#blue ​brosh

[aretis]

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica # 313 - AA.VV. - She Rocks Volume 1, 2017

Un giovane chitarrista di origini italiane (i nonni arrivarono negli Stati Uniti dalla Lomellina) nel 1978, quando ha appena 18 anni, manda una cassetta e una trascrizione del leggendario pezzo The Black Page al suo creatore, Frank Zappa. Il brano si chiama così perchè lo spartito è così pieno di segni musicali (punti, segni, note) ed è famoso perchè di una complessità mostruosa. Zappa impressionato dal talento del giovane chitarrista lo contatta e dopo che il nostro giovane eroe finisce la scuola, lo invita a Los Angeles, gli fa un provino e lo stipendia prima come trascrittore ufficiale e poi, dal 1980 fino al 1985, lo porta sul palco e in studio a registrare, presentandolo come il suo "little Italian virtuoso" e gli assegna spettacolari assolo definiti "impossible guitar parts". Quel giovane chitarrista è Steve Vai, unanimemente considerato uno dei più grandi chitarristi di tutti i tempi. Oltre ai dischi, ai concerti, ai premi, al ruolo di innovatore dello strumento (leggendarie le chitarre Ibanez Jem con lui sviluppate) il suo è sempre stato un lavoro di ricerca sia strumentale sia umano: cacciatore di talenti prima, e poi produttore ed editore musicale. Nel 1999 infatti fonda insieme a Ray Scherr, il fondatore di Guitar Center, la più grande catena di negozi di strumenti musicali di tutte le Americhe (con oltre 300 negozi) una etichetta discografica, Favored Nations, con il preciso obiettivo di sviluppare la musica chitarristica, di scovare nuovi artisti e di produrre quelli già affermati. Il primo disco prodotto è del 2000, Coming To Your Senses del chitarrista jazz fusion Frank Gambale, di lì in poi è un susseguirsi di grandi nomi. A metà del decennio successivo, Vai sente la necessità di rispondere, con un disco, ad una domanda: Who says the ladies can’t rock?.

Per questo in collaborazione con l'associazione Women’s International Music Network mette su una compilation, insieme con Brad Tolinski, direttore di una delle bibbie dei chitarristi e chitarriste, Guitar World, di strepitose chitarriste, a cui dà il titolo di She Rocks Vol.1, sottotitolo: A Collection of Kick-Ass Guitar Goddesses, che esce nel gennaio del 2017. In scaletta 11 brani di 11 chitarriste che comprendono diversi generi, dal jazz rock al blues, ma che spingono forte verso l'hard rock e l'heavy metal, per un assortimento niente male. C'è una delle scoperte di Vai, la tedesca Yasi Hofer (qui presente con una torrida sua composizione, Cosmic Star), c'è la leggenda del rock femminile Lita Ford, delle Runwayas, che si unisce alle Lez Zeppelin, una tribute band femminile dei mitici Led Zeppelin, cantando The Lemon Song (uno dei testi più maliziosi ed erotici del catalogo di Plant e soci, nello slang "lemon" è una metafora del pene) accompagnata da Steph Paynes, che nella compilation regala una meravigliosa The Sun At Her Eastern Gate (Payne è stata anche scrittrice e giornalista del rock per riviste come il New Music Express e Rolling Stone). C'è il blues di U Know What I Like di Kat Dyson (che è stata più volte la lead guitar dei tour internazionali di Zucchero), il trascinante heavy metal di Transmogrify, brano scritto da Orianthi, chitarrista e polistrumentista australiana che accompagnò Micheal Jackson nel suo ultimo tour This Is It. Jackson era un grande estimatore di chitarriste, tanto che nella compilation c'è pure il contributo di un'altra sua storica sessionista, Jennifer Batten, che lo ha accompagnato nei tour di Bad, Dangerous e History: qui è presente la sua In The Aftermath. Si passa dal jazz rock di Sarah Longfield (The Taxi Time Travel Task Force) alle sonorità sofisticate di Yvette Young, uno dei talenti più puri in circolazione (Hydra), alle super prove di nomi più famosi come Nita Strauss (la chitarrista di Alice Cooper), che contribuisce con Pandemonium e Gretchen Menn con Scrap Metal. Da ricordare anche il brano di Nili Brosh, A Matter Of Perception, la chitarrista è stata per anni star degli spettacoli musicali del Cirque Du Soleil e insieme ad altre protagoniste di questa compilation suonerà in una tribute band, The Iron Maidens, che omaggia al femminile la musica degli inglesi Iron Maiden. In copertina c'è un disegno di Laura B. Whitmore, musicista, produttrice e ex manager di importantissime etichette discografiche, che nel 2012 fondò la WiMN per fornire supporto, informazioni e un senso di comunità alle donne in tutti gli aspetti del settore musicale, compresi artisti, addetti ai lavori, educatori e studenti.

La dicitura Vol.1 mi ha fatto sempre sperare in un Vol.2 che al momento non è ancora arrivato. Tuttavia questo disco è prova viva che " A Lady Can Surely Rocks".

[broshpomade]

POP-UP STORE @イセタン羽田ストア

8月2日(水)から9月5日(火) イセタン羽田ストアにBROSHのPOP-UP STOREが登場します。

イセタン 羽田ストア TERMINAL 1の10mにも渡るショーウィンドウにはBROSH POMADE製品がずらりと並び、BROSHが醸し出すカルチャーを感じられる世界感にラッピング。

また、定番のBROSH POMADE 全ラインナップの他に、 イセタン羽田POP-UP STORE限定のTシャツも販売します。

更に今回、POP-UP期間中にストア内でお買い物をして頂いたお客様へはアメリカンラガービール"Pabst Blue Ribbon"をプレゼントしております。 機内持込可能ですので、アメリカの風を感じながら素敵なフライトをお楽しみください。

※限定アイテムにつきましては、無くなり次第終了。

皆様のご来場、心よりお待ちしております。

■BROSH HND BOARDING PASS S/S TEE フロントにはアイコンであるフクロウに、地球儀を掛け合わせ、ジャパンメイドを国内のみなら��、世界に広めているBROSHなら��はのデザインに。 バックにはボーディングパスをソースとしたオリジナルデザインをセット。 バーバーの象徴でもあるサインポールのトリコロールカラーを落とし込んだデザインを施しております。

