#but are they the Best American Sci Fi and Fantasy stories of 2023????

[mortola]

much love rf kuang i love ur work i enjoyed babel a lot. ur selections for best american sci fi this year are bad!

[creature-reads]

Creature's 2023 Top Reads

I was fortunate enough to read a lot last year and want to start interacting more with Bookblr in particular. Shoutout to Libby, the library app, through which I used to access a majority of works through. If you are an USA American and have a library card you too can access books, music, graphic novels and more through the Libby app for free.

These awards are made up by me, for my own enjoyment. I do not receive any monetary or other payment for recommending these authors. Please remember to buy books from your local stores when you can.

Best Fantasy- The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

A tale about a jewish Golem and a bedouin/arab Jinni who find themselves in New York during the early 1900s. I really must commend Wecker of how seamlessly her plot pulls together during the climax of the story, beautifully done. This is a slow non explicit romance of two people who are seen as outsiders even in their own communities. It is beautiful, it’s soft, it’s heart-wrenching. I love all these characters for their rights and wrongs. Arbili is innocent of all crimes, fight me.

Best Author- Hank Green

I read two books from Hank Green, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, and he is winning this for the glow up. While his first book wasn’t bad, the second was a definite improvement. His prose is clear and refreshing, tinged with his hope towards the future and his belief in the inherent good nature of humanity. His character development greatly improved as the series continued and I love characters who are completely aware how thin a line they are walking on, while knowing the only way out is through.

Best Fiction - Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut (not queer)

The tale of trauma and its effects from an American soldier who was a POW stationed in Dusseldorf Germany during the end of WWII. Recommended to me by a friend, I had doubts before starting this book. Reading it, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find an almost resignedly unreliable narrator and as you continue you realize its horror of war and grief that broke him and what keeps him going. So it goes.

Best New series - The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir

There's been a lot said about this series already, but I have to commend Muir in creating these increasingly unreliable narrators. This series is for people who see potential in a narrative and aren't afraid to dig. Comprised of modern humor, heartbreakingly tragedy, and horror of the most occult. It is easy to see why these books are so popular, especially here on Tumblr. This series has so much in it it’d almost be faster to list what isn’t. We’ve got a space-faring necromantic Empire run by Jod (effectively necromantic god emperor who’s also just a guy), rebels, body hopping, memes, stupid lesbians, smart lesbians, whatever Paul is, eye-color significance/powerups, mysteries, just a bit of murder(don’t worry about it), and a truckful of Catholic guilt.

Best Sci Fi -The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon

BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. This book will lure you in with giant robots and queer characters and proceed to destroy you with trauma, grief, and the betrayal of everyone you hold close including yourself. This book is not for the faint of heart. There are many comparisons to Pacific Rim and/or Evangelion, which aren’t incorrect. But I feel like a better description would be more along the lines of Brandon Sanderson with the depth and breadth of worldbuilding with character development written by …a mix of Ocean Vuong and Hayao Miyazaki?? I’ll probably end up doing a full review of this in the future. But I’ve found myself rereading this novel multiple times and finding pieces of foreshadowing, worldbuilding, and lore that I’d previously overlooked. The characters are real and their connections and relationships are bound together beautifully. If it sounds even remotely interesting to you, please try it. I and I and I.

Honorable mentions:

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

When Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

Witch King by Martha Wells

[camgoloud]

20, 18,24 :)

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

I discovered Kelly Link’s short stories sometime in summer 2023, and thus unlike everyone else who is wiser than me and was reading Kelly Link earlier I only had to wait a few months rather than like 25 years for her debut novel to come out in February 2024. It was good! I do think on the whole I prefer some of her short stories (Valley of the Girls and Skinder’s Veil and The Summer People will never not fuck me UP) but the novel was also highly enjoyable. Would recommend!

Also!!! Maybe I’m cheating by mentioning two but. The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman!!!! Very very good book! I wasn't Anticipating this one far ahead of time in quite the same way as the Book of Love because I just heard about it on a sci-fi/fantasy podcast I listen to very shortly before publication and before I was familiar with Grossman's other work, and decided I might like to read it based only on the subject matter (it's an Arthurian story)... but then before I committed to dropping like $40 on this massive hardcover I decided to Get Familiar with Grossman's other work and read the Magicians trilogy and had a whole hyperfixation tangent about it (still ongoing, by the way, someone PLEASE talk to me about these books). And then went and bought The Bright Sword after all—which did not disappoint! Would also definitely recommend!!

