rhivolution | Reading

1. Not only is it the weekend, it's a three day weekend! We're going to Oogie Boogie Bash on Sunday night so I decided to take Monday off since we'll be out late (ish).

2. I love this picture of Jasper so much. Those big eyes! The little glimpse of pink tongue!

torachan

Recently Finished
Murder in Matrimony
The ending of this felt like it was wrapping up the series, which is fine because I'd already decided not to read any more. ( antisemitism )

The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State
Finally finished this! It was actually really interesting, I just kept not reading it in favor of other things. In school Prohibition was passed over as basically like "it happened and then they repealed it", with the main focus of the early 20th century going towards the World Wars and Great Depression. I had no idea that Prohibition was so tied to the revival of the KKK, for example.

Artistic Buildings and Homes of Los Angeles
A very short book that is mainly pictures of buildings and houses in LA in the late 1800s, built by architect Joseph Newsom. The book has a forward and introduction written in 1988, and then the rest is a direct replica of a book put out by the architect to showcase his work, complete with ads that ran alongside the photos. It's very neat. Found it in a Little Free Library in the neighborhood.

Don't Hang Up
An Audible Original by the author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. He's done quite a few Audible Originals (the one below being another) and they're all short and free with my subscription, so I gave them a try, but none of them have been great. This one was interesting enough, but the MC was an asshole. He's a radio DJ who's been recently demoted to the midnight shift and one night gets a caller who tells him to stay on the line or a woman gets killed. Had some good twists, but it was just fine, not amazing.

Find Us
I really wish he would stick to writing stories set in Australia. This is the second one of his set in the US and there are always nitpicky things that bug me lol. Also if I'm reading an author from another country, it's because I want to read stories set in that country or at least with characters from that country (especially with an audiobook). But that's just minor stuff. This one felt like it really should have been longer (it's four hours, so about novella length). The MC is a former police detective, now working secretly for the FBI, trying to find school killers before they act by approaching kids who show red flags on social media and forums. One day her own kids go missing and she doesn't wait for the police, convinced she can find them herself. This had some interesting twists but I felt like the aftermath could have used more focus.

( spoilers )

My Home Hero vol. 4

rachelmanija

A middle grade fantasy novel about A, a Jewish trans kid who has not yet chosen a name, and whose parents are forcing him to attend a teen conversion therapy group. He secretly texts with the other trans kids in the group and they support each other. When one of his friends disappears, he meets a strange being that constitutes itself from any discarded objects it can sweep up in a wind - a trash golem - that sets him on a mission.

A hooks up with a bunch of LGBTQ people living in a kind of homemade squat, discovers that the conversion therapy leaders are either demons or possessed by demons, and meet a very supportive rabbi and her husband, who know a lot about Jewish folklore, though - and what could be more Jewish? - they don't always agree about what any of it means.

( Read more... )

This is a sweet, affirming book for all the trans, nonbinary, genderfluid, and suchlike kids out there, and God knows they can use the affirmation. There's some quite beautiful and affecting moments - the first encounter with the trash golem has a blend of the numinous and comedic that reminded me of Terry Pratchett - and I loved the treatment of A's Jewishness and how that connects to both the fantasy elements and his community. I also liked how A being in a liminal space - he's given up his old name but not yet chosen a new one, he's parted from his family and joining a new one, etc - ties in with the book's time period, the Days of Awe, when all is written but not yet sealed.

The elements I did not enjoy so much were the pace, which gets very rushed toward the end, the sometimes Tumblr-esque quality which did make sense as it's about Tumblr kids but which I still find grating, and, unexpectedly, A himself. He's so self-centered and judgy, and though he does eventually learn better I did not like him. I did not enjoy reading all the scenes where he scolds his friends or they scold him, or when they end up telling him exactly why he's a bad friend and refuse to help him with his mission. I've read this exact form of conflict in multiple books recently, and while it's a real thing that happens, reading about it feels like nails on a chalkboard.

