#Alicization Volume 17

[touhoutunes]

Title: Shang-Hai-Tea-House

Arrangement: HAGISOPH

Album: HYPER SENSITIVE

Circle: Asomosphere

Original: Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea, Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Rebecca Roque’s “Till Human Voices Wake Us”

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TOMORROW (Apr 17) in CHICAGO, then Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

"Till Human Voices Wake Us" is Rebecca Roque's debut novel: it's a superb teen thriller, intricately plotted and brilliantly executed, packed with imaginative technological turns that amp up the tension and suspense:

https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/till-human-voices-wake-us-gn3a.html#541=2790108

Modern technology presents a serious problem for a thriller writer. Once characters can call or text one another, a whole portfolio of suspense-building gimmicks – like the high-speed race across town – just stop working. For years, thriller writers contrived implausible – but narratively convenient – ways to go on using these tropes. Think of the shopworn "damn, my phone is out of battery/range just when I need it the most":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIZVcRccCx0

When that fails, often writers just lean into the "idiot plot" – a plot that only works because the characters are acting like idiots:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot_plot

But even as technology was sawing a hole in the suspense writer's bag of tricks, shrewd suspense writers were cooking up a whole new menu of clever ways to build suspense in ways that turn on the limitations and capabilities of technology. One pioneer of this was Iain M Banks (RIP), whose 2003 novel Dead Air was jammed with wildly ingenious ways to use cellphones to raise the stakes and heighten the tension:

https://web.archive.org/web/20030302073539/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/play.html?pg=8

This is "techno-realism" at its best. It's my favorite mode of storytelling, the thing I lean into with my Little Brother and Martin Hench books – stories that treat the things that technology can and can't do as features, not bugs. Rather than having the hacker "crack the mainframe's cryptography in 20 minutes when everyone swears it can't be done in less than 25," the techno-realist introduces something gnarlier, like a supply-chain attack that inserts a back-door, or a hardware keylogger, or a Remote Access Trojan.

Back to Roque's debut novel: it's a teen murder mystery told in the most technorealist way. Cia's best friend Alice has been trying to find her missing boyfriend for months, and in her investigation, she's discovered their small town's dark secret – a string of disappearances, deaths and fires that are the hidden backdrop to the town's out-of-control addiction problem.

Alice has something to tell Cia, something about the fire that orphaned her and cost her one leg when she was only five years old, but Cia refuses to hear it. Instead, they have a blazing fight, and part ways. It's the last time Cia and Alice ever see each other: that night, Alice kills herself.

Or does she? Cia is convinced that Alice has been murdered, and that her murder is connected to the drug- and death-epidemic that's ravaging their town. As Cia and her friends seek to discover the town's secret – and the identity of Alice's killer – we're dragged into an intense, gripping murder mystery/conspiracy story that is full of surprises and reversals, each more fiendishly clever than the last.

But as good as the storytelling, the characterization and the mystery are, Roque's clever technological gambits are even better. This book is a master-class in how a murder mystery can work in the age of social media and ubiquitous mobile devices. It's the first volume in a trilogy and it ends on a hell of a cliff-hanger, too.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/16/dead-air/#technorealism

[ayn-alwyns]

Rabbit Tea Party - JP Dub [7:00]

Clock hands finally ticked to a stop. I finally get to touch those rabbit ears.

[00:00]

*FAINT MUSIC SLOWLY INCREASES IN VOLUME* *BUTTONS BEING PRESSED, VIDEO GAME SFX*

[00:30]

Don’t want to play anymore? Are you tired? *SOFT HUFF, VIDEO GAME SOUNDS CONTINUE* Then rest a bit. I’m done too.

[00:44]

*SHUFFLING NOISES*

[00:57]

If you’re cold. You can get closer to me. *MORE SOFT SHUFFLING* What is it?

[01:17]

You want me to tell you a story? Only children like bedtime stories  *SIGH*... Alright then. What story shall I read to you?

[01:40]

Alice in Wonderland? Let me look it up. *TYPING SFX* I’ll start then. Listen closely. *CLEARS THROAT*

[02:06]

Alice sat next to her sister for a very long time by the river. *VOICE BEGINS TO FADE OUT* There was nothing to do. So she started to feel bored. *MUSIC CUTS IN*

[02:32]

*VOICE FADES BACK IN* There was a table Set out under a tree in front of the house. And the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea there. A dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep *SHIFTING, SOFT CHUCKLE*

[02:53]

Even the dormouse has fallen asleep And you’re still awake. Hmm, you know. This story, Reminds me of the dream I had yesterday *SOFT INHALE* A very, very long dream.

[03:20]

But I’m not going to tell you what it is. *SODA CAN OPENING* Trying to bribe me with soda won’t work. Unless… You promise not to laugh.

[03:43]

Alright. In my dream, I turned into a rabbit.

[03:58]

I can see your eyes smiling already. You weren’t any better either. In my dream you were a… Cute little witch.

[04:17]

*PIANO MUSIC BEGINS TO PLAY, SODA BEING POURED* You rode on a strange-looking broom. And had a weird-looking pet… It was a tea party. And there was lots of food *MORE SODA BEING POURED* There were cupcakes and cookies in the shape of rabbits. And a cookie that was broken.

[04:48]

*TICKING OF A CLOCK* The pocketwatch continues to tick… The rabbits are holding an umbrella, hiding from the sun. Then, we started playing poker *CARDS BEING SHUFFLED* With regular poker cards.

[05:11]

I’m not sure why But I could feel the suit on each card…

[05:22]

*SOFT LAUGH* I didn’t peak or anything What are you so excited about? Somehow I could feel it in my dream… And then I won. I had three questions for you *SHIFTING SOUNDS*

[05:45]

Don’t want to talk about it? Why not? *SOFT THUMP, INDIGNANT EXCLAMATION* Don’t run away. *MORE THUMPING NOISES*

[06:02]

You were in the dream too? Strange… But I’m really happy *SHIFTING NOISES* Both of us remembered the dream

[06:30]

You said you were happy as well Because, you touched my rabbit ears. *SOFT LAUGH* Now, it’s my turn.

