#M T McGuire

[mtmcguire]

Come with me on a journey through my exciting life!

Obviously, I use the word, ‘exciting’ advisedly, the ironic implication being somewhat the reverse. This week, I have mostly been … running around like a blue-arsed fly! As previously implied, it’s not exciting and sadly it’s not even that funny either. But this is my blog, so I can do what I sodding well like, which means I’m going to tell you about it anyway. On the Mum front … more admin…

[kanerallels]

It's the scene where she helps him wash the blood off his hands oh my stars he just looked at her like she's velvet I need to put my head between my knees and breath deeply for a little while

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hello hello! I absolutely adore your writing, it just feels so complex and the dialogue is so perfect you don't understand, probably my favorite writer in tumblr ^^

Do you have any favorite books? I'm not really into reading but I want to write my own stories, and English isn't my first language so I always try to read but I don't really continue since most of them aren't really in my taste– but I'm willing to try anything you read or take inspiration from since I'll probably like it since I like your work so much :]

Sorry, hope that made sense, ty <3

So, I'd like to think that while my writing has a consistent *vibe* it also covers quite a few different genres and moods that could be what you are interested in. Let's go.

If you like a book rooted in complex, dysfunctional power dynamics try....Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo, The Last Tale of The Flower Bride by Roshani Chokski, The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E Schwab, Gone Girl or Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, Deathless by Catherynne M Valente, If We Were Villains by M.L Rio, The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakovic, Dark Rise by C.S Pascat, Interview with a vampire by Anne Rice, These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever.

(You can see that complex, dysfunctional power dynamics that are central to the story are basically my favourite thing haha. My absolute jam and butter! The dynamics themselves vary. You may root for some and watch others in delighted horror.)

If you like a great, not a romcom, enemies to lovers romantasy, try...Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust, The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black.

For some fantasy horror vibes, try...Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant (mermaids!), House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher.

If you want something cute and LGBTQ, try...The House on Cerulean Sea or In the Lives of Puppets by T.J Klune, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, Carry on by Rainbow Rowell, anything by F.T Lukens.

For short story collections that make me want to write...Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan, Salt Slow by Julia Armfield, Through The Woods by Emily Carrol or the multi-author anthology Hag.

And, let's be real, absolutely no one is following me for worldbuilding, but...

For worldbuilding that has stayed with me, try...The Wayward Children series (all stories semi-standalone) by Seanan McGuire, The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

I know I haven't done superheroes. I just...?? I liked Hench by Natalie Zina Walschotts, but honestly most of them just don't interest me. Sorry.

[wondereads]

Sapphic Book Recs for Pride 2024

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Adult, high fantasy, 4.28 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Adult, sci-fantasy, 4.29 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.55 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

Young Adult, thriller, 4.27 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Crier's War by Nina Varela

Young Adult, high fantasy, 4.11 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

New Adult, low fantasy, 4.18 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Seven Devils by L. R. Lam and Elizabeth May

Adult, space opera, 4.03 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Malice by Heather Walter

Adult, fantasy romance, 3.97 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Beguiled by Cyla Panin

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.48 star average (my rating: 4 stars)

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Adult, high fantasy, 4.21 star average (my rating: 3.5 stars)

Ash by Malinda Lo

Young Adult, fantasy romance, 3.57 star average (my rating: 3.5 stars)

We Ate the Dark by Mallory Pearson

New Adult, horror fantasy, 3.04 star average (my rating: 3 stars)

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Adult, historical fantasy, 3.66 star average

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Adult, historical fantasy, 4.13 star average

Flip the Script by Lyla Lee

Young Adult, contemporary romance, 3.64 star average

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Adult, high fantasy, 4.07 star average

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Adult, historical fantasy, 4 star average

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.17 star average

Tink and Wendy by Kelly Ann Jacobson

Young Adult, low fantasy, 3.4 star average

The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera

Adult, high fantasy, 3.84 star average

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Adult, horror sci-fi, 4.04 star average

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.65 star average

The Goddess of Nothing at All by Cat Rector

Adult, high fantasy, 4.23 star average

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Young Adult, historical romance, 4.28 star average

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Young Adult, dystopian sci-fi, 3.92 star average

The City of Dusk by Tara Sim

Adult, high fantasy, 3.72 star average

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

Young Adult, contemporary fiction, 4.25 star average

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Adult, gothic fantasy, 3.83 star average

