London's Gin Palace

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

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

What I've written (whole or part):
Cosplayers: Gender and Identity
Intersectional Feminist Readings of Comics: Interpreting Gender in Graphic Narratives
Fashion and Material Culture in Victorian Fiction and Periodicals
Sartorial Fandom: Fashion, Beauty Culture, and Identity (forthcoming 2022)

Books Read in 2022
Alright, time for a January recap. I'm still mid-read on a few things, but here's what I finished:

Read
1. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett. 1/3/22 Comfort re-read.
2. Jingo by Terry Pratchett. 1/10/22 Comfort re-read.
3. A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear by Matthew Honglotz-Hetling. Did not finish because the author is a bit of a dick.
4. Lore Olympus Volume 1 by Rachel Smythe. 1/17/22 Now I get the hype.
5. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach. 1/26/22. Not as good as Stiff or Spook but better than Packing for Mars.

On-The-Nightstand TBR
Certain Dark Things
WordSlut
The Chosen and the Beautiful
The Sexual Life of Catherine M.
The Queen of the cicadas
Nights at the Circus
Love's Next Meeting* NEED TO REVIEW
Master of O* re-read, but bought in hardcopy
The Mere Wife
So You've Been Publicly Shamed
Beneath a Pale Sky
Story of O
Bacchanal
Dead Space
Tiny Nightmares
Later
The Library Window
Dark Archives
Razorblade Tears
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear
A Spindle Splintered
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
Six Rooms
Briarley
Too Much
Goblin
Thomas Creeper and the Gloomsbury Street
Batman: Three Jokers
Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Terror
Feminist Queer Crip
Hexing the Patriarchy
Nobody Passes
The Sky is Yours
Black Sun Rising
The Corseted Skeleton
Horrorama
Are They Women?
A Marriage Below Zero
Feminism, Interrupted
The Corrections

Films Watched in 2022

1. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) ***1/2
2. Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) ***1/2
3. Batman Begins (2005) ****
4. Truth or Dare(2017) * Awful torture porn
5. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) ***1/2
6. Tom Segura: Ball Hog (2020) ***
7. The Wind (2019) ****
8. Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here (2019) ***1/2
9. The Hallow (2015) ****
10. Martyr's Lane (2021) ***1/2
11. Dark Knight (2008) ***** This is probably my favorite movie
12. Dark Knight Rises (2012) ****1/2
13. Zoolander (2001) ***
14. Hustlers (2019) ****
15. Encanto (2021) Very cute. ****
16 Eli (2019)**** Great twist on religious horror
17 Dr. Jason Leong: Hashtag Blessed (2020)****
18 Maz Jobrani: Immigrant (2017) ****
19 Phantom Thread (2017) **
20 Archive 81 (2022) *** This rated much higher until the final awful episode
21 Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)****
22 Mr. Right (2015)*****
23 Hudson Hawk (1991)**
24 Leslie Jones: Time machine (2020) **1/2 I just ... don't like the screaming.
25 Annabelle Creation (2017) ***
26 Monster (2003) ****
27 Blade Runner (1982)** Very boring; my only feelings were disgust over the robot rape.
28 American Ultra (2015) ***1/2
29 The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009) *** It was fun, but I don't really get the hype
30 Secret Window (2004) ***1/2 Very Stephen King
31 Jurassic Park (1993) ****

List of Links

Books Read in 2021 (101 Books. Major Events: Global Pandemic; published Cosplayers: Gender and Identity; return to performance)
Books Read in 2020(75 Books. Major Events: Global Pandemic; finished my PhD; writing two book chapters and my first book)
What did I read in 2018 and 2019? I never wrote it down... (Major life events: Passing my prospectus defense; death of my best friend; divorcing my family)
Books Read in 2017 (75 Books. Major Events: death of my grandmother; bringing home a third poodle; beginning to perform; remarrying my wife)
Books Read in 2016 (108 Books. Major Events: Completed PhD coursework; passed PhD exams)
Books Read in 2015 (75 Books. Major Events: Four semesters of PhD coursework (spring, two summer, fall); published two reviews, spoke and organized at two conferences; bought a house)
Books Read in 2014 (96 Books. Major Events: First two semesters of PhD coursework; published three papers, two reviews, spoke at two conferences, and organized two conference panels)
Books Read in 2013 (87 Books. Major Events: Published two papers!)
Books Read in 2012 (81 Books. Major Events: New - additional - Teaching Position, Moving, Surgery)
Books Read in 2011 (101 Books. Major Events: Birth of Third Monster, Poor health and a death in the family)
Books Read in 2010 (100 Books. Major Event: Second Adjunct Position Obtained)
Books Read in 2009 (145 Books. Major Event: Birth of Second Monster)
Books Read in 2008 (61 Books. Major Events: Birth of First Monster, First Adjunct Position Obtained)
Books Read in 2007 (85 Books. Major Event: Finished my MA in English Lit)

Hiyah, London! Glad to see you back with us for another year.

Smoochling! Here you are. This makes me happy.

Happy new thread!

Honestly I'm here because I thought there'd be Gin, but well, I guess I'll hang out and see what shows up as I like costuming and other things on your list.

>4 drneutron: Thanks for starting off another great year!

>5 richardderus: Padre! It's wonderful to be in such good company.

>6 quondame: Oh, there's a growing collection of gin around here. Here's a great winter recipe to kick things off:

Kicking Bee's Knees


Prep: Make honey simple syrup by boiling equal parts honey and water. Let cool. For a delightful kick, use hot honey like Mike's Hot Honey.

Ingredients:
2 ounces gin of choice
1 ounce spicy honey simply syrup
1 ounce fresh lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass

We love Bee's Knees, though usually in the summer while sitting on the front porch. Never thought of using spicy honey, will have to try that!

>8 drneutron: I feel like the spicy honey gives it a nice winter kick (I had the idea when my wife made spicy mead for one Yule party, so that's my emotional connection).

I fell in love with Bee's Knees at a prohibition NYE party, but they do have a wonderfully uplifting summery-ness!

Omigod, I don't drink, but if anything could tempt me, it would be that bee's knees recipe!

I think you'll need to share stuff about the aerialist endeavors.

>10 Chatterbox: Honey and lemon really can't be beat! I'm sure it'd make a nice mocktail all on its own.

I will very happily share my aerialist adventures ... once I'm able to return. I am ten days post-op from a tummy tuck, and won't be able to get back to circus school or horseback riding until March. :( I keep watching video from my last class to lift my spirits - being trapped in bed is very difficult.