I didn't ultimately end up loving this book, but it has a lot of heart and I'm glad it exists. The somewhat similar book that I did love, which doesn't have those unpleasant "bad friends" dynamics, was Chuck Tingle's Camp Damascus.

Content notes: Transphobia is central to the story.

coffeeandink

Chess is a show I know entirely through the cast recordings; if I recall correctly, it was such a thoroughly Cold War project that the liner notes referred to the two chess players as only "the American" and "the Russian". The new book by Danny Strong turns it into a (even more) melodramatic period piece, with the chess matches not simply a allegory for political tensions or a way of obtaining minor diplomatic concessions but tools for averting World War III. The Arbiter is dragooned as a narrator, who exposits both the global situation and the personal interactions with the characters, partly through a series of very bad and very obvious jokes.

Freddie Trumper, American grandmaster and obnoxious wunderkind, is challenged by Anatoly Sergievesky, mordant, depressed, and engaged in a clandestine flirtation with Freddie's chess second and lover, Florence Vassy. Freddie is notoriously a weak point in the original book, so prone to anti-Communist slurs, misogyny, and temper tantrums it is impossible to extend him much sympathy. The new version mediates this by giving him bipolar disorder and medical noncompliance, and also by casting Aaron Tveit. Tveit is indeed so good and so charismatic that I was on Freddie's side way more than I expected, although not enough to take self-pity anthem "Pity the Child" seriously. (The rest of the audience seemed less skeptical.) Lea Michele as Florence is just as strong vocally, and almost as strong in terms of acting, though unfortunately without much romantic chemistry with either partner. (The closest any scene comes to an erotic charge is Freddie's sleazy half-assed attempt at persuading Anatoly to throw the game in Act II.) Nicholas Christopher as Anatoly is the weak point in Act I, where I had the same opinion as I had of his Sweeney Todd: he's got the potential to be great, but he isn't quite there yet. He really needs to work on his emoting, which is too flat even for the murderous Sweeney or the dour Anatoly. He is greatly handicapped in Chess by having to affect a Russian accent, which I really hope the production drops. But! He pulled out all stops in Act II, both for the songs and the acting, and won me over with his intensity and vocal power.

So basically: the book is still flawed and they need to cut the runtime, particularly in Act I. This was the second night of previews, so there's still time for changes before the show technically "opens". If we're lucky, they'll start by cutting the topical jokes.

But the point of Chess has never been the book; it is the score full of bangers and power ballads. The music is by ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and the lyrics by Ulvaeus and Tim Rice. And the musical performances are GREAT. I am still guiltily fond of the kinda-no-really-very-racist "One Night in Bangkok" (which can plausibly be explained as Freddie's typical white guy take on the city) and which in this production is a camp masterpiece. I am seriously tempted to see the show again just for that.

torachan

1. I took a walk after lunch today and while the sun did peek out a few times, it was mostly overcast and made for very pleasant walking. Right now I've been trying to do a midday walk at least twice during the work week, but once we get into cooler weather I'll definitely be upping that, maybe even to daily. I do so much more sitting in one place in this current position than I did as area manager, and it's nice to get out and move around a bit.

2. I finished up another puzzle today. This is our third Disney villains puzzle, but it seems to be a very popular theme, going by the fact that when I was looking at puzzles at Target the other day, there were two other villains ones that were not the same as the ones we have. This one is a 750 piece one (only the second puzzle I've done this large) so it has room for more villains. Of course there's overlap in all the puzzles, but it's always interesting to see which ones they pick. This one has the main baddies on the V and their henchmen/women on the border, which was a fun design.

3. Look at that fluffy fur!

torachan

1. My meeting today was also shorter than planned, which was nice.

2. It's pretty windy today, and temps are down again, so it's feeling like fall. We were supposed to maybe get some rain last night, but didn't, but as long as the temps stay down, that's good for me.

3. Carla was able to get two cases of the apple tea she really loves at one of the other Japanese markets in the area (sadly, mine does not carry it, or I would have been able to get my employee discount). She's mostly been buying it a few bottles at a time, but last week was able to place an order for a couple cases and picked that up today.

