#Jules Mandel

[movie-titlecards]

The Shrunken City (1998)

My rating: 6/10

Utter bollocks, of course, but in rather a fun way - isn't it odd how 25000 years ago, there was a civilization that spoke fluent English and was really into baroque type interior design?

[cultivating-wildflowers]

Books of 2022 - December and a Wrap-Up

December. The final month of a strange year for me. The month upon which all of my literary dreams and ambitions came to rest. And I asked myself: "Do you really think you'll actually get to all of those books before the new year?"

Answer: "Well, I got to some of them!" I had almost given up on reading any Narnia this year. In the end I've only started the series, but it's something. And I achieved just about every other reading goal for 2022!

Total books: 9  |  New reads: 5   |   2022 TBR completed: 0 / 21/22 total   |   2022 Reading Goal: 83/60

November | January

#1 - Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones - 4/5 stars (audio)

The cast in this installment was excellent. I appreciate that DWJ can write children characters who act like children, down to the dangerous pettiness and antics. And the ending was splendid. I do wish Chrestomanci had shown up sooner, though.

#2 - The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones - 4/5 stars (audio)

This seems to be the most popular book in the Chrestomanci series, so I was eager to get to it. And I can see why it's so popular.

My only complaint was that I couldn't really separate Paulo and Tonino in my head. They weren't very distinct to me.

#3 - The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien - 5/5 stars (reread)

*drags myself across the floor by my fingernails* I did it.

I started this book at the end of August, got about four pages in, and stalled out. Which was quite the shock considering how well I did with the first two, and even with the Silm last year. By November, this book was haunting me. At the start of December I still had...well, most of it left.

But I did it. Barely.

I 100% do not recommend reading this in a public setting. I worked through the ebook at work (the holidays are our quietest season) and the amount of times I had to catch myself before I started crying? Ridiculous.

I need to make sure I don't wait a good 15 years before I read this series again.

#4 - Aberration by Cathy McCrumb - 5/5 stars (audio)

I cannot recommend this book--the entire series, really--highly enough. I came across the first book, Recorder, a while ago and went into it with pretty low expectations. The story I found blew me away.

Of all things, Recorder had a considerable impact on my identity as a pro-life person. The main character, whose only name is an alphanumerical designation, is part of a class of citizens who are "Gifted" to the government as preborn children (via transference to artificial wombs, iirc) to be raised as tools of the State: Recorders. Our Recorder's journey starts when a series of catastrophic circumstances upend her identity and she breaks all the rules by caring for the people she was sent to monitor.

If that sounds dry, that's my fault, lol. This series is up there with Murderbot for me, and shares a lot of the same themes and plot devices, only the Children of the Consortium series was written from a Christian worldview. And not clumsily, either, or in the way so many modern Christian novels are written. It is timely, sincere, heartwarming, and action-packed. Also there are cats. In space. (And giant bugs, sorry.)

Recorder ended on one heck of a cliffhanger and I've been eagerly anticipating Aberration. When I found out the audiobook was on Hoopla immediately following its release (the narrator is pretty great, too) I definitely squealed. I didn't take the time to review Recorder, but the first few chapters did a great job of refreshing my memory without dumping a lot of review.

Aberration was a solid sequel, building on the first book while developing its own well-paced plot. The cast gets to be a little unwieldy, but I love them all.

Now to wait for the next installment....

#5 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - 5/5 stars (reread, audio)

I first read this book in 2019 while pretty new to my brief job at the gardens. I remember it was eerie but enthralling, and that was about it.

Finally I've reread it and I think I enjoyed it more this time through. The writing style is my favorite sort, up there with Catherynne M. Valente. I really don't know what else to say about it except that it's good, and I'm sorry Ruby didn't like it 😅.

#6 - Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - 4/5 stars (reread) - 80th book of the year!

I say "reread" but I couldn't begin to guess when I last read this book. I remembered nothing at all about it. It was sitting on my list for me to read again at some point in the hazy future, and then tada! A tumblr read-along to fill in the gap left by Our Good Friend Jonathan.

A fun enough adventure, and the ending definitely made me laugh. I love Passepartout. Sad there weren't actually any hot air balloons.

#7 - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - 5/5 stars (reread)

I had about given up on getting to this story in 2022, until I realized.... It's almost Christmas. You gotta read this at Christmastime. Luckily Hoopla has ebook copies (and audiobooks but I'm spoiled by the Radio Theater production so meh). Since work was quiet thanks to the holidays, I did enough reading to quickly mark off this nostalgia read.

The rest of the series is definitely on my list for next year. It's been too long.

#8 - Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card - 4/5 stars

It took me just over a month to read this book, because for the first half I couldn't pay attention.

And then, in typical Card style, the second half made it all work. And I cried. And it felt like a good bridge between the other stories.

Technically this is part of the Ender's Game series (I think??) but I chose to read it after half of the Ender's Shadow series so I didn't spoil the rest of that series. After this I've got two more books in the Shadow series, including one that was released just last year, and one stand-alone-ish novel, and then?? There's another novel series but it's co-authored and I don't know that I'm up for that. Otherwise, there's just a lot of short stories. So I'm almost done!

#9 - The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis - 5/5 stars

One of my forgotten reading goals this year was to read more of C.S. Lewis's essays/nonfiction, and to this point I haven't managed it; but the little poll I ran a while ago brought up so many good recommendations that I requested one of them from the library to switch up my reading.

Naturally I deluded myself into thinking that because I chose a small-ish one, I might manage to read it in time.

Ha. I barely finished it today, on this the final day of 2022.

But it was so so worth it. I need to get my own copy so I can go over it again with a highlighter and then pass it along to my father.

DNF

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge - Thanks to Tumblr, I've had Elizabeth Goudge on my radar for a while. I'd meant to start with The Bird in the Tree but was itching for a smaller read, so snagged this from the library.

I can see the appeal, but I think I finally understand people who don't like most or all of the Anne of the Green Gables series. The Old Parson felt like a character L.M. Montgomery would write, his only purpose to add an obstacle so Maria didn't work out all of the mysteries immediately. "Excessive female curiosity is not to be commended" sir. She'd never been in your church before and was just trying to get a good look at it. Honestly, a lot of the book felt that way. Unless I miss my guess, Maria goes on to solve the problems of Moonacre and Silverydew simply by acting where adults wouldn't. I know children need and enjoy seeing characters like themselves solving problems and saving the day, but usually it's because the adults can't help or refuse to listen or something; this was a different kind of uselessness.

Maybe it's because I was subconsciously comparing this book to The Perilous Gard, which also looked at the importance of stewardship and sustainability of the land, but the characters there actually...did stuff to help.

(Side note: I've actually seen the lackluster movie adaptation of this book and, as often happens to me, had no idea it was based on a book until recently.)

AND NOW...SOME STATS!

Statistics, yeah!

Of all of the books and series I wanted to get to in 2022, the only two I didn’t manage were rereada of Narnia and The Fairyland Chronicles. I read the first book of each and got no further.... I also wanted to read a little more C.S. Lewis (at least his nonfiction) and Terry Pratchett, but that’s ok. Next year.... Maybe.

General Stats:

Total Books read: 84

New Reads: 55

New Authors: 24

Audiobooks: 45

Nonfiction: 7

DNF’d: 19

2022 TBR:

Read: 15

DNF: 6

Didn’t Get To: 1 (the only way to read it was to buy it new and I never got around to that)

My Top Five Anticipated 2022 Reads:

The Lies of Locke Lamora - DNF

Walking on Water - 4/5 stars

Dust - 3/5 stars

The Unsettling of America - 5/5 stars

The Game of Kings - 4/5 stars

Top Five (New) Reads of 2022:

Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bjuold

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

Clouds of Witnesses by Dorothy L. Sayers

Recorder by Cathy McCrumb

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

2023 Reading Plans:

Keep up on reading non-fictions. I have eight on my hard-and-fast TBR, covering a variety of topics, with another half-dozen waiting in the wings. Every year I get a little better at this goal, and every year I feel a little smarter.

Finish the Lord Peter Wimsey series. I have #’s 8-11 to go!

Get back into Discworld. This was part of a secondary goal for 2022. I kind of want to reread the Tiffany Aching series so I can finish The Shepherd’s Crown with a refresher under my belt. If I do that, I’ll have completed three of the subseries! (Depending on how you count the Industrial Revolution/Moist von Lipwig series, as there is some cross-over.) Whether or not I reread Tiffany’s series, I do want to dive into another subseries as well (either finish the Witches or try Death.)