When I DO go back I think I'll have to start with silks instead of trapeze; I can't fathom laying across a steel bar right at my incision for awhile yet...

>11 London_StJ: Virtual hugs and sympathy from a person you don't even know, if you want them. I had a bout of illness in 2021, and being stuck in bed is a whole load of no fun.

Dropping a star, but anticipating failure to keep up with at least half of the threads I star, if 2021 is a good predictor of 2022.

>12 ArlieS: Thanks, stranger. :) I have a terrible time keeping up, and miss whole swathes of threads. You're welcome here whenever you decide to pop in!

>1 London_StJ: Love the introduction. Great to see you back.

>1 London_StJ: I agree about this group. This is home to me. I don't know that we have ever interacted but you sound like an interesting person to follow.

>14 PaulCranswick: Great to see you around for another year, Paul!

>15 LoisB: It's just such a lovely place to be! I'm not that interesting, but you're very welcome here.

This group always helps me to read; welcome back, LSJ.

Happy reading in 2022, London!

Enjoy your 2022 reads!

>3 London_StJ: I love the synopses of each years major events...2018/2019 sounds to have ben a major downer though :( I must have missed that- were you off LT for a bit, or was I? I'm sorry that you and your family are divorced, that (to put it mildly) suuuucks (or at least can't have been an easy time).

Happy healing! Make sure you get your nearest and dearests brining you warm drinks and other important comfort items.

>21 LovingLit: I was off LT for that time. The family divorce is actually a very good thing; they're ... not good people. I walked away when I recognized they were starting to inflict emotional abuse on my children akin to what I experienced growing up. But I still have an amazing relationship with my mom and stepdad and my siblings and their families, and my SIL and MIL are the bee's knees. Chosen family fills the auntie/uncle/cousin gaps. We're well loved and much happier. :)

>20 thornton37814: You too!

>17 PaulCranswick: >18 FAMeulstee: >19 quondame: Happy new year, and happy new group!

Happy New Year from The Pack!

Lucifer Lollipop, aka Lu, aka Lulu, aka Loop-dee-Lu, aka Loopy, aka Shit Goblin, aka my manager

Bedlam, aka Caaaat, aka my editor

Sibyl Vane, aka Sibyl or Sib, aka Diva

Ada Lovelace, aka Ada, aka Ada-Beta

Sib again

Penny Dreadful, aka Penny, aka Ms. Dreadful, aka DREADFUL, aka Put Some Pants on Penny, aka Penny Dammit

Wow. Ok.

So I just filled out a new habit tracker, and one of the habits I want to cultivate is "Reading something on paper." It may sound weird, but so much of my 2021 reading was re-reading whatever ebooks I had available for the sake of comfort, and I really want to get back into the habit of whittling down the stack of books by my bed.

To kick things off I picked up one of those stacked books - Savage Mountain, a book from my Nightworms subscription. I made it five pages in.

Why?

"She couldn't stop the involuntary thought of how some women should be more careful about the bathing suits they picked, since not everyone cared to see that much hanging, dimpled flesh" (Quick 2).

"Her suit was pink and, at first glance, seemed perfectly decent until one noticed the shirt top was too small, allowing the bulge of her belly to be visible to anyone who chose - or even those who didn't choose - to look. At least the girl was not grossly overweight, only slightly, so the vision was not nearly as scarring as it could have been" (Quick 5).

Fucking. Gross.

Pointless, degrading, sexist body shaming. It makes my skin crawl.

On to the next; hopefully Razorblade Tears is better...

>24 London_StJ: On Goodreads, I have a "Scumbag" shelf where I remind myself of why some creations—and sadly some creators—aren't redeemable. Orson Scott Card's there, and Rowling (to my sadness), and now John Quick.

That. Well, that...I...ick.

Shawn's book most likely won't do that to you! It's about, at heart, *striving* for redemption.

*smooch*

>24 London_StJ: much of my 2021 reading was re-reading whatever ebooks I had available for the sake of comfort That sounds quite similar to a lot of my 2021 reading. I want to read some more substantial books in 2022.

>25 richardderus: Ooooh, I like the idea of a "scumbag" tag.

Gross with a purpose is fine. Unlikeable characters, critical plot lines, redemption arcs, challenging ideas or even the demonstration of outmoded ideas are all useful. But this really was just "ick." The character even recognizes internally that she "shouldn't think those things" and then repeatedly narrates "those things."

>26 SandDune: Comfort reads have had their place throughout this pandemic, haven't they? It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm ready for more.

>27 London_StJ: Perzackly! It's okay to tell me rude and wrong stuff if the telling is the point, not the things told. A man writes a woman's PoV and uses stereotypically anti-woman body-shaming "bitchery" to...entertain. Not to criticise her choices or to critique the words used. To make the story "fun" and "funny" like the 1939 movie The Women. Just a big no from me.

>28 richardderus: AGREED

>24 London_StJ: Well, I certainly hope that your reading year improves from there, London!

Happy New Year to you and yours! Let's make it a good one.

>22 London_StJ: ah. I see. Im glad for you that its not your closest family. I have a strained relationship with my aunt and her daughters; we are just very different people and there isn't much need for or benefit to being in each others company.

>24 London_StJ: I also had a negative reaction to those passages about it being a woman's duty to display her swimsuited body in ways that please the viewer. The older I get, the more body types I see comfortable in their togs (swimsuits) and the sadder I am that my mother never (ever) wore togs when I was growing up for fear of being judged by others for how she looked. What a waste!

>31 LovingLit: What a waste indeed! And the idea that anyone should consider what others want to see in the dressing of their own body is just repellent.

And it sounds like you've determined a healthy distance from family members who don't contribute to your happiness or well being. Very reasonable.

>30 alcottacre: I'm sure it will, Stasia! Cheers to a new year and new possibilities.

Happy new year and happy reads!

>24 London_StJ: >26 SandDune: While I'm set on giving myself permission to forgo the new to spend time diving into re-reads which I've done less of since landing among the LT threads.

>34 quondame: Above all else, reading should make you happy!

>33 figsfromthistle: The same to you!

>24 London_StJ: Oh GROSS. Just...UGH.

>36 scaifea: Totally. But Razorblad Tears is off to a much more compelling start. There's a current of homophobia, but that's part of the problem the protagonist is wrestling with - he regrets his homophobia when his son and his son's husband are murdered. (Not a spoiler, it says so on the back of the book.)

