#Susan Friedman

[blueboyluca]

At no time should our lack of skill or lack of familiarity with a less intrusive procedure give us the rationale for being more coercive or more forceful… So if you don’t know how to do it with less intrusiveness, then you find someone who does do it with less intrusiveness and they get to coach you, be the person who helps you learn how to do it. So we don’t want our lack of skill to be the reason why we’re pushing animals around.

Susan Friedman, Live from The Ranch

[henk-heijmans]

Alison and Bug - by Susan Friedman, American

[photographyartgallery]

Susan Friedman

[nerds-yearbook]

Transformers the movie was released on August 8, 1986. Originally, G.I. Joe the movie was meant to be released first but was pushed back. Blowback from the Death of Optimus Prime (Peter Cullin) caused the producers to change the planned death of Duke (Michael Bell) in the G.I. Joe movie. Also, the commercial failure of the movie also down graded The G.I. Joe movie to straight to video/TV release. The movie was the final theatric roles of Orson Welles and Scatman Crothers. The human character Spike (Corey Burton) swore in the movie because they wanted a PG rating (The G.I. Joe movie had originally planned a scene of brief topless nudity to get their PG rating, but that was dropped somewhere in production). Seasons 1 and 2 were supposed to take place in the present, but the movie and season 3 were pushed forward 20 years in time to the year 2005. The movie not just killed off Optimus Prime, but also Ironhide (Cullen), Ratchet, Prowl (Michael Bell), Brawn (Burton), Wheeljack, Windcharger, Megatron (Frank Welker), Starscream (Christopher Collins/Chris Latta), Skywarp, Thundercracker, Shrapnel (Hal Rayle), Kickback (Clive Revill), Bombshell and (off screen) Huffer. The movie introduced Unicron (Welles), Galvatron (Leonard Nimoy), Arcee (Susan Blu), Ultra Magnus (Robert Stack), Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime (Judd Nelson), Springer (Neil Ross), Kup (Lionel Stander), Blurr (John Moschitta Jr), Wheelie, Cyclonus (Roger C Carmel), Scourge (Stan Jones), Kranix (Norman Alden), Arblus, Daniel Witwicky (David Mendenhall), the Lithones, the Shrikebats, the Sharkticons, the Quintessons, the Allicons, (the Mini-Cassettes) Eject, Rewind, (the Junkions) Wreck-Gar (Eric Idle), Junkyard, Scrapheap, Re-Cycle, Rubbish, Hazmat, Ashtray, Greasestain, Wasteoid Gamma, and Trashbin. The movie also included Astrotrain (Jack Angel), Scrapper, Swoop (both by Bell), Grimlock (Gregg Berger), Devastator (Arthur Burghardt), Shockwave (Burton), Jazz (Cruthers), Dirge (Bud Davis), Perceptor (Paul Eiding), Blitzwing (Ed Gilbert), Bumblebee (Dan Gilvezan), Blaster (Buster Jones), Cliffjumper (Casey Kasem), Laserbeak (Latta), Scavenger (Don Messick), Bonecrusher, Hook, Slag (all Ross), Soundwave, Rumble, Frenzy, and Ravage (all Welker). Leonard Nimoy would return to the Transformers franchise in the live action reboot as the voice of Sentinel Prime in Transformer's Dark of the Moon. The sound track was very eclectic including the iconic "The Touch" by Stan Bush and "Dare to Be Stupid" by Weird Al Yankovic. The score was by Rocky IV composer Vince DiCola. While it underperformed and was controversial upon its release, the movie has since gone on to be a cult classic. ("Transformers: The Movie", Movie, Event)

[garadinervi]

Philip Corner, PoorManMusic, (Vinyl/LP), plana-C alga048, Alga Marghen, 2015 [midcenturyclassical. Art: © Philip Corner]

Performed at The Judson Dance Theater, Judson Memorial Church, New York City, March 21 and 22, 1967

Adaption: Jerome Rothenberg Choreography: Carol Ritter Music: Philip Corner

Musician: Alison Knowles, Bill Friedman, Billy Fisher, Carol Marcy, Carol Reck, Carolee Schneemann, Cyrelle Forman, David Reck, Edward Goldstein, Ferdinando Buonanno, James Tenney, Malcolm Goldstein, Maud Haimson, Max Neuhaus, Steve Reich, Susan Hartung

