#anne valente

[judgingbooksbycovers]

The Desert Sky Before Us: A Novel

By Anne Valente.

Design by Mumtaz Mustafa.

[onebluebookworm]

Ranking Books I Read in 2022: 50-46

50. Monster, She Wrote - Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson

What I Liked: Bulked up my tbr list considerably, introduced me to some ore obscure authors I’d never heard of. What I Didn’t Like: The same kind of quirky weird girl humor that made Quackery such a pain to read sometimes. Some annoying digs at my girl Jane Austen and a fundamental misunderstanding of Northanger Abbey. Do you think the hucksters of the spiritualist movement were exhibiting girlboss energy when they bilks grieving people out of thousands wit their fake seance schticks? The book was written in 2019, so there’s some...unfortunate praise of Rowling. Final thoughts: A noble effort to bring attention to the women who spearheaded the horror and speculative fiction genre, but a little too much “we’re dark girlbosses who like weird stuff and dark books and not that dainty, prissy stuff other girls like” for it to be anything more.

49. Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down - Anne Valente

What I Liked: A genuinely strong idea with some good execution in places. Some of the language knocked the wind out of me. An actually accurate depiction of the St. Louis area, which is something I rarely see in fiction about St. Louis. What I Didn’t Like: This book could have been about 50 pages shorter if Valente just cut out the repetition of points we’ve already gone over several times at this point. The magical realism aspect is sorely underutilized. Abrupt ending that left me frustrated. None of the characters really grow or change meaningfully, and it’s a bit of a slog. Final thoughts: Another strong start that I was genuinely excited for, but slowly went off the rails from compelling study of trauma to moping, doping slog of people feeling sad and not moving from there.

48. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

What I Liked: Lewis’ trademark dry humor. Screwtape is hilariously awful, and this is a genuinely interesting way of portraying hell. The ending was honestly kind of unnerving and it’s great. What I Didn’t Like: I know Screwtape being a didactic windbag is the point, but damn did it make my eyes glaze over in some parts. Final thoughts: A fun, quick read, but don’t try to read it when you’re tired or don’t have much of an attention span. You’ll forget what’s happening.

47. The Murder of Mr. Wickham - Claudia Gray

What I Liked: The premise of a massive crossover between a bunch of Jane Austen characters is a dream to me, and this book did indeed deliver on that. Jonathan Darcy is my darling autism king and I love him very much. This book at least leaned into the fact Edmund Bertram is a jackass. What I Didn’t Like: The reveal of the actual murderer fuckin sucked. Boring and didactic at points, and not in the good way that my girl Jane was. Dates are wrong and it bothered me to no end. Final thoughts: I have very high standards for modern regency novels, and this didn’t quite make the mark. Cute and fun, but nothing special and at times kinda tedious.

46. Ain’t Burned All the Bright - Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

What I Liked: An interesting concept with some absolutely gorgeous art and prose. What I Didn’t Like: Over too quickly. Final thoughts: Could have been bulked up a little, but given how personal of a project this was for Reynolds and Griffin, I’m not about to quibble over it too much. It gets the job done and that’s perfectly fine.

[asoftepiloguemylove]

"You can love a monster, it can even love you back, but that doesn't change its nature."

unknown / Mitski Cop Car / Catherynne M. Valente The Bread We Eat in Dreams / Jonny Bolduc Harsh Light / Margaret Atwood / Sylvia Plath Poem for a Birthday: Who / Anne Sexton Hansel and Gretel "The Complete Poems of Anne Sexton" / @/thymoss (tumblr) / unknown

i. unknown [ "I tip my head like a dog at the window. The outside world is so interesting, and I am not a part of it; I'm just witnessing." ]

ii. Mitski Cop Car [ "I get mean when I'm nervous like a bad dog / I get mean when I'm nervous like a bad dog ]

iii. Catherynne M. Valente The Bread We Eat in Dreams [ "I said: I could be a wolf for you. I could put my teeth on your throat. I could growl. I could eat you whole. I could wait for you in the dark. I could howl against your hair. ]

iv. Jonny Bolduc Harsh Light [ medical diagram of a dog. "Let the harsh light warm you / Let the harsh wind carry you away ]

v. Margaret Atwood [ "you dangle on the leash of your own longing; / your need grows teeth ]

vi. Sylvia Plath Poem for a Birthday: Who [ "Eaten or rotten. I am all mouth." ]

vii. Anne Sexton Hansel and Gretel [ I want to bite, / I want to chew, / I will eat you up. ]

viii. @/thymoss (tumblr) [ sketch of an animal with teeth surrounding the outside of its snout pointing away from it. "I will remove my teeth, for I want to remain kind despite my anger" ]

ix. unknown [ "I love you like a rotten dog, / I love you like my canines are falling out of my gums / Like a monster, like a beast / Like something not worth loving back" ]

