#a voice in the wind

[bookfirstlinetourney]

Round 1

The city was silently bloating in the hot sun, rotting like the thousands of bodies that lay where they had fallen in street battles. An oppressive, hot wind blew from the southeast, carrying with it the putrefying stench of decay. And outside the city walls, Death itself waited in the persons of Titus, son of Vespasian, and sixty thousand legionnaires who were anxious to gut the city of God.

-A Voice in the Wind, Francine Rivers

My mother thinks I'm dead. Obviously I'm not dead, but it's safer for her to think so.

-Legend, Marie Lu

My friend Tomie died. Her dead body was found here and there, in pieces.

-Tomie, Junji Ito

[cheesearchives]

List of Books I'm reading currently (meaning that I started them and intend to finish them but I started another in the middle so finishing them all will take time):

A Voice in the Wind - Francine Rivers

The Well of Ascension (Mistorn #2) - Brandon Sanderson

Beartown - Fredrik Backman

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Sing-Shong

I'm halfway through the first and the last one and barely on the first few chapters of the second and third. Will I finish them all? I intend to. Will I potentially abandon one and add a random book to this list thereby further delaying the completion of this list? Yes.

[cultivating-wildflowers]

Books of 2023 - August

A busy month means firing up whatever audiobooks are easiest to access, and I managed to find a handful of books I really enjoyed. And one I hated. As many of you are no doubt aware.

Overall, very pleased with how the reading went this month.

Total books: 10  |  New reads: 7   |   2023 TBR completed: 5 (1 DNF) / 19/25 total   |   2023 Reading Goal: 57/50

July | September

#1 - Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - 5/5 stars (audio)

This. Book.

Such a quiet delight. So cozy but so breathtaking at the same time.

#2 - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë - 5/5 stars (‘23 TBR, audio)

And again. This book. But for completely different reasons than Anxious People. Is it weird to call a 175 year old book timely? It felt timely for me.

I’m gonna be chewing on this one for a bit.

#3 - Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes - 4/5 stars (‘23 TBR, audio) - 50th read of the year!

This was an enjoyable read, pure and simple. I had some issues with various aspects of the plot and characterization, but those are kind of nitpicky and overall it worked very well. Pacing was excellent, even given the two timelines and POV’s (which can often feel clunky). And for a Christian author and a blatantly Christian story, it DIDN’T PREACH AT ME ONCE. It was just a story anout people who were Christians. It wasn’t about their Christianity. And that was a breath of fresh air.

#4 - Woodwalker by Emily B. Martin - 4/5 stars (audio)

(the author is on tumblr!)

I went into this book with no real idea what to expect, and found a solid adventure set in a rich world. It held my interest for sure, even when I guessed part of the twist--but I did NOT expect the full extent of that final reveal. That part had me cackling with delight. (Y'know. After the initial "uh oh" when things started to fall apart.)

I had a really hard time connecting to the cast, and especially to Mae. I'm thinking some of that might be because of the narrator, especially with regards to the side characters, but at least most of the side characters felt distinct (and one of them REALLY reminded me of an old OC of mine). I couldn't figure out Mae at all, not even at the end. It was honestly frustrating.

That said, the overall story was enjoyable and I fully intend to at least check out the next book in the series.

#5 - The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente - 5/5 stars (reread, audio)

While I love this entire series, this may be my favorite of the books, simply for containing my favorite quote in the series:

What others call you, you become. It's a terrible magic that everyone can do — so do it. Call yourself what you wish to become.

and this one:

So it is written - but so, too, it is crossed out. You can write it over again. You can make notes in the margins. You can cut out the whole page. You can, and you must, edit and rewrite and reshape and pull out the wrong parts like bones and find just the thing and you can forever, forever, write more and more and more, thicker and longer and clearer. Living is a paragraph, constantly rewritten. It is Grown-Up Magic. Children are heartless; their parents hold them still, squirming and shouting, until a heart can get going in their little lawless wilderness. Teenagers crash their hearts into every hard and thrilling thing to see what will give and what will hold. And Grown-Ups, when they are very good, when they are very lucky, and very brave, and their wishes are sharp as scissors, when they are in the fullness of their strength, use their hearts to start their story over again.

and this one:

A Library should not shush; it should roar!