Performer [Poets]: Carol Bergé, Clayton Eshleman, David Antin, Dick Higgins, Eleanor Antin, George Kimball, Hannah Weiner, Jackson Mac Low, Jerome Rothenberg, Paul Blackburn, Robert David Cohen, Susan Sherman

[invaive]

THE MODERN MOTHER WORLDLY

medea – eugène delacroix / el arbol de la llorona – photo by gabriel perez salazar / child murder by mothers: patterns and prevention – susan hatters friedman and phillip j. resnick / medea on her golden chariot – germán hernández amores / la llorona as andrea yates – iliana rocha / the widow of a slain soldier – unknown artist / bruno is orange – hop along / the marguerite of faust – after j. bertrand / funeral – the buttress

[spocksocksrock]

ok I saw the reblog of your star trek books post about someone asking for recs someday, but I’m impatient and have decided I am not gonna wait and that I will send the recs ask MYSELF dammit!!

I feel like i’ve never gotten into the books because I’m worried they will be bad, so if you have any TOS/DS9 book recs I would LOVE to hear them — I have consumed all Star Trek content made up until this point and am so so desperate for new material

thank you SOOO much for asking i love any excuse to talk about st books!!! (though it is kinda funny cause that same person talking about recs did end up messaging me already lol)

for TOS i would say the best ones are:

Killing Time by Della Van Hise — famously gay and for good reason, it’s just blatantly romantic spirk content. it’s all about how they are meant to be together in every alternate universe and that they are soulmates <3

Spock’s World by Diane Duane — bones, kirk, and spock go to vulcan because the vulcans are considering leaving the federation. really great plot and super accessible characterization for the main three!

Vulcan’s Forge by Susan Shwartz — follows two plots- young spock figuring out that he wants to join star fleet, and older spock dealing with kirk’s death and trying to move on. it’s really not as sad as it sounds and it adds so much to spock’s character imo.

id honestly also recommend the novelizations of the movies, they definitely add a lot of new content

—

DS9 is harder cause i love soooo many of these but some of the best are:

Hollow Men by Una McCormack — kind of a sequel to the episode ‘in the pale moonlight’, garak and sisko go on a trip to earth to deal with dominion war stuff (and everyone else has shenanigans on the station)

The 34th Rule by Armin Shimerman — basically quark whump, him and rom are sort of kicked off the station and go to a prison camp and the rest of the characters have conflicting feelings about this (it’s a bit overdramatic at times but i love quark-centric stories so 🤷)

Fallen Heroes by Dafydd ab Hugh — this one is pretty crazy, quark and odo suddenly travel 3 days into the future and find the entire station is dead, like Everyone died, and they have to figure out what happened and fix it (i love quodo and there’s a scene where quark vacuums odo up, need i say more)

Saratoga by Michael jan Friedman — sisko is meeting with the other survivors from the ship jennifer died on. there’s sabotage, intrigue, betrayal and such and then the b plot is that odo has to pretend to be quark. so basically an average ds9 episode lol

there are definitely a lot more good ones but it depends on what characters you like and what kinds of stories you’re looking for ya know? please please message me if you want to talk ab it more!!!!

[nevinslibrary]

Make It So Friday

Dax is one of the best characters in Star Trek. (I could say, I think, but, I’m not gonna, the I think is baked in since I’m writing this blurb). There’s something about an immortal being who is also not immortal, who dies and yet still lives. And, there’s something about the combination of newness of the host and oldness of the symbionts that is just, really cool to think about.

This is technically a book of short stories by some awesome authors like, Michael Jan Friedman, S.D, Perry, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and more. They each take on a story about one of the 9 Dax symbionts, from Lela, to Torias, to Jadzia and Ezri too. My favorites were the one by Susan Wright, "Infinity" about Tobias, and of course, the one about my favorite Dax, Jadzia, “Reflections” by L.A. Graf.

But, honestly, the coolest part of this wasn’t just that we got to learn about all the Dax hosts, but, that so many of the Dax hosts also knew other big characters in the Star Trek universe, like Dr. McCoy and others. Fun.

You may like this book If you Liked: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack, The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard by David A. Goodman, or Star Trek by John Byrne

The Lives of Dax by Marco Palmieri, Ed.

[broadwaydivastournament]

MOVIE MUSICAL DIVAS TOURNAMENT: ROUND 1 MASTERPOST

One-hundred Divas go in, only fifty come out.

