London's Gin Palace

Hi folks, I'm London St. Juniper, the Gin Palace Special, and Your Illustrated Edition (she/her/Dr.)! I am a burlesque and sideshow performing, scholarship publishing, costuming making, modeling, comics reading, film watching, queer, atheist, cultural historian, and aerialist student, with a PhD in Victorian lit and gender studies. I am unenthusiastic about closing things (peanut butter jars, drawers, etc), and deeply dedicated to annoying my wife. I have no time or patience for book snobbery, and think everyone should read what makes them happy, whatever that may be - "Don't 'yuck' someone's 'yum'," as the saying goes!

I've been around LT since Jan. 2007 and around the 75ers since 2009, previously under a different name, but always with the same library. The more I float around social media the more I like it here.

I am pretty excited about this year because it is my first unfettered year: after defending my PhD in October of 2020 I am officially a (plague) doctor, and am no longer required to read anything. Ever. I likewise have no big projects on the horizon, which is a bit of a mixed blessing, but we'll see how the year unfolds. My own first book (a scholarly monograph on cosplay) will hopefully make it to market this spring.

I look forward to lurking and listing again in 2021.

***** A Favorite
**** Highly Recommended
*** A bit meh. Recommended for fans (of genre, of author, etc)
** Not Recommended
* I'm probably angry about it

Books Read in 2021
1. The Truth by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, January 8, 2020. *****
2. The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners, for Use in Educational Establishments by Pierre Louys, satire, January 2, 2021. **1/2
3. The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart, epic fantasy, unfinished, January 12, 2021. **1/2
4. Merciless by Bryan Smith, horror, January 16, 2021. **
5. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, fantasy, January 22, 2021. *****
6. Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire, fantasy, January 17, 20201. **
7. The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner, fantasy, January 27, 2021. ****1/2
8. Uprooted by Naomi Novik, fantasy.

9. Goldenseal by Gil McKnight, romance, February 1, 2021. ***1/2
10. Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, romance, February 2, 2021. *****
11. Ambereye by Gil McKnight, romance, February 3, 2021. ***1/2
12. Shards by Ian Rogers, horror, February 4, 2021. ****
13. The Midnight Hunt by L. L. Rand, romance, February 5, 2021. ***
14. Indigo Moon by Gil Mc Knight, romance, February 13, 2021. **
15. Club Paradise by Tim Meyer, horror, DNF, February 16, 2021
16. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, fantasy, February 17, 2021. ****
17. A Plain and Simple Heart by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith, romance, February 20, 2021. ***1/2
18. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, scientific romance, February 21, 2021. *****
19. Sucker Punch by Laurell K. Hamilton, fantasy, February 24, 2021. *
20. Frankenstein by Gris Grimly, graphic novel, February 26, 2021. ****

21. Destroyer by Victor LeValle, graphic novel, March 1, 2021. ****
22. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, fantasy, March 10, 2021. ****
23. Antioch by Jessica Leonard, horror, March 11, 2021. ***1/2
24. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, March 14, 2021. ****
25. The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey, science fiction, abandoned March 2021. **
26. Being Hers by Anna Stone, erotica, march 22, 2021. **1/2
27. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, fantasy, March 23, 2021. ****
28. Kink: Stories ed. by R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell, kink, March 27, 2021. **1/2
29. The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike, Horror, March 29, 2021.
30. Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, fantasy, March 31, 2021. ****
31. Beowulf by Maria Hadvana Headley, fantasy, March 31, 2021. ***1/2

32. Making Money by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, April 1, 2021. ****
33. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo, fantasy, April 2, 2021. ****
34. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, April 9, 2021. ****
35. Goddess of Filth by V. Castro, horror, April 10, 2021. ****
36. Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, April 18, 2021. ***
37. The Curious Tale of Mandogi's Ghost by Kim Sok-Pom, translated by Cindi Trextor, fiction, April 19, 2021. ***
38. Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger, romance, April 29, 2021. ***
39. Cosplayers: Gender and Identity by Luxx Mishou, cosplay studies, April 29, 2021.
40. Wisteria Cottage by Robert M. Coates, horror, DNF.

41. Scanlines by Todd Keisling, horror, May 1, 2021. ***1/2
42. How to Marry a Werewolf by Gail Carriger, fantasy, May 4, 2021.
43. Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman, horror, May 5, 2021. *****
44. The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews, cozy mystery, May 10, 2021.
45. Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger, Fantasy, May 11, 2021.
46. Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger, fantasy, May 15, 2021.
47. The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse, thriller, May 22, 2021. ****
48. Fangs by Sarah Anderson, comics, May 23, 2021, ****.
49. Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger, fantasy, May 24, 2021, ***1/2.
50. Dimentia by Russell Coy, May 25, 2021, horror, **.
51. Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger, fantasy, May 27, 2021, ***1/2.
52. Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas, fiction, May 31, 2021. DNF

53. Defy or Defend by Gail Carriger, fantasy, June 2, 2021.
54. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James, thriller, June 2, 2021, ****.
55. With Teeth by Kristen Arnett, fiction, June 9, 2021, **1/2
56. Soulless by Gail Carriger, fantasy, June 11, 2021, ***.
57. Changeless by Gail Carriger, fantasy, June 18, 2021, ***.
58. The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons, southern gothic, June 23, 2021, ****.
59. Blameless by Gail Carriger, fantasy, June 24, 2021, ***.
60. Heartless by Gail Carriger, fantasy, June 29, 2021, ***.

61. The Beetle by Richard Marsh, gothic, July 7, 2021, ****.
62. Timeless by Gail Carriger, fantasy, July 11, 2021, ***.
63. Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger, fantasy, July 20, 2021, ***.
64. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, sci fi, dammit, July 22, 2021, **.
65. Prudence by Gail Carriger, fantasy, July 31, 2021, ***.

66. Imprudence by Gail Carriger, fantasy, August 7, 2021, ***.
67. Romancing the Werewolf by Gail Carriger, fantasy, August 9, 2021, ***1/2.
68. Competence by Gail Carriger, fantasy, August 15, 2021, ***.
69. Reticence by Gail Carriger, fantasy, August 2021, **1/2.
70. Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs, fantasy, August 26, 2021, ****
71. The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Vampire Slaying by Grady Hendrix, horror, August 31, 2021, ***1/2.

72. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, horror, September 3, 2021, ****.
73. The Truth by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, September 2021, *****.
74. The Stepford Wives by Ira levin, sci fi, September 22, 2021, ****.
75. Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, September 2021, ****.
76. Goddess of Filth by V. Castro, horror, September 30, 2021, *****.

77. Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, October 3, 2021, ****.
78. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, horror, October 5, 2021, *****.
79. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi and translated by Jonathan Wright, horror, October 15, 2021, ****.
80. The Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, October 10, 2021, ***1/2.
81. The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass, horror, October 12, 2021, ***1/2.
82. I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, October 28, 2021, ***1/2
83. The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco, horror, October 29, 2021, ****.
84. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle, horror, October 25, 2021, ****.
85. Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews, mystery, October 27, 2021, ***1/2.

86. Ambush or Adore by Gail Carriger, romance, November 2, 2021, ***1.2.
87. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron, fantasy, November 5, 2021, ***1/2.
88. We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix, boring, November 12, 2021, gave up after 200 pages, **1/2.
89. The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews, mystery, November 18, 2021.
90. The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles, romance, November 24, 2021. ***1/2

91. Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, fantasy, December 3, 2021. ****
92. Beowulf by Maria Hadvana Headley, fantasy, December 3, 2021. ***1/2
93. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, December 8, 2021.
94. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo, fantasy, December, 2021. ****
95. Making Money by Terry Pratchett, fantasy, December 2021.
96. The Girl Who Ate Her Brothers, and other gruesome tales by Jen Campbell, fairy tales, December 23, 2021. ***1/2
97. Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. December 27, 2021. ***1/2
98. The New Girl by R. L. Stine. December 29, 2021. ***
99. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett.
100. The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig, horror. Finished 265 of 520 pages.
101. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, fiction, December 31, 2021.

The Stats
Total Read: 96
Total DNF: 9
Total Pages Read: 28637
Print Books: 39
Digital Books: 62
Male Authors: 43
Female Authors: 54
Nonbinary Authors: 3
Re-Reads: 45
Books Published in 2020: 24
Library Books: 37
Read for fun: 83
Read for work: 18

Films Watched in 2021
1. Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) ****
2. Young Frankenstein (1974) *****
3. Blazing Saddles (1974) *****
4. Cabin in the Woods (2011) *****
5. The Exorcist (1973) *****
6. The Final Girls (2015) ****
7. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) ***1/2
8. Evil Dead II (1987) ***1/2
9. Hubie Halloween (2020) ***1/2
10. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) ****
11. Belzebuth (2019) ***
12. The Cell (2000)** Beautiful but stupid
13. Killers (2010) ***
14. Mr and Mrs Smith (2005) ****
15. House on Haunted Hill (1959) ****
16. Cooties (2014) ****
17. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) *****
18. Shaun of the Dead (2004) ****
19. It (2018) *****
20. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) ***
21. Alien (1979) *** This ... is not a very good movie. I don't understand the hype, and found much of the plot/direction lazy or ineffective. Still, my new teenager loved it, and we watched it for him.
22. It: Chapter 2 (2019) *****
23. John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) ****
24. Hunted (2020) *** (This is a 2.5* movie with a +.5* ending)
25. Halloween (2018) *****
26. The Conjuring (2015) *** (A four-star movie hurt by a too-quick, action-movie style exorcism at the end)
27. Freaky (2020) *** (It's ... dumb. But Vince Vaughn as a teen girl is kinda funny, and there are some cute one-liners)
28. Hot Fuzz (2007) ***1/2
29. The Nice Guys (2016) ***1/2
30. The Bye Bye Man (2017) ***
31. The Craft: Legacy (2020) **1/2 Shockingly lazy writing. The story has some great bones, but lacks all nuance and development. What a terrible shame!
32. Final Girl (2015) ***1/2 This movie is stunning. It is stylish, well-designed, well-costumed, and perfectly lit. A twist on a revenge horror film done interestingly ... although not acted well
33. The Happytime Murders (2018) *** I liked this raunchy comedy best for what the use of puppets allowed them to do. The making-of shots at the end are a cherry on top - very clever.
34. Gosford Park (2001) ****
35. Little Monsters (2020) *****
36. The Conjuring 2 (2016) *** The best thing about this film is that I now have the inspiration to cosplay as The Crooked Man
37. Thunder Road (2018) *** Jim Cummings seems to be a great actor, but I've seen him play the exact same character twice. The one thing this film has going for it is that the plot is entirely unpredictable.
38. The Frighteners (1996) * This movie has nothing going for it
39. Hell House LLC (2015) **** Fun found-footage film
40. The Devil Wears Prada (2006) **** I love this film, even though everyone learns the wrong lessons

41. Black Christmas (2019) **** A solid film of the genre, made especially to engage PG13 audiences and encourage discussion of sexual assault.
42. Happy Death Day (2017) **** Fun and clever
43. Happy Death Day 2 U (2019) ** Lacking all the cleverness of the first, this film started with promise and then became another boring time travel movie.
44. The Blair Witch Project (1999) ** I can understand why this was such an event in 1999, but in 2021 I found it exceptionally boring, and am very disappointed it had nothing to do with a myth of a witch
45. The Darkness (2016) * Wow, that's racist. A wealthy white family are attacked by Native American spirits after being freed by their autistic son. Hispanic women are called in to save them. White man is heroic.
46. Willy's Wonderland (2021) ***** This movie was everything I wanted it to be. I had no idea Cage could act so well.
47. Dodgeball (2004) ***
48. A Mighty Wind (2003) *** Well, it was fun until the transphobia of the last five minutes.
49. Shrew's Nest (2014) ***1/2
50. The Informant! (2009) ***1/2
51. Legally Blonde (2001) ****
52. Legally Blonde II (2003) **
53. Dead Snow (2009) **** This is clearly not an American film
54. Shanghai Noon (2000) **
55. Train to Busan (2016) *****
56. National Treasure (2004) ***1/2 Solid family movie night
57. Frankenstein (1931) **** Fascinating
58. Attack the Block (2011) *****
59. Richard III (1995) ****
60. The Banana Splits (2019) ****
61. Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016) ****1/2
62. National Lampoon Vacation (1983) **

63. Starsky and Hutch (2004) ***1/2
64. His House (2020) *****
65. American Werewolf in London (1981) ***1/2 Good fun, inspired a new burlesque concept
66. Airplane (1980) **
67. Demonic (2015) ***
68. Sinister (2015) **
69. Pet Sematary (2019) *** The last 1/3 really makes this film.
70. Snowpiercer (2013) *** Really overhyped. Visually interesting with an exceptionally weak plot, and a good 40 minutes too long.
71. Hellboy (2004). ****
72. Devil's Gate (2017) ** It promised religious horror and it gave me sci fi with rubber suits.
73. Clovehitch Killer (2018) ****
74. Saint Maud (2020) *** How ... curious.
75. Come to Daddy (2020) ** Elijah Wood in a horror film was an idea that appealed to me, but the result is hipster on so many levels - both ones intended and ones unintended - and the whole is generally a failure. My wife put it best when she said "It's like someone tried to out-Tarantino Tarantino."
76. The Mummy (1999) **** Good family movie night
77. Love and Monsters (2020) ***** Super cute - another good family movie night
78. Slaxx (2021) ***** Perfect cheesy b-horror fun. Loved it.

79. Fargo (1996) *****
80. The Vast of Night (2019) **** A great film with an awful ending.
81. The Devil All the Time (2020) *****
82. Addams Family Values (1993) *****
83. The Mummy Returns (2001) ***
84. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) * This movie is awful. I can appreciate the attempt to make a film as pulpy as a dime novel, but there's none of the front work to make this a good pulpy movie, and the whole thing is built on homophobia and slut shaming. Sure, it makes fun of homophobia - right before it's homophobic. And you can miss me with the guy slut shaming women because he is "morally superior" because he's not a rapist. That's it. It's a low bar. God, I hated this garbage, and I'm mad that it's topping comedy lists.
85. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) *****
86. Terminator 2 ***
87. The Howling (1981) ****
88. Always Be My Maybe (2019) ****
89. The Awakening (2011) ****
90. DeadTectives (2018) ***1/2
91. ReAnimator (1985) * Turned off, it was so bad. Nothing but gross men being gross
92. Saturday the Fourteenth (1981) ** Turned off for being boring
93. Radioland Murders (1994) **** Fun period murder mystery
94. One Cut of the Dead (2017)*****
95. The Babadook (2014) ****1/2
96. The Last of Shelia (1973) ***1/2
97. Aquaman (2018) *** A beautiful, boring movie
98. Dead Shack (2018) *** Horror comedy that doesn't end on the right tone
99. The Power (2021) *** Shudder original that lacks a lot
100. Fright Night (1985) **** So silly. Evil Ed is the best.
101. Mayhem (2018) ****
102. Parasite (2019) **** A beautiful, intense movie that I'm so glad to have seen and never want to see again.
103. Mars Attacks (1996) **** Fun family movie night
104. Severance (2006) ***1/2
105. Game Night (2018)
106. Scare Me (2020) **** ... maybe.