A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson

Adult, gothic fantasy, 4.12 star average

Seven Faceless Saints by M. K. Lobb

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.5 star average

Darker by Four by June CL Tan

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.11 star average

The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling

Young Adult, paranormal romance, 3.64 star average

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Lin

Adult, mystery thriller, 3.63 star average

Once & Future by Cory McCarthy and A. R. Capetta

Young Adult, sci-fantasy, 3.57 star average

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

Adult, high fantasy, 4.1 star average

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Young Adult, sci-fi horror, 3.48 star average

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfled

Young Adult, contemporary fiction/low fantasy, 3.69 star average

[usaac-official]

The crew of Sweet Pea pose with their B-17 after a mission, 21 September 1944

From L-R, 2Lt Guy M Miller, 2Lt Thomas M Rybovich, 1Lt Theodore Davich, S/Sgt Robert R Mullen, T/Sgt Gerald E McGuire, Cpl William F Steuck

[mumblingsage]

5 interesting nonfiction books I've read recently GO -

Wounds of Passion: A Writing Life, bell hooks

Craft in the Real World, Matthew Salesses (is it cheating since I've raved about this one already? as penance I'll recommend some more)

Testosterone: An Unauthorized Biography, Rebeccca M. Jordan-Young and Katrina Karkazis

At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance--A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power, Daniell McGuire

Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, Susan Pinksy.

Which reminds me, I haven't finished reading it yet, but Stolen Focus by Johann Hari is one I keep wanting to shove in people's hands as we argue whether phone addiction is or isn't the problem.

My penance bonus: Europe before Rome: A Site-by-Site Tour of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages, T. Douglas Price

(All were accessed through my library system; check out yours today!)

[female-malice]

(archive)

For Sander Van der Linden, misinformation is personal.

As a child in the Netherlands, the University of Cambridge social psychologist discovered that almost all of his mother’s family had been executed by the Nazis during the Second World War. He became absorbed by the question of how so many people came to support the ideas of someone like Adolf Hitler, and how they might be taught to resist such influence.

While studying psychology at graduate school in the mid-2010s, van der Linden came across the work of American researcher William McGuire. In the 1960s, stories of brainwashed prisoners-of-war during the Korean War had captured the zeitgeist, and McGuire developed a theory of how such indoctrination might be prevented. He wondered whether exposing soldiers to a weaker form of propaganda might have equipped them to fight off a full attack once they’d been captured. In the same way that army drills prepared them for combat, a pre-exposure to an attack on their beliefs could have prepared them against mind control. It would work, McGuire argued, as a cognitive immunizing agent against propaganda—a vaccine against brainwashing.

Traditional vaccines protect us by feeding us a weaker dose of pathogen, enabling our bodies’ immune defenses to take note of its appearance so we’re better equipped to fight the real thing when we encounter it. A psychological vaccine works much the same way: Give the brain a weakened hit of a misinformation-shaped virus, and the next time it encounters it in fully-fledged form, its “mental antibodies” remember it and can launch a defense.

Van der Linden wanted to build on McGuire’s theories and test the idea of psychological inoculation in the real world. His first study looked at how to combat climate change misinformation. At the time, a bogus petition was circulating on Facebook claiming there wasn’t enough scientific evidence to conclude that global warming was human-made, and boasting the signatures of 30,000 American scientists (on closer inspection, fake signatories included Geri Halliwell and the cast of M*A*S*H).

Van der Linden and his team took a group of participants and warned them that there were politically motivated actors trying to deceive them—the phony petition in this case. Then they gave them a detailed takedown of the claims of the petition; they pointed out, for example, Geri Halliwell’s appearance on the list. When the participants were later exposed to the petition, van der Linden and his group found that people knew not to believe it.

The approach hinges on the idea that by the time we’ve been exposed to misinformation, it’s too late for debunking and fact-checking to have any meaningful effect, so you have to prepare people in advance—what van der Linden calls “prebunking.” An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

When he published the findings in 2016, van der Linden hadn’t anticipated that his work would be landing in the era of Donald Trump’s election, fake news, and post-truth; attention on his research from the media and governments exploded. Everyone wanted to know, how do you scale this up?

Van der Linden worked with game developers to create an online choose-your-own-adventure game called Bad News, where players can try their hand at writing and spreading misinformation. Much like a broadly protective vaccine, if you show people the tactics used to spread fake news, it fortifies their inbuilt bullshit detectors.

But social media companies were still hesitant to get on board; correcting misinformation and being the arbiters of truth is not part of their core business model. Then people in China started getting sick with a mysterious flulike illness.

The coronavirus pandemic propelled the threat of misinformation to dizzying new heights. Van der Linden began working with the British government and bodies like the World Health Organization and the United Nations to create a more streamlined version of the game specifically revolving around Covid, which they called GoViral! They created more versions, including one for the 2020 US presidential election, and another to prevent extremist recruitment in the Middle East. Slowly, Silicon Valley came around.