18. How many books did you buy?

Oh God. Agh. So I actually did sit down in front of my bookshelf/assorted piles of books overflowing the shelf onto the nearby floor and go through them trying to figure out the exact answer to this question but then there were a couple where I couldn’t quite remember if I bought them this year or the previous one. Nonetheless. With some reasonable degree of certainty I can say the number is around… 21, plus or minus two or three. It’s too many! But about half of those were used and another couple were new but marked down for some reason or another, so… that makes it fine I guess?

14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

Another shout for Kelly Link here—I want to finish all the stories in Magic for Beginners! I’ve read about half of them at the moment. I’m also like 2 stories from the end of the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2024 anthology, so I should get to finish that sometime within the next few days (assuming I get through my work at a reasonable pace…). I’m really vibing with a much larger percentage of the selection this year than I did for the last couple of years!

[end of year book asks here!]

[manuscripts-dontburn]

Year of Wonders

Author: Geraldine Brooks

First published: 2001

Rating: ★★★★★

I loved this book as much as you can love and enjoy a book about a plague. Beautifully written and offered to the reader through the eyes of a young, common but intelligent and strong woman, it plunges you into a heartbreaking story of one year in a disease-stricken village, with colourful characters who develop in front of you as the heroine comes to know them. The ending, after all the realism of human nature and history, felt a little too fantastical (or could have been yet another book), but it was not completely unwelcome after all the pain.

Legends & Lattes

Author: Travis Baldree

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The best word I can use to describe this book is "inoffensive". There is nothing I would particularly hate or that would deserve to be torn to shreds, but it was also very, very dull. At first, I thought this was a fantasy response to the wonderful sci-fi comfort books by Becky Chambers, however, the difference is that Chambers takes you on a comforting journey full of wonder, discovery, and original concepts. Travis Baldree´s story is like a ComicCon attendee: dressed up in something that is actually not all that important to what person he is underneath the costume. The fantasy aspect had no impact on the story at all, the most fantastic thing about the whole "world" being that some people do not yet know coffee. You could place the exact same story into contemporary New York. The language is not particularly beautiful and if you had chapter headers, you would not need to read anything else to get the plot.

Chapter 1: I buy a stable. Chapter 2: I hire a craftsman. Chapter 3: We work on the stable. Chapter 4: I hire another person. Chapter 5: We start selling coffee. Chapter 6: We design menus Chapter 7: We have live music now Chapter 8: We invent a cup to go etc. etc.

The characters are bland figures who are either nice or not nice, you never really get to know anything about any of them except that they are nice or not nice. Just cause. When done well, I love the comfort and low-stakes literature. But this was really just words on paper passing me by. Maybe it is just me though. After all, I really don´t like coffee.

Woman's Lore: 4,000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi

Author: Sarah Clegg

First published: 2023

Rating: ★★★☆☆

This was definitely interesting, though a little ent-ish ("It takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say.") Simply put, while I found new bits of history I am happy to file into my brain, the book seemed overtly too long and with the same point repeated in every chapter. And it all ends up being about one thing. I should probably also mention that this particular woman´s lore is limited to the mythology of Mesopotamia and Greece, so do not expect anything Asian, Native American, or from other parts of Europe, etc.

King Midas and the Golden Touch

Author: M. Charlotte Craft, Kinuko Y. Craft

First published: 2003

Rating: ★★★★★

A lovely version of a famous myth, stunningly illustrated by Kinuko Craft. Would love to have each and every single picture of hers on my walls.

Victoria The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire

Author: Julia Baird

First published: 2016

Rating: ★★★★★

After having read a lot about Victoria, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book and that it still had things to teach me. Well-researched and well-written, it definitely benefits from the sensitivity of the female author for its subject as well as a balanced mixture of intimate life and politics. not a definitive biography, but definitely one that introduces and describes the fascinating Queen brilliantly.

The Women of the Copper Country

Author: Mary Doria Russell

First published: 2019

Rating: ★★★★☆

At times I felt the characters were a little bit too simplistic in their "good" and "bad" roles, firmly fitting into an imaginary slot of hero and villain. But the writing was really good, the story kept me hooked and yes, there was a moment when I simply felt too many things at once - and such moments make memorable books for me. Also: fuck capitalism.

The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life

Author: Edith Eger

First published: 2020

Rating: ★★★★☆

A notable addition to Eger´s previous book The Choice, with less history and more lessons she learned from life and now offers to the rest of the world. Sometimes the tone of the book seems quite forceful, but it is always rooted in compassion. Edith Eger wants everybody to heal. And made me realize what I had suspected for a while now: I too would much benefit from some kind of therapy.

Godmersham Park

Author: Gill Hornby

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Godmersham Park is more of a portrait of a life of a domestic in the early 19th century rather than a story with a plot, which made it sometimes difficult for me to keep reading. I liked the portrayal of warm friendships between Anne and some of the members of the Austen clan and the author certainly can make the atmosphere vivid. Eventually, though, the banality captured in the majority of the pages prevailed over the more positive aspects.

