Raven's (On Time) Attempt at 75 Books for 2023! - Part 1

Howdy, Library Thigamabobs! I'm back!

For those that don't know, I'm Raven - or, Angela if you prefer. I work in a news station, live in a very broke state (Illinois), live with an adorable piece of the void masquerading as a cat (his name is Salem), and got back into reading after an accidental hiatus of three years. I love horror, fantasy, and mystery. Last year I started this challenge really late, about halfway through, and this time I intend to make that 75-book goal. Wish me luck!

P.S: Despite writing for a living, my grammar is occasionally sus. Mea maxima culpa.

My Fur Baby Photo Gallery
My cat-son, Salem, looking indignant that I woke him from a nap.


His favorite place to sleep is my lap.

Books Read For 2023:

- January
-American Psycho

February
-Brave New World
- Life, the Universe, and Everything

March
- Deadpool: Dracula's Gauntlet
- Dragon Age Vol 1: The Silent Grove
- Codename: Sailor V - Volume 1
- Pride and Prescience
- Codename: Sailor V- Volume 2
- Halfway to the Grave
- Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol.1

April
-Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol.2
-One Foot In The Grave
- Tombs (Junji Ito)

Projects In The Works

- The Crofter Blanket.

Not enough squares for the bed, yet.
10 down, probably 99 more to go, lol.

- The Happy Hippie Sweater: The Front Panel - Done!

The ends to weave in are massive and frightening, but the rest is the stuff of love. I love these colors!

Welcome back, Raven!

Wishing you a comfortable reading year in 2023, Angela.

Happy new thread for the new year Angela!

Happy almost New Year, Angela! I'm so glad you like it here enough to come back for another year!

Happy New 2023 Thread!

I also read some horror, so I’ll be interested to see what you post this year.

HAPPY 2023 EVERYONE!



I just had a fabulous dinner with my family, complete with ham, mac and cheese, pie, all that good stuff. I'm excited to see everyone again and I can't wait to see what titles/crafts/events we can all explore together.

>8 ursula: Welcome!
Currently working on American Psycho, actually. And I have a LOT to say about it when I get to post my review.

>9 Ravenwoodwitch: I will be very interested. I read it a couple of years ago and also had many thoughts!

Hi, Angela! I'm glad you're back for another year here! Also, bonus points for the Latin in your topper...

Went to see Avatar: Way of The Water with my work friends for my last day off (last day off for a while, actually). The film looks spectacular, naturally, but don't expect anything groundbreaking from the story.

Also started work today on a cool kind of sweater. Were I not so tired I would post the link to it here. I'm also planning on posting tomorrow some of the stuff I finished in 2022. I'm thinking of sharing pictures of this year's work but I'm leery to use another social media. I'm looking for a photo-hosting spot where I can share via links.

A new book was started, too, and more progress was made on American Psycho.
How Bateman can spend an entire chapter nattering on about Genisis - after disfiguring a man no less - I just can't figure out

>12 Ravenwoodwitch: I struggle with where to host photos as well. For knitting I post in Ravelry I can just use the URLs from there but for embroidery, cat pics, etc. I usually end up tweeting "Here's 4 pictures of embroidery/my cat" and then using those URLs. I find LT's photo hosting so cumbersome (probably for the best) that I don't generally use it unless it's something I really want to share like a meetup photo.

Somehow despite seeing you around threads, I haven't followed you before but I'm always keen to check in on other readers who share (some of) my reading tastes. Starred! :)

Happy new year, Angela! Looking forward to seeing what you read in 2023.

>12 Ravenwoodwitch: >13 norabelle414: I like Flickr for hosting photos. Easy to upload via browser or directly from my phone via their app, and really easy to post using their share function -- they generate the code for you and you can choose what size you want the pictures to be based on a "small, medium, large" scale.

It's only 11am and I hate today already. Three letters: DMV.


Even online the process is torture, I swear. My own mistakes just made it worse. I'm leaving the twenty-somethings real soon and I hate adulting with a burning passion sometimes.
Worse yet, my job has opted to make some temporary changes which will firmly put me in the morning shift for awhile. Bye-Bye noon to nine; I miss you already.

On the bright side, I think I like Natalie's suggestion and I'm gonna look into Flickr. Here's hoping I'll be able to actually show people my crafting accomplishments this year.

>16 Ravenwoodwitch: One of the only good things about COVID was that WA state DMVs implemented APPOINTMENT TIMES!! I still had to wait a little, but I was in and out in about half an hour when I had to update my license with my new last name in 2021.

Sorry your shift is changing :( I hope Flickr works for you!

Flickr success! My handsome boy is up in the header. Do let me know if you spot him anywhere else as I am very protective and will go Karen on anyone stealing his photos.

Salem is very handsome :)

Awww. Black cats are the best! Both Mr. Fine and I brought a black cat each into our marriage. All the tiny panthers!

>18 Ravenwoodwitch: Sweet little void!

>1 Ravenwoodwitch: Lovely picture of Salem! Black cats are my favourite. Our very first cat as a married couple was an all black cat called Edward. We had him from 14 weeks to 14 years.

Aw, hello Salem!! Adorable.

>19 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie :)
>20 MickyFine: Sounds like relationship goals to me.
>21 ursula: Thank you :)
Sweet is right; he's got the most chill temperament of any cat I've owned. And he's super friendly, too!
>22 SandDune: Aw, I'm sure he was great. Every black cat I've met has been such a sweetheart.
>23 scaifea: Thank you. I concur but I am terribly biased, lol.

This Saturday was spent having a large breakfast/lunch with my mom, minor grocery shopping, and some afternoon reading. I've got some chores to catch up on so we'll be eating out tonight.

-Progress made on...
- American Psycho
another prime example of how a dog in a horror story is never a good sign.
- Pride and Prejudice
Where Charlotte's scheming is successfully disguised as distracting Mr. Collins from his very distressed cousin.The girl knows what she wants.

Starting....
- A stash buster I found called the "Happy Hippie Sweater" to use up my collection of worsted weight, DK yarn in all those bright colors. Lots of granny stitches. Pictures to come soon.
- I also started chapter one of Juniper and Thorn and I'm gonna give it one more chapter before I decide if it's worth the investment. My first thought, though, is a cackle at how thirsty the protagonist is. My word.

>24 Ravenwoodwitch: Two heavyweight fiction books I haven't gotten to yet, Angela.
I must read Pride and Prejudice in 2023.

>25 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul :)
I think you should, too. It's one of my favorite movies but the actual book has been fantastic. It's always a good sign when a book gets me to laugh out loud while reading.

I've added some photos of where my current projects are up top, too. (Or, at least two of them. More to come. I think there are 6 on ice right now? Non crafters should know that the lure of starting a new project is strong and most of us can't resist it.)

Crochet has really been very inspiring for me. And this snowy Sunday feels like a perfect day to brew a hot tea and work my way through more of them.

Wait, this is your first time reading P&P?! I'm a little jealous. Such a wonderful experience (although rereading is almost as good).

Both your crochet projects are gorgeous. How big will your blanket be? I put my current crochet project in time out this weekend as I have to frog it and start over (gauge issues). So all the cross-stitch for me this weekend instead.

>27 Ravenwoodwitch: I'm loving crochet at the moment as well. I learnt to crochet two years ago and I'm enjoying challenging myself. Haven't dared to make any wearables as yet though!

>1 Ravenwoodwitch: I love your panel for the happy hippy sweater!

>2 Ravenwoodwitch: Ooo so exciting, Raven. I'm teaching myself to crochet this year. I just finished my first small project but ordered a big one. I can't wait to get started. Gorgeous start!
Also your Salem looks awfully like my Set (short for Bastet) - he's beautiful!
All the best in your reading!

>28 MickyFine: Well, not exactly the "first."
I've read a manga adaptation and I've seen both the Kira Knightly film (multiple times) and the one with the zombies. I've just never able to finish the actual P&P cover-to-cover. This is the year that changes and I'm falling in love all over again. :)
My blanket will hopefully fit my full-size mattress, but I couldn't tell you what the measurements are (lol). And I get that completely. Gotta wait for the frustration to end before you can look at it and try again.

>29 SandDune: Thanks :)
You know, same. I taught myself during the pandemic to give me more to do and less to be sad about. If anyone's curious, youtube has some very good instructors for free (Tony from TL Yarncrafts is my first recommendation).
The panel is halfway done. And my inexperience shows as this is gonna be oversized (whoopsie).

>30 Cecilturtle: Thank you :) Same to you; that first big project is always scary!
(and I love the name Bastet for a cat. I told myself it was gonna be either Salem or Binx. Salem won because he's very talkative.)

>31 Ravenwoodwitch: Ah ok. May I recommend the 90s P&P miniseries? I'm fond of the Keira version but the miniseries comes out on top for me.

Happy reading in 2023, Angela!

Hi everybody :)

Gotta love how yesterday I was like "Oh, hey, I should update my book group on where I am with my reads." It had been a busy week, after all, with my new work schedule and workload, and I'd still managed to make some progress.

