London's Gin Palace

Hello, boils and ghouls. After taking off most of 2019 I am back for 2020, and I'm excited to get back into the reading game.

My one-sentence bio: I am a burlesque and sideshow performing, scholarship publishing, costuming making, modeling, comics reading, film watching, queer atheist cultural historian aerialist student and PhD candidate.

I'm not setting any particular reading goals this year, because I'm allowing myself to read simply for pleasure again.

TBR List for 2020
1. Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers by Sady Doyle, recommended by Maggie McMuffin
2. Circe by Madeline Miller, recommended by Steph
3. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand, recommended by Jacqueline Boxx
4. The Witches of New York by Ami McKay, recommended by Jacqueline Boxx
5. In the Clearing by JP Pomare, recommended by avatiakh
6. The Black God's Drums by Djeli Clark, recommended by scaifea

Watch List for 2020
1. Ready or Not SO GOOD
2. The Good Liar A+
3. Alien
4. Jaws I was not prepared for this to actually be a good movie. A very good movie. And it is.
5. IT (old and new)
6. Get Out
7. Us
8. Downton Abbey
9. The Danish Girl After hearing the lead defend the aggressively trans-phobic J.K. Rowling I no longer have any desire to see him portray a trans woman.
10. Shazam Good, charming fun.
11. Split
12. Glass
13. Suspiria As weird and over-the-top as I'd hoped it would be
14. Lure Stunning and strange and delightful
15. Chew
16. Hanna
17. Saint Maud
18. Shirley

New Releases
1. Birds of Prey A+
2. Candyman
3. Invisible Man
4. You Should Have Left

***** 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 2020
1. The Neighbors by Ania Ahlborn. Horror. 1.1.20. **1/2
2. Within These Walls by Ania Ahlborn. Horror. 1.5.20. ****
3. If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho translated by Anne Carson. Poetry. 1.2020. *****
4. If You See Her by Ania Ahlborn. Horror. 1.13.20. **
5. Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs. Urban Fantasy. 1.15.20. ****
6. The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark. Fantasy. 1.2020. ***1/2

7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. 2.3.20. ****
8. Fake Geek Girls by Suzanne Scott. Fan Studies. 2.13.20. ****

9. Forging Hephaestus by Dre Hayes. Superheroes. 3.7.20. *****
10. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy. 3.22.2020. ***

11. Guards Guards! by Terry Pratchett. Satire. 4.2020. *****
12. How to Marry a Werewolf by Gail Carriger. Supernatural Romance. ****
13. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy/Satire. 4.18.2020.
14. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy/Satire. 4.20.2020.
15. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. 4.22.20. *****

16. Soul Music by Terry Pratchett. 5.2020. ****
17. Jingo by Terry Pratchett. 5.2020. ***1/2
18. Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. 5.17.20. ****
19. Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs. 5.29.20. ****

20. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams. 6.5.20. ****
21. The Witches of New York by Ami McKay. 6.5.20. ***
22. My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due. 6.2020. *
23. Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, and Richmond Lewis. 6.30.20. ***

24. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand. 7.1.20. *****
25. The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle. 7.2020. *
26. Poison or Protect by Gail Carriger. 7.2020. ***1/2
27. How to Save an Undead Life by Hailey Edward. 7.2020. **1/2
28. Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger. 7.2020. ***1/2
29. Costuming Cosplay by Theresa M. Winge. 7.2020.
30. Romancing the Werewolf by Gail Carriger. 7.31.20. ***1/2

31. The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher. 8.5.20. ***1/2
32. Making Money by Terry Pratchett. 8.12.20. ***1/2
33. Toucan Keep a Secret by Donna Andrews. 8.15.20. ***1/2
34. A Short History of Indians in Canada by Thomas King. 8.16.20. ***1/2
35. Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez. 8.16.20. ****
36. Habibi by Craig Thompson. 8.17.20. ****
37. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. 8.17.20. ****
38. Lark the Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews. 8.18.20. ***1/2
39. Terns of Endearment by Donna Andrews. 8.24.20. ***1/2
40. Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire. 8.24.20. ***
41. In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire. 8.28.20. ****
41. Out of Salem by Hal Scrieve. Abandoned 8.2020. ***
43. Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson. 8.31.20. ***
44. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett. 9.2020. ****

45. Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton. 9.13.20. ***
46. Aunt Dimity and the Duke by Nancy Atherton. 9.2020. **
47. Aunt Dimity's Good Deed by Nancy Atherton. 9.22.20. *
48. The Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac. 9.26.20. ****

49. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-garcia. 10.1.20. *****
50. Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. 10.4.20. *****
51. Holy Stitches Batman, or, Performative Villainy in Gothic/am by Me. 10.6.20
52. Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire. 10.5.20. **1/2
53. The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews. 10.16.20. ***
54. Language and Voice Unit Readings. 9.11.20.
55. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. 9.28.20. ***
56. Horror Unit Readings. 10.19.20.
57. My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix. **
58.Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. 10.27.20. *****
59. Othello by William Shakespeare. 10.30.20. ****
60. The Whisper Man by Alex North. 10.31.20. ***

Considering how busy you are doing even *one* of those full-time occupations, reading for pleasure is a giant gift!

How's the wife and kids?

Welcome back! Gin is becoming one of our faves - I’ve learned a bit of cocktail chemistry with gin in its various forms - particularly craft gins!

Best wishes for 2020!

I am another fan of gin and I was always a fan of Luxx. Welcome back.

Another resolution is to keep up in 2020 with all my friends on LT. Happy New Year!

Happy reading in 2020, Luxx!

Happy New Year!

>2 richardderus: Reading for pleasure IS a gift, and one I don't want to squander this year. They're great! Thanks for asking. :) Hope you're well!

>3 drneutron: Thank you! A friend once gave me a gin advent calendar, and it was a wonderful experiment. For each day in December it had a 2 oz bottle of gin from around the world, all from small batches. I learned that Scottish gin is my favorite, and that I don't like English very much (although Bombay sapphire is still my go-to. Gunpowder is even better).

>4 DianaNL: >7 FAMeulstee: >8 jayde1599: Happy New Year!

>5 PaulCranswick: I was just telling my wife that gin drinkers are always so happy to find one another, especially since gin haters are so fervent in their dislike. More for us, I say!

1.
Title: The Neighbors
Author: Ania Ahlborn
Pages: 250
Date Finished: January 1, 2020
Rating: **1/2
Amazon Synopsis: Andrew Morrison sacrificed everything—his childhood, his education, and the girl of his dreams—to look after his alcoholic mother. But enough is enough, and now he’s determined to get out and live his life. That means trading the home he grew up in for a rented room in the house of an old childhood friend— both of which are in sorry shape.

The only thing worse than Drew’s squalid new digs and sullen new roommate is the envy he feels for the house next door: a picture-perfect suburban domicile straight out of Norman Rockwell, with a couple of happy householders to match. But the better acquainted he gets with his new neighbors—especially the sweet and sexy Harlow Ward—the more he suspects unspeakable darkness beyond the white picket fence.

At the intersection of Blue Velvet and Basic Instinct lies The Neighbors, an insidiously entertaining tale of psychological suspense and mounting terror by the boldest new master of the form, Ania Ahlborn.




And we're off! True to my resolution, my first book of 2020 is one I read for pleasure. I was quite pleased to find Ania Ahlborn last summer, finally emotionally ready to read horror once again. What I enjoy about Ahlborn is that the fantasy of her books is the horror itself, but the premise often allows for an easy suspension of disbelief. I also appreciate the economic realism of her books, which (as far as I've read) often consider the horrors or just difficulties of low-income and poverty-level protagonists.

That all said, The Neighbors has been my least favorite. It begins quite well, but the premise is more than a little ridiculous, and not nearly as original as some of her other work. Knowing what she's capable of, I'm happy to continue exploring her work, but this tale of suburbia falls flat, the motivations not equaling the actions, and the "horror" overall coming across as another tired generic trope.

Next up is another Ahlborn book, and it's off to a promising start!

>10 London_StJ: Oh boo. Sorry that wasn't a peak-read experience, especially since what I hear about Ahlborn is so often warbles of delight.

I noted the new handle...are you merging your burlesque identity with your LT identity?

>11 richardderus: I only social media under my stage name, and realized this was one place I hadn't yet made the switch. So hiya! I'm London! ;)

Howdy do, London!

>12 London_StJ: Cool! I'll change the entry in the Threadbook.

>14 drneutron: Thanks!

I am feeling so absolutely jazzed about this year.

I've decided that it's dissertation do-or-die time, and to that end asked my chair to set deadlines so I can churn out my chapters as quickly as possible. I met the first two deadlines, and have now finished three chapters. I have two more to write, and the introduction to edit, and I might actually be able to get it all done by the end of February (my goal).

I have other writing to get to as well, which makes me quite happy. I was recently asked to review an academic text already on my TBR list, which is great. And I have two book chapters in various stages of the publication game, one on cosplay, and the other on Catwoman. Gah, I love this.

As seems typical, I am not performing in January, but my spring is slowly starting to fill up. In 2019 I performed in 19 shows, including two festivals, which is all very exciting. My goal is to perform once a month, but I tend think the more the merrier. In February I'll be performing in a Jurassic Park show, and was asked to perform my Slenderman stilts act in a "Missed Connections" romance show. It's all so weird, which is my favorite kind of burlesque.

On the reading front, I am just pages from finishing Within These Walls, so that post will be coming soon. I'm not quite sure what I'll get to after that...

Happy 2020 reading!

>16 London_StJ: It sounds like you've got a great plan, and that's at least half the battle, for me at least. Go, you!!

2.
Title: Within These Walls
Author: Ania Ahlborn
Pages: 250
Date Finished: January 5, 2020
Rating: ****
Amazon Synopsis: With his marriage on the rocks and his life in shambles, washed-up true-crime writer Lucas Graham is desperate for a comeback, one more shot at the bestselling success he once enjoyed. His chance comes when he’s promised exclusive access to death row inmate Jeffrey Halcomb, the notorious cult leader and mass murderer who’s ready to break his silence after thirty years, and who contacted Lucas personally from his maximum-security cell. With nothing left to lose, Lucas leaves New York to live and work from the scene of the crime: a split-level farmhouse on a gray-sanded beach in Washington State whose foundation is steeped in the blood of Halcomb’s diviners—runaways who were drawn to his message of family, unity, and unconditional love. There, Lucas sets out to capture the real story of the departed faithful. Except that he’s not alone. For Jeffrey Halcomb promised his devout eternal life…and within these walls, they’re far from dead.




Previously, I described this book as "a Stephen King protagonist meets Poltergeist meets the Satanic Panic." In the end, I have to say it's more Child's Play than Poltergeist, and it's delightful. I'm very fond of the horror movies I was too young to see: Child's Play came out when I was three, and I saw it (accidentally) five years later*; Nightmare on Elm Street is older than I am, but I still enjoyed it when I was a teen. So, that all goes to say that I am absolutely the audience for a book like Within These Walls, which places a largely pathetic writer protagonist in increasingly desperate situations, made worse by his personal character flaws. Ahlborn isn't afraid to follow through with her conclusions, either.




*I am still absolutely legitimately afraid of dolls. Not during the day, and not when people are around, but I feel very suspicious of humanoid toys when I'm alone at night. I once ordered a stuffed blue dog for First Born for Yule, and when a talking box arrived on my doorstep I refused to open it until my wife was home. I never trusted that dog.

>17 thornton37814: >18 scaifea: Thank you!

>16 London_StJ: Glad to hear deadlines are working for you.

And that you're enjoying your reads so far this year!

Excited to keep up with all your adventures!

>20 MickyFine: Glad you found me!

3.
Title: If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho
Author: trans. Anne Carson
Pages: 416
Date Finished: January 2020
Rating: *****
Amazon Synopsis: By combining the ancient mysteries of Sappho with the contemporary wizardry of one of our most fearless and original poets, If Not, Winter provides a tantalizing window onto the genius of a woman whose lyric power spans millennia.

Of the nine books of lyrics the ancient Greek poet Sappho is said to have composed, only one poem has survived complete. The rest are fragments. In this miraculous new translation, acclaimed poet and classicist Anne Carson presents all of Sappho’s fragments, in Greek and in English, as if on the ragged scraps of papyrus that preserve them, inviting a thrill of discovery and conjecture that can be described only as electric—or, to use Sappho’s words, as “thin fire . . . racing under skin.”

Beautiful, confounding, and so, so sad.

4.
Title: If You See Her
Author: Ania Ahlborn
Pages: 291
Date Finished: January 13, 2020
Rating: **
Amazon Synopsis: The house on Old Mill Road has stood in an open field for longer than Jesse Wells has been alive, its crooked windows and jutting turret tormenting the kids of Warsaw, Michigan the way only a haunted house knows how. Everyone imagines that something terrible lurks within the house’s abandoned rooms—especially Jesse and his two closest friends, Casey and Reed. But when Reed chooses the house as a backdrop for his own suicide, childhood ghost stories are transformed into a nightmare that sends Jesse into a downward spiral of grief. Nearly twenty years later, Jesse stands on the collapsing steps of the house that snatched away his best friend. Casey has asked him to revisit their old demons, if only to help them find closure that’s long overdue. But tragedy finds them once more, and Jesse is left forever changed. Now, left to cope with the disaster that had become his life, Jesse must unravel the mystery behind the house that has terrified him since he was a boy. To fail is to lose everything he has left. But success might come at an even a higher price.