[calyxthenerd]

When two characters are so extraordinarily intertwined that any romantic partner will have to deal with both, and that has them both romantically frustrated because the lack of boundaries between them scares most people off

[augment-techs]

[lostonesconfessions]

@braveisthename e @perdidadragon

[kanerallels]

Okay, I'm vibing at home procrastinating from writing so now's as good a time as any for this post that I owe @starbirdrising!

Behold: My Top Ten Fantasy Books/Series For When You Need Something With Magic And Kingdoms And Good Vs. Evil With Good Winning And Fun Adventures And Probably Dragons So Basically You Want To Read Narnia But Something New Would Be Fun:

"Valiant", by Sarah McGuire. I will recommend this book for as long as it takes the larger part of my followers to read it. It's a fantasy fairy tale retelling of "The Valiant Little Tailor", which is in the gray area between well known and "wait that's a real fairy tale??" where The Seven Swans and King Thrushbeard resides. The general plot is this girl moving to a new city with her dad, but due to unforseen circumstances she has to pretend to be a tailor to make a living. And then giants show up. And she accidentally gets involved. There is a bit of romance, but it's really, really good. Also the writing style is IMMACULATE and there's adoption. (this is one of the only single books on the list, the rest are series)

"The Dragon With A Chocolate Heart", by Stephanie Burgis. First of all, I should have asked for this for my birthday. Second of all, this is about a dragon who gets turned into a human. By a food mage. Have you heard of a food mage before? No, you haven't, but they're amazing. Especially when it comes to chocolate. So, said dragon sets off to seek her fortune as a chocolatier! Super fun platonic relationships, and there are DRAGONS

"The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making", by Catherynne M. Valente. How can you turn away from an incredibly cool name like that?? This is your classic portal fantasy-- girl travels by leapord to Fairyland, gets up to trouble with a Wyverary, and has to face off with an evil Marquess! Also it's a series, and the prose is freaking STUNNING. I reread the last one recently, and there was crying

"The Green Ember", by S.D. Smith. My sister just called this series "this generation's Narnia" and WOW is she right. The journey of two young rabbits as they discover their heritage and the war to save their world-- it's beautiful!! And also really funny

"Magic Marks The Spot", by Caroline Carlson. This one has PIRATES. It's about a navy admiral's rebellious daughter, who takes off to become a pirate instead of going to finishing school. It's funny and delightful and just such a good read!

"Breadcrumbs," by Anne Ursu. This rec is accompanied with a story, because I said so. So, when I used to actually have time and go to the library every week, I would always see this book. EVERY. TIME. It was weird. I ignored it for the longest time-- until finally one day I decided "may as well give it a shot" and brought it home with me. And HOLY HECK was it good. A retelling of The Snow Queen, this book is about friendship. And growing up. And it made me cry. And I love it.

"Storybound", by Marissa Burt. This one is a duology, and they're both amazing! The first one tells the story of Una, a girl who winds up in the world where stories come from. The sequel continues her adventures, and also introduces a character who I love so so much. He's so funny and carefree. Until he's not in which case holy SPADES IS HE COOL. Also I'm suddenly realizing this book may have inspired more of my WIP than I thought. I digress

"The Search For WondLa", by Tony DiTerlizzi. This is actually not fantasy. It is, in fact, sci-fi! It's about a girl who lives in an underground home with her robot caretaker. When their home is attacked, the girl escapes to discover that the Earth she thinks she was raised on isn't Earth after all-- it's another world entirely. It's got AMAZING found family, super cool world building, and it's just so fun!!

"Tuesdays At The Castle", by Jessica Day George. Okay it's been a while, so I don't remember the exact premise of this one. But as I recall, it's about a royal family who lives in a magical castle that can shift rooms and grow new parts as well! When the royal siblings' are under threat from foreign enemies, they have to work with the castle to protect each other. Super wholesome family vibes, and the series is really fun in general!