■開催日時 <2023/8/2(水) 〜8/22(火)> @イセタン 羽田ストア TERMINAL 1

<2023/8/23(水) 〜9/5(火)> @イセタン 羽田ストア TERMINAL 2

営業時間 午前8時 〜午後7時　

broshupyourstyles

_ Contact to… _ info@brosh.jp http://brosh.jp/ 03-6455-0319

[captainignatiuspigheart]

The City in the Cliff In the velvet blue darkness of the night, the city gleamed. Two brothers knelt on the cliff, looking down on the sight. Both were young enough to be excited, old enough to know better. They exchanged an arched eyebrow, grinned, and got started. They’d come equipped, not just with youthful enthusiasm, but with ropes, anchors, waters and good shoes. They weren’t fools, though their parents would certainly have described them as foolish. Brosh was first over the edge of the cliff, the rope twisted about his hips as Cresh belayed him down. The descent wasn’t particularly challenging, but it was a one-mile vertical drop and caution was warranted. The plan was to belay down to the city where it nestled halfway down the cliffside, adventure, then return back up the cliff as quick as they could manage it. Brosh reached a ledge from which the city could be easily accessed, tied himself off and returned Cresh’s favour, belaying his ... >> Read On with The City in https://wp.me/pbprdx-8SP

[bitesizebookreviews]

Solutions and Other Problems

Solutions and Other Problems

Allie Brosh

514 pages

Gallery Books, 2020

After many many years, the follow-up to Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half is finally here! It pleases me to say that it has been well worth the wait. Not that any of us should blame Allie, who’s had a hard time of it in recent years, for the delays. 

Just like the previous book, Brosh’s view of life is slightly askew, but somehow feels so grounded. She perfectly mixes text with her crudely drawn comic style to create the perfect way to come to her ultimate conclusion, that “no one should have to feel like a pointless little weirdo alone.” 

There are hysterical stories, mostly those involving the dogs, and there are tragic stories that’ll leave you a sobbing mess, mostly the story of her sister’s death by suicide. Everything about this book is perfect and it’ll make you want to wrap Allie up in a warm blanket and give her hot cocoa. She deserves goodness and comfort. And maybe you do too. 

[literary-lion]

Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To | Top Ten Tuesday

Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To | Top Ten Tuesday

The topic this week is Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To! I actually did amazing with my TBRs this year! I completed every single one, so there were no books that I said I would read in 2020 that I missed. There were, however, books that were released in 2020 that I hoped to get to and just didn’t find the time and/or the funds to get them onto my TBR in time. I hope I’ll get to…

[shanastoryteller]

Happy Birthday!! I would love to see more of Ed as an alchemist in the Ishvalen War, pretty please! (The one from the last round of prompts)

a continuation of 1

They’re all assembled to receive Elric with the state alchemists front and center, which leaves Roy in the unenviable position of sandwiched between Grand and Kimblee. There’s a rapidly approaching glimmer in the distance that scouts reported to be Elric’s car.

“How does that thing even run in all this sand?” Kimblee mutters.

Grand would shout at him for speaking out of a turn normally, but apparently even he’s thrown off kilter by Elric’s arrival. “He modified it himself. Apparently.”

“How versatile,” Kimblee purrs and Roy twitches. Of course he and Elric will get along, because they’re both deranged, but personally he wants himself as far away from the two of them as possible.

Maes is right. He should stay away from Elric. There’s nothing about him worth seeing.

The car is close enough to be recognizable and it’s not slowing down. Several people shift uneasily, but Grand doesn’t order them to move, so they hold the line. Well, if Elric kills them all through vehicular homicide, at least it’ll be over quickly.

The car comes to a heaving, screeching stop in front of them, kicking up sand that lands on Roy’s shoes. A second lieutenant stumbles out of the back of the car, which shouldn’t be a surprise, except that Roy recognizes him. It’s Denny Brosh.

He clutches his stomach and moans, “Why do you have to drive like that?”

The person Roy would expect to least be in that car after Denny steps out of the driver seat. Maria Ross shakes her head and comes around to whack Denny unhelpfully on the back.

Maria and Denny were Armstrong’s subordinates. What the fuck are they doing here, with him?

“You think you’d be used to it by now,” a new voice says and all their attention is on the car door that swings open.

The infamous Lieutenant Colonel Edward Elric slides out of the back seat, standing and looking them over with impassive eyes.

The first thing Roy notices is gold.

The sun glinting off his hair and his eyes, highlighting them with the brilliance of a precious metal. Golden tan skin against stands sharply against military blue, and he should look ridiculous, he’s seventeen, only a few years younger than Roy, but the Lieutenant Colonel uniform fits him like a glove and he wears it like a birthright.

Roy is used to power. Roy has power. But even now, there’s something about Elric that’s different than the other alchemists he’s met. It’s coiled and dangerous, his stance that of a crouching lion right before the pounce.

He’s the most beautiful man Roy has ever seen. Clearly looks aren't everything.

“Never, sir,” Denny groans while Maria rolls her eyes.

“Lieutenant Colonel Elric,” Grand barks, “It’s an honor to meet you.” Fuck, this is weird. Grand outranks him, but no one’s under any illusions here. Now that Elric is here, he’s in charge.

They all snap immediate salutes. Elric returns it lazily, mouth quirked up at the corners. “Thank you, General. That’s very kind of you to say.” He shields his eyes against the sun and looks out. The Ishvalan city of Tsarr is just visible in the distance. “So, that’s it then? I’m assuming you have maps of the city. I’m going to need maps.”

“Yes sir,” Grand says. “Our weapons arsenal contains–”

“Don’t waste your bullets,” Elric cuts him off, “or whatever else you have. By this time next week, Tsarr will be gone.”

“Yes sir,” Grand says uncertainly, unable to hold back his frown.

Elric laughs. It’s not a nice sound. “You don’t believe me, but that’s all right. They never do. You’ll learn, just like they did.”

Just like Armstrong and Marco did, Roy thinks.

For a split second that predatory golden gaze locks onto him and he’s terrified he’s said that out loud, but then Elric turns away, continuing to speak with Grand as Denny and Maria trail behind him.

[redheadgleek]

2022 Books read part 2

Last year, I read 49 books total.

I just hit 45 books for this year. Definitely the most books I've read since medical school. In my defense, some of the books were on the short side, but I'm definitely using books as escapism right now.