A collaboration with Google has resulted in a campaign on YouTube in which the platform plays clips in the ad section before the video starts, warning viewers about misinformation tropes like scapegoating and false dichotomies and drawing examples from Family Guy and Star Wars. A study with 20,000 participants found that people who viewed the ads were better able to spot manipulation tactics; the feature is now being rolled out to hundreds of millions of people in Europe.

Van der Linden understands that working with social media companies, who have historically been reluctant to censor disinformation, is a double-edged sword. But, at the same time, they’re the de facto guardians of the online flow of information, he says, “and so if we’re going to scale the solution, we need their cooperation.” (A downside is that they often work in unpredictable ways. Elon Musk fired the entire team who was working on pre-bunking at Twitter when he became CEO, for instance.)

This year, van der Linden wrote a book on his research, titled Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity. Ultimately, he hopes this isn’t a tool that stays under the thumb of third-party companies; his dream is for people to inoculate one another. It could go like this: You see a false narrative gaining traction on social media, you then warn your parents or your neighbor about it, and they’ll be pre-bunked when they encounter it. “This should be a tool that’s for the people, by the people,” van der Linden says.

–

Everyone needs to play this game.

[doumekiss]

My Personal Favorites of 2023

Books - Fiction 

Children of Time Series (Adrian Tchaikovsky) 

Penric & Desdemona Series (Lois McMaster Bujold) 

Teixcalaan Series (Arkady Martine) 

Kitchen (Banana Yoshimoto) 

The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov) 

Homegoing (Yaa Gyasi) 

One Day All This Will Be Yours (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

Shards of Honor (Lois McMaster Bujold) 

Elder Race (Adrian Tchaikovsky) 

Bryony and Roses (T. Kingfisher)

Ogres (Adrian Tchaikovsky) 

The Blue Castle (L. M. Montgomery)

Bambi (Felix Selten) 

System Collapse (Martha Wells) 

Lost in The Moment and Found (Seanan McGuire) 

Books - Non-fiction 

Economics: The User’s Guide (Ha-Joon Chang)

Animals Make Us Human (Temple Grandin) 

Shockaholic (Carrie Fisher)

Yours Cruelly (Cassandra Peterson) 

The Autistic Brain (Temple Grandin) 

The Hot Zone (Richard Preston) 

Love, Lucy (Lucille Ball) 

Furious Love (Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger)

Spare (Prince Harry) 

Cinema Speculation (Quentin Tarantino) 

Immune (Phillip Dettmer)

Bad Girls (Camila Sosa Villada)

The Exquisite Machine (Sian E. Harding)

My Girls (Todd Fisher)

The Future of Geography (Tim Marshall) 

Comics/Manga/Manhwa 

Dungeon Meshi 

Sousou no Frieren 

Uzumaki 

Asadora 

The Apothecary Diaries 

Snow, Glass, Apples

Bokura no Shokutaku 

She Loves to Eat, She Loves to Cook 

What Happens When The Third Wheel Goes on Strike

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint 

Semantic Error

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon and Mu 

Are you my Mother? 

What did you eat yesterday? 

Oshi Ga Budoukan Ittekuretara Shinu

Movies 

Dog Day Afternoon 

The Three Faces of Eve 

The Lion in Winter 

Pride

Leave her to Heaven 

Ladyhawke 

Catherine Called Birdy 

Kiss of The Spider Woman 

God’s Own Country 

The Crying Game 

A Knight’s Tale 

The Company of Wolves

Dungeons and Dragons : Honor Among Thieves 

The Joy Luck Club 

Bottoms 

Tv Shows (Liveaction)

Yellowjackets - S02 

Bokura no Shokutaku - S01 

This Country - S01-S03

She Loves to Cook, She Loves to eat - S01

What we do in the shadows - S05 

Peacemaker - S01

Oshi Ga Budoukan Ittekuretara Shinu - S01

Taskmaster AU - S01 

Class of ‘07 - S01 

Good Omens - S02 

Barry - S04

Succession - S04 

Ghosts US - S02

From - S01-02 

Our Flag Means Death - S02 

Tv Shows (Animation)

Star Trek: Lower Decks - S01-S04

The Apothecary Diaries - S01 

Fionna and Cake - S01 

Sousou no Frieren - S01 

Oshi no Ko - S01 

My Adventures with Superman - S01 

Solar Opposites - S04 

Kaguya Sama : Love is War - S01-02 

Undone - S01-S02 

Bob’s Burgers - S13-S14 

Skip to Loafer - S01 

My New Boss is Goofy - S01

Tondemo Skill - S01 

The Great North - S03 

Futurama - S11 

2022

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 27, 2023

Experience-driven recalibration of learning from surprising events. Bakst, L., & McGuire, J. T. (2023). Cognition, 232, 105343.