107. The Day of the Beast (1995) ***
108. Ready or Not (2019) ****1/2
109. Juan of the Dead (2011) ****
110. Onward (2020) ****
111. Urban Legend (1998) ***
112. Jawbreaker (1999) ***
113. The Prophecy (1995) ** So. Boring.
114. The Omen (1976) ****
115. The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021) ****
116. House on Haunted Hill (1999) ***1/2
117. WNUF: Halloween Special (2013) ** A great concept executed poorly.
118. Attack of the Demons (2020) ** So bad we turned it off
119. Invisible Man (2020) ****1/2
120. Cloverfield (2008) *****
121. Dead (2020) **** Super fun queer buddy cop horror comedy
122. American Mary (2013) ***** I can't fully remember the ugly Twitter rumors about the writers/directors of this film, but the movie itself is fantastic.
123. Black Panther (2018) ****
124. The Summer of '84 (2018) *** A four-star film with an ending that doesn't deliver on its promise
125. The Strange House (2020) ***1/2 A fun YA Austrian horror film
126. School of Rock (2003) ***
127. Cam (2018) ***** A modern horror film that is well and truly scary, with a great conclusion.
128. The Invitation (2015) ***
129. Rare Exports (2010) **** Great holiday horror comedy
130. The Wicker Man (1973) ****
131. Paranormal Experiences (2007) ****
132. Annabelle ** A dull movie that is not at all like its marketing.
133. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) **** A suspenseful and engaging movie made all the more extraordinary by John Goodman's performance
134. Mandy (2018) ***1/2 I hate the fridging, and love Cage's performance
135. Monster House> (2006) ** A hideous family film.
136. Army of the Dead (2021) *** Predictable in every way. I do appreciate that they wiped a predator from the film and recast the role with Tig ... who never met her other cast mates.
137. The Unholy (2021) ***
138. The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) ****
139. Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) *** Kids liked it well enough.
140. The Changeling (1980) **** I really loved this film, largely in part for its gender inversion, casting a masculine character/actor in the gothic space usually performed by "hysterical" femme characters.
141. Crimson Peak (2015) **** My wife said it best: it's a love letter to gothic films.
142. Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019) ****
143. Deadcon (2019) **
144. The Devil Below (2021) **
145. Night of the Living Dead (1968) ***1/2 So great to finally see this classic
146. Zombieland (2009) **** Far better than I anticipated
147. We Are Still Here (2014) ***1/2
148. The Seventh Day (2021) ***
149. The Mansion (2017) ***1/2 Fun French horror comedy
150. Don't Listen (2020) ****
151. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) **** A very successful updating of the premise.
152. The Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting. ***1/2

153. Fear Street: 1994 (2021) ****
154. Shutter Island (2010) ***1/2
155. Viscous Fun (2021) ****
156. As Above So Below (2014) ***1/2
157. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) ***1/2
158. Deadpool ****
159. Fear Street 1978 (2021) ****
160. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) **
161. Aliens (1986) ***1/2
162. Creepshow (1982) **
163. Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) ***1/2
164. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) ****
165. Werewolves Within (2021) *** (A 4.5* movie brought low by a bad ending)
166. Fear Street 1666 (2021) ****
167. Karate Kid (1984) ***
168. Gunpowder Milkshake (2020) ****
169. The Lady Vanishes (1938) ****
170. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2008) ***1/2
171. Anchorman * (gave up: no plot, just sexism)
172. Underworld (2003) ***1/2
173. Little Women (2019) ****

174. Romancing the Stone (1984) **
175. Stranger Than Fiction (2006) *****
176. 1BR
177. Pacific Rim
178. Aftermath (2021)
179. Here Coes Hell
180. X-Men (2000)
181. Things Seen and Heard (2021) ****
182. The Possession (2012) ****
183. Case 39 (2009) ***
184. The Keeping Hours (2017) *
185. Before I Wake (2008) ***
186. X2 (2003) ***1/2
187. Freaks (2018) ** An unfortunate name, and it's basically X-Men
188. Get Out (2017) ***** Deserves the hype
189. What Keeps You Alive (2018) ***1/2 Fun queer horror film
190. Aladdin (1992) ****
191. We Summon the Darkness (2020) **** I enjoyed this twist on a satanic panic
192. Hell Fest (2018) ** Pretty awful; watched for Bex, which almost made it worth it.
193. Pirates of the Carribean (2003) ****
194. Independence Day (1996) **** So glad we watched this with the kids.

195. Hocus Pocus (1993) **** Watched in Salem, because of course
196. Jungle Cruise (2021) **** more fun than I was expecting
197. Candyman (2021) ****1/2 !!!
198. The Whole Nine Yards (2000) ***1/2
199. Mystery Men (1999) Turned off I hated it so much
200. Hateful Eight (2015) ****
201. Prince of Persia **
202. Level 16 (2018) ***1/2
203. Limehouse Golem (2017) ***1/2
204. Django Unchained (2012) *****
205. The Labrynth (1986) **** for nostalgia
206. Suspiria (2018) *****
207. There Will Be Blood (2005) *****
208. A Knight's Tale ****
209. Frankenweenie (2012) ****
210. There's Someone in Your House (2021) ****
211. Jojo Rabbit (2019) ****
212. The Call (2020)
213. Muppet Haunted Mansion (2021) ***
214. V/H/S/94 (2021) ***
215. Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2021) ***
216. Sandlot (1993) ****
217. Paradise Hills (2019) * So, so bad. Level 16 with less plot and story.
218. Terror Train (1980) So boring
219. The Noonday Witch (2016) *** Babadook was better.
220. Parents (1989) ***1/2 Enjoyable unreliable narrator weirdness
220. Emelie (2016) ***
221. Hereditary (2018) ****1/2 Extraordinarily sad and compelling but not scary
222. Hairspray (2007) ***1/2
223. Batman (1989) ***
224. Batman Returns (1992) ****
225. Ghostbusters (1984) ****
226. Ghostbusters II (1989) ***1/2
227. Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) ***1/2

228. Scrooged
229. Incident in a Ghostland (2018). I would have really enjoyed this movie if transphobia wasn't a major aspect of the vilification of the antagonist.
230. Agatha Christie's Crooked House (2017)
231. Die Hard
232. Black Christmas (1974) **** Well, this is a classic for a reason.
233. Advent Calendar (2021) Very good fun
234. Home Alone
235. Rare Exports Gosh I love this movie
236. Dead End (2004). Recommended by a student, and so very, very weird.
237. Knives Out
238. Christmas Presence (2018) Inexcusably transphobic rants cater to TERFs and cast a pall.
239. Hogfather
240. Kingsman (2014)
241. Big Hero 6 (2014)
242. The Hole Truth (2021)
243. A Muppet Christmas Carol
244. Raw So disgusting I had to turn it off halfway through.
245. Dolly Parton: Here I Am (2019)
246. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
247. Disclosure Difficult to watch. Not for the community, but important.
248. Split (2017)
249. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
250. Santa Jaws (2018) Exactly what you'd expect.
251. A Christmas Story
252. Home Alone 2
253. No One Gets Out Alive (2021)
253. John Leguizamo's Latin History for Morons (2018)
254. Good On Paper Blech
255. Die Hard 2
256. A Secret Love (2020)
257. Glass ****1/2
258. From Within
259. Mary, Queen of Scots
260. Hail to the Deadites
261. Population 436 (2006)

To Watch List
Bad Hair
Promising Young Woman

List of Links

Books Read in 2020(75 Books. Major Events: Global Pandemic; finished my PhD; writing two book chapters and my first book)
What did I read in 2018 and 2019? I never wrote it down... (Major life events: Passing my prospectus defense; death of my best friend; divorcing my family)
Books Read in 2017 (75 Books. Major Events: death of my grandmother; bringing home a third poodle; beginning to perform; remarrying my wife)
Books Read in 2016 (108 Books. Major Events: Completed PhD coursework; passed PhD exams)
Books Read in 2015 (75 Books. Major Events: Four semesters of PhD coursework (spring, two summer, fall); published two reviews, spoke and organized at two conferences; bought a house)
Books Read in 2014 (96 Books. Major Events: First two semesters of PhD coursework; published three papers, two reviews, spoke at two conferences, and organized two conference panels)
Books Read in 2013 (87 Books. Major Events: Published two papers!)
Books Read in 2012 (81 Books. Major Events: New - additional - Teaching Position, Moving, Surgery)
Books Read in 2011 (101 Books. Major Events: Birth of Third Monster, Poor health and a death in the family)
Books Read in 2010 (100 Books. Major Event: Second Adjunct Position Obtained)
Books Read in 2009 (145 Books. Major Event: Birth of Second Monster)
Books Read in 2008 (61 Books. Major Events: Birth of First Monster, First Adjunct Position Obtained)
Books Read in 2007 (85 Books. Major Event: Finished my MA in English Lit)

Welcome back! Glad life is more free now.

Well hello- I just realised that there is a whole lotta action here on the 2021 threads, and there I was hanging out in 2020 still.... sheesh.

Your major events lists are so brief for what they must entail! I have questions, but they can wait. It must be nice to be able to call yourself Dr, if you chose, and, a book in the wings! Cool.

Happy reading, and see you round :)

Welcome back.

Enjoy your 2021 reading!

>4 drneutron: Thanks for launching us once again!

>5 LovingLit: Lol, life is always full. I like to list major events to keep my reading time in perspective.

>6 PaulCranswick: Thanks, and you too!

>7 thornton37814: The same to you!

And here I shall remain. *smooch*

>9 richardderus: Welcome, welcome!

Best wishes for a better 2021!

>11 DianaNL: To you as well!

It's only 1pm here on December 31, but I'm ready to jump threads and settle into my new digs.

I've just completed my last task of 2020 - submitting an abstract for a chapter I'd love to write, for an edited volume that sounds fascinating. Fingers crossed, because this chapter would be so much fun to write, and would keep my foot in the Victorianist door, as the rest of my forthcoming research is on comics and cosplay...

Hi, missed your thread for most of 2020 but will try to do better this year. Congratulations on all your academic and publishing achievements.

Happy reading in 2021!

Happy to see you back, London! Wishing you a year full of excellent reads!

And keep up with my friends here, London. Have a great 2021.

>14 avatiakh: Great to see you! Happy new year!

>15 FAMeulstee: To you, too!

>16 MickyFine: Thank you, and you too!

>17 PaulCranswick: Oh, I like that list, and wish you the same.

Today it's back to business for the Monster household. The kids are logged into school, my wife is logged into work, I am building a brand-new syllabus for my spring class, and ... today is puppy day!

Well that's a tease! Is puppy coming home? Coming for a visit? Hoping there's photos at the very least.

Woot for puppy day!!

I sent out a Welcome to Mythology email to one class today, but that's all I plan to do until Day One of classes (Jan 20 for me).

>19 MickyFine: Oh man, was it a day. The drive was nearly two hours each way, plus my social anxiety dialed to 11 and discovering they are mask-deniers (but not COVID deniers? Because they kept distance and sanitized hands but ... didn't wear masks). By the time I got home and my anxiety settled I was bottomed out ... and busy snuggling my new baby. She's an absolute delight. At 14 weeks she is perky and social and loves all laps and is vaguely cautious about the poodles on the other side of the baby gate and misses me as soon as I leave the room and dances when I come back. We are all of us enamored.

Introducing Miss Harvey Dent, Esq.
(Link to photo on my IG. I was about to offer a CW about my IG, but I haven't performed in a year thanks to the pandemic, so there are no show photos to warn about
...)

>20 scaifea: We go back the day before, and as I work to further decolonize my syllabi that means I have a lot of reading to finish and a syllabus to polish. I'm super excited about a lot of my new material, though, so I'm looking forward to getting back to work. I'm not excited about going back before vaccines.

Stopping by to say Happy New Year and congratulations on the new puppy addition!

I'm not excited about going back before vaccines.

I don't blame you one bit. I'll be thinking of you, friend. And please give that puppy a cuddle for me!

Oh she's precious! Enjoy all the puppy snuggles!

>22 jayde1599: Thank you, and you too!

>23 scaifea: I'm holding out hope that they'll change their minds, but received notification today that even planning time is supposed to be done on campus this year, so ... we'll see. And I will!

>24 MickyFine: Thank you!

1.
Title: The Truth
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages: 448
Date Finished: January 8, 2021
Recommended by: A favorite for years
Rating: *****
Quoted Synopsis: The denizens of Ankh-Morpork fancy they've seen just about everything. But then comes the Ankh-Morpork Times, struggling scribe William de Worde's upper-crust newsletter turned Discworld's first paper of record.

An ethical journalist, de Worde has a proclivity for investigating stories—a nasty habit that soon creates powerful enemies eager to stop his presses. And what better way than to start the Inquirer, a titillating (well, what else would it be?) tabloid that conveniently interchanges what's real for what sells.

But de Worde's got an inside line on the hot story concerning Ankh-Morpork's leading patrician, Lord Vetinari. The facts say Vetinari is guilty. But as William de Worde learns, facts don't always tell the whole story. There's that pesky little thing called . . . the truth.

Review: The Truth was the first Pratchett book I read, and the reason i fell in love with Discworld novels as a whole. Less interested in fantasy, I love Pratchett for his biting satire, his unapologetic liberalism, and thus his well-meaning humanity. Given the repugnant start to the year here in the US, it was both a comfort to read an author whose work reflects my own values, and a particular interest to read a novel about an attempted coup of a moderate regime by a conservative minority who wrap their bigotry in righteousness.

>21 London_StJ: Miss Harvey is adorable!

>27 FAMeulstee: Thank you! The whole household is enamored. The kids spend hours in the kitchen playing with the puppy, and I cuddle her as much as possible. I am especially giddy over how much my wife loves her. My wife grew up with cats and not dogs, but desperately loves fluffy animals. We now have a cuteness meme living with us, and she is obsessed in a way usually reserved for kittens. It's the best.

I've decided to convert my shop IG to a pet IG, so I'll be posting future Harvey (and poodle) pictures here.

>28 London_StJ: Glad everyone has fallen in love with Miss Harvey.

Following you at IG now.
I have no smartphone, so I can't use IG myself. I only have an account to follow others.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

With 100 pages to go in The House in the Cerulean Sea my library loan ended, and the book closed. Blast! So now I'm left trying to decide if I want to give Amazon $12 for the privilege of reading those 100 pages ($12 is far too much money for an electronic book, imo), of if I want to wait the month until I come around on the reservation again (I'm #33 of 14 available copies).

That's what I get for sitting on it until now. Harumph.

In better news, I heard more about my book today. The publisher sent me the notes from the series editor, who is my final peer reviewer and last approval stamper. He loved me! He really loved me! Or, more concretely, he very much liked my book and thinks it's a valuable contribution to the field, which is far better than love. He called it "engaging and well-written," and says he liked it a lot. I didn't realize how worried I was about the radio silence over the holidays until I got this email today. I care so much about this research, and I'm as excited as a six-year-old to get it out there.

I'm also excited about two chapters I've had accepted, and hope to see published in 2021-2022. The first is another chapter on cosplay, different from earlier research but similar to my dissertation, and the other is an examination of non-binary identity in a Victorian novel. They're going to be such fun. And my previously-finished chapters should see print in 2021 as well - one on cosplay, one on comics and censorship.

I love what I do. I hope I can make a career out of it someday.

>29 FAMeulstee: I just saw your notification! I hope the pups bring you joy. :)

I have six books in various stages of reading, and no new review to post, but I have had a productive morning. Today I taught my first-born to shave (much to his joy and relief), and I finished and posted my spring syllabus.

I've been working to decolonize my syllabi, and expand my literature selections, and this spring that means ditching We Have Always Lived in the Castle, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and The Island of Dr. Moreau in favor of The Empress of Salt and Fortune, The Curious Tale of Mandogi's Ghost, and Frankenstein in Baghdad. I'm also going to try out some spoken-word poetry, negating the underrepresentation in publishing in favor of performance and message. This allows me to include a wonderful range of voices literally writing about gender, depression, sexuality, agency, eating disorders, and racism.

I have been listening to "Bitches" by Melissa Lozada-Olivia over and over again. I love it.

I'll teach a unit on Frankenstein with the original, the adaptation by Grim Grisly, and Saadawi. Vo and Kim will contribute to my unit on heroes, which still includes Beowulf (Heaney, although I have Maria Dahvana Headley on my shelf and hope to introduce some of her work) and The Hobbit. And I love teaching Sappho in my poetry unit.

It's good to have planning out of the way, so I can squeeze in some writing time before any grading hits me. It's been a little too nice to have no responsibilities these last few weeks...

Oh man, my Broadview Press order just arrived, and along with the edition of Frankenstein I'll be teaching this spring I have A Marriage Below Zero, the "first novel in English to explicitly explore the subject of male homosexuality," Are They Women? A Novel Concerning the Third Sex, "a crucial document of lesbian history" which "captures a moment in time when women who loved women first had the freedom to live as they wished and a name that gave them an identity," and The Library Window, a ghost story.