What I read in Jan-April:

May:  A Spindle Splintered by Alix Harrow - I love fractured fairytales and this one was a fun novella. A Tale of Sorcery read by Chris Colfer (audiobook). The last book of his "Tale Of" series and it was a satisfying tie-up to the series. Hyperbole and A Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened by Allie Brosh. I loved her blog back in the day and her comics would have me gasping for air. They weren't quite as funny now, and I'm not sure why. What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon. I still have complex feelings about this book. Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Kaz my beloved. Inej my beloved. Nina my beloved. Jesper my beloved. Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Jaigirdar Adiba. Sweet, if not very deep. Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher. It took me way too long to figure out the twist. But it was worth it. Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher. Hot. So hot.

June: I'm So Not Over You by Kosoko Jackson. A great idea (exboyfriends fake-dating) and so poorly executed. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. A direct continuation of Six of Crows - so many twists I did not see coming. Stranger Than Fanfiction read by Chris Colfer (audiobook). It's not Shakespeare, but man, do I love hearing him make his characters come to life. I still have thoughts about the ending. Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher. I love these stories about ordinary people with just a touch of magic.   King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. Nina my beloved. The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer. I read this in a day - really absorbing while reading it, falls apart if you spend too long thinking about the premise. Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher. I love this world. I love these complex, world-weary, broken women and men who come together to try to save their world. Swordheart by T. Kingfisher. I had to wait for the Wonder Engine to be available from the library. I need the sequels now. A Mirror Mended by Alix Harrow. A Spindle Splintered didn't need a sequel and I'm not sure that this was the sequel that should have been written. The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher. An excellent finish to the series. Here's To Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. I really didn't like What If It's Us that much - the characters were too young and differentiating between their first person perspectives was iffy. This was much better. I still would have made them a touch older, but it works. One Last Stop by Casy McQuiston. I liked Red, White, and Royal Blue better and I wasn't expecting a time-travel story. Still there was a lot of atomosphere and sweetness to the story. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. I really liked this although I still ahve so many questions. But this captured the feel of the outer Sunset district of San Francisco and made me homesick.

Midyear book review:

@gorgxoxus tagged me a couple of weeks ago on this one.

Best book you’ve read so far in 2022? A Marvellous Light by Freye Marske. The world-building was fantastic and the chemistry between the two main characters was steamy.

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2022: I think it's unfair to call Crooked Kingdom a sequel, since it's a direct continuation of Six of Crows, but wow, I did not see so many of the twists of that book.

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to: On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi. It's a chick lit romance written by a doctor, so I'm intrigued. I have it on hold at the library.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: Husband Material by Alexis Hall and Heat Wave (The Extraordinaires #3) by TJ Klune.

Biggest disappointment: I'm So Not Over You - the premise of a reverse fake dating situation (boyfriends who had broken up and then had to pretend to date) sounded so fun and it was just executed so badly. The writer needed better editors.

Biggest surprise: ... I can't think of any?

Favourite new author (debut or new to you): T. Kingfisher. I checked out A Wizard's Guild to Defensive Baking and have since devoured 7 other books of hers and have at least 3 more on my to-read list. They are realistic and somewhat dark but also filled with a lot of fun and whimsy. The "Temple of the White Rat" feature older, world-weary characters who save the world and fall in love (Swordheart had better have a sequel soon!).

Newest fictional crush: Stephen from Paladin's Grace. He's a paladin who went on a murderous rage when his God dies and he copes by knitting socks.

Newest favourite character: When I watched Shadow and Bone on Netflix, Jesper was my favorite. When I read Six of Crows, Kaz took his place. I also love Nina.

Book that made you cry: We Are Okay gave me a throat lump today, but I haven't read anything that has made me cry for a while.

Book that made you happy: So This Is Ever After. It was tropey and lighthearted and endearing. Loved it.

The most beautiful book you’ve bought this year: I haven't bought a lot of books this year as I've been mostly reading library ebooks, but the cover for We Are Okay is quite lovely.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year? My currently reading list: The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow, Rule of Wolves (sequel to King of Scars), The Secret of Life (yes, I'm still making my way through), Medical Apartheid (ditto), Struck by Lightning (audiobook which I should finish this weekend) and Dracula Daily. Books I hope to read by the end of the year: A Restless Truth, The Enigma Game, The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks, The 1619 Project, Nettle & Bone, What Moves the Dead.

[oneisallallisone]

All I Know, All I Know Greedling x Reader fic Chapter 5

In a land ruled by alchemy, there are some who would call you a sorcerer. You intend to understand what this means. Along your journey you end up getting mixed up with two strange brothers, a military conspiracy, a potentially world-ending event, and the avarice of something more than human.

Previous

Chapter 1

Read on AO3

_______________________________________________________________________

All I Know, All I Know

Chapter 5: Each of Us is Hiding Something

A light. A bright light, a violet light. It was the only thing you could see, save for the expanse of stars all around you… 

Your waking was not sudden. It never was when you dreamt like this. The shining rays of purple and the sea of stars were ones that you dreamt of often, and ones that always allowed you time to come back from. No, your waking was not sudden. It was gentle as a whisper— go now, you can come back later. 

As you blinked your eyes open, you saw the tilted image of a hospital room. The walls were starkly bare and pale beige in color, and the sheets pulled up to your chin were pristine white. There was another cot in the room with you. A familiar shade of blonde hair spilled over its pillow. 

“Ed,” you croaked. Your throat was dry. Luckily there was a cup of water on the bed-side table. 

The alchemist rolled over, and his eyes widened when he met your gaze. “(y/n)! You’re awake!” 

“Are you…alright?” You could see that there was a bandage around his head and another one wrapped around his left forearm. But there was color in his cheeks again. You took this as a good sign. 

“Better off than you, by the looks of it,” Ed replied. “Although I am a little jealous that you were able to get out of the building before it collapsed entirely.” 

Heat flooded your face and you cast your gaze to the floor. “Yeah. Sorry about that.” 

“Eh, it’s no big deal. You’re alive because you left when you did. I’m glad about that.” 

“I could have killed you, though.” 

“What?” 

Ed’s question hung in the air for a few seconds. The shame had still not left your cheeks when you dared to look up at him again. 

“The building collapsed. It could have killed you, it was my fault. I was trying to protect you, I swear, by taking out a piece of the ceiling I thought I could make a barrier between you and those—” 

“(y/n), slow down,” Ed said calmly. “You didn’t cause the entire building to collapse. Those guys with the ouroboros tattoos—Envy and Lust—they were the ones who did that. I heard Lust instruct Envy to blow it up before I blacked out.”

You were silent for a few moments. In one heartbeat you felt relieved, but it was only  replaced by more unease in the next. “And then Envy carried you out.” 

