#because I saw that you like Donna Tartt and it's also one of my favourite ever books and I thought the line could fit

[sachart]

This is my entry for HBOWarDaily's Secret Santa 2024!

Merry Christmas, @neptunes-blue !❄️❄️❄️

[swimmingclass1978]

About me (it pretty late but what ever) :

- so my name is Ariel / Ane 😃

-im a minor if i ever follow your page and you have some nsfw content then dw it was either an accident or i followed you bc of some regular looking post

-your honor im just a silly guy when it comes to the ghostface mask on women (or particualarly hot men)

-im so desperate for a girlfriend its not even funny

-loyal to one mutal and the other one is low key just there lol

- james/remus/barty kinnes im waiting please notice me

-this is basically a call for help lol

-a hellenic pagan but its new so let me be, no convering christians allowed

-Lady Hecate devotee❤️

-slytherin/ravenclaw but if i like you then im giving kinda griffindor energy? Tho i get tired easily and my social battery is lasting max of an hour, in the end of the day im a slytherin bro all the creepy shit i know is proving it

-I'm fine with any pronouns really but mostly he/she, they is also great but she has a special place in my heart even tho i hate it sometimes and he makes me want to scream and giggle

-so im a girl kisser and ace but i don't think i would date amab people. Its nothing personal just my preference but it also depends. (Idk why i put it here its kind of personal need for me to say)

-my favourite colour is green, but like deep green or like dead green not neon green and i also love deep red and black OH AND PURPLE BECAUSE I SAW A DORCAS FANART IN PURPLR AND OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

-im a yapper here but irl i don't talk much

-i love love LOVE true crime, canibalism and necrophilia like if you ever gonna ask me how bodies decompose and then listen to me yap im gonna marry you without questions, with the respect to all the victims and their close ones. no one should have been harmed,

-my natice language is polish but i also speak english tho its not as good as i wish it would be. Im also learning spanish (DO NOT ASK ME ANYTHING IN SPANISH ITS SHIT) and im learning latin on duolingo (i blame donna tartt). I also took german for 2 years (can count to three) and japanise for a year (can onlu introduce myself)

-im obsessed with collecting little animal figures/plushies and giving them names????

-i love reading and all the crafty things like painting, drawing and diy and id love to learn book binding one day even if my printer doesn't agree with me (update: i've binded my own fic it went at least bad)

-im also a poet and a writer so i suffer from creativity more times then id like to but i unfortunatelly love it all too much 😔 i don't publish my poems bc i fear they are not very good but i wish to be a published book author one day

-if you are a hater or use any of these tags: anti <character/ship name> or pro <character/ship name> or you are a canon fanatic who can't stand people having fun then dni bcz i dont want any of your toxic bs on my blog or in my dms/asks thank you very much

- if you want to share you homo/transphobic bs then get out and never come back

-adhd

-im a sucker for good no voldy hogwarts jegulus aus tbh, amd anything that contains slytherin skittles or black brothers/sisters, i love them

-i'm an attention seeking whore when it comes to comments under my ao3 fics im not joking when i say this

-classic literature enthusiastist and Balladyna lover literalnie to moja zona wdym ze ona nie zyje? Zyje w moim sercu

-i hate waking up but i love staying up all night we exist

- jestem na humanie i imo to widać, bo ostatnio zapomniałam jak obsługuje się pierwiastki. Nie wiem też co autor miał na myśli więc chyba jestem w piździe everybody

Fandoms:

-marauders - ao3 hates to see me coming

-greek mythology

- percy jackson

-good omens, i love them but considering things that have been happening then i dont think we will be getting seson 3 anytime soon :((( (update: nail count your fucking days and pray i won't finf out where you live)

-the poppy war thrilogy (started reading age 9 and kinda reggret it but happily it didn't caused me as much of my mental health as i thought) (dont repeat my mistake tho) (i'm weird now)

- bsd but i cant remember all the names yet I know whats going on so its fine

-TPN in every daydreaming sesion i gotta do an au someone as the main 3 its an addiction to amgst at this point. Also im making a petition on recreating season 2 so it will follow the manga

-The secret history and dps my friends hate me in atumn because of those two

-LAPVONE I LOVE IT

-low key papierz polak aż trudno uwierzyć, że polski fandom się nie poddał po 2021

-WIELKI PROSTRACJA BELIVER JAKBY PROSZE WAS GŁOSOWAŁABYM NA NIĄ W WYBORACH PREZYDECKICH 🧍🗣

FAVE MUSIC ARTISTS/BANDS: Mitski, Dawid Podsiadło, Radiohead, Gigi Perez, billie eilish, tv girl, i fear that a bit tyler the creator and chldlish gambino since its winter again (i only listen to him in winter???), the hazbin hotel soumdtrack....?, CZAPEL ROAWR 🗣🗣🗣🦅🦅🦅🦖🦖🦖

FAVE FILMS/BOOKS/BOOK SERIES': Dead Poets Society (book and the movie), 10 things i hate about you, Chłopi (movie and the book), song of the achilles, illiad, lapvona, seven hisbands of evelyn hugo, balladyna kochana moja, prolly more idk its late now,

FAVE CELEBRITIES: Timothy Chalalamele, ATJ, maciej have to, doda, anne hatherway(?), gosia (matka z rodzinki.pl), chapel roar, jezu no nie wiem ethan i andy,

HOBBY: drawing, painting, reading, writing, crocheting, diy, watching edits, baking & cooking, listening to podcast, thrifting, collrcting random items, talking to myself, reading fanfiction and probably more but i forgot, cóż mogę rzec, no człowiek wielu talentów

Current body count: seven kids in my basement, three burried in my garden (i do not have a garden)

I can be very funny believe me 🙏🙏🙏

Im also a charlie kirk hater and a feminist full of hatered (i will judge)

I do not know math but my esseys and creative writing works are amazing (at least i've heard) (from my mama 😃)

Kins: Regulus; Sirius low key but its pretty minor (i wanna be him); Pandora; sometimes Barty?; dorcas AND marlene (i dunno how bro it just happened) (pick your favourite gay)

Im happily married to jegulus twilight au with reg as bella that got abandoned in february 2024 (UPDATE: one chapter was added a month ago we are so back) and to a demon james/human regulus au that is still ongoing but id let it tear me appart and i would apologise to the author( im talking about The Devil Tastes Devine by TheBiButterfly on ao3 (it has me in a chokehold tbh)) and to OTB by @solmussa (hi *shy*)

Ships: jeggy, wolfstar, dorlene, pandlily, marlily, emmary, rosekiller, bartylus, pancas, marylane, lilylane, any marauder lesbians, nobleflower, quillkiller, teddromeda, poppy x minnie (i forgot their ship name), evanreg, jarty, kinda rosekiller + lily, rosestarkillerchaser(any variant of them really), moonwater, percybeth(is that their ship name?), solangelo, (shin)soukoku, any legal lesbian ship thb, i also liked jily in the past but the toxic shippers ruined it for me :( i still love her tho thats my wifey

My ao3 fanfic:

there is a light, i feel it in me: COMPLETE, black brothers angst, jegulus, wolfstar +more, trauma healing, angst/fluff, everything pandora and barty are doing is great i do not make the rules

there is no time; we are all gonna die: blacl cousins angst, Narcissa Black Centric, no beta we die like the blacks, hurt/no comfort, basically idgaf if you dont like the characterisation im just being realistic

Face reveal (bros gonna be blinded by the face card frfr):

Im also a proud owner of this justin biber ahh haircut I thought it was a wonderfull idea few months back and i do feel the best in my skin i've ever felt since my dysphoria went almost 2lvl down but no one want to talk to me at school now i think its not very nice of them tbh im a great person sometimes

Thats all lol have a good time or whatever

[daddyjackfrost]

Iwazumi Hajime;

Prompt 60: “You’re so beautiful in the sun.”

warnings: none! fluff! oh, it is self indulgent tho (sorry not sorry), also reading? books? yeah

iwazumi x f!reader

a/n: hi! okay so i wrote this as a treat after the bokuto angst. i think we all deserve something sweet after that. (especially since there’s more coming) this is just pure fluff. enjoy!

Iwazumi watched you with eyes filled with love, his sole focus on you as you slowly walked down the isle, your finger running against the spines of the books.

Your neck was slightly bent to the left as you read the names of the authors. You walked in an awkward position slowly as you looked for the books you had saved up for.

Every time you walked a bit too fast, the pinky that was linked with Iwazumi’s tugged you back.

You loved book shopping with Iwazumi because even though the man wasn’t as passionate about books as you were, he was always interested in the books you were reading, and often found the books you wanted before you did.

You had no idea how, especially since he usually only came into the store with you, but you never asked him. Though the books that just happened to appear on your bookshelf were a big indicator as to why he knew where all the books were.

Iwazumi would never tell you that he actually did like books. Not because he was sure you would beat him up for hiding it, but because he didn’t want you to stop reading to him.

He loved it when you read to him.

“Aha! I found it, Haji!”

Iwazumi’s eyes softened as his eyes fell on your excited face. You were holding the book with gentle hands as you read the back. You both knew you already knew what The Goldfinch was about, but reading the back of the book was a habit you were not willing to break.

Iwazumi watched as a small smile formed on your lips as you finished reading the back, and then he watched as the smile turned into a frown.

Your eyes looked at the spot the book was hiding. Someone had put it in the wrong spot. No wonder you couldn’t find it.

“What’s wrong, love?” Iwazumi asked you.

He knew what was wrong. The book was not in the right spot. The Goldfinch was written by Donna Tartt, but it was in the V authors.

“Someone put it in the wrong place.” Under your breath, you mumbled, “How hard is it to put a book back where it belongs?”