[thebeautifulfantastic]

reading log | 2023

1. dizzy in your eyes -> pat mora (jan 3)

2. greedy: notes from a bisexual who wants too much -> jen winston (jan 29 - feb 19)

3. home -> whitney hanson (feb 20 - feb 22)

4. lionizing -> edgar allan poe (march 1)

5. heretics anonymous -> katie henry (feb 23 - apr 3)

6. the greatest stories ever played: video games and the evolution of storytelling -> dustin hansen (apr 3 - apr 20)

7. the language of thorns -> leigh bardugo (apr 20 - may 7)

8. beasts and beauty -> soman chainani (jan 7 - may 10)

9. intense experience: social psychology through poetry -> frederick samuels (may 26 - jun 9)

10. a christmas carol -> charles dickens (dec 8 - jun 24)

11. heartstopper: volume one -> alice oseman (jun 24-25)

12. heartstopper: volume two -> alice oseman (jun 25)

13. heartstopper: volume three -> alice oseman (jun 26 - 27)

14. heartstopper: volume four -> alice oseman (july 2)

15. nick and charlie -> alice oseman (july 4)

16. quiver -> julia watts (july 6)

17. this winter -> alice oseman (july 9)

18. you’re not enough (and that’s okay) -> allie beth stuckey (july 16 - 22)

19. the heartstopper yearbook -> alice oseman (july 23)

20. solitaire -> alice oseman (july 25 - july 27)

21. radio silence -> alice oseman (july 27 - aug 7)

22. four for the road -> k.j. reilly (aug 7 - sep 2)

23. dear mothman -> robin gow (sep 4 - sep 10)

24. some girls do -> jennifer dugan (sep 11 - sep 23)

25. the winter soldier: cold front -> mackenzi lee (sep 29 - oct 30)

26. dream work -> mary oliver (oct 23 - nov 16)

27. a practical handbook for the actor (aug 16 - nov 24)

28. i was born for this -> alice oseman (sep 10 - nov 26)

29. here and queer: a queer girl’s guide to life -> rowan ellis (nov 30 - dec 19)

[thegoldenretrieverandthegaynerd]

This is why it’s so important these books are available. They can make someone feel so much less alone.

COLUMBIA, Miss.—Rose, a South Mississippi mom, remembers her gay 17-year-old child Jordan beaming as they descended the staircase of the Columbia-Marion County Public Library one day in June. They had just seen a display featuring the first four volumes of the “Heartstopper” graphic novels by Alice Oseman, which tell the story of two teen boys who fall in love, arranged in a circle with small pride flags.

“And that made me genuinely happy,” said Jordan. (Both Rose and Jordan’s names have been changed for this story because Jordan has not come out to others in their family or community.)

“Seeing that gave me at least a little bit of hope that maybe this town was OK and that people like me, kids, would feel like it’s not a bad thing and feel like they can have something relatable to connect with and make them feel hopeful and happy and secure—something as simple as a book,” continued Jordan.

[pom-talks]

Goodbye, my rose garden

Spoilers ahead!

«Hanako, you need to kill me»

I found out about this manga thanks to the fact that Ukraine got a license for it. I ordered the first volume and read it a long time ago, I was thinking of waiting for the translation of the other two, but I couldn't wait anymore (because it takes too long, I received the first volume at the beginning of February) and decided to finish reading it in English. I can certainly say that I liked this manga.

This story about two women who were brought together by their love for books has only 3 volumes and 17 chapters. It is quite short, but nevertheless managed to evoke emotions in me. The characters are well written and the manga has a very nice drawing. In addition, this story is not only about the forbidden love of two women in England at the beginning of the 20th century, but also about feminism.

Alice is a noblewoman, which means she has a status to uphold. At that time, women had to marry other noblemen, in order to save the face of their family. It's good if a couple loves each other, but what if they don't? That's how it is with Alice - she wants to maintain the status of her family, but she will be unhappy in a marriage without love. There are rumors about her that she likes other women and they turn out to be true. Her fiance once says a well-known for many phrase that when she gives birth to children she'll realize that this is what happiness is, and everything else was just nonsense (her relationship with Hanako).

The manga describes all these problems of women at that time, how they couldn't even freely write their own books (Alice uses a male pseudonym to publish her books). They don't even want to read Hanako's book, and all because of her gender. In short, a misogynistic reality as well as homophobia typical for that time. Two women (or two men) cannot be together, because it is wrong, it'll destroy the status of the family and in general it is all nonsense.

To be honest, on the last few pages I was already losing hope for a happy ending, although I understood that it should be one and I am glad that it really is a happy ending. I don't know how Alice and Hanako's story continued, but the most important thing is that they are together and that they are happy. By the way, I wonder what Hanako's book is about and how the other girls from the town where Hanako was sent on "vacation" are doing. The manga is a quick read and I definitely recommend it. I'm still not sure if I'll buy the other two volumes in Ukrainian, but I like the covers as well as the story itself, so I might buy it for the collection.

[sweet-cynicalstrain]

booking you for 3, 16, 17, and 25

3. What were your top five books of the year?

I'm bad at favorites in general, and this year I read a lot of books that I very much enjoyed but wouldn’t quite say I loved. But I will say, in different ways and for different reasons: Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang, The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li, Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman, Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel, and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Tong Xu. (I don't know if any particular volume was a favorite book of the year, but the story overall is absolutely one of my favorite things I experienced this year.) Now I'm gonna move on to the next question before I can continue second guessing this answer...

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

Not sure if it counts as being overhyped, but I didn’t enjoy Greedy by Jen Winston as much as I was led to believe I would by some enthusiastic people on the internet. Probably the most hyped books I've read recently, in general, would be The Hunger Games series, and I had a great time reading them but maybe not quite as good of a time as their popularity would suggest.

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

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson is not a genre I read much of (YA thriller-y drama), but it kept me absolutely riveted throughout. 

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

There were a few things I started reading this year and then put aside because I wasn’t quite in the right mood for them, including but not limited to The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, and Little Foxes Took Up Matches by Katya Kazbek. I’m still very excited about these books and would love to read them next year! I hope to finish the book/series I am currently reading (the Lymond books…). In general I would love to read the many books I already own but have not yet read! Maybe my goal should be to read books at a faster rate than I acquire new ones...

[engshoujosei]

Fairy Tale Battle Royale

4 volumes (in English as of 4/17/2023, ongoing?)