2.
Title: The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners, for Use in Educational Establishments
Author: Pierre Louys
Pages: 60
Date Finished: January 2, 2021
Recommended by: A gift
Rating: **1/2
Quoted Synopsis: it has become clear that Louÿs is the greatest French writer of erotica there ever was. The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners was the first of his erotic manuscripts to see publication, and it also remains his most outrageous--an erotic classic in which humor takes precedence over arousal. By means of shockingly filthy advice--ostensibly offered "for use in educational establishments"--couched in a hilariously parodic admonitory tone, Louÿs turns late-nineteenth-century manners roundly on their head, with ass prominently skyward. Whether offering rules for etiquette in church, school or home, or outlining a girl's duties toward family, neighbor or God, Louÿs manages to mock every institution and leave no taboo unsullied. The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners has only grown more scandalous and subversive since its first appearance in 1926.

Review: My rating is reflective of my enjoyment of the book, and not my opinion on its existence or publication. Louys' Handbook is confrontational in its instruction, satirizing manners, institutions, and even gender through the blatant and excessive sexualization of the young girls purported to be his "audience" (clearly not, of course). I appreciate that it's filthy, I appreciate the mockery of institutions, and I appreciate the nod to the absurdity of gendered lessons in manners and expected behaviors. But....

But ...

I am not comfortable reading graphic sexual material featuring children, even in satire. It left me feeling deeply, deeply uncomfortable. I will say that this is likely an impact of my own maternity; had I read this book before having children I would have instead considered the satirization of my own childhood, and taken more interest. But given what it is, and who I am, I find myself missing the forest for the trees, because I can't stomach these trees. Still, I am glad for the gift of the book, and glad to have it on my shelf, as I think it's an interesting historical object, and could see it being a research object one day.

3.
Title: The Bone Shard Daughter
Author: Andrea Stewart
Pages: 80/448
Date Finished: January 12, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: **1/2
Quoted Synopsis: The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands.
Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.
Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.

Review: The Bone Shard Daughter is perfectly well written, and promises a complex epic adventure, but I just ... didn't care. The novel begins by introducing three different adventures operating within a world in political and literal turmoil, with a major conflict surrounding bone shards, their use, and their ... reaping. While I was pleased to see the introduction of a queer coupling as normal and not othered, it wasn't enough to keep my interest. That said, I can see why this book has received such positive attention, and would be willing to suggest that fans of epic fantasies would likely enjoy this immensely.

Currently Reading

Across the Green Grass Fields
The Once and Future Witches
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
The Curious Tale of Mandogi’s Ghost

Today my meds really did their work, because I had the mental energy to catch up on the housewifery that's been difficult in recent weeks: I bathed and dried all three standard poodles, vacuumed, dusted, cleaned bathrooms, and mopped. I even had the bandwidth to bake cookies this evening! and now I'm ready to tuck in and watch movies with my lady.

In other news, I changed the puppy's name. "Harvey Dent" wasn't really clicking for me, so I went back to what was my first choice before I even knew I was getting a puppy: Lucifer. More specifically, I've named her Lucifer Lollipop Louisette.

Lu! Lulu! Lu Lolly! It makes me smile every time. I love it so much more.

Aw, Lucifer is a great name!

>36 scaifea: Thank you! It fits so well

Lucifer tends to be my favorite character in everything he ever shows up in (Bible included), so I'm all for it!

4.
Title: Merciless
Author: Bryan Smith
Pages: 186
Date Finished: January 16, 2021
Recommended by: Nightworms Subscription Book
Rating: **
Quoted Synopsis: Psycho newlyweds Grant and Lindsey Weatherby are true crime junkies with a thirst to know what it feels like to kill for real. Young, prosperous, and good-looking, they are seen by friends and family as the perfect couple. No one sees the dark side to their love. After their wedding, they embark on a trip across the country. As their honeymoon gift to each other, they plan to abduct, torture, and kill a stranger. But what was planned as a controlled one-time event soon explodes into a spiraling orgy of bloody, nightmarish violence and depravity.

Review: For transparency I think it's important to state that I am not a fan of torture porn, the sub-genre of horror which involves the violent and explicit torture of people, often by human (and not supernatural) protagonists. The Saw franchise is probably the most readily recognizable example of this genre.

From the first I recognized this was going to be a torture porn novel; the synopsis essentially describes the novel as a Natural Born Killers/Ken and Barbie Killers (Karla Homolka and her husband, Paul Bernardo). Still, I was willing to give it a full shot, thinking that the author may surprise me.

He did not.

The plot is predictable, and the characterization of Lindsey Weatherby is especially lazy and boring. (I suspect that she may be an attempt to give villainous agency to a femme protagonist in the genre, but I found it to be shallow and robotic, and thus unsuccessful.) Wealthy white people have been killing, torturing, dehumanizing, and otherwise assaulting other people - especially at-risk populations - for ... ever. What's more, the writing itself is of particularly poor quality, from clumsy descriptive passages to awkward and unbelievable (and repetitive) internal dialogues. The writing style suggests a very new author, for which I was inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt and suggest they may improve with time. However, I've since discovered that this book is Smith's eighth or ninth published novel/novella.

For fans of the genre, I will say that I believe the book to be generically sound - it ticks all of the expected boxes. As I am likely to be more forgiving of lesser-quality writing within my more favored genres, so too I think that fans of torture porn may enjoy this book far more than I did.

>38 scaifea: Of COURSE he is! That "Milton is of the devil's part" just makes so much sense.

I admit that her light fur reminds me a bit of the Supernatural character, lol.

The SPN Lucifer is my very favorite Lucifer! So funny.

>41 scaifea: Ugh, he was so charismatic and fun. I really liked that story arc.

>42 London_StJ: I think my favorite bit was when he was Hallucifer in poor Sammy's head.

>43 scaifea: Yes! I completely agree.

We spent the early part of the pandemic binging several seasons of the show. We stopped watching around the time Dean came back from purgatory, so we missed the hullabaloo over the show finale. But Lucifer is totally my favorite character from the show.

>44 London_StJ: Ooooh, the finale. What an absolute shitshow. I highly recommend every other episode, but I would absolutely suggest never ever EVER watching that last one. Ever.

>39 London_StJ: Oh dear. Just...not good. I've started gang-reviewing books on my blog, ones I like-not-love or do NOT like...and it is so much easier to do than what I've been aiming for til now. "Doing justice" to a book in a review is something I've decided to reserve for the most interesting-to-me needs.

A frothy holiday romance that takes me three weeks to finish? That needed exploring. Frothy holiday romance finished in three hours? "If you like the genre, here's you a book."

Anyway, not that you asked, but here's to hoping you have a delightful Sunday with the family.

>46 richardderus: I have a hard time reviewing books because it so often feels repetitive. Critical reviews are easier for me to write than lukewarm reviews, because I
know exactly why I dislike something.

And we did have a delightful Sunday, thank you. :) First Born will be 13 on Tuesday, and we gave him his big present early (a PS4) because he can't have video games during the week until his grades improve. We wanted him to enjoy his present for more than an hour on his birthday proper. And then the wife and I watched the new It for the first time, much to our mutual enjoyment. I hope you, too, enjoyed your Sunday!

>45 scaifea: Haahahahaha, ok, noted - no need to watch the end.

Oh, I don't think I've shared this here, but I found it very interesting. I came across a scholarly article on House of Leaves, a novel I wildly loved when I was 18 and have heard soundly bashed by every femme reader I met in my 20s. I keep meaning to go back to it at some point. But I loved what Danielewski had to say about the novel in this article:

“Two decades on, Danielewski sees his relationship with his first book as that of a slightly distant parent. 'Look at it this way,' he says, 'House of Leaves is a kid. I’m that kid’s dad. By now my kid has made a lot of friends, forged close ties, has a multitude of personal relationships I know nothing about. Now and then, my kid’s friends think it’s cool to meet the dad, but they don’t want the dad hanging around for too long, they’re not friends with the dad, they’re friends with my kid.'”

I find this to be a rather .... healthy ... way of relating to literary output, especially the further one gets from its creation. Frankly, I like what Danielewski says, and it makes me respect him more than I did after reading Only Revolutions. Cultural products take on significance and meaning and value far beyond the author, but many (*cough*JKTerf*cough*) try to retain dictatorial control over what they've done. I always teach that what an author intends has little to no value once a work has been published and read and otherwise consumed by audiences: if they've done it well, it'll be obvious. If it's not clear to the reader, then it wasn't done well, and the audience's readings/analyses are more legitimate than authors trying to correct course. This quote seems to acknowledge just that - that House of Leaves matters more to its readers than Mark Z. Danielewski, and he's comfortable with that. I dig it.

>48 London_StJ: Woot! *waves Team Reader Response flag*

>49 scaifea: Huzzah!

I should clarify that the article I quoted is not the scholarly article I read; the Guardian article was suggested as offering a good synopsis of the novel for those who haven't read it.

>50 London_StJ: I read it a couple of years ago and both loved it and was annoyed with it, but overall was impressed.

>51 scaifea: It was a fun book to read as I started my undergraduate lit degree, because I caught more and more literary allusions as the semester got under way. I liked the artistic project of text that reflects content, although I don't think it's sustainable (and it's certainly not original - Tristram Shandy was trying it in the 18th century). Now, I wonder how I'd feel about the characters.

>30 London_StJ: Congrats on the book's proceeding. That is very exciting :) Also, I'd be interested to read more about non-binary representation in Victorian literature. Not that I read much Victorian literature, but, hey, we're on this earth to learn, right?

>38 scaifea: lol!!!

>48 London_StJ: I have not heard of that book, but a quick google tells me that I will have trouble reading it because of the font-swapping :) (*oh my eyes*). Love your point about authors not having licence to control how their works are received/read/talked about once they let their books into the world. Probably that is a major part of how scary it must feel to publish something!

>53 LovingLit: I'm really excited to see what else is going to be included in this volume - the call had a lot of queer potential, and I think it has a lot of promise. I'll be happy to share my own thoughts as I have them. ;) I wrote about the Beetle for my dissertation, but a discrepancy in research has inspired me to push it further - specifically, the misgendering/naming of the character, as scholars argue for names and pronouns not used in the original boo. Also of interest to my chapter is nonbinary sexuality.

I'm so excited.

And House of Leaves is a bit of a multimodal art project of a book, which I think makes it inaccessible for a large number of readers. :-/

In other news, I'm back to work, and my students kicked ass today. In the midst of my early "any general questions?" opening one student asked "are we going to discuss last night's readings? Because I have questions..." and they didn't stop for the whole class. I heard so many voices, and everyone was so thoughtful and engaged. It's a damn promising start to the semester.

Glad to hear you had such a great class, London. I hope the engagement continues throughout the term.

Yay for good classes! Mine went really well for a first day, too. The Myth kiddos seem just as engaged as yours, with all sorts of good questions and an eagerness to discuss. Sweet music.

>55 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! It's encouraging, especially given the circumstances - online, in the middle of a pandemic. Distance engagement can be difficult even for students who choose virtual learning.

>56 scaifea: That's wonderful! I just opened my email to find that all of my students have submitted Friday's homework early, which lets me grade today and earn a free weekend. This is fairly unprecedented, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Now that work and schedules are back I have to spend less time playing Pikmin and more time completing tasks and running errands. Today I need to go to campus to get my parking pass, and drop off a return package. For the second day in a row the cards have chastised me for procrastination, so I'm going to try to push through my final book edits, and get them in before something else distracting happens. Plus, maybe, a job application? We'll see...

All of them...EARLY?! What are you putting in the water over there? Honestly.

Good luck with that To Do list!

>58 scaifea: I remain shocked, and I'm looking forward to today's class.

This morning I finished one of the four books I am actively reading!

5.
Title: The Once and Future Witches
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Pages: 517
Date Finished: January 22, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: *****
Quoted Synopsis: In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters--James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna--join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Review: The Once and Future Witches is a gender-bending fantasy of alternative history in which women have, lose, and regain power through words and community and will. It is everything I wanted Witches of New York to be, and found missing: a character is not subtly and quietly queer, but unabashedly so; power is sought and claimed and exercised; there is community and agency and a new way. The novel addresses puritanical American culture, literary history, gender, race, marriage, domestic abuse, pregnancy and childbirth, plagues, women's work, and knowledge. It is rich and engaging, and I highly recommend it.

a character is not subtly and quietly queer, but unabashedly so

Woot! Adding that one to the list.

>60 scaifea: I think you'll love it!

>61 London_StJ: Yay!!

6.
Title: Across the Green Grass Fields
Author: Seanan McGuire
Pages: 126/256
Date Finished: Abandoned January 17, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: **
Quoted Synopsis: “Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.”

Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.

When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to "Be Sure" before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.

But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…

Review: I've given over this one because I find it more alienating than engaging.

Representation matters. It is important to represent a spectrum of identities in our cultural products, and meaningful to both people being represented and the community as a whole in recognition of the complexity of humanity. So, on that level, I am always excited to see underrepresented identities take center stage in books and shows and movies. But for Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series representation has become less about the people being represented and more of a Pokemon "gotta catch 'em all" game that ultimately does a disservice.

For transparency, I write this as a white, cis, lesbian; my "otherness" is probably the second-most represented in popular media, second only to white gay men. As a mother of trans and nonbinary children I can speak only roughly of their experiences, because they are not my experiences. I am not intersex, as the protagonist of Across the Green Grass Fields, and would not want to speak for the intersex reader who may find this book and experience joy in seeing their truth represented. But. From an outsider's perspective, McGuire's characterization of Regan is critically othering: the identity of the protagonist is ancillary to her story, and at the halfway point the book has shown a barely-wikipedia level of understanding of intersex identities and experiences, and the identity is used only to humiliate and expel Regan from the world of her birth and into the fantasy world she discovers beyond her door. Perhaps the point is to be that the character does not think philosophically about her own existence - she is after all a child living the life she knows. But the representation feels ... cheap.

More concretely, though, I find myself rejecting the premise of the series as further othering the young characters. By creating a world in which trans boys and fat girls and queer twins do not "belong" in the world of their birth McGuire is reinforcing the idea that they don't and can't belong. The books romanticize this othering, perhaps, in giving the characters fantastic adventures, but it upholds the critical concept that they will never feel right - or be respected - in the world of their birth. This is tragic, and a bit heartbreaking, especially as these characters are routinely expelled from their preferred lives and forced to live even more alienated in the "normal" world.

I was dissatisfied a book or two ago, and I'm ready to give this series up.

Oh ugh. That's disappointing. It feels like getting that representation just right is a tightrope walk between making the otherness the focal point of the plot (okay, fine, but we should be moving beyond this now) and creating 'othered' characters as simply characters in the story and their otherness is NBD (yay! when done properly), all while not (un)intentionally furthering the outsideriness. It's too bad that McGuire falls short, because when it's done well, it's brilliant.

I think having seen McGuire do much better with representation, and currently reading/having just read books that likewise offer natural and compelling representation, draws it into much greater focus. I think what I'm gravitating towards is a need for Own Voices authorship.

Well, last night I submitted the "final" content edits of my book manuscript to my editor, so the publishing train is chugging once again. I am buoyed by the series editor's positive response, but as soon as I hit "send" I began to worry I missed an opportunity for something...

I am so invested in this work. I just .... people matter.

On an entirely different note, I am scheduled to take my first-ever horseback riding lesson today. I have wanted to learn for awhile, and I really, really need to get out of my house before my social anxiety climbs to the point where I really can't leave any longer. I think a masked private riding lesson out in the open is a lot safer than circus school (although damn do I miss aerials).

Good luck with the riding lesson and have fun! I grew up with horses and was riding before walking, but I never actually cottoned to it like my dad and my sister.

Thank you! My best friend rode, often went horse camping, and was a member of a mounted search and rescue team. I've only ever been trail riding twice, both times on her horse, but I miss her and think it'll be cathartic to try.

>66 London_StJ: Good luck with both manuscript and horse!

>69 PaulCranswick: Thank you!

Riding was so, so fun. And ridiculous, because learning something new as a thirty-something always makes me feel a bit foolish (but not foolish enough to not try). I've signed up for a month of lessons, and if there's ever an "after times" I may stick with trapeze and horseback riding, and give over aerial silks classes.

Rusty was like a giant dog and I loved him.

