#douglas mawson

[fragrantblossoms]

Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914) / Item 1638: Macquarie Island. Its geography and geology. Looking north from Caroline Cove. Plate XV, 1 / Douglas Mawson

Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

[lesmiserabelles]

engaging with the heroic age of polar exploration as if it's my own personal soap opera

[peglarpapers]

i need a shirt that says i ❤️ hypervitaminosis A

[eyesfullofmoon]

Photos taken by Frank Hurley during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition led by Douglas Mawson, c. 1911-1914.

[fredoesque]

did you guys know they put douglas mawson on the australian 100 dollar note for a bit. not sure what to do with this information

[areyougonnabe]

I'm nearly 150 pages into Worst Journey and Priestly keeps showing up and he is telling me so many interesting things but I'm still not sure what his Job is on this expedition all Cherry's told me is that he A) wrote a book and B) served with Shackleton and I have discerned that he Takes Photographs which is Important!!! But I am wondering if he is also perhaps. A geologist or something? PLEASE HELP.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT SWEET BABY RAY

this stylish dude began his polar career when he was chosen to go on shackleton's nimrod expedition in 1907. he was a geology student at bristol university at the time, only two years into his degree at age 20 and without any qualifications to speak of. shackleton asked him two questions in the interview (“Would you know gold if you saw it?” “Can you play a musical instrument?”) and then he was hired!

he mainly was like... the Young Man of the expedition (alongside brocklehurst who was his age but brocklehurst's role was the Rich Kid) ... the most notable incident was when he slept outside a tent during a blizzard on mount erebus (bc there wasn't room for him inside 😭), got pushed down the hill by the wind in his sleeping bag and nearly died. but he was ok!!! didn't even lose any toes!!! unlike that loser PHIL

(bb priestley on nimrod. early in his baldness journey)

there were two other qualified geologists brought along on the expedition, Edgeworth David and Douglas Mawson, who he learned a lot from, and after the expedition he spent time in Sydney cataloguing and studying the Antarctic samples underneath Professor David. this led to him getting picked right back up by Scott again when one of the Terra Nova's geologists dropped out due to tuberculosis and he asked David who he should take instead.

he wasn't part of the main cape evans party on scott's expedition but was instead the geologist for the Eastern Party, which became the Northern Party and ended up having a ludicrously bad time, trapped in a tiny ice cave for six months. (for more about that check out The Longest Winter!!)

but they rescued their own asses and ended up all getting out OK. while waiting to get picked up by the ship, priestley and debenham hung out at shackleton's cape royds hut (where priestley had lived back in the day) and sketched out the plans for what would eventually become the SPRI!!!

after the expedition, all the scientists went home to england and hung out at priestley's family home in tewkesbury while working on their scientific results. this had the hilarious consequence of two of his sisters getting married to his expedition friends (Doris to Griffith Taylor and Edith to Charles Wright). and deb missed out somehow... tough luck bro.......

(baldness journey well advanced. he is transforming into mark gatiss)

aaaand after that a lot of stuff happened.. like the war.... he got a degree in agriculture (?) then helped deb and wordie found the SPRI, and eventually became a career university administrator. he was very active in lecturing about the antarctic throughout his whole life! and even went back as a tour guide for prince philip in the 50s lmao

in conclusion: priestley you have to stop. you smoke too tough. your swag too different. your bitch is too bad. they'll kill you

[polarpics]

just some Australians (Griffith Taylor, Edgeworth David, Douglas Mawson)

[gulfportofficial]

It's no surprise to anyone, I'm sure, but god it's insane how like all of Antarctica is just named after the same guys and their boats.

Your Ross Dependency, your Ross Ice Shelf, your McMurdo Sound, your mcfuckin' Cape Crozier - the most easterly point of Ross Island. Mountains named after their ships, Ancient Greek Concept of the Personification of Darkness and Howling Dread.

Either that or monarchs. It's just insane. I kept thinking that, watching The Terror, how have these people already fucking named everything? They don't even know what's an Island yet, and it's still all Prince Edward This and King William That. It's the same in Antarctica, of course.

Anyway: Back when I was doing my ESCI paper on Antarctic fieldwork* I didn't think much of it while I was doing my map memorizing and recreations (a requirement of the course), but I DID finally kind of crack and write this mammoth essay about the expedition of Sir Douglas Mawson, who was, predictably, trying to find the South Pole. He did not, of course, manage it and the two guys with him died, one of them named Ninnis has the glacier he died on named after him.