Licensed by Seven Seas

Kuninaka Aoba, a mercilessly bullied ninth grader, receives a magical contract that grants her greatest wish, but at what cost? Suddenly, Aoba is thrust down a rabbit hole into a strangely familiar world from children’s stories–only this version comes with a dark and gruesome twist. In this Wonderland, it's kill or be killed, in a dark fairy tale fight for survival!

Status in Country of Origin

4 Volumes (Ongoing?)

Tags:

Alice in Wonderland 

Based on a Fairytale 

Battle Royale

Dark Ambience

[smashpages]

Nominees announced for the 2023 Eisner Awards

Comic-Con International has announced the nominees for this year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. This is the 35th year for the awards, which will be given out at this year’s Comic-Con International on July 21.

In terms of publishers, Image Comics received the most nominations, followed by DC, Fantagraphics, Marvel and Dark Horse. Creator-wise, Zoe Thorogood led the pack with five nominations. Hall of Fame nominees and inductees were announced earlier this month.

And the nominees are …

Best Short Story

“The Beekeeper’s Due,” by Jimmy Stamp and Débora Santos, in Scott Snyder Presents: Tales from the Cloakroom (Cloakroom Comics)

“Finding Batman” by Kevin Conroy and J. Bone in DC Pride 2022 (DC)

“Good Morning,” by Christopher Cantwell and Alex Lins, in Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood #4 (Marvel)

“Silent All These Years,” by Margaret Atwood and David Mack, in Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes (Z2)

“You Get It,” by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto, in Amazing Fantasy #1000 (Marvel)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC)

Mary Jane & Black Cat Beyond, by Jed Mackay and C. F. Villa (Marvel)

Moon Knight: Black, White, and Blood #3, edited by Tom Brevoort (Marvel)

Star Trek #400, edited by Heather Antos (IDW)

A Vicious Circle Book 1, by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo (BOOM! Studios)

Best Continuing Series

Daredevil, by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto and Rafael de Latorre (Marvel)

The Department of Truth, by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds (Image)

Killadelphia, by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander (Image)

The Nice House on the Lake, by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno (DC)

Nightwing, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)

She-Hulk, by Rainbow Rowell, Rogê Antônio, Luca Maresca, and Takeshi Miyazawa (Marvel)

Best Limited Series

Animal Castle, by Xavier Dorison and Felix Delep (Ablaze)

Batman: One Bad Day, edited by Dave Wielgosz and Jessica Berbey (DC)

The Human Target, by Tom King and Greg Smallwood (DC)

Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age, by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham (Marvel)

Superman: Space Age, by Mark Russell, Michael Allred, and Laura Allred (DC)

Best New Series

The Atonement Bell, by Jim Ousley and Tyler B. Ruff (Red 5)

Love Everlasting, by Tom King and Elsa Charretier (Image)

Public Domain, by Chip Zdarsky (Image)

Star Trek, by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Ramon Rosanas (IDW)

Traveling to Mars, by Mark Russell and Roberto Meli (Ablaze)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

Beneath The Trees: A Fine Summer, by Dav (Magnetic Press)

Fox + Chick: Up and Down: and Other Stories, by Sergio Ruzzier (Chronicle Books)

Grumpy Monkey Who Threw That? by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang (Random House Studio)

Hey, Bruce!: An Interactive Book, by Ryan Higgins (Disney/Hyperion)

The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster! by Mo Willems (Union Square Kids)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)

Adventuregame Comics: Leviathan, by Jason Shiga (Amulet/Abrams)

Frizzy, by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra (First Second/Macmillan)

Isla To Island, by Alexis Castellanos (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster)

Little Monarchs, by Jonathan Case (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House)

Swim Team, by Johnnie Christmas (HarperAlley)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

Chef’s Kiss, by Jarrett Melendez and Danica Brine (Oni)

Clementine Book One, by Tillie Walden (Image Skybound)

Do A Powerbomb! by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image)

Heartstopper Volume 4, by Alice Oseman (Scholastic Graphix)

Wash Day Diaries, by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith (Chronicle Books)

Best Humor Publication

Cryptid Club, by Sarah Andersen (Andrews McMeel)

I Hate This Place, by Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin (Image Skybound)

Killer Queens, by David Booher and Claudia Balboni (Dark Horse)

Mr. Lovenstein Presents: Failure, by J. L. Westover (Image Skybound)

Revenge of the Librarians, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology

Creepshow, edited by Alex Antone and Jon Moisan (Image Skybound)

The Illustrated Al: The Songs of “Weird Al” Yankovic, edited by Josh Bernstein (Z2)

The Nib Magazine, edited by Matt Bors (Nib)

Sensory: Life on the Spectrum, edited by Bex Ollerton (Andrews McMeel)

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes, The Graphic Album, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Z2)

Best Reality-Based Work

Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense, by Noël Simsolo and Dominique Hé, translation by Montana Kane (NBM)

Alice Guy: First Lady of Film, by José-Louis Bocquet and Catel Muller, translation by Edward Gauvin (SelfMadeHero)

But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust, edited by Charlotte Schallié (University of Toronto Press)

Flung Out of Space, by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer (Abrams ComicArts)

Invisible Wounds: Graphic Journalism, by Jess Ruliffson (Fantagraphics)

Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball, by Jon Chad (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Graphic Memoir

Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story, by Catherine Pioli, translated by J. T. Mahany (Graphic Mundi/Penn State University Press)

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, by Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly)

It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth: An Auto-Bio-Graphic-Novel, by Zoe Thorogood (Image)

So Much for Love: How I Survived a Toxic Relationship, by Sophie Lambda (First Second/Macmillan)

Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure, by Lewis Hancox (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Graphic Album—New

The Book of Niall, by Barry Jones (Ellie & Beatty)

Crushing, by Sophie Burrows (Algonquin Young Readers)

Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral, by Thomas Woodruff (Fantagraphics)

The Night Eaters, Book 1: She Eats the Night, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Abrams ComicArts)

Ultrasound, by Conor Stechschulte (Fantagraphics)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Days of Sand, by Aimée de Jongh, translation by Christopher Bradley (SelfMadeHero)

Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works, by Geneviève Castrée, translation by Phil Elverum and Aleshia Jensen (Drawn & Quarterly)

Mazebook Dark Horse Direct Edition, by Jeff Lemire (Dark Horse)

One Beautiful Spring Day, by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics)

