional and feel very real while still being romantic. (The audio narrator of this let it down a little because he took a lot of odd pauses but I’m being super nitpicky.)

3. A Far Wilder Magic, Allison Saft: This is a sweet YA novel set in an interesting fantasy world - I really enjoyed the prickly heroine and her dog.

4. In Memoriam, Alice Winn: This beautiful, heart-rending novel is not exactly a romance - it’s set during WW1 and has very explicit and realistic scenes set in the trenches. The trauma and suffering of the war are achingly portrayed. But it is a love story between two young soldiers, even if it’s not necessarily one with an easy or simple ending. Highly recommend with the caveat that Winn does not shy away from the brutality and senselessness of WW1.

5. Thornhedge, by T Kingfisher: This is a brief but resonant Sleeping Beauty retelling. Not exactly a romance but also not unromantic. My only complaint is that I wanted more. I’m a big T Kingfisher fan, and I adore her practical, earthy characters (like Toadling).

6. We Could Be So Good, Cat Sebastian: I’m here for everything Sebastian writes. Her books are low stakes but still compelling, her characters are likeable and complex, I actually enjoy her banter, and she has a knack for capturing historical details and moments. Her conflicts never feel fake and the resolutions are always earned.

[dreammeiser]

いっしょに　おどりませんか？ Will you dance with me? An official introduction for one of the other newer characters for this project I've been making! For those unacquainted, Her name is Mae Flowers :oD She's Dreamalong's resident Soda Fountain Goblin! Her specialty drink is The Rainbow Float! Through hardships and fair weather, until the end, she’ll always be your loving friend 💖💛💙 She has the ability to create sugary concoctions out of bits of rainbow she steals from the sky! Giving you the sugar rush you need to get through the day is her passion! She hails from an island of Goblins and she's kind of her family's black sheep for not wanting to work in the family business of Floristry. Sometimes when she's homesick, she'll make a bed of flowers in a secluded spot and take a nap!

[kinsey3furry300]

"Oh I didn't like Holly because it was too preachy about Covid, Stephen King should keep politics out of his novels.."

The Stand is litteraly about how the US government would rather let a pandemic wipe out civilisation and bring about the anti-Christ than admit responsibility for a lab accident. 1970s Stephen King's politics would chop you up and line you up like his breakfast cocaine. Silence.

[bigmammallama5]

Well i guess a silver lining about losing most of my taste and smell from covid is im eating the snacks i didnt care for the taste of so i’m not wasting them lol

[reverieaudios]

I just remembered that I'm certified to teach English as a foreign language and that I almost moved to Thailand to teach English in a school there but then covid happened

Wild

[violetspark14]

me and the boys on our way to not deserve love or something

ART OF @othystt’s AMAZING FIC GO READ WDDL NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!