Weyward

Author: Emilia Hart

First published: 2023

Rating: ★★★★★

Three different stories that yet are the same. Three women bound by blood, legacy, and love of nature. Three victories over prejudice and cruelty. I loved everything about this book.

The Lives of Saints

Author: Leigh Bardugo

First published: 2020

Rating: ★★★★★

I picked this book up simply because I really wanted more from that world and I got exactly what I had wanted. Gorgeously illustrated, this slim volume is skillfully disguised as both myths and hagiographies, which at the same time could work as unrelated fairy tales. I enjoyed it very much.

Anne of Avonlea

Author: L.M. Montgomery

First published: 1909

Rating: ★★★★☆

A sweet book I thoroughly enjoyed, it gave me a welcome respite from the stresses of reality.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2023-04-03

Quilt's done, let's watch some movies.

Listening: Finished catching up to 99 percent invisible, which only took me like five years of cooking, cleaning, commuting, sewing, video gaming and soldering. Admittedly it's only about half of all of those things, but hey.

There's a lot of good 99pi episodes although a lot of them are actually guest episodes, for example Finding Julia Morgan is actually from New Angle: Voice, about an early and prolific skyscraper designer.

For originals, there's the story of the Nikolai Vavilov and the Seed Potatoes of Leningrad although frankly The Anthropocene Reviewed did it better, and there's Miss Manhattan, which is the story of a prolific model who is as a result featured in a ton of architectural work, Audrey Munson.

Reading: Started qntm's Ra, spec fic hard science fantasy where magic is a precise scientific process which is primarily best understood through careful measurement and differential equations. Appealing to me as an electrical engineer, where most things are also best understood through careful measurement and differential equations.

I read the first couple chapters ages ago but didn't stick with it, it's hard to read on a computer, I ended up buying the ebook and I'm devouring it. qntm has a way with words and worlds, and an appreciation for the power of institutional knowledge and formal theory that makes his stories feel very real and grounded. Even if they open with a drunk mage blasting some muggers with a microwave thermal lance.

Watching: Triple feature, big show today. First, episode two of Dynamo Dreams is out, only a year after the first one, not bad for what is mostly a solo VFX project. Beautiful, grungy, greebled sci-fi.

My brother called me up at six in the evening like hey do you want to go see a movie, and I almost never turn that offer down despite his incredibly terrible taste in movies and TV. We saw Shazam 2, which was mediocre in uninteresting ways. If you want to enjoy it, walk out about 15 minutes before it ends and it'll at least do something bold and thoughtful. The most I can say is that it keeps track of all it's plot points and ties them all off neatly.

Finally The Edge of Tomorrow, the time loop movie from like 2014. I like time loops, they give you a lot of room to play with. Manages to handle its stakes really well and convey the exhaustion and investment of a time loop without actually playing out every loop, which is hard. Makes me want to play Elsinore.

Playing: Nothing much, I got a couple games of Valorant in with The Buds. Now that I don't have sewing to podcast through I might go back to Forza a few hours a week. It's a reliable option. That or Warframe maybe. Needs to be a game with minimal text and little strategy.

Making: The Penrose quilt is finally done, took a few months there huh.

I'm really glad it's done, I'm looking forward to actually using it once I move out. Soon hopefully.

My sewing skill has really gone up over the course of this project, sometimes I'd read or watch someone's dressmaking project and I'd think there's no way you can do consistently tight backstitch by hand for that long of a seam but no, you totally can, it's not even that hard.

Tools and Equipment: If you're going to be working with Perle cotton you really want embroidery specific needles, they've got longer eyes that are better suited to the thicker floss than conventional needles.

[therandomavenger]

My Endless TBR List

I have accepted the fact that I’m going to die with an unfinished TBR list. And not just, like ‘a few books I never got to.’ We’re talking a full-on bookshelf full with dozens more sitting on the kindle.

This is not for lack of trying. I’ve actually read over fifty books so far this year. I made a goodreads challenge goal of reading 100 books in 2023, and I am on track to meet that goal. But my TBR list keeps getting longer. It’s like a literary treadmill that just keeps going faster and faster, one that I will never be able to conquer.

I have on my bookshelves and on my kindle, over 60 books I want to read. These are the books I already own in some form. The picture I posted is of my TBR shelf. I have a special bookshelf that is only books that I own in a physical format I mean to read. There are 37 books on this shelf. And there are dozens more on my kindle. This isn’t even counting books that I could check out from the library, or that I want to read someday but don’t yet own.

A couple of weeks ago I sat down and made myself a list, putting the books in some semblance of the order I intend to read them. And since then, I’ knocked about four of them off the list. I also, unfortunately, added ten more to the bottom of the list. It’s a problem.