The thesis of this essay was that Mawson had no business being there besides imperialism and that it was ridiculous to regard people as heroes for willingly putting themselves in situations extremely likely to kill them for the sole purpose of claiming land. Doing this in Antarctica is not as egregious as doing it in the Arctic, of course, as there is no indigenous population to steal from down there especially, but it's still goddamned bonkers. And yet Mawson was so resoundingly lauded simply for not dying that he was at one time on the Australian $100 note.

One point of interest is that while Mawson was criticized for not having his party wear snow shoes (which would have distributed their weight more evenly and made them less prone to falling in crevasses) he absolutely did beat the cannibalism allegations. He was simply too pious a man for anybody to believe he'd've done that. Mertz, the third man in the party**, died either of eating dog livers (concentration of vitamin A will kill you if not careful), or of a broken heart from the loss of Ninnis (listen, I have read the diaries, okay. It was a very detailed and exquisitely researched essay.)*** Like, exploration is so romantic, romanticized, it's so easy to do it, and yet it's like bonkers stupid that there was literally no reason for them to be there but to claim the land. To make the "discovery". To manifest destiny. I've got no point here, I was just remembering how wild it was to remember all the different things named Ross all the way back in my Antarctic Fieldwork 101 paper. And how The Terror was basically made for me in a lab lol. *The school I went to had a really close relationship with Scott Base, and while I'd never be allowed to work down there - people who work down there have multiple graduate degrees, not just undergrad with field assistant training, but I was interested as hell and I learned a lot. Like for example how to put up a Scott - there's that name again - tent in a snowstorm. Remember Scott's expedition? That was the one that had Cpt. Oates on it. Of "I am just going outside and may be some time" fame. **No relation to Shackleton's third man. Another time. *** Also I wrote a song for the banjo about it. This was a long time ago and no records of the song survive.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Intro • #FREEMIR • This Ski Mask Ain't For COVID • Patrisse Cullors Stole My Lunch Money • Pulchritudinous • C.R.B • Rayman Legends • Trigger Discipline (Interlude) • Face/Off • Sir Douglas Mawson • Mimicry of the Settlers • I Personally Wouldn't Have Released John McCain • Tie Your Camel, Trust In God (Interlude) • Luminescence Peers Thru Their Confinement • Shirk

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ Youtube

[johntorrington]

thank you @melancholiaenthroned for tagging me in this ‘nine people i’d like to know better’ game !!!

three ships: farcille ^_^ ! and also mal and elvira from obituary (2023) which is a show that four people have seen but i believe it could be the next great lesbian queerbait. for the third one i will say harrykim as well bc disco elysium has its hooks in me again

first ship: honestly i don’t remember? i’m going to go with harley quinn/poison ivy though bc my dc phase was what got me into fandom back when i was in middle school

last song: going to scotland by the mountain goats :3

currently reading: i’m listening to an audiobook of the home of the blizzard by douglas mawson and then i’ve been making my way through may we be spared to meet on earth for like, months. also dungeon meshi

currently watching: the 2002 shackleton miniseries

relationship status: single. if any lesbians near [redacted] ontario want to change that my address is-

current obsessions: i’m still in the polar history trenches and at this point i think it’s terminal

currently craving: chicken schnitzel sandwich from my local deli………..

fave color: green!

tbh i’m kind of scared to annoy people with tags so beloved mutuals if you see this please consider yourself tagged (if you want to be!)

[masonhawth0rne]

What I read in 2023!

Isn't it nice to have the whole year's worth of something in one handy list?

January

Medieval England: From Arthur to the Tudor Conquest, Jennifer Paxton ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hannibal, Livy ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster, Sam L Amirante, Danny Brodrick ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone ⭐️⭐️

Trouble With Lichen, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Reanimator's Heart, Kara Jorgensen 😠

The Miracle of Dunkirk, Walter Lord ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

Alone on the Ice, David Roberts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

The Midwich Cucoos, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Polygamist's Daughter, Anna LeBaron, Leslie WIlson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

Stowaway to Mars, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️

Confession of a Serial Killer, Katherine Ramsland ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