Dull and entirely unoriginal. If someone is going to recycle horror classics they should be sure to do it well, and this story has been done much better.

Noted somewhere (Stephen's thread, perhaps?) that you are henceforward London.
Please to meet you again, London!

>21 London_StJ: I've long been more than a little in love with Sappho. "Beautiful, confounding, and so, so sad" is a darn-near perfect description. *love*

>22 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Glad to see you around. :)

>23 scaifea: My love affair with Sappho continues to grow. I have a tattoo of Fragment 38, and it was so hard to pick just one. I've only ever read Carson's translations, but I've read this collection four or five times, and love teaching from it.

My deadlines are sprinting towards me. I'm so tired, and so excited, and so tired.Current projects, in pictures:

Dissertation:



Costuming/Burlesque/Sideshow

5.
Title: Storm Cursed
Author: Patricia Briggs
Pages: 368
Date Finished: January 15, 2020
Rating: ****
Amazon Synopsis: My name is Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman, and I am a car mechanic.
And a coyote shapeshifter.
And the mate of the Alpha of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack.

Even so, none of that would have gotten me into trouble if, a few months ago, I hadn’t stood upon a bridge and taken responsibility for the safety of the citizens who lived in our territory. It seemed like the thing to do at the time. It should have only involved hunting down killer goblins, zombie goats, and an occasional troll. Instead, our home was viewed as neutral ground, a place where humans would feel safe to come and treat with the fae.

The reality is that nothing and no one is safe. As generals and politicians face off with the Gray Lords of the fae, a storm is coming and her name is Death.

But we are pack, and we have given our word.

We will die to keep it.

This most-recent addition to the Mercy Thompson series was everything I needed: familiar interesting characters, entertaining story telling, and a well-paced adventure. Patricia Briggs is one of the more consistent popular fiction authors I've read, and it's rare her novels disappoint. I enjoyed this book in p articular for its more horrific (and less fantasy) turn, as Mercy finds herself in conflict with invading witches and zombies of innumerable species. Taking a step back from the interpersonal relationships of the pack allows Mercy to again shine as a character, and gets back to the roots of the series. She is why the books are so engaging, and so I was glad for this return.

I do have a bone to pick with Patricia Briggs, though - specifically over her awkward and disruptive censorship of language. I cannot remember if this has been addressed in novels before, but the not-infrequent addressing of adult language was incredibly disruptive and wholly unnecessary. More than once Mercy breaks the fourth wall to tell the reader that a character is swearing, and that she won't repeat the language. And more than once her husband growls at someone, threatening bodily violence for cursing in front of her.

In front of Mercy. An adult. An adult woman in 2019. An adult woman mechanic who has survived independently with a wide variety of people long before their relationship.

At one point Mercy relates Adam's insistence to his age and sense of chivalry, associating it with opening doors and pulling out her seat. Ok. Fine. But it still feels strange, particularly as it's so poorly written (and she has Ben saying "fuck-all" and "titties" in the first chapter....). If Briggs wants to avoid expletives it's perfectly easy to do so - even when characters are cursing. And if she wants to romanticize it, that, too, is possible. But I'd expect better writing.

But honestly it's a minor quibble about a book I very much enjoyed.

I tried hard to like Mercy. I just...don't. It isn't my idea of fun to read about straight sex, and there's just entirely too much of it in the one book I read.

Have a productive, exciting, and creative day!

>27 richardderus: Heh, there's basically no sex, at least in this book. It's hinted that they have it, but nothing approaching a romance novel. For me, Mercy is a character I like - independent and capable, not buckling to gender normativity, insecure but recognizes it and grows, powerful but not godlike.

I need to get round to Mercy Thompson at some point...

>29 scaifea: I find her good fun most of the time, and think you'd enjoy the series as well. An oh! Have you heard about the new Terry Pratchett series? BBC just released the first character photos from The Watch, and I really, really like where they're going with things.

>30 London_StJ: Yes! I'm *so* excited about The Watch!! Vimes is my favorite character, along with Granny and Nanny (and Death, of course, who reigns on high).

>31 scaifea: That is a perfect collection of favorites. I may rank them differently, and may add one or ancillary characters, but that's a strong core cast. :)

The Watch books are my wife's favorites, so we get to geek out together.

>32 London_StJ: Ha! Excellent. And yay for sharing a geek-out with the wife! Tomm hasn't read any of the Discworld books, but Charlie's halfway through his first one...

>33 scaifea: I got 2/3 of my guys to read Wee Free Men, and suspect they'd love The Amazing Maurice if they got around to it. I'll bide my time, and gloat when they do.

>16 London_StJ: Good luck with your dissertation!

>35 figsfromthistle: Thank you!

>16 London_StJ: Congratulations on having a plan in place for completing your dissertation. I was lucky to make it through undergrad!

>26 London_StJ: That is a series I have gone back-and-forth about starting. I may give the first book a try and see what I think.

>37 alcottacre: Undergrad is hard! In some ways more so, because you are required to take so many credits outside of your field.

I like Mercy as a character - certainly more so than Anita Blake, who hates women. The series as a whole isn't perfect, but it can be good fun.

6.
Title: The Black God's Drums
Author: P. Djèlí Clark
Pages: 112
Date Finished: January 2020
Rating: ***1/2
Amazon Synopsis: In an alternate New Orleans caught in the tangle of the American Civil War, the wall-scaling girl named Creeper yearns to escape the streets for the air--in particular, by earning a spot on-board the airship Midnight Robber. Creeper plans to earn Captain Ann-Marie’s trust with information she discovers about a Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums.

But Creeper also has a secret herself: Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, speaks inside her head, and may have her own ulterior motivations.

Soon, Creeper, Oya, and the crew of the Midnight Robber are pulled into a perilous mission aimed to stop the Black God’s Drums from being unleashed and wiping out the entirety of New Orleans.



I admit that I had a difficult time getting into this story, which I think is my own quirk when reading another's recommendations - I start off looking for what the other reader loved so much, rather than getting into the story itself. Once I did, though, I found Creeper's story charming, and was especially enamored of the language of the whole. It's a fantastic way to build character without clumsy exposition. I've taken stars for its brevity - in the end, I really wanted more.

Film review!



I vaguely remember when Bernard Rose's Frankenstein (Frank3n5st31n?) and Paul McGuigan's Victor Frankenstein came out, the latter more so because it stared Daniel Radcliffe. That both came out in the same year felt strange, and I remember that Rose's looked more interesting, but lost track of both until now.

Last night I was looking for something interesting to watch while building a t-rex puppet, and decided to give it a go. And ... I loved it.

Rose's Frank3n5st31n is well and truly a horror movie. It is not a romanticization of the doctor, but a close and literally painful tracking of the birth and existence of the creature, and what he suffers after the doctors' actions. It begins brightly, idyllic, and compassionate, and devolves as the science proves disappointing. But the creature is more than they ever expected, and though the doctor disavows the creature, Monster is forced to continue living, in our modern world.

It is a horror, both for the violence that is often hard to watch, and the horror of Monster's existence. I found it compelling and engrossing and heartbreaking - a thoughtful considering of Shelley's original.

>39 London_StJ: I wish they had that on Prime!

ETA I mean, not "free to watch with ads" which isn't free, it's stealing time from me.

>40 richardderus: Your library might have it!

>41 London_StJ: Lovely idea but they don't. And the other library benefit I adore, the Kanopy streaming service, doesn't either! *sigh*

7.
Title: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Author: Ken Kesey
Pages: 272
Date Finished: February 3 2020
Rating: ****
Amazon Synopsis: In this classic novel, Ken Kesey’s hero is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, McMurphy rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Nurse Ratched. He promotes gambling in the ward, smuggles in wine and women, and openly defies the rules at every turn. But this defiance, which starts as a sport, soon develops into a grim struggle, an all-out war between two relentless opponents: Nurse Ratched, backed by the full power of authority, and McMurphy, who has only his own indomitable will. What happens when Nurse Ratched uses her ultimate weapon against McMurphy provides the story’s shocking climax.




Wooooow, wow wow wow, is that Amazon synopsis problematic and misleading! Wow.

I've been teaching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for almost a decade now, and my approach to teaching the novel has evolved and grown over time. I thoroughly enjoy the reading, and I love the experience of reconsidering approaches and understandings when you've read the same book for professional analysis once or twice a year for a lengthy period of time.

This time around, I emphasized some of the important aspects of the novels I've always stressed - that Bromden is an unreliable reader, but not for the reasons one might assume, and that McMurphy is indeed an actual criminal. That the review romanticizes MrMurphy is not surprising, but deeply disturbing all the same. It's important to remember, I tell my students, that McMurphy has been charged with statutory rape. And when he's asked about it he doesn't deny the charge, but rather blames the child he's had sex with. Yup, he's lusty alright.

It's also a common trope in my lectures to consider whether Ratched is actually the dictator that Bromden suggests, or if she's ... just doing her job. In a time and place where that might not be easy, or popular - or even "right" to our contemporary understandings. But she's still a nurse on a men's ward in a veteran's hospital, charged with the maintenance of an extraordinary number of patients. Including MrMurphy, whose actions and lack of understanding actively hurt other patients.

ANYWAY, this time around I thought it useful to put the publication of the novel directly in historical context. It's all well and good to tell students that the novel was published in 1962, but they may not realize that it's two years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And seven years before Stonewall.

In the broadest attempt to give the novel context, I offered the following timeline, tailored towards considerations of significant characters within the novel:

Korean War (1950-1953)
First birth control pill FDA approved (1960)
Vietnam War (1960-1964)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest published (1962)
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Married couples win right to use birth control (1965)
Voting Rights Act (1965)
Civil Rights Act of 1968
Stonewall Riots (1969)
Birth control legal for everyone (1972)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest film (1975)
Indian Child Welfare Act (1978)
PTSD Officially Recognized (1980)
Homosexuality removed from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) 1987
World Health Organization removed homosexuality from ICD (International classification of diseases) (1992)
Homosexuality decriminalized with Matthew Shepard Act (2003)
Gay marriage legalized in US (2015)

Realizing some of the context was illuminating even to me.

I also went back a bit on my previous attempts to defend Nurse Ratched. I maintain that she is not the monster Bromden and the other patients describe, but instead a maligned character onto whom they project their own cultural and personal anxieties. She is, in the end, a nurse doing her job. But she is a person, and herself deeply flawed - a trait I think most clearly represented in the final interaction with Billy Bibbit. Following the party, we discussed as a class, she abuses her personal relationship with Billy's mother, and shows herself capable of the same emotional abuse that Mrs. Bibbit offers her son. In this scene she is demonstrably overbearing and judgmental, and not a professional or a caregiver. She is, I suggest, a stock character of a bad mother - a woman invested in the control of her offspring rather than their wellbeing. It was not a turn they were expecting from me, and inspired a lot of enthusiastic analysis.

8.
Title: Fake Geek Girls
Author: Suzanne Scott
Pages: 302
Date Finished: February 13 2020
Rating: ****
Amazon Synopsis: Reveals the systematic marginalization of women within pop culture fan communities

When Ghostbusters returned to the screen in 2016, some male fans of the original film boycotted the all-female adaptation of the cult classic, turning to Twitter to express their disapproval and making it clear that they considered the film’s “real” fans to be white, straight men. While extreme, these responses are far from unusual, with similar uproars around the female protagonists of the new Star Wars films to full-fledged geek culture wars and harassment campaigns, as exemplified by the #GamerGate controversy that began in 2014.

Over the past decade, fan and geek culture has moved from the margins to the mainstream as fans have become tastemakers and promotional partners, with fan art transformed into official merchandise and fan fiction launching new franchises. But this shift has left some people behind. Suzanne Scott points to the ways in which the “men’s rights” movement and antifeminist pushback against “social justice warriors” connect to new mainstream fandom, where female casting in geek-nostalgia reboots is vilified and historically feminized forms of fan engagement―like cosplay and fan fiction―are treated as less worthy than male-dominant expressions of fandom like collection, possession, and cataloguing. While this gender bias harkens back to the origins of fandom itself, Fake Geek Girls contends that the current view of women in fandom as either inauthentic masqueraders or unwelcome interlopers has been tacitly endorsed by Hollywood franchises and the viewer demographics they selectively champion. It offers a view into the inner workings of how digital fan culture converges with old media and its biases in new and novel ways.

Review coming soon on Media Industries Journal.

Interesting book. I'll see if I can find a copy - maybe through ILL.

My love for ILL is strong.

>43 London_StJ: Wow homosexuality was only de-criminalised in the US in 2003?!
England and Wales - seen somewhat as conservative - managed to do so in 1967.