>37 London_StJ: Oh, yay for better reads!!

>37 London_StJ: Good to see that Razorblade Tears is a better read for you than Savage Mountain was, London!

>38 scaifea: >39 alcottacre: Thanks!

It's a blustery, snowy day today, and I'm not sorry for it. I already had vegetarian chili (with Impossible beef AND Impossible sausage, mmmm) and cornbread on the menu, and was well enough to prep dinner myself for the first time since surgery. Huzzah! I went ahead and prepped it all early, with the thought that if we lose power we could pop the pot of chili on the wood stove and still have a warm dinner. The children are home, my pack of polar bears have played happily, and the house is warm and smells of good food.

AND I finished my first book of the year! ... A re-read, of course - Feet of Clay.

Now I'm ready for a nap with my cat.

A little late making an appearance here but glad to see that your first completed read was good and recovery continues to go smoothly.

Hello London - we'll be looking for photographs of your performances!

Many years ago, my daughter was a talented member of Madison, Wisconsin's Cycropia Aerial Dancers,
often flying through park trees.

For her Master's in Dance at the UM in Ann Arbor, she performed on a material that wasn't silk
(she being a vegetarian); it just felt like it.

>41 MickyFine: Thanks for stopping by, Micky!

>42 m.belljackson: Welcome! Sadly, I won't get back to aerials until March, but I'm sure there will be plenty of photos then. ;) But fun fact: aerial silks aren't actually silk! The fabric used in aerial silks/aerial fabric/aerial tissue is either a stretch polyester or a nylon tricot. All three names are essentially the same thing; my circus school calls it "aerial fabric" but I learned of it as "silks" and so still use the word. My favorite is trapeze, but I do have a beautiful fabric.

I love that your daughter was able to perform aerials for her MA! You said many years ago - does she no longer perform?

Sorry to babble on about it, but I really miss it. I haven't been able to practice since early December, and I keep staring out the window at my (now snow-covered) rig...

ETA a content warning: Those links are to my IG account, and are *only* pictures of aerials. But I am a burlesque performer and my account at large does have potentially NSFW photos, depending on how you define NSFW.

Happy that the Cosby read isn't twitching your "flight" muscles. I'm a big fan of his so it gives me a happy when others enjoy the books, too.

>44 richardderus: I'm enjoying it so far! I hadn't heard of him before - it's another Nightworms book - but it's turning out to be one of my favorite subscriptions books to date.

>40 London_StJ: Congratulations for getting book #1 of 2022 done, London!

>46 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia!

I had a long post tapped out yesterday, and hit "post" juuuusst as LT crashed. Huzzah! So, let's try this again.

I think there's a correlation between my mental health and my ability to concentrate on pleasure reading; when it tanks I find it difficult to stick with a book until the end. I literally forgot to finish Under the Whispering Door before my library loan expired, for example; the same for Dowry of Blood. And I found it really hard to push through Book of Accidents.

BUT my surgeon just cleared me for some light exercise, so I should feel some improvement soon, and have lots of fun reads lined up. I'm actively reading Razorblade Tears, Jingo, and A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear. A Spindle Splintered and The Ten Thousand Doors of January are waiting on my Kobo, Briarley and Six Rooms are on my Kindle, and I picked up Wordslut from the library yesterday.

But today I need to work before I read anything fun. It would have been my first day back in the classroom, if I hadn't quit in December. I'm ... relieved. And I'm still working, albeit without income; today's job is to finish a book chapter on cosplay and nerdlesque. It was due on NYE, but I found it impossible to think while recovering and so I'm late. Wish me luck and good writing vibes!

Much luck with the writing!

Hi London--I really thought I had posted over here, but it looks like I just lurked. Oh well. Good luck with the recovery, the writing, and the reading.

>47 London_StJ: *Excellent* writing-mojo whammys!

>47 London_StJ: Glad to hear you have been cleared for light exercise, London. I am sure that will help, both physically and mentally.

Good writing vibes heading your way. . .

>40 London_StJ: Love a snow day, and vege chilli sounds yum (thanks for the dinner inspiration). I haven't used any of the faux meats in my own cooking, but have tried other people's cooking, and loved it.

Good luck with the writing. I am in the same boat...trying to pull together a report but the summer vibes are putting a dampener on my enthusiasm!

>48 MickyFine: >49 AnneDC: >50 richardderus: >50 richardderus: Thanks everyone! I got some good prep done, and a more generous extension than I was expecting, so the project feels fun rather than stressful once again.

>52 LovingLit: I stopped eating meat five? ish? years ago, but was never a fan of substitutes; I just don't like tofu or seitan, and wasn't interested in faking meaty foods. A vegetarian friend convinced me to try Impossible burgers and sausages and they won me over (in part because burgers and sausage gravy are the only meaty foods I still crave). My kids (two of whom eat meat) prefer impossible or beyond burgers to beef burgers.

Summer writing is hard - good luck on balancing your deadline and some fun in the sun!

3.
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling. **
Abandoned at chapter 7

I expected to love this book. Knowing both Libertarians and libertarians, I am familiar with their political views, and have plenty of views on their political views. The premise - that a Libertarian Utopia was thwarted by personal irresponsibility which invited bears into the community - is a real-world demonstration of many of the problems I've argued about with self-identified libertarian friends over drinks. I assumed I knew the angle, and the outcome.

But Hongoltz-Helting is kind of an asshole. I did not at all expect the story to be impartial; the title itself projects the humor one finds in the libertarian project in Grafton. But Hongoltz-Hetling's commentary is superfluous and elitist to the point of making me feel bad for the Libertarians-with-whom-I-don't-agree. He needed only tell the story for the humor and incredulity to entertain the reader, but instead he's downright mean. By way of example: While he criticizes Pendarvis (rightfully) for wanting to organize "bum fights," correcting the derogatory terminology to describe "homeless or otherwise indigent" individuals" (31) he later describes driving with his "windows wide open (to dissipate that bum smell)" after interviewing a camp resident (73). Having already described the poor living conditions of the individual, the parenthetical aside is unnecessary, and communicates nothing more than the author's sense of superiority. And this style of writing is consistent throughout: you know who Hongoltz-Hetling likes and who he doesn't like, and he's far from impartial. Some of the individuals with whom Hongoltz-Hetling meets are reprehensible, but some (including many who don't even identify with libertarians) are just the kind of people who have fallen through social cracks.