Sparta's First Attic War, Paul A Rahe ⭐️⭐️ NF

FantasticLand, Mike Bockoven ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Instructions for American Servicemen in Australia 1942, Special Service Division Services of Supply US Army ⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

Columbus Day, Craig Alanson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blood in the Snow, Tom Henderson ⭐️⭐️NF

The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Last Days of Stalin, Joshua Rubenstein ⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

Sons of Cain, Peter Vronsky ⭐️⭐️NF

Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Web, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️

An Unnatural Vice, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An Unsuitable Heir, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alexander the Great, Norman F Cantor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

A Dark Night in Aurora, William H Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Snow Killings, Marney Rich Keenan ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

The Odyssey, Homer trans. Emily Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Martian, Andy Weir ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How Great Science Fiction Works, Gary K Wolfe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

Lies Sleeping, Ben Aaronovitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

February

False Value, Ben Aaronovitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Amongst Our Weapons, Ben Aaronovitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lancashire Witches, William Harrison Ainsworth ⭐️

Queen of Teeth, Hailey Piper ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hacienda, Isabel Cañas ⭐️⭐️

Age of Myth, Michael J Sullivan ⭐️⭐️

The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester ⭐️⭐️

All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Meddling Kids, Edgar Cantero ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Monsters We Defy, Leslye Penelope ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Man and the Crow, Rebecca Crunden (ss)⭐️

A Better Fate, DN Bryn (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Artemis One-Zero-Five, CHristopher Henderson DNF

House of Suns, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All Systems Red, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Artificial Condition, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rogue Protocol, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Exit Strategy, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

New Earth, Ben Bova ⭐️⭐️

Death Wave, Ben Bova ⭐️

Mouth of Mirrors, Maxwell I Gold (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

March

On the Beach, Nevil Shute ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Star Nomad, Lindsay Buroker ⭐️

Burning Roses, SL Huang ⭐️⭐️

Trick or Treat, Richie Tankersley Cusick ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unfinished Tales, JRR Tolkien ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pushing Ice, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The End of the World Anthology ⭐️⭐️

The Home of the Blizzard (nf), Sir Douglas Mawson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Night Stalker (nf), Philip Carlo ⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the Court of the Nameless Queen, Natalie Ironside ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Green Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Ultimate Evil (nf), Maury Terry ⭐️

The Hillside Stranglers (nf), Darcy O'Brien ⭐️⭐️

The Element of Fire, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chasm City, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

April

The Stolen Heir, Holly Black ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kintu, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kidnapped, Diane Hoh ⭐️⭐️

Overlord, David Wood & Alan Baxter ⭐️⭐️

Child of God, Cormac McCarthy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Walking to Aldebaran, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Redemption’s Blade, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️

At the Mountains of Madness, HP Lovecraft ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Initiation, Diane Hoh ⭐️⭐️

The Book of Queer Saints Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Expert System’s Brother, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pluto’s Republic, David Roochnik (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Twisted Ones, T Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Evil Roots, Killer Tales of Botanical Gothic Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Shadow Over Innsmouth, HP Lovecraft ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Whisperer in Darkness, HP Lovecraft ⭐️⭐️

Alien: Convenant Origins, Alan Dean Foster ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Coveant, Alan Dean Foster ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wendigo, Algernon Blackwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien III, William Gibson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: The Cold Forge, Alex White ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Republic, Plato ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Prototype, Tim Waggoner ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Isolation, Keith RA DeCandido ⭐️⭐️

A Thief in the Night, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dialogues, Plato ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Into Charybdis, Alex White ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Infiltrator, Weston Ochse ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Percent, Jon Elofson (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aliens: Bug Hunt Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Growing Things & Other Stories, Paul Tremblay ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Babel-17, Samuel R. Delany ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lords of Uncreation, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

May

The Day We Ate Grandad, CM Rosens ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: Out of the Shadows, Tim Lebbon ⭐️⭐️

Jaws, Peter Benchley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Room on the Sea, Andrē Aciman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alien: River of Pain, Christopher Golden ⭐️⭐️

Alien: Sea of Sorrows, James A Moore ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gentleman From Peru, Andrē Aciman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Century Rain, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hyperion, Dan Simmons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dust, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

100 Fathoms Below, Steven L Kent & Nicholas Kaufmann ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Saturn’s Monsters, Thomas K Carpenter ⭐️