Have a great Sunday,

>47 PaulCranswick: It's shocking, isn't it? Some states decriminalized homosexuality much earlier, but that was the national date. Acts between consenting adults are still criminalized in 16 states.

Sweetiedarling! I saw this today and thought of you immediately: Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today.

Lacing cultural criticism, Victorian literature, and storytelling together, "TOO MUCH spills over: with intellect, with sparkling prose, and with the brainy arguments of Vorona Cote, who posits that women are all, in some way or another, still susceptible to being called too much." (Esmé Weijun Wang)

A weeping woman is a monster. So too is a fat woman, a horny woman, a woman shrieking with laughter. Women who are one or more of these things have heard, or perhaps simply intuited, that we are repugnantly excessive, that we have taken illicit liberties to feel or fuck or eat with abandon. After bellowing like a barn animal in orgasm, hoovering a plate of mashed potatoes, or spraying out spit in the heat of expostulation, we've flinched-ugh, that was so gross. I am so gross. On rare occasions, we might revel in our excess--belting out anthems with our friends over karaoke, perhaps--but in the company of less sympathetic souls, our uncertainty always returns. A woman who is Too Much is a woman who reacts to the world with ardent intensity is a woman familiar to lashes of shame and disapproval, from within as well as without.

Written in the tradition of Shrill, Dead Girls, Sex Object and other frank books about the female gaze, TOO MUCH encourages women to reconsider the beauty of their excesses-emotional, physical, and spiritual. Rachel Vorona Cote braids cultural criticism, theory, and storytelling together in her exploration of how culture grinds away our bodies, souls, and sexualities, forcing us into smaller lives than we desire. An erstwhile Victorian scholar, she sees many parallels between that era's fixation on women's "hysterical" behavior and our modern policing of the same; in the space of her writing, you're as likely to encounter Jane Eyre and Lizzie Bennet as you are Britney Spears and Lana Del Rey.

This book will tell the story of how women, from then and now, have learned to draw power from their reservoirs of feeling, all that makes us "Too Much."

And how's THIS for a cover (it's a paper original) image?!?

>49 richardderus: That is incredibly thoughtful, and RIGHT ON THE NOSE. A friend shared the same the day before it came out, so I was able to preorder it, and it's now sitting on my nightstand ... waiting until I finish my dissertation edits. I did sneak a few pages and fell in love halfway through the introduction. Very much the content I'm looking for. so good in the editing. But I can't think about that too much, because this week is spring break at work, and I'm determined to finish the rest of the edits she's asked for, wrapping up my dissertation.

Ahhh!

I'm on a major deadline right now. Two-thirds of my committee is going on sabbatical in the fall, and will be spending the summer out of the country, so I have until May to defend ... or wait until spring 2021. That means I have to deliver a final final draft by mid-April, to give them the required six weeks of reading before defending.

I really don't want to wait another year.

To that end, pleasure reading has been slow, but I did just finish an absolutely charming little book. Well, at 624 pages, maybe not so little.

9.
Title: Forging Hephaestus
Author: Drew Hayes
Pages: 624
Date Finished: March 7, 2020
Recommended by: Tom (aerial instructor)
Rating: *****
Amazon Synopsis: Gifted with metahuman powers in a world full of capes and villains, Tori Rivas kept away from the limelight, preferring to work as a thief in the shadows. But when she's captured trying to rob a vault that belongs to a secret guild of villains, she's offered a hard choice: prove she has what it takes to join them or be eliminated.

Apprenticed to one of the world's most powerful (and supposedly dead) villains, she is thrust into a strange world where the lines that divide superheroes and criminals are more complex than they seem. The education of a villain is not an easy one, and Tori will have to learn quickly if she wants to survive. On top of the peril she faces from her own teacher, there are also the capes and fellow apprentices to worry about, to say nothing of having to keep up a civilian cover.

Most dangerous of all, though, are those who loathe the guild's very existence. Old grudges mean some are willing to go to any length to see the guild turned to ash, along with each one of its members. Even the lowly apprentices

My aerial instructor Tom is tops when it comes to not only circus instruction, but book recommendations. Knowing my research, he thought for sure I'd enjoy Drew Hayes' take on organized super villainy, and a challenging of identities and concepts of right and wrong. He was right - I thoroughly enjoyed this vacation in a super-drenched city, exploring a world post-Golden-Age, when metahumans are not necessarily normal, but not necessarily thin on the ground, either. The characters are engaging and (forgive me) thoroughly human, and their hero's journey (I'm not sorry) is a complete narrative from birth through conclusion. As it should be, at over 600 pages.

The major fault of the book is how loudly it broadcasts its conclusions -it's almost slapstick in its efforts - but it's no less enjoyable for being able to spot the end miles and miles away. I also can't decide if this is intended as a YA or not - it lacks graphic content of pretty much every kind - but, again, it's no less enjoyable for it. Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoys sci-fi or superheroes.

Well, that one sounds like a hoot. On to the list it goes...

>51 drneutron: Apparently the audio book is also very good, if that's something you enjoy. I read it on my kindle. :)

>50 London_StJ: Hmm, plot-wise that one sounds a bit similar to the Renegades trilogy by Marissa Meyer, which is definitely YA.

>50 London_StJ: Adding that one to the BlackHole!

>50 London_StJ: I'm pleased I haven't lost my book-matchng mojo! Sometime in May, then, maybe you'll get to read it.

Meantime it's all GO on the dissertation. Best of luck!

As of right now I've added 5,521 words and thirteen pages to a chapter I swore was done, bringing chapter 2 to a whopping 63 pages and 22,055 words.

Now I have to go do the same for chapter 3, rewrite large sections of my introduction to fit the dissertation I've actually written (as opposed to the one I thought I would write), and put together my epilogue.

Will I get it done by the end of spring break? WHO KNOWS?!

>53 MickyFine: It feels very YA to me, but the characters are all adults, which seems unusual...

>54 alcottacre: Enjoy!

55> Thanks! I'm beginning to think I'll need it. ;)

>56 London_StJ: Crossing my fingers, arms, toes, etc. and sending you all the best writing vibes!

>58 MickyFine: Thanks! Another chapter sent off to my chair. That's all my content chapters - now I need to edit my intro and write a short epilogue. It's getting done!

You can do it! You can do it!

10.
Title: Unseen Academicals
Author: "Terry Pratchett"
Pages: 400
Date Finished: March 22, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***
Amazon Synopsis: Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork - not the old-fashioned, grubby pushing and shoving, but the new, fast football with pointy hats for goalposts and balls that go glowing when you drop them. And now, the wizards of Unseen University must win a football match, without using magic, so they're in the mood for trying everything else.
The prospect of the Big Match draws in a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can, a maker of jolly good pies, a dim but beautiful young woman, who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been, and the mysterious Mr. Nutt (and no one knows anything much about Mr. Nutt, not even Mr. Nutt, which worries him, too.)

As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed forever. Because the thing about football is that it is not just about football.

Here we go! Here we go! Here we go!

This is ... not Pratchett. There are narrative elements here that make Unseen Academicals read more like fan fiction than actual Discworld - a need to explain characters, clumsy gimmicks that are repeatedly pointed out (i.e. Nobbs), a heavy hand with the social commentary. All of these elements are Discworld, but here they lack the finesse of earlier works. Knowing it was published two years after Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimers, I'm inclined to say it's more the work of Rob Wilkins, his assistant, than Pratchett, but of course that is all speculation in hindsight. It's fun enough, but I only read it again because I needed a distraction and it was already on my Kindle.

Have a lovely, peaceful, safe and healthy weekend.

>62 PaulCranswick: I hope you and yours remain well!

11.
Title: Guards! Guards!
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages: 416
Date Finished: April 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: *****
Amazon Synopsis: Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...). How did it get there? How is the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night involved? Can the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order – and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork to power?

Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon...who could ask for anything more?

I wanted my message this year to be fairly universal in a time we all should be pulling together, whatever our beliefs. Happy Celebration, Happy Sunday.

>64 PaulCranswick: I think that's a lovely sentiment. Joy to you and yours.

12.
Title: How to Marry a Werewolf
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages: 199
Date Finished: Whoops, forgot I just reread this one
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis:

13.
Title: Men At Arms
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages: 400
Date Finished: April 18, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: A Young Dwarf's Dream

Corporal Carrot has been promoted! He's now in charge of the new recruits guarding Ankh-Morpork, Discworld's greatest city, from Barbarian Tribes, Miscellaneous Marauders, unlicensed Thieves, and such. It's a big job, particularly for an adopted dwarf.

But an even bigger job awaits. An ancient document has just revealed that Ankh-Morpork, ruled for decades by Disorganized crime, has a secret sovereign! And his name is Carrott...

And so begins the most awesome epic encounter of all time, or at least all afternoon, in which the fate of a city—indeed of the universe itself!—depends on a young man's courage, an ancient sword's magic, and a three-legged poodle's bladder.

14.
Title: Feet of Clay
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages: 400
Date Finished: April 20, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: It's murder in Discworld!—which ordinarily is no big deal. But what bothers Watch Commander Sir Sam Vimes is that the unusual deaths of three elderly Ankh-Morporkians do not bear the clean, efficient marks of the Assassins' Guild. An apparent lack of any motive is also quite troubling. All Vimes has are some tracks of white clay and more of those bothersome "clue" things that only serve to muck up an investigation. The anger of a fearful populace is already being dangerously channeled toward the city's small community of golems—the mindless, absurdly industrious creatures of baked clay, who can occasionally be found toiling in the city's factories. And certain highly placed personages are using the unrest as an excuse to resurrect a monarchy—which would be bad enough even if the "king" they were grooming wasn't as empty-headed as your typical animated pottery.

15.
Title: My Sister, the Serial Killer
Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite
Pages: 240
Date Finished: April 22, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: *****
Synopsis: When Korede's dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what's expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This'll be the third boyfriend Ayoola's dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the fit doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede's long been in love with him, and isn't prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other...

My most recent escapist read was _My Sister, The Serial Killer_ by Oyinkan Braithwaite, and oof, was it good.

When googling a link to share (that wasn't from Amaz*n) I found a number of reviews that write of the novel as "funny" and "a slash fest," but I found the book to be neither, and am afraid that these pedestrian descriptions belie the quiet care of the story.

The book is absolutely absurd, and perhaps this is where some find the story humorous - it seems so unusual one can't help but laugh. But it is also exceptionally human, and for that _believable_ - the suspension of disbelief is not difficult, even in the face of the extraordinary: a beautiful young woman who kills her boyfriends unrepentantly, and then calls her meticulous older sister to help cover her crimes.

Without exceptional gore, the novel explores violent crime, cultural constructions of gender and familial obligation, and a fascinating hierarchy of personal relationships. It's engaging and addictive and beautiful, and I highly recommend it.

https://thebookerprizes.com/books/my-sister-serial-killer-by

16.
Title: Soul Music
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages: 384
Date Finished: May 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****

17.
Title: Jingo
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages: 448
Date Finished: May 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2

18.
Title: Monstrous Regiment
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages: 416
Date Finished: May 17, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: War has come to Discworld...again. And, to no one's great surprise, the conflict centers around the small, insufferably arrogant, strictly fundamentalist duchy of Borogravia, which has long prided itself on its ability to beat up on its neighbors. This time, however, it's Borogravia that's getting its long-overdue comeuppance, which has left the country severely drained of young men.
Ever since her brother Paul marched off to battle a year ago, Polly Perks has been running The Duchess, her family's inn, even though the revered national deity, Nuggan, has decreed that female ownership of a business is an Abomination. To keep The Duchess in the family, Polly must find her missing sibling. So she cuts off her hair, dons masculine garb, and sets out to join him in this man's army.

Polly is afraid that someone will see through her disguise; a fear that proves groundless when the legendary Sergeant Jackrum accepts her without question. Or perhaps the sergeant is too desperate to discriminate, which would explain why a vampire, a troll, a zombie, a religious fanatic, and two uncommonly close "friends" are also eagerly welcomed into the fighting fold. Soon, Polly finds herself wondering about the myriad peculiarities of her new brothers-in-arms. It would appear that Polly "Ozzer" Perks is not the only grunt with a secret.

Lovely London! So glad to see you're enjoying your quarantine with Sir Terry. Sending hugs to you and all yours.

>69 richardderus: Comfort reads are a necessity right now, and for me that means plenty of Pratchett. I hope you're well!

Films!

There's a slight problem in our household: my wife and I have very different taste in films. We have some crossover, thankfully, but my favorite brain candy makes my wife sick to her stomach: horror films.

Ok, ok, that's hyperbole, because I'm in a strange mood. But my wife does not enjoy horror movies, and I love them. Why is this a problem? Well, alone time is difficult when you're in household isolation, and my media of choice needs to be kept from everyone else. And the other humans tend to wander in, sometimes out of pure boredom. Today, though, I found a few minutes and curled up in bed with a horror comedy I've been meaning to watch: Satanic Panic.