But the reason I put the book down after 137 pages is much simpler: "In one sense, Grafton's bears came from the woods, and in another sense, they came lumbering out of a distant prehistoric era. But in yet another, equally true, sense, they came from the Commonwealth of New Hampshire" (Hongoltz-Hetling 137).

Hongoltz-Hetling is a poor writer with no sense of long form narrative construction. Each chapter reads as an incomplete article, and the organization of the chapters is careless at best, and sloppy at worst.

>54 London_StJ: Oh boo. I'm sorry to hear the writing was so poor in that one. It was on the mental maybe list but after your review it's a definite no now.

>54 London_StJ: So...good enough idea to get a contract but not good enough for Perseus Books Group to assign an editor...? They aren't usually so sloppy! But, given the number of my GR circle who four- and five-starred it, I'm guessing it's gettin' by on animus alone.

>54 London_StJ: Gross. Dude sounds like a turdbucket. I'm sorry you had to suffer through it, but I'm glad to have the heads-up to avoid it!

>54 London_StJ: Ugh. I definitely hope your next read is better for you, London!

>55 MickyFine: I think it would have been fantastic as a long article, or a series of articles. But I've read far better popular science books (which I'd say are tone/subject/audience adjacent).

>56 richardderus: I 100% picked it up to laugh at a group of men who thought it was a great idea to defund schools and the fire department. And it's a marketable book, but I guess I expected more of the author?

>57 scaifea: Not my style, that's for sure

>58 alcottacre: I have some very promising ones waiting for me!

Ha! The most recent review on LT is almost identical to my experience.

siriaeve writes: "A disorganised mess that read like the transcript of a particularly smug and incoherent podcast run by a centrist white man who's very into plaid shirts, artisanal beard oils, and IPAs.

A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear has a great topic—an investigation of a libertarian-led takeover of a tiny New Hampshire town and a contemporary rise in bear attacks in the area—but Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling is nowhere near a strong enough writer to actually make anything compelling of it. He didn't even convince me of the book's main proposition, that the bear attacks were all that directly driven by the activities of the libertarians who were flocking to the area. (I have very little patience with libertarians, but it's apparent from what Hongoltz-Hetling writes that the good people of Grafton, NH, have been myopic assholes for generations. I'm sure the libertarians didn't help, but I think stuff would have gone south without them.)

One star for the attack llama anecdote, one star for convincing me that I should stay far away from New Hampshire."

Hurricane the attack llama was 100% my favorite anecdote of the whole book.

Woke up in pain, but with my brain buzzing merrily re: my chapter writing, so I'm calling it a win.

Reading has much improved; I've started Ten Thousand Doors of January to my delight, and am fully inspired by Willful Monstrosity. The real kicker, though? This morning I read "Horrible Victorians: Interrogating Power, Se, and Gender in InSEXts" by Keri Crist-Wagner in Monstrous Women in Comics and ... I can't believe I hadn't heard of InSEXts before.

Happily, my library has a copy, which will come to me through ILL. I. Victorian lesbians who can transform into giant insects to exact revenge? I. Can't. Wait.

>61 London_StJ: I very much enjoyed Ten Thousand Doors of January, so I hope that you do too!

I wanted to drop by and thank you for coming by the Acre while I have been sick. I appreciate it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

>62 alcottacre: Oh, it's been a quiet joy to steal a few minutes through a door during some very busy weeks.

I do hope you're feeling better, and more rested. Wishing you a cozy weekend full of good books!

I generally enjoy Author Harrow's work, though I ended the read less enchanted than I started it. I felt left out by the end...but was still glad I'd read it.

Sending happily snowed-in *smooch* to all y'all!

>64 richardderus: I loved Once and Future Witches, so I was excited to find more. I'm not in a I-can't-put-it-down headspace these days, though, so I don't know that I'd blame Harrow for my lack of attention.

Hope you're staying safe and warm!

6.
Title: Razorblade Tears
Author: S. A. Cosby
Date Finished: February 1, 2022
Rating: *****
Plot Summary: Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid.

The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss.

Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed of his father's criminal record. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy.

Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.

Review: Cosby's story of two working-class ex-cons avenging the murder of their estranged gay sons is heartbreaking and eloquent and so very, very real. It's a story of two fathers filled with regret for everything they didn't say - and some of the things they did - while their sons were alive. It's a story of two men facing a justice system that is divided along class and racial lines, and starving for justice. It's a story of two men meeting at a grave and finding their lives are more intertwined than they realized, and storming towards a future together, while learning the mistakes of their pasts. It's a story about families and generations, about the criminal justice system, about race, about sexuality, and about the abuse of power. The social tensions are the same ones we see in the news - and our communities - everyday, and Cosby has a gift for communicating both bigotry and personal growth that feels human rather than elitist. Very highly recommended.

>66 London_StJ: That sounds heartrending in a good way.

>67 quondame: That is the perfect summation. It really is.

Alright, time for a January recap. I'm still mid-read on a few things, but here's what I finished:

Read
1. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett. 1/3/22 Comfort re-read.
2. Jingo by Terry Pratchett. 1/10/22 Comfort re-read.
3. A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear by Matthew Honglotz-Hetling. Did not finish because the author is a bit of a dick.
4. Lore Olympus Volume 1 by Rachel Smythe. 1/17/22 Now I get the hype.
5. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach. 1/26/22. Not as good as Stiff or Spook but better than Packing for Mars.

Watched
1 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ***1/2
2 Zombieland: Double Tap ***1/2
3 Batman Begins ****
4 Truth or Dare *
5 I Know What You Did Last Summer ***1/2
6 Tom Segura: Ball Hog ***
7 The Wind ****
8 Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here ***1/2
9 The Hallow ****
10 Martyr's Lane ***1/2
11 Dark Knight *****
12 Dark Knight Rises ****1/2
13 Zoolander ***
14 Hustlers ****
15 Encanto ****
16 Eli ****
17 Dr. Jason Leong: Hashtag Blessed ****
18 Maz Jobrani: Immigrant ****
19 Phantom Thread **
20 Archive 81 ***
21 Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ****
22 Mr. Right *****
23 Hudson Hawk **
24 Leslie Jones: Time machine **1/2
25 Annabelle Creation ***
26 Monster ****
27 Bladerunner **
28 American Ultra ***1/2
29 The Men Who Stare At Goats ***
30 Secret Window ***1/2
31 Jurassic Park ****

Written
I finished my chapter on Nightmare Before Christmas cosplay and nerdlesque for a forthcoming 30th anniversary edited collection.