Address Unknown, Kressmann Taylor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Murder by Other Means, John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Ethics of Aristotle, Joseph Koterski ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Neil Gaiman at the end of the Universe, Arvind Ethan David ⭐️⭐️

Bag of Bones, Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bewilderness, Part One: Threshold, Jonathan Maberry ⭐️

Ten Low, Stark Holborn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Benny Rose, the Cannibal King, Hailey Piper ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester ⭐️

Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Almost Human(nf), Lee Berger & John Hawks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paladin’s Grace, T Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Killing the Bismarck(nf), Iain Ballantyne ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ancient Mesopotamia(nf), Amanda H Podany ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Art of War(nf), Andrew R Wilson ⭐️⭐️

The White People, Arthur Machen ⭐️

June

Witch King, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Broken Sword, Poul Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Early Middle Ages (nf), Philip Daileader ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The History of Ancient Egypt (nf), Bob Brier ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Banewreaker, Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Godslayer, Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chernobyl 01:23:40 (nf), Andrew Leatherbarrow ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stress and Your Body (nf), Robert Sapolsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ice Ghosts (nf), Paul Watson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Illiad, Homer, trans. Edward Earl of Derby ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Th Hunt & the Haunting, Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our Shadows Have Claws Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing Creative Nonfiction (nf), Tilar JJ Mazzeo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brain Wave, Poul Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Forever War, Joe Haldeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

July

Travel by Bullet, John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Redemption Ark, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Labrys(ss), Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grown Gown(ss), Derek Des Anges ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hellbound Heart, Clive Barker ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Orca, Arthur Herzog III ⭐️

The Gallows Pole, Benjamin Myers ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Chemist, Stephanie Meyer ⭐️

Icehenge, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Band Sinister, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now She Is Witch, Kirsty Logan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Slow Bullets, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Inside the Mind of BTK(nf), Johnny Dodd & John Douglas ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Antarctica, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

August

The Henchmen of Zenda, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Morning Star, Peter Atkins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Subsidence (ss), Steve Rasnic Tem ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Man in the High Tower, Philip K Dick ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What the Dead Know (ss), Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maze Runner, James Dashner ⭐️

Unfit to Print, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chill, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bryony and Roses, T Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Confessor (ss), Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grail, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Babylon (nf), Paul Kriwaczek ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unquiet, E Saxey DNF

The Ritual of the Labyrinth (ss), Esmée de Heer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Terminal World, ALastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Essays of Flesh and Bone (ss), Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Book Eaters, Sunyi Dean ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Future of Work: Compulsory (ss), Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lady or the Tiger (ss), Frank Stockton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Too Like the Lightning, Ada Palmer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Falling Free, Lois McMaster Bujold ⭐️⭐️

Dreamsnake, Vonda N McIntyre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The First Fossil Hunters (nf), Adrienne Mayor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shards of Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red Land, Black Land (nf), Barbara Mertz ⭐️⭐️⭐️

On Planetary Palliative Care (ss), Thomas Ha ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nova, Samuel R Delany ⭐️⭐️⭐️

September

Time to Orbit: Unknown, Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️*

The Invincible, Stanislaw Lem ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Prefect, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Myrtha (ss), Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Archaeology: An Introduction to the World’s Greatest Sites (nf), Eric H Cline ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Catching Teller Crow, Amberlin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Old Man’s War, John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Don’t Hang Up, Benjamin Stevenson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superluminal, Vonda N McIntyre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

World War Z, Max Brooks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flight of the Fantail, Steph Matuku ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cyteen, CJ Cherryh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Regenesis, CJ Cherryh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mindfulness for Stress Management (nf), Dr Robert Schacter ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Orange Eats Creeps, Grace Krilanovich ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kushiel’s Dart, Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aye, and Gomorrah (ss), Samuel R. Delany ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carnage (nf), Mark Dapin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blue Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unknown, Jordan L Hawk ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chocky, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sword of Empire: Praetorian, Richard Foreman ❌

Revival, Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Apollo Murders, Chris Hadfield ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Time to Orbit: Unknown is hosted online [HERE] and is currently still updating twice a week

October

Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Hailey Piper ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ghost Bird, Lisa Fuller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Forest of Stolen Girls, June Hur ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Liar’s Dice, Jeannie Lin ⭐️

