#Sea Side View

[rainbow280372]

[aretis]

[simajviews]

Cavtat, Croatia 🇭🇷

[fictionadventurer]

Fortnight of Books 2024: Day 2

Most surprising (in a good way) book of this year?

I'd gotten the impression that Vanity Fair was a depressing slog. When I tried the miniseries (didn't finish due to content), I thought the whimsical narrator talking directly to the audience was a weird adaptation conceit. Imagine my surprise when I tried the novel and found out it was all directly from the book! This book was a rollicking comedy with some extremely meta narration, like Wodehouse turned up to a thousand!

It's still got its share of depressing happenings, and the narrator's worldview can be too harsh, but my delight at how much fun Thackeray was having as a writer made the book a highlight of the year.

Most disappointing book/Book you wish you enjoyed more than you did?

The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams by Mindy Thompson. It has the premise of a bookshop where people from across time can come and get books--and then doesn't make the plot about that! It makes it into a stupid Good Magic Needs to Balance the Evil Magic plot! Such a waste! I shouldn't be this mad at a middle-grade book, but I hate the wasted potential so much!

(I wrote out an entire rant about another disappointing book before I remembered that this one disappointed me more. But I don't want to waste all that work, so it's going under the cut. Long story short: Not a great year for books about bookshops with magical time travel).

The premise of Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time by Tracy Higley was so far up my alley it was living in my house. It's about a writer and a bookshop owner having portal-fantasy time-travel adventures where she gets to hang out with famous authors and artists from history! Unfortunately, the execution was so maddening I listened to most of the book on 2x speed to get it over with.

The lesson about valuing creativity for its own sake instead of seeking external fame or validation was a good one, but it was repeated so many times. Everyone kept taking the main character to task for abandoning creative pursuits because real life was more important--but she had a lot of huge time-sensitive issues happening in her life! It felt so callous and tone-deaf to say that she should finish her novel when she's got, like, two weeks to prepare for legal and tax stuff that could save her job and her home.

And the time travel premise made no sense. It could have gone for vibes and just had her talk with these authors. It could have had some well-defined rules. Instead it sat in this weird halfway point where it had a lot of terms and rules that made no sense and made the entire experience worse. Not pursuing her creative gift can erase authors from history? What does that have to do with anything? And I still have zero idea what the whole Egypt thing was about--it was presented as a real place and her real history, and then it turns out she's got a different real-life story?

There was enough good there that I did finish the book, and the ending worked better than it had any right to, but there was so much about that book that baffled me. I can't understand how she got such a good premise so wrong.

[herigo]

[girlinlovewiththeforest]

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina)

[queensparklekitten]

time princess players how do y'all picture the MCs of every story

like since every set and piece of official art has a different hair colour, length, and style with every picture of them, and sometimes there's descriptions that don't match the images, which one do you go with

and do you make half of them look like your avatar or have your own designs

[model2watch]

[andrewdi8]

Walking along the seaside and breathing in the fresh, salty air fills me with energy and instantly lifts my mood. It's like a refreshing breath for the soul. As I stroll along the embankment, I savor every moment - looking into the distance, capturing the view with photos and absorbing the tranquil beauty around me.

Sometimes my time is limited but even a short walk feels meaningful. I often grab a drink or some ice cream and let my thoughts wander as I continue on my way. The moments reset my mind, relax my body and fill me with positivity.

While walking with friends is always enjoyable sharing emotions, laughing and having engaging conversations, solo walks have their own charm. They provide a peaceful time to reflect and simply be present.

A photo from my archive but the memories feel fresh as never

...

[keldjinfae]

I was tagged by the indomitable-not-abominable @renmackree to pick a random image from my camera roll. Most of it is comprised of animals or landscapes, but this one is an "accidental dick pic" of my sister, that she took of herself while she was trying to capture yet another view of one of our favorite places, the salt marsh. Fun fact: I either come up with a lot of my fic ideas or write them out while I'm in the swamp.

If they would like to participate, then I have tags for @dear-massacre @nerdherderette @oldefashioned @ice-mage and @vmures

[becausethecat]

october 19

Chapter 19 His Radiancy kept his gaze firmly on the water, the city skyline, the light. His face in profile was serene, benevolent, at repose; like the profile used on coins, the old Astandalan sunburst, the Zuni valiant, most of Alinor’s, most of Voonra’s, most of Colhélhé.

[simajviews]

Rogoznica, Croatia 🇭🇷

[informativesandeepagrawal]

Something different Beautiful Cakes

[myself-85]

[lilidawnonthemoon]