“And then Envy carried me out.” 

“I wonder why they did that.” 

“Beats me,” Ed said. “The woman, Lust, she told me to remember that they allowed me to live. That I was one of their ‘sacrifices,’ whatever that means.” 

You remembered Envy’s rage at Number 48’s brother. How Lust had stopped Number 48 from talking, and then how Envy picked up the guard’s sword and stabbed his brother over and over again. What was it Envy had said? 

You were trying to kill one of our most important sacrifices! You could have messed up the entire plan! 

It was all too much to think about. You closed your eyes, feeling a headache beginning to blossom. 

But the silence didn’t last forever. The door flung open, and four people rushed in. Two of them were officers you recognized from the Fifth Laboratory, Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh. One of them was Major Alex Louis Armstrong, a towering man who you had often seen hovering around the Elric brothers. The fourth person was someone you didn’t know. This girl, with long blonde hair and shining blue eyes, was carrying a toolbox. She dropped it to the ground the moment she laid her eyes on Ed. 

“What happened?” She said it somewhere between a cry and a demand. 

“Well that didn’t take long,” Ed mumbled. It was the first time you had heard something similar to meekness in his voice. “You’re gonna charge me an express service fee now huh?” 

The blonde girl lowered her eyes. “No. No, I didn’t do a good enough job repairing your automail last time. And now you’re badly injured. I won’t charge you for this.” 

“Wait!” Ed sat up in a hurry. “It’s not your fault! You can’t blame yourself for this! I was being reckless, your repairs were as flawless as ever, Winry. Besides, if my arm didn’t break when it did, I would have kept fighting and gotten even more hurt…” 

He was rambling. The fullmetal alchemist, state-certified human weapon and snarky little asshole, was rambling. You couldn’t help the small smile that quirked on the corner of your lips. Ed and this girl—his apparent mechanic—were kind of adorable. 

“It seems that your injuries are also quite extensive, young sorcerer,” Major Alex Louis Armstrong rumbled as he approached your bedside. 

It felt like a shockwave, hearing him say it so matter-of-factly like that. Young sorcerer. You turned your gaze to Ed so sharply that he didn’t even need to look away from the mechanic to know you were staring daggers. 

“Ed,” you snapped. Never before had a single syllable from your lips also been such an accusation. 

Ed turned towards you, shaking his head.“Wait, (y/n), it’s okay. You can relax, he’s—” 

“Relax?” You felt your face heating up. “You tell someone, a government officer mind you, my biggest secret and you want me to relax?” 

“Wait, a sorcerer?!” Sergeant Brosh gasped. He and Lieutenant Ross shared a wide-eyed stare. 

The mechanic squealed and practically jumped up and down, turning her full attention to you. “So you can do magic? Like, real, actual magic? Tell me everything! What does it look like? What does it feel like? How do you—” 

“Oh, great! And now everyone knows!” Your voice was reaching near yelling levels now. “Ed, once I get my strength back you’re gonna wish those ouroboros guys had killed you—” 

“(y/n) will you shut up for two seconds and listen to me!” Ed shouted. “These people are okay! You can trust them!” 

Major Armstrong folded his hands. “I meant no offense, young one. I was merely intending to check on how you were doing.” 

“(y/n),” Ed said, commanding your attention, but also speaking much calmer than he had been before. “You can trust everyone in this room. I promise you. Armstrong, Ross, Brosh, and Winry are a few of the people I trust most in Amestris. In the whole world, even. They have my back, and because of that, they’ll have yours.” 

“Aren’t sorcerers not supposed to exist, though?” Ross spoke up. 

You hugged your knees to your chest. The throbbing in your head combined with the dull ache in your side from your wound were becoming almost too much to bear while conscious. “Please just…don’t tell anyone else.” You hated how small your voice sounded when you said it. But you didn’t know what Amestris would do to you if what walked among them became widespread knowledge. You didn’t know what anywhere would do to you. 

It had been a massive risk just telling the Elric brothers. And the last thing you needed was the wrong person in the chain of command to know your power. 

“My existence spits in the face of your beloved alchemy,” you continued, “And there is much about it that I don’t understand. So please, the less people know of me, the better.” 

“Edward told us your story while you had yet to wake,” Armstrong said in a voice much softer than you thought a man of his stature would be capable of. “We had no idea when you would open your eyes again, and we needed to know what happened in the Fifth Laboratory. But I can personally assure you, young one, that word of your abilities will not leave our lips.” Armstrong's gaze snapped to the younger officers, and when he spoke again his voice boomed. “Isn’t that right, Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh?” 

The two officers frantically saluted and responded in unison. “Yes sir!” 

The Major turned back to you. “Thank you for defending Edward, (y/n).” 

You managed a weak smile. “It was nothing.” 

“Oh, please,” Ed deadpanned. “I probably would have been a lot worse off if I didn’t have you with me. And once we figure out how to keep your power from getting drained so quickly, you’re going to be a serious force to be reckoned with. I’m sure of it!” 

“Thanks?” 

Winry sighed. “Well I’m just glad somebody had your back, Ed. You seriously need to stop being so reckless all the time. (y/n), you have my thanks too. Now let’s start on those repairs, Ed!” 

“Hey, wait. Where’s Al?” you asked. “He practically pulled me from the Laboratory when I couldn’t stand anymore. I want to thank him.” 

Ed frowned. “I’m…not sure where he is. I haven’t seen him yet.” 

This struck you as odd, considering how inseparable the brothers seemed to be. “Oh. Well…I’m sure he’ll be around soon.” 

“Yeah,” Ed said flatly. “I hope you’re right.” 

Al did show up, eventually. But the reunion of the brothers didn’t go as you had expected it to. 

It was obvious that something had been bothering Al for the past couple hours. And after Al insinuated that his existence could be entirely artificial, that maybe Ed had fabricated the memories of his old life, the fullmetal alchemist got up from his cot and walked out of the room. 

“You moron!” Winry’s cry shook the entire room. She threw a wrench and it hit Al square in the head. “Why would you say that? You idiot, do you even know what—”

All you could do was sit there in shock while Winry’s sharp words tore into Al. How much of a dumbass he was to accuse Ed of such a thing, how this entire time Ed had been so fearful that Al secretly blamed him for the way his body is now. It didn’t answer all your questions about the brothers, but it did give a little more insight into the alchemical accident that shattered their bodies. You were beginning to think that maybe it wasn’t entirely an accident, that there had been some intention behind the brothers’ actions…

“Now,” Winry said at the end of her enraged speech, “Go get your brother. Start running!” 