Iwazumi just snorted as he pulled you towards the cashier by your pinky. You gripped the book with tight hands, already anticipating reading it.

You looked down at your linked pinkies and smiled. Iwazumi wasn’t the biggest on PDA, but he was clingy, and he needed to be touching you or close to you all the time.

You didn’t like holding hands for a long period of time since your hands usually began to sweat and get clammy, and Iwazumi loved holding your hand.

So you compromised.

Your pinky and Iwazumi’s pinky were always linked. And would be linked forever, Iwazumi firmly believed it. There was no one else for him. Only you.

The cashier smiled at you and Iwazumi. Her kind elderly eyes brightened as she saw your linked pinkies, but neither of you saw that.

“Hello, darlings. Just the one book?”

You smiled and slid the book on the counter. “Hi! Yes, just the one.”

The lady scanned the book and punched a few buttons before speaking again. “And how would you like to pay?”

Before you could answer, Iwazumi held up his debit card. “Debit, please.”

You frowned and reached for his card, but Iwazumi just moved it out of your reach, and then pulled your pinky as a warning.

“Haji, no,” you scolded. “You paid last time! Let me pay.” You looked down at your card to make sure it was the right one when you heard the small beep of the card payment being accepted.

You looked up and scowled at a triumphant Iwazumi and a smiling cashier. You huffed and rolled your eyes.

“So not fair,” you mumbled.

The cashier just laughed as she handed Iwazumi your bag. “You’ve got yourself a gentleman.”

Your eyes met the lady’s soft brown ones and you let out a small genuine smile that made Iwazumi’s heart flutter.

You squeezed Iwazumi’s pinky. “Yeah, I do.”

With a smile and a small wave, you walked out of the store, Iwazumi following close behind. Once you two began walking. you started to lightly swing your connected arms back and forth.

“Hajime, you can’t keep buying all my books, you’re gonna go broke.”

Iwazumi rolled his eyes. You two had already had this conversation one too many times. Why didn’t you understand that he wanted to buy all your books? He wanted to buy them because they made you happy. Because as much as you would deny it, he loved seeing the look of adoration in your eyes when he bought them.

“Yes I can, pretty girl. And no, I’m not.”

You just sighed and stuck your tongue out at him.

You two walked in comfortable silence. Today was a beautiful day. The sun was high in the sky, shining down. Soft white clouds decorated the blue sky and birds flew, putting on a show for all those watching.

As you admired the world around you, Iwazumi admired you.

He didn’t get many days off like this, and even when he did, you two usually opted to stay indoors.

Iwazumi’s olive green eyes wandered all over your figure. From your luscious hair to your spring dress. Iwazumi never understood how someone like you could be with someone like him.

And he probably never would.

But Iwazumi was thankful for it everyday. His life, mentality, happiness, and just overall being was so much better with you in it.

Iwazumi’s eyes landed on the familiar street sign and he frowned. He didn’t want to go home yet. He wanted to stay out and witness your beauty in the sun.

Iwazumi gently pulled at your pinky, getting your attention. The 5’10 college student’s ears were slightly red when you looked up at him.

“Hajj? What’s wrong?”

Iwazumi’s eyes landed on the park across the street.

“I don’t wanna go back yet, love.”

You nodded and adjusted your dress. “What do you want to do?”

Iwazumi looked down at you and your eyes sparkled. He had a feeling you knew what he wanted, but you were going to make him say it.

With a small smile, Iwazumi tugged you towards the park.

“Read to me under the sun.”

You laughed as you followed him, your eyes on his red ears. Seeing your boyfriend getting flustered was the favourite part of your day, and it happened so rarely that when it did, you couldn’t help but smile.

You and Iwazumi both reached the park. The park consisted of a large piece of land with a small children’s playground in the middle. Iwazumi led you to the other side of the park, away from the screaming children and the barking dogs.

Iwazumi stopped in a beautiful green patchy spot and you instantly sat down, fixing your dress and crossing your legs.

From the ground, you looked up at Iwazumi. The sun almost blinding you. You patted your lap and grinned at the wide smile that spread across Iwazumi’s face. The man instantly laid down, his head in your lap and his hands laced together on his chest.

You brought the book to your face, slightly further away so Iwazumi had a clear view of your face. You flipped through the first couple of pages and then cleared your throat, smiling for a second when your eyes met Iwazumi’s.

“While I was still in Amsterdam, I dreamed about my mother for the first time in years. I’d been shut up in my hotel for more than a week—”

Iwazumi was listening, he swear he was, but the way the sun shined on your skin, creating this beautiful glow that had allured him, had the words that slipped off your tongue uninterested.

Your free hand ran through Iwazumi’s dark hair, untangling the pieces. You read with a comfortable ease, having gotten used to reading aloud to Iwazumi. You could feel Iwazumi’s stare but you tried to ignore it.

After you had read almost two pages, you paused and your eyes flickered down.

Iwazumi’s olive green eyes shined as they looked up at you and you bit your lip, flustered at the intensity of his gaze.

“Why are you staring at me like that, Haji?”

“You’re so beautiful in the sun, my love.”

When you broke out into an embarrassed smile, Iwazumi’s heart clenched in his chest. He could stay like this forever. His head in your lap as you played with his hair, reading to him.

If there was a heaven, he knew that his would like this. With you staring down at him with a smile as the sun shined on your skin.

Iwazumi wondered if the rest of the park had fallen in love with you yet. If they too had been captured and blinded by your glow and beauty.

Iwazumi was so in love with you. He often wondered what he did to deserve you. You thought the same thing about him. What did you do in your past life to get someone like him?

Iwazumi brought his hand to your chin, gently rubbing your lips with his thumb.

This was it, Iwazumi thought. This is all I could ever want.

omg i’ve never written for iwa before. how exciting! i love him. i should write for him more.

taglist: @h-grangerstudies @iwasumi @snoozless @elektrosonix @bokuatsubro @ackerpotato @asterroidd @rinrinniesstuff @howcanyoubreathewithnozaire @addicedtoeverythinganime @uglystupidbxtch @qualitygiantshoepsychic @aoi-turtle @felixsamour

daddyjackfrost © 2021 | all content belongs to me, do not modify

[arywizm]

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever - When he was six or seven, Paul saw a sparrow kill itself against the kitchen window. It didn’t die right away. He remembered dropping his mitt and looking down at it in the grass. Spine twisted, tiny frantic heart pumping blood loose into its cerebellum, the short-circuit spasm of its wings. It wasn’t a bird anymore. || 5/5

it's so unsettling that the relationship at the center of this book is so obviously and unequivocally toxic but it's also so horrifyingly nuanced you can't help but feel an eerie sort of understanding.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo - Darlington liked to say that dealing with ghosts was like riding the subway: Do not make eye contact. Do not smile. Do not engage. Otherwise, you never know what might follow you home. || 3.5 /5

For some time at the beginning I thought Darlington was some grumpy, metaphysically inclined, sixty year old father figure for Alex. As it turns out I was wrong, I was also very much correct.

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence - You can only win the game when you understand that it is a game. Let a man play chess, and tell him that every pawn is his friend. Let him think both bishops holy. Let him remember happy days in the shadows of his castles. Let him love his queen. Watch him lose them all. || 4/5

I'm genuinely dismayed about how much I want to read the next one, this was supposed to be a book to fill my time on a bus not something to get invested in and frankly, I feel betrayed.

just a heads up, if you're going into this blind, do some research on themes and triggers before reading (feel free to ask me too, I don't mind) because this one is really dark.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt - If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn || 5/5

I decided that Francis is my favourite character on purely aesthetical basis, because I too, given the chance, would wear pince-nez

Plays:

Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare - If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumbered here, While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend: If you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends.

rewatched the bridge theatre production (dir. Nicholas Hytner) and it's just as hysterically funny as it was the first time. also I love that closing passage so much I had to include it here

[isgull-moved]

FUN  OOC  STUFF.

name alias:     czarina.

nickname/s:     [redacted]

height:     5′1 and a half

nationality:     filipino

favourite fruit(s):     mangoes, grapes, and pineapples my beloved

favourite season:     there are only two seasons in this country so i guess i;m gonna say the rainy season because the dry season’s just too hot

favourite scents:    mint

favourite animals:     dogs, alpacas, goats/sheep

tea, coffee, hot cocoa:     none, i mainly just drink water !

average hours of sleep:     maybe like. a 6-7 average?

when my blog was created:     late november of 2021

random fact:     i was once talking to my friend about how a bird pooped on me while we were walking outside once and literally a few seconds later, i got hit by bird poop :) i now know not to ever talk about that outdoors ever again

favourite food:     seafood!!!

favourite t.v. shows:     modern family, new girl, dark, derry girls, lost in space, degrassi

favourite movie:     i never have just one to say for this, but off the top of my head: 10 things i hate about you

favourite vine:     honestly the vine era *was* my era as a teenager but i never really got into it?? i never downloaded the app and had an account so all i knew were the ones that made it to twitter or saw from my friends lmao. i guess i’d have to say the “welcome to chili’s” one cause it’s the only one i remember

sexuality:     i am a Pan Princess

pronouns:     she/her

favourite book(s):     the night circus by erin morgenstern, the secret history by donna tartt, war and peace by leo tolstoy

favourite video game(s):     insomniac’s spider-man !!!! and pokemon i guess but i only ever played it on my gameboy and subsequently my ds so idk if that counts ...

favourite band(s):     haim

favourite subject:     english, or maybe history. ironically i am a biology major

guys or girls:     guys and girls !

last time i cried:     today because . College

what i should be doing:     studying kjhgsdfg

favourite fandom:     the broadway rpc has the most special place in my heart, there’s never more than 10 of us at the same time so it’s too small and inactive for drama to ever happen like in the mega-fandoms of marvel or asoiaf/got. the lost in space fandom is also very <3

TAGGED BY:     nope !

