#bookclub selections are not going well this year

[depizan]

This rant brought to you by the fantasy novel I just read for book club.

I was once asked on here how I felt about the trope Planet of Hats, and I probably talked about how my feelings depended on how it was done. It's very much a trope that exists across a spectrum from "vague description that can easily be expanded on or riffed on to expand a fictional culture" to "WTF that's not even how stereotypes work."

Mostly that doesn't hinge on the hat itself. Take the ever popular "honorable warrior culture." One writer could spin that into a culture that has values that come from that (strength? competition? honesty? courage? success? stoicism? ...) and show those values reflected and questioned across that culture's arts, sports, politics, etc. and give us many different interpretations of those values. While another writer gives us a bunch of identical warrior dudes.

But there are some hats that just don't work. Or at least I've never seen them done in a way that I find compelling, interesting, or even plausible.

One of those is the culture of lying liars that lie.

I'm not talking about genies or devils or the fae here. That's a bit of a different trope. I mean a human or human equivalent culture with that as their hat.

Is culture of lying liars that lie a believable in world stereotype? Yes. The problem is that in the fiction that I've encountered that uses it, the viewpoint characters know/hold this stereotype, opt to believe a person from the culture of lying liars, and, shocker, has been lied to by the culture of lying liars.

Now, the protagonists could just have gotten unlucky, but the implication is that the stereotype is true. This is a problem for a number of reasons. First off, if people of a certain culture are known to always lie and actually always lie, very quickly no other culture will deal with them. On account of how they actually genuinely always lie. Even if the culture had access to something valuable, it's far more likely that they would be conquered for it than that anyone would trade/deal with them for it. On account of how they always lie.

I'm not saying real people are always honest, but contracts and treaties and even things as basic as buying goods from someone can only happen when there's an assumption that people will honor the contract or treaty and are selling something that at least approximates what it says it is. Not to mention will actually give you the thing. Entering into a treaty with The Culture of Lying Liars That Lie is like going to the Botulism Bistro that accurately advertises that 100% of their customers get food poisoning.

I'm sorry, but if your options are the Botulism Bistro or dumpster diving, you're better off dumpster diving. Same with making a deal with someone from the Culture of Lying Liars That Lie. No matter how bad the alternatives are, they are (almost) always going to be better than taking that deal. Because you 100% know that that deal won't be honored.

And there's nothing to be gained by using this in a story. Oh, the main character made a deal with the Lying Liars guy. I bet they'll be betrayed. Oh, look, I was right. Who could have seen that coming. *eyeroll*

Now, if the Lying Liars guy didn't betray them because actually it's just a nasty stereotype about their culture, that could be interesting.

If the main character(s) were from the culture stereotyped as Lying Liars and had to deal with the problems that caused, that could be interesting.

But "oh no, the guy from the culture of Lying Liars turned out to be a lying liar" is not only less interesting than watching paint dry, it's probably a sign that your book should be yeeted out the window rather than finished.

If you want something similar that's actually fun, go with "trust no one." It's subtle enough that the audience might miss it (and has probably been said by characters who didn't turn out to be including themselves in that), and there's no in universe reason for the characters to be suspicious of it.

But it has to be "trust no one" or "you shouldn't be so trusting" or other similar phrases that don't obviously include the speaker. Otherwise you end up back with "oh, no, the guy who said he was a lying liar lied."

Though I guess that's still marginally better than the guy from the culture of Lying Liars turned out to be a lying liar, if only because "stereotypes are true" isn't a great message to be sending. On account of how in reality, they generally aren't.

[bound-to-read]

📚 January Recap! 🎉

Neon Gods - Katee Robert

Boy howdy, this was my first Katee Robert novel and going into this book blind, I was surprised at the amount of 🌶️ in it (I knew there’d be some but gawd dang) I’m a fan. Plus, I’m already a fan of stories that are retellings of mythological figures. Definitely will be reading more of this author’s works!

My rating: 4.5/5

Book of Night - Holly Black

I really ended up enjoying this one! I will say I had a harder time early on getting hooked, but once it picked up, I really got into it! Looking forward to the 2nd (and final from what I’ve seen) installment. But I think it won’t be out until next year. Something to look forward to!

My rating: 4/5

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Was so glad my bookclub selected this! I fell in love with the story and it held up to the hype I had seen about it. I had to make myself hold off on just completely blowing through the book.

My rating: 5/5

Coraline - Neil Gaiman

This was a reread for me and I’m sure I’ll read it again. It’s very easy to visualize the world and characters Gaiman has created and what could make a story more enjoyable?

My rating: 5/5

Murder in an Irish Village - Carlene O’Connor

My final read of January and I am so glad I picked this up on my last library trip! I’m only somewhat recently reading more mysteries/ who done its and the end of this one caught me off guard. I remember yelling “No waaaayyy” when the killer was revealed and my household just stared at me. If a book gets audible reactions out of me, it must be good. Will definitely be reading more from this series as well.

My rating: 5/5

I’m so happy I met my 5-a-month goal, but I’m even happier that I enjoyed all the books I read. After all, reading for enjoyment is why I do it! Looking forward to more good reads in February 🥰

[jacnaylor]

romance book recs!!

romance is my feel good genre, and it’s also usually somewhat easier to read during stressful times, so here’s a list of some books that are either romance or have a romance element i feel like mentioning.

(EDIT: I STAYED UP TILL 2 AM DOING THIS HELP. this is why some of the comments. don’t make any fucking sense.)

romance books and authors:

CONTEMPORARY:

1. The Bromance bookclub series by Lyssa Kay Adams (A group of men form a bookclub dedicated to romance books in order to understand women, improve their relationships and become better men. It’s funny, cute, and all about dismantling toxic masculinity one romance book at a time)

2. Mariana Zapata books (The queen of slowburn romance. The only book I’ve read by her is ���Under Locke’, but ‘From Lukov with love’ and ‘Kulti��� have rave reviews. There is so much build up and SO much sexual tension with a great pay off)

3. Milly Johnson books (A uk author whose books are primarily set in the north, these are total feel good books. Not so much graphic and more romantic, but her characters are great and her plot lines really hook you in.)

4. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (Super cute, quick enemies-to-lovers story about a bridesmaid who has to go on a honeymoon with the best man when the bride and groom get food poisoning. Obviously this means the holy of holies: fake relationship!)

5. Well met by Jen De Luca (Oh my gosh! Super fun, the characters are just wonderful especially our heroine. A hate-to-love romance set at a renaissance fair! All about overcoming the limits you set on yourself and rethinking your first impressions.)

6. Katherine Center books (My personal favourites are ‘How to walk away’ about a woman who falls for her PT after a near fatal plane crash. And ‘Happiness for beginners’ about a woman taking part in a wilderness trail with her brothers annoying best friend. She writes such great plots and you really feel all the emotions!)

7. Mhairi Mcfarlane books (my personal favourites are ‘Here’s looking at you’ about a woman who comes face to face with her high school bully years later - only he doesn’t recognize her. And he’s not awful? Don’t worry. I know how that synopsis sounds. He’s not excused his actions, but you also understand how he’s grown and changed. It definitely gets you in the feels though. As does ‘You had me at hello’ Which is about a couple from university meeting again years later. God this woman can write angst and yearning!!)

8. A part of me by Anouska Knight (On the same day she and her husband have been accepted into the adoption process, their marriage implodes. This has such a cute romance which follows hate-to friends- to love and it’s v funny)

9. Southern Eclectic series by Molly harper (Just as it sounds. Southern small town romance with a great, quirky cast of characters)

10. Maggie’s man by Lisa Gardner (writing as Alicia Scott) (An escaped convict kidnaps a woman from the courthouse to act as his hostage whilst he tries to prove his innocence. Surprisingly funny and warm. Maggie as a heroine is an absolute joy. They’re sort of chaotic together and it’s a wild ride.)

11. The Mister by E.L James (LISTEN OK - SIT BACK DOWN - It’s not winning awards but it’s actually decent! I was skeptical, but I will admit I was won over. I mean parts are cheesy but it’s so addictive. Basically a rich man falls for his cleaning lady - but it’s also about the yearning. It’s also quite action packed as there’s danger, drama and a chase across europe to get the girl.)

12. RECENT Colleen Hoover (Now, you may enjoy older CH books. Personally I find them very problematic. Now I’ve really enjoyed her recent books though. Especially ‘Without Merit’ and ‘It ends with us’ and ‘Regretting you’. High angst, high drama, dark topics for all of her books. But you can tell she’s matured with her writing. She isn’t for everyone but they’re addictive, fast paced reads.

13. The Austenland duology by Shannon Hale (You might have seen the Austenland movie - The cutest, cheesiest, sweetest, campiest movie ever. Well there’s a book! It’s about women who go on a holiday and live their own Jane Austen story with actors. The first book leans towards Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield park. The second book is more Northanger abbey and Emma.

14. Brigid Kemmerer contemporaries (She is an auto-buy author for me, especially her contemporaries. She writes the best teenage characters, the best teenage boys I’ve ever read about. Her characters are real, she writes about kids trying their best, struggling, and being good, and kind, and the world not being kind to them. Usually the books have a pov from both the female and male love interest. I would rec any of them tbh. ‘Letters to the lost’ comes before it’s companion novel ‘More than we can tell’. I loved ‘Call it what you want’ with has modern Robin Hood elements!!!! seriously she is my favourite YA contemporary author.

15. Sophie Kinsella books (If you haven’t picked up her stand alone novels then what are you doing???? she is the queen!!!! Personal favourites are ‘Can you keep a secret’ and ‘I’ve got your number)

16. A quiet kind of thunder by Sara Barnard (I love her ok. Her books are short and sweet but she packs a punch. TBH these aren’t primarily romance, they’re more just about teenage girls but this one has a good romance element so I’m putting it on here. It’s about Steffi, a selective mute who sometimes communicates with basic sign language who is assigned to look after the new boy at school Rhys, who is deaf.)

17. Meet me at the museum by Anne Youngson (GORGEOUS! moving, tender. A lonely housewifes strikes up a correspondence with a widowed museum curator in Denmark. Oh gosh. I just love this one. It’s about friendship, love, grief, second chances, the choices we make. Seriously love this one and it’s not that long.)

FANTASY:

1. Sorcery of thorns by Margaret Rogerson (Elisabeth has grown up in the great library, protecting grimoires with powers and fearing sorcerers. When a dangerous grimoire is released, she’s forced to team up with an enigmatic sorcerer and his demonic servant in order to save the world.)

2. Sky in the deep duology by Adrienne Young (A viking inspired story about a warrior who is captured by the tribe she is at war with. Such good tension and it’s also got a lot of action. Battle couple romance! Mutual respect! Hate to love!)

3. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley (I’ve reread this book once but will end up reading it again. It’s a time travel romance about a woman staying in cornwall dealing with the death of her sister who is transported back and forth to the 17th century. It’s a favourite. The romance is wonderful but the stakes are really high too. I also love ‘Belleweather’ by the same author)

4. An ember in the ashes series by Sabaa Tahir (Oh god, the romance. THE ROMANCE! it’s so much. The angst, the pining, the longing. The first book follows Laia, part of a slave class in a roman inspired world. She begins spying in the top military academy and meets Elias, a reluctant soldier. This is a proper fantasy series with only the first three books out, but it’s so great.)

5. Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen (Let me just copy the blurb ok: “Meet Captain James Benjamin Hook, a witty, educated Restoration-era privateer cursed to play villain to a pack of malicious little boys in a pointless war that never ends. But everything changes when Stella Parrish, a forbidden grown woman, dreams her way to the Neverland in defiance of Pan's rules.” I MEAN COME ON. a gorgeous adult fairytale with love and redemption at the center.