All Polls Here

Completed:

Judy Garland vs. Liza Minnelli Asha Bhosle vs. Betty Garrett Jessica Harper vs. Patricia Quinn Lena Horne vs. Doris Day Ellen Greene vs. Twiggy

Pearl Bailey vs. Anita Ellis Ginger Rogers vs. Cyd Charisse Ruby Dee vs. Dolores Grey Nancy Carroll vs. Jo Kennedy Vivian Blaine vs. Esther Williams

Diana Ross vs. Audrey Hepburn Ethel Waters vs. Irene Dunne Lesley Ann Warren vs. Susan Sarandon Helen vs. Lone Hertz Kathryn Grayson vs. Virginia O'Brien

Deborah Kerr vs. Eleanor Powell Whitney Houston vs. Maria Friedman Chita Rivera vs. Jane Powell Kay Thompson vs. Alice Pearce Lata Mangeshkar vs. Zizi Jeanmaire

Natalie Wood vs. Bernadette Peters Maxine Sullivan vs. Ruby Keeler Jane Russell vs. Rosalind Russell Dorothy Dandridge vs. Ann-Margret Rita Moreno vs. Marilyn Monroe

Carol Burnett vs. Lucille Ball Little' Nell Campbell vs. Whoopi Goldberg Shirley Jones vs. Betty Buckley Cuckoo Moray vs. Josephine Baker Debbie Reynolds vs. Marni Nixon

Ethel Merman vs. June Allyson Catherine Deneuve vs. Françoise Dorléac Alice White vs. Lupe Vélez Vyjayanthimala vs. Leslie Caron Helen Kane vs. Jeanette MacDonald

Glynis Johns vs. Julie Andrews Betty Hutton vs. Vera-Ellen Bea Arthur vs. Shirley MacLaine Joan Crawford vs. Rita Hayworth Jessie Matthews vs. Bebe Daniels

Eileen Brennan vs. Moira Sherer Madeline Kahn vs. Charmian Carr Ann Miller vs. Mitzi Gaynor Barbra Streisand vs. Bette Midler Hermione Gingold vs. Claire Luce

Ann Reinking vs. Gwen Verdon Eleanor Parker vs. Susanna Foster Miss Piggy vs. Eartha Kitt Olivia Newton-John vs. Dolly Parton Angela Lansbury vs. Rosemary Clooney

FAQS

[spones-in-my-bones]

(Other options available at the bottom of the poll!)

If it was a Film, Novel, or Fanwork, go to the Poll Masterpost and click on your poll.

[blueboyluca]

what inspires me most about Susan Friedman is the way she talks to people. in all the conversations I've listened to her have with others, she is always phrasing things in the most empathetic and assertive ways. she will regularly thank people for asking things, or for giving her opportunities to practice explaining things. she will disagree with points in the most polite and straightforward way while also articulating her position very clearly and strongly. I would love to be able to talk like her one day, to have the advanced skills to be able to engage like that in real time. it's honestly incredible.

[balioc]

BALIOC’S READING LIST, 2022 EDITION

With one exception, this list counts only published books, consumed in published-book format, that I read for the first time and finished. (There was one serious-seeming book that, as far as I know, exists only in free-floating PDF form.) No rereads, nothing abandoned halfway through, no Internet detritus of any kind apart from the aforementioned, etc.  Also no children’s picture books.

1. The Blue Castle, Lucy Maude Montgomery

2. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, Priya Parker

3. The Girl and the Mountain, Mark Lawrence

4. There Is No Antimemetics Division, qntm

5. Dreamsnake, Vonda N. McIntyre

6. War and State Building in Medieval Japan, Various (ed. John A. Ferejohn and Frances McCall Rosenbluth)

7. Legal Systems Very Different From Ours, David Friedman, Peter T. Leeson, and David Skarbek

8. The Revolutions, Felix Gilman

9. Age of Ash, Daniel Abraham

10. When the Sea Turned to Silver, Grace Lin

11. Summer in Orcus, T. Kingfisher

12. The Thousand Eyes, A. K. Larkwood

13. Kingfall, David Estes

14. Surrogation, Suspended Reason

15. The Hands of the Emperor, Victoria Goddard

16. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro

17. Hakkenden -- Part 1: "An Ill-Considered Jest," Kyokutei Bakin

18. Claws of the Cat, Susan Spann

19. Blade of the Samurai, Susan Spann

20. Flask of the Drunken Master, Susan Spann

21. The Ninja's Daughter, Susan Spann

22. Betrayal at Iga, Susan Spann

23. Trial at Mount Koya, Susan Spann

24. Ghost of the Bamboo Road, Susan Spann

25. Fires of Edo, Susan Spann

26. The Discord of Gods, Jenn Lyons

27. All the Seas of the World, Guy Gavriel Kay

28. Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley, Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany

29. Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success, Ran Abramitzky and Leah Bousyan

30. Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

31. Perhaps the Stars, Ada Palmer

32. Dreadgod, Will Wight

33. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore

34. Manfred, George Gordon, Lord Byron

35. Friend to Mankind: Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), Various (ed. Michael Shepherd)

36. Locklands, Robert Jackson Bennett

37. The Jade Setter of Janloon, Fonda Lee

38. Spring Snow, Yukio Mishima

39. Against All Gods, Miles Cameron

40. Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

41. Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century, J. Bradford DeLong

42. The Golden Enclaves, Naomi Novik

43. The Rise of the Dragon: An Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty, Vol. I, George R. R. Martin, Elio M. Garcia Jr., and Linda Antonsson

44. A Garter as a Lesser Gift, Aster Glenn Gray

45. The Night-Bird's Feather, Jenna Moran

46. Absolution by Murder, Peter Tremayne

47. The Lost Metal, Brandon Sanderson

48. Shroud for the Archbishop, Peter Tremayne

49. Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter, Richard Parks

50. Yamada Monogatari: To Break the Demon Gate, Richard Parks

51. Yamada Monogatari: The War God's Son, Richard Parks

52. Yamada Monogatari: The Emperor in Shadow, Richard Parks

53. Pulling the Wings off Angels, K. J. Parker

54. Laurus, Eugene Vodolazkin

55. The Ogre's Wife: Fairy Tales for Grownups, Richard Parks

56. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Plausible works of improving nonfiction consumed in 2021: 7

[“plausible” and “improving” are being defined very liberally here]

Works written by women consumed in 2021: 23

Works written by men consumed in 2021: 29

Works written by both men and women consumed in 2021: 4

Balioc’s Choice Award, Fiction Division: The Remains of the Day

>>>> Honorable Mention: Laurus

Balioc’s Choice Award, Nonfiction Division: Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century

>>>> Honorable Mention: War and State Building in Medieval Japan

Series Award for: A Deeply Flawed Work of Luminescent Genius, No Really, This Thing is Artistically and Intellectually Important and Its Flaws Only Make It More So, Dear God What Were They Thinking Not Giving It the Hugo -- the Terra Ignora books, by Ada Palmer

Series Award for: I Cannot Begin to Articulate How Mad I Am That These Books of All Books Have Become Cultural Touchstones of My Local Social and Artistic Circle -- the Locked Tomb books, by Tamsyn Muir

Series Award for: I Must Give Credit to a Brave Author Who Makes Unexpected Moves and Tries New Things with Every Book, Even if Everything She Tries is Terrible -- the Locked Tomb books, by Tamsyn Muir

**********

Fiction-wise, this was actually a better year than you'd think from just eyeballing the list. The overall numbers are still below par, and there's too much shlocky formulaic mystery-series-type stuff; but there was a lot of real quality in there. I had real trouble deciding on my top two, and I ended up not giving either prize to a book by Jenna Moran writing at her normal level of quality, so that says something. There were a number of books that disappointed by not being amazing but that I'm still glad to have read (e.g. Summer in Orcus, The Hands of the Emperor). Even the shlocky formulaic stuff had more merit than you might expect, in many cases.

Serious contemplatively-emotional litfic is real good, at its best. Turns out.

Non-fiction-wise, this was a shitshow of unparalleled proportions. I read almost nothing, and what I read was uninspiring. (I started s number of things that I failed to finish, which didn't help.) I seriously considered making this a "no award" year. I am once again asking for your recommendations for really good, deeply-informative, blow-your-mind-open non-fiction.

[photographyartgallery]

Susan Friedman

[clementinecompendium]

To Be Read July 2023

The Mind

The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race by Daniel Z. Lieberman & Michael E. Long

The Brain: A Very Short Introduction by Michael O'Shea

Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction by Susan Blackmore

The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health by Emeran Mayer MD

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino

Sensitive is the New Strong: The Power of Empaths in an Increasingly Harsh World by Anita Moorjani

The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron

Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price Ph.D.

Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind by Scott Barry Kaufman & Carolyn Gregoire

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk

Music & The Mind (Art Philosophy, Aesthetics, Neuroaesthetics)

Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting by Mary Gauthier

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook

This is What it Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Ogi Ogas & Susan Rogers

Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste by Nolan Gasser

The Story of Music: From Babylon to the Beatles: How Music Has Shaped Civilization by Howard Goodall

Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World by Nina Kraus

Aesthetics: A Very Short Introduction by Bence Nanay

Equipment for Living: On Poetry and Pop Music by Michael Robbins

How Music Works by David Byrne

General Non-Fiction / History / Science

The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction by S. A. Smith

The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction by William Doyle

Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction by P. H. Matthews

Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction by Timothy Gowers

After the End of Art: Contemporary Art and the Pale of History by Arthur C. Danto

Flappers by Judith Mackrell

Marketing for Dummies, 6th edition by Jeanette McMurty MBA

Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan

Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland by Gerald Clarke

Self-Improvement

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Dr. Kristin Neff

Self Compassion for Dummies by by Steven Hickman PsyD (in progress)

The Nice Girl Syndrome: Stop Being Manipulated and Abused -- and Start Standing Up for Yourself by Beverly Engel

The Assertiveness Guide for Women: How to Communicate Your Needs, Set Healthy Boundaries & Transform Your Relationships by Julie de Azevedo Hanks, PhD, LCSW

Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When it Matters Most by Adam Alter

Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive by Kristin Neff PhD

The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander

Be Angry: The Dalai Lama on What Matters Most by His Holiness the Dalai Lama,

Anger: The Conflicted History of an Emotion by Barbara H. Rosenwein

The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price

In Awe: Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning, and Joy by John O'Leary

Creating a Life That Matters: How to Live and Love with Meaning and Purpose by Manis Friedman & Rivka Goldstein 

Fiction

Babel by R. F. Kuang

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (narrated by Tim Curry)

In/Spectre #2

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (in progress)

The Poisoner's Handbook ed. Raymond T. Bond

[hatingwithfears]

BOOKS READ IN 2022

Here’s the complete list of books I managed to read in 2022.

168 books. 54,494 pages.

Renata Adler- Speedboat

Kendra Allen- The Collection Plate

Jonathan Alter- His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life

Kenneth Anger- Hollywood Babylon

Jason Bailey- Fun City Cinema: New York City and the Movies That Made It

Peter Baker, Susan Glasser- The Divider: Trump in The White House 2017-2021

JG Ballard- The Atrocity Exhibition

Julien Barnes- Elizabeth Finch

Brit Bennett- The Vanishing Half

Charles M. Blow- The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto

Anthony Bourdain- Medium Raw

Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever- World Travel: An Irreverent Guide

Box Brown- Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America

Mariah Carey, Michaela Angela Davis- The Meaning of Mariah Carey

Nick Cave & Sean O’Hagan- Faith, Hope, and Carnage

David Chang- Eat a Peach

Dan Charnas- Dilla Time

Leonard Cohen- A Ballet of Lepers

Lee Cole- Groundskeeping

Teju Cole- Black Paper

Ray Connolly- Being Elvis: A Lonely Life

Brian Contoir- Practical Alchemy

Antoine Cosse- Metax

Charles R. Cross- Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain

Daniele Cybulskie- How To Live Like a Monk

Travis Dandro- King of King Court

John Darnelle- Devil House

Michael Deforge- Heaven No Hell

Rita Dove- Playlist for the Apocalypse

David Duchovny- The Reservoir

Jennifer Egan- The Candy House

Robert Evans- The Kid Stays in The Picture

Scott Eyman- Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise

Nicolas Ferraro- Cruz

Mark Fisher- Ghosts of My Life

Mark Fisher- Capitalist Realism

Johnathan Franzen- Crossroads

Harry Freedman- Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius

Matti Friedman- Who By Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai

James Gavin- George Michael: A Life

Lizzy Goodman- Meet Me in The Bathroom

Andrew Sean Greer- Less

Dave Grohl- The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

Joseph Hansen- Troublemaker

Joy Harjo- Poet Warrior

Robert Harris- The Ghost Writer

Noah Hawley- Anthem

Wil Haygood- Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Film in a White World