TAGGING:     everyone !!!

[harrowdubois]

okay, i said if there was interest i would think about making a post listing all the references i squeezed into the locked tomb fic i spent the last month or so writing, and now i’ve realised i don’t care if there’s interest because i want to be self-indulgent SO

under the cut is a (somewhat spoilery) chronological list of all the memes, vines, and cribbed tumblr posts, as well as homages to various books, tv shows, song lyrics, etc. that made their way into blessed with a wilder mind! 

(cw for suicide mention)

this is of course a reference to the legendary bodybuilding forum thread where they did, actually, argue over how many days there are in a week (cw for ableist slurs in the thread)

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buzzfeed unsolved meme. i am dirt and i love to eat dirt

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this is so well-known it’s almost not worth listing it but oh my god they were roommates

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in itself, this isn’t a reference to anything in particular, but if you didn’t do this on your first read then i’d recommend taking another look at this scene and thinking about the specific wuthering heights/frankenstein/rebecca excerpts discussed by harrow and mercymorn but in relation to canon!harrow’s trauma/relationship with the body in htn :~) 

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also not really a reference to anything in particular but when i looked back over the fic for this post it struck me that the ‘sex panther’ phrasing was probably at least partially unconsciously inspired by the shoebox project (professor mcgonagall’s oiled man panther was a formative moment for me, truly)

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cw gross/unsanitary: it’s the tinder poop window incident. i mentioned this in the end notes of the fic as being what i had in mind for that scene but if it’s too gross for you (UNDERSTANDABLY) then feel free to Death Of The Author me to your heart’s content!

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i listened to a lot of orville peck while writing this

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 very very very loosely inspired by this clickhole article

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respectively: fourth of july by sufjan stevens / wuthering heights by emily bronte

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TWO BROS, CHILLIN IN A HOT TUB, FIVE FEET APART BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT GAY

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there was absolutely no need to stretch this across three paragraphs, and yet

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iconic

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i already linked to this one in the end notes of the fic itself, but it’s good, so here it is again

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 i can’t find the actual original post but it’s this fucking horrible thing 

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the last line is a reference to the secret history by donna tartt:

“Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls- which, after all, we are too afraid to surrender but yet make us feel more miserable than any other thing? But isn't it also pain that often makes us most aware of self? It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from the world, that no one and no thing hurts along with one's burned tongues and skinned knees, that one's aches and pains are all one’s own. Even more terrible, as we grow old, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us. Our own selves make us most unhappy, and that's why we're so anxious to lose them, don't you think?”

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a lyrical double whammy!

from ‘last words of a shooting star’ by mitski: “they’ll never know how i’d stared at the dark in that room with no thoughts like a blood-sniffing shark”

from ‘a better son/daughter’ by rilo kiley: “sometimes in the morning i am petrified but can’t move/awake but cannot open my eyes” 

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*

shout-out to maybe my single favourite video game moment, the encounter with the sky cat in night in the woods: “There is a hole at the center of everything, and it is always growing. Between the stars I am seeing it. It is coming, and you are not escaping, and the universe is forgetting you, and the universe is being forgotten, and there is nothing to remember it, not even the things beyond. And now there is only the hole... You are atoms, and your atoms are not caring if you are existing. Your atoms are monstrous existence.”

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“Nothing is ever fulfilled, not until the very end.” - rust cohle, true detective s1, this reference is VERY tonally dissonant because in context it’s actually grim as all hell but w/e w/e i couldn’t resist the shout-out

also harrow quotes from the goldfinch again here! i had the reference included before i read this post and realised tamsyn muir also quotes from the secret history in htn. terrible synergy 

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they are in fact all real. you’re welcome

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this one’s doing a lot of work lmao. it’s paying homage to this quote by tamsyn muir talking about the draco-in-leather-pants trope in relation to ianthe by loosely referencing drop dead gorgeous, the best drarry fic ever written, in which harry is part veela

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“It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves? Euripides speaks of the Maenads: head thrown I back, throat to the stars, "more like deer than human being." To be absolutely free! One is quite capable, of course, of working out these destructive passions in more vulgar and less efficient ways. But how glorious to release them in a single burst! To sing, to scream, to dance barefoot in the woods in the dead of night, with no more awareness of mortality than an animal! These are powerful mysteries. The bellowing of bulls. Springs of honey bubbling from the ground. If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn.” - that’s right it’s another reference to the secret history, with a little bit of mary oliver (tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?) sprinkled on top for flavour

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a small one, but it’s the goldfinch again: “And I feel I have something very urgent and serious to say to you, my non-existent reader, and I feel I should say it as urgently as if I were standing in the room with you...”

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my FUCKING cinnamon apple

 what if i... put my minecraft bed.... next to yours... aha ha just kidding.... unless?

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[cw: suicide discussion in these next two]

*

robyn can have little a rust cohle quote, as a treat.

1. “I'd consider myself a realist, all right? But in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist... I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware. Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law... We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, that accretion of sensory experience and feelings, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody's nobody... I think the honorable thing for our species to do is to deny our programming. Stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction; one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.”

2. “This... This is what I'm talking about. This is what I mean when I'm talkin' about time, and death, and futility. All right, there are broader ideas at work, mainly what is owed between us as a society for our mutual illusions. Fourteen straight hours of staring at DBs, these are the things you think of. You ever done that? You look in their eyes, even in a picture, doesn't matter if they're dead or alive, you can still read 'em. You know what you see? They welcomed it... Not at first, but... right there in the last instant. It's an unmistakable relief. See, cause they were afraid, and now they saw for the very first time how easy it was to just... let go. Yeah, they saw, in that last nanosecond, they saw... what they were. You, yourself, this whole big drama, it was never more than a jerry-rig of presumption and dumb will, and you could just let go. To finally know that you didn't have to hold on so tight. To realize that all your life - you know, all your love, all your hate, all your memories, all your pain - it was all the same thing. It was all the same dream, a dream that you had inside a locked room, a dream about being a person.”

---

ahaaa this one’s particularly rough. evil monkey no one alive dot jpg

“Later, that dozy embrace solidified in his memory as the single moment of artless, charmed happiness in their separate and difficult lives. Nothing marred it, even the knowledge that Ennis would not then embrace him face to face because he did not want to see or feel that it was Jack he held. And maybe, he thought, they’d never got much farther than that. Let be, let be.” - annie proulx, brokeback mountain

---

a TRIPLE lyrical whammy!

- harrow’s words to gideon in the dream are a bit of a vague reference to the song ‘adventures in solitude’ by the new pornographers (”we thought we lost you/welcome back”) - gideon’s words to harrow are a reference to the song ‘blush’ by wolf alice (”you’ve got two hands to take all you can/but don’t take too long”) - what harrow texts to gideon is a line from ‘about today’ by the national, aka the most devastating song ever written (”hey, are you awake?/yeah i’m right here”...)

---

i CANNOT find a clip of it but harrow’s repetition of “life is short... it’s short” was me paraphrasing from memory a line from pride (2014), because i am the worst

---

spooky scary skeletons! 

“jail for gideon” is obviously a reference to the “jail for mother” tweet that tm also referenced in htn. so, not original in the slightest, but it’s a great tweet

---

one of my favourite tumblr posts

---

because naberius tern absolutely would watch rick and morty. he would. i know it in my heart. 

---

and that’s it, i think. hope you enjoyed this horrid little post and my horrid little fic!

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Lariope and welcome to Behind the Quill, it is a pleasure to talk with you.

Many of our group’s members requested you as an interview subject, but amongst more than a dozen stories in the HP universe you are probably best known for Killing Time, Second Life, and Advanced Contemporary Potion Making.

Okay, let’s jump right in. What's the story behind your pen name?  

So, there's a really common plant in my area called Monkey Grass. Most people use it as landscaping filler. I thought it was pretty and asked someone who had some what it was called. She told me that it's technical name is Liriope, which I heard as Lariope. This was around the time that book 6 was released, and it struck me as a very witchy name, particularly as JKR likes flower names. Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most? Wow. Probably Neville. I'm certainly not as brainy or as confident as Hermione, not as out-there as Luna, not as athletic as Ginny. I'm less angsty than Harry and less apt to charge off in my own direction. And I am certainly not as thoughtless as Ron, not as strict as McGonagall, not as dark as Snape. And if you've read Second Life, you know my feelings about Dumbledore! But I was someone who took some time to come into my own. Often bumbling or nervous, but when my back is to the wall, brave and honorable. So I'm going with Neville. Do you have a favourite genre to read? (not in fic, just in general) 

I love fiction, but honestly, other than Harry Potter, I don't read fantasy! I tend to like "domestic" fiction, as in Anne Tyler, and literary fiction. I also really love Stephen King, oddly enough. Do you have a favourite "classic" novel? 

By classic do you mean like, the literary canon, or just not fanfiction? My top five favorite novels are, in no particular order, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, It by Stephen King, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, The Temple of Gold by William Goldman, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I'm not big into the classics, which is weird for an English major to say. At what age did you start writing? 

I've been writing all my life. The first time I saw Stand by Me at 11 years old, I rewrote it with a new ending because I could not bear the death of Chris Chambers. I think I've always been interested in working with other people's texts. How did you get into writing fanfiction? 