6. The Mediator series by Meg Cabot (Obviously Meg Cabot is the most iconic and we stan. But this series is my absolute favourite by her. About Suze Simon, a kickass, no nonsense mediator - Someone who helps ghosts move on to the other side. Sometimes by force. She has to move house and ends up sharing her room with a 100 year old hot ghost named Jesse. The tension. The angst. THE BANTER!!!!)

7. House of Earth and Blood by Sara J Maas (a half fae half mortal girl tries to solve a murder with the help of a fallen angel. It’s a LONG book, but for me personally it flew by. It’s a big new fantasy world but the romance has a great build. Overcoming grief! Being normal together! Being in danger together! THE UST! the characters are so good. I ahven’t been this impressed by a new series for a while)

8. Cursebreakers series by Brigid Kemmerer (yep, she gets another mention. This one is a beauty and the best retelling about a man forced to relive the same season over and over, becoming a literal beat, until a girl from our world can break the curse. The second book, following secondary characters, is my fave so far. But both feature kickass ladies and those small romantic moments BK is so good at)

9. A court of thorns and roses series by Sara J Maas (a fae inspired beauty and the beast retelling. The only time you support a ship switch. Also the secondary ships are getting their own books and oh my god. I’m so excited.)

HISTORICAL/CLASSICS/MILLS AND BOON

1. Jane Austen (The original rom com queen, obviously. Pride and prejudice and Emma are faves. Also I have a major soft spot for the alwayc chaotic and underrated Northanger Abbey)

2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (Actually might be my favourite classic ever. Often described at an industrial p&p. Margaret, from the south, comes face to face with the harsh reality of the world when she moves up north and comes face to face with a brooding millowner. There’s obviously a lot more nuance than that but. THE PINING!!!!!! THE MISCOMMUNICATION! THE DRAMA!)

3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (You might have seen the film. Please also read the book. Told entirely in letters. The sharp witted author Juliet Ashton falls in love with Guernsey and it’s characters whilst researching what happened there during the war. Funny, moving and romantic.)

4. The Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn (A butterfly hunter foils her own kidnap and is paired together with a reclusive natural historian. They solve mysteries together. They can’t admit they wanna sleep together. The tension.......unbearable. See also the Julia Grey mysteries by the same author)

5. The warrior knight and the widow by Ella Matthews (So last year I discovered Mills and Boon and I have no shame about it whatsoever. This is a medieval beauty and the beast retelling about a woman being escorted to her fathers estate by an enigmatic and scarred knight. She’s hoping to convince her father to let her steward her own lands, and of course trying not to fall for her escort.)

6. The bareknuckle bastards series by Sarah Maclean (A badass, brooding trio of siblings who rule the underbelly of Covent Garden fall for smart, beautiful women. Opposites attract, Good girl/bad boy, strong women, banter. Super fun historical romance)

7. Redeeming the reclusive earl by Virginia Heath (I just read this and it was seriously cute!!!! And book where the hero blushes even once is a good book in my opinion. Basically aspiring antiquarian named Effie barrels into the life of a new earl - who really just wants to be left alone to be grumpy and sad and disfigured. ALONE. But Effie wants to dig on his land. And she won’t take no for an answer. She also talks A LOT.

8. A family for the widowed governess by Ann Lethbridge (Technically this is part of a series but you don’t need to read them in order and this is the best one. A widow who is being blackmailed accepts a governess post. She can’t tell her employer about the blackmail especially when she starts falling for him.)

9. The bedlam stacks by Natasha Pulley (I read watchmaker and didn’t like it but you might like it. This one also FEAUTRES A M/M ROMANCE. I know this list was super straight im sorry. Anyway this is about a botanist falling in love with a priest in the jungle.

10. The wilderness series by Sara Donati (Think outlander without the time travel and also not set in scotland. Basically Last of the Mohicans fanfiction about Hawkeye’s grown up son. An english woman moves to america when her father promises she can be a school teacher there. Little does she know he actually has plans to marry her off. Things get more complicated when she falls for Nathaniel Bonner, a white man raised native american and who’s daughter and extended family is Native American. Like outlander there’s romance, adventure, history. But unlike the outlander books the love interest is a decent guy (i say as if i don’t love the tv show)

STUFF THAT REALLY ISN’T ROMANCE AT ALL. BUT I SHIP A SHIP.

1. The Lacey Flint series by Sharon Bolton (Lacey Flint is a police officer who becomes involved in the hunt to catch a Jack the ripper copycat. There actually is a strong romantic element with the other lead police officer.)

2. The last hours duology by Minette Walters. A novel about the black death and a closed estate lead by a woman who’s trying to protect her people. There’s also a kind of murder mystery. But she also has a close relationship to one of the surfs that I got super invested in.

3. The Strike series by J.k Rowling (I know we don’t stan anymore but. This series about  PI and his assistant slowly growing closer? Becoming best friends and partners? Not acknowledging any feelings for each other?

[chelsfic]

Part 4 - Trustfall - August Walker/Reader - Mission: Impossible Fallout fanfic

A/N: I’m not sure if this is quite the tone I was going for, but almost every time I set out to write something it turns out differently than I originally intended. For better or worse! I really hope you enjoy this little chapter. There’s action and angst to come in the next part!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

You wake the next morning with all the awkwardness and mortification it is possible to feel. Your arms are twined around August’s middle and your bad leg is screaming from being folded underneath you all night. There is an unmistakable drool spot on August’s t-shirt that you are choosing to ignore. 

To you, August seems just as cool and collected as always. He stretches, reaching his arms over his head, deliciously exposing a few inches of his stomach as his shirt hitches up. You don’t notice. His eyes flick to the clock on the wall and he huffs a resigned breath before violently cracking his neck. The blatant masculinity is positively overwhelming.

You clear your throat, “Uh...sorry about that. I didn’t mean to fall asleep here...with you.”

You slowly unfold your leg and hiss against the pins and needles, the painfully cramped muscles. August watches you with an inscrutable expression.

He grunts a noncommittal response, effectively ignoring your poor attempt to address the sudden, confusing intimacy of the previous night. You look back at him, at his unreadable face and realize, with a sinking stomach, that he plans to just pretend it never happened. 

He observes your nervousness with cool calculation. At least that’s how it seems to your eyes. You can’t possibly know that his thoughts are racing. That he’s recalling, relishing the feel of your small body pressed against him, the perfect trust that seemed to exist between you when your eyes drifted shut and you slept without a thought for the locked door that stood between you every night prior to last night. 

“Alright, then,” you chirp, needing to fill the silence. “I’m gonna jump in the shower…”

You trail off. As August shifts forward in his seat to stand up he lets his hand just graze over your shoulder in a comforting caress. It’s there and gone before you have time to process it. But it was definitely there. 

Maybe he wasn’t going to pretend last night didn’t happen.

***

In the days that follow neither of you brings up the strange night you spent holding one another. But the magic of that twilight hour seems to have had a healing effect. The air in the house is lighter. You feel the easing of the tension you’ve been unconsciously carrying around in your shoulders. And there are the touches. It feels natural. Right. That night had unlocked an intimacy between you that wasn’t quite forgiveness. It was more like an acknowledgement of things to come, of the possibility of things. 

Your fingers sliding together as he passes you a soapy plate to dry. The brush of your fingertips along the nape of his neck when you pass him sitting in the living room. And one night when he returns home very late with a blackened eye and a cut over his eyebrow. He walks through the front door and makes a beeline for you, sitting on the couch in the living room. He kneels before you on the floor and winds his strong arms around your waist, pressing his face into your soft stomach. You move your hands in soothing circles over his trembling shoulders. 

Things are...changing. And you want them to. You find yourself looking forward to seeing August at the end of the work day. Driving home with a smile on your face. And you worry when he stays out late...working. You feel the blossoming of possibility between you and you can see in his eyes and feel it in his touch, that he feels it too.

Of course things are bound to go wrong.

***

You’re running late, you don’t even have time to shower properly. You just stick your head under the shower spray to wet it and then throw your hair in a bun. Better than nothing. As you’re rushing out the door you hear August’s quick steps on the stairs. By now you realize he only makes noise when he wants you to know he’s there. Otherwise he’s capable of moving with ghostly silence.

“Y/N,” he calls, “you’ll be home late tonight, right?”

He’s dressed in a crisp button-down shirt and dark grey trousers. He must have business today. When he’s staying in he tends to dress down in denim and t-shirts or sweaters. At first you had found the sight of him in casual wear to be jarring--now it is the other way around. When he’s dressed for business you know there is the possibility of danger. You feel your heart in your throat at the idea of August being hurt and you wonder when that started, feeling protective of him.

“Yeah,” you reply, pushing away the question you have no answer for, “it’s my book club night tonight. I’ll be home around nine-ish.”

“See you then,” he says and takes a step toward you before stopping himself. 

You stand there for an extra beat, feeling like he’s left something hanging in the air between you. Finally you offer him a half-smile and wave goodbye as you walk out the door.

Stupid, he thinks to himself. What is he thinking? That he’s your husband, hugging you before you leave for work? This situation was getting confusing and he didn’t have time today to be distracted by feelings that would be better off ignored.

He needs to think over his plans for the day, the night. He’s arranged for a meeting between two clients, money for information. Simple. The buyer is most certainly a Russian SVR operative although he is representing himself as a businessman in need of insider intel. The seller, whom August will be representing, is some low-level DOD engineer looking to live dangerously. August will be taking a substantial finder’s fee from the deal which he’s arranged for this evening in the house. It isn’t ideal, but the original location he’d selected had spooked the Russian. So, this is his alternative. And it will be fine. It’s a one-time thing and it will all be fine. As long as he is certain that Y/N will arrive home well after his client departs.

***

“So, on a scale of one to dead how much trouble would I be in if I didn’t finish the book for book club tonight?”

You’re perched on the edge of your friend Jen’s desk wearing a sheepish expression. Jen’s classroom is next door to yours. You both started teaching in the same year and had naturally become fast friends. It is a little comical given how different you are. Jen is a garrulous, spiritual star-girl who spends her weekends at psychic fairs and you are a snarky, introvert with a natural skepticism for anything that can’t be verified in a double-blind study. There is just something inherently compatible and complementary between you that makes the friendship work. You suppose it’s a sense of humor and the fact that Jen never really pushes too hard to break into your personal space. Other than constantly bemoaning your lack of a dating life.

Jen laughs at your comically shamed expression and shakes her head in mock disgust, “Y/N...this is like the third month in a row you’ve asked me that question.”

“Hey! At least part of that time I was in the hospital. You know I’m going to milk that excuse for as long as I can,” you reply. You really enjoy being in the book club--it’s just Jen and a couple other teachers and it pretty much comprises the entirety of your social life since well before the shooting. 

As far as Jen and the rest of your coworkers know you were in a bad car accident. The lie has become easier for you to accept with time. Now you can joke about it.

“Mmm...no, sorry that’s not gonna cut it anymore,” Jen scoffs. “But...you’re actually off the hook because it turns out that Maddy and Lisa both had to cancel tonight, anyway.”

You raise your hands in mock victory, “Just as I planned all along!”

Jen rolls her eyes, “You want to go out for dinner at Zorba’s anyway?”

“Nope!” you chirp. “Canceled plans? I fully intend to go home and finish this damn book.”

“Uh huh,” Jen’s voice is laced with skepticism. “Don’t think I don’t know the real reason you haven’t finished it. You have a secret boyfriend, don’t you? It’s the surgeon who fixed your leg! You’ve fallen in love and are going to get married and have little surgeon babies!”

“Good grief! Next book is going to be strictly non-romance! You’re delirious!” 

You walk toward the door that adjoins your two classrooms and force a laugh as you wave goodbye. You can’t help it. The little stutter you feel in your heart at Jen’s words. It’s ridiculous because August is basically a scoundrel despite how nice he’s been acting to you lately. But you can’t lie to yourself. You’re happy to be going straight home after work instead of heading to bookclub. In fact the little bubble of happy anticipation in your chest floats you through your day until you’re once again driving home with a goofy smile on your face looking forward to seeing the man who has somehow, incredibly, managed to carve out a place in your heart.