“Right!” Al leapt to his feet and hurried out of the room. 

Winry let out a long exhale and slumped against the wall.  

“Well that was…intense,” you managed, awkwardly. 

“Yeah, well. Somebody needs to keep those boys in line,” Winry huffed. 

“Does it have to be you?” 

The mechanic turned her gaze on you sharply. “What?” 

You felt your face heat up as it often did when you realized you made a mistake. “Wait, I don’t mean any offense, I promise. I guess I’m just…curious about why you seem to be the one who cleans up their messes? Not to make such a huge judgement about you right away, I know I pretty much just met you.” At that point you were beginning to ramble and figured it was best to just cut yourself off. 

Winry’s pointed gaze softened for just a moment. “How much do you know about the boys?” 

“Not much,” you admitted. “I know they’re looking for a way to return to their original bodies, but whenever I ask them about more details they avoid the question.” 

“That sounds like them,” Winry said, “Never wanting to accept help from anybody unless as a last possible resort. I grew up with them. We’ve known each other since we were…gosh, I think I’ve known them my whole life.”  

You nodded. Not really sure how to respond, but wanting to let Winry know she could keep talking. 

“I guess they just don’t have anybody else, now,” Winry explained. “That’s why I feel so responsible for them.” 

“That sounds like a large burden to put on yourself,” you stated. “Why is it they don’t have anybody else?” 

“I don’t really think it’s my place to tell.” 

It wasn’t Ed’s place to tell everyone about me being a sorcerer, yet it seems like he didn’t hesitate.

“Well, I’m not sure if they deserve you Winry,” you said. “But I know they must be incredibly grateful to have you. Anyone worthwhile would be.”  

Winry allowed herself a small smile.

[hexalt]

CW for discussion of suicide

- She's the crazy ex-girlfriend - What? No, I'm not. - She's the crazy ex-girlfriend - That's a sexist term! - She's the crazy ex-girlfriend - Can you guys stop singing for just a second? - She's so broken insiiiiiide! - The situation's a lot more nuanced than that!

There’s the essay! You get it now. JK.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the culmination of Rachel Bloom’s YouTube channel (and the song “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury” in particular where she combined her lifelong obsession with musical theatre and sketch comedy and Aline Brosh McKenna stumbling onto Bloom’s channel one night while having an idea for a television show that subverted the tropes in scripts she’d been writing like The Devil Wears Prada and 27 Dresses.

The show begins with a flashback to teenage Rebecca Bunch (played by Bloom) at summer camp performing in South Pacific. She leaves summer camp gushing about the performance, holding hands with the guy she spent all summer with, Josh Chan. He says it was fun for the time, but it’s time to get back to real life. We flash forward to the present in New York, Rebecca’s world muted in greys and blues with clothing as conservative as her hair.

She’s become a top tier lawyer, a career that she doesn’t enjoy but was pushed into by her overprotective, controlling mother. She’s just found out she’s being promoted to junior partner, and that’s just objectively, on paper fantastic, right?! ...So why isn’t she happy? She goes out onto the streets in the midst of a panic attack, spilling her pills all over the ground, and suddenly sees an ad for butter asking, “When was the last time you were truly happy?” A literal arrow and beam of sunlight then point to none other than Josh Chan. She strikes up a conversation with him where he tells her he’s been trying to make it in New York but doesn’t like it, so he’s moving back to his hometown, West Covina, California, where everyone is just...happy.

The word echoes in her mind, and she absorbs it like a pill. She decides to break free of the hold others have had over her life and turns down the promotion of her mother’s dreams. I didn’t realize the show was a musical when I started it, and it’s at this point that Rebecca is breaking out into its first song, “West Covina”. It’s a parody of the extravagant, classic Broadway numbers filled with a children’s marching band whose funding gets cut, locals joining Rebecca in synchronized song and dance, and finishing with her being lifted into the sky while sitting on a giant pretzel. This was the moment I realized there was something special here.

With this introduction, the stage has been set for the premise of the show. Each season was planned with an overall theme. Season one is all about denial, season two is about being obsessed with love and losing yourself in it, season three is about the spiral and hitting rock bottom, and season four is about renewal and starting from scratch. You can see this from how the theme songs change every year, each being the musical thesis for that season.

We start the show with a bunch of cliché characters: the crazy ex-girlfriend; her quirky sidekick; the hot love interest; his bitchy girlfriend; and his sarcastic best friend who’s clearly a much better match for the heroine. The magic of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is that no one in West Covina is the sum of their tropes. As Rachel says herself, “People aren’t badly written, people are made of specificities.”

The show is revolutionary for the authenticity with which it explores various topics but for the sake of this piece, we’ll discuss mental health, gender, Jewish identity, and sexuality. All topics that Bloom has dug into in her previous works but none better than here.

Simply from the title, many may be put off, but this is a story that has always been about deconstructing stereotypes. Rather than being called The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, where the story would be from an outsider’s perspective, this story is from that woman’s point of view because the point isn’t to demonize Rebecca, it’s to understand her. Even if you hate her for all the awful things she’s doing.

The musical numbers are shown to be in Rebecca’s imagination, and she tells us they’re how she processes the world, but as she starts healing in the final season, she isn’t the lead singer so often anymore and other characters get to have their own problems and starring roles. When she does have a song, it’s because she’s backsliding into her former patterns.

While a lot of media will have characters that seem to have some sort of vague disorder, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend goes a step further and actually diagnoses Rebecca with Borderline Personality Disorder, while giving her an earnest, soaring anthem. She’s excited and relieved to finally have words for what’s plagued her whole life.

When diagnosing Rebecca, the show’s team consulted with doctors and psychiatrists to give her a proper diagnosis that ended up resonating with many who share it. BPD is a demonized and misunderstood disorder, and I’ve heard that for many, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the first honest and kind depiction they’ve seen of it in media. Where the taboo of mental illness often leads people to not get any help, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend says there is freedom and healing in identifying and sharing these parts of yourself with others.

Media often uses suicide for comedy or romanticizes it, but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend explored what’s going through someone’s mind to reach that bottomless pit. Its climactic episode is written by Jack Dolgen (Bloom’s long-time musical collaborator, co-songwriter and writer for the show) who’s dealt with suicidal ideation. Many misunderstood suicide as the person simply wanting to die for no reason, but Rebecca tells her best friend, “I didn’t even want to die. I just wanted the pain to stop. It’s like I was out of stories to tell myself that things would be okay.”