Read from a wider variety of authors. My list this year is an effort to branch out: different time periods, different backgrounds, different nationalities, different settings; even some different genres (eeek).

Continue my on-going quest to find more quality modern Christian writers. The list is still a little thin for 2023, so shout if you have recs! I still lean hard into speculative fiction, though I’m angling more for the adult audience range these days, but I’m open to anything of quality. My biggest issue here is access to these authors, since the ones I go for tend to be less well-known and not available through the library.

Read 50 books. Because I gotta have a number. Am I aiming low? Sure. Will I adjust once I hit it? Who knows.

And finally...

Top Five Anticipated Reads of 2023

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Crime and Punishment* by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Sea of Tranquility** by Emily St John Mandel

Phew, this was a hard list to narrow down....

*or The Brothers Karamazov but I still can't decide.

** what's this?? a semi new release?? wonder of wonders!

[pikminenjoyer]

Just finished when women were dragons, and am about to start Klara and the sun.

Tbh, when women were dragons should have ended around 40 pages before it did, would have been much more impactful.

[theygotlost]

2023 book log/year in review!

here is a comprehensive of breakdown of every book I read this year!!

Terry Pratchett's Discworld

this was THE YEAR OF DISCWORLD for me. I read more disc books than non disc books. I'm probably gonna take a break from the series for a few weeks to get my breath back. I read my first ever disc book, Going Postal, in december of 2022 so it doesn't technically count as being part of this year, but here's every one that I read starting in january, in the order I read them:

Making Money

Raising Steam 

Guards! Guards! (x2)

Men at Arms (x2)

Soul Music

Feet of Clay

Mort

Jingo

The Fifth Elephant

Night Watch

Wyrd Sisters

Faust Eric

The Wee Free Men

Witches Abroad

Thud!

Monstrous Regiment

The Truth

Lords and Ladies

Hogfather

Rereads

The Fourth Bear is kind of whatever but rereading all the others has cemented them as some of my favorite books and I'm really glad I got to experience them again because I hadn't read them in years 😁

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

How I Killed Pluto (and Why It Had It Coming) by Mike Brown

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul by Douglas Adams

Other Books

It's kind of embarrassing to see how this list pales in comparison to all the disc books but I WAS reading other stuff I swear!! look!!

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

Sacrifice by Mitchell Smith

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Did Not Finish

Some of these I got through more of than others. the really bad ones I dropped only after 50 pages or so. im sorry women.

Closing Time by Joseph Heller

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde 

The Real and the Unreal, vol. 2: Outer Space, Inner Lands by Ursula K. Le Guin

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Total Stats

Books started: 36

Books finished: 31

Books finished that I hadn't read before: 26 (19 Discworld, 7 not)

I PROMISE I'm not trying to be one of those "30 books in 30 days!" type booktok people, I wasn't aiming for any specific number. I only read this many books because i genuinely really loved them and couldn't stop reading them!!!!!!!

Reading List for 2024

I have an even longer list than this with a bunch of books that I saw or were recommended to me and I thought "oh that seems interesting maybe I'll check it out" but who knows if I will actually get to them. this list below is basically a new years resolution, books that I fully intend to read this year:

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (already currently reading this one, just need to finish it)

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami by Gretel Ehrlich

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Maus by Art Spiegelman

Discworld Reading List

Yes, I am keeping this one separate. I don't necessarily intend to get to all of these by the end of 2024, just some time in the future (I probably will end up reading them all next year anyway LOL). Once I finish these, only the Rincewind and Tiffany Aching series remain. I'm not as interested in those based on the small sampling I got of them, but I'll probably read them all at some point just for the sake of completion.

Moving Pictures

Snuff

Reaper Man

Pyramids

Small Gods

Equal Rites

Maskerade

Carpe Jugulum

it's kind of scary to think that this is all thats left..... idk what im gonna do after that man..... kill myself? start over from the beginning? I guess ill just have to cross that bridge when I get to it ☹

happy new year everypony!!!!

[schorschidk]

Weihnachten rot-weiß

Traditionen zur Advents- und Weihnachtszeit in Dänemark / Einblicke in eine Gesellschaft mit ausgeprägtem Wohlfühl-Willen

Dänen lieben alles Weihnachtliche. Und Essen. Und Hygge. So starten unsere nördlichen Nachbarn denn auch jedes Jahr schon im November in die „Julefrokost“-Zeit, die bis zum eigentlichen Weihnachtsfest dauert – Schlemmen ist dabei oberstes Gebot. Start des „Weihnachts-Lunchs“ ist um die Mittagszeit. Mehrere Stunden wird gegessen und getrunken, nicht selten bis zum Umfallen. Die vielen klassischen Weihnachtsspeisen wie eingelegte Heringe, Entenkeule und „Risalamande“ (Mandel-Milchreis) werden traditionell von Bier und Schnaps begleitet. Extra zur festlichen Zeit wird von allen Brauereien des Landes ein starkes „Julebryg“-Bier gebraut. Der „Jule-Akvavit“ bekommt jedes Jahr zur Freude der Sammler sogar eine neue Flaschenform, der Inhalt eine besondere Geschmacksnote. Wer also die Tafel hungrig und nüchtern verlässt, hat etwas grundlegend falsch gemacht.

[ayearincontent]

2023

key

bold = highlight of 2023

+ = not new in 2023

# = book club

books

The Lost Daughter, Elena Ferrante (trans. Ann Goldstein) (2006)

The Mars Room, Rachel Kushner (2018)#

One Day, David Nicholls (2009)

Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel (2022)#

A Man in Love, Karl Ove Knausgaard (trans. Don Bartlett) (2009)

Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata (trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori) (2018)#+

The Orton Diaries, Joe Orton (ed. John Lahr) (1996)

Heatwave, Victor Jestin (trans. Sam Taylor) (2021)

The Color Purple, Alice Walker (1982)#

Leaving the Atocha Station, Ben Lerner (2011)#

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, Elena Ferrante (trans. Ann Goldstein) (2013)

All The Devils Are Here, David Seabrook (2002)

Milk Teeth, Jessica Andrews (2022)

Hot Milk, Deborah Levy (2016)

If I Had Your Face, Frances Cha (2020)#

A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City, Edward Chisholm (2022)

So Late in the Day, Claire Keegan (2023)

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, Italo Calvino (trans. William Weaver) (1979)

Assembly, Natasha Brown (2021)#

Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)#

When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamín Labatut (trans. Adrian Nathan West)#

audiobooks

The Call of the Weird, Louis Theroux (2005)

For the Record, David Cameron (2019)+

films

Knives Out (2019)

Glass Onion (2022)

Belfast (2022)

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Aftersun (2022)

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Palm Springs (2020)

The Menu (2022)

The Worst Person in the World (2022)

Building Jerusalem (2015)

Close (2022)

Barbie (2023)

Logan Lucky (2017)

All My Friends Hate Me (2021)

The Lobster (2015)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023)

Fracture (2007)

albums

'Dance Fever', Florence + the Machine (2022)

'Cautionary Tales Of Youth', Lapsley (2023)

'MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE...', Easy Life (2022)

'in/FLUX', Anna B Savage (2023)

'Where I'm Meant to Be', Ezra Collective (2023)

'Mid Air', Romy (2023)

'Ella and Louis', Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (1956)

exhibitions

'Dia Al-Azzawi: Painting Poetry', Ashmolean Museum

'Spain and the Hispanic World', Royal Academy

'Hilma af Kilnt & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life', Tate Modern

live music

Weyes Blood, Roundhouse

Easy Life, Alexandra Palace

Sofar Sounds, Holborn

Open Mic Night, Backstory

Soul Central, Stanway House (my wedding!)