And then mother nature be like "Hey... how's a migraine sound today?"

For context: I'm prone to getting these and they make movement/computer screens a terrible idea.

The good news is I caught it early and got it mostly under control and, while my head twinges a bit today, we're basically back to normal. And with tomorrow off I have plenty of time to catch up on all the stuff I missed yesterday.

Heh. Given where I am in American Psycho that's kinda apropos, isn't it?
No Huey Lewis and the News for this one, but Paul Allen still got "axed" a question. Hilariously, since Paul is played by Jared Leto, does that mean Batman officially killed Joker?

Made Progress in....
- American Psycho is well over halfway done. This has become something I struggle to put down.
We've reached the point where a detective is involved.
- The Happy Hippie Sweater. We're color repeating again! Will have pictures.

Sorry about the migraine! Glad you were able to mostly divert it.

>37 curioussquared: Thanks Natalie :)

Drum ROLL PLEASE!

Book #1 of 2023 - American Psycho- Physical Book.


Quick Summary
I'd say Content Warning: The Whole Book, but, if I must be specific. In no particular order-
CONTENT WARNING: Graphic violence that ALL will find disturbing; Weapons-Grade homophobia, racism, and misogyny; Cannibalism; Graphic sex quickly followed by graphic sexual violence.
Patrick Bateman, a VP at P&P on Wallstreet, demonstrates everything that can be wrong with a single person in the business world. Surrounded by a never-ending stream of vapid, consumerist America, he takes his boredom and violent tendencies to increasingly disturbing conclusions. And the rest of the world turns, none the wiser.

My Thoughts
Does it amuse anyone else that a couple of books before this was Dexter?
If you want my opinion, I don't actually think Bateman killed anyone. My theory is that he hallucinated all these violent deaths, but believed they actually happened as part of whatever screw is loose in his head. And when I came to this conclusion, towards the end, I felt my so utterly tricked it's not even funny.

Besides all that, Bateman is all the hateful things a person could be in the 1980s, as well as the violent serial killer pop culture told me he was. Elis painted a disturbing picture that's equal parts satirical as it is unsettling. I don't think I'm smart enough to pick up on everything that was lampooned here but I got a good deal of it. Ellis clearly did his research when it comes to the common personality traits of serial killers and, while I don't know if I wanna read anything else from him, I cannot deny his skill at the craft.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I require a stream of cute kitten videos and some fuzzy blankets.

I'm back, with all the cuddly things; washed, exercised, fed. Slept.


Gotta treat yourself at some point, ya know?
My knee kinda hurts, so I suspect I hurt it during lunges last week, but otherwise, I'm feeling pretty good. I'm ready to play some Stardew Valley and gonna read some Douglas Adams later on with Life, The Universe and Everything.
Perfect day for it too; it's a grey morning with that light misting of rain that keeps everything wet and cold. Welcome to the midwest.

Glad you had a nice day off! Hope the knee improves soon. I've been feeling a Stardew itch recently; I started Pokemon Violet but it hasn't been hitting the spot. I think I may finally be far enough away from my initial Stardew playthrough to want to start a brand new farm.

>41 curioussquared: Thanks; It's much better today, finally.
Yeah I definitely needed the bright, cheery wholesomeness of it. Maybe you can try some stuff you didn't in your first farm? Any quests you missed or farm designs you haven't done...

>42 Ravenwoodwitch: I think I've done most things in my original game -- completed the community center, completed other town upgrades, gotten to level 100 of Skull Cavern, made it to the top of the Ginger Island caverns, gotten married, had a kid, made good friends with most people. I don't get motivated by the smaller people-driven quests most of the time, unfortunately. But I think I'd like to try a new farm and try to get the community center done in the first year, which I definitely didn't do the first time :)

>39 Ravenwoodwitch: You sure picked a heavy one to start the year with, Angela.

>44 PaulCranswick: No kidding O_o
I can't say I wanna read that one again; But I'm glad I've read it once if that makes any sense. It was a completely different style of writing and story from what I'm used to and I value those kind of experiences.
It's also one of the only cases I've read where the "it may have been a dream/fake" trope doesn't make me mad. I don't feel cheated at all; I just feel dumbfounded, lol.

Day two of Back to the Office after yet another break, and with my new workflow on top of it. It's been a rough time adjusting to a new schedule (I went from night shift to morning shift) But I do think I'm finally getting the groove. I can't say I like it; but I'm adjusting.

Reading wise, very small, I've made progress in...
- Life, The Universe and Everything - which has been the balm for my soul after such a heavy start to the year's reading. I know I have minimal exposure to science fiction writers but I really, really like this series. It's gonna be my favorite in the genre, for now.
Arthur and Ford are finally out of the disappointing past and into the more recent but equally disappointing past of two days before earth is destroyed.

- Brave New World has been my background read/audio book. And rather than have a crying gif again, let me verbalize: I'm simultaneously horrified and having a blast. This Ford is my personal hell.
Lenina and Bernard are on a reservation, watching some very outdated stereotypes of native people do scary things. Scary to Lenina, anyway.

>46 Ravenwoodwitch: I had to read Brave New World my freshman year of high school and honestly, it's stuck with me since then. Definitely a good one.

It's late... but hi everyone.
It's my birthday! And I had to go to work (boo) but several in my department came with me on lunch for a nice dinner. I got some cute pixel art sculptures from an office friend and Shadows Over Loathing from a close buddy online. I have more coming when I see my parents on Sunday *eyebrow waggle*

Not much reading today since I was busy (and tired) beyond more progress in Pride and Prejudice.
Ms. Charlotte Lucas has made her choice; Mrs. Bennett has been insufferable about it (I feel some sympathy) and Jane has gotten distressing news that Bingly is unlikely to return, and may marry Miss Darcy. I admire how this side of the drama wasn't melodramatically handled. It was stated; the reactions made were appropriate to the character, and the weight of it all still sunk in. If I could be 1/4th of the skilled writer Austen was I'd be satisfied.

Happy birthday!!!

Happy birthday, Angela!!

>48 Ravenwoodwitch: Happy belated birthday!

Yay for all the Austen-y goodness!

Happy belated birthday! Too bad about work, but a nice meal and some presents go a long way to improve the day!

Belated Happy Birthday wishes. We are close on the calendar. Mine is today.

>49 norabelle414: >50 curioussquared: >52 ursula: >53 ffortsa: Thanks everyone! That's all super sweet.
And Happy Birthday Judy!

It's a belated birthday celebration for me! I'll keep it brief so we don't sound too self-centered.
I got gifted Fleetwood Mac's self-titled LP on Vinyl (been eyeballing it for the songs "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" but the whole of it has been great so far!), a mug for The Raven (EAP) and a Jane Austen makeup poach for "The Society of Obstenante Girls" (heh-heh).

I gifted myself three more records: David Bowie's Let's Dance, Carly Simon's No Secrets, and Gordon Lightfoot's Summertime Dream. I'm going out tonight with some friends and gonna curl up with a book in bed later.

I forgot "Say You Love Me" was on this one.
'Scuse me.

Hello everyone!

Today's Tunes - The Modern Love album from David Bowie, while I got some chores and rearranging done.


Last night we had the official B-Day celebration with my friends. We went to my favorite Asian steakhouse (Hibachi Table, woot woot). I tasted an Apple-Tini for the first time. It had me swaying a bit at the table but it tasted great. I don't drink too much because I don't like the taste of alcohol, but this one seemed to work.
Due to being slightly sloshed, I got no reading done last night. But I plan to make up for that today!

Announcement to my new friends: Your girl is online-dating.
And we already have a promising prospect that I've been talking with for two days. I'm appreciative of any advice or warnings about the pitfalls of it all.

Progress on reading has been slow due to bad weather prep. The midwest is about to get slammed by some nasty wet snow. Boo :/

>58 Ravenwoodwitch: Tim and I met on OkCupid (IDK if that one is even still a thing, lol) back in 2014 -- the success stories do exist! Good luck :)

>58 Ravenwoodwitch: Good luck! I found online dating too exhausting for me but the people I met there were perfectly nice. My only advice would be to meet up with the person in real life as early as possible. Think of it as "online meeting people to date" more than "online dating".

>58 Ravenwoodwitch: Yup, I heartily second Nora's advice. I didn't meet Mr. Fine online (we're the old-fashioned set up by friends story) but I did do some online dating before I met him and all the guys I met were nice but meeting in real life is the true test of whether it's going to go anywhere.

I missed your birthday, dang it! I hope it was the best one yet!

Also, yay for Douglas Adams!! One of my very favorites.

>58 Ravenwoodwitch: Good luck! I don't have any sort of generalized advice about it either, I didn't do it myself. (I met my husband in what was supposed to be the worst way before online dating took that spot: at a bar.)

Hello again everyone :)
The advice has been taken to heart, and I really appreciate everyone's insight.

Between being social with a promising match and some very deadline sensative work projects, I haven't had much reading time.
But, in the meantime, I can share my Universal Yums. For January we went to Austria.