Undermatching Is a Consequence of Policy Compression. Bari, B. A., & Gershman, S. J. (2023). Journal of Neuroscience, 43(3), 447–457.

Topographic representation of current and future threats in the mouse nociceptive amygdala. Bowen, A. J., Huang, Y. W., Chen, J. Y., Pauli, J. L., Campos, C. A., & Palmiter, R. D. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 196.

Differential processing of decision information in subregions of rodent medial prefrontal cortex. Diehl, G. W., & Redish, A. D. (2023). eLife, 12, e82833.

Synaptic gradients transform object location to action. Dombrovski, M., Peek, M. Y., Park, J.-Y., Vaccari, A., Sumathipala, M., Morrow, C., … Card, G. M. (2023). Nature, 613(7944), 534–542.

An emergent temporal basis set robustly supports cerebellar time-series learning. Gilmer, J. I., Farries, M. A., Kilpatrick, Z., Delis, I., Cohen, J. D., & Person, A. L. (2023). Journal of Neurophysiology, 129(1), 159–176.

The human motor cortex contributes to gravity compensation to maintain posture and during reaching. Hardesty, R. L., Ellaway, P. H., & Gritsenko, V. (2023). Journal of Neurophysiology, 129(1), 83–101.

Position representations of moving objects align with real-time position in the early visual response. Johnson, P. A., Blom, T., van Gaal, S., Feuerriegel, D., Bode, S., & Hogendoorn, H. (2023). eLife, 12, e82424.

Learned value modulates the access to visual awareness during continuous flash suppression. Lunghi, C., & Pooresmaeili, A. (2023). Scientific Reports, 13, 756.

Coupled Dynamics of Stimulus-Evoked Gustatory Cortical and Basolateral Amygdalar Activity. Mahmood, A., Steindler, J., Germaine, H., Miller, P., & Katz, D. B. (2023). Journal of Neuroscience, 43(3), 386–404.

Reward-Mediated, Model-Free Reinforcement-Learning Mechanisms in Pavlovian and Instrumental Tasks Are Related. Moin Afshar, N., Cinotti, F., Martin, D., Khamassi, M., Calu, D. J., Taylor, J. R., & Groman, S. M. (2023). Journal of Neuroscience, 43(3), 458–471.

Structured cerebellar connectivity supports resilient pattern separation. Nguyen, T. M., Thomas, L. A., Rhoades, J. L., Ricchi, I., Yuan, X. C., Sheridan, A., … Lee, W.-C. A. (2023). Nature, 613(7944), 543–549.

Efficient sensory encoding predicts robust averaging. Ni, L., & Stocker, A. A. (2023). Cognition, 232, 105334.

The Stroop effect involves an excitatory–inhibitory fronto-cerebellar loop. Okayasu, M., Inukai, T., Tanaka, D., Tsumura, K., Shintaki, R., Takeda, M., … Jimura, K. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 27.

Distributed context-dependent choice information in mouse posterior cortex. Orlandi, J. G., Abdolrahmani, M., Aoki, R., Lyamzin, D. R., & Benucci, A. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 192.

Early understanding of ownership helps infants efficiently organize objects in memory. Stahl, A. E., Pareja, D., & Feigenson, L. (2023). Cognitive Development, 65, 101274.

Updating perceptual expectations as certainty diminishes. Thomas, E. R., Rittershofer, K., & Press, C. (2023). Cognition, 232, 105356.

Updating memories of unwanted emotions during human sleep. Xia, T., Yao, Z., Guo, X., Liu, J., Chen, D., Liu, Q., … Hu, X. (2023). Current Biology, 33(2), 309-320.e5.

Modulating the Activity of the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Alters Altruism in Situations of Advantageous Inequity. Zhang, H., Dong, Z., Cai, S., Wu, S., & Zhao, J. (2023). Neuroscience, 509, 36–42.

Inferring visual space from ultra-fine extra-retinal knowledge of gaze position. Zhao, Z., Ahissar, E., Victor, J. D., & Rucci, M. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 269.

[shy-fairy-levele3]

2023 Book List

Unbelievably I read a staggering 70 books in 2023! The most ever! My only disappointment is NOT finishing Dracula Daily, I came so close...