Straya, Anthony O'Connor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Toxic, Dan Kaszeta (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Illuminae, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Penhallow, Georgette Heyer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Myth of the Self Made Man, Ruben Reyes Jr (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Call, Christian White & Summer De Roche ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Death of the Necromancer, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cretins, Thomas Ha (ss) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kill Your Brother, Jack Heath ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Doors of Perception, Aldous Huxley (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Valley of Terror, Zhou Haohui, tr. Bonnie Huie ⭐️⭐️

The Curse of the Burdens, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️

Amazons, Adrienne Mayor (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Kraken Wakes, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dead Mountain, Donnie Eichar (nf) ⭐️⭐️

Family Business, Jonathan Sims ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the House of Aryaman A Lonely Signal Burns, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Blessing of Unicorns, Elizabeth Bear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

METAtropolis Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plan for Chaos, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Fatal Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Outward Urge, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️

King Solomon’s Mines, H. Rider Haggard DNF

The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle tr. David Ross (nf) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

November

The Jewel of Seven Stars, Bram Stoker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Terror, Dan Simmons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hannibal: The Military Genius who Almost Conquered Rome, Eve MacDonald ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ nf

Luna, Ian McDonald ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hoka! Hoka! Hoka!, Poul Anderson & Gordon R Dickson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dracula, Bram Stoker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cicero: The Life & Times of Rome's Greatest Politician, Anthony Everitt ⭐️⭐️⭐️nf

The Worst Journey in the World, Apsley Cherry-Garrard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️nf

METAtropolis: Cascadia Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Haunting of Willow Creek, Sara Crocoll Smith ⭐️

Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne ⭐️⭐️

METAtropolis: Green Space Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

December

Carrion Comfort, Dan Simmons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wanted, A Gentleman, KJ Charles ⭐️⭐️

Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Henry VIII: King & Court, Alison Weir ⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

Alexander the Great & the Macedonian Empire, Kenneth W Harl⭐️⭐️⭐️ NF

The Isles of the Gods, Amie Kaufman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sandman, Neil Gaiman & Dirk Maggs DNF

Phosphorescence, Julia Baird ⭐️⭐️⭐️NF

And so the grand total for 2023 is....

267!

Of course, there's a couple of DNFs in there which inflate this number somewhat, but I am absolutely not going to pick through and count them out. Plus, a DNF only gets included on the list if I've gotten through a significant portion of the book. If it's a page one no-no, it's not even worth mentioning.

I made the decision at the start of this year, to try out more books I'd never heard of before. I really like trawling through the library app, or through audible's free archives and finding stuff that I'd probably never normally have discovered. Also, revisiting books that I read a long time ago and seeing if they resemble my memories of them.

Overall, I think this was a very satisfying year of reading, and I hope that I enjoy 2024's reads just as much!

nf= non fiction ss= short story

Stars awarded at my whim.

[radiojamming]

your blog got me into arctic/antarctic expeditions lol. I just read about Douglas Mawson. I was just one Smithsonian blog. Do you by any chance have any other sites I can go to and read more about him?

!! That's awesome! And I know a lot of people (see @bluebacchus) love Mawson so, SO much. I definitely could brush up on him more but aladyinthemeads kindly provided this amazing link for Australasian Antarctic Expedition resources for your perusal.

[lesmiserabelles]

top 5 cannibals

douglas mawson (you know he did it)

yermak timofeyevich (i just think he's funny)

alfred packer (you have to respect his grift)

alexander pearce (twice!!)

corréard and savigny of the medusa (they get the speedrun achievement)

[stovepiperat]

terror camp ‘22 day 2: an informal reclist

Well, it’s been like a month (stuff came up) but Terror Camp was still SOME GOOD SHIT and honestly I’m not even a little bit done thinking about it yet. Here’s part two of: two (variably) related recs (that weren’t previously mentioned in the server, to the best of my knowledge!) for every TC22 panel. Just because! (Part one is here, if you missed it.) Please click through to AO3 to see full individual taglists, warnings etc. and please let me know if I need to fix anything, as always!

(You can still get in contact with the mods at terror.camp to get access to recordings and Discord! While it’s now closed to participation for another year, it’s still a good place to find all the resources discussed.)