Önder Focan Trio, Nardis Jazz Bar

The Aaron Parks Quartet, Ronnie Scott's

theatre

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty, Sadler's Wells Theatre

A Little Life, Harold Pinter Theatre

restaurants

The Lion, Winchcombe+

Pierre Victoire, Oxford+

The Perch, Binsey+

Morse Bar, Randolph Hotel, Oxford

Noble Rot, Soho+

Viet Corner, Balham+

Foley's, Fitzrovia

Tongi, Balham

Nobu, Shoreditch

Sophie's, Soho

The Eastern Eye, Brick Lane

Made in Italy, Clapham Junction+

Chez Jules, Edinburgh

Morton's Bistro, Gilmorton

No 29 Power Station West, Battersea

Rondo, Holborn+

Taberna da Baixa, Lisbon

Ponto Final, Lisbon

Sacramento, Lisbon

El Deseo, Ibiza

Cottons, Ibiza

La Bodega, Ibiza

Smoke & Salt, Tooting

Antica Trattoria della Pesa, Milan

The FisherMan Pasta, Milan

Baobab Organic Burger, Milan

La Casa Iberica, Milan

Felice a Testaccio, Milan

Osteria del Proconsolo, Florence

I' Girone De' Ghiotti, Florence

Entoca Pitti Gola e Cantina, Florence

Fooderia, Manarola

Il Porticciolo, Manarola

Nessun Dorma, Manarola

Ananasso Bar, Vernazza

Ristorante La Torre, Vernazza

Boisdale, Belgravia

Oakhill, Matlock

Caraffini, Chelsea

Coal Office Restaurant, King's Cross

Thai Night @ Milk, Balham

Canto Corvino, Spitalfields+

The Royal Oak, Gretton+

Wild Oven, Stanway House (my wedding!)

The Back Garden @ Dormy House, Broadway

La Cave, Annecy

Bon Pain Bon Vin, Annecy

Bleu 1801, Annecy

Côté Jardin @ La Maison Bleue, Annecy

La Table de Yoann Conte (**), Annecy

Pane Cunzato, Holborn

Lao Cafe, Covent Garden

Galata Art Smyrna Restaurant Cafe, Istanbul

Antakya Kebap asmalı, Istanbul

Tarihi Eminönü Dürümcüsü, Istanbul

Bilice Kebap, Istanbul

Cafe Privato Restaurant, Istanbul

Asmalı Mescit Dürümcü, Istanbul

Pandeli, Istanbul

Galata Kitchen, Istanbul

Muutto, Istanbul

Yöremiz Pide Lahmacun, Istanbul

Cappadocian Cuisine, Goreme

Wood Fire Barbeque, Goreme

Paket Kiymali Salonu, Ihlara

Beydilli Kebap Barbeque, Goreme

Yeşil Vadi Göreme Şubesi, Goreme

Kale Terrasse Restaurant, Goreme

Le Relais de Venise l'Entrecôte, City

Juliet's, Tooting

Forza Win, Camberwell

The Ginger Fox, Hassocks 

Shack Fuyu, Soho+

Noizé, Fitzrovia (x2)

Socius, Burnham Market+

The Brisley Bell, Brisley

Forza Wine @ NT, South Bank

Yuu Kitchen, Shoreditch

Circolo Popolare, Fitzrovia

Obica, Soho

Forza Wine, Peckham

Pachamama East, Shoreditch

Master Wei Xi’An, Holborn

podcasts

The Ricky Gervais Show (XFM)+

The Russell Brand Show (Radio 2)+

The Always Sunny Podcast+

The Adam Buxton Podcast+

Kermode & Mayo’s Take+

Books and Authors+

Literary Friction+

The New Statesman Podcast+

The Rest is Politics+

A Very British Cult

How I Built This+

The Prospect Podcast

Working It+

The News Agents

The News Meeting

Today in Focus+

The Slow Newscast+

Law in Action+

A Long Time in Finance+

The Lawyer Podcast+

Young Again

tv

The White Lotus (series 2)

Severance (series 1)

Succession (series 4)

The Bear (series 1-2)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (series 16)

Beckham (limited series)

Boiling Point (series 1)

Top Boy (series 1-3)

Top Boy: Summerhouse (series 1-2)

talks

David Nicholls, Backstory

foreign travel (no 'favourites of the year', all excellent)

Edinburgh

Lisbon

Ibiza

Italy (Milan, Bellagio, Santa Margherita Ligure, Cinque Terra, Tuscany)

Lake Annecy

Turkey (Istanbul, Cappadocia)

[facesofcinema]

The Shrunken City (1998)

[hetacon]

The Messages in Blue Ink

Word Count: 1,350

Pairings: Logicality, Background Prinxiety, Background Platonic Logince, Background Platonic Analogical, Implied Platonic Moxiety

Warning: None that I can think of!

______________________________

Summary: Logan writes helpful notes to himself due to his ADHD. He wished other writing would appear though...

______________________________

Note: This is for @artissijam’s birthday, decided to do a cute little soulmate AU for her! I love you so much Jules!!! It’s not much but I really hope you like this you funky and wonderful human being, I’m so glad we’ve become friends!!

______________________________

Logan never could remember things, it was quite an issue that he dealt with. It figures, seeing as he had ADHD but regardless, it was still annoying.

Due to that though, he started writing reminders to himself anywhere he could. Hands, arms, even his legs on the rare occasion. It was honestly just the easiest way to keep track of things. He didn’t have to worry about wasting paper or sticky notes or have his phone die on him. It was reliable.

During the time he was trying to focus on his paper for one of his classes, his roommate Roman made a passing comment about buying some more paper towels when Logan would be going out that afternoon. So as usual, but of course with a sigh, Logan took his pen out from his pocket and wrote down the item on his list.

He probably should wash off the note about calling his parents, he did that yesterday.

With that though, he tried to focus back on his paper.

This system of his had been working for years, he’d always been able to focus much more on all of the tasks when he could actually remember what they were. Figures but hey, he had to work with what he got.

He got to thinking about if he had other writing on his arms though...

Normal people would have conversations with their soulmates on their skin, maybe doodles such as the ones that adorned Roman’s and Virgil’s wrists and the backs of their hands since the latter of the two was quite the artist. Normal people would know their soulmates, have already met them at this point, or at the very least, have had a conversation with them. Logan wasn’t a normal person though in that he didn’t have any conversations with his soulmate. He’d never seen anything appear on his skin other than what he himself wrote.

He didn’t even know if he had one.

He didn’t often think much about it but as he was hanging out with Roman and Virgil one weekend, he watched as Virgil drew on his wrist with a purple pen, the ink blooming over Roman’s in response. Roman watched intently with a dorky grin, his head resting against Virgil’s. They were in their own little world.

“Guys?” Logan finally asked, setting his book down.

“Yeah Lo? What’s up?” Virgil asked, not looking up from his arm as he drew, Roman’s gaze turning up to Logan however.

“What would you do if you didn’t have a soulmate?”

Virgil stopped and put his pen down, looking up in confusion.

“Just hypothetically,” Logan muttered, looking up grimly at his friends.

“Dude, I’d still be in New York for one thing. Wouldn’t have ever met you and Ro in the first place,” Virgil offered.

“And I wouldn’t have started majoring in theater if he hadn’t encouraged me!” Roman said with a hum, kissing Virgil’s cheek.

Logan shook his head. “No, I mean like... How would you react or feel? You know, knowing you have no one ‘destined’ for you.”

Both of them blinked at Logan.

“I’d be a little sad I guess..” Virgil said slowly. “But I know I’d still have the capability to make friends, right? Not having a romantic partner isn’t the end of the world.”

“Right! And you have us!” Roman said with a smile, reaching out to place a hand on Logan’s shoulder, shaking him a bit. “It’s going to be just fine.”

Logan couldn’t stop himself from sighing. He loved his friends but still, a soulmate would be nice...

He would be lying if he said the subject of soulmates didn’t occupy his mind for long. He thought about it often, questioning things for months.

Every time he wrote out an item on his grocery list, he’d wonder if he had a soulmate. Every time he hastily scribbled down instructions for an assignment, he’d ask himself why they wouldn’t have written to him if he did have one. Every time he put down a note to himself to pick up his dry cleaning, he’d think about if he even wanted a soulmate.

It finally came to a point where he was fed up with everything involving soulmates and he rushed to the bathroom, washing off all the ink. Once his arms were dry, he sat in his room, looking down at his arm, a pen in hand.

His day had been awful and honestly, Logan just wished someone was there on the other end, seeing his writing.

He took a breath and started to write.

“Please just tell me, is anyone reading this? Do I have a soulmate?”

Logan was about to get up, only to watch as blue ink appeared under his own words written in black.

“Oh my gosh, hi, yes you do!”

“Hello, my name’s Logan Mandel.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you Logan, this is Patton”

“I like your name.”

“Thank you, I like yours too! It suits you!”