Wolf Brother Michelle Paver

Skin-Walker Michelle Paver

Be the Serpent Seanan McGuire  

She Who Became the Sun 

Soul-Eater Michelle Paver

Nona the Ninth Tamsyn Muir 

The Girl in Red Christina Henry

As yet Unsent Tamsyn Muir   

Outcast Michelle Paver  

Leonard Cohen: On a wire Philippe Girard

Oath Breaker Michelle Paver 

Ghost Hunter Michelle Paver   

 Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life Alan Cumming

M is for Magic Neil Gaiman

Silverwing Kenneth Opal 

Last Violent Call Chloe Gong

Malice: Malice Duology #1 Heather Walter  

Pandora Susan Stokes-Chapman

A Lady for a Duke Alexis Hall                                    

Boyfriend Material Alexis Hall

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries Heather Fawcett  

Motorcycles & Sweetgrass Drew Hayden Taylor

Conventionally Yours Annabeth Albert  

The Unbalancing R.B Lemberg  

Stone Blind Natalie Haynes

The Winter Soldier: Cold Front Mackenzi Lee 

Ruby Nina Allan

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter Theodora Goss

Husband Material Alexis Hall

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason India Holton  

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix Kalynn Bayron

The Monsters we Defy Leslye Penelope

Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix Aminah Mae Safi

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman Alan Rickman

Morgan Is My Name Sophie Keetch

Threads That Bind Kika Hatzopoulou

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman Theodora Goss

Feeling Sorry for Celia Jaclyn Moriarty

Daughter of the Pirate King Tricia Levenseller

A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix C.B. Lee

Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour Tee Franklin

Magic for Liars Sarah Gailey

The Story of Owen Emily Kate Johnston

The Brilliant Death A.R. Capetta

Circle of Magic: Sandy’s Book Tamora Pierce

The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror Daniel M. Lavery  

Death's Detective- Malykant Mysteries #1-4 Charlotte E. English

The Salt Grows Heavy Cassandra Khaw

A Touch of Darkness- Hades & Persephone #1 Scarlett St. Clair

Mortal Follies Alexis Hall

Witch King Martha Wells

The London Séance Society Sarah Penner

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future David Attenborough, Jonnie Hughes

A Game of Fate- Hades Saga #1 Scarlett St. Clair

Immortal Longings Chloe Gong

Hooked Emily McIntire  

Foul Heart Huntsmen Chloe Gong

Signal to Noise Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Daughter of the Siren Queen Tricia Levenseller  

Starter Villain John Scalzi

The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl Theodora Goss

Starling House Alix E. Harrow

A Marvellous Light: The Last Binding #1 Freya Marske   

A Restless Truth: The Last Binding #2 Freya Marske 

Thornhedge T. Kingfisher

What the River Knows Isabel Ibanez  

The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments Hadley Vlahos

Misrule: Malice Duology #2 Heather Walter

The Raven and The Reindeer T. Kingfisher

A Power Unbound: The Last Binding #3 Freya Marske

I started some series, and I finished some series. I found new favourite authors and revisited some old favourites. Please take them as recommendations, or if you have read any of the same books come talk about them with me!  

Reminder you can also follow me on The Storygraph to see what I am reading in real time, where I am simply shy_fairy   

Previous Years Reading lists can be found here: 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015

[bibliophilecats]

Read this month: September + October 2023

After a depressing September, October was fantastic with 9 books read (and most of them highly enjoyable).

A. Schmachtl: Snöfried aus dem Wiesental #6 (audio)

M. Stiefvater: Mister Impossible

R. O'Brien: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

L. Arnold: Dead Man in the Ditch (audio)

T. Kingisher: Thornhedge

S. Natsukawa: The Cat Who Saved Books

M. Stiefvater: Greywaren

J. M. Arlow: How to Excavate a Heart (ebook, library)

S. McGuire: Come Tumbling Down

R. Rowell + F.E. Hicks: Pumpkinheads (ebook, library)

L. Graham: Have I Told You This Already (audio)

I dove into all the short books and novellas I had accumulated on my tbr which was definitely the best decision. Finally felt like reading again. And I still managed to get to a few books that had been on my tbr for more than a year already.

As a bonus, I completed by reading goal and my listening goal for 2023. Only the pages goal remains and we will see how that goes.

[mtmcguire]

A kick-up the arse-starter

For a long time now, I’ve wanted talk about Kickstarter. This is slightly more a marketing post than an MTM update kind of post but … I just thought the information might be useful. I have only done one Kickstarter because it takes a lot of organising and as you know I am about as much use in an organisational capacity as a chocolate teapot. However, many of the ‘how I did’ articles I see about…

[libraryspectre]

23 Books for 2023

Thank you @ninja-muse for tagging me! Here's 23 books I'd like to read in 2023.