>70 London_StJ: Glad you had a good first riding lesson, London, and that you love your new horse pal.

I was obsessed with horses as a kid (read TONS of Saddle Club books) but then rode an actual horse, was terrified by the experience, and my horse phase ended. Hope you and Rusty have a long friendship!

>71 MickyFine: Oh no! I'm so sorry! Had I met a horse as a young person I think my experience would have been the same. They are, after all, giant beasts. Middle Child is hoping my new enthusiasm will lead to riding lessons for them, but they're far braver than I have ever been.

7.
Title: The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry
Author: C. M. Waggoner
Pages: 371
Date Finished: January 27, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: ****1/2
Quoted Synopsis: Dellaria Wells, petty con artist, occasional thief, and partly educated fire witch, is behind on her rent in the city of Leiscourt—again. Then she sees the “wanted” sign, seeking Female Persons, of Martial or Magical ability, to guard a Lady of some Importance, prior to the celebration of her Marriage. Delly fast-talks her way into the job and joins a team of highly peculiar women tasked with protecting their wealthy charge from unknown assassins.

Delly quickly sets her sights on one of her companions, the confident and well-bred Winn Cynallum. The job looks like nothing but romance and easy money until things take a deadly (and undead) turn. With the help of a bird-loving necromancer, a shapeshifting schoolgirl, and an ill-tempered reanimated mouse named Buttons, Delly and Winn are determined to get the best of an adversary who wields a twisted magic and has friends in the highest of places.

Review: More than anything I find myself describing The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry as "comfortable" and "charming." It is an adventure without real fear, and a romance that makes me smile quietly to myself. It's wonderful escapist fiction that asks little of its readers, but provides great entertainment - and offers queer romance without trauma or othering. Oof, I needed this one.

>72 London_StJ: If Middle Child does give it a try, I hope they enjoy the experience far more.

January Wrap Up

>1 London_StJ: Books Read:8
Favorites: The Once and Future Witches
Unfinished: A shocking three. Lesson learned? Fantasy just isn't my bag.

>2 London_StJ: Movies Watched: 40
Favorites: Little Monsters, Wolf of Snow Hollow, Cabin in the Woods, Halloween: 2018

It's a bit of a strange start to the year. I find I have little patience for epic fantasy, leading me to abandon two perfectly good books that just weren't for me. My patience for films is far greater, and the wife and I have started watching a movie or two a night. We've gone back to some favorites, but tried a lot of new (or new-to-us) movies, with both delight and disappointment. Comedy horror is a favorite genre, but true horror is growing more and more appealing for her (and always has been for me ). Neither of us has the stomach for the torture porn of properties such as Saw, but haunted houses and possession? Or Michael Meyers? Yes, thank you.

One of the books to which I contributed is going to print today, which is wonderfully exciting. I wrote the first draft of my chapter at the kitchen island of a rented house just hours before going to perform in a nerdlesque festival. The situation was both so weird and so much my life that I think I'll always think of it as my "nerdlesque chapter." (It's actually on the censorship of femme bodies in midcentury comics and current US politics, with SESTA-FOSTA.)

Still feeling aimless. Might submit a chapter to another book today. Might get to work on a new bed of nails. Will definitely cuddle a puppy.

Puppy cuddles sound like an excellent goal. I'm always guaranteed some cat ones every day and it's great.

>75 MickyFine: Oh, that's lovely. The absolute best is when the puppy AND the cat climb into my lap.

+1 on puppy cuddles at all costs.

Also on Team Reader Response.

Boo hiss on TERFly terrorism contra trans people.

I think you should become acquainted with this venue, if you are not, and at the very least with this particular novella: https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2021/02/01/queer-moon-rising-too-expansive-to...

>76 London_StJ: Well my hand was briefly held hostage while working today:

>74 London_StJ: That is a lot of movies watched in a month.
Congratulations on the next step to being published.

Cuddling a puppy is always good, and your puppy is still adorable :-)

>77 richardderus: Ahh! I am not, and I am now richer for the introduction.

>78 MickyFine: Lol, I love it!

I credited my cat on my dissertation for holding me in place long enough to write it.

>79 FAMeulstee: - Aw, thanks! I'm smitten.

>80 London_StJ: Yay! While I was clicking around the place, it seemed like the sort of venue you would enjoy.

>80 London_StJ: Ha! The dedication in my dissertation reads "to Susie." This is (was) Susie:

>82 scaifea: AWWW (both for dedication and Susie).

>84 MickyFine: Yeah, I miss that old girl.

10.
Title: Red, White, & Royal Blue
Author: Casey McQuiston
Pages: 421
Date Finished: February 2, 2021
Recommended by: Queer Twitter
Rating: *****
Synopsis: What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn't always diplomatic.

Review: There's a reason why this was Queer Twitter's (unofficial) favorite romance of 2020: it's an absolute queer escapist American delight. In the midst of social and political turmoil, Red, White, & Royal Blue offers fantasy on numerous levels, from political to personal, offering engaging characters and outcomes I for one, wanted to see. I was mad to have to put it down to sleep last night, and ignored everyone to finish it this afternoon. Now I'm going to be quick to return it ot hte library so someone else can have the very real pleasure of reading it.

>82 scaifea: Aw, what a sweet baby. I love her soulful eyes.

My dedication reads: This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, who supports me at my most villainous, my children, who are always willing to be my henchmen, and to Bedlam, who occupied my lap and kept me in my place long enough to finish writing.

I love that stupid cat. I didn't know I could fully love a cat until Bedlam claimed me for her own. We're sour ladies together, and I needed that in a cat companion.

>81 richardderus: I had only the briefest moment to click around for it when I received your message last night, and now I can't wait to get my greedy hands on a copy. A first thought is that it has a whiff of The Duchess of Malfi about it, which is no bad thing in my book.

I love her soulful eyes. They are sweet there, but those perpetually large pupils are an indication of her blindness at the end. She was 14 when we had to say goodbye and I had known her longer than I'd known my husband.

I love your dedication! Very cool.

>88 scaifea: I'm so glad you got fourteen years with her.

And lol, my actual dedication didn't post! Fixing now...

>89 London_StJ: HAhahahaha!! I really kind of want the dedication to say "I love that stupid cat," although your actual dedication is lovely.

>90 scaifea: I am unapologetically casual in my writing at times, so it's perfectly reasonable to assume I'd say as much.

>87 London_StJ: Oh goody! You know that Project Gutenberg has it: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13131

I downloaded it as soon as I finished that review. And excellent point about The Duchess of Malfi...I'll keep that in mind as I row through.

>87 London_StJ: I love a cat with attitude :)

The only person who got a mention in my thesis dedication was my lovely other. The piece was 'for' him, seeing as it was he "who helped and cared".

>92 richardderus: Ooo, delightful! Open source books are my favorite - libraries of all sorts are tops. And it's been quite a long time since I read Malfi, but the sibling-werewolf rings bells. Perhaps I'll read them together myself!

>93 LovingLit: Oh, that's very sweet. It's a joke in our household now that my wife hasn't had a proper dedication, even though she's my #1 support system. I dedicated my first monograph to the mentor who helped start me on the path of study, and plan on dedicating my next monograph (hopefully publishing my dissertation) to my dissertation chair.

I've toyed with the idea of writing smut, and she would 100% get that dedication.

My academic big sister dedicated her dissertation as "For Myself, If I'm Honest About It." It is ... so perfect.

In other news, I was sent back to the classroom for the first time in a year, and had a panic attack that left me panting through the entirety of my lecture. I couldn't catch my breath, and felt scatter-brained and awful. Clinically, my teaching circumstances are probably safer than my wife's weekly trips to the grocery store - not that anxiety-brain cared about that at the time. Ugh.

>94 London_StJ: I'm so sorry that you are anxiety-attacked by the classroom thing. I would be, too. And you're very likely right that you're safer there than in a grocery store, but our anxiety brains tend not to listen to logic, I know. *hugs*

>95 scaifea: Thanks for the sympathy.

Teaching is the one space that hasn't been impacted by anxiety brain before - I love it so much, and it's always felt safe and right. During our extended quarantine my children have come to understand both my nature as an introvert and my anxiety, so my Middle Child was confused about my choice of profession.

"I thought you didn't like talking to people?"

"Teaching has never bothered me. I love it. I love talking to my students. It's just right."

Until COVID, and the new confirmation of B.1.1.7. locally...

>96 London_StJ: Yup, same. Even my students (back in olden times, pre-covid) would comment on how different I was in non-classroom social settings (department parties and such). They couldn't believe how wallflowery and grumbly at being there at a social gathering I would be, when in the classroom I'm very outgoing and borderline goofy. They were always so sweet about it and would form a bubble around me at those parties. Adorable. I'm pretty comfortable in my zoom bubbles, and the students seem to like the courses, too - I even had several students on last semester's evaluations say that my course was the only zoom class they didn't dread by the end of the semester. So I'm counting that as a win.

>96 London_StJ: How could anyone *not* be anxious in a group situation in this time of plague? I get jittery even contemplating grocery-store runs with maskless covidiots galore! Even double-masking (an absolute must, cloth under disposable) only limits the risk.

Anxiety brain is operating logically this time! And how sad is that...taking away the ability to share comfortably with others one of your life's greatest accomplishments and pleasures is another dark blotch on the soulless bastard 45.

>97 scaifea: There's something ... safe .... and comfortable about classrooms. Socializing? Blech. I'll foster grumbly feelings over seeing my dearest friends at times. Performing is somewhere in between - I feel anxious navigating new venues, for example, but if it's a space/production team I know I'm quite happy in the space.

>98 richardderus: I made myself a new series of masks with five layers, plus a separate disposable filter. Thankfully I'm in a bubble that recognizes the importance of wearing masks, so there are no maskless people at our grocery store, or stores in general.

It really is a sad day when a reactive anxiety brain is the practical brain.

I am really looking forward to (and hope for) the consequences to come for the only twice-impeached president.

>99 London_StJ: Another whiny tantrum, after refusing to testify under oath at his Senate trial, was his resignation letter to SAG-AFTRA.

I got chills of joy, I tell you. Another post-prison career closed to him!

>100 richardderus: Oh, how I giggled over that letter!

>99 London_StJ: Well, teaching is a performance, too, so yeah, I get that.

>102 scaifea: No joke!

We had an awful night with Miss Lucifer Lollipop. She has started waking up early, and thus waking us. So last night was the first she spent outside of our bedroom, and she proceeded to bark and yell throughout the night. Ugh. It's a hard but necessary transition, but man are we tired.

In better news ... I have a vaccine scheduled! Teachers are included in the current phase, and my state has opened new vaccination sites. I managed to snag my two appointments over my first sip of coffee, and then spread the news to my dearest (one of my loves is a teacher with preexisting conditions) and my department. Huzzah! I feel so hopeful.

13.
Title: The Midnight Hunt
Author: L.L. Raand
Pages: 288
Date Finished: February 5, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: ***
Synopsis: Medic Ryon Drake has never been good at following protocol, so she doesn't think twice about rendering emergency care when a young girl's life is at stake--even if the girl is in the throes of Werefever and any sane mortal should know better. It isn't the bright shining pain of the bite or even the wrenching agonies of the fever that convinces her everything in her life has changed. It's the way she feels about the blonde with the silver-blue eyes leaning over her hospital bed when she finally wakes up. Sylvan, the Alpha of the Adirondack Timberlake Pack; the one woman Drake can't have. And the only one she wants. The first in the Midnight Hunters series.

Review: This book is emotionally exhausting, and not in a cathartic way. There is an excessive amount of conflict and turmoil and high-tension aggression, and reading and navigating the emotional landscape left me feeling depleted. The constant turmoil of a totalitarian leader made my skin crawl, the emotional abuse that defines the relationships of the pack, and the conflicts both within and without all leave a sour feeling in my stomach. I did not enjoy this book. But it has some things to offer that I think are worth exploring and positively acknowledging - things that lifted this form a two-star read to a three-star read.

First, I really enjoyed the book's approach to supernatural genitalia. A few, but not many, paranormal romance novels have suggested different sexual organs and practices in the past (I can name Kim Harrington most directly). The femme weres in this novel have clitorises that function similarly to penises, and have "glands" that function similarly to testes. These biological features are important to the intimate relationships the plot describes, and I think it was a strong and interesting narrative choice.

Second, the author's biography. Surgeon-turned-queer-smut-publisher is a personal arc I can really appreciate.

>94 London_StJ: "For Myself, If I'm Honest About It."
That is excellent! I love it.

My dad dedicated one of his photography books to a bunch of the people who helped him access the places the images were taken (helicopter pilots, and others who helped him get into the wilderness). The first name mentioned happened to be his bestie, and also happened to have a surname near the beginning of the alphabet...so...at the end of the list, he added something like: ...and before you get ideas about your position in this list Mr B-, the order is purely alphabetical.

The publisher questioned this, but he went with it :)

I'm sorry your classroom experience was anxiety inducing. I hope that is just a one-off. Is there some distance between you and the students? Can you use a desk or some other 'line' to demarcate your space?
I don't know. I just feel so relieved I am not in this Covid mess.

>105 LovingLit: Oh, I love a sense of humor - and when personality is allowed to shine through

>104 London_StJ: Oh, so like Storm Constantine's oddly mutated Wraeththu genitalia! Though I still contend that, if men had to endure childbirth, abortion would be a sacrament, is an Eternal Verity, gotta give her points for creativity.

> 107 "if men had to endure childbirth, abortion would be a sacrament"


The very very human relationships/power struggles/romance of paranormal romance is something that always strikes me. It's fantasy - there are infinite possibilities but so few authors seem to take them. I like the whimsy of it.

14.
Title: Indigo Moon
Author: Gil McKnight
Pages: 264
Date Finished: February 13, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: **
Synopsis: The road trip from Hell is paved with good intentions.

Hope Glassy and Godfrey Meyers are on a mercy mission. Their friend Isabelle has been attacked by a rogue werewolf and is in the throes of lycanthropic fever. With their respective partners out of town all Hope and Godfrey can do is get Isabelle to the safety of Little Dip and the Garoul clan before her sire comes to claim her.

In a desperate race against time, with the hounds of hell snapping at their heels, can they save her—and does Isabelle want to be saved?

Review: If the synopsis accurately reflected the book it likely would have been much more engaging. As-is, the synopsis is misleading in every way that counts: Hope and Godfrey meet Isabelle after she's attacked and know her all of a day, are nearly as absent as their completely-absent partners, and Isabelle "wanting" to be saved has ... nothing to do with the plot?

The actual novel goes something like this: a woman suffers an accident, and wakes up in an unfamiliar isolated cabin with amnesia. While suspicious, she's attacked to her savior, and enjoys the merry band of runaway teens who live in a compound with her. Despite major warning signs of physical and emotional abuse, Isabelle can't decide whether she should stay or go. After discovering they're beasts of some kind she makes up her mind.

The entire story hinges on information withheld by the author, which is just lazy writing. The reader already understands far more than the protagonist, and the concluding reveals are rushed and anticlimactic. There's neither suspense nor romance, and it was a chore to finish - not something one wants from their escapist fiction.

My turn for the library loan came around again, and I finished this fun romp over coffee this morning.

15.
Title: The House in the Cerulean Sea
Author: TJ Klune
Pages: 400
Date Finished: February 13, 2021
Recommended by: Steph S.
Rating: ****
Synopsis: Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.

Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.

Review: Quietly charming, this book is exactly what you predict from the first page, but is no less fun for being so. It's popularity is perfectly understandable.

17.
Title: A Plain and Simple Heart
Author: Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith
Pages: 317
Date Finished: February 19 2021
Recommended by: The Library
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis:A Plain and Simple Heart, an exciting new Amish-meets-Wild West adventure from bestselling authors Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith, weaves an entertaining and romantic tale for devoted fans and new readers.

1884—Several years earlier, young Rebecca Switzer lost her heart to Jesse Montgomery, a rugged but dissolute cowboy on a dusty cattle trail near the Amish settlement of Apple Grove. Now she is grown up, and when she hears one day that he has been spotted nearby, her desire is plain and simple: She must see him.