Culturally and academically, satanic panics are a subject of interest for me. They also make good fodder for whimsical horror films. There is a scathing review of Chelsea Stardust's 2019 film on IMDB, but it seems pretentious: the reviewer wanted a different film, by a different director. The reviewer laments that "This could have been a true horror epic of our time - but they tried to be too clever," (stephenabell) but I think they really just didn't try to take themselves too seriously. And that's what makes the movie fun. Stephen wanted a rip-roaring comedy, or a horror film; what was made was a satire of a film genre and its cultural response.

Satanic Panic is not a comedy along the lines of Shawn of the Dead, but it is a very fun poke at the films that inspired satanic panics - the ridiculous and over-the-top media of the 1970s that scared viewers into actually believing that satanic cults were busy sacrificing babies and infiltrating daycares. It's over the top and ridiculous, because it's supposed to be. And it's done fairly well; the acting is wonderful, the situations silly, and the aesthetics are better than the originals. Is it an amazing movie? Not really, but it's wonderful fun, which is what I think it's supposed to be.

>70 London_StJ: "I wanted a different x" is only useful in the context of "if you're like me and think, based on its appearance and sales bunf, you're getting x, you'll be wrong and disappointed."

So pleased to see you back posting this year.
Enjoy your long weekend.

>71 richardderus: Agreed. Perfectly useful critique at that point. But "this would be better if it was a different movie" is a garbage response.

>72 PaulCranswick: Pleased to be back! And pleased to be reading for pleasure - right now I'm sipping at Last Chance to See. I hope you had a lovely weekend.

19.
Title: Smoke Bitten
Author: Patricia Briggs
Pages: 351
Date Finished: May 29, 2020
Recommended by: Library Thing, actually
Rating: ****
Synopsis: I am Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman.
My only “superpowers” are that I turn into a thirty-five pound coyote and fix Volkswagens. But I have friends in odd places and a pack of werewolves at my back. It looks like I'm going to need them.

Centuries ago, the fae dwelt in Underhill—until she locked her doors against them. They left behind their great castles and troves of magical artifacts. They abandoned their prisoners and their pets. Without the fae to mind them, those creatures who remained behind roamed freely through Underhill wreaking havoc. Only the deadliest survived.

Now one of those prisoners has escaped. It can look like anyone, any creature it chooses. But if it bites you, it controls you. It lives for chaos and destruction. It can make you do anything—even kill the person you love the most. Now it is here, in the Tri-Cities. In my territory.

It won't, can't, remain.

Not if I have anything to say about it.




There is an enjoyable complexity to this twelfth book in the Mercy Thompson series that I've felt was missing in the last few volumes. Character driven as always, there's a balance between a broad cast of characters, and a spectrum of conflict that feels more natural (for, you know, a supernatural novel). While some is extraneous to the plot, it solves some problems from previous novels, and shows movement forward without losing the suspense. Very happy to have indulged in this one.

20.
Title: Last Chance to See
Author: Douglas Adams
Pages: 218
Date Finished: June 5, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: Join them as they encounter the animal kingdom in its stunning beauty, astonishing variety, and imminent peril: the giant Komodo dragon of Indonesia, the helpless but loveable Kakapo of New Zealand, the blind river dolphins of China, the white rhinos of Zaire, the rare birds of Mauritius island in the Indian Ocean. Hilarious and poignant—as only Douglas Adams can be—Last Chance to See is an entertaining and arresting odyssey through the Earth’s magnificent wildlife galaxy.

21.
Title: The Witches of New York
Author: Ami McKay
Pages: 560
Date Finished: June 5, 2020
Recommended by: Jacqueline Boxx
Rating: ***
Synopsis: Respectable Lady Seeks Dependable Shop Girl. Those averse to magic need not apply.

New York in the spring of 1880 is a place alive with wonder and curiosity. Determined to learn the truth about the world, its residents enthusiastically engage in both scientific experimentation and spiritualist pursuits. Séances are the entertainment of choice in exclusive social circles, and many enterprising women—some possessed of true intuitive powers, and some gifted with the art of performance—find work as mediums.

Enter Adelaide Thom and Eleanor St. Clair. At their humble teashop, Tea and Sympathy, they provide a place for whispered confessions, secret cures, and spiritual assignations for a select society of ladies, who speak the right words and ask the right questions. But the profile of Tea and Sympathy is about to change with the fortuitous arrival of Beatrice Dunn.

When seventeen-year-old Beatrice leaves the safety of her village to answer an ad that reads "Respectable Lady Seeks Dependable Shop Girl. Those averse to magic need not apply," she has little inclination of what the job will demand of her. Beatrice doesn't know it yet, but she is no ordinary small-town girl; she has great spiritual gifts—ones that will serve as her greatest asset and also place her in grave danger. Under the tutelage of Adelaide and Eleanor, Beatrice comes to harness many of her powers, but not even they can prepare her for the evils lurking in the darkest corners of the city or the courage it will take to face them.




I found this book surprisingly difficult to finish. It was recommended by a friend I greatly admire, which made starting it hard - I find myself reluctant to read books enthusiastically recommended, for the fear of not loving them as much as the recommender. But I did, promised it was a good, queer, witchy romp. It started amicably enough, with interest and promised mystery, and just the right amount of tension. Much of it was enjoyable, and I liked the characters, looking forward to where their adventure would take them.

And then it took a turn for the worse. I don't want to spoil the story, because I understand why my friend enjoyed it, and think a great many still will. But I very much want to express how tired I am of stories in which women's bodies are beaten, destroyed, and ravaged by "righteous" men - or men in general. The absolute reality of this is horrific enough, and it's a problem that persists in gruesome and often overlooked ways. In another time and another place I may be less impacted, but right now I don't care what the resolution may be: I just don't want more women tortured for the sake of Christianity in my escapist fiction.

Many of the plots remain unresolved, likely in the hopes of baiting a sequel. If there is one I am not inclined to seek it out.

I finally got around to seeing the remake of Suspiria; no, I have not seen the original, so this is my first Suspiria experience.



I found the film to be as strange, eccentric, and horrific as I'd hoped it would be.

22.
Title: My Soul to Keep
Author: Tananarive Due
Pages: 57/348
Date Finished: Abandoned June 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ---
Synopsis: When Jessica marries David, he is everything she wants in a family man: brilliant, attentive, ever youthful. Yet she still feels something about him is just out of reach. Soon, as people close to Jessica begin to meet violent, mysterious deaths, David makes an unimaginable confession: More than 400 years ago, he and other members of an Ethiopian sect traded their humanity so they would never die, a secret he must protect at any cost. Now, his immortal brethren have decided David must return and leave his family in Miami. Instead, David vows to invoke a forbidden ritual to keep Jessica and his daughter with him forever.

Harrowing, engrossing and skillfully rendered, My Soul to Keep traps Jessica between the desperation of immortals who want to rob her of her life and a husband who wants to rob her of her soul. With deft plotting and an unforgettable climax, this tour de force reminiscent of early Anne Rice will win Due a new legion of fans.




If you have any interest in horror at all you should immediately watch Horror Noir, a documentary now available on Shudder. It is compelling and thoughtful and wonderful, and filled me with a strong desire to decolonize my own bookshelves, and seek out new voices and perspectives. And for both a contributing part in the documentary, and as a novelist recommended on horror lists, I sought out this novel by Tananarive Due.

Given the high praise this novel and its author received I gave it more of a chance than if I had picked it up cold, but ultimately I couldn't push through it. Stylistically, it's clumsy - the exposition is ham-handed and awkward. But more significantly for my individual experience is the saturation of Christianity, and the preaching of the text. I began this novel the same week the president removed legal protections from my wife in an effort to appease his evangelical Christian supporters, and so had no patience for the "importance of accepting Jesus" when religion is literally used to excuse hate and bigotry and the dehumanization of at-risk peoples. I cannot accept a plot where religion is a mark of goodness and a lack of faith is a mark of evil, for which characters deserve eternal damnation.

>77 London_StJ: Oh, just ew. I would have abandoned and then thrown it across the room.

Hugs to you and your wife. I hate how this president is putting so many people in danger in so many ways.

>78 scaifea: Hugs back to you and yours.

>77 London_StJ: Not my genre at all.

I am not a lover of organised religion which increasingly seeks to dictate to and denounce people. Stay safe. xx

>80 PaulCranswick:

I've been striking out on reading lately, but I'm hoping to dive into some fun things after this week, including White is for Witching, Frankenstein in Baghdad, and a few other horror novels I've seen recommended lately.

But first I have to finish writing - I have final revisions on a book chapter due today, and a goal of submitting my final dissertation draft by the end of the week. Whoa. Gosh, am I ready to be done with it all. I've loved the project, and I'm very proud of the work that I've done, but the waiting involved in a dissertation - specifically waiting for others to read for feedback - has been difficult for me. I work in bursts myself, so when i'm ready to go I want to go.

So, while I wait ... I've submitted my first book proposal. And I get to finish edits on two accepted book chapters. :)

23.
Title: Batman: Year One
Author: Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, and Richmond Lewis
Pages: 57/348
Date Finished: June 30, 2020
Recommended by: Research Text
Rating: 3/5
Synopsis: A new edition of one of the most important and critically acclaimed Batman adventures ever, written by Frank Miller, author of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS!

In 1986, Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli produced this groundbreaking reinterpretation of the origin of Batman--who he is and how he came to be.

Written shortly after THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, Miller's dystopian fable of Batman's final days, YEAR ONE set the stage for a new vision of a legendary character.

Review: The origin story of the Batman is a bit unremarkable, no doubt because I've seen it done so many times by so many people. Interesting for the failures Miller allows Bruce to face, but the character's core personality remains the same, which is something I've always found a bit dull. I read the book for the representation of Catwoman as a sex worker, which is immediately applicable to the work I'm producing. But what I enjoyed the most was the development of Gordon - his strengths and his weaknesses, and his overall humanity. Gordon is why I give his book a 3* rating.

24.
Title: Sawkill Girls
Author: Claire Legrand
Pages: 447
Date Finished: July 1, 2020
Recommended by: Jacqueline Boxx
Rating: *****
Synopsis: Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: The newbie. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: The pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: The queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives; a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight…until now.

Oh, what an absolute joy to read something for pleasure, and having the time and mental bandwidth to just throw myself into it for a space. I've needed that so, so much.

The synopsis of Sawkill Girls is uninspired, reducing it to stock characters and banal, overly-repetitive plots. The novel itself - and the women involved - are so much more.

Sawkill Girls is a story of love, magic, and the weight that young women carry in society. It is a story of generations of oppression, and the choices that people can still make. It is a story of heartache and loss and love and the natural diversity and queerness that make up humanity. And it's a story of horror and power and deceit. To say anything more would be to ruin the joy of watching the unfolding, but I recommend it just as enthusiastically as it was recommended to me.

25.
Title: The Devil in Silver
Author: Victor LaValle
Pages:
Date Finished: Abandoned July 2020
Recommended by: Jacqueline Boxx
Rating:
Synopsis: Pepper is a rambunctious big man, minor-league troublemaker, working-class hero (in his own mind), and, suddenly, the surprised inmate of a budget-strapped mental institution in Queens, New York. He’s not mentally ill, but that doesn’t seem to matter. He is accused of a crime he can’t quite square with his memory. In the darkness of his room on his first night, he’s visited by a terrifying creature with the body of an old man and the head of a bison who nearly kills him before being hustled away by the hospital staff. It’s no delusion: The other patients confirm that a hungry devil roams the hallways when the sun goes down. Pepper rallies three other inmates in a plot to fight back: Dorry, an octogenarian schizophrenic who’s been on the ward for decades and knows all its secrets; Coffee, an African immigrant with severe OCD, who tries desperately to send alarms to the outside world; and Loochie, a bipolar teenage girl who acts as the group’s enforcer. Battling the pill-pushing staff, one another, and their own minds, they try to kill the monster that’s stalking them. But can the Devil die?

The book was so plodding that I forgot to finish it. It just dropped off my radar.

26.
Title: Poison or Protect
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages:
Date Finished: July 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis:

I've developed sleep paralysis, which has been an interesting experience. I've had as many as four episodes in a night, and up to three nights of episodes in a week. To ward them off Ive taken to reading fluffy and familiar things before bed, and when I manage to drag myself out of it. I have a deal of Carriger on my phone, so this has occupied most of my reading time.

27.
Title: How to Save an Undead Life
Author: Hailey Edward
Pages:
Date Finished: July 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: **1/2
Synopsis: Grier Woolworth spends her nights weaving spooky tales of lost souls and tragedies for tourists on the streets of downtown Savannah. Hoop skirt and parasol aside, it’s not a bad gig. The pay is crap, but the tips keep the lights on in her personal haunted mansion and her pantry stocked with ramen.

Life is about as normal as it gets for an ex-necromancer hiding among humans. Until the society that excommunicated Grier offers her a second chance at being more than ordinary. Too bad no one warned her the trouble with being extraordinary is it can get you killed.

Blah. I couldn't have cared less about Grier, and while a sentient house has monumental potential it is entirely wasted here.