"Wizard For Hire", by Obert Skye. I could not tell you if or if not this is fantasy. But I can tell you that it's set in modern day, and it's about a boy who lived on his own from a young age after his parents disappeared. And one day, he finds an ad in the paper for a wizard, and hires him to find his parents. Shenanigans ensue (as well as really funny catchphrases and a lot of breakfast food. No one is surprised that I love this trilogy)

Well, that's all the room I have for now! This post was super fun to make-- I might make another bizarrely specific one like it someday! For now, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy some of these book recs

[solaradastra]

Promofotos "Der Barcelona-Krimi - Totgeschwiegen"

[blogthefiresidechats]

Best 10 Books in.....Fiction

I’ve comprised a list of the 10 best books from the fiction genre (these books are works of fiction but they may not be classified as part of the other genre’s I’ve done so far). This list is in no particular order and this list is only my opinions based on what books I’ve read in the past. Enjoy! A historical fiction from WWII follows Grace as she goes to work at a book store in order to gain…

[acrimoniousandrew]

To preface: I am in a class where we are reading short stories and analyzing them. One of the most important things we’ve been taught is that everything has meaning in short stories; there’s no time for details that do not contribute to the theme or overall meaning of the story. One of the stories this week involves a group of people who are hunting ghosts, and only one of them truly seems to believe that ghosts are out there. However, the narrator seemingly disagrees with the concept of ghosts and believes that the one believer is “making meaning out of nothing.” It is also important to note that this character also lost her son to accidental suicide, so this is likely a way of coping with it, just as the narrator puts themself in compromising situations for the thrill because they don’t like the way that they have been living. 

The short story is called "Tell Us You Were Here" by Anne Valente! It's super good, and I get to meet her tomorrow!!!

“To make meaning from nothing” is a phrase that I agree with a little bit, but not in totality. So what if you’re making meaning from nothing? If it makes living life a little bit easier then what’s the issue with it if you aren’t hurting anyone? Like I know that being clouded by things and over analyzing things can be obnoxious but at the same time… is it really that important to stop someone? I don’t know. Like in the story, if someone believes in ghosts and wants to find proof of them after losing their son as a coping mechanism, I don’t think that that is inherently a bad thing as long as it doesn’t get to the point of delusion. 

Another example: If I’m having a really really rough day and I see something on the ground– a four leaf clover, a penny heads-up, or whatever, I’ll probably be like omg, my day’s going to go a little bit better now or the universe is looking out for me a little bit, i guess. But here’s the thing, there are probably countless four leaf clovers out there, countless pennies on the ground in the U.S. so the probability of me finding one of said things is probably not that low, but I still create meaning out of a seemingly meaningless thing. 

Also if we’re really talking about nothing, let’s take away the penny and four leaf clover example. Say I am washing dishes, cleaning my living space, doing laundry, etc. Just household chores that need to be done. That can still be meaningful in some way. 

Another thing that gets in the way of this phrase is the fact that nothing literally doesn’t exist. There cannot be nothing, at least as a conscious human being. I think that the only thing that comes close to nothingness is, like, space. I don’t know. Just thinking. 

TLDR; the phrase “making meaning out of nothing” doesn’t make sense because nothing doesn’t exist.  

[kunoichi96]

Reading Recap: February

The “month of love” is finally over, or at least it will be in a few days. What this means is winter is finally starting to melt away, giving way to spring. Here in Scotland, it sure feels like Persephone is taking her sweet time returning to her mother as it has been chilly and all-around depressing. Hopefully, this will change soon enough.  I managed to get a fair amount of reading done this…

[loveydive]

The Tragedy of Hayakawa Aki - chainsaw man, tatsuki fujimoto

grief lessons: four plays by euripides, anne carson // chainsaw man, tatsuki fujimoto // deathless, catherynne m. valente // “untitled,” 2016, ink on paper, kara walker // james, clementine von radics // slide tackle, japanese breakfast // how to cure a ghost, fariha róisín // red glove, holly black // the letter, richard paul evans // interview with james hall, richard siken // ptolemaea, ethel cain // iq84, haruki murakami // the godfather, mario puzo // god's silence, franz wright // crush, richard siken // tumblr user ojibwe // when i was done dying, dan deacon

[calyxthenerd]

Something about platonic soulmates of “opposite” genders is so personal to me

[kyoukamybeloved]

“Such a shallow bond.”