1. How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

2. Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

3. What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

4. The Narrow by Kate Alice Marshall

5. Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson

6. The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

7. No Gods for Drowning by Hailey Piper

8. Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire

9. A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

10. Katie by Michael McDowell

11. The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

12. When Villains Rise by Rebecca Schaeffer

13. The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon

14. The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison

15. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

16. The Ruins by Scott Smith

17. Rebecca by Daphne Du Marier

18. The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon

19. Red X by David Demchuk

20. Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

21. Dark Waters by Katherine Arden

22. Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims

23. Babel by R. F. Kuang

So there ya go! It'll be fun to check back in a year and see how many I actually read lol

Edit: editing this post as I go!

[films-on-a-plane]

to be watched list (series)

# $#*! My Dad Says (2010–2011) 2 Broke Girls (2011-2017) 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001) 6Teen (2004-2010) 8 Simple Rules… for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2002-2005) 13 Reasons Why (2017-2020) 30 Rock (2006–2013) 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997-1998)

A According to Jim (2001-2009) Adventure Time (2010-2018) Aladdin (1994-1995) Ally McBeal (1997-2002) American Dragon: Jake Long (2005-2007) Anger Management (2012-2014) Archer (2009-2023) As Told by Ginger (2000-2009) Atypical (2017-2021) Austin & Ally (2011-2016) Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008) Awkward. (2011-2016)

B Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995) Black-ish (2014-2022) Blockbuster (2022) Bluey (2018-) Bob's Burgers (2011-) BoJack Horseman (2014–2020) Boy Meets World (1993-2000) Braceface (2001-2006) Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (2004-2007) Broad City (2014-2019) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2021) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

C CatDog (1998-2005) Charmed (1998-2006) Community (2009-2015) Cougar Town (2009-2015) Coupling (2000-2004)

D Daria (1997-2002) Dead Like Me (2003-2004) Derry Girls (2018-2022) Disenchantment (2018-2023) Doctor Who (2005-) Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012-2013) Drake & Josh (2004-2007)

E Ellen (1994-1998) Emily in Paris (2020-) Everybody Hates Chris (2005-2009) Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005) Everything Sucks! (2018)

F Family Guy (1999– ) Fillmore! (2002-2004) Fleabag (2016-2019) Frasier (1993-2004) Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000) Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020) Full House (1987-1995) Futurama (1999-)

G Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) Ginny & Georgia (2021-) Girl Meets World (2014-2017) Go On (2012-2013) Good Luck, Charlie (2010-2014) Gossip Girl (2007-2012) Gravity Falls (2012-2016) Grim & Evil (2001-2007)

H Hacks (2021-) Hannah Montana (2006-2011) Hercules (1998-1999) House (2004–2012) Home Economics (2021-2023) Home Improvement (1991-1999) Hot in Cleveland (2010-2015) How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014) How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) (2019-)

I I Am Not Okay with This (2020) iCarly (2007-2012) I Love Lucy (1951-1957) Inside Job (2021–2022) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-)

J Joey (2004–2006)

K K.C. Undercover (2015-2018) Kevin Can Wait (2016-2018) Killing Eve (2018-2022) Kim Possible (2002-2007) King of the Hill (1997-2010)

L Liv and Maddie (2013-2017) Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003-2006) Lizzie McGuire (2001-2004) Louie (2010-2015)

M Mad About You (1992-2019) Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988) Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006) Man vs. Bee (2022) Man with a Plan (2016-220) Maude (1972-1978) Melissa & Joey (2010-2015) Mike & Molly (2010-2016) Modern Family (2009-2020) Monk (2002–2009) Mr. Bean (1990-1995) Mr. Bean (2002-2019) Mr. Sunshine (2011-2012) My Name Is Earl (2005-2009)

N New Girl (2011-2018) Not Dead Yet (2023-)

O Once Upon a Time (2011-2018)

P Parks & Recreation (2009–2015) Party Down (2009-) Pepper Ann (1997-2000) Popeye the Sailor (1960-1962) Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017) Pretty Smart (2021)

Q

R Recess (1997-2001) Regular Show (2010-2017) Rick and Morty (2013–) Rules of Engagement (2007-2013) Russian Doll (2019-)