28.
Title: Romancing the Inventor
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages:
Date Finished: July 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis:

29.
Title: Costuming Cosplay
Author: Theresa M. Winge
Pages:
Date Finished: July 2020
Recommended by: Emerald King
Rating:
Synopsis:

It is shockingly difficult to find this book, for no reason I can identify. It is not listed at all here on LT, but it is a research text, and a new one at that. More surprising is that it doesn't come up in an initial search for "cosplay" on Amazon, or through my university library. I know of it only because a reviewer was surprised I hadn't cited it, and so now I've hunted down a copy for due diligence.

I can't believe it's July and I've only sort-of finished 29 books. That I've read so little after months of quarantine is astounding. Sure, I know why - I find it difficult to concentrate for long periods of time, and I'm faster to put down books that don't grab me - but I miss the escapism of engaging fiction.

On the flip side, not being able to do so many of the things I love has meant a great deal of productivity. I've edited one book chapter for publication, and will submit my revisions for another book chapter his weekend. I finished my dissertation with the approval of my chair, and so next week I will finish final edits before sending the whole shebang to my committee, in preparation for a September defense.

Holy cow. I can defend in September.

On the same day that my chair gave me the green light I received positive feedback from a publisher, and am expecting my first book contract ... tomorrow.

I guess writing books is a good excuse for not having time to read them?

!!!

Yeah, I’d say that’s a good reason! Eagerly awaiting news of said book available for our perusal. 😀

>86 drneutron: Thanks!

All the best wishes for your defense and CONGRATS on the book contract! All fabulous news!

>88 MickyFine: Thanks so much! Writing my dissertation has really affirmed my love of writing in general, oddly enough. I'm certainly ready for a new project, but at least I like what I've been training for.

30.
Title: Romancing the Werewolf
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages:
Date Finished: July 31 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis:

Another anxiety-brain read

31.
Title: The Twisted Ones
Author: T. Kingfisher
Pages:
Date Finished: August 5, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be?

Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.

Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale.

From Hugo Award–winning author Ursula Vernon, writing as T. Kingfisher, The Twisted Ones is a gripping, terrifying tale bound to keep you up all night—from both fear and anticipation of what happens next.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I'll start with the good. The premise is eerie, and the back-woods fairy tale premise is delightful. The story is so incredibly human and normal and tactile that when the extraordinary creeps in the uncanniness is particularly effective. The bad, though, is that it's ... too human? Or rather, that the protagonist writes too casually.

The first-person narration is excessively sloppy, sounding very much like stream-of-consciousness; Mouse speaks to the reader as we would actually speak to friends over a couple of drinks. But the character is an active narrator, and her fictional job is that of an editor. As she writes of improvements needed in the writing of fictional authors I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Mouse needs a much better editor of her own. If a stronger editor had worked on this book I think it would easily be a four-star-tell-friends read. As it is, being able to finish a book is a mark of favor.

My review of Fake Geek Girls came out today, which is cool. I've also received good news on another project; I contributed a chapter to a volume on feminist perspectives on comics, and the editors used my work as a sample to accompany the book proposal. It wasn't terrible, apparently, because they've secured a publisher, and the project is moving forward. Huzzah!

I have to submit my final dissertation draft by the end of the week, to enable a September defense. And I need a September defense to honor my book contract, which gives me eleven weeks to finish my monograph.

Gosh, I love writing. Publishing is so exciting.

And terrifying.

I wonder if I'll ever find a job?

32.
Title: Making Money
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages:
Date Finished: August 12, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2

Another often re-read, for comfort and escapism. It turns out that I just can't focus on hardcopies right now; ebooks are always in my pocket, and I'm much more likely to pick it up if it's always available. So, for my peace of mind I've deleted my social media apps and downloaded some cozy mysteries and queer fantasy.

33.
Title: Toucan Keep a Secret
Author: Donna Andrews
Pages:
Date Finished: August 15, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: Meg Langslow is at Trinity Episcopal locking up after an event and checking on the toucan Meg's friend Rev. Robyn Smith is fostering in her office. After hearing a hammering in the columbarium (the small building where cremated remains are held), Meg finds an elderly parishioner lying dead on the floor of the crypt. Several niches have been chiseled open; several urns knocked out; and amid the spilled ashes is a gold ring with a huge red stone. The curmudgeonly victim had become disgruntled with the church and ranted all over town about taking back his wife's ashes. Did someone who had it in for him follow him to the columbarium? Or was the motive grave robbery? Or did he see someone breaking in and investigate? Why was the ruby left behind? While the Chief Burke investigates the murder, Robyn recruits Meg to contact the families of the people whose ashes were disturbed. During this task, Meg learns many secrets about Caerphilly's history--and finds that the toucan may play a role in unmasking the killer. Clues and events indicate that a thief broke into the church to steal the toucan the night of the murder, so Meg decides to set a trap for the would-be toucan thief--who might also be the killer.

I am no longer the target audience for these books, that much remains true. I long loved the Meg Langslow series for having an unconventional (i.e. blacksmith) femme protagonist, but at this point either Meg is growing more and more socially normative, or my own awareness is making me more sensitive to it. I'm no longer convinced we could be good friends. But Toucan Keep a Secret is an improvement of the last few books in that Andrews has learned to limit her cast, and no longer seems compelled to include every single cousin in every single story. This is well and truly about Meg and her role in the community, and it feels much more controlled, and thus more believable. I enjoyed it as a library book, and am glad I also borrowed the next couple. It's a decent escapist series, and it's not reading the same five books over and over again, so I'm happy.

In an effort to decolonize my freshman English syllabus I have had the extraordinary joy of reading an array of new-to-me voices. My guides have just been internet lists, but there's been a lot of good.

34.
Title: A Short History of Indians in Canada
Author: Thomas King
Pages: 229
Date Finished: August 16, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: Winner of the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year and the Aboriginal Fiction Book of the Year—a collection of twenty short stories told in Thomas King's classic, wry, irreverent, and allegorical voice.

As with any short story collection, I found myself drawn to some more than others. Particular favorites were "States to Avoid," "Rendezvous," and "Not Counting the Indian, There Were Six."

35.
Title: Things We Lost in the Fire
Author: Mariana Enriquez
Pages: 202
Date Finished: August 16, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: In these wildly imaginative, devilishly daring tales of the macabre, internationally bestselling author Mariana Enriquez brings contemporary Argentina to vibrant life as a place where shocking inequality, violence, and corruption are the law of the land, while military dictatorship and legions of desaparecidos loom large in the collective memory. In these stories, reminiscent of Shirley Jackson and Julio Cortázar, three young friends distract themselves with drugs and pain in the midst a government-enforced blackout; a girl with nothing to lose steps into an abandoned house and never comes back out; to protest a viral form of domestic violence, a group of women set themselves on fire.

Whether for voice or subject, I found myself drawn more to Mariana Enriquez than Thomas King. There's a kind of creeping horror which I greatly appreciate in fiction. Though I balked at the use of "transvestites" in "The Dirty Kid," I loved the story overall; this term is ... complicated, and often ugly, but could be a product of translation or culture, so I'm willing to accept it. "Adela's House" is a horror of classic form, and I can imagine a novel's worth of "what ifs" to go with it.

36.
Title: Habibi
Author: Craig Thompson
Pages:
Date Finished: August 17, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, by circumstance, and by the love that grows between them. We follow them as their lives unfold together and apart; as they struggle to make a place for themselves in a world (not unlike our own) fueled by fear, lust, and greed; and as they discover the extraordinary depth—and frailty—of their connection.

A re-read i still highly recommend. I accidentally read it today. I was planning my syllabus, on which I included Fun Home. Only ... I forgot about the nudity in the graphic novel. I really struggled with the choice of whether or not I should include it, as an impactful queer text in a genre I think should be more widely taught in literature classes ... and ultimately decided against it, because I teach 18-year-olds and didn't want even cartoon nipples to distract from analysis. So I went to my shelf to find other graphic texts, and rediscovered this moving epic.

Ultimately I'm including neither, and instead am very excited about the Polynesian and Korean short stories I've found in their place.

37. Her Body and Other Parties
Author: Carmen Maria Machdo
Pages:
Date Finished: August 17, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women’s lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.

A wife refuses her husband’s entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store’s prom dresses. One woman’s surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in the bravura novella “Especially Heinous,” Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a show we naïvely assumed had shown it all, generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgängers, ghosts, and girls with bells for eyes.

Another quick re-read. I don't remember what I thought of this book the first time around, but as I read through it again today I found much of it engaging and familiar and haunting and beautiful and queer. It's the kind of writing I've been longing for for months, and I'm glad I've bought myself a copy to read again and again.

38.
Title: Lark The Herald Angels Sing
Author: Donna Andrews
Pages:
Date Finished: August 18, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: It’s Christmastime in Caerphilly. Meg, full of holiday spirit, is directing a nativity pageant when she finds a surprise in the manger: a living, breathing baby girl. A note from the mother says it’s time for the father to take care of her―and implicates Meg’s brother, Rob, as the father. A DNA test can reveal the truth but Rob’s afraid that suspicion itself could derail his plan to propose to the woman he loves. So Meg, always up to the task, makes it her merry business to find proof of paternity. But her investigation into the life of Lark, as the infant is named, leads to more questions than answers. Is someone using Lark as a pawn in a sinister game? And why does Meg feel that she is the one being threatened most of all?

On-point for a Christmas special, and rather fun in its chaos and execution. It did make me feel rather wistful for winter celebrations...

39.
Title: Terns of Endearment
Author: Donna Andrews
Pages:
Date Finished: August 24, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: Meg Langslow is only too pleased to join her grandfather on a cruise ship vacation dedicated to lectures on birds and other environmental topics. But Meg’s vacation quickly becomes a nightmare when the ship breaks down and needs repairs…in the Bermuda Triangle. Ahoy!

If that, plus nursing an injured tern back to health, isn’t enough, a woman has jumped ship―leaving behind a note that reveals alarming details about her fellow writing-retreat members who are still onboard―and Meg’s grandfather’s assistant, Trevor, is now missing too. Suspicions are flying all around. . . Soon it’s up to Meg to swab the decks and solve this killer case before more bodies are swept to shore.

Standard fair, but at sea!

40.
Title: Come Tumbling Down
Author: Seanan McGuire
Pages:
Date Finished: August 24x, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***
SynopsisWhen Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister—whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice—back to their home on the Moors.

But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.

Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken.

Again.

I love Jack. I desperately love Jack. Jack is why I got into this series however long ago, and more Jack is why I kept reading. But it's been so long that I feel like I either missed a book, or found it ... less enthralling. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to find this one available at my library. Ultimately, it was a bit disappointing. While it does some very interesting things with mental illness, in a humanizing and sympathetic way, the adventure itself is ... dull. Uneventful. Underdeveloped. It could have been so, so much more, but the actual story was over in the blink of an eye. I'm a little heartbroken, to tell the truth.

41.
Title: In an Absent Dream
Author: Seanan McGuire
Pages:
Date Finished: August 25, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

42.
Title: Out of Salem
Author: Hal Schrieve
Pages: Abandoned
Date Finished: August 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: Genderqueer fourteen-year-old Z Chilworth has to adjust quickly to their new status as a zombie after waking from death from a car crash that killed their parents and sisters. Always a talented witch, Z now can barely perform magic and is rapidly decaying. Faced with rejection from their remaining family members and old friends, Z moves in with Mrs. Dunnigan, an elderly witch and befriends Aysel, a loud would-be-goth classmate who is, like Z, a loner. As Z struggles to find a way to repair the broken magical seal holding their body together, Aysel fears that her classmates will discover her status as an unregistered werewolf. When a local psychiatrist is murdered by what seems to be werewolves, the town of Salem, Oregon, becomes even more hostile to "monsters," and Z and Aysel are driven together in an attempt to survive a place where most people wish that neither of them existed. Rarely has a first-time author created characters of such immediacy and power as Z, Aysel, Tommy (suspected fey) and Elaine (also a werewolf), or a world that parallels our own so clearly and disturbingly.

I did not abandon this book because I didn't like it. On the contrary, I loved the premise, the characters, and the exploration of identity. It was thoughtful and affective and overall very appealing. But it was, in a way, too good. Specifically, the bullying described was far too real for my fragile emotional state these days. So, I gave it up to protect myself, but in another time and space I think it would be an amazing read.

43.
Title: Raising Demons
Author: Shirley Jackson
Pages:
Date Finished: August 31, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***
Synopsis:

This book was much more fun when I wasn't parenting in the middle of a claustrophobic pandemic.

44.
Title: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Author: Terry Pratchett
Pages:
Date Finished: September, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis:

45.
Title: Aunt Dimity's Death
Author: Nancy Atherton
Pages:
Date Finished: September 13, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***
Synopsis:

Pure and utter garbage - a lazy fairytale without any attempt at depth or development. Which, I'll admit, was exactly what I was looking for - a book to keep my attention for half a second and not ask a damn thing of me.

>98 London_StJ: Three stars is pretty generous for "pure and utter garbage"!