Bloom has never shied away from heavy topics. The show discusses in song the horrors of what women do to their bodies and self-esteem to conform to beauty standards, the contradiction of girl power songs that tell you to “Put Yourself First” but make sure you look good for men while doing it, and the importance of women bonding over how terrible straight men are are near and dear to her heart. This is a show that centers marginalized women, pokes fun at the misogyny they go through, and ultimately tells us the love story we thought was going to happen wasn’t between a woman and some guy but between her and her best friend.

I probably haven’t watched enough Jewish TV or film, but to me, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the most unapologetic and relatable Jewish portrayal I’ve seen overall. From Rebecca’s relationship with her toxic, controlling mother (if anyone ever wants to know what my mother’s like, I send them “Where’s the Bathroom”) to Patti Lupone’s Rabbi Shari answering a Rebecca that doesn’t believe in God, “Always questioning! That is the true spirit of the Jewish people,” the Jewish voices behind the show are clear.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend continues to challenge our perceptions when a middle-aged man with an ex-wife and daughter realizes he’s bisexual and comes out in a Huey Lewis saxophone reverie. The hyper-feminine mean girl breaks up with her boyfriend and realizes the reason she was so obsessed with getting him to commit to her is the same reason she’s so scared to have female friends. She was suffering under the weight of compulsory heterosexuality, but thanks to Rebecca, she eventually finds love and friendship with women.

This thread is woven throughout the show. Many of the characters tell Rebecca when she’s at her lowest of how their lives would’ve never changed for the better if it wasn’t for her. She was a tornado that blew through West Covina, but instead of leaving destruction in her wake, she blew apart their façades, forcing true introspection into what made them happy too.

Rebecca’s story is that of a woman who felt hopeless, who felt no love or happiness in her life, when that’s all she’s ever wanted. She tried desperately to fill that void through validation from her parents and random men, things romantic comedies had taught her matter most but came up empty. She tried on a multitude of identities through the musical numbers in her mind, seeing herself as the hero and villain of the story, and eventually realized she’s neither because life doesn’t make narrative sense.

It takes her a long time but eventually she sees that all the things she thought would solve her problems can’t actually bring her happiness. What does is the real family she finds in West Covina, the town she moved to on a whim, and finally having agency over herself to use her own voice and tell her story through music.

The first words spoken by Rebecca are, “When I sang my solo, I felt, like, a really palpable connection with the audience.” Her last words are, “This is a song I wrote.” This connection with the audience that brought her such joy is something she finally gets when she gets to perform her story not to us, the TV audience, but to her loved ones in West Covina. Rebecca (and Rachel) always felt like an outcast, West Covina (and creating the show) showed her how cathartic it is to find others who understand you.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the prologue to Rebecca’s life and the radical story of someone getting better. She didn’t need to change her entire being to find acceptance and happiness, she needed to embrace herself and accept love and help from others who truly cared for her. Community is what she always needed and community is what ultimately saved her.

*

P.S. If you have Spotify... I also process life through music, so I made some playlists related to the show because what better way to express my deep affection for it than through song?

CXG parodies, references, and is inspired by a lot of music from all kinds of genres, musicals, and musicians. Same goes for the videos themselves. I gathered all of them into one giant playlist along with the show’s songs.

A Rebecca Bunch mix that goes through her character arc from season 1 to 4.

I’m shamelessly a fan of Greg x Rebecca, so this is a mega mix of themselves and their relationship throughout the show.

*

I’m in a TV group where we wrote essays on our favorite shows of the 2010s, so here is mine on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, I realized I forgot to ever post it. Also wrote one for Schitt’s Creek.

[naomisofficelighting]

Tag five people you want to get to know better. Thank you @greatcometcas for tagging me!

Favorite color: green, especially dark citron

Currently reading: um I'm reading a little of a lot of things, including Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh, Blue Horses by Mary Oliver, The Unreal and the Real by Ursula LeGuin (still in part I), the Christi Belcourt art book by Sherry Farrell Racette et al., for fic, Bring Up the Deep by deathbanjo.

Last song: I just listened to Halsey's I am not a woman, I'm a god for the first time because Nine Inch Nails came up in conversation. For songs I wanted to re-listen to, Pa'lante by Hurray for the Riff Raff.

Last movie: The Lost Boys, for no spn-related reason, why?

Sweet, Savory or Spicy?: sweet for snacks, savory for meals

Currently working on: getting my playlists and podcasts figured out for thanksgiving travel, filling out school forms, other family stuff

No pressure tags: @deanwasalwaysbi @vampiresdean @breath-of-snow-and-ashes @hotgirlgarak @ahurston

[straydog733]

2022 Reading and Watching Resolutions

New year, new list, new books and movies! There are a couple small tweaks this year, but this is more or less the same as my 2021 list. Let’s hope I can fill it with some great stuff! As always, book and film recommendations are always appreciated, as are people joining in on the challenge!

2022 Reading Resolution

A book written in North America: Reawakening Our Ancestors' Lines: Revitalizing Inuit Traditional Tattooing by Angela Hovak Johnston

A book written in Central America/Caribbean: Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat

A book written in South America: Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

A book written in East Asia: Penance by Kanae Minato

A book written in South Asia: The Guru of Love by Samrat Upadhyay

A book written in Africa: She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore

A book written in the Middle East: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

A book written in Australia/Pacific Islands: This is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila

A book written in Russia: The Master and The Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

A book written in Europe: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick

A biography or memoir: Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

A non-fiction book:  The Sawbones Book: The Hilarious, Horrifying Road to Modern Medicine by Justin McElroy and Dr. Sydnee McElroy

A collection of short stories: Smut Peddler Presents: Sordid Past edited by Andrea Purcell

A collection of poetry: QuIP: An Anthology of Young Queer Writing by Fiona Deane-Grundman, Zeke Gerwein, Leila Mottley, Oliver Terry, Charlie Thomas, Sunari Weaver-Anderson

A play: The Billboard by Natalie Y. Moore

A book you’ve seen adapted: The Boys: Omnibus Vol. 1 by Garth Ennis, illustrated by Darick Robertson

A graphic novel: My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame

A children’s book: Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono

A book older than 200 years: The Mabinogion

A debut novel: Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

A novel by a famous author, other than the one(s) they are best known for: De Profundis by Oscar Wilde