Imagining the Northwest Passage

This panel posited that perception is an important aspect of imperial control of a thing. This post, while vaguely themed, is about one million percent less serious than any of the legitimately thrilling and insightful academic & theory work floated at camp, so, with my jester’s apologies, here is the connection I draw: two works about the power of naming a thing, one of which also involves a penguin. I won’t say which.

awaken ancient feelings by wildcard_47 (Fitzier, 11k)

animal spirits by attheborder (Crozier & Jopson, 5k)

Interesting and Pathetic Relics: The Franklin Expedition and British Museums

Something Rich and Strange by hangingfire (Goodsir-centric, 18k)

I am a simple man. I see the phrase “garden of forking paths” and I go so apeshit. (Is every museum not in its way that sort of garden?) Anyway, even if you do not share that inclination, this fic is both interesting and pathetic (in the root sense of being rich with pathos) and reflects on museums and evidences.

Blood on the Concrete by pointyshades (Hickeytozer, 22k)

What’s a museum but a heist waiting to happen? (Heck, a colonizers’ museum swollen with stolen artifacts, as so many of the British ones are, is a heist that already happened!)

“This is what you tell them”: Presenting what remains of the Franklin Expedition

cutting steps in the roof of the world

by

TheGoodDoctor

 (Fitzier, 4.5k)

Post-canon, on legacy, and self-determination with the devastating handicap and antagonism of Britishness. So sweet, excellent Sophia, which seemed apropos to me.

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/unwellnessweek

Because this is my made-up reclist and I can do what I want, I’m going to rec the whole of Unwellness Week, a super fun fest that produced a lot of thought-provoking and terrific fic. We’re literally presenting what remains of the Franklin Expedition, every day, mostly on Twitter, in ever more inventive manners!

The Summer of Doug: Douglas Mawson, the Construction of Society, and the Most Underrated Antarctic Expedition Ever!

Since this one’s a little harder to directly seek in Terror fic, I have honored Mertz and Ninnis’s choice of reading material with loose inspiration. (Hey, I said that it was all very loosely related. This is still true.)

contact light by threelions (Fitzier, 3k)

The Hound of the Baskervilles is, I agree, a capital novel, masterfully unfolding a character-driven and atmospherically spooky mystery. This fic is also those, and it’s sci-fi, and epistolary with an artfully crafted Crozier voice.

stiff by TomBowline (Goodsir/Hickey, 3k)

Vanity Fair is a colorful satire of Victorian social roles and the ways in which they get their hooks in each other, with a side of unromantic romance and deconstructing the artistic convention of the hero-protagonist. Just like this fic, which has the excellent logline “lonely rich spinster/handsome scheming servant but they’re both huge bitches.” Is this an admission that Hickey is like Becky Sharp, to me? Maybe a little bit.

(Bonus: I would be remiss not to link the one work in the Mertz/Ninnis tag for Their panel, so let the reclist be not technically a Terror reclist for a moment:

come rain or come shine by saltstreets (Mertz/Ninnis, 2k)

Mertz and Ninnis do not make it to those holidays. Read it and weep. Do I say that too often? Well, make the fandom stop writing such considerately heart-wrenching fics.)

Let’s Talk about Grief, Baby – The Terror, Tragic Fandom, and Anticipatory Mourning in the Age of Climate Grief

Fun fact: I live captioned this one, which is hard to do when you’re dry sobbing a little bit like everyone else attending the talk! I think I already plugged the recordings in this post but I’m going to do that again. Anyway, have some fics about trying to mourn something of terrifying scale! Trying to sleep against the howling of a ghost inhumanly old, and unable to take the final step and completely die! (They both happened to be modern horror series crossovers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

C L O S E by Mothfinder_General (SCP Foundation crossover, Little, 4k) experience, and its decay by attheborder (TMA crossover, Fitzier, 4k)

Next Door to the Promised Land: The Franklin Expedition and National Belonging from Richler to Rogers

I’ve already recced a lot, obliquely or not, about British nationalism, so let’s interpret this theme a little differently and have some tunes. 

Terror & Erebus: This 2006 ambient album themed after the Franklin Expedition is also available to listen on Spotify, and it’s great music to write fic and coldly morb to. Also, consider this post yet another appeal to AMC or whoever is stopping DK from doing it to RELEASE THE TERROR (2018) SCORE, PLEASE, I’M BEGGING YOU, I’LL PAY MONEY! IF YOU MADE A VINYL, I’D BUY A VINYL EVEN THOUGH I DON’T HAVE A RECORD PLAYER! PLEASE!

CHANGGWI: A great song by Ahn Ye-Eun and a chillingly atmospheric vid to go with it from polarsirens. Also, I mean, it’s about Britishness red in tooth and claw!