Parker: The Martini Edition—Last Call, by Richard Stark, Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker, and Sean Phillips (IDW)

Super Spy Deluxe Edition, by Matt Kindt (Dark Horse)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

Chivalry by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Colleen Doran (Dark Horse)

Rain by Joe Hill, adapted by David M. Booher and Zoe Thorogood (Syzygy/Image)

Ten Days in a Madhouse, by Nellie Bly, adapted by Brad Ricca and Courtney Sieh (Gallery 13/Simon $ Schuster)

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes, The Graphic Album, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Z2)

A Visit to Moscow by Rabbi Rafael Grossman, adapted by Anna Olswanger and Yevgenia Nayberg (Turner)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

Always Never, by Jordi Lafebre, translation by Montana Kane (Dark Horse)

Blacksad: They All Fall Down Part 1, by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Dark Horse)

Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story, by Catherine Pioli, translation by J. T. Mahany (Graphic Mundi/Penn State University Press)

The Pass, by Espé, translation by J.T. Mahany (Graphic Mundi/Penn State University Press)

Tiki: A Very Ruff Year, by David Azencot and Fred Leclerc, translation by Nanette McGuinness (Life Drawn/Humanoids)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

Black Paradox, by Junji Ito, translation by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media)

The Hellbound vols. 1-2, by Yeon Sang-ho and Choi Gyu-seok, translation by Danny Lim (Dark Horse)

Look Back, by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translation by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)

PTSD Radio vol. 1, by Masaaki Nakayama, translation by Adam Hirsch (Kodansha)

Shuna’s Journey, by Hayao Miyazaki; translation by Alex Dudok de Wit (First Second/Macmillan)

Talk to My Back, by Yamada Murasaki, translation by Ryan Holmberg (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)

Bungleton Green and the Mystic Commandos, by Jay Jackson (New York Review Comics)

Come Over Come Over, It’s So Magic, and My Perfect Life, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1922-1924, by George Herriman, edited by J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

Macanudo: Welcome to Elsewhere, by Liniers, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Pogo The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips: Volume 8: Hijinks from the Horn of Plenty, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)

The Deluxe Gimenez: The Fourth Power & The Starr Conspiracy, by Juan Gimenez, edited by Alex Donoghue and Bruno Lesigne (Humanoids)

The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta, edited by Dian Hansen (TASCHEN)

Home to Stay! The Complete Ray Bradbury EC Stories, by Ray Bradbury and various; edited by J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus 1 (Abrams ComicArts)

Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge: The Diamond Jubilee Collection, by Carl Barks; edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)

Best Writer

Grace Ellis, Flung Out of Space (Abrams ComicArts)

Tom King, Batman: Killing Time, Batman: One Bad Day, Gotham City: Year One, The Human Target, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (DC); Love Everlasting (Image)

Mark Russell, Traveling to Mars (Ablaze), One-Star Squadron, Superman: Space Age (DC); The Incal: Psychoverse (Humanoids)

James Tynion IV, House of Slaughter, Something Is Killing the Children, Wynd (BOOM! Studios); The Nice House on the Lake, The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country (DC), The Closet, The Department of Truth (Image)

Chip Zdarsky, Stillwater (Image Skybound); Daredevil (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist

Sarah Andersen, Cryptid Club (Andrews McMeel)

Kate Beaton, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (Drawn & Quarterly)

Espé, The Pass (Graphic Mundi/Penn State University)

Junji Ito, Black Paradox, The Liminal Zone (VIZ Media)

Zoe Thorogood, It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (Image)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Jason Shawn Alexander, Killadelphia, Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog (Image)

Alvaro Martínez Bueno, The Nice House on the Lake (DC)

Sean Phillips, Follow Me Down, The Ghost in You (Image)

Bruno Redondo, Nightwing (DC)

Greg Smallwood, The Human Target (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Lee Bermejo, A Vicious Circle (BOOM! Studios)

Felix Delep, Animal Castle (Ablaze)

Daria Schmitt, The Monstrous Dreams of Mr. Providence (Europe Comics)

Sana Takeda, The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night (Abrams ComicArts); Monstress (Image)

Zoe Thorogood, Rain (Syzygy/Image)

Thomas Woodruff, Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral (Fantagraphics)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

Jen Bartel, She-Hulk (Marvel)

Bruno Redondo, Nightwing (DC)

Alex Ross, Astro City: That Was Then . . . (Image); Fantastic Four, Black Panther (Marvel)

Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Zoe Thorogood, Joe Hill’s Rain (Syzygy/Image)

Best Coloring

Jordie Bellaire, The Nice House on the Lake, Suicide Squad: Blaze (DC); Antman, Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age (Marvel)

Jean-Francois Beaulieu, I Hate Fairyland 2022, Twig (Image)

Dave McCaig, The Incal: Psychoverse (Humanoids)

Jacob Phillips, Follow Me Down, The Ghost in You, That Texas Blood (Image)

Alex Ross and Josh Johnson, The Fantastic Four: Full Circle (Abrams ComicArts)

Diana Sousa, Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins; The Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin; The Mighty Nein Origins: Fjord Stone; The Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast (Dark Horse)

Best Lettering

Pat Brosseau, Batman: The Knight, Wonder Woman: The Villainy of Our Fears (DC): Creepshow, Dark Ride, I Hate This Place, Skybound Presents: Afterschool (Image Skybound)

Chris Dickey, The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night (Abrams ComicArts)

Todd Klein, Chivalry (Dark Horse); Fables (DC); Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age (Marvel)

Nate Piekos, Black Hammer Reborn, Minor Threats, Shaolin Cowboy, Stranger Things: Kamchatka (Dark Horse), I Hate Fairyland, Twig (Image)

Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (IDW)

Thomas Woodruff, Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral (Fantagraphics)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)

Comic Book Creator, edited by Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)

The Comics Journal #308, edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti, and Rachel Miller (Fantagraphics)

PanelXPanel magazine, edited by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and Tiffany Babb (panelxpanel.com)

Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, ICv2, Publishers Weekly

Best Comics-Related Book

The Art of the News: Comics Journalism, edited by Katherine Kelp-Stebbins and Ben Saunders (Oregon State University Press)

Charles M. Schulz: The Art and Life of the Peanuts Creator in 100 Objects, by Benjamin L. Clark and Nat Gertler (Schulz Museum)