- We had some cheesecake-flavored wafers that tasted absolutely divine.
- We also had a "Big Banana" dark chocolate bar. It's banana filling covered with dark chocolate. It was "Meh".
- I'm having some Filinchen brand "Pea Snack". They are pea-based bread crisp seasoned with Paprika and they're quite good.

>58 Ravenwoodwitch: Good luck, I probably don't need to mention the obvious Uncle type advice of being careful and make sure that you meet in a public place first time out.

When I first started dating in Malaysia, I used to encourage my dates to bring a chaperone first time out so that they would be more comfortable - I don't remember Hani bringing a chaperone - I was probably the one who needed to bring one!

Sorry I missed your birthday last week. xx

Hello again everyone, Happy February!
I'm back after a long standing series of events. That first dating prospect didn't work out (after some self-reflection I realized I just wasn't into him. Ah well.) and work has been overflowing with new assignments (some of which I was still late for). It's been a lot of stress and alas I found myself not reading as often and, more often than not, retreating to my sketchbooks or animal crossing. But I'm in a much better headspace for the moment and I'm hoping February will have more than one finished novel. Wish me luck!

The belated birthday wishes are much appreciated, thank you!

There is SOME progress. I missed pictures on the middle round of my new sweater but, tomorrow morning, I'm getting a photo because the first panel is DONE and it looks amazing. Looking forward to reconnecting with several of you!

Glad to see you back!

Back to the grindstone, as per usual; only this time the boss is on vacation. Meaning I'm "on my own" truly, something I can't stand in the professional world.
In the meantime, I posted the picture of the first finished panel of my new sweater in my second post, and I've made some progress in my books, yay!

We're officially halfway done with Brave New World. We've made it to the title drop in story, wo-hoo!
If anyone wants to talk about the fascinating dichotomy Huxley created between the so called "savages" and the "civilized" people ((and, really, what little separates them)) I'll be here all day.

Hello all,

Wednesday is here and I'm feeling pretty good. Got my workout in, have most of my work projects under control (Got to look online to see Ghost lost the Grammy award, which sucks, but I can't exactly complain when Ozzy freakin' Osbourne is the winner for Best Metal Performance, you know?).

I decided to DNF Juniper and Thorn alas, as the writing just wasn't working for me. But, get the confetti out, as I've replaced it with my first Brandon Sanderson read: Warbreaker!
And the prologue alone has me insanely curious. The concept for this magic is the stuff of genius and I'm dying to see what he does with it.

Still trucking along on Life, The Universe and Everything as well.
Arthur and Ford picked up the check, couldn't pay it, and got another history lesson on the people of Krickett having the WORST case of social anxiety to date.

>69 Ravenwoodwitch: Yay for Arthur and Ford! I love them so much.

The front panel of your sweater is gorgeous!

Hi Angela! Catching up here. You're not the first person I know who Juniper and Thorn hasn't worked for. I haven't felt the need to pick it up yet.

>70 scaifea: Ford's current mood of only wanting drinks and girls is a mood, one I haven't been in but who's "fed-up-ness" I have mirrored.
>71 MickyFine: Thanks Mickey!
I'm so excited about it. It's gonna be the most color I have ever worn at once but I'm so ready for it.
>72 curioussquared: Hey Nat, welcome back! I'll catch up on your thread too.
Yeah; the story had me intrigued but the writing itself just wasn't hooking me. I may come back to it but I def didn't see myself owning it any longer.

Heyo everyone!

I spent Super bowl Sunday on a less-than-impressive date from Bumble (cool guy; just not my type) and watching Hot Fuzz at home instead afterwards. Great movie, highly recommend.
(It's a mini Hitchhiker's Guide reunion of the actors in that film.)

- We are almost done with Brave New World and I'm getting very tense.
Bernard has had his meltdown, John has shared his forbidden Shakespeare with Helmholtz to mixed results, and Lenina has shown up to see John, alone, to end her "miserable" obsession.

- 2/3 done with the Douglas Adams book. I found an illustrated hardcover of the first book at the store and just had to pick it up. It's the proud new addition to my shelf.

Happy Thursday! (If there is such a thing.)

After making progress with my therapist this morning, I've just been chugging along at the office. Boss has been away on vacation, which has made the department a bit more relaxed but no-less productive IMO. It was only today that things took a turn as I remembered this Big Important Task(tm) that I accidentally put off for a couple weeks. It involves a major project for next month that I had to get rolling, effectively, but I've managed to get that sucker off the ground with only minimal friction. A+ for me! Actual reading has slowed down since I find myself extremely exhausted by the time the day is over, but I'm gonna try to either finish or get almost done with my audiobook tonight while I do some dishes/laundry.

Since I really like to cook, I thought I'd share my latest romps in the kitchen. I'm fond of meals in 30 to 15 minutes when I get home from work because, as mentioned, I get very tired. Last night was one of my favorite dishes: pork chops with a side of blistered tomatoes, both seasoned with this Italian seasoning blend. Tonight I'm taking a cooking break and using frozen meatballs, sauce from the jar and some pasta. Tomorrow, however, is gonna be freakin' good.

Book Report
- Progress made in HHGTTG!
Arthur flew; before a party lasting for centuries smacked into him.

Going slow it seems, this year. FYI, spellcheck on my tablet isn't working so we'll correct the mistakes later.

Book #2 Of The Year: Brave New World. - Audiobook
-Another really heavy one to start the year.



Picture if you will, a world where happiness is not only within reach but socially responsible. Where drugs, sex, and other pleasure activities are the work of a responsible citizen. Picture a world where children are manufactured in mass in a lab, not by parents, and high art is banned for being "old", "beautiful", and "counter-intuitive" to society's continued, blissful ignorance. In this world of peace, at the cost of free choice and actual life, a so-called "savage" is brought back to civilization.

My Thoughts
I can easily see why this book is considered one of the greats in dystopian fiction. This book disturbed me on a deep, profound level. This feels like what happens if a hedonistic view on life was weaponized "for the greater good", and I'm likely to give some current pop culture the side-eye, at least for while, thanks to this author. I highly recommend this one, much MUCH more than the last read mentioned here.

>76 Ravenwoodwitch: Congrats on book 2 of the year! That's one I haven't read since high school but it had a big impact on me then.

>77 curioussquared: Thanks Natalie :)
I think what shook me the most were the comments made by the World Controller at the end, and John's speech about the right to be unhappy. There's some insidious truths in Mustapha Mond's words - truths that don't even come close to justifying what's been done here - and poor, poor John. That ending damn near broke me.

Happy-Happy Friday everyone!
Work-Lunch with some coworkers today that went well; which was good timing since I also got hit with a new addition to a project I'm working on, one I wasn't prepped for. I hate sudden changes with a burning passion; but it helps when good food is added in.

I'm currently browsing a new sub-genre in the romance section to see if it's a "pick my poison" issue with my aversion to them (and, I admit, I'm having a good time). Tonight's dinner is gonna be open-faced, grilled/baked cheese sandwitches with green onion, chives, and gruyere cheese. This is so good I swear it'll make you cry.

Overall plan tonight is dinner, fold clothes, mix up a drink and settle in for my weekend. And I wish everyone an equally relaxing time this week since I know how many of you work so damn hard.

I read Brave New World years ago and I don't remember it much except the babies coming from a lab, maybe its time for a reread.

Grilled cheese is a definite comfort food! Yours sounds yummy!

>80 kaida46: Hey Deb!
Oh yeah; that was chapter one. Gets down to the nitty-gritty of the nightmare you just stepped into. It's a genius of an opener because you are never going to get the image out of your head (your remembering of it years later being case in point.)
And oh, it was divine ;)

Not a great start to the day I admit. No real source of it other than a general moodiness. It happens with me sometimes and I've learned to be kinder about it than I was in the past. Places like this - where I have so many sweet, like-minded people to geek out to - always help.

Weekend was interrupted briefly by a migraine but otherwise went well. My roommate treated us both to some seafood (shrimp and chips for me, yum yum) and I've gotten hooked on two new books. Sunday had me spending time with my folks for an old fashioned Sunday dinner of oven-baked chicken and mashed potatoes (delish). Got a lot of reading done and should have some more reviews to post soon.

(P.S: The two new books are romance novels in the traditional sense (meaning spicy stuff). I just wanted to know, any rules if the books finished are those?)

Tonight's dinner will be a makeshift summer stir-fry dish. Ground beef, bell pepper, green beans, and chickpeas on top of some potatoes, with a sweet/tangy sauce. It's a little bit of a mish-mash but I'm betting on it being good.

>82 Ravenwoodwitch: Not sure what you mean about rules around spicy romance, but there aren't any rules as far as I know! If you think it's a book, count it :) According to my reading spreadsheet last year, about 25% of what I read was romance novels.

>82 Ravenwoodwitch: I find it really helpful to just be able to acknowledge when I'm having a bad day. It makes it seem like it's not going to last forever.