S Sabrina: The Animated Series (1999-2000) Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996-2003) Sam & Cat (2013-2014) Saved by the Bell (1989-1992) Schitt's Creek (2015-2020) Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1969-1978) Sean Saves the World (2013-2014) Sex and the City (1998-2004) Seinfeld (1989-1998) Shake It Up (2010-2013) Shameless (2011-2021) Silicon Valley (2014-2019) Single Parents (2018-2020) Skins (2007–2013) So Help Me Todd (2022-) Space Force (2020-2022) Speechless (2016-2019) SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-) Squid Game (2021-) Stranger Things (2016-2025) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007) Suburgatory (2011-2014) Superior Donuts (2017-2018) Superstore (2015-2021)

T That '70s Show (1998-2006) That '90s Show (2023-) That's So Raven (2003-2007) The Brady Binch (1969-1974) The Crew (2021) The Ellen Show (2001-2002) The Emperor's New School (2006-2008) The End of the F***ing World (2017-2019) The Flight Attendant (2020-2022) The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996) The Golden Girls (1985-1992) The Golden Palace (1992-1993) The IT Crowd (2006-2013) The King of Queens (1998-2007) The Last Dance (2020) The Legend of Tarzan (2001-2003) The Little Mermaid (1992-1994) The Loud House (2014-) The Neighborhood (2018-) The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006-2023) The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-1991) The Odd Couple (2015-2017) The Office UK (2001-2003) The Pink Panther Show (1969-1970) The Powerpuff Girls (1998-2004) The Replacements (2006-2022) The Suite Life on Deck (2008-2011) The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-2008) The Twilight Zone (1959–1964) The Umbrella Academy (2019-2024) The Upshaws (2021-) The White Lotus (2021-2025) The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (2022) Timon & Pumbaa (1995-1999) Tiny Beautiful Things (2023) Totally Spies! (2001-2014) Twin Peaks (1990-1991)

U Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-2020) Unstable (2023-)

V Veep (2012-2019)

W Web Therapy (2011-2015) Welcome Back, Kotter (1975-1979) Wednesday (2022-) What I Like About You (2002-2006) Whitney (2011–2013) Will & Grace (1998-2020) W.I.T.C.H. (2004-2006) Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2012)

X Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001)

Y Young & Hungry (2014-2018)

Z

[swordofsun]

Wanted to do something for the new year, so I guess I'll do a 2023 book wrap up. In chronological order from the beginning of 2023 to the end.

Putting in a read more because this is 90 books and that's too much to not hide it.

Rereads marked with a *

The Iron Dirge by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empires #2.5

Three Axes to Fall by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empries #3

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin - Great Cities #2

Unbreakable by Mira Grant

Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box by Mira Grant

Juice Like Wounds by Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children #4.5

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children #8

The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #1*

The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #2*

The Spirit Eater by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #3*

The Spirit War by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #4*

Spirit's End by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #5*

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Saga #1 (Publication Order)

The Coup of Tea by Casey Blair - The Tea Princess Chronicles #1

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Lyconthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal

The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde - Gemworld #1

Sandry's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #1*

Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion Deeds

By A Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron - DFZ Changeling #1

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older - Mossa and Pleiti #1

The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney

Tris's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #2*

The Bones Swans of Amandale by C.S.E. Cooney (Novella)

Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth

An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard - Unseen World #1

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato

The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliot

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Servant Mage by Kate Elliot

The Warden by Daniel M Ford - The Warden #1

Daja's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #3*

Jackdraw by K.J. Charles - A Charm of Magpies World #1

The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids by Michael McClung - Amra Thetys #1

Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot

Lexicon by Max Barry

The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

The Thief Who Spat in Luck's Good Eye by Michael McClung - Amara Thetys #2

Briar's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #4*

The Thief Who Knocked on Sorrow's Gate by Michael McClung - Amara Thetys #3

Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang - The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #1

Ebony Gate - by Julie Vee and Ken Bebelle - The Phoenix Hoard #1

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #2*

Rogue Protocols by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #3*

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #4*

Zen Bow, Zen Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Archery Master from "Zen in the Art of Archery" by John Stevens

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diareis #6*

Apparently I've hit the character limit without a paragraph break. So, we'll be starting over from 1, but it will really be #54.