Clinton Heylin- The Double Life of Bob Dylan

Andrew Holleran- The Kingdom of Sand

Michel Houellebecq- Serotonin

Sean Howe- Marvel Comics: The Untold Story

Dorthy B Hughes- In a Lonely Place

John Irving- The Fourth Hand

Walter Isaacson- Leonardo Da Vinci

Kazuo Ishiguro- Klara and The Sun

Junji Ito- No Longer Human

Robert Jones Jr- The Prophets

Saeed Jones- Alive at The End of the World

Stephen Graham Jones- My Heart is a Chainsaw

Rax King- Tacky

Stephen King- Billy Summers

Katie Kitamura- Intimacies

Chuck Klosterman- The Nineties

TJ Klune- Under The Whispering Door

Karl Ove Knausgaard- The Morning Star

Hideo Kojima- The Creative Dream

Milan Kundera- Slowness

Wally Lamb- I Know This Much is True

Yiyun Li- Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life

Thomas Ligotti- The Conspiracy Against The Human Race

Roger Lipsey- Make Peace Before the Sun Goes Down

Patricia Lockwood- No One is Talking About This

Ling Ma- Bliss Montage

Stuart B MacBride- Halfhead

Michael Mann & Meg Gardiner- Heat 2

Greil Marcus- Dead Elvis

Mike McCormack- Solar Bones

Jennette McCurdy- I’m Glad My Mom Died

Janelle Monae- The Memory Librarian

Ottessa Moshfegh- Lapvona

Leila Mottley- Nightcrawling

Alan Moore, Melinda Gebbie- Lost Girls

Grant Morrison- The Invisibles

Mannie Murphy- I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Sequoia Nagamatsu- How High We Go in The Dark

Joyce Carol Oates- Blonde

Joyce Carol Oates- American Melancholy

John O’Connell- Bowie’s Bookshelf

Ryan O’Connell- Just By Looking at Him

Jenny Offill- Weather

Paul Ortiz- An African American and Latinx History of The United States

Hiroko Oyamada- The Factory

Hiroko Oyamada- The Hole

Helen Oyeymi- What is Not Yours is Not Yours

James Patterson- Hear No Evil

Larissa Pham- Pop Song

Brian Phillips- Impossible Owls

Stephanie Phillips- Why Solange Matters

Keith Phipps- Age of Cage

Michael Pollan- This Is Your Mind on Plants

Richard Powers- Bewilderment

Questlove- Music is History

Kristen Radtke- Seek You

Sue Rainsford- Follow Me to Ground

Claudia Rankine- Just Us: An American Conversation

George A Romero, Daniel Kraus- The Living Dead

Karen Russell- Orange World

George Saunders- A Swim in a Pond in The Rain

George Saunders- Liberation Day

Samantha Schweblin— Fever Dream

Leonardo Sciascia- Equal Danger

Mark Seal- Leave The Gun, Take The Cannoli

Seth- Clyde Fans

Alan Sepinwall- Breaking Bad 101

Zadie Smith- Feel Free

Won-Pyung Sohn- Almond

Bob Spitz- Led Zeppelin: The Biography

Elizabeth Strout- Oh William!

J Randy Taraborrelli- The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

Herve Le Tellier- The Anomaly

Manjit Thapp- Feelings

Olga Tokarczuk- The Books of Jacob

Jia Tolentino- Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion

Leo Trezenick- The Confession of a Mad Man

Stanley Tucci- Taste

Una- Becoming Unbecoming

Ocean Vuong- Time is a Mother

Chris Ware- Rusty Brown

WC Ware- Jimmy Corrigan

John Waters- Liarmouth

Peter Weiss- The Shadow of The Coachman’s Body

Missouri Williams- The Doloriad

Antoine Wilson- Mouth to Mouth

Sarah Winman- Still Life

Laurie Wollever- Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography

Kenneth Womack- Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and The End of The Beatles

Hanya Yanagihara- To Paradise

Ed. Jelani Cobb & David Remnick- The Matter of Black Lives

Ed. Sinead Gleeson & Kim Gordon- This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music

[thestoryreadingape]

5 Plot Hacks That Just Might Save Your Novel - by Susan DeFreitas…

on Jane Friedman site: I’ve said elsewhere on this blog that plot issues are the number one reason people come to me—and people like me—for help with their creative work. And I’ve shared in the same post that most of the time, these issues really aren’t problems with plot at all. They’re problems with character arc. That said, sometimes the problem really is the plot. Which is to say, sometimes…