4. Until we adopted Gemma, I'd never heard of cats having a curly tail. I've seen a couple pics here and there in the years since, but it does seem to be pretty rare. I love her little tail knott, though. (And it doesn't seem to cause her any issues.)

rachelmanija

From the blurb:

One fellow camper will do whatever it takes to make it out of the Boundary Waters alive. Even if he's the only one.

A psychological thriller mixed with intense action.

Nah, just kidding! It's not a psychological thriller, it's a survival story. One of the teenage campers is a racist, a sexual harasser, and an attempted rapist, but he never tries to kill any of the others or abandons them to die or anything like that.

Yep! It's another disappointing survival book with a misleading blurb and gratuitous grossness towards teenage girls!

Teenage Emma is traumatized after failing to save her younger sister from drowning, so she gets her parents to book her into a teen wilderness survival course to take her mind off things. In a portentous scene, her father gives her a Swiss army knife. She's confused and concerned that he's giving her a weapon to take on a camping trip - does he expect her to be attacked? I was confused why she would think of a Swiss army knife as a weapon rather than a tool. If you don't even know what a Swiss army knife is, then you can't tell that it's a knife at all when it's folded. If you recognize it when folded, then you know that it is a multitool.

The early part of the book jumps around confusingly in time, to the point where I flipped back pages repeatedly to see if I'd missed something. No, it was just the author's pointless decision to start with them pitching their tents after the first day's walk, then jump back to them packing their supplies.

We get very little characterization, but that's okay: three of the seven are about to die! Two days in, a strange storm hits their camp. It's described in such a portentous way that I thought it was supernatural or man-made, but nothing ever comes of this so I guess not. Two of the campers and the guide are squashed by falling trees, then a wildfire starts. Instead of jumping in the lake, they run for their lives and get very lost.

At this point, we get some characterization. Chloe is the girl who isn't Emma. Her race is coyly not mentioned until Isaac, the creepy boy, gets racist at her about being black. Oscar is the boy who isn't creepy, so Emma naturally falls in love with him. Isaac constantly sexually harasses Emma, once tries to rape her, and is sadistic to animals. This goes on for the entire book.

Late in the book, Oscar and Isaac both fall over a cliff. Isaac dangles from a rock stub by one hand, and holds Oscar, who is suspended in mid-air, by one backpack strap. Emma and Chloe make a rope of clothing, with a key part being her bra. Isaac somehow grabs the clothes rope without falling. He's clinging to a rock stub with one hand and a backpack strap supporting another person. How does he get one hand free to grab the bra rope without falling? This is not described as it's not thought through. He grabs the rope - again, anchored by A BRA tied to a tree - and, it's not clearly described, but it seems like Emma single-handed pulls him and Oscar up. Is the bra made of bungee cord?

Emma ponders that Isaac was very brave and unselfish. People are complicated, she realizes. This is as close as the book comes to any resolution on Isaac sexually harassing and threatening her for the entire book, oh and also TRYING TO RAPE HER.

This book sucked.

rydra_wong

https://bsky.app/profile/luketurner.bsky.social/post/3m35pa3ywek2h

[Image description: Bluesky post by Luke Turner reading "here is a pleasingly anti-fascist animal painted on the Hurricane of gay RAF pilot Ian Gleed", above a picture of Gleed in the cockpit of his plane pointing to the image on its side of a cartoon cat swatting at and destroying a swastika.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Gleed (he may have been the fastest RAF pilot to ever make ace, in two days; he was only 26 when he was killed)

Further research by

robynbender established that he actually had said antifascist cat painted on all his planes:

http://www.hatfield-herts.co.uk/aviation/gleed.html

aurumcalendula

The Boy Bride by A.J. Demas:

( Read more... )

Unbroken by Jordan L. Hawk:

( Read more... )

I read Reading the Remnants earlier this year, but plan to revisit it now that Pale Mirror has finished editing their translation and has posted EPUBs and PDFs for it.

torachan

1. I had meetings that were supposed to go till five today but we got done by around 3:30!

2. Carla bought some baking potatoes the other day and I realized it was the perfect way to use the package of Trader Joe's frozen birria that we've had taking up space for like a year and a half at least, if the expiration date is anything to go by lol. It was a good amount for two servings (half a potato each, piled high with beef and cheese and plenty of broth). Not quite as good as the birria baked potatoes we had at Disneyland, though I feel like some cilantro would have helped on that front (forgot to buy any when we bought the cheese). Still, very tasty and very happy to use up something from the freezer.