Tags:

@thorins-queen-of-erebor @viking-raider  @onceuponathreetwoone @angelic-kisses13 @afangirldaydreams @peeyewpeeyew @calwitch @scuzmunkie @amy-choices​

[bangtanxm]

Bookclub; April Highlight

This month’s theme is “Fluff, Fluffier, Bangtan!” asking for our bookclub members to find the most fluffiest stories to recommend for this month. These are our our monthly fanfic recommendations from our bangtanxm; bookclub!

In the following you find a list of fics we recommend and reviewed this month. Please support these amazing authors! Happy Reading!

PS. Next month will be a ‘break’. We will be back with a new concept for the bookclub! Please watch out for the official announcement!

BOOKCLUB; recommendations

HOME written by @cassiavioletblue & @softjeon

» Series; Namjoon x Yoongi (Platonic) » Summary; Namjoon watched Yoongi strutting after him over his shoulder and sighed. He couldn’t believe he’s really done it; paying too much money for a hybrid that would bite him if given the chance when all he had wanted was a cute, little - very much harmless - kitten to begin with. » Disclaimer; anxiety, insomnia

bookclub; review

“Ahhh, so cute. I love the idea of Yoongi as a fox, such a perfectly fitting hybrid choice for him. His fear and insecurities really showed through in a realistic way, but were dealt with so sweetly by Namjoon (and vice versa once they warmed up to one another). I really loved Jungkook’s character as well, always the bunny boy; such a sweet soul who’s just happy for friends. It’s so true to his personality as we know him. And the ending was perfect. I was so scared it was going to end bittersweet in some way, but it was just adorable with him trying to be all cute and sneaky coming back into the home. Loved it.”

“if you want a fic that makes you cry because it is so soft, then this is the one to go to! my heart still hurts so much until this day! what an amazing story!”

UNEXPECTED COMPANY written by @yoongified

» One-Shot; Yoongi x Jungkook (Platonic) » Summary; In which Yoongi is terribly afraid of spiders. Luckily, Jungkook isn’t. » Disclaimer; spiders 

bookclub; review

“the sweetest cutest little fic ever; i literally want to know more about how little kook saves his hyung! it was so sweetly written and their relationship is very clear which although it's just a little short fluff makes it a deeper story”

“AAAAHHHH! I've been seeing this fic everywhere and I know I've reblogged it once or twice and I finally got the chance to read it! I definitely relate to Yoongi with the spider, even reading it made my skin CRAWL I wish I had Jungkook to take care stuff like that for me OOF this was so adorably written I love it when writers show Yoongis softer side in stories I just burst so many uwus this was very well done!” [flowerwrites06]

THE GARDEN WALL written by @chimknj​

>>One-Shot; Namjoon x Fairy!Jimin >>Summary; The window in the garden wall has been boarded up forever, but tonight a dull, violet light pulses in the cracks.. >>Disclaimer; None

bookclub; review

“The Garden Wall is a short and sweet prompt-inspired fic perfect for lovers of whimsy, gardens, flowers, fairies, Kim Namjoon, Park Jimin, or all of the above. It is an enchanting glimpse into a land ripe with possibilities for expansion. The beautifully crafted imagery transports you into Namjoon’s world and his chance encounter with the fae leaves you wishing that you, too, can journey beyond the wall.” @ourownwings 

"You really need a certain amount of talent to be able to sketch and colour a world in less than 1k words and Gina definitely did exactly that! In a small piece I could already see the world before my eyes and it leaves me wanting more and more. Also fairy Jimin is a downright CLASSIC THAT TROPE SHOULD NEVER DIE fjfgfjgjn a really good piece!!” [flowerwrites06]

“Gina has an amazing way of telling a story and filling up a whole scenario within just a couple of words. A sweet drabble for a sweet afternoon, when you enjoy your cup of tea.”

KISS ME QUIETLY written by @cassiavioletblue & @softjeon

» Series; Yoongi x Jungkook » Summary; Yoongi always said what was on his mind, while Jungkook was shy, fearful and just like a wallflower he was quickly overseen. Yoongi wore leather jackets, had tattoos while Jungkook wore soft, baby blue sweaters with sleeves that were way too long. Yoongi was everything he wasn’t. Not that he cared, but men like Yoongi didn’t care about boys like Jungkook. That’s just how it always been like until… » Disclaimer; mentioning of alcohol, selective mutism, tooth rotting fluff

bookclub; review

“This fic was such tooth rotting fluff, my goodness. And such an interesting premise, I can’t even begin. I feel like it really was written in a good, kind way so that those with things like selective mutism and the like wouldn’t be offended. Yoongi was so beautifully kind and tolerant, going out of his way to make sure Jungkook felt welcomed and safe even though he ‘couldn’t’ talk. And of course the twinge of angst made their makeup and happy ending so much more special. Such a perfect fic.”

“THIS IS IT! THIS WAS IT! THIS WILL FOREVER BE IT. I just want to know more. What’s their first date going to be like? Will they find a way to communicate without words whenever Jungkook gets to shy? Will their love truly conquer? ahhhhhh this was the sweetest!”

“This is the perfect fluff fic!”

“Im absolutely in awe at how sweet and lovely this fic was! I don't think I've felt this soft in a while and I couldn't help getting so invested in Yoongi and Kookie's relationship. It's like the perfect "opposite attract" and the bluntness vs. the shyness just worked so well!”

SWEETER THAN SWEET written by @yoongified

» Series; Yoongi x Hoseok » Summary; In his second year, Hoseok discovers dance, befriends Jungkook and his silly friends — and makes the mistake of falling head over heels for Park Jimin’s boyfriend. » Disclaimer; mentions of smut, implied smut, alcohol, swearing, toxic relationships (from the past)

bookclub; review

“This is such a promising start to this fic. Though a wip, the author really was able to capture Hoseok as a character - his insecurities and worries, as well as giving the readers just enough information to really be intrigued about him and his backstory. The other characters are great as well, endearing, sweet, and a little infuriating, and each one really fits bts as we know them in a way - Namjoon’s attention to work and Jin’s and Jungkook’s friendliness, etc. An excellent start and I’m quite curious where the rest of the fic will go!”

“I’M HOOKED! Hoseok is such a different character that here from what I’m used to read. I already love it a lot and I can’t wait to see what’s upcoming and how he will cope with falling in love with Yoongi.”

WOLFSBANE written by @cassiavioletblue & @softjeon

» Series; Wolf!Yoongi x Wolf!Jungkook » Summary; For a a few short hopeful minutes he thought that maybe he could just have Jungkook here at his place for a little while longer, maybe it would take the others a few days to find him, maybe they were busy with something else - but he was fooling himself, he knew that and when he could hear the sound of paws drumming on earth he knew that this little adventure of Jungkook’s was already over. » Disclaimer; mention of violence, light graphic content, smut

bookclub; review

“Such a great story. Really a spectacular mix of both angst and fluff, with the ups and downs of a truly well written piece. The emotional shifts and growth with all of the characters, not just Jungkook and Yoongi, were excellently played and so moving. And of course the end, the happy satisfaction that Yoongi was finally happy, Jungkook found his home, and that things may begin to change for the better. I loved the other members as well, Namjoon and Taehyung were adorably written and such vital characters for Jungkook’s development. Great work.”

“Amazing plot and story-telling. I was hooked from the first word until the last! Within a few chapters, these two manage to suck you into a whole new world!”

PAGE BY PAGE written by @sujigguk

» One-Shot; Yoongi x Jimin » Summary; Bookworm and frequent bookstore dweller, Park Jimin, has been harbouring a crush on Yoongi, the assistant at his favourite establishment, for months now. Min Yoongi, heir to his father’s beloved bookshop, has been dropping subtle hints that he’s into Jimin, waiting for him to realise that the novels he offers as recommendations aren’t simply a coincidence.

bookclub; review

“Page by Page is a warm hug, a fresh cup of tea, an afternoon curled up under a blanket with your favorite book. Its atmosphere is crafted as lovingly as the characters, thoughtful bookworm Jimin and clever store clerk Yoongi, and I promise you will fall in love with all three (or four, including Jimin’s daring best friend, Taehyung). Bibliophiles and lovers of book shops or libraries will find a sanctuary in the charming aisles of Sugar and Spice. A gentle romance blossoms from shy glances through the stacks and secret messages sent via books. I could not stop smiling while rooting for Jimin and Yoongi to solve each other’s mysteries. All stories must end, but like in my favorite books, I found the ending bittersweet because I wanted to keep living in these pages.” [ourownwings]

“She has a way of telling a story so uniquely that you just fall in love with their love. It is just sooooooo sweet!”

SING ME TO SLEEP written by remi_niscent

» One-Shot; Yoongi x Jungkook, Jimin x Taehyung » Summary; When Yoongi finally pulled himself out of his bedroom and fell asleep on the park bench during a rainstorm, he never expected to wake up to a world full of colours. Jungkook never thought that he would meet his soulmate in a park during the rain, but he could suddenly see the colours from the light across the road. Neither of them thought that a conversation could be held on your arm with pens, but they chatted until there was no skin left to write on. So what happens when one of them is ready to take things a step further but the other is still figuring himself out? » Disclaimer; mentioning of alcohol

bookclub; review

“I usually don't read a lot of Soulmate AU's but this was so freaking adorable!! I really loved Yoonkooks friends trying to be matchmakers throughout the whole thing it was hilarious and when Yoongi thanked Jungkook for the colours I ALMOST STARTED UGLY SOBBING THAT WAS DANGEROUS TO MY HEART OKAY hear me when I say I'm not an adamant fluff reader but this was such a heartwarmer!!” I loved everything about it!! [flowerwrites06]

“AMAZING! SHOWSTOPPING AND SO GOD DAMN ADORABLE!”

WASTE IT ON ME written by @yoongified

» One-Shot; Taehyung x Jungkook » Summary; A troubled artist, in search of inspiration, stumbles into a bar and finds everything he’s been looking for. » Disclaimer; casual drinking

bookclub; review

“WOW. So this fic was unbelievable. The first thing I have to comment on is just the beauty of the prose. It felt like a painting in itself. So much detail and flowery (but appropriate) descriptions that just flowed along the page. I feel like the author really was able to capture the painter’s spirit within Taehyung and it came out so forcefully within this writing. It’s absolutely stunning. And of course the descriptions of the characters and their own personalities – mysterious and just as artistic and flowing as Tae’s own paintings. It really felt like everything was told from his painter’s vision and that was such a unique and gorgeous way to tell the story, and so fulfilling to read.”

“What an unique piece of a story! At first you think...okay this might be your typical drunk stumbling into a bar troubled artist - au but it’s not....it is wonderful!”

SAMHAINS BLESSING written by @cassiavioletblue​ & @softjeon​

» One-Shot; Witch!Yoongi x Vampire!Taehyung » Summary; How little vampire Tae found his way to Yoongi. » Disclaimer; mentioning of blood

bookclub; review

“If you prefer your Halloween celebrations sweet rather than spooky, then Samhain’s Blessing is the treat for you! Adapting to his new vampire abilities is not going well for the hopelessly adorable Taehyung, until he falls—quite literally—into the life of Yoongi, an adept witch with a soft spot for animals. The tale that unfolds has many moments with “bat eating banana” levels of cuteness (look it up, you won’t regret it), as well as my new favorite appearance of a sieve in any work of fiction. Of course, the story by this prolific writing duo can be enjoyed year-round, no Halloween required. I only wish I had found it sooner! Now if you’ll excuse me, some cute bat videos are calling…”[ourownwings]

“This fic was so SO CUTE. I really liked that Taehyung wasn’t a perfect, sexy, badass vampire. This is often the case with vampires in fics, but he was rather a misfit and just sweet and cute. I think it really worked for Taeyung’s personality, as well as for the fic itself, letting the two bond in a really adorable way. “I’m Taehyung and I suck at being a vampire.” Cracked me up so much. Also the imagery of Tae in his bat form is just too good; I love bats anyway and him as a sweet little hoppity-bat not wanting to hurt anyone and just being generally fluffy and adorable is too precious. And the really soft, happy ending was great, the knowledge that they’ll figure it out one way or another is just A+; working things out and making an overall amazing couple.”