[reasoningdaily]

Blue agave grows in a field in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.  Photo by Matt Mawson/Getty Images

Jonathan Drori’s interest in plants stems back to his childhood growing up in southwest London. His family lived within walking distance of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, home to one of the most prestigious and diverse collections of botanicals in the world. His parents would take him and his brother on frequent trips to the gardens, exploring the grounds and discovering new plant species from around the world.

“My father was trained in botany but spent his career as an engineer, while my mother was interested in the aesthetics of plants,” he says. “She would carry a magnifying glass in her purse, and we’d go to Kew every week to look at the individual plants.”

Fast forward several decades and now Drori is a botany expert in his own right, even serving as a trustee at Kew for a stint. He’s built a career as an educator, focusing on conservation, the environment and technology, and is also a prolific author. His 2021 book, Around the World in 80 Plants, follows on the heels of his bestseller, Around the World in 80 Trees, and serves as an illustrative compendium that explains the historical and cultural significance of different plant species, from amaranth to wormwood. Using a map as his guide, he selected a range of plants from around the world, each with an interesting backstory that focuses on the cultural significance and botanical structure of each species.

While Drori's latest book takes a more leisurely pace, for our purposes, here is a quick spin around the globe, through eight standout plants—some of which might be growing in your own backyard.

Kelp (Scotland and the United States)

Sunlight streams through a forest of giant kelp. Douglas Klug via Getty Images

With its long tangles of sinuous leaves that bend and sway with the ocean waves, kelp (genus Laminaria) is a common sight along the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is especially prolific in the cold waters lapping up against the Scottish and American coastlines. Kelp forests not only provide ample habitat and nutrition for invertebrates and fish, such as rockfish, crabs and jellyfish, but they also offer a number of important ingredients for us land dwellers, too. Beginning in the 18th century, kelp ash, a residue that’s the result of drying and burning kelp leaves, was used by glassmakers as soda, an ingredient that forces sand to melt at a lower temperature. “Kelp was also a prized source during World War I, and the acetone extracted from it was used to make explosives,” Drori says. Nowadays, kelp is harvested for a much sweeter reason: its alginates (part of the cell walls of brown algae) are one of the key components used to make ice cream.

Wormwood (France)

Wormwood. Nahhan via Getty Images

Wormwood (genus Artemisia), an aromatic herb with silvery leaves and bright yellow buds, is native to Europe and can be found growing in fields throughout the continent, but particularly in France, where it’s used as one of the main ingredients in making absinthe. Although there are different thoughts on who actually invented absinthe, according to one story it's believed that the first person to use wormwood to make absinthe was a woman in Switzerland by the name of Madame Henriod. Called the “green fairy,” absinthe is a liquor that’s been immortalized in pop culture for its supposed psychedelic properties, which have led imbibers to “go mad," Drori says. (Case in point: Artist Vincent Van Gogh lopped off his ear after allegedly partaking in a few too many rounds of the potent tipple.)

Papyrus (Egypt)

Papyrus. Ryan Faas via Getty Images

During antiquity, wild papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) grew prolifically throughout Egypt, sprouting up along the Nile River and other large bodies of water, reaching heights of 16 feet. The Egyptians were so drawn to the towering plant, with its splayed-out tufts of leaves, that they began harvesting it to eat. “Papyrus swamps were the larder of the day, they were teaming with life,” Drori says. “They didn’t have refrigeration back then, so it was a fantastic source of fresh food.” The Egyptians soon discovered that by drying the soft white pith running through the plant’s thick reeds and weaving them together, they could make paper. Word of this new commodity spread to Europe, and the rest is, well, history.

Vanilla (Madagascar)

Green vanilla pods. miniloc via Getty Images

Native to Mexico, but now grown predominately in Madagascar, vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) is one of the most expensive spices in the world, fetching $50 or more per pound. And yet there’s good reason behind the hefty markup: Vanilla is also one of the most difficult plants to cultivate. Since it doesn’t self-pollinate, vanilla’s flowering blooms must be pollinated by hand in order for them to produce pods. What’s more, the horn-shaped flowers only bloom for one day, forcing vanilla growers to search plants regularly for new flowers. Once a bloom is found, growers use a pollination technique that’s 200 years old, which involves piercing the hermaphroditic plant’s membrane separating the male and female parts of the flower and squeezing them together to transfer the pollen in what’s called “consummating the marriage.” The steep price tag for the beans has resulted in a black market. However, growers have found a way to thwart thieves. “To prevent people from stealing their beans, farmers will incise a code that identifies themselves and their farm on each pod, similar to ranchers branding their cattle,” Drori says.