3. Molly loves sitting on my lap, but she has not figured out how not to be completely awkward about it.

umadoshi

It was pouring rain when I woke up, and again, even if it didn't last long enough--I don't know what time it started, but it was pretty much gone by midmorning--it was appreciated. (Of course, I say that as someone working from home; one coworder who works onsite sometimes is in walking distance of the office, and walking to work today resulted in literally wringing clothing out in the kitchen sink upon arrival.)

That also meant it was dim enough at the start of my workday that turning on both strings of Hallowe'en lights in my office made actual sense! The purple/orange string around the edge of the ceiling is bright enough to be fun regardless, but the new string of ghosts around the window is backlit enough that actually turning the lights on makes little sense during the day. (And these years I spend so little evening time in my office, Dayjob crunches notwithstanding.)

I checked in on my freelance schedule yesterday and found out that things have been rearranged in a way that makes the rest of this month and November pretty light, early December a bit much (although some of the work due then can be done in November, theoretically), and January a bit of an onslaught. It should be fine! Just. Ooof. (At least January isn't a typical crunch time, although anything's possible.) This also gives me a bit more motivation to extend my vacation time after Christmas.

At some point today Pokemon Go rolled out its seasonal Hallowe'en skin, which inevitably charms me all out of proportion.

There were other things in my head this morning, but of course the Dayjob workday quietly wiped them away, so we'll call this a post.

Current Mood: tired

torachan

1. Got my hair cut this morning. It doesn't seem like a month since the last time, but that's how I schedule it, so I guess it is! Due to the AWS outages, they were unable to take payment through their system and their backup of Venmo was also down, but I do have a card on file with them, so they were able to offer the option of just charging that card as soon as things were up and working again, which they seem to have been this afternoon, as I did receive an email receipt from them.

2. I'm glad I always download audiobooks to my phone to listen to rather than streaming from the app, as apparently Hoopla was also affected. I happened to finish the book I was listening to right as I arrived at work, and opened the app to return the book, and it the app wasn't working at all (though it had still been playing while I was driving).

3. Tomorrow and Wednesday are likely to be long days at work, but I was able to finish up early today, which was nice. I think I got home around 4:30ish.

4. I love how Tuxie's legs look like a fish tail here.

umadoshi

Reading: As of midweek, I'd read nine novels (well, eight and a novella) this month, which is very pleasing given that I usually consider that a good number for a full month, never mind just about halfway through one. (Of course, for the last few days my brain's done an about-face and decided that I'm going to be just reading a cookbook now, thanks.)

Since my last accounting, I've finished KJ Charles' All of Us Murderers (gothic murdery queer romance), Freya Marske's Cinder House (which I wish I'd realized going in--or perhaps more importantly, when I bought it at full price--is a novella, although that didn't keep me from enjoying it quite a bit), Stephen Graham Jones' The Only Good Indians (very solid, but I feel I've met my quota for books with mutilation for a while), Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle (not so much my thing, maybe [whatever that is], but I sure see why it's a classic!), and E.K. Johnston's Pretty Furious (a satisfying "~good girls~ lash back at the fucking patriarchy and its associated bullshit" read).

Now I'm reading through the aforementioned cookbook, Bee Wilson's The Secret of Cooking: Recipes for an Easier Life in the Kitchen, which swiftly made its way onto the inherently-aggravating-but-complimentary list of cookbooks bought in ebook that I now want in hard copy.

Also,

scruloose and I are...maybe a third?...of the way into Fugitive Telemetry (having decided to listen to Murderbot in chronological order rather than publication order).