Now, I may be an extreme example, but I think a lot of readers have this problem. One of the problems is that there are so many types of books that I enjoy. I enjoy, especially, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and non-fiction. My audiobook listening tends to be non-fiction. I, for some reason, have a block on listening to fiction. Unless it’s an amazing narrator, I cannot process fiction the same way I process the non-fiction. I made myself listen to the Kim Stanley Robinson Mars trilogy in audio and the narrator was so bad I barely got through it, and it has colored my memory of those books.

I will occasionally read a mainstream romance-adjacent book. I loved Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material and have Husband Material ready to go as soon as I get to it. Although, I must say, in general, I prefer to read Queer fiction written by actual queer people. There are exceptions of course.   

I try to read widely, and as this list attests, maybe it’s a little too widely. There are just so many good books out. I want to read all of them. I set the goal in my habitica app to read for at least an hour a day, and I start off with a short story. I read a bunch from Clarkesworld, the Neil Clarkes most recent Best Science Fiction of the Year, moving on to Rich Horton’s collection, which also includes fantasy. Right now, I’m making my way through the latest Writers of the Future collection. Next up is the 2022 Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection.

I basically try to read everything that interests me, no matter the genre or subject, and I am interested in a great many things, which is both a blessing and a curse. I also try to switch things up. I’ll go from a sci fi series to something high fantasy then to maybe some contemporary fiction. I don’t tend to read a lot of Mystery/Thrillers anymore because I read so many of them and they all kind of blended together after a while. I also intersperse the novels and non-fiction with Graphic Novels. I just read the first three Radiant Black volumes and next is Kieron Gillen’s Once and Future  volumes. I don’t read individual issues, because that way lies madness, but the collected editions.

I feel a responsibility to do a lot of reading, because I think it informs me as a writer. I also really enjoy it, it’s not a chore. I am wary of writers who tell me they don’t read a lot. I think you need to read a lot (maybe not as much as I do, obviously) to figure out the things you want to write about. And, to settle a controversy, audiobooks absolutely do count as reading.

So, that’s my reading life right now. I’m making progress, but probably need to quit adding things to the list, at least for a little while.

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics:

1. Brian Lumley's¹ "The Outpost of the Great Elder (Ones)."

2. Metal Hurlant² ("Screaming Metal"): H.P. Lovecraft's "Murmurs & Whispers."

3. "Kadath³, the Unknown" - a version of "Quest For Unknown Kadath" in HPL's Dreamlands setting?

4. Macabros ("Macabre"): "Monster Tower From Kh'otshan⁴"?

5. Simply gorgeous detail work!

6. Live Beyond Fear - In madness?!

7. Cthulhu Calling - Are you going to answer it?!!

8. Horror for the Holidays - When you deserve worse than coals in your X-Mas sock!!

9. Crypt of Cthulhu - Is it back or not?

10. Revelations From Yuggoth⁵ - Some competition?!

Intro: Part 3.

So, it's 1915 & Lovecraft is putting together yet another journal.

One which he will use to spread his political views, print his poesy & just show off his ideas - from the 1700s!

Work:

It might be a good thing that Howard wrote - not for money - but, for his own artistic & intellectual satisfaction.

He bore the 'burden' of educating the members of the UAPA & the readers beneath him.

It sort of 'assured' that he produced works of 'quality & value'...

(Though he would later call these same works "crap"!!)

Lovecraft's ideals were born from his studies of Greek & Roman writings.

Who, he wrote, "completed the art & science of expression."

"Classical authors achieved", Howard thought, "simplicity, moderation & elegance of taste."

Setting the tone for his own society, HPL supported Prohibition⁶.

Being a teetotaler⁷, he saw drunks as degenerates & moral inferiors.

Politically, Lovecraft ridiculed the goals of the League of Nations⁸ & the idea that war should be prevented.

Unity, he felt, couldn't be achieved thru diversity.

Howard's reason for this view was that humans were rapacious⁹, hateful & greedy - always divided by racial cultures.

He was also aware of the disillusioning power of knowledge.

That "art relies, in part, on mystery & mystification."

For HPL, meaning came, both, from art & tradition.

He proposed that, in the future, art would need artificial limitations to be able to connect it to each person's consciousness.

Otherwise, rampant liberalism¹⁰ would make 'modern' life meaningless, banal¹¹ & worthless.

So, it's no surprise that Lovecraft's Conservative contains so many theories on the writing of weird tales.

The great bulk of his more famous stories would come later in life - after his disastrous NYC period...

But, we do get to see that Howard was a man 'out of time.'

This is best seen in his long, intricate letters.