Re: spicy stuff - of course there are no rules about what you are or are not allowed to count as a book. If you want to read erotica posted on someone's blog and count it as a book, go for it!
As far as discussing specific spicy content, there are no rules against it but generally speaking I know websites can get in trouble if they post graphic content without an age restriction, so I would keep any discussion euphemistic.

>84 norabelle414: >83 curioussquared: Thanks ladies! One of the books I'm reading is labeled erotica, so its good to know we've got some open-minds here. Not planning on putting anything graphic but wasn't sure if that was a "do not share" situation, lol.
And yeah, I agree actually. About halfway through I just acknowledged this was a bad day and retreated into self-care mode. I'm doing better today but I'm gonna keep up with things until tomorrow just to be safe.

Today is a better day; not great, but butter. I've gotten my healthy breakfast, my coffee, and my workout, so we're on the right track.

Played some video games last night after dinner, which turned out quite good. Tonight is just some leftovers from that BUT I'm meal-prepping an Italian pasta salad that I'm looking forward to: made with tri-color spiral pasta, pearl mozzarella, diced tomatoes and a red onion. Gonna try my hand at mixing my own Italian dressing; which me luck.

Book Report
- Almost done with Life, The Universe and Everything; five chapters to go.
- 34% through one of my new reads: Halfway to the Grave.
Bones is amazing and I'm hitching along purely for his sense of humor. This whole thing feels like someone smashed TruBlood with Buffy and... set it in Ohio. That's a choice. Lol.

Book #3 of the Year: Life, the Universe and Everything - Physical Book



After choosing to go mad - because what else do you do when stranded on earth's earliest period with no hope to escape - Arthur Dent and companion, Ford Prefect, find themselves scooped up in a lackluster attempt to save the universe itself from some very evil robots, created by the frightened people of Krickitt. Hilarity, flying, robot depression and a simulation of an Italian bistro ensues.

My Stupidly Fresh Thoughts
You don't need me to repeat that Douglas Adams is hilarious; because he is. I will say this book wasn't as engaging for me as the previous two but only by a little. It's still a super fun, short read with that trademark absurdist humor and I will very much be reading book three in the series soon, once I peel through some library books I still have.

>86 Ravenwoodwitch: Buffy in Ohio?! That's where I live! That clinches it - onto the list it goes!

>88 scaifea: I'm enjoying it far more than I expected so go for it, lol XD

Top of your Thursday Morning everyone.

The boss is officially back in the office, so we go back to being a busy bee. My mood is finally evening out (after work provided lunch as part of a company celebration yesterday) so things are on the upswing.
I got the Douglas Adams book returned today; bless that local library for all its available renewals; this last haul was checked out in November of last year. The physical books can be checked out for four week periods but the digital stuff is just two weeks. Hrumph.

Last night was a fun little adventure in the kitchen. I tried my first skillet dish, the kind that goes from stove to oven, and I think it turned out quite good. It was a honey and harissa chicken skillet with peppers and couscous, with the only setback being a small burn from oil splashing onto my arm (I'm fine). Tasted absolutely yummy; I'm having it for lunch today and tonight's dinner.

Book Report
- More progress made on Pride and Prejudice.
Bingly remains MIA, though Jane finally realizes Caroline is not a friend after all. Elizabeth has heard tell of Wickham chasing after another girl who came into fortune recently and is on her way to visit her friend, Charlotte, at the estate of Lady Catherine.
- On that same note, started Pride and Prescience, the technical book one of that lovely Jane Austen mystery series by Carrie Bebris that I loved so much last year.
- Minor progress made in a Vampire Romance novel, Dark Lover, by J.R Ward.
Ahem. This one is coated in 2000s edge, with less than impressive writing. But as my consumption of Mystery Science Theater will tell you I am a big fan of Cheesy so I am having a good time.
Protagonist Beth is a Mary Sue, and love interest "Wrath" is a Byronic Ragemonster. I see where this is going and it looks like fun.

Good Morning!
Today's Tunes - Currently got Rob Zombie's "Dragula" on repeat since I'm in a small mood. Should be out of it soon. Has anyone seen the tik-toks where they've synched this song up to Matilda on netflix? It's hilarious.
Ghost, Rammstein, and some Ozzy to follow on my Spotify.

The boss is back officially/officially so I'll be short here (;) ) but I'm looking forward to tonight. After work I'm grabbing another drink, making some homemade nachos, and the roommate and I will be either watching a movie/tv show or playing some video games. This week's been rough and I need to kick off the weekend with something real fun to to tip the scales back.

Book Report:
Gonna read at lunch; check back later.

Happy Sunday!

Today's Tunes: Smashing Pumpkins for now. Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Stand Inside Your Love, and then Tonight,Tonight. Will likely be switching over to a more spooky instrumental playlist here soon to inspire me to write a bit.

I spent the day yesterday with my mom, grabbing a coffee, picking up some medicines, and checking on my dad. I also binge-watched several episodes of Young Justice (love it; gonna watch the rest) and this really cool documentary on the book series Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark. These are the three books with those VERY detailed illustrations by Steven Gamel back in the day, the ones that had parents going to school boards, demanding them pulled from elementary school shelves. I tried reading them as a kiddo but got too scared (I was a bigger baby then) but I also remembered how much the kids at my school loved these suckers. The documentary was pretty cool since it also interviewed the former PTA head of one school district who was pushing for the books to be pulled and even got her to sit down and talk with the son of Alvin Schwartz.

I know at least one of you works at a library. Have you experienced a similar situation before?

The closest I can recall is Harry Potter (I understand the tension around this one; I will just be talking about my past experience with it exclusively.)
I was a young kid during the whole "Harry Potter is gonna cause SATANISM!" scare. And I remember seeing our school libraries get flack for keeping it on the shelves. But, at the same time, this was the series that made me want to read at all. I've mentioned before how badly I struggled with books until I read these, and the people in the documentary for SSTTITD mentioned similar experiences. Mainly, they felt illiterate as kids until they found these suckers. It resonates with me so bad.

But I'm rambling. Today we're taking it mildly easy. May finish baking some oatmeal cookies; gonna make some homemade chili for sure (with ground sausage and black beans) and just take it nice and easy.

Book Report
- Dropped the J.R Ward book. Protaganist and Love Interest Got Down To Business and instead of finding it nice... I started laughing, It's a failure all around. Lol.
- Started From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is my first book of hers, but not my first exposure to her or her writing. Her blog is the funny stuff and the only reason I will tolerate the existence of 50 Shades of Grey.
I like the book so far. Will see if it stays.
- Pride and Prescience continues and YES it's good to be back here.
- regular Pride and Prejudice also goes well.
Elizabeth is in Huntsford at Rosings at last, visiting Charlotte and letting her awful cousin wax toxic on Lady Catherine. It occurs to me as I read this section that Elizabeth sure made a lot of excuses for Wickhem's behavior to others, justifying him not so bad for pursing a girl with an actual fortune... even though he only started charming her around the time she got the money. "Hrm" indeed *raises eyebrows and glasses*

>92 Ravenwoodwitch: In answer to your question about censorship, things are BAD for libraries in the US right now (mostly school libraries but public libraries are catching it too). If you're interested, Book Riot does a weekly round-up of book censorship news.

Thankfully, things aren't quite this intense on my side of the border, but some of this is definitely filtering up here as well.

>93 MickyFine: I wonder how many of these parents realize that all they are doing is turning these books into the forbidden fruit for their kids?
But I guess hindsight and common sense have no places in a moral panic, do they? *eye roll*

I think that people complaining about a book can turn it into forbidden fruit, but when books are subsequently removed from curricula or school shelves or library shelves that is a significant barrier to kids reading those books, regardless of how badly they want to. Even if the kids manage to find out about the books, it's not like most kids can go to the library by themselves and hide their checkouts from their parents, or use a credit card to buy ebooks from Amazon.

>95 norabelle414: Oh absolutely, and that whole post is why I was never in support of book banning or pulling books from school shelves. There's so many things I personally wouldn't have had access to without my library card (and my local library's penchant for putting banned literature on its own display stand). I just also think they don't realize that making something "Banned" just draws people to it, even if it is just later when they're adults.
You know, this may inspire me to seek out that actual book list and use it as a guide to finding my next read.

Happy HumpDay y'all (or Midweek if you prefer).

Today's Tunes - Ages ago I restricted my Pandora Radio account. The station is called "Scare Me" and features bands that are heavier and on the spooky side. My other favorite on here is a station I made called "The Angry Hippies Club" for some grunge and alternative rock.

Monday I missed posting (as I did Tuesday) because there was a massive headache of a morning. We had a rare event of storms/severe weather February morning. I spent a good chunk of time in the shelter-spot in our apartment, stressed, and spent the majority of yesterday just recovering. It's bright and sunny today where I am now; I'm going to use this as an excuse to head over to my library and look for more books.
As if I need more, but, meh.

Pictures to come; baked some oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies last night that are the stuff of dreams. Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Book Report
- Pride and Prescience continues!
How would you feel if your new sister-in-law announced her engagement on the day of your wedding? Elizabeth handled it with grace. I would have been salty, ngl.