Growing: In a shocking development, our Tiny Tim tomato plant (which we bought immediately before the drought turned unmistakable official, and therefore have since watered once or at most twice since putting it in) has produced a couple handfuls of ripe fruit!

scruloose reports that they're tasty! We're over halfway through October!

Current Mood: impressed

rydra_wong

Except very occasionally if I can locate a spot that currently has reception.

So while that's going on, replies to anything may be delayed, but I'm reading when I can and distractions are still very much appreciated.

ETA: may now be fixed, I am deep in spoon debt and would like to be allowed to falldowngoboomnow.

torachan

1. I have been meaning to get out in the sheds and move some of my mom's stuff from the shed with our stuff to the one with my step-sister's stuff, since she cleaned so much out of it last month. I finally got around to that today. Didn't move all of my mom's (and her husband's) stuff in there, but I moved most of it, and I think I can get the last bit in as well. I'm just saving it for another day. Then I can work on organizing the stuff in our shed, which has now become a complete jumble. :( I've ordered some more wire rack shelves from Amazon, so hopefully that will help.

2. A new supermarket opened not far from us on Friday. It's basically a reopening as the store was there for years then closed down a few years ago and was completely razed and they built apartments, but it's now reopened on the ground floor of the apartment complex. It's much larger than it was, and very nice and fancy. They sent out a postcard the other day with some coupons, free items every week, with the first one being a free pack of bacon. So we walked down there this morning to check it out, got our free bacon and a few other things, then stopped at the Italian deli across the street and got sandwiches to take home for lunch. It was a nice outing, though the walk home was already getting way too sunny.

3. Such a sleepy guy.

raven

A lot going on, etc, etc. My mother's first Diwali party in the new house went marvellously well. My in-laws were here for it; lots of family friends; plus three of my friends, brown and married-into-brown. Food, patake, tikka and diya, a little bit of aarti and sweets. I got a Diwali cake from Lola's because I was so shocked and delighted that you can get commercially made Diwali cakes now, and it turned to be delicious; a kind of mango coconut confection with rose petals and pista barfi stuck to the top. So I got dressed up, everyone came, and it's so utterly fucking lovely to see A. and L. casually happy and comfortable as part of a brown family. I never get tired of it. My dad not being here made us realise that no one at the party knew how to tie a kalawa. It's supposed to be a priestly skill, and my dad came from a very traditional Brahmin family. (This was the first time I'd realised this, since his death: because I'm a Brahmin Hindu by solely patrilineal descent, I was the only one in the room. Me. The priestly skills of the Bronze Age pandits. Me.) The thing is, if my dad tied a kalawa, it never, ever, ever came off - he was a surgeon tying surgeon's knots, so the thread just stays with you until it drops off. The threads got tied anyway, without him and even though I know nothing. We're gonna have to abolish the caste system, it turns out.

Diwali isn't till tomorrow, actually! But I'm so pleased about it all.

I'm having a bit of an existential time, otherwise. Writing has been bad, it's making me feel genuinely sick and sad, and I've been worrying a lot about my Wednesdays. If I don't write on them, and I don't work on them, what do I do? Related: cluster is why I don't work in the mornings, but if cluster isn't hitting me every day, then what am I doing with my time? And that, inexorably, has been turning into - well, what am I doing with my life? I'm having trouble with that. My therapist, who is helpful sometimes, gave me advice, and then started laughing at herself for just... giving me advice, against all tenets of the therapeutic relationship. It was good advice, I think. It was - do nothing. Stop trying to get a grip on your life. Fill each Wednesday with whatever you feel like doing that day.

I'm trying it. We'll see what happens. So far it seems to have been reading a lot of children's literature, Joan Aiken, CS Lewis, Judy Blume - and I was actually going to divide this part about the books from the rest of the post, but it strikes me that "Hindu adult reads books intended for Christian children" is a pretty good segue. ( the rest of this is about me rereading Narnia )

torachan

I've decided that from now on I'm just going to post about books I've finished, rather than splitting my thoughts up between ones I've just started and ones I've finished.