Logan felt his cheeks grow warm. Who was this person??

“You don’t know anything about me, I can’t see how you could tell.”

“Well, I have been seeing everything you’re writing... I know you’re a physics major for one thing. You also forget things a lot I take it. Though that’s ok, I think it’s cute that you write little reminders to yourself! And you keep in touch with your parents or at least want to! You seem like a swell kinda guy, Logan!”

“Thank you I suppose.”

“No problem!”

Just as Logan was about to start writing more, Patton quickly scribbled something below his last message. “I’m sorry, I’m cooking and need to take care of something! I’ll talk to you later!!”

Logan forgot all about his day.

With that interaction, Logan’s right arm became were he’d interact with Patton, his left for notes to himself and all of his lists. He took a quick liking to Patton, he was incredibly sweet to say the least but as they got to know one another, one thing bothered Logan.

“Why didn’t you ever write to me before?” Logan wrote, a bit out of the blue.

Patton was punctual and quick to respond as always.

“Well, I saw the things you kept track of! You needed the space more, I wanted to give it to you <3”

“But you don’t have to do that, I like talking with you Patton.”

“Well we could always meet up so we wouldn’t have to ;D I’m just teasing though, that’s up to you”

“I’d like that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They lived in the same city, he was one of Virgil’s other friends. Patton was meeting him at one of Logan’s favorite coffee shops today.

“Almost there!” Patton’s writing appeared on Logan’s arm.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you.”

Logan kept his eyes glued to the door as various people came and went from the coffee shop, clutching his arms tightly to himself. He saw a guy come in. It had to be Patton. He didn’t know what he’d do if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t want just any random stranger to have just walked in a sky blue skirt and white off-the-shoulder crop top sweater.

Oh goodness, Logan couldn’t do anything but stare at him, he looked so wonderful. He looked so soft and gentle, everything Logan wanted to see from his soulmate.

Before he knew it, that guy got his drink and went directly over to him with a smile, showing his arms as he sat down.

The ink matched.

Logan could only keep staring at Patton.

He wanted to count out all the freckles adorning Patton’s cheeks like stars.

Logan’s cheeks turned red but nowhere as lovely a shade as the natural pink of Patton’s face.

Logan couldn’t think.

“Hi,” Logan breathed out.

“Hi, Logie” Patton said back, a smile on his lips as he leaned forward to gently kiss Logan’s cheek.

______________________________

Taglist: @artissijam, @virgils-paranoia, @marshmallow-the-panda, @anotheregofanficblog

[444names]

french forenames BUT ending with "e"

Ache Adrie Adège Agane Agaude Ailie Aille Alaurine Albanne Albaume Albaurie Albe Albele Albette Aliane Alie Amaine Amane Amanne Amaëlle Ambe Ambrie Amélère Anace Anadine Andielle Angelle Anste Anthie Antine Appolère Arcelle Arie Arienne Arilette Armance Arnatte Arnique Arniste Arsèle Arthie Aste Astine Aube Augue Augène Aure Auriance Aurie Auriste Avrie Axenne Ayme Aïde Baphaine Baptine Barie Barle Baronie Baudette Baudine Bautine Beantise Belie Benne Berge Berine Bermane Bernie Bertine Blaine Blainede Blane Blarjole Brie Briline Caliane Camie Camue Carbelle Care Cargette Carilie Cathelle Catrie Chaise Chandre Chanie Chanore Charine Chrice Chrie Chrine Chritte Claine Clane Clanne Clarine Claure Clodonne Clorane Clémie Cléstine Condre Corane Cordaine Core Corge Corgelle Corine Cyrice Cyrie Cyrile Cyrite Cédre Cédée Cédérie Célaine Céloëlle Césanne Céste Damue Dane Danisse Danne Dantine Daphelme Darce Davie Delle Delline Dence Dene Denne Diannie Dombette Dordamie Dore Dorgette Edmonne Elie Eline Elodine Elémine Emmane Emmanthe Erne Esmaëlle Esmée Estanne Estrise Eulie Evaire Evanne Evarbele Evare Fabe Fabele Fabelle Fabine Fance Fançoise Ferie Fermaine Fidore Fire Firgile Flaine Flargine Flomaine Flome Frabelle Fraine Frane Franne Fréaline Félie Gabe Gabine Gasse Gaste Gastie Gatre Gaude Gaudrie Gaurie Gaétale Gaétanne Gaëlle Gaëtave Geonie Geore Gerthée Ghilde Ghiline Ghine Giline Gine Girgane Girge Gise Guine Guite Gédriche Gére Henge Henne Herile Hervie Hubine Hugue Hyane Hyanie Hyanne Héliasce Héline Hélintie Ignatre Inée Irie Irèce Isanne Isiline Isine Isinine Jachane Jache Jane Jeane Jeauline Jeautie Jesselle Jolaine Jole Jose Jouise Jouitte Joure Jule Julpice Jéréme Karie Laelette Laette Laude Laudore Laulette Laulphe Laumenne Lildette Liline Listonie Lisène Lorgilie Louitte Loulie Loustie Loïsette Lucaline Lucine Lucise Lude Lydine Lydinine Léane Léodine Léonde Léonne Made Madège Maette Mandele Maranne Marce Mardamue Mardine Marice Mariche Marienne Marinne Marise Martre Mathe Mathelle Mathille Matie Matine Matte Maudie Maulie Maurenne Maxelle Maxise Mice Micelle Miche Michette Michiste Mictane Migine Mimonnie Miraine Mire Mirge Monnette Morice Mylvie Myrie Myrine Mégitte Mélaiste Mélie Méline Méliole Mélique Nanne Natine Natte Noele Noraine Nore Norne Odie Odiotine Olianne Pasianne Paudette Paure Pautine Phile Phise Pientine Pierine Piette Quine Racaine Race Rafanne Raphie Raptie Rayace Rayme Renatre Riche Ricolde Roche Rochette Rochille Rochèle Rodole Roge Rolie Romaline Romanice Romanne Rome Rémile Sabelle Sale Salie Samue Sane Saricole Sarie Sermaine Serrose Side Simelle Simonde Sixtie Sofianne Solaine Sole Solphie Stavie Staviève Stée Stére Sulainne Suline Suzane Suzardie Sylve Sylène Séve Sévesce Tanie Tanne Thie Thiline Thine Thomane Thée Thélène Théondre Timonse Tippolie Touine Tourdie Valette Valiance Valise Viche Vine Vire Virette Vivie Vérène Xavidine Yance Yandille Yandre Yane Yanie Yanistre Yantine Yoanise Yoanne Yoannie Yveline Yvondrie Yvonine Yvonse Zache Zine Èveste Èvette Édone Édonne Égile Égiline Égélie Égérarie Élielle Éline Élinne Élisaine Élise Élizée Élotte Émiline Érie Étine Évrie

[pinermeeting]

3rd bass the cactus album release date

#3rd bass the cactus album release date full

#3rd bass the cactus album release date license

All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article.

#3rd bass the cactus album release date license

All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. Released 2022 Complete List Of Peter Cetera Albums And Discography article published on Classic © 2022Ĭ claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries.

#3rd bass the cactus album release date full

Released 2017 Love, Glory, Honor & Heart: Complete Full Moon & Warner Bros.

“(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight” – 4:34.

“I Wasn’t the One (Who Said Goodbye)” – 4:04.

“Feels Like Heaven” featuring Chaka Khan – 4:47.

“The Next Time I Fall” featuring Amy Grant – 3:40.

PETER CETERA COMPILATION ALBUMS You’re the Inspiration: A Collection

“Alone for the Holidays” (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:58.

“Something that Santa Claus Left Behind” (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:56.

“Winter Wonderland” (with Claire Cetera) (Felix Bernard, Richard B.

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (traditional – Cetera, Harrell) – 3:01.

“Jingle Bells” (traditional – Cetera, Harrell) – 3:36.

“You Just Gotta Love Christmas” (Cetera, Harrell) – 3:17.

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (Buck Ram, Walter Kent, Kim Gannon) – 2:40.

“Deck The Halls” (with Alison Krauss) (traditional – Peter Cetera, Tony Harrell) – 3:10.

“Blue Christmas” (with Claire Cetera) (Billy Hays, Jay Johnson) – 3:19.

“Christmas Song” (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 3:36.

“Let It Snow” (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:59.