(On average, HPL wrote 15-page letters & the sheer mass of them makes up the 2nd largest collection of letters in the world!!)

The most important ones have been collected & published - as works of literature themselves!

All in all, The Conservative provides us with an overview of Lovecraft's opinions on the important matters of his day & it lives up to its name.

Notes:

1. Brian Lumley was a British horror writer who died in January of this year!

He started his career by writing Lovecraftian fiction - thru the central character of Titus Crow.

Lumley's best work, however, was in his Necroscope series of the 1980s.

2. Heavy Metal was an American dark sci-fi, horror & fantasy magazine that started in 1977 & lasted til 2023!

Its relaunch (a giant #1) is on Kick- starter right now!!

3. Kadath is a mountain crowned by an onyx castle - the home of Earth's Dream Gods, the Great Ones.

It's full name is "Kadath In The Cold Waste" & its true position is still debated.

4. I tried every possible spelling & got responses for Kharshan:

A. Kharsa, a city in war torn Syria.

B. Kharsan, a botanical plant from India.

C. Iskander Kharsan, a boxer out of Henderson, Nevada.

D. Kharsan, as an Arabian last name, is popular in Yemen!

E. There's various spelling versions like: Khars, Kharsah, Kharsani, Kharse & Kharsen.

5. Revelations From Yuggoth was a short lived (1987 to 1989) weird fiction fanzine by author/poet Shawn Ramsey.

It published poetry, short fiction, art, non-fiction articles, either new work & 'classic.'

6. Prohibition (1920 to 1933) was the failed attempt to outlaw drinking from its manufacture to its point of sale.

It led to a rise in crime gangs fighting over booze's illegal production, its smuggling & sale.

Worse of all, taxes declined...

The market crash of 1929 & the Great Depression led to alcohol being legalized again & tax revenue grew once again.

7. A teetotaler was someone who never drank liquor.

The word was 1st used in the emphasized form of "total (abstinence) with a capital T."

9. The League of Nations was the 1st worldwide organization whose main mission was to foster peace.

But, it had no armed forces of its own & depended on the Allied Powers to enforce its edicts.

So, it existed from 1920 til 1946, when many of its components were given over to the incoming United Nations.

10. Liberalism is a moral & political philosophy based on the rights of individuals, consent of the governed & equality before the Law.

This word also denies supernatural phenomena, as science accounts for all objects & events.

11. Banal is lacking originality - as to be obvious &, worse, boring.

Next: We finally get into the contents of the 1st issue of The Conservative.

[cleopatras-library]

23 in 2023 Wrap-Up

So I made a list at the beginning of 2023, and did actually try to read most of the books on it! Results were mixed, but I did read a lot of books I'd been meaning to get to for some time, and made peace with many others. I won't be doing the same for this year because I genuinely don't have that many books I plan on reading. So here they all are:

Books that didn't come out this year:

Alecto the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir - I was very optimistic, but there was not in fact an official release date and there is not one now. I did read the new short story though, and it was very good!

Books I didn't start:

De Profundis, Oscar Wilde - Too stressed for something so soul-searching. Maybe this year?

Lord of the Flies, William Golding - I decided I wasn't going to put myself through this one again and let go of all my guilt about it.

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy - Similarly, I finally came to terms with the fact that I'm not particularly interested in reading War and Peace right now.

Books I didn't finish:

Once & Future, A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy - Very YA, the humour was clearly targeted at a younger audience than me.

Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World, Janet E. Cameron - NOT in fact the lighthearted read its cover makes it out to be.

Beirut Hellfire Society, Rawi Hage - Not as interesting as the title.

The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray - Might have the prose I liked least all year. The authors were telling everything, which made it very heavy-handed.

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel - Too dark for me :) I regret starting this book. The prose was also a bit heavy-handed.

Books I finished that were Bad:

After the Victorians, A. N. Wilson - Written in 2005, and you can tell, because Wilson's opinions are stale as fuck. I can't really trust much of what he wrote because of that, though the chapter on crosswords was interesting.

Der Dunkle Schwarm, Marie Graßhoff - Dystopia with weak worldbuilding, and I found myself noticing plot holes, which isn't something I typically do.

Books I finished that were mediocre:

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald - 200 pages of Nick feeling uncomfortable and also some commentary on the american dream that has become common knowledge in the intervening century. This book is for someone else.

Ships of the ‘45, John S. Gibson - Exactly what it says on the cover.

Company Town, Madeline Ashby - Interesting worldbuilding, dull mystery plot (why is it that so much interesting fantasy/sci fi gets saddled with the dullest of imaginable mystery plots?)

Books I finished that were good:

Blood Like Fate, Liselle Sambury - I liked this a bit less than the first book, but it was still interesting and unique YA sci fi! The romance was also well-written.