A SONG OF FIRE AND FRUIT SMOOTHIES written by teecysh

» One-Shot; Dragon!Namjoon x Jimin » Summary; Namjoon is part dragon, and to his complete and utter embarassment, he can’t stop collecting cute things for his hoard. Which would be fine except Jimin is the cutest person he’s ever seen and it’s becoming a real struggle not to collect him too…

bookclub; review

“omg this is one of my favorite little minjoon stories! how sweet jimin is towards the dragon?? omg can i shout about it all day? i love how intrigued namjoon is and how he slowly gets closer until he finally takes jimin with him haha such a fun concept!”

“The title alone hooked me haha, but to then see what it was about made me squeal. Namjoon just loving cute things and Jimin being one of those cute things is the best minjoon thing. It's made better by the fact that he's a dragon who has a love for adorable things <3 It was also really well written and paced so that it didn't seem to be going to fast or too slow. Both of them are so good together, and I love how Jimin reacted to Namjoon. It seemed so real haha”

“The premise of this story had me lining up to read it as quickly as Jimin’s smoothie truck customers, and by the time I finished, I was absolutely smitten. The characters really shine, as the author is faithful to their established personalities. Namjoon is curious yet painfully shy, with a penchant for taking advice a little too literally. Jimin is a hard-working sweetheart who sees past his new observer’s unusual social etiquette as well as the small detail that he is, in fact, a dragon. The tale that unfolds is humorous and heart-warming as Namjoon navigates how to invite Jimin to join his horde of “cute things,” with some delightful appearances of Yoongi and Hoseok in supporting roles. A Song of Fire and Fruit Smoothies is as sweet and refreshing as Jimin’s titular treats.” [ourownwings]

— Join the Bookclub here! — official post — faq

[slash-em-up]

Re-Assessing Presuppositions pt. 1: The Collector x Reader

First off; this is a monster of a fic. It’s around 3.5k and I don’t think I’ve ever written something this large - SO LARGE TUMBLR WONT LET ME PUT IT ALL IN ONE POST!!

So this is going to be a two-parter.

Secondly, this deals with a lot of INCORRECT assumptions about BDSM, M/F power dynamics, sexuality in general, and homosexuality. I think we’re all pretty aware that Asa has some #issues with masculine identity, and that comes into play here. So take everything said with a grain of salt.

Huge huge HUGE THANK YOU to @voorheehees and @princessprofanity for their beta reading and big-brain ideas about Asa’s book club, respectively.

Enjoy!!!

*********************************

Mary-Ellen rolled her eye as Gladys and Marlene giggled on the couch, whispering and gasping as they poured over their recommendation for the next Oak Grove Bookclub selection.

This happened every time they ended their current selection, and frankly Mary-Ellen was getting tired of it. They thought that just because they talked the group into reading that dreadful ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ book that it was their solemn duty to provide something equally as salacious for the next get-together.

Mary-Ellen huffed again and clutched her ‘Ms. Marple’ book a bit closer to her chest. Not this time, not if she had to stand right up and filibuster until they caved.

Marlene’s husband was falling asleep beside her; but she knew the former lawyer might protest that by using her walker to stand on she wasn’t technically following the rules of a filibuster – but frankly screw him. She only had so many years left to live and she wasn’t going to waste whatever time she had left reading that trash.

She perked up as the door to the community center opened and the youngest member of their little club walked in to the room.

Asa Emory was probably the person most likely to protest another smutty novel, next to herself; so she was very glad he decided to show up to the meeting.

After he pursued the selection of baked goods laid out on the center table (grabbing one of Lydia’s walnut blondies – smart man) he took the seat on the couch next to Mary-Ellen.

“Hello honey. How are you today?”

The large man turned slightly in his seat and offered her a brief grin.

“I’m doing fine Mary-Ellen, thank you. How’s your hip?”

Mary-Ellen sighed and leaned back.

“Never get old, honey. It’s not worth the social security check.”

Asa hummed in the back of his throat, tilting his head towards her with a teasing glint in his unique eyes.

“I’ll do my best.”

He set the book he’d had tucked under his arm onto the table, taking a large bite of the blondie he held.

Smiling, Mary-Ellen noted that he’d brought an older mystery novel as well.

Seeing her interest, Asa swallowed his mouthful and offered “Y/N picked it.”

A wrinkled hand rose and patted the solid knee next to her own arthritic one.

“I knew I liked them for a reason.”

Breaking the calm, Marlene clapped her hands together to get the rooms attention – pulling her husband from his slumber with a jolt.

“Hello everyone! Thank you for joining us for the fifth Oak Grove Bookclub content selection meeting!”

A polite smattering of applause echoed across the space.

“Now, I know there are so many wonderful choices out there, so lets get started with the book pitches!”

She looked knowingly over to Gladys.

“Gladys, would you care to start us off?”

Mary-Ellen groaned, making Asa huff in amusement next to her.

“Thank you so much Marlene! First, lets all have a moment of silence for our dear Robert, who we lost to prostate cancer last month.”

A murmur of assent rose from the group as they nodded or crossed themselves in remembrance of their lost member.

“In his honor, Marlene and I have chosen this book – ‘Beg for It’ by Megan Hart. An erotic story about two business people in a BDSM relationship where the man is the submissive!”

“Gladys! Stop using all those strange words, you know I wasn’t here when you read that ‘Fifty Shades of whatever’ book!”

Gladys sniffed.

“It means ‘Bondage, Domination, Sadism, and Masochism. Get with the times Albert.”

Mary-Ellen saw this as her opportunity to pipe up.

“I don’t like it when we read these smutty novels. It’s not what I joined this Bookclub for at all! If I wanted to read about two people doing naughty things, I would go over to Harriet’s house and read Earls ‘Hustler’ magazines!”

“Hey!”

“Don’t be such a prude Mary-Ellen, we’re all adults here. And quite frankly reading that other book helped Marvin and I try some things we hadn’t thought to try in our sixty years together!”

Someone laughed loudly.

“Which was all well and good until Marv’s back gave out!”

“Hush, Gloria!”

“All I’m saying is that we should be reading something relatable.”

“Yeah, if anyone can get anything out of those horn-dog books it’ll be Asa! At least he and Y/N have a better chance of getting through it without needing to stop for a pill-break!”

“Well then, lets ask Asa! How about it sweetie? Want to get some tips for the bedroom?”

Asa looked like he was going to implode or run out the door – meaning he looked closer to a statue than a man – back straight as a board, and gripping his leg tight enough to make his knuckles go white.

He cleared his throat.

“We’re fine, thank you.”

Marlene spoke up –

“So like a man - as long as they’re getting themselves taken care of they’re perfectly content to leave everything else alone.”

“Asa, have you asked Y/N if they’d like to mix things up in the bedroom?”

“Carl, you can’t ask people that!”

“Whaaat? I’m too old to be shy. And when Dorothy is on top I get a free prostate exam!”

This comment was met with several screeches and hoots from the room; but Asa remained quiet.

He stood suddenly, and grabbed his book.

“I’m sorry, I have to leave. Please let me know what the final decision is. My vote is for whatever Mary-Ellen picks.”

***************************

Asa walked back to the house slowly, deep in thought about the situation he’d just departed from.

In all honesty, he wished he’d left sooner – never even heard the lies and slander about male pleasure and bedroom power dynamics.

He liked the members of the book club well enough – as much as he liked anyone who wouldn’t be joining his collection, he supposed; but they were wrong on this. They had to be.

For all that the occasional victim would yell and scream abuse while he was perfecting them, he knew the truth. Only homosexuals could feel pleasure from anal penetration – and he definitely wasn’t a homosexual. His father had made sure of that.

And he’d gotten so lucky with you. Not only were they accepting of his ‘hobby’; but they never tried to undermine his authority in the bedroom. Even when things got more heated than normal – like when you had purchased that lovely lingerie several weeks ago – Asa was assured that he’d be the one calling the shots, metaphorically.

Of course he’d heard people talk about their predilections before – woman on top, tying up your partner, and most recently pegging - but as long as you stayed where you belonged, there was no reason to let this upset him any further.

He nodded succinctly to himself as he strode up the stairs and turned the key to your house.

‘GET ON YOUR KNEES GET ON YOUR KNEES GET ON YOUR KNEES, BABY JUST GET ON YOUR KNEES’

… Or not.

**********************************

“Asa?”

You poked your head out of the dining room where you’d been dusting. Enjoying some alone time to play the pop music you knew Asa didn’t enjoy.

You’d thought you’d heard him enter, but then the door slammed…

You looked out the window as the green Buick Asa drove screeched out of the driveway and took off towards town.

‘Guess he must have forgotten something.’

[ephrampettaline]

a day for downtime, and freddie and ephram discuss the nature of trauma, and change, and what the road ahead means when shadows start catching up.

Freddie had taken his time with Ephram that morning, deciding almost as soon he’d woken that he would be taking today as his own, to do with as he saw fit; relieving his sweet worked-to-the-bone husband of any sort of responsibility for a change here in Soapberry Springs.

Ephram needed a Day Off, in every sense of the word, and Freddie had made up his mind to provide one.

The tone of his voice had brooked no argument when he’d awakened his darling, ordering him off to shower and clean his teeth; and once Ephram had returned, warm and fragrant and scrubbed clean, the fairy - who’d made use of one of their many other bathrooms to do the same, and was now clad only in a pair of Off-White trackies - dressed his witch carefully in Ephram’s oldest and most threadbare pair of Levi’s and a soft rag of a blue plaid shirt that made Ephram’s eyes shame the sea in Greece; before sitting him down on their bed to fasten two delicate anklets - one gold and one platinum - to each ankle. Wanting to show him that prettiness and femininity need not always be so separate from his usual self; and then collecting the nail varnish, first painting each of Ephram’s long pretty toes, and then joining him on the bed to paint his fingernails too, instructing him firmly to blow on them as they dried. Making it clear that Freddie would not stand for smudges.

The varnish was a fae product, changing colour vibrantly to display the emotional state of its wearer, and when Freddie was done, he nudged Ephram down to the floor, warning him again to keep his nails tidy, before reaching for a hairbrush from Ephram’s bedside table, positioning his husband’s back against the bed and beginning to brush Ephram’s thick blond hair back from his face - still damp from the shower - in long smooth confident strokes. Counting to thirty before tossing the brush aside again, as he was eager to run his fingers through that field of gold instead, indulging himself just a little before finally stopping. 

The sky outside their bedroom window was a dark chilly grey over the ocean they looked out on, and Freddie leaned down close to Ephram’s ear, giving it a little sucking nibble before murmuring into it, “Are your nails dry? Because I want you to build us a fire, love - and I want you to do it the old-fashioned way. I want to see you work, looking so pretty for me,” before stretching out on the bed again and reaching for his book from his own nightstand. Prepared to wait until his instructions had been followed.

Holidays were always a busy time at the Department. That was a given; Ephram looked forward to it, as his measure of holiday cheer ramped up in direct proportion in order to digest the added stress.