“Happy Man” – originally recorded with Chicago – 4:36.

“(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight” – featuring Crystal Bernard.

“Feels Like Heaven” with Chaka Khan – 4:48.

“The Next Time I Fall” – duet with Amy Grant – 3:43.

“They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To” – 4:04.

Every Peter Cetera album listed below showcases the entire album tracklisting. We have also included all original release dates with each Peter Cetera album as well as all original album covers. All these romantic and magnificent Peter Cetera albums have been presented below in chronological order. This complete Peter Cetera discography also includes every single compilation album. Peter Cetera was born in 1944 and hails from the city of Chicago, Illinois. One of the original lead singers of the band Chicago, Peter Cetera embarked on a solo career in the 1980s and would eventually leave the band Chicago where he had so much success. This Complete List Of Peter Cetera Albums And Songs presents the full discography of Peter Cetera studio albums. Feature Photo: Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

[pikminenjoyer]

So, i tried reading The Left Hand of Darkness, but unfortunately I am too dumb at the moment to read it, which means I need to pick another book to read. This means it's time for a poll.

[signourneybooks]

Intro

You know sometimes I like to challenge myself.

How to Play

This reading challenge consists of 3 sections. Fantasy, Sci-Fi and General for a total of 52 prompts which comes down to about 1 book a week.

 You can do 1, 2 or all 3 sections.

With each section you are allowed 1 Double-Up. Double-Up means you can use 1 book for 2 prompts. Preferred is not to at all but if for some reason you are struggling with time or a prompt you can.

In the general sections you can use both fantasy and sci-fi books but not other genres.

Graphic novels, comics, audiobooks and novella’s are allowed. It is all reading in my book.

Rereads count.

You can move the books around throughout the year if things fit better elsewhere and all.

You can step into this reading challenge at any point. I’m starting it in January 2019 but in reality this is a reading challenge you can fit for yourself in anyway you like. If you want to start in May and end April the year after, that is totally fine.

Graphic

Sign-Up

I don’t know if people want to join me but I would love to interact with each other if you do. You can participate anyway you like, with goodreads, twitter, instagram or your blog. I don’t require a sign-up post but I would appreciate if you boosted this.

If there are a nice group of people we can see if we can do a twitter dm group or an fb group or something to chat with each other on how to fill the prompts. 🙂

The widget won’t go into the post because wp sucks so here is the direct link.

If You Need Inspiration: Find Some Fitting Books Per Prompt Here

I figured some of you might like to have a list of options for each prompt so here we are. I’ve read a portion of these, others are on my own TBR and others I just know fit with the prompt. These are in no way meant as real recommendations, just those that fit the prompt. No links because do you see how many books I mention haha.

Fantasy

Classic Fantasy The Dragon Bone Chair by Tad Williams / Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin / The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien / Narnia by C.S Lewis /

Magic School Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling / Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce / A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. le Guin / The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss / Carry On by Rainbow Rowell / Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones / The Magicians by Lev Grossman / The Novice by Taran Matharu

Necromancers Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong / Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride / Sabriel by Garth Nix / The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco / Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews / Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard / Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh / Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landry / Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis

PTSD Witchmark C.L. Polk / The First Law by Joe Abercrombie /

Dragons The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli / Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb / The Copper Promise by Jen Williams / Talon by Julie Kagawa / Seraphina by Rachel Hartman / A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin / Eragon by Christopher Paolini / Eon by Alison Goodman / Temeraire by Naomi Novik / A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan / How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell / Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland / Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aron

Fairytale Retelling Uprooted by Naomi Novik / A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas / Ash by Melinda Lo / Forests of a Thousand Lanters by Julie C. Dao / The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh / The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden / Thorn by Intisar Khanani / To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Grimdark Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence / Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson / Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin / A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall / Skullsworn by Brian Stavely / Red Sister by Mark Lawrence / The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Ghosts Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud / The Graveyard Queen by Amanda Stevens / City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab / The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman / The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater / Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Uncommon Fantasy Creatures So not the usual werewolf, dragons, vampires and the like Bones and Bourbon by Dorian Graves (Huldra) / The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker (Golem) / Steel & Stone by Annette Marie (Incubus) / Troll Fell by Katherine Langrish (Trolls) / The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (Goblins)

Shapeshifters Moon Called by Patricia Briggs / Written in Red by Anne Bishop / Stray by Rachel Vincent / Soulless by Gail Carragher / The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong /

Gods Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan / Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan / Aru Shah at the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi / American Gods by Neil Gaiman / The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin / The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter / The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White / Furyborn by Claire LeGrand / Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor / Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman / Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova / The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris

Animal (or in Animal Form) Companion(s) Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb / The Dragon Bone Chair by Tad Williams / Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh / Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell / The Summoner by Taran Matharu

Matriarchy Seven Realms by Cinda Williams Chima / Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake / Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop / Dragonflight by Anne McAffrey / The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells / The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

Set in Our World The Others by Anne Bishop / Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling / Shadowhunters by Cassandra Clare / American Gods by Neil Gaiman / Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning / Psy-Changeling by Nalini Singh / Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Witches Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt / The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco / A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness / Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett / The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy / Uprooted by Naomi Novik / Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Magical Law Enforcement Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling / Rivers of London by Ben Aaronvitch / The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher / The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud / Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud

Thief The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron / The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch / Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo / The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima / The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells

Pirates Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo / Magic of Blood and Sea by Cassandra Rose Clarke / Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch / The Nature of a Pirate by A.M. Dellamonica

Portal Fantasy Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. Dellamonica / The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis / Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll / Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire / The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Warrior Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin / Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien / Night Angel by Brent Weeks / Half a King by Joe Abercrombie /

Sci-Fi

On a Different Planet A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers / Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray / The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin / The Martian by Andy Weir / Dune by Frank Herbert / Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Space Ship The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers / The Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers / An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon / Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Addams

Artificial Intelligence Point of View A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers / I, Robot by Isaac Asimov / 2001: A Space Odessey by Arthur C. Clarke / Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Kick

Proto Sci-Fi As Frankenstein is seen as the first sci-fi novel all books prior to that that seem to be sci-fi are called proto sci-fi but anything before H.G. Wells will count here as it seems to cause some discussions.  New Atlantis by Francis Bacon / Frankenstein by Mary Shelley / The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson / From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne /

Alien The Fifth Wave by Rick Riordan / The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Addams / The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells / Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Time Travel The Time Machine by H.G. Wells / Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier / Passenger by Alexandra Bracken / The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig / The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma / Invictus by Ryan Graudin

Utopia The Dispossed by Ursula K. le Guin / Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel / Andromeda by Ivan Efremov / The Giver by Lois Lowry

Games/Gaming/Virtual Reality Warcross by Marie Lu / Armada by Ernest Cline / Otherland by Tad Williams / In Real Life by Cory Doctorow / Unplugged by Donna Freitas

Hive (Mind) The Shadow over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft / Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie / City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender

Steampunk Soulless by Gail Carrigher / Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve / Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld / Boneshaker by Cherie Priest / Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina

Super Powers The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson / Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore / Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee / Nimona by Noelle Stevenson / The Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan

Science Better known as heavy sci-fi if you go searching for books Foundation by Isaac Asimov / World War Z by Max Brooks / The Color of Distance by Amy Thomson / Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds

Replicate/Replica Accelerando by Charles Stross / Replica by Lauren Oliver / Evolution by Stephen Baxter / The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Space Colonization The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs / Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie / The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradburry

Mecha Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel / Gundam Wing by Haijme Hatate / Dreadnought by Cherie Priest

Space Creatures/Beasts Mistworld by Simon Green / Dune by Frank Herbert /  Alien by Alan Dean Foster /

Teleportation Jumper by Stephen Gould / Timeline by Michael Crighton / The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter / The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Space Western The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury / Six-Gun Planet by John Yakes / Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow / Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon / Cowboy Bebop by Yutaka Nanten

The Moon The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer / Moonseed by Stephen Baxter / Artemis by Andy Weir / Red Rising by Pierce Brown / The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells

Invasion Alien or Human The Andromedia Strain by Michael Crighton / Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout / The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore / The Alien Years by Robert Silverberg / Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card / First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells / Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

General

For this you can use sci-fi and fantasy where you can make them fit.