I loved Harry Potter so intensely. I came to it as an adult at a particularly lonely time in my life. When book 6 was released I read it all in one gulp, and then felt kind of despondent when it was over. I thought of the good old rule of the internet, that if it exists, there is porn of it, so I went looking for what I called "Potterotica," figuring that it would give me an opportunity to read more about the characters I loved. I didn't yet have a concept of fanfiction, let alone fanfiction that wasn't erotica! As I read, I had the persistent feeling that I hadn't yet found exactly the story I was looking for. I kept feeling that I would do this or that differently. Then after the release of book 7, I was tormented by the fate of Snape. I really felt I needed to save him. That I couldn't relax until he'd had some love in his life before his death. I didn't have the sense yet that I could change his fate, only that I needed him to have happiness and love before he died.  I have a Master's Degree in fiction writing, so I decided to just give it a try. My first story was terrible!!! It was called If Memory Serves and was archived only on the Restricted Section. But it definitely forced me to reawaken some skills, and whetted my appetite. What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works? 

Hm. I'm not sure how to answer this question. I know that one of the things that I respond most strongly to in fic is a feeling of inevitability--that regardless of how or when, these characters had unfinished business with each other. I hate to use the word destined... but that feeling that there were many points in canon where something minor could have changed which would have changed everything and brought two characters together--and that that could have happened at any point, in any number of ways. I like very much when canon is reimagined or reinterpreted to make that relationship deeper--like reimagining the scene where Snape insults Hermione's teeth to have a totally different meaning in the context of their relationship. I think I am remembering Somigliana's The Traveller being particularly gratifying in that way. Obviously I play with canon a lot in my own work. I like for fanfiction to feel "real" as in, possible in a canonical context. What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter? 

Almost none! I've been fannish all my life, but Harry Potter was the first experience I ever had of "fandoms," that is to say, community built around a narrative. I usually just freaked out over things in private. After HP, I tried very hard to get into the Sherlock fandom, because I had a dear friend from the SS/HG community who was into it, but in the end, I could just never become invested in quite the way I had with Harry Potter. Subsequently, I had children, so I mostly support their fannishness now. If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon? 

I wish Snape could live. I really do. He had a lot left to learn and a lot left to give to the world beyond the sacrifice of his own life to the cause. There are certain things I have ultimately accepted as head canon, as far as pieces of fanon are concerned. Honestly, they are so ingrained that I'm having trouble thinking of any! Sometimes when I watch the movies with my kids, I think, but wait, what about?... oh yeah, I forgot that wasn't canon. Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet? 

I need dead silence to compose, because I hear the words in my head as I write and I can't be distracted from them. But I often pick pieces of music that I listen to obsessively in my downtime when I'm writing a story, that I think of as sort of like theme songs. Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova was one for Second Life. Table for Glasses by Jimmy Eat World still calls up Dark Santiago for me. What are your favourite fanfictions of all time? 

Oooh. Ok. So I read a lot of Drarry, and I pretty much love everything that Sara's Girl has ever written. Somigliana's work--the Traveller was amazing. All the Best and Brightest Creatures by Wordstrings (Sherlock). I also really loved greywash's Sherlock fic. There was an SSHG that has been long since removed that was called Dear January--I still think of it.  I loved all the epics of my particular time in the SSHG fandom. Mia Madwyn, Subversa, Loten. Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process? 

Definitely a plotter. I kept pages and pages of working notes and planning points as I was writing Second Life. I always began a chapter with a working document of where I thought the chapter was going, as well as a reread of that portion of canon.  Points of discovery along the way still happened all the time--I'd be in the midst of something I had planned when all of a sudden I'd see some point of connection I hadn't even thought of, and something would open up bigger than I had thought it would be. I remember in particular the end of the Bathilda Bagshot chapter of Second Life, when Snape is running toward James and Lily's house and feeling like time is doubling back on itself--I didn't see that parallel until I was in it. ��I think you always have to have room to surprise yourself, even in the thick of your planning. That sense of discovery affects the reader's journey through your work. What is your writing genre of choice? 

Haha, fanfiction is my writing genre of choice. No, I wrote short stories when I was pursuing my degree in fiction, which is kind of hilarious now, as I became sort of known for my long-windedness. Why say 100 words when 10,000 would do? I grew to love the novel during my time in fanfiction. It would be hard to imagine turning back to a shorter form now. But who knows. I always tell myself that once the children are grown I will get back to writing. I was beginning a sort of cross between fantasy and domestic fiction when I had children and I still think the idea has legs. Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why? 

Oh, different ones for different reasons. I think Dark Santiago is the most structurally tight and sound thing I've ever done. Second Life is like a miracle that it even happened, that I was able to control such a behemoth and bring it home. I was terrified the whole way. And weirdly, there's a drabble series that is called The Sins of Severus Snape that I am still really proud of. I think of those like linked poems. A real exercise in being concise for someone who likes to sprawl all over the page. Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it?  

I think I've pretty much covered those questions in all my ramblings. I knew the general structure, I was happily surprised along the way, and I learned to write novels from writing fanfiction, Second Life in particular. How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write? 

There's not a lot of personal parts of the story to me in Second Life. I mean, every character is drawn from me, in a way, just because they come into being informed with my way of looking at and understanding the world and other people. But there isn't a lot in there that echoes my experience. Advanced Contemporary Potion Making was personal, and I think you can feel that in the story. It takes the biggest step away from canon. It wasn't hard to write, but it was hard to live. And now, as I look back, I have a different perspective on my life and on the story itself than I did at the time that I wrote it. What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing? 

Oh man, Stephen King is all over my writing. I don't think I've ever written a sex scene that didn't have a grain of that scene in the sewers of It inside it. Not because of the child thing--I know that skeeves people out about that scene--but because in it, Beverly discovers the power of sex--sex as a force, a life-giving force, something with teeth. I think that idea shows up a lot in Second Life. I like fiction in which you are very much inside the character's heads, and I think that's apparent in my writing. I think I got that initially from Stephen King, who leaps around inside his different character's heads sometimes in the same paragraph! I also think the theme of unending loyalty, the power of friendship, the triumph of good over evil--those are very Kingian themes that I recognized in Potter and then carried into my own writing. Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction? 

Yes. That wasn't always the case. During the time that I was active in the fandom, I was a young elementary school teacher, and I dreaded anyone finding out that I wrote sex scenes with children's book characters. I was very private about my fanfic then, and even a few of my closest real life people did not know. My parents still do not know. My children are teenagers now and into fanfiction in their own right; they know I wrote it, but they don't know my ship or my pen name. My husband has read most of Second Life. I recently started a new job, and during one of those "get to know you" games, I was asked to share something that other people wouldn't guess about me. I said that I had once been a fanfiction writer. How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"? 

Mmm. I wrote the stories I wanted to read. Do you know what I mean? I wrote things because that's how I wanted to see them, how I wished they were, and I wrote to my own preferences. But writing in real time, for people who were actually reading and responding--that was crucial to the process. My biggest fear during the writing of Second Life was that I wouldn't finish it, or that I would lose control of it and it would become crap. "Breaking the story," I used to say, and I was terrified of breaking the story. But the fact that there were people experiencing it with me and waiting for it, reacting to it, and giving insightful feedback--that helped keep me very focused and motivated. I never wrote something because I thought it would be appealing to others, but I was so gratified that what I wrote did appeal to others. How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media? 

I had a LiveJournal and although I was not a frequent poster, I read my friends list every day during that time. I read what everyone else was reading and talked about the stories and themes that everyone else was talking about. I made a number very close friends during that time--other authors, people who were reading my stories and commenting. We talked on the phone frequently, and I had a team of beta readers. I went to conventions. I participated in the ss/hg exchange. A lot of those people were my audience, were reading my stories. And many of them became my good friends. I had a policy to answer all reviews when I was writing Second Life, and I did that until I was unable to do it anymore. When I had multiple stories it got much harder. That community changed a lot toward the end of my time in it. People were leaving LiveJournal, and Tumblr was on the rise, which felt like a much bigger pond. AO3 was replacing the smaller archives on which I had really grown as a writer. And once the movies were over and there was no more "fresh canon," people started to drift away. I do think that I might have lasted longer if that tight knit community had stayed in place. It played a big role in my commitment to my work and continued enthusiasm. As a side note, one of the friends I made in the SS/HG community is still my best friend. She is the "aunt" to my children, and we still talk on the phone weekly and visit at least yearly. What is the best advice you've received about writing? 

If you want to write, then write. Make a routine. Write a certain number of words a day. Read them out loud to yourself. You'll hear your own bad habits and improve them.

What do you do when you hit writer's block? 

If I'm already in a project, I will force myself to write a certain number of words per day. I will hold a scene that I'm longing to write out in front of myself like a carrot. Like, if you write this transition part that feels yucky and like you are stuck in it, then you can write the big reunion scene that you know is coming. If I'm not in a project... well, then I don't get through it. I just don't start a new project.  If I need to write a story, as I did during graduate school or during the ss/hg exchange--I would do this thing one of my professors suggested--pick three headlines, words or ideas that have interested you over time and force them into the same story. Dark Santiago was that way. I had the prompt of fortune telling. I added an idea about the way magic works for muggleborns and the ocean town where I was living. Voila: Dark Santiago.   Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing? 

I'm sure it has in ways I can't even see. I remember once talking to a friend on the phone about Second Life as I was writing it, and she pointed out that the fact that I'm a Quaker was informing the story--like my own perspective on war and the horrors of violence were bleeding into the the kind of philosophy of Second Life. Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser? 

I don't. I wish I did! I often miss my time in fandom, the spirit of creativity and community, all those ideas just bubbling out in every direction. Any words of encouragement to other writers? 