Howdy,

Nothing like waking up to a very gloomy Friday. Mood's been a little shot the past couple of days, too, but I think this will pass once I get a full night's sleep with no work stress to weigh it down. Meanwhile, I've got a finished comicbook to add to the total - more coming - and some meal prepping to do. Dinner tonight will be a quick throw together bowl with shrimp, tomatoes, corn, and maybe some rice.

Book Report:
- Halfway done with Halfway To the Grave. It's not without faults, but I'm still having a good time.
- Started a couple other books that may or may not be finished.
- Finished a Deadpool Comic and had a blast reading it the night prior.
- first 3rd of Pride and Prescience done.

Book #4 Of The Year - Deadpool: Dracula's Gauntlet - Physical Book.


Having suffered a lot of losses lately, good ole' Wade Wilson (aka the Merc with the Mouth that many of you know as Ryan Reynolds in a red suit) finds his European holiday interrupted by a job from the Lord of Bats himself, Count Dracula. It should be simple: Bring Drac his bride in one piece to stop a war between monsters. As is usual with Deadpool, 4th wall breaking/pop culture saturated hijinks ensue.
Content Warning: Deadpool comics are infamous for their gratuitous violence, gore, Less-Than-Clothed women and occasional bad language. If you're expecting the (slightly) clean-cut, (slightly) moral version from the movies then turn back now.

My Thoughts
Got this done in one night (and stayed up way too late because of it.) That's more than enough proof for me that I enjoyed it very much. I like this kind of absurdist humor (even when it's raunchy) and I'm a big fan of monsters, both in the new and classical sense. This comic fan gives a 10/10.

Deadpool isn't for me but I'm always happy when someone finds joy in a comic. 😊

>100 MickyFine: I totally get that, lol. It's a flavor not for everybody.
Comics just make me smile. It's a fairly easy read (sans stuff like the Killing Joke or The Watchmen) that I can relax and enjoy. And I have a soft spot for superheroes that I think is a leftover from my childhood.

Tis Saturday and I finally got a full night's sleep. I dunno what happened but the past three nights, woof.

Got the groceries done, along with a trip to my favorite local shop in town. Got some pictures to finally share along with a couple more comics I've got under my belt.

Firstly, those cookies I mentioned: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.


Then, I got this cat dish for my birthday from a friend and just decided today it's gonna hold some sugar cubes.

Book #5 of The Year - Dragon Age: The Silent Grove - Physical Book/Graphic Novel


If you haven't played the game, here's the non-spoiler summary:
The current King of Fereldon hires Pirate Captain Isabella and shady/loveable Dwarf Varic to guide him on his search for his Father, presumed dead who may be alive after all.

If you don't plan to play it...
Reluctant King Alistair Therin learns King Maric, his father, may actually be alive after all. He hires two mutual acquaintances - Pirate Captain/Assasin Isabella and Smuggler/Loveable Dwarf Varic Tethras - to guide him to the dangerous library of The Crows (a group of assassins) in Antiva and into the swamps, where a dangerous secret is waiting for him. But, if he wants to find out what happened to his father, he's got no choice.

My Thoughts
Dragon Age: Origins is one of my favorite games. I think the events of this novel take place close after. The author in question was the main writer of the franchise before he left Bioware, David Gaider.
Lots of action, lots of supplemental lore for the games, and some great moments for three fan-favorite characters. Not outstanding but a great read overall.

Book #6 Of The Year - Codename: Sailor V - Volume 1 - Physical Book/Manga


Before there was Sailor Moon, The Champion of Love and Justice, there was the masked superhero that was sweeping her home district of Japan: Sailor V. This is the prequel where Minako Aino, 13, fresh into Middle School, must take on the mantle of Champion of Justice to defend the planet from the Dark Agency, a sister a shadow corporation bent on draining human energy.

My Thoughts
Ahhhh, the other precious side of my childhood. I watched Sailor Moon every day while growing up. She's also a media figure I will defend tooth and nail to this day. But I will go into more detail on that during my re-read of the Mangas. First, we have the prequel.

This one is kinda messy tbh as far as manga. The speech bubble count is heavy, there's a lot of childish exclamations and super cheesy fight scenes. But, while she will not live on my shelf, she was still a fun and nostalgic read.

Happy Tuesday everybody!

My legs are hurting something fierce; spent a lot of time on the elliptical Sunday and had the DARLING idea to go for a walk with family afterwards. It felt great then... not so much now. Ouch.

I brought the last of the cookies to work today to make sure there would be no survivors (a quick way to be popular at the office; bring sweets). And as I've been working, I've been keeping an eye on this recent uproar over the editing before re-release of Roald Dahl's novels. For the sake of complete honestly, I will admit the idea provokes a visceral angry reaction in me because I am seeing significantly large portions of his writing taken out and completely new writing being inserted in instead. While I understand book updates are not unusual - I have an abridged copy of Les Mis after all - but the writer in me cannot help but be utterly disgusted by this particular turn of events. I am relieved to hear there are also original versions available to be sold side-by-side, but it feels improper for edited versions to not be labeled as such.

But I am not without common sense, and I recognize their goal is inclusivity and the protection of kids. So, if anyone feels any different about this than, please, feel free to share. I mean it when I say I am NOT here to jump on anyone, or insult/badger/abuse for having an opinion different from mine.

The Book Report
- 10 chapters to go on another Mr. and Mrs Darcy Mystery.
- Putting a couple books on hold. I am interested but should finish a couple of these.
- Halfway to The Grave is 67% done. Still having fun, minus a couple issues.
Please dear god no love triangles. And dealing with a naïve protagonist can be taxing at times.

>104 Ravenwoodwitch: I don't particularly care about the owner of the works making edits to them in new editions. I grew up reading the heavily revised 1959 versions of Nancy Drew books and I survived. I've read the original Dr Dolittle books and I wish I hadn't - the revised 1988 versions are so much less racist. New editions of old books, particularly children's books, are updated and tweaked all the time, but before social media no one had a way to notice or get mad about it.

In this case I do find it annoying because 1) to me it's obviously just a marketing ploy to rile people up so they'll buy the unedited editions out of spite, the same as the Dr. Seuss books a few years ago and 2) the changes they made were so toothless. Changing "fat" to "enormous" does nothing to fix the fatphobia, ablism, and antisemitism that run deep in his works (as much as I enjoy them).

>104 Ravenwoodwitch: I hope your legs feel better soon! I was waddling around last week after too much walking and too many squats so I sympathize.

>105 norabelle414: Well said, Nora! I fully agree.

>105 norabelle414: >106 curioussquared: Thank you both for your input :)
Given my hope to publish a book someday this has given me a lot to think about. I do agree that the changes they've made seem to be rather pointless (and I feel like "enormous" is worse than "fat", really) and I too understand books get tweaked all the time. I suppose my ire comes from my own protective nature of my works and from the fact that these changes ARE so ridiculous, and ultimately not solving anything it set out to do.
Ah well.

Good morning everyone!

Interesting news today. I just saw an article from the AP that Paolini is going back to his roots, and writing another book in the inheritance universe called "Murtagh". I remember Mr.Barley-Here-Before-He-Was-Gone Grumpy man from the Eragon series and I do admit to being curious to where he's gonna take the series. And now that Mr. Paolini isn't fifteen upon writing it, maybe the actual story structure will improve.

In the meantime, business as usual here in the Midwest. Fake Spring has passed, it is cold again, and we will hopefully drift back into real spring before I freeze; I've added another circuit into my arm workout with exhausting but great results; I've made a surprisingly delicious Tomato and Barley Soup that's going in my recipe book for good; and I managed to get some writing done last night, despite my brain feeling inspirationally tired.

Book Report
- Almost done with the Regency Mystery novel and the Vampire Erotica/Paranormal Romance Novel. I have some Opinions(tm) that I am eager to share.
- Started The Dark Half while in bed last night because it's been too long since I've read something spooky.

>108 Ravenwoodwitch: I still haven't forgiven Christopher Paolini for being a jerk when I met him when I was 15, so even though we have probably both matured, I don't plan to pick up the new book, lol.

>109 curioussquared: He was? That's terrible I'm so sorry! Thankfully I stopped caring about this series after Eldest so I was only partially considering it anyway, lol.
Scratch that off the list.

>110 Ravenwoodwitch: I just checked and I was only 13, so even worse! It was during his tour promoting the release of Eldest. A friend and I went to his signing event at a local Barnes and Noble and the line was HUGE. A Barnes and Noble employee told us to come back at 9pm, so we did. When we got back, they were wrapping up and Paolini refused to sign our books even though he had really just finished. I'm sure he was tired and I know he was pretty young at the time, but it felt pretty bad as a kid to be turned away by an author you had liked. I stopped reading the books after Eldest, too.

>105 norabelle414: Agree too, Nora. Leave the books alone.

>112 PaulCranswick: I think it's perfectly fine to revise the books. Sorry if I was unclear!