Satire Discworld by Terry Pratchett / Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams / The Portable Door by Tom Holt / Red Shirts by John Scalzi /

Novella Binty by Nnedi Okorafor / Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire / The Ghost Line by Andrew Neil Gray / The Girl Who Rules Fairyland – For a Little While by Catheryne M. Valente

Finish a Series For this you can read the other books for other prompts throughout this challenge and read the last one here or finish a series you previously started. Or you could just read a whole series for this prompt alone. Whatever you want haha.

Mental Health Stormlight Archives by Branden Sanderson (depression) / The Magicians by Lev Grossman (depression) / Witchmark by C.L Polk (PTSD) / Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (PTSD)

Disability * On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (autism) / October Daye by Seanan McGuire (weelchair) *Kristen from Metaphors and Moonlight created a masterlist.

Set in Africa Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor  / Zoo City by Lauren Beukes / The Famished Road by Ben Okri / Changa’s Safari by Milton J. Davis

Library Library is semi-important in the book Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor / Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine / The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman / The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins /

By a Woman of Color Nnedi Okorafor / N.K. Jemisin / Tomi Adeyemi / Julie Kagawa / Malinda Lo / Heidi Helig / to name only a few…

One Word Title / Under 500 Pages / Over 800 Pages / Published Before 1990 I don’t think I need to make a list for these, right?

If you have any recs for any of these categories (especially Disability, Mental Health, Set in Africa and PTSD) than please leave them down below.

Printables

Let me know if these don’t work to save.

Dancing with Fantasy and Sci-Fi – A (2019) Reading Challenge + Bingo Cards Intro You know sometimes I like to challenge myself. How to Play This reading challenge consists of 3 sections.

[thesnakesaid]

To Be Read

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Alanna Series by Tamora Pierce

Alien Earth by Megan Lindholm

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Amy, My Daughter by Mitch Winehouse

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts

Belgaraiad series by David Eddings

Binary Star by Sarah Gerard

Black Company series by Glen Cook

Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood

Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood

Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke

Christopher Moore books (?)

Cloven Hooves by Megan Lindholm

Conan by Robert E. Howard

Contact by Carl Sagan

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Dangerous Women ed. George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James

Death Is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury

Declare by Tim Powers

Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delaney

Discworld by Terry Pratchett

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Dragon Flight by Anne McCaffrey

Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft

Dune by Frank Herbert

Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward

Fafhrd and Gray Mouser books by Fritz Leiber

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Four Past Midnight by Stephen King

Freakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt

Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Icewind Dale Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

In the Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Inferno by Dante

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Kingkiller Chronicle #1 and #2 by Patrick Rothfuss (upon announcement of release date for #3)

Kushiel’s Legacy by Jacqueline Carey

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

Legend by David Gemmel

Lensman Series by E.E. “Doc” Smith

Little, Big by John Crowley

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Longbourn by Jo Baker

Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven

Lud in Mist by Hope Mirrlees

Malazan Books of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (reread)

My Two Moms by Zach Wahls

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Nova by Samuel R. Delaney

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Origin by Dan Brown

One Thousand and One Nights

Only Forward by Michael Marshal Smith

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Paradise Lost by John Milton

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Purgatorio by Dante

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

Riftwar Saga by Feist

Ringworld by Larry Niven

River World Series by Phillip Jose Farmer

Rogues ed. George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (reread)

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny

The Art of the Lord of the Rings by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull

The Belgariad by David Eddings

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

The Chronicler of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson

The Codex Alera Series by Jim Butcher

The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor

The Conan Chronicles by Robert E. Howard

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

The Culture Series by Lane M. Banks

The Dark Tower by Stephen King

The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock

The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet by Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

The Final Testament of the Holy Bible by James Frey

The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay

The Fisher King Trilogy by Tim Powers

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist

The Gormenghast Series by Mervyn Peake

The Gypsy by Megan Lindholm

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

The Hollows series by Kim Harrison

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

The Inheritance & Other Stories by Megan Lindholm and Robin Hobb

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

The Kalevala by Elias Lonnrot

The Ki and Vandien Quartet by Megan Lindholm

The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

The Legend of Drizzt by R.A. Salvatore

The Long Walk by Stephen King

The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series by Stephen Erikson

The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Pact by Jodi Picoult (reread)

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Red Magician by Lisa Goldstein

The Riddlemaster of Hed series by Patricia McKillip

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

The Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks

The Shining by Stephen King (reread)

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (reread)

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult (reread)

The Third Hill North of Town by Noah Bly

The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

The Uplift Trilogy by David Brin

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb

The Xanth Series by Piers Anthony

The Xenogenesis Trilogy by Octavia Butler

Tillu and Kerlew by Megan Lindholm

Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (reread)

Tripod Trilogy by Samuel Youd

Warriors ed. George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Watchmen by Alan Moore

Watership Down by Richard Adams

We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm

World War Z by Max Brooks

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (reread)

XKCD: What If? by Randall Munroe

Zodiac by Neal Stephenson

Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

[tuseriesdetv]

Noticias de series de la semana: El nuevo papel de Iwan Rheon

Renovaciones

BBC Three ha renovado Jerk por una segunda temporada

BBC One ha renovado Shetland por una sexta y séptima temporada

Channel 4 ha renovado Ackley Bridge por una cuarta temporada

Cancelaciones

La tercera temporada de Suburra (Netflix) será la última

Noticias cortas

Damaris Lewis (Blackfire) será regular en la tercera temporada de Titans.

Matt Long (Zeke) será regular en la segunda temporada de Manifest.

ABC ha concedido temporada completa a Schooled, que tendrá veintidós episodios en su segundo a��o.

Sky One ha encargado un especial de tres episodios de Bulletproof.

Incorporaciones y fichajes

Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones, Misfits) se une a la tercera temporada de American Gods. Será Doyle, un leprechaun bueno y encantador que busca huir del estereotipo con una vida digna y respetable.

Álvaro Morte (La casa de papel, El embarcadero), Hammed Animashaun (Flowers),  Alexandre Willaume (Cobra, Deep State) y Johann Myers (Snatch) serán Logain, Loial, Thom Merrilin y Padan Fain en Wheel of Time.

Nolan Gerard Funk (Awkward, Counterpart) será Van, un agente junior del FBI que se centra en Cassie (Kaley Cuoco), en The Flight Attendant. Briana Cuoco (The Lydia Bennet!!), hermana de Kaley Cuoco, será recurrente como Cecilia, una asistente peculiar y ambiciosa obsesionada con la organización y espiar en las conversaciones telefónicas.

Pósters

  Nuevas series

HBO encarga The White House Plumbers, limited series sobre los cerebros del escándalo Watergate, que acabaron accidentalmente con Nixon. Protagonizada y producida por Woody Harrelson (True Detective, Cheers) y Justin Theroux (The Leftovers, Maniac). Escrita por Alex Gregory (Veep, Frasier) y Peter Huyck (Veep, Frasier) y dirigida por David Mandel (Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm). Basada en registros públicos y en el libro 'Integrity' de Egil Krogh (2007). Cinco episodios.

HBO encarga Kamikaze, primera serie original danesa y adaptación de la novela 'Muleum', de Erlend Loe (2007). Trata sobre la lucha existencial y el viaje de redescubrimiento de una adinerada joven de 18 años tras morir sus padres y su hermano en un accidente de avión. Escrita por Johanne Algren (Holiday) y dirigida por Annette K. Olesen (Borgen). Ocho episodios.

Starz encarga Becoming Elizabeth, descrita como la fascinante historia de los primeros años de la vida de la reina más icónica de Inglaterra, que años antes de ascender al trono fue una adolescente huérfana envuelta en las políticas de la corte. Creada y escrita por Anya Reiss (Ackley Bridge, EastEnders).

Disney+ desarrolla The Biggest Star in Appleton, comedia sobre una madre, esposa y camarera de Wisconsin (Kristin Chenoweth; Pushing Daisies, American Gods) que encuentra su mayor satisfacción en el teatro local hasta que la llegada de una chica de coro que vuelve a casa desde Nueva York amenaza su estatus. Creada y escrita por Paul Rudnick (Sister Act, In & Out) y producida por Dan Jinks (Pushing Daisies).

BBC One encarga Showtrial, sobre un juicio a la arrogante hija de un adinerado empresario acusada de la desaparición de una compañera de clase, hija de una madre soltera trabajadora, que se convierte en una tormenta mediática que atrapa a toda una nación que quiere saber la verdad. Escrita por Ben Richards (Strike, The Tunnel). Seis episodios.