Legendborn, Tracy Deonn - Honestly I was mostly reading this for the (enjoyably) messy love triangle, and I would continue the series if it looked like my preferred pairing was going to become canon.

Worlds of Ink and Shadow, Lena Coakley - Wittier than I remember it being!

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote - Different, but just as good as the movie.

Love After the End, edited by Joshua Whitehead - An interesting short story collection. My thoughts were very much provoked.

The Sentence, Louise Erdrich - Literary fiction I found satisfactory upon reading that has somehow stuck with me over the last few months.

Books I finished that left me Changed:

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir - AAAAAHHH (highly recommend, this literally changed everything)

The Secret History, Donna Tartt - This book makes me think maybe I should be reading more thrillers? Or at the very least more dark academia, regardless of how cliche it seems for the rest of my personality.

Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, Megan Gail Coles - The best literary fiction I read this year.

In conclusion, go read The Locked Tomb.

[excusethequality]

My 2023 in Film

Part 4:

151-200

With this I am finally past the halfway point! Huzzah!

Link to Part I Link to Part II Link to Part III

* = rewatched

[++] = I loved it [+] = I liked it [=] = I am indifferent about it [-] = Not my thing [--] = I hate it

Click on the list number to get a trailer for it.

151.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010) * ---Comedy Horror

[Not putting a link to the trailer, because the trailer spoils the shit out of a ton of the movie. Consider yourself warned.]

The typical slasher story is turned on its head when two best friends head to the woods to fix up their new vacation shack. But a misunderstanding with a bunch of college students is about to show that you can't judge a book by its cover. [+]

152.

The Invisible Man (1933) * ---Sci-Fi Horror

After discovering the secret to invisibility a brilliant scientist desperately tries to discover the secret to undoing it before he goes insane. [+]

153.

Barbie (2023) ---Comedy Fantasy Adventure

A Barbie from the magical world of Barbieland has an existential crisis. Now unable to get rid of her thoughts of death and cellulite, she journeys to the real world in search of a cure. [+]

154.

Princess Mononoke (1997) * ---Animated Fantasy Adventure

A cursed prince must leave his home on a journey to find the source of his affliction and to see what he can learn with eyes unclouded by hate. [++]

155.

Twins (1988) * ---Comedy Crime Adventure

Jeez, this movie has no right being this hard to describe. Ummm...two long lost twins (and products of a genetic test) are reunited after 35 years and go on a mission to find their mother. They're also trying to sell a stolen prototype fuel injector, and get away from a vindictive loan shark, and fall in love, and avoid being murdered by the man who rightfully wants to sell the stolen prototype fuel injector. [=]

156.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) ---Animated Action Comedy

A family of mutants living in the sewers of NYC dream of being able to join the humans up above. But when they meet a group of mutant criminals they're forced to choose a side. [++]

157.

Mortal Kombat (2021) ---Fantasy Action

I honestly don't remember the specifics and I refuse to look it up. Basically a boring dude and others get weird powers and fight each other because of reasons. [-]

158.

Predators (2010) ---Sci-Fi Action

A motley crew of killers from around the world awaken on an alien game reserve where they are being hunted for sport. [=]

159.

The Invisible Man (2020) ---Sci-Fi Thriller

A woman flees from an abusive relationship with a tech genius. Although she is finally free, a series of incidents leave her grappling with her sanity and wondering if she's being haunted by her trauma or something more sinister. [+]

160.

Encino Man (1992) * ---Comedy

A pair of teenagers discover a caveman frozen in an ancient block of ice. When unthaws and awakens they decide that he might just be their ticket to popularity and enroll him in high school. [=]

161.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) * ---Coming-of-Age Fantasy Action Comedy

A teenage girl learns that she is the next incarnation of an ancient line of vampire slayers. The only hiccup is that she has no interest in slaying vampires and just wants to be a normal teen. [+]

162.

Joy Ride (2023) ---Comedy Adventure

What started as a business trip turns into a search for family when four Chinese-American friends travel to China. [+]

163.

The Matrix Resurrections (2021) ---Sci-Fi Action

I could try to break down what this movie was about, but it would take more time than I want to invest. Imagine if someone remade the first one, but got weirdly meta about it and generally did everything worse. [--]

164.

Waking Ned Devine (1998) * ---Comedy

In a rural Irish village an old man named Ned Devine has just won the lottery. The only issue is that Ned Devine has also just died. Now the village is on a mission to bring him back (in a way) so they can claim the winnings. [++]

165.

Medusa Deluxe (2022) ---Mystery

When someone is murdered at a hair styling competition it's hard to know if anyone has seen anything out of the ordinary. [=]

166.