I don't believe that the end goal of fanfiction is to become a published writer, just as I don't think every guitarist has to have the goal of selling out a stadium, or every golfer has to want to compete in the Masters. I think you can love a thing without making it your livelihood. You become a "real" author the minute someone else reads a story that you wrote. Many of you reading this right now are people who made me an author. It is, as Stephen King once wrote, a kind of telepathy. I thought of something once, in 2008, in the southeast of the US, and you can read it right now wherever you are, and experience the thoughts and feelings I was dreaming up then. It's a wonderful gift, writing. And working among people who are dedicated to improving their craft and talking about stories and ideas--that is just the very best ground for making something that makes YOU proud. Thanks so much for giving us your time.  

Thank you! I am really honored to be asked

[the-secret-historian]

Yo! I am quite curious. I read the secret history and personally didn’t like it. But I would love to hear the opinion of a fan of the book explain to me what made it significant in their hearts! Maybe I’ll even reread it, if you convince me! Of course you don’t have to do this, but I am very curious. Thanks!

Hello. First of all, thank you so much for keeping an open mind about a book you didn't like. It is completely fine to dislike or hate a book everyone around you loves.

It all comes down to what we want from a book. I love books which have:

1. Pretentious characters

2. Homoerotic subtext that isn't really subtext

3. Murder

Okay but seriously, I'll try to give a detailed list of reasons I love The Secret History.

1. The writing style: I'm a big admirer of meandering, descriptive language. I find Donna Tartt's writing style incredibly atmospheric and engrossing to the point that I tend to drop everything else while reading her books.

2. The tone: Gloomy books with a tinge of nostalgia, are probably my favourite type of book. I love books about memory, where a character or set of characters are remembering the past because of how unreliable the whole thing can be.

3. The setting: I love novels set in an educational institution. College may or may not be the best years of someone's life but in retrospect, it sure feels like it was. Evelyn Waugh said "the languor of youth, how quintessential it is" and perhaps it is that languor we are reminiscing when thinking back about the days of going to class and excitedly discussing the lecture.

4. The characters: Like I've said before, when I'm reading a novel, the plot is secondary. If it is well written I'd happily read a 600 page character study. The characters in this book while being incredibly unlikeable and arguably unredeemable, are so complex that I found them fascinating to read about. Donna Tartt is excellent at giving you just enough information that leaves you wanting for more. And there is so much I want to know about the characters. (I also like reading about terrible people.)

5. The timing: I'm a big believer of reading right books at the right time. At the time I read the secret history I didn't know about dark academia or the fan following of this book. It was a Christmas gift by a person who saw the words "secret" and "history" on the title and thought I'd like it. In my personal life I was going through a phase of intense lethargy. I was just finishing my Master's degree and had lost interest in all the things that once used to excite me. Reading this book made me interested in things again. Substance abuse and toxic relationships aside, the way the characters were steeped in what they were learning was so inspiring. I'm not a literature student, but every now and then I read a book that makes me want to be one. This was one of those books.

I think this sums it up but there are probably more reasons. I'm aware that this book has quite a lot of problematic things that are enough for someone to dislike it. I would in turn love to hear your reasons for disliking the book.

[dax-evasion]

i got tagged to do this by @czarfleet which i have to say is an absolutely stellar url

rules: answer 17 questions and tag 17 people you want to get to know better!

nickname: never had one because im from germany and people here dont know that nelly is a common nickname for helen. my parents used to call me mini when i was little tho

zodiac: gemini

height: i genuinely dont know. maybe like 1.70m? 1.60-something?

hogwarts house: its always been kind of a draw between ravenclaw and slytherin. i picked slytherin because all the ravenclaw merch is inaccurate and horrible

last thing i googled: its a wonderful life because i couldnt recall who played the main character (its james stewart). and i wanted to know that because i remembered doing an impression of him in a dream once, something that i cant actually do irl

song stuck in my head: mercifully, none.

following: 295 people

followers: 1,457 as of right now

amount i sleep: i get my recommended 8 hours most of the time

lucky numbers: none but i do think 7 is pretty sexy

dream job: teaching english at uni. or something that has to do with books and old shit

currently wearing: socks, knee-length shorts, xxxl shirt that i stole from my dad, all black

favourite songs: good old fashioned lover boy by queen, radio by rammstein, one for my baby (and one more for the road) sung by frank sinatra

favourite instrument: to play? guitar - to listen to? violin

random fact about me: i shaved my head last year and was bald for a while. generally i think ive had almost every possible hairstyle (and colour) except for mullet and mohawk. im also birthday buddies with ian mckellen

favourite authors: oscar wilde, becky chambers, donna tartt

tagging: because czarfleet is such an absolutely stellar url im gonna tag people who ALSO have absolutely stellar urls. @yamoktime @spocktagon @himbokirkrights @deep-space-69 @cptkirksnipples god i know there were others i saw but i cant remember em

[bondsmagii]

I was tagged by @the1975bi​ thank you so much for all of these you are saving what’s left of my sanity

blog questions i guess

icon: it’s me being very thoughtful & pious in a museum, taken by my husband @vestriis​:

my content: fuck only knows... lots of yelling about my favourite characters and all the nasty bastards I’m thirsty for, lots of aesthetic posts, scattering of writing and talking about writing, paranormal stuff, urbexing, lots of memes and shitposts, the occasional hot take, probably lots of cold takes but who cares I am right, asks about every kind of bullshit you could imagine, joke posts that are thinly veiled expressions of trauma (I’m gucci! 😂), a slight chance of rants about highly specific OR very vague things, no inbetween, and personal posts I guess. basically I am just here for a laff x 

letter colour: literally have no idea like idk on mobile? default I guess

header: a picture I took of an abandoned and almost completely ruined manor house a couple of miles from my house, taken when I saw how pretty the ruins looked silhouetted against the bright sky. this manor house is so cool, part of it has collapsed and you can see a full cross-section of the house, and when you go inside stairways and halls just break off into the abyss. 

more pictures!

url: it comes from the guild of super powerful mages that are regularly found fucking shit up in Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series. they’re all practically invincible assholes and I love them. technically they’re the Bondsmagi but I had to add an extra i because of url hoarders... die by my sword

my blog title: my blog title on the tab is 31 rats (and a cat) in a gucci suit because that’s what I am irl, but on the blog itself it’s what are the dead anyway? (light shining from a dead star.) which is from The Secret History��by Donna Tartt:

what are the dead, anyway, but waves and energy? light shining from a dead star.

my blog description: it used to be a lot longer but it never seemed to say what I wanted it to say so I gave up. just basic information (name, age, location) and a few keywords that let you know what I’m about (writer, urban explorer, historian, dumbass, etc.), and then a lamentation about how I wish I could write better abouts with references to blood magic. credit for the sidebar photo, which is one of my favourite photos of me ever taken -- again, by @vestriis​:

(please view the full size image like I have no idea how he captured the light like that but I look like a fucking saint or some shit) -- and then the quote are we not all things? from the Grishaverse, which just so happens to also perfectly encapsulate my entire philosophy on life and says it much succinctly than I could have ever hoped otherwise. then finally just various places you can find me. some emojis scattered in. it does the job.

tagging: once again anyone who is bored in quarantine... I’m curious about all your carefully curated garbage heaps

[pennyllanne]

I saw a variation of this little survey on @ringoslittlehippie blog, so I figured I would introduce myself with it (if anyone cares or is even reading this). I read a lot of fanfiction and I try to always comment and leave some happiness behind but at times I feel like everyone on Tumblr is already best friends and I'm late to the game. 🥺 So, if you were wondering, here's a bit about me. Feel free to post your own!

Also, if you love the Beatles you should probably check out @ringoslittlehippie ❤️

Name: Penny (yes, just Penny. My parents named me after Penny Lane..my middle name isn't Lane but it's quite close).

Sign: Libra

Location: USA but my heart is in North London

Favourite colour: red and/or glitter

Favourite Beatle: Ringo❤️

Favourite Beatles Song: There are so many...I really love Help because the lyrics pull at my heart. I also love If I Fell because I love fluff and I love Ob-La-Di because it makes me instantly happy every time I hear it!

Fandoms I love: Beatles, Tottenham Hotspur, Dan Smith from Bastille

Other random facts: I love, love, reading! I am never not reading a book. I love animals, CATS, art, photography, painting and most of all-music! I play guitar, sing and I learned to crochet recently. I love to write fanfics but I've never shared them with anyone.

I have a cat called Henry named after one of my favourite book characters in The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I also collect different copies of Pride & Prejudice. It makes a fun go of used book sales!

So, that's me😬 Love you all❤️

[rathertoofondofbooks]

June was a month that was full of reading and blogging so I’m a happy blogger right now! I read 30 books. I was hoping to try and blog every day in June, which I didn’t manage but, having said that, I blogged 31 times over the month (a couple of days I had more than one post) so I’m really pleased with that.

Otherwise my highlight for June came on the penultimate day of the month when we finally got to pick up our new car! It’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever be able to drive again but our new car gives me and my husband more freedom as it has a hoist in the boot to life my mobility scooter/wheelchair. Also, because it’s an SUV the seats are higher and the doors open wider so it’s easier for me to get in and out of the car.

  Here are the books I read in June:

I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney

This thriller was really enjoyable but the final 20% or so just didn’t work for me. I do love Alice Feeney’s writing though so will be looking out for her other books in the future.

The Space Between Time by Charlie Laidlaw

This book was such a beautiful read. It got to me in a way that I wasn’t expecting and I loved that about it.

I Heart Hawaii by Lindsey Kelk

This was a wonderful ending to a fab series, it really did tie everything up in such a gorgeous way and I loved it!

The Sea Refuses No River by Bethany Rivers

This is a stunning poetry collection that explores grief after the death of a parent. I really connected to this one and recommend it.