>69 London_StJ: Feet of Clay is one of my favorites of the Vimes novels. It rivals Night Watch, but well, twice the Vimes.

>70 quondame: The Guards books are making for good bedtime stories right now. The Industry books remain my top faves, but I take comfort in a world that contains Vimes and Carrot and Sybil and Angua and Nobby.

>66 London_StJ: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Great review, London!

>72 alcottacre: I hope you enjoy it, Stasia!

>71 London_StJ: I never thought I'd find Moist delightful, but well. Aren't the watch good to have residing in the corners of your mind?

>66 London_StJ: That does look good, LSJ - I'll go and look for that one.

>73 London_StJ: I already checked and my local library does not have a copy. Rats. I will have to look further afield.

>1 London_StJ: I'm reading Black Sun Rising right now and enjoying it! I pulled it out of a box of my husband's old paperbacks.

>75 PaulCranswick: It's worth the emotional trip!

>76 alcottacre: Bummer! But it's also fairly new - perhaps you can request it?

>77 auldhouse: I forget how I came across the rec, but I bought an old trade paperback copy a year or two ago. Hoping to actually get around to it this year! I'm glad you're liking it so far.

It's been A Weekend, so I'm charging my introvert batteries today.

On Friday we went out to dinner with friends to celebrate a birthday. We had a private room at Duck Duck Goose with a tasing menu and wine pairings arranged by our friend. The food was phenomenal, and I was especially delighted as the sole vegetarian of the group to be served real food. They prepared a separate vegetarian menu for me, printed like the others', and the chef explained my dishes just as he did the regular courses. At times being a vegetarian friend of foodies can be a bit like ordering off the kids' menu - when you have a single choice to eat it doesn't feel much like a choice. This, however, was the full experience and I loved it.

And I loved the cocktails a little too much, which made prepping for a housewarming the next day a little taxing. But my SIL bought her first house, so we gathered ourselves and made a showing, and I'm so glad we were able to celebrate with her.

What else has been going on?

Um ... reviewer two hates me, which I've decided is my new barometer for writing - if I haven't pissed off reviewer two have I written anything worth saying? Of course, I wrote this chapter in 2019, and subsequently wrote my book which was in answer to the chapter ... which will now see publication in 2023 because of delays. Editing it after the fact is an experience.

Oh! And on Friday I made my darling First Born a cloak as a late birthday gift. He wanted one because they're "awesome" and also because "they're like medieval hoodies!" I was charmed and of course agreed. He's thrilled.

The cloak is fantastic!! It's just the best feeling to make things for the kiddos, isn't it?

>78 London_StJ: I love that you got a choice as a vegetarian diner - and so well presented. I'm all for choice and lots of it.
The "medieval hoodies" remark is stellar. Direct that offspring toward the SCA!

I was checking to see what book you might be talking about when the title Cosplayers Gender and Identity caught my eye. I've had a request in on it at at least one local library since I first heard about it. Maybe I should do something radical and consider buying it. I have many cosplaying friends, a number of them queer or transgender. Not to mention my daughter.....

>80 quondame: Yup, that's my nonsense! That labor of love came right after I finished my dissertation, and I'm only just feeling recovered enough to think about submitting another book proposal. I, of course, love the subject, and approach my analysis as a queer cosplayer. But academic texts are $$$, so I'd wait it out for a library copy. Maybe ILL?

I'm waiting for the day that First Born finds SCA. We're happy rennies, so I feel like it's only a matter of time. Well, it's that or LARPing, ha!

>79 scaifea: It IS such a great feeling. Today he wore it to carry in groceries, and just melted my gothy heart.

>81 London_StJ: After one SCA event my daughter, possessor of a custom made fitted linen gown, decided that was enough. She does LARP and is infamous for her archery - she's quite accurate and unprincipled and some fighters don't armor delicate parts.

Exhausted *smooch*

Stay fabulous, all y'all.

Sounds like a lovely weekend but introvert recharging time definitely seems to be in order now. LOVE the cape for First Born.

Good luck with reviewer 2!

>82 quondame: I can't suspend my disbelief, or socialize long enough, to enjoy SCA or LARP, but I think my horde would dig both. Especially if archery is involved. (I have SCA friends who win fencing awards, but haven't heard of archery yet!)

>83 richardderus: May your Monday feel like a Saturday

>84 MickyFine: This is about all the interaction I can handle right now. ;) And thank you x2!

>85 London_StJ: I brought a reclining chair and a Kindle to all SCA events after a few years, as well as my wee dog Gertie. Then I could get all garbed up, socialize a bit, and craft a bit - tablet weaving, linen finishing, sprang - and read the rest of the time while Mike shot or socialized. I don't role play and that's only rarely even part of the barony I associate with, so for me it was just a pleasant day with entertainments outdoors with friendly people and often excellent food. I'd like to resume doing it minus Gertie, but not until Covid is not a threat or no unvaccinated or immunocompromised people are allowed. I'm less concerned about any notion of fairness and more concerned about the consequences of the disease for those people.

>86 quondame: A day outdoors in garb is a good day - it sounds dreamy.

We missed faire in 2020, so when it resumed in 2021 we were quick to buy our regular passes. It was good fun in August and most of September, but towards the end of the season it became way too crowded for my covid-comfort; even fully vaccinated it just felt like far too much.

>78 London_StJ: I found it online so I have ordered a copy. Not sure when it will be here though.

Have a wonderful day!

>88 alcottacre: Glad to hear it! He's an author worth supporting, I think.

*eager waiting for Jawbone to hit*

8.
Title: InSEXts: Year One
Author: Marguerite Bennett
Date Finished: February 10, 2022
Rating: *****
Plot Summary: At the dusk of a century, a pair of vengeful Victorian vixens discover a horrifying power that transforms them into rich and strange new creatures. Armed with their dark, evolving forms, they descend into a world of the cultured and occult, with new senses and new sensuality, to forge a life for themselves and the child of their love. This new monthly series is the brainchild of writer Marguerite Bennett (ANIMOSITY, Bombshells and Batwoman) and artist Ariela Kristantina (Wolverines, Deep State), a comic unlike any you’ve seen before!

Review: Recent research led me to a chapter on monstrosity and gender, and InSEXts by Marguerite Bennett. I am relieved to find that it was published while I was in the depths of my Batman dissertation, or I'd have to chastise myself for not finding it sooner.