>99 PaulCranswick: Hahaha, it really is. But I really needed the junkiest of fluff books, and it delivered. I can't fault the author too much for that...

In a world of awful, there's actually a lot of good going on in my household. My wife managed to put off spine surgery for over a decade, ended up going under the knife in the middle of a pandemic, and made it through with flying colors. Recover is rough, but she's up and walking and much more herself these days. I think her quality of life is going to be so much better.

Aaaannndddd ... my defense is scheduled! I'll be defending my PhD dissertation on Tuesday, October 6. My chair told me in our last meeting that my dissertation is "a sexy book" (when I asked about publishing), so I'm optimistic. Which is good, because my own book contract is contingent on having my PhD, and I recently wrote an author bio for another work calling myself "Dr."

It felt like a jinx, but the publication will come out next year, so perhaps it's hopeful instead?

But speaking of garbage from >98 London_StJ:....

46.
Title: Aunt Dimity and the Duke
Author: Nancy Atherton
Pages:
Date Finished: September 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: **
Synopsis:

It takes real confidence to write a story when you've spoiled the ending with your first book. It's just lazy to make the protagonist less interesting (and more like the protagonist of the first book) when given her own narrative line.

47.
Title: Aunt Dimity's Good Deed
Author: Nancy Atherton
Pages:
Date Finished: September 22, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: *
Synopsis:

I understand that readers really enjoy the escapism of "normal" characters "lucking" into the trappings of extreme and unbelievable wealth, but ... this was even more garbage than the first. Don't try to humanize the driver of your limo by saying he's waiting in the car to read his espionage thriller. You don't see him as a person. Clearly. And wow, the protagonist is a loathsome chit. Ok, ok, I've learned my lesson. I think.

Current Library TBRs:
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (a book I've tried to start three times in the last two years)

Recently Purchased TBRs
Frankenstein in Bagdad - a library book I started and then decided to purchase to finish ... but haven't yet
The Flowers of Evil by Baudelaire, because I was promised nineteenth-century poetry about lesbians
Best Women's Erotica of the Year Volume 5 by Rachel Kramer Bussel, because a snippet was read in the last Smut Slam I attended
The Girl With All the Gifts, a re-read gifted to me by a friend
In the Dream House, which I started and loved and decided to purchase to finish ... but haven't yet

Clearly I have no need of Dimity-doo.

Glad to hear your wife's surgery went smoothly. I know how weird it is to go to a hospital right now.

Wishing you all the best for your defense! And as many distracting/trashy books as you need. :)

>101 MickyFine: Thank you on all accounts!

48.
Title: Skeleton Man
Author: Joseph Bruchac
Pages:
Date Finished: September 26, 2020
Recommended by: @DiversityInHorror on Twitter
Rating: ****
Synopsis: Molly’s father, who grew up on the Mohawk Reserve of Akwesasne, always had the best scary stories. One of her favorites was the legend of Skeleton Man, a gruesome tale about a man with such insatiable hunger he ate his own flesh before devouring those around him.

But ever since her parents mysteriously vanished, those spooky tales have started to feel all too real.

I found Skeleton Man to be a wonderful entanglement of cultural legend and present experience. It is a story of a haunting, and the importance of knowing who you are in the successful negotiation of Others who Do Not Believe and What You Know To Be. True. As a horror story, it truly is appropriate for children; it is eery without being self-indulgently violent or aggressive. Recommended.

Waiting impatiently for book to be published so I can get it...

😀

>103 drneutron: Oh man, the pressure is *on*. My manuscript is due November 1. :)

The same day my dissertation is due to the style editor. Of course.

At least I love what I do.

As always, you've got So. Much. Going. On. And you seem to be handling everything beautifully, as always.

My question is, what celebration plans do you have for the evening of November 1st?

>105 scaifea: Sleep. Lots of sleep.

>106 London_StJ: Ha! YES. Honestly, I can't remember what we did after I turned mine in. Or after my defense.

>107 scaifea: I've requested lobster mac and cheese from my wife. Eventually I will get a tattoo to commemorate the times. Other than that I'm looking forward to a brief moment without looming deadlines...

... which will never happen if I keep submitting work, lol.

Could be worse - could be raining.

>108 London_StJ: Ooooh, that sounds amazing!

I *do* remember that after my dissertation defense I was suddenly able to fall asleep right away at night because I wasn't constantly anxious and on edge about All. The. Things. that I had to do. I hadn't realized until then just how stressful it all was. I admire anyone who can handle it and get through it.

49.
Title: Mexican Gothic
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Pages: 306
Date Finished: October 1, 2020
Recommended by: @DiversityInHorror and @howlinglibrry on Twitter
Rating: *****
Synopsis: After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.



Mexican Gothic is a masterpiece of gothic fiction. It perfectly captures the slow, creepy dread, atmosphere, and pacing of its nineteenth-century predecessors, with greater texture, stronger voices, and stronger humanity. It hums from the very beginning, and entirely delivers on its promises. Highly recommended.

>109 scaifea: I waver from feeling confident in what I've done to being absolutely terrified I've missed something massive and will fail for it. Ohman.

>111 London_StJ: Ooof. But nope, that's not going to happen unless your advisor is rubbish at their job. They're supposed to be looking out for you and guiding you from those kinds of issues, of course. I get that it's still a worry, though, because, well, brains are crazy.

>110 London_StJ: Ooh, I do enjoy a classic gothic novel. Does this one break with tradition and have a lot of gore? Because that's the only thing that will turn me off, whereas I know you love that kind of thing. :)

>110 London_StJ: Got that one on reserve at the library! Hopefully, I'll get it in a few weeks.

>113 MickyFine: I can take or leave a lot of narrative gore, although torture porn is forever off my list. Blech. This one is far more social and atmospheric horror, which is the best, although TW there are suggestions of sexual assault and some level of what I'd call body horror late in the novel. But nothing ... slasher-like. So, does it break from nineteenth-century traditions? Yes. Does it reach 1980s-2000s levels? No.

I'll put it this way: my wife hates anything even approaching gore, and I would recommend this book to her.

>114 drneutron: I made sure to return my copy early so the next person on the list can enjoy it. I really think it deserves all the hype it's getting.

>112 scaifea: My chair is amazing and says I'm ready.

>115 London_StJ: Thanks for the extra comments, they were super helpful and have turned this into a BB. So thanks!

>116 MickyFine: Huzzah! And a perfect read for the season.

50.
Title: Hex
Author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Pages: 384
Date Finished: October 4, 2020
Recommended by: Several "best horror" lists
Rating: *****
Synopsis:Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay 'til death. Whoever settles, never leaves.

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear.

The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past.



Review: A couple of summers ago, when I reached a place in my mental health that allowed me to read horror again, I came across Hex on several "must read" horror lists. I borrowed it from the library three times, renewing it as often as possible, but never opening the cover. The description I had read scared me - the story of a haunting figure who would appear in your home and lean over you while you slept. This is literally a nightmare with which I struggle, the last creative moments of a waking day blasting full force to tell you there's something in the shadows just waiting for you to drift off to sleep. I couldn't.

But my turn came for the ebook - the fourth time I've borrowed the book - and I finally worked up the courage. And I'm so glad that I did. The novel reminds me of ghost stories and Shirley Jackson, and a kind of prolonged horror that I find appealing in stories. The characters are familiar, if only from other stories rather than experience. I was haunted in my dreams that first night, but I felt a rush to keep reading that was missing when I recently turned back to cozy mysteries. It is good, and. I'm going to mail a copy to a horror-loving friend as a surprise.

And I wish I knew someone who could tell me how the Dutch version ends.

>118 London_StJ: I still don't dare to read Hex. But when no-one else can tell you, I am willing to get a copy from the e-library, and read the last chapter(s) to tell you the Dutch end in short. Maybe that is enough to make me brave and read the whole book ;-)
As far as I could find on the internet, the Dutch book has an open end and the end you read is also as alternative ending in the latest Dutch editions.

>119 FAMeulstee: Oh, that's fascinating! So there are two Dutch editions - the original ending, and then the revisited conclusion?

Olde Heuvelt says in his afterward that he takes great delight in scaring people so that they lose sleep, and ... he seems to have a knack for it. I hope there's an English version of his next book, Echo.

>120 London_StJ: I think many Dutch were curious about the revised English ending, so the publisher gave both endings in later editions.

I have problems with scary books, and any other books that make me lose my sleep. Anyway my offer still stands.
After the success of Hex I presume Echo will be translated as well.

51.
Title: Holy Stitches Batman, or, Performative Villainy in Gothic/am
Author: Me
Pages: 304
Date Finished: October 6, 2020 (aka D-Day)
Recommended by: Dr. Mourao
Rating:
Synopsis: Holy Stitches, Batman, or, Performative Villainy in Gothic/am is an interdisciplinary examination of gothic affect and deviant fashion in the narrative construction of villainy. It asks not just what a villain looks like, but what it means to look like a villain. A villain is a character who consciously and purposefully deviates from standards of normativity in order to pursue their own, often criminal, interests. The signifier of “villain” articulates a different purpose – an adversarial relationship with normativity that guides personal identification. Not exceptional to a gendered cultural system, they are informed by the societies in which they operate, and the cultural literacy of their authors. I argue that the materiality of these characters demonstrates sartorial literacy on the part of creators and audiences alike, and that the aesthetic representation of these villains is essential to the articulation of their deviance. Drawing on cultural history, literary studies, and media studies, I examine the villains of Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Beetle, Lady Audley’s Secret, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Uncle Silas, and Batman, and argue that the narrative dressing of villains is utilized to enforce normative categorical identities, and that these same material displays challenge restrictive binary identifications of power, gender, and morality.



Review: There's nothing quite like the impostor syndrome that settles over you when you read your own dissertation just before your defense. My marginalia consists largely of intemperate language, but my presentation is coming together.

My wife has taken over all of the cooking in the last week as I prepare for my defense, and try to work on my manuscript. I keep telling myself that Tuesday is the day I get lobster mac and cheese and (hand-squeezed) key lime pie. That's always something to look forward to.

>122 London_StJ: Welp, that sounds incredibly interesting. I already have So. Many. Questions. I want to ask you! This is what you've got a publisher lined up for, right? Because I can't wait to read it.

Good luck on your defense!

>123 scaifea: Heh, yes and no. I'm publishing a book on cosplayers with Routledge, which is an entirely different project. But they've expressed initial interest in my dissertation, so with luck they'll also want to publish Holy Stitches Batman. As I prepared my presentation for tomorrow I started to get excited about rewriting the introduction for a publishable manuscript...

I really love this project.

>124 London_StJ: That's great! I love that you love what you're doing. It would be miserable otherwise, yeah?

52.
Title: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Author: Seanan McGuire
Pages: 304
Date Finished: October 5, 2020
Recommended by: No one, including me
Rating: **1/2
Synopsis: Beneath the Sugar Sky, the third book in McGuire's Wayward Children series, returns to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children in a standalone contemporary fantasy for fans of all ages. At this magical boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are reintroduced to the "real" world.

When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)

If she can't find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests...

A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do.

Warning: May contain nuts.




Review: Beneath the Sugar Sky is a narratively neat story, doing just what it should and nothing more. It would be a solid three-star read if not for the heavy-handed treatment of Cora's character development. While presumably offered to better representation, Cora's story strictly enforces toxic normativity, focusing on shame over strength and insecurity over agency. Really - and the readers whom she is intended to represent - deserve much better.

Defense success.

>127 London_StJ: Congratulations!

Thank you! Aaahhh!

Huzzah! Many felicitations!!!

Congrats!

>130 MickyFine:, >131 drneutron: Thank you thank you!

My wife cried. My friends cheered. And my students applauded and immediately shifted to "Doctor..." and my heart melted.

>127 London_StJ: I am honoured to have re-found you at such a momentous time in your life! Congratulations!!! (and hello!)

Aw, well done, you!

>133 LovingLit: Hello hello! Welcome back, and thank you!

>134 scaifea: Thank you! *sighs in three weeks until revisions are due*

I've celebrated in the best of ways. I asked for an extension on my book so I can complete dissertation revisions and THEN get my book in, BEFORE the end-of-term grading is due. And today I built an animatronic zombie I've named Leo, aka Student Debt.

I miss performing. I miss it so much. And I miss circus school. It was dreamy to be able to flex my creative muscles again. Now I need to work on my actual muscles.

53.
Title: The Falcon Always Wings Twice
Author: Donna Andrews
Pages: 304
Date Finished: October 16, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***
Synopsis:When Meg's grandmother Cordelia hosts a Renaissance Faire at her craft center, the whole family is put to work: Meg handles the blacksmithing, Michael and the boys will be performing, and no one misses the opportunity to dress up in full regalia.

More exciting to Grandfather is the pair of rare falcons he discovers breeding at the fairgrounds. Concerned for their well-being amid all the activity, he appoints himself their protector.

When one of the actors performing at the fair is found dead—an actor suspected of mistreating one of the falcons, among other sins—Grandfather is a prime suspect.