Paprika (2006) * ---Animated Sci-Fi Adventure

A psychotherapy researcher secretly working under the alias "Paprika" utilizes a brand new technology that allows her to enter her patients' dreams. But when the technology falls into the hands of a terrorist she may be the only person with the skills needed to stop them. [++]

167.

Game Night (2018) * ---Comedy Adventure

A group of friends meet for their regular game night only to learn that this night might not be so ordinary. [+]

168.

The Hangover (2009) * ---Comedy Adventure

Three friends wake up after a wild bachelor party they can't remember only to find that they can't find the groom. [=]

169.

Lakota Nation vs. United States (2022) ---Documentary

A chronicle of the United States' interactions with the Lakota nation. [+]

170.

Event Horizon (1997) * ---Sci-Fi Horror

A rescue team is sent to investigate the mysterious return of a prototype spacecraft called the Event Horizon. [+]

171.

3 Ninjas (1992) * ---Action Comedy

Three young brothers have been trained in the ways of the ninja by their grandfather. But when a ruthless criminal has set his sights on their family he quickly learns that they won't go down without a fight. [+]

172.

One for the Money (2012) * ---Comedy Crime

A desperate former lingerie saleswoman tries to take up bounty hunting in order to make some quick cash. [=]

173.

Talk to Me (2022) ---Horror

A pack of teenagers discover a mysterious statue that allows whoever touches it become a conduit for the dead. [=]

174.

Barbie (2023) *

See #153

175.

Shiva Baby (2020) ---Drama Comedy

A struggling college student attends the shiva from hell with her parents. [++]

176.

Bottoms (2023) ---Comedy

Two teenage lesbians start a women's fight club at their high school in order to get laid. [=]

177.

What About Bob? (1991) * ---Comedy

A therapist starts to lose his grip on reality when an obsessed patient won't leave him alone and no one else seems to find it odd. [+]

178.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) * ---Action Comedy

A family of mutant turtles is all that stands in the way of a gang of ninja from taking over NYC. [++]

179.

Hardcore Henry (2015) ---Action

I wish the plot actually mattered, but it doesn't. All you need to know is that it's an action movie shot entirely in first person perspective and that there's a very good reason why movies so rarely do that. [-]

180.

Office Space (1999) * ---Comedy

A depressed office worker gets a new lease on life when his hypnotist dies in the middle of their session. [++]

181.

Wayne's World (1992) * ---Comedy

Two best friends find themselves in battle against a corporate bigwig when a network tries to buy their public-access program. [+]

182.

Tell Me I Love You (2020) ---Queer Rom-Com

3 best friends wind up in a polyamory-ish marriage predicament because of reasons. [=]

183.

The Smoke Shack (2013) ---Comedy Short Film

A day in the life of a worker at a smoke shack. [+]

184.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) * ---Comedy Adventure

Two best friends are about to flunk out of school when they're given a most excellent opportunity: a time machine! Now they must gather the greatest collection of historical figures they can in order to ace their history test. [+]

185.

Plus One (2019) * ---Rom-Com

During a rough wedding season two best friends agree to be each other's plus ones in order to make it through, but wind up questioning the nature of their relationship in the process. [=]

186.

Reel Injun (2009) ---Documentary

A look at the history of Native American representation in film. [+]

187.

The Quiet Earth (1985) ---Sci-Fi

A science experiment goes terribly wrong and now 3 people are seemingly the only ones in the world left alive. [-]

188.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) ---Action Comedy

The Shredder decides to fight fire with fire and endeavors to create his own mutant army to defeat the turtles and conquer NYC. [+]

189.

First Cow (2019) ---Period Drama

Two unlikely friends start their own business in order to carve out a life for themselves in 1820s Oregon, USA. [+]

190.

Short Term 12 (2013) ---Drama

A staff member of a group care facility for troubled teenagers tries to fight her impulses towards self destruction when an old trauma comes back to haunt her. [+]

191.

Zoom (2015) ---Fantasy Drama Comedy

Three people discover that their worlds are all products of each other's various creative pursuits. [-]

192.

Dead Man's Curve (1998) ---Crime Thriller

Two roommates concoct a plan to kill their other roommate in order to exploit a college loophole and get an automatic 4.0 GPA. [=]

193.

Tendrils (2023) ---Short Film Drama

Two friends are preparing to part ways and decide to make a time capsule in honor of their relationship. [=]

194.

Watching the Detectives (2007) ---Rom-Com

A film nerd falls in love with a manic pixie dream girl, but begins to blur reality with movies. [-]

195.