BBC adquiere Around The World in 80 Days, adaptación de la novela de Jules Verne (1873). Protagonizada por David Tennant (Doctor Who, Broadchurch), Ibrahim Koma (Je Suis Daddy, Mother Is Wrong) y Leonie Benesch (The Crown, White Ribbon). Escrita por Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars) y Caleb Ranson. Ocho episodios.

HBO Max ha encargado Generation, dramedia sobre un grupo de estudiantes de instituto cuya exploración de la sexualidad moderna pone a prueba creencias profundamente arraigadas sobre la vida, el amor y la familia en una comunidad conservadora. Creada por Zelda Barnz, de 18 años, y su padre Daniel Barnz (Won't Back Down, Cake), que también dirige. Producida por Lena Dunham (Girls).

Fechas

Messiah llega a Netflix el 1 de enero

Dracula se estrena en BBC One el 1 de enero

La duodécima temporada de Doctor Who se estrena en BBC One el 1 de enero

La segunda temporada de Bancroft se estrena en ITV el 1 de enero

La quinta temporada de The Magicians se estrena en Syfy el 15 de enero

Awkwafina is Nora From Queens llega a Comedy Central el 22 de enero

The Dead Lands se estrena en Shudder el 23 de enero

La tercera temporada de Chilling Adventures of Sabrina llega a Netflix el 24 de enero

La cuarta temporada de High Maintenance se estrena en HBO el 7 de febrero

Locke and Key llega a Netflix el 7 de febrero

Dispatches from Elsewhere se estrena en AMC el 1 de marzo

Tráilers y promos

AJ and the Queen

Messiah

Soundtrack

Shrill - Temporada 2

High Maintenance - Temporada 4

Twenties

The Magicians - Temporada 5

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Temporada 10

Awkwafina is Nora From Queens

Lost in Space - Temporada 2

You - Temporada 2

The Boys - Temporada 2

The Outsider

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - Temporada 3

[writingguide003-blog]

Forget Dystopias, These Sci-Fi Writers Opt For Optimism Instead

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/forget-dystopias-these-sci-fi-writers-opt-for-optimism-instead/

Forget Dystopias, These Sci-Fi Writers Opt For Optimism Instead

Its hot, and youre walking. Shuffling, actually. Youve spanned a seemingly endless chalk-dry plane, and youre thirsty, run-down, exhausted. You think about your flaking, parched lips and aching muscles, and about how your arduous journey will be worth it if you ever reach your destination. An immigrant, youre searching for a new place to live, because the place you call home has become barely livable. Youre thinking about the hot dirt sweat-caked on your skin when youre interrupted by an even greater pain — your tooth, recently implanted with a geo-location chip, is practically vibrating. This means youre close.

So begins Madeleine Ashbys short story, By the Time We Get to Arizona, published last year in Hieroglyph, a collection of science-fiction stories meant to inspire readers about the possibilities the future holds, rather than invoke fear about impending societal doom. Solutions to climate change catastrophes abound in the series; so do suggestions for jumping forward in our approach to space exploration technologies. Ashbys story — a spinoff of her Masters thesis on making border security more humane — explores a world where guns and guards are replaced by sensors and facial recognition technology.

Conceived of by Neal Stephenson — a celebrated writer whose most recent novel ventures a guess at what post-Earth diplomacy might look like — Hieroglyph showcases a growing crew of writers who, by commission or by choice, present sunnier alternatives to the now-prevalent, Hunger Games-fueled dystopia trend. These arent the stifling factions of Divergent or the heart-pounding twists and turns of The Maze Runner; they arent the bleak worlds crafted by Margaret Atwood or even the fable-like, anti-technology morals embedded in movies like Wall-E. Although many of the stories in Hieroglyph highlight societal problems, they have technological solutions to those problems embedded within them.

The anthology, along with the few others like it, was divisive in the science-fiction community. One camp, headed up by Stephenson, holds the belief that scientists and engineers could use a positive push from the writers whose job it is to imagine what the future will look like. Writers, Stephenson asserts, have a responsibility not only to confront social problems, but to provide potential solutions, too. So, a socially disheveled community like The Hunger Games Panem might feature a technology that allows citizens to communicate with each other, and fight back. Because these writers are using their fiction to provide solutions to contemporary problems, many necessarily couch their stories in grim scenarios the characters must escape from. Sexism, racism and classism are addressed, if subtly.

This doesnt sit well with the other school of readers and writers, who lament the days when an interstellar story was a joyride, whizzing quickly past social justice issues towards thrilling plot twists. One particularly rabid breed of decriers are the writers who make up a group called the Sad Puppies, who banded together during The Hugo Awards to stack the vote against minority and women writers. The problem, they claim, is that the science-fiction community has prioritized social justice and diversity, ignoring superior prose and more inventive stories as a result. Science-fiction, they say, is about fun. Its about escaping the problems of the real world through otherworldly scenarios — including dystopias — in which a central hero implausibly conquers evil alone, rather than with the aid of collective thinking and the useful technologies that arise from it.

The future of science-fiction — which, if George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four or Aldous Huxleys Brave New World are indicators, runs parallel with the future of science and technology on our own planet — probably lies somewhere on the vast, auroral spectrum between these two approaches. So, its worth examining both, and the groups of writers propelling them.

***

Now is not a time for realism, Margaret Atwood said in a recent interview with NPR, succinctly summarizing why so many literary writers flock to fantasy, to dystopia, to amplifying the threat of impending problems — environmental and political — that arent yet a reality.

Though the genre has seen a spike in popularity within teen-centric reading communities, its seeped into the realm of grown-up storytelling more than ever. Which isnt to say its unfamiliar territory for writers of adult literary fiction. In fact, dystopian stories began, arguably, with a weird, little book written by Mary Shelley in 1826 thats since become a beloved classic: The Last Man. The story centers on a plague-addled Europe, where a man named Lionel struggles to survive alongside various extant communities. Theres a false messiah, political turmoil, and all the other makings of a present-day dystopia. Though Shelleys book wasnt recognized until the 1960s, others like it by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells surfaced shortly thereafter, spawning a sub-genre of writing that asks timeless questions about human nature, and how it responds to dire, life-threatening scenarios.

But today, with a few notable exceptions (Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins), popular dystopian stories have lost a bit of their original complexity. They tend to be thinly cloistered morality lessons, better suited for young readers. Rather than highlighting the nuances of human interactions, they tend to generalize, and draw hard lines between good and evil.

Why are more and more adult literary writers, and adult literary fiction readers, opting into the rather nihilistic and juvenile genre? Its a quandary posed again and again by columnists, providing more questions than answers — perhaps because the answer is hazy. It could be that the genre distracts readers from present realities, or provides a puzzle-like, limited scenario for a protagonist to work through, so different from the more fractured plot of real life. Or, it could be that our present realities seem increasingly fantastical, due to the quick proliferation of disastrous events filling our Twitter feeds alongside our friends quotidian musings.

Madeline Ashby believes its the latter.

There are elements of dystopia in everybodys lives, she said in an interview with The Huffington Post. Remember the Christmas protests in Ferguson? Theres this image of riot police under this big electrified, Seasons Greetings banner. If you search for Ferguson plus Seasons plus Greetings, youll find the picture. I found it, and I tweeted in all caps, WHY DO SO MANY KIDS LOVE DYSTOPIA? HM, I WONDER.

Ashby cites her own dystopia-like governmental interactions as inspiration for many of her sci-fi stories, including By the Time We Got to Arizona. In 2006, she immigrated to Canada, and says the process, for her, was dehumanizing.

My immigration took over a year, she said, adding that she feels fortunate — for other people immigrating to Canada, two years is the average wait-time.

During that process youre essentially a number and a sheet of paper. You feel it every time they ask you progressively more invasive questions, Ashby added, sharing an anecdote about how immigration questions reduce complex romantic relationships to statistics-based judgement calls. [Theyd ask] things like, Can you describe to us the number and monetary value of gifts exchanged between the two of you. And then you start to think, oh, OK, the quality of my relationship is already interpreted through capital. I have a monetary value.

In her short story, Ashby acknowledges these issues, but also offers solutions to the problem. She notes that by working change-inspiring technologies into her plots, she’s at the very least offering readers a sense of hope. 