Horizontal Collaboration by Navie and Carole Maurel

This graphic novel was such an interesting and engaging book, it really got under my skin in ways I didn’t expect it to so I really recommend it.

The Friend Who Lied by Rachel Amphlett

This was my first novel by this author and it definitely won’t be the last because I very much enjoyed it.

Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka

I’d had an ARC of this on my TBR for over a year so I was glad to finally pick it up.  It was a really gripping read so I’m really glad I read it.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

I listened to the audio book on Scribd* and found it really interesting but the way the book was written wasn’t quite as engaging as I hoped it would be.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I finally read this book this month and I’m so happy that I did because I loved it! I’ve had the hardback of this on my TBR ever since it was first published but somehow hadn’t read it yet. It was my priority book from my 20 Books of Summer challenge and I loved every single second that I spent reading this one!

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I had an ARC of this but I decided to buy the audiobook as I’d heard it was good and I’m so glad I did. I completely and utterly adored this book, I think it’s going to be one of my favourite reads of the year. I highly recommend it, especially the audio!

Every Mother’s Nightmare by Mark Thomas

I knew this would be a difficult read because of the subject matter but in the end it was the endless grammar, punctuation and formatting errors that almost made me give up on this. I did finish it but I wouldn’t recommend it.

What Red Was by Rosie Price

This was an okay read for me. I enjoyed the first half but then it just started to drag a little. The writing is really good but there were too many storylines for the length of the novel. I would look out for more books by this author in the future though.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

This was my second book for the 20 Books of Summer challenge and I adored it! It’s such a stunning novel and one that I keep finding myself thinking about.

The Lost Properties of Love by Sophie Ratcliffe

This book is part-fiction and part-memoir and I loved it. It’s such a beautiful novel and one that really made me think over things in my own life from a new perspective. I already know that I want to re-read this.

Nutshell by Ian McEwan

I really enjoyed this short novel about an unborn baby listening in to his mother and her boyfriend plotting the murder of his father! It’s reminded me how much I enjoy Ian McEwan’s writing.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

I had an ARC of this but decided to listen to the audio and I’m so glad I did. I think the audio really added to this book and kept me engaged in the story all the way through.

After the End by Clare Mackintosh

This book is stunning! It’s such a heartbreaking read but it will also make you think. I loved this one and highly recommend it.

She’s Not There by Joy Fielding

I bought this book a while ago and have been so keen to read it so I’m glad to have got to it in June. It’s not a book that will really stay with me but I did really enjoy the time that I spent reading it.

The Swap by Fiona Mitchell

I enjoyed this book but it was lacking something for me. I think I just wanted a little bit more depth but that’s not to say that it wasn’t an enjoyable read.

Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland

I really enjoyed this spy thriller and pretty much read it in one sitting. It’s a great premise and it’s such a gripping story so I recommend it.

Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas

I’ve had this book on my TBR ever since it was published so when I spotted the audio on my library BorrowBox app I decided to part-listen and part-read this book. I really did enjoy this book and now I’m even more excited to read the author’s new book!

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

I really enjoyed this book, I read it all in one sitting as it’s a short book and it had more of an impact on me than I was expecting.

The Perfect Betrayal by Lauren North

This is such a brilliant psychological thriller; it’s one of very, very few novels where I just didn’t work out what was going to happen. It’s a flawless thriller and I loved it. I highly recommend this one!

The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

This is another book from my 20 Books of Summer challenge and I fell in love with this one. It’s such a gorgeous book and it’s one I’ll never forget! I did part-read and part-listen to this one (I listened on *Scribd) and the narrator, Paula Wilcox, is so perfect for this book.

Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar

This is such a fascinating and intriguing book. I enjoyed seeing the process of how the author believes he may have solved the mystery of what happened to the hikers. I still feel like there’s something more to the story though so if anyone has any recommendations I’d love to hear them.

Furious Hours by Casey Cep

I found this book so interesting, it was such a good read. I was intrigued by the case that this book focuses on and also to learn more about Harper Lee. I will try and review this one soon but in the meantime I definitely recommend it.

Something To Tell You by Lucy Diamond

This is another book where I had a NetGalley copy but listened to it on audio. It’s such an engaging story that ends up being a really heart-warming read.

Hard Pushed by Leah Hazard

I found this book so interesting, it’s really eye-opening to read about what life is like for midwives. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.

Something to Live For by Richard Roper

I loved this novel! It’s such a moving and heart-warming book and it was such a tonic on a couple of days when I was feeling a bit low and unwell. I’ll be reviewing this one next week for the blog tour.

Me and the Table by Stephen Hendry

I downloaded the audio of this on a whim when I saw it in the BorrowBox app, and I’m so glad I did because it was a really enjoyable memoir.

  *I’m a paid member of Scribd (as mentioned above) and they have given me a code that will allow you to sign up and get two months free (and I would get one month free). If you’d like to try them out here is the link. I love Scribd and highly recommend them.

June Blog Posts & Reviews:

I started off June by Wrapping-Up May! May was a great reading month so June had a lot to live up to, and as you can see from this post it managed it! My first review of June was Dead Inside by Noelle Holten, a brilliant new crime novel by a fab blogger and author! I then continued on with my occasional Mini review series with my thoughts on Ordinary People by Diana Evans, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, The Furies by Katie Lowe, and Entanglement by Katy Mahood. I read the final book in the I Heart series I Heart Hawaii by Lindsey Kelk  and managed to review it straight away for once! It was then time for This Week in Books 5 June . My next review was of an incredible novel that I read in one sitting The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood by Susan Elliot Wright. It was then my turn on the blog tour for We Never Said Goodbye by Helene Fermont and I shared my review. It was then time for my first Book Haul  of the month!

In the second week of June I posted another selection of Mini reviews of Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka, I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney, The Golden Child by Wendy James, and Need to Know by Karen Cleveland. It was then time for my stop on the blog tour for A Modern Family by Helga Flatland, a book that left its mark on me and I’m sure it’ll be one of my books of the year! I also took part in the blog tour for The Space Between Time by Charlie Laidlaw, another fab book! I then decided to go back to WWW Wednesdays  and shared my current and recent reads plus what I hoped to read next! My next review was of another incredible novel The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean, which I’m still finding myself thinking about weeks after reading it! Then it was time for another Book Haul!

In the third week of June I shared my review of The Friend Who Lied by Rachel Amphlett as part of the blog tour. It was my first book by the author and it definitely won’t be the last as I really enjoyed it. My next review was of the brilliant��Sister of Mine by Laurie Petrou. Then it was time for my next WWW Wednesdays post! It was then my turn to share my review of the beautiful debut novel Death and Other Happy Endings by Melanie Cantor. My final review of this week was of the moving poetry collection The Sea Refuses No River by Bethany Rivers. Then it was time for another Book Haul (eek!).

In the last week of June I started by sharing another selection of Mini reviews of An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, The Neighbour by Fiona Cummins, What Red Rose by Rosie Price, and Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter. I then got to share my review of the stunning graphic novel Horizontal Collaboration by Navie and Carole Maurel. It was my turn on the blog tour for The Perfect Betrayal by Lauren North, this was one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time as it completely blindsided me! I also shared my latest WWW Wednesdays  post. I was delighted to share my thoughts on a gorgeous book that was part novel and part memoir The Lost Properties of Love by Sophie Ratcliffe. Up next came my review of spy thriller Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland and that was followed by my thoughts on the incredible After the End by Clare Mackintosh! I then shared another book haul and that was followed with the audio book tag!

  The state of my TBR:

So I think I’m going to give up on tracking my TBR for the moment as it’s just completely out of control! I need to go through my books and have a sort out so once I’ve managed to get that done I may start tracking it again. I will be doing my mid-year book stats post later this week so my TBR will feature in that post. Eeeek!!

    How was June for you? I hope you all had a good month and that you read lots of good books. Did you read many books? What was your favourite book of the month? Please tell me in the comments, I’d love to know. Also, if you have a blog please feel free to leave a link to your month’s wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to read and comment back. 🙂

  That Was The Month That Was… June 2019! June was a month that was full of reading and blogging so I'm a happy blogger right now!

[doomedandstoned]

Lurk Deliver an Emotional Sledgehammer of Extremity

~By Willem Verhappen~

I have a confession to make: I'm a shallow bastard. At least, I can be when it comes to music. Every so often, I come across a record by a band I don't know and I buy it even though I haven't heard a single note of what's on it. Sometimes, when I have no idea what kind of music it even is, I might do a quick internet search, but often I just buy it. I buy those records for one simple reason: I like the artwork. The thing with this tactic is, sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't.

I also bought 'Fringe' (2018), the third record by Finnish death-doomsters LURK for this reason. The record was originally released in 2016 by the band themselves, but now Transcending Obscurity Records re-released the record with hauntingly beautiful new artwork from Adam Burke.

Hauntingly beautiful is also a good way to describe the music. Not in a pretty way though, for this is still a Finnish band. I'm not sure if it's the lack of sunlight during winter or something else, but the country is home to some of the most depressing bands ever. Lurk certainly is one of them. The four piece mixes death, black and doom metal in a sludgy mix.

Fringe (Atmospheric Sludge/Doom Metal) by LURK (Finland)

Opener "Ostrakismos" is dark, almost ambient-like piece, with even an alto-saxophone thrown in the mix. Expect slow but melodic guitar arpeggios, drenched in reverb and with sufficient feedback. "Tail Blade" has a more traditional structure, with some quality doom riffs and heavy drum hits.