Sheriff Colin Maddox is counting the days until he can leave law enforcement and follow his dream of starting a church. When a lovely woman, new to town and looking travel weary and a bit lost, gets caught up in the middle of a temperance riot, she is arrested along with the leaders. He can hardly believe she is what she claims—a Plain and simple woman. Nor can he believe how quickly he loses his heart to her. Can Colin convince her to forget Jesse and give him a chance?

Review:
My first job was shelving books at our community library, and it was here I first discovered the existence of ... Amish romance novels. We had a small display of them, and I've always found them so curious. When I went searching for queer romance novels the same library system suggested one, and I gave in to curiosity.

It was great. I mean, it was terrible, from the awkward dialogue to the clearly unrealistic romanticization of the American frontier to the fetishization of the Amish, but that's exactly what I expected, which is what made it great. I've been so frustrated lately with reads that don't live up to my expectations that it was nice to read something so thoroughly predictable.

^ classic. I love that review. 'It met my expectations, and that was a relief, therefore it was good'.
I have to admit, I was quizzled by the Amish-meets-Wild West adventure genre!

>111 London_StJ: Ha! I love it.

Have you checked out the new BBC The Watch (based on the Night Watch books in the Discworld)? We're about 4 episodes in and it's really pretty good. The casting is fantastic.

>112 LovingLit: Lol, it's not really my cuppa, but it was good for being exactly what it said it would be.

>113 scaifea: I haven't! I really want to, though. My wife has thus far refused to watch it with me because the Watch is her favorite Discworld subgenre, and she's afraid it won't live up to expectations. I need to find time to glut it on my own.

>114 London_StJ: Have you seen Gentleman Jack? A British period drama. I just re-watched the entire first series this weekend (seeing as I was under the weather). I love it not just for the love story (female/female), but for the commentary it gives on gender roles in 19th C Britain. It is based on a real life person, and I *should* go back and read the books that have been written about her. I have been impatiently waiting for a second series!

>114 London_StJ: Hm, well, you may want to watch it on your own, then, depending on just how true to the books your wife wants it to be. I'm okay with the points where they deviate because for me they seem to be staying true to the spirit of the books, but if she's a stickler for accurate details, she may be unhappy. But, as I said, the casting is absolutely brilliant and makes me so happy.

>115 LovingLit: Oooh that sounds excellent!

>115 LovingLit: Oh, I desperately love Gentleman Jack. Anne Lister is a fascinating historical character, although I admit I haven't read more than a couple of articles about her. As portrayed in the show, she's one of those characters where I can't decide if I want to be her or be with her. Delicious. I didn't realize there was going to be a second season, though - I'm so excited!

I'm sorry to hear you were unwell, though, and hope you're feeling better now!

>116 scaifea: I'm less of a stickler; I see films and books as separate media, and so don't mind when adaptations "stray." I'd heard that they were doing fun and interesting things with casting, so I'm looking forward to that. And do look out for Gentleman Jack - it's a real treat.

18.
Title: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
Pages: 172
Date Finished: February 21 2021
Recommended by: Me
Rating: *****
Synopsis:
Review: A fascinating and engaging novel, it's no wonder that Shelley's Frankenstein has never been out of print in its 203 years. I am now teaching a unit on Frank3nst3in, by which I mean the cultural phenomenon that has become "Frankenstein." The first of three primary sources of the unit, my main interest in class discussions is the value placed on beauty, and the consequences of it - Frankenstein's abandonment of his creature for his lack of physical beauty. This is likewise interesting as one considers the Frankenstein aesthetics perpetuated by multimedia texts, and the disconnection between the face described in the novel and the face culturally recognized as "Frankenstein."

Also, I did not remember just how young Victor Frankenstein is - he goes off to college at 17, and finishes his creature at ... 19? 20? Building a reanimated man in what amounts to his dorm room ... This fact really challenges the archetype for which he is largely responsible - that of the mad scientist.

>117 London_StJ: I look forward to chatting with you, then, about the casting, if you find some time to watch it!

Are you a Buffy fan? I'd love to hear what you have to say about the Frankenstein season.

19.
Title: Sucker Punch
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Pages: 609
Date Finished: February 24 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: *
Synopsis: A brutal murder, a suspect in jail, and an execution planned—but what if the wrong person is about to be killed?

When a fellow U.S. Marshal asks Anita Blake to fly to a tiny community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on an emergency consult, she knows time is running short. When she arrives, there is plenty of proof that a young wereleopard killed his uncle in the most gruesome and bloody way possible. As the mounting evidence points to him, a warrant of execution is already under way.

But something seems off about the murder, and Anita has been asked for her expert opinion on the crime scene. Despite escalating pressure from local cops and the family’s cries for justice for their dead patriarch, Anita quickly realizes that the evidence doesn’t quite add up.

Time is against Anita, as the tight-knit community is up in arms and its fear of supernaturals is growing. She races to uncover the truth and determine whether the Marshals have caught the killer or are about to execute an innocent man—all in the name of justice.

Review:
This is a 200-page novella stretched on a rack to a joint-popping, tendon-tearing 609 pages. It is tedious and antagonizing, packed with awkward and unbelievable and affectively-neutered conversations about Anita's personal relationships. These relationships have exactly zero impact on the story, but they become the suffocating focus of the narrative. The series went from flirty and sexy and fun to oppressive and exhausting.

And my god is Anita a perfectly wretched, awful person. She's repugnant. In theory, she's compelling - a woman with agency negotiating difficult social situations and privileging her love life over the standards of the broader community. Only she's still completely bound by conservative restrictions - she sex-shames even herself, and continues to judge and look down upon other women, even those she's dating. She's sexist and she's racist, and her weapons fetish is the most consistent facet of her personality. She reads like a 58-year-old cop who's sick to death of having to recognize anyone else's humanity. Sure, she pontificates on the racism of the justice system, and the bigotry of communities, but a page later she will say "Persian or Oriental, or whatever the politically correct term is for it now" (111) or "Once I'd have said straight human, but I'd been chastised for using the word straight" (5) or commiserating with another marshal over hating "the new vocabulary" (7) which better respects individual identities. And yeah, most of eye-rolling is about supernatural races and identities, but these identities have always metaphorically represented other minority identities, and anyone who doesn't acknowledge that is willfully denying literary devices and hundreds of years of convention.

I stopped buying books in the series several years ago, when I realized I was more upset by how awful of a person the protagonist is than I was interested in the narratives themselves. Why do I keep reading? Because I genuinely adore Nathaniel and Jean Claude. But at this point the series feels emotionally abusive and I have to turn my back on them.

ETA: Amazon reviewers seem as fed up as I am ...

>117 London_StJ: Oh good, you have seen it.
I didn't know that there was going to be a second series...I just assumed (and really wanted) there to be another one! If they refer to something as Series 1, I assume there will be a 2 ;)

I have a costume all ready to be Ann Lister at my next dress-up party - I just need a top hat and cane!

Oh, and I am feeling better, thank you. It was a fast and furious stomach bug!

>119 London_StJ: Oh, ew. I'm sorry the series has gone sour for you. I wonder if maybe there's good fanfic out there starring your favorite characters? That might help ease the pain.

>121 scaifea: I've never delved into fanfic, but I think this is a perfect case for it, so I should go hunting.

And to answer your earlier question, I haven't seen Buffy since I was in high school, and sadly can't remember a Frankenstein series...

>120 LovingLit: Everyone should have a top hat and a cane, so I fully support.

>122 London_StJ: There's some excellent stuff out there in the fanfic world; I hope you find something you like.

In Season 4 of Buffy, the Big Bad turns out to be a Frankenstein and her monster type thing. It's possibly the best season of the show on the whole, really.

>123 scaifea: I may have to seek out that season, because it sounds like good fun

I echo Amber's rec for season 4. It includes the excellent Thanksgiving episode and is also the source of this moment, which always delights me:

>125 MickyFine: YES! Plus "yam scam."

Also, season 4 has the epsiode "Hush," which is beyond fabulous and won awards for its awesomeness.

>135 drneutron: Spike was my favorite part of the show way back when, so I'm in.

Yooooo hoooooo
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2021/03/04/calls-for-reviews-essays-june-2021...
they're calling yooouuu

Oohhhh noooo... what am I to do?

>129 London_StJ: Answer the call, provide your utterly unique voice, and bring your irreplaceable vision to them.

Lol. I replied. And I've spent all evening convinced I came off as an incredible snob and thus won't hear back. But message sent either way! Thanks for thinking of me. :)

Fully. Vaccinated.

>132 London_StJ: WOOT!!

>132 London_StJ: Huzzah!

Congrats!

Thanks all! It's a huge relief, and one step closer to herd immunity. Go go gadget mass vaccination sites!

>130 richardderus: Pssssst .... I'm in.

I'm up to 24 books, but nothing I quite feel like reviewing. The only thoughts I really have are on Antioch, a book I received as part of my February Nightworms subscription.

I'm enjoying my subscription for taking me outside of my usual browsing and purchasing habits, and familiarizing me with indie publishers and authors. Given my ever-growing hatred of Amazon*, supporting small presses is feeling more and more important. Antioch is a short thriller that, well, feels like a first book. It is enthusiastic but without polish, and makes. some narrative jumps that really need better development. But it was fun, and had a conclusion I really didn't expect, and THAT is worth a lot.

In life in general things are plodding along. I go back to circus this week, and I'm a bit worried because I've lost so much strength. There's only one way to gain it back, though...

Ah, the waiting-for-rejections game. I love this.

This weekend I finally applied for a job that ... I really want. It would be lovely: a full time teaching position at a good university already within driving distance, in an interdisciplinary department teaching honors programs. The theme of the program is a strong fit for my publications and research (I think), and it would be a joy. I am fairly convinced I'll never land such a job, given the state of the academic job market, but uuugh, it would be lovely.

The second opportunity is more likely, and would be good fun: I submitted an abstract to a volume on fandom and Nightmare Before Christmas. I'd love to research and write my proposed chapter on NBXmas nerdlesque, but if it doesn't come to fruition I still have two accepted chapters to occupy my time (cosplay in unsanctioned spaces, and The Beetle as an exploration of nonbinary identity).

Today I'll clean the kitchen, go for my riding lesson, take my turn cooking dinner, and perhaps work on my sideshow bench a bit. A stack of Frankenstein essays and stories await grading, but I'll let them marinade a bit more before digging in. ;)

Fingers crossed that the job you land (whichever it is) is the right one for you.

Grading: I have a stack of myth papers coming my way Friday and a week of oral Latin exams. Woot.

>138 London_StJ: Oh yes, that job sounds like it has you name tattooed on its Sitzfleisch all right! I'm crossed up for good news.

>137 London_StJ: I think Antioch sounds ideal for the Ancillaries. I might be forced to get one, too. Oh drat.

>140 richardderus: It's a fun jog, with the added bonus of supporting a first novel and an indie press. This is becoming my 2021 reading style.

>139 scaifea: >140 richardderus: Thank you both for your support! Time will tell, but with school loans in covid-suspension the pressure is a little less. If nothing else it's nice to know such positions are possible.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear, I've fallen into the bad thing - I'm actively reading too many books at once.

This never bodes well.

Many of the books are interesting. The Echo Wife is compelling even though I hate it, Kink: Stories is proving more sad than sexy, Wisteria Cottage is a curiosity, I pulled The Midnight Club from my shelf when I heard news of the Netflix show, and Making Money is my brain-programming-before-sleep book. I'm technically re-reading The Hobbit for work, and I also have Mandogi's Ghost and Empress of Salt and Fortune open for the same unit.

And What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat arrived yesterday.

It's a rainy day, which is generally good for reading, but it's also my first day back to circus school, and I have a stack of Frankenstein grading to get to, all in addition to the regularly-scheduled cleaning and cooking (clam chowder tonight, mmmm).

That's quite the teetering tower of current reads. I'm impressed and intimidated.

>142 London_StJ: Oh my, that's quite a lot to be going on with for momspouseteacherperson. I won't even touch the Gailey, though for reasons not relevant to your dislike: sick of bad-husband stuff in the extreme. Same reason I won't read rape-centered crime books.

Yay for "What We Don't" arriving!

*smooch* for you to pass around.

>144 richardderus: I've never had the experience of both actively disliking a book and yet finding it compelling enough to continue. I hate it - I hate the premise, I hate the ethics, and I hate the characters. But so far it's fascinating in a twisted way, perhaps because I'm not invested in the conclusion - whatever happens will be fine so long as the book ends.

And smooches to you!

>143 MickyFine: I can usually manage no more than 2-3 books at a time, and then only if one is for work (and thus a strictly timed re-read). I'm not sure how I'll dig my way out of this one...

>145 London_StJ: The last time I read a book I truly HATED as in flamingly furiously cursed at and physically discarded as soon as I realized how much I was being tortured by the act of reading it was the second-person-laden Skeletons in the Closet or whatever it was by that Bohjalian boy. Got dressed, got in the car, and dropped in the Catholic cathedral's donation box to prevent anyone I know from accidentally running across it.

Heinous.

>146 richardderus: Now THAT'S an impression

>147 London_StJ: I am such a wishy-washy sort, aren't I.

>148 richardderus: I wish for your sake you knew your mind. ;)

And apparently I don't know my own, because I'm seriously considering giving over The Echo Wife.

>149 London_StJ: Life is too short, my dear, to suffer when it is purely voluntary.

>145 London_StJ: I have sometimes hated a book yet wanted to continue. If I hate the main character I am sometimes compelled to keep reading to find out why I hate them, or, I am sometimes interested in seeing what makes them tick. But if the writing was bad, and the plot was bad, and the characters were bad...then, I might give up.

I have abandoned two this year already! The South by Colm Toibin...wherein woman leaves husband and child to take up painting lessons in Spain (or somewhere) and scarcely even mentions the fact that she left her child behind (I simply couldn't relate), and The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie...which I hadn't realised was magical realism, and then when I did, felt compelled to listen on for a further 6 hours before admitting that I was out of my depth.

>146 richardderus: Skeletons at the Feast? I almost want to have a glance, just to see!

>151 LovingLit: Oh my - six hours?! I'm impressed by your dedication.

I've walked away from so many books during the pandemic, just because I don't have the mental bandwidth to push through. I have to read for my work, so why read things I don't enjoy on my down time? But the fact that I'm reading so many at once speaks to the fact that nothing is truly engaging at the moment - yikes.

I have a release date for my own book - May 31. It's so wild! Alas, there's no touchstone yet. That'll be an exciting day.

25.
Title: The Echo Wife
Author: Sarah Gailey
Pages: 96/256
Date Finished:
Recommended by:
Rating: **
Synopsis: In The Echo Wife, brilliant scientist Evelyn Caldwell is at the top of her field in clone development when she discovers her ex-husband Nathan stole her research to create her genetic replica — and he's been living with her clone for months.

Review:
I hated Nathan, I hated Martine, I hated Evelyn, and I hated the morality at the core of the book. I was fascinated by the premise but couldn't stick with it when I disliked so much

26.
Title: Being Hers
Author: Anna Stone
Pages: 232
Date Finished: March 22 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: **1/2
Synopsis:

Review: What a hugely boring "BDSM" "romance."

27.
Title: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Pages: 300
Date Finished: March 23, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis:
Review: A work re-read, and a good comfort read

Oh, well, ew to The Echo Wife, then. Gross.

>154 scaifea: I saw it getting a lot of press, but it's definitely not for me.

Right now I'm simultaneously reading Beowulf translations by Heaney and Headley, and it's a wild ride!

>155 London_StJ: Ha! I've only ever read the Heaney, but I've read it a handful of times - I love it.

>156 scaifea: The Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley is new, and very different. I was really excited for a purported feminist translation, and I like a lot of what she does, but I'm not entirely sold. Frankly, I love her use of contemporary conversational American English, the reading of character in her use of "swole" and "bro," but lapses into more traditional poetic English register as abrupt and aggressive. But I'm only 1/3 into each, so we'll see!

>155 London_StJ:, >157 London_StJ: It's a weird experience at first, going from Heaney's adroit verbal plat to Headley's playful thuggery. It was rewarding, in the end, for me.

May 31st!!!!!

(I want a DRC. Whom shall I beat up at the publishers?)