I am 100% the target audience for this comic, and it lands.

The plot summary offered by publishers doesn't do this story justice. Set in nineteenth-century England, the protagonists are a Lady and her maid, both restricted by a loveless marriage to an abusive man. The women are in love, but are oppressed by the very real systems that traditionally hold women captive ... until Mariah, Lady's maid and lover, finds a magical means of empowering the pair. This power is new and unpredictable, and, frankly, the women don't really know what they're doing - but they try their best, and use their new strengths to protect and aid other oppressed peoples.

It is a fantastical romanticized nineteenth century creature feature for queer feminists and their allies, and I gobbled it up from start to finish.

9.
Title: The Universe Connections
Author: my daughter
Date Finished: February 11, 2022
Rating: *****
Plot Summary:
Review: Prepare thyself for the following not-so-humble brag.

My daughter is eternally, excessively, overwhelmingly creative. To the extent that it's mundane in our household. Her entire life she has told long, complex stories, remembering large casts of characters with unusual and unique names, complicated back stories, and individual descriptions. She builds mythology, makes up songs on the piano (which she doesn't play) and the trumpet (which she does play), and creates works of art out of everything. When she was in kindergarten she swore she was actually a purple cone flower from another planet telepathically piloting a humanoid mech that just looked human. She told a long epic tale of Sasquatchs for awhile. And then came the stories of dragon-like creatures, alien races, robots, and complex mythologies.

And ... it drives us all a little bonkers because she doesn't stop. She doesn't tell the same story of Slising Robot {sic} or the scorsarian tribe twice, but there's only so much one can be a passive audience member (especially when all five household members are very used to performing and/or being authorities on particular subjects).

Our new routine, to support her creativity while giving everyone a chance to speak at dinner, is to enthusiastically review the night's creations over the next day's coffee; each morning she approaches her mommies with sketch book in hand and at least two new character designs to share and describe. But today she approached me with her comic, remembering I hadn't read it yet, and I promised to get to it before she got home.

I didn't think her achievements could surprise me anymore. I've learned to expect great things from her. But ... wow.

The individual characters, with unique designs, complex facial expressions, and personalities! The framing of the story, making use of perspective and focus and detail! Understanding the gutter, and the balance of text and illustration! Showing motion in static images! And just the progress she's made as an illustrator. I was blown away. And I can't wait for the next volume.

>91 London_StJ: 9. Just wow!

>91 London_StJ: Wow. Good on you for encouraging your daughter's creativity. She sounds phenomenal!

>92 quondame: I immediately scanned it to share with all of her aunties and uncles (i.e. my dearest friends), and she already has quite the fan club.

>93 alcottacre: She's amazing.

Oh! I just remembered that I need to track down some staff paper - I promised to transcribe the song she wrote.

(Middle child wrote a cello accompaniment to the piano song. It's ... so cool.)

InSEXts sounds amazing - I'm going to see if I can request it from my library. And yay for creative kiddos!!

>95 scaifea: I'm so excited for you to read it. Mine was an ILL copy (my goodness I appreciate ILL).

>91 London_StJ: Wow...all of it...just WOW.

>95 scaifea: Staff paper should not be hard to find, right? I hope that you preserve and copyright both your daughter's and the middle ones efforts!

>92 quondame: I love that, LSJ!

Give your daughter a hug from me and take one yourself for being constant in encouraging her to express herself. x

>98 alcottacre: I can print it myself! I win!

>99 PaulCranswick: Aww, thanks. :) I really love the people they've all become.

I love feeding my dogs breakfast. They get so excited. Breakfast is the best meal because in addition to their kibble they get a little scoop of rice (doctor's orders, since they eat a grain-free food and there's been links between grain-free diets and doggie heart disease) and frozen green beans. My oldest poodle and my pomeranian especially like the green beans - Lucifer dances and wriggles in excitement, can barely sit for her breakfast, and then takes her green beans back to her crate one-by-one to savor them. Adorable, I tell you.

I abandoned a book and finished two others yesterday. After two renewal cycles I was only 55% through Ten Thousand Doors of January, so I decided I just wasn't interested enough to spend more time on it. It wasn't bad, but after the revelation of Julian I just wasn't interested any longer. That was enough story for me. A Spindle Splintered was much more compact, and just enough, and I read the novella in a single sitting.

Last night I started Wordslut, and the first 30-40 pages have been good fun. It's a bit of choir preaching, given my own identity, and a bit of wariness where our fields overlap. Am I "well, actually"-ing in my head? Yeah. But I'm still thinking about buying my own copy already, and gifting it to a few friends this year.

Note to self: go find Muriel Schulz's "Semantic Derogation of Women" (1975). UPDATE: It's here.

>101 London_StJ: Totally get it about Ten Thousand Doors. I finished it but....

Wordslut! I started it back in 2019 and then COVID and since then nothing. There my DRC sits, slut-shaming me for moving on.

I've got a trans grandchild, and am very much taking the care I feel weird that I never took before to de-gender my references. I am using "Author" and "Translator" and the like as ungendered titles in conversation now, not just writing. It jars people a little. I am finally understanding the value of unsettling people without malicious intent.

>102 richardderus: Language is amazing. I love the history of language, will always lecture on how Shakespeare did not speak Old English, and will gobble up every history of curse words, etc.

I admit, though, that it took my wife transitioning for me to pay more careful attention to gendered language and the language of identity, despite the fact that I was a gender scholar. It made me think of it in terms of the personal rather than the academic.

Having two gender nonconforming children also keeps me on my toes, because there's nothing a 12-year-old loves more than correcting their parents. Mostly Middle Child likes to aggressively correct assumptions of gender - "Why are you assuming they're a 'he,' huh?!" ;)

Good for you for fighting the good fight!

>101 London_StJ: Oh I'm glad to hear it's a good read for you so far!

>103 London_StJ: My daughter always includes pronoun information in descriptions and introductions. I haven't the habit yet.

>104 MickyFine: Thanks for the rec! I started listening to her podcast recently, before connecting the dots. It's also good fun.

>105 quondame: Good for your daughter! As a public-facing person (performer, teacher, speaker) I've come to recognize the importance of including pronouns in my correspondence/social media - normalizing helps everyone. I still 100% forget to offer my pronouns when introducing myself in person, though.

I'm pretty sure you already know about Index, A History of the, but if you don't, it has kept me rapt for three hours.