All that aside, or perhaps taking all of that into account, I was leery about listening to the audiobook with this one; but I needed something during my trip and only realized after turning it on that it's narrated by Valente herself! So that was actually a nice treat. Now I know how she intended certain things to be pronounced.

#6 - A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers - 1/5 stars ('23 TBR, audio)

I know I've already yelled about this book, but I gotta write something vaguely coherent to explain why I hate it.

My first impression, before it went wildly downhill, was that this story could have easily been told with fully half of the actual word count, without losing any substance. We don't need every little detail of these characters' actions.

Ironically, I felt like we did need a bit more of their thought processes, especially when it came to Hadassah. She was opaque. No idea what was going through her head unless it was guilt at not speaking up about her faith. There was a hint of an internal conflict at the beginning--my family's faith is stronger than my own and I doubt God--but that disappeared after the opening scenes, and suddenly she was righteous and upright and full of conviction without any work to get there. Her only fault after that was fear of rejection. That was it. Hadassah was saccharine and perfect, flawless, and flat enough to stick in an envelope and slide under a door.

As for Atretes, much as I liked him, he could have been completely cut from the story without impacting what passed for a plot. He's barely a footnote in the synopsis as it is. (I realize he's in the sequels and I assume plays a bigger [and still dubious] role, but my gut says it's still unnecessary.)

The romance (Marcus and Hadassah, not whatever what going on with Julia at any time and with Atretes at the end) had to be the worst part, though. Chiefly: there wasn't one. There was interest and lust on both parts, but nothing about personalities being complimentary or either one being attractive beyond the physical. At random points, Hadassah's heart beat fast at the though of Marcus. That was it. No introduction, no build up to that, just one day she decided she was interested in him (and not on account of anything he had done toward her specifically). At least on Marcus's part he was interested in Hadassah's behavior and how different she was from the other women he carried on with (read: a slave in his father's household). And we were supposed to buy that? AFTER HE HITS HER? ASSAULTS her? Hard pass for me, kids. Especially because Hadassah still loved him after all of that.

#7 - The Boy Who Lost Fairyland  by Catherynne M. Valente - 4/5 stars (reread, audio)

Hurrah for a good palate cleanse! I decided to continue with the audiobooks to finish this series, since my TBR is piling up and I only have four months left in the year. Sadly this installment was not narrated by Valente, but the narrator did a fantastic job.

#8 - The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home by Catherynne M. Valente - 5/5 stars (reread, audio)

I've read this book three times now but I only ever remember two or three scenes, and never the ending. It's always a delight.

And I have finally finished my reread of this series! It remains a treasured favorite. Definitely one that ages well.

#9 - In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park - 5/5 stars

I don't want to seem like I'm diminishing the force of this book, but it is so well written. Yes, obviously, the subject matter is dark and it's heavy, but the way Park shares her story is breathtaking.

#10 - The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis - 3/5 stars ('23 TBR)

I hate to say it, but my eyes glazed over a lot while reading this one and I’m iffy on the rating. Solid chance I’ll revisit this and reevaluate at a later time.

DNF

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier ('23 TBR) -

This is not my first Juliet Marillier book, but I read Wildwood Dancing so long ago and retained nothing but a vague impression of the setting, so it was basically like being introduced to a new author.

I didn't finish the first chapter (which admittedly was kind of long). The story wasn't really grabbing me, the pacing felt off, and I belatedly checked the content warnings and decided to go with my instincts. Some skimming and checking the more neutral reviews confirmed that pacing is an issue; reviews also mentioned Sorcha doesn't really drive the story, and that the ending is either open or incomplete.

And even if the content I have an issue with is only limited to one scene...I don't care? I take issue with any author who decides to include it in any level of graphic description, even if "it's not gratuitous" or "it serves the plot". I don't think I'll check out any more of Marillier's writing.

[underasettingsun]

Book 21/50

So. Heavy.

But that aside, it was a really good book. Set in Rome, roughly 40 years after Christ. Main protagonist is a late teens christian girl who is a slave of a Roman family.

Lots of awful Roman society, some characters getting better and some getting worse as the story progresses.