A sequel: The Rules for Hearts by Sara Ryan

A book by an author you’ve never given a fair shot: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

A book you’ve heard bad things about: The Maid by Nita Prose

A book released in the last year: You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Janina Matthewson and Jeffrey Cranor

Wild Card: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Wild Card: Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims

Wild Card: My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 2 by Gengoroh Tagame

Wild Card: Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Wild Card: Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story by Frederik Peeters

List Progress: 30/30

2022 Film Watching Resolution

A foreign film: Forgotten (2017)

A black and white film: The Haunting (1963)

A silent or dialogue-free film: City Lights (1931)

An animated film: Loving Vincent (2017)

A film based on a true story: Elvis (2022)

A documentary: Midwives (2022)

A film based on a book: Crooked House (2017)

An Oscar-winning movie: Encanto (2021)

A trashy movie: Single All the Way (2021)

Your best friend’s recommendation: The Producers (1968)

A children’s film: Turning Red (2022)

A film released in 2022: Death on the Nile (2022)

List Progress: 12/12

Movies Outside List

1. An American Werewolf in London (1981)

2. Dune (2021)

3. Cyrano (2021)

4. I Want You Back (2022)

5. Nightmare Alley (2021)

6. Rope (1948)

7. Love Never Dies (2012)

8. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

9. The Pajama Game (1957)

10. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2022)

11. Firestarter (2022)

12. Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

13. Men (2022)

14. It (2017)

15. It: Chapter 2 (2019)

16. The Black Phone (2021)

17. Odd Thomas (2013)

18. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)

19. Nope (2022)

20. The Night House (2020)

21. Children of the Corn (1984)

22. Vengeance (2022)

23. Fall (2022)

24. Joker (2019)

25. Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (2022)

26. The Lodge (2019)

27. Some Like It Hot (1959)

28. The Invitation (2022)

29. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

30. Breaking (2022)

31. Emily the Criminal (2022)

32. Barbarian (2022)

33. See How They Run (2022)

34. Don’t Worry Darling (2022)

35. Bros (2022)

36. Infinite Storm (2022)

37. Smile (2022)

38. Escape Room (2019)

39. Pearl (2022)

40. Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022)

41. Prey for the Devil (2022)

42. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

43. The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

44. Till (2022)

45. My Policeman (2022)

46. Call Jane (2022)

47. Fire Island (2022)

48. Ms. White Light (2020)

49. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

50. X (2022)

51. Violent Night (2022)

52. Matilda the Musical (2022)

53. The Menu (2022)

54. The Ledge (2022)

[aquietwritingcorner]

Sicktember Day 12: Faking it Word Count: 766 Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating: K/G Characters: Denny Brosh + Siblings Warning: Summary: The twins claim they’re sick. Denny is not sure he believes it. Notes: Some headcanons for this: Denny’s mother died when he was seven. His father remarried when he was nine to a very lovely woman who loved Denny. When he was ten, his oldest sister was born. Other siblings followed. Approximately a year after the youngest brother was born, both his dad and his stepmom were killed in an accident. Denny was about 24 when this happened, already graduated from the academy. He assumed responsibility for his siblings and is working hard to support them. His siblings are as follows: Barbara (Barb) 15; Caitlyn, 12; The twins, Ainsley and Benjamin (Benji), 6; Fredrick (Freddy), 2 AO3 || ff.net

________________________________________

Faking it

 “Ohhh.”

Denny heard the groan and he waited.

“…OHHHH!”

Denny sighed.

He knew that groan. Or rather, he knew that type of groan. It was Benji, and it was a fake groan. Maybe if he waited—

“Ohhhhh.”

Denny hung his head.

“OHHHHH!”

And now Ainsley was in on it too.

“Deeeennnnny! Denny, I don’t feeeeeel gooood!”

Alright. He was going to have to deal with this.

Denny got up, half dressed in his uniform, and headed toward the twins’ room. He pushed open the door. Benji and Ainsley had gotten themselves in the same bed, and had the blankets pulled up. They had done their best to look absolutely miserable.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he got in here.

Benji looked at him, poking his bottom lip out. “I don’t feel good, Denny.”

“Oh, you don’t?” Denny asked. “What kind of don’t feel good?”

“I’m hot. And my tummy feels bad. Ainsley’s too.”

“Does it?”

“Yeah.” He pointed at the garbage can. “See?”

Denny had a feeling he was going to regret this, but he looked in anyway. Was that… oatmeal? With… yeah, he was pretty sure that was fish food in it. He’d give them points for creativity, at least.

“Well, that does look pretty disgusting. Do you think you’re running a fever?”

Benji nodded. “Yeah. Look.” Benji pulled a thermometer out from under the blankets—where, Denny was sure, he had been keeping it extra warm. Denny took it.

“I see. Any other symptoms.”

Benji nodded. “Show him your tongue, Ainsley.”

Ainsley opened her mouth, showing her tongue, which was blue. Denny caught sight of candy wrappers on the floor. Well, if Ainsley had a stomachache, it was probably real.

“And look—” Benji and Ainsley both held out their arms. Red dots covered them. Red dots that looked suspiciously like marker. A lot like the marker that he noticed sticking out from under the pillow.

“Ah, I see,” Denny said. He paused for a moment. What was going on at school that they would both want to miss? Or, more specifically, that Benji would want to miss but could talk Ainsley into missing as well? Wait—wasn’t their grade doing presentations today? That was probably it.

“Well,” Denny stood up, brushing his hands on his pants. “It seems like you really are sick. I guess there’s no choice but for you to say home.” He didn’t miss the look of excitement that passed between the twins. “Of course, I can’t leave you home alone. I bet Mrs. Cook could stay over.”

The excitement on their faces grew a bit uncertain.

“And if you’re really that sick at your stomach, well, then that means that you’ll need to only eat soup and applesauce, just in case.” He peeked at them. They looked less certain. “Too bad. There’s a festival this weekend I thought we could all go to. But you two probably won’t be up for it by then. Or at least won’t be up for all the food or the rides.”

Dismay crossed Ainsley’s face, and she almost said something, but Benji hushed her.

“And of course, there’s the presentations at school. I was going to take time off to come see you, but I guess they’ll have to reschedule. I probably can’t. Too bad. I was going to take you out for a treat afterward. But I guess that does mean I can cook dinner tonight, maybe one of my special recipes. I guess you two just won’t feel like—”

Benji threw back the covers.

“Never mind! I feel fine!”

“Yeah, me too!”