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #4.5

Compulsory: A Murderbot Story by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #0.5*

Magic Steps by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #1*

Murder on the Lamplight Express by Morgan Stang - The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #2

Bone Swans by C.S.E. Cooney (short story collection)

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel - Themis Files #1

Mammoth at the Gates by Nghi Vo - The Singing Hills Cycle #4

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M Valente

Triggernometry by Stark Holborn - Triggernometry #1

Street Magic by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #2*

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett - The Foundryside Trilogy #1

Advanced Triggernometry by Stark Holborn - Triggernometry #2

Inda by Sherwood Smith - Inda #1

Thief Liar Lady by D.L. Soria

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne - Tomes and Tea #1

Red River Seven by A.J. Ryan

Dracula by Bram Stoker - via Re: Dracula

Beholder by Ryan La Sala

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

System Collapse by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #7

Cold Fire by Tamara Piece - The Circle Opens #3*

Dream of the Falling Axe by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empires #3.5

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Hikaru No Go Vol 1 Decent of the Go Master by Yumi Hotta - Hikaru No Go #1

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs - The Kingdom Trilogy #1

Shatterglass by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #4*

Paladin's Faith by T Kingfisher - The Saint of Steel #4

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon - The Downworld Sequence #1

On The Fox Roads by Nghi Vo

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrom by John Scalzi - Lock In #0.5

Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton

Okay, and according to Storygraph:

My longest book was Three Axes to Fall at 806 pages

My most read authors were: Tamara Pierce, Martha Wells, and Rachel Aaron. Which is due to re-reads. I re-read 16 books this year.

My average rating was 4.14 out of 5.

I read the most in June.

I read 41 new-to-me authors.

52 of the books I read were part of series.

So, I guess, feel free to ask me any questions.

Happy New Year!

[ionasadventures]

LA Adventure- Day 2! (Part 2)

We got to briefly stop and see around a real live sound stage! We weren’t allowed to take any photos of the inside as the show was still filming (they’d stopped for lunch!) but it was so fascinating seeing how they make these 3 camera sitcoms. The set was made up for “Bob <3 Abishola” (spelt with a heart symbol I’m not just being lazy haha) which is a typical sitcom like Big Bang Theory or Young Sheldon or Friends. They’re called 3 camera sitcoms because typically they only use 3 camera angles! One on the character speaking, one on whomever they’re speaking to, and then one for the wide shots with everything in it. The sound stage is laid out in a grid fashion, with 4 sets on each side of a narrow passageway. This passageway is referred to as camera alley because this is where the cameras will be! As with before, the sets don’t have ceilings on them to allow for lighting and the cameras are in a fixed position so as to not see the lights. It takes about 5 days to film one episode, and the sets are left as they are throughout the whole filming season as most of that time is dedicated to set up! After this the tour of the backlot continued, we drove past a few more famous locations! They have a massive jungle area with real plants from the jungle (as the climate will allow for it!). This was ESPECIALLY of interest to me as this was the area where they filmed the iconic T-Rex chase scene from Jurassic Park!! Warner Bros. let’s other studios use their facilities too, which is why some of the locations seem above are used in things like Breaking Bad, Jurassic Park and Spider-Man. They also have a big pit which can be filled with water to create a lagoon, or with dirt to create a graveyard. Versatile! After the outside lots - which were MASSIVE - we navigated to a warehouse area of the tour which had costumes and props on display. It was very cool to see! Costumes from Interview with the Vampire, Batman, Crazy Rich Asians, Space Jam, and of course a whole host of DC superheroes. They even had some from Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon. The costumers were intricately made, the detail was outstanding! For example on Aquaman’s suit there’s tiny iridescent scales all over. The props were cool too as they were primarily the Batmobile and other Bat-items from across the Batman movies. They had this cool area from The Hobbit which showed how they did the forced perspective trickery to make the Hobbits look small and Gandalf look big! The studio tour really made a point to showcase every aspect of the filmmaking process, detailing how costumes and props and sets were made. The amount of afford put in to each and every part of filmmaking is insane, no wonder it takes so long to make because so much detail is included, things you may not even see or notice unless you’re looking really close! Sam Warner (one of the Warner Brothers) advocated for the use of Vitaphone, the process of using sound in cinema, and it was fascinating to see how they would make the sounds for shows. For example, in the Spider-Man kiss scene, to prevent the fake rainwater from going up Tobey McGuire’s nose, they used a combination of cotton wool and Vaseline to plug up his nose! However this meant that he couldn’t speak properly, so he re-recorded his lines using the sound system to make himself sound clearer over the rain. If you go back and watch the film, you’ll notice that Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane only lifts the mask up to below Spider-Man’s nose, to prevent the cameras from picking up on the cotton wool! They also had things such as wooden boards and fake shoes to amplify the sound of actors walking on set, as typically the sets would have plastic floors to prevent the actors’ footsteps from drowning out their lines. Thus by dubbing over the footsteps, the sound department can control how loud they are and change the volume depending on the scene. Such cool stuff!! From storyboards to green screens to motion capture to physical makeup, it was incredibly to see behind the scenes and had given me an even greater appreciation for all those involved!