>105 quondame: The new custom of including pronoun information bugs me, because it's likely to out gender variant people who might prefer to simply relax and accept whatever people want to call them, or be out only in some circumstances (e.g. friends) and not others (e.g. at work, or to random potentially hostile strangers).

As non-gendered person, I'm simply not up for representing gender variance 24 * 7, explaining it to every Tom, Dick and Harry who comes along, and dealing with any resulting hostility.

If I simply let people want to see me as a grey-haired tomboy, or a butch lesbian, or even a generic old lady, and they don't have an issue with whoever they decide I am, things are so much easier for me than if I'm given a choice of either lying or describing myself as genderqueer.

But as soon as I'm expected to supply pronouns I'm put on the spot. It's worse when I'm expected to supply them somewhere public, like the company directory. I have a choice of being seen as anti-trans (by not supplying the pronouns, if that's even allowed), putting myself in the position to constantly explain non-genderedness to random strangers, or making a (false) claim that matches the way I'm usually read.

And I hate explaining non-genderedness. Even otherwise liberal people often refuse to believe it's possible. *They* have a strong sense of gender identity, and that proves to them that everyone else does too. And this belief is not something that can be shaken by people describing their own experiences - any more than you'd believe someone who claimed to be a real werewolf.

>108 ArlieS: What, you don't know any werewolves? They've not much dignity, always licking their parts. That's why the Vampires always seem more cool.

I do understand not wanting to be visible as a representative of gender minority in ordinary public or even new social contexts. I don't think there is any one solution that suits all individuals in all circumstances. For sure gender identity seems not to be fading away but being even more celebrated with those bizarre gender reveal parties. I have often been pissed about my obvious gender, but never doubted it. And while loving pretty clothing and dress up I have no understanding of performative femininity. Well, I understand why it can be necessary to live as a woman in our culture, but I've no understanding why anyone would choose it if they could pass as male. But that's my limited imagination and strong preference as it is clear that it has a strong attraction for many.

As to my daughter's manners, I trust she knows her friends well enough to know what they are comfortable with and believe she has the discretion not to reveal what isn't commonly shared in her circle. Of course we all blunder from time to time and hope to do better in future.

>108 ArlieS: I think there's an important distinction in what you're saying.

First and foremost, disclosing personal information and identities should never be compulsory. This is especially important in communities where gender and sexual variance are treated with exceptional hostility and violence. Along these same lines, I'd argue that it should be no one's job to represent their categorical identities, and the expectation that one individual serve as a model of a community is inexcusably dehumanizing.

It's othering and alienating. And it's exhausting.

Secondly, your feelings and experiences are valid. You're a person, and feeling put on the spot or uncomfortable is lamentable. Just as no one should make you a spokesperson against your will, no one can tell you how to feel or respond.

But third, I offer that the experiences you've described are not reflected in the communities in which I participate, so I'm going to offer another perspective for group consideration on my thread.

Offering/clarifying pronouns in writing is a growing custom, and not a compulsion, intended to allow individuals the opportunity to express their preferences and have their identities be respected. It is up to the individual to determine what is in their best interest and what most protects or helps their mental health. It is not a perfect system - if a gender nonconfirming person feels unsafe they may lie, and offer the pronouns associated with the sex they were assigned at birth, for example. But I'd argue this is not a problem of pronoun usage but rather reflective of the broader dangers faced by nonconforming individuals. I.e. the problem isn't pronouns, it's bigotry and prejudice. I'd also like to clarify that pronouns are not just an issue for trans people, but any gender-nonconforming person; being misgendered is just as hurtful to my trans-masc. friend as it is my nonbinary colleague.

From the narrative you've chosen to share, it sounds like you are most comfortable allowing others to use assumed pronouns, because it protects you from being a representative or having to educate those you come across. Thus, this is the best choice for your mental health and emotional wellbeing.

But for others, assumed pronouns (and misgendering) may cause a great deal of emotional anguish, and without the vehicle to stave off misgendering they find themselves at increased risk of even inadvertent emotional stress or abuse. Further, putting the pressure on gender nonconforming people to assert their identities exclusively aggressively others them, exposes them to increased feelings of isolation and rejection, and increases the risks associated with outing. By offering the opportunity to identify pronouns we are normalizing the idea that a person's identity matters, and may not be observationally discernible; by identifying my pronouns as a cis femme I am reenforcing the idea that language matters, and creating a safe space for others to assert their identities. And answering "whatever" is a legitimate response; in such a case I'd likely default to the person's name, or even the cultural codes I've learned from birth. And if I've never asked a person's pronouns? I default to neutral, because "they/them" has a long history in the English language and I find it more polite to avoid assumptions.

>110 London_StJ: In the absence of other guidance, I recast my sentences to use names; when that is, for whatever reason, not possible I now use "they/them" and accept correction.

"By offering the opportunity to identify pronouns we are normalizing the idea that a person's identity matters, and may not be observationally discernible; by identifying my pronouns as a cis femme I am reenforcing the idea that language matters, and creating a safe space for others to assert their identities."
^^^THIS

>108 ArlieS: Being "The Non-Binary One" or any Other is just more work than it's worth among people one doesn't care about. I got snorted at for offering "he/him" with my bushy white beard and decided not to pursue the matter because the snorter is someone I couldn't possibly have less interest in...which is, I recognize, a failure of care in my trans grandchild's future but some days can't and won't sit on top of should & plug the outbox.

>107 richardderus: I haven't heard of this! Checking it out now...

>111 richardderus: I wouldn't call it a failure - we all have to pick battles, and why waste breath on someone who won't listen anyway?

ETA an interesting anecdote.

My cishet mom has come a long way in the last seven years. When Middle Child disclosed their nonbinary identity she had to readjust a lot of her thinking, and one of the exercises useful for her was putting her pronouns in her work email signature, as the act of an ally. In the last year she saw the fruits of her labor: a young colleague approached her at a work event and disclosed their nonbinary identity, asking for a chance to chat about things. My mom wants nothing more than to love and support everyone, so she was thrilled to have been identified as a "safe" person for her coworker to speak to - and to have some of the language she needed to have a productive conversation.

I'm so proud of her.

>113 London_StJ: *smooch* I feel better now.

>112 London_StJ: Oh my heck.

You NEED this.

>114 richardderus: Ok, it came out yesterday, so I don't feel so behind the times now. ;)

>109 quondame: You write: "I understand why it can be necessary to live as a woman in our culture, but I've no understanding why anyone would choose it if they could pass as male."