But even still, there was something about this year -- something emotional, some sea-change at work within himself -- that he'd found left him a little more wrung-out when he got home, weighed his step down a little more. The Cinquefoil had been a blessing in many ways, and … well, actually, Ephram told himself as he came slowly awake in Freddie's arms, it was a blessing in every way. Having the space and time and mental ability now, with the demon quieted, to think about things Ephram had lived through and shoved way way down because he couldn't deal with them -- that was a good thing. He needed and wanted to do it, to finally start to understand and heal, with his husband there every step of the way.

But it was so gosh dang tiring.

Ephram sleepily obeyed Freddie's orders, finding that his usual earlybird ability to spring awake just wasn't there this past couple of weeks. The motions of brushing teeth and showering were routine, at least, woke him up some, and being dressed in what his husband had chosen out for him (even if it was a choice Ephram was a little puzzled by; such old clothes! He didn't think he even owned them anymore!) was still along the lines of the ordinary.

Being sat on the bed to watch Freddie adorn his ankles with such pretty little fragile-looking anklets that it made Ephram's breath catch -- that was different. 

And so was having his nails painted, without being asked or having it discussed, the way they normally tended to back-and-forth everything, second nature now. But Ephram, awake now and watching avidly as his darling swiped on the colour in sure, steady strokes, the bare muscles of his chest and arms a feast for the eyes as his cobalt wings stirred gently, found that this, this was good too. Right now it was more than good.

It was, somehow, exactly what he needed. He puffed cool air over his fingernails as Freddie finished with them, gaze fixed on his husband, realizing that Freddie was making a day of this. Taking care of everything.

Taking care of Ephram.

"You'll put me right back to sleep if you keep on with this," Ephram said as Freddie brushed and stroked his hair, loving the feel of it as always, still blowing on his nails to make sure he kept them as smooth and pretty as his husband had requested. Colours danced across them, pale spring butter yellow giving way to a sweet baby blue as Ephram tipped his head back, looking at Freddie with big soft eyes as the fairy leaned down to tell Ephram what he wanted next. A request that Ephram smiled at, wide and happy, before scrambling up to his feet and moving over to the fireplace to get started on his task.

"And you're gonna watch?" he asked, a little amused and a lot anticipatory at the thought, flutters in his stomach as Freddie stretched out on the bed with his book in his hand, looking relaxed and strong and confident, the picture of a man at ease in his home. Ephram opened the flue and then bent into an easy crouch in front of the fireplace, admiring the anklets for a moment before arranging the logs he'd neatly hewn and stacked himself into a proper peak for burning. "What're you reading? I started Madame Bovary, I saw it on the tv and she made no sense, anything she did, so I figured I'd try reading the book and see what all it has to say. It's going good so far." Ephram poked the little pinecone firestarters he'd made under the logs, taking the pack of long matches from the wood scuttle and carefully lighting them, watching the flares catch, fanning them with long, watchful strokes with a magazine he'd snagged from his own nightstand.

He turned, settling onto his knees as he looked at Freddie. "I think it'll go now. Pine fires ain't too hard to build up."

“And I’m going to watch,” Freddie confirmed with an indulgent smile, making himself comfortable and doing precisely that; watching as Ephram began building their fire in sure decisive motions, and grinning when his husband asked what he was reading. “I, my love,” the fairy answered, eyes sparkling as he held up his copy of The Ladykiller by Martina Cole, “-am happily reading trash, whilst I debate on whether or not to attempt the bookclub selection this month. You’ve got me far outclassed reading Madame Bovary. Are you enjoying it - or does she just make marginally more sense in the reading?”

Freddie watched as the fire began to burn in earnest, then smiled when Ephram turned round again, still on his knees, and didn’t even try to resist the urge to rake his fingers through all that lush blond hair again, dragging them gently down through Ephram’s beard. “Get up here with me,” Freddie said, “I want you close today. I want my hands on you.”

He waited until Ephram had begun to move, then went on.

“And I want you to talk to me, love,” he said, his voice warm and firm, “I want you to tell me how you’re feeling. Inside, yeah? Without letting anything else intrude. Without letting responsibility intrude, or what you think you should feel like. About Ciara and Asker, about the Cinquefoil, about our anniversary… about anything that might be making itself a fixture in your mind.”

“You have my undivided attention, sweetheart, so I want you to be my good boy and give yourself over to it. Let me take care of you the way that you need, Ephram. Do as you’re told and let out that breath.”

Rubbing his hands against his knees, the varnish on them spinning from blue to a fuschia and then through to a calmer rose-gold, Ephram sucked in the side of one bottom lip before moving, getting back up onto the bed with Freddie and curling up against him with one hand moving along his fairy's side. Letting Freddie's wings brush his fingers when they moved. "The book's better, yeah," Ephram said, starting out slowly. "I mean I don't understand her totally, but the way she wants stuff and then gets in her own way, that's understandable. Sometimes how you want something so big, and then when it actually happens you sort of go a lil bit off the rails and can't stop wanting more things. Leastways that's what I'm getting out of it."

Ephram inhaled, a little abruptly, and then he let his eyes close for a long moment as he exhaled. Doing as he'd been told. 

"I think about Ashland," Ephram said. He didn't really want to, his words were halting, but he didn't want Freddie to get the wrong idea about why so he went on aloud instead of in his head: "--and I feel like I shouldn't because the Cinquefoil, it's made it all so much better, Freddie, infinitely fuckin' better, it's given me … well, I can't even say it's given my my life back because I never really had one, did I? All them years when I was owned, one way or another. By Otis Jenkins and then Rance Keller in Ashland, and then by Anaxis all the time after, and I wonder, Freddie, if I would of been a better man. Or -- a different man, I reckon I didn't turn out all that badly even with all what happened to me."

He let his hand rest on Freddie's hip, bringing the other one up to his mouth so he could chew on his thumbnail. "And now our anniversary's coming up, and this year we don't have to worry about how Ruby feels about it all, and I don't have the demon screaming in my brain whenever I let down my guard, and I love knowing that and at the same time, Freddie, I reckon … I'm scared."

The word tumbled out and Ephram's forehead crinkled, his eyes opening wider, startled. "Um. I don't … I didn't … I mean, it don't make much sense, does it? What do I have to be scared about? I don't know why I would feel this way."

“I think that’s the best description of Madame Bovary I’ve ever heard,” Freddie said with a soft smile, setting aside his own trashy novel to better put his arms around his husband and hold him close, “I think you understand Emma Bovary much better than you think you do.”

And he listened quietly as Ephram did his best to do as he’d been told - to unburden himself and share the thoughts he seldom gave voice to - only breaking in to murmur, “You couldn’t be a better man, my love. Not to me. Or for me. You overcame what the universe has put you through to become the best man I’ve ever known, and I want you to remember that. I want you to see it as the achievement that it is.”

“Can you do that, do you think? Can you try? For me?”

Freddie cuddled Ephram closer and kissed at his temple. “Shouldn’t doesn’t enter into it though, love. Your thoughts are your own, and if Ashland is on your mind, then that’s worth talking about. Shouldn’t doesn’t have any business here.”

The fairy was quiet again as Ephram talked about their anniversary, and his fears, and he kissed him again, his arms strong and unwavering as they held his sweetheart even as Ephram looked up at him with wide startled eyes. “You’re allowed to be scared, sweetheart,” Freddie said, “Feelings don’t have to make sense to be valid. But in this case, I think maybe it makes more sense than you think it does, hm? So tell me what it is that frightens you, baby... or tell me about the fear itself... and maybe we can work things out together, yeah?”

"It's okay, really," Ephram hastened to assure Freddie, when it came to his husband's assurances that he was a fine enough man as he was. "I mean, it's normally okay, I don't normally worry bout that. Not anymore, Freddie, not with you. Reckon I'm just a lil bit thrown when I start to overmuch think on who I am. Who I would've been without the demon. But all that's a moot point, ain't it?" Ephram gave a one-shouldered shrug, leaning into the kiss to his temple, content to be snuggled close. "Might as well wonder what I'd have been like if I was born left-handed in Albuquerque eighty years ago." 

He was quiet for a minute, though, revising what Freddie had said and asked of him, and belatedly agreed, "--but I'll think on it the way you suggest. For you, honey. To keep at the forefront of my mind that it's an achievement and not a simple matter of survival. Which is how I'm more accustomed to lookin' at it."

Ephram brought his hands around to rest against Freddie's chest, feeling the firm muscle there, the steady comforting beat of his beloved's heart. "I'm scared because I don't know if I'm ready to think about Ashland yet," he confessed. "I can feel it pressing at my brain, wanting to come out, after I had it all locked down for so long. And in one way I wanna see it. I don't like having things buried and un-looked at. I had to do it, before, because there weren't no way I could deal with all that, but now I have … the space to let it surface. I just don't know if I'm capable of handling it."

Ducking his head so his cheek was pressed against Freddie's collarbone, burning hot with mounting shame, Ephram mumbled, "...I'm starting to want some things again, Freddie. Bad things. You remember when I told you that it helped, a lil bit, for me to think about what I went through in prison but to imagine it was you doing them things to me? That's -- it worked, for a while, it helped take the poison out. But now I want it. Nothing in specific, not to literally re-create the things that happened, but I. I want." 

Squirming, shoving himself hard against Freddie, Ephram said breathlessly and bordering on tearfully, "--I want you to hurt me."

He tipped his head up, looking at Freddie, anguished apology clouding the blue of his eyes. "I'm so sorry, honey, I know that ain't something you can do, and I don't intend to ask you to, honest. I'm just telling you what it is I'm feeling that's gauming me up inside." Ephram's voice hitched, his hand curling against Freddie as he ducked his head back down again, unable to face his husband. "I'm sorry. I … it feels so fucking sick, it's disgusting that I could want that. I don't ever wanna put that on you. It'll pass in time, you don't have to worry. Now that you know, that's good enough. I'll manage."

“Moot for the both of us,” Freddie said with a small smile, “We are what we are, love. For better or worse.”

“But I’m glad,” the fairy went on, his voice low and gentle, “-that you’re willing to look at things a bit differently for my sake, sweetheart. Because I’m inclined to think the same way that you are when it comes to my own past - that just getting on with things is simply that - and it’s you that’s taught me differently.”

Freddie smoothed Ephram’s hair back. “So I think it might do us both a world of good to give ourselves credit where it’s due, eh?”

As Ephram began to elaborate about Ashland though, that desire to face the worst of his history coupled with an uncertainty regarding his own strength to get through it, Freddie made a soft sympathetic sort of sound, holding Ephram close to his chest, able to feel the heat of shame burning his sweetheart’s cheek as Ephram went on, admitting what he wanted, his body tensing and squirming suddenly as if to physically express the ignominy that he could only partially articulate. And Freddie felt his heart sink for a moment, feeling as though he was letting his husband down with his own limits. Hating that there was something Ephram could want that he was unable to provide - even if that thing was anathema to him. 

He hated to deny Ephram anything. 

“Shh,” the fairy murmured soothingly, “-don’t be sorry, love.” His voice grew firmer, “And don’t call yourself disgusting or sick either, because you’re not. Things get… tangled up... hardwired… and there isn’t any blame to be had, Ephram. You feel the way that you do because you had to feel some way - to survive, and to thrive. And I won’t have you apologising to me for it.”

Freddie refused to allow Ephram to hide from him, tilting up his husband’s chin in order to look him in the eye, his voice softening again. “Because you’re right - I can’t hurt you the way that you want me to. I just don’t have it in me to cause you that sort of pain, love. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t do something; that we can’t find an outlet for you together.”

“Because I’m willing to try, sweetheart. There isn’t anything you could ask for that I wouldn’t move heaven and earth trying to give you.”

Freddie kissed Ephram gently, blue eyes still open, still shrewd and searching. “So talk to me, yeah? Tell me what I can do. Tell me how I can help things to heal again; to take the poison away.”

Ephram couldn't keep himself from squirming, still, even with Freddie offering absolution for his confession about what he wanted. Something darker and more harrowing, something that he'd never asked Freddie for and still hadn't. Wouldn't. But Ephram pulled in a long, hard breath and forced himself to hold motionless against his husband, clinging to Freddie, heart beating hard and frightened. He didn't think Freddie would reject or repudiate him, it was nothing like that -- his fairy's love and support were constants in Ephram's world, never in question -- but he was scared of this entire conversation and where it would take them. Where it could even go.

"I'm --" Ephram started, but then stopped himself from apologizing again, letting Freddie bring his face up so they could meet each others' eyes. "I don't know, Freddie. I really don't. That's what's making it so confusing, I reckon, is that I got no actual idea what I want."

He sighed, pressing the tip of his nose against Freddie's before moving; rolling onto his back to blink at the ceiling, his varnished nails a swirl of a muddy khaki and dark sinister crimson where he kept one hand clasped in Freddie's. "I wish I could tell you something specific, or ask you for something, but I can't even begin to think of what. So … so that, I'm sorry about. That I can't figure it out. I should of, before I brought it up to you." Ephram squeezed Freddie's hand. "It's frustrating to hear, ain't it. It must be."

Freddie wasn’t about to let Ephram squirm away from him, or to put distance between them - not now, not today - and when his husband rolled over, the fairy took the opportunity to reposition them; settling himself back against the headboard and manhandling Ephram into place between his thighs, leaning him back against his broad chest and holding him tightly with both his arms and his legs. 

“Listen to me,” Freddie said firmly, his lips at Ephram’s ear, “-you have nothing to be sorry for. It isn’t a crime not to know what you want, love - and I don’t mean to put you on the spot. I just don’t want you to feel alone in this, sweetheart.”

“Where you go, I go, yeah?” Freddie pressed a kiss to Ephram’s cheekbone, squeezing him tighter. “However dark or frightening it gets.”

“So you don’t need to ask for anything, love. You can just talk. Because there isn’t any right answer - I just want to know how you feel. Always, sweetheart.”

Being held and trapped within the grasp of his husband's extremely impressive muscles wasn't something Ephram wanted to get free of -- his more emotionally fraught moods and accompanying physical skittishness always calmed when Freddie held him tight and held him down and close -- so he let himself be moved and settled with a sense of deep gratitude, settling in.

"Okay," he said when Freddie assured him that no, there was no part of this he should apologize for, no matter his fevered instincts to downplay and express shame over what he felt. Ephram had come a long long way over the past couple of years with Freddie, but this … this was something so deeply buried, such unexplored country, that his most compulsive trauma responses were kicking up again. And that wasn't something he wanted to wallow in. Especially since the desire to be hurt in itself was enough to deal with.

"I don't want you to degrade me," Ephram began haltingly, "or … punch me, or anything. Like that. Not that. I just feel …." He made a whining, aggravated sound, wriggling, finding himself unable to move after a moment or two of testing Freddie's hold and settling back down again to take a few steadying breaths and try again. 

"I feel fucked up inside. And the only thing that ever helped was to do something to my body, to myself physically, that forced me to be inside that for a while. What was happening to me physically. Because having my messed-up thoughts taking over was too much for me to handle, too overwhelming, too fuckin' ugly, Freddie. If I got in a fight or got high or drunk or got fucked within an inch of consciousness it would give me some space before I had to think about it again."

He shrugged, self-consciously. "I dunno. It don't make much sense even to me. All I know is it helped, somehow, to put myself in a situation where I didn't have any choice or control over what happened to me physically, to my body." Ephram sighed, slumping fully into Freddie's hold. "It's still ugly, I guess."

Freddie held Ephram firm, silent as he listened to his beloved try to explain his miasma of complicated needs, his own wheels turning as he considered these words; waiting until Ephram had announced the process ugly no matter how it was undertaken, to bite his lip, passing no judgment, before saying quietly, “Maybe ….  maybe it would help to go the opposite way this time, love. To articulate it. That feeling of being fucked up inside. I mean, maybe it’s time, yeah?”

“After all, all that we drag around, Ephram, between us, all that weight that we carry... it’s a load we’re meant to share. That we want to share. And maybe it won’t be too much - too overwhelming, too ugly, too frightening - if I’m here to pick up the slack for you.”

Freddie hooked his chin over Ephram’s shoulder and held him tighter. “Maybe all of that has been given too much space already, to fester and breed in the dark. It might…” Freddie paused. “It might actually be time to dig our heels in, sweetheart,” he said finally, “-ugly or not.”

“You’re safe with me, love,” the fairy murmured, “There’s nothing I won’t protect you from.”

There were little whirls of sky blue creeping and twining across Ephram's fingernails when he turned in Freddie's arms -- his fairy allowing the movement, so long as Ephram wasn't trying to get away or put distance between them -- and pillowed one hand under his cheek while letting the other one sprawl on Freddie's chest. "I feel a lil bit like I'm letting us down," Ephram said, his voice wan and disappointed, but he kept on, not allowing himself to turn off or retreat or take the easy way out of this discussion. "I know you're gonna say I'm not, and that I'm allowed to feel how I feel, but … I just ... "

Ephram tucked his nose against Freddie. "I wanted so much to be well," he said, shakily. "That's all I want and I want it so much, Freddie, I'm so tired of being messed up. I wanna be normal and for the first time, with the Cinquefoil, I feel a little bit like I can be. It's within my reach." He flexed his fingers against Freddie's chest, starfishing. "And then it's not. And I can't help feeling like I'm making it seem like you ain't enough for me, or something, when that's not it at all. This, you, me, what we have, it's the best and most un-horrible thing I've ever had in my whole entire life, aside from Edith. That's why she loved you instantly, y'know. She could tell."

Mentioning his great-grandmother made Ephram go quiet again for a little while, and when he spoke again, his voice was slower and more tired. "It's been a lot," he admitted. "And I got the strength to deal with it now, the wherewithal, without Anaxis constantly eating away at me, and I don't wanna be fucked-up anymore." He gave a wheezing huff of a laugh, wiping his wet face against Freddie's bare chest fruitlessly. "I sound idiotic. Like what, I thought everything would change immediately? God, I'm tired of myself already."

“Oh sweetheart,” Freddie breathed, “Sweetheart, you’re putting so much pressure on yourself… Things take time, love. And a tangle like this? This will just take as much time as it takes. At whatever pace it takes.”

“And that’s alright,” the fairy said firmly, “That’s exactly as it should be.” Freddie stroked Ephram’s hair back gently from his face as they lay there, his darling’s worn-out tears sliding down the rounded slope of his chest and abs. “Now,” he carried on, his voice strong and clear, brooking no argument, “-I’ve got two things to say, and I want you to listen, yeah? Really listen, love, because it’s important. The first, is that there’s no such thing as ‘normal’, and if there were, I wouldn’t want it anyway. We are extraordinary, sweetheart. What we have is extraordinary, and our normal is something we’re still building. Together.”

“And secondly,” he continued, “I know that I’m enough for you. Because you show me that. Every day, Ephram - so put that nonsense about letting us down out of your head immediately, because I won’t bloody stand for it.” The fairy took a deep breath, then murmured, “Your trouble is that you’re looking at the road from the wrong direction, love - you’re so focused on how far you’ve yet to go that you’re refusing to acknowledge how far you’ve already come.”

“And you’ve come so far, sweetheart. You’ve never been short on strength, ever, and you’ve come so far. I mean…. think back to that first night I asked you not to hurt yourself, think about that man, and then look at where you are.”

Freddie turned his face to nuzzle softly at Ephram’s jawline. “Be proud of yourself, love,” he said, “-because I’m proud of you.”

“Give yourself the credit you deserve.”

Ephram listened.

He didn't say anything through all of what Freddie was saying, but his varnished nails told the story: the hopeful little wisps of sky blue thickened, and swirled faster, mixed in with patterns of rose gold and glittering silver. And by the time Freddie started to nuzzle at him, Ephram's eyes were swallowed up in love and admiration, his devotion to Freddie renewed all over again, shining from his face as he gazed at his fairy.

Because everything Freddie said made sense. In that Freddie considered what he wanted to get across, and he considered who he was saying it to, and there was no part of it that made Ephram feel like he was being placated, or shushed, or talked down to. Like he'd felt so many times with other people. Freddie, for all his talk about fairy lack of attention span and frivolous nature, never failed to make a loving study of Ephram and come up with thoughtful, loving advice and comfort.

Ephram didn't think he'd ever been so grateful to anybody in his life.

"Yes," Ephram said, simply maybe, but he didn't have the words right away to express the magnitude of what he was feeling, the rightness of it. The way that Freddie had cleared off the fog and the confusion and given Ephram a direction, a path, a new outlook on something that had plagued him for his entire adulthood. Then he leaned up to kiss Freddie, softly and plaintively, tasting the sweetness of Freddie's breath and the salt of his own frustrated tears. "Yes. Freddie. It's been a long long road and I come so far, and we're walking the rest of it together, ain't we? We are."

Ephram's nails painted over with gold and deep, intimate pink as he kissed Freddie slow, deep. "Freddie. I love you, I love you so much. I …" he trailed off, in little soft sounds of need, starting to squirm against his husband again -- but to get closer, not to get away.

“We are,” Freddie promised, returning Ephram’s kisses tenderly, “Side by side, sweetheart. For the rest of our days.”

And when Ephram’s kisses lengthened and deepened, Freddie returned those too, drinking them in greedily and gratefully, and turning Ephram in his arms to bring him closer. To gather him in; groaning low in echo of his husband’s own needy sounds. “I love you too, Ephram. More than anything. You’re the most important thing in the world to me, love - you’re everything.”

[kentmunck37-blog]

Sense The Fear And Do It In any case Through Susan Jeffers-- Evaluations, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists.