for more soukoku web weaves

creds:

epithalamium - Louise Glück// art by @xieliancore // annunciation - Marie Howe// cowboy like me - Taylor Swift// queen of peace - Florence+the machine// from a classic greek play but i can’t remember which one// deathless - Catherynne M. Valente// art by @iztea // the dive from Clausen’s pier - Ann Packer// sad beautiful tragic - Taylor Swift// free - Florence+the machine// madness love// art by @muaviinu // unkown// never love an anchor - the crane wives// blinding - florence+the machine// wayward son - Rainbow Rowell// free - florence+the machine// ivy - Taylor Swift// p.d vulpe// art by @nittkach44 // sharp objects - Gillian Flynn// art by @dersacerj // by zee on medium// suburban legends - Taylor Swift// the crooked the craddle - the crane wives// art by @iztea// planet of love - Richard Siken// heavy in your arms - florence+the machine// i almost do - Taylor Swift// r.m drake// art by @twilicidity // bloodsport - Yves Olade// art by @yomeiu // p.d. vulpe// the moon will sing - the crane wives// anti-hero - Taylor Swift// the flesh i burned - Ritika Jyala// art by @nittkach44// cat’s eye - Margaret Atwood//shake it out - florence+the machine// anti-hero - Taylor Swift// grace - florence+the machine// art by @venusgoose // the secret diary of laura palmer - Jennifer Lynch//

tags (comment or send a message if you want to be added/removed):

@philzokman @dinosaur-mayonnaise @vivid-vices @pendragonstar @vinylbiohazard @fixation-central @sommmee @lotus-reblogs @galaxitic @gorotic @dazaisbbgrill @thesunshinebard @underthetree845 @whiteapplesandblackblood @pe4rl-diver @autistic-ranpo @the-gayest-sky-kid @amagami-hime @ricelover888 @sskk-brainrot @liyv @hypotheticallyhaunted @sigskk @oatmilkbasic @sempieternall @pastel-paramour @thornedarrow @springkitten @sproutingstars @ghostsinacoat @shroombunnies @cosmiclovehauntings

[ryomanticizing]

The Devil's Minion / Interview With The Vampire

"What ties this wolf to this lamb, she figures, is the fact that it hasn’t eaten it. Painful mystery of the gift that returns through reflection: what the wolf loves in the lamb is its own goodness. It’s thanks to the lamb that the wolf accedes to the plane of love—the love that gives of itself without hope, without calculation, without response, but that nevertheless gives of itself, seeing itself give of itself. The wolf given to a lamb of the Griniov type who doesn’t even notice the enormity of the gift—that’s really love. There remains the infinite solitude of the wolf, invisible and unrecognized except by itself. What interest does Pougatchov have in not eating the lamb? The ascetic and dangerous interest of self-love. The lover loves the beloved, which is the occasion for generous love. But thereafter—thereafter there is the aftermath. Now the wolf can no longer break away from the lamb, for the lamb retains, for better or worse, traces of the gift. That which is given in love can never be taken back. It is me my entire self that I give with the gift of love. This is why the wolf can’t stop loving the lamb, the chosen one. Repository of the wolf. All of the wolf. That’s how love can ruin the lover." - translation of Hélène Cixous' The Love of the Wolf

Agustín Gómez Arcos, The Carnivorous Lamb // from a uquiz i took ages back // Travis Scott, SDP Interlude // Mabel, Episode 15: Killing the Moon // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Andrew Kane, How To Be A Dog // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Ocean Vuong, On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous // @achillics, vulnerability // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Azra T. // excerpt transcribed from the video 'The Ambiguity of Relationships' by Professor Francis Ambrosio // from the translation of Hélène Cixous' The Love of the Wolf // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Karese Burrows, from “Persephone Writes a Poem,” This Is How We Lost Each Other // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Raleigh Richie, Bloodsport // David Cronenberg, Consumed // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Jessa Crispin // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // unknown // Sean Glatch, from “Caffeine, Pt. 1,″ 4:41  // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // @starstark // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Saaba Tahir // Jeff Buckley, Lover, You Should've Come Over // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // k.c.cramm, christmas eve forever // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Jeff Buckley, Lover, You Should've Come Over // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Yves Olade, Bloodsport // Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // @thepoisonroom // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // Caluco, Maggots // Anne Rice, QOTD, The Devil's Minion // all gifs are from Interview With The Vampire S2E05

[suddenstrangesurrenders]

The Mother Wound.

{Jenny Slate, from Little Weirds. Me, from Clean Out Your Inbox. Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited (1945) Franny Choi, Bad Daughter. Anne Carson, Sophocles “Elektra" translation. Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless. Jeannette Winterson, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? Mary Oliver, When Did It Happen?}