>158 richardderus: I like reading them together, although that wasn't my original intention. I teach the poem as episodically as it's written, and so at this point I've read through the post-Grendel celebration in both. In lecturing about gender yesterday Headley's thoughts on "bro culture" in the poem really clicked, and I liked it the more for that. Tolkien's translation, though, is so pompous that I just can't.

And lol, I've heard about typesetting, but not DRCs. I've never experienced the process from this end before - it's ... kind of cool.

Working through that large list of currently-readings...

28.
Title:Kink
Author: ed. R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell
Pages: 288
Date Finished: March 27, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: **1/2
Synopsis: Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire. The stories within this collection portray love, desire, BDSM, and sexual kinks in all their glory with a bold new vision. The collection includes works by renowned fiction writers such as Callum Angus, Alexander Chee, Vanessa Clark, Melissa Febos, Kim Fu, Roxane Gay, Cara Hoffman, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chris Kraus, Carmen Maria Machado, Peter Mountford, Larissa Pham, and Brandon Taylor, with Garth Greenwell and R.O. Kwon as editors.

The stories within explore bondage, power-play, and submissive-dominant relationships; we are taken to private estates, therapists’ offices, underground sex clubs, and even a sex theater in early-20th century Paris. While there are whips and chains, sure, the true power of these stories lies in their beautiful, moving dispatches from across the sexual spectrum of interest and desires, as portrayed by some of today’s most exciting writers.




Review: *sigh* First, I want to say that my rating reflects my personal enjoyment of the book, and not my feelings on its value. Many times that rating is, for me, one and the same. But this collection of stories is so good in so many ways, and simply wasn't what I wanted.

My affective response to this collection is one of overwhelming sadness. So many of the characters are unheard, unfulfilled, overlooked, or still searching. There's a drive to be seen and recognized and valued, but there's a consistent theme of failure to achieve these goals. And ... I just don't want to be sad right now.

>159 London_StJ: Tolkien's everything is intolerably pompous and overbearingly glum and shockingly brummagem.

juuust sayin'

>161 richardderus: I'm inclined to disagree, having just finished The Hobbit, which I always enjoy, but to each their own!

>162 London_StJ: Oh, yes, I forgot to make that exception! I'm fine with The Hobbit.

Okay, I just watched the trailer for Love and Monsters and it looks *amazing* but I need to know: does the dog live? Because if not, that's a big NOPE for me.

Re: the dog in Love and Monsters: The dog lives. :)

29.
Title: The Midnight Club
Author: Christopher Pike
Pages: 211
Date Finished: March 29, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: Rotterdam Home, a hospice where teenagers with terminal illnesses went to die, was home to the Midnight Club--a group of five young men and women who met at midnight and told stories of intrigue and horror. One night they made a pact that the first of them to die would make every effort to contact the others . . . from beyond the grave.

Review: I'm not quite old enough to have read this when it came out in 1994 ... but I'm close, and it would have been only a few years old when I stumbled across it. Ah, Christopher Pike. I gobbled so much of what he wrote as a young teenager, and he's ... so damn problematic. So, so problematic.

I picked up my original-from-the-90s copy when I heard that The Midnight Club is being made into a Netflix series, and it was an interesting trip down memory lane. It was never one of my favorites, but could make for a very engaging show. I just hope the creators ignore the whole White-Girl-Reimagines-Herself-As-Indian plots. Yes, multiple.

>165 London_StJ: Thanks!

>165 London_StJ: Christopher Pike & RL Stine were staples of my early teen reading. I don’t think I have read them in years! It looks like I may still have Midnight Club in my library. Maybe I should revisit one of the Pike’s I still have?! It will probably be a completely different experience now

>167 jayde1599: I greatly enjoy re-reading books I loved as a child and teen. I'll probably dive into more of them over the summer.

30.
Title: Beowulf
Author: Maria Dahvana Headley
Pages: 136
Date Finished: March 31, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: Nearly twenty years after Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf―and fifty years after the translation that continues to torment high-school students around the world―there is a radical new verse translation of the epic poem by Maria Dahvana Headley, which brings to light elements that have never before been translated into English, recontextualizing the binary narrative of monsters and heroes into a tale in which the two categories often entwine, justice is rarely served, and dragons live among us.

A man seeks to prove himself as a hero. A monster seeks silence in his territory. A warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. A dragon ends it all. The familiar elements of the epic poem are seen with a novelist’s eye toward gender, genre, and history―Beowulf has always been a tale of entitlement and encroachment, powerful men seeking to become more powerful, and one woman seeking justice for her child, but this version brings new context to an old story. While crafting her contemporary adaptation of Beowulf, Headley unearthed significant shifts lost over centuries of translation.

Review: I did not absolutely love Headley's translation as much as I thought I would. Conceptually, I think it's spot-on: reading the epic poem through the lens of contemporary bro-culture works, and I think contributes to the ethos and understanding of the work. It knocks Beowulf down a few pegs, which I think is just, while preserving what he's done. It makes for good telling, and less godlike characterization. What I didn't enjoy was the mash of tones in the work.

Headley's introduction to her volume is fantastic, and in describing her use of language she writes that "I dropped some fossils here, next to some newborns. I'm as interested in contemporary idiom and slang as I am in the archaic" (xx). This, to me, is the single failing of her translation. To find fossils cradling newborns is jarring, and breaks the rhythm of a reading. The archaic is familiar, if less approachable, and drones on as so many Beowulf translations do; the contemporary conversational English is punchy and spunky and well-suited to the bragging and boasts that make up the legends of Beowulf. But together they're less like the blend of "Old English freestyle" and "like the wedding toast of a drunk uncle who's suddenly remembered a poem he memorized at boarding school" (xix), and more like a conservative pastor uncle and his meathead nephew both jockeying for attention at a family dinner. So many have written the archaic - I wanted more of Beowulf the gym rat.

Is Headley's translation worth reading? Absolutely, and I'd encourage it. For myself, I'm happy to leave other translations behind, and keep Heaney and Headley as my two primary sources.

31.
Title: Beowulf
Author: Seamus Heaney
Pages: 256
Date Finished: March 31, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis

33.
Title: The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Author: Nghi Vo
Pages: 118
Date Finished: April 2, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.

Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor’s lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.

At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She’s a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.

Review: A haunting and engaging story of myth-building and legend.

First Quarter Films in Review

My goodness, do I love movies, and I'm really enjoying our pandemic-habit of spending Friday and Saturday nights together watching mostly new-to-us movies.
>2 London_StJ: In the first quarter of the year I've watched 78 movies, and I thought I'd post to share some of my favorites.

Five-stars
Cabin in the Woods (2011) *****
The Exorcist (1973) ***** A re-watch, but this one is always a favorite.
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) ***** Fairly ridiculous with juvenile humor, which is exactly why I loved it so much.
It (2018) ***** I was actually afraid to watch this one, but I'm glad I finally did. It was good fun.
It: Chapter 2 (2019) *****
Halloween (2018) ***** Watching the original immediately followed by this sequel was a spectacular evening
Little Monsters (2020) ***** Charming, funny, and delightful
Willy's Wonderland (2021) ***** This movie was everything I wanted it to be. I had no idea Cage could act so well.
Train to Busan (2016) ***** This well deserves its high reputation
Attack the Block (2011) *****
His House (2020) ***** An excellent and thoughtful horror film
Love and Monsters (2020) ***** Super cute - another good family movie night
Slaxx (2021) ***** Perfect cheesy b-horror fun. Loved it.

Four-Stars
Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) **** A wonderful spin on a werewolf movie
The Final Girls (2015) ****
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) ****
House on Haunted Hill (1959) ****
Cooties (2014) **** Cheesy fun
John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) ****
Gosford Park (2001) **** A great upstairs-downstairs mystery
Hell House LLC (2015) **** Fun found-footage film
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) **** I love this film, even though everyone learns the wrong lessons
Black Christmas (2019) **** A solid film of the genre, made especially to engage PG13 audiences and encourage discussion of sexual assault.
Happy Death Day (2017) **** Fun and clever
Legally Blonde (2001) ****
Dead Snow (2009) **** This is clearly not an American film
Frankenstein (1931) **** Fascinating
Richard III (1995) ****
The Banana Splits (2019) **** A good cheesy slasher film inspired by Five Nights at Freddy's
Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016) ****1/2
Hellboy (2004). ****
Clovehitch Killer (2018) ****
The Mummy (1999) **** Good family movie night

Some great films there! I have been hammering the films lately too, a lot of 1990s thrillers. Some sort of retro/nostalgia trip I guess.

Smoochling! I am AGOG at the perfection of this venue for your talents: https://www.themarysue.com/mary-sue-hiring-books-editor/

Now, true that it isn't as academic as you're capable of, but the *job* isn't the point to me. You don't need this kind of job; but they should be remembered for your reviews and other paying listicles etc!

>172 richardderus: Oh man, what good fun! And I'm flattered that you thought of me. I'm going to revisit the job listing over coffee tomorrow - an alt-ac job may be just the thing.

>173 London_StJ: *smooch*

39.
Title: Cosplayers: Gender and Identity
Author: A. Luxx Mishou
Pages: 92
Date Finished: April 29, 2021
Recommended by: me
Rating:
Synopsis: Cosplayers: Gender and Identity is an examination of identity practices in cosplay, as expressed by cosplayers themselves. It challenges the assumed correlation between cosplay and cosplayer identity and considers the lived experiences of cosplayers engaging in the fan practice of sartorial performance.

Through a series of chapters covering the blurring lines of gender, sexualized fantasy in real spaces, and nostalgia, the author argues that observational data run the risk of affirming normative expectations of identity in the absence of cosplayer narratives, and produce misreadings that generalize. The work develops and builds an understanding of a complex cultural system of art, engaging with multiple methodologies to make identity, fandom, and critical analysis on the parts of participants and observers alike.

This is an accessible and innovative study suitable for scholars and students in gender studies, cultural studies, sexuality studies, sociology, and media studies.

Review: I have just finished reviewing my proofs for Cosplayers. This is the first time I've read the entire text straight through since I first submitted my manuscript, and it was a hell of an experience. My three big take-aways are that a) I'm really invested in sharing this information, and I'm rather proud of having a chance to do so, b) oh no, I write like I talk, and c) I hate indexing.

Indexing is truly The Devil's Own of an activity. I have the greatest possible respect for professional indexers.

I am *so*extremely*delighted* that your book is out in the world this year!! A month!! Yay and yay again! *smooch*

>175 London_StJ: Welp, THIS sounds amazing. Congrats!

>175 London_StJ: So exciting!

Duly preordered...the Kindle version, can't afford a $60 hardcover I'm sad to say.

The reason I came back by is to let you know that a book I think you'd like, if you haven't read it already, is on sale for $4.99 on Kindle: Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by one Therese Oneill.

>176 richardderus: >179 richardderus: Oh gosh, I'm flattered, but also worry that you felt pressured into it! I'm just shouting into the wind, there's no need to indulge me!

And thank you for your recommendation - I borrowed it from the library once upon a time. 177 >178 MickyFine: Thank you, thank you! It was such a relief to go back and read it and still care and believe in it.

41.
Title: Scanlines
Author: Todd Keisling
Pages: 113
Date Finished: May 1, 2021
Recommended by: Nightworms
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: In 1987, Congressman Benjamin Hardy III died by suicide on live television amidst accusations of political corruption. Years later, rumors of a recording surfaced among VHS trading groups and urban legend chat rooms. Dubbed the "Duncan Tape," after the deceased cameraman who attempted to sell the video, the rumors allege that anyone who watches the tape is driven to suicide.

Or so the story goes. In truth, no one has ever seen the supposed Duncan Tape, presumably because it doesn't exist. It's a ghost story perpetuated on the forums and chat rooms of the internet, another handful of bytes scattered across the Information Superhighway at blistering 56K modem speeds.

For Robby and his friends, an urban legend is the last thing on their minds when a boring Friday night presents a chance to download porn. But the short clip they watch turns out to be something far more graphic and disturbing, and in the coming days, they'll learn even the most outlandish urban legends possess a shred of truth...




Review: I didn't realize this Nightworms book was an early review! What fun.

The appeal of Scanlines is, for me, nostalgic. The characters are a bit older than I am, but we're near enough in age that I remember the technological world they're navigating. I remember, too, the media content that clearly inspired the novella - not the suicide of Budd Dwyer, thankfully, but The Ring (and maybe some Blair Witch?). It's fun and it's quick and it's effective, engaging in the same affective tropes as those familiar horror films. A solid entry for contemporary nostalgic supernatural horror.

>180 London_StJ: Hardly pressured...more delighted and excited! *smooch*

>182 richardderus: :-*

>165 London_StJ: coolness! Congratulations. A first full read must be quite the experience after the laborious writing process.

>184 LovingLit: Thank you! It was a relief, actually. Sure, there are always changes that could have been made, and I wish I had had a larger word count, but it's nice to revisit "cold" and realize I'm still really invested in the project.

43.
Title: Whisper Down the Lane
Author: Clay mcLeod Chapman
Pages: 303
Date Finished: May 5, 2021
Recommended by: Nightworms
Rating: ****
Synopsis: Inspired by the McMartin preschool trials and the Satanic Panic of the ‘80s, the critically acclaimed author of The Remaking delivers another pulse pounding, true-crime-based horror novel.

Richard doesn’t have a past. For him, there is only the present: a new marriage to Tamara, a first chance at fatherhood to her son Elijah, and a quiet but pleasant life as an art teacher at Elijah’s elementary school in Danvers, Virginia. Then the body of a rabbit, ritualistically murdered, appears on the school grounds with a birthday card for Richard tucked beneath it. Richard doesn’t have a birthday—but Sean does . . .

Sean is a five-year-old boy who has just moved to Greenfield, Virginia, with his mother. Like most mothers of the 1980s, she’s worried about bills, childcare, putting food on the table . . . and an encroaching threat to American life that can take the face of anyone: a politician, a friendly neighbor, or even a teacher. When Sean’s school sends a letter to the parents revealing that Sean’s favorite teacher is under investigation, a white lie from Sean lights a fire that engulfs the entire nation—and Sean and his mother are left holding the match.

Now, thirty years later, someone is here to remind Richard that they remember what Sean did. And though Sean doesn’t exist anymore, someone needs to pay the price for his lies.

Review: Oh, I enjoyed this book. What a fun read.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Whisper Down the Lane is that Chapman has clearly done his homework. Though the novel itself is a work of fiction it is undeniably informed by the 1983-1990 McMartin Preschool trial, complete with allusions to Judy Johnson (a mother of one of the accusing students) and Kyle Sapp (an accusing student who publicly apologized in 2005. Those familiar with the atrocity that is the McMartin accusations and trial will appreciate the tone of Chapman's novel which, I'd argue, places the blame where it truly lies. As the narrative unfolds the absurdity of the criminal case dawns naturally, and the audience is encouraged to empathize with five-year-old Sean even as the consequences of his actions become clear. But more than the historic narrative I appreciate the attention to legacy, an imagining of what an adulthood may look like after childhood involvement in a case of Satanic sexual abuse, and a recognition that moral panics continue to plague American culture.

My decision to only review the things I feel very strongly about has essentially killed my thread, hasn't it?

As of this morning I've read fifty books, promising a banger of a year. Last year - neck-deep in pandemic anxiety and trying to finish my dissertation - reading felt impossible. I didn't have the emotional bandwidth or the energy to make it through novels. A dire social and political landscape held most of my attention, and I read and watched more news than anything else. (And horror movies, which was much of the same thing...).

I subscribed to Nightworms this year, which has been good fun. Frankly, I'm reading a lot of things I don't enjoy, but I've found some real gems, and even the books that aren't to my taste are helping me understand the landscape. I like the little push outside of my familiarity. Whisper Down the Lane was a Nightworms book I really enjoyed, while today's Dimentia was just short and dull. Wisteria Cottage was suffocating, and I've added Goddess of Filth to my syllabus for the fall semester.

I've seen 127 movies so far this year, with equally mixed responses. Actually, watching Scare Me makes me want to blog - I have Thoughts, lol. But I have other writing to get two - I've had three chapter proposals accepted, ranging from The Beetle to cosplay to Nightmare Before Christmas. I'm looking forward to the work, but have been luxuriating in my first summer break ever.