I very much agree.

There are a few gender-determined benefits you can get in our culture as a woman, which it took me until I was in my 40s to even notice - maybe because I was used to female privilege, but more likely because they weren't things I care about. I now recognize some of those things.

But while I know people who are glad to have the social role of women, as well as those who strongly identify as women (often the same people), and I believe they are accurately describing their own experience, I have zero ability to empathize, in the sense of imagining how it is to be them or seeing myself in them.

Meanwhile, there are a lot more benefits you can get by having the social role of male. If switching were easy, I'd do it in a heartbeat, and have trouble imagining why anyone would choose otherwise.

>110 London_StJ: You write: "I offer that the experiences you've described are not reflected in the communities in which I participate, so I'm going to offer another perspective for group consideration on my thread."

Of course you are right. I'm reacting in particular to my experiences at a job I no longer have. (I retired a bit less than a month ago.)

And even there, I don't know to what extent I was reacting to expectations, formed decades earlier, and how much I was reacting to accurate perceptions of the situation then and there.

>117 ArlieS: The social anxiety of change is real.

But congratulations on your retirement!

>116 ArlieS: It's one of the things my daughter had to beat me up about. I just couldn't understand why a trans-woman would want to live as a woman. As Becky is one of the few cis-people in her social group, I've had some adjusting to do, especially as a number of disasters in my 30something social group were landslides set off by immature bi-people and it took me growing up a lot to realize that the problem was less the bi- and more the immature.

And yes, the dancing partners available to plain men are much better than those available to plain women. I don't understand why so few men realize the vast improvement they could make in their social lives by learning to dance.

Congratulations on your retirement.

>119 quondame: Yeah, no demographic has a monopoly on immature people.

You sound a bit like you are "cis by default" - same lack of innate empathy for strong gender identification that I have, but no particular reason to doubt that you are the sex that matches your body.

That kind of describes me, perhaps as recently as 20 years ago. But too many supposedly enlightened people, particularly self-described "feminists," have told me all about (their views of) the innate nature of all women and I just don't match any of their lists.

I considered for a while whether I might be transgendered - but realistically, whatever the list, I turn up around 50-60% "male," or maybe 70% at most, so that wasn't a good match either. And I certainly don't have the strong sense of mismatched gender identity that would make me legitimately "trans" in the eyes of the gatekeepers.

So I decided we'd all be less confused, and perhaps less frustrated, if I identified as non-gendered.

>120 ArlieS: Well, I've been attracted to men for as long as I can remember, but then so are plenty of men, so that only speaks to who attracts me, not what I identify as. I'd be extremely wary of any one trying to speak for all of any group over 2 people, and not exactly trusting then. Even individuals change over time.
As for being transgendered - nope, many men less than about 5'9" seem to deal with a lot of shit in western culture and the women I know seem to have much richer social interactions and shared interests - though since I joined the SCA that has evened out a bit. The men all still go through ritual one-upness at almost every encounter, not that we women are free of it but it's more of a one time thing. A higher percentage of the men are openly gay or trans in the SCA than in my prior F&SF culture, so that changes the balance a bit as well.

>120 ArlieS:

Fuck gatekeepers.

I just wonder what the heck anyone gains from gatekeeping that outweighs the revolting costs.

>123 richardderus: I think some people are just mean. Or insecure.

>124 London_StJ: Likely both.

I'm awake at this ridiculous hour because I'm in pain from the revolting weather. But the heck with that, I used my time to tart up my last few Black History Month reviews, fixing some stuff and getting my final count: I'll have blogged 29 new reviews this month, averaging one a day.

Very pleased with myself. AND, if it's not enough braggadocio already, my new thread will have four new reviews posted in it during its first two days of existence!

Maybe I can't sleep but I sure can putter.

>125 richardderus: Well done, you! I haven't even managed to log in in a week. Your productivity astounds me, especially in the face of pain.

February Re-Cap!

* = Favorites of the month, highly recommended

Read
6. Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby *
7. The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
8. InSEXts: Year One by Marguerite Bennett *
9. The Universe Connections by Vi M-----
10. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
11. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (DNF)
12. Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs
13. A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
14. Thud by Terry Pratchett

Watched
32 Addams Family
33 Addams Family Values
34 The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
35 Honey I Shrunk the Kids
36 The Columnist
37 Bikram: Yogi, Guru Predator
38 Cherry Falls
39 I Blame Society
40 Midsommar * I really, really love this fairy tale
41 The Best of Victor Borge
42 Annihilation
43 Red Notice
44 Ali Wong: Don Wong
45 Iron Man
46 Nightmare Alley
47 Event Horizon
48 Nobody *
49 Exorcist *
50 Sherlock Holmes
51 Hellbender
52 Mom and Dad
53 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Written
To-do lists, mostly.

I've actually made a good deal of progress on a very large sewing project, so that's my achievement this month.

Not counted, and returned without reading: The Upstairs House and The Lesser Dead. The first I returned because I frankly don't wish to remember postpartum depression and anxiety that well (40 pages in and it was very ... real), and the second because I just didn't like the protagonist after the first 20 pages.

>127 London_StJ: The Exorcist still creeps me out after all these years.

Have a great weekend, LSJ

>128 PaulCranswick: I can understand why! Although, when we turned it on this time my wife was quick to send the kids away, and I said, "it's not that big of a deal - it's not that scary." (We do have a strict no-rated-R-movies-until-you're-13 rule, though.) And then there were several moments of "oh yeeaaahhh..." while we watched.

Last night we watched "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil," which is one of the most wholesome and endearing "horror" movies I've ever seen. It's so wonderful.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend, too!

>91 London_StJ: Your daughter's book 'The Universe Connections'...the name certainly lends itself to amazing things! How utterly cool that there was a whole book in her!!!

>119 quondame: I don't understand why so few men realize the vast improvement they could make in their social lives by learning to dance.
Hallelujah. So many of the men in my life are so uncomfortable dancing, it isn't even worth it asking them to!

>130 LovingLit: That was one of the things I really loved about the first 20 years of my involvement with the dance group - the man who taught was able to get non-dancers started and progressing to where they felt comfortable doing at least our limited repertoire and quite a number went on to regular ECD or ballroom. The last 10 years he had offended so many people that we were pretty much kept going by me just footing the bill for the monthly dances.

Hope all is ok over here LSJ? XX

Thank you as always for books, thank you for this group and thanks for you. Have a lovely day, LSJ.