Hoooohohoho, is this synopsis misleading. Grandfather is an exceptionally minor character in the story, and is immediately dismissed as a suspect. The falcons are not rare, and he does not appoint himself their protector - just a typical interfering old man asserting his privilege, albeit in a less toxic way than he's done before. He's almost charming here, actually.

BUT, that quibble out of the way, the book has none of the problems of the synopsis. It's standard Meg Langslow, but for once Meg is back to her roots - acknowledging her career as a blacksmith, and her (previously) frequent work at craft and renaissance fairs. This time she's also roped into helping to manage a new renaissance fair, which was a familiar delight and cause of deep sadness for me, as this SHOULD be faire season, in a time without a deadly pandemic. The story is fun, and fans of cozy mysteries generally and Meg specifically will get a kick out of it.

One detail in particular stands out to me because I'm me, and has nothing to do with the story: Meg prides herself on not cursing around her sons, and then a few pages later mentions The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and their budding interest in horror movies. If I weren't working on revisions and grading I'd love to babble on about a culture that condemns language and permits the consumption of the destruction of young bodies in the same breath ... But that's less about Meg and Donna Andrews, and more about American culture.

I should get back to my revisions.

I read everything I assign, as my classes read it, so ... I'm counting it.

54.
Title: Language and Voice Unit Readings
Author: Many
Pages:
Date Finished: September 11, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis:
* Kurt Vonnegut, “How to Write With Style”
* Joan Didion, “On Keeping a Notebook” and “Why I Write”
* Hunter S. Thompson “He Was a Crook”
* Mark Twain Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race: “About the Effect of Intemperate Language,” “Telephonic Conversation,” “On Telephones and Swearing”
* Thomas King “Rendezvous” and “Not Counting the Indian, There Were Six”
* Brent Staples, “Black Men and Public Space”
* Jamaica Kincaid “Girl”
* Amy Tan “Rules of the Game”, and “Mother Tongue”
* Albert Wendt "A Talent"
* Terry Pratchett, “My Case for a Euthanasia Tribunal”

55.
Title: Oedipus Rex
Author: Sophocles
Pages:
Date Finished: September 28, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***
Synopsis:

56.
Title: Horror Unit Readings
Author: Many
Pages:
Date Finished: October 19, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis:
* Guy de Maupassant “A Mother of Monsters”
* Mariana Enriquez “Adela’s House”
* Capote “Miriam”
* Gelareh Assayesh “Being Muslim in America”
* Faulkner “A Rose for Emily”
* Poe “The Masque of the Red Death”
* Chesterton “A Defense of Penny Dreadfuls”

57.
Title: My Best Friend's Exorcism
Author: Grady Hendrix
Pages: Finished 61%
Date Finished: Abandoned
Recommended by:
Rating: **
Synopsis: 1988. Charleston, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act--different. She's moody. She's irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she's nearby. Abby's investigation leads her to some startling discoveries--and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

I'm giving up on this one because it ... stresses me out.

I have a strong academic and historical understanding of American Satanic Panics, so the context of this novel is quite familiar. And recognizably foolish (culturally - not necessarily an authorial flaw). But that wasn't my problem. Rather, I am putting down the book because I find myself far more horrified at the economic disparity that is (rather realistically) represented. It is deeply upsetting - far more so than the Judy-Blume-Meets-Exorcism-of-Emily-Rose main plot.

58.
Title: Into the Drowning Deep
Author: Mira Grant, aka Seanan McGuire
Pages: 440
Date Finished: October 27, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: *****
Synopsis: Seven years ago Atagaris set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a "mockumentary" bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy. Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they're not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life's work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost. Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves

Review: This book has everything to recommend it - suspense, compelling characters, representation, horror, science, and actual monsters. The sea is a deeply horrifying unknown, and Grant takes full advantage of what we know and what we don't know, developing a monster novel that feels possible, and keeps you engaged for all 440 pages.

59.
Title: Othello
Author: Shakespeare
Pages:
Date Finished: October 30, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Review: A re-read for work. Discussions are ongoing...

60.
Title: The Whisper Man
Author: Alex North
Pages: 440
Date Finished: October 31, 2020
Recommended by: A list of scariest horror novels
Rating: ***
Synopsis: After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night. Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man. And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window.

Review: ... *sigh* ... This ... is not a horror novel. This is a thriller. And while both genres intentionally work to increase the anxiety of readers, the two are very, very different. Can they blend? Certainly, and that's why I picked up this book - I hoped that it would be both a horror novel and a thriller, as the list of horror novels suggested it was. But what I found was just a run-of-the-mill thriller.

What kept me reading was a lust and anxiety for the promised supernatural and spectral elements of narrative - the hint of the beyond, perhaps unusual perception, and the full mystery of who the Whisper Man was and how he managed what he did. But none of these elements are every fleshed out. It's an unfulfilled promise in an otherwise cheap thriller profitting from the inherent anxiety of lost and murdered children. Beyond that, there was potential for real and engaging depth of character which is only partially developed. In the end I found the discomfort of reading about abducted and murdered children was not rewarded.

On other fronts ...

Friday marked an exceptional occasion: I submitted my dissertation to the style editor, and I mailed back all of my college library books. I had over 40, and I've officially parted with them. Some of them have been on my shelf for six years now, and in celebration I purchased my own copy of three texts I always want to have on hand: Seduction of the Innocent, Why Comics?, and The Ten-Cent Plague.

Since my dissertation is out of my hands until the style editor returns with necessary revisions, I am doubling my efforts on my final manuscript for publishing. I intend to use NaNoWriMo to help me set daily goals; it will be especially useful for the editing of my work. I'm looking forward to focusing on just *one* project for a little bit, and to take some time away from Holy Stitches, Batman.

Of course, I'll be sending that off to my publisher as soon as my first manuscript is safely delivered, because I am determined to see it officially published. Ugh, I love what I do.

I'm also loving my current media indulgence. For years I denied myself the time to watch movies or tv, refused to play video games, and felt guilty when reading for pleasure because "I should really be working." But now that my terminal degree is 98% done, and my professional obligations are of my own creation, I am enjoying things again. I've watched the first three episodes of Bly Manor, and I love it. A dear friend and I are watching a horror movie a week together (virtually). I've found great relaxation in gaming. And I might actually catch up and hit 75 books this year.

I'll take joy anywhere I can find it.

Yay for getting to enjoy media in a recreational way again! I hope everything you pick up is just as much fun as you need.

>142 MickyFine: What a lovely wish!

I've spent a very pleasant evening buying books to give my friends for Yule. My wife and I made the decision last year to give our friends books, and I loved it; she and I give separately, which makes it interesting. ;)

This year I'm giving to a wider circle, as zoom-only socializing has increased the number of friends I consider most dear. I miss them, and in the absence of our blowout holiday party I wanted to share a little cheer. And I had two parameters for myself: I really wanted to give books I've read, and I didn't want to buy any of them from Amazon.

The end results are thus:
19 books selected
5 books I haven't read (but three are on my bookshelves because I want to read them; two are cookbooks suited to the recipients)*
1 Amazon purchase (the publisher of Desdemona is closed for COVID, and it's not available anywhere)

In no order, here are the books I am giving:

Canning for a New Generation
Hogfather
If Chins Could Kill
History of the Wife
Fifty Shades of Chicken*
The Corpse Wore Pasties
Desdemona
The Butchering Art
Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis*
Mexican Gothic
Forging Hephaestus
Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Headley *
Necropolis: London and its Dead
My Sister, The Serial Killer
The Empress of Salt and Fortune*
Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse
Queer City
Phoenicia Diner Cookbook*
Devices and Desires

aaaand the books I added for myself...
Seeing Through Clothes, a book I used for my dissertation and loved
Sex and Suits by the same author, because how could I resist
Fashion System, another dissertation citation
My own copy of the new feminist Beowulf
Plain bad Heroines, which sounds SO GOOD
Ballad of Black Tom
Mexican Gothic, because I want to own a copy of a book I loved so much

OH MY GOD THOSE SPEECHES.

ETA: specifically referring to the eloquent call-outs of the current administration's toxic rhetoric, anti-intellectualism, racism, etc.

If A Deadly Education isn't already on your radar, I'm putting it there. I think it will tickle your fancy.

>145 MickyFine: Oh, it sounds like it will! The ebook has a bit of a waitlist, but I've joined it...

61.
Title: Fangs for the Mammaries
Edited by: Esther Friesner
Pages:
Date Finished: November 7, 2020
Recommended by: My friend Ross, based on the cover alone
Rating: **
Synopsis: The Follow-Up toWitch Way to the Mall and Strip Mauled from the Creator of the Chicks in Chainmail Series. Here Come the Vampires to Put the Bite on Suburbia. Having inflicted the smug homes of suburbia with witches and werewolves. Esther Friesner now unleashes the undead to tap a vein of blood and humor, and drain the suburbs dry of both. Vampires and the suburbs are a match made in heaven, or maybe Levittown. Remember Dracula? He didn't run into any real problems until he took his act on the road and traveled to theBigCity. But in the suburbs, everyone is polite and respectful of their neighbors' right to privacy. And if your neighbors happen to have kids selling gift-wrap, magazine subscriptions, cookies, or other school fundraising ploys, and little Emily or Jason happen to come peddling their wares after sundown . . . Who says you have to stay in the city if you want good take-out meals delivered right to your door? There's no one quite like a vampire for saying, "All of you kids get off of my lawn!" and putting someteeth into it. The stories in these pages--by Sarah A. Hoyt, K.D. Wentworth, Dave Freer and more, including Esther Friesner herself--will convince the reader that vampires and suburbs go together like wine and cheese, gin and tonic, desperation and housewives, marriage and pre-nups. Enter freely and of your own will . . .

Review: Ok ok ok, I expected this collection of short stories to be ridiculous. I assumed they'd be silly and cheesy and probably a little bit dumb. A horror comedy, if you will. But I did not expect such roundly-bad writing. High school creative writing classes would churn out much better.

62.
Title: There Once Lived a woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby: Fairy Tales
Author: Lyudmila Petrushevskaya
Pages:
Date Finished: November 7, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: **1/2
Synopsis: Masterworks of economy and acuity, these brief, trenchant tales by Russian author and playwright Petrushevskaya, selected from her wide-ranging but little translated oeuvre over the past 30 years, offer an enticement to English readers to seek out more of her writing. The tales explore the inexplicable workings of fate, the supernatural, grief and madness, and range from adroit, straightforward narratives to bleak fantasy. Frequently on display are the decrepit values of the Soviet system, as in The New Family Robinson, where a family tries to outsmart everyone by relocating to a ramshackle cabin in the country. Domestic problems get powerful and tender treatment; in My Love, a long-suffering wife and mother triumphs over her husband's desire for another woman. Darker material dominates the last section of the book, with tortuous stories, heavy symbolism and outright weirdness leading to strange and unexpected places. Petrushevskaya's bold, no-nonsense portrayals find fresh, arresting expression in this excellent translation.


Review: The most compelling thing about this collection of short stories is the title - and boy, is it a fantastic title. It promises a twist on familiar tropes and concepts, dark humor, and a minimization of pathos which I was so excited to see. It sounded so good. And ... they were fine. The collection isn't bad, especially when read after Fangs for the Mammaries, but nor are they exciting, compelling, engaging, or even new. If it weren't for the title I'd call the book entirely forgettable.

Hiya!
You wanted to know what I thought of Why Comics?, yes?

The book page now has 1 review ~ in case you want my inexpert opinion....

>147 SandyAMcPherson: I liked reading your response, especially as someone *in* the field. There's a lot of talk about intended and actual audiences, so it's great to see.

63.
Title: Romancing the Inventor
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages:
Date Finished: November 2020
Recommended by:
Rating:
Yup, for the second time this year! Covid + anxiety + sleep paralysis = a need for happy queer stories to be the last thing I see before bed.

64.
Title: Crossplay
Author: Niki Smith
Pages:
Date Finished: November 19, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: *****
Synopsis: Close friends and new acquaintances at an anime convention confront their crushes, challenge their hang-ups, and question their once-comfortable identities in this erotic graphic novel about discovering who you're meant to truly be and who you're meant to love. The debut graphic novel of creator Niki Smith, cartoonist andSmut Peddler contributor.

Review: This graphic novel is a pure joy. Through the lens of a convention and crossplay, Niki Smith celebrates gender, sex, sexuality, and personal identity. The focus on adulthood and adult content is appreciated, as it challenges both the stigma of juvenilia and fetishism.

65.
Title: Titus Andronicus
Author: Shakespeare
Pages:
Date Finished: November 20, 2020
Recommended by: Teaching Text
Rating: *****
Synopsis:

Oh. Oh my. I ... might read 75 this year. December 1 is my last big deadline (other than grading)...

You can do it!

Yes, you can!

This Brit wishes to express his thanks for the warmth and friendship that has helped sustain him in this group, Luxx

You can indeed reach the 75 target.

>152 PaulCranswick:>153 Thanks x2, Paul, and a happy Feast Day!

I appreciate the cheerleading, >151 drneutron:, >150 MickyFine:!