Media consumption is certainly the theme of 2021...

Glad to hear your brain is in a better space for reading, London. Enjoy your summer break!

>188 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

And I think I owe you gratitude for a book bullet: weren't you the one who suggested Fangs?

48.
Title: Fangs
Author: Sarah Andersen
Pages: 112
Date Finished: May 23, 2021
Recommended by: Micky, I think
Rating: ****
Synopsis: Elsie the vampire is three hundred years old, but in all that time, she has never met her match. This all changes one night in a bar when she meets Jimmy, a charming werewolf with a wry sense of humor and a fondness for running wild during the full moon. Together they enjoy horror films and scary novels, shady strolls, fine dining (though never with garlic), and a genuine fondness for each other’s unusual habits, macabre lifestyles, and monstrous appetites.

Review: This collection of comics is simply adorable. Elsie and Jimmy are believably quirky, and their relationship is full of warmth (yes, I know, I know) and intimacy that feels modern and wholesome. I loved it.

What Else I'm Reading
As seems to be my pandemic-habit, too much.
My bedtime book is Manners and Mutiny. I've read ... most? ... if not all of Carriger's steampunk YA before, but it remains a constant comfort read because it's both convenient (already on my e-readers) and comfortable. It asks nothing of me, and at the end of the day that's just fine.

On the nonfiction front I'm still trying to read What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon. I want to love this book, because I feel like it has very important things to say, and important things I need to hear as someone who grew up with a fairly toxic relationship with food and diets. I appreciate the research Gordon has done, and the conclusions that can be drawn, but at times it feels like her conclusions are just as sweeping as the anti-fat rhetoric that saturates our healthcare and culture. It's slow-going for me, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I picked up Plain Bad Heroines last night, and whoa boy is this a fun way to stomp into Pride. I'm loving it so far, but can already tell the size of the novel (over 600 pages in hardcover) is going to keep me from finishing it quickly. It's a silly thing that has come to shape my reading, but I'm reading paper books much more slowly than the ebooks that are always in my pocket.

On the movie front, I want to talk about CAM (2018) real quick.



Cam is a modern horror film written by Daniel Goldhaber (who directs), Isabelle Link-Levy (who produces), and Isa Mazzei (screenwriter), influenced by Mazzei's earlier work as a camgirl.

The film tells the story of Alice Ackerman who makes a living performing as a camgirl under the name Lola_Lola. The audience meets Alice/Lola as she works to increase her rating on her hosting platform, creatively planning broadcasts in an attempt to break into the top 50 performers. Alice's teenage brother Jordan knows of her career, but she remains closeted from her hairdresser mother, and presumably others in her town. Jordan's friends discover her videos online and expose her at Jordan's birthday party, creating tension between Alice and her family. Not long after, Alice attempts to login to her work account, only to find that her identity and professional account have been stolen, as some form of bot continues to perform as Lola while preventing her from regaining control of her content (and thus finances).

The social issues explored in the film are relevant to contemporary discourses around the sex industry, bodily autonomy, doxing, harassment, and identity theft. Though Alice's experiences vary in severity, nothing is truly without point: her doxxing by a group of teenagers gestures at the alienation of outing, and though the consequences are minor in the film, this is for the sake of preserving the central tension as opposed to downplaying the experience. Their actions hurt Alice's relationship with her family, just when she needs them most.

But this movie is really, truly frightening for the authenticity of the threat: online identity theft that wreaks havoc on a person's life. Alice is particularly vulnerable as a sex worker, as she find harassment from both clients and police to whom she turns for help, both assaulted and rebuked instead of helped. she's isolated by the nature of her work, and experiences a powerlessness that is far too familiar today, especially in a post SESTA-FOSTA environment. It is truly horrific.

The strengths of the movie are in its representation of Alice as a sex worker, and in its conclusion.

I loved the subtle character building of Alice, and her life. The audience meets her during a performance, and sees her communicating with clients. But as the film progresses viewers see more and more of her life - Alice shopping for a new sofa, living alone is a clean, modern middle class house, her mother suggesting that she buy it instead of renting. When she's not on camera she chews her nails and doesn't bother to style her hair, and wears jeans and tank tops. She's comfortable and happy and supports herself doing something that she loves. It's fantastic.

Which leads me to the conclusion. I love that the resolution to the film is not that Alice leaves sex work. Instead, she uses her wits (and self-inflicted violence) to out-maneuver the bot controlling her account, and forever deletes Lola... and moves on to establish a new persona. With her mother's help she crafts a new self, and when her mother expresses concern that a bot may target her again Alice affirms her own choices. If it happens again, she'll craft another account - because she loves what she does, and she's good at it. *chef's kiss*

>189 London_StJ: That was me! I'm so glad you liked it. It really is such a charming collection.

ETA: And knowing your personal and professional interest in all things comics All of the Marvels is scheduled for publication in October. The author read every single Marvel comic ever published. It's definitely on The List for me. :)

>190 MickyFine: Holy moly - that's a huge undertaking! Thanks for the heads up.

Oh me, oh my, I have so much to read this summer!

I came across this article by, in part, Silvia Moreno-Garcia on circus-themed horror, and also this list on boarding school horrors, and today I turned to my puppy and said, "Hey Lucifer, let's go lay in bed and buy books."

And we did.

From the library, I have The Broken Girls and Catherine House.

I purchased Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, The Pilo Family Circus, and Something Wicked This Way Comes on my Kobo (which I love so much more than my Kindle, btw).

Thrift Books will eventually deliver The House Next Door, The Sexual Life of Catherine M., Nights at the Circus, Never Let Me Go, Circus World, and Bacchanal.

I can't wait!

>192 London_StJ: Oh nice! I didn't realize Kobos were available on your side of the border. When I used to work the public desk in my old job and be asked what options we'd recommend I'd always put Kobos over Kindle because in Canada Kindles don't work with libraries at all, whereas Kobos do.

>193 MickyFine: Kindle books are fairly available through Overdrive (virtual library platform - don't know if it's widely used?), but Kobos handles it all so much better. And added bonus, it's not Amaz*n. I love the device, and the even-more-seamless reading.

>193 MickyFine: Hhmmm, LT seems to have eaten my last response...

I hand't heard of Kobos until a friend raved about his; two days later my wife gave me one for Mother's Day, as she'd been planning for longer than I knew they existed. It was very sweet and much loved.

Kindle books are fairly available through Overdrive (our library's virtual distribution platform), but Kobos can handle *all* ebooks, and has the added bonus of not being Amaz*n. I love the device, and the seamless reading.

>194 London_StJ: Oh yeah, OverDrive/Libby is the big Daddy in libraryland for ebooks and eaudiobooks. But rights in Canada are very different and anything published with Amazon isn't available for us to purchase. We're watching Amazon's recent deal with DPLA with interest to see what (if anything) they'll do in the Canadian market.

>196 MickyFine:, Oh, I HEARD about that nonsense - Amazon publishing not being available to libraries! It's awful

Adding to my TBR pile for the summer...

A very good friend and I have started swapping titles, and he suggested the Murderbot series by Martha Wells, saying he hears my wife's voice when he reads Murderbot's voice (he and my wife are BFFs). So, of course I have to read 'em. Also snagged Middlegame at his suggestion.

YAY MURDERBOT!!!

52.
Title: Catherine House
Author: Elisabeth Thomas
Pages: 252/587
Date Finished: DNF; May 31, 2021
Recommended by: Book Riot
Rating: **
Synopsis: A gothic-infused debut of literary suspense, set within a secluded, elite university and following a dangerously curious, rebellious undergraduate who uncovers a shocking secret about an exclusive circle of students . . . and the dark truth beneath her school’s promise of prestige.

Trust us, you belong here.

Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years—summers included—completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises a future of sublime power and prestige, and that its graduates can become anything or anyone they desire.

Among this year’s incoming class is Ines Murillo, who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline—only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. Even the school’s enigmatic director, Viktória, encourages the students to explore, to expand their minds, to find themselves within the formidable iron gates of Catherine. For Ines, it is the closest thing to a home she’s ever had. But the House’s strange protocols soon make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weathered leather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when tragedy strikes, Ines begins to suspect that the school—in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history, advanced theories, and controlled decadence—might be hiding a dangerous agenda within the secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its most promising and mysterious curriculum.

Review: By 252 pages I found that I just didn't care. The protagonist is fine; she's neither deeply intriguing nor objectionable - the kind of person I'd wish well if I knew her in real life, but wouldn't keep up with. The school is vaguely interesting, but draws out the mystery to such an extent that it can't maintain interest. Even the "tragic event" lacks an emotional punch, and I simply accepted the plot point as inevitable. I think it may have done very well at half the length, but I wasn't interested enough to hang on, and returned the library book for someone else to try.

>199 MickyFine: I told him that I know LTers who love the series!

54.
Title: The Broken Girls
Author: Simone St. James
Pages: 628
Date Finished: June 4, 2021
Recommended by: Book Riot
Rating: ****
Synopsis: Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants—the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the ones too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall, and local legend says the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their friendship blossoming—until one of them mysteriously disappears....

Vermont, 2014. Twenty years ago, journalist Fiona Sheridan's elder sister’s body was found in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And although her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of the murder, Fiona can’t stop revisiting the events, unable to shake the feeling that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during renovations links the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past—and a voice that won’t be silenced....

Review:
The Broken Girls is a story of young women in 1950 and 2014, oppressed and manipulated by patriarchal systems motivated to preserve power structures regardless of the harm done. And it's a story of perseverance and possibility and the manipulations that allow the oppressed to eke out autonomy.

Driven by the murders of three young women, and the assault and abuse of far more, this thriller is compassionate and angry at the same time. Though the characters are in fact "broken," they are a range of charismatic to deeply human, and their stories draw the reader along with great interest. But in the end there are too many women, and too much story; the novel leads the reader in several directions, with a core narrative thread being, in the end, entirely pointless. It is probably 200 pages too long, and would have done well from the advice given by a callous professor from my PhD program: kill your babies. Or, as Kurt Vonnegut more kindly said, have the guts to cut.

Still, I enjoyed most of it, and much more so than Catherine House, so I'll call it a success, and suggest it'd be a great summer pool or beach read.

Guess what? You know someone who is a great-grandparent!

My grandson Quentin is going to be a dad in late November/early December. He's never used the mama's name to me, so I have no idea what it is...but go look and tell me they don't look overjoyed.

My daughter's actually thrilled!

Simone St. James gets all kindsa luuuv but after that Sundown thing I just...well, no. Not worth the eyeblinks.

*smooch*

>203 richardderus: Congratulations! They look so peacefully happy. I wish them an uneventful pregnancy and years of joy.

This was the first St. James i've read, and I'm not particularly driven to return.

55.
Title: With Teeth
Author: Kristen Arnett
Pages: 304
Date Finished: June 9, 2021
Recommended by: Twitter
Rating: ***
Synopsis:
If she’s being honest, Sammie Lucas is scared of her son. Working from home in the close quarters of their Florida house, she lives with one wary eye peeled on Samson, a sullen, unknowable boy who resists her every attempt to bond with him. Uncertain in her own feelings about motherhood, she tries her best—driving, cleaning, cooking, prodding him to finish projects for school—while growing increasingly resentful of Monika, her confident but absent wife. As Samson grows from feral toddler to surly teenager, Sammie’s life begins to deteriorate into a mess of unruly behavior, and her struggle to create a picture-perfect queer family unravels. When her son’s hostility finally spills over into physical aggression, Sammie must confront her role in the mess—and the possibility that it will never be clean again.

Review
I am so disappointed that I didn't love this book. From the synopsis, I really thought I would, but ... blurbs lie.

Ultimately, this book is uncomfortable, as each character - most of all Sammie - makes one bad decision after another. It's a trainwreck of a life, and a snapshot of stagnation. It's not just that there's no growth, but that there's an absolute refusal to grow, to change, or develop. It's addiction and it's emotional trauma, and Sammie's actions make it almost impossible to feel sympathy for the very real obstacles she faces.

I found the book well-written, and too hopeless.

>205 London_StJ: Oh, that is so too bad. It does sound like a story to savor from the blurb.

*sigh*

>206 richardderus: It's one of those books that ... probably needs to exist? For the sake of normalizing queer families and recognizing the pressures placed on them? But it's definitely not a Fun Read, which is what I'm looking for these days.

I had my first event last night: I took my brand-new Torture Tuffet to model for a sketch night. Sitting on nails for two minutes without moving is shockingly difficult; I don't think I'd done that before. After that the glass was a piece of cake. Comparatively, I should say - I don't think about what a fidgeter I am until I have to sit completely still for twenty minutes straight.

Still. It's a step towards normal, a chance to put on eyelashes and curl my hair, and I feel revitalized.

64.
Title: Never Let Me Go
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Pages: 288
Date Finished: July 22, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: **
Synopsis: As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is modern classic.

Review: My god, I hated this book. I found the title on a list of horror novels, and have seen a few other horror enthusiasts recommend the book. Sloggig through the first two-thirds I kept waiting for the *horror*, but it never came. The third act confirmed my own creeping sense that the plot remains strictly traumatic. Just because something is horrific doesn't mean it's horror. Had I been better known the genre of the novel (sci-fi) I wouldn't have picked it up, and wouldn't have had to suffer through, waiting for the escapist thrill I'd assumed I'd find.

That said, it's not a poorly written book; if someone enjoys science fiction and deep investigations of the morality of medical science they would likely enjoy this book far more than I.

>208 London_StJ: HORROR?!?

No stinkin' way is that even the mildest of body horror stories. It's barely even suspenseful, still less horror-fying. Being into the SF stuff, I was enrapt when I read it 15 years ago. I don't know what sixty-plus me would think of it.

Sorry you were so foully misled. I hope all y'all are well and happy! *smooch*

>208 London_StJ: I wouldn't describe Never let me go as horror. I did read it, and I don't read horror.
To me it was a horrendous story. Well written, but not likable, I kept hoping they would revolt.
I hope your next read is a better one.

>209 richardderus: It is a fascinating story, and it's horrific in nature, but it's not a horror story. I kept waiting for a twist along the lines of "donations" being for human consumption.

>210 FAMeulstee: That is a perfect description - "well written, but not likable." I've started reading The Chosen and the Beautiful, and I'm enjoying it much, much more.

Wow, it's been more than a minute. It's probably obvious that things have been a touch busy.

Reading has slowed, and I've read just 72 books this year. After the fiasco of Never Let Me Go I decided to finish reading Gail Carriger in order, and then tried a couple Grady Hendrix on for size. They were fun; nothing to write home about, but fun.

Meanwhile, life is starting to resemble "before times," and it's ... wild. Work is back in person, the kids went back to school this week, and my first show back in person was in front of 1800 (masked) people. I won "Most Wicked" at a burlesque festival in Salem, and have seven shows on my calendar for October. My office is an explosion of fabric and props and shoes and glitter and blood.

I'm going to go lurk around and see what some of you folks have been up to.

>212 London_StJ: Nice to see you making an appearance! Glad to hear life is full but good.

My goodness, does the reading drop off in September.

I finished six books in August: rereading Imprudence, Romancing the Werewolf, Competence, and Reticence, devouring the latest Patricia Briggs, Wild Sign, and trying a second Grady Hendrix, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.

Southern Book Club was ... fine. I casually enjoyed it, and think it's a serviceable summer read. I certainly enjoyed it more than My Best Friend's Exorcism, which I wasn't able to finish for the sake of boredom. But what I liked most about it was Hendrix's framing of the story: he wanted to explore what parents are doing when extraordinary and dangerous things about happening to suburban teenagers. He imagined the mothers of his own neighborhood, and set out to give them their own adventure. And I loved that (and his bio on his website).

September has only seen two finished reads: Horrorstor, which I enjoyed, and yet another reading of The Truth, my all-time comfort novel. But I have several in the works: Stepford Wives (which I'm teaching), Gideon the Ninth (which I want to love but am finding excessively tedious), The Wee Free Men, and The Final Girl support Group. It is guaranteed I'll hit 75 by the end of the month, but as to which one that'll be is anyone's guess.

And book number 75 was .... Wee Free Men! Another in a long list of of comfort rereads that seem to be all I read now.