Lotus (India)

Purple lotuses. Sven Scholz / 500px/Getty Images

Designated as the national flower of India, the lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) has been a sacred symbol of the country for thousands of years. These aquatic plants, whose magnificent blooms come in shades of pink, yellow and white, are often seen floating languidly on the surface of ponds, marshes and other slow-moving bodies of water. The lotus is a commonly depicted motif in art as well, in particular amongst Hindus who believe that Brahma, the creator of the universe, emerged from the navel of Lord Vishnu while seated on top of a lotus flower. Not only is the stunning plant cherished for its beauty, but the lotus root is recognized as an important food staple across Indian, Japanese and Chinese cuisines, calling to mind the mild vegetal flavor of artichokes, but with a much more satisfying crunch.

Chrysanthemum (Japan)

Chrysanthemum. magicflute002/Getty Images

Similar in appearance to a cheerleader’s pom poms, chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemums spp.) are some of the showiest plants found in nature. The blooms come in a variety of colors and forms, with some cultivars displaying single or double layers, while others burst with spherical petals. In the United States, chrysanthemums (or simply mums) are most commonly seen during the cooler, autumn months, decorating porches alongside pumpkins and stalks of corn; however, in the Far East, where they originated, they’re a common emblem and can be seen blooming in gardens in the autumnas well as in traditional paintings. These perennials are particularly revered in Japanese culture. “The chrysanthemum is associated with perfection and nobility,” he says. “The Imperial Seal of Japan is a chrysanthemum. It’s also regarded as one of the four ‘noble species’ alongside plum, orchid and bamboo.”

Amaranth (Peru)

Amaranth. Photo by Enrique Díaz / 7cero/Getty Images

Amaranth falls into the category of forgotten grains, since it’s often overshadowed by more readily available whole grains like oats and rye. However, it has gained popularity in recent years thanks to being highly nutritious and a good source of amino acids. In fact, prior to the Spanish Conquest in 1519, amaranth was a staple foodstuff of the Inca and Aztec empires. The Aztecs used the seeds of the scruffy garnet plant for ceremonial purposes, mixing amaranth flour with agave syrup and molding the mixture into figures representing important deities within their culture, such as Tlaloc, the god of rain. Upon seeing this, Spanish conquistadors banned the crop, believing “the practice to be the work of the devil,” Drori says. In modern-day Peru, a popular street snack called turrones is made by popping the seeds—similar to popcorn—and mixing it with agave syrup or molasses in a nod to the Aztecs.

Blue Agave (Mexico)

Blue agave. Photo by Matt Mawson/Getty Images

Blue agave (Agave tequilana) can be found in parts of the southern United States and Central America, but it’s most frequently grown in a sunny swath of rolling hills in Jalisco, a state in the western portion of Mexico. It’s there, in a town called Tequila, where the world’s top distillers make tequila using the piñas (hearts) found at the center of the spiky blue succulents. While the leaves of the blue agave are covered in barbs and inedible, the flowers of the plant are the source of agave syrup, a clear, sticky liquid similar to honey often used to sweeten up margaritas and other drinks. Once fermented, it turns into pulque, a milky alcoholic drink similar to low-octane beer that was originally used by the Aztecs during religious ceremonies. “Drawings of the goddess of fertility, Mayahuel, can be seen in the Aztec culture depicting the deity as a being with 400 breasts dripping with pulque,” Drori says. Today pulquerias serving the drink can be found in cities across Mexico.

[markoliphant]

Tag 9 People You’d Like To Know Better

Tagged by @catabasis (Thank you!)

Last Song:

Zombie by Kavinsky and Morgan Phalen

Currently Watching:

Succession (rewatch), The Bear, The Proper People (urban explorers YouTube channel)

Currently Reading:

Home of the Blizzard by Douglas Mawson

Current Obsession:

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Douglas Mawson, Mark Oliphant (obviously), and a usual long lived fascination with cricket (even though the Aussies suck)

Tagging @softerkinder (If you’d like)