The Charlton Companion, by Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)

Gladys Parker: A Life in Comics, A Passion for Fashion, by Trina Robbins (Hermes Press)

Resurrection: Comics in Post-Soviet Russia, by José Alaniz (Ohio State University Press)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

Bandits, Misfits, and Superheroes: Whiteness and Its Borderlands in American Comics and Graphic Novels, by Josef Benson and Doug Singsen (University Press of Mississippi)

Graphic Medicine, edited by Erin La Cour and Anna Poletti (University of Hawai’i’ Press)

How Comics Travel: Publication, Translation, Radical Literacies, by Katherine Kelp-Stebbins (Ohio State University Press)

The LGBTQ+ Comics Studies Reader: Critical Openings, Future Directions, edited by Alison Halsall and Jonathan Warren (University Press of Mississippi)

Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels. By Tim Smyth (Routledge)

Best Publication Design

Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral, designed by Thomas Woodruff, Jacob Covey, and Ryan Dinnick (Fantagraphics)

A Frog in the Fall (and later on), designed by Linnea Sterte, Olle Forsslöf, and Patrick Crotty (PEOW)

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts 40X40: Bad Reputation/I Love Rock-n-Roll, designed by Josh Bernstein and Jason Ullmeyer (Z2)

Mazebook Dark Horse Direct Edition, designed by Tom Muller (Dark Horse)

Parker: The Martini Edition—Last Call, designed by Sean Phillips (IDW)

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes, The Graphic Album, designed by Lauryn Ipsum (Z2)

Best Webcomic

Deeply Dave, by Grover, http://www.deeplydave.com/

Delilah Dirk: Practical Defence Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff, https://www.delilahdirk.com/dd4/dd4-p46.html

Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/list?title_no=1320&page=5

The Mannamong, by Michael Adam Lengyel, https://mannamong.com/episode-1/

Spores, by Joshua Barkman, https://falseknees.com/22ink1.html

Best Digital Comic

All Princesses Die Before Dawn, by Quentin Zuttion, translation by M. B. Valente (Europe Comics)

Barnstormers, by Scott Snyder and Tula Lotay (Comixology Originals)

Behind the Curtain, by Sara del Giudice, translation by M. B. Valente (Europe Comics)

Ripple Effects, by Jordan Hart, Bruno Chiroleu, Justin Harder, and Shane Kadlecik (Fanbase Press)

Sixty Years in Winter, by Ingrid Chabbert and Aimée de Jongh, translation by Matt Madden (Europe Comics)

[bikowolf]

Weiß

RWBY Volume 9 Episode 1. After years of waiting I finally get to see what the hell they've been up to all this time with referrals and layoffs... On Crunchy Roll... Ok, I can take that. Let's talk about the episode and not my thoughts on the SERIOUS situation at Rooster Teeth. The episode starts with Ruby who takes several minutes to open her eyes skipping entire events of the story of Volume 8, sorry for the obvious joke but this shows why Ruby is a bit pitiful as a fighter and as a leader ... because turns off the brain 90% of the time. Then we get to the "new world" where everything seems so "strange" and "unique"...and then we get to the first problem of writing RWBY which is "They are not human" or at least "They don't look human-like", let me explain: Ruby's scene where she insists on reaching the tree is taken from the Matrix 3 scene (if I remember correctly) where Neo, in the train tunnel, tries to run forward and then find himself at the starting point, this creates the sensation block, loop, from which the protagonist must escape; In Ruby there is the same idea but with a small problem, she finds herself in an open field, so it means that she (instead of changing course) insists on going forward. I don't think I have to explain the concept of "roam" or "explore" do I? And after several tries she curls up and cries… So IT DOESN'T CHANGE WAY. Ruby acts as if she is in a tunnel, as if she has been programmed to do that action, without asking herself: Maybe I could go left or right? Thus creating the problem of "Oh no, I'm stuck in a loop" and then finding a solution (which would have obviously taken time in this ""anime"" of 17:00 minutes TOTAL!). Ruby finally talks to Little, and thanks to the writers' favorite friend called Deus Ex Machina, they get out of this situation. We then move on to Weiss + Blake where they find Blake's weapon in a set of roots. We are in the second scene in which the characters do not act as human beings but as "robots who have to do the imposed thing": They don't climb the roots (which are demonstrably climbable) and find that they are self-propelled and thus get trapped by them... Blake pulls the root; Weiss launches two slashes to be already tired ( Huntresses = 10/10); Blake climbs a freaking tree to reach the implanted sword; WHAT THE HELL! So the roots kidnap the two, and Ruby saves the day thanks to Little convincing the other mice that they're "food carriers"? We don't wonder too much about this anyway, there's no time, so they immediately runs towards Yang. Yang faces scary little monster with PING problems, or that's what the context led me to believe: The monster was "searching", finds Ruby, Blake and Weiss and prepares for battle, then Yang comes and becomes a 4 on 1 and the monster runs away in fear. Evidently it's a bot programmed like this: If "enemies" less than or equal to x=3 then "fight" else "run". I know that as speech is stupid or cringe, but that's what I perceive when I see these "action" scenes so lacking in pathos. The monster runs away at the exact moment an amputee girl shows up to him, tired and "wounded" (when will there be injured character models?), while he remains to fight two girls who are at full strength and are also armed . It makes no sense and is not natural. "lesbo moment" between Yang and Blake (Ruby instead is a marble statue towards her sister suffering from her ... But we are used to this lack of humanity by now). Then Ruby passes out, because she learns of Penny's death, falling of TEMPLE on the ground (people die falling so bad). So the girls sit next to her helpless body and talk gossip… Not even one wondering if Ruby is okay, or if she has a brain injury… no. Again lack of humanity (ONLY JAUNE HAS THE FEELINGS!). So it ends like this… With them seeing that they are in the Alice in Wonderland universe. - Opening HORRIBLE! We have Jaune and Neo put in front of the beginning at the end in the center, but yeah, it's about Jaune. It's always been about Jaune. RWBY stands for: Red White Black Yellow, Jaune's 4 favorite colors, SO THE STORY IS ABOUT JAUNE! How disgusting. I hate Jaune for this, and let me be clear: You are free to love him as much as you want, this is MY opinion, when I say Jaune sucks I'm not saying YOU suck, okay? My predictions? Jaune will go into edge lord mode because Ironwood became famous for it (only Ironwood was more chad while Jaune is just cringe) and he will be Neo's minion. So Weiss will either save him, or not, but still he will become the knight Weiss summons to fight. My final opinion. The eternal one, which will be present regardless of how volume 9 goes on... It will hardly change. This is not a story that can be considered good for the progression of the story itself. Would the idea have been good for a movie? Yes. What will change to the RWBY team in this arc? Nothing. Because Jaune has always been a parasite of this story, and now that he's grown up he blossoms out of the girls' empty bodies. We have to travel all over the world to solve the Salem problem, but instead that black hole Jaune sucks all the characters into the void and into her world. Watch the anime, this will make you understand the key concept of a story WITHOUT A SELF INSERT! Albeit cheesy even if itself poorly written, but still about the RWBY team. Jaune is a self insert because even when team RWBY falls into an alternate dimension, Jaune has to find a way to get in the way: Without team JNR. Think about this. Jaune, in theory, is a character related to team JNR ... he has nothing to do with team RWBY, stop it. He has everything, everything. I don't want to draw it and I never will! He already has too much. Team RWBY deserves fan art and fan fic (well written) without that self insert.

Posted using PostyBirb

[bookishjules]

17 📚🥰

book 17 was the first volume of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman!

such a sweet sweet series <3 I loved that I could lose myself in them so easily

[lgbtqmanga]

New Releases Jan. 17, 2023

Adachi and Shimamura (Light Novel) Vol. 10 By Hitoma Iruma

HONESTY. COMMUNICATION. COMMITMENT.

It’s the start of a new year, and Shimamura has finally come to terms with what it means to be Adachi’s girlfriend. As Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s time to stop running away… Can Shimamura find the courage to do the right thing?

Barbarities vol. 1 by Tsuta Suzuki

In this beautiful Boys’ Love/BL romance inspired by Renaissance Europe, a dashing viscount tries to woo a serious nobleman!

When Lord Montague’s life is threatened, Viscount Adam Canning is assigned to be his bodyguard. Adam is a blond, dashing nobleman who is able to woo anyone who catches his eye. When he sees Lord Montague’s nephew, Joel, Adam is immediately smitten. But Joel is too busy rooting out crime and corruption to fall for Adam’s charms. Of course, that just makes Adam want him even more! Can Joel stay focused, or will he fall for the devilishly handsome viscount?

GUNBURED × SISTERS vol. 3 by Wataru Mitogawa

WHEN NUNS CRY

The pureblood that Dorothy and Maria encountered spoke of another half-vampire, offering an invaluable clue to Maria’s sister’s whereabouts! But this turns out to be a short-lived victory for the pair, whose relationship runs into its first major roadblock over Dorothy’s treatment of Shannon. Will they be able to reconcile their differences?

I Want to Be a Wall vol. 2 by Honami Shirono

Any good love story starts at the beginning: Where and how did the lovebirds meet? Was it love at first sight? And most importantly, was there a spark? For Yuriko and Gakurouta, their initial meeting was nothing to write home about��after all, matchmaking services aren’t unheard of. But a chance second encounter on the street revealed that as an asexual woman and gay man, they might have much more in common than they initially assumed. And in that moment, they felt not a spark but something better: the seed of a friendship, ready to take root and bloom.

Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki

When it comes to love, high schooler Chika wonders if she might be an alien. She’s never fallen for or even had a crush on anyone, and she has no desire for physical intimacy. Her friends tell her that she just "hasn't met the one yet," but Chika has doubts... It's only when Chika enters college and meets peers like herself that she realizes there’s a word for what she feels inside--asexual--and she’s not the only one. After years of wondering if love was the answer, Chika realizes that the answer she long sought may not exist at all--and that that's perfectly normal.

Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide vol. 3 by Mone Sorai 

Super serious Asahi Suzumura and laidback, easygoing Mitsuki Sayama might seem like an odd couple, but they made a deal; they'll vacation around the world and when they get back to Japan, they'll get married. As they travel from country to country, the different people, cultures and cuisine they encounter begin to bring them closer together. After all they're not just learning about the world, but about themselves too.

A Polar Bear in Love vol. 5 by Koromo

Orca warns Polar Bear about his cross-species romance, but Polar Bear isn’t going to give up on his love for Seal so easily… Meanwhile, Cathy finds an encounter of their own! The long-awaited Volume 5 is finally here!

Welcome Back, Alice vol. 4 by Shuzo Oshimi

What is Kei to you?

Yo doesn't exactly get what love or dating is. After all, things ended up in a disaster with Mitani, his ex-girlfriend. And for some reason, he feels much more comfortable when he's with Kei. Sure, Kei may look like a girl, but there's something more to him than just his appearance that allures Yo.

And when Kei makes a move on Yo, Yo doesn't stop him. In fact, he might even enjoy it…

How Do We Relationship? vol. 8 by Tamifull

Miwa finally feels like she’s getting the hang of the new shape her relationship with Saeko has taken. It’s hard to switch from being girlfriends to friends, but her growing connection with Tamaki has been a great distraction. Except now things with the cute underclassman have started to feel weird, and Miwa isn’t sure she’s brave enough to ask why. Will her second relationship fizzle out before it even starts?

[emilysworldoffandoms]

Books I Read in 2022

1. Beast Boy Loves Raven By Kami Garcia & Gabriel Picolo 2. Dear Girl By Aija Mayrock 3. A Fire Like You By Upile Chisala 4. Nectar By Upile Chisala 5. Soft Magic By Upile Chisala 6. As If On Cue By Marisa Kanter 7. Heartstopper Volume 4 By Alice Oseman 8. Address Unknown By Katherine Kressmann Taylor 9. Ariel By Sylvia Plath 10. Heart Talk By Cleo Wade 11. At Somerton: Cinders & Sapphires By Leila Rasheed 12. At Somerton: Diamonds & Deceit By Leila Rasheed 13. Unlock Your Storybook Heart By Amanda Lovelace 14. Instructions for Dancing By Nicola Yoon 15. Martita, I Remember You By Sandra Cisneros 16. Brown Girls By Daphne Palasi Andreades 17. Here's to Us By Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera 18. Counting by 7s By Holly Goldberg Sloan 19. The Summer I Turned Pretty By Jenny Han 20. It's Not Summer Without You By Jenny Han 21. We'll Always Have Summer By Jenny Han 22. Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood By Melissa Wagner & Fred Rogers 23. Gained a Daughter But Nearly Lost My Mind: How I Planned a Backyard Wedding During a Pandemic By Marlene Kern Fischer 24. At Somerton: Emeralds & Ashes By Leila Rasheed 25. Café Con Lychee By Emery Lee 26. The Book Tour By Andi Watson 27. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian By Kurt Vonnegut 28. Yoga Pant Nation By Laurie Gelman 29. Mr. Malcolm's List By Suzanne Allain 30. Miss Lattimore's Letter By Suzanne Allain 31. The Road Between By Courtney Peppernell 32. Enough Rope By Dorothy Parker 33. My Favorite Half-Night Stand By Christina Lauren 34. Smells Like Tween Spirit By Laurie Gelman 35. How to Be a Wallflower By Eloisa James 36. Be Like the Moon By Levi Welton 37. Morality for Muggles: Ethics in the Bible and the World of Harry Potter By Moshe Rosenberg 38. 84, Charing Cross Road By Helene Hanff 39. Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating By Christina Lauren 40. The Matchmaker By Thornton Wilder 41. The Cheat Sheet By Sarah Adams 42. All-of-a-Kind Family By Sydney Taylor (Re-read) 43. Shadow Angel Book One By Leia Stone & Julie Hall 44. Spooky America: The Ghostly Tales of Sleepy Hollow By Jessa Dean 45. Needle & Thread By David Pinckney, Ennun Ana Iurov, Micah Myers 46. Good Game, Well Played By Rachael Smith, Katherine Lobo, Justin Birch 47. Home Sick Pilots By Dan Walters & Caspar Wijngaard 48. Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard By Tom Felton 49. Legends and Lore of Sleepy Hollow and the Hudson Valley By Jonathan Kruk 50. Heartless Prince By Leigh Dragoon 51. A Contract with God By Will Eisner 52. Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American By Laura Gao 53. Blackwater By Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham 54. Woman World By Aminder Dhaliwal 55. In Real Life By Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang 56. Lore Olympus Volume 1 By Rachel Smythe 57. Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword By Barry Deutsch 58. Persuasion By Jane Austen 59. Devil in Disguise By Lisa Kleypas 60. Shadow Angel Book Two By Leia Stone & Julie Hall 61. Lore Olympus Volume 2 By Rachel Smythe 62. Talk to My Back By Yamada Murasaki 63. How I Saved Hanukkah By Amy Goldman Koss 64. Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet By Barbara Dee 65. Shadow Angel Book Three By Leia Stone & Julie Hall 66. The Matzah Ball By Jean Meltzer 67. Canción By Eduardo Halfon 68. Leopoldstadt By Tom Stoppard 69. Say Yes to the Duke By Eloisa James 70. Winter Roses after Fall By Robert M. Drake & r.h. Sin 71. Roomies By Christina Lauren 72. Falling Toward the Moon By Robert M. Darake & r.h. Sin 73. Empty Bottles Full of Stories By Robert M. Drake & r.h. Sin

[noctambulatebooks]

Reading 2023

5-January-2023: Tanizaki, Junichirō, The Maids (1963, Japan)

13-January-2023: Tevis, Walter, Mockingbird (1980, USA)

22-January-2023: Snyder, Michael, James Purdy: Life of a Contrarian Writer (2022, USA)

29-January-2023: Pressburger, Emeric, The Glass Pearls (1966, England)

31-January-2023: Mac Orlan, Pierre, A Handbook for the Perfect Adventurer (1951, France)

5-February-2023: Runciman, Steven, The First Crusade (Vol I: A History of the Crusades) (1951, England)

11-February-2023: Babitz, Eve, I Used to be Charming (1975-1997, USA)

15-February-2023: Indiana, Gary, Rent Boy (1994, USA)

26-February-2023: Zola, Émile, The Sin of Abbé Mouret (1875, France)

2-March-2023: Bennett, Alice, Alarm (Object Lessons), (2023, USA)

9-March-2023: Wyndham, John, The Kraken Wakes (1953. England)

17-March-2023: Manchette, Jean-Patrick, The Prone Gunman (1981, France)

17-March-2023: Shawn, Wallace, Night Thoughts: An Essay (2017, USA)

19-March-2023: Runciman, Steven, The Kingdom of Jerusalem (Vol II: A History of the Crusades) (1953, England)

26-March-2023: Carr, David, Final Draft: The Collected Work of David Carr (2020, USA)

5-April-2023: Manzoni, Alessandro, The Betrothed (1840, Italy)

10-April-2023: Childs, Craig, Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession (2010, USA)

16-April-2023: Butler. Octavia, Kindred (1979, USA)

22-April-2023: Liming, Sheila, Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time (2023, USA)

24-April-2023: Manchette, Jean-Patrick, Three to Kill (1976, France)

30-April-2023: Keefe, Patrick Radden, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (2021, USA)

7-May-2023: Le Carré, John, Agent Running in the Field (2019, England)

10-May-2023: Dederer, Claire, Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma (2023, USA)

13-May-2023: Mortimer, Penelope, Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting (1956, England)

26-May-2023: Morrison, Toni, Beloved (1987, USA)

30-May-2023: McCarthy, Cormac, The Passenger (2022, USA)

1-June-2023: Lewis, Herbert Clyde, Gentleman Overboard (1937, USA)

6-June-2023: Miéville, China, Embassytown (2011, England)

10-June-2023: McCarthy, Cormac, Stella Maris (2022, USA)

16-June-2023: Ambler, Eric, The Light of Day (1962, England)

23-June-2023: Ambler, Eric, Dirty Story (1967, England)

25-June-2023: Runciman, Steven, The Kingdom of Acre (Volume III, A History of the Crusades) (1954, England)

27-June-2023: Hartley, L.P., The Harness Room (1971, England)

4-July-2023: Motley, Willard, Knock on Any Door (1947, USA)

8-July-2023: Duras, Marguerite, The North China Lover (1991. France)

10-July-2023: Carr, J. L., A Month in the Country (1980, England)

14-July-2023: Thoreau, Henry David, Cape Cod (1865, USA)