Recently Finished
The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl
I'm bummed that this series was only three volumes, as I would continue to read more of their adventures, but this was a good ending.

The Amnesia Project
I liked the premise but the writing was just so mediocre.

The Manor of Dreams
This ended up being really good. Was not expecting f/f romance both in the present day storyline and the past, but it was a nice surprise.

A Witch Too Late
This was another mystery that was too cozy for me. It think I got it on a free promo. Even from the summary, I can't imagine I would have paid money for it. The MC is a recently divorced woman about to turn fifty. One day she gets a strange package in the mail and suddenly finds herself with magical power. It turns out she's a witch, but witches normally manifest their powers at puberty. There is also a murder mystery, but the murder mystery does not even get started until halfway through the book! Before that it's just like, what if Hogwarts letter but middle aged? And I can see the appeal for some people, but it was definitely too far on the cozy side for me and not enough murder mystery focused. Definitely will not continue the series.

My Home Hero vol. 1-3
I got this ages and ages ago on a free promo from Amazon Japan and I'm trying to go through and read all these freebies before buying more manga. The premise sounded interesting (well, interesting enough for me to download for free, though I'm not sure I would have paid money for it on the premise alone): ( this got long )

Kindaichi Papa no Jikenbo vol. 2

rydra_wong

I very very much appreciate everyone who has been leaving me questions and comments here, and if anyone would like to add more they would still be extremely welcome.

vass

~~This is a placeholder. I'll finish the letter after I finish the signup and before assignments go out.~~ I DID IT! First time ever I managed to write this letter before the signup deadline. \o/

Dear Yuletide Author,
Thank you for offering a fandom we matched on. I hope you have a good fic exchange season.

General likes: Worldbuilding. Queer and trans people and polyamory. Gen and shipping are both fine. Bad puns (all puns are bad puns). Dinosaurs. Spaaaaace. AIs (not in the LLM sense!). Non-AI computers. Aliens that are alien. Science! (accurate or cartoony). People working together. Kissing. Co-sleeping. Infodumping is Good, Actually. Experimental formats and/or interactive fiction are welcome.

DNWs: animal harm, sad cats, dementia or terminal illness, rape/noncon, misgendering, ableism.

Fandom-specific

16th Century CE RPF
Characters: Michel de Montaigne
Character Exceptions: My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

( more )

Translation State - Ann Leckie
Characters: Qven, Reet Hluid
Character Exceptions: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

( more )

Prophet - Sin Blaché & Helen Macdonald
Characters: Any
Character Exceptions: My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

( more )

the well-meaning mortician and the undead ghoul man whom he cannot embalm (Tumblr post)
Characters: the well-meaning mortician, the undead ghoul man he cannot embalm
Character Exceptions: My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

( more )

Nine Worlds Series - Victoria Goddard
Characters: Aioru, Lazo Mdang, Princess Anastasiya, Quintus Mdang
Character Exceptions: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

( more )

And that's all. Thank you again, and have a fun and non-stressful Yuletide!

torachan

1. It got sunny and warm later in the day, but this morning when I took my usual neighborhood walk and then later walked to the farmers market was actually very pleasant. I didn't get hot and sweaty at all!

2. We had a nice lunch at Disneyland, though I definitely felt the sun then! Sunblock and a hat did what they could, but the UV... D:

3. Seeing all the photos of the No Kings protests today is so heartening. They're saying an estimated seven million people, which is more than the ones earlier this year!

4. Jasper loves hanging out on this sofa when we watch TV.

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another link in the chain

Reading

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Weekly Reading

A World Worth Saving, by Kyle Lukoff

Chess (Imperial Theater, New York City, 9/17/25)

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Stranded, by Melissa Braun

Anyway here is a cool person I didn't know about before

(no subject)

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A smattering of small things

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Belated weekly proof of life (books + tomatoes), having not been at my desk much this weekend

I now have basically no internet or phone reception at home

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Diwali - and Narnia

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Just wanted to say

Dear Yuletide Writer

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