By the end of the second song, it's already clear who the real star of the record is. Vocalist Kimmo Koskinen is a true force to be reckoned with. His grunts are low and dark, sometimes appearing to go subsonic. It's often similar to the most extreme parts of Manne Ikonen (Ghost Brigade). At other times he belts out emotional screams, sporadically bordering those of Amenra's Colin H van Eeckhout. By the time we reach "Elan," Koskinen channels his inner Aaron Stainthorpe, mixing clean vocals with grunts. It must be noted though, that even though his clean vocals are good, he's no match for the My Dying Bride vocalist.

The fact that the vocals are good on this record, does not mean that the music is overpowered by them. Musically, every song firmly holds its ground. Each song is a depression inducing lesson in bleakness. The songs sometimes sound clear, melodic and open, at other times heavy and dense, throwing you on the floor and refusing to let you get up. Once again the comparison with their countrymen from Ghost Brigade isn't far away, but Lurk still manage to kick it up a notch.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Transcending Obscurity is my go-to label for extreme metal and Fringe is no exception. If you're into the Finnish brand of extreme doom metal, the kind that is both beautiful and mercilessly punishing, you're going to love Lurk. They're in the same spectrum as bands such as Ghost Brigade, Swallow The Sun and Hooded Menace, but without sounding like a copy of any of those bands. Go have a listen right now, but be careful, you just might be as broken as the end of "Proteus Syndrome."

Chatting It Up With Kalle & Kimmo of Lurk

~By Shawn Gibson~

First things first: introductions!

Kalle: Yours truly, Kalle Nurmi, can be found beating the skins, a.k.a. drumming. Arttu Pulkkinen on guitar, Eetu Nurmi on bass, and Kimmo Koskinen is always screaming for vengeance. We’ve been active for about ten years now.

'Fringe' (2018), your latest LP, was released on the Transcending Obscurity label over the summer, right?

Kalle: That’s correct, but actually Fringe was originally, although momentarily, released on Bandcamp two years prior. We didn’t have any luck with labels back then and decided just to put it out there, mainly out of frustration. Then Kunal Choksi of Transcending Obscurity got in contact with us, wanting to do a proper release and we quite quickly went with him. You could sense the passion driving him and we knew he was gonna deliver - and he did! Fringe is our third album, preceded by our self-titled debut and our second, Kaldera.

Kimmo: Kunal's dedication has been inspiring. Finally Fringe gets the release it deserves, not least because of the exceptionally amazing art of Adam Burke.

What bands from Finland do you guys like and like to play with?

Kalle: Horse Latitudes, Hooded Menace, Coughdust, Demonic Death Judge, Black Royal -- those are just some that come to mind easily, that we’ve played with. There are loads of great bands from Finland, metal and otherwise, that we’ve not shared a stage with just yet.

Kimmo: There are loads of spirited groups in Finnish underground and different styles interlock smoothly together. We have played with doom, death and black metal bands, in hardcore nights and so on. Passionate and honest atmosphere feeds itself and leads to torrid combinations.

Where are some good places in Finland to see metal or heavy bands play?

Kalle: You can see great underground-bands play at Vastavirta Klubi in Tampere. I’m not sure about the situation in Helsinki at the moment, but I presume Lepakkomies has bands all the time and we’ve played there a lot at one point. More mainstream metal acts can be seen at Klubi, YO-Talo or Olympia in Tampere, and during the summer there’s a festival going on somewhere all the time. For example Tuska is completely dedicated to metal.

What are some of Lurk's influences musically?

Kalle: Oh man, that’s a tricky one! We’ve never decided on a certain sound or a band that we wanted to sound like, so all of our influences were allowed to get in the music. But of course, some bands have bigger weight in our output. For example Celtic Frost, Eyehategod, Neurosis, Entombed, Black Sabbath, Emperor, Burzum and about gazillion other bands. Also artists outside of metal, as Scott Walker’s The Drift is, in my opinion, one of the scariest albums ever made.

What's a damn good book you've read lately?

Kalle: Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, everything by Lovecraft. My most recent favourite book is by legendary Finnish writer Mika Waltari. I had to check online for its English title, it’s called The Etruscan.

What makes you laugh uncontrollably?

Kalle: Human endeavor. Also, cat videos.

The artwork by Adam Burke is amazing! Elan is my favorite song on this album. Please explain what this album means to the band and what the artwork symbolizes.

Kalle: This album means a lot to us. We changed bass players just before making the second album, Kaldera, and that kinda made us want to write differently too, and now with Fringe I think we managed to capture something that was set in motion back in those days. Maybe we are slow learners but this is the album that we wanted to do already back then, we just didn’t know how. We wanted to combine the best parts of our both previous albums and use them to make a goddamn super-album! The art itself wasn’t made to order, but when we saw it there was no question about it. It fits the mood. It’s not completely bleak and void of colour, there are shades and textures. There is also a strong link to nature, and death is ever-present, looming in the background.

Kimmo: Fringe is about the passion and all the human behavior around it. We, as species, have lost and banned big part of our heritage, our primal instincts. What's most important, the honesty has been derogated. Humanity isn't just positive pool of thoughts, and it seems that the world is nowadays living just for the decorative skin. At the same time the self-proclaimed messiahs are conspiring behind our backs, in the name of religion, money and power. But there's so much power to be found from death, rage and beastliness, because those pure things are us. Lurk is the one channeling the vigor and ripping the meaningless crust apart. From the woods we have come and to the woods we are to be buried.

What is in the future for Lurk?

Kalle: New songs, so probably a new album, maybe some gigs. Who knows? The doom-train keeps a-rolling.

You guys have an amazing response to this album and have great reviews how do you feel and how does this motivate you?

Kalle: It’s always good that people like it. Some seem to like it a lot! I’d be making music even without the positive reviews, but they tell us we’re onto something good.

Kimmo: We are making the music for ourselves, first and foremost. But if someone finds it intriguing, I don't blame him or her. If the music makes one think, it has reached the goal.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

Massive Lurk Giveaway!

Transcending Obscurity Records is giving away 100 free digital downloads of Lurk's 'Fringe' (2018). Grab 'em while they're hot! Simply copy one of the codes below and click here to redeem it.

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[darksideofthemuse]

20 - 17 - 12 - 2?

20. what are things you look for in a book?

I guess I’m looking for a book to hold my attention, that’s really the main criteria. I read a lot and while I prefer some genres over others, I try to give any book a chance if it comes recommended by people whose opinions I trust.

17. top 5 children’s books?

I don’t know much about children’s books. I read them when I was a child but I don’t remember a lot of them, so I don’t think I can come up with a top 5, but my favourite childhood author was Astrid Lindgren. Her books were funny, playful, and had the best food descriptions. Pippi Longstocking also meant a lot to me because my hair is also ginger and I got bullied for it in school, so having someone like Pippi to read about and seeing how not-bothered she was about her strange hair colour always made me feel better.

12. did you enjoy any compulsory high school readings?

Yes, I enjoyed most of them. It’s been a while since I was at school, so I can’t remember everything we had to read, but I remember really enjoying Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky, The Stranger by Camus and Balta Drobule by Antanas Skema (it’s a Lithuanian book, I don’t think it’s translated into any other languages).

2. top 5 books of all time?

Left the hard one to the end. These are in no particular order, but Goldfinch is probably my favourite out of the five.

Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (I actually read this book because of Tumblr. I saw a quote from the last chapter of Goldfinch posted on Tumblr and I loved it so much that I felt I had to find this book and read it immediately. So I did and then I read it many more times. I even went to see the painting of the Goldfinch when it was briefly brought to Edinburgh.)

How to do nothing by Jenny Odell (This really made me re-think how I spend my time, what I pay my attention to. I want to re-read this soon because I feel like I’ve fallen back into my old patterns again. This book also had beautiful descriptions of various artists and their work and I like reading about that.)

Seasonal Quarter by Ali Smith (This is slightly cheating because these are four books, but they’re part of the same series and don’t really make sense separately. I loved everything about them – slight surrealism of them, how timely they were, that art and artists play a big role in them, the writing style is fantastic and it all comes together in such a beautiful way at the end.)

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson (Another book that I can thank Tumblr for. I was reading a Klaine fanfic, where Kurt was a university student and Blaine was his lecturer and they talked about another Jeanette Winterson book in such a way that it made me want to read it. So I went straight to my university library and checked out all Jeanette Winterson books they had (I think they had three or so). I liked all of them, but this one was my favourite and I’ve re-read it a few times since.)

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell (Just what the title says. Maggie O’Farrell had quite a life and came close to death quite a lot and then she wrote about it. This was hard to choose because almost everything I’ve read by her is stunning and I love how she writes so much, but I think this book stood out to me the most. By the time I was reading how she almost drowned for the third time, I remember thinking, why would you ever go into a big body of water ever again??)

Honourable mentions – almost anything Margaret Atwood has written, her MaddAddam trilogy in particular, anything by Sally Rooney, any book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Know My Name by Chanel Miller and To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara.

[inknerd]

October Wrap-Up 2018

So! October’s soon over, autumn is in full bloom and I’ve read some books! It’s been an interesting month - I’ve started and finished my three weeks of practice at school as part of my teacher education programme, and I really feel like I’ve learnt a lot! I did show up in the middle of reading exercises and poetry introductions, so you could say I felt at home, at least!

CIRCE by MADELINE MILLER ★★★★★ | 352 pages | 2 days to read | Published 2018

Like...there’s wasn’t even the slightest doubt that I would LOVE this books - but wow, what an AMAZING book! If you liked The Song of Achilles, you’re probably going to like this one. + Just, everything! Circe as a character, the magic and scenery, the fact that we got even more Achilles/Patroclus inbetween the pages??? I loved everything. I was especially pleased to get to know so much more about Circe in general? Like the thing with Odysseus took a while to even get introduced, and all the background information and everything about all the other gods and nymphs - perfect. - Can’t really find anything to complain about. You should go read it. All I hope for now is that M. Miller decides to write even more about characters in Greek mythology.

