#Books I meant to read this year

[meeghanreads]

Top 5 books I meant to read in 2024

Hello friends!! Welcome to Top 5 Tuesday!! This week’s topic is top 5 books I meant to read in 2024!! Friends, we did it. It’s basically 2025. We have survived this madness. (Only joking, we’ve got like 5 more weeks of this.) BUT, we are definitely on the downhill slope for Top 5 Tuesday posts for 2025. I know this because we’re at our week of screaming (internally) about all the books we haven’t…

[dykeofmisfortune]

doing this thing i call "reading every class high school lit book i missed out on" partially because as an english minor i feel like a lot of ppl in my english lectures have already read these books in higschool partially because high school english classes suck balls and i think the way they taught kids to read books was lame and dumb as hell and killed love for reading and i think some of these books they make kids read should never be experienced in a classroom setting

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

ORV is about enduring the horrors in real time.

(for @everyonesfavoritebastard)

[districtunrest]

Haymitch: *has the 'oh, no, sweetheart. I know you, but you don't know me' card locked and loaded for if/when she gets too close*

meanwhile, Katniss: *demonstrates Haymitch Abernathy Clairvoyance™ whenever she gives just one iota of thought toward him*

There’s only one way Haymitch could have won, and Peeta says it just as I’m reaching this conclusion myself. “He outsmarted the others,” says Peeta.

(next book)

Haymitch makes a beeline for his cliff and has just reached the edge when she throws the ax. He collapses on the ground and it flies into the abyss. Now weaponless as well, the girl just stands there, trying to staunch the flow of blood pouring from her empty eye socket. She's thinking perhaps that she can outlast Haymitch, who's starting to convulse on the ground. But what she doesn't know, and what he does, is that the ax will return. And when it flies back over the ledge, it buries itself in her head. The cannon sounds, her body is removed, and the trumpets blow to announce Haymitch's victory.

even more impressively, without Peeta's input,

The sixteen-year-old boy who won the second Quarter Quell must have had people he loved - family, friends, a sweetheart maybe -that he fought to get back to. Where are they now? How is it that until Peeta and | were thrust upon him, there was no one at all in his life? What did Snow do to them?

(pages later)

"My mother and younger brother. My girl. They were all dead two weeks after | was crowned victor. Because of that stunt | pulled with the force field," he answers. "Snow had no one to use against me."

which is why this:

Maybe he wasn’t always a drunk. Maybe, in the beginning, he tried to help the tributes. But then it got unbearable.

is canon to me, no question.

[mizzingyou]

they are literally made for each other wtf

[vickyvicarious]

it's so fascinating to see how one of bram's ways to signal that the characters are modern and in tune with new science ends up horribly dating the book and making them all look worse to modern readers (i'm talking about the physiognomy thing)

Yes, absolutely! It's really interesting. In this case it's much worse because physiognomy is such an inherently racist and flawed idea. And that feels much more like something they could have realized. It forcibly reminds modern readers of the different culture these characters belonged to and the prejudices they either actively held or at the least passively accepted.

But it's not the only instance of the passage of time making certain details feel a lot different than they were meant to for contemporary readers. For example, Jack's phonograph is pretty new and exciting technology. Mina gets excited to see it today! But within the 1890s the shift from wax cylinders to flat discs began to happen, leading to gramophones and eventually record players. At the time this story is set (likely somewhere in the 1893-1897 range) the two technologies co-existed, but records were what eventually took off on a massive scale and phonographs with cylinders are seen as more of a prototype. This is something that might be less notable to modern readers since both are old technology to us, but it's a shift that happened not too long after the book was published. And of course the famous blood typing discovery...

When it was originally published, several critics disliked the book for being too modern, something they thought didn't suit a vampire story. Of course, the very contrast between modernity and ancient monsters was intentionally a major theme. And yet the passage of time changes our perspective on that theme. It's really fascinating to consider this stuff from 100+ years on.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

Nanami frantically digging through Shoko’s pamphlets and googling “how to give the ward you just met a sex talk” after the last chapter, this poor man needs a Xanax and a 12 hour nap SO badly right now 😂😂

fantastic chapter btw!! I love love love maki and am fully prepared to be terrorized by her plan—terror for her having to deal with the Zenin and terrorized because that girl is batshit insane and can do anything she sets her mind to ❤️

(I have a sneaking suspicion that her plan involves that mysterious “Okkotsu Yuuta as the world’s most unenthusiastic honeypot” tag, and OH BOY OH BOY am I on tenterhooks to see what insanity (positive) Maki comes up with)

Hope you have a great day!!

Nanami, frantically rushing to r/Parenting for this fucking hurdle of fatherhood:

I (27M) may have discovered my newly adopted son (16M) is in a relationship of indeterminate and possibly intimate nature with his three (15F, 15M, 15M) friends. I need emergency advice.

I only met/took in my eldest a few days ago. Those days have been extremely trying, and have unfortunately placed a very stressful burden on my son. I have tried to support him in any way I can; however, the young character of our relationship makes me fear overstepping his boundaries. I do not want to rush anything which may damage any trust he may form in me in the long run.

As a result, I do not believe having “The Talk” with him would be appropriate at this juncture. However, I fear it may be necessary.

I recently approached him while he was visiting with his close friends in a private room. I knocked (from what I believed to be a respectful distance designed to preserve his privacy) and heard a series of… disconcerting noises. His friend (15M) then proceeded to claim that he could not open the door because they were indecent. The door was quickly opened, and all parties were clothed, but this and other behaviors between the group make me wonder if they have something deeper than friendship between them.

His previous parents were neglectful, and the main influence he has had in recent months is… a rather sorry role model. I believe the assumption that he has not yet learned of safe sexual practices is appropriate. I want him to be comfortable with me before we speak of such matters, but I also want him to be safe in the present.

A complicating factor is that one of his friends (15M) rather frequently wears a hyper realistic panda costume. I bear absolutely no judgment or prejudice against any of his potential partners and support him in his relationship. However, I do not actually know the specifics that should be covered in a talk given the particularities of these partners.

Another complicating factor is that one of his friends (15F) would have been better off being raised by wolves than the sorry excuses of humanity that raised her. While I fear that I may overstep boundaries by speaking with my new ward about such topics so soon, I would most certainly overstep boundaries by broaching the matter with her. At the same time, I cannot deny my suspicions that such a conversation would be desperately needed. How should I proceed?

The fucking comments:

what is wrong with you and your life

there is no way you are a real person

ThatOneGuyinthePandaCostumeTokyo.com is this them

your kid is a furry

Nothing in Nanami’s years of teen parenting prepared him for that moment. The man discovered types of panic he did not know existed. POV you’ve known this boy for three days max and you’re the person Responsible For His Wellbeing and mid crisis you have to figure out 1) if it’s too soon in your relationship to give him the safe sex talk 2) if you can even avoid the safe sex talk if what seems to be happening is happening 3) would it even be appropriate to give the safe sex talk to the people he would be potentially having sex with and 4) is he a furry.

Nanami was not prepared to be confronted with this particular challenge of parenting. Especially because Megumi gave Tsumiki the puberty talk, no one’s been brave enough to give her the sex talk, and the entire teen parenting group has Megumi as too Baby in their minds to have even contemplated giving him any talks.

You have NO IDEA how excited I am for that tag.

Thank you for your kind words! I’m glad you liked it!

[newvision]

the second Donna Tartt publishes her upcoming book I will turn into a monster (poetically though)

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

The way I have not written a single word for like a month it feels like I have been busier in the last two weeks than I have been in the last four years of my life and will continue to be busy for the next two weeks I got one day between a four day family trip and a sib visit gotta sew a monkey during the trip and if monkie kid drops in that time I will simply combust

[meeghanreads]

Top 5 Tuesday topics: October-December 2024

Hello friends!! Welcome to the Top 5 Tuesday topics post: October-December 2024!! Ahh, our wrap up posts for 2024 are imminent!! And you know what, I’m a little bit excited about it. The November and December topics are always my favourites, every year. I think what I love is partially the part where I don’t need to make up topics… But I also love wrapping up the year of reading. If YOU would…

[weaselle]

you know what? i don’t even know much about the writer’s union, i just support them in a general prioritize-workers-above-bosses kind of way.

But that doesn’t even really matter because i feel a strong passion about anyone who can fuck up one of the Monsterous Corporations .

You got a group of people can somehow cost Nestle billions? i’m your number one fan. You know a way to lose Amazon it’s government/military security contracts? Fuck. Yes.

the idea that a group of honest citizen workers can cooperatively cost these money-dependent entertainment giants money in amounts that are big even to those companies... my gods, i would go two years without any new hollywood media if it meant some of those companies would go bankrupt over it. Fuck them. I am so happy the writers are striking. I hope some of them set up their own smaller production companies and continue taking market share from those giant fuckwads

i mean, obviously i feel it is important the writers secure fair working conditions, i want that for everyone and i’m happy they are organized enough to pull it off

but the rock in goliath’s face evokes a visceral pleasure 

[cadaverousdecay]

i’m so overwhelmed by things that shouldn’t be overwhelming...

[kashilascorner]

Okay!! Done with The Count of Monte Cristo. That was a ride. I did not enjoy the ending in itself much. The final chapter felt a bit disjointed and while I can understand Edmond was trying to teach Morrel and Valentine a lesson that's more important than any treasure, I think keeping them apart was unnecessarily convoluted and, frankly, cruel, especially keeping Valentine in the dark about her family's demise.

That being said, compared to the 2024 movie, which was my gateway into the book (spoilers for the movie ahead):

I still think it was very well adapted and I generally enjoy the changes made.

In particular, Benedetto/Cavalcanti's storyline in the movie works wonderfully and his relationship to both Eugénie and Haydée was cute. I do prefer this Cavalcanti over book!Cavalcanti because he feels more rounded. However, the movie cannot top Villefort's demise in the book. It's extremely good and heart wrenching.

The movie utilizes Albert and Haydée in the end in a vaguely similar way to Morrels and Valentine in the book, which was appreciated. They close the circle their literal or adoptive parents started and Edmond sails off on his own and I think there's a lot of beauty in that too.

I disagree that the changes made to Haydée's character in the movie reinforce the orientalism. The movie did not even try suppressing (or addressing) the orientalism, I do agree with that, and believe things could have been handled better. But Haydée's seduction game is entirely premeditated. She's not alluring as a walking oriental femme fatale, she is rather explicitly made to look that way. She and the count play with that as part of the trap they are laying for Albert. This mirrors Cavalcanti's trap too. It is similar to the way "Sinbad the Sailor" metaphorically seduces Franz d'Épinay in the book when they first met. I'm not saying it was perfect though. I'd say the orientalism in regards to Haydee has more to do with casting choices, costumes and treatment of her background than with the narrative use made of her in the movie. Sorry, but revenge-seeking willing to seduce her way to her goals movie!Haydée that still has a filialish role to the Count is definitely more appealing to me than submissive (literally a slave), love-sick book!Haydée who most of the time only waits and pines. She does testify against Fernando on her own accord and free will and shows an absolutely amazing strength and I love book!Haydée for that but it's not often that she gets to shine like she deserves.

Making Edmond and Fernando childhood friends is actually good, I loved that! But making the Mondegos an already affluent and well positioned family by the beginning and making Mercedes/Edmond lowkey forbidden because of class difference was not so good. One of the most interesting things in the book is getting to see just how much their status improves -with Edmond being the price to pay.

The movie does go much easier on Mercedes, WHICH SHE DESERVES. The aspect of her being "unfaithful" is moderately prominent in Edmond's discourse in the book, even if Edmond tells her to her face she's a saint. Given her ending, I think the book narratively does punish her for that so-called infidelity which I personally believe to be absolutely unfair but. 19th century right.

Other book things I prefer over the movie: Fernando's ending. The final battle was super fun to watch but sorry. Fernando offing himself because his family left him adds a whole other layer of tragedy and gives him a sort of redeeming quality (even if in the book they don't really put it this way). In the movie he has no redeeming quality lol

Also. I get why Noirtier was not much there. Same happens with the Morrels and Valentine. But Noirtier is one of the characters from the book that fascinate me the most so I'll miss him

[i-like-gay-books]

someone tell me what the fuck to do now i just finished dark heir and i need to scream and flail around but its 1am and i have a 9am class tomorrow like bruhhhhh

[thewayoftheleaf]

The first time I ever read a Wheel of Time book, it was because I picked up The Eye of the World at like, my 6th grade scholastic book fair. Just plucked it off the shelf completely at random and was like "sure, I'll read whatever this is". Although technically what I picked up was "From the Two Rivers", because in 2002, they re-released The Eye of the World in two shorter books in order to appeal to younger readers, which apparently meant including it in middle school scholastic book fairs.

Which is a hilarious marketing decision to me in hindsight. Ten-year-olds like 4-million-word epic fantasy doorstopper series with a heavy focus on the banal political headaches of trying to run an empire, right?

But like also . . . here I am twenty years later, so it's not like they were wrong either

[beaulesbian]

thinking about this sequence of neil and andrew's interactions over the course of the king's men:

- where it began with neil trying to be honest with how much andrew meant to him and about what was slowly happening between them, and andrew was ready with a reply denying he feels anything (positive) towards neil.

- the same happening few more times, in different variations of important revelations ...

- until andrew's replies slowly lost any real bite, and neil understood what they actually mean.

- to the point where neil knew that andrew wasn't telling him the truth (not that he would push him, it probably amused him what next will andrew say).

- until andrew didn't argue with neil's words at all. and that silence spoke more louder to him than anything.

(in neil josten's voice: i'm fine (lying 😭😭).)