18-July-2023: Modiano, Patrick, Missing Person (1978, France)

22-July-2023: Prime-Stevenson, Edward, Left to Themselves: The Ordeal of Philip and Gerald (1891, USA)

24-July-2023: Shakespeare, William, King Lear (1606, England)

6-August-2023: Whitehead, Colson, Crook Manifesto (2013, USA)

11-August-2023: Hampson, John, Last Night at the Greyhound (1931, England)

16-August-2023: Wyndham, John, The Midwich Cuckoos (1957, England)

19-August-2023: Ballard, J. G., The Drought (1965, England)

22-August-2023: Hines, Barry, A Kestrel for a Knave (1968, England)

31-August-2023: McPherson, William, Testing the Current (1984, USA)

10-September-2023: Pamuk, Orhan, Nights of Plague (2021, Turkey)

17-September-2023: Thoreau, Henry David, The Maine Woods (1864, USA)

20-September-2023: Thoreau, Henry David, A Plea for Captain John Brown (and other essays on abolition) (1859, USA)

24-September-2023: Kirino, Natsuo Real Life (2006, Japan)

30-September-2023: Renouard, Maël, Fragments of an Infinite Memory: My Life with the Internet (2016, France)

7-October-2023: Hamilton, Patrick, The Midnight Bell (1929, England)

12-October-2023: Hamilton, Patrick, The Siege of Pleasure (1932, England)

15-October-2023: Hamilton, Patrick, The Plains of Cement (1934, England)

21-October-2023: Kayama, Shigeru, Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again (1955, Japan)

25-October-2023: Malcolm, Janet, Still Pictures: On Photography and Memory (2023, USA)

30-October-2023: Vonnegut, Kurt, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969, USA)

5-November-2023: Warner, Sylvia Townsend, Lolly Willowes (1926, England)

26-November-2023: Ainsworth, William Harrison, The Lancashire Witches (1848, England)

2-December-2023: Ginzburg, Carlo, Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath (1989, Italy)

10-December-2023: Baum, Vicki, Grand Hotel (1929, Germany)

16-December-2023: Sinykin, Dan, Big Fiction: How Conglomerates Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature (2023, USA)

24-December-2023: Warner, Sylvia Townsend, T.H. White: A Biography (1967, England)

29-December-2023: Undset, Sigrid, Olav Audunssøn, Vol 4: Winter (1927, Norway)

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Read 59 of them. Bolded: have read. Bolded and purple: strongly recommended, I enjoyed these a lot. I actively recommend against reading The Da Vinci Code or Gone With the Wind, and there’s others on the list you definitely don’t need to be going out of your way to read - I think this must be a list of top sellers at some point, not a list based on inherent quality.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein

3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I’ve read some)

15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffeneger

20 Middlemarch – George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis

34 Emma – Jane Austen

35 Persuasion – Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne

41 Animal Farm – George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving

45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding

50 Atonement – Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel

52 Dune – Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (as a novel, I liked it; as a depiction of the French Revolution, definitely don’t rely on it)

58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

72 Dracula – Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses – James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal – Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession – AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel

83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I’ve read some of them; can’t say if they’re from this volume specifically, but I’m counting it)

90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks

94 Watership Down – Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

How many have you read?

The BBC estimates that most people will only read 6 books out of the 100 listed below. Reblog this and bold the titles you’ve read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein 3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible 7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte 8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens 11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy 13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier 16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien 17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks 18 Catcher in the Rye 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffeneger 20 Middlemarch – George Eliot 21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens 24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams 26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh 27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame 31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy 32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis 34 Emma – Jane Austen 35 Persuasion – Jane Austen 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres 39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden 40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne 41 Animal Farm – George Orwell 42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving 45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins 46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery 47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy 48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 50 Atonement – Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel 52 Dune – Frank Herbert 53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons 54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen 55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth 56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon 57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov 63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac 67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding 69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker 73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson 75 Ulysses – James Joyce 76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 78 Germinal – Emile Zola 79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray 80 Possession – AS Byatt 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel 83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro 85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry 87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton 91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad 92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery 93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks 94 Watership Down – Richard Adams 95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole 96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute 97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

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From August 6th to August 9th, 2024

06-08-2024

ALICE COOPER “Billion Dollar Babies”; GENESIS “Selling England By The Pound”; ERIC CLAPTON “Slowhand”; MILES HUNT & ERICA NOCKALLS “Bar Deluxe, Salt Lake City, Utah, 13-09-2008”; DAVID GRAY “White Ladder”; MAGAZINE “Magic, Murder & The Weather”; THE BREEDERS “Live In Stockholm”; THE MOUNTAIN GOATS “Beat The Champ”; JAY-Z “The Black Album”; LUNASA “Redwood”; THE WHITE STRIPES “Elephant”; PRINCE “Prince”; MICHELLE SHOCKED “Short, Sharp, Shocked”; PETER TOSH “Mama Africa”

07-08-2024

AVENGED SEVENFOLD “The Stage”; ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI “In Case We Die”; VARIOUS ARTISTS “A French Compilation: 17 Bands”; FAIRPORT CONVENTION “Fairport Convention”; FRANK WILDHORN “Jekyll & Hyde The Musical – Complete Works”; LEE PERRY “Larks From The Ark”; OK GO “Oh No”

08-08-2024

ALEJANDRO ESCOVADO “Bourbonitis Blues”; THE CURE “Paris”; VARIOUS ARTISTS “Help: War Child”; PENTANGLE “Solomon's Seal”; CHILDISH GAMBINO “Atavista”; ALL “Allroy Saves”; SOUNDGARDEN “Badmotorfinger”; YOUNG KNIVES “Voices Of Animals & Men”; ARTHUR LEE & LEE “Five String Serenade”; KATASTROPHY WIFE “All Kneel”; BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE “I Tell A Fly”; ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE EGYPTIANS “Element Of Light”; PATRICK STREET “All In Good Time”

09-08-2024

LO-FIDELITY ALLSTARS “On The Floor At The Boutique: Volume 2”; GUIDED BY VOICES “Isolation Drills”; LAURYN HILL “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill”; DUBSTAR “Make It Better”; THE BOO RADLEYS “Kingsize”; L7 “L7”; THE CURE “Show”