Scrapper (2023) ---Comedy Drama

A 12-year-old tries to make it on her own after the death of her mother. But when her estranged dad comes back to take care of her she's going to have to face reality. [++]

196.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) * ---Action Fantasy Comedy

A chance encounter with a strange artifact transports the turtles to early 17th century Japan. [+]

197.

Theater Camp (2023) ---Mockumentary Comedy

When the director of a theater camp falls into a coma it's up to her wannabe-influencer son to keep the place together. [=]

198.

Four Kids and It (2020) ---Kids Fantasy

While on vacation a group of kids come across a magical being that can grant wishes. There's only two catches: it can only grant one wish a day and each wish only lasts for 24 hours. [=]

199.

Cassandro (2023) ---Queer Sports Biopic

The story of the rise of Saúl Armendáriz aka the Mexican luchador Cassandro. [=]

200.

Fat City (1972) ---Sports Drama

Two men at opposite points in their boxing careers see a glimpse of their past/future in one another, but not necessarily liking what they see. [+]

[swordandboardllc]

Out with the Old, In with the New. Also, Lets Travel to the Stars.

I apologize, it had been a minute! Let’s dive right into the updates.

New Patreon Perks

Look left, what do you see? It’s a brand new, shiny foil bookmark for patrons! I am seriously so thrilled by how these turned out. The lettering is just gorgeous (it was before, but now it all pops). I still get excited looking at them. It was thoroughly enjoyable being able to hand them out at Chicon8 WorldCon (which I will talk about in a minute).

PATRON WORKSHOPS

If you look at the menu bar, you’ll see something shiny and new: workshops. I ran a workshop at Chicon8 that went fantastic, and now I’m bringing it to the virtual stage! Workshops will be run via our discord, and made available to anyone who signs up at the $25/month tier before the workshop. The workshops are:

Building the Invisible: Characters of Depth and Disability November 12, 2022

Character creation and development goes beyond the arc of your plot. An intriguing personal history helps connect readers to characters. Your plot doesn't need to revolve around a disability for you to include one, and you should! Learn from L.J. Stanton, a service dog handler, invisible illness spoonie, and author, to learn how to build diversity into your writing, round out your characters, and see how doing so can help build a far richer world for your story.

Critical Reading: How to Improve Your Writing Through Reading January 14, 2023

Have you ever read a book and wondered “How do I write like that?” The answer? Read, write, read. It’s the writer answer to “practice makes perfect”. But to get the most out of reading, you need to dive passed the surface. Learn how to read what’s between the lines, to try and understand why the author made the choices they did, and more. Reading critically will improve your writing, beta reading, and reading for fun.

Broad Horizons: World Building with Intention March 11, 2023

World building is one of the best, yet most challenging parts of building a fantasy or sci fi world—especially if it isn’t a story set in an alternate universe earth. What religions have shaped the cultures? What geography has shaped the religions? What languages do they speak, what dialects within those languages? If your head is starting to spin, don’t worry! This course is for you. L.J. will break down how to prioritize what needs to be built ahead of time for your story or series, and what can be left to develop as you write. You’ll also learn where to look for real world examples to build your worlds off of.

Chicon8 WorldCon: To the Stars and Back

I had the honor of participating as a panelist at WorldCon Chicon 8. For those of you asking “What even is WorldCon?”, it’s one of the premier speculative fiction conventions in the world. It changes location yearly. 2022 was Chicago, 2023 is Chengdu, 2024 is Glasgow. For the years it’s not in North America, the North American Sci Fi Fantasy convention is held (2023 Winnepeg).

Also, it’s the convention that gives away a little award called The Hugo. In many ways, it’s the Oscars for speculative fiction. Easy to say I was just a little awe-struck. There were incredible people speaking and attending the convention, and I want to specifically thank the Accessibilty Team for their incredible willingness work with those of us who needed a little bit extra help getting around a building build pre-ADA. They truly did an amazing job, and reminded me that if I don’t ask for help, I can’t get it. Sometimes little things that might help me a little will help others a lot (like chairs to sit and wait for elevators!)

NEVER STOP LEARNING

Narrativity and Chicon both remind me the importance of constantly learning and improving as an author and as a person. Conventions are excellent opportunities to expand your social circle, meet people you wouldn’t have the opportunity to otherwise, and learn new skills. The over-arching theme of each of my panels this year was simple:

"Build rich worlds, research deeply, take criticism humbly, and learn to say “I’m sorry.”"

It was incredible to experience a diverse group of people from all over the world come together and have thought provoking, genuine discussions. Thank you to everyone who came, who asked questions, and learned something new. I came away from Chicon with renewed hope, inspiration, and the opportunity to re-examine some of the language I’ve used that was called out as outdated. It renewed my desire to dig even deeper into the inspirations for The Gods Chronicle series, and I know my writing has improved because of Chicon.