Book #7 Of The Year - Pride and Prescience - Physical Book


This is the first of the Mr. & Mrs Darcy Mystery I read previously. After a successful double wedding between the Darcy's and the Binglys, the jilted Caroline Bingly announces her engagement to a young American plantation owner by the name of Frederick Perish. Her wedding is swift, but quickly followed by a series of unfortunate and downright deadly events that put the whole family at risk. Elizabeth will have to put off her new life at Pemberley to help, while noticing a supernatural undercurrent to the whole series of events.

My thoughts
I described this series as the Fanfic of an English major with a love of Jane Austen before as a joke; I learned, recently, that the author is indeed an English major. Supernatural intuition or just me knowing my own kind? Lol.
(I'm a journalism major myself but I specialized in literature so close enough.)

I had just as much fun here as I did the other one. The Darcys have the kind of marriage I always pictured (affectionate with plenty of playful snipping) and the supernatural elements are handled with relative smoothness. Everything does, again, rush itself at the end, and the story leans heavy on the melodrama. But I still found it very enjoyable and happily recommend this one to everyone here.

Good morning, Happy Thursday everyone!
(The weekend is almost here for me. Countdown time.)

The highlight for me so far has been the arrival of my Amazon package - finally - that contains my new bento-box for my lunches, but a new case for my phone and some delicious instant matcha. It's kinda silly that this is enough to give me a high today but I'm not questioning it.
Last night's dinner almost fumbled. I overcooked the meat in my sweet and sour meatballs - made them pretty dry - but everything else came together just fine to compensate. My grandmother told my mom (who told me in turn) that the only way to learn in the kitchen is to make some mistakes so I'm attempting to look at it from that perspective, lol. We're out of leftovers tonight so I am likely to just make some barley (we're out of rice) and heat up one of my instant bags of indian food that I have in there (I think's either a curry or Tiki Masala, both of which are super yummy).

Speaking of food, last month's Universal Yums was a homerun. The snacks were from Brazil ,which I knew zero things about, so I went in blind. My favorite sweets so far has been the banana flavored white chocolate and these gummy straws with a yogurt filling. Favorite salty has been a little tougher . TBD.

Book Report
- As seen above I finished Pride and Prescience. I'm starting book 3 in the series, North by Northanger tonight. From the book jacket it sounds like it's Dacy's family name on the line here. Ouch.
- The actual Pride and Prejudice continues as well.
We've finally met Lady Catherine. She's not an acclaimed slayer of The Unmentionables this time, but she's every bit as intimidating all the same. We're creeping closer to Darcy's Botched Confession and The Big Reveal about Wickham.

It's always nice to catch up on what everyone has been reading.
Your Grandmother seems like a wise lady!

>116 kaida46: Hi Deb! :)
Without a shadow of a doubt I believe she was. She was also the one who helped me learn to stand up to most of my bullies in school. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her :(

If there is such a thing, Happy Monday!

(er, evening. Close enugh.)

Spring Forward snuck up on me. But I didn't lose an hour so much as I very much overslept. I woke up feeling like trash yesterday, and developed a migraine that carried into today. And the Midwest has the GALL to keep the winter temperatures today. Hrmf.
The good news is that the first half of my order from Thriftbooks came in. My review so far is very positive; they came in about a week and a half from whence I ordered, via the post office, with no damage beyond the "thfiftyness" of the books. I ordered some old copies of my favorite Goosebumps books and all three of the Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark anniversary editions from the early 200s ( all sure to make an appearance here). I'm satisfied enough to make another order of some hard to find paperbacks. TBC on what shape they're in.

I kinda love these guys. They've got wear on them, they kinda have that old book smell, stuff like that. I think one of them was part of a school/public library at some point. It's got a sticker on the spine with a letter on it, that ink mark on the top of the pages (can't read it, too faded) and some residue from a sticker taken off. As much as I like owning a freshly printed piece of literature, there's something special about owning a book that wears its history; it's a character all by itself.

Book Report
- Halfway to the Grave is one chapter from being done.
- Finished the last Sailor V Manga.
- Progress made on The Dark Half, Pride and Prejudice, and North by Northanger.

I love used books, too. A good portion of my library was purchased at the now sadly defunct huge library book sale in my area. I used to find such good stuff!

Book #8 Of The Year - Codename: Sailor V - Volume 2


When we last left Minako Aino, the sporty, spirited, idol/love-obsessed 13 year old middle school student, she was trying her very best to be the champion of justice. The Dark Agency throws her some new curve balls, and poor Mina makes a sad realization about her past and her future life. This bittersweet moment, however, sets her up to begin the real fight for the safety of planet Earth.

My Thoughts
Any Sailor Moon manga reader will tell you how Takeuchi loves to use this dark undertone to all her magical girl stories and this was no exception. I found this book mostly underwhelming in the beginning - unable to take itself too seriously - right up until the dark twist at the end. Not a permanent resident for my shelf but a good supplemental material to the overall story.

Book #9 Of The Year - Halfway To The Grave



Katherine Crawford has been paying for the sins of her vampire father since she was sixteen: going out to clubs, and leading blood suckers to their doom, and burring the bodies. But parts of that drastically change the night she crosses paths with a Vampire hitman that only goes by "Bones." Begrudgingly, she agrees to help him track down a Master Vamp with a sinister plot that spells doom for Ohio's "unwanted" girls (the homeless, the drug-addicts, etc). But, soon enough, "begrudgingly" may be come "Beloved" as the two form a very dangerous connection.
Content Warnings: detailed erotica; discussions of rape and sexual violence; some sexually violent situations; and old fashioned regular violence of the gory persuasion.

My Thoughts
I didn't wanna like this one because our protagonist is painfully naïve(To the point of accepting a drink from strangers at a bar and nearly getting dead for it.). But she's also feisty and smart, while our Vampire Love Interest is dangerous, sardonic, and one of the sweetest people Un-alive. The book feels like Buffy for adults (set in Ohio) with a fairly solid plot that isn't hyperfocused on the sex. It is, however, very much theming itelf around victims of sexual violence. So, if you're not in a headspace for that, give it a skip.
Having adored paranormal romance in my teenage years, this felt great to sink my teeth into (heh) and I will be reading the sequel.

Gooooood Morning/Afternoon everyone!

I am chipper this morning for two reasons:
1. Productive chat with my Therapist about my dating life. She gets me so well and it's so good to have someone I can speak to without any filters.
2. NCAA on today; I'm not a sports person, but it impacts my workload in the best way possible by eliminating a time-sensitive task. Early Lunch Today!

Last night was a rousing success for dinner: Thai Beef that was so well marinated that there was none leftover. (Angus beef with lime juice, tamari sauce and fresh ginger on rice).And I may finally be adjusting to spring forward and feeling like I actually got a decent night's sleep (not fully, but decent.)

Book Report
- I'm done with a section of the first Anita Blake novel and I'm on the fence. The story itself has me curious but Anita's constant grumbling and judgements grate me a little.
- Sections of The Dark Half are done.
Is it just a hole, or a grave? And who's responsible for the death of a pensioner in small town Castle Rock?
- More Pride and Prejudice.
Darcy has arrived at Lady Catherine's and the fun flirting continues. I adore his interactions with Elizabeth so much.

I'd also say Happy March Madness but I am very lukewarm/cold on The Mens/Womens Sportsball. So, we'll just say I hope everyone's brackets are doing okay :)

I'm gonna take a short lunch today and leave early from work; not too many assignments on my plate anyway. I'll be spending my Green-Clad Irish Day at home with some Baileys and my Nintendo Switch, but I will likely head out tomorrow to get the stuff to make some Irish soda bread like a lot of other silly Americans today.

No real report on the books; didn't read much yesterday. Status is same.

Happy Friday, Angela! Count me in as another who has no idea what's going on with basketball. Also, I forgot to wear any green, oops.

Good Tuesday everybody :)

Feeling a little emotional this week so we're on a strict adherence to my better diet and exercise regiment to make sure there's no blowouts. The ridiculous cold is finally starting to ebb, and my Universal Yums box made it to my door. It made it last week technically but Sunday was when I finally got it picked up (oops.)
This month's snacks are Dutch. I really liked the hazelnut crème chocolate I've had thus far, and one of the cappuccino truffles. There were also these salt and pepper chips but I don't feel that was anything super special. I may sample one of the Stroop waffles today.
Because I was a goof and forgot to defrost some tomato paste (D'oh) we had minestrone soup last night: macaronic, spinach, celery, onion, kidney beans. Seriously good stuff.

Book Report
- I am jumping ship on Guilty Pleasures, the first Anita Blake novel. The Non-Spoiler reason is because a Crackers-Bananas story cannot save a schlocky writer or the bucket of cringe that is Anita Blake.
For story reasons, I draw the line at Horny Wererats attempting to rape the female protagonist, a line in the sand I never knew I'd have to draw - a line I will now see, someday, when it is randomly unsealed from the vault of nightmares in my subconscious - but a line I will vehemently draw here and now.
-Progress made again in Pride and Predujice.
Darcy is attempting to make contact with Elizabeth on her walks and connect with her; it's awkward and beautiful and I love it.