Dystopia is very useful in grappling with the world as it exists, Ashby said. Its a really stylized, formalized way of talking about things that are already happening in practice. But utopia, or more optimistic stories, can also be useful, because you can imagine a future that you actually want.

Ashbys fiction is informed by her other, more technical approach to writing. After studying Strategic Foresight and Innovation at the Ontario College of Art and Design, she started getting gigs drafting potential future scenarios for organizations such as Intel Labs and Nesta. Envisioning the future on behalf of corporations and research labs isnt exactly an established career path — actually, it sounds a little like something out of a sci-fi novel. But Ashby isnt the only writer who moonlights as a narrative scenario practitioner. Theres a host of organizations dedicated to allowing sci-fi writers to draft potential outcomes for specific companies or entire industries. Sci Futures, a sort of think tank dedicated to providing these services to clients such as Crayola, Ford, and Lowes, has a pithy tagline encapsulating their mission: “Where sci-fi gets real. A comparable organization, 2020 Media Futures, describes its mission as, an ambitious, multi-industry strategic foresight project designed to understand and envision what media may look like in the year 2020.

So, the research interests are vast. Of her work with Intel Labs and beyond, Ashby said, They often tell me, we want the future of intelligent systems, or the future of warfare in smart cities, the future of a world without antibiotics, the future of programmable matter, or the Internet of things.

Because Ashby spends considerable time dreaming up innovative solutions to social problems, she cant help but imbue her stories with similar gizmos and features. Her stories dont always involve positive situations for her characters, but they do often incorporate technologies that could solve said characters problems.

This is the central tenet of techno-optimism, the breed of science-fiction writing thats working to counter the rough terrain of dystopia, barren and desolate as it is; thirsty, it sometimes seems, for a solution thats bigger than a big-hearted narrator.

Writer and anthology editor Kathryn Cramer was a reluctant adopter of the genre. When aforementioned writer Stephenson, author of Seveneves, approached her to edit a collection of stories united under the banner of positive change, she worried the stories themselves would suffer from lack of plot, and lack of diversity. But, as she commissioned works of techno-optimism, she realized the genre promotes diverse voices rather than suppressing them. Her fears were quelled.

When we contemplate dark scenarios or disasters for the future, it is perhaps an ethically and morally good thing to do to figure out what the solutions might be, especially technological solutions, Cramer said in an interview with HuffPost. If we look at the 20th century, there are a whole lot of things that changed our lives in good ways, and solved a lot of problems, ranging from vaccines and refrigerated food transportation to frozen food. Some of them are sexy, like space travel, but a lot of them are things that improved everybodys lives in ways we might notve expected. Preservatives, things like that.

Cramers altruistic outlook hints at her thoughts on what a book can, and should, accomplish. While she believes writers have a responsibility to push innovation in a positive direction, some readers and writers think that mindset interferes with the quality of a story. So addressing societal problems, be it via extended, post-apocalyptic metaphors, or via similarly bleak settings peppered with hope, doesnt sit well with all sci-fi readers. Most notably, there are those — cue the Sad Puppies — who are nostalgic for the days of so-called Golden Age sci-fi: Star Trek-like space-travel adventures that offer a means of briefly escaping the restrictions of the real world. Nimble writing and world-building is supposedly the aim for such stories; political opinions, solutions-oriented and otherwise, are actively eschewed.

But the Puppies agenda — which resulted in No Award being given at the Hugo Awards this year in categories for which only white men were nominated — extends beyond particular tastes in writing styles. Claiming science-fiction has opted for affirmative action-guided decisions rather than supporting story-centric writing, they lobbied to place white, male writers — including themselves — on the award ballots.

Ashby spoke passionately against the Puppies movement: Thats part of their battle cry: Why do we have to think about social issues in our science fiction? Why do we have to think about other genders, or sexualities, or economic circumstances? Why cant it just be fun like it used to be? Well, yeah, Im sure it was really fun when you werent thinking about it. Everythings a lot more fun when youre not thinking about it.

Thinking about it, according to Ashby, involves confronting the dire state of life for some social groups. It involves constructing a narrative that encourages the reader to consider the lives of others, rather than just getting lost in his own fantasy world, in which he alone is the hero and the solution. It involves hope not in the form of a triumphant narrator, but in the technologies we can create when we do something really miraculous: work together.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

[kidsviral-blog]

Daily Beast: Women urged to stock up on birth control thanks to Justice Kennedy's retirement

New Post has been published on https://kidsviral.info/daily-beast-women-urged-to-stock-up-on-birth-control-thanks-to-justice-kennedys-retirement/

Daily Beast: Women urged to stock up on birth control thanks to Justice Kennedy's retirement

It’s really tough to type with these oven mitts on our hands, but the takes are coming in so fast and so hot following the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy we have no choice.

And speaking of choice, The Daily Beast is reporting that women on Twitter are urging other women to stock up on birth control and abortifacients in the wake of Kennedy’s announcement, knowing that President Trump’s nominee is going to help overturn Roe v Wade.

Justice Kennedy's retirement has sparked a push to get IUDs https://t.co/ZeUgfV1HPV

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 27, 2018

In less than five hours, there’s a rush to get IUD’s. I’m not sure you’ve ever even visited Earth 1. https://t.co/svJJskS0jx

— Smatt Force 1 (@mdrache) June 27, 2018

OK, we read the article and we wouldn’t go so far as to say there’s a “push” to get IUDs, but some women are tweeting about it, because, you know, America’s literally going to be “The Handmaid’s Tale” by fall.

Ladies: While contraception is a personal choice, for women who are not planning to have children for some time, I recommend you get an IUD. Like, NOW.

— Maya (@MF_Greatest) June 27, 2018

We agree … but weren’t couples who aren’t planning to have children using some form of contraception already?

Wait. So abortion doesn't have to be used as birth control? Maybe, just maybe, there's more preventative measures that can be taken first? Mind. Blown. https://t.co/TVIN4M3Nj0

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) June 27, 2018

Although this article isn't based on any actual evidence, an uptick in IUD use would be fantastic. Family planning should be proactive, not after the fact, and IUDs have a typical-use failure rate of under 1%. https://t.co/A036NcjBzG

— Tiana Lowe (@TianaTheFirst) June 27, 2018

Wait, so you can take preemptive measures not to get pregnant in the first place and not have to slaughter unborn children 😱😱😱. https://t.co/yPA4uwb6iE

— Michael .A. Wolff 🐺 (@WolffintheWild) June 27, 2018

Doesn't this just prove what we've been saying? That liberals like to use abortion as birth control. Which is sickening. https://t.co/UsPOZHZldd

— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) June 27, 2018

Wow… it's almost like they can be responsible for not even getting pregnant in the first place and then they don't have to murder an innocent baby!!! https://t.co/uA5eD7OfPP

— Elisha (@ElishaKrauss) June 27, 2018

More birth control = fewer abortions https://t.co/cUskD2dNi3

— Custodio Gomez (@MrGomez6204) June 27, 2018

My only question… why didn't you ladies do this before? #AbortionIsNotBirthControl https://t.co/JMOrHoTBfB

— Jules of Denial (@Coolish_Breeze) June 27, 2018

I mean….how is that a bad thing. Prevention is always better than abortion. There's less risk and harm to women who use them. https://t.co/Kn0j4l7uWO

— Diogenes of Sinope (@DiogeneofSinope) June 27, 2018

You mean, sparked a push to be more responsible? Nice! https://t.co/sWORGHcbdp

— Cinn (@cinnijay) June 27, 2018

i don't understand why you wouldn't already have an IUD if this is your line of thinking. even if you don't believe abortion is a big deal, why would you want to go through such a procedure if you could easily avoid it to begin with? https://t.co/Sd9Cm8Xm5v

— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) June 27, 2018

Imagine having enough power to cause a mass panic when you make a personal decision. https://t.co/7hrSSENgfs

— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) June 27, 2018

Preventing needing abortions to own the cons https://t.co/VvUdit2iG9

— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) June 27, 2018

If only he'd retired earlier we could have saved a few million babies! https://t.co/gMzBYZbbAW

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 27, 2018

It's always funny to watch the left accidentally let their slip show and the truth about things come out. https://t.co/G7iATNTKJo

— Meier Ben Avraham (@hebrewservative) June 27, 2018

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Read more: https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2018/06/27/daily-beast-women-urged-to-stock-up-on-birth-control-thanks-to-justice-kennedys-retirement/