pickCompletely lives up to the hype.
Incredible writer, the poetic skill with which he shifts from what might be considered a more mundane approach to a mind-altering one. Like picking up a music review only to realize you're actually going on a journey with the author, into his life and into commentary about society and the music business. 1/?
pickI love the art, I love the storytelling, that quirky kind that's okay abandoning a bit of reality, and yet still seeming so matter of fact about aspects of the characters' journeys and decisions. I think The Way Back Home is my favourite, how the author made the moon feel so accessible. 😊 Strong visual component, especially in The Way Back Home, it felt like it could have been just images, no words and been the same story. 1/?
😮💨😔 Take care of yourselves. ❤️
pickThird time. Better. Every. Time. As I believe I said last time, Snuff has an unfair lead because it's the first Vimes/Discworld/Pratchett I ever read, but Thud! and Snuff are in an eternal battle as to which is my favourite. Each time I read this book I feel more impressed by how well it is put together. I love that reading this book as a whole is as engaging an experience as the climax, especially for repeat reads, watching how things develop, 1/
pickIt is done! Or at least as done as it's going to be from me. I picked up this collection for Euripedes' Medea, was happy to get Sophocles' Antigone in the bargain, and a bonus second Medea by Seneca. Euripides' Bakkhai is a wild time, The Oresteia is pretty familiar ground given the link up to Illiad characters. I wish there was more of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, but what there is extant of it is good. 1/?
Sybil has many fine qualities. 😏
Not letting Vimes get away with an uneditorialized statement/rant is among them. 😁
I love her. I love their dynamic. ♥️
Oh yeah, if this is the way he writes non-fiction, I'm definitely going to end up trying his novels.
so-soDidn't feel quite as sharp as the first volume. Definitely still heavy on the commentary, but it was less about a specific clutch of problems one might first have seen in the late 50s/early 60s and more about bigger questions, some with arguably a more modern origin: Is civilization a good idea? Is it the anthropocentric or capitalistic aspects of the current ideas of civilization which are the problem? Can urban planning and military action 1/?
so-soDefinitely too high on the toilet humour/extended double entendres (Morningwood, really 🙄) for my taste. I think the humour would work best if you happen to be in early adolescence. I don't recall any subject matter that would be wholly inappropriate for 13/14 year olds, as much as there is some gore along with the poop and dick jokes. There were word puns and pokes at the tropes of fantasy genre,as well as highlighting social issues 1/?
That would be AWESOME.💚
pickA spectacular shorthand for the anxieties of an era. I did look up a couple things, which confirms that as the Flintstones animated series started in 1960, it was just as the counterculture started reacting to the 50s, and simultaneous with the Vietnam and Korean wars. While the original series (which I've never seen) was I think a cute double of contemporary times in a stone age setting, this graphic novel is looking at the darker 1/?
Yes, folks, that is indeed Fred Flintstone asking the important questions! 😵💫
pickWhile I am bummed that this is the only compilation my library has, I'm heartened by the fact that Scalzi has continued to maintain his blog Whatever, (which now also includes writings by his grown daughter Athena) meaning I can pop into the archives AND see his latest stuff all in one place. And it will be much lighter on my wrists to hold my phone and browse than it was to read through this tome. 1/?
Of all the things I thought this series would have, the Major Tom references were not among them! 👨🏻🚀🚀
so-soUmmm, so yeah, turns out being a Pulitzer Prize-winning former poet laureate does not mean I will automatically enjoy a person's poetry. For the vast majority of these poems my main thoughts were “okay, Eeyore“ and “emo“. Simic would be trucking along with some interesting imagery and then boom, dark moment, like he thought every poem needed one, or it wouldn't be punchy enough. 1/?
OMFG. 😆
Sometimes it hits the funny bone just right.
pickCould happily have read more in this series but I am pleased with how it ended. Certainly doors left open to continue it at a later date...🙏🏻
The Kents' background and actions are even more awesome this volume. Beast Boy turning out to be the dragon from the cover, also awesome.
The character melding continues to be top notch: Etrigan with Ra's al Ghul, so he's REALLY the demon's head. 1/?
1) Dude, I'm jealous of your major(s).
2) “pay attention to the worlds people are attempting to create in their words“ I love, no pun intended, the wording. ♥️
Damn. When Tumblr said this run hit hard, they weren't kidding.
pickTruly a fitting follow up to my last read. Kind of a unique spin on a memoir of Jane Goodall, while also being an ongoing conversation about hope, a dialogue between Abrams and Goodall. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the discussion about sources of hope comes from discussion of conservation efforts, given Jane's life's work, but her life experiences and extensive travel and interaction with people from all over also means touching on conflicts, 1/?