>125 Ravenwoodwitch: Ooh, I love Stroop Waffles. Our Costco carries them pretty regularly so I don't even have to go to the European market to get them. :)

Book #10 Of The Year: Sailor Moon, Vol 1 - Physical Book



Usagi Tsukino - 14 years old, and a 2nd year student at Juban Public Middle School - accidentally steps on/trips over a cat with a strange, crescent moon shape on her forehead. From that moment forward, she's tasked with three things: 1. Defend Japan from The Dark Kingdom as the defender of love and justice, Sailor Moon; 2. Lead a growing group of fellow Sailor Soldiers despite being a klutzy crybaby afraid of her own shadow; and 3. Find and protect the mysterious princess of the Moon Kingdom, who may be holding a legendary crystal with the power to destroy the world. But, on top of it all, is a handsome and mysterious stranger who's seeking that very same Princess, and he may or may not be an ally.

My Thoughts
This is technically a re-read but the book I have is a new translation. It was fun to compare what I read here with what I read as a child/teenager. But, make no mistake, this is a character and story that is still deeply close to my heart. Usagi faces frequent criticisms but her character grows and changes just like anyone else. And, as someone who would cry at the drop of a hat growing up (and also frequently tripped over her own ankles) this TV show and comic series carried me through some serious bullying in middle school/high school.

If you do pick it up, be warned: Unlike the show, when a monster (or one of the dark kingdom generals) die in this comic, it's not a bright flash and a rain of sparkles. Occasional graphic panels will abound.

What's up, everybody?

A very hectic Friday and Saturday: a big project I needed to film and edit for the former and then shopping for house plants on the latter, as a local store had its big spring sale. I have a lovely Marbled Pothos to take to my desk tomorrow :D

Meanwhile, on the "why did I buy this?" front, I was looking for a blender to replace my current model (which was slowing down and not dicing as well) and tried to the Blendjet thing - the one that advertises as portable - and was thoroughly disappointed. Replaced it with a Nutribullet and I'm far more satisfied. Testing will have to wait, however, as today is meal prep day: Italian seasoned chicken thighs with parmesan, served with blistered tomatoes and some noodles.

Reading didn't happen this past two days but Crochet did, and we are FINALLY on the second row of my big blanket project. Seeing some vertical progress is just the kick I need to make more squares!

Yay for crochet progress! Are you done all the squares and connecting them or still working on squares?

Hi Micky!
I am still making squares and joining as I make them. I feel this will break up the monotony enough to keep me motivated but also means it's taking longer, lol. It also means more ends to weave in later (pray for me).
I'm just happy to get some length on the darn thing now since it will start to look like a blanket now instead of a long strip.

Good afternoon/Evening Everyone.

First of all, my heart is breaking for Nashville right now. I work in a news station, so, I got to watch this unfold live. I won't go into too much detail as this place is such a bright spot for me, and there's no reason for me to taint it or anyone else's day with this horrendous news, but I just needed to mention that I'm acutely aware and can't stand that this happened to another elementary school.

It was a bleak start to a grey day. Beyond this heinous act of history, I'm feeling sluggish from lack of sleep AND got hit with a curveball project at work with a short deadline. It's a good day to immerse myself in all the wonderful things I've accrued as hobbies, after I make a quick dinner.

>131 Ravenwoodwitch: So awful. As horrible as it is, I think I've become a bit numb -- I can't think about any of these situations too hard and just get on with my day so I end up not thinking about them as much as I can, which doesn't feel right but is the only way I can really keep on doing my day-to-day existence. I can't imagine working at a news station during events like these -- I hope you're able to relax and distract yourself tonight.

>130 Ravenwoodwitch: Ugh. Ends. You have all my sympathies.

Sending hugs and hoping today is a better one for you.

Good Afternoon everyone :)

I am in a better headspace today. It's strange to say it I suppose, but the feelings have passed and I can function as normal. We've gotta prep in my department for a new hire so that's where my thoughts will linger, along with the deadline for a massive project at the end of the week. My respite will be some more crocheting during lunch (generating more squares) along with my audiobook haul. Big dinner tonight to generate some leftovers: Chicken Enchiladas with green sauce (yummy.)

Book Report
- Large chunk of One Foot In The Grave, the sequel to the first Jeaniene Frost I read/listened to.
- More Pride and Prejudice. Prideful Darcy offers a terrible marriage proposal, and a letter explaining Wickham's Wicked Wed of lies. Poor, proud Eliza nearly fell pray to a fortune hunter..
- North by Northanger also chunk taken. Northanger Abby is creepy. I haven't read that one but I know the gist. I'm excited to see how she mixes Austen's mock Gothic story with this series of real-life spooky.

Ooh, I have a huge soft spot for Northanger Abbey. I highly recommend the original (the film adaptation with Felicity Jones and JJ Feild is also great).

And after an unintentional hiatus, I'm back!

Had some issues come up IRL; work stress related to changes in my position, but stuff that feels kinda small in hindsight. But I did spend the time doing some more reading and reexamining my self-care routine in total.
Otherwise, things should hopefully calm down. We got a new guy in my department (he seems pretty cool) and a big get together this Saturday and Sunday for Easter. I'm contributing an ambrosia salad as a side-dish, and treating myself this week to a Shepard's pie as my meal prep.

Expect a book update soon as I play catch-up with everyone. In the meantime, is everyone okay after the big storms from last week? My area managed to avoid the worst of it.

Book #11 Of The Year-Sailor Moon, Vol.2 - Physical Book


The saga of the Sailor-Suited Guardian of Love and Justice continues, with her full cast of Sailor Scouts here to help her. This round features: The revelation of past lives/loves, surprisingly scary panels of serious topics, and The Dark Kingdom using our protagonists heart, her biggest strength and weakness.
CONTENT WARNING: Talk/Visual of Suicide. And one panel that has a gory visual that frightened me pretty bad as a kid. Now... it's unsettling, but cool.

My Thoughts
For the uninitiated, the scout on the cover is Sailor Mercury, aka Ami Mizuno, who's powers involve ice and water. Her character is a commentary on Japan's academic standards/expectations, so her status as the Girl Genius is met with equal parts veneration and condemnation by her peers.
As for the book, this is when the excrement hits the fan and gets very real ( if I can be vulgar). The Dark Kingdom Arc is wrapping up and I was actually so scared about what was happening that I took a peak at book 3 just to chill out a little.
In short, this is when we learn about the previous kingdoms on the earth and moon, that Usagi and Mamoru are reincarnated Romeo and Juliet lovers, that all the now dead Kings of Heaven were supposed to be looking for their reincarnated prince, and that the Kidnapped Mamoru arc I hated so much from the show doesn't last NEARLY as long here. Thank God.

What's up everyone?

I have officially hit a personal milestone in my homecook journey. I cooked raw shrimp last night and no one died/got sick today!

Sounds silly on paper. But shellfish has terrified me from the moment I've stepped into the kitchen. The fact that I successfully prepared some that didn't come pre-cooked makes me feel so accomplished.

Otherwise the grind continues: wakeup, workout - accidentally put heavy cream in my smoothie instead of milk - get to work. I'm also near halfway through a surprise read I started this week.
Observe:


Yup. I have decided to finally tackle Anthony Burgess and read A Clockwork Orange. This was one of those books available in high school but gotten taken away. You see, our teacher allowed us to read sample papers for the available books for the report, and someone crasted a copy, you see? So she took the book off the table for book reports. And I avoided it till then because even I knew what events took place here and figured I wasn't ready. I'm doing alright now, though it feels like learning a second language to read it.

If anyone ever wants to give it a go, here:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:A_Clockwork_Orange

Congrats on the shrimp victory! 🦐

I read A Clockwork Orange a few years ago and found it worthwhile.

>139 curioussquared: Thank you ^^
The leftovers were also good with no ill side-effects.
And I am surprised at how engaging I find this despite Alex being one of the worst people I've ever seen on paper.

Good Monday everyone! Happy Springtime!

Easter celebrations went well. With a couple extended in-law families spread between everyone, there are usually multiple dinners for everyone. I had two and both were equally yummy; got leftovers for days.
My contribution was my first attempt at an ambrosia salad. Turned out well, but I am shocked at how sweet it is. Tonight's dinner is a bit lower calorie to compensate, with a shrimp Thai Curry.

Not much on the reading front, alas, but I did watch some movies. I saw the first three movies in what they call the Showa era of the Godzilla series: Godzilla, Godzilla Raids Again, and Godzilla, King of Monsters. These are my favorite so far since the lump Kaiju still looks like something the Power Rangers would be called to fight, complete with tiny t-rex arms.



May watch a different scary movie/series tonight, we'll see.

>138 Ravenwoodwitch: I read this for the first time just a few years ago and was really surprised at home much a loved it. The movie sort of annoys me, but the writing is just so excellent.