Building http://masca-hidratanta.info is a rewarding experience for anybody curious about computer systems, particularly considering that is actually the best it's ever been. Our company choose sportsmens in their freshers or student years of high school or even absolutely no later than in their junior period from high school to administer using the profile form. If you are actually a pensionary as well as in receipt of income which, when combined along with your state pension, presses you right into the income tax net, you will certainly must file a Type 12 if you are certainly not actually being taxed on that particular earnings (this are going to be demonstrateded in your tax credit certification if you are). If in the US, feature your condition; if in Canada, include your district; else, provide your nation. Definitely if you owe tax from EUR3,174 or more on non-PAYE profit, (ie savings, dividends, rental revenue) after that you will certainly be subject to self-assessment as a supposed chargeable individual", and also you should submit a Form 11 - certainly not Form 12 - for that year. Take into consideration, for instance, the complexity of the human mind, which has around 100 billion nerve cells as well as 1 quadrillion synapses. As a result of this tax-advantaged kind from settlement, the requirement for health insurance even more boosted throughout the 1950s (Thomasson 2003). There is actually a much more sophisticated means to talk to individuals to select their popular time in Term 2007: pick the Day Picker management, which adds a month-by-month calendar to the type that seems when you pick it and opt for the down arrow to the right from the existing entry. Pepper Reside in late 2015, Low-cost Trick authorized along with giant country label Huge Maker Records, and their first cd for their brand-new supporters, Bang, Zoom, Crazy ... Hello there, was discharged in April 2016. Corel doesn't possess a great deal of impacts or any type of image slides, wrecks almost all the time (very very often/ within mins), & stops working at 99% while making a Hd mp4 (the data is actually gone/not produced in all), account in image impact reduces the quality from the picture/video that is using the result. http://masca-hidratanta.info is followed by a major emotional catharsis in the form of fatigue and also fatigue, often adhered to by rest. Yet he said to the PLA that his priority was actually the economic condition; the generals must be patient as well as reside within a budget from under 1.5% of GDP. Maybe the UK might take into consideration a different form from young people company - not army - which counts on volunteers, adequately moneyed and also lasting one or two years. I came by to talk with the committed glitch seekers as well as speedrunners in the Wind Waker HD Disharmony network and also none had find this technique just before. Nash, Gerald D. State Authorities and also Economic Progression: A Past from Management Plans in California, 1849-1933. At that point Gravity Actions can be for you, as that permits you to introduce four apps or functionalities of your selection with gestures, which for the most part take the form from a few fast rotations of your phone. One must certainly not appreciate the lives from millions in Africa on principles, risk vs materialism where materialism always won over thousands and numerous innocent blood stream. Make use of 16d duplex (double-headed) nails to link the type boards and also connect the bracing. Considered that the large a large number of Americans which interact along with the justice unit do so at the state and local area levels, this is actually essential that this kind of bipartisan management carries on which states continue to demonstrate ways that others (featuring, sometimes, the federal authorities) can easily make every effort to accomplish better outcomes. You do not must accept the policeman's choice; you may ask for a judge to conclude on the issue by completing application N244, though you could have to pay a cost. In case advance tickets are actually no more on call, a standby line is going to develop HALF AN HOUR just before the screening time in the Pickford Theater gateway. The trick to altering views is actually doing that to make sure that reciters (and publishers!) never ever notification. I presume I also had better position along with these on, given that I seemed like my clothes draped much better as well as ultimately embraced my type as opposed to simply regrettably kind of losing hope in the back. Or send out in a notarized kind to a San Antonio deal with, utilizing Julie's POA to validate her identity. A prominent type of labour assigned to drifters was the splitting of big stones in to much smaller pieces, which can at that point be made use of when driving. Finally (and also very most notably), you'll really want a credit card to squeegee out any blisters that form after you used the display protector. You use through type N349 (as well as certainly, there is actually another cost) and if the court is happy, he or she are going to create an interim third party financial debt purchase. Moreover, make use of Type 1099-MISC to disclose that you created direct purchases of a minimum of $5,000 from consumer products to a buyer for reselling anywhere besides a permanent retail building. For rate and also accuracy, utilize a builder's level (Photograph 1), a transportation or even a laser degree to specify the elevation from the forms. There is actually an expense to spend (you will certainly need form N323), which are going to be contributed to what the offender already is obligated to pay. Ingredients: Salmon fillet cut into 4 strips for 4 servings; huge mild red onion cut incredibly slim; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 2 tablespoon gewurztraminer white vinegar; 1 tsp sugar; 1/4 cup added pure olive oil; 3/4 mug nutritious violets; salt and also pepper to taste. Some 60% per-cent of Alaska is composed of national land, and also the condition's reps have actually aimed to pass legislations asserting component of it for state make use of as just recently as 2015. Space and amount in the contrary form sides using a home made scale panel-- just a 1x4 that's a couple of ins a lot longer than the distance from the pathway. This was actually the very first Low-cost Method launch considering that the variation from drummer Danish E. Carlos off the band. In addition, that is actually essential that our experts accelerate the pattern for sentencing reform at the state as well as local area levels via the type of well thought-out, evidence-based reforms promoted by JRI. That gave birth to the interpretation of business economics as the scientific research of examining individual behaviour as a connection between edges and scarce ways that possess alternative usages. Rest the screed panel on the forms and also use a sawing movement while pulling the panel towards completion from the pour. If you draw the types the exact same day as putting, you'll crack pathway edges or sides.

[brink25salazar-blog]

Other People Through Martin Amis-- Evaluations, Conversation, Bookclubs, Lists.

When the Taliban had management of the Swat Lowland in Pakistan, one female spoke up. Moonglow," Michael Chabon's brand-new novel, is my preference from his publications and also some of the most remarkable books I read this year. I selected this up and also place it down a number of opportunities, but, I actually intended to observe the upcoming collection therefore This was actually a great manual. I want this publication had actually focused less on giving our company a history course, and also somewhat Malala might possess entered intensity regarding the subjects she is actually enthusiastic about. I recently ended up reading Dr Holly Cloud's most up-to-date publication The Electrical power of The Other". Commemorate a close friend or familied member's special day with this collectible, one-of-a-kind book that brings past back to life. And every person appears excellent!" That was just like Mao Zedong said in his Little bit of Red Manual: The military must become one with individuals to make sure that they view it as their personal military. navigate here advised me certainly not to read To Kill A Mockingbird and also I possessed a hunch that she is actually mosting likely to offer that to me. Just before you punish me to whatever sorrowful area individuals which devote among the dangerous transgressions at Christmastime go (that made no grammatical sense), satisfy hear me out. This is Guide Crook, having said that, that has created Markus Zusak being one from the best productive authors ahead from Australia. This was like I was in the tale when I was actually reading I might imagine the picture in my head. Ok: it's difficult ... Checking out off http://excelentfemeie.info/onycosolve-actualizat-2018-comentarii-comentarii-forum-%d0%bb%d0%be%d1%85%d0%b8-recenzii-pentru-spray-pret-cumpara-de-la-farmacii-rusia/ of identical twins being actually captured in Auschwitz, daily going through the loathsome practices by Mengele, is actually certainly not an enjoyable walk in the playground. Capitalism is actually an apparent issue, and your kids might take a brand new rate of interest in the Dwarfs line of toys and other items after viewing the show, yet it does not self-promote at the expenditure from the accounts on their own. Opinion in fallacies as well as superstition is sturdy as well as the villagers beware certainly not to agitate the 'Really good People' or little people who they believe are out do make mischievousness yet could additionally hand out clinical remedies and also wealth. And he explicitly mentions that he just ENJOYS paying attention to the audio versions of his publications. I've been actually a victim from the weightloss field right aspect of my 36 yrs in the world. I possess re-read few manuals in my lifestyle, and also recognize that there are thousands around that I'll never go through, therefore who am I kidding by always keeping ones that I have actually read. Its own game library additionally has to be substantially grown, as pair of activities - among which is actually a two-minute simulation from a backyard - will not precisely possess folks queuing around the block to pay for the adventure. This was my favorite facet from the tale as compared to the film because that was so touching, consequently attractive, and truly added a brand new size to the secondary school feel of the book. You can educate people to better moderate their feelings, and the training appears to possess enduring impacts. After I read through a book on being actually vegetarian and the downside from eating creature products, that made me out! Caro's publication works as both a capturing legendary concerning a large-scale individuality and also a coarse-grained examine the mechanisms of energy and effect. The tagline of a brand-new publication reaching British racks reads through 'In Paris, in love, ', yet if that were actually saying to the entire story, probably that needs to read 'In social' also. However I'm coming at this in different ways, as a person urged that analysis performs factors-- to the center, mind and character-- that films, tv, video games et cetera of that can certainly not. Or even she could sit in the muteness of her property and also read through a publication or encamp before the TV. She saw a lot a lot more movies. This analysis is assisted by rich textual embedding that Di Benedetto supplies: exotic flora as well as fauna, remarkable mineral deposits, odd food stuffs, uncivilised groups and also their custom-mades. My target is for individuals to focus on feeling great and also being actually well-balanced, and relinquishing their focus on body weight. Reviewing the very first edition from his marvellous Histories, a classic narrative, has the very same impact. Individuals have been actually best-selling using this strategy too and is also utilized by numerous world-class professional athletes. Rothfuss doesn't meet the criteria listed here due to the fact that at the moment of writing this listing he merely had the one record out. But if you really want a mental thriller that doesn't overlook reddish signs you would do better to schedule a chair in other places. I desire I had actually possessed non stop uninterrupted hrs to enjoy this publication yet I likewise didn't wish this to end. Salome's leave problems are triggered by people not believing her and also this in turn creates her needy as well as a very easy intended to become adjusted. I honestly have no idea exactly how the movie civil rights for this were actually gotten, much a lot less exactly how a Significant Six printing property like Simon I do not generally check out supporter fiction on Wattpad. As you review this you believe that people of shade, girls, as well as gay people are actually merely wrecking that for every person through centering a lot on themselves and also on the adverse. Val is a hero given that she accidentally stopped Scar's firing rage by receiving herself shot in the thigh, but is actually also a suspect and also associate to the unlawful act because she helped him build the Hate Checklist - the listing he made use of to select folks off in the course of the firing. I assume kids are actually heading to such as considering the pictures and recognizing all the various folks that are out on earth.

[carryon-reading]

December Book Poll!

It’s that time of the month; it’s time to pick our December book of the month. 

Before we get to it though, I want to quickly mention that our bookclub has a discord chat that you can join. Here you can interact with the other members and discuss the books with all of us in one place. If you want to join this chat you can find the post about it here. 

Now onto the books that we’ve selected for our December poll. 

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

All the Crooked Saints is Maggie Stiefvater’s recently released stand alone novel. Maggie Stievater is well known and loved for her series called The Raven Cycle. All the Crooked Saints has the promise to be as magical and creative as The Raven Cycle. 

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

A few years ago, E. Lockhart got a lot of recognition for the book We Were Liars. With We Were Liars it was best to go into the book knowing as little as possible about the plot. Having read the vague synopsis of Genuine Fraud we’re assuming the same goes for Genuine Fraud. Knowing E. Lockhart however, you can assume the book will have beautiful writing and interesting themes! 

The Power by Naomi Alderman

The Power is a recent sci-fi dystopian release. The world in The Power is almost identical to our own, except something strange has happened; teenage girls now have the immense physical power that can cause agonising pain and even death. This causes a whole shift in society. 

The poll to vote on our December book can be found here. The poll will be closed on November 19th. 

[e-antoinette-reading]

Attention blabbing book club members! It’s been a hectic week, but I hope you’re all well! Happy Friday, happy weekend, and happy March book club pick announcement day 💜. February was a doozy with a sort of twofer selection, so I wanted to go a bit lighter for March, but this is one I’ve wanted to dig into for awhile. Let’s get ready to read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon A bestselling modern classic—both poignant and funny—about a boy with autism who sets out to solve the murder of a neighbor's dog and discovers unexpected truths about himself and the world. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years. . . . #bookclub #theblabbingbookclub #bookstagram #thecuriousincidentofthedoginthenighttime #marchpick #bookblogger https://www.instagram.com/p/B80U8XQA6MV/?igshid=zzfqbqh16w2c

[un-enfant-immature]

Join us for the TechCrunch 2020 book club, starting next week

It’s a new year, a new decade, and a renewed opportunity to read great non-fiction and fiction that strikes at the heart of the ambition, power, and challenges of technology and its effect on society at large.

That’s why TechCrunch is launching an informal “book club” for our readers, starting next week. The idea is to bring our audience together around an important piece of writing, discuss it, and perhaps learn a thing or two (or just enjoy great writing). This is a beta test — we are going to figure out the logistics a bit along the way (“move fast and read things”).

Late last year, we published three different best-books-of-the-year lists, with recommendations from our own TechCrunch writers, Extra Crunch readers, and leading venture capitalists.

I’m borrowing from Josh Wolfe at Lux Capital to select Exhalations by Ted Chiang as our first book.

As Arman Tabatabai wrote in our overview:

Chiang’s newest work is a collection of science fiction short stories and novelettes that stray away from the speculative dystopian side of the genre. Using common sci-fi motifs such as aliens and AI proliferation, the selected writings instead dial-in on the characters living in these imagined universes as they examine how societal and technological evolutions impact the ethical, philosophical and cognitive aspects of the human psyche and existence.

Exhalations has not only been lauded by the likes of VCs, but was also selected as a top 10 book of the year by The New York Times for 2019.

For next week, we will start slowly and just read the first short story in the collection, “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate.” There are nine chapters in Exhalations, some very short, some longer, and we will balance out the reading over the next 4-6 weeks or so.

Each week, we will read a story or two from the book, and I will curate responses from any reader that wants to email me their thoughts about what they just read for a post on Tuesday (email: danny+bookclub@techcrunch.com). TechCrunch has discussion comments available on our posts, so we can continue the conversation there as well.