Denny eyed them. “Are you sure? I mean, there is that rash—”

“We, uh, forgot to wash off where were we drawing last night.”

“—and Ainsley’s blue tongue—”

“I just didn’t brush my teeth last night!”

“—and the thermometer—”

“Must be broken!”

“—and the throw up—”

“It was the cat!”

“Oh?” Denny said. “So, you’re not feeling bad?”

“No!”

“Nope!”

“Ah, well, okay then. Then I’ll go back to getting ready. Barb and Caitlyn will take you to school, but I’ll come in time for your presentation, alright?”

“Yeah!”

“Yes!”

With that reassurance, Denny left their room and went back to his to finish pulling on his boots and his uniform jacket. Kids were kids, but with five of them he was responsible for, he’d gotten pretty good at catching them fake it.

Besides, he did work in investigations.

Kids: 0. Denny: 14

It’d be interesting to see if they would ever be able to pull one over on him.

[zhukova-art]

Ловите новую красоту. Брошь жук. 7*6.5см Материалы самые лучшие: кристаллы Сваровски, итальянские паетки, натуральный мех. Продажа, 65$/130р.б./4400р Отправка за мой счёт. #брошьжук #мода #фешн #рукоделие #ручнаяработаназаказ #брошьминск #купитьброшьмосква #купитьброшьминск #бирюзовый #купитьжука #fashion #broshes #brosh #blue #emrodery (at Europe/Minsk) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwosXP6Bao3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qy52ygn1i5r2

[doorsclosingslowly]

gonna be random and ask you a bunch of color ones! Name a book you like with a blue cover, a yellow cover, a green cover, a red cover, an orange cover and a purple cover

what a great ask, thank you! I had fun hunting through my shelves. Gonna do doubles for the better layout

Blue: The Lamb will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy & Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

Yellow: Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi & Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

Green: Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth & Todesfuge und andere Gedichte by Paul Celan

Red: Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut & Debt by David Graeber

Orange: The Martian by Andy Weir & Why Torture Doesn't Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation by Shane O'Mara

(purple in the reblog)

[inclineto]

Books, November - December 2020

The Relentless Moon - Mary Robinette Kowal [I...was not prepared for an eating disorder to drive as much of the plot as it does; maybe you should be]

How to Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea - Tristan Gooley

Spoiler Alert - Olivia Dade [This could have gone so wrong; honestly, I expected to ditch it in the first two chapters, because usually I HATE giddy novels about fandom...and yet! it turned out to be wish fulfillment in the best possible way, somehow despite the inclusion of multiple tropes that I also dislike (least spoilery: “I betrayed your trust by not telling you my terrible secret that involves you when I had the opportunity, and now you can never know,” when that will obviously only make the eventual inevitable reveal much worse). Anyway: if you wanted actor RPF/fandom AU for a canon that doesn’t exist, here you go.]

Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait - Bathsheba Demuth

Desire and the Deep Blue Sea - Olivia Dade

The Way Past Winter - Kiran Millwood Hargrave [dnf]

Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism - Seyward Darby

Swordspoint - Ellen Kushner

Jeoffry: The Poet’s Cat: A Biography - Oliver Soden

Gaudy Night - Dorothy L. Sayers *

Yes, I’m Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth About Life in a Hijab - Huda Fahmy [I introduced this artist to a former boss, whose reaction was to immediately purchase and lend me every book she’s published; I’m overdue to mail this one back (and if your thought was “that book exchange sounds backwards,” well, ...yes)]

One by One - Ruth Ware [it’s fine, I didn’t have anywhere to go the next morning, I didn’t mind staying up until 2:30 to finish this, it’s fine]

A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik

Solutions and Other Problems - Allie Brosh

The House of the Four Winds - Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

There Is No Good Card for This: What To Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People - Emily McDowell and Kelsey Crowe [self-help is not usually my genre, but given that I’ve written so many condolence cards this year that I’ve run out of condolence card-appropriate stationary - archives love using scenes from Hamlet on their exhibition giveaway cards, and they’re absolutely not okay to use for...really any occasion, but especially death - and am utterly unable to tell whether anything I’m writing is any good, and that my standard How To Be A Better Person manual is an etiquette book from the 1930s, what could it hurt?]

Orlando - Virginia Woolf

Around My French Table: 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours - Dorie Greenspan

Return of the Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

Spectred Isle - KJ Charles [still really fond of this one; still really want the lesbian ghost sequel]

Division Bells - Iona Datt Sharma [there’s one scene that threw me out of the world, and I’d kind of love to see whether it got editorial notes and if so, what...but on the other hand, I wasn’t expecting this to make me cry, and it did]

Serpentine - Philip Pullman, illustrated by Tom Duxbury [the story is slight; what you want to read this for are the illustrations, which are delightful]

The Rakess - Scarlet Peckham

The Midnight Bargain - C. L. Polk

The House of Green Turf - Ellis Peters

Beach Read - Emily Henry

Not the End of the World - Kate Atkinson

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments - Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Eleventh Hour - Elin Gregory

Ahab’s Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick - Richard J. King [Let’s get this right out there: “Cetology” is my favorite chapter in the entire novel; I think it’s brilliant and fabulously funny and I loathe the lazy “everybody hates ‘Cetology’” trope that shows up everywhere - looking at you, Dave Malloy! - (although my mother tells me that her students did, indeed, universally despise it, which I find incomprehensible), so I’m always a little salty on approaching any Melville criticism: will they disrespect ‘Cetology”??? Sure enough, it’s there, but at least it’s on the way to explaining why you ought to appreciate it.]

Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love - ed. Anne Fadiman [the essay to read is Diana Kappel-Smith on the Peterson Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-Central North America]

Why Birds Sing - Nina Berkhout

Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country - Louise Erdrich

Barn 8 - Deb Olin Unferth

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse

Where the Wild Ladies Are - Aoko Matsuda, translated by Polly Barton * [completely won over by this linked collection of present-day yōkai stories]

Ammonite - Nicola Griffith

Or What You Will - Jo Walton

Vesper Flights - Helen Macdonald

La Belle Sauvage - Philip Pullman [I’m fascinated to discover that the sequence I remember from reading this the first time doesn’t start until more than halfway through! He can tell a riveting story, so I wish I trusted Pullman even a tiny bit...but I don’t.]

Written in the Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur

A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (and Some Bears) - Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling [some of this would never be funny; it’s possible I’d find parts of it funnier if libertarians didn’t make me so damn angry]

The Glass Magician - Caroline Stevermer