Howdy all,

I've spent 1/4th of this week on the phone, fielding an issue with my credit union. My union is great (love them) but I submit that being on the phone to report something is as bad as the wait at the DMV.

But the situation is sorted. I cannot say the same for my blanket project (boo.) The squares are all just a little too small, and I found this out the hard way when I tried to stick them on anyway and things started bunching. It's a simple fix of adding more rows but I'm just too ticked off to look at it right now.

Meantime...

Book Report
- Little slow on the audio books. Will pick those back up since I have some chores to do.
- Made it to Part Two of A Clockwork Orange. This book goes down very smooth given the awful subject matter it deals with. Testament to the genius of its writing.

I also forgot to mention in my last post that I managed to show my pops the movie for Death On The Nile. He liked it a lot, and it reminded me that I should read that one before it gets the newest editing axe.

Ugh, I know how it feels when something like that goes wrong on a knitting/crochet project. Too ticked off to look at it is very familiar!

Glad you're feeling that way about A Clockwork Orange. I have meant to get around to it forever. Of course between then and now I've learned some Russian so the Nadsat should go down relatively easily.

Waiting on the phone for help is the worst. Glad you got it sorted!

>144 ursula: Howdy :)
Yeah, I'm starting to ease up a little now but not quite yet. Maybe I can touch it tomorrow.
I found the language jarring at first but I'm slowly learning the language from context clues.
>145 curioussquared: Thanks Natalie :) I avoid customer service lines like the plague -_-

Happy Friday everyone!
- Today's tunes: My metal mix on Spotify, which appears to be favoring Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osborne, and Slipknot.
- Today's Small Victory: I've been focusing on my arms to work out, and I can FINALLY notice a larger bicep when I flex my arms. It's small - I mean, like, barely there - but it makes me happy. My goal isn't to get too noticabley "buff" anyway, just to be physically stronger.

Yesterday at work was rough. Found out I've been going about a big project completely wrong and we had to scrap/redo everything. It sucked the big one so I treated myself to some of my favorite snacks, and my biggest comfort food: Grilled cheese with two kinds of cheeses and lots of butter. I would have done a garlic spread, too, but was feeling a bit too tired to spend too much time at the kitchen. We will make up for that tonight, however, with a bacon and mushroom fritata.

Book Report
- One hour read of The Murder on The Links. My hold finally bore fruit but it will be over soon with several people in line; this one is gonna get the favorite treatment.

Yay for workout progress! Boo for work problems :( Your grilled cheese and frittata sound delicious, though.

Just checking in to say Hi! Yay on the shrimp victory! I've had a phobia about cooking fish as well, but I certainly love eating it when I go to a restaurant. I always get the scallops on the rare times we go to the Teppanyaki type cook-it-in-front of you Japanese restaurants, but I am still reluctant to try to cook them myself. I have found a pretty good recipe for a shrimp lo mein dish and a dilled-lemon poached fish recipe that my family loves.

Good luck on your project at work!

Happy Monday everyone :)

Found out today one of my work friends is engaged (Woot woot! :D) in this continuing trend of relationships springing up out of our office. I'm serious; there' something in the water. 3 out of the 5 couples I've seen here in my 5 year stretch have worked together, started dating, and then got engaged. Could someone shuffle some of that my direction please? (lol. For all seriousness I'm so happy for her, the guy's fantastic.)

In other news, it's far too cold here for a midwestern spring. 37 degrees outside, and I woke up to Salem curled up against me while I was laying down. He's no cuddlebug, so that's my cue to turn the heat back on. I spenta lovely day yesterday with my folks, watching another Godzilla movie (this time vs. Mothra) and a couple episodes of What's New Scooby Doo? for fun. (I heard the show about Velma was a trashfire. Shame, but at least the original shows are readily available.) I've got some leftovers from that homecooked meal for lunch today, and I'm making some orzo tonight with chicken sausage and sun-dried tomatoes.

Book Report
-Murder On The Links is on hold because I got distracted, didn't finish it, and my checkout/hold is expiring. I'll pick it back up when it circles back to my card.
- Progress made on A Clockwork Orange
The doctors have their hands on Alex now. I knew what was coming was bad, but I didn't suspect it would be so disturbing to me. Trying to force empathy where there is none feels wrong on so many levels...
-Progress also made on Pride and Prejudice.
Darcy's letter arrived. Poor Elizabeth. I do actually know what its like to be tricked by someone you thought trustworthy. You're not an idiot, Eliza; those kind of people are just predatory masters of their craft.

>150 Ravenwoodwitch: That's a lot of successful work couples! Wow.

>150 Ravenwoodwitch: Very jealous of your temperature! It was in the high 80s all weekend and Rory is a cuddlebug so he spent all weekend pissed that I wouldn't let him sit in my lap.

I'm sorry about the work snafu, but grilled cheese is an excellent choice for comfort food, especially with extra butter. Well done.

>151 curioussquared: You're telling me. It does make me happy to see others happy though.
>152 norabelle414: Awww, oh dear XD
Hopefully when things cool down in your place the orange cuddlebug can get some lap time (and you can get some relief).
>153 scaifea: One of my specialties in the kitchen. I'm partial to pepperoni pizza variations and still on the fence about the ones with fruit.

Howdy everyone, good evening!

Listening to - Ghost. He released a new cover track of Genesis's Jesus He Knows Me and it's killer stuff. I like the original too if anyone's curious; both are very much worth the listen.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I got a drastic haircut; my very curly hair now brushes my shoulders instead of my elbows. I'm in love with it and it looks especially cute under my natural curl, but only today are people stopping me in the office to mention anything. My vanity is hurt a little but my anxiety is kind of relieved. People don't really pay as close attention to you as you always think, huh?
Otherwise, life has been very normal for me. I renewed my subscription to Down Dog, a yoga app that randomly generates a yoga routine each time. It's great to explore all kinds of styles (and lengths) of practice and I was thrilled to get back into the swing of things today. I may, tomorrow, do some lifting and then some Yin Yoga for bed.

Dinner last night was good but not as filling as I would have liked. Tonight, we're gonna make a sweet potato hash with some feta, mushrooms, and the last of the chicken sausage from last night.
My new Universal Yums is in, too! I got the smaller box this time (its cheaper), but that still has some decent numbers of munchies in it. More on him later....

Book Report
- Back to my Vampire Audio Adventures with One Foot In the Grave.
If you're going to make a love triangle, do me a favor and make all the points of it appealing and not one who's the equivalent of a Fake Nice Guy. It mildly annoys me in romance series when other non-love interest characters are toxic or awful just to keep any competition from happening. Bones is a vampire hunk, he ain't got nothing to worry about, you can make other men who aren't The Worst Thing Ever(trademark).
- A Clockwork Orange continues and I'm stunned at the hypocrisy of the orderlies.
Nothing like forcing an anti-violence response on someone while you gleefully punch them in the face for waking you up in the middle of the night.

Book #12 Of The Year - One Foot In The Grave - Audiobook



There's no way for me to summarize this without spoiling the first book. So, if you wanna read the series: It's the sequel to Halfway to The Grave (aka the book that felt like an adult version of Buffy set in Ohio).
While strong-armed into the job by a government agent, Kat is doing her best to be the terror of the undead world: the infamous vampire killer, Red Reaper. And attempts to move on with her life with a new boyfriend haven't made her forget her lost love, Bones, despite having left him to protect him. But Bones' return, and the death of a teammate, brings a cascade of events her way that will force her to pick between what everyone else wants for her and what she wants to be happy.
CONTENT WARNING: Explicit Sex Scenes that got kinky, explicit violence, and talk of sexual assault.

My Thoughts
My desire to see what happened next was satiated; and I got a story that was funny, if a bit maddening at times. The writing is vert "tell don't show" and the overall metaphor about not being judgmental against different people is as subtle as an olive oil bath. But I can't deny that the love interest is still great, the protagonist is amusing in her brash impulsivity, and some of the twists really did surprise me. Great mindless read if you want something spicy and fun.
But I'll be taking a break from the other to explore someone else for a bit.

>156 Ravenwoodwitch:

aka the book that felt like an adult version of Buffy set in Ohio).

Well, you know, there IS a hellmouth in Cleveland...

>157 scaifea: Really now? Lol.
Guess it would make sense for it to be crawling with vampires and ghouls after all.

Book #13 of The Year: Tombs (Junji Ito Story Collection) - Physical Book/Manga


Japan's horror manga master gets another fresh release of translated short stories in the States. This included two stories I"me familiar with already (Slug Girl/Window Next Door) and several new ones I hadn't read.
CONTENT WARNING: Blood, General Body Horror, and Violence for the cherry on top.

My Thoughts
Why yes, I did go to the bookstore today and see that a new collection of Ito's short stories had been translated and released. And, yes, I tore through them in one afternoon. My favorite mangeka brings the scary yet again with body-horror visuals that made me mighty uncomfortable at times. My favorite from this collection was "Bronze Statue" if you ever need a recommendation. A+ spooks all around!