Cue the evil laughter. There really should be a smiling emoji with sharper teeth. That feels appropriate. 😁😈
pickI have a strong suspicion that anything I could say has already been said about such a renowned book. Except perhaps, that it's not my favourite Vonnegut, or the one that made the biggest impact. That award still goes to Mother Night. Slaughterhouse-Five doesn't simply wrap a tale of the travesties of war up in a 'might be sci fi - probably the effects of trauma on a veteran and POW' narrative with the aliens and the time travel. 1/?
Harley Quinn+ Lois Lane + John Constantine: the power throuple I didn't know I needed. 😁
so-soA reread that happened mostly because I couldn't remember much of what happened, and it's no longer a mystery as to why it was forgettable. There's some commentary, primarily the danger of being confined to tradition for systems of government and culture and religion. There's an interesting journey with the high priest, but it's odd upon reflection to realize the more intriguing story might have been the side character/pseudo-villain, 1/?
pickDoes what it says on the tin, which needn't be a bad thing. I love Rundell's writing, it feels like a less schmaltzy but still unique and appreciative voice for animals and the environment, similar to Sy Montgomery. 1/?
The downside of the fuck around and find out model. By the time you've found out, it's difficult to fix...
Please, please tell me this charming myth has spawned some truly wonderful art through the years. Google images, don't let me down. 🙏🏻😍
Okay, now I have a serious hankering for a historical novel where a condemned criminal becomes a wolf-stalker to stave off punishment, only to find themselves empathizing with the plight of the hounded wolf. Any chance this exists? Someone write it, please?!🙏🏻
Hood ornament and security system. 😯
This is where the eco-socialism model comes in. Helps everyone.💁🏼♂️
All credit to the illustrator Talya Baldwin, if faced with the requirement to draw a lemur, I too would want to draw more than one. ☺️
Oh, and I bet fermenting really helps with the smell! 🫢🤢 This definitely goes in the category of food where one questions humans persistence in trying to make things edible.
How about leaving the poor shark alone and having some chips instead? 🤷🏼♂️🦈♥️
Holy fuck! Everybody loses their shit about the tortoises, why have I never heard about the FIVE HUNDRED YEAR OLD sharks??!! 😲
Ah, yes, because knowing he's the arbiter of his eternal torment is definitely the way to get Prometheus to see Zeus in a more favourable light. 🫣
so-soHard to judge this one fairly, it veered a little farther away from what I liked about the first book. Reacher's still using his head, but he's also having to use guns a lot more. I didn't really want to spend that much time in the company of deluded militia and hyper violent egomaniacs.The tidbits of the FBI investigating were engaging, but, faded out, as did Reacher being a protagonist thinking things through and investigating 1/?
Wombat = badASS? 🍑🤭
Certainly not to be underestimated. 😏
Thought process verbatim:
Holy shit, YES!
Did anyone else know they needed to see Batman in knight armour riding a fire-breathing dragon? I didn't know. How did I not know?!
*Looks at cover credit*
Oh, my god, it's Dan Mora, AGAIN?!
🙇🏼♂️🙌🏻 🦇🐲🔥♥️♥️♥️
pickFucking SPECTACULAR! Had no idea I would end up loving this as much as I did.
Gorgeous art (tragically Dan Mora's art only features in variant covers, but happily the regular artists for the issues are also amazingly talented) that effortlessly brings you into the place and time of this particular alternate medieval-ish fantasy world. 1/?
Entry 2 in Dan Mora art appreciation.
Case in point:
Pretty | Buff.
Sharp Lines | Drawn with Delicacy. 🤌🏻👌🏻
Bless you, Dan Mora, for drawing female characters as awesomely as you draw male ones. 👏🏻 There are some commonalities: sharp, yet delicate lines, pretty, but in no way down-playing when they're outrageously buff. When it comes to the unrealistic standards of superhero bods, I like my fantasy art in the realm of more intricately tailored eye candy. 😍
As such I might advise spacing out the reading experience, depending on your personal sensitivty to the subject matter, as the discussion regularly involves not just racism but racist violence.
8h
The Night Prince Walked in Water
The Return of the Loneliest Boys in Town
Brief Notes on Staying // No One is Making Their Best Work When They Want to Die
Fall Out Boy Forever
There is the Picture of Michael Jackson Kissing Whitney Houston on the Cheek
February 6, 2012 8h
Nina Simone Was Very Black
August 9, 2014
Serena Williams and the Policing of Imagined Arrogance
They Will Speak Loudest of You After You've Gone
Johnny Cash Never Shot a Man in Reno. Or, The Migos: Nice Kids from the Suburbs
Surviving on Small Joys 8h
8h