I'm pretty sure I read this like 10 years ago but I couldn't remember the plot so it didn't hinder the experience.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[lanashelltsuha20]

Atretes be like:

[lanashelltsuha20]

How i see Julia

Girly is such a mess, love her ✨

[princ3ed3n]

May get some hate for this but……. Stop using angel numbers if you do sexual acts on these platforms you ruin it for the actual spiritual community you are representing yourself as a spiritual person but your not

[raycatzdraws]

Local insomniac and amnesiac accidentally scare the ever living daylights out of each other for completely different and very personal reasons.

I like the headcanon that the chain end up sharing and learning each other's songs! (Whether on purpose or by accident in the case of Legend here. It also ties into how Wild knows a bunch of their songs in totk!)

As usual, there's some extras under the read more!

I started coloring and then decided not to! Anyways- Pink Link Pink Link! Wind and Legend are crafting~ Wind's making what I know from camp as a pirate's rope bracelet >:) (though the actual name of the craft is kumihimo!)

[imaginariumwanderer]

Can't get over how this line was said in the trailer, bro may be Shadow Milk but he's as zesty as lime

Bonus tiny Wind Archer:

[chloesimaginationthings]

They all share the same voice actress,,

[nanakorobiyaokii]

09.21 : ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ ᴜᴄʜɪᴅᴀ ʏᴜᴍᴀ! ☆♪.⁽⁽ ◝꒰´꒳`∗꒱◟ ₎₎₊·

ᴍᴀʏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟɪꜰᴇ ᴀʜᴇᴀᴅ ʙᴇ ꜰɪʟʟᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ꜱᴜᴄᴄᴇꜱꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀᴘᴘɪɴᴇꜱꜱ.➳♥

[octobertomarch]

He ain't winning this game

[courtesanofdeath]

just (1) grumpy sleepy bofurin boy

[stil-lindigo]

link

I can't properly put into words the amount of disgust that I feel seeing someone who looks like she could be my cousin fight for a genocidal occupational force like Israel but I will say this.

If you are Chinese, Korean, Japanese or any one of these Asian ethnicities that the West deem "acceptable" and you align yourselves with western-backed racial supremacy, you are making fools of yourselves. You have fallen prey to the myth of the "model minority" and you are suckers for it.

The premise of racial supremacy is based on exclusivity. And here's a dose of reality - the myth of the "model minority" is nothing but a tactic to placate you. To sow divide in the ranks of people of colour. To artificially manufacture another realm of racial supremacy in minorities so that you're distracted from how we all suffer under colonialism.

Did we all forget about the skyrocketing of sinophobia in the wake of the first COVID outbreak? The transformation of Chinese people into fiends with barbaric eating customs, poor hygiene, and mass conspiracy to infect the world with biological weapons?

link

What about the hate-crimes? The attacks in the street against anyone visibly asian? The rampant discrimination and ostracisation from society?

In 2020, Donald Trump referred to COVID-19 as "The Chinese Virus", "Kung-flu" at a campaign rally to raucous applause, a chilling echo of the times where fears of the "Yellow Peril" had the western world in a stranglehold.

For all that Chinese people have been lauded as "prodigies" and "well-mannered workers", the moment our existence was incovenient, were were nothing more than another target. And although Chinese suffering then wasn't close to the scale of suffering that Palestinians now endure, we all received a reminder on what it was like to be in the world's crosshairs.

Now, in 2023, Biden dismisses death tolls as unreliable and remains proudly Zionist even after Netanyahu described the genocide Israel is inflicting upon Palestine as the "struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle." At the same time, Palestinians are being compared to fleeing rats in a gesture of dehumanisation that mirrors how the Nazis portrayed Jews during the Holocaust.

link

And let's not think Abigail's Jewishness will save her, not when it's been proven that Israel has administered contraceptives to Ethiopian Jewish immigrants without their consent. Racial supremacy is an exclusive club that never stops getting smaller, and there is nothing that you, as a minority, will ever be able to do to fit in. One day, you too will be a target and there'll be nothing you can do but blame yourself. After all - it's already happened.

So shame on Abigail. Truly. With the memory of knowing what it's like to be targeted for factors out of your control fresh in her mind, she happily fights to do the same to others. And that says more about her than I ever will be able to.

[tatakaeeren]

Umemiya Hajime | Wind Breaker Ep. 3 " The man who stands at the top"

[stargirl230]

Listening to Ado sing is a religious experience

Also happy pride! Snuck some bi flag colors in here for the occasion 🌈

(no reposts; reblogs appreciated)