But let's talk about book 74, The Stepford Wives. It's also a reread, but I'm teaching it for the first time.

74.
Title: The Stepford Wives
Author: Ira Levin
Pages: 123
Date Finished: September 21, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis:

Review: First and foremost, Levin's book is so much better than the film adaptations, and the 1974 film is much better than the 2004 atrocity. I'd actually forgotten just how ... inconsistent ... the 2004 film was until I rewatched it this week. Killer cast, awful film.

Anyway.

The Stepford wives if the first in my new unit on "Horror in Time and Place" - understanding why a text is frightening or disturbing based on the historical context in which it's written, and comparing it to our present cultural understandings. The primary lens, naturally, was second wave feminism versus third wave feminism. But I pushed hard for understandings of mental health (how women's complaints were recognized, but they were prescribed tranquilizers as opposed to addressing social problems), the romanticization of the suburb and social pressures (keeping up with the Joneses), and divorce law (no-fault divorce wasn't legalized in Connecticut until 1973, a year after the book was published). Naturally, no one was satisfied with the conclusion, but that's all part of the Stepford experience...

>215 London_StJ: Congratulations on reaching 75!

Congrats on hitting the goal!

Huzzah for reaching the magic number!

Thanks, folks! It's a fun goal to mark, and a great group to lurk around.

Congrats on 75!

Question: Do you always reread texts that you regularly teach, or am I just a lazy prof for...not.

You're not being lazy if you don't have to reread! I do always reread, but I have an awful memory - I want to make sure I have my details sorted before lecture. That rereading isn't always careful, though; I've taught Cuckoo's Nest so many times that I just skim bits at this point.

>221 London_StJ: Ha! Fair point! I have stupidly-detailed lecture notes, so that probably helps me not have to reread as much. There are some passages that I go back to anyway, because they're so great. I mean, we must love 'em if we're teaching 'em, right?

>222 scaifea: We must! Which is probably part of the incentive for me to reread....

>212 London_StJ: My office is an explosion of fabric and props and shoes and glitter and blood.
Sounds exciting!
My office is just an explosion of paper and food wrappers! (and the boss's kid's afternoon tea crumbs). Haha. I always listen to my friend's tales about being a midwife and feel like I need better work stories than 'and then I wrote an 80-page report'.

>215 London_StJ: there's a 1974 film!! I must see that. I recently read it for the fist time and thought it was excellent (and The Sliver too...and I have The Boys from Brazil on my tbr).

>224 LovingLit: It's available in full on YouTube! I've never gotten to Sliver or The Boys from Brazil, but did enjoy reading Rosemary's Baby.

Today we're starting Goddess of Filth, a possession novel that was published in March. I've had a student who "doesn't understand why we have to read feminism and shit," so we'll see how today goes... Still, homework assignments that have trickled in show some enthusiasm.

>225 London_StJ: Oh ugh to those kinds of students. Here's hoping your class turns that nonsense around for them.

I'm back, because book #78 was a TOTAL winner.

78.
Title: The Final Girl Support Group
Author: Grady Hendrix
Pages: 352
Date Finished: October 5, 2021
Recommended by:
Rating: *****
Synopsis: "Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre. For more than a decade, she’s been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, working to put their lives back together. Then one woman misses a meeting, and their worst fears are realized—someone knows about the group and is determined to rip their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about final girls is that no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up."

Review: My experience with Grady Hendrix is hit-or-miss. I couldn't finish My Best Friend's Exorcism because I was terribly bored, but I casually enjoyed Horrorstor and The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires; they were good quick fun.

But The Final Girl Support Group? I loved it.

Not terribly gory or even horrific, the book is nonetheless a thriller of a love letter to classic slasher horror movies, with an eye towards humanizing "final girls" and generating for sympathy for what comes next. It broadcasts pretty loudly, but the predictability comes with an awareness and understanding of the genre, and doesn't detract from the joy of the ride. Highly recommended both for slasher movie fans, and those who feel nostalgically about the heyday of slashers, even if they didn't enjoy the movies themselves.

Oooh, that one sounds good!

>227 London_StJ: Sounds like a good one, Luxx (I am not sure if that is what you are going by these days or not?). Anyhow, I am adding it to the BlackHole.

>229 alcottacre: Hello Stasia! So glad you stopped by. Thanks for asking - I prefer to use London here. :)

I'm sure you'd breeze through it in an evening, and hope you enjoy it when it rises to the edge of the BlackHole.

>228 scaifea: I have a feeling you'd enjoy it.

>230 London_StJ: London it is then. I checked and my local library has a copy of The Final Girl Support Group so I should be able to get to it relatively soon.

>231 alcottacre: Excellent! Mine was a library read, too. I'm having an endless and unapologetic love affair with my public library, especially given the extent of their ebook offerings. I love that I can search and borrow straight from my Kobo, and that I always have multiple books in my pocket.

>232 London_StJ: Yay for library love!

>232 London_StJ: I am having the same love affair with my local library. I have discovered how easy it is to walk from my house to it, so every morning I get up and go down there. Even if I do not check anything out, I look around at the new books to see if there is anything that intrigues me.

>233 MickyFine: Endless library love.

>234 alcottacre: Oh, that sounds absolutely dreamy!

Smoochling! I dashed over to let you know that the Kindle version of ALL Oscar Wilde's work...plays, fragments, reviews, newspaper pieces, everything...is only 49¢!
https://smile.amazon.com/Oscar-Wilde-Truly-Complete-Collection-ebook/dp/B01HSTI6...

Apart from that, I'm happy that the Hendrix was a hit with you, and that your 75th was a delightful comfort re-read instead of a dud.

Happy Spooktober!

>236 richardderus: Oh, what a treat! Thanks for the heads up! And a happy Spooktober to you as well.

>235 London_StJ: It is! (except on days like today where it was pouring down rain, lol)

>238 alcottacre: Noooo, you can't let the books get wet!

>239 London_StJ: Nope, wouldn't think of it.

Wow, it's been a month. I've been popping onto my own thread to update my watched-movies list, but have done little else around here. Life has been pretty crazy (as usual).

So what's going on now?... Well, I'm in the middle of four different books, because nothing is really holding my attention. All of my holiday shopping and wrapping is done, and I'm rushing to finish all of my baking by Dec 13 (I'm having elective surgery on Dec 14). I've performed, I've modeled, I've fallen behind on grading, and ... I quit my day job. Again. Maybe forever? But the pandemic has really made it clear just how little my health and safety means to my employer. Not only do I make very very very little money for a lot of work, but their pandemic policies and mediations are a dangerous joke, and this term they required us to go to campus during a marked and dangerous flood. And it's just not worth it. I've never dreaded going to work like I have this whole year, so it's time to move on.

I also tried NaNoWriMo for the first time! I didn't pay any attention to word count, and instead set a goal of writing on the same project everyday for an entire month. And I did! I haven't even typed it to see what I came up with, but I'm feeling creative again, which is exciting.

I'm looking forward to 2022. It's got to be better.

Happy to see you posting, London! Wishing you all the best as you figure out what you want from your work life and quick healing vibes for your upcoming surgery.

>242 MickyFine: Thanks on all accounts, Micky!

My house smells like cinnamon, and I'm quite pleased.

In just two minutes I will have finished fifteen different holiday treats, and have just eight more to go! I need them all done before surgery, because I haven't any idea how I'll feel afterwards and, well, holiday food is Important. This way I'll be able to have all of my kids' favorite treats, and distribute cookie baskets as usual, even if I'm doing it in pajamas.

This year I'm skipping the Salted Twix Cookies, because all three monsters started orthodontics and can't have caramel. So, the list has come to this:

1. Lemon Shortbread - done
2. Orange Cranberry Cookies- done
3. Sugar Cookies- done
4. Chocolate Chip Cookies- done
5. Peppermint Kiss Cookies- done
6. Chocolate Peppermint Cremes - done
7. Gingersnaps- done
8. Snickerdoodles- done
9. Fudge Puddles
10. Peanut Butter Cookies
11. Kiss Cookies
12. Monster Cookies
13. Peanut Butter Balls (what some call "Buckeyes"?)
14. No Bake Cookies- done
15. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
16. Peppermint Bark- done
17. Candied Peel
18. Tiessennau Mel (Welsh honey cakes)
19. Brownies (cut into stars)- done
20. Yule Bark- done
21. Salted Nut Brittle- done
22. Swedish Nuts- done
23. Chex Mix- done

Last year I made a total of 1,107 cookies. Stay tuned for this year's output...

>244 London_StJ: Wowzers! I think we need a term higher ranking than Domestic Goddess for you. That is an intense level of baking.

>245 MickyFine: My top three favorite holiday traditions are lights, baking, and cards. Tragically, cards didn't happen this year, but hot damn there is baking.

>241 London_StJ: the pandemic has really made it clear just how little my health and safety means to my employer.
Sounds familiar! Good for you.

And your baking list! *faints*
I have managed 7 trays of "Secret Latvian Recipe Christmas Biscuits"- a recipe that handed down to me from my grandmother, and one that I make each December without fail (I even did them with my recently-operated-on-foot up on the bench as I baked). So good to have traditions :)

>247 LovingLit: (I even did them with my recently-operated-on-foot up on the bench as I baked) Now THAT is how you keep traditions alive!

Well, I only managed to make 930 cookies this Yule; I didn't make the salted twix cookies because my babies can't eat them with their new orthodontics, and I didn't make peanut butter balls because I hate doing it (and my mom made them for me instead). BUT .... I finished cookies before surgery. Even thought I had to be on a clear liquid diet while finishing and couldn't even lick the spoon. I want a gold star.

>249 London_StJ:


You deserve them all! That is waywayway beyond my comprehension. Not even...I mean...good lawsy me!

I am deeply offended on your behalf that the rotters you worked for decided your life was worth less than their bottom line, and delighted that 2022 is going to be a whole lot of Build Back Better for the family.

Have you ever made Buckeyes with cashew butter? I substituted macadamia butter one year, too; they're a pain, but they taste SO GOOD especially with the less-common nut butters that maybe you could rev up your interest next year...?

Big happys for the season, my love.

I'm not sure you need more gold stars after Richard handed out so many, but you definitely get one from me too. :)

I hope your surgery goes/went well and recuperation goes smoothly!

>250 richardderus: OMG GOLD STAAAARS! This made my day.

And oooo, changing up the butters could make for some VERY tasty treats. I'm intrigued. What a wonderful idea!

I got an email about further troubles at my OLD office, and I'm very satisfied with my decision. 2022 is going to be so much better - and I hope yours is just as wonderful!

>251 MickyFine: I will happily collect all of the gold stars, so thank you. :) Surgery went well, my wife is taking very good care of me, and we're getting ready to watch Hogfather together since the kids are off camping with scouts for the weekend.

>252 London_StJ: Clearly an excellent decision, already paying off in schadenfreude.

I always meant to try sunflower butter with butterscotch/white chocolate ganache but never quite made it to the table. I do love me some sunflower butter, though, and I think it'd be right tasty.

>253 richardderus: we always have it in the house - it's my daughter's favorite.

Ooooooh, ef COVID. And antivaxxers. And mask deniers.

I am in a fortunate and strange position, in that everyone I love is vaccinated: all of my dear friends, the family with whom I keep in touch, and thankfully now my children. It's a safe bubble, but it is unfortunately just a bubble, and one that burst this afternoon.

I foolishly thought I'd be able to go to my mother's for xmas eve, and have my MIL and SIL for xmas breakfast. I foolishly thought we could see a few friends for NYE, and my father for dinner Jan. 1.

And then I had doubts, because recovery is slower than I anticipated. I fully intended to take my wedge pillows and simply take over my mother's bed, and then she texted me today.

My SIL's (vaccinated) sister has covid. She lives with their mother, who just spent all day with my SIL. And there goes xmas. Mild symptoms and speedy recoveries allowed by vaccination are all appreciated, but I've just had my abdominal muscles stitched together and can't cough. Mild or not, it'd be fairly disastrous. And so we can't see our families, who all work in public spaces. Because Omnicron is spreading.

My poor babies are so disappointed. Extremely understanding and good natured, but disappointed. Bah humbug.

>255 London_StJ: Oh, that stinks! We've had to postpone our big gathering with Tomm's family because his parents have recently been exposed and can't get tested until Monday (we're all of us vaxxed and boostered, too, but like you, we're playing it super-safe), so I sort of get it, although I don't actually like my in-laws much which makes it easier for me. I'm so sorry that your kiddos are sad about it. I hope you can all get together soon, even if it's later than you'd like. *hugs all around*

>256 scaifea: Hugs back to you and yours!

I'm so sorry to hear this news, London. Hugs for all of you.

>255 London_StJ: Damn the deniers/anti-vaxxers to the bad place! This isn't in the least amusing, and certainly could've been avoided.

*sympathy smooch*

>258 MickyFine: >259 richardderus: Thanks to you both. The silver lining is that we still have our household! Our celebration may be smaller, but we will still celebrate.

Have a lovely holiday, LSJ, and I hope that the slightly smaller group doesn't detract from the day too much.

>261 PaulCranswick: We're having a marvelous day after all. Warmest holiday wishes to you and yours, too!

Sorry to hear about the spanner in the works for your Christmas, London. I do hope you recover from your surgery quickly!




Despite the monkey wrench!

>255 London_StJ: My poor babies are so disappointed. Extremely understanding and good natured, but disappointed.

Good for them. It sounds like they are handling it in the best possible way that they can. It's a steep emotional learning curve these days.

Also, >254 London_StJ: it's my daughter's favorite... am I dreaming, or don't you have three sons?

Happy Holidays, London!

>264 LovingLit: Not dreaming! There have been some changes in the past year or two - turns out I have a son, a nonbinary child, and a daughter. It's been wonderful watching them all blossom.

>263 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia!

>265 jayde1599: And the same to you!

I actually put a book House on Needless Street down after just a few pages, because ... the adult protagonist called his mother "mommy."

Nope. Can't handle it. This is one affectation that hurts no one but nonetheless makes my skin crawl.

I have thus far finished 98 books this year, and will likely sneak in another, although I should be writing. I have a chapter due ... Friday ... but these days I'm counting success as whether or not I've managed to shower and change my bandages. Healing is exhausting.

>267 London_StJ: Healing is exhausting

It really is. Also, crossing my fingers that you're not a stomach sleeper. I found not being able to lie on my stomach one of the toughest parts of my recovery when I had surgery last year. Made it so much harder to fall and stay asleep.

>268 MickyFine: Ooof, I'm so sorry you had to manage that. I am thankfully not a stomach sleeper, and my surgeon just told me I can sleep on my side again.

Now, if only we didn't have attic squirrels waking us with acorn rolling at dawn. ;)

>269 London_StJ: Huzzah for side sleeping!

Hmm, must work on setting up a bowling alley for the squirrels elsewhere so they stop rolling acorns in your attic. ;)

>270 MickyFine: Brilliant!

>266 London_StJ: Aaah, I see. I love how kids these days can just get in their groove when they feel it. (Dependent on the loving support of parents and those around them, I am sure.)

>269 London_StJ: Attic squirrels! Acorn rolling! I can't even imagine lol.

>272 LovingLit: Gender euphoria is a big thing, and it's such a joy to see. It was such a non-thing when they disclosed ("oh, by the way Mommy..."), and their increased happiness is just everything. We're lucky to have the support that we have, from friends to family to schools.

And the squirrels are ... a lot. Flying squirrels (and ground squirrels) are everywhere in our neighborhood, and flying squirrels and bats are common attic inhabitants. Apparently they got through our last deterrent... But that's a problem for the new year.

Whelp, that's it for the year.

The Stats
Total Read: 96
Total DNF: 9
Total Pages Read: 28637
Print Books: 39
Digital Books: 62
Male Authors: 43
Female Authors: 54
Nonbinary Authors: 3
Re-Reads: 45
Books Published in 2020: 24
Library Books: 37
Read for fun: 83
Read for work: 18

Excellent reading year from those numbers!

Forget your stresses and strains
As the old year wanes;
All that now remains
Is to bring you good cheer
With wine, liquor or beer
And wish you a special new year.

Happy New Year, LSJ.