Join us! And if you have feedback on this concept, feel free to email me at danny@techcrunch.com.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Week 23: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties- The Wabi Sabi Edition

Happy Monday! We are well into Fall and I am happy to be getting into the more “homier” aspects of my bucket list. I’m wrapped in a warm blanket, I’m wearing fuzzy slippers and I’ve got a fall scented candle burning. So let’s dive right into the messy but beautiful leaf pile that makes up life and take a look at this week’s progress. Kicking it off with a big check-mark on completing that wonderfully complicated puzzle! I have to give a shout out to Mike and Sammi here because they were intrigued enough to join me and together we knocked it out in a couple of days. It was fun, challenging and unique and I would definitely try another puzzle made by this company. Loved working on this with Mike and Sammi. Fun seeing how the unusually shaped pieces ended up fitting together. My Duolingo streak continues, currently at level 982 and I have a 794 day streak going. Classes at Alliance De Francais of Detroit continue. I am thoroughly enjoying it and I know I’ve made definite progress. We are ready to advance to the next book soon and the course will have more emphasis on conversation than it has in the past. This is exactly why I took a class in conjunction with my other efforts as, despite being passably familiar with vocabulary, being able to read and understand the simple spoken word, when it comes to conversation, I get stage fright! So send positive vibes my way because I’ll need ’em! Let’s talk about bucket-list item # 22: Bake a loaf of bread from scratch. I purchased all of the items I’ll need to make bread, according to the book “Flour Water Salt Yeast: Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza (Deana’s bread bible). Deana so kindly gifted me this book and a proofing basket. I only needed a more detailed set of measuring spoons that included 1/16th tsp, a kitchen scale, a kitchen thermometer, a dutch oven and dough tubs. I was able to obtain all items from Amazon. Looking forward to giving this a try! I know I won’t be getting to this until next week, so I’ll report back in two weeks and let you all know how my first attempt goes. I chose Lodge for my dutch oven because the handles can stand up to the heat from the oven. I was surprised to see that this book advocates using this to bake bread as opposed to a loaf pan. Excited to see how it all turns out! We have started another modernization project. As Mike and I are empty nesters now, our back entryway doesn’t serve the same purposes it once did. The fact that the wallpaper was ripping expedited the decision to redo this area. I started by ordering wallpaper samples and selected the one I thought would work best in the space. We are getting rid of the black Pottery Barn locker and replacing it with a storage bench from Grandin Road and more hooks on the wall above. One of my pet peeves is the fact that my husband Mike tends to pile six or seven coats on a single hook. We will be adding more hooks and hopefully limiting our number of items per hook. I need to purge the back closet and get rid of old coats and winter gear long outgrown by my adult daughters. The bench has been ordered and the wallpaper is stripped. Next up is repainting the trim. And no, I haven’t repainted the laundry room yet, but that will be tackled in due time. Before: The hallway leading to the mudroom.Before: Ready for something different. You can see where we took the door off the hinges leading into the laundry room. We had moved the door to the top of the basement stairs to close it off a few years ago. We still need to repair the woodwork!Wallpaper stripped and ready to go! I made two great dishes with Noom recipes this week, so I have a couple to pick from. The rosemary marinated pork chops were great, but the recipe I’m going to share was our favorite, Apricot Grilled Shrimp which I served with brown rice. Apricot Grilled Shrimp 1 cup apricot preserves 1 lemon 4 tsp soy sauce (I used low sodium) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp black pepper 2 tsp grated fresh ginger 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined Place the preserves in a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high power for 30 seconds, or until melted. Grate 2 tsp rind from the lemon into the bowl. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze 2 TBSP juice into the bowl. Stir in the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Coat a grill rack or broiler-pan rack with cooking spray. Preheat the grill or broiler. (I broiled.) Remove the shrimp from the marinade; reserve the marinade. Thread the shrimp onto 8 metal skewers, leaving 1/4″ between the pieces. Cook 4″ from the heat, basting often with the marinade, for 2 minutes per side, or until the shrimp are opaque. Place the remaining marinade in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 2 minutes. Serve with the shrimp. 208 cal/serving Apricot Grilled Shrimp, sooo good! In other ongoing items, Noom continues. I completed week 5 on Friday and am down 6 pounds with 7 1/2 inches lost. I am happy with my progress and plan to continue. I have exceed my 50 book goal. Unlike my other items this one concludes at the end of the year as opposed to my birthday. I have read 61 books so far. I am currently reading “After the Flood” by Kassandra Montag and am really enjoying it. It has been described as a riveting and epic saga set in a post apocalyptic world. It was selected as a Libraries Transform Book Pick. I was not familiar with this initiative, but they make a select book available for download in unlimited quantities. After the Flood is available in unlimited quantities only through today (October 21). Here is a link for more information about this digital bookclub and unique reading opportunity. Enjoying this great read by an extraordinary new author. I’ve completed 47 of my 50 workout goal on Nordictrack. This week’s destinations were Bora Bora, Hawaii (again) and my favorite, a walk through New York City which included Central Park, the theatre district and Times Square. It was nice to re-visit NYC, if only virtually! Meditation, affirmation, and yoga all continue, though I’ve not found a convenient studio yoga class yet. I am happy to report we will soon be closing on our Florida home and will be heading down to tend to a few things shortly thereafter. I am grateful for the ability to close remotely. Furniture delivery (at least what’s available) will happen shortly after closing. When we head down, I will be shopping for bed linens, towels and kitchen essentials as well as selecting curtains and bedspreads. We are also doing a little customization after we close, adding a pool, a little custom woodworking, cabinets in the laundry room, new shower doors, and a tile backsplash in the kitchen, among other things. We will be meeting with the trades to get these things underway soon! Lastly, I am ending with a FAIL. Item #42: Actually take out the jet ski instead of letting it sit in the hoist unused, will remain undone. We pulled out the jet ski on this past Saturday which was a gorgeous day in the mid-sixties here in Michigan. It may be one of the last beautiful weekends here before the chillier temperatures of Fall settle in for good. As my birthday is May 13th, it is unlikely we will have the jet ski back in before that. So I have made peace with the idea that this particular bucket-list item will remain undone. In fact, I am going to embrace the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi, the aesthetic concept of admiring that which is imperfect. This idea is not unique to Japan. The Navajo also have a concept of leaving an open line in the border of their rugs called a “spirit line.” It makes the border imperfect but it allows the spirit of the weaver to exit the work. As I tend to be a perfectionist, I will take this as a lesson in the beauty to be found imperfection. I am going to see this as my “open line” that allows me to exit my 50’s and enter my 60’s with grace and gratitude. My sweetie taking one for the team and getting in the not so warm water to pull out the jet ski. And hey, check out those legs. What a fashionista! Until next week, I hope you are warm, present and taking time to experience everything Fall has to offer. May every blessing be yours. Summer is officially over for us when the boat and jet ski are both out of the water. Even the kayaks have been stored away for the season. Welcome Beautiful Fall!

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/week-23-farewell-to-my-fabulous-fifties-the-wabi-sabi-edition

[lattes-and-llamas]

My sister and I have formed our own #wheeloftime bookclub, so that we'll be primed for Tarmon Gai'don... I mean, the premier of the new series on Amazon Prime in a couple of years. Well, come to find out, my darling sister is listening to the Audiobooks NONSTOP and is now on book 7 while I'm over here dying for them to leave Tear and go to the Waste already! Ugh, anyway. If you're not keeping up with the casting, they've finally selected actors for Rand, Mat, Perrin, Nynaeve, and Egwane. They're all relatively unknown actors. I love who they chose for Perrin, he straight up looks like he's ready to swing a hammer and brood about how sad he is for being so good at murder. On the other hand, I feel like Rand should look more like a hot Weasley brother and have naturally firey red hair. Dyed red hair rarely looks natural, and Rand's hair color is hella important to the plot. On the plus side though, I want to punch him in the face already. Well, done Amazon! I can definitely picture him morphing into a moody, punchable idiot that I will tell to politely fuck off and deal with himself already. -Yarn is @lattesandllamasyarn Adventure Yarn in 'Stars Hollow', 'Pegleg Point', and 'Mad Hatter'. Sea Dragon's Tail scaf pattern is by me and coming soon! #seadragonstail #knitting #shawlknitting #knitstagram #moreshawlsplease #neverenoughshawls #mosaicknitting #knittersofinstagram #lattesandllamasyarn #knit #knitters #knittersofig #knittersgonnaknit #knittingpattern #ravelry #wot #robertjordan #books https://www.instagram.com/p/B11CMHmpFav/?igshid=1fnxv3mye45f2

[meetcoogle]

Google Play: http://tinyurl.com/yykm5d8k SSC CGL Exam is expanded as – Staff Selection Commission -Combined Graduate Level Examination.  SSC CGL is conducted by Staff Selection Commission every year for the recruitment of different Central Civil posts under various reputed government organization. It is an open- competitive written examination conducted for the recruitment of personnel for Grade- B and C categories posts in various Ministries, Departments and Organizations. The written test of this exam includes four tiers; Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4. Prepare well in mathematics for your upcoming SSC Examinations. This book is completely based on SSC Pattern. This book intends to help you practice in SSC Mathematics. This book has questions in English as well as Hindi. The book not only teaches you the content of the exam, but also teaches you how to manage time, how to keep yourself cool during the exam, what thinking process to develop, what kind of questions are going to be there, what kind of solution do you have to work out and how to reach the solutions very easily. This book teaches an all-round approach required to tackle the SSC examination. This book is the perfect resource for your preparation. Published by MeetCoogle #MeetCoogle #erotica #romance #bdsm #bookish #booksforchildren #readingisfun #writersofinstagram #love #booksforkids #kidsbook #instabook #christian #jesus #childrenreading #whatyouneed #needtoread #needtolisten #talesforchildren #bookclub #read #kindlebooks #booksofinstagram #jesuschrist #digitallearning #freebooks #authorsofinstagram #entrepreneurmindset #bookrecommendation #authors #deborahhbateman #biblestudy #writers #dailybiblereading

[cw-books]

2019 KICKOFF. This year has already been exciting! February, especially. THE WALLS has placed very well in some national contests, editing is almost complete for the next BECKER GRAY novel, and TONY MASON is alive in well and will be back in action in the fall. I hope you're as excited as I am to see where 2019 leads. . The BECKER GRAY novel THE WALLS has been awarded the OFFICIAL SELECTION award in the Fifth Annual New Apple Book Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing for the category SUSPENSE/THRILLER. Official announcement soon. . The BECKER GRAY novel THE WALLS made it to the SEMIFINALIST round of the 2018 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Contest, beating out over 1,100 entrants to reach that level. This contest sought  books with movie potential. . Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the AMELIA ISLAND BOOK FESTIVAL because of personal calendar conflicts. Even worse, because of some personal obligations, I'll have to miss the upcoming VENICE BEACH BOOK FESTIVAL. Both of these events are successful and fun events, and I hate to miss them. The readers I've met there have been the best. If you attended AIBF or are planning on going to the Venice Book event, please know I missed you and I'll plan on seeing you next year.I hope your 2019 is smooth and prosperous. I'd love to hear about it, if you want to drop a line in response.  . I can't tell you how much I appreciate you reading my books. If you love them, please consider leaving a review at your favorite online retailer. That helps more than you know. . All the best to you. Be safe.  - Chris . #book #books #bookstagram #reading #writersofinstagram #booklover #instabook #bibliophile #booknerd #bookish #bookaholic #igreads #instabooks #bookstagrammer #booksofinstagram #goodreads #booklovers #ilovebooks #authorsofinstagram #ebook #newrelease #bookclub #amreading #lakeland #lkld #lakelandfl #lakelandforida #thrillerbooks https://www.instagram.com/p/BuezBBjhPry/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=10tokrjs5myj0