WILD EMBERS: POEMS OF REBELLION, FIRE AND BEAUTY by NIKITA GILL ★★★★☆ | 150 pages | 2 days to read | Published 2017

I ordered two of Gill’s poetry collection, and this one was the first one to arrive. Lucky enough, I liked it! So I’m looking forward to reading the next one. + Some of the poems I really liked, but I was more amazed by some of the fantastic one-liners that were in most of the poems. - I felt somewhat...underwhelmed? by the poetry at times.

AVGRUNDENS ÄNGLAR by MAGNUS NORDIN ★★★☆☆ | 284 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2013

This is a book I normally wouldn’t be interested in, but at the school I did my teacher’s practice on they read this for class, so I decided to read it! + I was actually pleasantly surprised, despite knowing already that Nordin is a good author. It was a fast-paced and intruiging read, and it was nice seeing how it all came together in the end. - Some of the dialogues and scenarios felt pretty cliché, and the book also had this typical “school book feeling”, like this is the kind of book they’d force 15-16 year olds to read.

WEIRD THINGS COSTUMERS SAY IN BOOKSHOPS by JEN CAMPBELL ★★★★☆ | 120 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2012

Ah, okay, you know those tumblr posts talking about hilarious (and very frustrating) costumers who just ask the stupidest questions? If you like those you should totally read this! + I mean, what is there to say? This book is hilarious to read even if you’re not a book seller or a reader. - Idk, the first part is the funniest? then the second part while fun didn’t make me laugh as hard.

THE GOLDFINCH by DONNA TARTT ★★★☆☆ | 864 pages | *whistles awkwardly* | Published 2013

Okay, so I had a hard time rating this. It took me a long time to read it, or rather I read like 1/4 in like 3 months and then the rest in like, a week? and by the end of it I was like “...okay”. + Tartt’s writing is amazing, okay. The language, the structure, all the info pumped into the story about art and everything is so interesting to read about. I also quite liked the ending, which is what I’m usually critisizing when it comes to most books? So yeah. - I didn’t really connect with the main character? Or any character really. And at many points in the story I wondered “but what is the point with this???”. It’s a really dense book, in many ways, and I would recommend it at the same time as awkwardly shaking my hand and say meh?

THE WITCH DOESN’T BURN IN THIS ONE by AMANDA LOVELACE ★★★☆☆ | 208 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2018

So according to goodreads I rated The Princess Saves Herself in this One 4 stars, and I can’t remember enough of it to know if I actually liked it more than I did this one, but oh well. I enjoyed reading this, anyhow. + I especially liked the poems dedicated to other media like The Handmaid’s Tale or Hamilton, it was fun catching the references! Also? The red text on all that white? So pretty.  - While I really liked some of the poems, I can’t say I got a favourite, and it just wasn’t completely my style, I guess?

FIERCE FAIRYTALES: POEMS AND STORIES TO STIR YOUR SOUL by NIKITA GILL ★★★★☆ | 176 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2018

Gill’s second poetry collection that also has a fairytale theme!!!???? I knew I was going to like it. + Okay, first of all: The Cover? Amazing, stunning, beautiful. I liked the poems in this collection more than in Wild Embers, for some reason, maybe because anything with fairytales in it makes me like it like 50% more. - I didn’t get a clear favourite and at moments I sort of, didn’t agree with the interpretation of the fairytale? If that makes any sense. 

THE COLLECTED POEMS by SYLVIA PLATH ★★★☆☆ | 349 pages | 21 days to read | Published 1981 (Poems from 1956-1963)

It seems to be a month of poetry, huh? This I’ve been reading for a while, simply because it was so long; practically all of Plath’s poetry, of which I wasn’t familiar with at all before. + Sometimes they really got to me, and I noticed I liked a lot of poems one year only to drift away the other, which was interesting. In the back of this collection there was also an article about Plath’s life and other bonus stuff with notes on some of the poems (how and why they were written etc.). - I somewhat wish I’d bought the poetry collections as they were when published by Plath rather than in one thick book. It made it very slow to read. I also was quite bored with some of the poetry, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer Plath’s writing in prose rather than in poetry.

TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY by KATHRYN ORMSBEE ★★★☆☆ | 367 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2017

Lately I’ve been so excited to read more books with asexual characters in it, and this was high on my list! (Well, it’s not a very long list. Yet) + I always love to read about fandom and all that includes, and I’ve never read a book about people making a youtube series before and I thought Ormsbee was very creative regarding the Anna Karenina retelling. The friendships in this book was also something I enjoyed. - With that said I didn’t think this book was that special? There were several relationships dramas that I wasn’t overly interested in and in the end it left me wanting for something more (but this can once again also be because of me not being super interested in contemporary)

RENEGADES by MARISSA MEYER ★★★★☆ | 552 pages | 2 days to read | Published 2017

I’ve heard so many people reading and liking this book, and it sounds just down my alley! Superheroes and supervillains? Sign me UP. + All the characters and their respective powers and hero-names were all so creative and fun to read about. I like the detail going into their costumes and also the sides’ different aesthetic in general. And, the ending? Awesome. I’m so pumped for the next book in this series! - I did find the world Meyer described interesting, but it also left me with some questions that I hope are answered in the sequel. I’m also surprisingly not very invested in the main romance? Like, it was sweet but I had expected something more of it.

THE PRICE GUIDE TO THE OCCULT by LESLYE WALTON ★★★★☆ | 272 pages | 3 days to read | Published 2018

I really liked The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, so I was so excited to read another magic realism book by Leslye Walton! + The atmosphere of the story and the scenery were PERFECT for autumn and Halloween, so I definitely read this book at the perfect time. The story of the Blackburn family and their powers were so interesting to read and the magic system was so cool and horrifying at the same time! - The main romance (and the side ones) felt like they sort fizzled out by the end, and I also felt like a lot of the action scenes or choices Nor and company made were so cliché in contrast to Walton’s otherwise magical and original writing. And also, the ending? It was good but will there be a sequel??? Because that ending is not satisfying to me if there’s not a sequel, and I think there won’t be, so.

GOOD OMENS by NEIL GAIMAN & TERRY PRATCHETT ★★★★☆ | 412 pages | 14 days to read | Published 1990

Okay, so I actually started reading this about a year ago, but for some reason I forgot about it and started reading something else. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I saw the trailer for the upcoming TV-series adaption of this book and went “NOW I HAVE TO READ IT”. + Like, it’s hilarious. Not much to say there. Just, the characters and their personalities and all the anecdotes about history and the Bible were just so spot on funny. The story in itself is also so such an interesting and fun concept. - I think I’ve had the same small problem with Gaiman’s work before (haven’t read anything else by Pratchett) and that is that while all the characters introduced are skillfully made and bring some relevance to the story I always want to get back to the main characters (or who I, personally, see as main characters) rather than read about a random construction worker or delivery man (but okay, the chapters with the delivery man was super funny).

[charlyritter]

1, 3, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 28, 30: Your opinion on Astrid Vollebruch's DDF contributions

1. Rosehip tea: Which book did you love when you were younger? I don’t have one single book because I read like one book a day as a kid (and if I liked it, I reread it immediately after finishing it, I only ever read books just once if I didn’t like them) but I was an Enid Blyton child through and through so OBVIOUSLY The Famous Five was my jam and I almost concinved my parents to let me go to boarding school for St. Clare’s reasons even though in hindsight I know that I would have DIED (also, on a sidenote that is completely off-topic, I obviously definitely wanted to be Hanni and George, respectively)

3. Rooibos: What is one of you favourite books? The most recent addition to my list is The Secret History by Donna Tartt

13. Yellow tea: What shampoo do you use? at the moment it’s the head & shoulders citrus fresh but I don’t really have a go-to shampoo, I think it was just the cheapest one at Bónus.

14. Peppermint tea: What is your favourite gif at the moment? Ummmm. I don’t know. Does one have favorite gifs? I nominate this one for its neverending relevance

15. Ceylon tea: Do you have a song you like, but have bad memories with? Not necessarily bad memories but I have songs that make me melancholic even though they’re not sad at all, like one example would be that I listened to Don’t Fear the Reaper during halftime of the Germany - Netherlands match at the Euro 2012 so now that song reminds me of that tournament (and the bitter end -.-) even though it’s neither sad nor does it have anything to do with football

17. Flowering tea: What is a movie you can always watch? Some Like It Hot

18. Pu-erh tea: What is a book you can recommend to others? I hate recommending things because is there really anything that will appeal to everyone? It’s sooo dependent on the person. I’m gonna say Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada but I can also understand not being interested in it or even not liking it?

20. Green tea: What was the first movie you saw in a cinema? I can’t say for sure but the earliest one I remember seeing is Daddy Day Care (the trauma is real)

28. Cloud tea: Which movie do you want to watch next? I REALLY, REALLY wanna watch the new Orient Express adaptation because I love the book and I love media that is set in only one place, but I also don’t want to leave the house for it so it’ll have to wait :/

30. Matcha: Your opinion on Astrid Vollenbruch’s DDF contributions: definitely good, solid, above-average works of consistently high quality but also none of them made it into my list of absolute faves (what’s sad about that is the fact that, ironically, even MS who as we both know is more on the below average side, has managed to produce one of my faves because I’m sorry but Panik im Park is just too #iconic). Idk, they just lack that certain something for me I guess?

Also I see that you didn’t get that matching icon yet which makes me so excited because I’ve been waiting for MONTHS to use this cap on you: