emperorclaudiusofficial

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

happy werewolf transgenderism wednesday

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I’m in constant awe of historical costumers. What do you MEAN you can create with your own hands the most beautiful clothing I’ve ever seen

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Bette Davis & Maggie Smith (+ Angela Lansbury) DEATH ON THE NILE (1978) dir. John Guillermin 

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5, 6, 9, 15!!!!

Thank you!!

5. What genre did you read the most of?

Of the genre fiction that I read, probably mystery.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

Every year Lord of the rings is on my TBR, and every year I never get to it :( 2025 will be the year of the hobbits maybe??

9. Did you get into any new genres?

Yes - that I've fallen down the Aubrey/Maturin well, naval/adventure fiction might be creeping up on mystery as my highest genre-fiction number.

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year? What did you think of them?

Yes - Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon may have been the only book that came out in 2024 that I read in 2024 (oopsie); it won a whack of awards and deserved them all.

Ask me book questions!

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

virginia woolf's 1931 new years resolutions : "to have none. not to be tied. to be free & kindly with myself. sometimes to read, sometimes not to read. to go out, yes—but stay at home in spite of being asked. as for clothes, i think to buy good ones."

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

new years eve!!! wooo!!! go crazy go wild! 🥳🥳🥳

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HAPPY SHREW YEAR

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📚 ? 11, 17, 25?

Thank you!! <3

11. What was your favourite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Oreo, by Fran Ross! Most of the books I read this year have been out for a while, tbf, in the sense that I really need to get better at reading contemporary literature. But Oreo feels like the right answer in the sense that it came out in 1974, but I had not even heard of it until I picked it up and read it, and it knocked both my socks clean off. Please read me yelling about it here, and then run to your local library and pick up a copy.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Yes:

Rasselas, by Samuel Johnson: has a perhaps unfair reputation as "Candide, but more depressing and not as good". And to some extent that's true, but I still found it a fascinating work of (fiction? allegory? philosophy?) in its own right.

Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian: picked up because a friend was obsessed with Aubrey and Maturin and now OOPS I'm also obsessed with Aubrey and Maturin.

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon: received it as a Christmas present, picked it up idly on Christmas Day, and then didn't move until I finished.

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

I want to finally read the Lord of the Rings. It's so embarrassing that I haven't.

Send me end of year book asks!

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

i fucking love tumblr on new years i scroll past a glittertext gif wishing me a happy 2002 i scroll past my mutual wishing me a happy 2018 i scroll past a gifset wishing me a happy 2013 i scroll p

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

end-of-year book ask

How many books did you read this year?

Did you reread anything? What?

What were your top five books of the year?

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

What genre did you read the most of?

Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?

Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

Did you get into any new genres?

What was your favorite new release of the year?

What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Any books that disappointed you?

What were your least favorite books of the year?

What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

How many books did you buy?

Did you use your library?

What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

What’s the longest book you read?

What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?

Did you DNF anything? Why?

What reading goals do you have for next year?

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

would you guys still love me if i fell in love with a book series about the napoleonic wars? be honest (stephen & jack from the aubrey-maturin series)

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

they should invent an understanding and intellectualizing your feelings that makes them go away!!!

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Past Tense, Pt. 1"

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I really wish that people had a better grasp on what The Average Person's Life was like pre-industrialization. If you're living in the global North the odds are good that your life is, in fact, better than a medieval king- yes, even with the political stuff- and would make your ancestors cry wild tears of envy.

The things that suck about your life are things that suck about the baseline human condition (at least since the invention of agriculture, but that's 10,000 years of humanity). Yes, including all the political stuff.

The baseline human condition is "being terrified of losing the harvest and starving", compared to that, losing a job is no big deal. (It's bad, it can be life-upendingly bad, but it's still not "you are guaranteed to die if you screw this up" bad for most people.)

The baseline human condition is "getting kicked around by a tin pot dictator", whether that be a king, a baron, a warlord, or a chief; it's taken centuries of social technology to get the world to a point where that's Not Normal.

The baseline human condition is "losing multiple siblings and/or children at a young age to diseases that are entirely preventable". That's a shocking tragedy now. The baseline human condition is "being in the pathway of said tinpot dictator's wars of conquest" and having to deal with soldiers' pillage, looting, and worse (even if they're nominally on your side). That is, again, a shocking tragedy-- it still happens, and happens in way too much of the world, but no one is going to tell you that it's normal.

I'm not saying that we can sit back and rest on our laurels. We can't. I've been calling the pre-industrial world the "baseline human condition" for a reason- unless you're very, very careful, that's what your society eventually reverts to. It takes a lot of people working very hard to make sure you don't have to live at the baseline human condition, and if you start slacking on that, you start backsliding into it.

How we treat each other- and how we use the technology, material and social, that we've developed to make things easier- matters. We can make the world even better than it is now. We can also make it significantly worse. The choice is ours.

...But if you know that you can reliably have food regardless of the season, you don't live in fear of a random attack killing you tomorrow, and you can listen to music on command whenever you want? You do actually live a better life than a medieval king. Because even kings and emperors were much closer to the baseline human condition than a random farm worker in Bumfuck, Iowa is today.

[emperorclaudiusofficial]

The Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wisconsin, December 30, 1930