With a manuscript deadline coming up very, very (veryvery) shortly, most of my reading has been research: most of it quite good and exciting, some of it shockingly bad, all of it necessary. At night I've managed a few pages of Wylding Hall before drifting off to sleep and dreaming of all the work still to be done. AH!

BUT ... I'll be home-free by the second week of December. I will be without work, school, or deadlines, and I cannot wait to watch movies, read for hours, and bake hundreds of cookies.

Speaking of...

66.
Title: Wylding Hall
Author: Elizabeth Hand
Pages:
Date Finished: November 28, 2020
Recommended by: >151 drneutron:
Rating: ***1/2
Synopsis: In the aftermath of the mysterious death of their lead singer, the young members of a now-legendary British acid folk band hole up at Wylding Hall, an ancient English country house with its own dark secrets. There they record Wylding Hall, the album that makes their reputation-but at a terrifying cost, when Julian Blake, their new lead singer, disappears within the mansion and is never seen again. Now, years later, each of the surviving musicians, their friends and lovers-including a psychic, a photographer, and the band's manager-meets with a young documentary filmmaker to tell their own version of what happened during that summer. But whose story is the true one? And what really happened to Julian Blake?

Review: My favorite thing about this book was the format - a series of interviews conducted decades after the event in question, as if being collected for a documentary. This scratched a lot of my epistolary-love-itch, and emphasized the humanity of the different voices. I could see them in my mind's eye, and it gave the whole a sense of reality that really urged the narrative along. The story itself was interesting in its framework, but the climax fell rather flat, with nothing significant in the moment of telling, and a lack of resolution that felt lazy rather than mysterious.

I am GIDDY!

My PhD is done and dusted!

I submitted my manuscript to my publisher!

And just 17 papers to grade stand between me and winter break!

Oh, congrats!! Such a good feeling, isn't it? And such an achievement!!

Congrats! It's definitely a load off!

Jingles bells and hangs garlands in celebration! Way to go!

>156 London_StJ: Well done, Doc!

>157 scaifea:
>158 drneutron:
>159 MickyFine:
>160 PaulCranswick: THANK YOU ALL! It feels so, so good.

I skipped those papers this weekend in favor of doing just what >159 MickyFine: suggested: decorating for Yule. My house is twinkling and my children have declared it all "quite festive."

The day after I submitted my monograph I received notice that a chapter I proposed was accepted for an edited collection. I'm excited, because it's something I was looking forward to writing - and it's not due for another 6-9 months. It's been a rough year, but it looks like I'm ending it on a high note.

Plus, book #67 was good fun:

67.
Title: Now You're One of Us
Author: Asa Nonami, Translated by Michael and Mitsuko Volek
Pages: 239
Date Finished: December 6, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****
Synopsis: In the tradition of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby, here is a new classic about the bride who's no longer sure what to think. All families have their own rituals, secrets, and credos, like a miniature religious cult; these quirks may elicit the mirth or mild alarm of guests, but the matter is rather more serious if you're marrying into a household. If its's a Japanese one with a history, the brace yourself: some surprising truths lurk around the corner.

Review: The comparison to Ira Levin is perfectly on the nose: Asa Nonami's Now You're One of Us is an exercise in gaslighting and manipulation. Tense and uncertain, the story keeps the reader uncomfortable, and delivers on its promise of psychological horror. Without gore or the supernatural, Nonami's book is still truly horrific, and I enjoyed it immensely.

The semester is DONE, and I've been eyebrow-deep in holiday baking. This year I'm making 17 varieties of cookies, instead of the usual 15, and preparing fifteen baskets for friends I'd normally see at our big Yule bash. I have 9 types baked (for a total of 517 cookies), and six more mixed and in the fridge. I've also made brownies, chex mix, Yule bark, and Swedish nuts.

Thanks to Covid, this is the fist time the kids have actually seen all the baking I do, as opposed to just seeing the results when they get home from school. First Born said the other day, "Wow, I just realized how much you do for us - all of the baking and decorating and shopping. You do a lot!"

I thought it was very sweet.

68.
Title: Prudence
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages:
Date Finished: December 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2

Easy re-read

69.
Title: Imprudence
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages:
Date Finished: December 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2

Easy re-read

70.
Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: V.E. Schwab
Pages:
Date Finished: Abandoned December 2020
Recommended by:
Rating:

This is by no means an unenjoyable book. I actually quite like the premise, and found it peaceful. But for that fact I also wasn't encouraged to sink into it when I had so much to do and so many other things to grab my attention. For that reason I was unable to finish it before my library loan expired, often forgetting I even had it on my Kindle. I hope to return to it when I have a more relaxed time to slip through it.

Oh, my goodness. I am finally finished with my holiday baking. Woof.

With our Yule party Covid-Cancelled I've elected to make up treat baskets for the friends with whom we've spent a lot of Zoom time this year. Overall I am preparing fifteen gift baskets, twelve of which will include books chosen for the recipients. In the course of a week I baked 1,107 cookies of seventeen different varieties, plus brownies, chex mix, swedish nuts, salted nut brittle, Yule bark, and sausage balls. It feels like a hell of an accomplishment, and has helped me get into the Yule spirit in the absence of everything else.

The house is brightly-lit, Jack Skellington is in his Santa suit, and everything smells like chocolate and peanut butter, as is right and good.

71.
Title: Competence
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages:
Date Finished: December 16, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***1/2

>163 London_StJ: glad the Christmas cheer is finding you, and that you are nearing the 75-book mark! I will hit 52 this year if I get my skates on with one more book...I love to have read one a week over a year. It just feels right.

>A book a week is a darn good year, I say!

And Happy Solstice! Yesterday the wife and I drove around for six hours to deliver thirteen treats baskets, and see from a distance, but in person, the eyes of our friends we've only seen online since March. It was great to be able to wink at each other.

Since Yule and the Solstice aren't actually recognized as official holidays here the kids are in school and my wife is working. But I took the morning to soak in a black bath (thanks to bath bombs from a dear friend) and watch _Krampus_. Now floating around my house in my favorite black swiss dot "nap dress," I'll probably spend the rest of the afternoon reading A Christmas Carol and watching more horror movies.

Tonight we'll burn our Yule log with our new year wishes.

Oh! My graduation was Saturday, so my PhD is officially official.

72.
Title: Reticence
Author: Gail Carriger
Pages:
Date Finished: December 21, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ***

This is my least favorite of all of Carriger's steampunk novels. I didn't dislike as much as I did in my first reading, because I knew how simply formulaic it was, and was prepared for the lack of chemistry. With lowered expectations it was a perfectly pleasant way to read myself to sleep the last few days.

Now I'm turning to holiday fare, like Christmas Carol and "The Body Snatcher" (published in a X-mas Edition in 1884) before moving on to library holds and the TBR pile I've been gathering over the year.

Huzzah for your official PhD! Glad you had an excellent Yule.

Or in other words, Happy Christmas! And have a great New Year as well. Here’s hoping 2021 is better than 2020.

I hope you get some of those at least as we all look forward to a better 2021.

>167 SandDune: >168 PaulCranswick: A very merry to you both! And a happy NEW year.

>166 MickyFine: Thank you, thank you! And I hope you're having a wonderful day.

73.
Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Pages: 130
Date Finished: December 24, 2020
Recommended by:
Rating: ****

A yearly read, I find the descriptive narrative prose to be the best feature of this story. "As solitary as an oyster"? Really? A delight - and I say so as someone who does not enjoy any other Dickens.

74.
Title: Hush
Author: Eva Konstantopoulos
Pages: 150
Date Finished: December 26, 2020
Recommended by: my love Jess
Rating: ***
Synopsis: Angela Sayers is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Convinced by her controlling brother to stop taking her medication, Angela's world unravels just a little more when she discovers she can communicate with the dead.

It's not a welcome revelation. Her dead mother was driven mad by this gift. Eager to capitalize on their mother's fame as a medium, her brother forces Angela to publicly become the unwilling heir apparent. Soon, Sayers' Medium Services is shamelessly exploiting the fears of the most vulnerable -- the elderly, the feeble-minded, the grieving -- for obscene profit.

Uncertain if her increasingly fragile state of mind is caused by lack of medication, sleep deprivation, or guilt, Angela endures a plague of sleepless nights. If she's going to have any semblance of a future, she knows she must find a way to confront her own demons -- including the fear that it's all in her head.

When they are hired to cleanse an old orphanage that is genuinely haunted, it's up to Angela to get everyone out alive. But with reality slipping away, can she escape the prison of her mind long enough to save them?

One of my dears sent this book to my Kindle, and I read several pages before realizing I've seen the movie - Malevolent, from 2018. The realization colored my reading a bit: I don't remember the film very well, and so kept looking for points of familiarity ... in a novel I've never read. To memory, the book manages exposition and character development much better, addressing the conflicting desires of the protagonist and the question of her own sanity. And, to memory, the film much better delivers on the suspense and action, more fully developing the physical conflicts and drawing out the horror of the story.

>170 London_StJ: I enjoyed reading that many years ago, perhaps a reread is in order! Merry Christmas etc :)

2020 problems: my wife gave me a puppy for Yule! Or, rather, the means to obtain, and the support to bring home, a puppy. Our lap dog Hugo died of congestive heart failure this year, and as she said "there's a small-dog-shaped hole in our household." I've decided that I want a Pomeranian to snuggle, and have been looking around for months for a breeder. The 2020 problem? Well, the breeders I've found are often a) anti-maskers and/or b) have biographical information published that suggest they would not be ... friendly to a family of our sort.

Still, I'm hopeful, and looking forward to eventually bringing home a baby. I have two contacts out, so fingers crossed that I'll start 2021 exhausted and cleaning up tiny puddles of pee.

>173 London_StJ: Fingers crossed that you find your new furry friend soon! We're hesitantly in the market for another border collie, since we had to say goodbye to our Tuppence this year and I know that Tomm is sorely missing her. We're having issues finding a breeder, too, mostly because we don't want to travel at all to find one right now.

>174 scaifea: once you're ready it is so hard to wait, isn't it? Best of luck to you, too, in finding a safe breeder nearby.

>175 London_StJ: Yes and no. I'd love to have a new puppy running around, but I'm worried that Mario, our golden retriever, will not take it well. And I'm not sure I'm ready for the training again. But I *know* Tomm needs this, so we're looking.

>176 scaifea: Oh, I get that. Puppies are hard, as I know you know. And I can see the uncertainty of introducing a puppy to Mario. In our own household we still have three poodles, and three cats, so bringing in a puppy is less of an upset. Plus, there are five of us, so we'll still outnumber the dogs; the kids are a) shockingly good in general and b) very good about helping with pet care.

Today I woke with a migraine, and stayed in bed until almost noon, but it didn't stop me from finishing book number 75 - and it was good.

75.
Title: Spinning Silver
Author: Naomi Novik
Pages: 480
Date Finished: December 29, 2020
Recommended by: This list, forwarded to me by my wife
Rating: *****
Synopsis:Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. She will face an impossible challenge and, along with two unlikely allies, uncover a secret that threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike.

Review: I am not a fan of fantasy in general, but my love of fairy tales drew me to Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver. It feels ... cheap ... to compare it to the story of Rumpelstiltskin, as it only vaguely gestures towards the folk story. Instead, the novel offers a rich and complex narrative of the "little people" of fairy stories, and the human ways they respond to fairy tale endings: what it means to get the prince, to visit another world, to change silver into gold. Told from the perspectives of principle and auxiliary characters alike, multiple narratives feed into a world story without losing the pathos of each contributing individual. I loved this book, and am so glad I read it.

>173 London_StJ: information published that suggest they would not be ... friendly to a family of our sort.
By which you mean....they are a$$holes?

I hope you find your pup soon!

>176 scaifea: Our biggest issue is that while Mario is amazing with all people (I mean, golden retriever, so of course), she's *awful* around other dogs. Turns into some sort of snarling maniac. She was always okay with Tuppence, because she was a wee puppy when they met and Tuppence immediately asserted non-violent dominance and sorted it out on her own. But I would seriously worry about a new puppy's safety and I'm not sure I can handle the anxiety right now. *sigh* We'll see.

>177 London_StJ: OoooOOOoooo I'm in the middle of this one right now and I LOVE it! Have you read her Uprooted? Also so, so good.

>177 London_StJ: Congratulations on reaching 75!

Huzzah for reaching the magic number and I'm so glad it was with a book you loved!

>178 LovingLit: Lol, that's exactly what I mean. But we'll find a puppy for our queer household and love it to pieces, and that's the important bit. I ordered a puppy carseat last night, in preparation. :-D

>179 scaifea: Aw, poor Mario.

ISN'T IT SO GOOD? Ugh. I have not read Uprooted but now I really want to. It sounds just as amazing.

>180 FAMeulstee: Thank you!

>181 MickyFine: It's such a good way to wrap things up!

I didn't love the ending, but the acting of Wolf of Snow Hollow was excellent. Solid horror comedy.

Congratulations on reaching 75!

As the year turns, friendship continues